Low Brass Day Hits Perfect Note
Chelsea Jablon is indicative of the type of innovative and hardworking teachers that have kept the Huntington School District’s music program among the best in the state.
Ms. Jablon, who is a long-term leave replacement band teacher at Huntington Intermediate School, organized what she billed as Low Brass Day in an effort to inspire and encourage student-musicians to play more confidently and to make them feel special, too.
The exciting and motivational initiative for students in Huntington Intermediate’s beginner and advanced band programs, involved a visit by three Hofstra University music education majors, Jill Fournier (trombone), Katie Noonan (trombone) and Kevin Mechella (euphonium). “They were enthusiastic about sharing their experience and talents with Huntington’s young musicians,” Ms. Jablon said.
The morning’s events kicked off with the Hofstra contingent seated among the advanced band low brass section during a rehearsal. The Huntington Intermediate group was continuing with preparations for an upcoming winter concert, with an extra boost from their college counterparts. “Our favorite part of rehearsal was the competition between the advanced band low brass and the Hofstra low brass to see who could produce the loudest sound as a section,” Ms. Jablon said. “The three Hofstra students would play a section, followed by the eight intermediate students playing the same section, with the rest of the band serving as the judges.”
During the first few rounds of this friendly competition, the Huntington Intermediate band unanimously voted for Hofstra producing the most powerful sound. After hearing what “loud” really had the potential to be, the intermediate grade level musicians stepped up and blew everyone away. “The other sections of the band had their hands shooting up in the air, supporting the win of their peers over the seasoned Hofstra players,” Ms. Jablon said.
The rehearsal came to a close as the beginner band students arrived in the auditorium just in time to join the advanced band in the audience for a solo and ensemble performance by the college visitors. The Hofstra students prepared an appropriate and fun variety of selections to play. The pieces included classical works by composers the students were familiar with, as well as tunes from popular Disney movies and impressive technical duets.
“After Kevin, the euphonium player, completed ‘The Carnival of Venice,’ the audience stared in awe, amazed to hear such a difficult piece,” Ms. Jablon said. When asked if they had ever seen fingers move so fast, the Huntington Intermediate band responded in an excited array of chatter, discussing their favorite parts of the performance. Among the student comments were: “I never knew a trombone could sound like that,” “I can’t wait to play in high school so I can learn harder music,” and “I really need to start practicing more until I can move my slide that fast!”
The final hour of the program focused primarily on the 30 low brass musicians from the beginner and advanced bands. The clinicians worked in small groups with students, introducing elements of playing unique to the low brass family. The elements included proper rest position, posture, breathing, buzzing, warm-up strategies, sight-reading skills, and playing as a section. The youngsters were engaged and focused throughout the entire session.
“They were very excited to improve their breathing using drinking straws and to learn to play childhood songs using only their mouthpiece,” Ms. Jablon said. “They even discussed playing the mouthpiece as a professional career!”
The Hofstra students alternated between demonstrating, having the Huntington students play one-by-one and having small group playing opportunities. By the end of their time together, the Huntington low brass had noticeably improved their tone quality.
The last minutes were left open for a question and answer session. The intermediate students felt comfortable asking many interesting questions in the small group setting and sharing personal anecdotes with each other. “To emphasize the importance of breathing to full capacity, Kevin even let out the secret about his belt buckle bursting in a Hofstra rehearsal because he took in so much air,” Ms. Jablon said.
The event paid immediate dividends. “The results were that in addition to having a great time, the students were very impressed to see how fast the Hofstra players could play, and then began to play more confidently themselves, said Joan R. Fretz, Huntington’s director of fine and performing arts. “At the winter concert, they did a terrific job.”
“The students really bonded with the Hofstra musicians and their newfound confidence was clearly evident in the following band rehearsal,” Ms. Jablon said. “Since young band literature usually has the low brass playing accompaniment parts, Low Brass Day really opened up the possibilities.”
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