My Weekly Rant

[Chuck Jackson]

Wind Symphony?

Wind Ensemble?

What ever happened to just plain old "Band". I am even put off by the whole "Symphonic Band" and what the hell is a "Symphonic Wind Ensemble" and since when did a symphony, outside of the odd pops concert and Gerswhin piece ever have a full compliment of saxophones on stage. I love a good "Band", is there some kind of musical inferiority complex going on here?


Sorry, but a Band is a Band is a Band is a Band. let's call it what it is and get over ourselves. And yes all you gear heads, I know that one is called what it is because of some tweeking of the instrumentation, but it's still and band!!!! AND I LOVE BANDS SO LET'S NOT GO FOR THE THROAT.

Chuck

[Dean]

Well... Sometimes, it means something. Usually on an individual basis--within a high school or college.

Perhaps it is only to define the "1st band," the "2nd band," and so forth and so on. Some schools have up to four bands, and they each require a different descriptom within the course catalogue.

And, it is my understanding also, that a "wind ensemble" or "wind symphony" generally has less personnel, sometimes 1 on a part.

Thats not to say that you dont have a point, you definitely do--they are all bands. But, there is some practical reason to calling them different names, and these names do define the ensembles a bit--at least in relation to other ensembles in the same school...

[Joe Baker]

Don't worry, Chuck, I'm not going for the throat, but I do have a civil rebuttal.

I think the goals of the organization drive the naming, although it may give the impression to some of a claim to greater musical ability. Certainly "Wind Symphony"s are bands; but the name tells me more than just the instrumentation. It tells me what kind of music I'm likely to hear (or play). I've been in community bands whose main purpose was to play marches for July 4th, Memorial Day, etc. Without exception, they called themselves "bands". I've been in other bands whose goal is to play challenging music that is more symphonic in nature, though occasionally playing marches and pops as well. In fact, I'm currently in the best of these I've ever been in, though my group calls itself a band (East Tennessee Concert Band); but I don't think it would be at all unfitting if they called themselves a wind symphony or wind ensemble or some such. It is a very different animal than was the Rockwall (Texas) Community Band.

Frankly, my favorite term for bands that play the less traditional, more challenging or symphonic band lit is "Symphonic Band".

I think it is more curious that orchestras, who have far more similar missions, alternately call themselves "Symphony Orchestra", just plain "Symphony", or just plain "Orchestra", or "Philharmonic". But To-may'-to/To-mah'-to.
_____________________________
Joe Baker, who observes we could just call them ALL 'Instrumental Group', but thinks the 'CSO' sounds much better than the 'CIG'. And for Philadelphia... 'PIG'??

[Chuck(G)]

Sometimes a band is a band; sometimes it's a chamber orchestra, like the Hannover Band.

[Doug@GT]

Or jazz bands calling themselves "Orchestras"?

It's all marketing.

I'd like to see a major symphony orchestra call themselves a "string band."

[Philip Jensen]

I'm thinking about making a push to change our local band's name from ...X.X. Community Band to X..X..Concert band. The caliber of players has gone up over the past 5 years and the conductor has really been pushing the harder lit. We play four indoor concerts and 2 summer concerts. Keeps us busy for 10 months

I think people see "Community Band" and automatically downgrade their perception of the group. People would rather go hear the Symphony. Well the local Symphony made their first attempt at a outdoor summer evening concert this summer. Cooling temperatures and several microphones per section led to an interesting night. IMHO the Band's Arts Festival concert a week earlier was much better. We certainly are more used to playing outside.

Any ideas on how to convince the community to get off their high horse and wake up to the fact that they have a local Band that approaches the quality of the local symphony? (I'll give them indoors) We usually get pretty good coverage in the local paper on the Fridays before a concert.
We just can't seem to shake the stimga. We normally have around 500 people for our concerts (free - we're sponsored by the local parks and rec)

Maybe we should charge $5, how could a free concert possibly be any good

[Chuck(G)]

Any ideas on how to convince the community to get off their high horse and wake up to the fact that they have a local Band that approaches the quality of the local symphony? (I'll give them indoors) We usually get pretty good coverage in the local paper on the Fridays before a concert.

We just can't seem to shake the stimga. We normally have around 500 people for our concerts (free - we're sponsored by the local parks and rec)

Ah, you've put your finger on the issue very nicely!

When one says "band", the immediate thought is of a high-school marching band. So the average joe thinks "gee, these are a bunch of adults who never grew out of adolescence". Best call yourself a "wind ensemble" or some such.

Here, the population doesn't quite know yet what to make of a brass band. They know it's different and not a marching band, but that's about it. Mostly, the guy on the street doesn't have a clue.

[Chuck Jackson]

Joe, I knew you could clear this up for me!!!! It must have been that whole Baritone/Euphonium thing.

Chuck"Who really would like to sit down and talk for about 12 hours over adult beverages with Joe S. and Chuck G. because I know I would come away thoroughly educated and entertained" Jackson

[Mark]

"Bands" use baritones.

"Wind ensembles" use euphoniums.

"Wind Symphonies" sell tickets.

True. Also,

Bands have directors

Orchestras have conductors

and in bands tubas are called basses.

[Dan Schultz]

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the 'Community Music' Yahoo forum, but they spend a lot of time discussing topics just like this. Here's the link:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/c- ... d=69777241

[FarahShazam]

Well, I can tell you that I was in a "wind symphony"

We didn't have saxophones or euphoniums. The instrumentation was that of an orchestral wind section.

[Rick Denney]

I'd like to see a major symphony orchestra call themselves a "string band."

But a major symphony orchestra is not a "string band". It's a symphony orchestra--an orchestra instrumented for playing symphonies.

The string section of an orchestra is actually frequently referred to as the "string band" in the literature, just as the wind players are called the "wind band".

In the old days, there was a distinction made between a concert band and a military band. Concert bands play on a stage; military bands play marches and wear uniforms. The former often included some strings. Holst wrote the Suites for "military band".

A "band" is just a group of people doing something together. The qualifier is almost always required, it seems to me (sorry, Chuck).

To support Joe Baker's description, the Loudoun Symphonic Band changed its name to the Loudoun Symphonic Winds for just the reasons he cited. We wanted people to see the "symphonic" part of our name and not form conclusions based on the "band" part. The reason for the emphasis on "symphonic" is that we play mostly similar music to a symphony orchestra.

But I didn't really like the switch. To me, "symphonic winds" suggests the wind section of a symphony orchestra that is playing with the string band that day.

But "wind symphony" suggests a group better than we, and the prevailing view was that it was presumptuous.

"Wind Ensembe" seemed a defined group with different instrumentation than our group. So, we just sort of backed into Symphonic Winds.

Since the name change, our audiences have tripled.

Okay, that was a joke.

Rick "who doesn't care what it's called as long as it exists" Denney

[Doug@GT]

But a major symphony orchestra is not a "string band". It's a symphony orchestra--an orchestra instrumented for playing symphonies.

Wow, I'll have to start making my sarcasm a little more acute.

The goal was a response to the "wind orchestra" comment.

Rick "who doesn't care what it's called as long as it exists" Denney

I heartily agree with you, sir.

you sir, are no Jack Kennedy

Darn it. Guess I'll change my avatar back, now.

I'm sure I'll make it to PA at tome point. I'll be sure to let you know.

Doug "gonna be Dan Quayle for a few days after this one"

[Dylan King]

A band of gypsies. A band of wind instruments. What is a band? Around here everbody calls every group a band from time to time. When a string ensemble is in the studio, we still tell the "band" to take 10.

[CrappyEuph]

The term "band" or "wind band" can be used for any combination of wind instruments, but "symphonic band" or "concert band" refer to an ensemble with standard band instrumentation - with euphs and saxes, etc. - with more than one player on a part. "Wind symphony" or "symphonic winds" or "wind ensemble" all refer to groups based on the model conceived by Fred Fennell in the 1950s (he formed the Eastman Wind Ensemble.) In such groups, there is generally only one player on a part, although almost every W.E. I've ever seen has two euphoniums and two tubas. Another key trademark is instrumentation flexibility - the wind ensemble is a pool of players who don't all play on each piece, unlike in a band. If there are seven trumpet players and only five parts, two won't play. The ancestor of Fennell's wind ensemble was the orchestral wind section, and it is common for wind ensembles to play literature written for the orchestral wind section.

Wind Ensembles are most often top groups at high schools and universities because they use fewer players and are therefore more select. Because of this, the name "wind ensemble" or derivations of it has a connotation of being more important or more musical than a "band," of which there are many equally fine examples.

Just what I learned from Eugene Corporon's Wind Literature class...

- Jamie

[smurphius]

at my fine university, we have a marching band, a symphonic band, a wind symphony, and a symphony orchestra. most of the area high schools also have a symphonic band as their lower ensemble, and the wind symphony as their more prestigious group. indeed, i think it's merely perception in the name. you're right though, all it is is a bunch of hot heads blowing air into their instruments. (well, at least the tubas )






ahh i love playing tuba. *hugs tuba*

[Dan Schultz]

You know whats a real pain in the ***? Trying to clarify to a chick at a bar that you meet that the "band" you are talking about is actually a wind and or brass band as opposed to the ultra cool rock band. It really kills your mojo! Totally killed several chances I had with girls in college.

If those chicks were THAT fickle and THAT narrow-minded... they wouldn't have been worthwhile, anyway. At least not after the first couple of hours.

[TubaRay]

"They wouldn't have been worthwhile, anyway."

That's the TRUTH!!!

[Joe Baker]

You know whats a real pain in the ***? Trying to clarify to a chick at a bar that you meet that the "band" you are talking about is actually a wind and or brass band as opposed to the ultra cool rock band. It really kills your mojo! Totally killed several chances I had with girls in college.

Just show 'em this picture of Lenny Kravitz with the sousaphone, as evidence that tuba players can be REALLY cool!

___________________________________-
Joe Baker, who DOES find it troubling that the evidence has to be fake, but....