This past week I was asked once again to be a clinician for the Arizona Band and Orchestra folks. In short, it was beyond terrific; and to work, even if just briefly, with these amazing young orchestras, was great fun for me.
With all the studio work and training I do; and the songwriting, etc, etc. that makes up the CMAS program, I sometimes forget how much I still love being "inside" that kind of sound. It is a very different world, and in some ways I miss it. Not enough to go back, but...that sound...no matter what else I ever do, I still love it. Frankly, it's been creeping back into my own music in some ways lately, so maybe it's a kind of musical synergy coming to fruition. Who knows. Anyway...
Lately when I am lucky enough to be a part of these kind of things, inevitably the conversation comes around to CMAS. Many times I cannot tell for certain at first if I am being investigated or envied. The truth is liekly somewhere in between.
While it's my job to promote the paradigm shift that CMAS represents to music education, people usually seem so surprised to learn that I have a very real and strong affinity for traditional ensembles. It just seems odd to me. Music is about something more than the specifics of the ensemble. More than a tale of who is playing what instrument. It's about getting inside yourself and life and the world and God and whatever else you wanna connect it to. The organic, pure nature of music is not limited to any specific parameters. I find it odd that this strikes so many as a "new" concept. Many will feign agreement only to privately scorn the music CMAS now fosters in people who would otherwise have no interest in its exploration.
It seems very simple to me and was really reinforced for me while at this recent festival with all these grand orchestras: either all music is viable or none of it is. Sure, you cannot do it all, and everyone will have their strengths and weaknesses in execution; but at it's heart music - of all genres - reaches beyond.
Does it really matter which path you take to get there? Traditional ensembles are hugely important. Truly. But, in the end, it's music that is the important entity. Get it however you can and encourage others to do the same, no? Band, Choir, Orchestra, Jazz, Rock, Country, Rap - that's all just superfluous details. Music is what matters. All music. Sometime I really wonder if CMAS is really that big of a change. I swear, fundamentally, I am only able to approach music one way - I know of no other - regardless of the specific ensembles or genres.
I may not be a "traditionalist" but I am certainly a "purist." And I am very, very lucky to have a life that is 100% family and music. It's just that simple. Really.
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