Lemons, Lemonade, and CMAS

Lets be honest, nothings ever 100% perfect 100% of the time; and as much as what CMAS students are capable of, and as much as they've accomplished in the past, sometimes mistakes are going to happen.  That's part of learning, but that's also part of the real world.  You put yourself in a big high profile gig and sometimes during that performance there may be problems.  And last week that's what happened.  

It wasn't anybody's fault.  Nobody intentionally messed up.  The truth is that even the most "simple" CMAS show is pretty complex, by any standards: three totally independent Mix desks (FOH, Monitors, Pro Tools recording), some serious PA wattage (excess of 40,000 watts for some shows) etc., etc.; but that is no excuse.  We had a problem and the show suffered.  The performers did great, the crew worked really hard, but we made some errors on the production side of things and it was a problem.  So we were thrilled when we were going get to play one more show (at least) because the varsity football team was in playoffs and we were hosting last night which meant another Super Bowl style halftime show for us.

It might have been a bit nerve-racking as the students were feeling, all week, a good bit of pressure and where a bit worried could they pull it off?  Could they redeem themselves from last week and do it in such a way so that they would still feel good about everything that they've done in the past as well?

The answer turned out to be yes.  The students went back last week and completely reevaluated their process - voluntarily I might add.  They came to me after the problems from last week's show and said, "We don't want to do it like that again.  Ever."  It was a important learning lesson for the entire CMAS program.   A somewhat brutal one in front of a couple thousand people - not exactly my first choice - but an important one none the less.  Details matter.  Plain and simple.  Your best show in the past only matters if your next one is at least as good, ideally better, and certainly not worse.  More importantly, the audience simply does not care.  For them the equation is very simple: it's good or it's bad.  The reasons why, on either end of the spectrum, simply do not matter to the audience. Some tough lessons at any age, but certainly for a group of high-schoolers.

But they were flawless last night. It was amazing, and what's more, they were calm about it.  I was nervous a bit on their behalf.  Not that they cannot handle the job, far from it; but I wondered, leading into last night's performance, if they would be overly anxious.  Would they not have a good work ethic or attitude towards each other?

But this was the calmest most well-prepared easy-going show they've ever produced.  And it was certainly the highest pressure they've ever had because they know that if they make a mistake once they may be forgiven for it, but if they go out the next week in front the same crowd - huge crowds, by the way, we're talking several thousand people now at these games - and they make a mistake again, even if the crowd loves the CMAS program as a concept, the crowd may start to wonder can they really pull this off?

But CMAS did pull it off.  They did an amazing job last night.  Even managed to avoid the rain. It started to come down just as we were getting all the gear back in. Fortunately that's why they make road cases.

We also had the pleasure of recording the Peoria High School marching band up in CMAS Studio B. What a great group. They were so kind and receptive and appreciative of the opportunity to be recorded by our students.  To get a professional level recording in our studio.  They were just thrilled.  They were really gracious and it really showed the benefits of this kind of musical camaraderie across genres, and more than anything that was really nice to see and it's something that I would like to foster more of and bring in even more schools to do the same.

In the end it was really an exciting night for CMAS and I could not have been more proud.  Last week was tough for the students, and they really were upset; but it turned out they might've done themselves a favor.  They redid their process and that is now going to make every event they do even better.  And if you've ever been to some of their previous events it's hard to imagine how they could improve them.  It was just incredible and I'm so proud of all of them and I just can't wait to get back to it on Monday and see how much further we can push this thing we call music education: CMAS.

CMAS and the Search for Ensmble

Tonight was the first ever CMAS stadium show, and it was just beyond wonderful.  I am so proud of the entire program, that I really do not know where to begin.  There is so much to cover that I think it likely that I will do a series of articles to get it all out over time in the, I hope, not too distant future.

That said, there is one element that stands out to me that I had been suspecting for a while now, but tonight showed me that my instincts were, in fact, very gratefully, correct: there is a true sense of large ensemble within the program.

ensemble (noun):

1. all the parts of a thing taken together, so that each part is considered only in relation to the whole.

2. in music: the united performance of an entire group

Over the years, as the CMAS program has evolved, we've pretty much been able to prove any educational or musical criticism of the program to be wrong. Very wrong.  The only one that I have ever felt might have had some validity was a comment that for all the benefits of CMAS, the one thing the students cannot get in program is a true sense of ensemble.  Specifically, large ensemble.  

To be fair, part of me had to agree.  After all, though we have a vast number of smaller groups (most of the bands are 3-5 members) that larger sense did seem a bit absent.  On the other hand, there was always this feeling in my gut that we just had not crossed the threshold yet on this subject and there was every bit a large ensemble aspect to CMAS as much as any music program of any kind anywhere.  It just had not been presented properly.

Well tonight, it turns out, among all the other accomplishments, was the very tangible proof that the CMAS paradigm evolves this aspect of traditional music programs too.  Significantly.  I have had the honor and pleasure of leading any number of large "traditional" music ensembles over the years, in a vast array of concerts and events.  What I can now tell you is that in CMAS that exact same feeling of large ensemble exists.  Very, very prominently.  At the end of the stadium show tonight the entire program clearly felt exactly the way a large band or orchestra feels after a great performance.  There was absolutely no difference.  The benefits from the experience, at heart were even identical.  The group has to find a way to take all of the best aspects of everyone's efforts and create a collective result that all involved can feel not only proud of, but that they were in fact a key and integral part of the performance's success.  That they as a part, allowed the sum total to be far greater than the individual.  

CMAS more than proved that to be the case tonight.  In fact, in some ways they eclipsed the "traditional" ensembles in this because it's not what you might expect from the CMAS experience.  It's not necessarily the obvious result or benefit of the CMAS experience.  But it is there, and significantly.  And now that we know it for certain, CMAS, I can promise, will be taking it farther than could every be expected from any other musical experience - just like they do everything else.

As you can tell I am beyond over the moon over this.  I am just so proud to be a part of this musical journey called CMAS.  It is such a thrill and an honor.

More soon, including some more picts and video from tonight.  Amazing stuff.  I am so proud of the entire program.  Just wonderful! 

Music Education Irony: Or how I try to justify a very strange set of circumstances and call them totally logical and obvious

Truth: I was never any good at being the "Band guy."  Though I was always thrilled to be able to guide students toward a common musical goal (marching band shows, festivals, and such) I never felt like it was really me; and I am not certain I was very good at it either.   As I completed the transition to the full CMAS program, despite all the seemingly endless variables with creating a new type of music program, at least I could be assured that, at its core, CMAS was more a true reflection of myself than all my previous work in education.

I suppose I need to admit that in some ways I live with a continual urge to offer a kind of apology to all my former band and orchestra students.   I wonder if the experience I provided them was really as viable as it could have been.  This is not false modesty - my experience with CMAS has shown me that the right environment (musical, educational) makes so much possible.  Makes it simpler, more direct, and frankly far easier for the students to achieve.  But, as usual, I digress...

Here's the thing.  When I left the "Band guy" behind for CMAS  I assumed that I was also leaving behind all the trappings of that moniker.  In particular, the football game halftime shows.  Oops!

A while back, as we were discussing all the aspects of implementing the CMAS program at the school, I had a conversation with my Principal (Dr. Anne-Marie Woolsey - as an aside, if CMAS is at all successful, it is in no small way do to her support.  More on her and Dr. Mitch Simmons, our other key supporter, later) about how, in theory, CMAS could produce some pretty cool halftime shows, similar to the Superbowl, given the right circumstances.  Over time, whenever we would meet to talk CMAS, the topic would return, and eventually it moved from a theoretical future possibility to a reality that begins this fall.

Certainly this marks a serious change in the community dynamic at the school - the band program has been on the decline for a long time - nationally the trend is similar, if not as pronounced, for what it's worth - and CMAS's success is likely not helping the situation (a discussion on why CMAS is only a small part of the equation, not the root cause, at another time) and there is simply an historical connection, and expectation, that there will be a marching band at the game; but it also marks an opportunity to further extend the paradigm shift that CMAS has precipitated, generally, in music education.

We're still very much in the planning stages, but the premise is basically a full on, albeit short, rock concert in the middle of the football field, with complete lighting and sound.  Yikes!  Is there a stronger word for this than "crazy?"  I'll write more on the details as we work them out, but for now the point is that a) it really is happening, b) we are lucky to be able to tap in to some serious grant money to make it happen (ironically, CMAS is far less expensive, even with this new aspect, to operate than a traditional music program) and c) I am back to football games.  Hmmm....careful what you wish for...