Issue 105, August 1, 2007 - The Brass Band Portal

the official publication of nabba august, 2007of Seville (Rossini); Freischütz Quickstep– adapted from von Weber by Claudio S. GraffulaFinale from 4th Duetto from Il Trovatore(Verdi); Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s Il Trovatorearr. by J. Schatzman; Marcia du Sacre from TheProphet (Meyerbeer)Plans are under way for the 2008 Festival, to beheld June 13--15, 2008. Fountain City BrassBand, NABBA 2007 champions, will representNABBA; the Southern Territorial Band, USASouth, will represent the SA. As the state ofKentucky will be celebrating the bicentennialof the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2008, thiswill be an overriding theme of the festival andthe Band History Conference. Jashland brass band festivalBy Diana HerakThe 12th annual Ashland Brass Band Festivaltook place June 2 in Ashland, Kentucky. Alsoaffectionately known as the “Hotdog Festival”,this year’s event featured four bands thateach performed an hour-long concert for theappreciative crowd. The bands included theCommonwealth Brass Band (from Louisville,Kentucky; directed by J. Jerome Amend), the2007 North American Brass Band Association(NABBA) Honors Section Champions CentralOhio Brass Band (from Columbus, Ohio;directed by Jessica Sneeringer), the CentralOhio Youth Band of The Salvation Army(from Columbus, Ohio; directed by Dr. KeithWilkinson), and the festival’s host band and2007 NABBA Explorer Section Champions,Brass Band of the Tri-State (from Ashland,Kentucky; directed by Gary Clarke).Eric Ball’s Point of View…“We would warn our ambitious bandsmen, however, that theywill never make music really well until it has cost them something. Wewould not have them imagine there is any easy way to success.Music making is not merely a matter of accumulated knowledge: itneeds experience: experience of life itself; an entering into the realmsof joy and sorrow, peace and pain, beauty and ugliness – if notactually, then vicariously.By all means take what is so freely given to you, but do not rely onthat entirely. Give also; by self-discipline; by much study; by hardwonentry into other realms of musical experience than these moreeasily-come-by courses can offer.Let your music making cost you something in money, effort and selfsacrifice.It will then have a meaning far beyond that of a mere hobbyor entertainment.”—Reprinted from “Eric Ball: His Words and His Wisdom” compiled byPeter Cooke. 1992, Egon Publishers. Used with permission.Before the final performance of the day, BrassBand of the Tri-State’s conductor called theband’s founder, and also the founder of theAshland Brass Band Festival, Jackson Hill, tothe stage. Hill was presented with a plaque inhonor of his retirement, and for his dedicationto the brass band movement. JAshland Brass Band FestivalJackson Hill (left) with Gary Clarke, conductor, Brass Band of the Tri-State [Photo by Patrick Herak]www.nabba.orgthe brass band bridge, issue 10520