Editor's Note: As a result of his BandQuest composition, Old Churches, Michael Colgrass was invited to participate in a residency and composition workshop with the Longmeadow, Mass. school district in fall 2003.  The following news articles describe this experience.

COMPOSER ENCOURAGES MUSICAL GIFTS

© 2003 The Republican Company. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

by Christine Swasey, reprinted from The Republican, http://www.repub.com

(December 17, 2003, LONGMEADOW, Mass.)—Michael Colgrass arrived at Glenbrook Middle School in jeans and winter boots.   The children in the Concert Band greeted him as they would a friend.

If you didn't know it, you would never guess that this was a Pulitzer Prize winning composer, a man whose compositions have been commissioned and performed by all of the major symphony orchestras in the United States and Canada.

And yet here he was in Longmeadow, embarking on his second visit in three months, working with middle and high school musicians on the performance of three new pieces he wrote for them, and on the process of creating their own musical compositions.

Colgrass's visit was the result of a grant from the non-profit organization, Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation.   Daniel Albert, a music teacher at Williams Middle School, saw Colgrass speak at a workshop for Middle School Bands and heard a performance of his piece "Old Churches", written for middle school musicians.   He wanted the composer to come to Longmeadow, and the foundation's grant allowed that to happen.

On this day, a rehearsal of Colgrass's "Apache Lullaby" was scheduled.   The band, under the direction of Glenbrook's music teacher, Christopher Unczur warmed up with a different piece- a chorale they knew well.   The composer leaned over to explain that the chorale was typical of middle school music, in that all of the students were playing identical notes.  He said his piece would be different.

And it was. According to Colgrass, "Apache Lullaby" is an example of divided part writing, where not all of the instruments play the same thing at the same time. Even a section, like the clarinets, will be divided into two or three parts.  

The sound was immediately recognizable as more complicated and having more texture.  And it was obviously more challenging for the children.

Colgrass later explained that in writing for middle schools he tries to compose music that is unique, interesting and challenges the musicians without being too difficult.  "A lot of music written for middle schools is by people who make money at it and write for the lowest common denominator.  It's cookie cutter music.

"I respect children's intelligence," he said. "I push the envelope a little out of respect for their ability, and they respond in kind. At the same time, I want to write a piece I'm proud of. It's daunting really."

Colgrass said he continues to compose for major orchestras  In 2002, his work "Crossworlds" was commissioned and performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Colgrass began his musical career as a jazz drummer after seeing a movie with a bass and drum duet that turned him on to music.  He later graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in music and became a classical percussionist and composer.

FAMED COMPOSER CHALLENGES PUPILS

© 2003 The Republican Company.   All rights reserved.   Used with permission.

by Azell Muphy Cavann, Staff Writer, reprinted from The Republican, http://www.repub.com

(December 12, 2003, LONGMEADOW, Mass.)—The Longmeadow High School Wind Ensemble and the Glenbrook and Williams Middle School Concert Bands were in stellar company last night as they performed the music of a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer.

Michael Colgrass, an internationally known composer who won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for music for Déjà vu, hosted the students' performance last night at Longmeadow High School.  The concert culminated Colgrass' week-long residency with students in the Longmeadow School Music Department.

"This kind of educational experience doesn't come along every day," said Michael A. Mucci, director of the Longmeadow Wind Ensemble. "It's a milestone for our department."

During the week, Colgrass composed musical pieces especially for the students, helped them to learn the pieces and even urged students to compose pieces of their own.

Last night, the students belted out the notes Colgrass had composed  The middle school performances, Colgrass said, were especially unique.

"I threw curves at the kids," he said.  "Usually middle school children all play together, but I tried to be adventurous and throw in some solos."

The world famous composer said he hoped his compositions would help students feel more secure about their abilities as musicians.

During his week in the schools, Colgrass urged students to begin the composition process. Last night, several students conducted their compositions before an audience of about 100 people.

Liz Berger, who conducted her piece "Passing Storm," said having Colgrass teach her to compose and play music was a fabulous opportunity.

"He pulled everything together," she said.  "We're very lucky to have had him here."

Matt Bertuzzi, 18, who hopes to major in music education, said Colgrass stretched the limits of his musical mind.

"It was challenging," he said.  "But I learned so much."

Colgrass has been working with students since 1999, when the American Composers Forum Bandquest commissioned professional composers to write for young bands. The Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) commissioned Colgrass to compose music for Longmeadow students under a grant.

In 1982, Colgrass completed a week-long residency with five high schools in Springfield, and in 1985 he worked with students at Holyoke High School.

CONCERT IS CULMINATION OF COMPOSER'S WORK WITH SCHOOLS

by Debbie Gardner, Prime Times Editor

Reprinted with permission from The Reminder

(LONGMEADOW, Mass., December 2004)—A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, a trio of original works and the talents of middle and high school musicians will combine Dec. 11 to bring to life music never before heard on earth.

The free concert, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Longmeadow High School auditorium, will feature the premiere of "Gotta Make Noise," performed by the Williams Middle School Concert Band; "Apache Lullaby," performed by the Glenbrook Middle School Concert Band; and "The Beethoven Machine," performed by the Longmeadow High School Wind Ensemble.

All three works were composed for the Longmeadow concert bands and wind ensemble by composer Michael Colgrass of Toronto, Canada.

The 71-year-old musician and author won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his composition, "Déjà vu."

More recently he premiered a new work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Crossworlds, to rave reviews in 2002.

Colgrass also specializes in conducting workshops for student musicians and is known in the music world for caring very deeply about the status of music education.

"He's composing all the works for us; they've never been played anywhere on earth and we are bringing them to life.   It's like the birthing process," said Daniel Albert, music teacher and director of bands at Williams Middle School.  "And it's a unique process because the composer will be in attendance with us and he's going to impart to the group his vision of the piece[s] and his inspiration for the piece[s]."

The performance, titled "The Michael Colgrass Commissioned Works Project Concert," will be the highlight of Colgrass' week-long residency with the Williams and Glenbrook Middle School bands, and the High School wind ensemble.

In addition to working with respective performing groups, Albert said Colgrass would be consulting with individual students on their own original compositions.

"They will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a Pulitzer-prize-winning composer," said Albert. "And the pieces they are currently working on will be premiered at concerts throughout the year."

Colgrass' visit to the Longmeadow schools, and the creation of the trio of original compositions was made possible through a $7,100 grant from the Longmeadow Excellence in Education Foundation (LEEF).

According to Albert, LEEF cites as its purpose the funding of enrichment programs for Longmeadow's public schools.

"We gave them background on the composer and our vision of the project and they believed in our vision and bought into it and funded the project," he said.

Albert said he first met Colgrass at a music symposium in Minneapolis, and actually approached the composer with the school project in August of 2002.

"I thought he was just a great fit," said Albert. "He's a professional, he cares for students and I thought he would be the best match for Longmeadow, and he happily agreed [to do it]."

According to Albert, Colgrass' current weeklong stay is actually the culmination of work he initiated with the students during a two-day visit in September.

At that time Colgrass introduced the Middle School and High School musicians to a style of music notation called graphic notation.

"It's a kind of musical shorthand, a way of writing music,"Colgrass told Reminder Publications in a telephone interview before his arrival.

Colgrass said he completed his initial two-day residency by offering students the opportunity to try and create their own compositions using the graphic notation method.

He said he will be looking over the progress the students have made on their pieces during his residency, and if any works are ready for performance, they may be debuted at the Dec. 11 concert.

ACCLAIMED COMPOSER INSPIRES LONGMEADOW MUSIC STUDENTS

by Dale Oleksak, Staff Writer

Reprinted with permission from the Longmeadow News

(LONGMEADOW, Mass. September 25, 2003)- World-renowned composer Michael Colgrass recently conducted a two-day music composition workshop for the students of Longmeadow High School, Glenbrook Middle School and Williams Middle School.

A resident of Toronto (Ontario), Colgrass performed as a free-lance percussionist with the New York Philharmonic, Dizzy Gillespie, the original West Side Story orchestra on Broadway, and numerous ballet, opera and jazz ensembles.

He stopped playing in 1967 to devote himself entirely to composing.

Colgrass' visit to the schools on September 22 and 23, was made possible through a grant from the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation (L.E.E.F.).

An internationally recognized, prize-winning composer, Colgrass' unique teaching method utilizes graphic notation to create music instead of sounds.

"By using graphic notation, I can teach the children a simple process to write music and help them quickly see how to structure music," said   Colgrass.

The composer developed this system while conducting a workshop for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.  "This graphic representation," he said, "is a microcosm of what a larger piece of music might be like."

"A chorus can sing these pieces quite easily, but it is difficult to 'practice' graphics with musical instruments," he said. "Graphic notation helps them understand what a composer does before they learn how to write all that stuff."

WMS band director Dan Albert is pleased with the students' reaction.   "They have had a very positive reaction to Mr. Colgrass," said Albert. "The students are very intrigued by his presentation and are very engaged when composing their (own) pieces (of music). They have really taken ownership."

"The kids felt as if they were composing the whole piece from scratch," noted Colgrass. "We had a lot of fun."

In addition to the two-day workshop, L.E.E.F. has commissioned the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer to write two pieces exclusively for the music students at the schools. For the next several months the children will practice these pieces in preparation for a special joint-concert to be held in December when Colgrass returns to Longmeadow for a one-week residency at the schools.

The Colgrass Commissioned Works Concert will be held in the Longmeadow High School auditorium at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 11.   At that time the students will take part in the world premiere performance of "Apache Lullaby" and "The Beethoven Machine" by Michael Colgrass.

"There is also a possibility that some of the students' compositions will be performed as well," said Colgrass.  "By then the kids (music) will be more sophisticated and a piece or two might come out of this."

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