John Philip Sousa, All-America Composer

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

When I taught elementary general music, one of the objectives for Grade 1 was to be able to recognize march music. So, of course, we practiced conducting in cut time, and marched to the music of John Philip Sousa. He was quite a character, and my students enjoyed hearing about his life.

Sousa was born on November 6, 1854, in Washington D.C., near the Marine barracks where his father played trombone in the U.S. Marine Band. He was the third of ten children in the family. He grew up surrounded by military band music, and when he was six years old began music lessons, studying voice, violin, piano, flute, cornet, baritone, trombone, and alto horn.

John Philip loved adventure, and when he was 13, tried to run away and join the circus as a musician. His father intercepted him, and instead enlisted him in the Marine Band as an apprentice so he could keep an eye on him. (Can you believe he was allowed to do that? I doubt that would be allowed today. He must have had connections. John Philip’s rank during this time was “boy.”) He remained in the Marine Band until he was 21 (except for a hiatus of 6 months). In addition to his band training, he studied music theory and composition. During his enlistment, he wrote his first piece, Moonlight on the Potomac Waltzes.

After his discharge from the Marines in 1875, Sousa began performing on violin, touring, and eventually conducting theater orchestras, including Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore on Broadway.

On December 30, 1879, Sousa married Jane Bellis. While on tour in St. Louis, Sousa received a telegram from the Marine Corps offering him the conductorship of the Marine Band; so the couple moved back to Washington D.C. in 1880. For the next 12 years, Sousa conducted the band known as The President’s Own, serving under Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Cleveland, Arthur, and Harrison. He raised performance expectations for the Band, threw away most of their music, transcribed orchestral pieces for them, and composed new marches.

Sousa resigned from the Marine Band in 1892 to organize his own civilian concert band. He continued to conduct, compose, and tour for the rest of his life, right up until his death on March 6, 1932.

John Philip Sousa wrote 136 military marches and is rightfully celebrated as the March King.

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Video of the Day: Making Easter Eggs the Ukrainian Way

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck
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Video of the Week: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck
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6 Strategies for Skill Building

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

To be skillful is to do something well. No one is born with skills; they are acquired through practice. The good news is that you can become more skillful at anything. The bad news is it’s going to take work. There are no shortcuts. But there are strategies:

  1. Focus on one skill at a time. Add another only after you’ve made progress on the first and know that you can maintain your pace.
  2. Lofty goals are good, but realize they will take time, as in years, even decades. Set realistic intermediate goals, and raise the bar as you go. You may want to be the best xylophone player in the world, but maybe start out by learning how to play smooth scales.
  3. If you can, take a class or private lessons. Go to workshops and conferences. If that’s not possible, you might be able to find some good lessons on YouTube for whatever skill you’re trying to learn.
  4. Find other people who can already do what you want to do, and cultivate them as friends. (Caveat: famous people probably will not want to be your friend, so do not stalk them.) Hang out where people who do what you want to do hang out. If you want to be an author, google writers groups in your zip code. If you want to be a comedian, look for open mike nights. Go and watch a few times, and see if you can talk to some of the participants. Ask them for advice, like how they come up with their material or handle stage fright.
  5. Practice is paramount. Every day is optimal. Even if you think you don’t have time except on weekends, try to get in some practice every day, even if it’s only a few minutes. Maybe there is one tricky passage in your dance routine. Do some stretches and try just that pattern ten times after dinner. Do that Monday through Friday, and when Saturday comes and you can really devote some time to it, it will be that much easier.
  6. Practice smart. If you want to draw people but the hands always look wonky, then just draw hands for a week or two. I once embroidered an angel, and her hair was supposed to be made of French knots. At the time, French knots were my least favorite stitch, and I always messed them up. But by the time I finished the angel’s hair, I’d made several hundred of them, and I could do them blindfolded.

It’s never too late to try something new and develop new skills. Don’t sell yourself short—practice.

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Everything’s Better Under a Tree

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck 
Everything’s Better Under a Tree

leafy arms raised to the sky
waving in the wind like fans at a sporting event
providing shade, cleaning the air, anchoring the landscaping
sheltering birds and squirrels and insects
sometimes flowering, possibly offering fruit or nuts
perhaps even entertaining the children with climbable limbs
or maybe a rope swing or even a treehouse:
prime real estate for the younger set, only occasionally visited 
by the elders who would rather 
sit below in lawn chairs or a hammock, preferably 
with a glass of iced tea or beer or maybe a cigarette
everything’s better under a tree
a gift created
by nature
that we
can use
to good
advantage
or 
destroy
with
our
greed
and indifference

© ARHuelsenbeck

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Sergei and the Wolf

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Sergei Prokofiev was born in 1891 in the Ukraine region of the Russian Empire. Although he is often considered a Russian composer, he was, technically, Ukrainian.

Many people get their first taste of Prokofiev from a piece of music he was commissioned to write for children, to introduce them to the instruments of the orchestra—Peter and the Wolf. The father of two boys, Prokofiev threw himself into the assignment. It tells the story of a boy who witnesses a wolf eating a duck, but then protects the wolf from hunters. Each character in the story is represented by a motif played by a different instrument. In 2007 Suzie Templeton won the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film for her slightly disturbing stop-action version of Peter and the Wolf, featuring Prokofiev’s score. (If you’re in a hurry, the music starts at 5:45.)

Other than Peter and the Wolf, I had no exposure to Prokofiev until my Music Appreciation class, senior year in high school, when we listened to the suite from his movie score for Lt. Kije. He went on to compose music for seven more movies.

Here, Paul Rissmann tells the story of Lt. Kije along with snippets of the music:

My freshman year in college, Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony (No. 1) was among two dozen pieces of music we were expected to listen to in preparation for an annual “drop the needle” exam. He composed seven symphonies in all. Here is his first:

In 1914 Prokofiev met ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev, who became one of his most influential advisers and commissioned ballet music from him. He completed a total of nine ballets.

 Here’s Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet:

Prokofiev also composed 14 operas (though some remained unfinished). You may have heard the March from his Love for Three Oranges. Here it is played by Hillary Hahn and Lahav Shani:

Prokofiev was also a gifted pianist and traveled the world giving performances. He composed six piano concertos, 10 piano sonatas, and various other piano pieces. Before his death in 1953, he also composed incidental music, numerous orchestral suites and other works for orchestra, concertos for violin and for cello, vocal and choral music, chamber music, additional pieces for piano, and several marches for band. He is considered one of the leading composers of the twentieth century.

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Scripture Break #43

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck
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Scripture Break #42

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck
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What Does Jesus Look Like?

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hoffmann

I always (or since my 30s, anyway) thought I knew exactly Who Jesus is—God the Son, second Person of the Holy Trinity, born of a virgin, died to redeem us, etc. But lately, my very traditional view of him is being challenged. I still believe in Him, but I’m seeking to know Him better.

So instead of me telling you all about Him, let’s look at some artists’ depictions of Him. In my white American parochial upbringing, I imagined he looked very much like the paintings in this article.

Salvador Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci

Christ Crucified by Velasquez

Christ Carrying the Cross by Titian

Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali

The problem with all of these portraits is that they look like a white guy, which Jesus certainly wasn’t. He probably looked like a Middle Eastern brown-skinned Jew.

On the other hand, people often relate to a Jesus who looks more like themselves. Here are some alternate imaginings (sorry, to avoid copyright issues, I’m sending you to other sites):

Bottom line is, we don’t know exactly what Jesus looked like. As far as we know, He didn’t sit for a portrait during His earthly life. Does it matter? No. Is it okay for artists to portray Him as they imagine Him? Of course.

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10 Amazing Art Blogs and Websites

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

I love art. I love to make art, see art, and read about art. Today I am sharing ten of my favorite places on the web to find art.

  • Artiscoveries. Judith began blogging about learning to make art in 2015, and I discovered her blog soon afterward. As a person who loves art and would like to be more proficient at it myself, I follow Judith with interest, and delight in seeing her grow.
  • The Frugal Crafter. Lindsey Weirich posts great tutorial videos on her blog and her YouTube channel. She explains her process clearly. (Plus, she’s adorable.)
  • Inkygirl. Way back in the 1990s when the internet was new, I subscribed to Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s email newsletter. It seems to me that it was mostly about writing in those days. Debbie is now an accomplished children’s illustrator as well as author, and I love to visit her website and blog to get a dose of inspiration.
  • Colossol. This is a gret compendium of artistic stuff.
  • Nathalie’s Studio. Nathalie Kalbach is a mixed media artist and instructor. I’m obsessed with the tessellating stamps she designs. I love her “Strolls in the Hood,” her museum visits, and her journal pages.
  • Joy of Museums. This vast website offers virtual tours of museums all over the world. It also can help you zero in on works of particular artists, or certain genres, and even includes in-depth discussions of individual works. Many art history rabbit trails to follow.
  • My Modern Met. Although this website covers topics of science, history, technology, nature, and travel, it also features many artists in diverse genres like embroidery, photography, dioramas, makeup art, architecture, painting, sculpture, and graphic design.
  • Artangleology. I first discovered Alice Hendon through one of her earlier blogs. She’s a CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher), and that’s what first attracted me to her work; but she works in other media as well.
  • The Art Dive. Mira Tudor writes about artists and works of art.
  • Brooklyn Street Art. This blog is new to me, but I can tell it’s going to become one of my favorites. It’s not just murals and street art, but also paintings done in the style of street art.

Now it’s your turn. Do you know a wonderful art blog that I haven’t mentioned? Or do you blog about art? Please leave a link in the comments below.

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