I guess the only thing to do is to wait until a member of that body, who is also a member of this list responds.
-----Original Message----- From: horn-bounces+bgross=airmail....@music.memphis.edu [mailto:horn-bounces+bgross=airmail....@music.memphis.edu] On Behalf Of Bear Woodson Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 1:11 PM To: Horn List Subject: [Hornlist] White House Marine Orchestra limitations > message: 5 > date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 14:35:30 -0600 > from: "Bill Gross" <william.s.gr...@gmail.com> > subject: RE: [Hornlist] White House Marine Band > > I can only speak for myself in this. You have taken > a shot at them. I strongly disagree. Please remember a few facts: 1) It was THEIR Conductor and one of THEIR Violinists, who told me, what they CAN'T play, BEFORE ever Trying to do it. (This sounds to me that THEY have taken a shot at branding All Marines as Quitters, which all Combat-Trained Marines are taught NEVER to do. THEY took the shot, I merely reported the fact, and you blamed me, the messenger, for the message. That is also not very Marine of you.) 2) The ex-combat Marines that I know say, "Can't means Won't". They feel that the White House Musicians have "rung the bell" (or "quit", as Navy Seals would say) before even trying, and therefore have brought Shame upon the name of all Marines. (Marines don't have a "quitting bell" to ring.) If they didn't want to play my music, they should have just said so. That would have been more honorable, but they didn't; instead THEY said that they are INCAPABLE of playing such Contrapuntal music. > They aren't in a position to respond. It's a one sided > thing. We just have your version I disagree again. Whereas THEY have Admitted to being INcapable of playing Bartók-styled canons, I'd love to hear them play some of the more Consonant 20th Century Favorites like the Hindemith "Mathis der Maler" or the Shostakovich 10th Symphony. (The Shostakovich 10th is practically a Concerto for Orchestra, with impressive Solos for nearly every Wind Player and the Horn Section! If you ever get a chance to play it, DO IT! You might end up loving it!) Are there records anywhere that the White House Marine Orchestra has EVER played Famous, Difficult, Mature Masterworks of 20th Century Classical Music with These Kinds of Rhythmic Complexities? Or are they only able to master the High IQ profundities and 19th Century Tonality of John Philip Sousa oom-pah marches and Johann Strauss waltzes, as they seem to imply? The records of their Performances should speak for themselves, so this is NOT a "one sided thing". If they were a High School Orchestra, this would be OK, but these people are SUPPOSED to represent some- thing Culturally IMPRESSIVE among US Citizens to Visiting International Dignitaries! As one Marine friend said, "if they are supposed to be the Elite of the Elite, they are supposed to be able to play anything". But by their own admission, they fall short of standards that I have seen Routinely Exceeded by Classically Trained Musicians from all around the world! Combat-trained Marines use the word "can't" very rarely and literally. (For example: a Marine can't go out dancing with his wife on his biological feet, if his biological feet were blown off by a bomb in wartime.) It is very UN-Marine-like behavior of you, or anyone, to defend the behavior of people who say they "can't" do something, if it can be shown to be due to mere laziness. Meanwhile, I'm still wondering of the talking dog from the baked beans commercial can master a good enough embouchure to play the Horn well. (Maybe he can play in the Shostakovich 10th with a high school orchestra.) Bear Woodson Home: 520 - 881 - 2558 "Bear Woodson" <bearwood...@cox.net> _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/bgross%40airmail.net _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
