MusTech.Net!

Hello friends,

        I along with a couple of other co-SAVVY bloggers have started, what will no doubt be the best and most useful, program noteswebsite available to date (how’s that for ambitious!).   I am very excited about the look of the site and the, very real, usefulness factor it provides.

        I/we have been Alpha testing this site and am ready to have about a dozen new folks try this out and work with me on a closed BETA version of the site.   In particular, I am looking for directors with choral, jazz, and orchestra program note experience/writers to continue the testing, but I’ll take band and wind ensemble directors too!
        I really would like to publicly have the BETA moved into full production by mid-April.   If you have written notes, and or want to write notes, we could REALLY use your help with this project.  This project will benefit all educators by providing a reliable program note source for all of us.  One that is searchable, expandable, categorical, and FREE.

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I’m excited to be a part of the PA intercollegiate band festival this year as I have been for the past decade.  This year the festival is being held at the newly finished Swope Auditorium at West Chester University. 

This is the 61st Annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band festival and is the longest running state band festival of its kind.   This year Dr. Peter Loel Boonshaft from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York is the conductor of the festival band.  The concert is being hosted by Dr. John Villella and Dr. Andrew Yozviak of West Chester University.

The concert is open to the public and will be held within Swope Hall, at West Chester Unviersity, on Sunday March 9th at 2:30 p.m.  The concert program is as follows:

• The Star Spangled Banner  -John Smith/James Swearingen
• Salute to P.M.E.A. - A.D. Davenport
• Celebration Fanfare  -Steven Reinecke
• Symphonies of Gaia -Jayce Orgen
• Vigils Keep- Julie Giroux
• British Eighth March -Zo Elliott
• Lux Aurumque -Eric Whitacre
• Machu Picchu -Satoshi Yaisawa

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I’ve begun to survey the “blogosphere” for the best examples of music industry blogs and wanted to share some of the better blog sites I’ve found thus far.  Sites in this category include bloggers who write about: Rock, Rock and Roll, Hard Rock, Hip Hop, Rap, Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, Country, Classical, Pop, and the Music industry.

If you know of a particularly “killer” blog or blogger in any of these categories (or others) please let me know.  Here’s my list so far (descriptions from the site):

http://twangville.com/

Covering twang-infused music with an alternative slant. Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. 

http://blogcritics.org/music/

Blogcritics is an online magazine, a community of writers and readers from around the globe.   (more…)

I found this great service today when a number of my students were looking for current Web 2.0 sites.  This online free service called Click For Lessons allows you to look for music lessons, dance lessons, or art lessons by typing in what you are looking for and the zipcode where you would like to have the lesson taught.

It’s an interesting site that utilizes two types of partnership agreements if you are a teacher.  One is that the Click For Lessons site will market you and send you leads, basically you become a teacher for them.  The other is a free listing that allows you to reach 100,000 plus students per month and only charges you for a lead sent to you.  Students can look at your page (created on their site) and there is no charge until they actually send you a contact letter.

There is no charge for anyone looking for an instructor.  It’s free to browse the listings of instructors and view the information about them.

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