Orange Doodle

Music in the air. 

Feather: Dyed domestic turkey

Size: Painting/flat part is about 1 x 1 1/2"

Bass Beautiful

When I'm doodling music symbols, spirals, stars and trees are the themes that come out of me most often. Painting takes more attention than mindless doodling, but with this simple effort to use up the remainder of my paint from the day, music emerged yet again. 

Dyed turkey feather: 3" long

The Frog Prince of Bassoon

For Jon.

Mozart's lost opera "The Magic Bassoon"




Length of goose feather: 10"

Please don't go to any treble for me, dear.

If love is the music of life, play on.

Mahler 5: Mimi on Fire!

Happy Birthday, Mimi! You rocked on our performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Brava!

Length of feather: 16"

Swan Song

A limerick by Maestro Doug Scripps (written for me in 1998 for the Alma Symphony Orchestra dinner honoring the graduating seniors of Alma College. He wrote one for every senior, each year):

Her swan song's a dismal refrain
which is driving me slowly insane
Whose dreaded bassoon
is so out of tune?
that rubber chicken Buckeye Elaine.

Our last concert of the season was Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The Swan Song features a prominent and challenging bassoon solo in the beginning, so for each rehearsal I brought along a rubber chicken, which served as the bassoon section mascot.  During one rehearsal, the trombone section took it up into the catwalk, tied a noose around its neck, and lowered it down over Mr. Scripps' head during my solo (which worked brilliantly; the string section completely lost their composure). Even though we had a lot of fun, we took the music seriously and were a fine little orchestra that played quality repertoire well. I learned so much from Mr. Scripps about what the sublime is in music, that it is necessary to take risks and put your full heart and soul into each performance no matter how raw or vulnerable or overcome with joy it leaves you, the importance of quality over quantity, and living well and the importance of the better, richer, finer things in life. I would not be a bassoonist today had it not been for him.


The Roasted Swan from Carmina Burana (listen for the bassoon playing in its highest register right at the beginning):

If you don't recognize that section of Carmina Burana, you'll likely recognize this part: 

And, on that same note, the best classical music flash mob to date (in Vienna's West Train Station): 

Day 56: Born To Be Wild

My favorite version of "Born to be Wild" is definitely the one by the Romanian band Fanfare Ciocarlia:

The tiny raccoon band that I'm building is determined to find a sound and style as unique as this (so far we have today's sousaphone, drums, and ukulele).

Length of feather: 1" (if that)
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Day 53: Are You Ready to Rock?!

For Jodie.

Jules the Raccoon did not eat the tapas last night so they were left out for today as well. It is 11PM and I see that Jules managed to eat everything on the plate without getting caught. I shall try again tomorrow and see if there are some more creative ways to make the trap work. There are still plenty of Vienna sausages and sardines in the fridge that I'm certainly not going to eat myself.

Today I had a meeting at the Mississippi Arts Commission and since visions of raccoons are dancing in my head, this is one of the little guys that I painted this morning. I think the raccoons may need to form a whole band. Rock on! More cowbell!

Length of Feather: 1"

Day 45: This One Time, At Band Camp

Aaron Copland was occupying large parts of my brain this afternoon, as I was practicing for the rehearsal from which I have just returned home. I dashed off this feather around 4:30 before I headed out for the evening.  The concert is on Tuesday and the official press release is below, if you’re curious. It’s actually not a bad program, which is good since we’ll be playing for over 200 middle school band nerds who will be there as part of their Mississippi All-Star Band Camp experience.

Press Release:

The Mississippi Wind Symphony will present the final concert of its 2012 season on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7:30 PM at Hogg Auditorium on the campus of Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS.  This concert, entitled “The Legacy of Aaron Copland” will feature Copland’s Outdoor Overture and Variations on a Shaker Melody.  Also on this program will be James Sclater’s for fallen heroes, Dan Welcher’s Zion, W. Francis McBeth’s Of Sailors and Whales, and John Williams The Cowboys. Please join us for this exciting program.

The Mississippi Wind Symphony is conducted by Dr. Craig S. Young, Director of Bands at Mississippi College, and features many of Mississippi’s finest wind musicians and percussionists.  The concert is free and open to the public.  For more information please call 601-925-3439 or go to www.mswindsymphony.com.

Length of Feather: 5 1/2”

Day 40: Okinawa!

Many thanks to Jon for helping me move the damned futon today.

Sing along, everybody: “Drivin’ down Highway 25 in my big ol’ U-Haul truck! Ooooohhh, I’ll be drivin’ down Highway 25 in my big ol’ U-Haul truck! My. Big. Ol’. U-. Haul. Trruuuuck!”

OK. If that isn’t a tune you know, try this one from Okinawa. You probably don’t know it, but I hope you enjoy it. Cheers. 

Length of Feather: 1”

Day 4: Rubber Duckie, You’re the One

For the young lady at the Cotton District Arts Festival who requested a yellow duck. 

When I was in elementary school (around the same age as the girl who requested the yellow duck), I had a white plastic record player that I kept on the shelf under the fish tank in my bedroom.  I loved listening to records. One of my favorite albums was “Switched-On Bach” (Columbia Records, 1968). I spent hours listening and dancing to Moog-rendered Bach over and over, which I suspect may have helped me develop some of the synapses I needed to be a professional musician. Another one of my favorites was Ernie’s “Rubber Duckie” (Columbia Records, 1970).  I need to dig through my LP’s and see if I’ve still got it. There’s a good chance I do.

Length of Feather:  7”                     

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