VYOA Winter Programs

There are two groups I want to promote today:

The Da Capo Ensemble is aimed for intermediate middle-school students who want more of a challenge than what school band might offer.

VYOA Jazz is for high school students, and is definitely more of a challenge than most high school jazz programs!

Both programs start soon so jump on it!

New Year Gig Blast

Signal Boost: Lassus Trombone as a work of racism.

I just read a very important post by Doug Yeo, in which he discusses the history of Fillmoreโ€™s Lassus Trombone, a piece I remember playing in High School. At the time, I had no idea that it and its companion pieces were musical caricatures, direct descendants of the racist minstrel shows of the 19th century.

Iโ€™m sharing this link because I feel itโ€™s extremely important that trombonists, especially white ones, reckon with this history. Even if you’ve never heard of Lassus Trombone, this post illustrates how pervasive systemic racism is, leaching into even something as fun as High School band. Take a few minutes to read it.

Be forewarned, there are racist depictions of African-Americans in this post.