Well... it turns out I'm terrible at keeping an up to date blog! Since my last post, so many things have happened that I don't really know where to begin!
Teaching-wise, things are going extremely well. My client list is growing steadily and a few schools have expressed an interest in working with me to provide a solid musical foundation for pupils. Exciting times are ahead! I can't wait to get started!
Also, during the Easter holidays, I was involved with an 'Easter school' at a local primary school. The school was a sort of extra-curricular club that ran over four days at the start of the holidays. Just like in normal term time, pupils were taught literacy and numeracy in the morning sessions, with a variety of activities in the afternoon. My afternoon consisted of a samba drumming session. There were fifteen children in total, which provided a good number for a samba band. All of the pupils were experienced in samba drumming and so it was vital that I provided a more advanced type of session. We discussed things like performance techniques and listening skills, and then moved on to composition. During the afternoon, the pupils managed to compose a whole new groove, a call and two breaks on all of the instruments provided. Once the routine was established, we did a trial run through the whole piece, which the pupils did brilliantly with!
It was so good, that I was invited back to perform the piece with the children at the presentation and celebration assembly on the final afternoon! Again, they performed extremely well and I'm incredibly proud of each of them for their efforts during my sessions! Well done kids!
Performance is somewhat of a theme for this last month as I have participated in a number of gigs. I'm lucky enough to be able to work with some outstanding musicians and perform with them. I have regular gigs with two jazz combos (The Tony Giles All Stars and the Ade Gardner Fab Five) which perform in the Sleaford area. Needless to say, the quality and imagination that these bands possess is incredible and each time we play, something new and exciting happens with the majority of the pieces we play. It's great fun!!
Also, I have been lucky enough to perform at a charity 40s dance in Louth. In aid of the Alzheimer's society, the Fanfare Big Band performed two sets of 40s authentic swing charts, from Count Basie to Duke Ellington and Glen Miller. Everyone there turned out in 40s clothing and seemed to enjoy the night's entertainment. Not only the music, but the dancing too! There were Barn dancers and lindyhoppers everywhere!
In direct contrast to this, I went along to a restaurant near Sleaford (The Bustard Inn) to witness the New York Night that they had arranged. This consisted of a New York menu and a jazz band that had flown over to perform as part of a week-long tour. The BD Lenz trio performed three sets of contemporary jazz, funk and soul music and were very well received by the audience. The music was outstanding, especially since they were using borrowed amps and a stripped down drum kit! The stand out musician among them was the bassist (but for the life of me, I can't remember his name!). It was like listening to Jaco Pastorius! His improvising was full of energy and included extremely inventive melody lines. It was great to listen to! The night was complimented nicely by the food. Although a little on the expensive side, the steak I ordered was divine. It was cooked perfectly and the dessert that followed was just as delicious!
I think that's it for now. We're all up to date! Thank you once again for reading and taking an interest in all things Mark Ferguson Music!
(Hopefully the next blog won't take so long to appear!)
Teaching-wise, things are going extremely well. My client list is growing steadily and a few schools have expressed an interest in working with me to provide a solid musical foundation for pupils. Exciting times are ahead! I can't wait to get started!
Also, during the Easter holidays, I was involved with an 'Easter school' at a local primary school. The school was a sort of extra-curricular club that ran over four days at the start of the holidays. Just like in normal term time, pupils were taught literacy and numeracy in the morning sessions, with a variety of activities in the afternoon. My afternoon consisted of a samba drumming session. There were fifteen children in total, which provided a good number for a samba band. All of the pupils were experienced in samba drumming and so it was vital that I provided a more advanced type of session. We discussed things like performance techniques and listening skills, and then moved on to composition. During the afternoon, the pupils managed to compose a whole new groove, a call and two breaks on all of the instruments provided. Once the routine was established, we did a trial run through the whole piece, which the pupils did brilliantly with!
It was so good, that I was invited back to perform the piece with the children at the presentation and celebration assembly on the final afternoon! Again, they performed extremely well and I'm incredibly proud of each of them for their efforts during my sessions! Well done kids!
Performance is somewhat of a theme for this last month as I have participated in a number of gigs. I'm lucky enough to be able to work with some outstanding musicians and perform with them. I have regular gigs with two jazz combos (The Tony Giles All Stars and the Ade Gardner Fab Five) which perform in the Sleaford area. Needless to say, the quality and imagination that these bands possess is incredible and each time we play, something new and exciting happens with the majority of the pieces we play. It's great fun!!
Also, I have been lucky enough to perform at a charity 40s dance in Louth. In aid of the Alzheimer's society, the Fanfare Big Band performed two sets of 40s authentic swing charts, from Count Basie to Duke Ellington and Glen Miller. Everyone there turned out in 40s clothing and seemed to enjoy the night's entertainment. Not only the music, but the dancing too! There were Barn dancers and lindyhoppers everywhere!
In direct contrast to this, I went along to a restaurant near Sleaford (The Bustard Inn) to witness the New York Night that they had arranged. This consisted of a New York menu and a jazz band that had flown over to perform as part of a week-long tour. The BD Lenz trio performed three sets of contemporary jazz, funk and soul music and were very well received by the audience. The music was outstanding, especially since they were using borrowed amps and a stripped down drum kit! The stand out musician among them was the bassist (but for the life of me, I can't remember his name!). It was like listening to Jaco Pastorius! His improvising was full of energy and included extremely inventive melody lines. It was great to listen to! The night was complimented nicely by the food. Although a little on the expensive side, the steak I ordered was divine. It was cooked perfectly and the dessert that followed was just as delicious!
I think that's it for now. We're all up to date! Thank you once again for reading and taking an interest in all things Mark Ferguson Music!
(Hopefully the next blog won't take so long to appear!)