This performance is conducted by the same man as yesterday's video, Gustavo Dudamel. Even though he's a little bit older and his hair is a little bit shorter, he's still a lot of fun to watch!
"Mars" is one piece of a larger work titled "The Planets", written by Gustav Holst. Each movement represents a different planet. Since Mars is "the red planet", the Romans named their god of war Mars. As such, the music is very fast and aggressive, and is very exciting all the way throughout the piece. Enjoy!
This video is so fun, I couldn't wait to share it!
The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra is the finest youth orchestra in the world, and you'll be able to tell by listening to this recording! Students are given extensive training on their instruments through an educational system known as "El Sistema". The conductor of this recording, Gustavo Dudamel, started his training in El Sistema, rose to the rank of conductor, and is now the conductor and musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic!
This was recorded on New Years Eve in Caracas, the capital and largest city in Venezuela. I've never seen a crowd and orchestra so excited before!
May the Fourth be with you! This is a little different than what I normally post. Instead of a song, this is a 11 minute documentary about the music of Star Wars, featuring the man that wrote it all, John Williams.
If you haven't seen all of the Star Wars movies, don't watch this! There are some spoilers. But if you've seen them (or you don't care about spoilers), check this out! John Williams is a legend, and this video will show you why.
Happy Friday! Here is one of the top bands in the country playing a famous overture at lightning speed! Enjoy your weekend!
Trombone Shorty (AKA Troy Andrews) is a multi-talented musician, known for his abilities on brass instruments and vocals. This performance is live from The White House in 2012, with the Obama family in the front row. "St. James Infirmary" is an old blues song that Louis Armstrong made famous in the 1920s, and it gives Trombone Shorty a chance to show off as a singer and a trombonist. Enjoy!
If you haven't heard of Snarky Puppy, watch this video! They are a large band made up of about 40 people around the country, but for any one concert, about 10-15 people will perform on stage.
They play a style of jazz/rock/funk/world music that has never made it to the mainstream before, but since their start, they have won several Grammy awards. Included in their 40 person collective are guitar, bass, drum, woodwind, brass, and string players, as well as some vocalists.
If you like this song, check out their other work!
Check out this trombone solo! The soloist's name is William Bilal, and he is a student at Benedict College, an HBCU in South Carolina. He first got discovered when he was caught playing this solo on camera when he was only 16, and has recorded it several times since then.
The song, "Black and Blues", is originally written by Al Jarreau, and is a very popular marching band song for HBCUs. Check out how hyped up the students are to hear this!
Victor Wooten is known as one of the most accomplished electric bass players in the world. He rose to fame as a member of Bèla Fleck and the Flecktones, but has spawned a solo career since then.
To make these sounds, he makes use of a piece of technology called a looping pedal. It allows him to record himself and play against it in the matter of a few seconds. Enjoy his take on this Stevie Wonder classic!
Happy Friday! Enjoy this funny video!
Saxophonists, check this out! Very little is written about the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain, but you can tell by this recording that they are the real deal! Not only are they incredible musicians, but they feature instruments that you don't normally see.
This video features the saxophones you see regularly, such as the alto, tenor, and baritone sax. But it also shows the soprano, soprillo (that's the really tiny one), bass, and contrabass saxes!
If you enjoy this video, here's a link to their YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Today's video is a bit longer than usual, but if you start listening, you'll see why. Daniel Barenboim is one of the great living pianists and conductors in the world, and he's performing a very famous (and very difficult) Beethoven piano sonata in this video.
A "sonata" is a piece of music written for one or two instruments only. Piano sonatas are performed by only one person, whereas a clarinet sonata would be performed by two musicians, the clarinetist and the pianist.
This is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time! I hope you enjoy it!
This one is for all the woodwind players out there! A woodwind quintet is made up of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and french horn. You probably noticed that a french horn is *not* a woodwind instrument, but this is because horns like that were very easy to come by in the 1700s when woodwind quintets started.
This quintet is made up of 5 YouTubers playing from distance and a drum machine, and they're playing a cover of "Fireflies" by Owl City. Enjoy it!
Happy Monday! Jimmy Fallon and The Roots collaborated with some health care workers and first responders to put this video together. The song itself is from 1982, written by a band called Men Without Hats. This song was very popular, but they never found fame after this.
They chose this song to remind everyone to be safe! Wash your hands a ton, and stay home! Jimmy Fallon says so!
Happy Friday! Enjoy this fun video from Mnozil Brass. This is a brass ensemble who is known for their incredible playing ability, but also known for their wacky behavior on stage.
And before you ask, no, I don't know why they were making animal sounds at the beginning of the video. And yes, only a trombone player could act like that at the very end.
I know what you're thinking - it's not Christmas. That's OK, because this wasn't written with Christmas in mind. The title just makes it seem that way. This is a 5 minute clip of a longer piece of music, and it features a choir joining the band. The full work is about 15-20 minutes long, but this 5 minute snippet will give you an idea of how majestic and glorious the full piece is. If you liked this, look up the full piece!
Also, the performers of this piece have a great YouTube channel where they post performances, clinics, and live streams. Check them out here!
This virtual band features 225 musicians from 29 countries, and they're performing one of the most famous works for band ever written, Gustav Holst's "Song Without Words". I got goosebumps listening to this, and I bet you will too!
This song was a massive hit in the 80s when it was released by a rock band called The Police, whose lead singer is Sting. Jimmy Fallon featured him and The Roots doing this song using household items and a few instruments. If you like it, check out the original!
These two are two of the most accomplished string players in the world! Bèla Fleck, who plays banjo, has been the leader of a rock band since the early 90s called Bèla Fleck and the Flecktones, but he is also a classically trained musician. Edgar Meyer is a composer as well as a string bassist, and has won 5 Grammy Awards. These two musicians regularly record and tour together. Check this out, you won't be disappointed!
The marimba is a type of mallet percussion that is made of wood, but is larger and more resonant than the xylophone. Zimbabwe, a country in Africa, holds a competition each year to see who has the best marimba ensemble. This performance is the winning performance from students at Hillcrest College. It's definitely going to put a smile on your face!
John Prine was an American songwriting legend. He was known for writing funny lyrics that were also poignant and deep, and setting them to catchy music. Unfortunately, Mr. Prine passed away from COVID-19 complications yesterday. Enjoy one of his most famous songs, "Angel from Montgomery".
Enjoy this short clip of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing the finale of "The Pines of Rome", written by Ottorino Respighi. The CSO has always been famous for their brass section, and you'll hear them well in this clip!
Every Tuesday night between now and May, the CSO will be broadcasting a free concert. For more information, click here!
Bill Withers was born in Slab Fork, West Virginia and lived in very modest circumstances. As a musician, he had a brief career working from 1970-1985, but in that time he wrote some of the most popular songs of all time. "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Lovely Day", and "Just the Two of Us" are considered to be some of the best popular American songs ever written. He retired in 1985 to pursue other interests.
Mr. Withers died last week of heart failure at the age of 81. People have been drawing inspiration from his music for decades, so I thought we could do the same today.
This one is for all of the clarinetists out there! Sabine Meyer is one of the best known clarinet soloists in the world, and the piece she is playing is maybe the most famous clarinet solo ever written. Enjoy your weekends!
Ellis Marsalis has been called the father of the "first family of jazz" in America. He had 6 sons, two of which, Wynton and Branford (who lives in Durham and plays locally), became internationally acclaimed jazz musicians. Last night, he passed away due to complications from COVID-19. This video features some information about his life, as well as a live performance from 2015.
This video is a bit longer than the others I've been posting. It's so worth it, though! This is a level 6 piece of music that some high schools in Wake County have played recently. It's one of my favorite pieces of music of all time, and I think you'll like it too!
James Galway is considered to be one of the world's best flautists, if not the absolute best. This video shows him conducting the participants of his yearly International Flute Festival in a flute choir. Search for videos of Galway playing when you're done with this. He's incredible!
I know it's not Christmas, but check out this arrangement! Each section of this band plays with incredible control and precision, and then one of the world's greatest trumpet players (Wayne Bergeron) takes a solo at 2:06. Not only is he playing notes that are so high, most players can't even reach them, he's playing them with a huge tone and perfectly in tune! This arrangement is worth a listen no matter what time of year it is!
John Coltrane is considered to be one of the great jazz musicians and saxophonists of all time. In this video, you can follow along with the music while he plays. For more videos like this, search "jazz transcriptions" in YouTube.
This person mounted a camera on top of his head so you could see what it's like to be a percussionist in a pit orchestra. Try to count how many instrument and mallet switches he has to make!
This is the first major recording of a "virtual choir" that I had ever heard of. 185 people from around the world recorded themselves singing a piece of Mr. Whitacre's music, sung while watching a video of him conducting. Could a band do this?
Until we're back in business, I'll post a video here every day. This is a collection of some of the top wind and brass players in the world performing "Second Suite in F" by Gustav Holst. Enjoy!