Originally Posted by
enhite
Gary, I agree with all of the above and would add another: A conductor who insists on taking a piece faster than the band can comfortably play it. Just because Sousa recorded "Stars and Stripes" at a breakneck speed, doesn't mean everyone can or should play it at that speed. Sousa had professional musicians. Few of us in community bands are that skilled. I would always prefer to listen to a musician or group of musicians playing precisely and musically, even if a bit below professional tempo.
I had to grin at this one. In our community band I have taken it on myself to find YouTube performances of the tunes that we are doing for any given concert, and then to pass those links on to the rest of the band members, so they can hear the piece [hopefully] played well. One of the pieces for our upcoming concert is "Them Basses", and the performance that I found was by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, which, as some of you may already know, is famous for playing circus marches at warp speed. I "triple-dog-dared" our director to match the EWE's tempo
David Bjornstad
1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)