In Which Ryan Is In Many Places
July 2023 | 4:7
Goomba deploys her patented "cute kitty eyes tractor beam" to keep you nearby and away from whatever it was that you thought was more important than her.
What's Been Happening
I have done so many random cool things this month that I can't fit them into a cogent message or theme (which is a pretty sweet bragging point to be honest). Instead I'm just going to share random thoughts from random places that sum up my last month or so.
In no particular order:
Mementos are neat, and I'm finding that my favorites are daily use things that I either find travelling or can otherwise serve as reminders of people and places.
Scotland is surprisingly far North and the sun sets at like 10pm in late May.
I now know how to pronounce my favorite Scotch (... I think) thanks to Rachel Taylor.
In Glasgow you can get falafel from a Tardis.
I seem to like really old Oak trees and most Rhodedendrons.
I have no idea what a Juniper is, and if I think it's a Juniper it's probably actually a Cedar of some kind.
Mellophone design is very confusing.
I have a very skewed view of how rare certain plants are given how often I get to see them.
Giant Sequoias are confusingly large, and it doesn't help that the branches just look like trees on their own but growing parallel to the ground.
Drum corps is easier than we make it sometimes, and much harder than it looks or you think it is.
May your masks smell pleasant and your packages arrive without incident,
Ryan
Chart O' The Month
After a multi-year process that saw this chart commissioned, recorded virtually, edited, accepted for publication, paused for publication due to the pandemic, paused further while Kendor was bought by Excelsior publishing, re-accepted for publishing, and re-edited, it is finally available for purchase! Big thanks to George Andrikokus and Hinsdale Middle School for commissioning the chart and all his helpful suggestions to make it better for the middle school level, plus for programming it on their upcoming performance at the Midwest Clinic this December. Additional thanks to Blair Bielawski and the team at Excelsior Music for including this in the new catalog, and to JW Pepper for naming this an Editor's Choice (which I believe makes 4 of my 5 Kendor charts that have received that honor).
Musically, the chart is an easy bossa nova based on the changes to "Black Orpheus" and serves as a great entry point both for improvisation and ensemble work in that style. The chart is also dedicated to the late Chicago trumpeter Art Hoyle, and while there's many stories I could tell the simple reason is because he was kind to me when I was new in town and for no other reason than that it's who he was.
Look, Nature!
Unusually, this is a picture that I took. I have no idea what it is, but it was along the a path in the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London and the pattern is really cool.
Education Notes
Something that has struck me recently as I've been blessed to work with so many different groups in so many different ways is the importance of taking the time to properly understand where a group is in the process of getting where they want to be.
First and foremost, if there's not a clear goal and a predetermined if not established process to get there, try to come up with one. A simple answer to the question "what and where do we want to be, and how are we getting there?" makes so many other decisions much simpler.
Second, once you start on the path don't forget to check your bearings. As I've mentioned many times before in other ways, it can help give useful course-corrections or let you know how you've evolved since you started the process. Just as useful though, it can help give needed perspective to how far you've come and what should come next, which is incredibly useful especially in times of adversity or reflection.