Gracenotes

Sibelius USA, Inc. Newsletter - November, 2005

 

Welcome to the November issue of Gracenotes—our e-mail newsletter to Sibelius enthusiasts in North, Central and South America. We hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday and also hope you enjoy the numerous features and news stories coming out of the Sibelius community this month.

Our featured Sibelius user this month is jazz legend Phil Woods. Phil recently held a master class in NYC as part of Yamaha’s Day of Saxophones and we were there to ask him about his years in the business, and the role Sibelius plays in his work. You may also be interested to know that Pat Metheny has re-released the classic album Song X, which has been re-mastered and re-mixed in celebration of the original CD’s 20th Anniversary. We’re also sending a big “Aloha” to our friend Henry Kaleialoha Allen for whom November 18th was proclaimed “Henry Allen Day” on the island of Maui, Hawaii.

Young songwriters and composers should take note that we have an update regarding the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, as well as the Vermont MIDI Project, which held its 12th Opus in November. The concert featured 14 compositions from Vermont area students, performed by the Constitution Brass Quintet. We were there for the performance and then jumped on a plane the next day to interview Cultural Arts program Director Terry Nigrelli at Bayshore H.S. about his GRAMMY® Signature School award winning music program.

Last but not least, we have included an overview of the typical training session a Sibelius user might encounter if she/he signed up with our New York-based specialist Ernie Jackson – and we’ve added to our list of upcoming training sessions (including Ernie’s), seminars and trade shows we’ll be participating in during the next month or so.


We appreciate your feedback and encourage you to e-mail us at gracenotes@sibelius.com to share your thoughts about past, present or future editions of Gracenotes.
Mark Ruch, Editor


Sibelius in the Classroom

Sibelius is a Key Element of Award-Winning Cultural Arts Program

The Cultural Arts program at Bay Shore High School, part of Long Island, New York’s Bay Shore Union Free School District, is not your father’s high school music department.

Bay Shore students working in the school's new Sibelius-equipped music lab.

Dedicated to providing its students with opportunities in both musical and visual arts, the school not only offers courses in instrumental music and theater, but also interdisciplinary courses in computer-based visual arts and multimedia (DVD and video) creation, with state-of-the art facilities that include a recently-renovated music suite and a 24-station music lab. The results speak for themselves: Bay Shore has been named a GRAMMY Signature School, has been recognized as one of the 100 Best Communities for Music Education by the American Music Conference, and has been featured on the website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation for its commitment to innovative music education.

Despite its forward-thinking atmosphere, Bay Shore’s Cultural Arts program does not ignore traditional music classes, but strives for ways to improve and update them. So when it was time to update the music curriculum, the staff turned to Sibelius.

To read the entire article click here

 

December is a BIG month for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest!!!

Entry deadline for Session II of the JLSC is DECEMBER 15TH. Finish up those songs you've been working and submit them for your chance to win $20,000 from Maxell, a $5,000 EMI Music Publishing Contract, $5,000 in studio equipment from Brian Moore Guitars, Roland, Edirol and Audio-Technica, 1,000 custom CD from Disc Makers and gift certificates from MUSICIANSFRIEND.COM. Go to WWW.JLSC.COM to enter and for a complete list of prizes.

It's Holiday time and 'tis the season for giving. Get an "Imagine Peace" T-shirt for your loved ones. Order now and get FREE SHIPPING on all JLSC T-shirts. Click here to order yours today.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus will be in San Francisco at the Macworld Expo January 10 - 13th and in Anaheim at the Winter NAMM Show January 19 - 22nd. We will be demonstrating various Sibelius products and their uses on board the Bus.

 

The Vermont Midi Project Holds Opus 12 Concert

In mid-November, students in and around Burlington, Vermont and hailing from 11 area school districts performed at Opus 12 as part of the VT MIDI Project’s highly successful program. Members of the Constitution Brass Quintet performed 14 original compositions by local students in grades 6 through 12 which were created by the students using Sibelius music notation software and shared on a password protected website for critique and suggestions by professional composers, teachers and music education students.

The pieces selected to be performed at Opus 12 were chosen following a month-long process similar to the selection process of all Opus concerts. In addition to brass quintet compositions, others featured piano performances.

Sibelius has been a strong supporter of the VT MIDI Project which began over ten years ago. Initially sponsored by the Vermont state legislature, when the innovative program was created participating schools were provided MIDI computer work stations so that students of all ages could compose music and using the Internet, send it to other students, teachers and professional composers across the state for feedback. Using Sibelius Scorch, compositions are downloaded for review and performance purposes. Over 7,000 students from the state of Vermont as well as participants in New York State in grades 3 through12 take part in the music composition project. For more information on the Vermont Midi Project, visit www.VTMIDI.org

The Constitution Brass Quintet was founded in 1983, has appeared extensively throughout New England and as a featured group at First Night Burlington since 1991. The quintet's extensive repertoire spans over four centuries of music composition, from the 16th Century to the present, literally "Renaissance to ragtime and beyond." Opus 12 marks The Constitution Brass’ fourth performance of VT MIDI student compositions. The quintet is also involved in the project’s mentoring program. For more information on The Constitution Brass Quintet, visit www.pwshift.com/edwards

 

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Featured Sibelius Users

Jazz Legend Phil Woods Keeps Current With Sibelius

An avid Sibelius user, jazz legend Phil Woods is one of the most respected saxophonists in the world. Also one of the most prolific, Woods has played with numerous bands and artists throughout a long and esteemed career.

A firm believer in technology and new tools, Woods has managed to stay relevant and active for more than 50 years, an increasingly difficult feat in today’s jazz world. When asked how technology has changed his writing process, he replied, “I’m a firm believer in the new tools. Years ago I downloaded the first edition of Sibelius and fell in love with it.”

A constant tinkerer when it comes to composing, Woods is perhaps most impressed with Sibelius 4’s Dynamic Parts. “I’m always changing my arrangements. Sibelius 4’s Dynamic Parts is magnificent. It’s going to save me hours of work. Sibelius 4 is the best.”

To read the entire article click here

 

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman Release Song X Twentieth Anniversary CD

If you have a chance, pick up the latest CD by Pat Metheny (an avid Sibelius user) featuring sax player Ornette Coleman as they reunite with six new tracks to celebrate the ‘gorgeously remastered’ [Downbeat Magazine Nov.05] 1985 Song X disc. It will give those of you who know the original disc a fresh perspective. As a Downbeat reviewer says ‘….ultimately, there’s only one better way the pair could have celebrated their offspring’s 20th birthday—by reuniting for another session.’ Visit Nonesuch Records at www.nonesuch.com

 

Mayor of Maui Proclaims November 18th Henry Allen Day

Sherron Allen, Henry K. Allen, Mayor Alan Arakawa

November 18 was a very special day on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Mayor Alan Arakawa proclaimed this date as Henry Allen Day in honor of accomplished musician and Maui resident Henry Kaleialoha Allen. The ceremony was witnessed by a large gathering of Henry’s closest friends, and after the ceremony Henry gave the opening invocation for the Maui County Council by singing and performing on the guitar. Sibelius was a part of Henry’s special day—the following is paragraph 3 from the proclamation:

WHEREAS, an accomplished musician, Henry Kaleialoha Allen authored his own ukulele and steel guitar books and training manuals, and even utilized the Sibelius Music Program to facilitate international music education training modules for the piano, guitar, drums, Hawaiian steel guitar and ukulele…

In 2004, Henry was honored for his outstanding contributions to Hawaii’s culture by Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii.

Congratulations Henry!

You can learn more about Henry (and buy his sheet music) at his SibeliusMusic Store: click here

Products and Training


See What’s New in Photoscore Professional 4

Photoscore Pro

 If you use scanning in your notation work, you may want to check out the new PhotoScore Professional 4; it’s is the fastest way to scan music for transpositions, arrangements & editions.

Photoscore 4 is the advanced version of the PhotoScore Lite scanning software for Sibelius and G7. Plus it can scan music into other MIDI software such as sequencers. You can use it on its own to scan in, play back, transpose and print scores, and even save audio files. It reads printed music in seconds – not just the notes, but also slurs, dynamics, lyrics, guitar tab, chord diagrams and more. You can then edit or transpose the music, play it back, extract the parts and print – just as if you'd inputted it yourself.

New in PhotoScore Professional 4: automatically scan and read multiple pages • streamlined user interface • improved support for Mac OS X scanning • save WAV/AIFF audio files • and more!
To learn more about the new features or watch a video presentation about Photoscore Pro 4, please visit: Click here

 


Meet Sibelius Trainer Ernie Jackson

—A Life in Music Leads this Classical Guitarist to the Head of the Class—

“I was never ready for what I do right now until right now,” says Ernie Jackson – classical guitarist, musicology scholar, lecturer at two colleges and, since May, Sibelius trainer for the New York area. “It’s the last thing I ever thought I would do, and one of the things I’m best at.”

When Sibelius users from the tri-state area seek out additional training, Jackson welcomes them to an eight-student classroom he’s set up in the conference room of a midtown Manhattan law firm. He offers two classes, Beginner-Intermediate and Intermediate-Advanced. Who comes? “Everybody,” he says. “Primarily educators, but I do get composers. It’s more like a grad school class, which is why a lot of educators come.”

“I call the class ‘4/2 Time’ – four two-hour classes, once a week,” Jackson explains. “I’ve had quite a few people who have taken all-day classes before, and this feels better to them because it’s not all in one sitting. That’s the most amazing story to me – they’ve already paid to take the all-day class, but they feel they need more! I also had one guy who just liked it – he was a retired computer guy. Funny guy. I loved it.”

To learn more about Sibelius trainings click here





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Upcoming Training, Shows and Events

Are you interested in learning more about Sibelius 4? We are offering training sessions in many locations around the U.S. over the next several months.

Training Schedule

Date Time Location Type
Sat, 03 December 2005 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Boston-Berklee College of Music Boston Symphony Orchestra hosts 3 Professional Development Workshops for Teachers: Beginning
Sat, 10 December 2005 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Walnut Creek, CA Sibelius Beginning Training
Sat, 10 December 2005 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Boston-Berklee College of Music Boston Symphony Orchestra hosts Professional Development Workshop for Teachers: Intermediate
Sun, 11 December 2005

9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Walnut Creek, CA

 Sibelius Beginning Training
Sat, 17 December 2005 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Walnut Creek, CA Sibelius Int/Adv. Training
Sat, 17 December 2005 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Boston-Berklee College of Music

 Boston Symphony Orchestra hosts Professional Development Workshops for Teachers Advanced Sibelius level
Sun, 18 December 2005 9AM-4PM Walnut Creek, CA Sibelius Int/Adv. Training

 

For more information, or to reserve your space, please visit: www.sibelius.com/training

 

Sibelius will be exhibiting at the following regional seminars, expos and national trade shows:

Upcoming shows and events

Event Dates Location Booth Number Link
Midwest Clinic 12/14 12/16 Chicago, IL 22-32 www.midwestclinic.org
Florida MEA 1/5 - 1/7 Tampa, FL 8035 www.flmusiced.org
IAJE 1/11 - 1/14 New York, NY 330 www.iaje.org
NAMM 1/18 - 1/22 Anaheim, CA 6337 www.thenammshow.com

Past Issues of Gracenotes

Missed a past issue? Are you a new reader and wish to sign up to receive future e-mails? Please visit and bookmark the Sibelius Gracenotes archive

 

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In this issue

Sibelius in the Classroom
Featured Sibelius Users
Products and Training
Upcoming Trainings, Shows and Events
Gracenotes Archive

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Sibelius Sales
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Fax: 925-280-0008
Email: infoUSA@sibelius.com