Spring Wind Ensemble concert!

       It's starting to turn into Spring here at UT Tyler! Spring is my favorite season of the year, because the weather is perfect (mostly). It is Texas after all, so the weather can be quite unpredictable. A lot of great things also happen during the spring season, including band concerts!
       In high school, spring was referred to as "concert season". That means that you perform concert music on a stage in front of people, rather than marching on a football field. In college, you are able to perform in concerts no matter which season it is!
       In fact, the UT Tyler Wind Ensemble is putting on our first concert of the 2013 spring semester tomorrow night! This is the first time I'll be playing clarinet for an actual concert, and I'm beginning to feel very nervous. I feel kind of unprepared, but I think that it's because this is the first time I'm playing in a college band.
       The music that we're going to play is much more difficult than the music I played in high school. I feel very honored to play with all of these talented people. Everyone in the ensemble takes the music very seriously, but they are also some of the nicest/coolest people that I 've met in college!
       If you're interested in going to watch the concert, it will take place this Thursday, March the 7th at 7:30 pm. The concert will go down in the Cowan Center Auditorium. I hope you guys can make it!

       Have any of you guys ever played in a band or choir? Leave me a comment below telling us about your musical experiences!

An Evening of Jazz at UT Tyler

       Last Thursday night at 7:30, the UT Tyler Jazz Ensemble had their very first concert of the Spring semester! It was held in the UC Theater, as usual. I went to their first concert with Kat last semester, and was blown away. So, I decided that I would once again go see what they have prepared for us this time.
       First the UT Tyler Jazz Patriots played. There were only about 9 players, but when they performed they sounded like a lot more people were playing.
       For a couple songs, Susie Carter sang the lyrics. I know Susie from wind ensemble, but I never knew that she could sing. And dang, she can sing. I was very impressed with her singing and how the Jazz Patriots played!
       Next, the UT Tyler Jazz Ensemble played their pieces for the night. There were quite a few more players for this ensemble, and it was set up like a "Big Band" which is like how bands were set up in the 40's. The pieces that the Jazz Ensemble played were very complicated and fun to listen to! If I could play any of the 'jazz instruments', I would've loved to  be a part of the ensemble.

       Overall, I really enjoyed the time I spent watching the jazz ensemble. I was very impressed at how well they all could play, and improvise, their music. One of my favorite pieces was called "When Sunny Gets Blue", by Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal. It takes a lot of talent and practice to be able to perform the way they did. +1,864,279 bonus kudos points!  Their next concert for the semester will be on Thursday, April 18th at 7:30p.m. It will be in the UC Theater, just like the past concert was. I'll most likely be there, so I hope you all get to make it!

       Also, next Thursday night at 7:30 (March 7th), the UT Tyler Wind Ensemble will have their first concert of the semester! It will take place in the Vaughn Auditorium, which is in the Cowan Center here on campus. As many of you already know, I play clarinet in the wind ensemble, so I will be playing at this concert. Come and support us next Thursday night! Hope to see you all there!

       Did any of you guys go to the Jazz Ensemble concert too? Leave a comment below and tell us what you  thought about it!

Semester Number Two

                Hey guys! Well, the spring semester of my freshman year here at UT Tyler has officially begun! I can already tell that this semester is going to be a lot more difficult than my last semester was. It’s not at all a bad thing, and I actually think that the classes that I am taking are going to be much more exciting than all of my previous classes were.

                As some of you may know, during the fall semester I took a math class. I really don’t like math, which is weird because my major is currently management! Now I’m not taking any math classes at all, and so far I found my classes to be much more appealing than before.  Now I’m taking courses like History, English, and Politics. So far, they all require a lot of reading.

                In addition, I am now officially a part of the UT Tyler Wind Ensemble! It’s all very exciting for me! I honestly feel like I’m finally doing something right in school by being in this ensemble. Everyone that I’ve met in the wind ensemble is all very nice and funny, just like how I am. I really missed band being a part of my life when I graduated from high school. Maybe I should reconsider what my major is, maybe.

                If I stay on track this semester and step up my A game, I really think that I can really excel in all of my classes this semester! I have set a standard for myself to do the absolute best that I can in everything that I do. I’ll be sure not to disappoint myself!

                Also, I got a new camera for Christmas, so now I can record video blogs in better quality! I am really looking forward to being able to use it! I came up with a small list of videos that I think will be fun and interesting, so be on the lookout for any video blogs on our page in the future! If you have any video blog ideas for me, I would absolutely love to hear them! If you do have any, please leave me a comment below, or anywhere on our Facebook app! As long as I can get to them!

                How is your semester going so far? Leave us a comment below too! Be sure to subscribe to our blog too! We would very much appreciate it. :) Happy 2013!

-          Chandler Upchurch 

UT Tyler Wind Ensemble Concert!

                With finals just around the corner and tensions running high, it’s definitely time to find some kind of way to relax and stop worrying about everything. Luckily for me, I found a way to chill pretty quickly. I decided to go to the last UT Tyler Wind Ensemble concert of the semester! If you have read any of my previous blogs you know about my ridiculous obsession with music, so this was the obvious choice for me.

                After my semester concert for my percussion ensemble ended, I no longer had to go to class. I feel like I have been musically deprived since then. I have a few friends who are in the Wind Ensemble, so I would always ask them when their final concert was. Plus I’m just really pumped to actually be in the Wind Ensemble next semester! It’s definitely going to be different, because I've been playing percussion for the past four years and now I’m going back to clarinet! Hopefully it’ll all work out in the end.

                I went to the first concert that the wind ensemble put on earlier this semester, and I was really impressed! From what I have been told by my friends that are in the wind ensemble, they are playing really cool (but yet difficult) music. I know that I will be blown away again. I am definitely ready to get my finals over with, and move into a new semester. If the school  never put on things like this, or any other campus activities, I know I would go crazy.

                The UT Tyler Wind Ensemble concert will take place this Thursday night at 7:30 in the Vaughn Auditorium in the Cowan Center! It’s free and open to the public, so please come see what the ensemble has been preparing for! Hope to see you there!

Wind Ensemble Concert is here!!

                I am so pumped, you guys, PUMPED. As some of you may know, I am very into music of all kinds. I was in band in high school and middle school, so I even have some experience under my little belt. Tomorrow, the UT Tyler Wind Ensemble is going to put on their first concert of the semester

                To me, music is a direct expression of the way a person or the composer feels. When you listen to music, sometimes it can even make you feel that way, which is exactly the composer’s intention. The intention is to tell a story without words, without pictures or light, just music. I think that that is a pretty good reason to enjoy music. When the ensemble plays their music, learn to appreciate the music by making a connection with it!

                The concert will take place at the Cowan Center tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30! I’m really looking forward to going to this, because next semester if I get a chance I’m going to join the ensemble as one of the clarinet players. I’m ready to see how well everything goes, and you can definitely expect a blog from me reviewing how the concert went!

                If you’re interested in going, it’s FREE and open to the public, so anyone can come! I hope all of you are able to go and enjoy listening to the different songs that they’re going to play! If you see me, feel free to sit with me too! J Hope to see you there!!