The instrumentation and size of bands has changed over the years, and newer transcriptions may seem drastically different than their earlier counterparts. But transcriptions remain a valuable part of our curriculum, and Flex-Band adaptations are now a necessity in today’s climate. In this clinic, we aim to provide you with the tools necessary to understand WHY the transcriber made these decisions and HOW you can give a performance that remains true to the original composition.
Jay Bocook
- Biographical Information
Jay Bocook is recognized internationally as an educator, conductor, composer, and GRAMMY-nominated arranger. His works have been performed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2003, Bocook was a contributing arranger to the musical “CyberJam,” which opened to rave reviews at London’s Queens Theatre. Currently, he is the principal arranger for “Blast!, the music of Disney,” which opened in Tokyo, Japan in the summer of 2017, and will be restaged in the summer of 2019.
In 2003, the U.S. Marine Band premiered his transcriptions of the film music of John Williams at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. An encore performance with Williams and “The President’s Own” took place in 2008. His transcription of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront can be heard on the 2015 Marine Band CD “Elements.”
In 1982, Bocook was appointed director of bands at Furman University in Greenville, SC. In 1989, he left to pursue other opportunities as an arranger for Jenson Publications, but returned to Furman in 2000 as Director of Athletic Bands. He remains a principal composer and arranger for the Hal Leonard Corporation, where he has published over 600 arrangements and original compositions, and is the brass arranger for the ten-time world champion Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2009, he was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he was elected into the American Bandmasters Association.
Hannah M. Carlson graduated from Furman University in 2016 with her degree in Music Education, and recently completed her Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting and Percussion Performance at Butler University, where she studied with former Director of “The President’s Own” US Marine Band, Michael Colburn. She currently serves as Associate Director of Bands at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She has presented lectures based on music education curriculum and research at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, the South Carolina Music Educators Association, the Indiana Music Educators Association, and the Florida Music Educators Association.
Carlson regularly performs as a percussionist with Classical Music Indy and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in masterclasses with Dame Evelyn Glennie, Keith Aleo, and Leigh Howard Stevens. In 2019 she performed Emmanuel Séjourné’s “Concerto for Marimba” with the Butler University Symphony Orchestra. Carlson has participated in multiple recording projects, including Matthew Burtner’s “Six Eco-Acoustic Quintets” and the “John Psathas Percussion Project (JP3)” as part of a partnership between Omar Carmenates and the Shi Center for Sustainability at Furman University.
Carlson is committed to commissioning new music from diverse composers, and believes in using arts education to foster curious and culturally aware students who will mature into actively engaged members of our community.