PSU Halftime 9-2-17

September 03, 2017Rick Hirsch

The Penn State Blue Band's first halftime show of the year had a dance theme. Opened with Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody, followed by Kenny Loggin's Footloose, closed with Walk the Moon's Shut Up and Dance.

I wrote the arrangements for Footloose and Shut Up. Both were fun tunes to arrange!

Dig it:

Glenn Miller opening

August 18, 2017Rick Hirsch

This blog post serves to announce openings in the Glenn Miller Orchestra as they arise.

APRIL 30, 2017

Vacancy: Baritone Saxophone (with doubles)
application deadline: May 7, 2018
gig begins June 3, 2018
All applicants must be a US citizen with a current/ valid passport.
Prepare required excerpts (download here)
Also include several solo improvisations in variety of styles.
- chosen at discretion of candidate
- each solo (excerpt) should be less than 1 minute
- submit each solo as an individual mp3 file
- *concise YouTube clips are recommended (but not required)
Include phone # with your application
Submit application to Mr. Ashley Hall, road manager

AUG 18, 2017

The Glenn Miller Orchestra is hiring a bassist.

hiring date of Thursday September 28th 2017.
All applicants must be a US citizen with a current/ valid passport.
Applicants should include several excerpts in various styles (swing, ballad, etc), a few solos, and use of the bow.
These excerpts are at the discretion of the candidate, should each be no more than a minute in length, and must be submitted in (individual) MP3 format.
Concise YouTube clips are encouraged but not required.
The firm deadline for audition submissions is Thursday August 24th 2017.

All auditions and inquiries should be submitted to:

Mr. Ashley Hall / road manager

gmoroadmanager@yahoo.com

GMO website

Big Ol' concert report

July 21, 2017Rick Hirsch

Last month Rick Hirsch's Big Ol' Band had its CD release concert. It was held at the wonderful State Theatre in downtown State College on June 16. There was a wonderful audience that included guests from elementary school to retirement age.

All but 5 of the original band members were able to make the concert, with equally amazing musicians covering those vacancies. And we had the special treat of presenting guest vocalist Eric Ian Farmer who, as usual, brought the house down.

Here is a pair of bootleg concert vids:

Watch More videos

Blue Band time

June 05, 2017Rick Hirsch

I'm now in my 16th season as a staff arranger for the Penn State Blue Band (marching band). This is one of my favorite writing gigs, especially when I drop by their rehearsal before game day and get to hear my chart(s) played by 300 strong musicians!

I've already begun writing for this season, but the assignment—as always—is top secret!

Here's the arrangement I did last season (fall, 2016) of Journey's Open Arms.

Enjoy!

Road-testing new tunes

May 16, 2017Rick Hirsch

I finished two new original jazz ensemble pieces in the past month or so. Here are the videos of the first time they were read by humans.

This is always an important part of the writing process for me, as it reveals instantly what works and what doesn't. In the case of the first tune ("New Dog..."), I think it was just how I wanted it. The second tune, though, revealed that there were a few voicings I wanted to tweak (to achieve a different intensity) and that I needed to clarify an instruction in a trumpet part. Nothing major, but good to know about before sending off to the client who commissioned these.

There's a New Dog in Town
(sightread by the Zeropoint Big Band in State College, PA)