Guest conductor visits Bronaugh High School Band

Friday, December 2, 2016

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Bronaugh's middle and high school band students welcomed guest conductor Dr. Jackie Lordo from Cottey College on Wednesday morning.

"One of the great things about guest conductors is that they do things a little different," Lordo told the students.

Invited by Bronaugh's music teacher, Brooke Boulware, Lordo spent about an hour with the students working measure by measure through "Do you hear what I hear." She had the band play the same few measures several times, while making adjustments and providing advice in between, before playing the entire song at the end of class.

"I had fun. It helped us out a lot," said sophomore Maddysin Million.

One of the main things Lordo encouraged the students to do was mark their sheet music with reminders on tempo changes, things to listen for, and the like.

"I have music I have played for decades," Lordo said. "You can hardly see the music through all the [notes]."

Lordo encouraged the students to pay attention to the other sections of the band to help them stay on the right tempo and at the correct part of the song.

"We learned how to listen to each other," said freshman Braxton Rocco.

Afterwards, Lordo said she is one of several Cottey faculty members who travel to high schools throughout the area. Lordo, in her first year at Cottey, has been to Neosho and East Newton schools as well this year.

Boulware, second year music teacher at Bronaugh, said a guest conductor from Pittsburg State University visited the band last school year.

Boulware's efforts are paying off. There are currently 15 students from grades 7-12 in band. The sixth grade band class has 13 students, and the fifth grade band class has nine students.

Bronaugh's Christmas band concert will be Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Bronaugh School.

According to the Cottey College website, Lordo is a Missouri native having grown up in Columbia. Her musical career has spanned the United State and Europe including recorded performances with the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble and King's Brass. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Tennessee Technical University, and Master's of Performance from University of Texas, and a doctorate in Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum from the University of Missouri. At Cottey College, she directs the wind ensemble and jazz ensemble, in addition to teaching brass and music theory.

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