Ceremonial Music in 2021

Since ancient times music has been used to set the tone for important events, an essential part of rituals in all cultures worldwide.

Near the conclusion of such a challenging year (2020), I am optimistic to now be developing original music for two events in 2021:

• Fanfare for the inauguration of the new rektor (president) at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, historian Gunnar Yttri.
• Music for the opening ceremony of the Bergen Summer Research School, an international PhD-level collaboration between multiple research institutions in Bergen, Norway.

Both of these events will mostly occur online, but we are hopeful that the ongoing pandemic will become much less of a concern in the coming months, making the planning of “live” events ever more realistic.

https://www.hvl.no/aktuelt/gunnar-yttri-offisielt-innsett-som-rektor/

How ceremonial music should sound in 2021 is an interesting question. Composers and songwriters often struggle to find an ideal balance, in the hope that audiences will not regard their work as either too conservative, too commercialized, or too abstract and complex. Music for events of this kind—with a truly diverse audience—should sound different from music designed to advance the artform with techniques that may only be fully appreciated by composers and professional musicians. It also should not sound like something that belongs in a different century, or that is pop-influenced to the point of seeming condescending to the audience. It is meant to create a serious yet festive mood and focus attention on a significant point in time and space.    

[Public domain image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Russian_Fanfare_Trumpets.jpg]

Asian Educational Philosophies

It is a pleasure to announce a special issue of the Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education on the theme “Rethinking Asian Educational Philosophies” (edited by David Hebert). This issue is currently under development for publication in early 2021, and promises to be a unique resource, with updated studies of educational thought in China, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Japan, India, and elsewhere. More details will be posted here in January.

 

UPDATE (30 January 2021): We have submitted this special issue to NJCIE today with the following article titles:

·       “Editorial Introduction: Global competence, decolonization, and Asian educational philosophies”

·       “Comparison of self-reflection in Humboldtian Bildung and the Kyoto School: Educational implications in light of OECD frameworks”

·       “Intergenerational learning and programming: Perspectives from the Philippines”

·       “The Self-Orientalization of Polish music education”

·       “A balanced perspective embodied in Tagore and Hu Shih’s educational philosophies”

·       “Cai Yuanpei’s vision of aesthetic education and its heritage in contemporary China”

·       “On Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s philosophy of education”

·       “Overcoming performativity in Myanmar’s education: Lessons from Theravāda Buddhism”

 

Also, below is the poster for Bergen Summer Research School, 2021. This is a unique opportunity for PhD students to take an interdisciplinary course for ECTS credits along with doctoral students from around the world. Due to the pandemic, it will be entirely online, and free of charge. The application deadline has been extended to 19 February 2021. 

I will be teaching the BSRS course Internationalizing Higher Education, which is designed to offer new ideas for how to enhance international cooperation among universities. Like previous years, I am also developing original music for the opening event, but this time it will probably need to be a sound recording rather than live performance. 

Here are links for more information:

https://www.uib.no/en/rs/bsrs/138795/internationalizing-higher-education

https://www.uib.no/en/rs/bsrs

 

Tabula Rasa Choir Peace Program Tour

Professional choir Tabula Rasa will perform a series of concerts at three locations in western Norway in mid-October, 2019. The program is entitled Peace (“Fred” in Norwegian), and features the theme of sacred music facing war memorials. The program is designed to stimulate reflection on the consequences of war and whether it is enough to dream of peace.

The program features music by Orlando de Lassus, Arnold Schönberg, Arvo Pärt, Frank Havrøy, Jake Runestad, and the premiere performance of a new piece by Tord Kalvenes. 

This project is supported by the Norwegian Arts Council, the Norwegian Composers Association, and the Norwegian Composers Fund. 

Here is the schedule and other details (in Norwegian): 

14. september
Krigminnene på Fedje, minikonsert kl 15
Fedjekyrkja, konsert kl 17

15. september 
Nordsjøfartmuseet i Tælavåg, minikonsert kl 15
Sund kyrkje, konsert kl 18

22. september 
Herdla museum, minikonsert kl 15, 15.30 og 16. 
Herdla kyrkje, konsert kl 18


Musikalsk leder: Arild Rohde 

Sopran: Rikke Lina Sorell Matthiesen, Sigrun Jørdre
Alt: Elise Thorgersen Varne, Zsuzsa Zseni
Tenor: Tord Kalvenes, Arild Rohde
Bass: Charles Lindberg, David Hebert

Regi: Ingrid Askvik

Lys: Matias Askvik

Hebert-Goto Duo 2018

Below are some videos of brief songs performed by the Hebert-Goto Duo when we were preparing recitals as part of the Kairos Research Group at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen. 

Although filmed in late 2017, the production on these videos was just completed in October 2018.

Earlier, there were some professional singing activities in Norway and Germany.

 

Rachmaninov song:

Verdi song:

Grieg song:

Toreador song: 

**Click HERE to hear our rendition of Bizet’s renowned “Toreador Song” from the opera Carmen.

Sarastro's aria from Mozart's Magic Flute:

Aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni:

Brahms, O Tod from Serious Songs:

Barber, Rain Has Fallen:

Grimen's Aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin:
Also, below is an amateur video of our original composition ‘Facing Global Challenges’ which was performed at the opening of the 2018 Bergen Summer Research School.

Further information on ‘Facing Global Challenges’:

https://app.cristin.no/results/show.jsf?id=1590923

https://www.uib.no/en/globalchallenges/118469/all-over-world-summer-research-school-bergen

Debut Recital and Recording / Book Releases

Soon I will be giving my first full-length solo recital in Norway as a classical singer, along with an excellent Bergen-based pianist, Mai Goto. The announcement is shown above (Click HERE to download the announcement, HERE for the recital program, and HERE for the complete Grieg Research School program). We are also doing a recording session during the dates around the recital (end of November, 2017), and we intend to produce a full album of classical music and organize a professional recital tour (along with book-release lectures) for venues in Europe, North America and East Asia.

Here are the books I will publish in 2018: 

**Hebert, D. G. (Ed.), (2018, in press). International Perspectives on Translation, Education, and Innovation in Japanese and Korean Societies. Dordrecht: Springer [Contains 21 chapters divided into five parts: Translational Issues in Literature, Analyses of Korean and Japanese Languages, Language Education, Innovation and New Perspectives on Culture, and The Arts in Innovative Societies.] 

**Hebert, D. G. & Rykowski, M. (Eds.), (2018, in press). Music Glocalization: Heritage and Innovation in a Digital Age. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Contributed chapters describe music in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech, Finland, Norway, Germany, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Australia, the US, Syria, and Japan. Entire manuscript fully revised and submitted for publication.] 

**Hebert, D. G. & Hauge, T. B. (Eds.), (forthcoming, 2018). Advancing Music Education in Northern Europe. (Routledge / Taylor & Francis) [Edited book with 18+ contributors representing each Nordic and Baltic nation. All contributed chapters drafted and revised. Completion of Conclusion chapter and final editorial revisions now in progress for submission in December, 2017]. 

Future books will be affiliated with our new series for Rowman & Littlefield, The Lexington Series in Historical Ethnomusicology: Deep Soundings, and a co-authored book is also under development entitled A Global View of Music Education, for publication in Chinese by Shanghai Education Press.

Choral Music in Bergen

The 2014 International Music Institutions Leaders Forum recently concluded in Beijing, where I gave a keynote speech and helped with hosting, along with professors Gary McPherson and Jiaxing Xie. An initial agreement was reached for China Conservatory to collaborate with several international higher education music programs to establish an online Open Global Music Academy. This initiative promises to offer some important new vehicles for sharing of musical knowledge between China and other nations, and is especially a unique internationalization opportunity for Bergen’s music programs. Meanwhile, the next week is full of choral events in Bergen . . .

First, will be a concert entitled “The Conscious Sky,” featuring premiere performances of some original works by British composer Marcus Davidson at two venues: Østre, with a preview at Litteraturhuset. I will be singing the bass parts with five other professional singers, as well as two percussionists.

On the weekend, the Bergen Cathedral Choir (Domkor) has a recording session of several unique choral works by Norwegian composer Trond Kverno (conducted by Kjetil Almenning). This will be the first high-quality recording of some of Kverno’s major works, and I suspect the outcome may impact the field of choral music internationally.

Later, the DATES a cappella vocal jazz group in Bergen (named for [D]avid, [A]nne-K, [T]ine, [E]gil, and [S]ilje: DATES) will have master classes with Latvian jazz vocalist/songwriter Inga Berzina.

On October 5 is a concert with the professional Edvard Grieg Choir, conducted by Yale University Professor Jeffrey Douma at Grieg’s home, Troldhaugen. The concert features works by American composers, including some very complex pieces by Charles Ives, as well as some beautiful songs by Edvard Grieg and others. The Ives pieces are especially challenging, but singable for such a strong group of singers.  

RELEVANT LINKS:

Marcus Davidson, composer:

http://www.marcusdavidson.net/biography.htm

Østre:

http://www.oestre.no/index.php/en/

The Conscious Sky:

http://www.theconscioussky.com/

Bergen Cathedral Choir:

http://www.borealisfestival.no/2014/bergen-domkor/

Trond Kverno:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trond_Kverno

DATES a cappella quintet:

https://www.facebook.com/vokalgruppendates

Inga Berzina:

http://jazzday.lv/artist/inga-berzina/?lang=en

Edvard Grieg Choir:

http://www.edvardgriegkor.no/index.php/en/

Jeffrey Douma:

http://yalegleeclub.org/about_us/director_jeffrey_douma

Troldhaugen:
http://griegmuseum.no/

Originality in Music

After a lengthy review process, I have recently learned that another of my articles on the institutionalization of popular music is soon to be published. It will be in Music Education Research International (vol.5), a fully-refereed scholarly journal edited by Professor Victor Fung and published in an online, open-access format, and I understand the volume with my article will shortly be available. I have also added a link to the right side of this website for a separate page with a full list of publications. Below is the title and abstract for my upcoming article in MERI:

Originality and Institutionalization: Factors Engendering Resistance to Popular Music Pedagogy in the USA

David G. Hebert

Abstract

The roots of much of the world’s popular music may be traced to blues and rock – styles that originated in the Southern Mississippi Valley in the early 20^th century – yet, when considered from a global perspective, performance of these genres has been especially slow to gain wide acceptance in schools of their homeland: the USA. This paper begins with identification of some inevitable challenges associated with institutionalization of novel artistic movements, and then contrasts these with factors perceived to have engendered resistance to the growth of popular music pedagogy (PMP). That PMP is increasingly accepted while genres such as blues and rock come of age (and stake a claim to cultural heritage) is no coincidence. This discussion illustrates the perennial educational challenges posed by originality and cultural diversity in music, as well as the need for research to more fully understand opportunities and risks associated with the array of PMP approaches currently advanced.

Below are links to some of my other writings and projects that address related topics:

· Hebert, D. G. (2010). Jazz and Rock Music. In W. M. Anderson & P. S. Campbell (Eds.), Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Vol. 1 (third edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman-Littlefield Publishers.

· Campbell, P. S. & Hebert, D. G. (2010). World Beat. In W. M. Anderson & P. S. Campbell (Eds.), Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, Vol. 2 (third edition). Lanham, MD: Rowman-Littlefield Publishers.

· Hebert, D. G. (2009). Musicianship, Musical Identity and Meaning as Embodied Practice. In T. Regelski & J. T. Gates (Eds.), Music Education for a Changing Society: Guiding Visions for Practice (pp. 39-55). Dordrecht and New York: Springer Press.

· Hebert, D. G. (2009). Rethinking the Historiography of Hybrid Genres in Music Education. In V. Kurkela & L. Vakeva (Eds.), De-Canonizing Music History (pp. 163-184). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.

· Campbell, P. S., Hebert, D. G. & Will, R. J. (Eds.) (2001). Around the Sound: Popular Music in Performance, Education, and Scholarship - symposium proceedings. Seattle: University of Washington & Experience Music Project.

· Hebert, D. G. & Campbell, P. S., (2000). "Rock Music in American Schools: Positions and Practices Since the 1960s," International Journal of Music Education , Vol. 36, No. 1 (pp. 14-22).

Studio Session

After several years of focusing mostly on academic matters, I am excited to be finally getting back into the studio to record around 10 original songs at the end of this month (guitar and voice). My songwriting in recent years is mostly jazz and Latin-influenced, but some of the tunes are probably best categorized as alternative rock. Below are lyrics from a few of my recent songs:



David G. Hebert © 2007

Tonight I’m Wondering

Sands across a desert plain
Shifting rhymes and reasons
Form a work sublime
Sculpture to the stars

Bodies cross a bustling street
Throngs of nameless workers
Feed the greed machine
Such aimless ways are ours

But she says tonight I’m wondering
This life’s a curious thing
He says tonight I’m wandering
This life, what will it bring

Doctors cross a perfect clone
Shifting rhymes and reasons
Form a work sublime
Sculpture to the stars

Bankers cross a corporate trust
Throngs of nameless workers
Feed the greed machine
Such aimless ways are ours (chorus)



David G. Hebert © 2009

Things Aren't as Simple as they Seem

Something in the air
Euphoria releasing everywhere
From where it comes I cannot say
Nor when it goes, but you must know
Things aren’t as simple as they seem

With a smile her eyes
Entrancing perceptions paralyze
To cross into a longed for world
How dare I go again, it shows
Things aren’t as simple as they seem

With these passing years
One learns to embrace forgetting
I’m none the wiser, still a fool
And how about you, again it shows
Things aren’t as simple as they seem

But I guess it’s okay
Nobody gets all they want anyway
Oh well, that’s life
And who am I to complain
I try to fix the things I can anyway
Oh well, that’s life
Things aren’t as simple as they seem




David G. Hebert © 2008

I Wonder Where You've Gone

Letters glow beyond the screen
Messages we shared
I know more now what they mean
Why they withered there
Why you vanished silently
Thinking we're not meant to be

I wonder where you've gone
And I wonder what you're doing right now
I wonder where you've gone
And I wonder what you're doing now, and how
How this world's treating you

I still have some things of yours
Lost inside a drawer
Lost this mind still sings of you
Knows you needed more
Why you vanished silently
Thinking we're not meant to be
(chorus)




David G. Hebert © 2007

What This War’s Waging For

One right nation, fair and free
Lies to yourself
And you don’t want to know the truth
Just free trade and manifest destiny
These lies to yourself
And you ought to know the truth

Legions of young men bleed from both sides
They say one side is righter
I don’t know which that would be
Thousands of used youths, what could be won
Dying for some thing
I don’t know what it could be
I can’t see what this war’s waging for
I can’t see what this war’s waging for
Why . . . why

One fine president, father’s son
Lies to yourself
And you don’t want to know the truth
Trillions well spent keeping peace
These lies to yourself
And you ought to know the truth




David G. Hebert © 2008

To Lose You

Don't you see, it's killing me to lose you
Don't you see, it's killing me to lose you
I know things are an awful mess
Believe me, I will try my best
Don't you see, it's killing me to lose you

David G. Hebert © 2008

When the Clique is Out to Get You

What a day, I’m sick of this mess
Will the problems never end
Rumors sting like the hornet’s nest
And I thought these were my friends

What is there to say
When they think the worst of you now
What is there to do
When the clique is out to get you

Ooh, hooray, what games they will play
Manipulation charades
Escapades with deceptive ends
And I thought these were my friends

What is there to say
When they think the worst of you now
What is there to do
When the clique is out to get you

David G. Hebert © 2009

Everything is Going to Be Alright

What if I could ease your mind
Clear away anxieties, for you here
What if I could lift your eyes
After all, there are changes beyond the sunrise

Everything is going to be alright, take it from me
No, no, no
I don't think it's hopeless yet
No, no, no
You've got to hang in there and stick with it
Everything is going to be alright

What if all our work is wrong
And all we own is worthless (it might be)
What if you misplace your fears
Freed without them to make in a day what took years

Everything is going to be alright, take it from me
No, no, no
I don't think it's hopeless yet
No, no, no
You've got to hang in there and stick with it
Everything is going to be alright

David G. Hebert © 2008

True Blue

Light unveils vast seas
Lone the wave brushed shores
Buoyant space, refreshed place

Knows it shows one truth
It’s real more than you

True blue
True blue

[Guitar and vocal tracks for each of the above songs were recorded on May 27th and then mixed on the 28th in the Sibelius Academy recording studios.]

Projects in Early 2009

In addition to mentoring doctoral students (who I hope to see finish their degrees soon), I will be working on several music projects in early 2009: Books, grant applications, lectures, recording sessions, program development, and research editing.

Books

I am currently writing a chapter entitled “Ethnicity and Music Education: Sociological Dimensions” for the book Sociology and Music Education (Ed., Ruth Wright) that will be published on Ashgate Press. In recent months I have completed chapters for the books De-Canonizing Music History (Cambridge Scholars Press), Music Education for Changing Times: Guiding Visions for Practice (Springer), and Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education (Rowman-Littlefield), as well as for my own book Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools (Springer), all of which will be published in 2009.

Grants

In 2009 I will be applying for funding to support some Nordic research associated with the global Sustainable Futures in Music project of Huib Schippers. I am also currently designing a proposal for a multi-national research project on the use of new music technologies in targeted urban centers of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Lectures

I will be giving lectures on music-related topics in ten countries in 2009. The first of these is a keynote lecture on “How Music Education Research Approaches Music” in Orebro, Sweden for the Nordic Network of Research in Music Education. The topics of other presentations include “Virtuality and Music Education in Online Environments,” “On Maori music,” and “Institutionalizing Popular Music Pedagogy: Lessons from Jazz Education.” I am also currently planning a conference presentation in collaboration with Marja Heimonen.

Recordings

I will finally be spending some time in the recording studio in early 2009 to record several new original songs I wrote over the past few years. I am also producing some original music for New Zealand playwright Susan Battye's Telling Tales book series and singing with Kampin Laulu in a recording session for their CD on Alba Records.

Program Development

Lauri Vakeva and I have recently developed a proposal for a Master of Music degree with emphasis in popular music pedagogy, for which we will be seeking partnerships and external funding from music industry and various foundations. As a member of the GLOMUS network of Nordic higher education music academies, I am also contributing to development of a new inter-institutional Nordic Master of World Music degree.

Editing

Soon the editorial board will release a "Call for Papers" for a special issue of the Finnish Journal of Music Education on multicultural music education, for which I am serving as Guest Editor in mid-2009. I am also continuing on the Editorial Board of Research and Issues in Music Education and as Associate Editor of International Journal of Education and the Arts for at least a few more months. Alexandra Kertz-Welzel and I will also move forward with resubmitting our proposal for a co-edited book to academic publishers.

Kampin Laulu and Panula

Last night I sang for a recording session with the Kampin Laulu Chamber Choir at Jorma Panula’s house. We recorded Panula’s recent choral works for small men’s chorus. Panula is one of Europe’s most respected conducting pedagogues, and his former students serve as conductors for several of the world’s leading symphony orchestras and choirs. Panula’s new works feature attractive harmonies and textures – a challenge to sight read, but well worth the effort. I have been singing as a member of Kampin Laulu for about 2 months, and we have concerts coming up in a few weeks.

Related websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorma_Panula

http://www.jormapanula.com/

http://www.kampinlaulu.fi/

At its next concert, Kampin Laulu will perform some very attractive and interesting new choral pieces by Finnish composer Tapani Lansio: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/mainframe?readform&lansio+tapani

More information on Finnish music may be obtained from the Finnish Music Information Centre:
http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/naviframe?readform&f=mic1f3.htm&m=5.1&ct=0

Personal Sound Archives

I have decided to post some links to sound files from my early songwriting/composition projects.

By now, the majority of these files are probably only of sentimental interest (and some have obvious performance errors or poor sound quality), but they demonstrate the diversity of musical activities I have been involved in over the years:




Brace yourself!: my old rock band from ancient times, Post Impression playing “Give Me a Sign.” I wrote the melody and words and did the lead vocal and guitar solo on this track over 15 years ago (1992). Band members were Bill James, Michael Draper and Jason Mockley. In some concerts, we were the opening act for quite well-known alternative rock bands such as Everclear and The Posies:

• http://www.box.net/shared/ekb9ljcow0

Here some tracks from my first orchestral composition Symphony for Yamanashi (1996):

• http://www.box.net/shared/dhpfustcgc

• http://www.box.net/shared/cazoxtd8ok

Three original songs from Currents, my jazz fusion album with Michael Horowitz, Ian Dobson, Andrew Glynn, and Donald Sweeney. I wrote the words and music for these tunes (1999):

• I Know Not Where (modal jazz - I play trumpet and sing on this one, even some throat singing) -

http://www.box.net/shared/atv85co84o

• Recollection (fusion soundtrack - This one is also with my cousin Justin Hebert on some of the keyboard parts, who added a lot to the tune) -
  

http://www.box.net/shared/bx0br9jwwg

• Love Re-Arranged (This is just me on solo guitar and voice, but I sang some backing vocal tracks too) -

http://www.box.net/shared/qjq0p9v4sg

This is not really a composition: three tracks of free improvisation with Tchaikovsky State Conservatory Wa-On Ensemble (now called Moscow Pan-Asian Ensemble). The image on the left is from one of their other albums, but the tracks here were recorded in Russia (2003). Each track is interesting for different reasons - (1) On the first, I play muted trumpet in some uncannily improvised gestures and harmonies in sync with two Russian shakuhachi players, (2) Here I interject some throat singing into the texture, (3) Here I add lyrical trumpet lines after about one minute into the final track:

• http://www.box.net/shared/7g453saw4k

• http://www.box.net/shared/ybn8ndg2ss

• http://www.box.net/shared/yo263rgu80

Three rather excruciating tracks from my opera Correspondence (quite poor sound quality and intonation at an early rehearsal in Tokyo, but hopefully one can still get the idea of what this becomes). Belgian artist Eric Van Hove wrote the libretto and co-directed the performance, and DJ Kenji Williams contributed greatly to some pieces, including the first track below (2003):

• http://www.box.net/shared/v09dbx6gww

• http://www.box.net/shared/qposyr1ck4

• http://www.box.net/shared/vuqawgo84o

Here is a link to the opera’s website:
http://www.transcri.be/correspondence.html

“Arrival of the Sea Nymph” from Te Awha, Maori adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

This psychedelic music was designed to accompany a mystical scene in a theatrical performance. I played keyboard sounds and sang layered lines, then let the narrator speak her lines above the mysterious atmosphere. The volume level is very low (2005):

• http://www.box.net/shared/clmen1e88c

“Muriwai Seascape” - inspired by one of my favorite beaches in New Zealand, I play guitar chords and hum a melody over some ocean sounds (2005):

• http://www.box.net/shared/dkm5wk0gs8

Finally, this one is NOT my own composition, but this excerpt includes some of my improvised trumpeting on a jazz album recorded fairly recently in Tokyo (2006): Midori Takamura, “Body and Soul” from Mona Lisa

• http://www.box.net/shared/35jyh8akgs

Also, here is a link to a recording from a gig I did on trumpet with renowned blues songwriter Lou Pride and the Rooster Blues Band (October, 2007):

• http://people.bu.edu/blues/roost_pics.html
  

There are a lot more recordings that I am not yet able to put online, but hopefully they can be posted later. Also, I have several new songs that I would like to record soon, so hopefully I can post more sound files - both better songs and better quality recordings - within a few months.