A Personal Reflection on the Importance of Technology

May 02 2012
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Lauren Denney Wright

Dr. Lauren Denney Wright is the current Director of Wind Ensemble activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Berry College where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches clarinet. Prior to her arrival at Berry College, Dr. Denney Wright was the Director of Bands, clarinet instructor, and taught Instrumental Music Education courses at Oklahoma Baptist University.
A native of Marietta, Ga., Dr. Denney Wright earned her bachelor of music degree in clarinet performance from Vanderbilt University, the master of music degree in clarinet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the bachelor of music degree in music education from Kennesaw State University. Dr. Denney Wright completed her doctoral studies in instrumental conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music under the mentorship of Gary Green, where she conducted the Frost Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, Chamber Winds and Concert Band. In addition, she taught conducting courses, worked with the Band of the Hour marching band and ran the men and women’s basketball pep bands. Dr. Denney Wright has worked with such composers as John Corigliano, David Maslanka, Michael Daugherty, John Mackey and Steven Bryant. In addition, Dr. Denney Wright will be making her international debut conducting chamber music with members of the Berlin Philharmonic this summer in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Dr. Denney Wright holds professional memberships with College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society and Music Teachers National Association. In addition she is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, a founding member of Sigma Alpha Iota at Vanderbilt University, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.
Educational Background:
B.M., Vanderbilt University
M.M., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
B.M., Kennesaw State University
D.M.A., University of Miami Frost School of Music

A native of Marietta, Georgia, Dr. Denney Wright earned her Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from Vanderbilt University, the Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Kennesaw State University. Prior to her appointment at Oklahoma Baptist University, Dr. Denney Wright completed her doctoral studies in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music under the mentorship of Gary Green, where she conducted the Frost Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, Chamber Winds and Concert Band. In addition, she taught conducting courses, worked with the Band of the Hour marching band and ran the men and women's basketball pep bands. Dr. Denney Wright has worked with such composers as John Corigliano, David Maslanka, Michael Daugherty, John Mackey and Steven Bryant.

Dr. Denney Wright holds professional memberships with College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society and Music Teachers National Association. In addition she is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, a founding member of Sigma Alpha Iota at Vanderbilt University, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

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While at the National College Band Director’s Association Convention in Seattle, Washington at the end of March, 2011, I attended a session on live web streaming. I came back extremely inspired and started looking at what I needed to make this happen for my students at Oklahoma Baptist University.

After meeting with a few other colleagues on campus, I decided I had everything I needed to have a rehearsal session with the composer – LIVE! Although, the composer was not going to be live in flesh in our rehearsal room, he would be live via Skype and would be able to listen to our rehearsal through ustream.tv. I told the students we were going to make it happen, and they were so excited!

The day came (April 7th, 2011) when we would be rehearsing Steven Bryant’s Suite Dreams with him collaborating with us through live streaming. We did have a few technical difficulties (the louder moments in the piece were coming across distorted on the composers’ side) but everything else worked great! What a wonderful experience it was – the students were so excited to work with a composer.

It is one thing to perform works of Mozart, Liszt and Grainger, but to actually work with a LIVING composer LIVE puts everything into a whole new perspective. As conductors and musicians, we strive to interpret the music on the page the best we can. What exactly did Grainger mean when he placed that staccato marking over that note? A staccato can mean many different things depending on the context. What exactly did Mozart mean with that phrase line? Are we supposed to re-articulate notes underneath even though it is “slurred?” With all these questions, sometimes it can get a little frustrating. Trust me, we ALL go through it! The main thing to keep in mind is that every single note on the page was written by the composer and every note meant something very specific to him or her. It is the conductor and musicians’ job to interpret the music and serve the music for the composer, not for his or herself.

Well, having the composer LIVING and, even better, participating LIVE in our rehearsal was such an amazing experience. He could say “Dr. Denney Wright, that tempo is just a little fast, could you slow that down please?” To which I would say “Of course Mr. Bryant. It is YOUR piece after all!” There is not much room to argue or question what a composer says since it is his piece, his dreams, his work, his notes on the page. This also brings the players closer to the music and allows them a greater understanding of the piece – the students are able to become part of the music instead of just playing the notes.

I am hoping that we are going to be able to utilize this new technology and collaborate with composers when we are not able to fly them to campus. Allowing the students time to ask questions live to Steven Bryant was such a great opportunity. They asked questions such as “What is on your iPod?” and “Why do you write for the wind band?” It was one-on-one time with the composer that might not have happened otherwise.

-Lauren Denney Wright, D.M.A – Director of Bands, Oklahoma Baptist University

About the author

Lauren Denney Wright

Dr. Lauren Denney Wright is the current Director of Wind Ensemble activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Berry College where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches clarinet. Prior to her arrival at Berry College, Dr. Denney Wright was the Director of Bands, clarinet instructor, and taught Instrumental Music Education courses at Oklahoma Baptist University.
A native of Marietta, Ga., Dr. Denney Wright earned her bachelor of music degree in clarinet performance from Vanderbilt University, the master of music degree in clarinet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the bachelor of music degree in music education from Kennesaw State University. Dr. Denney Wright completed her doctoral studies in instrumental conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music under the mentorship of Gary Green, where she conducted the Frost Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, Chamber Winds and Concert Band. In addition, she taught conducting courses, worked with the Band of the Hour marching band and ran the men and women’s basketball pep bands. Dr. Denney Wright has worked with such composers as John Corigliano, David Maslanka, Michael Daugherty, John Mackey and Steven Bryant. In addition, Dr. Denney Wright will be making her international debut conducting chamber music with members of the Berlin Philharmonic this summer in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Dr. Denney Wright holds professional memberships with College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society and Music Teachers National Association. In addition she is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, a founding member of Sigma Alpha Iota at Vanderbilt University, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.
Educational Background:
B.M., Vanderbilt University
M.M., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
B.M., Kennesaw State University
D.M.A., University of Miami Frost School of Music

A native of Marietta, Georgia, Dr. Denney Wright earned her Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from Vanderbilt University, the Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Kennesaw State University. Prior to her appointment at Oklahoma Baptist University, Dr. Denney Wright completed her doctoral studies in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music under the mentorship of Gary Green, where she conducted the Frost Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, Chamber Winds and Concert Band. In addition, she taught conducting courses, worked with the Band of the Hour marching band and ran the men and women's basketball pep bands. Dr. Denney Wright has worked with such composers as John Corigliano, David Maslanka, Michael Daugherty, John Mackey and Steven Bryant.

Dr. Denney Wright holds professional memberships with College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society and Music Teachers National Association. In addition she is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, a founding member of Sigma Alpha Iota at Vanderbilt University, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

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