Graduation Day and My Secret Love...

Today is Commencement!  I have finally graduated with a degree!  I now hold a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Brigham Young University.

I opted not to walk so I don't have a photo of me in a cap and gown but you can imagine what I would look like a blue tent!  Now that doesn't mean I didn't celebrate--which I did in my own way.

While 6000+ graduates, friends and family were at Commencement in the Marriott Center, I went to J Dawgs, a local hot dog hangout.  I found out JDawgs was crazy busy this morning, in fact all week.  I just happened to stop by during a less busy time today so my stop was short.  Fast service is the norm actually.

I love these hot dogs--and I generally don't even like hot dogs.  If you ever come to Provo, UT, you can't leave without enjoying a J Dawg!  Try either the beef or Polish (which is beef with spices)!  You choose the toppings from the list: yellow banana peppers, onions, sauerkraut, jalapeños, and the "secret sauce!"

The savory tastiness and deliciousness of a J Dawg is the "secret sauce."  I don't really know what the secret sauce has in it to make is so good because it is, well, a secret!  So I immediately thought of the song "Secret Love" sung by Doris Day for today's song!

Oh, If Only Big Band Music Was Still "Popular"

I love to sing jazz.  Hence my majoring in Jazz Studies and recording jazz songs.  My full jazz standards album will be released this summer.

I've loved jazz for as long as I can remember.  My older sister, Amy, is a saxophonist and I heard her playing jazz.  My first real accompanist was Dave Christensen, an incredible jazz pianist who revered Thelonious Monk.  Dave plays like Monk, and I thought, as a ten-year-old, that all pianists played that way.  Not so, but thanks to Dave, Monk is my favorite pianist!

And yes, I know Monk was not a big band pianist.  He had a big band in his hands.  But, I do love big band music and I absolutely love to sing with big bands.  There's just something incredible about all those "voices" coming together, almost like listening to an orchestra.  Except, I'd much rather listen to a big band than an orchestra, though I'm not against orchestral music.  I am also a harpist and know very well how satisfying orchestral music can be.  But when it comes to the "fun factor," big bands win hands down.

Today, I performed to advertise for a yearly event at BYU called Big Band Night.

Each year, an armed forces veteran is chosen to be honored for the evening.  Singers perform a skit circa 1940s and the ballroom is turned into a stage door canteen from 1945.  A live big band, Synthesis, performs instrumental dance music which is interspersed with number that include singers.  I'm one of the singers!

This year I'm singing "Alright, Okay, You Win" and "Cry Me a River."  Admittedly, those are two of my absolute favorite songs to sing with a big band!

What "Sing, Sing, Sing" is to the instrumental big band genre, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is to the vocal big band genre.  I know I've highlighted this song before, but this one is a live performance of Ella Fitzgerald!

Commercial Music!

Today BYU's Media Music department made a fantastic announcement!  My major, Jazz Studies, Sound Recording Technology, and Media Music are all being combined into the Commercial Music major in Fall 2013!

The Commercial Music degree will make it easier for Jazz Studies, Sound Recording, and Media Music majors to take classes that are tailored for their chosen music careers.  Ironically, the courses I took included all of my Jazz Studies classes and as many Media Music and Sound Recording classes as I possibly could.

FYI: Commercial Music is any kind of music that is "commercially" viable.  It includes film scoring, songwriting, Broadway, orchestration, arranging, recording (engineering), mixing and mastering, library music, producing, etc.  Basically any music that generates revenue in a non-gigging or teaching way qualifies as commercial music.

Since I'm graduating before the change takes effect, my degree will still be in Jazz Studies.  But I'm very excited that other students will have their programs designed to broaden and increase their marketable music skills.  Current students can opt out of the new program by finishing their degrees in their original major.

I would not have a co-writer if I had not intently looked for classes that music students outside my jazz studies major were taking for their majors.  Hurray for cross-disciplinary learning and merging of three programs into one!  Here's a song, "The Moment," I co-wrote with Justin Jensen, a Sound Recording Technology graduate, who I met in a Media Music class!