Helping OU Families hurt by local tornadoes

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

The OU Foundation uses the verb “impacted” in the description of this Help OUr Neighbor Fund, but let’s be clear: this is OU faculty, staff, and students who lost homes or property in the May 19-20, 2013 tornadoes.  They’ve been hurt—if not physically, then emotionally and financially.  They’ll need help not only now, but long after the national news crews have left Moore, Newcastle, and south Oklahoma City for the Jodi Arias sentencing.

I am guessing (and sorry to put her on the spot) that Karen Renfroe can answer any questions about this fund, but it makes perfect sense: the OU Foundation has the financial might and infrastructure to both collect and distribute emergency money for those members of the OU family whose need arose so suddenly but will last a lot longer.

The Help OUr Neighbor Fund has been created to benefit OU faculty, staff and students who lost homes or property in the recent tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area. Any and all donations received in this fund will go directly to those students or employees whose homes and property were lost. All gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you for your support and considering helping those members of our OU family who have lost so much in this tragic incident.

It sounds too antiseptic for the reality to me. Think about where you lived during the summers in Norman, or think about where your professors or GAs lived.  Imagine that wiped out on a Monday afternoon. Now remember your bank balance at the time, and how much insurance you had on an apartment or rental house.

Now think about what help would mean next week, and next month, after this week’s bottled water and hot meals are memories. And think about your bank balance today.

I have heard no reports of any affected Pride members or alumni being hurt by the tornadoes, but there was more to everyone’s OU experience than The Pride.  If you are able, please give to help the OU family recover from these storms once the live reports stop.

A surprise at the Wind Symphony concert!

Posted on by

At Tuesday night’s Wind Symphony concert, just before the world premiere of Until Our Rest (commissioned by OU’s chapter of ΤΒΣ), Col Alan Bonner surprised Dr. Wakefield on stage with the ΚΚΨ Distinguished Service to Music Medal.

What is that, you may ask? According to national headquarters:

The Distinguished Service to Music Medal is the highest award presented by the Fraternity. It was instituted in 1963 to honor outstanding individual contributions to bands. The areas of recognition include: composition, concert band, marching band, instrumental music education, artist performer, industrial research and progress, contributing laymen, alumni achievement, and fraternity service.

Congratulations to Dr. Wakefield!

Below: Dr. William K. Wakefield accepts the ΚΚΨ Distinguished Service to Music Medal from OU ΚΚΨ chapter president Andrew Melvin and Lt. Col. Alan K. Bonner, USAF (Ret.), National Executive Director of ΚΚΨ and ΤΒΣ. (Credit: Valorie Wakefield/University Bands.)

20130417-171649.jpg

Wind Symphony in concert April 16

Posted on by

The Red & White Game heralds the end of spring football practice because the semester is winding down. That means the final concerts of the 2012-2013 academic year are at hand for all the major performing groups: the choral groups, the OU Symphony Orchestra IApril 20), and the wind performance groups we know and remember.

That starts April 16 at 8:00 PM with the year’s final performance of the OU Wind Symphony, featuring 100 years of “music of reverence, piety, and awe.” Don’t mistake that for “boring,” because this is good stuff and music you can handle after filing your taxes. Let’s look at this impressive program. Continue reading →

The 2013 Spring Newsletter is here!

Posted on by

Download it here and read it presently, because:

It’s time for the OU Football 2013 Spring Game!

Previously known as the Red & White Game, the annual spring game on April 13, 2013, divides the team into a “red” squad and a “white” squad, who play against each other with light contact, using a modified scoring system invented by misanthropic accountants from another galaxy. But if you’re current on your dues (OUBAA dues are for each calendar year—everyone’s were due again on January 1*), you can play with current members of The Pride of Oklahoma at the game!

How can this be accomplished?

  1. Pay your 2013 dues and tell us what you plan to play at the game, either by mailing in the page in the newsletter with appropriate compensation or by visiting this page.
  2. Read the instructions for what to wear, and when to be at what location, on the front page of the newsletter. (Then read the rest of the newsletter because it’s good.)
  3. Show up on time ready to play!

That’s it! And dues are just $15.50 online ($15 in cash or by mail), so you can pay them without much sacrifice even if you can’t play in the Spring Game.  But if you can, you get in free! It’s such a deal I lack the appropriate adjectives. You can also get extra game tickets for just $5.50 ($5 in cash), and lunch in Catlett Music Center with Pride members for $10.50 ($10 cash). (Wonder what the extra funds are used for? Read the newsletter!)

Questions? Ask Rita, because Rita Knows All. (Or knows who does know.) Act now, because registrations are due on April 3. See you on April 13!

___

*Unless you’re a lifetime member, something which I think requires special dispensation, maybe from the Secretary of the Interior. I’m unclear on a lot of this stuff.

Bands on the Composers Datebook

Posted on by

The College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) has been sponsoring segments on American Public Media’s daily radio show Composer’s Datebook since 2012, and there have been quite a few segments lately.  It’s just two minutes per day and is easy to listen to. In the Oklahoma City area, it’s on weekdays at 2:58 PM on KCSC (90.1 FM). For other areas or satellite, find your station here.

But if you want more, or don’t have the time, it’s on the Web. Or do what I do and subscribe to the free podcast and let iTunes or the client of your choice download it every day.

Today’s entry (February 8, 2013) was about the invention of the modern Wind Ensemble at the Eastman School of Music with Frederic Fennell—their first concert was on February 8, 1953. The February 9 show is about Ron Nelson’s Rocky Point Holiday, which debuted at the CBDNA convention on February 9, 1967. It describes the inspiration, the commission, and how it became famous. Both broadcasts are available in the archive for this week: Composers Datebook: 2/4/2013-2/10/2013. It requires Flash to listen to them online, but the podcast is a pure MP3 file you can save and play however.

Next Wednesday, February 13, Composers Datebook is about Music for Prague 1968 by Karel Husa, with two more CBDNA-sponsored episodes during the week.

Composers Datebook is a production of APM and the American Composers Forum, whose BandQuest program, creating new and challenging works by American composers that are true departures from the normal middle-school band repertoire. Funds for the cited episodes are provided by CBDNA. And as the tag line reminds everyone: All music was once new.

January 2013 Newsletter!

Posted on by

The January 2013 OUBAA Newsletter is 11 jam-packed pages, packed with jam.

No! Packed with full-color photographs from Homecoming 2012, letters from Gene Thrailkill, and Bill Wakefield, and a letter from Brian Britt upon leaving the position of director of the Pride of Oklahoma. (Be sure to see the invitation to the farewell reception!) There are farewell thank-yous from outgoing drum major Zack Hedrick and outgoing feature twirler Megan McGeary, and lots and lots of letters from your fellow band alumni. And no forms to fill out, no registrations to send in, none of that! Just a good old-fashioned newsletter, now in glorious extra-color!

Download it now in PDF format for ultra enjoyment!