The Walden School
Encyclopedia
The Walden School is a private summer music camp situated on the campus of the Dublin School
, in Dublin, New Hampshire
, USA
. It is a five-week residential program which hosts approximately 45 students aged 10-18 and focuses on developing musicianship through composition
, improvisation
and choral training. The Walden School is widely known among its alumni and current students for providing a holistic and community-oriented approach to making music and is considered by many who are acquainted with the program to be a fantastic opportunity for young composers to mature as musicians. The Walden School takes place every summer from the last Saturday in June to the first Sunday in August. Although the majority of the students come from the American Northeast, with sizable Baltimore
and San Francisco Bay Area contingents, many also come from all over the United States
and some from around the world. In recent years, students have traveled from the United Kingdom
, China
, Switzerland
, Italy
, Greece
, Germany
, Canada
, Israel
, Cyprus
, Lebanon
, Turkey
, and Hong Kong
to attend the Walden School.
, Maryland
and is widely considered the predecessor camp of The Walden School. Many of the traditions and philosophies that embody The Walden School program originated during the Junior Conservatory years. The Walden School, which began in Reisterstown, Maryland, was situated on the campus of the Mountain School from 1976 to 1982, a small rural private boarding school
in Vershire, Vermont
. In 1983, due to the impending sale of The Mountain School, Walden moved to the Dublin School
in Dublin
, New Hampshire
, where it has been held ever since. A tragedy was experienced by the Walden School community on July 17, 1996, when David Hogan was one of the victims of the TWA Flight 800
crash .
series and improvisations inside the piano. This method of teaching musicianship breaks with conventional methods of music education, most notably in The Walden School's teaching of intervals and modes
before teaching functional harmony. The Walden School has recently published a textbook titled "The Walden School Musicianship Course: A Manual for Teachers," of which Walden states the following:
approach is taken, in what Walden School officials claim is a chance for young students to produce music without requiring much formal training
. More advanced classes comprising older and more experienced composition students take a very open-ended approach, in that students are encouraged to compose any style they please while simultaneously receiving guidance from their composition teacher on orchestration
and notation
techniques. Many consider Walden School composition teachers to be more like mentor
s than instructors.
Many Walden School composition classes begin the summer with a walk around the Dublin School campus, listening for sounds in their environment.
was added to the Walden School Musicianship and Composition curriculum in 2000. Since then, a computer lab has been installed on the 2nd floor of the Science Building on campus every summer.
The computer lab
contains eight Apple Power Mac
computers, each supplied with Digidesign
Mbox
hardware
and Pro Tools
software. Students use a Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
recorder with a stereo microphone
to record sounds, and then later upload these recordings to the Power Macs and begin composing electronic pieces primarily using Pro Tools
software. Other popular pieces of software used among Walden School students to manipulate the sounds they record are Thonk , and Soundhack . Max/MSP
is a more sophisticated digital audio signal processing
application and is used exclusively among the Walden School faculty. Once a student completes a computer composition, they must "bounce" their Pro Tools
file to disk, which creates a single AIFF
file ready to be burned to CD
.
, although Goodnight Music has occasionally been played on the accordion
, toy piano
, and numerous other ensembles.
The lyrics and music of Goodnight Music have been passed down aurally since its inception during the Junior Conservatory years of the 1940s and 50s. Persons learning to play Goodnight Music are encouraged to figure out the chord
changes on their own. This folk-like tradition leads to a variety of different performance styles of Goodnight Music, as each performer has a different interpretation of the chords
, rhythm
, tempo
and ornamentation
of the song. Several elements however must remain constant. The song must always be performed with F#/Gb at the tonic
, and the lyrics
must remain unchanging. The notes of the vocal portion of the song never change, however the rhythms may change according to how the Goodnight Circle collectively interprets the performance of the accompanist.
, Latin
, or even Finnish
, and some lyrics are considered absurd by many. Although hundreds of blessings exist in written form, only a handful are commonly performed.
One popular Walden blessing learned in 2004 was based on a twelve tone row
and discussed the literal path of food through the digestive system.
"Plow" is widely regarded as an extremely popular and sensationalistic Walden blessing. It is in 2-parts in D dorian
and although the composer
did not intend for it to end with a sudden dramatic crescendo
, it has become a Walden School tradition to sing it this way.
Other popular Walden blessings include:
being the final and widely accepted as the most challenging mountain hike.
The Walden community assembles in six hiking groups consisting of 6-8 members, all of whom hike independently up the mountain in 5-10 minute intervals. Walden School officials claim this policy is designed to prevent congestion of the hiking path which could impede other hikers and lead to safety
problems. Critics of the policy claim that it creates a "hiking class structure" system in which the more physically fit students are given preference to higher-level hiking groups and thus are given a head start
to the day's activities such as eating lunch at the summit and drinking sodas back at the starting point, although a new system was tried last year where the members of a group were chosen at random, and where the order of the groups were switched around. Sometimes fierce rivalry can break out between Groups 1 and 2.
theme, which is usually announced by the staff before or during the Saturday hike. Students are encouraged to be creative in making a costume of their own design, and traditionally many students create costumes from every day items found around campus, such as towels, wires, paper, as well as cheap plastic items bought during the shopping trip that same day. At every dance there are songs that are always played, while others can be played one week, but be replaced with one not played the week before.
Each dance theme is considered to create a unique atmosphere as people dressed to match the theme waltz, tango, play musical chairs, freeze dance, and square dance. The dances conclude with two rounds of "The Apple", a waltz unique to The Walden School that is danced to the traditional Irish folk song "Do You Love an Apple?", usually from a recording from the album "Now and Then" (released in 1980) by the folk ensemble Trapezoid, but which can be played by visiting ensembles.
and discussion, where various student compositions
are performed Immediately after the performance, the student composer
will come to the “hot seat” in front of the audience
discuss various aspects of the piece, first with a “Forum Moderator
” (generally a teacher at Walden) and then with the audience.
ensemble comprising a six musicians playing violin
, cello
, piano
, flute
, clarinet
, and percussion
. Non Sequitur is the ensemble in residence at The Walden School, and rarely meets as a group outside of Walden. Every summer, the members of Non Sequitur travel to the Walden School during the final two weeks of the summer session to conduct a music workshop
, perform a concert
and help perform student pieces during the “Festival Forums.” Traditionally, Non Sequitur focuses on new music or 20th century music
. Most of the pieces they play have been composed specifically for them, and the flautist
of Non Sequitur, Ned McGowan, is a composer himself who writes pieces for the ensemble. The members of Non Sequitur come from various places in the world, from New York City
to Amsterdam
.
The schedule of Festival Week is roughly as follows:
Dublin School
The Dublin School is a preparatory private high school with a small student body. It is located in Dublin, New Hampshire, near Dublin Pond and Mount Monadnock. The school enrolls around 130 students per year.-History:...
, in Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,597 at the 2010 census. It is home to both the Dublin School and Yankee Magazine.-History:...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a five-week residential program which hosts approximately 45 students aged 10-18 and focuses on developing musicianship through composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
and choral training. The Walden School is widely known among its alumni and current students for providing a holistic and community-oriented approach to making music and is considered by many who are acquainted with the program to be a fantastic opportunity for young composers to mature as musicians. The Walden School takes place every summer from the last Saturday in June to the first Sunday in August. Although the majority of the students come from the American Northeast, with sizable Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and San Francisco Bay Area contingents, many also come from all over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and some from around the world. In recent years, students have traveled from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to attend the Walden School.
History
The Walden School was co-founded in 1972 by David Hogan, Pamela Layman Quist, and Lynn Taylor Hebden following the death of Grace Newsom Cushman, the founder of the Junior Conservatory Camp (also commonly referred to as the "JCC"). The JCC was founded in the 1940s in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and is widely considered the predecessor camp of The Walden School. Many of the traditions and philosophies that embody The Walden School program originated during the Junior Conservatory years. The Walden School, which began in Reisterstown, Maryland, was situated on the campus of the Mountain School from 1976 to 1982, a small rural private boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Vershire, Vermont
Vershire, Vermont
Vershire is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States, created under Vermont Charter of August 3, 1781. The population was 629 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. In 1983, due to the impending sale of The Mountain School, Walden moved to the Dublin School
Dublin School
The Dublin School is a preparatory private high school with a small student body. It is located in Dublin, New Hampshire, near Dublin Pond and Mount Monadnock. The school enrolls around 130 students per year.-History:...
in Dublin
Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,597 at the 2010 census. It is home to both the Dublin School and Yankee Magazine.-History:...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where it has been held ever since. A tragedy was experienced by the Walden School community on July 17, 1996, when David Hogan was one of the victims of the TWA Flight 800
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
crash .
Philosophy
The Walden academic curriculum and teaching methodology is based on a core philosophy which employs a comprehensive and organic approach to learning music, emphasizing creativity in all aspects of the curriculum. The Walden School's general philosophy defines music as "sound organized in time."Musicianship
The Musicianship course is core to the Walden curriculum. The philosophy behind the course states that students learn music most effectively when approaching it from many angles simultaneously, these core angles being singing, playing, writing, and improvising music. The Musicianship course teaches the elements of music more or less in the order that they were developed, and starts with the existential question of "what is music?" Students then proceed through a process of discovery beginning with the overtoneOvertone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
series and improvisations inside the piano. This method of teaching musicianship breaks with conventional methods of music education, most notably in The Walden School's teaching of intervals and modes
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
before teaching functional harmony. The Walden School has recently published a textbook titled "The Walden School Musicianship Course: A Manual for Teachers," of which Walden states the following:
- The Manual collects the teaching wisdom and experience of nine teachers of The Walden Musicianship Course, and chapter-by-chapter it carries us on an exciting journey. Starting with acoustical foundations, passing through a unique treatment of intervals and basic triads, a presentation of cycles of thirds and fifths, melodic modes and modal harmony, functional harmony, and computer music applications, the Manual conclusively provides a compendium of ideas about how you can relate these musical materials to creative projects in your own classroom or studio.
Composition Program
Composition is considered the most widely known element of the Walden curriculum, as most Walden School alumni declare Walden a "composition camp", although technically composition is not at the core of the Walden curriculum. The method employed by composition teachers depends on the level of the student. In beginner classes comprising young students who have never composed before or have very little experience, a more improvisation-orientedImprovisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
approach is taken, in what Walden School officials claim is a chance for young students to produce music without requiring much formal training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
. More advanced classes comprising older and more experienced composition students take a very open-ended approach, in that students are encouraged to compose any style they please while simultaneously receiving guidance from their composition teacher on orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
and notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
techniques. Many consider Walden School composition teachers to be more like mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
s than instructors.
Many Walden School composition classes begin the summer with a walk around the Dublin School campus, listening for sounds in their environment.
Choral Program
The Choral program is one of the staple classes at the Walden School. Every member of the Walden community participates in it, and sings in the Full Choir. In addition, younger boys and girls with unchanged voices sing in Treble Choir. These younger students do not participate in the Mixed Choir, which comprises all members of the community with changed voices. Men's and Women's choirs provide more opportunities for singing and comprise all women and men with changed voices. Chamber Singers is an ensemble that generally sings more challenging music, and comprises the faculty and staff of the school. This group meets once or twice a week, often coupled with a faculty meeting. Every weekday all Walden School students spend approximately one hour in choral rehearsals. On a standard day, choral rehearsal ends directly before lunch, so the Walden School community concludes the rehearsal by singing a blessing together.Computer Music Program
Computer musicComputer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
was added to the Walden School Musicianship and Composition curriculum in 2000. Since then, a computer lab has been installed on the 2nd floor of the Science Building on campus every summer.
The computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
contains eight Apple Power Mac
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...
computers, each supplied with Digidesign
Digidesign
Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...
Mbox
Mbox
mbox is a generic term for a family of related file formats used for holding collections of electronic mail messages. All messages in an mbox mailbox are concatenated and stored as plain text in a single file...
hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
software. Students use a Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
recorder with a stereo microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
to record sounds, and then later upload these recordings to the Power Macs and begin composing electronic pieces primarily using Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
software. Other popular pieces of software used among Walden School students to manipulate the sounds they record are Thonk , and Soundhack . Max/MSP
Max (software)
Max is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. During its 20-year history, it has been widely used by composers, performers, software designers, researchers, and artists for creating innovative recordings,...
is a more sophisticated digital audio signal processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
application and is used exclusively among the Walden School faculty. Once a student completes a computer composition, they must "bounce" their Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
file to disk, which creates a single AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
file ready to be burned to CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
Traditional practices
The Walden School community treasures its traditions and values them as essential to the "Walden experience."Goodnight Music
Goodnight Music is considered to be the most treasured Walden tradition. In this ritual, the entire Walden community, which comprises faculty, staff, students, guest artists, and other visitors, gathers together every night in an elliptical embrace, commonly referred to as the "Goodnight Circle" and sings the song "Goodnight Music", a lullaby composed by former Junior Conservatory student and faculty member Shari Fleming in the 1940s. Usually one member of the community plays an accompaniment and improvised introduction and conclusion usually on the pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, although Goodnight Music has occasionally been played on the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
, and numerous other ensembles.
The lyrics and music of Goodnight Music have been passed down aurally since its inception during the Junior Conservatory years of the 1940s and 50s. Persons learning to play Goodnight Music are encouraged to figure out the chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
changes on their own. This folk-like tradition leads to a variety of different performance styles of Goodnight Music, as each performer has a different interpretation of the chords
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
, rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
, tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and ornamentation
Ornament (music)
In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...
of the song. Several elements however must remain constant. The song must always be performed with F#/Gb at the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
, and the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
must remain unchanging. The notes of the vocal portion of the song never change, however the rhythms may change according to how the Goodnight Circle collectively interprets the performance of the accompanist.
Blessings
A Walden blessing is defined as a song sung unaccompanied by the Walden community as a prerequisite to eating a meal, in particular lunch and dinner. The majority of commonly-performed Walden blessings have been composed by either present Walden students, Walden alumni, or Junior Conservatory alumni. The lyrics of the various blessings fall into a variety of categories; secular and religious, in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, or even Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, and some lyrics are considered absurd by many. Although hundreds of blessings exist in written form, only a handful are commonly performed.
One popular Walden blessing learned in 2004 was based on a twelve tone row
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
and discussed the literal path of food through the digestive system.
"Plow" is widely regarded as an extremely popular and sensationalistic Walden blessing. It is in 2-parts in D dorian
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
and although the composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
did not intend for it to end with a sudden dramatic crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
, it has become a Walden School tradition to sing it this way.
Other popular Walden blessings include:
- "When the Good" - a melodious, sensitive blessing in two parts.
- "Jumala" - a short and haunting FinnishFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
folk song in E phrygian. - "Behold" - these lyrics are derived from a Biblical passage from the Book of RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, more specially Revelations 3:20 - "Earth Goddess" - often noted as a secular tribute to mother nature in two parts. Sometimes the last few lines are satirized by a few members of the community who choose to sing them with an alternative accentAccent (linguistics)In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
. - "Praise the Lord" - a religious blessing, whose lyrics ending on "Praise the Lord for He is good" often are changed to "Praise the Lord for She's a good dude", a change which is widely seen as a suggestion that God isn't necessarily male.
- "Good Food, Good Meat" - the most recently written (composed in 2004 by a Walden student) popular blessing.
- "Source of all Life" - another religious blessing, which ends on a plagal cadenceCadence (music)In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
. - "Ormpa" - a rather ridiculous, and immensely popular blessing, in which eight groups sing in a fast-paced canonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
about various colored fish and then a seal, ending also with a plagal cadenceCadence (music)In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
.
Saturday hikes
Every Saturday, with the exception of the first and last Saturdays, the Walden School community hikes to the summit of various mountains, Mt. MonadnockMount Monadnock
Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is the most prominent New England mountain peak south of the White Mountains and east of the Massachusetts Berkshires, and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire...
being the final and widely accepted as the most challenging mountain hike.
The Walden community assembles in six hiking groups consisting of 6-8 members, all of whom hike independently up the mountain in 5-10 minute intervals. Walden School officials claim this policy is designed to prevent congestion of the hiking path which could impede other hikers and lead to safety
Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
problems. Critics of the policy claim that it creates a "hiking class structure" system in which the more physically fit students are given preference to higher-level hiking groups and thus are given a head start
Head start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
to the day's activities such as eating lunch at the summit and drinking sodas back at the starting point, although a new system was tried last year where the members of a group were chosen at random, and where the order of the groups were switched around. Sometimes fierce rivalry can break out between Groups 1 and 2.
Dances
Every Saturday night, with the exception of the first, a dance is held on campus in the Upper Arts Building, (commonly referred to as the "Upper AB"). Some dances have a costumeCostume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
theme, which is usually announced by the staff before or during the Saturday hike. Students are encouraged to be creative in making a costume of their own design, and traditionally many students create costumes from every day items found around campus, such as towels, wires, paper, as well as cheap plastic items bought during the shopping trip that same day. At every dance there are songs that are always played, while others can be played one week, but be replaced with one not played the week before.
Each dance theme is considered to create a unique atmosphere as people dressed to match the theme waltz, tango, play musical chairs, freeze dance, and square dance. The dances conclude with two rounds of "The Apple", a waltz unique to The Walden School that is danced to the traditional Irish folk song "Do You Love an Apple?", usually from a recording from the album "Now and Then" (released in 1980) by the folk ensemble Trapezoid, but which can be played by visiting ensembles.
More Traditions
- The Walden School has a “musicianship frolic” occurring approximately half way through its sessionAcademic termAn academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
. The frolic is a much more fun version of the musicianship demo (occurring later in the seasonSeasonA season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
). It is meant to showcase the main points of what has been taught in a particular musicianship class and how it was taught. The frolic has only occurred three times during the Walden School’s history (during the 2003, 2004, and 2005 sessions), but has its roots in a much more serious “frolic” developed by Grace Newsom Cushman that was used to give deserving students scholarships to The Junior Conservatory Camp (The Walden School’s predecessor school).
Weekly Forums
The weekly forums at The Walden School are a mix of concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
and discussion, where various student compositions
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
are performed Immediately after the performance, the student composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
will come to the “hot seat” in front of the audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
discuss various aspects of the piece, first with a “Forum Moderator
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
” (generally a teacher at Walden) and then with the audience.
Non Sequitur
Non Sequitur is a Pierrot plusPierrot Lunaire
Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds 'Pierrot lunaire' , commonly known simply as Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 , is a melodrama by Arnold Schoenberg...
ensemble comprising a six musicians playing violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. Non Sequitur is the ensemble in residence at The Walden School, and rarely meets as a group outside of Walden. Every summer, the members of Non Sequitur travel to the Walden School during the final two weeks of the summer session to conduct a music workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
, perform a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
and help perform student pieces during the “Festival Forums.” Traditionally, Non Sequitur focuses on new music or 20th century music
20th century music
20th century music is defined by the sudden emergence of advanced technology for recording and distributing music as well as dramatic innovations in musical forms and styles...
. Most of the pieces they play have been composed specifically for them, and the flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
of Non Sequitur, Ned McGowan, is a composer himself who writes pieces for the ensemble. The members of Non Sequitur come from various places in the world, from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
Festival Week
The final or 5th week of the Walden School session is referred to as "Festival Week".The schedule of Festival Week is roughly as follows:
- Sunday - The festival forum moderator gives a demonstration of his/her own work as a composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. - Monday - The first night of the Festival Forums.
- Tuesday - The second night of the Festival Forums.
- Wednesday - The third and final night of the Festival Forums
- Thursday - Friends and relatives are invited to see Walden School classes being conducted in the open.
- Friday - The Choral Concert and the final night of Festival Week.
Past Walden School Directors
- 2004-present Seth Brenzel
- 1996-2003 Patricia Plude
- 1994-1995 Stephen Coxe
- 1983-1994 Pamela Layman Quist
- 1972-1982 David Hogan