Music

Members of the George Rogers Clark High School Marching Band took to the field last week, braving the heat and humidity to prepare for another season of music and marching with two weeks of band camp. "So far it's going really, really well," said Randy Webb, the band's new director. "The parents have been great, and the kids have worked really hard. " Webb, who graduated from GRC in 1977, left his post at Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger, Ky., to accept his "dream job" in Clark County this year.

Are you an adult with a secret desire to play in a band or orchestra? Did you, perhaps, play the clarinet in middle school, high school or college, only to put it away for 30 years while you pursued a career and raised a family? If this sounds familiar, then the Community Arts Center has a program that may interest you. The New Horizons music program is coming to Danville. Developed more than 20 years ago by Roy Ernst of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., New Horizons programs provide the entry point into music-making for adults, particularly seniors.

If you take the offensive words out of a song, does that remove the offensive message? School-district officials say no, and a new policy would ban schools from playing “inappropriate” songs during athletic events and even from playing those songs with explicit words edited out. “We don't want innuendo or any kind of profanity,” said deputy superintendent Owens Saylor. “We're even really concerned about music that's been cleaned up - in other words, the theme is still there but the profanity's been removed - we're not going there any longer.

“Kentucky Crafted: The Market,” the award-winning arts marketplace, will feature two full days of musical performances March 3-4 on the Kentucky Stage at the Lexington Convention Center.  The Market also offers a series of hands-on workshops and activities as well as opportunities to shop for books, CDs, DVDs, artisan foods and fine arts and crafts. The lineup of hourly performances by Kentucky musicians crosses genres. To view a video sample of music offered during The Market, go to http://bit.ly/KCTMmusicpromo2012 .   Saturday  11 a.m.: Singer-songwriter Butch Rice kicks off the Saturday performances with soulful acoustic-pop original music.

Arpeggios and scales, flats and sharps, or simply "Hey, I like that tune. " It's the sound of music and it's being celebrated in March as Music In Our Schools Month. Alyvia Walker, Ava Uhrig, Konnor Hill and Demetrius Jones, all first-grade students at Jennie Rogers Elementary, have sunny outlooks on music. Alyvia likes the drums; Konnor prefers the xylophone. Demetrius gets into the flute "because it has a beautiful sound coming out of it. " Ava delights in the sand-rubbers.

By day, Ronn Crowder spends his time working for Jessamine County schools documenting various events with his camera as the school district's assistant communications coordinator. By night, the Winchester native spends his time entertaining crowds with his singing, guitar and harmonica skills at various venues around central Kentucky, including Three Sons Bistro in Nicholasville, located in Brannon Crossing. And it all began with a bribe, he said. "I started singing when I was a little kid in the barbershop," he said.

STANFORD - Mollie Lair and Rob Hacker are in the middle of March Madness - and it's not the basketball kind. It's the acting-singing, don't-get-sick-take-your-vitamin-C, practice-makes-perfect, get-your-allergy-shot-and-plenty-of-rest kind. How's that? They're rehearsing "The Sound of Music" at Lincoln County High School. The show is directed by Stuart and Sheila Underwood, with assistance from Phyllis Cooley. Lair and Hacker, both seniors, portray Maria and von Trapp. At a recent rehearsal, Lair was rattling off an absent performers lines as well as her own as the ensemble rehearsed.

For the Martin family, life really is a circus. Four kids, professional music careers and a family group with a growing number of performances can be a bit chaotic. Parents Paul and Jamie had that chaos in mind when they named their fledgling band The Martin Family Circus in 2010. “Jamie had decided to come, she was working a corporate job, and I was on the road with Marty Stuart. Our lives were nuts,” Paul Martin said. Winchester native Paul Martin has been performing with country musician Marty Stuart for years, and plays bass for “The Marty Stuart Show.” Previously, he has performed with the Oak Ridge Boys and Exile.

BRODHEAD - Nationally recognized songwriting duo Zoe Speaks will host the Second Annual Zoe Speaks Clear Creek Music Festival starting at noon Saturday at The Visionseed Arts Center in Rockcastle County. The Clear Creek Music Festival will feature a diverse array of Americana and folk musicians, dancers, healers, teachers, and arts vendors, in an intimate, wooded setting just outside Berea. The festival was conceived to offer a more intimate setting than the huge music festivals can, with a focus on celebrating musical and cultural diversity and the natural world.

Dear Editor: I just read some letters concerning the use of the field between the Boyle County Marching Rebels and the football team. As an ex-member of the Marching Rebels for five years, I can remember the same thing going on back when I was in school. My questions are: If everyone in the school system and the community helped pay for the field, then isn't it everyone's field to enjoy as they wish? Why is it just for use for the football players? When I have taken my own daughter to the games, I not only go for the game but also to see how the band is progressing.