Progressive Music is Western Pennsylvania's leading school music dealer. This blog will be an insight into the world of Progressive Music, the music industry as a whole, music education, life in the City of McKeesport and sometimes random thoughts. Progressive's Mark Despotakis takes you inside Progressive Music.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

September is Nuts

Lots going for us in September - school is back so we're really up and running and getting instruments etc. out the door.

Not going into a ton of detail right now - but check this link.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Apparently, there is some new sitcom about tv news and the PG did an interview with some local tv anchors. Sally Wiggin is just one of my favorite people so it's worth it for that alone.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Saving The Oboe From Extinction

The oboe has been listed as one of five classical instruments on a national "endangered species" list because too few people play it and orchestras have struggled to recruit members to their woodwind sections, according to a recent report released in London. Now, the T.W. Howard Co., Sussex, England oboe maker is attempting to address the problem with a "child friendly" mini-oboe. The company's education coordinator, William Ring said, "the problem has always been the oboes are too heavy for children to play so they take up another instrument instead. the new mini-oboe has been designed to replicate the full-sized instrument as closely as possible." the mini-oboes and mini-bassoons are being introduced to pupils at schools in Sussex as part of the government's Wider Opportunities scheme. It aims to allow every school-age child to have a year of free tuition on an orchestral instrument.

--Source - The Music Trades, Sept. 2007

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Steeler Nation

Ok - so I am far from a sports fan - don't watch many sports at all - however, this video was recommended to me and it's worth seeing. ESPN did a show profiling how Pittsburgh's culture is shaped so much by the Steelers.

Some well known Pittsburghers are seen in the video - including Sally Wiggin.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1527321414