Hodgson Wind Ensemble Travels to Panama, January 2016

Members of the saxophone studio, Rick Firestone (MM, '17), Erin Keeney (BM Ed, '17),  Shawna Pennock (DMA, '17) and Charlie Young (DMA, '18) spent a week in January 2016 traveling across Panama to teach young saxophonists and perform concerts as members of the UGA Hodgson Wind Ensemble.

Before leaving for the trip, the ensemble had been rehearsing for months and at the same time was collecting gently used musical instruments to donate to students in Panama. Over 50 instruments were collected and packed away in the student’s luggage to take to each city!

A typical day during the trip consisted of teaching in the mornings at a local music school, followed by lunch and then a full ensemble rehearsal. The morning teaching sessions offered the opportunity for the four UGA saxophone students to share all they knew about ensemble playing, reed maintenance, and basic music skills with the students of Panama. After dinner, the Hodgson Wind Ensemble would perform concerts for the local students and community. Local students were given the opportunity to play alongside the Hodgson Wind Ensemble for one piece on the program and also on an encore of Stars and Stripes Forever. While the music was challenging they were able to experience performing with a high-level group. We made lots of friends and hope to return in the near future to continue teaching and playing music with them.