Mr. Brian S. Story is currently director of the 7th & 8th Grade Bands at the Canandaigua Middle School. At Canandaigua his ensembles have received numerous Gold and Gold with distinction ratings at NYSSMA major ensemble festivals, as well as, Superior ratings at the Hochstein Music School Ensemble Festival. He received his B. S. in Music Education and his Masters of Music from Mansfield University in Mansfield Pa. Mr. Story is an active composer and performer as an instrumentalist and vocalist. He has over fifty published marching band and concert band compositions and arrangements with Belwin Music through Warner Brothers Publications and now Alfred Publications under the pen name Brian Scott. Mr. Story is member of the bass section in Rochester’s vocal ensembles Madrigalia and Musica Spei. He is a member of the New York State School Music Association. Mr. Story shares his love for music with his family, as his wife Amy is the Choral Director at Canandaigua Academy, and his son Matthew and daughter Kathryn are outstanding young musicians.
Middle School students seem to respond better, when visualizing their role within the ensemble balance, by imaging carnival balloons, the types of balloons that have other balloons inside, another approach to the ensemble balance pyramid concept. Understanding the individual and section role within the ensemble is a crucial step to active listening for good ensemble performance. This will give another way to approach the issues of listening, balance, and intonation.