Alyse Hokamp

Blog archives

  • Mirlitons get funky

    My arrangement, adaptation of choreography, my dancing, and my flute playing… simultaneously! I’ll be performing this at the Denton Christmas Tree Lighting and our upcoming Pan-Tones dance night this weekend. The choreography and arrangement sort of represent my journey with both dance and music. I’ve been very much classically trained and have attempted the well-beaten paths, but always found myself breaking conventions and doing things my own way. Arrangement for flute and guitar (or piano) here: Read more

  • Becoming Satomi

    I have considered using my Japanese name professionally at various times in my career, and it was a natural opportunity when I launched my Japanese music act Satomi and the Sound last year. The only other time I’ve used Satomi was when I studied abroad in Japan, back in 2008. Essentially, SATS is still Robert and I (same as the Pan-Tones), with more of a focus on Japanese music, language, and culture. It’s very much just a shift of marketing angle, and it seems to be effective. This month we ended up doing a lot of Japanese music- a presentation… Read more

  • Macarena and more at flute studio

    Last month, the Pan-Tones made a presentation at our alma mater, the University of North Texas. I remember my student experience well, and it was quite difficult at times- lots of insecurity and struggle. I was stressed and exhausted all the time. Our goal was to break the expectations of studio class, and have the students participate in the music with us. We didn’t want an “us and them” situation. In order to break down that wall, we had flutists from the studio join us on some of the tunes (as well as Professor Sundberg). We also had everyone do… Read more

  • Happy dance time

    One of the curses of being a performing musician is that you can’t really dance. I’ve been stewing on this idea for a while. You can bust a little foot move or head turn, but dancing is very compromised when I try to combine the two simultaneously. The music suffers, and movement is very limited. Also, the space on stage is often very crowded. Recently, I’ve been dancing on a song while the others play, and it’s pretty fun that way. That way I can utilize my full range of movement and move out away from the band. The only… Read more

  • [Pan-Tones] The spooky set

    Halloween season is getting to be a really big deal here in Denton, TX. We have been officially designated the “Halloween Capital of TX” for the next 10 years. I’ve never been much of a Halloween person, even when I was younger. But I can definitely get into a character for a performance, especially if it includes dancing 🙂 We are starting to rotate in new songs at our smaller gigs this month, so we don’t have a bunch of brand new material all at once. This way we can tweak our arrangements before the “bigger” (more public) shows. It’s… Read more

  • Two original songs, one arrangement

    I had a couple of weeks in February where I churned out like 8 original songs. My very first original songs! Since then, two of them have been released into the wild in public performance, which is a strange and amazing feeling. It’s vulnerable enough to sing a song that someone else wrote, but singing your own song is on a whole different level. The Pan-Tones are also preparing some “spooky music” for the upcoming season. I wanted to do some music that was more creative and unexpected than the Monster Mash, but still with a nod to Halloween. One… Read more

  • [videos] Texas Winds Musical Outreach

    The Pan-Tones duo is proud to be working with the wonderful organization Texas Winds Musical Outreach to present music in nursing homes, rehabilitation, and memory care facilities in our local area. It is a true joy to play for such appreciative listeners. Read more

  • Good musical citizenship

    Moving forward in an artistic/music career is a mysterious journey. We have to determine our direction, while simultaneously creating the path.  One thing does seem to be consistently true- the music world is small, and there is such a thing as professional karma. In the artistic community, acting with integrity and grace is imperative- and often more important than your specific skills. I didn’t begin to understand this until I was in my 30s. My 20s were all about proving to others (but mostly myself) that I was “good enough” to be a professional musician. I don’t think I was… Read more

  • Media fast/Fast media

    July is a time of reflection for me. We’re halfway through the year, both kids have birthdays, and we have our wedding anniversary. Aside from the conspicuous marking of time from these occasions, things are slow in July. It’s extremely hot in the Texas summer, the kids are out of school, and we’ve settled into the slower pace of summer. After my recital- my major summer project– I look for a fresh direction. Self-producing a recital requires me to fill all the roles myself. I’m the artistic director, creating a concept and selecting the music. I’m handling logistics, scheduling rehearsals… Read more

  • The impossible/intuition

    When is something impossible? Once standard options fail, creativity begins. A path can feel instinctively right, without evidence to “prove” it. But how long to continue without external affirmation? When the heart resigns, has it become impossible? Or is acceptance the start of a new perspective? Impossibility is more opinion than fact. Just because it’s not apparent, doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. Sit with the impossible, and cracks begin to appear. Invisible, except to those who wait- patiently, expectantly. Intuition When it comes to creative decisions, I’m pretty intuitive. That’s definitely not to say I always make the best… Read more