I Should Be Practicing

Clarinet lessons via Skype

2011-08-07T00:44:00.003-04:00

It's come to my attention that there are some students who would like to take lessons with me, but I don't live near them. As a result, I'm offering lessons via Skype, which has turned out to be a fantastic way to learn to play the clarinet. All you need is the free Skype software, a microphone, webcam, and a fast internet connection.

If you'd like to know a bit more about my teaching and performance background, take a look at my NYU faculty page here.

If you're interested in taking some lessons with me or are even considering studying clarinet at NYU, send me an email (ctb267@nyu.edu).

Ah, technology! When I was a kid, we had monochrome screens and ASCII art.

Yearly update

2011-08-07T00:27:00.003-04:00

I guess I've been a little busy, what with teaching, playing, and helping to run a chamber series.

Here are a few upcoming concerts:

Sunday, August 7, 2011 - 730 pm
Carnegie Room Concerts - Schubertiade VI

The Nyack Library

59 S. Broadway

Nyack, NY

All-Schubert Program

Shepherd on the Rock, D.965
Sonata in A minor, D.821 ‘Arpeggione’
Selected Lieder

Sally Neff-Greenberg, soprano
Christopher Bush, clarinet; Carol Minor, piano

Tickets
General: $25
Senior: $20
Soiree Society Member: $18
Young Adult (under 35): $15
Child (12 & under): $5

Available at the door or reserve in advance at www.carnegieroom.org

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Saturday, August 27, 2011 - 730pm
Summerland Music Society - Trios and Tango

Hudson River Music Hall

122 Main Street

Hudson Falls, NY

Charlie Powers, cello
Anastasia Robinson, soprano
Christopher Bush, clarinet
Carol Minor, piano

Music of Schubert, Piazzolla, Previn, Beach and Brahms
Tickets: $15 floor, $17.50 balcony, $10 students/seniors
Available at the door

For more information, visit our website at www.summerlandmusicsociety.com

Missed a bunch

2010-10-31T02:52:00.004-04:00

Sorry about that. I got so busy that I didn't even post concert listings. Now THAT is the height of laziness. The neatest and most recent was a performance of Elliott Carter's "Pastoral" in its incarnation as a solo work with accompanying marimba and string orchestra. That was pretty neat.

Since I'm in a "gettin' stuff done" kind of mood, I'll throw up a couple more concert listings:

8pm Tues. Nov. 9, 2010 Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Fierce Singleness: Music of Pozzi Escot and Robert Cogan

Works:
Robert Cogan - Fierce Singleness for solo clarinet
Pozzi Escot - VIRELAI for Chris and Carol (a commission from last year getting its Boston debut)
Pozzi Escot - Thy Kindled Valors Bend

Christopher Bush, clarinet
Carol Minor, piano
Christie Finn, soprano

[There will be other works on this program, but these will be the ones that Carol and I are playing. Should be fun to be back in Boston and taking Jordan Hall's acoustics for a spin again.]

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Fri. Nov. 19, 2010 [not quite sure where! Somewhere in a school in the North Country.] NY
Glens Falls Symphony

Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf

(kids concert at a school...these are always fun!)

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4pm Sun Nov. 21 Glens Falls, NY
Glens Falls Symphony

Barber Symphony No. 1
Barber Knoxville Summer of 1915
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

[Here's the really neat thing about this program. This is the first orchestral concert in a LONG time that consists of entirely new-to-me repertoire. It's nice to approach some pieces from the canon for the first time. Score study, listening to recordings, learning lots of notes (especially the Barber)...the whole nine yards. Awesome...]

July Concerts

2010-06-30T00:30:00.003-04:00

Back from the undead with a few concerts you should hit:

Sunday July 4 730pm
Glens Falls Symphony Summer Pops Concert
Crandall Park
Glens Falls, NY

Thursday July 8 730pm
Glens Falls Symphony Summer Pops Concert (followed by fireworks!)
Shepard Park
Lake George, NY

Friday July 9 730pm
Summerland Music Society
1st Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls
Glens Falls, NY
Chamber music of Bach, Beethoven, Carter, Ravel, Webern, and Saint-Saens.
Carol Minor, piano
Jameson Platte, cello
Christopher Bush, clarinet

Sunday July 25 730pm
Summerland Music Society
1st Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls
Glens Falls, NY
Chamber music of Brahms, Piazzolla, Milhaud, and Still.
Carol Minor, piano
Marc Szammer, violin
Christopher Bush, clarinet

I have to throw in a special plug for these last two concerts as they are the first concerts in a new series for us. Please come support us as we bring the best music to Glens Falls this summer!

And then...

2010-02-09T23:12:00.002-05:00

Bernstein done. Next, another concert of Guy Barash's "Proteus". This is the large piece of which "Talkback" is a small part. The rest of the parts include a rock band, a percussionist, a "classical" singer, and a violinist. Pretty interesting and only about an hour. It'll be at Galapagos in Brooklyn on Feb. 17. Here's the link: http://galapagosartspace.com/

Earlier that day, I have a three hour recording session where I'll be sight reading short film scores with a group of about half a dozen of New York's finest...musicians, not cops. What a long birthday!

The Gandolfi solo piece and The Stone concerts are fast approaching!

Upcoming Concert

2010-01-18T00:51:00.002-05:00

Here's a special concert coming up. I've been asked to perform as a guest on a piano recital in Glens Falls, NY. Pianist Carol Minor will be performing works by Beethoven, Debussy, and Finnissy while we will end the concert with Leonard Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata. It'll be good, I promise. Details below:

Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 3pm
First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls
400 Glen St.
Glens Falls, NY
suggested donation: $10

Let me know if you're coming!

Workin' that last bit o' vacation

2010-01-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

On the desk (fancy term for music stand):

Carter Pastoral
Hughes Wingtones
Schubert Octet
Mozart Serenade (don't know which number, sorry)
Escot Virelai
Barash Talkback
Mozart Concerto
Rimsky Korsakov Scheherezade
Cawkwell 6 Flowers
Bernstein Sonata

Am kind of liking the Legeres, but they're too soft. It seems that I got pre-adjusted reeds. Ewww. Did use them, with some success in a rehearsal. Had to use cane for the recording. I didn't want to go overboard.

Fake reeds, real sound

2009-12-27T11:18:00.003-05:00

So, for the holidays, I received both some scales and a complete screw-over from Delta Airlines. They've managed to be completely incompetent at every step of the way. They even managed to somehow screw up when I flew on USAir. That's a special kind of incompetent. It took USAir 33 minutes to untangle the mess.

On a much better note: Reeds. I've started testing some of the Legere plastic reeds as I've started hearing wonderful things about them. Although I don't think that I've settled on a strength yet, it looks good. At the very least, I may have a reliable backup reed for times when nothing else will work. So far, I've also only tried the Quebec cut, but I'll try the Signature line soon. I'm confident enough in one of them that I may use them for a recording on Tuesday. It'll be like those instant coffee commercials "Let's switch the reed for Legere and see if they notice."

Er...should I not have posted it on the internet if I'm supposed to be keeping it a blind experiment? Nobody reads this anyway.

For Christmas Eve I'm giving myself...

2009-12-24T01:19:00.002-05:00

...scales! Since I've been slammed with paperwork, snow, and flying, I've not really practiced in the past few days. I'll be getting back into the swing of things starting with a little C Major sweetness and just see where the night leads us.

Save the Dates!

2009-12-17T00:13:00.002-05:00

So, as the semester closes, I creep out of hiding for a small blog update. [Yes, the semester. For those not in the know, I'm in the middle of a PhD among all my other gallivanting about town.]

I've got some wonderful concerts planned for the Winter. Here are 5 that are required attendance for anyone reading this blog. Yes...both of you.

Dec 17, 2009 Thursday 8pm - 45 W 4th St, New York City, NY
World Premiere of Guy Barash's 45 minute work "Proteus" that includes the new clarinet and electronics piece he wrote for me, "Talkback".

Mar 1, 2010 Monday 8pm - 45 W 4th St, New York City, NY
World Premiere of Izzi Ramkissoon's new work written for me and pianist Carol Minor and electronics.

Mar 7, 2010 Sunday 4pm - Glens Falls, NY
World Premiere of Grammy Award winning composer Michael Gandolfi's new work for solo clarinet and string orchestra with the Glens Falls Symphony. [Yes, I'll be playing the Solo Clarinet part.]

Mar 8, 2010 Monday 8pm - Skirball Center, New York City, NY
World Premiere of Ricardo Climent's new work for orchestra and electronics. Also on the program, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scherezade".

Mar 9, 2010 Tuesday 10pm - The Stone NYC, New York City, NY
I'll be doing a set at The Stone with pianist Carol Minor. Also on the program will be Guy Barash and Izzi Ramkissoon on electronics. Carol and I will be playing World Premieres of works written for us by composers Curtis Hughes and Izzi Ramkissoon. We'll be playing a piece that was written for us last year by London-based composer Yumi Hara Cawkwell. Also, a 2nd performance of Guy Barash's "Talkback". Carol will playing the World Premiere of a piece written for her by Nathan Scalzone.

So, if you can't tell, the theme for these concerts is NEW MUSIC! We're not just playing alot of music written in the last 50 years of so. We're playing a ton of music written for us in the last 14 months.

Assembly Line

2009-11-08T12:13:00.002-05:00

What's on the stand today:

Baermann - Book 3 (tons o' scales)
Kodaly - Peacock Variations
Brahms - Violin Concerto
Schumann - Rhenish Symphony (3)
Elgar - Sea Pictures
Bernstein - Sonata
Mozart -Clarinet Concerto
Carter - Pastoral
Hughes - Wingtones
Barash - Talkback
various opera tunes

That's just for the clarinet. I'll refrain from posting the repertoire I've got to conduct for rehearsals and whatnot.

Long Day

2009-10-31T15:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday took forever...at least 27 hours or so, I'd think. This whole "There are only 24 hours in a day" thing is obviously a liberal ploy to make us all lazy communists.

I went to sleep from a long day of teaching, rehearsing, and writing on Wednesday at 4:15am early Thursday morning. Oy...I spent a great deal of time putting thoughts of genius to paper (except digitally).

Two hours later, at around 6:15, I woke up and got my rear end to a sectional for a Brahms Violin Concerto. Let me tell you, it's hard to whip the folks in shape when you're that tired. Of course, then I had to sit through another 2.5 hour rehearsal of my own. My afternoon was spent running errands and yelling at my clarinet.

At 730, a concert in Jersey that was wonderful. Of course, I wasn't playing, but was supporting a couple of friends in their new chamber music series. (Cough cough...for which I'll be playing in April. More to come later on that.)

Then, catching a band at a local establishment at around 1230. Went to bed at 3am. Okay, so only 23 hours yesterday. Hyberbole....sue me.

Today...Halloween! I'm wondering how many ghoulies will show up at the house this year. Seems like a very suburban neighborhood, so I stocked up on the candy just in case.

Rat Race

2009-10-23T23:51:00.003-04:00

What the hell? This place is like a ghost town. Nothing is here.

Here's the lay of the land. I've been able to get a handle on reeds, a mouthpiece that's acceptable but not ideal, and am working on plenty of music.

On that note, why is Schumann's 3rd Symphony so boring? I've got to play it for the first time ever in a few weeks. I seem to remember conducting it with a lab orchestra in school, but I haven't sat in the orchestra yet and played it. Honestly, it's just not up to snuff. It's not nearly up to the same standard as his art songs or even his piano concerto. I hope I don't have to spend too much effort to learn the clarinet part.

Another shot at the Brahms Violin Concerto coming up soon. The last time I played it was with Leonid Kavakos on the solo part. That guy was a stunningly beautiful player. I don't remember who will be playing it this time. Some new (to me) Kodaly on the same program.

Also working on a new piece for clarinet and laptop for a concert in Dec. Will write more about that.

Also, I'm also getting to learn the Bernstein Sonata for the first time. In total, I'm learning a ton of music. Life could be worse.

Happy New Year!

2009-09-20T09:40:00.003-04:00

Alright then...nearly another month between posts. Apparently, the intarwebs are moving away from blogs and into social networking. As I've never been one for doing the smart thing, I figure I'll just keep prattling on for a bit.

In the last month, I've moved to a lovely new place with room to teach and practice. I've also started back in the new school year. I've got a load of teaching to do with my main university, some private students, and a none at all at my new additional teaching position. Overall, plenty of work to do with a number of potential-laden students. Of course, in the midst, I've got plenty of my own work to do. (cough cough...reeds...cough cough)

Since the concert season hasn't really started yet, I haven't started posting concert listings yet. The first, I think will be with the D minor Franck Symphony and some Schwanter, but I'm not exactly sure what's right after that. I'll try to update the Myspace page (link to the right) with all of that sometime soon. First, though, I must spend the rest of today trying to adjust my coaching schedule so the coachings actually happen. Lots of phone calls...(on phone that won't work in my apartment!)

Can you hear me now?

2009-08-22T00:21:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I can hear now. It's a miracle of modern pharmacology. Of course, I went a week without playing the clarinet. Oy vey. I'm back on it, but I sound quite wretched. Scales: that's what I'm prescribing now.

Also, I'm finally going to have my own in home teaching studio. Cheers all around. So far, my cds and books have made it to the promised land. As of yet, however, my scores and actual clarinets haven't. Over the next two weeks, everything else will make it to the new place. Since I haven't taught outside of academia in the last year, I'll be able to go back to teaching younger students. Also, I'll be able, for the first time, to have everything I could possibly need to teach my students right at hand. Books about composers, cds, my complete clarinet library, orchestral scores...all ready for a quick check when I go off on one of my tangents. My students thought my stories were long before! Ha ha!

Miracles of Modern Medicine

2009-08-13T15:02:00.002-04:00

Today, someone heard Joplin in the distance and I didn't. Harkening back to my music history knowledge, I remembered this:

Ludwig van Beethoven at Heiligenstadt

Ludwig didn't have amoxicillin, Benadryl-Allergy, Sudafed, and Advil at the start of his sickness, I'd assume.

Past little bit...

2009-07-18T21:26:00.002-04:00

The basset horn...ah...the basset horn. I had the great fortune to be loaned two basset horns for my concerts up in New Hampshire. The second horn I came across was stunning. A gentlemen in Brooklyn was nice enough to loan me a basset horn that required no adjustments at all. He had treated this instrument magnificently and created something that played without worry at all. As a result, I was able to think merely of making music and, of course, adjusting reeds during my stay in the North Country. The final result? A wonderful experience and some fine music making. I do hope that I am able to play with these gentlemen again. I learned something during every rehearsal.

Sadly, I'm not sure if I'll have a recording of these concerts. There were some technological hiccups.

The Pops concerts were fun, if a bit of a trek. For one of them, I drove from New Hampshire to Lake George on a Thursday afternoon following a morning Mendelssohn rehearsal. After arriving in LG, I ate, played the 730 concert (including some early fireworks over the lake), and drove back to Franconia, NH. I was energized after the concert, but worried in Vermont when I began seeing thick fog on a road I didn't know. After slowing down and making steady, but not speedy progress, I also began seeing increasingly dire warnings of moose on the signage. At first, the signs just indicated that moose were around. Then there were moose crossings. Then there were signs that said that hundreds of people die every year from crashing into moose. Combined with the fog, I was convinced that I had played my last basset horn (which by the way, had stayed in NH so as not to subject it to the adventure).

After arriving around 230am, I passed out and slept soundly. Over the next few days, however, everyone I met with any experience in the area spoke ominously of moose and the consequences of meeting one. Of course, after all that...I didn't see a single moose.

Coming Soon...

2009-07-17T23:08:00.002-04:00

Reviews and whatnot of my recent gallivanting forthcoming, but not now. I'm too lazy to do it now. Maybe tomorrow or the next day.

Next Concerts

2009-07-01T22:25:00.002-04:00

Just realized I haven't given an easy listing of the upcoming concerts:

7/4/2009 8:00 PM at Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra
Crandal Park, Glens Falls, New York : Summer Pops

7/9/2009 8:00 PM at Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra
Lake George, Lake George, New York : Summer Pops

7/10/2009 7:30 PM at North Country Chamber Players: White Mountain Music Festival
Governor’s Lodge at Loon Mtn: 60 Loon Mtn Rd, Lincoln, New Hampshire

7/11/2009 7:30 PM at North Country Chamber Players: White Mountain Music Festival
Sugar Hill Meeting House: Route 117, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

A Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Haydn’s death and Mendelssohn’s birth. Mendelssohn: Concert piece No. 2 in D Minor for clarinet, basset horn and piano Haydn: Horn Concerto in D Major (arranged for string quintet and oboe) Haydn: Trio for flute, cello and piano in C Major Mendelssohn: String Quartet Op. 44 No. 1 in D Major

If you come to any of these, please come say hello!

Big clarinets, small groups

2009-07-01T22:07:00.003-04:00

This year, I'm happy to say that I've been asked to play in the kickoff concerts for the 31st season of the North Country Chamber Players' White Mountain Music Festival in New Hampshire on July 10 and 11. I'll be playing the basset horn part in Mendelssohn's Concert Piece No 2 for clarinet, basset horn and piano. You've probably heard the piece in recital before with two clarinets, but we'll be playing the piece with its original instrumentation. See my previous entry for a highly detailed, exhaustive explanation of the nature of a basset horn.

Somehow, I've managed to be asked to play next to clarinetist Allen Blustine, a member of the NCCP as well as longtime member of Speculum Musicae. (I'm sorry to say that, as of right now, I don't yet know who will be playing piano.)

As a result, I have spent the past two days adjusting/fixing/casting spells over my borrowed basset horn. As of my last bit of practicing today, I finally have the low notes booming and intonation headed in the right direction. These thumb keys are awfully tricky, though.

I encourage everyone to buy tickets for the concerts (via the above link), or donate to the group. It seems that they've really got something neat going on up in New Hampshire.

Schlepping...

2009-06-27T23:31:00.002-04:00

After an extraordinarily tiring fortnight, I've got to carry my weary self up to Boston tomorrow to pick up at least one basset horn. If you aren't in the know, a basset horn looks somewhat like a bass clarinet that never hit a growth spurt. If you've seen an alto clarinet, you've got the general idea.

I've been asked to play a concert in a couple of weeks with another clarinetist, but I'll be manning the basset clarinet. Should be fun. I'll try to post the details, along with how you can all buy tickets and give money to this obviously intelligent series.

Since I woke up this morning, drove 4 hours, rehearsed for 3, drove another 3 hours, and am tired, I think I'll end it here and try to get some sleep.

Blogging laziness

2009-06-15T08:52:00.003-04:00

It seems that, in my attempt to blog slightly more regularly, I've become somewhat of a cut and paste doofus (copy pasta, if you will). I also seem to have webcomics turning up too often on ye olde Firefox giant list o' tabs. I'm very happy to have discovered that T Rex and I agree on many, many things. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I think it must be pretty impressive.

From Ryan North's "Dinosaur Comics" :

Chrysalis exit...

2009-06-14T23:14:00.003-04:00

Oh dear. Tomorrow, I have to return to being a functional human being. I will be be venturing back out to deal with other human beings, rehearsing, and giving a few concerts over the next two weeks. I'll even attend a few master classes...Should be fun.

Irish Tune from County Derry, the Right Way

2009-06-13T00:34:00.000-04:00

Wish I had these skillz to pay the billz...

A performance from last year...

2009-06-06T00:51:00.002-04:00

I didn't do any of the video work on this one, so please don't yell about the spinning. Dramamine? Feel free to yell about the bobbles I provided. Those are totally my fault.

This was a small concert in Maryland last year. I haven't posted any media lately, so I'm making penance. I don't think that I've posted it before. I'm too lazy to check the archives.

A little practice

2009-06-05T02:49:00.002-04:00

Tonight, I was seeing an old friend and fellow woodwind player after at least a year apart. He asked what I practiced today. I ran down the repertoire and he picked out Schuller's "Episodes" and said "You know those multiphonics only work on Bill Smith's clarinet!" I responded, "Bill Smith's and MY clarinet. I just practiced and there they were." That's right homies...I'm gonna nail it to the wall.

(some quotes in this email may have been inadvertently changed due to poor memory)

Formatting

2009-06-01T23:49:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know that the formatting didn't quite work out. It'll work out better as the comic gets lower on the page. It's funny, I promise.

Check out xkcd.com for the funny.

If xkcd says it, it must be so..."Mission to Culture"

2009-06-01T23:41:00.003-04:00

///hot like a hecklephone

Recordings

2009-05-30T00:25:00.002-04:00

Oh yeah...Go check out ye olde Myspace page (look to the right of this page for the link) for some live recordings. As always, comments are welcome...even from you Winchester, VA!

Some upcoming performances

2009-05-29T23:04:00.002-04:00

So I'll be playing some concerts in NYC in June that (I assume) all the glitterati will be attending. They're all part of the Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance.

Sunday, June 21st, 8pm - at Mannes Concert Hall, 150 West 85th Street, NYC
David Sanford's "Dogma '74"
I'm not sure exactly what the instrumentation is, but it's some good old contemporary chamber music.

Tuesday, June 23rd, 8pm - at Mannes Concert Hall, 150 West 85th Street, NYC
Gunther Schuller's "Episodes for Solo Clarinet"
Pretty sure I know the instrumentation for that one.

Tuesday, June 23rd or Wednesday, June 24th, 8pm - at Mannes Concert Hall, 150 West 85th Street, NYC
Pianist Carol Minor and I will be playing the Berg "4 Pieces" for clarinet and piano, but we haven't nailed down which date specifically yet. Also, I'll be doing several movements from Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" on one of those.

Although IFCP's calendar isn't completely up yet, keep an eye out HERE for more info. Pianist Marc Ponthus and cellist Joel Krosnick will both be giving solo recitals during the festival, so it should be a welcome addition to your summer.

After that, I'll be serving up traditional Pops faire with the Glens Falls Symphony on

Saturday June 27 8:00pm West Mountain Ski Area
Saturday July 4 8:00pm Crandall Park, Glens Falls
Thursday July 9 8:00pm Lake George

These last three are in upstate NY. If you want to go, but can't figure out how to get there, let me know.

Lurkers

2009-05-20T00:39:00.002-04:00

It appears that I have a number of lurkers. Some of you I know, others...not so much. What's odd is that none of them leave comments. Well, I guess that it's better than leaving the wrong type of comments.

I've not really much to say as far as the clarinet and music go. Sorry about that. I made some guacamole, though. That was artistic.

Sorry, fresh out of useful blatherings...

A reed

2009-05-09T22:28:00.003-04:00

I have this reed. It's kind of amazing, this one. I played it for a concert with Clarinet and electronics in March. Since then, whenever I've been a little out of shape due to other duties, this reed has been genius. For some reason, if every other reed is truly awful, this reed comes through. It never plays exactly the same way, but it'll let me articulate, play in tune, and vary my tone. Very strange. When I'm really in shape and my chops feel good, however, this reed is not so hot.

I think that I may bronze the reed like baby shoes and just keep it on my desk as a paperweight. Or I may just play it for the next 20 years.

Anyone still awake after reading that?

Soapbox?

2009-05-08T11:24:00.002-04:00

In this day and age....(Ha ha...you thought I'd say "In this economy..." right? Fooled you...) So, in this economy...damn...day and age, music presenters have to pay special attention to quality programming. Now, I'm not just talking about programming quality music, but also about booking an interesting balance of compositions. If you're programming all music with blue-hairs in mind, you're probably just asking for trouble. Well, perhaps not trouble...maybe a nap instead.

There are plenty of great symphonies out there, but programming something like...hm...Haydn 104 and the Mozart Oboe Concerto is a huge mistake. Why? Yes, you have fewer players to pay (especially if you use a smaller orchestra), but who will be interested enough in the program to fork out the cash? Hell, I'm a performing musician and I sure as hell wouldn't give up my money for that. I'd rather see Star Trek.

Star Trek, that's right. That's exactly who we're competing with now. Our 60 year old patrons were born in 1949. These concert-goers came of age during the 60's and have a long relationship with the movies, television, and a shorter one with computers and the internet. Until we can provide an experience that can convince someone to skip Star Trek for the night and spend time with a few hundred people packed like sardines into a large hall, we're sunk.

That does NOT mean that every show needs to turn into an eye/ear candy free-for-all. It just means that some artistic planning committees need to get off their asses and earn their paychecks.

That is all.

Almost done...

2009-04-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

I've been slammed with work lately. Spent many hours writing papers. If you want some info on David Huron's ITPRA theories, I'm your man. Well, Huron should be your first stop, but I could be a distant 4th, maybe. If you want to discuss music and cochlear implants, I'm also your man...again, not at the top of the list (maybe Gfeller?), but on the list...

End of the year = nutzo for all educational institutions. For me, it meant getting really sick too. It's looking like it may be something called Labrythitis, but I hope not to find out. I'm feeling much better now and could never experience that kind of dizziness again. Of course, if it comes back, blech...

I'm back to learning Gunther Schuller's Episodes again. Maybe this time I won't get sidetracked by all kinds of other work. Sooner or later I'll get around to recording it and moving on.

As summer starts in NYC, I'm a little confused by the weather. 89 deg F one day, 45 the next. Someone needs to do something about that.

Oh yes, it appears that I'll be doing a concerto with my orchestra next Spring. Not sure exactly which concerto, but I'll let everyone know when it's finalized.

That's my list o' random crap. Ta da...

Priorities

2009-03-26T01:40:00.002-04:00

Well I managed to crash Firefox in the middle of a post. Instead of rewriting it, I'll just say that I expect everyone to stop what they're doing at 957pm tomorrow and wish Coach K's home skillets well in their battle with Villanova. May they out-hustle, out-D, and out-shoot them.

In the midst of preparing a ton o' music: Candide (evil Eb parts), Weber (just sachrine), maybe Zwilich concerto, and a bunch of excerpts. I'm sure that my neighbors are ecstatic.

Marketing Genius

2009-03-18T02:35:00.000-04:00

Net-Working Out

2009-03-17T00:22:00.003-04:00

I've been known to exercise. Well...perhaps that's only literally true, but not exactly honest. I used to exercise. How about that? I'm working on changing that a bit. In a bid to battle my recent decline in health, I've decided to use my available time to get into a little better shape. It's not (exactly) that I eat total junk all the time. It's more than I tend to have obligations that require many hours of sitting and little movement. We'll see how this small change turns out. Yesterday and today went well. Two days does not make a change in lifestyle, though.

With the rest of my free time (which consists of those hours when I can't practice), I'm working on making a few more connections. Since I've moved to NY, I haven't exactly been working the network to let people know that I'm in town and not incompetent at the clarinet. These are the kinds of things that probably don't produce immediate dividends (especially with the economy pulling a Lusitania), but it gets my name out there with some people that count. Later, if they hear me play (assuming I don't vomit through my clarinet), they'll be able to say "Wait, haven't I heard of this guy?" I'm such a savvy guy, huh? I've heard that it's really rough for new people in NY for the first few years. There are always a great many people ahead of you in line who play as good or better.

Decisions, decisions...

2009-03-15T12:40:00.002-04:00

So here's the problem: I've got plenty of work to do on ye olde clarinet, but there's an ACC championship game that involves Duke at 1pm. The clarinet work really just needs to be done in a week, but there's plenty of stuff that needs to get done by then. Also, the game is just an ACC championship, not NCAA. Hm...Also, I need to get some proper food at the grocery store.

That means that I have to prioritize. I'll eat oatmeal, then practice WHILE watching the game. Sometimes I'm so smart, I scare myself.

Anyone know the Rochberg or Bolcom Clarinet Concertos? There's a recording of the Rochberg out there somewhere with Gigliotti and a Taiwanese orchestra, but the Bolcolm is harder to find. Amazon says that there may be a recording available as of March 24th. Wha??

Okay, I'd better get my stuff set up for the game.

[PS - How come Grainger writes such tricky stuff?]

Onward...

2009-03-06T23:55:00.003-05:00

So, the Sandroff apparently went well. Izzi and I rehearsed well enough that I trust that whatever he did worked well. I, on the other hand, had a hard time hearing the electronics as some other random person turned down the monitors right before the concert. Ick...Audience response was favorable. I recorded it on my laptop, but I haven't listened to it yet. I'm pretty sure it'll have lots of interference though. My laptop seems to add it to my mic plug. I haven't figured that one out yet. A recording engineer was at the gig, so I'll see if it got recorded and whether or not it picked up all the electronic nutiness.

If all turns out, I'll post an audio clip or two so you wacky kids can listen up. Not sure if that'll happen...

Gotta get back on the horse tomorrow and start rehearsing Candide. Where's my Eb? Is there a 7-day waiting period when you want to buy one?

Tomorrow = New Music Madness

2009-03-04T13:23:00.002-05:00

So, today will mostly be spent practicing, rehearsing, and working out technical gremlins for tomorrow night's performance of Howard Sandroff's Tephillah for clarinet and all kinds of electronic processing. We've managed to get the necessary equipment provided by the performers down to a clarinet and a laptop. That's pretty slim. Of course, the house will be providing the mic (only 1! I guess we're minimalists?), the mixer, and the 5.1 surround-sound system. My playing will be picked up by the rather close mic (oh, 6 inches or so from my hands) and processed as Izzi sees fit. The audience will be able to hear me AND my sounds processed (cut up, transposed, reverbed, etc.) simultaneously. Occasionally, the technology works so as to repeat many times any mistake I might make. Guess I'll have to not make those mistakes, no?

Had a concert on Monday where the entire orchestra was amplified. I may have previously written on my feelings about amplification and this instance was no different. It's sad that the orchestra wasn't given the opportunity to learn to play properly in a hall with few acoustic niceties.

Oh yeah, about the church gig last week: It was fantastic. Our orchestral contribution was modest, but someone at that church really knows how to put on an effective show. There was literally dancing in the aisles (from performers and audience members) and a huge variety in entertainment to be had. I was quite impressed with the overall effect. That's a show I'd love to play again. To revisit the Obama subject, you don't understand what a big deal he is until you see his picture pop up on the big screen in a predominantly African-American church. Enthusiasm doesn't begin to describe the response.

Obama = Arts?

2009-02-26T14:02:00.003-05:00

On Jan 21, I wrote a bit about Obama and the Arts. Since then, I've seen that Earth, Wind, and Fire and Stevie Wonder have been to the White House. That, coupled with the Inauguration performances bode well for the days ahead. I'm still waiting for him to have a Carter chamber music evening at the White House. Now THAT would be an excellent sign.

Eventually

2009-02-26T13:43:00.002-05:00

So, my version of a few days means nearly a week later. Good to know.

So, the next few concerts are:

Feb 27, 730pm Emmanuel Baptist Church, Brooklyn: Black History Month Concert with a rather impressive gospel choir. If gospel is your thing, this one should be fun.

March 2, 8pm at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in the Village: An orchestral tribute to film composer Leonard Rosenman. His music is quite forward thinking compared to most film composers, but is quite beautiful in its own right.

March 5, 8pm at Loewe Theatre on W.4th St: I'll be playing Howard Sandroff's "Tephillah" for Clarinet and Digital Processors. Izzi Ramkissoon will be running the digital processors through a Max/MSP patch on his laptop. It's really a duet of sorts and I promise that it will melt any audience that shows up. Since it's FREE, you can't miss this one.

Finally, a mini-review of Pal Joey: The pit orchestra was fantastic. There were a handful of triplers who played the hell out of their clarinets. I've heard plenty of subpar triplers before and these were NOT them. These guys were fantastic players on all of their instruments. Now onstage...hm...Stockard Channing was quite snarky when she needed to be and Martha Plimpton could really sing. I'm going to leave the rest alone, I guess. Probably smarter...

I've been a little bit ill lately, so I've spent most of my days getting worse. Working from 8am-1030pm doesn't do alot for one's immune system, I promise. Hopefully, I'll get to recover more over the weekend.

Update-ish

2009-02-21T01:25:00.002-05:00

It's not really an update if I'm promising to update later, right?

I'll try to throw down a Pal Joey mini-review, a coming-events detail or two, and a general "what's shaking" post in the next couple of days. I'm spending my weekend with clarinet in face a little more than normal, so I'll try to sling some info some evening soon.

It's Aliiiiive!

2009-02-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

I finally have a Tephillah patch up and running on my speedy laptop. Wahoo. That means that I can get to practicing the piece with the notated processing and get used to how it's all supposed to work. Fantastic. I've got exactly a month to get it all cranking and ready for primetime so the masses can enjoy it. I've really got to thank Mark Volker for sending me this wonderful patch. I'll be spending the next few days trying to get to understand it. Hopefully, fluency will come fast.

Oh yeah, family concert in Glens Falls this weekend. If you've got time, it's something to do.

But more importantly, I'm doing my part to support Broadway and will be going to see "Pal Joey" tomorrow night after teaching and rehearsing all day. Then I get to go all the way to GF for a 9am runthough. Ack.

Next!

2009-01-21T19:29:00.003-05:00

Anyone notice that Obama didn't mention the Arts during his speechifying on Tuesday? I did, but I'm okay with that. He did have a few other things to discuss and the Arts don't seem as looming as wars and whatnot.

We'll see how things progress, though. The last President used his available musicians in the military to play Hank Williams tunes while entertaining British Royalty. I have a feeling that Obama won't waste the many quality musicians he has at his disposal.

Just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink upon the recommendation of a colleague. There is a quite interesting discussion of the advent of screened auditions in the orchestral employment game. The author isn't a musician and the book isn't about music, but the discussion of the topic was educated and worth reading.

Now that I've done my good deed of the day and educated the masses, I've got to go take care of my other stuff....

Monthly post?

2009-01-16T20:51:00.004-05:00

I really don't mean to only post monthly. It just seems to happen that way. I seem to get busy with playing, teaching, sitting on my rump...

Okay, so what's shaking? Hm...Got a concert with the Albany Symphony on the 26th, the Glens Falls Symphony on Feb 7th and 14th. Both are Pops-type concerts, so they have a good bit of music for me to kick out. The Copland Hoe-down from Rodeo is an awful lot of tonguing and is always tricky. Faure's Pavane is one of those pieces with lovely chances for legato....or just playing out of tune! Hm...Some Elgar, some Rimsky-Korsakov, and some Strauss...and that's just what I can remember of the GFSO repertoire. I haven't seen the music for the ASO concert yet. It's just as varied, I seem to remember, but a little more Symphony-oriented ("Symphony" referring to the form, not the orchestra).

On March 5th, I should be playing Howard Sandroff's Tephillah for solo clarinet and electronics in the Village at NYU's Loewe Theatre. I'm still waiting on the Max patch for that, but the clarinet part is quite a chore. It's a constant churn...

I think there are a couple of other events in there, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

Hm...anything else? Reeds? They stink as always, but what else is new. It's nearly time for me to make one of my massive orders.

Anyone know of any good syncing programs for Vista and my MotoQ? I need to come up with something better than syncing to my old computer. My new laptop is better than HAL, but equal to KITT (the first one).

Sounds like a new year...As Jake and Elwood say, "It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses... Hit it."

"The weather is very mild here....much better than Boston"

2008-12-19T13:39:00.001-05:00

I'm afraid that I have to call shenanigans on that one. This is my apartment right now. I'm on the bus, heading into the city for work and errands. At least the bus arrived.

I practiced yesterday for the first time in days. Oy...My paper better have been good as my chops are not. I'm preparing all kids of stuff for the coming year, so I'll need to get right on that.

Vacation from being all academically inclined and stuff

2008-12-18T00:06:00.003-05:00

Okay, the semester finally ended and I'm finally free!...er...kind of free!....sorta free-ish? Alright, I still have plenty to do, but at least I'm done with all papers and whatnot!

After spending my day footnoting and dropping off paperwork in varying offices, I've finally managed to finish all scholarly activity for at least three weeks. Until then, I can manage to practice, do some library stuff, and study scores. That should carry me over until I get back to studying and working in January.

I'm particularly interested in getting back to work on a new piece that's being written for me by Emiliano Pardo, a post-doctoral fellow at NYU. His piece is really turning out to be neat, but we've both been working like dogs on it. To be fair, he's had to work a great deal harder than me. I'm just a trained clarinet-playing monkey.

Sorry I haven't been posting concert listings. There was a GFSO concert I played a little while back. Several recordings...er...For the life of me, I can't think of the next concert. I'm that tired. Tomorrow, maybe I'll get my long-term memory back and post properly with all kind of wondrous events of mine that you should see and hear.

A bit more...

2008-11-15T21:12:00.007-05:00

Us playing in a simple still photo form. Try not to get all hot and bothered staring at it.

So, the last post's video was taken on Nov 8, 2008 in London at Regent Hall, which is just off Oxford Circus. Wonderful area for shopping and looking around. Here's a picture from after the concert with the pianist, Carol Minor, and the composer of that piece, Yumi Hara Cawkwell.

The stage was quite off the level, as it dipped dramatically coming from the rear towards the audience. I guess the stage crew folks are always scared of the piano flying off the stage. Thank the FSM I don't have to deal with that kind of stuff anymore.

If I get around to it, I'll see about posting a link to the other giant piece we played that night, Joan Tower's "Fantasy (Those Harbor Lights)", but I wouldn't count on it. There's a photo somewhere of us with the London New Winds Festival's director, which I will certainly post as soon as I can find it. She was lovely and just treated us so well while we were there. Can't thank her enough.

We were also lucky enough to have photographer (and friend) Marie von Kampen at the Boston recital, so I have some super fancy-type photos around here of that. I'll post sooner rather than later, I'm sure.

I think that I have some downtime coming up as far as performances are concerned (maybe a couple of weeks). It will give me a chance to catch up on researching Gunther Schuller and the 3rd Stream movement as well as try to set up a couple of commissions, an electroacoustic performance in March, and maybe clean up my living space a bit.

UK Premiere of Yumi Hara Cawkwell's "Six Flowers" at Regent Hall, London, UK

2008-11-15T14:30:00.001-05:00

Look Kids! Big Ben! Parliament! ....Look Kids! Big Ben! Parliament!...Look kids....

2008-11-14T19:27:00.003-05:00

Thank the FSM I didn't have to drive anywhere in London. After standing for 3-4 hours for the Remembrance Day ceremony, we did manage to stroll down the street and see Big Been and Parliament. No sign of the Griswolds.

Alright, that's enough picture gawking for now. I"ll see if I can't turn up a video or two from the touristy stuff or the concert later.

Look Ma, no Hands

2008-11-14T19:12:00.003-05:00

Now, anyone can learn to ride a horse. Many people can learn to play the clarinet. Can you do both at once? I can't. These damned British people just have it all, don't they? First, the Queen, now this kind of showing off? What's next, English actors playing American doctors on Fox tv shows?

Oh yeah, these coffee shops were everywhere, along with Starbucks and a million others. Every country needs its liquid crack, I guess. I've already had mine today.

Another in my Blurry Famous People Series

2008-11-14T19:06:00.002-05:00

In between the two grey-coated guards there? With the black hat? It's the freakin' Queen!

Ted Kennedy was neat and all, but this is the Queen. All I really need now is a blurry picture of Michael Jackson and I'll have the complete set.

DHS, TSA, .gov, and the Kitchen Sink Too

2008-11-14T18:49:00.003-05:00

Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security has a Google notification set up for mentions of the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration). My last post earned my site a visit from a Durham, NC-based DHS.gov isp. It's nice to see that they're spending their time so wisely. Maybe in 2 months or so, you guys will have bosses with other focuses...or at least more discriminating search terms.

The TSA Let Me In!

2008-11-12T23:44:00.002-05:00

Well, the Transportation Safety Administration did not seem to find any problems with my passport and let me back into the United States. Phew...

So, we've returned triumphant...or something. Right now, I'm exhausted after getting back to my apartment at 12-ish am and then dealing with a large university all day. I promise that I'll post some pictures, some commentary, and maybe a video and/or audio file in the coming days. I'll probably have to wait for the weekend, as I'm pretty sure that I'll be exhausted for the next two days. We'll see.

Suffice to say, London was amazing and I highly suggest that everyone give me all their money so that I might move there.

All right then...

London Rock City...

2008-11-05T23:59:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow (maybe today, by the time I actually post this entry...regardless, on Thursday), pianist Carol Minor and I leave for London. Saturday night, we'll be playing Yumi Hara Cawkwell's "Six Flowers" (remember the video I posted last time?) and Joan Tower's "Fantasy" in London at Regent Hall.

I suggest that everyone get tickets, posthaste. Go to the London New Wind Festival website for the relevant details. See you there...yes...you.

World Premiere of Yumi Hara Cawkwell's "Six Flowers" with Carol Minor, Piano

2008-10-26T21:09:00.001-04:00

Update of the epoch

2008-10-26T00:52:00.003-04:00

Alright, it's been entirely too long, I guess.

I've been busy, though. I've been putting my time to (mostly) good use. Pianist Carol Minor and I just gave two full recitals, one in Glens Falls, NY and the other in Boston, MA. Next up for us is London, where we'll play two pieces in London's Regent Hall for a New Music Conference in early November. I'll try to post the proper details shortly. I don't have them at hand at the moment and I'm just a little too lazy to hunt them down right now.

Otherwise, I'm doing some other work for a local symphony, some for a symphony back in Boston, and have started my coursework for my PhD. A couple more years and I'll be licensed to operate on folks. Simultaneously, I'm teaching some clarinet at my new school and conducting some rehearsals. All in all, they're keeping me awfully busy from early morning until late at night.

Oh, and I'm still playing with my orchestra in upstate NY.

But I must talk about two commissions: one that just passed and another that's in the oven.

Yumi Hara Cawkwell wrote a piece for Carol Minor and me entitled "Six Flowers" that we've now performed 2 times in concert and once for a school outreach program. We were pleased to have Yumi fly over from London for the World Premiere in Glens Falls. The piece is not the easiest thing in the world, with plenty of holes to step in if I'm not constantly subdividing. I'm sure that Frank B. would be nodding his head saying "You should never stop subdividing," were he to read that. The piece certainly shows some of Yumi's background as a DJ and her love of drum and bass music. The audience in Glens Falls went wild for it. They connected immediately with the music and apparently were very enthusiastic about Yumi as well. We'll be giving the London Premiere in a few weeks. Again, more on that later, I'm sure.

The next piece is a solo piece by Panamanian composer Emiliano Pardo-Tristan. I have heard a CD of his music and was instantly taken with his use of Folk Music and 20th century devices to create his own style. It was harder to find music I didn't want to hear again on that cd than to find pieces I thought were wonderful. I was able to meet with the composer yesterday morning to go over some sketches for the piece. It turned out that he had most of it already written. We will be working on trying to clarify some of the notation for future performers. I'm sure though, that he will make some changes along the way. I'm already happy at the process. It seems like we'll have an excellent piece when he's done. I'll make sure to post when I know what the Premiere date will be.

Alright...Sleep beckons. I spent all day taking care of errands and sitting on my butt for a day off. Tomorrow, back to work. I think it's time I learned this Elliott Carter piece.

Since I don't have any new pics yet from the most recent concerts, here's one of me slapping around a bass clarinet last Spring. Yes, I'm using my foot instead of a peg. I'm practical like that.

Mvem shnem

2008-08-17T23:37:00.003-04:00

Another post...finally.

So, I've managed to move most of my belongings to New York, where I will begin PhD studies in a few weeks. As I have been spending half my time in NY over the past year anyway, my schedule doesn't appear to be changing that much. Instead of living in Boston and commuting each week to NY, I'll live in NY and commute to Boston to teach. Oy vey. I've had to trim some of my teaching schedule, but it all should work out.

Also, I've been preparing for concerts with pianist Carol Minor. In October, we're playing recitals in Glens Falls, NY and in Boston, MA. In November, we've got another performance scheduled in London! Details will follow, but for now, here are the dates: Glens Falls, Oct 3; Boston, Oct 23; London, Nov 8.

Oh yeah, the last picture was Ted Kennedy. He had apparently just gotten home from surgery a few days before that. The next day, I believe, he strolled into the Senate for an important vote.

Tab A into Slot B

2008-07-28T01:48:00.002-04:00

Subject: Tab A into Slot B

My big achievement for the day? After futzing around with it for 5 hours, fi finally got my VNC to work with my VPN. Nerdy, right? Well, it took a great big pannini, a vietnamese iced coffee, and a thai iced tea. I actually raised my hands over my head like Rocky (with glasses and fewer muscles).

In other news, I played a pops concert down on the Cape last night. It's always a littl nerve-wracking to play one rehearsal and a concert with a new group. Plus, half of the music was sitting on my chair when I got to the rehearsal. (shiver)

Here's a picture of a politician. Can you guess which one?

FW: Viking Funeral

2008-06-19T01:45:00.001-04:00

I tried to post this a couple of weeks ago, but it failed. Here's another go:

Sent: 5/29/2008 11:52 AM
Subject: Viking Funeral

Yesterday I was "that guy." I was standing on the side of the road (southbound I-9 by Andrews Square if you must know) frantically clutching my super-fancy phone in hopes that it would somehow make my car start or transport it back to Jamaica Plain. If Scotty's Tricorder can do it, my MotoQ should, right?

RIP My Car? Maybe...It IS a 2000 model year with 147k miles on it. That deserves a modicum of respect. However, it also gasped its last breath in the righthand lane on Boston's busiest roadway. If there's nothing else that Dr Strangelove's Rodeo Bombing Run has taught us, it's that style counts when you're on your way out. Negative style points on this one.

So, I had to cancel my morning teaching and a lesson in the afternoon. I managed to make my other afternoon teaching and some evening consulting work. Today, I will only miss one lesson, according to my new commuter rail shennanigans. All in all in all, I am not fully convinced of Boston's train safety considering yesterday's multitude of events on the T.

The clarinet isn't getting much love this week. I haven't gotten much practice in due to my many commutes and complications. As I have no real performing obligations until July, perhaps this will be my vacation?

Oh...a huge thank you to the state trooper who pushed my car with his cruiser until it was safely off the highway. This was the main factor in avoiding a wreck from oncoming traffic...Yay Staties.

Gotta go walk to teach now. Almost my stop.

Paroled

2008-06-19T00:41:00.001-04:00

Today was finally my last day of teaching for this school year. I'll teach a few students over the summer, but I'm basically free. Yay. More to come..

I [heart] FLB

2008-05-17T23:10:00.003-04:00

Today, New England Conservatory had a big to-do for Frank Battisti, the former Wind Ensemble conductor. Hired under Gunther Schuller's presidency, Mr. B. became much more than a Band conductor. He trained musicians. He also made contributions to the Wind Ensemble repertoire through frequent commissioning and recording. The man is a hard worker and should be lauded at every opportunity.

Part of the shindig included an open rehearsal with a band stocked of players who played under Mr. B. while students at NEC. We (I played Bass Clarinet today.) had sight readings of Holst's two Suites, Persichetti's Symphony, Vaughan Williams' Folk Song Suite, and Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy.

I've missed that. I rarely get a chance to play with a group of people who hold a common way of making music. There were many different musicians in the room, but every single one of us knew what Mr. B. expected and we did our best to respond. I have no doubt that, given a few rehearsals, that group would be dynamite. Several musicians came from NY (one from the NY Philharmonic) and at least one came from a military band in Washington, DC. This is a group that would follow Mr. B. almost anyway.

Many days, I wish I had Frank Battisti to see daily. The man runs a rehearsal with one goal: recreating the composer's intent. No one is ever berated for being a "bad musician" or for making an honest mistake. Instead, Mr. B. attempts to guide the musicians to play better and more honestly every time through a piece. Hearing him speak about making music was a daily inspiration that I got to relive today.

Would you buy a used car from these two?

2008-05-11T21:51:00.003-04:00

So, this is our new publicity photo for pianist Carol Minor and myself. After we finalize some contractual details, I'll let you know where you'll be seeing the photos alongside some concert advertisements. Until the ink is dry, though, I'd rather not jinx it. If things go well, I'll be able to blog about some neat details and processes related to the concerts. We'll see.

Prokofiev 5 was last night. The principal clarinet part for this is either alot of fun, or a real terror. I'm really not sure which of these I'd pick, but perhaps it's a little of both. I managed to get through it without completely embarrassing myself, but there were a couple of tiny glitches in the last movement. The winds have a tendency to raise pitch over the length of concerts, a habit that was made worse by the addition of many utility players to beef up for the Prokofiev. In my section, we were lucky enough to procure two players I know from school, both of whom are more than capable. No problems there. I'll wait until I hear a recording of the concert before I give my final opinion.

Bloggus Interruptus

2008-04-21T14:21:00.001-04:00

Again, crazy busy. I promise that I have reasons for intermittant posting.

First thing: I had a recital in Rockville, Maryland yesterday. During the trip, I got to reconnect with some friends from undergrad as well as play the concert with an old friend. My thanks to JYC for inviting my to come play and to CP and AR for many trips to and fom the train station, as well as allowing me to stay in their beautiful new home. I'm horribly jealous of the lives they lead.

The concert was okay, but I'm stil trying to get used to my new mouthpiece setup. My friend HJB got to come to the concert and was able to give me an honest opinion on some of the plusses and minuses of the performance. There may be video available at some point.

What's next? I've got to figre out what to do about school. I've been accepted into a program in NYC which would allow me to receive my Doctorate and make some great NY contacts in the process. I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but I have to figure it out fast.

I've also got tons of pictures from various outings that will be posted when I get a chance. For now, I leave you with one picture from our seats behind the plate at Camden yards, where we watched the Orioles beat up on the Yankees for free. Sweet.

A New Month, A New Post

2008-03-05T11:06:00.000-05:00

My posts haven't been forthcoming not out of boredom, but out of frenzy. The past few weeks have been pretty busy.

First: What an awesome picture, huh? We used to have a Kosher Dunkies in Boston, but it's apparently been offed. This one we found in a rest stop on the way up to Lake George. I forgot to ask them for a sausage and cheese sandwich.

''Peter and the Wolf'' performances have been going very well. The kids absolutely adore having the dancers act everything out. The two concerts have been so successful that we've been asked to do another during the the week at a local school. Very nice. This is why we get into the music racket.

And last: it seems that my favorite pianist and I will be playing a nice big recital in upstate NY this fall. Looks like a little more than half of the program will be new music, with at least one piece commisioned for the occasion. I'll reveal more details after we tidy upsome adminitrative details If things go as planned we hope to play the program elsewhere as well.

What I'm Doing at This Exact Moment

2008-02-09T17:18:00.001-05:00

Hurtling down the Northway (going South, but it's not called the Southway..go figure) just North of Albany. Snow...mmm...trying not to give into my feeling of impending snow doom.

Peter and the Wolf was okay, but not stunning. I have some rehearsal on mp3, which tells me that I'm projecting like gangbusters. The Kitty had good articulation.

Concerts this Weekend

2008-02-05T21:39:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, gotta couple of concert you can attend this weekend if you'd like:

Peter and the Wolf in Glens Falls, NY

2/9/08 4pm in the GF High School Gym. I understand that there will be a instrument petting zoo starting at 3pm. Please, I tell you, please do NOT pet any other animals you might run across there. Especially if said animals look feral or are elementary school children. Both types bite, I assure you. Oh, and there'll be dancers. I'm not sure if their vaccinations are up to date.

On a related note, I took a cue from something a teacher said to me years ago about this piece. I hauled out a friend's cat and took a look at the way the little guy (actually, he's a lardo) walks around. It's so smooth. Let's see if I can get my cat the same smooth articulation.

Okay, next concert:

Bach Chromatic Fantasy (arr Stanley Hasty) in Chestnut Hill, MA

2/10/08 3pm at the Chestnut Hill School

There's no link there because there's no other advertisement available. You've got it. I'm going to play this particular little ditty after a few of my students and a number of other violin and piano students play. This is a concert representing 3 studios of area musicians, my own included. I'm particularly proud of my students and the job they're doing. Ta da.

My Trip to the Museum

2008-02-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

An out of towner told me that the Museum of Fine Arts in here in Boston was free on MLK Jr. day. So, we went to the Museum...I, of course, only took a few pictures. Enjoy.

So, this pics are of a 5-keyed clarinet. Any ideas on what the band is above the register key and below the barrel? Some kind of extension?

This is easily the most awesome clarinet ever. It's a bass clarinet. All the funky tone hole locations are explained by the fact that one plays them with the under-knuckles of the fingers. Neat, eh? Of course, I'm sure that would lead to me having horrible tendonitis.
A pretty neat basset horn. It's not as neat as the previous bass clarinet, but the tin bell certainly makes it a close second. I want some of these for concerts.

My lovely companion tried to buy a copy of the book they had in the instrument room, a tome dedicated to just the the keyboard instruments at the MFA. When we made it to the book shop, they claimed that the book didn't exist. Geniuses....Well, instead she found it at an outside vendor online. Score one for the non-lazy.

Two Books to Recommend

2008-01-11T22:28:00.000-05:00

I've got two books for you aspiring clarinet players out there. These are both books that I use in my own teaching. Of course, I did not discover them on my own. I noticed that Bob Listokin used them at one point or another, so I took a look at them.

"A Tune a Day for Clarinet" by C. Paul Herfurth and Hugh M. Stuart

This one is great for starting students out from the very beginning. Although it takes a bit long to get into the upper register, it approaches musical concepts in a very clear way. The tunes are fantastic as well. Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Christmas carols, and others are all represented. Right now, I have an 8 year playing out of this book. I'm able to let her approach new lessons (and new notes, fingerings, and rhythms) without having to explain it all first. She's able come in the next week having learned much of the material herself. It's great for teaching her how to teach herself.

"60 Rambles for Clarinet" by Leon Lester

These are short (40ish measures long) etudes with a clear emphasis on learning to play lyrically. There's not a lot of quick technical work, but each piece focuses on one particular issue: triplets/duplets, staccato, changing keys, etc. I've found that most students who can play from the lowest E to the C above the staff can get quite a bit from these. Not every etude need be played, but there's alot of good and interesting material. (Beware: The titles of the etudes are frequently pure cheez whiz.)

There, I've done my musically useful deed for the day.

Rollin rollin rollin...keep those ewoks rollin

2008-01-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

I'm back at it...teaching, playing, being a curmudgeon. Today I started teaching in a new place. A national financial establishment has teamed with an arts funding group to allow teachers like me to go into an inner-city school here in Boston. Today was my first day and I have about 18 students. So far, they seem about par for the course in sheer energy (read: decibel level), but quite musically competent. I'm happy that I get to be a part of this particular combination of talent, organization, money, and deserving kids. (Of course, I won't be naming any of the groups involved as I'm not their shill or wanting to be on their bad side for any reason.)

Regarding my big ole' winter break: It was great. I scampered off to North Carolina, played with the rascal in the first picture and my family. Near the end of my stay, I and another lovely young musician wandered over the site of the second photo, where we had a brunch that left me overstuffed and unable to eat for the remainder of the day.

So, the picture quality stinks, I know. I need to remember that my camera phone is really a phone with a sorta-okay camera glued to it. Next time I'll take my handy-dandy super-neato camera with me.

I'm very tired and happy that I don't have to wake up early tomorrow. Yay. I can get some practice in before I start teaching, I hope.

It's 4am. Do you know where your children are?

2007-12-21T03:57:00.001-05:00

This one is at gate B13 after a couple of hours waiting for the counters to open. Now that I'm through security, there is no food or drink available. I'd better not have a yapper next to me on the plane. I need my beauty sleep. Haven't got a wink yet.

I put on my robe and wizard hat...

2007-12-21T02:04:00.000-05:00

If you get the title, shame on you.

So, this was my street this past weekend. Peachy, huh? Well, today spit another 6ish inches on top of that. When I parked my car on Tuesday, it took about 10 minutes of sliding around before I got into my space. After today's dump and the horrific lack of plowing on my street by noon, I had to give up on teaching my one class of the day. At least I got to practice some. It's been awhile since I got to do that.

At this very second, I am writing from Boston's Logan Airport, where I am waiting on my 5am flight to NC. Since the subway doesn't run before 5am; I took one of the last trains tonight in order to avoid a 40 dollar cab ride on slushy, icy streets.

So, I'm thinking of posting an analysis or two (Feldman and/or Schuller) sometime soon. As there's some possibility of expanding one of them, I may avoid posting the latest. We'll see what I get around to on my break.

Tired of the Pic Already?

2007-12-11T15:17:00.001-05:00

Too bad. So, the pic was just after a concert. I was playing bass clarinet (notice the neck strap) and clarinet. After the concert, a friend took the pic below using my phone. Holding up a line of well-wishers, Mr. Reich proceeded to chat me up about my phone and its vaious abilities. I think people were confused that we weren't discussing the rather nice performance in which we had both participated (he worked the faders on the amplification system). Funny.

I'm getting close to wrapping up my teaching for this year. I begin my own Holiday Break next Thursday. As a gift to my students, alot of my lessons and classes are being filled with sightreading sessions of Xmas and Chanukah Tunes. When more than three quarters of your students are Jewish, you make sure to find some Chanukah stuff.

Today will be another paperwork and practice-filled day.

Post Concert

2007-11-29T01:53:00.001-05:00

Here's me hanging with Steve Reich after we just played the hell out of his ''Music for 18 Musicians'' tonight. More later.

Iced Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T00:21:00.001-05:00

This was the side of the road on the way to Lake Placid, NY this Saturday. I was taken to my first figure skating show. All of the skaters were impressive. Sasha Cohen wasn't quite as impressive as some of the lesser-known skaters, though. Too much falling. Even I can fall on skates. All in all, it was a rather awesome performance for me to watch.

My car seems to be circling the drain, although I'm not sure if it has passed the event horizon yet. I'm using it today to carry me to teaching, but it is whimpering a little.

I just got the music for a concert on Sunday. Nice. Organization folks...that's how you build greatness.

Gotta concert Wed. night of an hour-long Steve Reich piece. Reich should be there.

Picked up a little sickness in Lake Placid. Where's my tea?

So it begins

2007-11-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

This greeted me as I left to teach today. Isn't it a little early for this? I'm now about to teach my last lesson before going on break Yay! At least it's a great student.

Speaking of snowflakes, I've had enough of a number of precious snowflakes. Soon, some of them will be someone else's issue, I think.

Still not dead

2007-11-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

I'm not dead. I'm just getting ready for Thanksgiving. I'm wrapping up all of my teaching and rehearsals so I can leave on Tuesday. Wahoo and woohoo. This Thanksgiving, I'll be visiting: New Rochelle, Lake George, and Lake Placid. If at all possible, I will ice skate. I'll try not to break any bones.

Big Steve Reich concert coming up at the end of November. I'll post on it later. We're playing Music for 18 Musicians and Reich will be there. Should be interesting. More to follow...

The Calm After the Storm

2007-11-04T09:44:00.001-05:00

Well, I got to the Cape last night only to have the military deployment then guarding the hall tell me to turnaround and go home. At the very last minute, all the Bostonian commuters had to return through Noel to our homes. Today, we have two concerts scheduled to make up for yesterday's cancellation. If I see more trees in the roads, I'll take pictures for posting.

What am I Doing This Very Second?

2007-11-02T19:54:00.001-04:00

Funny you should ask. I'm listeing to these guys go through Barber's ''Adagio'' while I wait for my piece to be rehearsed. We've got a concert tomorrow night and another on Sunday. I'm playing Eb Clarinet on Bernstein's ''Symphonic Dances from West Side Story'' and a piece by Michel Dougherty called ''Route 66''. If I remember, I'll give a rundown of how it went later. Until then, word to your mother.

Liability!

2007-10-22T14:26:00.001-04:00

This particular picture is of me and a quarter of a million dollars. What kind of genius would let me, of all people, play that kind of money? I'll never tell.

Okay, so a number of concerts you should hit:

Thursday Oct. 25 8pm
Jordan Winds - Jordan Hall, Boston
I'll be subbing for my old school on bass clarinet. I'm only playing the Hindemith, but it's a free concert. All are welcome. This band contains what will hopefully become the performers of the day after tomorrow (I'll be one of tomorrow.).

Sat. And Sun. Nov. 3 and 4
Cape Cod Symphony
Google your way to the website for start times and places. Sat. is an evening concert while Sun. is an afternoon affair. I'll be playing Eb clarinet on these for Bernstein's 'Symphonic Dances from West Side Story' and other stuff. Should be fun.

Thurs. Nov 8 (7 or 8)pm
Jordan Hall, Boston
I'm playing a solo clarinet piece by Mee Eun Jeon as part of a concert honoring NEC alumni composers. She'll be coming up from Maryland for the show. The piece is hard and I've only had it a few days.

There's work to be done, so I'm off.

Summit meeting

2007-10-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

Non-musical proof for the Maternal Unit.

Brooklyn Bluegrass

2007-10-03T01:15:00.001-04:00

These gents played a set in Cambridge tonight. They were much better than the warmup band, who crapped upon some John Hartford tunes. Thank the FSM there wasn't any cover. The crowd could have been helped considerably with a bar of soap too.

Ignorant Educators

2007-10-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

Today I heard something that's indicative of how representative our willfully ignorant Administration actually is. I heard a school teacher/administrator claim proudly that she doesn't ''do computers.'' She thought that, as she had survived up to this point without any knowledge of how to use a computer, she won't ever have a use for those skills. Thank the FSM I wasn't asked for my opinion. I never thought willfull ignorance was a charming character trait much less for an educator.

I think that I'm going to like this mobile blogging thing. I'm sitting in a classroom waiting for my little musicians to show up.

I had a concert last Sunday night that, for me, went fairly well. I'm finally getting the projection I need, I think. Now I need to put it to use in an audition.

The whitey at the top was a fluffy playpal this past weekend. Cute, huh? I don't think she's used to fancypants camera phones.

Mobile Blogging Arrives

2007-09-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

Track last month.

I do believe that I've figured out how to blog via my Mr. Fancypants Phone. (cackle here)

Getting back to ....normal?

2007-09-26T20:36:00.000-04:00

Dolly Parton is on Dancing With the Stars. There's so much that's strange about that, the least of which is "Why am I watching Dancing With the Stars" tonight? I don't know. Apparently, last year there was a one-legged star trying to dance. Any show that would submit a celebrity to one-legged-dancing humiliation is my kind of fun. Where are the midgets?

Okay, the season has started! I'm teaching a number of students in a variety of places. It's nice to be in the swing of things. I'll be adding more students to the schedule as the next couple of weeks go by, so I should be in the thick of it by the end of October. By "in the thick of it," I mean "insane." And to think that I went on another interview today so as to possibly add a few more students.

I guess it's about time I learn to dance. Tango? Ballroom? The Forbidden Dance? That vaguely perverse dance that Beavis did with the waving hand move?

This weekend, I'm heading up to Glens Falls for a cycle with the orchestra. I'm only playing a fairly harmless Symphony this time, so I have a little paid vacation. Nice. This is a rather odd program, though. There's Bach, Mendelssohn, Strauss (I think.), and some other fluff. We're doing it in the First Presbyterian Church as the normal stage is being rebuilt or something.

I'm tired. Tomorrow night, I look forward to finishing rehearsal, relaxing in good company, and sleeping in the next day.

Still lurking

2007-09-17T22:59:00.000-04:00

Two pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge taken with my phone several weeks ago. It was a lovely trip, but I've only now figured out how to get pictures taken from my phone to the rest of the world. It also appears that Blogger also now allows video to be posted. We'll see what that means for you soon.

I haven't been much of a blogger lately as I've been scrambling to piece together my teaching studio for the fall. I'm starting a couple of positions with music schools in the area, but my teaching load is light since I'm new to them. Since I'm returning from spending so much time out of Boston last year, I'm having to claw my way back into the scene.

The BIG AWESOME NEWS that may or may not happen: It looks as if a rather important living composer may be writing a concerto for me. It may be a few months or longer before any details are in stone, but all of the parties have agreed to the principal. We just need to start talking serious details. This is a big deal. Major orchestras play this man's music and I may get to have a concerto written for me! Yay. More details as they come.

I'm playing pretty well, though. I think that I'm getting a good handle on all the basic building blocks that make a fantastic clarinet player. This may lead to some successes later, but I'll just keep following this road for now.

Mmm...new reeds.

Anatomy of an Exhaustion

2007-08-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

How did I end up this way, you ask? Why is every inch of my body screaming at me to slow the **** down and recover? (my body has a potty mouth, apparently)

For the last 8 weeks, I have been waking early to arrive at my school by 830am, where I taught until about 415 each day. Occasionally (each of the last 3 days), I was finagled into playing faculty/counselor kickball, where (honest to fsm) I was declared MVP for two stunning diving catches, or dodgeball, where I gladly took aim at children who were spawn of some unholy creature. Each one of those was an hour of cardio, essentially. Looks like I'm back on the exercise wagon.

This evening I also finished about 9 weeks of a consulting project with a local arts organization. It appears that I'll be starting another project next week and a third the following week. Regardless, I won't be running from teaching to office work each day, which kept me toiling until 9pm most nights.

After that, I'd practice. For two days I've been too tired to play for more than an hour each day.

What's next: I'll finish my last day of summer teaching on Friday. For the next 2 1/2 days, I will practice days and send a few emails at night. I'm still looking for a few students, so I need to wrap that up in the next few days. After that, I plan to head to NY for about a week of relaxation. Of course, I'll still work a bit with daily practice and some business calls, but my environment and the company I keep will be quite lovely.

I'm updating with so much detail to assure those who've written me, both parental types and friends all over, that I am indeed alive. I'll start with discusions of the upcoming season soon enough. First I must drink the blood of the innocent to....er....or maybe I should just sleep.

Hit and run

2007-08-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

What up, my homeys and homettes? Many apologies for the long delay in posting. I've been up to much the same thing, teaching and practicing ungodly hours. I'm nearing the end of my teaching for the summer and am looking at the new year. This Fall looks a little difficult as I try to burrow my way back into the freelance and teaching scene here in Boston. I'm even considering some teaching in other states in order to pay the bills. Got any students you want to send my way?

I've spent a few weekends in NY in the past several weeks. Corner Bistro in the Village. Holy crapweasel. Eat a burger, drink a beer, lather, rinse, and repeat. So cheap, yet so good. I'm also making plans to hit a BBQ joint in a semi-trailer in the Bronx. Mmm...

The season is fast approaching. On the horizon, but not fully in sight (maybe mirages?), a short recital in the burbs of NYC, a Ralph Shapey Concerto in Boston, a Benefit Recital in VA in the Spring, and a full solo recital in MD in April. In betwixt, the orchestra and whatever else comes my way. Fo shizzle.

Gotta run now. Gotta finish finding out how to get to jury duty tomorrow. Let 'em all fry! (but no transfats.../wagging finger/)

Jam-packed

2007-07-24T19:57:00.000-04:00

Half-assedly edited once for several exhaustion-induced typos.

In the midst of working like a dog, I've been reminded that my blogging has not been plentiful as of late. Here's been my standard schedule:

Each weekday: teach from 8:30am-4:30pm - a variety of students at different levels in their studies, from "What's a clarinet?" to "I can play anything." (Remember that brief moment when you thought you had mastered your instrument, only to find out that you were horribly mistaken? Ah, to be 13 again. Not really. 13 was a pretty miserable time. I wouldn't mind skipping to about 16 when I went away to school. That was fun. I'd work harder at the clarinet and spend less time gallivanting around with those troublesome dancers.)

Mon-Thurs: I do a bit of consulting for a local classical music group in the evenings. Afterwards, at around 9pm each night, I begin my practicing/reed work. I tend to get home after midnight every night.

On Friday afternoons, recently I've been heading to NY (upstate and down near the city) for work and fun. It's a little tiring, but I always manage to find a way to sleep in when I'm there. If I stayed in Boston, I'd probably get roped into some lame early morning meeting.

So apparently this getting-really-sick-near-the-end-of-July thing is common for me. Looking back at the blog, one can see that I had a rather unpleasant occurrence last year at the same time. It too was sinus/allergy related.What in the hell is blooming in mid-to-late July that's screwing with me so much? Anyone? Bueller?

Was yelled at on the street today by an old pianist friend just in town for a few days from Australia. Looks like I'll be forgoing most of my evening practice for a little catching up instead. How come even the Australians I know are Korean? She was a good pianist back in the day, though.

Damn, this cough is annoying.

Two Tons of Rusting Art

2007-07-17T08:22:00.000-04:00

Okay...so I'm a little early again to the salt mines. Here's the latest rundown:

Practicing is ramping up again, both for PhD auditions and job auditions. There's ALOT of repertoire to be polished and some to be learned. I've now got the Bach mostly under my fingers, but it's a bear musically. I'll just have to keep working bit by bit on it until it doesn't sound like a bad Rode exercise.The Schuller is coming along very slowly. The multiphonics are very difficult to play in tune. There's one that I can't seem to be able to do at all, which is a problem. No one but me and anyone with the score will notice, but that's enough.

Welcome to the frequent reader from Petaluma, CA. Petaluma? What kind of name for a town/city/burg/hoopdedoo is that? Drop a comment so I know who you are, lurker.

Two separate readers in the past week have reached my blog after searching for "Ay Papi" on Google. What in the hell were you guys looking for? Hm? (disappointed/shocked/appalled voice saying "Oh Jeffrey!" here)

I saw the Richard Serra exhibit at MOMA this past weekend. "Sequences" made me physically ill. When was the last time a piece of sculpture (granted, one that's freakin' huge) made you respond physically? It's not that I don't dig the piece, but rather that I couldn't catch my bearings while walking through it. Between that and the recurrence of the dizziness, I'm a littly loopy.

Now bring on the students! Nothing better than a zonked out teacher.

On 7th Day, He Rested...Sort of

2007-07-07T12:28:00.000-04:00

Oh spacely FSM, we thank you for the infrequent day off. We promise to sleep in until 11:18 am (check), eat a tastey brunch alone with reading material (on my way), take care of business emails and phone calls (grumble grumble, but that's the plan), and practice (wahoo). If all is said and done in a leisurely manner, we promise to partake of the libations in your name. If the libations are truly plentiful, we may call in some favors and have an illegal, undocumented polar bear delivered to another of your supplicants. All hail the FSM!

Pimpin' ain't easy

2007-07-05T08:21:00.000-04:00

It's 8:21 am and I'm already at work. I must have really displeased the FSM this week. I didn't get home last night until around midnight due to a Pops concert with my orchestra Upstate. Boy was it long...I'm fairly certain I saw an audience member actually age during the concert. There was also a "multimedia" extravaganza, which apparently translates to "slideshow" for those of us not into XTREME advertising.

On the ride home, I had a long, involved (are there other types when stuck in a car with me for seveal hours?) discussion of the pitiful state of music education in the States. As both my companion and I knew many students currently preparing for or already using their Music Education degrees, we each had a number of incredulous stories of stupid "educational" approaches to music. It all boils down to this: If you use bad music to teach people about music, those same people will think music is bad. Ta da. Now...go solve the problems out there.

I'm going to really need my nap after lunch today. I'm not sure about the quality of my teaching in this exhausted state. Perhaps every lesson can somehow b turned to "how passing out helps your clarinet playing" or some such. Someone work on a lesson plan and email it to me (or MSN Messenger for instantaneous help) so I can put it into action immediately.

Next, doing the same concert again. At least I had excellent company this week and plan to do the same next week. It's enough to put a polish on things.

Bring on the vomitoriums!

Baba

2007-06-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

As of yet, I haven't figured out how to upload pictures from Mr. Fancypants mobile phone. As soon as I do, rest assured that you'll be assaulted with lo-res pics from my camera phone.

In the meantime, sickpuppy is over and I'm back to working like a dog again. I leave each day at 8 am and return at midnight. This schedule could last for another 7 weeks if nothing changes. I figure that I'll be starting knife fights by week 5....maybe with monkeys.

Hyun's recital at Weill was great. There was excellent music being made that night. (Of course, she looked fantastc too.) It was also good to see an old friend doing so well. I know it's strange, but I was quite proud of her. I'm still waiting on the pics and will later post what I can. Later festivities included a Korean club that made some of the whities nervous.

I'm also indebted to my host of the evening.

In transit...

2007-06-23T12:21:00.000-04:00

At this moment, I'm hurtling towards NYC on a packed Greyhound bus. As I threatened, I'm blogging from my Mr. Fancypants mobile phone.

I'm on my way to NY to support my friend Hyun (sorry...no hangul support on the phone...yet) as she gives her NY recital debut a Carnegie. I have known Hyun since we were both freshmen at NEC nearly ten years ago. While I was in Korea, she was kind enough o show me around and help keep me out of jail. I'm looking forward to the concert as I haven't really had the chance to hear her in a few years. It's a 530 show, so you still have time to get tickets if you want.

I'm getting old and sleepy, so I think I'll take this chance to nap a bit.

and the beat goes on...

2007-06-21T00:27:00.000-04:00

After several weeks, a dead 4-year-old cell phone, the purchase of a new cell phone (which I am now using to post), the visit of houseguest Rose, the arrival of second houseguest, the departure of first houseguest, the start of Steve Drury's Sickpuppy Institute, the near-offer of severaal jobs, the offer of a couple of jobs, the best practice sessions evar, the puking of the kitty, the cleaning up after the kitty, the discovery of internet2 nerds, the slow advance in reading my Friedman book, the drinking of multiple cups of coffee daily, and the daily assault of awesome and not-so-awsome New Music, the increase of my overall happiness, and the figuring out of Blogger on a pda phone, I finally have the time to post. Simple, right?

Ay Papi

2007-06-03T02:39:00.000-04:00

Two concerts this weekend...two chances to do something interesting...something well. For the first, I felt like a fraud. Not just producing music of no consequence, but a musical version of the emperor with no clothes. It was horrifying. For my part, I could have phoned in my part and been just as effective...perhaps even texted it in. For the second, I was but a cog in the wheel of a larger ensemble. Many musicians get awfully uppity about playing these gigs, but this gig got an enthusiastic response from the audience. The music wasn't of the architectural or emotional content of Ligeti or Brahms, but it was played honestly. No BS. There were several standing ovations.

Today I feel as if the title of my blog couldn't be more true. Tomorrow, back to the work at hand. Tonight, not so much.

I need to get a significant bit of my Gunther paper written before the my June visitors arrive.

(sigh) Apparently --Someone-- was bored...

2007-05-31T00:30:00.000-04:00

So here's a new post...

It's nice to be working on newish music for once. I'm getting a chance to learn a few new patterns for the fingers and give the brain a workout on the musical end of things. It's good to have to sit and make musical decisions based on the harmony and sequences found and implied by a piece. So far, though, I've been really only working on learning the Bach/Hasty previously mentioned. As I've finally finished all of the pitch detective work on the Schuller, I should ramp up finger work there too. As I wrap up the rest of the analysis, I'll be able to start to making sense of how these varying tempo changes are supposed to happen. Ack...to be a musician...

What's the simplest way to post audio files to Blogger? I'd like to phase in a project that's interesting to me, but I need a simple way for you reader folks to be able to listen (via streaming or download) to quick clips. Should I just use a file host somewhere out there in the tubes, or is there a simple way to embed a player? I could use suggestions on where to look. I'm sure I could figure it out were I not spending so much time making a living and practicing right now. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

Oh yes...Anyone have this phone? I can get an awesome price on it, but I'd kind of like to either play with it or hear someone's 1st-hand account of their experiences with it.

Ah, perhaps next time I'll plug my friend's upcoming Carnegie recital. If I'm not a total doof, I'll look up the appropriate links so you can go too if you please. It's still a few weeks away, so no hurry. Also, I'll try to remember to pimp the orchestra's upcoming auditions and concerts. If you come to them, perhaps we can all go to the track...

Sexxxy

2007-05-25T00:44:00.000-04:00

Look at that. Ladies love that stuff. It's like pheromones for nerds. Take a whiff.

FYI

2007-05-25T00:27:00.000-04:00

Since I'm too lazy to answer an email about the Shapey, I added a link in my last post. Oh yeah...in this one too. Same link (link fixed).