Stream 24/7 here. I love this.
:]
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
I'm actually getting really bad at updating this
It seems like I only write something on here about once a month - if that. My life hasn't been filled with much music lately, just the same old choir rehearsals and voice lessons. Actually, last week I asked my voice teacher if I could sing one of my all time favorite songs. I prefaced it with "this may be a bit unconventional but..." I thought it was appropriate, because the song I asked about is a little unconventional for a classical voice department at a school of music that focuses solely on classical performance and dabbles in jazz. The song is Think of Me from The Phantom of the Opera. Now, I know it may not be the most challenging of songs, but it's a song that I love. I grew up listening to The Phantom of the Opera - just like all the kids do, right? - and it's probably one of the reasons why I have become so involved with music and singing. It marked the beginning of my growing love for music and it's a play that I still love and a soundtrack that I still blast every so often in my dorm. I'm just so connected to the whole thing and this song is one of the only solo ones I could think of that is for a soprano voice. Anyway, so I asked and he said that he'll check with those in charge. He didn't name names, but I know who he's talking about: her, "upstairs," both literally and figuratively speaking. So, I guess I'll find out the final decision once we get back from spring break! I hope she says it's fine, I'd love to sing that song.
In other not so relevant news, in exactly 17 days I will find out whether or not I'll be spending my summer in Washington, D.C. I don't know if I mentioned this previously, but I applied for an internship with NPR for this coming summer in D.C. I actually applied for three internships with them. We'll see what happens, I've done all I need to and can at this point and all that's left for me to do is wait. It's actually a very difficult task. I can't tell you how many times it crosses my mind, how many times I check my calendar to see how many more weeks or days until I'll know for sure. I also hate the feeling of uncertainty. It's not so much being nervous about not getting the internship, but more of not knowing exactly where I'll be this summer or what I'll be doing. I like to have these sorts of things figured out pretty far in advance. Also, I won't be completely heart broken if I don't get the internship. I mean, I will probably have a heart attack and die if I do get it. I will be so ridiculously excited and thankful and oh my god, I just don't even know. It would just be amazing. But, at the same time, I'll be okay with not getting it, too. If I don't get it, that means I can spend the summer here, in Tacoma, and hopefully work at Diversions and live with some friends while saving up money to study abroad [oh, have I mentioned that? I'll get to it in a bit] and maybe even take a class to fulfill my last core requirement. I would actually love to spend my summer in Tacoma. So many of my friends are staying in the area, it would be so much fun, and having an almost-full-time job will be really nice and an easy way to save up money for the Fall semester. I'd also take a 3-week vacation to do my internship at the Ojai Music Festival, again. I loved it so much last year and had so much fun and they asked me back this year, so why the hell not? It's a great experience and a great environment with amazing people who I got to know really well last year. Basically, I have a back up plan. Either way, I'll be happy with what I do this summer. It's just a matter of waiting for NPR's decision. I'll keep you posted.
As I mentioned for a split second, I'm going abroad next semester! I'm going to the epicenter of music: Vienna, Austria. It's going to be an amazing experience. I've always equated college with studying abroad. I mean, to me, it just seems obvious that one would go abroad for a least a semester to study and completely immerse oneself in a different culture. I can't wait. In addition, one of my really good friends, Rachael, is going abroad with the same program as I am! So it will be nice to have a friendly face around; we've already started talking about things we want to do and places we want to go. While abroad, I'm hoping to keep this blog going. At that point, it will expand to more than just music, it will be a general travel blog about everything going on with me in Vienna and every other city I visit! It will probably still be mostly focused on music, though, because it is the city of music and I plan on going to operas and concerts galore.
Alright, I think I'm going to get ready for bed and watch some of The Sound of Music [have I mentioned that I'm a music nerd?] - goodnight!
Random thought: Maybe I should update this more often so that my posts don't become so ridiculously long.
In other not so relevant news, in exactly 17 days I will find out whether or not I'll be spending my summer in Washington, D.C. I don't know if I mentioned this previously, but I applied for an internship with NPR for this coming summer in D.C. I actually applied for three internships with them. We'll see what happens, I've done all I need to and can at this point and all that's left for me to do is wait. It's actually a very difficult task. I can't tell you how many times it crosses my mind, how many times I check my calendar to see how many more weeks or days until I'll know for sure. I also hate the feeling of uncertainty. It's not so much being nervous about not getting the internship, but more of not knowing exactly where I'll be this summer or what I'll be doing. I like to have these sorts of things figured out pretty far in advance. Also, I won't be completely heart broken if I don't get the internship. I mean, I will probably have a heart attack and die if I do get it. I will be so ridiculously excited and thankful and oh my god, I just don't even know. It would just be amazing. But, at the same time, I'll be okay with not getting it, too. If I don't get it, that means I can spend the summer here, in Tacoma, and hopefully work at Diversions and live with some friends while saving up money to study abroad [oh, have I mentioned that? I'll get to it in a bit] and maybe even take a class to fulfill my last core requirement. I would actually love to spend my summer in Tacoma. So many of my friends are staying in the area, it would be so much fun, and having an almost-full-time job will be really nice and an easy way to save up money for the Fall semester. I'd also take a 3-week vacation to do my internship at the Ojai Music Festival, again. I loved it so much last year and had so much fun and they asked me back this year, so why the hell not? It's a great experience and a great environment with amazing people who I got to know really well last year. Basically, I have a back up plan. Either way, I'll be happy with what I do this summer. It's just a matter of waiting for NPR's decision. I'll keep you posted.
As I mentioned for a split second, I'm going abroad next semester! I'm going to the epicenter of music: Vienna, Austria. It's going to be an amazing experience. I've always equated college with studying abroad. I mean, to me, it just seems obvious that one would go abroad for a least a semester to study and completely immerse oneself in a different culture. I can't wait. In addition, one of my really good friends, Rachael, is going abroad with the same program as I am! So it will be nice to have a friendly face around; we've already started talking about things we want to do and places we want to go. While abroad, I'm hoping to keep this blog going. At that point, it will expand to more than just music, it will be a general travel blog about everything going on with me in Vienna and every other city I visit! It will probably still be mostly focused on music, though, because it is the city of music and I plan on going to operas and concerts galore.
Alright, I think I'm going to get ready for bed and watch some of The Sound of Music [have I mentioned that I'm a music nerd?] - goodnight!
Random thought: Maybe I should update this more often so that my posts don't become so ridiculously long.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Take it as a spice, nothing more and nothing less
I promised a new post several days ago and now I'm finally getting to it. I know I haven't been the best blogger for the past couple of months, but this semester has turned out to be equally as busy as last semester and maybe even more so. I don't know how much time I'll have to write things or even go to many music events, but I'll try my best! By the way, my new radio show is on Tuesdays from 2pm to 3pm and it still has the same name [Afternoon Delight]. Now, to get to the good stuff.
Last weekend, we had a lot of events going on around and on campus. It was definitely a crazy week for Puget Sound students and I'm sure everyone had a great time doing whatever they ended up doing. For me, it was especially busy. On Friday afternoon, Lamppost Revival came to Puget Sound and performed in Marshall Hall during lunch. I think I mentioned in an older post that I had been working with my friend Carlton, who had worked on the band's CD, to get Lamppost Revival to come Puget Sound. We were successful in those efforts and were able to have the band perform twice on campus! They received a great response from the students and were able to sell several CDs and pins after their first performance here. After their show, my friends Shelby and Jovia and I were able to sit down and have lunch with Carlton and the band. Jovia is actually the reason I know Carlton, they're friends from back home [Alaska] and he came to visit her last year sometime and he stayed in our room - Jovia, Shelby and I were all roommates last year. So, anyway, I got to talk to the band and get to know them a little bit, which was really awesome. They're all cool kids from Western Washington and they definitely have talent.
The next day, I spent the majority of my time helping to set up for Casino Night. Casino Night is the biggest event that RSA puts on every year. We get donations from local businesses to raffle off as prizes, have live entertainment, snacks and drinks, and [of course] some gambling; but not real gambling. Basically, it's just a fun night to hang out with friends and play some card games in a cool environment. Also, all the money we raise goes to a charity: Kids Can Do! This charity has a pretty large presence on campus, with a lot of students who are active mentors for the kids. Lamppost Revival also played at Casino Night and got a great response, again. I'm really glad they came out to do these two shows on campus, it definitely made the night a lot more fun than it would have been without them and Puget Sound really did enjoy them. I also know that they played another show at a hookah lounge in downtown and I heard that went pretty well, too. So, overall, they're trip down here was a success and I'm glad.
Here are a few photos from the night
Disclaimer: Facebook is doing some weird stuff right now and won't let me save pictures onto my computer directly from the facebook albums [which is really annoying] so these are all cropped screen captures, I apologize if they're extra bad quality.
The night of Casino Night was the same night that Victor Wooten came to campus. If you don't know, Victor Wooten is an amazing five-time Grammy award winning musician from Tennessee. I got to meet him this past summer at my internship with the Ojai Music Festival and I had him sign my copy of his book: The Music Lesson. I haven't read it yet, but I'm really looking forward to being able to actually do that. Except apparently it's lost somewhere because no one back home can find it where I'm sure I left it...anyway. I actually ended up leaving Casino Night for about an hour and a half to go see Victor Wooten perform. He performed in Kilworth Chapel with the Jazz Band.
The whole thing was amazing. There really aren't words that can justifiably describe the experience of being there and seeing him and listening to him play the bass. Everything about it was just so awesome. Everyone could tell how much he loved music, how much he could physically feel the music, and how talented he is by listening to and watching him play. It really was an experience unlike any other I've ever had. He was so inspiring and the music was beautiful. I remember sitting there and wanting to cry at some points because of how amazing everything was and I just could not believe it.
The name of this post refers to something that Victor Wooten said. Throughout the concert, he would talk and at one point, he started talking about music and how it is formally taught in schools. Before giving his opinion, he told us all to "take it as a spice, nothing more and nothing less." Meaning, in our spice cabinets, we all have many different spices that we use at different times. Now, he wanted to give us another spice that we might want to use, but we don't have to use it. It's just something to have, a thought to have, just in case we might want to access and use it someday. Then, he proceeded with his point. He talked about how the formalization of teaching music gets in the way of actually learning how to play music. We [students, professors, performers, etc.] get caught up in the logistics of music, we think too much about music theory and not enough about music performance. We care too much about following the rules and teaching the proper notes to play and the correct chord progressions. Instead, we should give instruments to students and simply tell them "play". Have them play whatever sounds right to them, let musicians do what they feel is correct and make good music. He demonstrated this by having a girl join him on stage. She was a random girl whom he chose from the audience after asking everyone who had never played an instrument before to raise their hand. She had not ever played an instrument, never received any sort of training in music, and certainly was not expecting to be dragged up to the stage in front of the large audience. Then, he gave her his bass, told her where to put her fingers, and told her to play. He had the drummer and keyboardist from the Jazz Band play along with a simple rhythm and melody and basically told the girl to have at it. Granted, she didn't play anything particularly spectacular, but she did play and she played well. She knew when to go up a major third and then back down to the root by simply listening to the rest of the music; she created her own repeated rhythm. It was pretty amazing to see this happen, to see someone with absolutely no formal background in music, play an instrument so easily. I think Victor Wooten is right. I think all the strict rules and guidelines and theories are what hold people back in music. I think that, where music is concerned, naivety is the best option. I'd rather not have to think about which chord should come next in the progression if it's following the 'correct' rules. I don't think musicians should have to base their music on strict music theory methods in order for it to be accepted as well-written. I think this is what holds back so many people when it comes to music and I think this is what turned me off from studying music so much. It loses its fun when it becomes like this. It loses its character. I wish someone had told me when I was younger "play" or "sing" without giving me something to actually follow. I think I would be a more confident singer, a more talented musician, with a freer mindset when it comes to music.
Here are some picture from Victor Wooten's concert, they're all done by my friend, Gregory Nissen who is an amazing photographer and you should check out all his other stuff by following that link.
Sorry this post has become so long, I wasn't expecting all this to come pouring out when I started to write it. Long story short: Victor Wooten was amazing, Lamppost Revival was awesome. Last weekend was a great experience and I'm glad I was able to take part in both of these things. I love music and there's not really much more to it.
Here's a link to Lamppost Revival's facebook page. Enjoy!
Edit: Just some more wise words from Victor Wooten:
“Progress is like climbing a mountain; if you get halfway and look up, you’ll think ‘man I’ve got so far to go’, you have to look down and think ‘wow, look at how far I’ve come.' The joy is in the struggle."
Last weekend, we had a lot of events going on around and on campus. It was definitely a crazy week for Puget Sound students and I'm sure everyone had a great time doing whatever they ended up doing. For me, it was especially busy. On Friday afternoon, Lamppost Revival came to Puget Sound and performed in Marshall Hall during lunch. I think I mentioned in an older post that I had been working with my friend Carlton, who had worked on the band's CD, to get Lamppost Revival to come Puget Sound. We were successful in those efforts and were able to have the band perform twice on campus! They received a great response from the students and were able to sell several CDs and pins after their first performance here. After their show, my friends Shelby and Jovia and I were able to sit down and have lunch with Carlton and the band. Jovia is actually the reason I know Carlton, they're friends from back home [Alaska] and he came to visit her last year sometime and he stayed in our room - Jovia, Shelby and I were all roommates last year. So, anyway, I got to talk to the band and get to know them a little bit, which was really awesome. They're all cool kids from Western Washington and they definitely have talent.
The next day, I spent the majority of my time helping to set up for Casino Night. Casino Night is the biggest event that RSA puts on every year. We get donations from local businesses to raffle off as prizes, have live entertainment, snacks and drinks, and [of course] some gambling; but not real gambling. Basically, it's just a fun night to hang out with friends and play some card games in a cool environment. Also, all the money we raise goes to a charity: Kids Can Do! This charity has a pretty large presence on campus, with a lot of students who are active mentors for the kids. Lamppost Revival also played at Casino Night and got a great response, again. I'm really glad they came out to do these two shows on campus, it definitely made the night a lot more fun than it would have been without them and Puget Sound really did enjoy them. I also know that they played another show at a hookah lounge in downtown and I heard that went pretty well, too. So, overall, they're trip down here was a success and I'm glad.
Here are a few photos from the night
 |
| Lamppost Revival and me! |
 |
| Lamppost performing at Casino Night |
 |
| People gambling |
The night of Casino Night was the same night that Victor Wooten came to campus. If you don't know, Victor Wooten is an amazing five-time Grammy award winning musician from Tennessee. I got to meet him this past summer at my internship with the Ojai Music Festival and I had him sign my copy of his book: The Music Lesson. I haven't read it yet, but I'm really looking forward to being able to actually do that. Except apparently it's lost somewhere because no one back home can find it where I'm sure I left it...anyway. I actually ended up leaving Casino Night for about an hour and a half to go see Victor Wooten perform. He performed in Kilworth Chapel with the Jazz Band.
The whole thing was amazing. There really aren't words that can justifiably describe the experience of being there and seeing him and listening to him play the bass. Everything about it was just so awesome. Everyone could tell how much he loved music, how much he could physically feel the music, and how talented he is by listening to and watching him play. It really was an experience unlike any other I've ever had. He was so inspiring and the music was beautiful. I remember sitting there and wanting to cry at some points because of how amazing everything was and I just could not believe it.
The name of this post refers to something that Victor Wooten said. Throughout the concert, he would talk and at one point, he started talking about music and how it is formally taught in schools. Before giving his opinion, he told us all to "take it as a spice, nothing more and nothing less." Meaning, in our spice cabinets, we all have many different spices that we use at different times. Now, he wanted to give us another spice that we might want to use, but we don't have to use it. It's just something to have, a thought to have, just in case we might want to access and use it someday. Then, he proceeded with his point. He talked about how the formalization of teaching music gets in the way of actually learning how to play music. We [students, professors, performers, etc.] get caught up in the logistics of music, we think too much about music theory and not enough about music performance. We care too much about following the rules and teaching the proper notes to play and the correct chord progressions. Instead, we should give instruments to students and simply tell them "play". Have them play whatever sounds right to them, let musicians do what they feel is correct and make good music. He demonstrated this by having a girl join him on stage. She was a random girl whom he chose from the audience after asking everyone who had never played an instrument before to raise their hand. She had not ever played an instrument, never received any sort of training in music, and certainly was not expecting to be dragged up to the stage in front of the large audience. Then, he gave her his bass, told her where to put her fingers, and told her to play. He had the drummer and keyboardist from the Jazz Band play along with a simple rhythm and melody and basically told the girl to have at it. Granted, she didn't play anything particularly spectacular, but she did play and she played well. She knew when to go up a major third and then back down to the root by simply listening to the rest of the music; she created her own repeated rhythm. It was pretty amazing to see this happen, to see someone with absolutely no formal background in music, play an instrument so easily. I think Victor Wooten is right. I think all the strict rules and guidelines and theories are what hold people back in music. I think that, where music is concerned, naivety is the best option. I'd rather not have to think about which chord should come next in the progression if it's following the 'correct' rules. I don't think musicians should have to base their music on strict music theory methods in order for it to be accepted as well-written. I think this is what holds back so many people when it comes to music and I think this is what turned me off from studying music so much. It loses its fun when it becomes like this. It loses its character. I wish someone had told me when I was younger "play" or "sing" without giving me something to actually follow. I think I would be a more confident singer, a more talented musician, with a freer mindset when it comes to music.
Here are some picture from Victor Wooten's concert, they're all done by my friend, Gregory Nissen who is an amazing photographer and you should check out all his other stuff by following that link.
 |
| Victor Wooten and the girl he brought on stage |
Here's a link to Lamppost Revival's facebook page. Enjoy!
Edit: Just some more wise words from Victor Wooten:
“Progress is like climbing a mountain; if you get halfway and look up, you’ll think ‘man I’ve got so far to go’, you have to look down and think ‘wow, look at how far I’ve come.' The joy is in the struggle."
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Pause
I know it's been quite a while since I've updated my blog, but I promise something is coming soon! Things weren't that exciting [musically] in my life for a while, so that is my reason for the lack of blogging. BUT, exciting things happened this past weekend and I cannot wait to write about them. I just have a ton of reading that I have to catch up on and the rest of my busy life schedule to work out. But once I get bored reading and have the energy and mindset to sit down and write about this past weekend, I will do so. And hopefully soon. Here's a preview:
Lamppost Revival plays at Puget Sound [a local band from Western Washington University] and....
The AMAZING Victor Wooten. I'll just say this really quickly - he was so awesome, I wanted to cry.
Okay, I'll write a more detailed post soon! Now, off to reading...
Lamppost Revival plays at Puget Sound [a local band from Western Washington University] and....
The AMAZING Victor Wooten. I'll just say this really quickly - he was so awesome, I wanted to cry.
Okay, I'll write a more detailed post soon! Now, off to reading...
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Musical Tangents
I just got back home from seeing West Side Story at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood with my sister, mom, and some friends. This is one of the things I really miss about Los Angeles: the music, the shows, the culture. Of course, they have this stuff in Seattle, but I don't have reliable transportation to go up there often so I don't really enjoy these kinds of things while I'm at school. Actually, I haven't even hung out in Seattle all year. The only times I went there this past semester were for Bumbershoot [so I didn't walk around the city, just the festival grounds] and to drop off/pick up some friends from a concert. Anyway, back to the point of this post...
I always feel so inspired whenever I watch a musical production - I wish I had that talent. Not just the singing, but the dancing and the acting. Part of me wishes I could move the way all the dancers on stage do. Their movement is so beautiful and precise and it looks like they are having so much fun. And then there's the singing. I love it so much, you can't even imagine. I get goosebumps whenever I hear a completely amazing singer. Unfortunately, I wasn't blown away by the singers in this production. The leads [Maria and Tony] seemed to get lost in the music and their voices just weren't as strong as I had hoped and expected. West Side Story has such an amazing score and the original Broadway cast had such a great sound. I guess I'm just used to those recordings, so I compared tonight's performance to them.
Going back to The Pantages, however, reminded me of the last time I was there. It was my 17th birthday [has it really been 2 years?] and my sister, mom, and I went with our family friend, Andy, to see Wicked. My mom and sister had already seen it before, but I hadn't. I was pretty excited for it because I had heard everyone saying such great things about it. I remember being blown away by the performance that night. Everyone did such an incredible job and I fell in love with Wicked right away; it is definitely one of my favorite musicals now and I can't wait to see it again. That's what I love about going to these things: the feelings of being so fulfilled and inspired by what I had seen. It makes me so happy and amazed with how much talent everyone involved in the production has. Everything that goes into it, it takes so much time, energy, patience, talent, work. It's crazy and I think the people who do it are great and you can always tell that they love what they're doing.
I hope I can be as happy as they are, doing what I love, someday. I don't want to be a performer at all, but behind the scenes - I hope I enjoy it and am satisfied everyday by doing whatever it is that I may be doing. I think my first experience of putting together some sort of public event will be next semester [although the planning and preparations have already started and it's really only for the Puget Sound campus]. I'm the co-chair for RSA's biggest event of the year: Casino Night. Although I don't deal with a lot of the details, I'm trying to be involved with all the committees, if I can. I'm hoping to get some outside entertainment at Casino Night this year. Every year we have the same stuff: on-campus a cappella groups, the jazz band, etc. And, I mean, they're great, they really are. But I'd like to change it up a little bit this year. I have a friend who just finished recording a band's EP, Lamppost Revival. He and all the band members go to Western Washington University and he's been looking into book them in the Tacoma area, specifically something for Puget Sound. So, I told him about Casino Night and put him in contact with our Entertainment Committee Chair, David. I hope they actually get everything together for Lamppost to play, it would be really awesome to have some local, off-campus music at the event. Plus, it's cool to think that I helped to make that connection and get Lamppost booked for the event. And maybe it will help them get a good rep at Puget Sound so they can do other shows there, in the future. Or maybe I can develop a good connection with them and look to them if I ever want or need a band to play for any event that may come up.
Anyway, I've gone on a very interesting tangent and somehow ended up here. I'm tired, it's time for sleep. Goodnight everyone and, in case I don't write anything else for a while, Happy Holidays. Have a awesome start to the new year [can you believe it's going to be 2011??!] and be safe.
:]
I always feel so inspired whenever I watch a musical production - I wish I had that talent. Not just the singing, but the dancing and the acting. Part of me wishes I could move the way all the dancers on stage do. Their movement is so beautiful and precise and it looks like they are having so much fun. And then there's the singing. I love it so much, you can't even imagine. I get goosebumps whenever I hear a completely amazing singer. Unfortunately, I wasn't blown away by the singers in this production. The leads [Maria and Tony] seemed to get lost in the music and their voices just weren't as strong as I had hoped and expected. West Side Story has such an amazing score and the original Broadway cast had such a great sound. I guess I'm just used to those recordings, so I compared tonight's performance to them.
Going back to The Pantages, however, reminded me of the last time I was there. It was my 17th birthday [has it really been 2 years?] and my sister, mom, and I went with our family friend, Andy, to see Wicked. My mom and sister had already seen it before, but I hadn't. I was pretty excited for it because I had heard everyone saying such great things about it. I remember being blown away by the performance that night. Everyone did such an incredible job and I fell in love with Wicked right away; it is definitely one of my favorite musicals now and I can't wait to see it again. That's what I love about going to these things: the feelings of being so fulfilled and inspired by what I had seen. It makes me so happy and amazed with how much talent everyone involved in the production has. Everything that goes into it, it takes so much time, energy, patience, talent, work. It's crazy and I think the people who do it are great and you can always tell that they love what they're doing.
I hope I can be as happy as they are, doing what I love, someday. I don't want to be a performer at all, but behind the scenes - I hope I enjoy it and am satisfied everyday by doing whatever it is that I may be doing. I think my first experience of putting together some sort of public event will be next semester [although the planning and preparations have already started and it's really only for the Puget Sound campus]. I'm the co-chair for RSA's biggest event of the year: Casino Night. Although I don't deal with a lot of the details, I'm trying to be involved with all the committees, if I can. I'm hoping to get some outside entertainment at Casino Night this year. Every year we have the same stuff: on-campus a cappella groups, the jazz band, etc. And, I mean, they're great, they really are. But I'd like to change it up a little bit this year. I have a friend who just finished recording a band's EP, Lamppost Revival. He and all the band members go to Western Washington University and he's been looking into book them in the Tacoma area, specifically something for Puget Sound. So, I told him about Casino Night and put him in contact with our Entertainment Committee Chair, David. I hope they actually get everything together for Lamppost to play, it would be really awesome to have some local, off-campus music at the event. Plus, it's cool to think that I helped to make that connection and get Lamppost booked for the event. And maybe it will help them get a good rep at Puget Sound so they can do other shows there, in the future. Or maybe I can develop a good connection with them and look to them if I ever want or need a band to play for any event that may come up.
Anyway, I've gone on a very interesting tangent and somehow ended up here. I'm tired, it's time for sleep. Goodnight everyone and, in case I don't write anything else for a while, Happy Holidays. Have a awesome start to the new year [can you believe it's going to be 2011??!] and be safe.
:]
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Finals Week
I'm sitting in Thompson with Shelby and Katie and we're all attempting to study for the coming week of finals. Shelby's studying Biology, Katie's studying Math, and I'm studying Music History. I'm writing out a list of terms for the class and hoping to get some other things done. However, I've been extremely distracted for the entire time that I've been here and actually have no motivation to even study very hard for this test. I think I've accepted the fact that I'm probably gonna get a B in this class and I'm okay with it. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe i should be completely motivated to kick ass on this final and maybe get an A. But, honestly, at this point, I just don't care that much. I have 2 more classes to take in order to finish this minor and I've already planned out when I can and will take them.
In my list of terms, the word Sprechstimme came up and I was reminded of this past summer in Ojai. A few of us interns went to Ventura for dinner and to make a copy of the score of George Benjamin's Into The Little Hill for Margaret to use; at least, I think this is the right time I'm thinking of. Nonetheless, there was a time when we were driving to Ventura and I remember Sprechstimme came up in the conversation. I had no idea what it was and Josh explained it to me be demonstrating. It's an interesting technique and now that I read the definition provided in my textbook, - "Speech-voice"; a vocal technique in which the singer declaims, rather than sings, a text at only approximate pitch levels - I think Josh's explanation was a much better one.
I don't really know why I'm writing about this. Maybe it's the feelings of nostalgia that were brought about by this random memory of Ojai. Sometimes I just wish I didn't have to go to school anymore and worry about studying for tests and finals or writing research papers or doing presentations or projects. I know what I want to do with my life. I know how to get there. I know where to apply for internships. I've already built a fairly strong network of people. All I want to do is have a couple more awesome internships and then dive right in. Why must I endure two and a half more years of taking classes that stress me out and in which I'm okay with just getting Bs? I hate this lack of motivation. I know that if I were to be working in the real world, doing what I want to do and what I love, I would not be this unmotivated. I would be so passionate about it and would put everything I have into it. I think that's how I was this past summer in Ojai. I did everything I could, helped out in any way needed and possible, and I didn't want it to end. That's how life should be and that's how I knew that I loved it so much.
I wish I felt the same way about all of my classes: passionate about them, putting strenuous amounts of effort into every assignment, studying hard, and excited for the next topic. Instead, I'm sitting in this building, completely distracted and doing everything but studying - hence, the composition of this post. Maybe I should try to study, again. I might move to Diversions soon, instead. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I like doing school work in there; I can actually concentrate. Everyone always says that they are so distracted whenever they try to study in Diversions, but it's kind of like my home base. I feel comfortable and can get work done there. Now, another attempt at studying. Good luck with finals, everyone! Hopefully you've been more productive than I have and will do well on them.
In my list of terms, the word Sprechstimme came up and I was reminded of this past summer in Ojai. A few of us interns went to Ventura for dinner and to make a copy of the score of George Benjamin's Into The Little Hill for Margaret to use; at least, I think this is the right time I'm thinking of. Nonetheless, there was a time when we were driving to Ventura and I remember Sprechstimme came up in the conversation. I had no idea what it was and Josh explained it to me be demonstrating. It's an interesting technique and now that I read the definition provided in my textbook, - "Speech-voice"; a vocal technique in which the singer declaims, rather than sings, a text at only approximate pitch levels - I think Josh's explanation was a much better one.
I don't really know why I'm writing about this. Maybe it's the feelings of nostalgia that were brought about by this random memory of Ojai. Sometimes I just wish I didn't have to go to school anymore and worry about studying for tests and finals or writing research papers or doing presentations or projects. I know what I want to do with my life. I know how to get there. I know where to apply for internships. I've already built a fairly strong network of people. All I want to do is have a couple more awesome internships and then dive right in. Why must I endure two and a half more years of taking classes that stress me out and in which I'm okay with just getting Bs? I hate this lack of motivation. I know that if I were to be working in the real world, doing what I want to do and what I love, I would not be this unmotivated. I would be so passionate about it and would put everything I have into it. I think that's how I was this past summer in Ojai. I did everything I could, helped out in any way needed and possible, and I didn't want it to end. That's how life should be and that's how I knew that I loved it so much.
I wish I felt the same way about all of my classes: passionate about them, putting strenuous amounts of effort into every assignment, studying hard, and excited for the next topic. Instead, I'm sitting in this building, completely distracted and doing everything but studying - hence, the composition of this post. Maybe I should try to study, again. I might move to Diversions soon, instead. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I like doing school work in there; I can actually concentrate. Everyone always says that they are so distracted whenever they try to study in Diversions, but it's kind of like my home base. I feel comfortable and can get work done there. Now, another attempt at studying. Good luck with finals, everyone! Hopefully you've been more productive than I have and will do well on them.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Romanticism and Gypsies
I wrote the following as a concert review paper for my music history class. It's kind of long, and maybe not completely interesting, but I felt that it would be appropriate to post on here. Also [just a warning] I was really tired of this paper by the time I wrote the conclusion, so I didn't wrap it up all that well - sorry! Enjoy.
On November 13th, I was able to attend a performance by the Northwest Sinfonietta, conducted by Christophe Chagnard, at the Rialto Theater in downtown Tacoma. The program was a unique one, named “Gypsy Nights,” including pieces by Dvořák, Shostakovich, Mahler, and Chagnard. As I arrived at the theater, I was not sure what to expect – I had never been to the Rialto before and I had never heard these pieces in a live performance. I was also very intrigued and excited to here Chagnard’s Opre Roma! all the way through, for the first time. Once the performance began, I was able to get my first taste of the orchestral music scene in the Pacific Northwest.
The first piece interested me greatly, not because of the composition per se, but due to the way in which it was presented. The orchestra remained standing for its entirety: Slavonic Dance No. 8, Op. 46 by Dvořák. Not to discredit the composer at all, because it truly is an amazing piece in itself, but I really enjoyed this unique presentation. Antonín Dvořák was a Czech composer who lived from 1841 to 1904, starting his career in composition in the 1870s. By the 1880s he had attained international fame, demonstrated by the performance of his Slavonic Dances in cities all over the world from Berlin to London to New York. The Slavonic Dances consist of 16 pieces, which were originally written for piano four hands but were orchestrated at the request of his publisher soon after completion1. The way in which the Northwest Sinfonietta presented this piece caught one’s attention and was a good way to express the origin of the composition. It is based off of a dance and it only seems natural that one would want to be standing – or, more realistically, dancing – while listening to it. The piece is played with constant energy in forte with the only dynamic change to piano when a short flute solo emerges. However, the full orchestra soon ends this solo with a forte repetition of the main theme, therefore, concluding the piece. In my opinion, it was a strong way to begin the program and evoked feelings of lightheartedness and curiosity within the listener.
The second piece - Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 – only added to the strength of the program. When Mark Salman first walked across the stage, he came across as an awkward and somewhat timid pianist. He adjusted and readjusted his seat several times, which only added to my initial thoughts of him. However, once he made the final seat adjustment and his fingers hit the keys, I was blown away by his performance. The speed, accuracy and skill with which Salman played were awesome. Shostakovich’s composition is definitely not an easy one, but Salman was able to make it seem so natural. Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer who lived from 1906 to 1975. Although he was not yet alive during the Romantic era of music, his compositions have been described as being written in the Romantic tradition2. This only seems fitting, as one can see the similarities in style that Shostakovich has with composers of that era. I think Shostakovich’s most evident characteristic of Romanticism, especially in this piano concerto, is the use of emotion. Salman definitely honed in on this throughout his performance. The accompanying orchestra was perfectly dramatic and subtle, when appropriate. The solo trumpet, performed by Judson Scott, was a powerful and energetic addition to the composition that complimented the orchestra and piano well as the only brass instrument. The first and fourth movements of the concerto are very energetic and lively paced (as hinted by their titles of Allegretto and Allegro con brio, respectively). They were performed with a strong forward motion that never ceased. Both of these movements were engaging and intriguing; they left me feeling happily satisfied with the piece. The second and third movements were noticeably different from and contrasted the first and fourth movements. Although they were of much slower tempos, the level of energy and enthusiasm in the performance of the middle movements was never lost or diminished. If anything, these movements proved to be even more emotional and expressive. The performance of the pianist, trumpeter and orchestra was filled with all dynamics of personal sentiment and energy in its entirety and I was moved by the composition; I didn’t want it to end.
When we returned to our seats from intermission, I was interested to hear how the Mahler piece would fit in with the rest of the program. They performed the fourth movement, Adagietto, from Symphony No. 5 which was chosen to commemorate the centennial of Mahler’s death. Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer who lived from 1860 to 1911. He was extremely popular during his lifetime and his pieces were performed all over the world, dozens of times3. Although his compositions were in the same general style as the previous pieces, I found that this choice did not flow very well with the rest of the program. The piece has strong emotions tied to it, of course, but it was not as energetic as the previous two. The kinds of emotions that I equate with this piece are those of longing, sadness, and melancholy, whereas the others were equated more with emotions of lightheartedness and joy. I think it was a very respectful and appropriate gesture to perform one of Mahler’s pieces in honor of his death. However, I think that a different choice may have fit in with the rest of the program more appropriately.
The final piece to be performed was one that I was looking forward to the most: Christophe Chagnard’s Opre Roma! After listening to short previews of the composition in class, I was extremely curious to hear the completed piece. Chagnard is a French conductor and composer who is currently working in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to conducting the Northwest Sinfonietta and the Puget Sound Orchestra, he is also a performing guitarist with the Northwest Sinfonietta Jazz Quartet. Opre Roma! was written in the style of Gypsy Jazz music with much influence from Django Reinhardt. Chagnard cleverly titled each movement with a specific purpose and meaning behind it. For example, the first movement, titled Gadjaz, is a combination of the words “Gadje” (meaning a non-Gypsy) and Jazz. The orchestration for Chagnard’s composition is a concerto consisting of three solo guitars playing with the full orchestra. The energy and vivacity that was present in the first half of the program was restored with this piece. Although the sound may have been a little unbalanced – the guitars were amplified much more than necessary – the performance was great. It was a fun experience to see Chagnard play two roles at once: that of a performing guitarist and the orchestra’s conductor. The piece went smoothly and ended the concert on a strong note that reenergized the audience for the night. I also appreciated Chagnard’s attempt to incorporate several different influential genres of music from around the world into an orchestral composition. It is a great indicator of the power that music holds to unify people from anywhere; music is something that can be understood by anyone from any culture.
Overall, I thought the concert was amazing. I am a huge fan of Romantic and contemporary music and I think that is one reason why I’d say Chagnard’s piece was my favorite. There may have been a few technical difficulties but, in my opinion, it is a great piece that deserves recognition. All of the musicians are extremely talented and dedicated and this was obvious in the level at which they performed each piece.
On November 13th, I was able to attend a performance by the Northwest Sinfonietta, conducted by Christophe Chagnard, at the Rialto Theater in downtown Tacoma. The program was a unique one, named “Gypsy Nights,” including pieces by Dvořák, Shostakovich, Mahler, and Chagnard. As I arrived at the theater, I was not sure what to expect – I had never been to the Rialto before and I had never heard these pieces in a live performance. I was also very intrigued and excited to here Chagnard’s Opre Roma! all the way through, for the first time. Once the performance began, I was able to get my first taste of the orchestral music scene in the Pacific Northwest.
The first piece interested me greatly, not because of the composition per se, but due to the way in which it was presented. The orchestra remained standing for its entirety: Slavonic Dance No. 8, Op. 46 by Dvořák. Not to discredit the composer at all, because it truly is an amazing piece in itself, but I really enjoyed this unique presentation. Antonín Dvořák was a Czech composer who lived from 1841 to 1904, starting his career in composition in the 1870s. By the 1880s he had attained international fame, demonstrated by the performance of his Slavonic Dances in cities all over the world from Berlin to London to New York. The Slavonic Dances consist of 16 pieces, which were originally written for piano four hands but were orchestrated at the request of his publisher soon after completion1. The way in which the Northwest Sinfonietta presented this piece caught one’s attention and was a good way to express the origin of the composition. It is based off of a dance and it only seems natural that one would want to be standing – or, more realistically, dancing – while listening to it. The piece is played with constant energy in forte with the only dynamic change to piano when a short flute solo emerges. However, the full orchestra soon ends this solo with a forte repetition of the main theme, therefore, concluding the piece. In my opinion, it was a strong way to begin the program and evoked feelings of lightheartedness and curiosity within the listener.
The second piece - Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 – only added to the strength of the program. When Mark Salman first walked across the stage, he came across as an awkward and somewhat timid pianist. He adjusted and readjusted his seat several times, which only added to my initial thoughts of him. However, once he made the final seat adjustment and his fingers hit the keys, I was blown away by his performance. The speed, accuracy and skill with which Salman played were awesome. Shostakovich’s composition is definitely not an easy one, but Salman was able to make it seem so natural. Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer who lived from 1906 to 1975. Although he was not yet alive during the Romantic era of music, his compositions have been described as being written in the Romantic tradition2. This only seems fitting, as one can see the similarities in style that Shostakovich has with composers of that era. I think Shostakovich’s most evident characteristic of Romanticism, especially in this piano concerto, is the use of emotion. Salman definitely honed in on this throughout his performance. The accompanying orchestra was perfectly dramatic and subtle, when appropriate. The solo trumpet, performed by Judson Scott, was a powerful and energetic addition to the composition that complimented the orchestra and piano well as the only brass instrument. The first and fourth movements of the concerto are very energetic and lively paced (as hinted by their titles of Allegretto and Allegro con brio, respectively). They were performed with a strong forward motion that never ceased. Both of these movements were engaging and intriguing; they left me feeling happily satisfied with the piece. The second and third movements were noticeably different from and contrasted the first and fourth movements. Although they were of much slower tempos, the level of energy and enthusiasm in the performance of the middle movements was never lost or diminished. If anything, these movements proved to be even more emotional and expressive. The performance of the pianist, trumpeter and orchestra was filled with all dynamics of personal sentiment and energy in its entirety and I was moved by the composition; I didn’t want it to end.
When we returned to our seats from intermission, I was interested to hear how the Mahler piece would fit in with the rest of the program. They performed the fourth movement, Adagietto, from Symphony No. 5 which was chosen to commemorate the centennial of Mahler’s death. Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer who lived from 1860 to 1911. He was extremely popular during his lifetime and his pieces were performed all over the world, dozens of times3. Although his compositions were in the same general style as the previous pieces, I found that this choice did not flow very well with the rest of the program. The piece has strong emotions tied to it, of course, but it was not as energetic as the previous two. The kinds of emotions that I equate with this piece are those of longing, sadness, and melancholy, whereas the others were equated more with emotions of lightheartedness and joy. I think it was a very respectful and appropriate gesture to perform one of Mahler’s pieces in honor of his death. However, I think that a different choice may have fit in with the rest of the program more appropriately.
The final piece to be performed was one that I was looking forward to the most: Christophe Chagnard’s Opre Roma! After listening to short previews of the composition in class, I was extremely curious to hear the completed piece. Chagnard is a French conductor and composer who is currently working in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to conducting the Northwest Sinfonietta and the Puget Sound Orchestra, he is also a performing guitarist with the Northwest Sinfonietta Jazz Quartet. Opre Roma! was written in the style of Gypsy Jazz music with much influence from Django Reinhardt. Chagnard cleverly titled each movement with a specific purpose and meaning behind it. For example, the first movement, titled Gadjaz, is a combination of the words “Gadje” (meaning a non-Gypsy) and Jazz. The orchestration for Chagnard’s composition is a concerto consisting of three solo guitars playing with the full orchestra. The energy and vivacity that was present in the first half of the program was restored with this piece. Although the sound may have been a little unbalanced – the guitars were amplified much more than necessary – the performance was great. It was a fun experience to see Chagnard play two roles at once: that of a performing guitarist and the orchestra’s conductor. The piece went smoothly and ended the concert on a strong note that reenergized the audience for the night. I also appreciated Chagnard’s attempt to incorporate several different influential genres of music from around the world into an orchestral composition. It is a great indicator of the power that music holds to unify people from anywhere; music is something that can be understood by anyone from any culture.
Overall, I thought the concert was amazing. I am a huge fan of Romantic and contemporary music and I think that is one reason why I’d say Chagnard’s piece was my favorite. There may have been a few technical difficulties but, in my opinion, it is a great piece that deserves recognition. All of the musicians are extremely talented and dedicated and this was obvious in the level at which they performed each piece.
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