blake's blog

January to June 2011

2011-06-21T09:34:00.041-05:00

The first half of 2011 was an exciting (and busy) time for me. The UCA Percussion Studio was involved in many performances both at the University of Central Arkansas and around the state. I also had the chance to perform and work with students both in Arkansas and around the country.

In January, we loaded up the bus and headed out on tour with UCA's Bearly Contained ensemble. The Bearly Contained tour takes us to high schools around the state. This year's stops included Greenbrier, Yellville, Prairie Grove, Mountain Home, and Siloam Springs High Schools.

Above: members of the UCA Drumline

The show is a hybrid of our concert and marching programs at UCA and the group consists of a reduced hornline and drumline along with a small guard. Part of the program was my piece Cloud Forest. In addition to the usual percussion quartet accompaniment, graduate student Logan Smith arranged horn parts and we added a lot of extra hand drums (and triangles) to the mix.

Above: A shot of Cloud Forest at Greenbrier High School with the expanded ensemble.

photo credit: Marcy Wells

Above: A shot of the dress rehearsal for the opening number at Mountain Home High School.

Not long after our return from the Bearly Contained tour, the Wind Ensemble headed to Jonesboro, Arkansas for an evening runout concert. In addition to some other percussion heavy pieces, I joined my students Brant Blackard, Ashlee Burnam and Brian Elizondo for a performance of Gillingham's Concertino for Four Percussion and Wind Ensemble. We also performed Cloud Forest that night(the original version).

In February I headed down to Florida State University as part of John Parks' paternity leave. FSU enlisted a number of percussionists to visit campus in John's absence. I had a great week teaching classes, teaching lessons, and conducting rehearsals. Thanks to the students at FSU, who were not only incredible players, but who always made sure I had plenty of caffeine and Thai food!

Above: with the FSU Percussion Studio

In March, I hosted the UCA Percussion Festival. The festival began ten years ago as a way to bring well-known and talented percussionists to campus and give students at UCA (and from around the state) a chance to work with them. The first festival was attended by only 25 people. This year there were over 150 attendees.

As usual, we had many amazing percussionists as part of this year's festival. This year, though, almost all of them were former members of the UCA Percussion Studio. The alumni guest artists included Ben Finley, Justin Alexander, Jason Edwards, and Josh Knight along with Prairie Grove High School Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Neal Moss, and the Episcopal Collegiate School Steel Drum Band under the direction of Eric Saoud. The UCA Percussion Ensemble also performed on the festival. It was one of three concerts the ensemble presented last semester.

Our very special guest for the festival was Payton MacDonald. Although not a UCA alum, Payton is a great composer, performer, and one of my best friends in the world. He's a brilliant musician and I'm glad that my students had a chance to see him perform his compositions. In addition to his solo performances, Payton and I performed my piece Vertical River and his new duo, Gemini, on the festival.

Above: with Payton MacDonald and UCA Percussion Studio alumni

In late April, I headed up to Elmhurst College just outside of Chicago. Bob Rummage and I had been talking about a visit to the campus for a while, and we were finally able to make the scheduling work. I spent time working with the students in rehearsals and in private lessons. I conducted the ensemble in A Ceiling Full of Stars, saw great student performances of Cloud Forest and Vertical River, and played a few solo pieces for the audience. Not only was the concert amazing, so was the pizza afterwards. Thanks to Bob Rummage for his flawless organization of the event...and for the pizza!

Above: with Bob Rummage and the Elmhurst College Percussion Ensemble.

Photo credit: David Gross

In May, I had the great honor of returning to my old high school to work with students and perform with the percussion ensemble. North Gwinnett High School has developed one of the best music programs in Georgia, and the percussion program there (and at North Gwinnett Middle School) is really terrific.

Above: with the percussion ensembles of North Gwinnett High school and North Gwinnett Middle School

I performed Anubis and Cloud Forest with a student quartet, and Vertical River with Ryan Smith. (I met Ryan when I performed at UGA in 2009. I really appreciated that he agreed to perform with me. He's a talented musician and is doing many great things as a teacher in Georgia.)

I also played some solo pieces, presented a clinic, taught some private lessons and worked with the percussion class. As an added bonus, I got to see a lot of old friends, teachers, and family at the concert. Thanks to Hunter McCrae and Joe Higgins for having me in and for the incredible work they have done at North Gwinnett!

Click through to YouTube to see this video in widescreen

Just a few days ago I finished up my work at Dixie Band Camp at UCA. DBC is one of the oldest music camps in the country and celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. There were over 60 high school percussionists at the camp (and 500 students in all). Each year, Dixie Band Camp brings in well-known band conductors and composers to work with the students. Past guests have included Francis McBeth, Claude W. Smith, James Croft, David Holsinger, Richard Saucedo and Robert W. Smith. I spent the week working with students in masterclasses, clinics, sectionals, and percussion ensemble rehearsals. It's always a lot of fun working with enthusiastic students and colleagues.

Above: with the DBC Percussion Ensemble made of of students from the top three bands

Above: with the DBC Percussion Masterclass students

Of course, in addition to all of this, the usual day to day work of the percussion studio at UCA went on as well, with amazing recitals and ensemble performances by my students. When I see and hear my students perform in our symphonic bands, jazz bands, orchestras and percussion ensembles, I am always immensely proud of the work they do. New videos of the percussion ensemble's performances will be posted soon.

Above: The 2011 UCA Percussion Ensemble

We also had a visit from line upon line percussion trio (amazing concert) and the biggest turnout ever at auditions for next fall's drumline.

Above: line upon line and composer (and UCA graduate) Zack Stanton talk with UCA students before the concert.

Above: Drumline auditions at UCA.

I recently finished up a short new piece for solo marimba called Not far from here, continued work on my percussion trio Vagabond of Light (commissioned by the Caixa Trio) and started working on a new large percussion ensemble piece commissioned by Eric Willie and the Tennessee Tech University Percussion Ensemble.

I never forget how lucky I am to have the opportunities that I do. I get to work with great students at UCA and around the country, to perform my compositions with great ensembles, and work with great performers and composers. I can't imagine anything better.

Last year was incredible and, with a terrific freshman class and four incoming grad students, it looks like the coming year will be an amazing one for percussion at UCA!

As always, thanks to Dynasty, Pro-Mark and Zildjian for their support. They helped make my concert appearances and the UCA Percussion Festival possible.

Specific dates of the events mentioned above can be found on my calendar at www.blaketyson.com

If you've performed one of my compositions and don't see your performance listed on the calendar, please email me with the details and I'll post it right away. – BT

Fishers High School Winter Percussion

2010-03-13T07:10:00.006-06:00

Fishers High School Winter Percussion is using some of my pieces in their show this year. Here are their very impressive performances from last weekend's Regionals in Indiana. Thanks to the students and teachers at Fishers for their amazing work. I am honored to have my music be a part of their show.

Blogspot doesn't always display the wide screen view. If you can't see the whole picture, just click the video twice to open up the full screen version.

Calling all performers!

2010-02-11T07:58:00.004-06:00

Lately, I've been trying to list every performance of pieces I have written on my website calendar. If you are performing one of my pieces, or if you know of any performances, let me know.

I promise not to investigate if you bought the music, photocopied it, found it on the subway, etc. I will not ask you for a recording or show up unannounced at your recital. I really am incredibly thankful that people perform the pieces and I just want to have an idea of where they are being performed and who's performing them.

If you've played a piece of mine in the past, let me know that, too. I'm working on an archive. It's probably impossible to find every performance over the last ten years or so, but it's worth a go!

So, if you've played

Anubis
A Ceiling Full of Stars
Cloud Forest
A cricket sang and set the sun
the trees are quiet
Vertical River

or (coming soon)
Firefish
Inside the Shining Stone

or some other piece I've forgotten I wrote...

just head to the Contact page of my website or leave a comment here.

Thanks!
Blake

A Ceiling Full of Stars

2009-11-28T21:47:00.003-06:00

I've finally gotten around to starting up a real YouTube channel and posting video there. The first video I posted was A Ceiling Full of Stars performed by the UCA Percussion Ensemble. My students gave a wonderful performance of the work.

The work was premiered in Spring of 2009 by the Texas Christian University Percussion Ensemble with Brian West conducting. The video above was recorded just a couple of weeks later.

We also performed the work at the Arkansas Day of Percussion at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. This fall I have been lucky to have had a number of performances of the piece, including one by the LSU Percussion Ensemble at PASIC in Indianapolis. It was also performed by the percussion ensembles at the Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, the University of South Carolina, East Central Oklahoma University, Florida State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Central Florida, Northwestern University and Jacksonville State University. I'm excited that there are also quite a few performances scheduled for the spring.

In addition to the live performances, there are two great recordings of the work coming out soon. On December 1st the TCU Percussion Ensemble's recording of A Ceiling Full of Stars will be released on their CD Escape Velocity. In the spring of 2010 the FSU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of John Parks, will release it on their CD Ten Windows. You can get a preview of that recording by heading over to my website.

A Ceiling Full of Stars, along with most of my other compositions, is now available from Steve Weiss Music.

Cloud Forest - Now Available

2009-05-28T14:36:00.002-05:00

The score and parts for Cloud Forest are now available at www.blaketyson.com

I'm also running a Summer Sale Spectacular! Buy Cloud Forest and get A cricket sang and set the sun for free. The total price is $25 and it includes shipping (within the US).

To paraphrase Michael Daugherty's Used Car Salesman...

"You can't afford NOT to buy this piece!"

If you haven't heard them, recordings of both pieces are available on my website.

New work for percussion ensemble

2009-05-26T19:32:00.003-05:00

Last summer, Brian West and the Texas Christian University Percussion Ensemble commissioned me to write a new work for percussion ensemble. On April 7th, they gave an incredible premiere performance in Ft. Worth. I was there to hear it along with the premiere of Eric Ewazen's Symphony for Percussion Ensemble and the premiere of Till Meyn's Zzzzing. Both are amazing pieces and TCU has recorded all three works for a CD release later this year.

The piece I wrote is called A Ceiling Full of Stars. You can hear (and see) the UCA Percussion Ensemble performing the work by following this link

If you'd like to read more about the inspiration for the piece, head on over to blaketyson.com and check out the "Compositions" page.

2009-03-28T18:39:00.002-05:00

The National Symphony is in town tonight. They're playing Dvorak 7 along with Three Dance Episodes by Bernstein and some Wagner. I'm looking forward to it, except that I have to go outside to get there. I am not particularly happy that it "feels like" 33 degrees here in Conway....and it's raining.

Tomorrow and Monday, I'll be playing timpani with the Pine Bluff Symphony. A new work by Schwantner is on the program along with West Side Story(the short medley), Lincoln Portrait, Barber's First Essay and the Korngold Violin Concerto.

By the way, if you ever need a narrator for Lincoln Portrait, give me a call. It is one of my secret dreams (not that secret, I suppose) to perform the work. I'll do it from memory, and I promise to speak clearly. Since I read music and know the piece well, you won't even have to give me those awkward cues or hold out those fermatas for 30 seconds each.

The best way to get the gig, it seems, is to be a senator, or president, or famous actor. I will most likely never be any of those things, but maybe things will work out anyway.

Beakerthovens 9th

2008-12-16T11:06:00.001-06:00

This one's for you, Parksie

2008-11-16T08:44:00.001-06:00

Steady Decline

2008-08-27T19:22:00.000-05:00

"Most people reach their mental peak between the ages of 35 and 40, then begin a steady decline that speeds up in the years before death"

Having just attending my 20th high school class reunion (you do the math), I was glad to read that in the news today.

Looks like I've got two good years left. I'd better get that application for Jeopardy in while there's still a chance.

Mental skills fade earlier than thought - Aging- msnbc.com:

Josh Knight plays Cloud Forest

2008-08-26T13:43:00.003-05:00

Here's a video of Josh Knight, a DMA student at OU, playing my piece Cloud Forest. Josh is a former student and is one of only two people other than me to play the piece (as far as I know). That will hopefully change soon. I'm finalizing the score and parts and will make it available on my website in the next week or two. Thanks to Josh and the quartet for putting this up on YouTube!

Summer Summary

2008-08-25T18:05:00.002-05:00

School is back in session at UCA. That was a fast summer! It was a good one though. I went to Boston and New York and Atlanta, wrote a piece for Texas Christian University's percussion ensemble, attended my 20th high school reunion, hung out with friends old and new, and redecorated my house (or at least part of it). I'll get some pictures together and share the magic of the summer soon (for the 3 of you that might be interested).

In the meantime, here's a few things that I have enjoyed this summer.

Entourage - I finally gave in and watched all the episodes. One day, I watched twelve in a row. Once you get past the first season, everything really comes together. You gotta love Ari. He has the courage (or the stupidity) to say what the rest of us think :)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Funny show. Low budget, character driven insanity. Danny Devito is the best!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Joss Wheedon continues to be the man. Neil Patrick Harris, Cap'n Mal, Felicia Day, and Moist are funny (and heartbreaking).

The Guild - Speaking of Felicia Day, The Guild is a little something she put together. Talk about low-budget character driven insanity, this is it. Second season coming soon (with a slightly higher budget).

Mirah - Check her out. I especially like the Advisory Committee CD, but it's all worth listening to. I've got a couple of new ones that I've barely had a chance to check out.

Elvis Costello - has been amazing me since the 80's (and amazing others since the 70's). Both his old and new stuff continue to blow me away.

1964 The Tribute - You can't see the Beatles in concert anymore, but you can see these guys. It's a great concert and a recreation which is both eerily accurate and moving. They tour a lot, so check them out when they stop in your town.

A Long Way Down - A great book by Nick Hornby. Give it a read!

This is your brain on bass!

2008-07-11T23:43:00.003-05:00

More inspiration for composing!

Weird Fluid And Subwoofer: Cornstarch Water Subwoofer = Amazing Physics Video

Dear Dr. Parks

2008-07-10T23:42:00.001-05:00

This may not be what you had in mind, but I hope that it brings you some small joy as I finish my composition for percussion ensemble. Perhaps the contents of the video will inspire me to create the finale I have been searching for.

Mallets

2008-02-15T10:06:00.003-06:00

Pro-Mark has an ad for the new Autograph Series mallets (including mine) in the latest Percussive Notes.

5 Days...5 Concerts

2008-02-13T14:57:00.002-06:00

The past week has been incredibly busy. Three orchestras and five concerts in five days (with all the rehearsals that go with them...plus my job, of course).

The first was the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Broadway Pops concert on Friday and Saturday nights. It was the usual mix of Lloyd Weber, Sondheim, Les Mis, Wicked, Mama Mia, etc. The singers from Broadway that came in were really excellent. If you want to look them up, search for Teri Hansen, Leah Hocking and Aaron Lazar. Teri and Leah did a spectacular job on the Wicked medley and Aaron does a pretty mean Jean Valjean and Phantom.

Then off to Pine Bluff to play Harlem by Duke Ellington for jazz band and orchestra (which I really enjoyed) plus Three Dance Episodes from On the Town and Gershwin's Cuban Overture.

Then on the children's concert the following day, we did some Smetana, some Handel, some Stravinsky, some Debussy, and many other things that are just a blur in my memory.

Finally, last night with Conway Symphony we did Overture to Candide and Shostakovich's 9th Symphony.

A lot off driving, and a lot of rehearsing, but somehow none of the rehearsals conflicted (although I only made in back for the CSO rehearsal Sunday night with five minutes to spare).

Now, it's time to get back to practicing the Ewazen marimba concerto. I'll be doing that at the Montana Day of Percussion in about a month along with a clinic and a performance with their percussion ensemble. If you're in Bozeman, be sure to stop by.

Storms

2008-02-06T21:52:00.001-06:00

There were some pretty rough storms in Arkansas last night. Everything is ok here in Conway and in Little Rock, but about an hour up the road, it's a different story. Incredibly powerful tornadoes destroyed a lot of property and caused many fatalities. An aunt of one of my students was injured (concussion, broken bones) in a building collapse in Clinton. We were on alert here for hours, but by the time the storm got here it was just high winds and small hail. So, we're fine here, but the destruction just up the road is unbelievable.

Just a week ago, what the weather people call a "wind event" took down 120 feet of the privacy fence in our back yard. When I say "took down" I really mean destroyed, as in "Cloverfield" destroyed. Our neighbors lost part of their roof in that "event" and there was damage to fences, roofs, trees, etc., all over town.

It's winter, right? I'm ready for a nice, quiet snow flurry.

GONGGONGGONGGONGGGGGGGGGG

2008-01-22T18:33:00.000-06:00

I recently visited Immaculate Conception School in North Little Rock where Liana teaches music to the K-5 classes. I spent all day playing some marimba, derabucca, riq, talking drum, and, most importantly, THE GONG. These kids love a gong more than I can tell you. I don't have any photos of the day, but a lot of the students drew some pictures and wrote thank you letters. Thanks to them, you can get some idea of what the day was like

Here's a drawing of me and my marimba by Meredith R.

They have a large collection of Orff instruments at ICS, so the marimba wasn't completely unfamiliar to them.

The most popular instrument of the day was probably the derabucca...oh, except for the GONG, of course. I'm pretty sure that I could have done a thirty minute gong solo for each class and it would have been the greatest day of their lives. They REALLY love the gong!!

Here's a picture of me and the gong by Kaitlyn R.
Just to give you an idea of the scale, the gong I took that day was 28 inches in diameter. I'm taller than I look. Oh, and that's Kaitlyn herself standing beside me.

100 people banging a drum

2008-01-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

This film is beautiful, and funny, and inspiring, and heartwarming. It will make you feel old.....and young. I find myself wanting to watch it over and over. Check it out!

PASIC 2007

2008-01-03T10:12:00.001-06:00

I've got a little catching up to do on the blog. Let's start with PASIC.

I had a great time at PASIC this year. I premiered a new work for solo timpani by Halim El-Dabh, my new marimba mallets launched with Pro-Mark, I met a lot of people who are playing the pieces that I've written, and I got to see a lot of my classmates at the reception in honor of John Beck and his 49 years at Eastman.

Halim's new piece, In search of Three Goddesses, is a great new work for timpani. I premiered it on October 31st at the end of a VERY long session. Moving all those timpani around after each piece makes for a lengthy concert. I still had a good crowd and the piece seemed to go over very well. I was very excited that Halim was able to be at the performance. Here's a pic of me with Halim after the final concert of the day.

The reception for John Beck was an amazing experience. The room was packed with people who have been part of percussion history over the past half decade (or longer). Even Louie Bellson stopped by to congratulate JB.

My former classmates Rob Bridge, Brian Bennett and Conrad Alexander listen in amazement and disbelief at the fantastical tales of Dr. John W. Parks, IV and his magical tambourine.

Speaking of which, another big event at PASIC was something I like to call "The Attack of the 50 Foot Parksie". There's a picture out there of me with it (them), but until said attacker forwards it to me, I cannot share it with you.

UPDATE!!! The picture has arrived. For those of you that weren't there, let me assure you that this involved no trick photography. It is indeed a giant picture of John at the Pearl booth.

Do I sound like a musical robot?

2007-12-07T07:52:00.000-06:00

This is pretty cool....and fairly creepy.
Watch the videos and be amazed. And, afraid. Not perfect yet, but it will only get better.

Robots will soon have the ability to take our orchestral jobs AND sign the paychecks.

Toyota shows violin-playing robot - Yahoo! News

PASIC

2007-10-27T21:08:00.000-05:00

PASIC starts Wednesday!

I'll be performing Wednesday around noon. I'm very excited about premiering In Search of Three Goddesses by Halim El-Dabh. The piece is fantastic and I think that it's a great addition to the timpani repertoire. It requires the performer to create number of interesting sound effects and also has some fast tuning changes. It's not easy, but it is beautifully written and very playable. I'm happy to report that Halim will be at the performance and will say a few words about the piece before I play.

It's been busy here because, in addition to learning the piece, I somehow managed to book myself with three orchestras this past week. I've done Firebird, Night on Bald Mountain, Egmont Overture, Symphonie Fantastique, Peer Gynt, Stokowski's arrangement of Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, etc, etc, etc.... Still, I've been able to put in a lot of time on the piece and the next few days will be full of timpani practice for me.

I'll post more details about the new work after PASIC, but for now, I've got to go practice. I hope to see you on Wednesday.

....OH, I got the Mozart book in (from the previous post). It is SPECTACULAR! More on that later.

The Best Book on Mozart - The New York Review of Books

2007-10-10T06:51:00.000-05:00

The New York Review of Books has an excellent review of the new translation of Abert's W.A. Mozart. The review is a lengthy one, but since the book comes in at 1600 pages, not as long as it could have been.

I think I am going to have to order it right away. Despite all the great music out there, if I had to pick a favorite composer I would go with Mozart. He and I go way back. By the time I was in 10th grade I had two complete editions of his piano sonatas, a few piano concertos, a complete score to Don Giovanni, and all of his string quartets.

Those were just the scores of course. I had many more recordings. In fact, I spent a lot of afternoons playing viola along with my records of the Guarneri Quartet (yes, I did indeed play viola, but am now retired).

So, as you can imagine, I was pretty much the coolest guy in school....carrying around my viola case, my Vic Firth percussion case, and a complete score to Don Giovanni. Then, rushing home to work on the Piano Sonata in B-flat Major after telling everyone how excited I was about having tickets for the Atlanta Opera's production of Abduction from the Seraglio.

Yes sir, the coolest!!

Anyway, check out the link for the review.

The Best Book on Mozart - The New York Review of Books

MACKEY!!!

2007-10-02T20:28:00.001-05:00

I am proud to announce the arrival of Mackey!

She's 7 or 8 months old (that's the vet's best guess). She was abandoned and living on the streets until a rescue shelter in Little Rock took her in.

Mackey is super-fantastic and, luckily, gets along very well with the three cats already in residence at the Tyson Estate.

WNYC - Radio Lab

2007-09-29T10:05:00.000-05:00

There is a show on the radio that I never miss. Of course, saying "on the radio" doesn't mean what it used to. In fact, I guess I should say I almost always miss this show on the radio, but thanks to the magic of the podcast I can always hear it (and listen to it again...and again).

One of my new favorite shows is called
Radio Lab. It's from WNYC in New York. It is kind of difficult to describe the show, so I'll just use the summary from prx.org.

"Radio Lab is an investigation. Each episode is a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences centered around One Big Idea. On Radio Lab, science bumps into culture...information sounds like music."

or, from their website

"Radio Lab is designed for listeners who demand skepticism but appreciate wonder, who are curious about the world but who also want to be moved and surprised."

Check it out. The way the show is edited together can be sonically overwhelming or off-putting to some at first. Give it a chance. I think that it's (usually) quite brilliant.

Subscribe to the podcast over at itunes. It's free! The latest episode is about music. It is fascinating stuff.

Note: If you have a music degree or two, you may a few small quibbles with terminology and historical facts in the music episode. Don't let it bother you. The information about perfect pitch is really interesting and there's a computer that writes some pretty good Bach (although I'm less convinced by it's Chopin).

Radio Lab

King of Kong

2007-09-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

I have not seen this movie. I will see this movie. I must see this movie!

King of Kong was recommended to me by my most trusted source. It is an independent film, so it may come and go from town to town rather quickly. If this movie is playing in your town, you should probably go see it tomorrow. If not, search for King of Kong on YouTube and watch a few clips. You will be amazed. Of course, maybe you should start with the trailer. Appropriately enough, the trailer prominently features "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (see last post).

Donkey Kong really is one of the all time greats. Back in my younger days I would spend a lot time at the arcade playing this game. A gas station near my house also had a machine. Were those quarters well spent? Some would say no, but I like to think I was forming neural pathways and developing my hand-eye coordination. The residual skills from jumping barrels and avoiding springs now allow me to play the marimba with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

I was pretty good, but not like these guys. These guys are absolutely crazy.

"What happens when a loser who needs to win faces a winner who refuses to lose?"

I've got to see this movie!

Edit: I had to get rid of the first clip I posted. I started automatically when the page loaded. I really hate that. Here's a different one that gives a nice overview of the game and some of the guys who are obsessed with it.

"it absolutely reeks of cow pies"

2007-09-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice article about Edvard Grieg. It always seems strange to celebrate the anniversary of someone's death, but musicians just can't get enough of it.

I'm glad to see that Greig felt the same way about "In the Hall of the Mountain King" as I do....“something that I literally can’t stand to listen to because it absolutely reeks of cow pies, ultra-Norwegian-ness and trollish self-sufficiency.”

I think I would've liked that guy.

Here's the link.
Grieg Centenary - Music - New York Times

Also, the New York Times has called an end to the horrible idea known as "Times Select". Now NYT articles will not disappear into a pay site after a few days. Hooray!!!!

Mad Tambourine Skills

2007-09-21T14:42:00.000-05:00

After reviewing the recording I am happy to report that there were plenty of great close-ups of Chris Lamb and his fellow percussionists on the Live from Lincoln Center broadcast Tuesday night. It was kind of strange to hear a complete performance of Carnival Overture. I'm afraid I've become used to fast-forwarding through the piece (to teach or practice the excerpts) and I didn't relize how long it had been since I had actually heard it from beginning to end.

By the way, I am now more convinced than ever that Chris Lamb is a robot....a musical robot. Just like that kid (Harry) in Spellbound. (I mean that in a good way for both Chris and Harry)

If you didn't see it, you should find someone who might have a copy. It is worth watching. The concert, that is. But, Spellbound is definitely worth watching, too.

A nice way to spend a Tuesday evening

2007-09-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

Liana and I headed into Little Rock on Tuesday night to see Wilco. They were at Robinson Center Music Hall, where I had just played the Arkansas Symphony concert this past weekend.

If you had been me, this is how Wilco would have looked to you.

Or maybe like this...

What I can't get close to on the blog is a description of how incredible they sounded. They played for about two hours and proved to me that a band can sound absolutely great live. I think the key is having great musicians who understand how to play as an ensemble. that's not as common as it should be, unfortunately.

At 30 bucks a ticket (plus outrageous Ticketmaster fees), it has to be one of the best concert values out there today. The whole group was astounding, but as a percussionist it was a special treat to hear and see Glenn Kotche play live. Head over to Wilco World to check them out.

Jean-Jacques Perrey will make you happy

2007-09-17T21:16:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been in the Magic Kingdom after dark? If so, you've probably heard the work of Jean-Jacques Perrey.

But there's more! So Much MORE! So head over to the website and click away. Be his friend on MySpace, watch YouTube videos of concert performances, look at the pictures, and listen to an mp3 of Baroque Hoedown (which was chosen by Disney for the theme song of the Main Street Electrical Parade). The site is a little confusing...but it's a lot of fun.

(The site is also going to be quite loud if your speakers are all the way up, so check your volume level NOW.)

Heads Up!

2007-09-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

There are a couple of programs on PBS that you might want to mark on your calendars, set your VCR for, or Tivo.

I just caught the last ten minutes of Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends. It's part of the PBS American Masters series. I'll be recording the whole program on a repeat showing after midnight. It looks to be on the schedule for Tuesday as well (At least on Hi-Def PBS).

I've been lucky enough to see Tony Bennett twice. The first time was at Chastain Park in Atlanta with the ASO. That was probably in 1989 0r 1990 (just before his "comeback" really took off). My friend Myron and I got there in time to see the first half of the concert, which consisted of some of the usual summer pops light classics. Tony Bennett finally took the stage just as the sky opened up. He told the audience that the orchestra had been great in rehearsal but that he had too much respect for them and their instruments to ask them to stay out in the rain. He sent them home and said that he and his trio would finish the show.

The rain got worse and the majority of the audience left. Myron and I stayed. Hearing Tony Bennett was too important for us to be chased away by a little rain. After another song, Tony stopped and scanned what was left of the audience. He could have packed it in and headed back to his hotel. Instead, he yelled out to the audience, "You guys are so great to stay here for me in this rain...I'm gonna sing 'til the sun comes out!"

and you know what ?

He did!

Just a few years ago I saw him again at Symphony Hall in Boston. Although it had been almost fifteen years since I had last seen him live, he sounded better than before. Better than ever. No kidding.

He really is an amazing musician and an amazing person. So, check out that American Masters if you can.

Also on Tuesday night is the live PBS broadcast of the New York Philharmonic's opening concert. It's an all Dvorak program which includes Yo-Yo Ma playing the Cello Concerto. And with any luck, we'll get some good footage of Mr. Lamb and friends on Carnival Overture. Those of you with tambourines might want to play along at home.

Here are some links for more information.

American Masters . Tony Bennett | PBS

Live From Lincoln Center | PBS

26 letters in the shape of a Ring

2007-09-15T09:41:00.000-05:00

Wagner's Ring is so complicated, convoluted and confusing that it never hurts to look at it from as many angles as possible. The Guardian gives you an alphabetical summary of the work. The list even includes xylophone (although xylophone fans may be disappointed with the results). I think it was just a dodge to avoid the most obvious "X" entry for Wagner....Xenophobia. Still, plenty of useful information (with a touch of humor) may be found by following the link below.

Joe Queenan provides an A-Z of Wagner's Ring

ASO Season Opener

2007-09-12T21:37:00.001-05:00

I'll be performing on a great program with the Arkansas Symphony this weekend. We'll be playing Capriccio Espagnol, Fountains of Rome, and Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 (Age of Anxiety). Misha Dichter will be the piano soloist for the Bernstein.

So come on out and hear a few percussion excerpts as well as the Bernstein. I'm pretty excited about the symphony. I've loved Age of Anxiety since my undergrad days. It's rarely performed, though, and it looks like the first time I'll hear it live I'm going to be a little distracted by counting rests and playing the xylophone. I'm sure it will still be an amazing experience.

Check out the Arkansas Symphony website for more information.

Music gets a 6.8

2007-09-10T17:26:00.001-05:00

6.8?

Actually, that sounds about right.

Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8 | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

blaketyson.com

2007-09-10T11:57:00.000-05:00

blaketyson.com has undergone extensive remodeling. It was a long time coming, but the website has finally entered the 21st century. If you haven't already seen it, please do go and have a look. There you will find recordings of Vertical River and the trees are quiet, as well as the latest news and plenty of embarrassing pictures.

I am also going to start selling my compositions through the site. Right now the only piece that is available is my new work for solo marimba, A cricket sang and set the sun. Sometime in October you will be able to find my work for solo marimba with 3 percussionists called Cloud Forest. After that, I'll get more new pieces up as fast as possible. So, stop by the store and pick up that marimba solo you've been dreaming of for so long.

Music quiz

2007-09-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

John Parks has thrown down the gauntlet. I accept his challenge and present my answers to Soho the Dog's latest music quiz. Please forgive my multiple answers to some of the questions. It is sometimes difficult to choose just one.

1. What's the best quotation of a piece of music within another piece of music?
For folk songs in classical works....
"Frère Jacques" in Mahler 1 is pretty wonderful. That's hard to remember after the 378th time you've heard the piece, but think back to when you were just a wee lad or lass. Wasn't it great?

Petrushka has a number of quotes, but, if remember correctly from when I looked it up back in 1988, the name of the song in the 1st Tableau is "She Had a Wooden Leg". It's very cool how it is worked in and out of the "crowd music".

With other classical works being quoted, let's go with...
Shostakovich's 15th Symphony. Rossini in the first movement, Wagner in the last, and a lot of others floating around (or at least close calls with others).

2. Name the best classical crossover album ever made.
The Juliet Letters by Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet. Sure, you can go on and on about how it's derivative (what isn't?) or simplistic, or you may describe it (as one reviewer did) as "Post-Eleanor Rigby Schubert". That's your loss. Oh, and if you try to tell me that Elvis Costello isn't one of our greatest singers, songwriters, musicians, interpreter of songs, etc....well, it's pistols at sunrise!

3. Great piece with a terrible title.
As a percussionist, I deal with these every day. Too many to name.

4. If you had to choose: Benjamin Britten or Michael Tippett?
Benjamin Britten.

5. Who's your favorite spouse of a composer/performer? (Besides your own.)
Well, the right thing to say here would be Clara Schumann. Then I would go on and on about how under appreciated she was/is and how, in another place and time, she would be recognized as the great she truly was. Or, I could jump on the new train leaving the station which is trying to do the same for Anna Magdalena. (Did she write those cello suites????)

All well deserved, but, I'll mix things up a little bit and answer Luciano Berio, husband of Cathy Berberian (for a while at least).

6. Terrible piece with a great title.
I plead the Fifth. I'll take John's approach. Great piece with a great title?....Banana Dumptruck by Steven Mackey.

7. What's the best use of a classical warhorse in a Hollywood movie?
From the opening, where F. Murray Abraham describes the single oboe note hanging in air (frorm the Gran Partita) to the "Requiem Montage" at the end, the use of many of Mozart's warhorses (if you can call them that) is spectacularly done in Amadeus.

But, really, can you beat the exhilaration you feel while watching Die Hard? The "Ode to Joy" never fails!

8. Name the worst classical crossover album ever made.
Kiri Sings Gershwin is the sentimental favorite for this question, but lets not forget Michael Bolton's opera arias

9. If you had to choose: Sam Cooke or Marvin Gaye?
Marvin Gaye. "Mercy, Mercy Me" would win this for him, even if he never recorded another thing. Luckily, he did.
Nothing against Sam Cooke, though. He's great, too.

10. Name a creative type in a non-musical medium who would have been a great composer.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Vincent Van Gogh, Martha Graham

I'll skip the extra credit.

These questions (and a great music blog) can be found at http://sohothedog.blogspot.com

Skull-A-Day

2007-07-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

Wow! This is a great idea. Check back everyday for a new skull.
Skull-A-Day

Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle - The Story

2007-06-30T10:21:00.000-05:00

Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle

I watched Sing Faster last night. It's been around for a while, but I only recently found out about it. If you want to see a lot of opera, this isn't the movie for you. If you want to get a taste of what happens backstage (and on stage) during rehearsals and performances then you should check it out. Also, the stagehands have a great way of explaining the complex story of The Ring so that anyone can understand it (sort of). Despite all the hi-tech "Mission Control" aspects of the production, it still takes a lot of people moving a lot of wood, metal and foam from here to there. It's amazing that things go as well as they do. Well, except the smoke. It seems that no one can control the smoke.

You probably won't find it at your local video store, but if you have Netflix, click here to add it to your queue.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals, to DOOMBUGGIES.COM

2007-06-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

A number of years ago I became quite an expert on Disney animation and theme parks. I read everything I could get my hands on and I still have a lot of beautiful books about the animators, the comic book artists and the theme parks. I also have a pretty nice collection of antique Disney toys and comics.

Due to the "real world" encroaching on me I have been neglecting my "Disneyological" studies lately. I have spent a lot of time on this site, though. It really is an amazing behind the scenes look at The Haunted Mansion. It covers both the original one at Disneyland as well as the ones at the other parks.

If you've ever experienced the ride, you know how incredible it is. It was 1976 the first time I rode through the mansion in a Doom Buggy. I was 6 years old and was thoroughly impressed. I was a little freaked out in the "stretching room" but my mom assured my that no harm would come to me. After that I was able to relax an enjoy it.

If you've never riden it, you should probably get on a plane right now. If you have ridden it, I think you'll really love DoomBuggies.com! Check it out.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals, to DOOMBUGGIES.COM

Mstislav Rostropovich, Cellist and Conductor, Dies - New York Times

2007-04-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

Mstislav Rostropovich, Cellist and Conductor, Dies - New York Times

Exciting news.... I think......I hope

2007-04-25T06:59:00.000-05:00

I hope they can find the magic again. They have a long way to go to make up for the second (direct to video) Spinal Tap movie. I am cautiously optimistic.

Spinal Tap to reform for Live Earth | News | Guardian Unlimited Music

All in the mind

2007-04-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

An interesting article about performing from memory.

I agree that it often has as many disadvantages (maybe more) as it has advantages. This article also offers a brief history of the custom of memorization

As a percussionist who usually plays without accompaniment, I face the problem of having my hands full with no rests available to turn pages. In pieces like Mackey's See Ya Thursday (rests for page turns are built in to the piece) or Druckman's Reflections on the Nature of Water (separate movements that require no turns) it is possible to read the score, but in a piece like Ewazen's Northern Lights there is nowhere to turn a page without breaking the mood of the piece.

Flat panel displays may soon change this for all of us. They offer the ability to scroll music by or to do page turns with a foot pedal. They can even be designed to "listen" to what you are playing and turn the pages at a predetermined spot.

All in the mind | Classical and opera | Guardian Unlimited Music

We need to revive the lost art of composition, says Stephen Hough | Classical and opera | Guardian Unlimited Music

2007-03-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

A great article by Stephen Hough on the importance of at least trying to compose.

Just remember that the first thing you write will probably not be very good. Things will get better if you keep trying. I have plenty of embarrassing compositions hidden away (some very recent) and a few decent ones that I don't hide. Some would say that all of my compositions are embarrassing. They are, of course, entitled to their opinion. I learned something from all of them, though.

We need to revive the lost art of composition, says Stephen Hough | Classical and opera | Guardian Unlimited Music

Amazing!!!!

2007-01-23T11:32:00.001-06:00

These percussionists are really letting Orff have it....Old School!

E-mail is the future!!

2006-12-22T22:44:00.000-06:00

I was going through some old papers today and came across a letter from the assistant dean of students at Eastman. It's an interesting look back to September 1995. Here are some excerpts.

"It is my pleasure to announce that a deal has recently been negotiated on behalf of the student body......For a nominal charge of $10 per academic year, an E-mail account will be issued for you...Currently, the charge for such a service is $145 per account per year...Your account will also provide text access to the Internet, ftp, gopher, news, Telnet and the World Wide Web...It is expected that E-mail will be one of the primary means of communication between members of the Eastman community within the next couple of years....There will also be classes available on the River Campus to train you in the use of your new account. If you want to take these classes, you must sign up...as soon as possible."

I tried it. At the time it was just too much trouble. Seems like a different world. My computer at the time used the 5 inch floppy discs and had a dot matrix printer. I finally got an email account in the Summer of 2006. (Correction - make that summer 2007) It didn't do me much good since I hardly knew anyone else that had an email address. My 14.4 dial-up modem on the new computer was pretty great, though.

PASIC etc...

2006-11-19T20:56:00.000-06:00

I saw and heard some great things at PASIC. I really enjoyed Keiko Abe's Saturday concert (in addition to her Thursday performances). John Riley's clinic was great. Tom Burritt played an awesome new piece by Thom Hasenpflug and I finally got to see Kai Stensgaard play.

Percussion Construction launched my new signature line of mallets. I'm really happy with how they turned out. They sold well and the people that tried them out at the booth seemed to like them. A new Percussion Construction website should be up in a couple of weeks so you can have a look at them.

I also found out that my good friend John Parks will be giving a solo recital at Carnegie Hall on May 4th of next year. He'll be playing my piece Vertical River on that recital and I'll be there to stand up and wave to the audience after the last note.

I also managed to get sick at PASIC, but I 'm back up and running now. Just a couple of days of teaching, a few rehearsals for Hansel und Gretel, and Thanksgiving will be here. We have some friends coming into town for a vegetarian thanksgiving and some early shopping on Friday morning. Probably won't buy much. It's just fun to go to the Waffle House at 4:00 am and then get in line with the people that really are buying lots of stuff. You can meet some very excited (and very crazy) people that way. I can't wait!

and I'm back

2006-10-29T10:41:00.001-06:00

Things have been busy at UCA and I've been playing a lot of orchestral gigs lately. HMS Pinafore, then a few tunes with the Arkansas Symphony, today some Firebird with the Pine Bluff Symphony and Tuesday night a little Beethoven 4 with the Conway Symphony Orchestra. Then only a week until PASIC. My new marimba solo should be available at the Percussion Construction booth (don't forget to stop by the Malletech booth to pick up your very own copies of Vertical River and Anubis). Also, another special surprise will be waiting for you at Percussion Construction. More on that soon.

Ok. Off to the show.

Soho the Dog: Eight sentences about classical music I'd be happy never to read again

2006-10-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, at least someone has been posting to his blog. Me? I'll squeeze in a real post soon. In the meantime, this guy has some things for you to think about.

Soho the Dog: Eight sentences about classical music I'd be happy never to read again

Pinafore

2006-09-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

I had 5 hours of rehearsal yesterday and another 3 today. More rehearsals to come during the week and then 6 performances of HMS Pinafore. It is part of the new season at Wildwood Park. Last years schedule is still on the site-new schedule soon, I would think.

When I was asked to play the show I intially thought I didn't have time. Then I thought, when will I ever have the chance to play Pinafore again. Never?.....Hardly ever! So, I took it.

The only problem is, I can't stop thinking of Sideshow Bob. For those of you that don't know what I mean, just watch this clip...

Arrested Development - Season 3

2006-09-02T21:04:00.000-05:00

In the past 24 hours I've watched the first 7 episodes of Arrested Development's final season. The DVDs came out on Tuesday, but I didn't get them until yesterday. I didn't see any of season 3 on TV becuase FOX bounced the show around the schedule so much it was nearly impossible to catch it.

So far...GENIUS!!!

I can't believe how good it is. It is so funny, so brilliant, so quick, and the script so tight that you can't look away for even a second. The cast is incredible and so is Ron Howard's narration. Plus, the smaller roles are cast perfectly. Everyone from Henry Winkler to Charlize Theron, Scott Baio to James Lipton.....and let's hope Liza Minnelli makes it back in the last six episodes.

If you don't already have them, you really owe it to yourself to get all three seasons on DVD. Don't rent them or "NetFlix" them. You'll want to own them.

Seriously.....it's spectacularly good!

Precipice - Modern Marimba

2006-08-28T21:01:00.000-05:00

My good friend Nate Bartlett has a new CD of works for solo marimba. It just came out and I haven't had a chance to hear it yet, but I've heard him play most of the pieces live and I'm 100% sure that it's incredible.

Check it out!

I can't get the link to the Albany Records site to work from here, so use the link below to go to Nate's news page and click the link there.

nathaniel bartlett: news

School is here

2006-08-24T06:58:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered what it might sound like if you put Dave Matthews, Lisa Loeb and Outkast in a blender? Wonder no more. This guy has the answer for you in his great cover of Hey Ya!

Oh, and if you said to yourself "Putting those folks in a blender sounds like a great idea", shame on you.

Classes start today at UCA and I'm ready to go. We are settled in the new house, I've practically finished the new piece I've been working on, I have all of the percussion ensemble music programmed, all four percussion ensemble concerts already scheduled, a newly remodeled office, and a great percussion studio. I even bought some new clothes! Looks to be a great year. And...don't worry Parksie, the posts will flow more regularly now. I've even got a few "make-up" posts coming with exciting pics of my summer activities. Stay tuned.

Imagining The Tenth Dimension

2006-08-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

OK, so you've watched that video about the size of things I posted a few days ago? Good. Now, watch this. If you miss something...rewind. When you're done your brain may feel a little sore, but Star Trek will make a lot more sense.

Imagining The Tenth Dimension

Thanks to Ektopia.com and CollisionDetection.net

Powers of 10

2006-07-29T12:29:00.000-05:00

Want to feel small? Watch this. Don't worry. You'll feel big again when it's over.

Why do you stay up so late?

2006-07-29T11:10:00.000-05:00

A poem by Marvin Bell with animation by Ernesto Lavandera. Beautiful!

Why do you stay up so late?

Tikhon Khrennikov and Dimitri Shostakovich

2006-07-17T09:07:00.000-05:00

A great piece in The Guardian about Soviet artists, and Shostakovich in particular, under Stalin's rule. Based on an interview with Tikhon Khrennikov, head of the union of soviet composers, it also includes a brief interview with Shostakovich's widow.

It includes this classic example of Shostakovich being "sorry".

"I thank you comrade chairman ... I thought I had succeeded in developing a personal idiom that adhered to the wise demands of the Soviet people ... I now see I was mistaken and have underestimated my need for artistic correction. I acknowledge the rightness of the party's judgment. I shall work on the musical depiction of the heroic Soviet peoples, from the correct ideological standpoint. Equipped with the guidance of the Central Committee, I shall renew my efforts to create really good songs for collective singing."

So, was Khrennikov an enemy or a friend? He says he helped the composers and implies that someone else in his position would have been much worse for them. Still, it's seems obvious that he enjoyed the power that came with his post. The world is a complicated place, I suppose.

Here's the link.
Guardian Unlimited Arts | Arts features | The secret rebel

New House

2006-07-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

We're finally in the new place. For those of you that just can't wait any longer, here are some pics of our new backyard.

Giant Steps by Michal Levy

2006-07-08T07:54:00.000-05:00

I've seen this somewhere before, but I can't remember where. Anyway, now it's available at the link below. Really cool stuff.

Giant Steps by Michal Levy

Clifford Brown

2006-07-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

A nice remembrance of Clifford Brown in the Guardian.
Guardian Unlimited Arts | | Byron of the jazz trumpet

Rollins said of him: "Clifford was a profound influence on my personal life. He showed me that it was possible to live a good, clean life and still be a good jazz musician." Roach described him as "one of the rare complete individuals ever born ... a sweet, beautiful [person]".

Clifford Brown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Wii Video Feature. Gameworld Network.

2006-06-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

OK, if you're not excited about the Nintendo Wii, you need to get excited.If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably head over to Nintendo.com and do some research. You can also click on the link below to see a lot of video filmed at E3 that show both the games and how the controller works. Check out Metroid, Tennis and Mario, and don't forget to check out the music demos. The orchestra and drumming games don't look like a lot of fun over the long term, but they do demonstrate the sensitivity of the controller system.

Enjoy the videos and then get in line behind me for your very own Wii.

Wii Video Feature. Gameworld Network.

Net Neutrality

2006-06-20T06:49:00.000-05:00

If you've seen those misleading commercials with the roadsigns on television, and you don't know why they are misleading, watch this ad. It's not as slick or dramatic, and the voice over isn't as frightening, but it does at least explain why "net neutrality" is important.

Extroverted like me. By Seth Stevenson

2006-06-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

Slate.com has an interesting article on shyness/social anxiety and Paxil.

Extroverted like me. By Seth Stevenson

Bonnaroo (and Elvis Costello)

2006-06-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

The Bonnaroo Music Festival is right next door in Tennessee, and here I sit in Arkansas. The good news is that you can see a lot of it online at bonnaroo.com. The quality of the stream is really quite good. I saw Ben Folds and Oysterhead (with Stewart Copeland) yesterday and I just finished watching Elvis Costello with Allen Toussaint. It was incredible. I really liked their version of "That's How You Got Killed Last Time".

There's still time to get in on the action. Go to the website and follow the links to the live broadcasts. Sadly, the performances by Radiohead and Sonic Youth will not be online. After it's over they will also have an archive of some of the performances.

By the way, mp3.com is currrently streaming the new Costello/Toussaint album. It's worth the time to check it out. If you miss the streams, just go pick it up.

Sorry to hear about your blindness

2006-06-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

A drug company has the ability to keep people from going blind very inexpensively. To them, that's a problem.

Not my usual type of post, but it's good to be reminded that this sort of thing goes on all the time. That's the problem.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Drugs firm blocks cheap blindness cure:

"Prof Rosenfeld said the real issue was drug company profits. 'This truly is a wonder drug,' he said. 'This shows both how good they [the drug companies] are and on the flip side, how greedy they are.' He would like to see governments fund clinical trials of drugs such as Avastin in the public interest."

Drug companies. They say they are a business and they have to make a profit. Agreed. But, they are a different kind of business than most.

For example...

Let's change one letter and talk about a drum company.

When you buy a drumset, the difference between a mid-priced set and a high-end set can be thousands of dollars. It doesn't cost that much more to make the high priced set, and many of the parts are the same. Depending on the player, the lower priced set might even sound better. It is about "price point" and creating an image for the product. In the end, you are probably paying too much for that high-end set. That's fine if you want to do that. But, the drum company doesn't stop you from buying the cheap set, and if you can't afford the expensive set...you won't go blind!

Unethical conduct can't be excused because of a "need" for more profit.

Another record crash

2006-06-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

A somewhat depressing piece of news. Thanks to more affordable recording equipment and software, as well as the internet, recording industry support isn't as necessary as it once was. Still, a little respect would be nice.
Another record crash

Gyorgy Ligeti, Central-European Composer of Bleakness and Humor, Dies at 83 - New York Times

2006-06-12T23:57:00.000-05:00

Gyorgy Ligeti, Central-European Composer of Bleakness and Humor, Dies at 83 - New York Times: "Gyorgy Ligeti, the Central European composer whose music was among the most innovative of the last half of the 20th century — sometimes eerie, sometimes humorous usually fantastical and always polished — died yesterday in Vienna. He was 83.

His family confirmed his death but declined to divulge the cause, saying only that he had been ill for several years.

Mr. Ligeti produced much of his pioneering music against the backdrop of a Europe in turmoil. Born into a Hungarian-Jewish family, he survived the Holocaust but lost his father and brother in it. With the war's end he felt Soviet repression and fled when liberal revolution was smashed. "

Happy Birthday Shelly

2006-06-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

Today is Shelly Manne's birthday. The link below takes you to DrummerWorld.com. Lots of pics. Scroll to the bottom and go to page 2 for a bio.

Drummerworld: Shelly Manne

Sting and his lute

2006-06-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

I can't say I'm not worried about this, but it just might work. It seems that Sting has decided to release an album of songs by the English lutenist/composer John Dowland. I'm a big Sting fan, and while I'm not expecting any historically acccurate performance practice, it will certainly be worth a listen. We'll know for sure when it's released in October. Now all we need is Paul O'Dette Plays The Police.

Guardian Unlimited Arts | Arts news | Gift of a lute makes Sting party like it's 1599

Mozart mp3s at theguardian.co.uk

2006-06-06T08:33:00.000-05:00

Back up for air again. Still trying to buy a house, but the office is almost back up and running with a new paint job, furniture, and audio visual equipment.

Check out the link below. The Guardian is offering (probably for a limitied time) free downloads of some of Mozart's most popular works. Get them while you can.

Guardian Unlimited Arts | | Arts commercial mostly mozart barbican

Parksie's Wedding and Atlanta Visit

2006-05-25T17:26:00.000-05:00

OK. We've been trying to buy a new house and do a total revamp in my office. Both tasks have almost been accomplished, but in order not to jinx them I'll wait to post photos after they have been completed.

Also, in the middle of all that, I'm on the road. Liana and I headed down to the Parksie wedding in Tallahassee. I got to see a lot of great friends there. John (of course) and also Andy Harnsberger, Payton MacDonald, Eric Hollenbeck and many others.

Here's a pic of me with John and Eva

Here's a pic of me and Liana at the reception

Then we headed up to Atlanta to see the folks. Monday was taken up with a trip to the Ikea store here in the ATL and a visit to the grandparents house. the Ikea trip turned into a big family affair with me, Liana, my mom, Liana's mom and Liana's sister. In case you are wondering, we did indeed pick up some hip, affordable and easy to assemble furniture. Then Tuesday we headed out to see my dad. Yesterday and today has been spent at my friend Myron's house close to downtown. Here we are in his backyard.

I also had to visit to the Apple Store at Lenox Square for some Powerbook tech support. Here's a pic of me with a real live Mac Genius.

And...
here's me and Liana in the back yard.

Tomorrrow..........X-MEN!!!!!

The Year in Review

2006-05-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

It has been about a year since I started this blog...and it seems like it has been almost that long since my last post. Sorry about that, busy times! I think that tomorrow will bring an update that will explain the delay in updates here on the blog.

School is over for the semester. It was a great year at UCA. We had So Percussion in to perform Reich's Drumming with the percussion ensemble. John Beck, John Parks, Nathaniel Bartlett and Mark Ford also were on campus for concerts, clinics and masterclasses. I saw some great concerts this year at UCA, including James Brown. He was amazing and I'm so glad I had the chance to see him.

I had two grad students graduate this year. Both got excellent assistantships and will be part of two of the best percussion programs in the country. One is heading to the University of Oklahoma and the other is off to Florida State University. Two new grads and a lot of great transfer students and freshman will be coming in to UCA next fall. It's shaping up to be a great year.

Look for a big update soon (with pics).

Karel Husa at UCA

2006-04-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

Last week the composer Karel Husa stopped by UCA for a three day residency. The percussion quartet played Three Dance Sketches on a chamber music concert. It is a powerful piece, and quite difficult. We were lucky enough to have a chance to rehearse the piece with Husa. He is an amazing man, and working with him really helped to bring the piece to life for all of us. Below are a few pics of the rehearsals.

Mark Ford at UCA

2006-04-22T07:14:00.000-05:00

Last week we had Mark Ford in as a guest clinician at UCA. He worked with the percussion quartet and presented a clinic/performance for me and my students. He also performed his new piece (which I think is called Kingdom Lore Fanfare). He did a wonderful job coaching the quartet and my students got a lot out of his clinic. A few pics are below.

Idaho Day of Percussion

2006-04-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

The weekend after the ECU Day of Percussion, I once again hit the road. This time it was the Idaho Day of Percussion. James Harrison, the president of Idaho PAS, did an incredible job of hosting the event. The attendance was just short of 200 people and the clinicians were all great. Special thanks to my friend Thom Hasenpflug who came in from Idaho State University to play Vertical River with me. Here's a pic of everyone. I may have more pics soon. Thanks to David Garibaldi for forwarding this one to me.

left to right: Blake Tyson - Marimba and Percussion, David Garibaldi - Drum Set, James Harrison - Host and Drum Set, Ben Pursley - Djembe, Michael Huestis - Marching percussion, Thom Hasenpflug - Special Guest Vibraphonist!

ECU Day of Percussion

2006-04-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

The weekend after the UCA Percussion Festival, I headed out to Oklahoma for the East Central University Day of Percussion. A good time was had by all. I especially enjoyed Gregg Bissonette's Stewart Copeland Medley. There may be more pics of the events soon, but for now, here's a shot of the clinicians that day.

left to right...the Bravura Percussion Trio, Gregg Bissonette, me, John Kizilarmut, and Ben Finley (the host).

UCA Percussion Festival - Day 4

2006-04-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

After a long absence from post I am happy to present photos from Day 4 of the UCA Percussion Festival. It was all about John Parks and his incredible orchestral skills

First he talked about the tambourine

Then he diagrammed the different sound possibilities of cymbal crashes

and crashed some cymbals

...and then showed us how to catch a fly ball to center field with a pair of Zildjian 18" Orchestral cymbals

More soon....

UCA Percussion Festival - Day 3

2006-03-29T19:09:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Day 3 of the UCA Percussion Festival. Here's a quick run down of the highlights. Click the photos to enlarge them.

First up was Nathaniel Bartlett with a clinic on the behind the scenes magic of marimba and computer generated sounds

Then John Parks showed us who was boss when it comes to playing the snare drum

After that, John Beck presented a great clinic covering timpani and cymbal playing

Then we did some In the Pocket

and a timpani concerto

We also did Stained Glass, Rhythmitis, Vertical River, Bicksa and the Suite for Drumset and Percussion Ensemble by Dave Mancini. That last one featured Dr. John Parks on the drumset. Yes, it was amazing!

Then off to the lobby to sign some autographs

After a nice dinner at the Oak Street Bistro, the clinicians headed back to my place to just hang out for a while.

But that wasn't all. There was a top secret Day 4 of the festival for UCA students only. Newly declassified pictures coming soon...

UCA Percussion Festival - Day 2

2006-03-25T09:56:00.000-06:00

After a late night on Thursday, we started day 2 of the festival with an early morning rehearsal of Bicksa by Thom Hasenpflug.
click pics to enlarge
Later, we rehearsed the Concerto for Timpani and Percussion Ensemble with John Beck, and then had a quick rehearsal of Rhythmitis (see below).

Nathaniel Bartlett arrived and began the long set up for that evening's recital. Then we headed upstairs or a historical presentation by JB.

Nate Bartlett put on an incredible concert that night. No photos of that. Don't worry, you'll see him in Saturday's pics.

Speaking of Saturday, here's a sneak peek. John, Nate, me and JB rehearsing In the Pocket on Saturday morning before the big event started up.

and...John and I were able to squeeze in a quick 10 minute rehearsal of Vertical River.

COMING SOON....pics from Saturday's Extravaganza!

Drumming at UCA

2006-03-23T07:14:00.000-06:00

OK. A lot to cover since the last real post, and many pictues to share from the UCA Percussion Festival, the ECU Day of Percussion and the Idaho Day of Percussion. To avoid overload, I'll limit today's post to the first event of the UCA Percussion Festival....DRUMMING!
click on the pics to make them bigger

The students at UCA spent 3 days rehearsing with So Percussion to prepare for the performance.

So decided to open the concert with Music for Pieces of Wood. They asked John Beck, who was already in town for the festival, to be "the rock". This is a shot of the rehearsal.

Here's a group shot of everyone that performed in Drumming (plus me and John Beck, but minus the vocalists, who mysteriously vanished before the photo was taken).

I really like this picture I took at dinner after the performance. From left to right...Doug, unidentified order taker, Christy, Adam, Neal, Liana (and Jason's arm).

In Oklahoma

2006-03-10T19:50:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting just across the hall from a rehearsal room where Gregg Bissonette is rehearsing with the ECU Jazz Band. He's here for the same reason I am...the East Central University Day of Percussion. Tomorrow is the big day, with clinics and concerts, including Gregg playing with the jazz band tomorrow night.

Speaking of Days of Percussion, the UCA Percussion Festival was great. So Percussion, my students (plus Jennifer, Jennifer and Liana) gave an incredible performance of Drumming. The concert by Nathaniel Bartlett was amazing, and the clinics and performances by John Parks, John Beck and the UCA Percussion Ensemble were really excellent. Special thanks to those of you that stopped by to enjoy the show.

It's hard to believe that it has been more than a week since the festival started. I'll get some pictures posted when I return.

Right now, I'm going to go watch Gregg rehearse with the band.

They don't make the Grammy's like they used to

2006-02-26T22:05:00.000-06:00

Check out this truly amazing clip from 1985. When I was 15, this was pretty much all I needed to be happy. I was a HUGE Thomas Dolby fan (still am). If you've only heard She Blinded me with Science you are really missing out. Check out One of our Submarines, Windpower, or Europa and the Pirate Twins. They're all from the same era. You can actually find a few Dolby videos on youtube.com

Anyway, enjoy this crazy mash-up (from before there were "mash-ups"). Oh, and cut them all some slack (especially Dolby). It was the 80's, after all. And, yes, the ending is bizarre.

Voltaire's still got it

2006-02-26T06:29:00.000-06:00

"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."
- Voltaire

Sex Pistols turn down Hall of Fame honor - Yahoo! News

2006-02-25T10:31:00.000-06:00

I think that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be even "punkier" and induct them anyway.

Sex Pistols turn down Hall of Fame honor - Yahoo! News: "http://www.thefilthandthefury.co.uk"

Excerpt in Danger???

2006-02-25T08:46:00.000-06:00

A "new" version of Porgy and Bess?

Symphony gives Gershwin last word on 'Porgy and Bess' - Sunday, 02/19/06: "But get this: It turns out that Gershwin, during rehearsals for the New York premiere at Broadway's Alvin Theatre, made extensive cuts and additions to his 700-page score. Since the composer died only two years later, in 1937, that edited but unpublished version represents, in effect, his final word on the subject."

I wonder if he said "You know what? That xylophone part just doesn't work very well...let's take it out."

Suddenly my life gets a lot easier.

In the meantime, we had better all go practice our alternate stickings. And don't forget the version that starts on E. (if you're not a percussionist, just ignore that last part)

Fab Four

2006-02-21T20:44:00.000-06:00

More magic of youtube.com

I have loved The Beatles since I "discovered" them back in 6th grade. I really enjoy these early clips. Remember, we can probably hear them much better than they can hear themselves due to the constant wall of screams hitting them in the face.

Anyway, these clips make me feel quite happy. I hope they don't get taken down anytime soon.

Monk

2006-02-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

Another great clip from youtube.com. Thelonious (not my cat, the piano player) and friends showing you how it is done.

Great shot of Monk's hands on the solo. Got to love the pinky ring!

What_College_Now

2006-02-19T12:06:00.000-06:00

Here's an insightful article by my friend Ted Rounds. It's full of good advice for those of you that are about to audition for admission to a college music program. It's also good information for those going on to graduate study.

What_College_Now

Music Review - Alarm Will Sound - New York Times

2006-02-18T08:02:00.000-06:00

Alarm Will Sound just received a great review in the NYT. And special congrats to my fellow Payton MacDonald Ensemble(scroll down) member Courtney Orlando for her "extraordinary" playing. Very exciting!

Music Review - Alarm Will Sound - By Allan Kozinn - The New York Times - New York Times: "And now Alarm Will Sound is about as close to being a rock band as a chamber orchestra can be. It is the Kronos Quartet writ large.

John Cale's score for 'Kiss,' the Andy Warhol film, drew on Mr. Cale's art-rock work, as well as on Indian music and Anglo-American folk traditions. Its highlight was a pair of extraordinary violin solos by Courtney Orlando and Caleb Burhans."

A good point about the "games"

2006-02-18T07:48:00.000-06:00

Those NBC announcers (and others) just won't shut up about it. Lindsey Jacobellis didn't win a gold medal, but she's still better than you! Some day, if I have opened up a huge lead in the Marimba Olympics, and I try a behind the back double vertical stroke, and I get a mallet caught under the string, and I wind up coming in second place...I'll still be second in THE Marimba Olympics. Not so bad, huh?

(This is of course hypothetical, since I made the difficult decision to give up my amateur status years ago)

Anyway, the NYT editorial page makes a good point this morning.

You Go, Lindsey - New York Times: "'I was having fun,' she said. 'Snowboarding is fun. I was ahead. I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the crowd. I messed up. Oh, well, it happens.'"

"...Ms. Jacobellis had an amazing race, built a huge lead, got exuberant and went splat. What did she think these were — Games?"

All State Breath

2006-02-16T08:20:00.000-06:00

I'm off to enjoy the Arkansas All State Band and Orchestra Festival in Hot Springs. When you go sometwhere like that, it's important to have nice fresh breath. You meet a lot of new people and you don't want their first impression of you to be linked with a horrific odor.

This year, I'll be going with the Crest Vanilla Mint, but next year I may have to step it up a notch. Breath Palette is making it possible to break away from the mint and cinnamon that has dominated our lives for so long. Look out for me at next year's All State. I think I'll go with "bitter chocolate"

Breath Palette

Marimba Madness

2006-02-13T20:54:00.000-06:00

I've seen this clip before on archive.org, but youtube.com has made it much easier to access. Sit back, relax and enjoy Reg and his beautiful marimba orchestra (and one crazy bass player).

For those of you wondering why you feel a little dizzy watching this...the print is backwards, so left is right, right is left, high is low and low is high.

Funky Drummer

2006-02-12T08:05:00.000-06:00

Check out Clyde Stubblefield with James Brown. The Godfather is givin' the drummer some!

If this link breaks, please let me know.
BT

War on Grease

2006-02-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

I just saw this the the NYT. I always appreciate it when someone protests without ever seeing, reading or hearing what they have decided they are against.

In Small Town, 'Grease' Ignites a Culture War - New York Times: "One letter, from someone who had not seen the show but only heard about it, criticized 'immoral behavior veiled behind the excuse of acting out a play.'

Dr. Enderle watched a video of the play, ultimately agreeing that 'Grease' was unsuitable for the high school, despite his having approved it beforehand, without looking at the script. Hoping to avoid similar complaints in the future, he decided to ban the scheduled spring play, 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller.

He called 'The Crucible' 'a fine play,' but said he dropped it to keep the school from being 'mired in controversy' all spring."

'That was me in my worst Joe McCarthy moment, to some,' Dr. Enderle said.

Mark Miller, a 26-year-old graduate student, said he was moved to complain after getting an e-mail message about the show from Terra Guittar, a member of his church. Her description of the pajama party scene offended him, he wrote, adding that one character should have worn a more modest nightgown. Mr. Miller did not see the play.
-------------------------

OK, here's the deal...I saw Grease when I was 8 years old, and then I saw it again and again. I loved it! I had the soundtrack album and listened to it A LOT for a loooong time. And Olivia Newton John helped me understand why girls were not as icky as I had thought. Despite these things I have NEVER smoked a cigarette, NEVER had an alcoholic drink (I did take some Nyquil once), NEVER danced my way through a high school carnival, NEVER drag raced anyone, etc... And, let's not forget the important "stay in school, kids!" message of Beauty School Dropout.

Please remember...if kids do bad things, Grease isn't the reason. And, for goodness sake, neither is The Crucible.

Invasion of Privacy?

2006-02-10T09:03:00.000-06:00

I always feel a little dirty when I'm reading through Beethoven's letters. Even though they are now published in numerous wonderful translations and have been read by the general public for many years, I still think that LvB would not be completely comfortable with me pouring over the minutae of his daily life. It's fascinating, but those of us who do so should not pretend that we're better than the readers of the National Enquirer(well, not much better).

I mention Beethoven, because once again a "complete" box set has been released. This time it includes all of the outtakes, bad takes and mistakes of Miles Davis' Cellar Door Sessions.

Would Miles Davis want us listening to these recordings? In the Guardian, John L. Walters seems to think the answer in NO. That's probably true. Still, those who want to sit through the recordings might learn a thing or two (like why Miles didn't use these takes and why he didn't think people would pay money for them).
Link to article

Audio Developing in 1 hour or less.

2006-02-07T15:19:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had to get the pictures of your vacation developed so that you could have a look...while you are still on vacation? Then this is the the concert for you. Listen to some Mozart, and then pay more money and listen to it again.
Here's the link...
Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | Look sharp: chance to buy live CD straight after the concert

Cage on BBC

2006-02-06T19:56:00.000-06:00

4'33" doesn't work very well as a joke, although many people don't seem to realize that. They can't quite be serious about it, but it's worth a look (and listen).

here it is...

The Stones

2006-02-05T22:46:00.000-06:00

I watched the Rolling Stones Superbowl halftime show tonight. I thought it was great, although many at the party disagreed. I love that those guys are out there with no botox and no microdermabrasion (is that how you spell that?) still performing like they mean it after all these years. And here's to Charlie Watts! His technique sometimes puzzles me, and I admit I do a double take everytime I see those black dot heads. And he really loves crashing that china cymbal. But, by golly, he sounds pretty good. I also like that he never pushes too hard to try and match the intensity of what's going on in front of him. He lays back and keeps it real. Those guys are a pretty interesting team and I don't think I know enough about them. I think I'll try to find a good book about the band.

CSU Percussion Studio

2006-02-04T20:45:00.000-06:00

I'm back from Colorado. Here's a pic of me with the CSU Percussion Studio. Also, on the left, is the honorable professor Eric Hollenbeck.

Thanks to everyone in the CSU Studio for being so kind and helpful to me while I was there.

In Colorado

2006-01-31T17:20:00.000-06:00

I have a recital tonight at Colorado State University. I've been here a couple of days already and I've had a great time. Fort Collins is really beautiful and the students here are great. Eric Hollenbeck, my host, is also great. We've had a good time hanging out and talking about all things percussive.

I'll be back at UCA tomorrow. Then I'll start the month long preparations and publicity blitz for the 5th Annual UCA Percussion Festival. This year we have the So Percussion Quartet, John Beck, Nathaniel Bartlett, John Parks...and me. It will take place March 2-4, so clear your calendars. More info soon.

BT

Well, they've ruined another perfectly good song

2006-01-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

Peter Gabriel hits 'Big Time' in wrestling world - Yahoo! News