UCA Percussion Festival - Day 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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???

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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?

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

What?

This really mystified me at first. After thinking about it I have decided that it must be a ploy. Make something so bad and embarrassing that people will forward it around the internet. As a result, David Hasselhoff gets A LOT of free publicity. And...as you have probably heard, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Well, I'm doing my part. Enjoy!!!
UPDATE: Well placed sources tell me that this video actually dates from 2002.

Lorenzo da Ponte

The Guardian has a nice article about Lorenzo da Ponte. Read it and impress friends (and strangers) at the next "Happy Birthday, Mozart" concert you attend.
Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | The phoenix

Dance Revolution

In today's crazy mixed up world, it's good to know that there are still kids like this in the bandrooms across America.
(click to play)

David Byrne is getting angry

David Byrne Journal: 1.10.06: DRM

It looks like David Byrne has had it up to here. As you may know by now, I agree.

Media companies will never stop the pirates no matter what they do. The best way to minimize the impact of pirates is to be good to your customers. Instead, the media companies are treating all of their customers like pirates. They want DRM(digital rights management) software and broadcast flags and huge fines and whatever else it takes to make them feel safe. It's like they've huddled in their fort with Dave Matthews, Pink, the members of Velvet Revolver, Neil Diamond and hundreds of other recording artists. They are pushing the tables, chairs and refrigerators up against the door and hammering boards over the windows. The want us to believe that the rebel forces are trying to kidnap Dave and Neil and destroy their very souls.

Why do the rebels continue to attack? Because they know that Neil and Dave are actually being held against their will inside that fort. They must be rescued before their music dies forever.

OK, enough of that. But, if you make it easier to transfer an illegal copy of a song to an ipod than it is to transfer it from a CD that costs $18, the illegal copy will eventually prevail. If these companies want to continue to see their profits fall, then they should continue to load up CDs with secretive DRM software and push through laws that disable functions of our televisions, mp3 players and video players. People will soon realize that it's just not worth that much trouble to listen to Ricky Martin or watch Cheaper by the Dozen. Who knows...once we reach that breaking point people might actually take out their earbuds and talk to each other, play Monopoly with their family, or even join a babershop quartet. It seems the future looks bright after all.

In my life I have found that if you put your trust in people, most of them will act in a trustworthy manner. Until you feel that trust (and love) again, don't buy DRM protected CDs. David Byrne gives you a partial list. Neil Diamond is on there, and sadly Imogen Heap is as well. That's really too bad.

Sometimes, they just try to fool you, like those signs in front of houses that say "Protected by Command Security", when in fact there is no alarm. The band Chumba Wumba mentions that on this page of their website.

And here's the David Byrne link again.

David Byrne Journal: 1.10.06: DRM

Oh...and if you want to be a pirate, be sure to follow the link below. (Don't worry, it's completely legal)

Avast! Welcome to PirateMod!

The Video Game Revolution: The Arcade | PBS

Did you spend as much time as I did in the arcades back in the 80's? If so, check out this page from, believe it or not, PBS. Take the "Name That Game" quiz and test your sonic memory. Ah...memories.

The Video Game Revolution: The Arcade | PBS

Continental Shift - New York Times

A great article on how the LA Phil is finding success with NEW music

Read it fast! The New York Times will want your money for it pretty soon.
Continental Shift - New York Times

Shostakovich...Genius or Hack

An interesting article from The Guardian about the "difference of opinion" on the works of Shostakovich.

I like the part where Pierre Boulez plays the role of "Grumpy Old Man No. 1".

Only six years ago, the composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, evidently frustrated by the continuing ubiquity of Shostakovich's music in concert halls and on CD, declared that popular interest in the Russian composer was "influenced by the autobiographical dimension of his music". A modish enthusiasm for him was bound to be short-lived, suggested Boulez, for the music itself was just "third-pressing Mahler" (an allusion to the process used to extract the cheapest and most tasteless kind of olive oil).

Come on, Pierre...can't you just be happy for him?

But...since Pierre started it, here are a few quotes about him.
(from the very interesting website for The PIERRE BOULEZ Project)

"Boulez's whole life has been nothing but bluff, invective, impertinence, and conceit. He's exercised a bad influence over an entire generation that's wasted its energies in following him" -- Henri Sauguet, from 1987 interview in Gai pied hebdo..

"Boulez, who is everything I don't want art to be... Boulez, who once said in an essay that he is not interested in how a piece sounds, only how it is made." -- Morton Feldman, "predeterminate/indeterminate"

"he has, at times, presented himself as little more than a Napoleon complex with a comb-over." -- Timothy Ouellette

"[Boulez] was a regular jack-in-the-box. He was also the most arrogant of all. I thought he wrote too fast, too carelessly, that he threw in too many notes." -- Rene Leibowitz, quoted in To Boulez and Beyond

"I'm not into Boulez, but that's kind of obvious." -- Jim O'Rourke, 1999 interview

"Conductor and composer Pierre Boulez was one of the most articulate members of the French postwar musical avant-garde, but now many music lovers believe his compositions are sonic sewage. Boulez played a role in driving contemporary music into a cul-de-sac." -- Frederick Stocken, New Statesman, March 20, 2000

"And to live in a world only with Boulez would be a sad existence." -- Georg Graewe

"You could say: 'Why not invent a completely new language of music that uses none of the existing ideas?' Well, Pierre Boulez said he would do that, and who listens to Pierre Boulez?" -- Richard Stallman

"Boulez's only concern is with power. He lost the leadership of the avant-guard more than ten years ago to Stockhausen. Now others have moved in. With the need for power, where was he to go? So he chose to be a conductor. He is a wonderful musician, a wonderful intelligence. It's a pity there is no humanity there. Does he have sex? I think not. When men have no sex, they go after power in this big, obsessive way." -- Lukas Foss, 1971?

Ouch!

We should get Lukas Foss and Pierre Boulez together and let them have a "Your Momma is So Ugly" contest. My money's on Foss.

Borrow Mozart's book from the British Library

Shostakovich Centennial or not, we can't escape the Mozart 250. So, check out this super cool interactive site that will let you leaf through Mozart's catalog of his works. The high speed version is highly recommended. Turn he pages, magnify the pages, read the notes. There are other books on the site as well, but for now Mozart's book is at the top of the page.

Turning the Pages™, the British Library

Happy Birthday, DSCH

It seems that everyone is celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday this year (in fact, I'm playing a "birthday" concert with the Arkansas Symphony this weekend). Mozart is fine, but if you are looking for a nice "round number" to celebrate, how about the 100th birthday of Dimitri Shostakovich. Although he didn't die until the 1970's, he is many ways more of a mystery to us than Mozart is.

Well, at least our friends over in England remembered to do more than send a card. For the next 6 weeks or so you will be able to hear all of the chamber music and every symphony that Shostakovich wrote (if you live in Manchester).

Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | City tunes up for epic celebration of Shostakovich centenary

Back up and running

Wow! Have I been sick. Things are looking up now and it's time to practice A LOT!

Check out my new flickr.com photo albums
HERE

A few things that happened in the past month or so

My blogging has been a little sparse lately, so here's a quick catch up...

I had some great chocolate pie on Thanksgiving

Then I went to the Clinton Library in Little Rock



Then school was over and we had a percussion party (with DDR, of course)


Then I went to Mississippi and met Justin's new kitten, Beatrix Kiddo

Then I went to my grandparents for Christmas Dinner


Then I had a lovely cup of tea at my parents house as a very creepy audio-animatronic Santa looked on

My mom gave Liana a giant Yoda Pez dispenser. (She was very excited)



Then on Christmas Day, I took a nap with Harry.


Oh, and I've been listening to Liana practice that new bass guitar!

First Bass

It is Christmas Day and the trip has gone well so far. A visit to Mississippi as well as numerous stops in Georgia.

Perhaps the most exciting news is Liana's gift. She will soon be rocking hard with her new Les Paul bass and Fender amp. This is a pic of her trying it out at the music store.

Over the River, etc....

I'm off to visit friends and family for a few days. I'll post from the road about the exciting adventures that take place. I'll be in Mississippi tonight and then on to Georgia.

B

Sony Blows It

A record company has once again decided to punish those that pay full price for their CDs. If you are a "music pirate" and want to "steal" the music, you'll know the simple workaround to accomplish your task. Law abiding citizens, however, will have their computer infected with a program that will allow "internet baddies" access to your computer (and limit your ability to listen to and legally copy the songs you paid for).

Seems like a bad idea, right?. For example, a few weeks ago I had heard a lot of good buzz about the new Neil Diamond CD 12 Songs. It also got a great review in Rolling Stone. So, I head out to buy it. I can't find it anywhere. I think to myself..."Wow, with such great buzz for the album, Sony really should have sent out more copies." Turns out that I should have been thinking..."Wow, the people that run Sony are idiots. If they hadn't had to recall all of those CDs, I would have dropped 16 bucks for it."

So, this buggy digital rights managemant software cost them sales, it cost them to recall the discs, cost them to reissue bug free copies, cost them the good will of their customers(and their artists), cost them to create fixes for already infected computers, etc. And, it didn't stop anyone who knew to hold down SHIFT key while they loaded the CD from doing whatever they wanted.

Neil Diamoind, with great reviews and currently on tour, must be incredibly upset about the whole thing. While I would have bought the CD that day, the delay has allowed my "Diamond Fever" to subside and also made me not that interested in buying anything from Sony for a while. (Note: I don't think that Mr. Diamond is upset about me specifically not buying his CD, but by the fact that this same scene played out time and again around the country. And, like any good artist, he's probably upset that his fans who bought the CD the minute it came out may have already had their computers compromised.)

SonyBMG made some interesting choices in what to "protect". That includes the Art Blakey CD Drum Suit and a Flatt and Scruggs CD called Foggy Mountain Jamboree. Is bluegrass piracy really a hige problem? Maybe it is...but it seems unlikely. And while it is unfortunate, there just aren't millions of college students on high speed networks trading Art Blakey sound files.

Here's a list of CD's that you shouldn't put in your computer. By the time it's over, the list will probably be much longer.The link is to a SonyBMG page. They aren't crazy about publicizing the flaw, so it could vanish at any time.
PSI & PARCELINK RETURNS ON THE WEB | Reason / Action

For a partial roundup of stories about this situation, visit this link at BoingBoing.net
Boing Boing: Sony Rootkit Roundup IV

Guitar Picker

If you like guitars (or just want to see something cool) check this link out. I found the link at http://musicthing.blogspot.net

Guitar Picker

Here's one for the percussionists out there

Hand Drums

"My head is empty and I long for another bite of baklava"

It's not exactly "breaking news" but I have recently discovered that the DVD box set for Chick Corea's 60th birthday concerts at the Blue Note is out. It's 90 bucks for the whole box. That seems like a lot, but it's only nine dollars per disc. The lineup includes the Akoustic Band with Weckl, the Three Quartet group with Gadd, the Now He Sings, Now he Sobs group with Roy Haynes, duets with Gary Burton and, of course, a lot of the other great players from CC's past and present (Bobby McFerrin, Miroslav Vitous, Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Ballard, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Tim Garland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez).

You can watch the trailer for the box set here. It is not a very well edited trailer and the interview segments with Chick, his bandmates, and his audience members are pretty bad as well. But, occasionally they will make you laugh (I'm not trying to be mean, just honest). The first 3 minutes or so of the trailer are quite confusing and you may be tempted to stop watching. But...don't! The trailer does include a good bit of footage from the concerts and gives you a chance to see some of the amazing footage.

So, check it out. I'm lucky enough to have an amazon.com gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket (and I've got to spend it on something). If you're not so lucky, then get your school library, your local library, or your rich friend to buy it.

More pics from China

One of the pieces I performed while in China was Halim's Fantasia-Tahmeel for derabucca and strings. Here I am just before the performance started.



















The performance went very well. Here I am at the conclusion with the conductor.



















We also got to meet many musicians from all over China. Here is Liana backstage with a musician who played many different types of flutes.



















Here we are with the entire group of musicians and dancers.

After Thanksgiving Sales

We hit the sales on Friday morning. I have never done it before, but I finally felt that it was time to be a part of the insanity. We woke up at 3:00 and arrivd at the IHOP by 3:30. We thought this would be a perfect place to start the day. Well lit, friendly, smoke free, and open 24 hours.



The only problem was this sign on the other door...
Closed from 1pm to 6am.

So, we quickly regrouped. We had to be in line at Goody's by 4:30 for the 5:00 opening. The reason being that the first 300 people received 10 gift cards. We didn't want to miss that. Luckily, just across the street was a place that would never let us down like IHOP did....The WAFFLE HOUSE. Smoky, cramped, bright yellow but still quite dingy at the same time. To make it even better, a Celine Dion fan had apparantly pumped about $5 worth of quarters into the jukebox. Boy, was Liana glad to hear that!

We called our shopping pals CK and Gaby and told them IHOP was off and to meet us at the WH. They were a little sluggish, but they finally made it.

Here I am with my friend Gabi at about 3:55am

At around 4:00 in the morning, everyone is feeling a little crazy.


We left Waffle House and made it to Goody's by 4:30. There was only one other person there, so we were all set. We got in, got the card, got the stuff, got in line, and got out. We were done by 5:20, and despite some technical difficulties at the register, none of us paid over $3 total.

Then we headed toward the other side of town and Shoe Carnival, where the first 100 people got $10 gift cards. We made it in time for the cards, and met some people in line who had just come from braving the crowds at Wal-Mart. We shared our tales of derring-do as we jumped around in the cold, trying to stay warm. We ran in at 6:00, got the card and started looking for shoes. I am proud to say that the pair of Vans that I had my eye on started at 50 bucks, but with my gift card, my coupon, and a temporary Shoe Carnival "10 minute only" mark down (that was lucky), I got them for $16.

Then it was off to Belk for some gift shopping, Office Depot for a super cheap 1 GB flash drive, and then to Hastings for the super-duper "All Used CDs $3.99 Sale". Among other amazing used CDs (My Spanish Heart, Return to Forever Retrospective, Rufus Wainsright-Want Two, etc.) I picked up the much needed Paul Simon Concert in Central Park. Yes, even the two disc sets were $3.99.

By that time we had had enough. Back to the house for "lunch". It felt late and I was starving. It was only 9:30.

Fake Meat

While in China we went to a restaurant that specializes in recreating vegetarian and vegan versions of traditional Chinese dishes. The fake Peking Duck looked amazing, but seemed to cost more than a real duck, so instead, we went for the roasted "ham" in a pumpkin shell. On the left side of the table are imitation pork rinds made from tofu. And while the "Spiced Cucumber Salad" may sound exotic, it's really just Bread and Butter Pickles. We also had some delicious lemon apple juice.

By the way, the service was incredible.

"Self Portraits" from China

Here we are at the Forbidden City. The earpiece is an audio tour device. OUr guidebook said that the audio tour was narrated by Roger Moore (James Bond). I thought it would be funny to be guided through the Forbidden City by 007. Much to m disappointment, it has been recently revised and is now narrated by a nice Chinese woman who obviously has no License to Kill.


Here we are at the Temple of Heaven. ou can see it in the background. The view was not as spectacular as hoped because it is undergoing restoration for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.


Here I am backstage with Halim


Me and my friend Tuyen Tonnu. She is an incredible pianist.


Me with my friend David Badagnani. He is Halim's archivist.

They Might Be Giants

Here's a pic of us at the Forbidden City. It's not posed, I swear. The little boy ran up to us just as the picture was being taken. Funny!
Click to enlarge.

and the posts begin to flow

OK,
Over the next few days I will try to get caught up on the events of the past month or so. China, PASIC, Tennessee, etc...

I just got back from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. I played Cloud Forest and Anubis with the percussion ensemble there and had a lot of fun working with the students. I also played a little derabucca on the concert.

Before that we did our second percussion ensemble concert of the semester here at UCA on Thursday night. Music for Pieces of Wood, Stained Glass, Cloud Forest, Run! Pandas, and a few other things. Then on Friday, Will Rapp gave a great clinic about the cymbal techniques of Benjamin Podemski (of the Philadelphia Orchestra). Very interesting stuff!

More to come soon, including more China pics (and a few from PASIC)

Coming Soon

For those of you that are getting worried...thanks for the concern. I'm fine, just busy. I promise a new post or two soon about PASIC and China and so forth...

Corrected Cheese Post

It seems that I forgot to include the link for the previous post. Here it is.

Cheese Drumset

It's made of cheese.

I wish I could find a recording. But the pictures should keep you amazed for now.
It's made of cheese. - a photoset on Flickr

And back again

I'm back from the Payton MacDonald Ensemble concert in New Jersey. The concert was quite a success. We have started doing ensemble versions of Payton's SuperMarimba pieces, complete with looping pedals for the flute, violin and viola. We also made some demo recordings to help publicize the ensemble a little better. I'm lucky to be playing with such an amazing ensemble. Payton, John, Courtney and Jessica are incredibly talented and creative musicians, and playing with them always inspires me.

Still suffering from a little jetlag. It's a little after 2:00 in the morning and I am wide awake. I'm going to go watch a really boring infomercial and try to fall asleep.

I'll be busy this week teaching makeup lessons and practicing for the PASIC performance, but I'll try to get some China pictures up in the next day or two. Here's a self portrait of me at the Forbidden City to hold you over until then. Click to enlarge.


Looks like they're getting ready for a softball game. Yellow team vs. the Red and Blue team. I must have left before it started.

Back in the US

I'm back from Beijing and I leave again in a few hours for New Jersey. If you are close to William Patterson University on Saturday night, stop in for a little Payton MacDonald Ensemble magic.

Beijing was great. I'll post pics soon.

Blake

Beijing

I'm in Beijing. So far everything has been wonderful. The weather is perfect and the people are great. WE went to the Forbidden City on Sunday morning. I never realized just how big it was. The concert is tonight adn then tomorrow I am heading out for some shopping and a visit to the Temple of Heaven. Maybe some other things as well.

Back in the States on Thursday night. Then to New Jersey for a PME concert.

Blake

The Conway Symphony concert went well last night. The soloists all sounded wonderful and everone loved Pictures at an Exhibition. I just wish we had had an even bigger gong.

I play the Frank Sinatra, Jr. concert on Thursday night and then it's off to Beijing on Friday morning. Our visas arrived yesterday (finally) so we will actually be able to get into the country.

Only about 12,000 things to do before then.

Blake

Another week

Another busy week! The Percussion Ensemble concert on Thursday night went very well. There was a good crowd and the students did a great job. We premiered a new work by Andrew R. Stout and the crowd loved it. We'll do it one more time on our November 10th concert. I also did a preview performance of the piece I wrote for Spindrift Percussion. I was really happy with how it turned out. A few final touches and I think that it will be ready for the premiere.

The Conway Symphony is sounding great and the concert on Tuesday night should be excellent. Mozart and Pictures at an Exhibition.

I've also been trying to get ready for the China trip and the Payton MacDonald Ensemble concert the following weekend. It seems like there's always plenty of new (and old) music to practice.

I watched The Office "reunion special" last night. Like the original two seasons of the BBC episodes, it was amazing. Ricky Gervais is brilliant. Rent or buy both seasons and the special and watch them. Part II of the reunion is probably the best series finale I've ever seen (well, Newhart was great, but in a different way). Don't miss the special features on the reunion disc. Hilarious stuff.

Shining

Here's a link to a clip that should teach you to never trust a movie trailer again. It's The Shining being sold as a romantic comedy. Brilliant work!

The Shining trailer

Back in Business

After school started back I just wasn't able to keep things going on a regular basis with the blog. I think that I should be back to more regular postings at this point. Let's catch up.

Most recently, Liana and I gave a recital at UCA. We did four pieces together (Big Tooth Aspen by Halim El-Dabh, Hot Water Burn Baby by Roshanne Etezady, Kembang Suling by Gareth Farr and Intimacy by Halim El-Dabh) and we each did a solo piece (Liana did Air by Toru Takemitsu and I did Sonic No. 7 by Halim El-Dabh). We had a good crowd and as far as we could tell, things went well. A lot of people liked Intimacy. Many said it was their favorite piece. We were glad to hear that because it is such a difficult piece to pull off. Technically it is not that difficult, but the pacing of the work and the interaction between flute and marimba presented us with quite a musical challenge.We rehearsed that piece far more than any other piece on the concert.

We programmed more El-Dabh than we might usually play becuase we leave for China in about two weeks to perform an entire concert of his music at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. It is part of a symposium called "Asia Meets Africa". The entire website for the event is in chinese, but I'll find the link and post it soon.

A word of advice...if you are going to China apply for that visa early. I'm not sure why some countries have to make it so difficult to get in. Chinese visas have to be applied for in person at one of three locations in the country. If you can't go in person you have to hire someone to go for you. We had to send off visa applications, order forms, consulate and service fees and our passports to a company in Houston who will walk everything through and then express mail them back to us later this week. A real pain (and expensive). In China's defense, I think that in many countries it is much harder to get a US visa.

Things at UCA have been busy. I have 11 majors (including 3 grad students) and I'm teaching 6 non-majors as well. Plus 5 hours of percussion ensemble a week and Pedagogy and Rep classes. Add the practicing, composing and travel to the mix and things get pretty crazy. I did finish the new work for solo marimba/percussion and percussion trio. It still needs some minor adjustments, but I'll be doing a "preview performance" on October 6th. I also found out that two students at Rutgers University will be doing my piece Vertical River on their percussion ensemble concert on the 6th. Always exciting to hear in advance that someone is performing your piece. There have been a lot of performances of the work, but I usually don't find out about them until after they have happened.

Today I have a rehearsal all afternoon on Cloud Forest and Bob Becker's Prisoners of the Image Factory. I really like Bob's music a lot. Prisoners is great but I think that my favorite in Turning Point. I will probably program that one or Mudra for one of the spring concerts.

Also on the concert we'll be doing the world premiere of a new work by Andrew R. Stout caled The Lost. If you are close by UCA, come on out at 7:30 this Thursday and check it out.

Later,
Blake