What we do with our lives and how we make money are big choices and usually are at the forefront of our thoughts in High School and College. As a college professor teaching music students, this question comes up a lot and I have to say, in this economy, it's a bleak picture.
BUT how can we discourage those deciding to have the kind of life we do as musicians? We get to delve into all kinds of wonderful music. From traditional classical with the greats of Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms to the newly composed (where the ink is still wet) and everything in between. Exploring great music and finding you voice and what we want to say about it, is a fantastic journey.
Musicians are creative and the great musicians recognize this and make decisions about every single note - that's our job!! That's what makes our music personal. Our goal should be to own the music, not just to play the notes, but to have a thought and a picture of what the notes say.
Everyone deserves a chance to try a life as a musician.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Monday, May 17, 2010
Ahhh . . . . we made it
Ahh . . . . we made it. No major mishaps or embarassing moments and the dreaded pick stayed in my overly tight grasp. Phew!!!!
We started the program with an old favorite "Klezmer a la Bechet" by David Krakauer, then launched into a preview of our new commission by Kenji Bunch. The audience loved the beautiful melodic content and the interesting combinations of sounds that Kenji crafted for us.
We then moved "down under" to piece for viola and dumbek. Yousif really gets to shine in this piece!!
My big and fiercely difficult piece followed. "Thracian Sketches" by Derek Bermel. Except for a tendency to get a little too fast (there's a steady and slow accelerando from beginning to end) which leads to the potential to fall off the fingerboard. . . . it went really well. Another big phew!!
Then we finished with a really fund a rambunctious piece by Giovanni Sollima "Lamentatio". It's cool.
We made it!!!!
We started the program with an old favorite "Klezmer a la Bechet" by David Krakauer, then launched into a preview of our new commission by Kenji Bunch. The audience loved the beautiful melodic content and the interesting combinations of sounds that Kenji crafted for us.
We then moved "down under" to piece for viola and dumbek. Yousif really gets to shine in this piece!!
My big and fiercely difficult piece followed. "Thracian Sketches" by Derek Bermel. Except for a tendency to get a little too fast (there's a steady and slow accelerando from beginning to end) which leads to the potential to fall off the fingerboard. . . . it went really well. Another big phew!!
Then we finished with a really fund a rambunctious piece by Giovanni Sollima "Lamentatio". It's cool.
We made it!!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
First Performance Jitters
This Sunday, duoJalal will perform four new pieces. That's alot of new repertoire to put out there first the first time. Hence the title "First Performance Jitters"
We will preview a new commission by Kenji Bunch. Bunch has really pushed the envelope for the violist on this piece. Not only does each movement (there are four all together) demand extremely different styles of playing, but three of the movements are in scordatura tuning. (That is, the strings are tuned to different pitches than the normal CGD & A).
It's the third movement that is making me nervous. I keep having this awful thought that I'm going to drop my pick. A pick you ask? Yes. Bunch has asked that I play in the guitar style with the viola in my lap, legs crossed and holding a pick. I don't even know how to hold one and the guitarists that I asked just said "Just hold it and play". Easy for them to say!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
We're also playing another an arrangement by Derek Bermel of "Thracian Sketches". It's a fiendishly difficult piece with lots of notes and lots of flats. The piece is based on folk tunes and starts slowly and quietly and ends fast and furiously. It's cool.
Wish us luck and come by and check it out.
- KL
We will preview a new commission by Kenji Bunch. Bunch has really pushed the envelope for the violist on this piece. Not only does each movement (there are four all together) demand extremely different styles of playing, but three of the movements are in scordatura tuning. (That is, the strings are tuned to different pitches than the normal CGD & A).
It's the third movement that is making me nervous. I keep having this awful thought that I'm going to drop my pick. A pick you ask? Yes. Bunch has asked that I play in the guitar style with the viola in my lap, legs crossed and holding a pick. I don't even know how to hold one and the guitarists that I asked just said "Just hold it and play". Easy for them to say!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
We're also playing another an arrangement by Derek Bermel of "Thracian Sketches". It's a fiendishly difficult piece with lots of notes and lots of flats. The piece is based on folk tunes and starts slowly and quietly and ends fast and furiously. It's cool.
Wish us luck and come by and check it out.
- KL
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