Met lots of really nice people at my little social media presentation for the Chamber Music America folks at St. Peter’s yesterday. As promised, here’s the slide deck I used. If there is anything you’d like more information about, send me an email and I’ll try to answer. My thanks to the extraordinarily well-organized CMA program director Susan Dadian for inviting me and for being the kind of gal who will quietly tell you that your fly is unzipped before you begin your talk.
The American Music Center’s NewMusicBox-meister Frank J. Oteri dropped by, with word of an upcoming gig of his own this Saturday:
“Just wanted to alert you folks that Tonally Perplexed, my trio devoted to improvisation with just noticeable differences (featuring moi on the custom built 6-octave ‘tonal plexus’ tuned to 205-tone equal temperament) will be performing on Saturday night at 7PM in Harlem for an art opening featuring new paintings by the wonderful Lisa Taliano (Chashama 461 Gallery, 461 West 126th St, between Amsterdam and Morningside). Since our last outing at the Cornelia Street Cafe, the group has taken a somewhat jazzier direction, no doubt urged on by the amazing bass playing of Ratzo Harris and the blues sensibility and sensitivity of Jeffrey Herman as well as my getting somewhat more comfortable on that beast of an instrument (which looks like a Lego assortment).”
Here are the full details. Meantime why not take a listen and a gander at Frank and crew, from a November 2008 outing?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzUXP1rCJyE[/youtube]
Composer Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) happened to be one of the earliest voices captured, in 1888, by Thomas Edison’s then-new wax-cylinder recording machine. Invited to dinner at Edison’s London outpost, Little Menlo, Sullivan recorded this small but prescient speech (which you can hear thanks to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park):
” . . . For myself, I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the results of this evening’s experiment — astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever. ”
[Thanks to wonderful pianist Seda Röder for the tip. The complete Edison archive can be found here.]
Ah, ’tis a small world…years ago during my film music studies at USC I remember chatting several times with a flutist who had made the finals for a position with the LA Phil – while she was still an undergrad. Fast forward 15 years and it turns out Elizabeth Rowe is not only playing principal flute with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she’s giving the American premiere of Elliott Carter‘s Flute Concerto this next week on Feb. 4, 5 and 9 (see www.bso.org for times and ticket prices). Here’s what Elliott had to say about the work:
For many years flutists have been asking for a flute concerto, yet I kept putting it off because I felt that the flute could not produce the sharp attacks that I use so frequently. But the idea of the beautiful qualities of the different registers of the instrument and the extraordinary agility attracted me more and more, so when Elena Bashkirova asked me write something for her and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, I decided it would be a flute concerto. From mid – September, 2007 to March, 2008 ideas and notes for it fascinated me without relief.
And here’s what Elizabeth had to say, not only about the concerto but also about playing Daphnis et Chloé…for which BSO just received a Grammy:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KREz3aIGPnM[/youtube]
My two most recent posts have been about orchestras that specialize in performing contemporary music, ACO and BMOP. In keeping with that theme, I thought I should also say a few things about the new contemporary music series by the New York Philharmonic, called CONTACT! (I know, I know – that concert was a couple months ago – what can I say, I’m a slacker.) In Music Director Alan Gilbert’s first press conference, he highlighted his plans for a New York Philharmonic new music ensemble this season, and as it turns out, this isn’t just a new music ensemble playing the past century’s greatest hits: they are performing seven pieces by seven composers, all of which are world premieres. Not bad, Mr. Gilbert. Not bad at all.
Strictly speaking, the December CONTACT! concert was not a full orchestra performance, but more of the Sinfonietta variety. Basically one of every instrument represented on most pieces. I don’t really want to talk about the pieces, but you can find out more about the program and the upcoming April concert here. I really just want to give a tip-of-the-hat to the New York Philharmonic and other established orchestral organizations like the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and I’m sure others, for not just recognizing the importance of bringing bloggers in to the concert hall, but also for realizing that blogs are not going away and are worth their attention. This CONTACT! concert was the first time the New York Philharmonic invited bloggers to a performance and hopefully they will continue to do it in the future. It goes without saying that they should do this again for the next CONTACT! performance, but it would be great to see the Philharmonic begin inviting bloggers to regular subscription concerts as well. Here is a link to all of the other blog entries that were written following the December concert by twelve people who were obviously NOT slackers.
Finally, I love that the New York Philharmonic New Music Ensemble (is that really their name or can the ensemble have a shorter, snappier name?) is performing in some different locations around town. Each of these CONTACT! concerts are being performed once at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and once at Symphony Space. I have to wonder, though, if there is a better location than Symphony Space. I appreciate that they may be making an effort to get away from the Lincoln Center campus, but if the renovated Alice Tully Hall is cool enough and hip enough for Alarm Will Sound, ICE, the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, then isn’t it cool enough and hip enough for the Philharmonic New Music Ensemble? And, wouldn’t the sound be so much better there?
In the end I think that the Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, and composer-in-residence Magnus Lindberg should be congratulated on this new (and I’m sure somewhat scary or uncertain) venture. I look forward to the April performance and especially to what they have in mind for the ’10-’11 season.
Well, maybe not. But, if you have time on your hands tomorrow don’t forget that I’m leading a seminar called “Using Social Networking to Promote Your Ensemble or Series” at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th St. from 3 pm to 5 pm. Contact Chamber Music America Associate Marc Giosi at (212) 242-2022, ext. 14; or mgiosi@chamber-music.org to reserve yourself a seat. Come on over and I’ll show you how to use the internets and the Google and all those silly tubes to get more publicity for your group or program
Here’s a quick tip specifically for our senior editor Christian Carey who I notice has become active on Twitter but you can use it too, if you don’t already. You only get 140 characters on Twitter so rather than use up a bunch of them on a link that looks like this: https://www.sequenza21.com/2010/01/prism-quartet-celebrates-25th-anniversary-at-lpr-on-131/ go to a URL shortener like http:/bit.ly and paste in the long link and get a short one that looks like this: http://bit.ly/b2nfT0 They both take you to the same place.
This Sunday, the Prism Quartet is celebrating 25 years of concertizing and the release of various CDs with a show at Le Poisson Rouge (details below). The show will feature music from their recording catalogue, focusing on their most recent projects.
The quartet’s latest CD, Antiphony, is a collaboration with New Music from China. It includes works by Wang Guowei, Zhou Long, Lei Lang, Chen Yi, Tan Dun, Ming-Hsiu Yen.
Thus far I’m really enjoying the title work, by Zhou Long. In addition to the saxophones, it features Erhu, Daruan, and percussion in a piece that explores folk resonances and microtones in a finely sculpted modernist-tinged amalgam. Yen’s Chinatown lands on the other side of ‘town,’ stylistically speaking, but is equally fetching. Zesty minimal ostinati are juxtaposed against Sun Li’s vibrant pipa playing. It’s a postmodern audio travelogue that indeed captures its eponymous neighborhood’s energy and diversity. I’m still seeking out scores for the Tan Dun and Chen Yi works; more once I’ve had time to digest them.
25th Anniversary CD Release Concert
Le Poisson Rouge
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Doors open at 6:30 PM, show at 7:30 PM
158 Bleecker Street, New York City
Information and ticketing: 212.505.FISH (3474),
lepoissonrouge.com
$15, two item minimum
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are on Sunday night, here’s the list of all the classical music-related categories and nominees, and here are the composition-related categories and nominees. Let’s give a shout-out to the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and to Derek Bermel for their nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra.
I was able to spend some time talking with BMOP Artistic Director Gil Rose (audio here), and BMOP violinist Gabriela Diaz (audio here) about their experiences working with composers and about what music they are excited about… or at least were excited about back in October when we spoke.
I also noticed that Meet The Composer is making another push for their Music Alive program, which matches up composers with orchestral residencies around the country. There are not many of these residencies available, but if you work for an orchestra that’s thinking about creating a composer residency, you should visit the Music Alive site. The reason I mention all of this is because our friends at BMOP have a video up where Gil talks about their three-year collaboration with composer, Lisa Bielawa. This link should also take you straight to that video.
Congratulations, BMOP!
New and specialized ensembles, groups of composers and performers banding together, DIY concerts and record labels… All the stuff of now. But let’s pay a little respect to New York’s Composers Concordance, who’ve been DIY-ing it for a good 25+ years now.
Their latest outing is a marathon show, Jan. 31st (6:00 pm doors, 7:00-10:00pm performance time at the club Drom, 85 Avenue A, between 5th & 6th, New York, NY. 212-777-1157)
No less than 23 composers are on the bill: Roger Blanc, Thomas Bo, Luis Andrei Cobo, Charles Coleman, Dan Cooper, Larry Goldman, David Gotay, Patrick Grant, Franz Hackl, Don Hagar, Arthur Kampela, Alon Nechushtan, Daniel Palkowski, Milica Paranosic, Akmal Parwez, Joseph Pehrson, Gene Pritsker, Paola Prestini, Jody Redhage, Kamala Sankaram, William Schimmel, Andrew Violette, and Theodore Wiprud.
Gene Pritsker, Composers Concordance co-director, talks about the concept for this presentation:
“We are exploring the relationship composers have with their instruments and how they go about writing music in which they know that they will be the performer. Dan Cooper and I talked about assembling a large group of composers and requesting a four minute composition from each. We are programming them back-to-back in a marathon setting and constructing a performance that highlights the composer as a performer: short compositions as vehicles for direct expression, from the composer’s mind to body to the audience.
We selected 150 composers and e-mailed them all on a secretly chosen day and time. The first 23 to respond to this e-mail were programmed for the event. We created a random criterion as opposed to a competition for choosing the participating composers, though all 150 candidates were composers whom we, the Composers Concordance directors, knew and respected.”
Tickets are $10, but there’s a two-drink minimum, so the later pieces are likely to start sounding all warm and fuzzy…
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If you really want to make Jan. 31st a full-music day in the city, at 3pm prior you could head to St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church (552 West End Avenue at 87th Street) to hear The New York Virtuoso Singers, The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and conductor Harold Rosenbaum take on a concert of works for winds and choir. On the program is the US premiere of BMI Young Composer Award recipient Rafael Nassif ‘s piece for for three choirs and three trombones [wait, I thought we were talking saxes here?…], and a world premiere by our own S21 contributor and great pal Rob Deemer, plus works by Stefan Thomas and Jouni Kaipainen.
Tickets: $20; Students and Seniors: $15 TDF vouchers accepted. Tickets available at the door one hour and 15 minutes before concerts, or call Ticket Central at 212-279-4200. And there’s a 2pm pre-concert talk for you earlybirds, with the Raschèr Quartet.
The nice people at Chamber Music America have invited your humble correspondent (that’s me) to discuss “Using Social Networking to Promote Your Ensemble or Series” next Tuesday, February 2, at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th St. from 3 pm to 5 pm. It’s free but seating is limited so to make sure you get a seat, you should contact Marc Giosi, Program Associate, by 12 noon, Monday, February 1st at (212) 242-2022, ext. 14; or mgiosi@chamber-music.org (The CMA folks are being overly optimistic, I suspect.)
Of all the things I know a little bit about, social marketing is one of my better topics, having started one of the more popular social media websites on the web. Not to mention the Sequenza21 community which is not huge but has one of the most loyal followings around. Come on over and I’ll try to say something useful about how to use the web to generate some promotion for your group or series. I seldom leave the house to go further than Starbucks so this is a rare opportunity to confirm that there really is a person named Jerry Bowles
And, I could use some examples to show of groups or musicians who have particularly nice pages on Facebook and MySpace or who have done something clever with YouTube. Ideas, please?