Posts tagged as:
photo credit: David Shankbone
Double-bassist Jason Heath gives an exposé on life in the “pit” (the lowered area in front and beneath the stage which holds the orchestra during shows, ballets, and operas. It’s some pretty extreme stuff, including dancing, yelling, boozing, watching television – you get the picture (and if you don’t read the [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Several music bloggers have already written about the recent unveiling of Deutsche Grammophone’s online store for high bit-rate (320kbs) mp3 files without DRM (digital rights management).
I decided to wait until I’d actually gone through the process of purchasing and listening to some of their product. Especially nice are the several hundred previously out-of-print titles [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
An excellent article from the Toronto Sun about the choice young string players must make early in their careers: top-flight instrument or house?
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Michael Hovnanian, of the erstwhile CSO Bass Blog (now just the Bass Blog due to some flap over whether he can use the CSO name in a blog), has just published a great post on the habitual nature of the orchestral musician and the troubles it can cause.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Stephen Marc Beaudoin just wrote a piece for Crosscut which is entitled “Can Anyone Fix the Oregon Symphony?“. Squarely in his sights is the newly-formed collaboration with Pink Martini front man Thomas Lauderdale. Clearly, Beaudoin does not know of Lauderdale’s training as a classical pianist, for he seems to find Lauderdale lacking in his knowledge [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
One thing that I like about coming home from a trip of more than a week is the amount of “fun” mail that has piled up in the mailbox. For me fun mail consists of (aside from unexpected cash or checks) magazines and catalogs. I’m a typical liberal in that I subscribe to both the [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
It looks like there may be a new arms race amongst conservatories – there are some quite high profile artists included in this latest round at the Juilliard School.
Here are the bios of these new faculty members, from a Juilliard press release:
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Orchestra meetings should most likely not be held outdoors, in the summer, and in Chicago all at the same time. This is the conclusion I came to after reading the CSO Bass Blog entry today.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
From the blog of NSO (National Symphony Orchestra) principal bassist Robert Oppelt, an interview with the NSO’s newest member of the bass section, Paul DeNola. Paul and his wife Jiyoung were two of our favorite people, and we miss them very much – it’s great to hear that they’re doing so well back in [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I’ve been reading the St. Louis Symphony’s blog and have found it an interesting and entertaining read. Perhaps this is something that the OSO might want to try, with different staff members writing about different aspects of the sprawling operation that is a major symphony orchestra. In the latest entry there is mention [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
UPDATE: Here’s the Seattle Times review by critic Melinda Bargreen. [link may expire after a few days]
Yesterday my wife and I went up to Seattle’s Benaroya Hall to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra perform the last concert of their 2007 US tour. It was a trip that was based upon the important roles that the [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I was talking with my friend Una from Detroit and we were discussing the OSO’s recent bass trombone auditions to replace our retiring bass trombone player Alan Pierce. The person who was selected (and I can’t name them until they are officially offered employment) had a resume full of impressive wins in various trombone [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Doublebassist Jason Heath has a great blog, and part of what makes it great are his stories from the front lines of freelancing – here is a great story about the demise of his car:
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
[click to enlarge]
Over the weekend we had a visit from my old college roommate Tom Joyce, who is the bass trombonist of the Charleston (SC) Symphony.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Support the Oregon Symphony with your purchase of Symphony Blend coffee from Badbeard's! $2.00 of every purchase of this delicious blend of world-class Panama, Sumatra and Ethiopian coffees will be given to our local Oregon Symphony Orchestra. Our contribution to the forthcoming OSO debut in Carnegie Hall in 2011!
Local Portland pickup available (please specify when ordering!) at Sweet Masterpiece Chocolates in the Pearl district and Spella Caffe at the corner of SW 9th and Alder downtown.
A joint venture between Badbeard's Coffee and Spella Cafe, the smooth blending of notes in Symphony! will brighten any morning! 1 lb. bag $11.95 lb.
Order your Symphony Blend now!
