roller coaster ride June 4, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, the orchestra world, video, add a commentIt is, or at least should be, a roller coaster ride when you go to an orchestral concert (and I think that the OSO has been pretty successful at making these kinds of concerts happen on a regular basis), and the folks over at the Zürich Chamber Orchestra used this element as the basis for a remarkable advertising campaign. See the video after the break…
office humor is universal May 18, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, add a commentThis comic strip resonated with me on many levels - it pretty much illustrates the level of communication between colleagues at the close of the season!
world music April 5, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : contemporary, fun, music, add a comment
Click the thumbnail image above to enlarge this cool score - find more info here.
new pyp conductor - child prodigy? April 2, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, miscellaneous, add a commentIs it just me, or does the new music director and conductor of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, David Hattner, have a slight resemblance to Fred Savage from The Wonder Years?
the main event February 28, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, 2commentsThanks to Alex Ross for pointing this out - check out the event listing carefully… (more…)
february 20th awards February 20, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, the orchestra world, add a comment
My own special awards to my colleagues, in celebration of the end of this classical series:
- Playing the Shit out of the Fiddle Award: Jun Iwasaki
- Instrumental Evocation of the Human Voice Award: Marty Hebert
- Playing a Whole Concert on Principal Horn on a Couple Hours Notice Award: Joe Berger
- Best Playing While Sick and Unable to Hear: Evan Kuhlmann
- Best Raising the Roof of Smith Auditorium: OSO Brass Section
Now my weekend begins…
juilliard to field football team February 18, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, 1 comment so farYes, hell is freezing over - in 2010. Rumor is Curtis is planning on fielding a team for 2009.
If you can knock out two flawless etudes, break off a dazzling solo and nail a representative sampling of standard orchestral excerpts — all under the withering scrutiny of the school’s famously demanding faculty — you stand a chance of playing Juilliard football in the fall of 2010.
With more musical prodigies per square inch than perhaps anywhere else on Earth, Juilliard is the last place one would expect to have a football program. But in just two years, the fabled Juilliard campus will fill with the sounds of Chopin, Mozart and the violent cacophony of helmets colliding in three-quarters time.
Be sure you read the very last line of the piece.
hmm… February 17, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, recordings, add a commentI don’t know why this appeals to me, must be the weird violist mental thing, but here’s a cool story about a unique recording released in New Zealand:
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - It’s a doggone chartbuster — a song audible only to dogs has topped New Zealand record charts, and is looking to go global.
A Very Silent Night, recorded at a frequency only dogs can hear, was so popular among owners it hit number one at Christmas, but has been receiving mixed responses from listeners.
“The most violent one was a dog that physically attacked the radio when it was played and went quite berserk and totally destroyed it,” said Bob Kerridge, chief executive of animal welfare group, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“On the other side of the scale, they just lie down and did nothing.” The charity CD, priced at NZ$4.99 ($3.93), contained an instrumental and a vocal version of the song, but Kerridge said he did not know what kind of music dogs would hear.
“Never having heard it myself, I don’t what they’ll hear and of course I don’t know how dogs hear music,” he said.
Kerridge added dogs in Australia and the United States could soon have a listen.
Around NZ$22,000 ($17,300) has been raised by the disc’s sale.
what’s in your case? February 12, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, miscellaneous, music, 3commentsI decided to take an inventory of what was lurking in my viola case (aside from the instrument and bow, of course) - here’s what I came up with: (more…)
eartha kitt rehearsal February 9, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : fun, music, soloists & recitals, the orchestra world, add a commentIt’s not a good idea to take photos while rehearsing (it’s basically verboten), but taking a few before things get started are always fun. Here’s the view from my chair: (more…)
