Other Hats
I’ve recently taken over directorship of a music ensemble in the Washington, D.C. area, and it’s remarkable how many relics of the composing world appear totally transformed when donning the “hat” of artistic director. So far, one of the most interesting things about this new role has been the way it tends to shed light on certain composer habits.
Blogging MIDEM 2013: Part 4 – Global Mobile
Although the final day of MIDEM was something of a ghost town, as per tradition, there were still several worthwhile panels on the schedule as well as interesting people to talk with in the exhibition area.
Scratch That: He Said, She Said
Record shopping, event listings, and a consideration of some of the more serious issues we’ll be facing down the road.
Blogging MIDEM 2013: Part 3 - Ephemeral Playback
There’s something that is somehow intriguing about making the listening experience so precious at a time when it is so devalued. And in the midst of Monday’s marathon information overload on steroids, learning about a new app that will only allow you to play a song one time seemed downright appealing.
Sounds Heard: Marcus Fischer—On Shore
On Shore brings together aspects of the electronic music world that are not so easy to combine well, and manages to do so in a cliché-free environment.
Blogging MIDEM 2013: Part 2 - From Ghanaian to Korean Hip-Hop & More
Filled with excitement about the possibilities of viable music export for the new music community, I wandered the exhibition rooms where elaborate displays of various countries’ musical offerings were on display, often through the support of their governments. There is no such exhibition for the United States, although Texas always has a presence here. Perhaps if we can’t have an official United States presence at MIDEM and other significant music export convenings abroad we can eventually have representation from all 50 states individually–imagine that.
Blogging MIDEM 2013: Part 1 - Cannes We Survive
What began as a trade fair and a giant schmoozefest for exclusive members of the record industry from around the world and folks who wished to join their ranks has gradually transformed into something much more open and perhaps more valuable for the greater music community.
More Media Matters (Part 1)
There is a chasm between the work-a-day world of the so-called “nine-to-fiver,” with a 41.5 hour-per-week allowance for exploring culture, and the world of the freelance, part-time, and unemployed work forces that have more time to listen to, or play—which translates into more time to learn—music.
A Big Tent
Does the national new music community need a professional conference of its own? How would such an endeavor actually work? Who would be the intended audience? Would it be a yearly or biennial event? What umbrella organization would or could provide logistical support?
Close Encounters of the Chamber Music Kind
Last week I attended the Chamber Music America conference for the first time; I was partially there representing NewMusicBox, and partially there to satisfy the curiosity of my composer self.
Cross-Sections and Scholarly Fields: Earle Brown Symposium in Boston
It’s often textbook images of his early scores, rather than all-too-rare performances of the music itself, that form the basis of Earle Brown’s reputation. It was the goal of the Earle Brown: Beyond Notation seminar to rectify this situation and expand the understanding and status of this great American composer and conductor.
Elliot Cole: Hunger for the Opposite
It’s easy to get caught up in the role text and stories frequently play in Elliot Cole’s compositions, but the core of his inspiration turns out to trace more of a pendulum swing: insider vs. outsider, text-rooted vs. pure sound, composer vs. performer, a musician dipping his toes into a wealth of styles and methods along the way.
Scratch That: Cutting Edge or Marginalized?
Five new music angles on the Chamber Music America conference.
Sounds Heard: Ehnahre—Old Earth
Ehnahre, the Boston-based experimental metal group, has a knack for dissonance, amplified into bone-crushing clouts of familiar overdrive distortion. But the real, dark fun of Old Earth (Crucial Blast) is the way the music, fueled by dissonance, constantly slips free of such genre expectations.
Two Concerts, Two Audiences
The Chicago Composers Orchestra concert at the Garfield Park Conservatory and the Third Coast Percussion concert at the University of Chicago each demonstrated how new music concerts can be diverse in content, in venue, and in audience to great effect.
I Vote For Change(s)
The lines between what would be considered “jazz” and what would be considered “aleatoric” improvisation are becoming increasingly blurred. This might, or might not, be accepted as real jazz playing, but it’s important to remember that the musicians who played the music that was originally called “jazz” rejected the term, sometimes vehemently.
Success Stories
It happens with the onset of every new year—as people take a bit of time to assess where they have been and look ahead to where they are going and/or where they wish to go, discussions revolving around the nature of success crop up.
George Manahan To Receive 2012 Ditson Conductor’s Award
American Composers Orchestra Music Director George Manahan will be presented with the 2012 Ditson Conductor’s Award, for his support of American music, during an ACO concert he will conduct at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall on January 18, 2013
When Worlds Collide
I hope that this country’s major orchestral institutions will pay attention to how much the orchestra can be expanded given just a little extra rehearsal time, and throw their immense budgets behind the kind of initiative that the American Composers Orchestra has bravely supported.
New Music for New Ears
While the Tubby the Tuba CD is certainly one tool when it comes to teaching kids about classical music, could it be that we’re underestimating children? When we assume they wouldn’t like or understand a challenging piece of music, we don’t even give them a chance.
Signal to Noise
I promised myself I wouldn’t take the bait dangled by Dan Asia’s screed against John Cage, but it’s turning out to be hard to resist. So instead I’ll try to write about it in the most oblique way I can without being too obtuse.
Scratch That: Nothing More Than Feelings
Does Scratch That seem a little jittery? That’s because we’re packing a suitcase and heading to New York City for the Chamber Music America conference!
Sounds Heard: Mariel Roberts—Nonextraneous Sounds
If anything is clear in the first few moments of Mariel Roberts’s debut CD Nonextraneous Sounds, it’s that this will not be just a polite collection of unremarkable wallpaper works for solo cello. Actually, unless you are already prepared for what’s coming, it’s not even completely clear that a cello is what’s at the forefront of the mix.
More Famous Than You
To me the genre sanctity debates (whether they’re about music that is not popular enough to be “popular” or about music that’s not classical enough to be “classical”) are ultimately about keeping people out. I like letting people in.
