May 2010
9 posts
5 tags
Kid conductors!
One of my deepest professional passions is presenting music to young people. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had consistent opportunities to do just that since I was a high school music student at The Colburn School, and there is no aspect of my current work I take more seriously than the concerts I give with the Louisville Orchestra and the WCFSO for over 30,000 students annually. ...
May 28th
1 note
1 tag
Detroit Public Schools Fine Arts Layoffs
Here is an excerpt from a letter by Joyce Schon, an attorney currently representing Detroit’s teachers in their efforts to fight massive cuts to arts programs in the city’s public school system. The letter was posted here on Tumblr by JD Green, a fellow Louisville musician who is a grad of the Detroit Public Schools, and found on Twitter via The Roots drummer @questlove: I am an attorney...
May 27th
3 tags
May 20th
10 notes
2 tags
Stretching boundaries →
With a unique mix of repertoire, creative approaches to presentation, and guest appearances by Chris Thile, Brandi Carlile and Gao Hong the 2010/11 WCFSO season will no doubt live up to our ‘reputation for adventurous programming that stretches the boundaries of traditional orchestra concerts.’ Very excited to share insights from these programs via this blog starting in the fall.
May 17th
6 tags
May 16th
24 notes
4 tags
May 12th
5 notes
2 tags
Duke Ellington and race in America →
‘What we could not say openly, we expressed in music … forged from the very white heat of our sorrows.’ A timely follow-up to my last post about the WCFSO celebration of Black History Month earlier this year.
May 11th
2 notes
4 tags
All that jazz
Back in February I led the WCFSO in one of the most unforgettable evenings of art and music I’ve ever been a part of. Tonight that jazz- and blues-inspired concert, featuring music by William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and J Dilla, will stream in its entirety on Iowa Public Radio [8pm EST, link is an mp3 stream]. In addition to featuring some unique programming, our...
May 10th
2 tags
Go make things
The ‘alt classical’ brouhaha sparked by the piece I linked to in my last post seems, like the term itself, to have generated plenty verbosity of questionable utility. I’m partial to the less-is-more approach to being an contemporary musician, as expressed by composer Dennis DeSantis in a Twitter conversation on this issue:
May 7th