Headed to a revenge of the nerds party. Have to say it didn’t take much effort for my theatre/band geek look. Just need an oboe or Meisner.
Symphony Silicon Valley is launching a new musical theater series celebrating the classic American musical canon. In the wake of the closing of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose last year, the symphony is stepping into the breach with its “Broadway in Concert” series.
The inaugural lineup, set to launch in October, will showcase three beloved titles: Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate,” Meredith Willson’s “Music Man” and George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.”
“We want to put the musicals of another era up there on the California stage,” says Andrew Bales, executive director of Symphony Silicon Valley, “the music from the golden age of musicals.”
The opulently restored 1,100-seat California Theatre, a 1927 Jazz Age jewel, seems an ideal home for brand-name Americana. Subscriptions and single tickets for the series, a surefire way to make classical music more accessible, go on sale today.
“People think of classical music as staid, just one step above church, something that they ought to do but they don’t expect to enjoy,” Bales says. “We want to be entertaining, and nothing is more purely entertaining than musicals.”
I highly suspect Andrew doesn’t attend church. ;-)
Aside from Porgy & Bess, these won’t involve me; Music Man and Kiss Me Kate are doubling books, and in any case only have one oboe/EH. First call would (and should) go to our principal oboist. But I’m still glad that we are adding these in. Maybe I’ll at least go and hear them.
My dream would be to have a summer series, done by Opera San José, of Sondheim and, maybe, Guettel or other, of a similar ilk, musical theatre composers. But I know that isn’t gonna happen. (Still, I can dream, right?)
Between this SSV news and the ballet adding more work, a lot of musicians are going to be able to take more work on next year, which is good. (There’s been no mention, yet, of the symphony musicians agreeing to a pay cut where ballet is concerned. I hope that that eventually gets acknowledged.)
My students know what I’m talkin’ about. I’m hoping a number of other readers do as well (if their teachers are as annoying as I!). But since I just ran across a YouTube video demonstrating the habit once more, I thought I’d write a little ditty about it. The video was of a student playing an etude for an orchestra audition. He played the very first note, paused, and then started the excerpt. WRONG!
Do. Not. Note Test.
One scary thing about oboe is that first note. (Yeah, we have other scary things too, but I’m just dealing with this for now.) We fear it won’t come out, or will sound bad. So what to do? Well, a number of students test that note first, and then go on with the scale or the piece. How bad an idea is that?
Pretty bad.
Your are training yourself to always want to do that.
You don’t often get to note test in the real world, when you are sitting on stage knowing your solo is about to come up. You might start wondering, “Will my first note sound?” or praying, “Dear God, please let my first note come out!” So at home, practice the solo (or etude or scale) over and over, NOT allowing note testing even if you flub that first note. Eventually you’ll learn exactly how it feels to nail it every time. It will help you to trust it. Play along with a recording sometimes, so that you aren’t on your time, but on someone else’s. Do something right before that might throw you off a little … like drop your music and quickly put it back up, just to see what something startling might do to your attack. And then, when you are on stage, tell yourself, “Of course the note will come out. I’ve done this over and over and I know how to make it work.” (Don’t tell yourself you’ll blow it; our oboes and reeds seem to be somewhat psychic and tend to fulfill our worst fears.)
Okay. That’s all. Over and out.
Both oboe and English horn cane is soaking, and it’s nearly time to shape the stuff, and wind some reeds! (Making reeds with one bad ear might be interesting. Talk about needing to trust myself, and rely on the past to make sure I don’t freak … sigh.)
Friday @ 4
Leah Bowden and Camille Chitwood
Percussion Recital
Friday, May 15, 2009 – 4:00 p.m.
131 Music Center
Admission: Free
Concert Choir
Friday, May 15, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Music Center Recital Hall
*Admission: $10 general, $8 senior, $6 student
Indonesian Gamelan Ensembles
West Javanese Gamelan and Balinese Gamelan orchestras
Saturday, May 16, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Music Center Recital Hall
Traditional music and dance from West Java, and the world premiere of a new gamelan composition by Nano S. The program features traditional music and dance from South Bali, played on the village-style gamelan angklung, and classical works for the court-style Semar Pegulingan.
*Admission: $10 general, $8 senior, $6 student
ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONCERT
Synthesesia: adventures in sound and light by Peter Elsea and students of the Electronic Music and the Digital Arts and New Media programs.
Sunday, May 17, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Music Center Recital Hall
Admission: Free
1.) Event Parking:
$2 permit from vending machines or attendants evenings and weekends (valid A-permit is OK)
Please arrive with adequate time to park your car, purchase a permit, pick up your tickets, and be seated before the program starts.
You may need to park at Porter College or another location if the “Performing Arts” parking lot is full when you arrive.
*2.) Purchasing Discount Tickets:
in advance:
UCSC Ticket Office
Theater Arts Center
12-4 pm Tuesday-Saturday
at the door:
Tickets go on sale at the Recital Hall beginning 1 hour before concert.
Doors open to the public 30 minutes before the concert is advertised to begin.
3.) Discount Ticket Eligibility
The Music Department provides the Ticket Office with an updated list of eligible names each month. If your name is not on that list, please contact the Music Department.
They will add it to the update for the following month.
Music MAJORS / MINORS: 1 ticket at $2
May be purchased in advance during regular Ticket Office hours OR within the first 30 minutes of business at the Recital Hall window (i.e. between 6:30 and 7:00 pm for a 7:30 pm concert).
NO MAJOR/MINOR DISCOUNT TICKETS WILL BE ISSUED TO STUDENTS AFTER THIS TIME.
Any purchases after this period will be charged at the regular advertised student price. No exceptions.
Music GRADUATE Students: 1 ticket at $2
May be purchased at any time (in advance OR at the performance).
Music STAFF & FACULTY: 2 tickets at $2 each
May be purchased at any time (in advance OR at the performance).
Non-Music Department discounts:
UCSC STAFF/FACULTY & ALUMNI: 2 tickets @ the student price
Must show valid UCSC staff ID or Alumni Assoc. membership card
Going to play Ariel (my oboe), bad reed day. stupid weather.
Okay, I know I’m overly cautious sometimes. But I’ve also had to go back and remove some blog entries after rethinking the posts, and I’ve also wondered if some posts caused me to not be hired for jobs. Even now there are probably some posts that could anger someone enough to come back to haunt me, although I try awfully hard not to write anything like that. I’ve written before about keeping in mind that blog posts are like Worldwide Billboards, but I will remind readers again. And now, I have to add, the same goes for Facebook and Twitter.
True, only “friends” read your Facebook comments, and maybe no one has discovered that you’re on Twitter yet. But “friends” aren’t always truly friends, and things can be seen by someone that might cause you harm. If you “tweet” you know you’ll eventually get your name out there. It just happens. In addition, things change … friends become not-so-much-friends, and people you think you’ll never work with might become people who could help you get work eventually.
So think ahead!
I recently saw a Facebook comment about a conductor that I thought was somewhat inappropriate. Today I saw negative Facebook comment about another conductor. The person writing may find, someday, that one of those conductors is someone that could do the player some good. But if either of these conductors read the comments they just might not be so willing to be helpful.
Again, think ahead! Remember that anyone might read what you write. If you wouldn’t say it out loud, perhaps you want to rethink what you write. And if you think you are keeping your blog anonymous or private, even then you can be found out. Really. (I have, at this point, read four “anonymous” blogs that were easy for me to figure out. All four had information on them that could cause the bloggers harm.)
Okay. Lecture over. Please forgive the old lady hounding you. I really only mean it for your good. Honest and true! :-)
(Side note: I don’t “friend” any of my own students, and don’t search out their blogs. I honestly don’t want to know if they are doing things that I find distasteful or illegal, and they all seem so darn quick to write about things like that. If I did know about certain things I would be unlikely to want to give recommendations or hire them for jobs. You know? So best that I remain ignorant. Of course sometimes it’s all rather obvious … sigh ….)
It’s never too late to discover composers, right? I had never heard of Frederic Mompou until a few minutes ago. So now I’m sharing this Catalan song with you. Enjoy.
I can’t believe how many music students tweet or blog about getting drunk. I guess it’s cool.
Yeah, I’m sounding old. But then I am, so I guess that’s to be expected. Meanwhile, I’m currently off alcohol for the most part. While I do enjoy a nice glass in the evening when I don’t have work, I believe it’s wisest to abstain while my left ear and my balance are still out of whack. I really hope I get back to normal soon.
I want my hearing back!
Another Camerata Pacifica video:
Certainly not I!
Technically, the term “oboe” is a generic for any double-reed instrument (as opposed to the single reed clarinet or saxophone) – including the bassoon and English horn. In practice, however, the term is used to indicate the principal (treble) oboe, pitched in C.
Found here.
I joined San Francisco Symphony’s social network.
Yeah, I’m just that weak. ;-)
Recent Stetson music grad off to Juilliard. His mom sold her car to buy his first oboe. That’s mom love for you.
I’m not trying to be overtly pretentious, but I do have a fondness for classical music.
San Francisco Opera has a job opening: Assistant to the Director of Artistic Administration.
Included in the requirements is this one:
At least three years increasingly responsible Outstanding grammar, spelling punctuation and editing skills.
Um. Say what?
Maybe I’m just an idiot, but it seems to me that that is a rather odd sentence and I can’t quite make sense of it. You?
