JCFWC 90th anniversary May 1, 2010

September 1 Cody, Wyoming

Looks like I have a good connection so I will upload a few photos of Mitchell, SD. I just toured the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody, WY. Although I went to see the great Remington works I fell in love with the post 1990 art . . . very pop stuff including a fun piece Charlie and Pablo Have a Bad Day on the Freeway. Best Highway for scenery US16 from Rapids City to points west but no music festival.

Chanese at Gifts in the Gospel II from SpiritJC on Vimeo.

Puttin' on the Ritz!

Having a great affinity for classical music, I have often imagined sitting at home with the closest of friends enjoying an ensemble of some of the finest musicians. On Saturday night, October 25, 2008, I experienced something akin to that at the Alexandar Kasser Theater on the Montclair State University campus. Alone in the first row for most of the performance, I was entertained by the Ritz Chamber Players. Although there were quite a few people in the center section behind me there were empty seats and the side sections were vacant. Where was everybody? Perhaps it was the weather. It was, as the MSU sports website recorded, “wet and wind-blown” at nearby Sprague Field. The homecoming game had a crowd of 2,335 while the field seats 6000. The occupancy rate was probably better for the Chamber Players.

A First Violinist for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, introduced the program in her signature style previewing the unity of the pieces that also reflected a diverse musical landscape. You might have caught Ms. Hall-Tompkins enlightening introduction to Mahler's Resurrection at NJPAC last season. It was my introduction to her music and gave me the desire to see her perform with a smaller group.

Saturday's program deviated from the original listing in the Peak Performances @ montclair brochure with Dochnayl's Serenade in C Major, Op 10 and David Baker's Roots II Piano Trio being replaced with Paquito D'Rivera's Habenera and selections from Duke Ellington. Even in the original schedule we see where the music of America flows well with that of Europe.

Kenneth Law's cello, Amadi Hummings' viola, and Kelly Hall's violin first took us to D'Rivera's Habenera. "Love is a rebellious bird that nobody can tame" and I love that combination of instruments and the music that it sets loose. Kelly and Amadi returned to the stage for Passacaglia:duo for Violin and Viola and worked the marriage of instruments well. If there were any technical challenges they faced, they remained masked to my ears.

One of the reasons I attended was the promise of Spirituals on the program. Leading up to that section, baritone Robert Sims and guest pianist Byron Sean worked well together floating us through selections of Duke Ellington. There's an appropriate quote on Ellington's official website "You've got to find a way of saying it without saying it." Sims' presentation of "In the Beginning God" did that as it led me to worship without an endless stream of words. Just a few words dynamically presented.

A Ritz Chamber Players' appearance signals fun in a classical setting and the inclusion of Old American Songs by Aaron Copland gave Sims and Ritz' pianist Terrence Wilson opportunity to have some fun with voice. Having spent much time in the American landscape, the Players then flew us to Dvořák's Piano Quartet in Eb Major, Op 87, where they fused their talents into a delightful memento for those in attendance.

Albany Symphony Orchestra - May 17, 2008

When it takes almost five minutes for the 100 members of a choir to fill their spots on stage, when you know Beethoven’s delightful spiritual 9th is to be performed, and when you are in the endearingly warm Palace for the first time; you know the three hour journey from NJ is well worth it.

I was not left disappointed as the energetic David Alan Miller conducted the Albany Symphony with much joy. Miller obviously loves his job and that sense flows from movement to movement. There was also present an obvious affinity with the Symphony. I don’t easily recognize the technical problems with performance but when a conductor connects well with his orchestra, it provides for good entertainment. He also is not tied into traditional staging as demonstrated with the placing of the Cellos at Stage Right for Beethoven’s 9^th and the Harp in front of the Kettle Drums for Chang’s premiere.

Having only recently become familiar with ASO, the one thing especially appealing is its purposeful embracing of the newer composers. Of the two pieces, I found Chang’s “Along the River of Stars” to be the more interesting. This is more of a meditative piece than Beethoven’s grandiose symphony of praise. To move from meditation to praise represents great programming but to rest in the music of Chang provided me with an understanding of the discipline of composing. Here a sound! There a sound! Each important in its own right! Chang probably understands me when I speak of listening to the grass grow. Not easy but with “Along the River of Stars” possible.

I've Been Lonely Too Long!

I hear much about students and young people being into technology. Perhaps! It's because I am "just" a Digital Immigrant but why don't my students seem to share my enthusiasm for using the internet as an academic tool. OK! So they are teenagers and they have that hormone thing going on not to mention the large quantity of artificially colored beverages they drink. Is three out of 20 students emailing me for the class website link a good response?
This obstacle won't stop me from scaling new heights. It's too much of a rush.
By the way, if you noticed that your English teacher is using quite a few contractions it is because this blog is an example of informal writing. As I mentioned in class, if I was writing a research paper I would avoid the use of contractions.