Bizarre happenings at our annual (or soon not to be) outdoor patriotic fireworks extravaganza, floods, errant fireworks, a deadly baton strike and my singing debut with a US Congressman….
UPDATE 5:35 EST – see below!
Aud. Develop
“Not one man will the State of Missouri furnish to carry on any unholy crusade”
So said Claiborne Fox Jackson as governor of Missouri in 1861 in response to Abraham Lincoln’s order for Jackson to provide Missouri troops to help fight the Civil War. As history goes Missouri’s attempt at neutrality did not work out so well! Especially for Governor Jackson. Two of Missouri’s orchestras yesterday with the help of the League loaded their muskets to help in the fight for relevance and the battle against apathy, with an audience connection….
All bets are On!
So instead of attending the conference in Denver I went to Vegas! My two brothers (who live in different countries) for my 40th birthday paid for my trip and met me there. A billboard at the airport surprised me big time!…
Free Concerts?…more like Free Audiences…
So begins the summer, the time of the year when many Orchestras will do free and low cost outdoor concerts, 1 rehearsal affairs with a mix of pops, light classics and light shows! With my professed like for Holiday concerts, for me this is the second most wonderful time of the year when an audience connection can be established…..
Not Backtracking, just Trackbacking!
Yesterday over on Violinist.com Mark Johnson linked to my post Philippe Quint ring’s Joshua’s Bell and there has been some very lively discussion to say the least! I have posted a comment there also in response. Feel free to join in the fun there or here. I will delay today’s post till tomorrow. I love passionate debate!….
Danger Will Beethoven…Danger!!!!
In tribute to the debut of the conducting robot Asimo by Honda (I drive an Accord which pretty much drives itself also!), I thought I would write a post about interpretation in response to a lively exchange over on Greg Sandow’s blog. Interpretation is one of the most overrated, over studied elements and at its worst can amount to the pre-meditated murder of music….
Technically Relevant….
For the second year in a row The Springfield Symphony was hired to play for a commencement and we did it last night. It’s an enormous event and the response to our presence and our performance like last year was overwhelming. More overwhelming to me though is the college that asked us…
Philippe Quint rings Joshua’s Bell!!!!
The recent return of Philippe Quint’s Violin and his concert of gratitude to a group of cabbies is in stark contrast to the ill conceived busking session with Joshua Bell in a Washington Metro station last year. One was an audience connection, the other…Oi!….