Oberon String Quartet

Sorry I've dropped the ball of late.  Will start posting classical concerts and events more devotedly from now forward! 

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Oberon String Quartet (Alana Carithers & Susy Yim, violins; Molly Sharp, viola; Bill Comita, cello) performs  tomorrow night, October 25th.  The concert starts at 7:30 and will be on the St. Christopher's campus in the Upper School Chapel. 

Guest performers: 

violist Kim Sparr, and cellist Ryan Lannan.

Program:
Mozart's Viola Quintet in g minor
"Viola Dreams" by Peter Schickele  (you may know him also as PDQ Bach)
Brahms' Sextet in Bb-

Bang a Gong!

UPDATE: All University of Richmond activities cancelled on Saturday due to the approach of Hurricane Irene!



Looking forward very much to the Gamelan Raga Kusuma "Bang a Gong" event at University of Richmond this weekend!

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Saturday, August 27, 2011.1-2:30 pm.
Bang a Gong! 
Open workshop in Balinese music and Dance.
Free and kid friendly. Room BB117, Booker Music Building at the University of Richmond.
Dance workshop directed by Balinese dancer Rembulan Maniasa.

Maestro

How could I miss Lorin Maazel at the Center Stage? Oh that's right..I had a another performance, in the same space ....but I felt a strange frisson knowing he was in the same building.  And during our break, I heard what I think was Denyce Grave's lustrous voice piped through the audio monitors...

 http://ideastations.org/radio/archive/2011-07-21-lorin-maazel-makes-his-richmond-debut

Jeremy Denk on Beethoven, the Comedian

Yea!  One of my favorite bloggers has posted again after a too long hiatus.  In "Congratulate Yourself Beethoven," Jeremy Denk explores humor in Beethoven's Op. 31 piano sonata.  Replete with audio references and snippets of the score, Denk's bloggery is among the best on the intertubes.  His keen observations are beyond brilliant, well written, witty, on point.  I gush....

Richmond Symphony Masterworks Summer broadcast series on WCVE

"The Richmond Symphony Summer Concert Series begins on WCVE Public Radio Saturday, July 9 at 1:00 p.m. and will run over eight consecutive Saturdays, ending on August 27. The two-hour program is hosted by WCVE Public Radio’s Bobbie Barajas.

The series will feature the entire Masterwork Series from the 2010-2011 concert season and will also feature interviews with Richmond Symphony Music Director Steven Smith." (from ideastations.org)

The first broadcast is this Saturday.  Click below the jump to see the full schedule!

Richmond Concert Band Plays its 40th Fourth of July

Our own Dogwood Dell Fourth of July celebration may be the only place in America where you can here Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture performed with a live ensemble, a carillon, cannon fire, and the fireworks all on-site, not scattered about, piped in, or pre-recorded.  The Richmond Concert Band has a 40 year tradition of entertaining the masses at this fun celebration.

Click here for an interview with Richmond Concert Band director Dr. Mark Poland on our local radio station, WCVE.  The Monday evening performance begins at 5 pm--an eclectic mixture of hip hop and jazz precedes a carillon concert at 7 pm.  The Concert Band is meant to take the stage at 7:30 pm.  It may rain Monday--check your weather forecast.

HEARTbeats for Children

Listening to lots of solo cello music in preparation for a recital later this fall.  Today I am loving the Arnold Bax Folk-Tale, for cello & piano (1918):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rVPotQaCgY

All that anglo-pastoral late romanticism seems very fresh to me right now.

I'm all about the cello lately, in a semi-obsessional way.  Was looking at my "cello grand-pa's" website.  He has established a foundation that seems to be doing real, "on the ground" work for the most underserved children in the world:


http://www.heartbeatsforchildren.org/


I've been looking at non-profits a lot lately.  A lot.  More on that soon.  Not sure if I want to launch one, or merely contribute time, talent, money, and energy to an already extant organization.  Great quote from Harrell:


"Music is the international language. Devoid of politics, music is one of the greatest teaching tools of peace and is understood by all. As I approach the twilight of my career, my focus is now the future; my children’s and the world’s children.” 


I studied briefly with a student of Harrell.  Cello...grand-pa....


(photo credit: http://www.heartbeatsforchildren.org/nepal2010/)