If you’ve been musing about playing the instrument you haven’t touched in more than a few years, there’s a cure for that. Hundreds of adult music camps all over the country have programs that might fit.There’s the International Music Camp, the New England Adult Music Camp and the Interlochen Chamber Music Camp, to name a few. In Austin there’s the Austin Chamber Music Center’s Adult Music Camp.
Amid the graduations, weddings, and other joyous events, celebrate with music of all genres this month. There’s the Big Sing from Conspirare, the ERA Project from LOLA, the Here Be Monsters one day new music festival and a free stream of the Dallas Opera’s 2022/23 season. Have fun and enjoy.
A Grammy nominated Harpists is releasing a new piece of music in celebration of Mother’s Day (May 14th) and Mother Earth. Yolanda Kondonassis has added Wildflower to her digital album Five Minutes For Earth. It was composed for her by Cuban virtuoso trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval. There’s also a music video of Wildflower. It’s part of Kondonassis’ dedication to the environment with her foundation, Earth At Heart.
The universe sings. Or at least it provides data that’s music to the ears of NASA scientists working at the Chandra X-ray Observatory in Cambridge, MA. By a process of Sonification these scientists/technicians/musicians translate data into sound. More specifically music, which is now on an album called Universal Harmonies.
Dr. Kimberly Arcand, a visualization scientist at NASA, says she was inspired by an astronomer who is blind.
It’s almost time to choose another class of Draylen Mason Fellows at Austin Soundwaves.
Hermes Camacho, the Development and Operations Director of Austin Soundwaves says they’re looking for applicants who are not only musical but are socially conscious in the way Draylen Mason was before he was killed by a package bomb in 2018. The current class has their Capstone Concert coming up next month at the Draylen Mason Music Studio at KMFA.
If you’ve never seen a show called Now Hear This, now may be the time. It’s a program featuring a modern look at classical composers from many years ago and those making music today.
Host Scott Yoo says the show was born 5 years ago in Austin after a concert with UT Music Professor Bion Tsang. The 4th season is currently running on your local PBS TV station.
Who needs a conductor? Not Austin Unconducted. It’s a string ensemble that works with its members to choose the music they’ll play in any given concert. Co-founder Luis Bellorin and the rest of the group is preparing now for their season finale concert. It’ll be at the Draylen Mason at KMFA on April 6th.
The New York Times called composer Jessie Montgomery the “future of classical music”. She was gobsmacked by that, even though orchestras all over the country are clamoring to play her works. The Austin Symphony will perform one of her pieces in November. In addition, she’s on a three year assignment with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as their Mead Composer in Residence. This makes her one of the busiest classical composers in America.
The recently concluded Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth had many moving parts. To keep things running smoothly and an eager audience informed, they hired classical pianist Dr. Artina McCain. In addition to her busy touring schedule, she’s a Professor of Piano at the University of Memphis. Dr. McCain was the Mistress of Ceremonies. She says it turned out to be a tough but fun job.
And because her outfits got so much attention, here are a few photos of the many looks she wore during the competition.
Even though composer William Grant Still wrote nearly 200 compositions, many of not most of them have never been recorded. That changed with the new album “William Grant Still” performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on the Naxos label. Conductor Avlana Eisenberg was encouraged to record this album by her mother – a violinist. Eisenberg and Still’s granddaughter Celeste Headlee curated and produced the album.
Conductor Avlana Eisenberg and Celeste Headlee with her Grandfather William Grant Still and today.