Steven Rosenhaus, Composer, etc.
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Steven Rosenhaus" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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12:31 am
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Last few days, plus
Thursday: Went to the opening of the Soho Gallery for Digital Arts. The brainchild of John Ordover and overseen by Kim Kindya, this is to my knowledge one of the few, if not only, art gallery that only shows digital works of art. Intriguing space, some really interesting work being shown. You'll hear more about SGDA from me in the future.
Friday: MBW's birthday, but she didn't want to celebrate. Insisted, really. So instead we accepted an invite to another art opening. (Mind you, that made it the fourth in two weeks.) This one was at the Luxembourg House, which was also the home to songwriter extraordinaire Irving Berlin for many years. The art works, done individually by artist couple Diane Jodes and Robert Hall, were all related to Irving Berlin in fact. Diane works in a variety of media, sometimes at once: printmaking, collage, painting, photography, even sewing and crocheting. One set of works on display used titles of Berlin's songs in wonderfully interesting and fun juxtapositions. Robert's art, at least for this exhibit, uses graphite or charcoal, but they often come off as almost 3-dimensional due to their photographic sources and Hall's keen eye.
Saturday: Caught up on e-mail for one thing. I also wrote a couple of recommendations for a former student. For most of the evening though I read David Mack's The Calling. All of it. In one sitting. I simply could not put it down. Dave, if you're reading this--you talented S.O.B.--I will get you for writing something that compelling. And anybody not Dave Mack? Read the book. Now.
Sunday: Donating blood, then attending a student's composition recital.
That's enough for a while, yes?
Current Mood:  weary
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12:47 am
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Flu shot taken, check.
Got a (regular) flu shot today at NYU. No reaction I'm happy to say, not even soreness (although that typically may show a day later). But the conversation leading up to it got a little surreal....
Person giving the flu shot (Pgtfs): It says here you've never had a flu shot before. Is that correct?
Me: Yes.
Pgtfs: Really? Have you had the flu before? There are some people who have never had the flu.
Me: I've had the flu.
Pgtfs: So why are you taking it this time?
Me: Because the last time I had it, it turned into pneumonia.
Pgtfs: Aah. Well, make sure you sit over there (points to the side) for ten minutes after I give you the shot. And make sure you have some candy.
Me: Candy? Will I need it?
Pgtfs: No, we just have too much, especially the flavored Tootsie Rolls.
Current Mood:  relieved
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01:34 pm
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Corrections and News
Exactly a month ago I wrote of being commissioned by NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) for 2011. That was, I'm sorry to say, incorrect. I am to be commissioned to write a chamber work for 2011, but the commission comes from the New York chapter of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). It's (still) a prestigious commission, just not the one I thought it was. I am honored to accept it and can't wait to find out what it is I will actually be writing. The premiere will be around October of 2011.
But even before that I have another commission for 2011--spring of that year to be precise--from the New York Repertory Orchestra. I've been in touch with David Leibowitz, the conductor/music director of that ensemble, and in a nutshell, it's a "go."
Now all I have to do is figure out what I'll be doing in 2010!
Current Mood: good
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11:07 pm
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Now (Some of) It Can Be Told
In my last entry I alluded to an upcoming commission. Here is a bit more information:
I am to be commissioned to write a work for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) for 2011. There are many details to be worked out, but it will be a chamber work (the instrumentation being just one of the aforementioned details). The only thing I know at this point is that it will happen in November of that year (when NYSSMA usually holds its conference).
I thank the folks involved for selecting me. I realize I'm in very good company.
Current Mood: rejuvenated
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01:25 am
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Got good news, can't tell it...yet
Got a phone call earlier this evening about a brand-new project. One I had almost written off.
I haven't seen any paperwork on it or negotiated terms yet, and the project is for about 2 years from now, so I can't talk about it yet. I find this very frustrating but I understand why it must be so.
All I can say is that it is a commission to write something new.
This is on top of another commission I am negotiating for the 2010-2011 season. Which I also can't give details about yet.
One last thing: One of these is for larger forces than the other. Everything else is to be determined.
When I have details locked down I'll let you know more.
Current Mood: chipper
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11:26 pm
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A related post
I recently answered a question asked by Mabfan, who then suggested it be a separate post. Here 'tis:
Mabfan wrote: [H]ow cool is it to conduct an orchestra?
My response:
Conducting any ensemble is cool to begin with, but conducting anywhere from 40 musicians (chamber or string orchestra) to upwards of 200 (which I did, in Carnegie Hall no less!) is amazing.
It's a little weird too. Watch videos of Danny Kaye or Victor Borge conducting an orchestra (not just the pros), and you'll see that despite the hijinks they're are completely focused on leading the group in front of them. I normally say that multitasking is ultimately impossible, but conducting comes pretty close. Remember what's involved:
1. Reading (or if you have it memorized, remembering) the entire score. This can be anywhere from 5 to 40 different lines of music, in some cases accounting for 2 instruments on a line (e.g., flutes 1 and 2 on one line, oboes 1 and 2 on another). Most scores present the instrumental lines as the players read them, which means you have to be able to transpose (adjust keys) mentally on sight, instantaneously.
2. Conducting time. That is, time signatures (meters). And if that is straightforward enough, you can/should conduct phrases instead. And volume (dynamics) by the size of the beats you conduct. And tempo (how fast or slow, whether to speed up or slow down). And this is just with your right hand.
3. With your left hand (and/or making eye contact with players), giving cues (entrances, when to stop). Indicating articulations. Keeping players together--we're talking a lot of people who are reading their music, following your conducting, and trying to play all at the same time.
4. Making musical sense as you go. You're creating musical architecture, which is ultimately ephemeral but sticks in the mind's ear, and evoking the music's moods. The goal is to make it seem like you're superfluous, that the ensemble could have played this well without you waving your arms like a madman. (Indeed, there are conductorless orchestras out there who play very well.)
I don't often conduct music other than my own, but even my own stuff requires a lot of woodshedding. Thinking like a composer is one thing, and thinking like a conductor is very different.
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11:14 am
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My timing...
stinks, apparently.
I asked for questions around the Labor Day weekend. Only one person asked--thanks, Marina!.
So I'll give it another shot.
Do you have a question for me? Anything to do with composing (classical music, musical theater, songwriting), being a musician in general, whatever, is good. Just don't ask me to perjure myself, say something libelous, or otherwise wouldn't be a good idea. (Gee, maybe that's why there was only one question?...Nah.)
Current Mood:  curious
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05:00 pm
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Asking Questions
Like many folks with blogs, I post and post and hope someone finds it of interest in some way. Sometimes I go back and read old posts of mine and realize--Gee, that was utter nonsense!--although not necessarily in those words.
So I got to thinking (always dangerous, that) and decided to take a point from some friends' blogs, and ask you: Do you have any questions for me?
Seriously. I will be happy to answer any question as long as it doesn't invade my privacy or leave me open to identity theft, or would result in law suits of any kind.
I'll just wait here...
(Drumming fingers on desk)
...right here....
Current Mood: interested
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03:47 pm
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1/4th of a fantasy, sort of....
I never got to go to Woodstock. Okay, no biggie in the long run.
I never saw The Beatles perform live. Well, not exactly....
I'm stuck in the local library for a few hours, as some work was done at home that would play havoc with my health until everything settles. So looking over the books I came across Behind Sad Eyes, a biography of George Harrison by March Shapiro. I've gotten about 1/2-way through and came across an interesting tidbit: "In April 1976, [Harrison] once again traveled to New York City where he sneaked into the chorus of "The Lumberjack Song" during the City Center performance of Monty Python's Flying Circus." Now, as it happens, MBW (who was My Beautiful Fiancee at that point) and I went to see MPFC at City Center. It's highly likely that we saw/heard Harrison as part of the chorus. And I still have the, ahem, LP of the "in concert" recording. Is Harrison on it? I don't know. If there is a reference to "Mysterioso" (one of Harrison's noms de plume), then I would say so.
And while I'm talking about fantasies--and get your minds out of the gutter, I don't mean that kind--here are a few more of mine.
First, the ones I'm amazed and delighted to say have come true over the years, often in often unexpected ways:
1. To conduct, preferably in my own music, at Carnegie Hall. Did it. It was a 200-person group, albeit combining a youth orchestra from New Jersey and a community orchestra from Sussex, England, but still....
2. To have my music performed by one of the U.S. military ensembles. Have done it, and even conducted a few times. U.S. Naval Academy Band (conducted them twice!); 108th Army Reserve Band (conducted once); the U.S. Navy Band (they have performed two different works); and the U.S. Fleet Forces Band (performed one work). I was/am proud to have conducted them.
3. To have a musical I've (co-)written off-Broadway. Did that too. Critic, with book and direction by Jay Michaels and music and lyrics by me, ran 41 performances at the (sadly, now-defunct) Judith Anderson Theatre. Ancillary effect: Jay and I had 5 of our 15 minutes of fame by appearing on The Joe Franklin Show. (Joe to us before going on air: "Ya got stories? Ya got anecdotes? Ya got jokes? We're gonna need jokes, kid.")
And the fantasies that haven't happened (and may not, which is why they're fantasies):
1. Meeting, or better yet, jamming with, any combination of the following (in alphabetical order): Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, James Taylor. I should note that BIlly Joel's saxophonist Richie Cannata has recorded "Two True Blues" from my Pro*Ject for piano on Laura Leon's CD, but that's as close as I've come.
2. To write another musical. I've contributed music to one off-Broadway show and have been a "show doctor" for several shows on- and off-Broadway, but it has been too long and I miss it all. Music, lyrics, or both, I'm interested. With the right idea, maybe even the libretto (script).
3. To get a top-tier or 2nd-level orchestra to perform something of mine. Getting much closer, but it hasn't happened yet. (Hmm, maybe this isn't quite a fantasy?)
Current Mood:  thoughtful
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11:06 am
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Nashville Highlights, Part 4
Sunday, 8/9/09:
This is a continuation from the last post.
PM: Came across information about a bluegrass jam session, further west than we had been so far, at the Station Inn. It's a little over a mile--easy walking distance for us--so we head on over. On the way we find the Station Hotel. A former main train terminal, the lobby is gorgeous, with nicely done renovation. We get an impromptu tour from someone in the restaurant, who shows us the original stain glass windows and a mural that is not world famous but is of semi-historical interest. The only problem with the hotel is that it's what we came to realize is a sort of no-man's land between downtown and the university/artsy/music row area. One very persistent homeless person will not take "no" for an answer as we make our way past the Station Hotel to 12th. At 12th there is a gas station and a bunch of guys on Harleys and the like, so we relax. (Can you tell I'm a New Yawkah yet?) Turned left (south) and walked 4 short blocks to the Station Inn. The Station Inn is (newly) non-smoking (yay!). The session is already in progress and we're already smiling as we enter. We get drinks and a small pizza (we hadn't had dinner) and settle in to watch and listen. I later learned that some heavyweights come down from time to time (Ricky Skaggs' name kept coming up), but even without such notables the playing was great. To be on the safe side, considering the area between where we were and where we wanted to go, we took a cab back.
Monday, 8/10/09:
AM: Walking around town. First we head east toward the river, to explore a reconstruction of the fort that was effectively the first Nashville. The real one was about 3x in size and located slightly upstream, but it's the thought that counts. It's open to the public, but we were the only public there. We were in fact the only people there at all. There were some information plaques though, so we got an idea of what we were observing. Then we went to hear some more music. We went back to Legends. This time there was a couple doing the performing honors. Some good songs (the husband's hit the mark more often), including "My Baby Likes to...Fish," which is based on a 6th grader's joke. They're very good, and if they're not the best we heard in Nashville, that is not a detrimental comment considering just how high that bar is set.
PM: Our last night in Nashville, so after dinner at a new place, Ali Baba's, for lentil soup and falafel platters, we headed off for more live music. We wound up back at Layla's (the place we went to our first night in town). Playing is...a bluegrass band! And, as it turns out, most (all?) of the players in the four-piece band were at the jam session the night before. Not only that, but the band brings up a guest, a banjo player (whose name I never did get), who is just terrific--we knew that because he was at the jam session too. It was a great way to end the trip.
Sidebar: During their second set the band invited a woman up to sing who would be performing in the bar next door the following evening. That's great, only she was completely hammered and couldn't sing on pitch worth a hoot, not to mention stop "posing." It was at this point that I coined the phrase "Friends don't let friends sing drunk"--and yes, I'm already writing a song with that. There was another woman who also came in snockered, who was celebrating a birthday, but at least she didn't do much singing and she knew how to line dance. Drunks are funnier when you're the sober one.
Tuesday, 8/11/09:
I'm happy to say that the trip home was completely uneventful. Flights were gotten to and flown on time, safely, etc.
Current Mood: good
Current Music: "Noshville Katz" (parody of "Nashville Cats")
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10:09 am
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Nashville Highlights, Part 3
Sunday, August 9, 2009:
We decided to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame, but walking there took us past Broadway and the strip of honky tonks. Now at 11 AM on a Sunday you don't normally expect to see any bars open, let alone most of the many on this strip, but there ya are. As we walked past Legends (on the corner of Broadway and 4th) we heard a solo singer/guitarist who intrigued us and, not being a particular schedule, we strolled in.
The singer's name is Craig Curtis. Despite his authentic-sounding accent (Georgia? Alabama?) and the fact that he now lives in Nashville, he hails from Ontario! Once again I was awed. Here's a guy with a gig singing for the tourists who come by on Gray Line bus tours (not to mention tourists who walk in off the street like us) in an otherwise empty bar on a Sunday morning, and he's at the very least as good as any country artist I have heard on the radio or CDs. He mostly did songs by his CD producers Max T. Barnes and Gary Hannan, but his own song "I Don't Think So" is excellent. Check this guy out, seriously. His web site is here.
MBW and I were so impressed that we decided to buy one of Craig's CDs during Craig's break. We got to talking: He had just gotten married a few days ago--on our own anniversary in fact. One thing led to another, and next thing I know Craig is inviting me to come up on the stage and sing a number. Uh, okay...(I was here on vacation, I swear!) Anyway, I got up and did "Don't Quit Your Day Job," after which Craig said, apropos of the chorus' last line ("But won't you sing me just one more song?"), "Well, now you have to do another number!" So I did "A Man Like Me." After that we exchanged info. I'm hoping to stay in touch with him.
Eventually we finished our ice teas (hey, it was still mid-morning), tipped the bar staff, and made our way to the CMHoF. It's an interesting building. Seen from above (according to the literature) it's shaped like a bass clef without the two dots on the right. There are architectural references to piano keys (the windows), 1950's car tailfins (the right side of the building as you face the front), and more. But when we got there there was a tour about to start of RCA's Studio B, and did we want to go to that first? Yes, of course! So we paid our monies, got on the minibus and rode off to Music Row (about 1 mile away).
Studio B is most famous for recording literally hundreds of songs by Elvis Presley, but Eddie Arnold, the Everly Brotheres, and even Perry Como recorded there as well. It's still in use too. The Steinway grand in the studio is the same one Elvis would play on, leading the other musicians in hymns before getting down to the business of recording his next tune. (I didn't know he played piano either; apparently he was very good, and someday RCA may release some tapes of these warm-up sessions.) Most of the folks taking the tour with us were happy to take pictures at "Elvis' piano" but as we didn't have a camera I, ahem, settled for playing the instrument (with the permission of the tour guide of course). Didn't play much, certainly didn't show off (other than the fact that I played at all), but it was kinda neat. There are four sets of four spotlights in the studio, each set with a red, a blue, a green, as well as a regular bulb. This was to set the mood for Elvis (who always got what he asked for) and they've kept it this way since. EP would use the red and/or green lights when he recorded Christmas music in July, or blue lights dimmed down as much as possible without hindering the other musicians to do a particularly intimate ballad. The engineer's booth has both the original equipment (various tape recorders built like tanks, etc.) and the latest digital devices. One other thing of interest is that the guy who ran Studio B for many years was the guitarist Chet Atkins. A lot of history in this small space, that's for sure. Oh, and it's called Studio B even though it was there first; RCA later built a newer, technologically improved Studio A next door, thereby renaming the older facility Studio B.0
Back on the bus and to Hall of Fame. Before anything else we wandered into a small room with someone demonstrating the dulcimer; she showed how there are very different types of dulcimer (although they all work the same way) and how you can do more than just play a simple tune with a drone. Fascinating, really. If I ever get the time and money at the same point I'll probably get an appalachian instrument. The huge, several floor, permanent exhibit shows the development of country music from its roots to the present day, using all sorts of media (film, audio, posters) and memorabilia (hats, boots, guitars, awards, even cars). Then there was a temporary exhibit on the Williams family legacy, from Hank Williams down to Hank III as well as some other less-official offspring who are just as talented. The rotunda holds the plaques of the inductees into the Country Hall of Fame.
Afterward we went back to the hotel to rest/freshen up, then out to dinner and more honky tonkin'.
Next up: Bluegrass jam.
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: "Bye Bye Love" (Everly Brothers)
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08:48 am
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Nashville Highlights, Part 2
Saturday, 8/08/09:
AM: While MBW sat outside at the hotel catching up on some reading and sipping iced coffee, I went back to Ryman Auditorium. As I've mentioned the Ryman is the original home of the Grand Ole Opry; they offer visitors the ability to record a song there--not on the stage but rather in the radio engineer's booth (they still broadcast many concerts from the auditorium), which doubles as a recording booth. They offer a list of songs for which they have backing tracks and have secured clearance, including Hank Williams' "Hey, Good Looking" and Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places," but you can also do something of your own and even have a decent guitar you can use. I chose to do two of my own, "Generic Love Song" and "You're Still Mine." I did "Generic" because I hadn't recorded it before, and "You're Still Mine" because I wanted to see if it would hold up as a solo. (The DQYDJP version is dang-good, mostly because of the rest of the band; everything came together on that number.) I will probably post one or both of the tunes on my MySpace page, but not for a while yet.
PM: In a previous post (August 12th) I talked about the OpryLand Resort and Hotel, and this is where we went for the rest of the daylight hours. Nashville's city bus terminal (which seems on the new side and is kept quite nicely) is only a couple of blocks from the Doubletree hotel in which we stayed (you can see the terminal building from our window). The 34X bus goes a 20-minute ride that includes a stop at the OpryLand complex ("34X" is an express bus and there are local "34" buses available as well). We spent almost all of our time there just exploring the place, and we had a nice Italian-style lunch in the Delta area sitting "outdoors" under the glass dome, overlooking 3 waterfalls (the 4th being out of view), the man-made river, the G*d-made catfish in the river, and the tour boats (!) floating past. Lovely. Eventually made our way back to the bus stop, in turn back to the bus station, and finally back to the hotel for a bit. Out to dinner, this time to O Sole Mio, one of the better restaurants in the downtown Nashville area. The food was delicious, the prices doable but not cheap, and the service impeccable. Then off to honky tonks for more music!
Next up: Touring Studio B.
Current Mood: content
Current Music: "Tennessee Waltz"
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09:40 am
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Nashville Highlights, Part 1
The first thing I should mention is that MBW and I went to hear music--mostly country but some bluegrass--every night we were in Nashville, and sometimes during the day too. I am awed and humbled by the level of musical talent in Nashville. Even the "worst" street musician there plays rings around many folks up these parts. The ones in the honky tonks, the ones "chasing that neon rainbow," are superb. When the level is that high, you have to wonder just how folks make to the next (most visible) level. Simply amazing. Moving on....
Thursday, 8/6/09:
My previous post talks about the nice surprises waiting for us at the hotel. Later that day we walked down to Broadway, known to some as the honky tonk district. Door to door to door there are bars, and almost every one has the sound of live music spilling out into the street. Some acoustic, some electric, almost all country in some way. We quickly realized that some bars are non-smoking, others still allow smoking, so that became our first criterion for choosing which places to enter--unless the music was really worth it.
Friday, 8/7/09:
AM, we walked around the State Capitol building, looking at various statues and where James Polk (and Mrs. Polk) are buried. Having made a complete circuit without figuring out how to actually go into the building we decided to cross the street and look at the Supreme Court building. The solitary guard there--a state trooper--has made the Court his hobby, and was kind enough to show us around and give us some background information. He also told us how to access the Capitol building, so we crossed the street back there. The Capitol was finished just in time for the Civil War and has since been restored (as well as updated for technological advancements, of course). Interesting bit: there is a marble handrail on the main staircase that has a chunk missing. This is where a bullet grazed it, which had been shot by guards trying (and succeeding) in keeping the legislature in the building to vote on ending slavery post-Civil War.
Afternoon, we took the tour of Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Once a church--sort of non-denominational--it originally had no stage; the altar was set amid the congregation with a wall at its back (think of a semi-circle, the wall being the straight line across the bottom, the congregation making the rest of the shape, the alter being toward the central point). The Metropolitan Opera of New York (yeah, that one!) wanted to perform there and, long story short, a stage was built. Once that was in it didn't take very long for concerts to start, including what was called hillbilly music--and that turned into the Grand Ole Opry. (I'm truncating things here. You can look up the rest.) I know that this was supposed to be a vacation, but Ryman offers an opportunity to record a song (either something off their list with backing tracks or an original with a guitar they keep on hand) and I couldn't resist. Well, I could at first. Anyway, I made reservations to record the next morning.
Evening, we had a nice quiet dinner and then some raucous country music to top off celebrating our anniversary.
Next up: Saturday, recording at Ryman.
Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: "Hey, Good Looking"
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08:28 am
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Back from Nashville
MBW and I went to Music City, Nashville, TN, for our first "real" vacation in over two years. It was just what we needed.
"Nashville?" you say? "Why Nashville?" Some of the reasons: 1) MBW likes country music and bluegrass; 2) so do I, for fun as well as part of what I do; 3) we wanted a place to go that was no more than one time zone away (to minimize jet lag on the return); 4) some place we could get to using frequent flyer and hotel points. Also, it had to be someplace we have never been to before. No, I didn't take any instruments, but I did bring a couple of guitar picks. ("In case of emergency, break glass, take out guitar pick, play.")
In general:
* Nashville is--and I mean this as a compliment--truly "countrypolitan," one part sophistication and up-to-next-minute modernity and one part pure, well, country. And it's all seamless, not a false--ahem--note anywhere.
* We stayed at the Doubletree Hotel on 4th Avenue North in the Downtown area. The hotel was perfectly situated for us, being walking distance to Broadway (where the honky tonks are), the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Ryman Auditorium (the original home of the Grand Ole Opry), as well as the State Capitol building and the Tennessee Supreme Court (both worth visiting).
* Another point in favor of the Doubletree is the staff. After I made the initial reservations I called the hotel directly with some questions, which the desk clerk answering the phone was able to answer quite easily; I happen to mention that we'd be there for our anniversary. When we arrived we discovered that, in honor of our anniversary, our room had been upgraded and we received vouchers for free full breakfasts for our entire stay. Then, a few minutes after we wended our way to our room, a member of the staff came up to present us with a huge platter of various cheeses, crackers, and fresh fruit, all decorated with some small orchids. Quite lovely (and tasty--the food, not the orchids--we had gotten to the hotel at lunchtime).
* The "new" Grand Ole Opry is not in the downtown area but about 20 minute ride to the east. The venue is owned by Gaylord (whom- or whatever that is); Gaylord also owns the shopping mall next door (Opry Mills) and what I believe is the most over-the-top (surprisingly without letting go of good taste/sense completely) hotel/resort/self-contained ecosystem I have ever encountered, Opryland. If hotels/resorts are ever built by humans on other planets I have a feeling they will use this as a template. There are several distinct areas (environments?), some of which are covered by enormous glass domes, others open in the center. Delta, the biggest, has a (man-made) river running through it, complete with huge catfish and optional boat rides. The Conservatory is essentially a botanical garden (rainforest division) with hotel rooms surrounding it (most with balconies overlooking it all). Folks can, and do, spend their entire time at Opryland, just leaving long enough to go the Grand Ole Opry for a performance. I can't say for sure, but I don't think even Disney World can match this.
More details on the trip in another post. Teaser: Even though on vacation, I still managed to make music as well as listen to it.
Current Mood: refreshed
Current Music: "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off"
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09:00 pm
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Today is my birthday
Just sayin'....
Current Mood: good
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11:45 pm
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Updatelet
Sometimes the good news really is no news. That's the story (or lack thereof) today.
As a result I got a good chunk of rewriting done on The Etude Project. More to go on it, but still, today was productive.
I made some headway on another project today as well, which included sitting at the piano for almost two hours reading through things. Then I also did some more work an ongoing research project for a music publisher.
Through all of this I've begun thinking about writing something new, without it being tied to a commission. I've got a couple of concepts in mind, but I'm not ready yet to deal with them. I'll be less cryptic when I've figured things out more clearly.
Current Mood: calm
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10:33 pm
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Birkat haChamah Online (Sort of)
If you go to my homepage, http://homepages.nyu.edu/~slr3, you see a new link just below the "This Just In" streamer and above the two photos. This takes to a video of the April performance by the Carson City Symphony. The second half of the concert includes the premiere of Birkat haChamah ("Blessing on the Sun"), which I was commissioned to write for the orchestra's 25th anniversary. I'm conducting my music; everything else is conducted by the orchestra's regular leader, David Bugli. (David is the conductor wearing tails; I'm wearing a regular tuxedo. I say this because depending on the lighting we have been mistaken for one another, which is weird because he's taller.)
Current Mood: good
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11:21 pm
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Doing My Civic Duty
Even if it was for only one day, I answered a summons for jury duty today. (I was on telephone standby since last Friday.) I was interviewed for one case--the last in my group in fact--and was rejected. Looks like I won't be called, at least by the Civil Court, for another 5 or 6 years.
In Queens the jury waiting areas provide wi-fi and the chairs are fairly comfortable (about the same as chairs in nice airports). And if nothing else, the guard/court cop/??? in charge of the room has honed his standup routine to a fine edge.
Current Mood: Done
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05:07 pm
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Father's Day and Danny Kaye
Got back a little while ago from visiting my father's grave. Dad died in 1980. As is the custom I said some prayers and left a small stone on the tombstone.
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Reading other folks' LiveJournal entries I was reminded (thanks, Ellen!) how much I have always enjoyed the performer Danny Kaye. Sure, he was a red-head (so was I once) and from Brooklyn (I'll always be from Brooklyn), but he was a consummate entertainer. It got me thinking about "Tchaikowsky," the song from Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill (and Oscar Hammerstein II, as I recall). The lyrics consist of almost nothing but the names of Russian composers, rattled off in about a minute.
( Here are the names, but I not sure if they are in song order: )
Now some of the names in there are well-known, others less so, and still others are head-scratchers to the average American. But "Dukelsky" caught my eye. If I'm right, that would be Vladimir Dukelsky, otherwise known as Vernon Duke, the composer of such songs as I Can't Get Started and April in Paris. I'm pretty sure it's in there with a wink and a nod.
Current Mood: Just thinking
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04:57 pm
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Reminder: No Performance Today
Just in case you hadn't heard, I cancelled my performance at Castle Clinton that was supposed to take place this evening. There will be other performers there though, so at least you won't be bereft of music.
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