New home for the blog

Hello readers! With the launch of our new website, we have moved the blog to: http://edmontonsymphony.com/blog

We hope you will join us there.

New home for the blog

Owning another kind of podium

I found out something new about the Olympics last week: medals were once awarded in arts competitions alongside sports. Thestar.com ran a story recently about Canadian composer John Weinzweig, one of only two Canadians to receive a medal in the cultural portion of the Olympics. The arts categories were last seen in 1948 because, the article says, "most competing artists were professionals, while Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs." (Just like hockey players - oh wait...)

Local artists still continue to be a part of the Olympics, most demonstrably in the opening ceremonies, but also in what's often called the Cultural Olympiad - arts events taking place in and around the sporting venues during the games. So I'm not necessarily advocating that we revive the arts categories at the Olympics, but it did get me thinking about the "Own the Podium" program that Canadian sport organizations have had in place for athletes in an attempt to top the medal standings in 2010 (which sadly doesn't look like it will happen). Alongside investing in athletes, what if we had a concerted effort in place to make Canadian artists and cultural institutions truly world class?

I'd say that geography and cultural offerings are the primary drivers of tourism, so there are definite economic benefits of cultivating Canadian artists and institutions in this way. We've got the geographic features down, so let's complement them with arts offerings that are just as compelling for travelers from abroad!

Funding is crucial to developing institutions into cultural forces, and in encouraging and enabling individual creators. We also need a strong focus on arts education in schools to become an artistically rich nation. Of course, as we've seen in this province, arts funding is usually the last to receive an increase, and the first to be cut, so it will be an uphill battle. Perhaps that's fitting if we're going to compare ourselves to Olympic athletes...

By the way, we have our own "Tribute to the Games" this Thursday. And one piece that's NOT on the program is "I Believe", AKA, the music CTV has played every 17 seconds since February 12.

Owning another kind of podium

Another TED talk

Earlier I posted a TED talk by Benjamin Zander, and here's another one, this time from deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie, one of the best percussionists in the world. I've seen her perform at the Winspear Centre, and she's incredible. In this video she talks about how "listening to music involves much more than simply letting sound waves hit your eardrums."

Just watch:

Another TED talk

Full Steam

Geoff Manaugh at the architectural blog BLDGBLOG just posted some video of steam tunnels in Brooklyn turned into a giant musical instrument by the Pratt Instrument on New Year's Eve. Apparently this is a yearly event, and he describes it as "somewhere between subterranean calliope and mutant wave organ."

He goes on to discuss the idea of attaching musical instrument parts to city infrastructure to create one massive instrument. Hey, the U of A has a huge steam plant, right?

Full Steam

TED Talk on Classical Music

This 20 minute presentation on classical music by conductor Benjamin Zander is fantastic! Part Victor Borge, part Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin demonstrates the power of music in the TED talk from 2008:

TED Talk on Classical Music

Friday Night Lights

This Friday, the ESO is trying something new. Instead of the standard 7:30 or 8 pm start time, and instead of the common format of short work + concerto + intermission + so-and-so's fourth symphony, we're presenting a concert that's a little different, and we're calling it Late Night Beethoven.

It'll be a shorter, more casual concert, with no intermission, and it starts at 9:30 pm. Bill Eddins will conduct, play the piano, and talk about the pieces being performed - with a chance for the audience to ask questions. The lobby will remain open after the show for live music and drinks.

Now in some ways, it's a bit sad that this is "new". We probably should've been doing this for the last 20 years or more, because, outside of the North American orchestral world, this concept is not new at all. Even within the orchestral world, we're not exactly breaking new ground. But I'm going to say, better late than never, and it will be a fun night! And however new or old this concept is for anyone, there is a pretty cool piece on the program: a movement from a Beethoven oboe concerto that has never before been performed in Canada. This is the only movement that survived, in fact, of the only oboe concerto Beethoven wrote. So again, it's not new, but it's new to us, and that's worth celebrating!

Oh, and this concert happens to be on sale this week, with tickets for $29 (or less...), so there's every reason to check it out!

Friday Night Lights

Last post of 2009?

As 2009 draws to a close, the inevitable flood of "best ______ of the year/decade" begins (or in the case of The Onion, The Top Ten Stories of the last 4.5 Billion Years). Clearly these lists will always generate controversy, based on opinion as they are, but I still find that most of these lists are rather narrowly focused. For instance, most lists purporting to be the "best albums of the decade" are entirely filled with pop, rock and hip-hop albums (if even that broad), while ignoring other genres such as jazz or (gasp) classical. I will admit that I browse the lists and occasionally discover interesting finds, but I finally came across something worth sharing, via kottke.org: 20 Pieces of Music That Changed the World, as presented by CBC's The Sunday Edition.

This isn't even really a "best of" list, and it's actually been running for a year and a half. But in any case, all 20 episodes (plus one devoted to Christmas music) are available to listen to online. I've listened to a bit, and looking forward to listening to more! Mostly, I'm happy to see there's everything from Gregorian chants to Reggae covered.

Last post of 2009?

A dying art

There will always be those who warn of the impending "death of classical music". But Variety reports on another genre of orchestral music undergoing hard times - the movie score. This may not be readily apparent to many movie goers, as music is still very much a part of feature films, but an increasing number of directors and producers are eschewing original soundtracks by trained composers. Instead, they are turning to generic music libraries.

Twenty or 30 years ago, [composer Richard Bellis] says, "the person who composed the music had to be knowledgeable about live scoring, had to be able to write music, conduct music, create music from whole cloth rather than 'selecting' music," as often happens today with the availability of such tools as Band-in-a-Box, Cinescore or generic library music.

"Today's filmmaker is more inclined to think 'I need a composer because I'm just too busy to do it myself' and there are literally hundreds of kids out there who will do it for next to nothing," Bellis says.

What they're missing, say many on the music side of the biz, are the dramatic instincts and creative spark of the trained, experienced composer. Agent Richard Kraft, who represented film-scoring giants Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein, says, "We are in a period where the thought that film music is an artistic expression is at an all-time low."

Read the whole article here.

I should note that ESO performances of film music are among our most popular offerings. We usually feature composers like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Bernard Hermann. So many movies are forever linked to their musical themes, that film makers should be wary of giving the music short shrift.

A dying art

A bit of nostalgia

This is one of those things that's probably not supposed to be on youtube... and I probably shouldn't be reposting it here... but what the heck! It makes me smile.

Here's Ray Charles, in concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, circa 1981:

A bit of nostalgia

Hot, hot, hot

A few weeks ago staff of the ESO and Winspear Centre entered the Edmonton Downtown Business Association's annual Chili Cook-off. Businesses and groups around the city prepared chili which was sold at the event $2 for a 4oz bowl, with all proceeds going towards the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters. Our Orchestra Personnel Manager Eric provided the recipe and the leadership for us, and I made a video of the preparations. A big thanks goes to the chefs at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology who allowed us the use of their teaching kitchens to prepare the chili. Here's the video:

Hot, hot, hot

Fine Arts Education

On Monday the Calgary Herald reported on "a growing movement of parents and teens concerned about proposed changes to how music, art, drama and dance is taught in Alberta schools."

Alberta Learning is proposing some fundamental changes to fine arts curriculum in the K-12 system, and many of these changes are being questioned by fine arts teachers, students and other stakeholders. I should note that so far Alberta Learning has only released a draft of proposed changes, and will in fact accept feedback on the changes. This being said, the fact that there seems to be a universal backlash from those directly affected by the changes would indicate to me that there was little (if any) consultation of the stakeholders in drafting the proposed changes.

There are several controversial aspects in the draft framework, but the general concern seems to be that an apparent push to integrate fine arts elements into other subjects will come at the expense of true skill development in these art forms. Or in other words, the arts are getting dumbed down.

The website SaveOurFineArts.ca has posted a facts sheet about these changes, noting both concerns with and positive aspects of the proposed framework, along with ways to get involved and to give feedback to Alberta Learning and MLAs. Whether or not you believe the changes to be positive or negative - or a little of both - it's an issue that deserves our attention. It's not quite as headline-grabbing as direct funding cuts to the arts or arts education, but it may in fact have a far greater effect on the future artists of Alberta.

Fine Arts Education

Timely news for a concert plug

It seems that Paul McCartney has been named the third winner of the Gerswhin Prize for Popular Song.

Which of course means I'll capitalize on the announcement by mentioning the ESO's tribute to Paul McCartney on May 12, 2010 - a concert we just added to the schedule. We've invited back the same group who performed with us for the Classical Mystery Tour concerts a couple of years ago at the Winspear, and at Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky in 2008. Here's the video promo for their new show "Live and Let Die":



Not everyone is a fan of "cover bands", but both performances of Classical Mystery Tour were pretty rockin'. If you're a fan of Paul McCartney/The Beatles, this will be well worth attending, and really quite the experience. More info about the concert is on our website here.

Timely news for a concert plug

Speaking of innovation and contemporary uses...

I was going through some of my music from the past few years and I came across one of my favourite pieces of electronic music. The piece, called Finished Symphony was written by the group Hybrid in the late 90's and features the Russian Federal Orchestra, conducted by Sacha Puttnam. This piece challenged the pre-conceived notion of "electronic artist" and "dj" at a time when electronic music was hitting the mainstream. The Times supposedly reported it as "one of the most moving pieces of electronic music ever". I firmly believe that still stands to this day. It has been used in over 30 applications since then - from video games to movies.

And in true electronic music form, this song was resurrected and remixed in 2007 by one of the current electronic scene 'it-kids', Deadmau5.

Have a listen for yourself to Hybrid's release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z0CiLbUvi0&feature=related

And the remix by Deadmau5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8wpvC2d0kQ&feature=related

.... sorry - there's no video for these, just audio.

Speaking of innovation and contemporary uses...

Commercializing Classical Music

Two different classical music bloggers are weighing in on classical music in commercials.

Alex Ross from The New Yorker mentions the Levi's commercial with music by Charles Ives, arranged by Owen Pallet (aka, Final Fantasy).  As Alex says, it's a little more obscure than the typical Carmina Burana treatment:



And then Greg Sandow, in a discussion of making the use of classical music seem natural and not forced, uses an AMEX ad as an example on the natural side:



I've made a few commercials myself, and music choice is definitely one of the more difficult aspects. You're trying to create a mood within the first few seconds, and so much of that will depend on the ability of music to communicate universally and instantly. I will admit to using Carmina Burana in a commercial once - but only because it advertised the ESO's performance of the work itself.

Please note - this blog isn't sponsored by any of the companies portrayed in the commercials I've posted. At least, not yet...

Commercializing Classical Music

Time for Three

Time for Three, an ensemble that appeared with the ESO last spring, has been named "ensemble-in-residence" with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. According to this article in the Indy Star, tf3 (as they are sometimes known) have "signed an agreement with the ISO to be its first ensemble-in-residence. They will appear in schools and other public places in town to bridge the gap between the average music lover and the classical scene."

I think this is a great idea, especially considering what this particular ensemble is all about. They're totally cross-genre - here they are covering Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek":



More and more, orchestras are realizing that they have to take music out to the community, and not just expect the public to come to a concert hall just because it's there. It's not always about the acoustics - sometimes art has to be experienced where we live and work too.

It seems like Time for Three "gets it" as far as using social media effectively, and it's great to see them doing so well.

Time for Three

Scratch My Back

Something to watch for this spring - Peter Gabriel will be releasing a cover album of songs by "all-time great singer-songwriters and bands." The interesting thing? There will be no guitars, drums or "world instruments", only orchestral instruments. Plus, it seems that the artists being covered will then cover Peter Gabriel's songs - what's being described as a song-swap. The Guardian explains more in the full article here.

Scratch My Back

Cell phones at the symphony

Ok, so maybe not quite as controversial as the post title might indicate. Anyhow, via Engadget and Mashable short video of the 1812 Overture recreated with 1000 cell phone ringtones:



I agree with the spirit of the project (even if it is a commercial), and especially with this piece. Perhaps along with the bells that the audience rings near the end of the piece every year at Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky, people can contribute ring tones.

Oh, you can visit Mashable to watch the "making-of" videos.

Cell phones at the symphony

The Instrument of the Future

The Eigenharp looks like something straight out of an episode of Star Trek (like that roll-up piano), and Engadget has posted a review and a few videos of how this multi-faceted instrument works. It's like a piano, guitar, drums and wind instrument in one - you just have to watch below for the walkthrough of features.



Then watch the demo song:



This is a versatile instrument, and I can imagine that some people are going to become very, very good at playing the Eigenharp.

The Instrument of the Future

Walk in Beauty

ESO Principal Trombone John McPherson stopped by the ESO admin office to talk about his composition Walk in Beauty and play a short excerpt. The accompaniment is provided by my computer, using the notation software Finale, so that portion is a bit... mechanical, but it gives you the idea, anyways.

The piece was commissioned by the ESO and premiered in 2000, and will be performed again this Sunday, October 18. Watch the video (complete with background typing - see, we're really working!) below:

Walk in Beauty

Practicing the stairs

Darren Barefoot posted something today that's interesting, cute and kind of heart-warming. I've included the video below - just watch:

Practicing the stairs