Hanneke Cassel Trio

Due to Lynn's and my enjoyment of Celtic music, we went to hear the Hanneke Cassel Trio perform in a house concert last night in Altadena. From what I can gather on the internet, Cassel, a Scottish fiddler, plays with several different cellists and guitarists. Last night she played with Rushad Eggleston, a pretty crazy guy who doesn't use an endpin with his cello, but rather plays standing up with a strap like a guitar, or sitting down, gripping his instrument like a gamba.

Besides the high energy and plenty of original work and superb playing, I was struck, once again, how music is meant to be shared by taking what we hear and making it our own. And, of course, how it would be great to have the time/inclination to practice many hours a day....

Logo Winner

The logo I submitted for the contest was not the winner, but this one by some students was.

CCO Logo

Just before spring break, David Cubek, conductor for the Claremont Concert Orchestra, put out a challenge to us to create and submit a logo for our orchestra. I thought that would be fun, so here is what I submitted. 

I took my inspiration from Garrison Theater where we rehearse and perform.

Professor Cubek is seeking ways in which to promote our orchestra, and as I looked on the internet just now, I viewed our official webpage, where you can hear excerpts of past performances, and this youtube video of our performance of In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg. 

Drowsy Maggie on St. Paddy's Eve

Drowsy Maggie, our Celtic duo, had a last-minute gig at Dale Brothers Brewery last night. We were invited by the Sons of Claremont to join them in playing Irish music for Shameless Saturday which was also a fund-raiser for the Claremont Folk Music Festival which will be June 15. 

I've never played in a brewery before, but with our pay being free Pomona Queen beer and food from Hillbilly Tacos, I would consider doing it again. After all, our audience could only get happier the more we played and the more beer they drank.

I rarely smile when I play, even when I'm having fun....

Students, students. Shhhhh....!

I should also say that not everything that pops into your head needs to be spoken aloud in class. Have students always talked so much, or is it just worse these days?

My Paddle Video

I know that Yahoo employees are unhappy about the new requirements of having to actually go to work, but I know that productivity and creativity increases when you actually have conversations with people. (This means actual conversations and not texting/emailing/FB'ing, etc.)

Case in point. I was sitting in the lunch room this week talking to the third grade teachers. One said that he had updated some information on his classroom webpage, and it occurred to me that I could reach some of the parents and students of his class that way. I could make little recorder videos to help students practice at home.

At first I thought I could make a demo video of me playing various pieces on the recorder, but then I thought that the students should be able to see the notes, as well. I know that there are probably sophisticated ways to animate the music as it rolls by, and I know that I couldn't do that today. Or even tomorrow.

Then I realized that in the Sibelius program, the cursor moves over the notes as they are played. I wondered if I could take a video screenshot of that, and after a little googling, I discovered that I certainly could with Quicktime. I had a little trouble getting the audio figured out, but the help in Quicktime set me straight, and after some trial and error (and about 8 aborted attempts), this is what I came up with. A first pass, for sure, but I am imagining all the possibilities!