Music Education
Leading a choir means you have many different tasks – often ranging from the actual musical side of it, to concert planning, admin tasks, building a social context and – of course – repertoire selection for your choir. This is a task that is often taken a bit too lightly and not given
Music Education
If you liked Connection Lost (The Tinder Opera), you’ll love the latest collaboration between composer/tenor Scott Joiner and writer/director Adam Taylor. Something Blue: The Bachelor Opera is another misguided love story, unpacking everything that’s totally bizarre about reality dating & marriage shows. Joiner sings the role
Music Education
Often, the point of interest in the music isn’t the melody but what’s going on underneath. I recently attended a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, but without the dancers, i.e., a full ballet with the orchestra only. It gave an unrivalled opportunity to actually listen to
Music Education
My two last Bangalore visits were both in 2016 and 2017 within the “East-West Song and Dance Encounter”, hosted by The Bangalore School of Music. This year their Head of Vocal Department, Mr Jonas Olsson, had arranged the festival “Voices of Bangalore” in mid-June, a three-day festival of concerts, workshops,
Music Education
WHAT IS SIGHT READING? Sight reading is playing or singing music from previously unseen notation. The context could be playing a new piece, accompanying a soloist on piano, reading through an orchestral score or singing a new part in a choir. Efficient sight reading is very much like the process
Music Education
You often hear the expression “film music” used pejoratively. “It’s just film music.” There is a kind of listener who first becomes acquainted with the symphony orchestra through film music. And many such listeners want to hear the music again – willingly attending concerts devoted to scores whose original function
Music Education
I’ll fess up: I’m a podcast addict. They’re the morphine drip that gets me through the day. But I’ve only dabbled in shows that focus on classical voice, and that’s a problem. As an antidote, I’ve found five series, with different focuses, that are
Music Education
This text was quickly sketched before an evening seminar, “The Collaborative Pianist” at The Bangalore School of Music, 18th June during the festival “Voices of Bangalore”. Apart from my own experiences as a singer and vocal coach, the text is based on the brilliant book by Martin Katz, “The Complete
Music Education
Composers tend to be a peculiar lot, particularly as it pertains to the best and most conducive circumstances in which they compose their best music. Of course, reports of that nature tend to be highly anecdotal, but more often then not, they do contain at least a kernel of truth.
Music Education
In Parts 1 and 2 we considered how the pedal works and its effect on tone, texture and legato. Now we will examine how pedalling applies to one of my favourite pieces, the Danza de la Moza Donosa from Danzas Argentinas by Alberto Ginastera. This dance is graceful and gentle,
Music Education
It’s precisely the absence of philosophical reflection that has led to the invasion of the musical arena by half-baked ideas. Not as music, I grant, as philosophers need music, but nevertheless the need is real. In the past our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, in the
Music Education
If you’ve not yet seen Connection Lost (The Tinder Opera), you should probably stop what you’re doing and watch it now. Seriously, it’s our current obsession. Written and directed by Adam Taylor, with music brilliantly composed by tenor Scott Joiner, Connection Lost isn’t just funny “for
