Program Notes - the funny version

From the New Yorker Magazine

A hilarious sendup of symphony program notes. Subtle and funny.

Read it here...

The Best Cure For Morning Sickness? Sing Puccini!

Soprano Antionette Halloran: "I'd be lying in bed with buckets and towels, feeling so sick … But then I'd go on stage and feel great. The best time of that whole first trimester was the hours I spent on stage. The nausea just goes away.''

Read more....

Farewell Emile Norman

On Thursday afternoon Emile Norman passed away. A long-time Carmel resident and patron of the arts, he was especially devoted to the Carmel Bach Festival. He and his purple sneakers will be sorely missed.

Read more in the Monterey Herald

2008 Slideshow of Emil's works, with his narration

The Genetic Mystery of Music

Does a mother's lullaby give an infant a better chance for survival?�

Evidence suggests that humans did not invent music: It may predate us by tens of millions of years, and it may stimulate deep, primitive parts of the brain - the source, perhaps, of its deep, emotional pull. "Sound production has been part of animal repertoires forever and ever," says Jelle Atema, a flute-playing marine biologist who studies animal signaling at the Boston University Marine Program. "If that represents music for those animals, then we are the latecomers."�

An article from Discover Magazine

Why Mozart didn't get tenure...

Anyone who has ever taught in the music department of a large university will see the irony and humor in this fake letter...

Read it here....

New Transposition Service in NYC

Dana Haynes is a conductor, singer and music arranger.

His newest service is QuickTranspositions.com.

More information on the QT website

(Disclaimer: this blog and its contributors are not associated with Dana Haynes in any way. THis posting is intended as a friendly tip.)

How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition--From the Dana Foundation

If there were a surefire way to improve your brain, would you try it? Read this fascinating new article from the Dana Foundations's current online issue of Cerebrum.

Does education in the arts transfer to seemingly unrelated cognitive abilities? Researchers are finding evidence that it does. Michael Posner argues that when children find an art form that sustains their interest, the subsequent strengthening of their brains' attention networks can improve cognition more broadly.

Read more....

David's Free PDFs!

During this lull in the performing schedule, I've been collecting some of the handouts I have recently used at the Carmel Bach Festival and my own workshops.

I've created a new page on my site with links to all the pdf documents for reading or downloading.

There are several new documents recently completed: 1) the "Degrees of Separation" chart I posted last week, and 2) a four-page document called "Three Choral Masterpieces," about the Beethoven "Choral Fantasy" and Brahms' "Alto Rhapdody" and "Song of Destiny." This document includes my new English translations of all three works.

Here is the page on my site with links to the free pdfs.

Enjoy.

David Gordon
Dramaturge, Carmel Bach Festival

Happy Birthday Joseph Haydn!

On this day in 1732, Franz Joseph Haydn was born in the little village of Rohrau, near Vienna.

Info about Haydn on the City of Vienna website.....

Calendar of Events North of the Monterey Area

Not classical music exclusively, but a wonderful entertainment guide for people in the Gilroy/Morgan Hill/San Juan Bautista area. Published by Paul and Sylvia Myrvold.

Out & About Magazine is a resource guide, aimed at helping established residents and newcomers to the area get the most out of their time without spending too much time in their cars.

Articles in Out & About Magazine are written by local residents. All the columnists either work or participate in the activity they write about. Out & About Magazine does not do profiles of businesses or people, except for restaurant or theatre reviews.

Current columns running on a monthly basis include:

Film (Paul Myrvold), Running (Bill Flodberg), Walking Woman (Rosemary Rideout), Cycling (Curt Hentschke), Music (Alex Myrvold), Theatre (Paul Myrvold) and Pets (Friends of the San Martin Animal Shelter). They also have a monthly Kids Calendar, What’s Up at Gavilan College and Community Events Calendar as well as 2 or 3 special features and programs to events like the Home, Garden and Gourmet Show.

In the fall they publish their yearly Restaurant Guide which is distributed to the hotels and motels in the area throughout the entire year. March, April and May are the annual Camps feature and the Home, Garden and Gourmet Show is in May and September. They always have a big feature for the California Rodeo in Salinas and a guide to 4th of July activities. Columns in the Spring include articles on Elder Care and Careers.

Visit their website...