Glee

I love Glee. The little girl inside me is screaming for joy right now! Why didn't they make a weekly, musical sitcom sooner???

For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to see it yet (probably because you don't have cable, like me), hulu plays the shows after they've aired. Try it, you might like it. :)

http://www.hulu.com/glee

Musical note:
The only instrument that has maintained, essentially, the same design throughout history is the trombone. A sackbut (a Medieval instrument used in church music) is pretty similar to a modern day pea shooter (aka a small bore, no trigger, tenor trombone used in jazz performance).

Locks of Love

When I got engaged I decided to grow my hair out for 2 reasons:
1. I look better with long hair in pictures (or so I've been told)
2. I've always wanted to donate to Locks of Love and this would provide me the opportunity to do so.

I will admit, now that the haircut date is approaching I am a little nervous. Luckily, I have hair long enough that I can still have a feminine hair style after getting my hair cut. The edge of my hair will be closer to my chin than I'm used to, but that is more than fine.

According the Locks of Love page on the Nexxus website, "It is estimated that 80% of all donations come from children who wish to help other children." That is one of the most touching things I've ever heard. This is something that I hope all women will consider doing at some point. Once I get my hair cut I will probably grow it out so I can donate again. For anyone that wants to know more information about Locks of Love or how to donate, here is the link to their website: http://www.locksoflove.org/index.html

Quick, music related side note:
During the first weekend of October both the Seattle Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony are performing Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony! If you are in either area be sure to check out the concerts.

Gustav Mahler

Mahler's music has been very good to me. His work sustains my need for dramatics and soft spoken lyricism. I've been having an on-going affair with his Fifth Symphony for 2 years now - more specifically, the fourth movement of this Fifth Symphony, also know as the Adagietto. There are rumors that the fourth movement is a love letter to his wife, Alma. Others say that the symphony is complete without the fourth movement and the last minute addition of a conventional movement distracts from the symphony's revolutionary composing style. I've spent a good amount of time researching Alma's influence on the Adagietto and on the impact she had in Mahler's music and his life.
When any composer has a love affair - there are few composers who haven't experienced the love of one person or many people, Beethoven being one of them - their music is influenced and their outlook is usually changed. For Mahler, loving Alma gave him a different perspective. Mahler was normally an introvert that was content with being a wallflower, but Alma made him come out his shell a little bit and pursue her. Alma had her share of high-profile affairs before, during, and after Mahler. She was involved with Gustav Klimt, Max Burckhard, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Walter Gropius (while married to Mahler), Oskar Kokocshka, and Franz Werfel (while married to Gropius). All amazing artists and intellectuals, all of them Alma's lovers.

Mahler's Fifth Symphony represents a new style of composing in his career. Here is a quote from Mahler on his new composition style and the Fifth Symphony:

"The Fifth Symphony is finished - I had to reorchestrate it almost completely. It is hard to believe that at the time I could have written again like a beginner, as though I had completely forgotten the routine of the first four symphonies. A completely new style demanded a new technique." - Extracted from Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies (Constantin Floros)

As a musician, there are moments when you connect with a piece of music that you just can't stray from... ever. From the moment I heard the opening trumpet solo of Mahler's Fifth Symphony I've been hooked. In fact, the trumpet player playing the opening trumpet solo during my first attendance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony in concert inspired me to pursue a performance career. The trumpet player was Frits Damrow - thank you Frits - and the orchestra he performed with was the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. I will never forget that performance.

Mahler's music has had quite an impact on my life and I know I'm not the only one out there that has been effected by his music. I hope to continue my Mahler research and learn as much as I can about his music and his life.

Making coffee in Seattle

I got a job at a cafe about 3 and half weeks ago. I worked for Starbucks for almost 2 years so I felt prepared to make coffee anywhere, but it sure is different in Seattle. Yes, there are Starbucks here, but there are 3 independent coffee shops for every Starbucks outside of the University Village shopping area. Each cafe has their own motto, their own coffee roaster, their own signature latte artist. It's a coffee culture up here! I had no idea when I took the job, so needless to say I've been playing catch-up since I was hired. I've started to watch youtube videos on how the elusive latte art is done. Here is one example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL190Mbqaqo&feature=related

This is most basic latte art you can make: the leaf or rosetta (I've heard it be called both names). But, you can make so much more! You can make a heart or 3 leafs, or if you use a stirring tool or small thermometer, you can make drawings of bunnies or other things. It's pretty intense.
There is also a very specific technique for steaming the milk used in latte art. It's all about "the roll" as one barista/coffee roaster explained to me. At Starbucks I learned how to steam milk and make foam along the way - pretty simple, right? The milk got warmed up and people had foam for their lattes. Here though, the milk is sweeter if it's steamed right because of this "roll" technique. Also, the foam and the milk aren't supposed to separate, which is a huge no-no for Starbucks baristas: customers will complain that their drink feels light because there is too much foam in it (they want their money's worth).
Anyway, I've made 3 leaves so far and I am quickly learning about "the roll" in milk steaming - there is a specific technique. I just hope that I start to catch on to the culture quickly.

Quick music note:
From http://www.classicalmanac.com/ - a musical almanac:

1945 Death of Austrian composer Anton von Webern, accidentally shot by an American soldier in Mittersill, Austria. b-Vienna, 3 DEC 1883.

Bye now!

Barber's Symphony in One Movement

An American, born and raised, Samuel Barber began attending the Curtis Institute when he was 14 studying composition, voice and piano. He won the pulitzer prize for his opera, Vanessa, was composing into his 70th year until he died of cancer, and had a great influence on American music.

This season, the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra is performing Barber's Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, Op. 9. I attended the first rehearsal tonight in the hopes of joining the symphony this season. The other pieces on the program for this autumn concert are also great: Nielsen's Helios Overture, Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin. However, none of the other pieces spoke to me like Barber's did. Here is a brief description of the work from the composer, himself:

"The form of my Symphony in One Movement is a synthetic treatment of the four-movement classical symphony. It is based on three themes of the initial Allegro non troppo, which retain throughout the work their fundamental character. The Allegro opens with the usual exposition of a main theme, a more lyrical second theme, and a closing theme. After a brief development of the three themes, instead of the customary recapitulation, the first theme, in diminution forms the basis of a scherzo section (Vivace). The second theme (oboe over muted strings) then appears in augmentation, in an extended Andante tranquillo. An intense crescendo introduces the finale, which is a short passacaglia based on the first theme (introduced by the violoncelli and contra-bassi), over which, together with figures from other themes, the closing theme is woven, thus serving as a recapitulation for the entire symphony."

So I didn't quite catch all of that as I was listening during rehearsal tonight, but I was swept up in the developing complexity of the themes and how well Barber used silence in the piece. His grand pauses and sudden dynamic shifts stop you in the your tracks - in a good way. It's like running up a main street to meet an old friend you haven't seen in years and then having to stop at each street corner when the crosswalk sign shows the big red hand instead of the friendly walking figure. You want to jaywalk or risk getting hit by a car to get through the waiting, but you can't because you know that you're supposed to wait. Your anticipation increases, your heart may beat faster, you become more excited and anxious. This is what I feel during the grand pauses and sudden dynamic shifts in Barber's Symphony in One Movement. I really enjoy neo-classical American music and especially Barber's (his Adagio for Strings will always have a special place in my heart). I am so glad to have my interest in Barber's works revived and now I get to enjoy the rest of his music!

Here is a link to listen to the piece, check it out!
http://www.rhapsody.com/samuel-barber/concerto-and-symphony-no-1

Thai Food and Michael Davis

For those of you that don't know there is Thai Food, and then there is Thai Food. As an ex-San Jose resident, I came to love a Thai restaurant called House of Siam. All that oil and spice, it's hard to forget. Anyway, my husband and I have noticed a Thai restaurant in the University District, on "the Ave" as it's called, that always seems to have a line out the door. It's called Thai Tom and is about the size of a moderately sized studio apartment. There are only 4 tables and 8-10 bar seats. 4 of the bar seats are within inches of the flames of the cooking and there is no air conditioning in the building...
We caught the end of the lunch rush and found ourselves sitting on 2 of the 4 bar seats near the fire. It was amazing to watch the chef cook. He was dripping sweat onto his already soaked T-shirt as more and more orders came in.
We ordered our food (Shrimp Fried Rice and Poor Man's Noodles) and watched as he cooked it in a flash of movements: oil in the pot, add onions, rice, thai basil, soy sauce, fish sauce, shrimp paste, spice and serve! For the poor man's noodles he doused the rice noodles in oil, soy sauce, and fish sauce then added American vegetables (we'll let that slide b/c the flavor was so wonderful!), fried tofu, spices, and topped it was a Kaffir lime (at least I hope it was a Kaffir lime). It was spicy, sour, tangy and delicious! It was worth sitting near a fire for. :)

After such a wonderful meal, we ventured home to enjoy the rest of the day. Part of enjoying the rest of the day meant practicing, and what a joy it was!

Michael Davis, trombonist-composer and a fellow San Jose native, has written a great collection of warm-up books, etudes, and pieces for brass instruments. I've purchased and used his warm-up books for trumpet, his etude book Total Trumpet, and the composition We Four Kings for trumpet quartet. All of his music is challenging, and it's fun to learn with the CD that comes with each warm-up and etude book. Warming up with a CD helps me with my pitch, my time, and my sound. Using the CD is especially helpful because Davis commissioned Phil Smith, principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, to record the music on the trumpet CD. Who wouldn't want to warm up with Phil Smith everyday???
Today was a bit of a guilty pleasure. I found myself listening to Phil Smith on the recordings more than I was playing along. But, that's one of the benefits of purchasing Davis' warm-up and etude books: you get to listen to professionals play what is on the page in front of you. I can hear the music in my head and I know what note comes next, but being able to model my playing after such a talented instrumentalist is a rare opportunity! Davis has not only written warm-up and etude books that build fundamentals of instrument playing, he's offered a whole other dynamic by including recordings of the pieces done by masters of their craft. I greatly enjoy my practice time with Phil Smith through Davis' music. I know I'm not the only one either. If you're a brass player looking for a different warm-up book/routine, give Davis' stuff a try. I think you'll find it to be very helpful.