a collaborative blog inspiring the next generation of musicians through explorations into creativity, innovation, holistic thinking and posts specifically for flutists
The movement of classical music into non-traditional venues has been a major trend over the past few decades — initiated by groups like the Kronos Quartet and accelerated by Classical Revolution, Knight Arts, and, somewhat famously, members of the Cleveland Orchestra. Chloe Veltman’s latest ArtsJournal.com blog post points out that, at least in San Francisco, these have become “run of the mill.” Exciting! Maybe San Fran and other cultural epicenters are finally driving a collective, societal shift towards a more expansive display of classical music. Read more…
Keeping in mind Monday’s thoughts regarding the need to honor the talents, skills, and resources we already have at our disposal, I’d like to share with you the music of Janice Whaley, a new artist who, I think, presents a powerful model of music making that will be of interest to many of us here in the IPAP community. To my mind, it is a blueprint for what classically-informed performance can be in the twenty-first century. Read more…
Wednesday, I’ll be posting about Janice Whaley, a San Francisco based musician whose work I think will be of great interest to the IPAP community. Since she deserves not to follow my customary preamble, I’m posting that today.
In honor of IPAP’s first anniversary, Laura asked me to compose a short piece that encapsulates some of the themes that have developed on our blog over the past year. If you’ve spent any time here, you already know that we have a tremendous staff of writers, each of whom has their own set of interests, styles, and ways of working. It’s been a real growing experience for me to get a more intimate perspective on the different approaches and ideas that each of us bring to our practice of music. In particular, I’ve relearned valuable lessons about two of our key buzzwords: innovation and creativity:
Being creative doesn’t only involve the ideas that you have but also the actions that you take.
Asking yourself “What can I do today to be innovative?” isn’t usually the best way to be innovative. Instead, ask “What can I do today to be productive?” The difficulties that arise from your desire to produce will lead you, by necessity, to innovate.
(As a corollary to the above, if you don’t come across stumbling blocks in your creative activity,
it’s probably a sign that you need to be more ambitious in how you challenge yourself.)
It’s just as, if not more, important to discover new ways to employ the skills and interests you’ve already won rather than trying to continually re-invent the proverbial wheel in search of the next shiny trend or technique. It’s ok to be guided by your expertise. The fact that we never want to stop learning doesn’t mean that we haven’t already learned much of what we need to know.
“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”
– Robert Heinlein
I think this is a brilliant quote – so obvious and yet, how many of us get caught up in the minutiae of day-to-day living saying we wish we could do this or that or go here or there or get this or that done, but it never happens? Then we look around and suddenly 5 years have gone by?
I usually don’t pay attention to fitness magazines, but I flipped through this one the other day and came across some information I thought would be good to share. This came from Self Magazine September 2011 and is copied verbatim.
This is my 7 year old son, Luca, who has been studying piano for three years. He LOVES playing piano. Practicing? Not so much.
A few days ago I learned about the Pomodoro Technique from Angela Beeching and Alexis Del Palazzo, and to them both I am eternally grateful. I love the idea that this was designed by an Italian (who are not always known for being punctual). I spent eight years living in Italy, with eight years of eating. Eating and everything about food pretty much dominates much of Italian living, and I came to love kitchen timers that are in all shapes and sizes, in various fruits and vegetables, that keep the food churning out in every Italian home. The Pomodoro Technique takes its name from one of those timers, in this case, ones that are shaped like tomatoes (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato). So of course the Pomodoro Technique immediately appealed to me.Read more…
Removing the musician’s eyes from the process of making music can produce truly astonishing results. You can use a blindfold, turn off the lights, play by candlelight, or ask everyone to close their eyes. Whichever method you use, you will hear a dramatic increase in the group’s musicianship almost immediately. Members of the ensemble will listen more carefully and be more aware of how they use their bodies to produce sound.
Learning by ear, rather than by eye, utilizes the brain in a completely different manner: one that is more consistent with the mental hierarchy we need to be truly great musicians.
–Julie Lyonn Lieberman, The Creative Band & Orchestra
And, speaking of learning by ear…Read about an innovative project with Grade 7 beginning band students at Southridge School in British Columbia (Canada). They worked collaboratively in groups, learned songs by ear and arranged them for performances, based on Musical Futures out of the UK.
Extended application deadline for 2012 – 2013 Fellows Program at NEC
The “Take A Stand” Symposium in LA prompted many inquiries about the Fellows Program, after the original deadline passed. NEC has generously extended the deadline to February 17, 2012. It’s not to late to apply for this life-changing, tuition-free, executive leadership program that advances the El Sistema movement in the U.S. For further information, visit: necmusic.edu/abreu-fellowship.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive. “ –C.W. Leadbeater
“Associate with people who are likely to improve you.” –Seneca
“The huge spiritual world that music produces in itself, ends up overcoming material poverty. From the minute a child’s taught how to play an instrument, he’s no longer poor. He becomes a child in progress, heading for a professional level, who’ll later become a citizen.” –Dr. José Antonio Abreu
UPCOMING BODY MAPPING WORKSHOP IN NEW ENGLAND:
And, lastly, IPAP celebrates ONE YEAR this month! Happy Birthday to us!
Laura Lentz
Adam Shames
Alan Tormey
Alexis Del Palazzo
Kira Campo
Vanessa Breault Mulvey
Jonathan Kuuskoski
Angela McCuiston
Jennifer Borkowski
Sarah Greenwald
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