The Fine Art of Listening: for Musicians & Audiences

June 11, 2010

Listening skills should be stock in trade for musicians, but experienced musicians face the same challenges of concentration and active listening that audiences do.  Timothy Walker’s keynote speech at Great Britain’s ISM (Incorporated Society of Musicians) hopefully didn’t fall on tin ears. Walker, Chief Executive of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, realistically addresses the difficulties musicians [...]

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Arts & Language Requirement for High School Graduation at Risk in California: Fight Back!

June 6, 2010

These are hard times, especially in nearly bankrupt California. But are we content to see the California legislature gut the heart (i.e., the arts) out of education? The arts and foreign languages are fundamental to education, especially in the world we live in today. If creative thinking and global communications were ever needed in this [...]

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Enjoy Operas from the Met: At the Movies or Online!

June 3, 2010

Can’t go to the opera? Does your busy schedule or a pinched pocketbook or an illness make you miss the magic of the live performance? While there is nothing like the excitement of being in the theater for the real event, there are now 2 wonderful and affordable alternatives: Option 1. Opera Night at the [...]

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Music Hath Charms to Soothe the Savage “Beast”

June 1, 2010

  Is music something we share with the animal kingdom? Or did they first introduce us to music? This is the musical chicken-or-egg question, and I might just lay my bet on the animals. From singing whales in the seas to birds in the trees, frogs on a log to crickets in a fog, the [...]

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Boomwhackers on Steroids: Plastik Musik

June 1, 2010

If you thought boomwhackers were just for kids, think again. Better still, listen to the percussion group Plastik Musik in their astounding Boomwhacker performance: The first time I met Craig Ramsell, creator of the Boomwhackers, was  in Phoenix, Arizona, about 15 years ago at a music education conference.  At the time, I knew his newly [...]

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Should School Kids Sing Praise Songs to the Prez?

May 29, 2010

  There are a few lines that should never be crossed in a democracy. One of those is the line separating church and state. For very good reasons, our founding fathers (while most of them shared the same basic Christian faith) had seen what happened in Europe when religion and politics got mixed. Heads rolled [...]

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Boys & Men Finding Their Voices in Barbershop Singing

May 23, 2010

The hills are alive with the sound of men singing in Great Britain. Television shows like Glee and The Choir, along with increasing numbers of You Tube videos of barbershop music,  may be contributing to the surge of popularity in Great Britain for close harmony singing. This week over 2500 eager singers are heading to [...]

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New Opera Explores Dementia & Alzheimer’s

May 17, 2010

The Lion’s Face, a new opera on the effects of ageing and memory loss, premieres in Brighton, England May 20, 2010, then tours the UK for the summer.  The music is by Elena Langer, and the lyrics by Glyn Maxwell. The creation of the opera involved an intense collaboration with scientists and doctors at the [...]

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King Henry VIII: Better Musician Than Husband

May 10, 2010

King Henry VIII, famous for his marriages on the rocks (and the blocks), is lesser known for his talent as a musician and composer. Tall, handsome, and charming in his youth, he played several musical instruments, and was a skilled singer and dancer. Some of his musical compositions are still performed today.

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Picasso and Music

May 7, 2010

Three Musicians by Picasso  After a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, mostly spent in the special Picasso exhibit (the largest ever), I was virtually blinded by “the embarrassment of riches” he left to the world. The chronological exhibit of his works gave cohesion to his life and his many artistic [...]

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Terror on Broadway: The Show Must (not) Go On

May 2, 2010

The scene was straight out of Hollywood. As my husband Jim and I left our small hotel room on 49th Street we had only 20 minutes to go before the curtains rose at Broadway theaters throughout the district. I had only 30 minutes earlier purchased tickets at TKTS (the half-price ticket booth on Times Square—see [...]

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Music from a Bonsai

April 21, 2010

How musical is a bonsai? Let me count the ways. . . In the words of the composer/performer Diego Stocco: “I always liked bonsai trees, and I was curious to try the approach I used for "Music from a Tree" on a smaller scale, so I bought a bonsai and recorded this little experimental piece. [...]

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Free Shipping for Music in Motion Facebook Fans

April 21, 2010

Free Shipping  for Facebook fans on all prepaid orders in the USA through April 25.  Sign up now if you’re not already a fan, and use the Promocode posted on our wall when you shop at Music in Motion. 

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50 Festivals & Places to See Live Jazz

April 21, 2010

Keep this schedule handy, support live performances, and best of all enjoy yourself at these wonderful live jazz events: Jazz Festivals & Places to See Live Jazz Part 1  Jazz Festivals & Places to See Live Jazz Part 2 Jazz Festivals & Places to See Live Jazz Part 3

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Opera/Ballet Live in Cinema series: Dallas metroplex

April 20, 2010

This took a little research to find, but thought that opera and ballet fans in the  Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex would find this theater schedule handy for upcoming productions from major opera/ballet companies around the world. How exciting is this! Gather up your friends or your music class and plan a night at the opera, Texas [...]

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See Live European Operas in Local Movie Theaters

April 18, 2010

Enjoy front row seats at the latest operatic productions from Milan’s La Scala and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, as well as from other European venues, all in the comfort of your local movie theater.  Join opening night audiences throughout the world to experience these outstanding operas in digital HD.  Oh brave new world that [...]

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Kids Interactive Music Link: Xploring Xtremes

April 18, 2010

ArtsEdge, Kennedy Center’s interactive website for music and arts education, is a free online resource  every teacher, librarian, parent, and caregiver should know about, but probably doesn’t.  One of my favorite features was Xploring Xtremes. Kids can explore and analyze musical extremes in dynamics, tempo, and other elements of music, through a variety of listening, [...]

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Jennifer Higdon Wins Pulitzer for Violin Concerto

April 13, 2010

Photo by Candace DiCarlo                  PRODIGY (not), PULITZER WINNER (yes) Brooklyn-born Jennifer Higdon was a late comer to music, not beginning formal studies until she was 18.  A self-taught flutist, she did not begin to study composition until she was 21.  From this laid-back musical beginning, she has since catapulted herself onto center stage, becoming [...]

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Spring Catalog: A Touch of the Old West

March 9, 2010

Westward Ho! Our Texas roots got the best of us in our new spring catalog, which should be arriving in your mailbox any day, if it hasn’t already. We have lots of interesting new materials in all categories, but I think you and your kids will especially enjoy the pioneering spirit of the Old West, [...]

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Holiday Gift Tips for Musicians of All Ages

December 15, 2009
Holiday Gift Tips

Musical gifts for all ages. The Music Instinct DVD (with Bobby McFerrin) explores not just how we make music but why. B. B. King introduces the blues to kids. Sing-along to learn musical styles in Bake Me A Pie. Over the Top documentary follows young performers. Dot the Musical dragon is hip with babies.

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Gustavo Dudamel: A Revolutionary Musical Hero

December 15, 2009
Gustavo Dudamel

Gustavo Dudamel, classical music’s hottest young star and new LA Philharmonic director, spearheaded a musical revolution in Venezuela that affected thousands of young, poor and at-risk students.

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MAO’S LAST DANCER: Autobiography, Children’s Books, & Movie

December 15, 2009
Mao's Last Dancer

11-yr.-old Li Cunxin is taken from his family to train at the Beijing Ballet Academy during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. He dances his way to freedom and international acclaim when he courageously defects to the USA. 3 versions of this incredible true story: for adults, young readers, and children.

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Spike Jones – Dec. 14

December 14, 2009
Spike Jones

This bandleader and musical parodist used “found sounds” from hiccups to gunshots in his musical spoofs, paving the way for STOMP, Blast, P.D.Q. Bach, Frank Zappa, Monty Python, & others. He (and Donald Duck) even spoofed Hitler, who probably wasn’t amused.

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Oliver Messiaen – Dec. 10

December 12, 2009
Bird Song

“I give bird-songs to those who dwell in cities and have never heard them. . .and paint colors for those who see none.” —Messiaen. He used birdsongs and colors as no musician ever had before, bringing beauty and hope even to fellow prisoners in a German POW camp.

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