Anyone know a better performance of this? If so, let us know in the comments so we can buy it immediately.
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BrassFest at University of Wisconsin-Madison this weekend
The UW-Madison School of Music will be holding their BrassFest event this weekend. The inaugural event was held last year. The event will include performances from the Axiom Brass, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, and Adam Rapa from the Belgium Brass. We love to see events like this especially when they appear to have some legs like this one does.
Paid tickets are required with the exception of the Sunday event, which is free. Tickets are available here.
BrassFest Lineup
Friday October 9-Axiom Brass
Saturday October 10-Festival Brass Choir (Axiom Brass, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, and Adam Rapa)
Sunday October 11-Adam Rapa and Elisabeth Vik (Vocalist)
Will you be attending the event this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
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Wisconsin Brass Quintet on Amazon
Wisconsin Brass Quintet on iTunes
Film Score Friday: Saving Private Ryan
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from Saving Private Ryan. This 1998 film is one of our favorite scores from the war movie genre. In the grand scheme of John Williams scores, this one is quite different. In a typical Williams score you get lots action music accompanying action in the film. This is different. Many of the most intense action-packed parts of the film are without music or have very little accompaniment. The most intense music is saved for lulls in the action. We struggle to advocate for less score from this composer, but the approach works incredibly well.
The score was recorded by the Boston Symphony. The recorded in their usual home, Symphony Hall. The highlight of the score is titled Hymn to the Fallen. Williams said he intended this to be the Requiem of the film. It features chorus and all parts of the orchestra. The middle of this part contains an amazing brass choir section. There have been a number of arrangement for stand alone brass choir since the film debuted. Here's a good one from Vienna Brass Connection.
Where does Saving Private Ryan rank for John Williams scores? Let us know in the comments.
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Arturo Sandoval-Live at Yoshi's
Arturo Sandoval's new album Live at Yoshi's just came out. Sandoval is as great as you would expect on this live album. Thankfully some his entertaining banter with the audience made it on to the recording. Our one complaint with this was the keyboard. It was a bit much at times and a bit out there. Over all, it's worth your time to check out.
Arturo Sandoval – Trumpet
Rene Toledo - Guitar
Dave Siegel - Keyboards
Johnny Friday – Drums
Kemuel Roig - Piano
John Belzaguy – Bass
Ricardo Pasillas - Percussion
Tracks
1. Second Line
2. Bebop Medley
3. Dear Diz, Every Day I Think of You
4. El Manisero
5. Joy Spring
6. Sureña
7. Seven Steps to Heaven
Will you be listening to this album? Let us know in the comments.
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Arturo Sandoval-Live at Yoshi's on Amazon
Festive Overture for Tuba Choir
Brighten up your day with this great arrangement of Shostakovich's Festive Overture. The arrangement here is from Jon Oliver and conducted by Matthew Mireles. Sadly, it's not available for purchase. Luckily, you can listen to it here. Enjoy!
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Film Score Friday: Goldfinger
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to the score from 1964's Goldfinger. John Barry wrote the score for what is considered one of the best James Bond films. Barry wrote the score for 11 different Bond films, but this is certainly one of the best.
The score calls for four Trumpets, Five Trombones, Four Horns, and Tuba. What's great about the score the ranges of moods Barry captures. There is swing with the classic James Bond theme that has become so iconic. At other times, he goes for more of a sweeping orchestral feel more reminiscent of westerns during this 60's.
Here's a clip of Barry conducting an excerpt of Goldfinger at an award show.
Barry knew very little about the film and its characters before working on the music. It's hard to believe given how well his themes fit the characters and highlights of the film. It would be hard to imagine Sean Connery's swagger without the awesome accompaniment of these themes.
“I sat down at the piano and I came up with ‘Da ya na na da.’ And did it on wah-wah trumpets.”
Is Goldfinger the best James Bond score? Let us know in the comments.
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Watch the NY Philharmonic Season begin
The New York Philharmonic will have their opening gala tomorrow. The program will be broadcast on PBS via their Live from Lincoln Center program. The program comes on at 9 Est and we'll definitely be tuning in. We've listed the program below.
2015/2016 New York Philharmonic Opening Gala
Piano Concerto-Grieg
Symphony #7-Beethoven
Will you tune in for this concert? Let us know in the comments.
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Courtesy HermanMehari.com
Hermon Mehari wins the 2015 Carmine Caruso Competition
Hermon Mehari has won the 2015 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Solo Trumpet Competition. Other finalists included Zubin Edalji, Max Goldschmid, Aidan Lombard, and Joshua Shpak. Judges included Bobby Shew, Clay Jenkins, and Ingrid Jensen. ITG has a number of pictures of the event worth checking out.
Mehari was a semifinalist in the 2014 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition less than a year ago. He also took the prize at the 2008 National Trumpet Competition. If you haven't heard his playing yet, you should.
Check out some of Mehari's work on SoundCloud
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Film Score Friday: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This John Williams score premiered in the same year as Star Wars. If John Williams had only written one of these score that year it would have been impressive. Both ended up being iconic and helped cement his status.
Many movies are improved or even made with a great score. This film certainly fits that category but goes a step further. Stephen Spielberg insisted the film be edited to match Williams' score. In case you're wondering, it's almost always done the other way around.
If you make a list of memorable Tuba solos from film scores, this must be at the top of your list. It's hard to think of a more memorable Tuba solo than this. The music is so integral to the plot it fits perfectly.
In the video above, Spielberg and Williams talk about the origin of five note motive that appears throughout the film. If you looks real hard you'll see how hard they thought about this when you see a Kodaly reference. The Tuba solo at the climax of the film was performed by Tommy Johnson and Jim Self. It's a classic from the very beginning of the era when great scores began to be paired up with science fiction.
What do you think about Close Encounters? Let us know in the comments.
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Should I try TuneIn?
Why do I need another music app? If you're like us, you're struggling to decide why yet another music service or app is needed in your life. TuneIn could be a welcome addition for certain type of listener.
What is it?
TuneIn is a streaming app with lots of options. These are primarily composed of terrestrial radio stations that TuneIn aggregates. If you have a fondness for the NPR station you listened to when you lived in Milwaukee, this might be for you. Not all stations are available so if you have something in mind you'll have to try in and see.
What else does it have?
TuneIn came out recently with a premium tier that offers additional features like MLB games, audiobooks, and more commercial free music. It runs $7.99 a year.
Where do I listen?
TuneIn has done well with offering lots places to listen. The usual places like Apple devices, android, and Windows are options. There's some less common options like Roku boxes, Sonos systems, and Xbox as well. It makes us happy when services like this give lots of places to listen. Check here for the fill list.
Should I try it?
For the free tier, absolutely give it a try and if it's your cup of tea. Free is always a good price. For the premium tier, that's a bit more of a personal preference. If something like MLB or commercial free options stand out to you then it might be worth it.
Have you tried TuneIn? Let us know how it went in the comments.
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Facing Fear with Jeff Nelsen
The always entertaining Jeff Nelson has a great Ted Talk about performing and overcoming fear. This is something we have all faced at one time performing. He shares some practical and actionable things you can do to combat these kinds of thoughts.
What will you take away from Jeff's story? Let us know in the comments.
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Film Score Friday: First Knight
This week on Film Score Friday, we listen to 1995's First Knight. James Horner scored the music for this retelling of the story of Knight Arthur. This one falls under the category of middle of the road movie with a great score.
The brass really get lots of opportunities to shine in this score. Each section really has unique times to shine as well. Trumpets have some great fanfares and lyrical passages. The horns get to soar over the top of the strings in many spots. The low brass really sets the tone of foreboding. Well done low brass and well done James Horner.
Horner came to this project at the last minute and recorded the score in just a few days. The rushed job doesn't show at all. This is a very underrated score and worth your time to check out. Besides, brass combined with a large choir singing ominously in Latin is awesome.
Where does First Knight rank for James Horner scores? Let us know in the comments.
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Learn from the River City Brass
The River City Brass debuted the first in a new instructional series today. The series is described as providing a quick lesson on an instrument/technique. Today's installment focuses on Tuba embouchure.
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6 Youtube Channels to follow for Trombone
If you're looking for some channels to subscribe to for Trombone, there's plenty to choose from. We have some suggestions on what should be at the top of your list
The Arizona State University Trombone choir has some great material. The video above, "Dear Lord I love thee" from Wycliffe Gordon, is but one example.
Christian Lindberg's channel is eclectic to say the least. There's videos of his performances as well conducting. He also has some fun with the channel with some entertaining video diary entries.
Carl Lenthe has some excellent solo literature on his channel that is hard to find elsewhere on youtube with this quality.
The Cleveland Trombone Seminar is worthy of you subscribing for their video of O Magnum Mysterium alone, but there's plenty of other ensemble performances of high quality.
The Southeast Trombone Symposium is great resource for orchestral excerpts.
Paul the Trombonist (AKA Paul Nowell) is prolific with his channel that has a wide range of topics from performances to interviews. If you're not familiar be forewarned, he's unique, but quite entertaining.
What did we miss? What other channels do you subscribe to for Trombone? Let us know in the comments.
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Film Score Friday: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
This week on Film Score Friday, we take a listen to 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Michael Kamen wrote the memorable score. This is written when Kamen really hit his stride in his career. This was a mediocre film, but the score really shines.
Even if you've never heard the score in full, you've almost certainly heard an excerpt. The beginning fanfare that Kamen wrote for the film was adapted by Morgan Creek Productions for their title sequence heard on many films after it came out.
Kamen wrote so many great horn parts for this score that it's hard to call out a specific sequence. Speaking of that, the Vienna horns have a marvelous recording of an arrangement of this score. It's worth a look.
The hard part about this film is it's not great. Everyone has a British accent, except for Robin Hood. It's really strange and distracting. If you watch it, just try to focus on the great music and you'll be in a much happier place.
Is this the best of Kamen's works? Let us know in the comments.
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Fred Mills on Sesame Street
We came across this great video of Fred Mills making an appearance in Sesame Street. We still miss Fred Mills, but this is a nice reminder of the fun spirit he brought to his music.
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You can smell the jazz...
Apparently, there was some rough weather in Phoenix this week. Also, it seems that Carl Saunders played a great show despite spotty power and lack of lighting at times.
Someone in the audience told a local media outlet "You can smell the jazz..." Take a moment to consider that. Some guy actually said that.
“You can smell the jazz”
Previewing the Boston Symphony's 2015-2016 Season
The Boston Symphony's new season starts soon. Here's what we're looking forward to.
Symphony #9-Shostakovich
Symphony #2-Brahms
Elektra-Strauss
Symphony #5-Shostakovich
Symphony #3-Beethoven
Petrushka (1911)-Stravinsky
Suite from Romeo and Juliet-Tchaikovsky
Symphony #1-Mahler
Symphony #9-Mahler
La Mer-Debussy
What are you looking forward to in the BSO's upcoming season? Let us know in the comments.
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Classic FM makes a compelling case why Mahler's second is awesome.
Classic FM made a great case why Mahler #2 is so awesome. They managed to sneak a Raiders of the Lost Ark reference in there too. Well played Classic FM, well played.
“And so it goes on in its inimitably idiosyncratic fashion, each corner of its five movements rushing about like a furtive spy with an excellent pedigree in orchestra writing and a top-notch record collection. And some existential ennui, of course. Don’t forget that. ”
Film Score Friday: The Right Stuff
This week on Film Score Friday, we take a look at 1983's The Right Stuff. Bill Conti received an academy award for this score. Conti was the second choice for this film after John Barry dropped out of the production. Conti nailed it.
The Right Stuff is about the early days of the space race. It follows Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier up through a number of manned missions into space. The film comes in over 3 hours and covers a lot of ground so anyone would be challenged to capture the right tone for the film. Conti pulls it off tremendously. The score matches every bit of the film's patriotic and adventurous tone. He inserts the theme of Wild Blue Yonder a number of times. It's appropriate for obvious reasons, but also fits given many of the characters are in the Air Force.
The score was not released when the film premiered. The Right Stuff was unsuccessful at the box office and the score was not officially released until 2009. It's a shame given the quality of what Conti wrote. You'll hear plenty of influence from The Planets and Holst. You can hear most in the first act of the movie and the influence of Jupiter. Conti captures the right patriotic mood for the film and does it with some great parts for the whole brass section.
Do you have the right stuff? Tell us in the comments what you think about this score.
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