The Internet as a Music Resource

PMAC is about to launch a new blog - "Living Composer of the Month." It will be an educational resource, providing information about composers who are actively writing music today. I believe it is vitally important that our young music students, particularly classical and jazz students, understand that there is a thriving world of new music. Even our rock students sometimes get caught up playing the music of The Beatles, Led Zepplin and Cream - though they tend to be much more in touch with the music of the moment.

There is great music being written TODAY. Even though we cherish and continue to perform Beethoven, Ellington, Bach, Coltrane, and Mozart, there are wonderful composers living among us who are writing music that young musicians should be learning to play and programming on their concerts.

Our first "Living Composer of the Month" is a wonderful example of how the internet can be used to learn about today's music. Information about her music appears all over the net. There are wonderful interviews with her on YouTube and you can even stream complete recordings of some of her major compositions - without paying a penny. Of course, you can also buy her music on iTunes, or on CD from any music store (online or otherwise). You can also purchase her actual music (scores and parts) on the internet and learn to play it yourself. If you want to hear her music live, there are many resources for finding her concerts and purchasing tickets. And, through the wonders of the internet, I was able to interview her via e-mail - she doesn't live in this part of the world, yet communicating with her was remarkably easy.

I am hoping that this new project will be embraced by our students and reach an even larger audience. It is important that musicians champion the music of their time. Check back later this week - I will provide the link to the new blog. And then on May 1st we'll unveil our first Living Composer of the Month. I hope you'll come along for the ride.

FriPod

Today's random playlist, with some notes.

1. Victory at Sea (Richard Rodgers) The Portsmouth New Horizons Band "Concert of Thanksgiving 2008" - This has never happened before, but I hit shuffle and the first recording to pop up is a PMAC student performance. One of our clarinet players recently asked me to put this arrangement back into our repertoire for this summer. Listening to it both reminds me how much rehearsal it takes to put it together, and how much fun it is to play. We might just have to bring this one out of the library again soon.

2. The Larger Bowl Rush "Snakes and Arrows Live" - My two sons are huge Rush fans, thus the presence of about a dozen Rush albums in my iTunes catalog. Do have to admit that taking the boys to see them in concert in 2008 was fun.

3. Off the Wall Michael Jackson "The Essential Michael Jackson" - Katie picked this one up last summer after his untimely passing. The title track from his pre-Thriller masterpiece. It can be hard to remember back to pre-scandal, even pre-Thriller Michael, but if you can ignore all the baggage, you can still groove to the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" who I think would have been better crowned the "King of Soul," as clearly evidenced in this track.

4. You Dress Up For Armageddon, I Dress For Summer The Hives "The Black and White Album" - Reminiscent of the punk-pop anthems of the early 1980s, I've never thought of The Hives as a terribly original band. But they can provide some great background music for a summer party. I'd sooner listen to the Arctic Monkeys any day.

5. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) The Jacksons "The Essential Michael Jackson" - Guess it's going to be one of those FriPods. Alright, I admit it. I hit the advance button as soon as this came on.

6. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 23 - Andante (Third Movement) (Scriabin) Evgeny Kissin "Scriabin: Sonata No. 3, 5 Preludes; Medtner: Sonata Reminiscenza; Stravinsky: Three Movements from Pétrouchka" - Finally, something to really share! If you do not know Scriabin, listen to some of his piano music ASAP. This gorgeous recording is a great place to start - with the bonus of Stravinsky.

7. La la La the bird and the bee "the bird and the bee" - Another recommendation. Some of the more catchy pop out there right now with just the right amount of saccharine. Fun - but some explicit lyrics (not on this tune).

8. Perdido de Amor Luiz Bonfá "In the Mind of Jamie Cullum" - From an intriguing compilation album put together by jazz hipster Jamie Cullum. Beautiful piece. I might need to go out and find some more Bonfá. Cullum has achieved his goal.

9. I'm Shipping Up To Boston Dropkick Murphys "The Warrior's Code" - Love it. Dropkick at their best. Al Barr told me the story behind the discovery of this tune after a clinic he did with the youth rock bands at PMAC. Ask him about it the next time you run into him at Cafe Kilim.

10. Hook Blues Traveler "four" - From the definitive Blues Traveler album. Reminds me of Cat Stevens, in a really good way.

Well, that's what you sometimes get when you hit shuffle. The Scriabin alone makes it worth hitting "publish." Enjoy your weekend and I hope to see you tonight at PMAC's Spring Fever for the Arts!

Spring Fever for the Arts is tomorrow night!!!

It finally arrives tomorrow night: PMAC's Third Annual "Spring Fever for the Arts."

This is an amazing party. Please join us tomorrow night at the Discover Portsmouth Center - pre-party at 7:00 pm, and full-raging party at 8:00 pm. Everything you need to know can be found by clicking HERE.

This event raises funds for youth music and arts scholarship and community education programs. The Portsmouth Music and Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit school, and support is needed to keep programs accessible to all in the community. This is a great way to show your support and have a blast at the same time. Hope to see you there!

practicing and breathing

In order to have productive practice sessions, you really need to be there, in the moment. Find ways to shed the stresses of life, to remove preoccupations when you begin your practice routine each day. In my casual reading about Zen practices (I am no expert), breathing plays a significant role in attaining focus on the now. Being a saxophonist, I have the advantage of my breathes being an integral part of my music making. But in reality, breathing plays a role in the making of all music, for music is a living and breathing art form. If you play violin or piano or guitar - or any "non-wind instrument" - you must pay extra attention to the way you breathe as you play. Breathe with your musical phrases.

I begin most practice session with long tones. They allow for deep breathing and have a calming effect. They also focus me for the work ahead. How does breathing factor into your practice?

Do you play an instrument?

This one goes out to adults in particular.

Do you play an instrument? I'm looking to grow our adult New Horizons Band. It's an early-intermediate level concert band that meets on Tuesday nights and performs about 4-5 times a year in the community. We currently have about 20 adult student musicians in this group. ANYONE over the age of 21 can come sit in and play with this group to try it out for free. If you join, there is a tuition, but it is definitely worth it. This band is really designed for two types of adults:

1. Those who played a band instrument in their youth and following a period of not playing want to return to their instrument and play in a band setting.
2. Those who never had the chance to learn an instrument and play in a band. We can teach you how to play and get you into the band setting quickly so you can have all the fun of a band experience.

While we welcome new members on any instrument, I am particularly looking for:

• trombones
• flutes
• clarinets
• percussionists
• French horns
• baritone saxophone
• bass clarinet
• bassoons

Shoot me an e-mail at russ@pmaconline.org if you are interested. For more information, check us out at http://pmaconline.org/New-Horizons-Band.html

A new week, a new blog entry

2010 has been a non-blogging year thus far. The rise of Facebook and Twitter changed where I focus my online efforts. But there's only so much you can say in 140 characters, and both mediums are so "in the moment" that each posting takes on a fleeting quality. Therefore I've decided to devote a little time to blogging again. Post may be short at first (call it a side-effect of Tweeting), but I do feel it is important to tackle weightier issues of music and art education - such as listing random iPod playlists, or reviewing the occasional exhibit or concert. So, with that said, I'm back.

Memorable concerts I've attended thus far this year:

Tegan and Sara at the Orpheum
The Monterey Jazz Festival Tour at The Music Hall with Kurt Elling, Regina Carter, Russell Malone and Kenny Baron.
Michelle Enos and Ben Tibbetts Junior Piano and Composition Recital at UNH
Jared Steer Trio at The Barley Pub

Come Join the Puppet Party

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break! Lessons resume at PMAC tomorrow, though most classes and ensembles are on hiatus until February - except the new art classes! And, speaking of art, check out PMAC's first-ever Saturday workshop (one day only):

PUPPET PARTY!
Saturday, January 16th from 1 to 3 p.m. at PMAC
For Children in Grades 1 & 2 (enrollment is limited!)
Led by PMAC Visual Arts Instructor Anna Nuttall
$30 per student for this workshop plus a $5 materials fee
Enjoy a magical session of puppet-making! Join us for this FUN and unique experience “carving” FOAM to create super hand puppets! We will create your favorite animals or people, or invent your own creatures from your imagination! Dream up parrots with personality, purple polka-dotted beings from outer space, or make yourself a human-like foam friend! When finished, children will develop a personality for their puppet and we’ll let the conversations begin! Art comes to life with puppet-making!

Amanda Palmer with The Boston Pops - New Years Eve 2009-10

Had a great time with Adam at the Boston Pops' New Year's Eve gala bash. Unfortunately, Katie came down with a cold, so her seat was empty. :-(

Here's the setlist from Amanda's portion of the concert:

They opened her half of the concert with the U.S. Premiere of "Statuesque" a short film by Neil Gaiman (Amanda's boyfriend), starring none other than Amanda Palmer. Watch the film on YouTube here.

Then the second half (Amanda's half) of the concert began:

Missed Me

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

Astronaut

Mein Herr

Runs in the Family

Hurt (Nine Inch Nails cover)

Coin-Operated Boy

countdown to midnight

Auld Lang Syne

We Are The Champions (Queen cover)

encores:

Neil Gaiman read his New Year's Benediction

Poker Face (Lady Gaga cover)

Leeds United

It was a great show, though similar in many ways to her show of June 2008. Read my blog entry about that show here.

Resolutions for the New Year

I start off each year with a list of resolutions, a reminder to myself of how I would live my life in an ideal world. Just the act of writing them down often instigates action. I just read my list from last year and I like it. Read it here. This year I'm going in a different direction, with some specific actions. Though I'll still try to live up to the lofty ideals of last year's list. For 2010 I resolve to:

• Read - Katie gave me a Kindle for Christmas. Add that to the vast quantities of books on my shelves that I've wanted to read for some time, I've come to the decision that I need to read more. This should be an easy resolution to follow through on, since I really do enjoy books. Right now I'm reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, as well as Robin Kelley's new biography of jazzman Thelonious Monk. I think that's a good start.
• Perform - In 2010 I'll be performing quite a bit more than I have in recent years. PMAC has absorbed all aspects of my life for nearly a decade. I think I've come to a point now where I can resume my life as a performing musician and balance it with my PMAC responsibilities. So I hope to see you at a gig soon!
• Compose - I plan on writing more music this year. Ditto to what I said about performing.
• Play - This is the year my disc golf game will come of age. My breakthrough year. Count on it.
• Ride - My bicycle, that is. As often as I can, which is not as much as I'd like in this "challenging" climate.
• Listen - I love music. Can't state that enough. Will continue to listen as much as I can - live, recorded, whatever.
• Live - Enough said.

Happy New Year!

Top Ten Concerts of 2009

Continuing tradition, here is my list of the top ten concerts of 2009. Remember, only concerts that I attended are on the list. This is at least my fourth year doing this, though I only have the previous two years on this blog (I lost 2006 in a transfer from another blog site!) Click the following to see my top concerts of 2008 and my top concerts of 2007. While I do see my fair share of national acts, I highly recommend everyone support local acts and local venues! This is where much of the best music is made today!

10. St. Vincent, Somerville Theater - I was really looking forward to this concert. In 2008, I had tickets to their show at The Middle East in Cambridge and missed it because I was sick with a severe cold. In early 2009 they released their latest CD - Actor - and their May show at the Somerville Theater seemed the perfect opportunity to make up for 2008's loss. Unfortunately, the concert was a bit of a disappointment. So why does it come in at number ten? We'll, I really love their music and even though the concert wasn't all I'd hoped for, I still cherished the opportunity to see the amazing Annie Clark (pictured - in a photo from the Somerville show) do her thing live. She is an amazing composer, vocalist and guitarist, and I think that since the show we saw was the opening night of the tour, things weren't quite there yet. She didn't really connect with the crowd, and the band sound was a bit on the sterile side. But the musicianship was really top notch. Just disconnected from the room. I hope to have the opportunity to give them another try soon.

9. Tim Webb and Friends, The Press Room in Portsmouth - This January show was quite possibly my first show of 2009 and still lingers with me. I wrote a blog entry about the show here. The line-up of Tim, Titus Abbott, Matt Langley, Mike Effenberger and Mike Walsh (with guests Chris Klaxton and Jim Clark) was stellar - many of the area's top jazz players. There isn't enough free jazz being done around here. Unfortunately it is under appreciated in this neck of the woods.

8. Philip Glass and Friends, The Music Hall in Portsmouth - The show was a little uneven musically, but hey, it was Philip Glass. He did a great hour-long session with a group of PMAC students the afternoon of the concert (pictured), and was as kind and informative as could be. Though the new cello pieces that were on the concert are not really my thing, it was wonderful to have this 20th (and now 21st) century icon visit Portsmouth. Bravo to The Music Hall for bringing him here!

7. Bryan Killough and the Hot Club of Portland, The Portsmouth Gaslight Company - Not enough restaurants in town have live music. And those that do sometimes don't offer the top local talent. But for a several month run in 2009, you could catch Bryan Killough and his Hot Club of Portland every Friday night while enjoying a meal at the Portsmouth Gaslight Company. Unfortunately, that run came to an end in the late summer or early fall, but luckily Katie and I got the chance to catch their show several times this year. The line-up changed, depending on musician availability from week to week, but the music never failed to inspire. Whether it was Joyce Anderson on jazz violin and vocals or Charlie Jennison on soprano sax, the music was always joyous, capturing the spark of genius that Django Reinhardt left to the world. If the people at the Gaslight are reading this, please bring them back in 2010. I haven't been back since they left and I'm longing for a great dinner with their beautiful soundtrack.

6. Green Day, Boston's Banknorth Garden - This was it. The big, national, touring, spectacular that our two sons chose for their 2009 major concert outing. In 2008 we began this tradition with a trip to Manchester to see Rush. This year it was Green Day in Boston. It was a classic rock show, with the obligatory obscenities, t-shirt cannon, audience singing competitions, confetti, explosions, and more. We definitely got our money's worth, and Katie and I got to relive our youth with a concert that lived up to all the expectations of 1980s spectacles. Billy Joe Armstrong and the gang gave it their all and the kids have a golden memory that will most likely last a lifetime. I can't wait to find out what show they want to see in 2010!

5. Charlie Kohlhase and The Explorers' Club with Eric Hoffbauer, West End Studio Theatre in Portsmouth As I said, there is not enough free jazz in Portsmouth. And on a cold, wintery night in early 2009, Charlie and his free-thinking cohorts were determined to do something about that. I wish more people attended this show. It was a small audience, and the music deserved to be heard. A CD release show for the Explorers Club's latest effort, the wonderful musicians in Charlie's band were ON. Free jazz at its finest. Eric Hoffbauer, who is the Explorers Club guitarist, also opened the show with many of his originals. I hope I have more notice the next time these guys come to town. I'll beat the drum and get people out. They are definitely worth it.

4. Clara's Dream, The Music Hall in Portsmouth - As wintery as it was, there was nothing cold about this hot show of jazz and tap. It was the second time I've seen Clara's Dream and though I remember the show as being amazing in 2004, everyone I was with said this run was much better. I don't care to compare the two, but I will say that this year's production was fantastic, one of the best shows of the year. Even though it is a dance show, the live band on stage gave one of the best jazz performances I've heard all year and are deserving of high honors on this list. I'm glad the Music Hall let Drika Overton bring this gem back, and hope this wasn't its last hurrah. My Christmas wish is that this show should have a long life for many more seasons.

3. Spinal Tarp, The Barley Pub in Dover - O.M.G. It was tough deciding not to make this the #1 show of the year. If you missed it, I'm sorry. You missed something very, very special. In my opinion, it is nearly impossible to pull of a good parody of a parody, but somehow these guys managed to do just that. I have never, ever had so much fun at a Halloween concert. My full blog report is here. This was one for the books. Can they top this for 2010? If they come close, I'll be floored. Wow.

2. Amanda Palmer with Nervous Cabaret, the Portland Music Hall - This was a great show - and adding Nevous Cabaret really changed up the mix of Amanda's music in a great way. Now I'm looking forward to her New Year's Eve show with the Boston Pops. I decided not to wait and got this list out now, but I have a feeling that the final show of 2009 might give the top of this list a run for its money. (the picture is of me and Amanda right after the November 2009 show)

1. The Dirty Projectors, the Somerville Theatre - The Dirty Projectors are, without a doubt, one of the most creative, unique bands of today. The vocal work is complex and startling - in the best of ways. The arrangements are unexpected and clever. And the music is truly original. Katie and I were thrilled to catch them in June and are eagerly hoping to see them again (we missed their last trek through Boston due to a scheduling conflict). This show was the gem of the year. If you don't know their music, go buy their CDs immediately. I can't guarantee that you'll love, or even like them. But they deserve a listen.

And with that I come to the end of another list and another year. Let me know what your favorite show of 2009 was. You just might convince me to go see your favorite band in 2010.

Amanda Palmer 11/12/109 Setlist

Those who know me well know that I am a pretty big fan of Amanda Palmer. I went to her November 12th concert in Portland and will be going to see her with Katie on New Years Eve with the Boston Pops - yes, that's less than 3 weeks away and I can't think of many better ways to ring in the new year. I've been meaning to do my customary posting of her setlist from the Portland show for some time, but concert happenings at PMAC have been keeping me too busy. So here it is, better late than never:

Amanda Palmer with Nervous Cabaret

Portland Music Hall, Nov. 12, 2009

Missed Me

Astronaut

Guitar Hero

Mrs. O

Coin-Operated Boy

Point of it All

I Google You

Sex Changes

Ampersand

Delilah

Mandy Goes to Med School

House of the Rising Sun (Animals cover)

Leeds United

encores:

Makin' Whoopie (cover on ukulele)

That's Not My Name (Ting Tings cover)

Oasis

The Music Ensemble/Sports Team analogy

I have two sons who are active Little League players - actually only one now, since my older son has aged out of the league. Both are also very active musicians. Sometimes I'll talk with parents who will make comparisons between team sports and music ensemble experiences. I'll often hear a music rehearsal (or class) compared to a sports team practice, an analogy that doesn't hold up for me. I think of it a little differently. Here are some comparisons, with the sports team concept first, followed by the music ensemble concept.

manager/coach=conductor/instructor (easy enough)

player (athlete)=player (musician) (as easy as it gets)

team practice=practicing instrument/music at home (I'll explain some of these more at the end)

regular season game=music ensemble rehearsal/class

playoff game=performance/concert

You may be asking: "Why isn't a rehearsal analogous to a practice and a performance analogous to a game?" Well, in most youth sports programs there are many games that lead up to some form of championship series. In most leagues, such a Little League, regular season games are all about equal playing time (as much as is possible) and learning the game. Team records in Little League are cleared at the beginning of the playoffs - all teams begin the post-season on equal footing. Only in the playoffs do wins and losses determine rank in the league.

In a music ensemble, there tend to be far fewer performances than games in a sports season. In fact, in most American educational ensembles (not just PMAC, but public schools and other music opportunities) there tends to be only one or two performances at the end of a long series of rehearsals. The same weight is put on such performances as is put on sports playoff games. Performances, like playoff games, are taken very seriously, even though the point (like in sports) is to experience the thrill and joy of participation in such an event. Good Little League programs are able to balance fun with the gravity of a playoff game, and good music programs are able to balance fun with the gravity of live performance in front of an audience.

Regular season games are very important. Each season I see my sons' teams improve vastly, especially in the area of defense (which is the aspect of baseball that requires the most team interaction), over the course of the regular season. It is the regular season games that provide the educational atmosphere that make compelling and well-played playoff games possible.

A baseball game can't be played without all 9 fielders, and some pitching and fielding relief in the dugout. Basically, a team plays at its best when everyone is present. The same holds true for music ensembles. Whether an orchestra, rock band or sax quartet, all ensembles play their best when everyone is present. In a music ensemble, the need for all members to be present and playing is analogous to a team's need for all players at a regular season game.

In sports teams, practices are opportunities isolate fundamentals and work on drills. I see this as analogous to practicing one's part at home or in private lessons with a teacher. Just as a sports team can't run onto the field and play a game without practicing drills and learning rules in practice, a music ensemble can't play pieces of music in a rehearsal without the players practicing and learning their parts independently. Just as baseball players will practice fielding ground balls during drills at their team practice, music students should be practicing isolated passages from their music in independent practice sessions and lessons. Yes, the first several rehearsals are spent putting isolated parts of music together, but in most music ensembles entire pieces are being played after the first couple rehearsals (if not from the very first rehearsal). And once the musical group starts playing full pieces in rehearsal, independent practice does not stop, but rather continues to be an important part of the preparation cycle.

As with all analogies, these comparisons are not iron-clad definitions. I present them purely to demonstrate expectation similarities. Similar to sports, each player in a music ensemble plays a specific, unique role. And as such, each player is as indispensable to their ensemble as a player is to his team.

In rehearsals, much like sports games, the absence of players creates challenges that are sometimes impossible to overcome. When there aren't enough players to field, games are forfeited, and teams miss the opportunity to prepare for the playoffs. When playing in an ensemble, the same level of commitment is expected of a musician as is expected of an athlete on a sports team. And when student musicians rise to the occasion, remarkable things happen. That is why a spectacular music performance can often give audiences the same feelings of excitement and joy that sports fans experience during a playoff win.

Vote for PMAC in the Chase Community Giving Program on Facbook

Chase Bank is giving $5million to charities this year based on Facebook voting. The top vote-getter will receive $1million and the four runner-ups will each receive $100,000 each. The 100 charities that receive the most votes will each receive $25,000. The link to vote for the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center is at the bottom of this blog entry.

Now, you're thinking this is a long shot. Maybe. But the Facebook Application that is taking the votes is only allowing one vote per Facebook member. So most organizations are not getting that many votes. As I write this, PMAC already had 62 votes. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I've been searching though a lot of big nonprofits and I've only come across 5 with more than 100 votes. The largest vote getter I've found is the American Cancer Society of New York with a little over 700 votes. That is one of the largest charities in the world, with a HUGE Facebook population. So I'm thinking that any charity that can get into the hundreds might have a chance at this. So VOTE for PMAC!

The $25,000 is an unrestricted grant. It will make our educational programs more accessible to families who are facing tough financial times. It will help us develop new educational programs. We're working on expanding our visual arts classes - a grant like this would help us do more now.

Getting a membership at Facebook is easy. Click here: JOIN FACEBOOK. Once you're a member, be sure to become a friend of The Portsmouth Music and Arts Center. Our Facebook page is HERE. You'll get updates about PMAC and be able to interact with our Facebook community. Sometimes our Facebook fans are the first to learn about new PMAC happenings.

If you're a bit cautious about the net, you can still vote without creating an active account. Just make an account that is fully private and vote. No one will ever see who you are. But you will make a difference. (FYI: Several PMAC supporters have already done this and their votes count equally.)

So click the link below and help us get over the 100 vote mark. That's our goal. Let's see if we can hit it together. Thanks for helping us build community through the arts.

Social Capital

Lew Feldstein, president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, spoke before the Portsmouth Rotary Club today. The topic: What is social capital? Direct from Lew's literature, social capital "refers to the bonds that tie a community together - bonds that make communities safer, schools better and people healthier. When people are invested in their communities, they are more likely to vote, volunteer and care for one another."

The core message was that our connections with other people count. These connections have more than casual meaning. Such connections impact every aspect of our life, and the more meaningful the connection, the more positive the impact. This means that volunteering for an organization - getting involved - has as many benefits for you as it does for the organization you're helping. Maybe more.

When a community has a high level of social capital, benefits are seen in the areas of educational achievement, government performance, economic growth, and community safety. That's right - the higher the social capital in your community, the lower the crime rate.

This is a similar message as is heard in relation to "take back our streets" nights, when communities gather outside to celebrate while simultaneously "taking back the streets from criminals." In Portsmouth we participate in "National Night Out" every August for that very reason. This builds social capital.

Being a community member that participates also builds social capital - for you and your community. When you sing in a choir, play in a band, take an art class, or even go for a walk with your friends.

The Portsmouth Music and Arts Center is an organization that prides itself in building social capital. Here are some examples of the PMAC experience that result in a higher level of social capital:

• We encourage ensemble experiences for all of our music students and classroom experiences for our art students. The interaction between students is a powerful experience.
• Our students are able to network within our school - especially adult students. I can name several bands that were formed by adult music students (and professionals) who met in the walls of PMAC (Crabshack, George Rinalducci and the J Notes, Elissa Margolin and Friends, to name a few).
• Our faculty and staff is a "family." We all know each other, collaborate, share in our lives outside work, and often get together socially outside of the school. We tell each other jokes, and while we take our work very seriously, we try not to take ourselves too seriously.
• Our board of directors and volunteers are passionate about arts education. They all love PMAC - they really do. This becomes a unifying bond that results in life-long relationships outside of our organization.

What does all of this mean? Lew puts it simply: the more you are involved in your community, the healthier you and your community will become. And he closed his talk with a warning. Social capital is in decline. People are less involved with one another these days. There are fewer and fewer families spending early evenings on the front porch conversing with neighbors. Fewer people are seeking out others for meaningful relationships.

My hope is that an understanding of social capital will encourage more people to become engaged with their community. With other people. We're one outlet for such interaction, but there are dozens of other opportunities presented to each and every one of us daily. The next time such an option pops up, think about saying yes.

Fall 2009 Departmental Workshops

Below is detailed information pertaining to the upcoming Departmental Workshops. This is PMAC's sixth year of providing workshops for private lesson students. It is one of the advantages of studying at a community school and designed to be fun and informative for all students. Also check out my May 2005 Blog Post: The Value of Departmental Workshops.

MUSIC DEPARTMENTAL WORKSHOPS:
NOVEMBER 22 - 24, 2009

What are Departmental Workshops? Departmental Workshops are master classes for all private music lesson students who study at PMAC. These workshops are presented by our faculty and focus on musicianship, performance techniques, music equipment and repertoire.

Why do I have to attend? As a private music lesson student, workshop attendance is mandatory. This is an opportunity to work with different teachers, meet students with similar interests and learn something new. There are no lessons the week of Departmental Workshops to give everyone time to attend.

When are the Workshops? The dates are the workshops are November 22-24, 2009. Note the following changes: We’ve moved the two Wednesday workshops to the prior Sunday afternoon to accommodate families with full schedules and to move them farther away from Thanksgiving Day; and we’ve moved the Adult Workshop to Monday evening.

Where are they located? All Workshops take place in our PMAC Recital Hall.

How do I sign-up? Please talk to your instructor directly to get their recommendation for the best workshop for your ability. All workshops are limited to 25 participants – no exceptions! – so be sure to sign up early to get the class of your choice. If you have any questions, please call the PMAC Office at 431-4278 or e-mail Katie at katie@pmaconline.org.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
2-3pm: Music Theory Games (for any student, ages 7 to 14) – Instructor Bryan Killough presents several music theory concepts using games and interactive materials. Learn about intervals, scales and more in an entertaining and fun way! Workshop Leader: Bryan Bergeron Killough; Supporting Teacher: Nick Phaneuf

3:30-4:30pm: Listening Workshop – Song Forms (for any student ages 9 to 18) – In this listening based workshop hear a wide variety of songs from the world of popular music and learn what to listen for to reveal clues about how they are put together. Workshop Leader: Nick Phaneuf; Supporting Teacher: Bryan Bergeron Killough

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
3:30-4:30pm: Improvisation (for any instrumental student ages 9 to 18) – Get out your instruments and improvise along with our jazz faculty – even if you’ve never tried to improvise before! All instruments are welcome. Workshop Leader: Chris Klaxton; Supporting Teachers: Matt Langley, Mike Walsh, Jeff Auger

4:45-5:45pm: Guitar Amplifiers (for any guitar student, ages 5 to 18) – Learn about guitar amplifiers including how they work and techniques for getting the best sound production. Guest artist Dave Hunter invites all guitar students to bring their amplifier along to learn more about it. Workshop Leader: Dave Hunter (guest artist); Supporting Teachers: Nick Phaneuf, Carlos Sabina, Mike Effenberger

6-7pm: Auxilliary Percussion (for any student, ages 8 to 18) – Guest artist Shane Kinney from the Drum Shop of Portsmouth will bring a wide variety of auxiliary percussion instrument to this workshop where students will learn about and play the instruments. From bongos and congas to tambourines and triangles, there will be a lot of fun music to be made! - Workshop Leader: Shane Kinney (guest artist); Supporting Teachers: Mike Walsh, Adam MacDougall, Diane Tiezzi

7:15-9pm: Adult Workshop (for all adult students (ages 21+) – ALL adult private lesson students are asked to attend this important session where we get the opportunity to play our pieces for each other, discuss the unique challenges and joys of learning music as an adult, and partake in wonderful food and libations! - Workshop Leader: Mike Effenberger; Supporting Teachers: Diane Tiezzi, Adam MacDougall, Russ Grazier

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
3:30-4:30pm: Composition (for all students ages 8 to 18) – Do you write music? Have you ever wanted to write a song but don’t know where to begin? This special workshop provides insight into the craft of composition and gives easy tips to help you start writing your own original music. - Workshop Leader: Russ Grazier; Supporting Teachers: Katie Papini Backus, Adam MacDougall, Nicole Hajj

4:45-5:45pm: Young Student Workshop (for students ages 8 and younger) – Designed for our youngest lesson students, this workshop encourages joy and fun in music making. - Workshop Leader: Virginia Macdonald; Supporting Teachers: Nicole Hajj, Kibbie Straw

6-7pm: Listening Workshop - Opera (for students ages 8 to 18) – Listen to and learn about one of history’s great art-forms: opera. Great for all students, especially young singers. - Workshop Leader: Judy McCann; Supporting Teacher: Mark Zielinski, Nate Therrien

The Best Halloween Show Ever

Spinal Tarp (a Spinal Tap tribute band) gave one of 2009's best performances on Halloween night at The Barley Pub. Featuring PMAC guitar and bass instructor Nick Phaneuf as Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls and PMAC piano dept. chair Mike Effenberger as Viv Savage, the performance captured the true essence of Tap. And both the music and costumes were dead on. They performed EVERY song from the classic 1980 mock-u-mentary, even creating full arrangements of the first Tap tune and fully performing Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel, both of which were only snippets in the film and not on the soundtrack. It's definitely going to make 2009's top ten list!

New Website

The new PMAC website is live! Let us know what you think. In our humble opinion it is a clean, clear upgrade that is fully up to date with calendar info and more. Thanks to John Shore for the most excellent design!

Long time, no blog

Listening to the new Brandi Carlile on my iPod, eager for the upcoming Tegan and Sara release (next week!) and pretty much all-around content these days - though still actively pushing all boundaries. 2009 has been an extremely busy year, and thus very little blogging. But as PMAC continues to grow and thrive, I've promised my new marketing committee and webmaster that I will start updating the blog again. Shouldn't be too difficult, as I do like blogging.

And speaking of PMAC's new marketing committee and new webmaster, keep your eyes out for our NEW WEBSITE! It will debut very soon - before the end of October. In fact, it is on the verge of being launched. Very cool new site - simplified, but packed with up-to-date useful PMAC info.

Thanks for your patience during my time away. I back and ready to blog. Look for a lot more soon. For now, I need to get up and dance to Brandi's "Carolina" featuring Elton John.

-Russ

Fried Dough

Haven't been blogging for some time - since discovering Facebook, where you will find me daily. Sorry blogosphere!

OK - Thought of posting this to Facebook this morning, but it is too long a story, so here goes:

Took Jake to Water Country yesterday morning. Upon leaving he requests fried dough. Being the pushover I am, I agree, but the guy at the fried dough stand says, "sorry - we don't open for another hour." WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? Doesn't everyone want fried dough at 10:30 a.m.? I say to Jake (who wants to stand there and wait for an hour), "dude - I'll make you some fried dough at home." Agreed and we're off.

Later that day I pick up some frozen bread dough, a bottle of vegetable oil and a bag of confectioners sugar at Hannaford. The plan is going well. We all get home for dinner and I sit the bag of frozen dough - five loaves, each rock solid frozen and pretty small - on the kitchen counter to thaw. Don't open the bag, just sit it there on the counter. We have dinner. I load and run the dishwasher. I head to rehearsal - the kids home with the sitter for the evening.

I get home around 9:30 p.m. The location on the counter where I sat the bag of dough is right over the dishwasher - can get a bit warm (hot) when the dishwasher runs, right? What was five loaves sitting loosely in a big plastic bag is now a giant dough ball, the bag now like a balloon filled with dough instead of helium. OMG - I should put that in the fridge for tomorrow. I put it on the bottom shelf and go to bed for the night.

Wake up this morning, go to the fridge for milk for the kids cereal. Boy, that bag on the bottom shelf seems a little bigger now. I pull it out and immediately notice that the bag has burst and there is almost as much dough outside the bag as there is inside, the bag still stretched to its limits. Damn - must do something immediately before this turns into the film "The Blob".

Solution - fried dough for breakfast. Oh yeah, I just became the coolest dad on the block. And I learned how to separate frozen loaves and thaw them one at a time in a controlled environment along the way...

I'm back

Most of the past month has been an enormous push to Friday night's Spring Fever for the Arts - which was an overwhelming success! Needless to say, it left me with no time to blog, and for that I apologize. I plan to be back on the blogging wagon this week, so look for more web antics in the days to come.

Today I head to Boston with the family to D2E:Down 2 Earth, a huge sustainability fair that was co-founded by my sister, Lori. It is at the Hynes Convention Center in the heart of Boston and we are really looking forward to it. I'll take notes so I have plenty to report here tomorrow. Should be AMAZING.

For now, a few Broadway tidbits:

Did you know that Bono and The Edge are composing a new musical based on Spiderman (yes, the superhero) that debuts in NYC in February 2010?

Green Day is also heading to the stage with a musical adaptation of American Idiot.

We recently saw Coraline at the movies - it too is being adapted into a musical with music by a member of the Magnetic Fields.

And finally, a personal favorite, Amanda Palmer, is producing a play based on Neutral Milk Hotel's In an Aeroplane Over The Sea at her alma mater, Lexington High School. Don't know if I'll be able to get to this, since tickets are supposedly hard to come by, but don't be surprised if I manage to find a way to go see it!