UPDATE 7/14/07: I think I have the expandable posts feature working again. This feature is actually a hack I got from Ramani at Hackosphere. The problem was one of exceeded bandwidth. Every time someone clicks to expand a post, a script over at his site is accessed. Ramani has been gracious enough to supply the actual script itself, which is now in my blog template. Problem solved!
Now, when you click on “Read More….” the actual post page will appear. This is better than before because now readers will also be able to see comments and any post links via a single click.
For some unknown reason my expandable posts feature is not working properly. I'm referring to the little hyperlink text at the bottom of most of my posts that says “Read more.” When you click on it, the rest of the post text should appear. But that’s not happening right now.
If you’re surfing the blog and want to read an entire article, just click on the post title. (For instance, the title for this post is Problems with "Expandable posts".) That will take you to the specific post page and you can read the full article/post there, complete with any available comments and links.
If anyone out there in blog-land had the same problem and knows a solution please let me know! It would be a long and tedious job to tear this feature from all of my posts, something I’d obviously rather not do.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Problems with "Expandable posts"
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Resource on Musicians of the African diaspora
(via On an Overgrown Path)
(Update 7/11: This post was quoted in its entirety at On An Overgrown Path, an important UK music blog I’ve admired for months [and from which I got the original idea for this post]. It’s awesome to get some link love from such an established site of the arts blogosphere. Thanks to “Pliable” for the recognition! Most importantly, though, this "re-blogging" will foster broader awareness of musicians who merit more attention - it makes the blogging project so much more meaningful.)
AfriClassical.com is a wonderful resource that presents information on classical composers and musicians of African heritage. It includes men and women from diverse populations around the globe, including Africans, African-Americans, Afro-Latin Americans, and Afro-Europeans. A broad historical range is covered from the 1700s up to the current day.
Many people do not realize the breadth of these contributions to the concert music tradition. It is true we often focus quite heavily on the “Dead White Guys” of the European art music tradition such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler, etc. But all through this history non-whites have been composing, conducting, and performing music. Sometimes their art got noticed, many times it did not.
Today it is becoming increasingly important for the concert stage to present and embrace more diverse programming from outside the standardized canon. I’ve felt quite strongly about this since I decided to become a professional musician and am happy to see that performance institutions are evolving towards inclusion of quality musical products from lesser-known composers and musicians. AfriClassical serves as a great introduction to some of these musicians. There are biographies, audio samples, and links to other pertinent sites and information. (As an example, check out an excerpt of the cool performance of Margaret Allison Bonds' "Troubled Water" by William H. Chapman Nyaho,
Not least important is the fact that many of these composers wrote great piano music. Over the years I’ve played some terrific pieces by African-American composers George Walker, Duke Ellington, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, and Hannibal. Even though some of these are household names (like Joplin and Ellington), their solo and ensemble concert music is often unfairly overlooked. (Who knew Ellington wrote a piano concerto?) It is great that AfriClassical is out there to help raise awareness about their repertoire as well as the music of more (unfortunately) obscure black musicians. Many audiences would appreciate more attention paid to it.
Monday, July 9, 2007
New BlogRoll list
I've decided to stop relegating my list of blogroll sites to a single post and finally created a BlogRoll link-list in the right-hand column. However, I do think it is good to have a brief description of each one so my BLOGROLL post is still online.
You'll notice that it is also in the blog category list.
Here are some recent additions I made to my BlogRoll:
Don’t drop the piano
A piano and songwriting blog with a pop/rock perspective.
UPDATE 10/3/07: This blog was deleted by its author(s) and is no longer available.
Hugh Sung
An extensive site about using music technology to augment the classical musician’s bag of tricks. Cutting edge hardware and software are presented and explained by Hugh Sung.
Music Teachers Blog
Community blog for the MusicTeacher’sHelper.com site, this focuses on pedagogical issues and studio management. (There is a fee for the use of its online studio management software, but not for the blog itself.)
Vana Jezebel
Pam Igelsrud, one of my good friends from school days at Eastman, writes a personal blog about life in Boston. She is a talented singer and a fearless interpreter of contemporary vocal music.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Nixon In China via Cincy
I’ve been incredibly lazy in my lackluster support for local performances recently, perhaps due to a little burnout from the long performance season that finished for me in late May. But now I’m pretty excited about Cincinnati Opera’s production of Nixon in China! This important opera was written by renowned American composer John Adams in 1987 and focuses on President Richard Nixon’s diplomatic mission to China in 1972.
Surely Cincinnati will be the cultural beacon for the mid-Atlantic area on the two performance dates of July 12 and 14. This is a rare chance to see a large contemporary concert music phenomenon in the Cincinnati area. (You would usually need to travel to places like New York, Chicago, or London to see something like this.) If you are close to the city and available to attend I would urge you to go see it, especially if you are a history/politics junkie. I’m probably going to see it on Thursday evening. If you have problems with opera because you often can’t understand what the characters are saying, there will be projected titles even though the opera is in English.
The music is poly-stylistic and incorporates plenty of popular music genres in its unique vocabulary. John Adams’ musical language has a rather Romantic sensibility that is well balanced with more challenging harmonies and textures. The stage production by James Robinson features multi-media techniques and choreography by Seán Curran.
Tickets available here.
Photo from the White House Photo Office (1969-74) Source: archives.gov (ARC Identifier:194759)
Monday, July 2, 2007
Quality music programs improve academics
(Via Chris Foley)
Yet another study supporting strong music education benefits has been produced this summer by the NAMM foundation. (There’s also a good summary here.)
Many current music education studies are pointing to strong correlations between better academic performance and some kind of musical study. What is interesting here is the emphasis on instrumental study. If you read the article carefully you will note how much better students perform in English and mathematics when they are participating in “top-quality instrumental programs”.
Well, what does “top-quality” mean when it refers to an instrumental program? Here are a few attributes that come to mind for me (I am leaving out choral programs on purpose for now):
--Dedicated, talented, and knowledgeable teachers and directors who can communicate well with students and display a passion for artistic integrity.
--A well-supported budget that can attract those high-level candidates from the music education community.
--Good choices of repertoire and programming that promote musicality and knowledge of many styles.
--A variety of ensembles including orchestra, band, jazz band, etc.
--Standards of proficiency on all the instruments involved in the program. (Often the schools with good music programs will be able to supply qualified private teachers to students at the school.)
--Accomplished performances that convince administrators, colleagues, and the public that students are growing and improving in their study of music.
Other educators would be able to list many more positive attributes than this, but it’s a start. The important point that I get from the article is how the quality of the musical training really plays a role in getting the maximum benefits. It is clear that standards in music education are absolutely necessary for the general health of a given student body, but there are no specific standards set for music education by the No Child Left Behind Act. High standards and expectations should apply not just to the students but also to teachers/directors and the program itself. Lower standards in music education might even unintentionally undermine other parts of the curriculum. (Note in the article how “deficient” music programs are related to poorer general academic performance.)
While this is an article with a positive viewpoint, it is unfortunate that the American educational system is cutting arts programs or allowing them to stagnate. (See a recent report on arts education in California as well a 2004 statement by the Department of Education.) Hopefully those of us who are involved in music education can help spread better awareness of the need for good school music programs in the US. That’s all I’m trying to do with this commentary on the subject.
Update 7/15/07: See also Jason Heath's post on this study, then check out his terrific related post on Hard-Wiring the Musical Mind.
