February 2012
5 posts
How musicians make money (in other words, how... →
This will shock you, and settles the debate once and for all over how much musicians benefit from the increasingly easy ways to buy, stream, and steal music. PLEASE consider this when making [or not] your purchases: Just because you CAN listen to something for free (or close to it) does NOT mean that you should. Musicians are real people with rent and doctors bills and children, and they deserve...
what we think
“Someone who has nothing can be humble, happy, and confident. Nina Simone’s family might not have much, but she was her parents’ inspiration and she was going to keep going and move on no matter what.”
-Rebecca (grade 7)
“I think that if you are an artist you could also be a Black power activist, or a Korean power, Hindu power, or Dominican power activist. I don’t think It matters what kind...
what we think
“Someone who has nothing can be humble, happy, and confident. Nina Simone’s family might not have much, but she was her parents’ inspiration and she was going to keep going and move on no matter what.”
-Rebecca (grade 7)
“I think that if you are an artist you could also be a Black power activist, or a Korean power, Hindu power, or Dominican power activist. I don’t think It matters what kind...
Saxophonist/Educator Pete Robbins Releases New...
Composer/saxophonist Pete Robbins is also a fantastic educator. He developed the music curriculum for grades K-12 at Claremont Prep/Leman Manhattan, and is currently the Dean of Programs at the Brooklyn Queens Conservatory of Music.
Pete has been a long time collaborator with Musicworks (we will be presenting a summer intensive this August at BQCM), and his bassist Simon Jermyn currently teaches...
Omayra awarded Respira/Luz Dance Scholarship
Omayra, a 7th grader at the Connelly Middle School has been awarded the Respira/Luz Scholarship for Dance, Spring 2012. Thanks to the generosity of Martha Tornay at the East Village Dance Project’s Ave. C Studio, she will participate in both Ballet and Modern dance classes twice a week. Omayra is an outstanding student, confident, and articulate. She hopes to attend LaGuardia High School...
January 2012
10 posts
Abby, Oren, Alex, and Olivia @ 80th Street...
The Musicworks crew perform for seniors at the 80th Street Residence this past weekend.
Rebecca and Emily awarded the Respira/Luz Music...
Rebecca and Emily, 7th graders at the Connelly Middle School in NYC’s East Village have received the Respira/Luz Scholarship for Music, Spring 2012. From January through June, they will have weekly lessons after school, and can bring their saxophones to and from school to practice.
Their instructor, Lauren Hecker, is completing her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the City...
power trio
Oren, Alex, and Jack rock out at rehearsal for our senior citizen performance this weekend.
This Is Your Brain on Music (Daniel J. Levitin)
Music communicates to us emotionally through systematic violations of expectations. These violations can occur in any domain—the domain of pitch, timbre, contour, rhythm, tempo, and so on—but occur them must. Music is organized sound, but the organization has to involve some element of the unexpected or it is emotionally flat and robotic. Too much organization may technically still be music,...
learning about Joni Mitchell
[check out http://jonimitchell.com/library/videolib.cfm for an amazing chronological cache of Joni’s videos]
beyond inspirational
Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!!!… This story from Esquire’s Best of 2011 issue really puts into perspective what it means to support students.
Musicworks Photo of the Year:
(too bad these guys beat us to the punch…I was going to use this for our 2012 brochure cover)
Thanks to all who have helped us grow this year, and best wishes for the one to come!
December 2011
10 posts
Musicworks @ Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music...
Musicworks is proud to partner with the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music for a double weekend of workshops in Park Slope this summer, including:
SAT JULY 28:
Inside the Band (ages 6-9)
Songbuilding (ages 6-9)
Storyhearing (ages 6-9)
The...
an elegant word on being musically 'gifted'
“Listening to and studying the masters is what informs me and inspires me to explore all the different possibilities of the drumset. Occaisionally I’ll hear someone say that they’ll never be able to perform as well as their idols do because they’re not gifted as their idols are. To those people I respond, “What’s the gift that those people have and you...
best seat in the house
Tomal decides that the best spot during music class is right up in the front. I’ll take it as a compliment.
the devaluation of music part 2 (my reaction)
…from my FB response to Andrew D’Angelo’s original post…
(lonnnnnng sigh) It’s a mindfuck of a situation.
The article’s author makes a good point in that we are teaching people to assume if they listen to it that it’s free. That is hard to undo, in the same way that it is hard to convince people to buy organic local food instead of Costco mass...
the devaluation of music
excerpted from Kids These Days: Spotify, Radiohead, and the Devaluation of Music by Cal Stamp]
Boasting a catalog of over 15 million songs, Spotify offers free streaming access to its entire library through any laptop or mobile device. It’s ad supported, but subscribers willing to shell out $10 a month can enjoy their playlists without the interruption of advertisements…
...
careful listening
Prescilla, 5th Grade:
“Thank you for playing music today. I was crying before but now I am feeling...”
– Patrick (age 10), special needs music class with Elizabeth Pupo-Walker @14th Street Y)
an interesting lineup makes for inspirational... →
This is How We Fly’ is a contemporary Folk band consisting of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on fiddle & hardanger fiddle, Seán Mac Erlaine on bass clarinet, saxophones & live electronics, Nic Gareiss on percussive dance, and Petter Berndalen on drums and percussion.
the lineup
(photo by Catherine Roosevelt)
November 2011
12 posts
A thoughtful and original arrangement of...
Headline
Meshell Ndegeocello today in Women’s Music History class.
we have the best faculty. ever. →
(click above and see…)
“That sounded like a ray of light coming into a treasure chest sunken inside a...”
– David (age 10) with electric bassist Simon Jermyn @ the 14th St. Y special needs class.
any age, anywhere, anytime...
Questions for Elizabeth Pupo-Walker
(The Latin-Percussionist will be joining our Women’s Music History class next week) www.myspace.com/elizabethpupowalker
Neuman/Jost/Freyre @ Space No. 1 (40 Brevoort Pl....
Autistic and typical kids welcome—-come see a Musicworks trio (featuring Jesse Neuman/trumpet, Rob Jost/bass, and David Freyre/percussion) from 4-5pm! Free! (from Eliza at www.ExtremeKidsandCrew.org)
I’m very pleased and proud that the Rebecca School PTA chose to hold its first family event at
Space No. 1
Extreme Kids & Crew’s new playspace in Brooklyn!
(40 Brevoort...
October 2011
11 posts
Improvising with the Oak Hill Chorus
Connelly Middle School’s sister school in Oak Hill, NJ, did a fantastic workshop with our students today. Seniors in the choir and dance team paired up with our middle schoolers, worked with them for an hour, and we all reconvened for a performance at the end. I’m especially proud of two 7th graders who improvised (in Bb major and F minor) along with the chorus.
clave for beginners
Fall 2011 Newsletter
WatchCheck out and support this Kickstarter project—-it is the embodiment of what a vibrant local arts scene needs to survive, and what it gives back in return! CLICK HERE
On December 13th and 14th, 2011 there will be a lot of love in the room at 125 5th Ave in Park Slope. Eight diverse bands are coming together to play a very special two-day concert at Southpaw in Brooklyn, New York. ...
another day at the office
Nina Simone: What is an Activist?
update from Gloria in Guatemala
September 2011
6 posts
I Put a Spell On You (Nina Simone)
“She sounds angry and threatening…like she wants revenge.”
“Yeah, but she’s also desperate, because she says ‘I Love You’ like, four times.”
“The violins set a really scary and deep mood. It’s definitely not a happy song.”
-7th Grade Women’s Music History
www.ExtremeKidsAndCrew.org