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Cranes

Hai der.

So continuing my effort to make 1,000,000 paper cranes for peace, I made a video using about half of the cranes that I had a couple days ago. Please check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQY03NzQJT8

Love,
Eve

bassline magazine

There's three weeks left in school, and Bassline is almost ready for publication! So tell your friends, your enemies, and even some strangers about this awesome new music magazine! Soon it will be ready to buy so don't miss your chance to buy this unique, original magazine. I know I won't!
lerf,
cara  

Good Albums to Get You Introduced to Jazz

If you are just starting to listen and get interested in jazz here are five albums that are considered very influential and classic (these are just some that I love):
1. John Coltrance - A Love Supreme
2. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
3. Thelonuis Monk - Straight, No Chaser
4. John Coltrane - Blue Train
5. Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert

And a bonus modern jazz album that I think just can not be missed:
Jason Moran - TEN

Some refrences:
http://www.chordstrike.com/2009/04/the-100-greatest-jazz-albums-of-all-time.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000371201
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/arts/music/19chinen.html

Here are some tips for improvising! Enjoy!

1.) Know your scales! Being comfortable with your scales can allow you to be more comfortable when you solo.
2.) Play out! The louder and more confident you play, the less people will notice when you make mistakes.
3.) Be creative! Use reoccurring rhythms, syncopations, and jazz swing to keep your audience's attention.
4.) LISTEN. Listen to the rhythm section. Listen to other musician's improvisation. Listen to jazz in general!
5.) Less is more. You don't have to play ever second of the solo, in fact adding rests is characteristic of mature musicians.
For more improv tips visit:
http://www.wikihow.com/Improvise-on-the-Saxophone
http://www.bflatmusic.com/improvise.html

Cranes for Peace

Hello friends,
I'm trying to make 1,000,000 paper cranes by October 9, 2011-- John Lennon's birthday.

  <--John Lennon, the most influential peace activist and musician of all time

 As the old Japanese legend goes, with 1,000,000 cranes we will have 1,000 wishes. At the end, I want to distribute the cranes to random people in the city so that they can write wishes on the wings of the birds. At the end, I'm going to send them all to Yoko Ono as a big collection. This is supposed to unify the Austin community, and be an activity to help prevent violence and hate in the future. 

  <--Cranes, symbolic for peace and love and harmony

So I need help making the cranes, and at the end, I'm going to need help getting the cranes out to the community. Please help by making as many cranes you can, any shape, type, or size, and donating them. Ten cranes a day is 140 cranes in two weeks. I've already collected 200 cranes within the two days since the project started. Great instructions and a cool video of how to make them are here if needed: http://origami.org.uk/origamicrane 

Please help! :) You can either give the cranes to me, or drop them off in the orchestra room (I'll have to confirm with Mr. Potter to make sure that it's OK and that he has room, but I'll take them home at the end of the day). Please donate! 

Love,
Eve

Trio con Brio

Hi everyone,
Outside of school, I'm working with two other people in a piano trio, and I'm also in a duet-- in addition to my orchestra work in school and regular private solo lessons. I've been working with my trio (named Trio con Brio) for about 6 weeks, and with my duet partner off and on since 2nd grade-- although this is the first time we're being serious about it, and performing for money at nursing homes and weddings and coffee shops, etc. Last weekend, my trio and I made our performance debut as an introduction for a wonderful concert that was part of the Salon Concerts program, in which the professional musicians Douglas Harvey, Elizabeth Kufferath, and Stephen Perry performed. We played the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Trio No. 3 Op. 6, and we are now working on the rest of the trio with our fabulous coach, Steinway artist Toby Blumenthal-Phillips. Ms. Blumenthal-Phillips is also the President and CEO of Luzerne Music Center, the summer camp in NY that I attended last summer.

 <-- Toby Blumenthal-Phillips

I'm very excited for my trio, because it is my first long-term out of school chamber ensemble-- the violinist, Dylan Feldpausch, is a freshman from McCallum Fine Arts Academy and the pianist, Wells Leng, is a sophomore from Westwood High School, and the trio will last for the next three years-- until Wells graduates. He is headed to Juiliard School of Music! Wells also is principal cellist of the Austin Youth Orchestra, and he composes and arranges music. Recently, he arranged a Chopin quartet for orchestra, and also entered and won the Austin Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition. On April 20, the Austin Symphony will perform his work, Deprivation of B, at the Long Center. Admission is $8, check it out at austinsymphony.org! Dylan and I are also in a duet together. Dylan is an amazing violinist, and he was placed co-concertmaster in high school All-Region Orchestra as a freshman-- virtually unheard of. He studies violin with the concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, Jessica Mathaes. I've known Dylan since 2nd grade, and we've always been supportive of each other's music. I'm so grateful  to have this opportunity to work with them in the trio! :)

Love,
Eve