Ten must-have recordings….

by | Nov 17, 2007 | A view from the podium

Vftp regular Travis asked for my list of the top 10 recordings every musician should have. I chose to include non-classical and to focus on recordings that are not only great listening experiences, but that have something unique to teach us  about the art of...

Now that’s what I call keeping time

by | Nov 16, 2007 | A view from the podium

Well, I’ve finished the last bit of fire related business for me here in Pendleton. As I’ve mentioned before, when I moved to the UK, a lot of my old stuff that I didn’t need on a daily basis stayed in the old office, and most got cooked in the fire. A very few boxes...

Recent comments

by | Nov 14, 2007 | A view from the podium

We were rehearsing one of the developmental episodes in the last mvt of Beethoven 8 last night (the march section), and were having some ensemble problems. It’s normal in passages with repeated staccato notes for players to suffer varying degrees of rushy-ness. So, I...

Orchestra retreat wrap up

by | Nov 12, 2007 | A view from the podium

It’s happy hour on Sunday afternoon (in this case, it’s a caffeine oriented happy hour), and, although I could hardly be more tired, I’m in really high spirits, thanks to the efforts of the OES preparatory orchestra. This youth orchestra is only in its fifth season,...