Center Stage

With our most recent Center Stage recital just passed, I thought it would be a good idea to share some thoughts on the event. To me, there are three parts of performing, two of which are obvious; practicing for the performance and the actual performance. The third part of performing is the post-concert analysis, so…

While we are bound to concentrate on proper technique during a practice session or a performance, there are other elements to executing music on stage. Stage presence plays an important role when bringing your performance to a higher level of artistry. It’s what captivates the audience and can add an extra spark of excitement. Here…

Monday, January 11 would never be quite the same with the passing of rock and pop music legend, David Bowie. His ability to reinvent himself over and over, seemingly with ease, has given us music that will forever be artistic, cutting edge, and always ahead of its time. Here are a few highlights of his…

This month we celebrate the birthday of the most famous composers of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. January 27, 1756). Known as a child prodigy, Mozart was composing large works by the age of six until his untimely death at age 35. His influence is felt even today, especially in the world of opera….

This month’s exploration of electronic music wraps up the ’80s and dives into the music of the past few decades to today. While last article addressed the more mainstream applications of electronic music, there were some other types of genres brewing that weren’t discussed, primarily house music. House music started in the ’80s in Chicago…

Last blog left us entering the electronic world in the 1980s. Up to this point, the majority of electronic applications in music were either used in avant garde classical techniques or used as an instrument among others in rock and pop. The 80s ushered in a period of full reign of the synthesizer, with some…

The history of electronic music goes back further than you may think. Here is a brief introduction into the genre and it’s progression as a mainstream genre in our culture. Electronic music started with the advent of recording technology, especially the tape. Thanks to tape, composers could immediately record something, and still layer other sounds…

Despite the not-so-seasonal Christmastime weather, here is a list of holiday tunes to get you into the spirit! Some are popular pieces very much engrained in our culture, while others may be pieces you’ve never heard before. 1. The Nutcracker, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Perhaps one of the most famous Christmastime works, The Nutcracker, a ballet,…

This month we celebrate the birthdays of the late great composer, Ludwig van Beethoven (12.17.1770). Beethoven is often ranked as one of the most influential and greatest composers ever to have lived. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. His father, Johann was a local musician, who forced Ludwig to practice at odd hours of the…

In this continuation, we will discuss the rock music of the ’80s and ’90s. At this point in time there were many new amazing bands and new genres, but rock had somewhat reached a pinnacle. With an increasingly bloated sound in the 80s, the 90s ushered in a new renaissance for rock music. While the…