Bring a Shovel Schopenhauer
You may need a shovel for this one because it could get deep. "Music is thus by no means like the other arts, the copy of the Ideas, but the copy of the will itself, whose objectivity these Ideas are. …
The Students Sing
I did listen to the students sing at Point Loma. All together, I'd say there were about 20 students and seven of them sang. The students who sang were: Anthony Whitson-Martini, Jon Lacayo, Krista Wilford, Katie O'Gorman, Justin Hsu, Christen …
Survive or Thrive in the Arts
I was given the chance to interact with a group of young singers yesterday at Point Loma Nazarene. Every Monday from 4:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon, the voice students gather with their voice teachers for an informal vocal forum. …
Horn Player Brain
This weekend was thin on classical music in San Diego. Last weekend we feasted on fresh, local, produce. This weekend had more per-packaged, mass-consumption fare, aka mp3's and YouTube. Since I was so impressed with the horn playing of Benjamin …
San Diego Symphony Phyriffic
The San Diego Symphony is on fire. Their opening weekend was an orchestral tour de force. The Symphony put three masters of orchestration on the program and handled their business. The first half of the program was Berlioz's Roman Carnival …
The Mozart Rules--Metroplitan Opera Auditions
During the lunch break of The San Diego District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, one of the accompanists asked me my opinion about the singers we'd heard so far. I was at a loss. 10 singers had presented themselves during …
Coming Attractions
This coming weekend is overflowing with classical music. Friday night sees the start of San Diego Symphony's 2011-2012 season with "Thibaudet Plays Ravel". Jean Yves Thibaudet is a world class pianist and will be performing two piano concertos by Ravel. …
The Little Bell Strikes Back
I posted about this song months ago and said that if I ever found the translation I would share. It makes me muy triste but in a happy way. The Lonely coach-bell Oh, how lonely the coach bell is ringing …
Bonita Trio
Last weekend, I caught a concert by the Bonita Trio at St. Peter's Episcopal in Del Mar. Pianist Nicolas Reveles, violinist Lee Wolfe, and cellist Cliff Thrasher form the trio. The program was composed of music I had never heard …
Local Soprano Loves Frogs
I asked local soprano Stephanie Sabin to describe her upcoming concert titled Les Chemins de l'amour "[It is] a lone woman's journey through a life of love discovered, devoured, exhausted, sacrificed, suffered, and surrendered through the lesser-known music from well-known …
Dirty Stain - Bach Collegium's Mozart Requiem
As mentioned, The Bach Collegium's performance of Mozart's Requiem was almost extraordinary. Two aspects of the concert were consistently annoying. One was the vocal color of the chorus and the other was the quartet of soloists. These two elements are …
More Mozart
There was yet another Mozart Requiem this last weekend. As far as I'm concerned, there can be a Mozart Requiem every weekend because I love it. The Bach Collegium San Diego performed the masterpiece at St. James by the Sea …
Pianist to Kill Local Tenor
I caught a gem of a concert Wednesday night at the Carmel Valley Library. Alexandr Agamirzov is one of the best singers I know. I think his singing is exciting and sensitive. I've only known Alexandr for about 12 years. …
Mooncake
Yesterday was The Mooncake Festival in China and I missed it. The festival originated over 3,000 years ago and was a part of moon worship during The Shang Dynasty. There's even an Angry Birds version. It's a big deal. It …
Roll Requiem Roll
The Rolling Requiem rolled through Carlsbad at 3:00pm on Sunday, September 11th. The venue was St. Elisabeth Seton Parish. The sanctuary capacity is 880 and it was packed. The Rolling Requiem was an event which featured a performance of Mozart's …
A Child Remembers 9-11
I meandered to 1st Presbyterian's 9-11 concert. I thought the concert was at La Jolla Presbyterian because the La Jolla Presbyterian Choir was singing in the concert. The parking in La Jolla is better than downtown and the church isn't …
Big-time Servant
In following the Licitra story, I came across an interview with San Francisco Opera Music Director, Nicola Luisotti. The interview was in Opera News and was written by Courtney Smith. You can check out Courtney's blog here. http://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/ There was …
Tenor Move
We never got to hear Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra in San Diego. He was scheduled for Don Jose in last season's Carmen but ended up canceling. Rumor had it that he was to sing Canio the next time San Diego …
Phantom Love
I got a friendly heads up about the tall ships this weekend. The Festival of Sail is one of those San Diego events that I traditionally intend on going to but always miss. Another event I keep missing is the …
Sheath Thy Sword
The Sabre Dance is undoubtedly Aram Khachaturian's one-hit wonder. The Sabre Dance is from his ballet Gayane which was written in 1942. In keeping with the patriotic program of the times, Gayane is set on a collective farm in Armenia. …