Playlists

Here you will find some suggestions of things to listen to and read. Feel free to check them out!

20 February 2022 - Snow Daze

I don't know how you are feeling out there, but from where I am sitting, February has been. . . something. Now, don't get me wrong; February is always a little bit confusing as the world crashes from the sugar high of the holiday months and winter decides to make its last stand, but somehow, with the pandemic dragging on and four snow days in two weeks to disrupt rehearsal schedules, this first-year teacher wonders whether we are coming or going and where. Perhaps, then, it was fate that dropped this little gem into my feed this week as I contemplate the seasons and inevitable progression of things, and I thought I would share it with you. Here, friends, is Vivaldi as you have never heard it before, recomposed and sampled for the modern era. So drop the needle and hang on. We can still get through this snow daze together.

2 February 2022 - Don't Forget Your Booties!

Well, folks, Phil has spoken! The seer of seers and prognosticator of prognosticators has declared we can look forward to six more weeks of winter, and what better way to keep warm than with a special Groundhog Day playlist? After all, as a different Phil points out, "When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. " So, strike up the music, join in the fun, wrap your fingers around another cup of hot chocolate, curl up with a good book, build a blanket fort, and enjoy this beautiful winter day!

29 January 2022 - The Belly of the Beast

I have been quite taken since starting rehearsals again this semester with the sound of the viola. This "imperfect instrument," described beautifully in the TED Talk that concludes this week's playlist, shows us something of the magical and reminds us that it is not always about being the star. Sandwiched between the flashier violins and the swashbuckling cellos, both acoustically and often physically in the modern orchestra, this strange instrument live in the belly of the string ensemble, grounding the sound with its rich, dark color and guiding the harmonies home, or sometimes to some surprising and strange place. When the viola plays, the listener feels it in the gut and cannot help but be moved, even if the reason why is not clear. Yet, this peculiar instrument is no less versatile than its prouder siblings. Join me, then, in celebrating this much-maligned palate of pale blues and greens. Viva la viola!

15 January 2022 - Lost at Sea

This time of the year is always hard as we emerge from the general warmth and joy of the holidays and return to the cold and frosty expectation of work and school. With the ongoing uncertainty of pandemic surges and new viral variants and the seemingly endless complexities of the society around us, it is beginning to feel as if we are lost at sea, even living as we do in the landlocked prairie. Perhaps, then, it would be worth turning to those lonely souls from days gone by, floating in the ocean of uncertainty in the hopes of finding fortune or glory.

This week's playlist presents a collection of sea songs. Meant to aid in the work at hand and to offer some solace to the crews so far removed from their homes and families, these pieces remind us that if we persevere and offer a hand to our neighbor we might return safely to port.

Stay the course, friends, and keep a weather eye.

18 December 2021 - Let it Blow?

It is, I think, safe to say that this year's holiday is not what we would normally expect or hope for this time of year. Two years of isolation and general weirdness from this pandemic have made us all, perhaps, a bit lonelier, a bit grinchier, has shrunk our hearts a size or two, and rather than dreaming of a white Christmas, this year, maybe, we are dreaming of one in which we do not blow away in a prairie gale. The weariness is palpable in this strange year, as it must have been in so many winters before now.

One winter, though, stands out in my thoughts, as on Christmas Eve in 1914 peace broke out on the western front. In a time of agonizing dissonance and unprecedented violence, little understood and tenuously justified, "enemies" shook hands, ate, drank, buried the fallen, played soccer, and made music. For a few moments, crystalized forever on the frozen fields of France, humanity revealed itself.

This week's playlist (posted a few days early, admittedly), celebrates the side of this season that is potentially unexpected and profoundly human. These songs celebrate the warmth we might find together in the cold of this season if only we are willing to look, to listen, and to give a bit more of ourselves.

I wish you all health, happiness, and peace as one year comes to a close and a new one begins.

11 December 2021 - Imagine!

The other day marked the anniversary of the death of a great musician, poet, and thinker. People like John Lennon remind us that, yes, in fact, music can make a difference, that what each of us says and does and lives matters, that we can change the world for the better, if we want to. So, let's imagine the world a better place and start a revolution by coming together and giving peace a chance.

20 November 2021 - A Thanksgiving that Can't Be Beat

Shadows grow longer as golden light streams through the denuded trees, and the wall of air that is the south (or north or east or west?) wind smacks us all in the face. It must be November in the plains, and with that comes a time for breathing, for taking stock, and for giving thanks for what we have. For my part, I am thankful for music, the recordings and videos that got me through the worst of the isolation in the last 20 months, the slow re-emergence of live performance, the chance once again to play with friends and students. I am thankful to have so many with whom I might share that music: family, friends, students, and strangers. I am thankful, too, for silence, for the calm and tranquility from which music might spring at any moment.

How ever this season greets you, may it be with music.

And pie. Peace, and be well.

13 November 2021 - Cirque

We must never forget the power of the arts. Art can unite us. Art can heal us. Art can show us truth. Yet, it is easy to dismiss art as "mere entertainment." In fact, art takes all that is human in us and lays it bear, presenting it for the world to see, to feel, to taste. Art is a celebration of life and humanity. May we celebrate always.

30 October 2021 - . . . PATION!!!

The witching hour is upon us, and the time is ripe for magic, adventure, and (as always) music! (It is the best.) Let us remember on this long weekend of goblins, ghosts, and a ghouls that music is all around us, everywhere, all the time, even in dog toys and vacuum cleaners. Don't be afraid. It can't hurt you. Enjoy some on a night out (a night in), and may you remember it for a very long time, indeed. Be well, friends.

24 October 2021 - Say It!

Music is in more than the notes on the page or the instruments we play. It is born in how we say what we say. This week's playlist presents a couple of highly musical and profoundly creepy spoken word pieces and answers (perhaps) an age old question: what is he building in there? But remember! Curiosity killed the cat.

17 October 2021 - Antici. . .

In a world of mist and darkness, something is lurking, some creature, unknown and fantastical, creeping along the edges, crawling at the border of reality, rising from the depths of mystery. If you listen carefully, you can hear the rumble of its beating heart. If you are still, you might feel the slow rise and fall of its breath. Perhaps, it has something yet to do, some business left unfinished. All we can do is wait as we quiver with antici. . .

9 October 2021 - Here there be Monsters

As the nights grow longer in that little prairie town, the monsters begin to prowl, monsters that would make Dorothy leap out of her slippers and high-tail it back down the Yellow Brick Road, leaving her companions to fend for themselves or, perhaps if they are sufficiently open minded and patient, to make some new friends. Who knows? Maybe that new band of misfits will start their very own band and tour the land of Oz with a new sound, never heard before. And maybe their tunes will be about werewolves, witches, and alien invaders. (They may even not so subtly plug their friends' concert coming up in a couple of weeks with one from the vault.) Yes, some pretty interesting things can happen when we play with monsters. After all, they are not all so bad; they just get a bad rap. Some of them are pretty groovy!

3 October 2021 - A Bit of Randomness

For October's playlists, I have decided to focus on the shadier, spookier side of music, the side that does not see nearly enough daylight and that thrills us and chills us. This week's playlist will also challenge us to work a bit harder to find the music in the sounds. I present to you a sampling of music built in a language of chance. Some of it, like the Boulez that begins the set, sounds random but is actually carefully arranged according to complex and abstract structures. Some of it relies more on true chance--aleatory if you want to sound hip. Some of the music is strange. Some of it is difficult to listen to. All of it is interesting and a fascinating way to start exploring music for Halloween. Hold on to your hats!

25 September 2021 - Those Autumn Leaves

Autumn is officially here! Yes, friends, it is the season for cider and spiders, for bonfires, for sweaters and jeans, for long walks through colorful leaves! So let us celebrate this season, full of both joy and sorrow, life and death, with its strange amber light and crisp, frosted evenings with music, old and new, but all full of love, longing, hope, and peace.

18 September 2021 - Pickin' Party

Well, friends, it's Winfield weekend here in southcentral Kansas, and I know many of you are there now, pickin' and fiddlin' and kickin' up your heels in a sea of tie-dye and Birkenstocks, surrounded by tents and trailers, and generally spreading the gospel of music. Thank goodness you finally had a dry year! Since I am not (and rather cranky about that fact), this week's playlist is a selection of winners from the 2019 competitions. Enjoy!

11 September 2021

Today is a heavy day. Twenty years ago something happened that shook the foundations of society, and those vibrations are still hanging in the air. While we reflect and mourn, here is a memory of that morning. It is tragic. It is angry. It is hopeful. It is what many of us feel on this day. Whatever you are feeling, know you are not alone. Be well, friends.

Fiddlin' Fools

To help lift our spirits a bit, this week's playlist shines a spotlight on the violin. For all the grief we cellists give that high-strung lot (get it?), the violin is a profoundly versatile instrument almost ubiquitous at this point on the musical stage. A violinist was one of the first rock stars. Violinists helped to build the foundations of blues and jazz. Fiddlers play in the mountains and near the seas of the Americas, the British Isles, and France, in the fjords of Norway, on the plains of Ukraine, in the deserts of Iraq! No doubt, that little instrument can do just about anything. Here is an installment (the first of several, I am sure) of some of its tricks, old and new.

By the way, I am often asked the difference between a fiddle and a violin. Some say it is how the bridge is shaped. Others link the difference only to how they are used. For my part, the difference is really non-existent. Some of the best fiddlers are as likely to play Bach as anything, and some of the best violinists can rip it like Grappelli. I am not a fan of throwing up boundaries, just of making good music.

Enjoy!

4 September 2021 - A Labor of Love

As we enter this holiday weekend, let us not forget the reason for it. Labor Day celebrates and honors the hard work that built the society in which we live. If not for the combined efforts of the miners, construction and factory workers, farmers, teamsters, preachers, and teachers, imagine what the world might be; imagine a world without roads and buildings, without steel and brick, without cars or computers of food or power or. . . . Imagine a world where nine to five was closer to five (a.m.) to nine (p.m.), where five days a week was six and a half, where people would literally work themselves to death.

When the labor movement hit its stride about a century ago, working people turned to music to organize and change the situation--friends, it was a movement! For your consideration this week is a collection of songs of labor and change and hope to remind us that we can all change the world, and music can help us do it.

Be safe, have fun, and work hard.

29 August 2021 - Is This Art, or Is It Rubbish?

Let's face it, friends. Musicians are a weird lot. For all our preaching about practicing and "the right way to play it," we are just as likely to cut loose and do something wholly unexpected. We are rule breakers at heart. We like to push the boundaries. We like to play! (That is what it is called, after all.)

Today's playlist explores the idea of musical experimentation, play, and rule breaking (or maybe not) with some--shall we say?--alternative takes on the classics. Surely this is what Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven had in mind when they wrote these, right? Of course, it cuts both ways. In this age of Bardcore, why not try AC/DC with rebec and recorder? And nothing says heavy metal like the cello! To finish things off, a reminder that we are all musicians deep down, capable of far more art and far more rubbish (in the best way) than we might generally imagine.

22 August 2021 - For the Joy of It!

We have all had those days in orchestra: sitting in the big room with no windows on a bit of hard plastic that might actually have been devised as a medieval torture device, fingers stiff and uncooperative, bow too tight, too loose, too tight. Forget it! Close enough! Maybe more rosin? Less? D refuses to stay in tune. Conductor: grumpy. Stand partner: too much perfume. On the other side: not enough perfume. I wish I had eaten more for breakfast. Okay, first note. SPLAT! Nope! That didn't work. Ugh! That guy gets the solo again!? I thought I did so well on that audition! Never mind. Here comes the second theme. SCREEE-REEEEEEEE-DEEEE-BLEEEEH What is happening!? Where are we!? Ah!!!

It is so easy to forget that music is really all about joy and love and healing (Also sprach Gabriella!), especially in those moments, so let today's examples be a reminder. Go ahead: try not to smile along with Hiromi; refuse to groove with Gabriella; hold on to your crabbies while Ballaké does his thing. I bet you can't. So take a breath. Put down whatever load you are carrying (It will still be there in an hour if you want to pick it back up, but do you really need to?), and let these fantastic performers share some of their joy with you!

15 August 2021

Today is an important one in the history of music, as it marks the anniversary of one of the largest gatherings of musicians at the Woodstock Festival. That festival of peace and protest was an example of the profound power of music to tell a story and (perhaps) to change the world. In today's playlist are three examples of musical story telling, the first from Woodstock. Have a listen, and enjoy the stories!