대한민êµ!
I’m back from South Korea. Photos to follow.
Sounds Like Now
A blog by saxophonist Brian SacawaArchive for Blog: Spring 06
On Alsop & the BSO
Tim Page on Marin Alsop as she prepares to take the helm of the BSO:
“Right now, if I were asked whether I’d rather hear Temirkanov or Alsop in Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich—in virtually any of the masterpieces in the standard repertory—I’d go for Temirkanov in a hummingbird’s heartbeat. But if I were asked who was more likely, over time, to bring in new audiences and board members, to win over Baltimoreans who may never have attended a classical concert, to help revitalize both the orchestra and the city in which it is rooted, Alsop might get the nod. These are important duties for a music director, too—especially now, especially here—and Alsop is nothing if not ambitious.”
BikeJam ‘06
This past weekend I raced in the annual BikeJam / Kelly Cup criterium in Baltimore’s Patterson Park. The one-mile course was pretty tame as far as criteriums go—just two little chicanes and only one corner that bordered on technical. But it was fast and flat with the exception of the hill up to the line. I’ve been coming into form so I was itching to race and to represent Team Aggress on the east coast.
This criterium went off like all criteriums—a blistering pace for the first few laps to shed the excess baggage, then a general slowing in the main field, followed by a gradual acceleration up to the red line until the last lap when it’s pretty much all out. Since I haven’t ever raced in Baltimore, I wasn’t sure what level of fitness riders would have, especially at this point in the season. I became a little concerned when the first time up the hill we were rolling at 26mph. I’d gone to the park to pre-ride the course and do some practice sprints to the line earlier in the week to get my gearing straight and I was clocking around 29-30mph in my sprint practice. That began to worry me, but once the selection was made (and I made the selection) the tempo eased off ever so slightly. At that point I just decided to sit in, do no work, and see how the tactics would play out.
One thing that I found very different racing in Baltimore as opposed to Arizona was the aggressive team racing. There were at least three teams with greater than 5 riders in the field. In the Arizona Cat5s it’s rare to see such organization. The teams that were well represented kept sending riders off the front one after the other. Since breakaways hardly ever succeed in a Cat5 race, it wasn’t surprising that the field was able to bring back each attack.
In the last lap things began to heat up as expected. We clocked 36mph down the back straight. I moved myself up to about third wheel with no problem to be in the right position for the final critical corner. Here’s where my unfamiliarity with the Baltimore/D.C. racing scene came into play. In Arizona, I know the guys I’m racing with. Therefore, I know whose wheel to be on leading up to the sprint. I didn’t know anyone in this race so it was a complete crap shoot as to where I’d position myself. As we hit the bottom of the hill, I picked the wheel of an LSV/Kelly rider, knowing that they are a serious team. He took a line to the left and as I came around him (see below) I got boxed in behind a rider that was being lapped. This rider should have been pulled so he didn’t interfere with the sprint (which he did!). I didn’t protest and wound up with a 6th place finish. Not bad for my first race of the season.
One of the really cool things about BikeJam is that they host a Pro 1/2 race that is actually on the national calendar. This draws some of the best domestic cycling teams as well as some of the best domestic riders, including J.J. Haedo this year. It was extremely exciting to see these guys race. There is so much more action because of the great team organization and the pace is simply blistering. Wow.
Flash photography
I’ve created a new photo gallery using SimpleViewer, a free customizable flash application. Check it out here.
Hiatus
Although there may be some sporadic posting in the coming weeks, I think it will be intermittent enough to declare a full-blown blog hiatus. Those interested in where I’ll be should check out the map. While I’m away, please patronize the many other wonderful music blogs, which can be found here and here. See you soon.
Let me count the ways
Patty Mitchell of oboeinsight calls SLN’s attention to the following quote discussing “the saxophone’s distinct sound”:
The saxophone has an unmistakable sound, not easily confused with other instruments. What makes the sound of the saxophone so distinct? Recording the notes of various saxophones and comparing them with those of other instruments such as the oboe, Jean-Pierre Dalmont of the Universite du Maine in France will reveal the acoustical and geometrical features that endow the instrument with distinctive acoustics.
I think in this case it’s fair to assume that in choosing the terms “unmistakable” and “distinct,” the author of the quote was using them as euphemistic synonyms for “better”—especially w/r/t the oboe (ahem). The saxophone is conical. But this is only one reason it is better than other woodwind instruments. In addition, the saxophone has an articulated G# key, a mechanism coveted by clarinetists and flutists alike, as well as rollers between the low Eb and C keys. Take that!
ET: On Be Moved!
As a follow-up to my post about the collaborative project Be Moved!, I’ve invited Evan Tobias to share his thoughts about the project as well as what he hopes to achieve with his students through this venture.
I’m happy to be writing a guest post about a collaborative music project that Brian and I are working on with my some of my general music students. Creative thinking and composing music are core elements of my music classes and my students do not play instruments so it seems natural to have them work collaboratively with a professional performer, who also believes in creativty and education. The details of the project can be found at the link above so I’ll focus on some of my objectives and what I hope all of the participants take away from working on the project for the rest of this post:
- Music as a medium for expression and communication: By having my students think about a few of their personal life experiences and how to express them in music I’m hoping they learn firsthand how they can be creators of music and also how music can be a form of expression for them throughout their lives.
- Working with musical concepts: Although at the start of the project the students are focusing on creating motifs that express the experiences they have chosen to share, they will be working on developing these motifs and working with saxophone recordings of their music. Through working with, manipulating and developing the various musical material they exchange back and forth with each other and Brian, they will have the chance to experiment with, learn about and make use of countless musical concepts and develop new knowledge and skills. Though I have some specific goals of ideas I would like them to learn, most of the concepts will arise organically from the collaborative project which will make it more meaningful to them in the long run.
- Collaboration!: K-12 students and many teachers are often very far removed from composers and performers and other professionals involved in music. On the other hand, performers and composers and other professionals involved in music can be very far removed from K-12 students and teachers. I believe that by forming relationships and working collaboratively, teachers, students, performers, composers, and other music professionals can learn from one another and help develop these roles and make them more relevant to students’ lives. I think collaborative projects have the potential to have a positive effect on all parties involved and eventually on society.
- The Blog as Collaborative Medium: This project is an experiment in using the blog format to facilitate collaborative music projects. The blog allows for the easy exchange of files and feedback regardless of physical distance. Through my involvement in The Music Educators Network I am hoping to provide the resources to allow for future collaborative projects and a space on the internet where professionals in the music world interested in collaborating with K-12 students and teachers can network and learn from one another.
- Openness and Transparency: By keeping an ongoing archive of every aspect of the project online, anyone wishing to observe and learn from it can do so. This project and the results of it are going to be licensed with a creative commons license and will hopefully inspire others and provide a potential framework for future projects that can expand and improve on this one.
I want to thank Brian for allowing me to share what I think is a very exciting project and for participating in the project himself. I hope that projects such as this one will become much more common in the future and that long-term ongoing collaboration between the professional music world and K-12 music education will someday become the norm!
All things being equal . . .
Radosh.net reports an interesting correction in a recent e-mail to Oberlin College alumni (classes of ‘90-’92):
First and foremost, a serious error was found in the “Tribute for Deceased Classmates” letter that was enclosed with the class letters. We have learned that our alumni database incorrectly listed Nnenna Ogwo ‘92 as deceased… Nnenna has a music career in New York, NY.
Haha. “Same difference.”
