just saw on my yahoo page that they're facing extinction. How sad. Cause they're not cute and cuddly, so you know there's no big international movement to keep them from harm.
Isn't it crazy how many things are going extinct in our lifetimes? The ever faster motion of evolution.
Anyway, we're going to Jordan tonight. And I'm so excited for this little vacation, I've put on this girly disco-dancing music even though I'm all done packing. Now I'm sort of just typing so I can keep listening to this old Stereolab song my high-school idol and queen bee Shannon Hughes put on a mix for me waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy back in the day. When mix meant tape. Where is Shannon Hughes now? Can anyone tell me? I'm so much of who I am because of her. She's probably why I always think at first that the people who end up being my best friends hate me. And why I'm scared of people. But I love her!!! If anyone has any knowledge of her whereabouts please tell me.
We're going to see Petra, of Indiana Jones fame. I can't wait. I'll post pictures (if you're lucky).
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
it's a new year
So the year has changed. It's like 557890 now. I have no idea actually. I made a dumb joke to Christopher the other day about how lucky Jewish Chinese people living in America are. Three new years.
On Thursday the quartet recorded some songs for a pop singer here, Daphna Dekel. Hilla told us that she's Itamar's(her five-year old) favorite singer. During the war, she made a song for kids about how soon everyone will be hugging each other and we'll all live in peace. Hilla said the video was on TV three times a day, and every time, Itamar dragged her in front of it and told her she had to watch it again because it was such a beautiful song. When you're recording string tracks, usually the singer isn't even there, but Daphna stayed through the whole session, and kept offering to bring us coffee. She was probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I secretly made a plan to go over to Hilla's so I could sit on the couch and watch with Itamar. Every time she'd stick her head in, I'd nudge Hilla, like, "get her autograph for Itamar!!" How happy would you be if you found out you were a five-year old's favorite? I guess when you get to a certain level of fame, you just know you're popular with a lot of kids. But it's got to always feel good.
One of my students in Jerusalem has, well the only way I've found to put it is a "little-girl crush" on me. Whenever she plays, even if she should be looking at the music, she's looking up at me to see my expression. It makes me giggle, and when I giggle she giggles, and it's a very funny vibe for a lesson. Both of us like, awww, she likes me. She's 8, and practices everything I give her. I've never had a studio before, I've only subbed for friends. That feeling, when the kids comes in and has practiced? Priceless. Now I understand everything! And on the other hand, when you have a kid who clearly doesn't want to play at all, it's torture. Luckily, my one student who was like that decided she wanted to play guitar. I tried to find music at her level that was fun to play, to draw her in. I tried playing for her. I tried simple duets we could play together. And I liked her a lot, she was sweet and funny. But I'm not doing this for the money, you know? I wish I could make someone want to play who doesn't, cause we should have little kids everywhere playing. There should be orchestras in every school. But classical music is so irrelevant to most little kids' lives now. It's super sad to say, but true. That New Yorker article I mentioned before is great because it talks about a program that's introducing music to kids in an awesome way- through ensemble playing. It's so classic, the kid who can't play with his friends cause he has to practice. Alone. There's this self-fulfilling culture of isolation in classical music. The other program mentioned was a school big band in Newark, where the teacher encourages kids to arrange music they listen to, stuff on the radio, to play in school. I will never forget Lenny Smith, who taught me to play "Boom Boom Boom Let's Go Back to my Room" on my violin while we were on a Synagogue retreat in the Poconos. I was 8. When I played a bit of Dvorak's "Humoreske" for my 10-year old viola student, telling her it was the next piece I was going to give her, she exclaimed, "That's a cell phone ring!"
On Thursday the quartet recorded some songs for a pop singer here, Daphna Dekel. Hilla told us that she's Itamar's(her five-year old) favorite singer. During the war, she made a song for kids about how soon everyone will be hugging each other and we'll all live in peace. Hilla said the video was on TV three times a day, and every time, Itamar dragged her in front of it and told her she had to watch it again because it was such a beautiful song. When you're recording string tracks, usually the singer isn't even there, but Daphna stayed through the whole session, and kept offering to bring us coffee. She was probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I secretly made a plan to go over to Hilla's so I could sit on the couch and watch with Itamar. Every time she'd stick her head in, I'd nudge Hilla, like, "get her autograph for Itamar!!" How happy would you be if you found out you were a five-year old's favorite? I guess when you get to a certain level of fame, you just know you're popular with a lot of kids. But it's got to always feel good.
One of my students in Jerusalem has, well the only way I've found to put it is a "little-girl crush" on me. Whenever she plays, even if she should be looking at the music, she's looking up at me to see my expression. It makes me giggle, and when I giggle she giggles, and it's a very funny vibe for a lesson. Both of us like, awww, she likes me. She's 8, and practices everything I give her. I've never had a studio before, I've only subbed for friends. That feeling, when the kids comes in and has practiced? Priceless. Now I understand everything! And on the other hand, when you have a kid who clearly doesn't want to play at all, it's torture. Luckily, my one student who was like that decided she wanted to play guitar. I tried to find music at her level that was fun to play, to draw her in. I tried playing for her. I tried simple duets we could play together. And I liked her a lot, she was sweet and funny. But I'm not doing this for the money, you know? I wish I could make someone want to play who doesn't, cause we should have little kids everywhere playing. There should be orchestras in every school. But classical music is so irrelevant to most little kids' lives now. It's super sad to say, but true. That New Yorker article I mentioned before is great because it talks about a program that's introducing music to kids in an awesome way- through ensemble playing. It's so classic, the kid who can't play with his friends cause he has to practice. Alone. There's this self-fulfilling culture of isolation in classical music. The other program mentioned was a school big band in Newark, where the teacher encourages kids to arrange music they listen to, stuff on the radio, to play in school. I will never forget Lenny Smith, who taught me to play "Boom Boom Boom Let's Go Back to my Room" on my violin while we were on a Synagogue retreat in the Poconos. I was 8. When I played a bit of Dvorak's "Humoreske" for my 10-year old viola student, telling her it was the next piece I was going to give her, she exclaimed, "That's a cell phone ring!"
Sunday, September 10, 2006
wire interviews
I just discovered a little treasure-trove archive of interviews with heroes of mine. I can say I've been in the same room as all these people except for Le Tigre, but I have faith that will happen someday. I want to choreograph dances for them to do at our quartet concerts
Anthony Braxton
"I feel very grateful that I discovered early the role models that will allow me to work for the rest of my life - and still be frustrated."
Steve Lacy
"I don't care whether it's Dixieland, Flixieland, Pixieland, or a private or public joke or no joke at all - if it's alive, I'm for it."
Lee Perry
"I introduced dub because I knew it was the roots of the heartbeat. The drum represent your heartbeat, the bass represent your mind and brain. I'm a heart and brain protector, and I'm a projector. I'm also an inspector, a director and imitator. The liquidator and Exterminator."
Le Tigre
"Right when I was figuring out I had a voice I was told I had to speak in tongues."
"who took the bomp from the bompalompalomp?/who took the ram from the ramalama dingdong?"
Anthony Braxton
"I feel very grateful that I discovered early the role models that will allow me to work for the rest of my life - and still be frustrated."
Steve Lacy
"I don't care whether it's Dixieland, Flixieland, Pixieland, or a private or public joke or no joke at all - if it's alive, I'm for it."
Lee Perry
"I introduced dub because I knew it was the roots of the heartbeat. The drum represent your heartbeat, the bass represent your mind and brain. I'm a heart and brain protector, and I'm a projector. I'm also an inspector, a director and imitator. The liquidator and Exterminator."
Le Tigre
"Right when I was figuring out I had a voice I was told I had to speak in tongues."
"who took the bomp from the bompalompalomp?/who took the ram from the ramalama dingdong?"
Sunday, September 03, 2006
links and run-on sentences
I've taken on something that's going to be very hard for me. I agreed to teach 4 violinists and 2 violists at the Hasadna Conservatory in Jerusalem. I'll be teaching little kids who most likely speak no English. Since I haven't been at Ulpan (Hebrew class) for more than a year, and speak English with almost everyone I know here, I'm throwing myself into the fire. Also, I've never taught on a regular basis before. I couldn't believe they were willing to hire me with the experience I've had, subbing for friends here and there, teaching at a couple of chamber/orchestra camps, and giving comments in my viola professors' studio classes at school- which everyone has to do anyway! The most difficult part of it all will be the twice a week commute to Jerusalem and back, effectively taking away two whole afternoons.
It feels like a turning point because I've always paid my rent as a freelancer. Even after joining this quartet it's been the same; we live gig-to-gig. I have friends who have tons of students, enough to know that it could be a lot worse than 6! I'm looking forward to building relationships with these kids and learning from teaching them. The thing that most convinced me to take this job was the school itself. It reminded me a lot of Third Street, the little community music school in the East Village that I went to from age 5 till high school graduation. On the way to the office where my interviews were I stepped over kids building wooden and cardboard sets, and saw flyers for dance and theater performances. In the room where I met with the director of the school, tons of rental violins leaned against each other in the corner, each with a nametag on the case. The school occupies part of the second floor of a large old school building on Emek Refaim, the main street of the "German Colony" neighborhood, which should be renamed the American Colony (that already is a very different neighborhood on the other side of Jlem). Almost all the Americans I knew who stayed in Israel this past year lived in apartments there or very close-by. I'd actually been in the outer room of Hasadna's office before, when my friend Miki led the Saturday-morning service for an egalitarian (aka men and women have equalrights in leading the service and can sit together) minyan (congregation, at least 10 people big). I think that swayed my decision. I'd already witnessed a warm and friendly community in that space.
Speaking of community music, my Mom's been telling me about a New Yorker article this week by their brilliant critic Alex Ross about community chamber music initiatives all around the country. I haven't read it yet (it's not online sadly) but it sounds awesome. Everyone go out and rent a storefront and put on chamber music recitals.
The most amazing moment of the short run of "Music from Blue Hill" concerts I put on in the park near my house in Jersey City was when two kids rode up on bikes in the middle of one of the early movements, and stayed till the end of the piece. I can't remember which piece it was now, maybe the Mozart C-major quintet, but it was so amazing. We were up in the round, open gazebo, and the kids' heads were, like, on the level of our feet. They stayed exactly where they were the whole piece, right next to the gazebo, not moving to where the audience's chairs were set up for a better, more head-on view.
Checking out the New Yorker website for that article, I found a great 1964 profile of Bob Dylan by Nat Hentoff, one of my old heroes. I got into him for the jazz liner notes and stayed with him for the politics. His were the only columns in the Village Voice I consistently read besides the La Dolce Musto (occasionally!!) and Free Will Astrology. Googling him I found out he's become a pro-life activist! It seems like some people are so radical, they want to be radical to the radicals. Or, that's the only way I can explain it, maybe just the ornery-ness of a crotchety old dude. OR maybe it's just what he believes, but that's the hardest of all for me to swallow.
"I love you so much Freddy . . . even if you are stinky sometimes." That's definitely not from the New Yorker. pet fashion week.
today is the end of my vacation which means it's the end of this kind of unchecked web wandering.
If anyone reading happens to be a music educator themselves, please post. I'd love to get a dialogue going about teaching music to kids, or at least get advice from the experts!!
It feels like a turning point because I've always paid my rent as a freelancer. Even after joining this quartet it's been the same; we live gig-to-gig. I have friends who have tons of students, enough to know that it could be a lot worse than 6! I'm looking forward to building relationships with these kids and learning from teaching them. The thing that most convinced me to take this job was the school itself. It reminded me a lot of Third Street, the little community music school in the East Village that I went to from age 5 till high school graduation. On the way to the office where my interviews were I stepped over kids building wooden and cardboard sets, and saw flyers for dance and theater performances. In the room where I met with the director of the school, tons of rental violins leaned against each other in the corner, each with a nametag on the case. The school occupies part of the second floor of a large old school building on Emek Refaim, the main street of the "German Colony" neighborhood, which should be renamed the American Colony (that already is a very different neighborhood on the other side of Jlem). Almost all the Americans I knew who stayed in Israel this past year lived in apartments there or very close-by. I'd actually been in the outer room of Hasadna's office before, when my friend Miki led the Saturday-morning service for an egalitarian (aka men and women have equalrights in leading the service and can sit together) minyan (congregation, at least 10 people big). I think that swayed my decision. I'd already witnessed a warm and friendly community in that space.
Speaking of community music, my Mom's been telling me about a New Yorker article this week by their brilliant critic Alex Ross about community chamber music initiatives all around the country. I haven't read it yet (it's not online sadly) but it sounds awesome. Everyone go out and rent a storefront and put on chamber music recitals.
The most amazing moment of the short run of "Music from Blue Hill" concerts I put on in the park near my house in Jersey City was when two kids rode up on bikes in the middle of one of the early movements, and stayed till the end of the piece. I can't remember which piece it was now, maybe the Mozart C-major quintet, but it was so amazing. We were up in the round, open gazebo, and the kids' heads were, like, on the level of our feet. They stayed exactly where they were the whole piece, right next to the gazebo, not moving to where the audience's chairs were set up for a better, more head-on view.
Checking out the New Yorker website for that article, I found a great 1964 profile of Bob Dylan by Nat Hentoff, one of my old heroes. I got into him for the jazz liner notes and stayed with him for the politics. His were the only columns in the Village Voice I consistently read besides the La Dolce Musto (occasionally!!) and Free Will Astrology. Googling him I found out he's become a pro-life activist! It seems like some people are so radical, they want to be radical to the radicals. Or, that's the only way I can explain it, maybe just the ornery-ness of a crotchety old dude. OR maybe it's just what he believes, but that's the hardest of all for me to swallow.
"I love you so much Freddy . . . even if you are stinky sometimes." That's definitely not from the New Yorker. pet fashion week.
today is the end of my vacation which means it's the end of this kind of unchecked web wandering.
If anyone reading happens to be a music educator themselves, please post. I'd love to get a dialogue going about teaching music to kids, or at least get advice from the experts!!
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