Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks”
In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it appropriate to discuss a piece of music that was specifically written for something that will occur quite loudly today - fireworks!
G.F. Handel was a baroque composer who lived roughly around…
Teamwork in Suzuki Families
Learning an instrument is hard work - no bones about it. It could be the piano, cello, flute, or any instrument. In this case, my instrument is the violin.
For a Suzuki family, there should always be a team. The student, the teacher,…
Virginia Suzuki Institute
I am currently attending the Virginia Suzuki Institute, which is handily located 10 miles from my residence in Abingdon, VA. I'm studying with Suzuki Master Teacher Libby Armour (from Memphis, TN) and learning lots of instructional tips and…
Baroque Composers: J.S. Bach
In honor of STEA's recent performance of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Two Violins, I thought I'd start a little series of blog posts on Bach and his contemporaries.
Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps best known for his prolific writing of music…
The Textures of Eastern Music
It is easy to stereotype music, and culture. It is easy to stereotype them together as well - for instance, to state that all eastern music sounds the same.
Often times, it does, to an untrained ear. Many of us on this side of the world…
Rimsky-Korsakov and the Russian Five
Scheherazade (movement 1)
Last fall, the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra performed "Scheherazade" by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. I played in the 1st violin section of the Symphony at the time. It is a wonderful piece of music, I jokingly nick-named…