ViolaTribe

Nashville’s recording industry competes globally with other recording centers of the world, such as London, Seattle and Prague.  Our players(strings, brass, winds, perc, pno) are efficient and make every effort to bring their artistry to each project.  There are great studios,  engineers, arrangers, producers and music business professionals at our fingertips!

Variety of styles.  Think Nashville is all hillbilly sounds and Country divas?  Guess again.  I have recorded …just this week… jazz movie themes with the fabulous sax player, Denis Solee…a fabulous night with the hot band Lady Antebellum…I’m looking ahead to Ben Folds…recently worked for J-Lo…

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/opinion/04sinatra.html

NY Times Op Ed article about Performance Rights by Nancy Sinatra.

Have you ever noticed that the way to a musicians heart is through their stomach?!  Well, I have.  Musicians love to eat and some of them love to cook and let’s face it…it can never hurt your standing in society to bring some freshly baked brownies to work!  The power of food…we love food for its ability to create connections and memories.   Have a gathering, talk politics and enjoy delicious recipes!

Since this is the summer edition, I must include a recipe for my favorite summer drink, the mojito!  First, if you grow your own mint I recommend that you grow it in a confined space, because it will take over any comfortable space.)

Mojito (Cooking Light version)

Place 2 teaspoons sugar and 10 small mint leaves in a glass, crush with the back of a long spoon.  Fill glass with crushed ice.  Add 1/4 cup white rum, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 6-ounces of club soda or sparkling mineral water.  Garnish with more mint…yum.  (For non-alcoholic drink skip the rum and add a little cranberry juice!)

 Pair with Piazzola (love Gidon Kremer’s recording)…or Cuban jazz!

Are you listening?  I am.  What are you listening to?  The digital age has brought on a huge industrial and cultural revolution.  This is major.  Are you listening on your computer? With headphones or earbuds? You tube? In your car?  Or do you still sit in front of your carefully selected hi-fi system with the speakers placed in the perfect place for your listening experience?

The digital age has changed everything.  Accessiblity, the connections we can make with colleagues, the lack of geography, and definitely the speed with which we can communicate have all changed.  But how have our listening habits and expectations changed?  How has listening to Brahms with earbuds and an i-pod affected what we hear and where we hear it and what else we are doing while we are hearing it?  How about those old-fashioned liner notes?  I learned a lot about music history and the artists reading those well thought out liner notes. 

Is this new listening experience good for classical music? Or irrelevant?  Is the new accessibility presented by the internet improving the health of the arts or further squeezing the classical arts into extinction?  Does this new exposure bring more people to concerts? 

Optimists will likely think it brings hope to building excitement for our future.  The lack of geography is great for musicians-violists- who are looking for inspiration and discussion with each other.  That is my hope for the VIOLATRIBE.  Please bring your recommendations, your questions, your new music, and of course tell us how you are listening.

I have recently been involved with pushing Congress to extend radio airplay royalties to performers.  Please check out http://musicfirstcoaltion.org for a great overview of this important proposed legislation.  It is extremely important that all musicians and performers support each other.  All of the arts overlap and establishing rights for one group will give a foundation for others’ needs.

Not interested in pop music on the radio?  It doesn’t matter!!  This is an opportunity to help out your fellow musicians-  we promise to help you when you need it!

Did you know that artists and performers do not get paid for the broadcast of their music that is played on the  radio?  The songwriters and publishers do get paid, but the artists who bring life to the music get nothing!  Furthermore, while this is the case in the USA, it is not the case in most of the rest of the world!!  That’s right.  In the UK for example, a small percentage of radio broadcasters’ profits (from advertisers) goes into a fund that is distributed between the record label, the artist and the background musicians.  They even withhold money that would be coming to US artists, if our legislators would commit to reciprocal agreements!!  So, we not only don’t get paid in the US, but our money from Europe is held hostage. 

Please, go to the Musicfirst website and use the links to tell your congressmen and women to support musicians by passing this legislation.  Legislators only want to hear from their own district, so we need help across the country!  Broadcasters have a lobby across the country….Recording musicians are concentrated in just a few areas across the country and therefore have less lobbying power in the rest of the country.  That is why it is especially important for non-recording musicians to lend their support NOW!

My friend Roger Weismeyer is a wonderful person.  No, he is not a violist, but he does play the oboe and english horn and he is a really nice guy, so we’ll give him a pass.  Roger helped out with the one Granados song that had english horn. (transcription the song for vla/ pno/eng. hn is available at http://www.violasound.com)   Roger is noteworthy because, no matter how many concerts and gigs he plays through “work” as a symphonic musician, he is always organizing more concerts in celebration of a specific composer or cause.

Tomorrow I am playing Brahms Serenade No. 2 (winds, violas, celli and bass…no violins) with Roger all in an effort to save a rare urban old growth  forrest in Nashville.  So once again, the people (artists) who are so dependent on the generosity of others’ donations to their arts organizations are generously giving up their Sunday afternoon, being philanthropists, themselves. .. giving to the community. All made easy by Roger…inspiring all of us to do more.

Here’s the recipe:

Find a worthy cause and connect.

Look for a fine mix of like-minded musicians.  You can use old music or new, just use the best quality available.

Ask the organization to advertise.  It doesn’t hurt to post a few flyers at the local cafe.

Have a rehearsal and practice, as needed.

Sell tickets or pass the collection plate.

When things are in place, collect the audience and enjoy the performance!

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Marc Broussard tune- I played viola in a small string section with great arrangements by Calvin Turner…at Ocean Way Nashville…contracted by David Davidson.

Link to transcription using just the file name as the link.

Granados song arr. by Monisa Angell viola, Melissa Rose, piano…

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