It wasn't much of a storm, but, as often happens, the prediction of a snow storm puts some people around here in a tizzy (no, the sky isn't falling; it's just snow), and free-ranging cancellations ensue. This may seem rather odd for a place that gets as much snow as we do (we had 21 feet of snow in 2000-2001, which was the highest all-time snowfall among all major Canadian cities), but there it is.
Let's move on to the festival:
- The repertoire from last night's concert will be redistributed to the concerts tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow (the day after Thursday), and tonight's concert will now start a half-hour earlier (7:30), although tomorrow's will start at 8PM as originally scheduled. There will also be a "pre-concert installation" starting at 7PM tonight. The Newfound Music website will be updated today to reflect these changes, so you may wish to check that periodically if you are planning to attend.
- The Symposium, enigmatically titled "On the Bleeding Edge," is going ahead this afternoon as planned.
- Start time: 1PM.
- Location: Suncor Energy Hall.
- I would like to strongly encourage all members of my composition class (Music 3100, W2014) to attend as many of these events as possible. The festival is organized primarily for your benefit.
- As a further incentive, I offer the following: Students who write a thoughtful reflection on their experiences in the festival in the comments area below will receive credit for up to two blog comments. Heck, I could even go as far as giving three comment credits if you really go to town and write a reflection that is lengthy and thoughtful. This deal expires in one week, so, if you wish to avail of this opportunity, it would be best to do so in the next few days. Comments may be critical if you like — there is no need to pretend you loved something if you didn't — but whether they are critical, positive, or even wishy-washy, try to give reasons why you feel that way. Were there compositions that you especially liked? Were there others that you didn't like or didn't understand? Were there presentations that you particularly enjoyed or didn't enjoy? Either way, try to give a few reasons why you felt that way. I certainly will not be offended if I read negative comments; on the contrary, as long as they are articulated well I welcome them, or any other honest reactions you had to festival events and compositions.
Posts
1 comment:
While I have not been able to attend as many events as I would not like to, I was able to get a chance to view last night's (Friday night's) concert, and I have to say that I was very impressed with the repertoire and the performances. When it came to the composition of these pieces, what struck in my mind was how much the composer's said that they were based off of something to do with past conductors. For example, there was a piece that was called "Asylum," and when the composer came up to give a brief overview as to what the piece was about, she mentioned how it reminded her of the final few years in Schumann's life (in which he was obviously in an Asylum). That struck me something interesting, because it made me realize that you can use other composer's music and their life for inspiration on your piece of music. It was just a very creative thing to do, and the piece itself did remind me of Schumann.
Post a Comment