Tech in Art: Performance on the Digital Stage

TiA 108: The Fearless Classical Influencer - Dacia Clay - 20 July 2020 -TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistWhat makes music “classical”?And who even listens to it now?Why should anyone?Who is showing the younger generations what classical music is, and some ways to approach reportedly great works by dead European white guys?What do today’s classical music performers think of other music styles? Do they play pieces that aren’t traditionally thought of as “classical”?These and a host of similar questions are being posed by thoughtful music lovers as the audience for traditional classical artists, groups and organizations steadily implodes.And then there’s Dacia Clay.A library science graduate with a decidedly egalitarian world view, whose secret desire was to work in public radio. Her quest began when she got her first break in front of a mic, having her “beginner” questions about classical music answered by the performers and educators whose music she catalogued for NPR station KUHF in Houston, Texas.Her quest turned into a podcast, ClassicalClassroomShow.com. Now over 279 episodes and counting, her inquisitiveness has brought forth many interesting interviews with leading artists, by asking intelligent, intriguing questions about a wide variety of topics, and delightfully encapsulating the experiences in bite-sized episodes.Her work is the motherlode example of classical music relevancy and education.EPISODE LINKSHouston Public MediaClassical King FM 98.1ClassicalClassroomShow.comJoyce DiDonato interviewMUSIC CLIPS (via YouTube)Metallica's One for violin and cello - Rachel Barton Pine and Mike Block [00:00]Metallica: One (Official Music Video) [00:34]"Tu lo sai" - Joyce DiDonato: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert [17:07] Arcade Fire - Everything Now (Official Video) [36:19]Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

TiA 107: Classical Composers Go Digital - Evangelos Spanos - 22 June 2020 -TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistWhere do music composers get their inspiration? What voice tells them what notes to write, what sounds to use or create, what musical forms to employ?For pianist and composer Dr. Evangelos Spanos, it’s clear that movement and dance is a central wellspring for his creativity. He began accompanying ballet and dance classes in his teens, where the daily work requires the pianist to observe and interpret the wordless demands of ballet masters and choreographers to provide in-the-moment music to support, interpret, and enhance the the artistic messages of bodily movement.Evangelos is representative of the group of composers who were originally trained as classical musicians, steeped in the rigorous study of traditional methods and forms in play for the last 300 years. However, with the recent developments of computing, he and his colleagues have embraced all the current digital technologies to create new evocative sounds, timbres and instruments that exist only in the ether as ones and zeros of machine code.This episode is another installment in a series of interviews with composers who work largely in the digital realm, encompassing the traditional methods of note writing as well as all the new disciplines of sound creation, digital audio workstations, and performance. Dr. Spanos is a Greek/American composer and pianist whose current creative work encompasses both theatrical and pure music projects. His most recent work includes commissions from dance companies, including the Kansas City Ballet and the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, who recently performed his composition Parallel Lives at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.EPISODE LINKSEvangelos Spanos website (evangelosspanos.com)Cubase - DAW (digital audio workstation) music creation softwareDorico - music notation softwareaudiomodeling.comJohn Cage - 20th century American composerIgor Stravinsky and absolute musicIannis Xenakis - Greek-French composerFranz Liszt and thematic transformationRichard Wagner and ParsifalGlenn Gould - Canadian pianistBéla Bartók - 20th century Hungarian composerFrancis Poulenc - 20th century French composerGaspar de la nuit (Ravel) - virtuosic solo piano piece by 20th century French composer Maurice RavelMUSIC CLIPS (all music by Evangelos Spanos)ExpeditionVignettes Tragicomique

TiA 106: The Internet Cello Studio - Ho Anthony Ahn - 15 June 2020 -TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistThe traditional music teacher/student training session has existed for hundreds of years, as the accomplished pass on their hard-won expertise to the would-be performers of the following generation, huddled together in little studios. But what happens to this revered process when an epidemic like the 1918 Spanish Flu, the polio crisis, or COVID-19 breaks out?Moreover, how does the singular, world-changing technical development of high speed Internet connectivity alter this one-on-one process from this point forward?Cellist and teacher Ho Anthony Ahn is a longtime colleague and former member of the Kansas City Symphony. When COVID-19 surfaced, he nimbly shifted to online private lessons with his large studio of students. He shares his firsthand observations about the strengths and weaknesses of the current technology, and what aspects of his students’ development could be best addressed when he couldn’t work with them in the same room.Ho also shares, with inspiring clarity, his personal views about the qualities of the great teacher, and the individual quest each developing artist must undertake in order to emerge as a viable performer, with examples from his own journey.I like to say to my students, 'I'm a life coach who happens to teach cello.'- Ho Anthony AhnMUSIC CLIPSBourrée I from Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major (Bach) - Gregor Piatigorsky [00:00]Cello concerto in B minor op. 104 (Dvořák) II. Adagio ma non troppo - Piatigorsky/Munch/Boston Symphony Orchestra [10:49]Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (Samuel Barber) - Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra [17:13]Firework - Katy Perry [35:47]CONNECT WITH US AT TECH IN ARTWebsite: https://techinart.artFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TechinArtpodcast Guest/topic ideas, dialogue:ward@techinart.artSupporthttps://www.patreon.com/techinartSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

TiA 105: The Hollywood Composer Series - Matthew Janszen - 08 June 2020 -TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistThe music creation and performance profession continues to evolve. There is no greater test of an artist’s talent, skill, and determination than to support oneself and family in an arena that does NOT rely on not-for-profit IRS status to survive. This is the tricky, winding road between individual expression and mass appeal.Mozart died penniless. Bach had a full time church job all his life to support himself, his two wives, and his 20 children. It’s a tough road.Matthew Janszen is a successful young TV and film composer, living and active in the Los Angeles music industry. His over 80 credits already include scores for major film companies and animation studios.Trained and active in music as a youth, Matthew was drawn back to the music profession as he completed his degree in engineering at Purdue University. His natural intellectual abilities mated with his love of music, and he chose to become a composer. Over time he has become an expert in every aspect of the digital music creation process that has become standard the world over. His is a classic example of the wide skill set required for composers to succeed in today’s for-profit music world. If you have any curiosity about what is involved in the process, you will be fascinated when he describes his studio and Internet-based collaborative system that results in the music you hear when you watch a film or animation on your own device.Matthew show us what is required to be a competitively successful member of the for profit music creation world.EPISODE LINKSMatthew Janszen's website (mattcomposer.com)Source Elements (https://source-elements.com/) - bi-directional, live recording via InternetCubase - Matt's music creation software of choiceLogic Pro X - Apple's DAW (digital audio workstation) softwarePro Tools - another industry standard DAWConcerto for Orchestra (Béla Bartók) - live performance in Budapest, led by legendary Hungarian-born British conductor Sir Georg SoltiDaphnis et Chloé (Ravel)Pines of Rome and Fountains of RomeMUSIC CLIPSCucuy: The Boogeyman (Syfy) - Cucuy Showdown [00:00]Cucuy: The Boogeyman (Syfy) - Sisters [00:31]"Everything Sounds Better When It's Sung" from Archibald's Next Big Thing (DreamWorks/Netflix) [18:42]Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (Warner Bros./Cartoon Network) - Wraith Chase [22:33]ThunderCats Roar! (Warner Bros. Animation/Cartoon Network) - Main Title [32:08]Christmas Under Wraps (Hallmark Channel) - Main Theme [48:04]CONNECT WITH US AT TECH IN ARTWebsite: https://techinart.artFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TechinArtpodcast Guest/toSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

TiA 104: The Digital Stage Director - Garnett Bruce - 01 June 2020 -TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistThe opera stage director is the movie director for the theater—a Steven Spielberg or J. J. Abrams type. Leading hundreds of all types of artists into the battle of a live performance costing at the minimum several hundred thousand dollars, and frequently millions. It’s not a job for the weak, the timid, or the average leadership talent.Garnett Bruce continues to lead productions for opera companies of all sizes and budgets. His early apprenticeships honed his talents and enhanced his native talents and abilities to foster and sustain a positive creative atmosphere for work. His exceptional emotional maturity allows him to bridge the daily kovfefes which are legend in the opera world.This same spirit applies to his work with young, emerging operatic talent, where as a prof at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, he leads, instructs, nurtures and guides the profession’s next great talents.It's our duty to get the art off the page and into our daily lives.- Garnett BruceEPISODE LINKSGarnett Bruce website (garnettbruce.com)Houston Grand Opera Studio and Alumni perform the Act IV finale of Mozart's opera THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO in COVID-19 style! (creativity at it's best—a must watch).Bass/Baritone Ryan McKinney's YouTube channel—replete with his audio/video creations of #KeepTheMusicGoing solos, duets and ensembles.MUSIC CLIPSTurandot (Puccini) - act 1 excerpt [00:00]"Vedrai carino" from Don Giovanni (Mozart) excerpt [16:26]"Ah! Mes amis (Goat Edition)" from Daughter of the Regiment (Donizetti) [31:55]Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: Dream a Little Dream of Me [38:33]CONNECT WITH US AT TECH IN ARTWebsite: https://techinart.artFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TechinArtpodcast Guest/topic ideas, dialogue:ward@techinart.artSupporthttps://www.patreon.com/techinartSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

TiA 103: The Polymath Cellist - Larry Figg - 23 May 2020 - TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistProfessional cellist, symphony member, teacher, arranger, audio/video composer and creator, juggler, soccer and basketball player, heavy metal band member, chess devoté…Cellist Larry Figg, pursues all of his interests with a relentless quest for excellence and mastery.So it’s only natural for him that, when COVID-19 temporarily shut down his lifeblood of performance opportunities, he amped up his digital skills further still, exploring and adding new skills to his list of abilities.Larry shows us that we all can grow, adapt, and view the difficulties of learning new tech as no more than a temporary obstacle to be overcome by patiently stoking the fire of our passion to express ourselves through performance. And that we can have a heckuva lot of fun in the process.My thanks also to all of you who support and encourage artists in your physical and digital communities—in this case, the wonderful Kansas City Symphony.Software mentioned in the episode:Finale - music notation creationDorico - successor to Sibelius, Finale's competitorSony Vegas - free trial of video creation softwareAudacity - free, open source audio editing softwareMusic clips (YouTube links):Monkey Mind Mash (Larry Figg) [00:00]Wash Your Hands! (Figg) [03:29]STAY HOME! (Figg) [14:14]Songs My Mother Taught Me (Antonín Dvořák) [17:08]Summertime Reel (Figg) [27:36]STAY HOME! (Figg) [35:30]Connect with WardI’d love to hear from you!Please subscribe to TiA on your favorite podcast platform, and reach out to me at:Holmquist Music LLC Facebook business pageTwitter and Instagram: @WardHolmquistSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

TiA 102: The Entrepreneurial Diva - 22 May 2020 - TECH IN ART: Performance on the Digital Stage with Ward HolmquistSarah Tannehill Anderson is the embodiment of today’s successful classical music professional—a highly refined, beautiful soprano voice, and a constantly in-demand performer in her professional performance sphere.What sets her apart has been her five-year development in the digital realm, developingThe Society of Song, her own brand of curated salon-style, “happy hour” sponsored home concerts, self-promoted and ticketed.RaiseYourVoiceKC, an online hub for her vocal training business, including digital products and subscriptions for singer training: audio, video, and live.Gain inspiration from her can-do, effervescent spirit, and learn how she used free/low cost tools such as EventBrite, Canva, Weebly, Facebook Ads, and Vimeo to create and promote her businesses.Episode Music Clips:1. Mandoline (Gabriel Fauré) - performed by Sarah from Vieux Amis—Nouveaux Costumes by the Midwest Chamber Ensemble - Steve Lewis, Music Director2. Mein Gläubiges Herze (J. S. Bach) BWV 68 - Sarah with Bach Aria Soloists - Elizabeth Suh Lane, director3. The Mystic Trumpeter: V. Aria (Anthony Maglione) - Sarah withGKCAGO Schola Cantorum (Ⓟ 2017 Centaur Records, Inc.)5. Il Dolce Suono/The Diva Dance from the movie The Fifth Element (Éric Serra) - Sarah with the Film Fantasy Orchestra6. French Accordion Medley - performed by Lee Terry MeisingerConnect with WardI’d love to hear from you!Please subscribe to TiA on your favorite podcast platform, and reach out to me at:Holmquist Music LLC Facebook business pageTwitter and Instagram: @WardHolmquistSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)

Ward Holmquist hosts discussions with artists and administrators in the classical music performance world who are developing new digital skills to record and present their art to a much wider audience than formerly possible.In this episode, Ward talks with Michael Gordon, principal flute with the Kansas City Symphony abouthis video presentations from his living roombecoming his own recording technician as well as performerjumping the self-imposed "perfection" hurdleand they explore many other ideas, thoughtful as well as humorous.Please reach out to Ward at ward@holmquistmusic.com with feedback, topic or interview suggestions!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/techinart)