Podcast appearances and mentions of kenji bunch

Cellist Leo Eguchi has played all over the world in a variety of settings, from frequent appearances with the Boston Pops and the Portland Symphony to playing for some of pop music's biggest stars, including Demi Lovato and Peter Gabriel. A career as a performer only, however, did not satisfy his itch to make music that would move an audience with its intimacy and immediacy, so he co-founded not one but two chamber music ensembles and began commissioning work from a broad array of contemporary composers.He continues to co-lead Sheffield Chamber Players, which is based in Boston and performs in community members' homes throughout the region, and the Willamette Chamber Music Festival, which performs in several Oregon wineries through its August season. The commissioning and performing of new work remain central to both ensembles.Leo created the “UNACCOMPANIED” project, through which he commissions immigrant and first-generation American composers to create solo cello pieces that explore the very notion of American-ness. Among the commissioned artists are well-known composers such as Gabriele Lena Frank and William Bolcomb as well as newer talents, including Milad Yousufi, a recent refugee from Afghanistan whom Leo met while completing a residency in Kabul in 2012. He also commissioned a suite titled “Shared Spaces” that pairs new work by composer Kenji Bunch with the personal recollections of David Sakura about his time imprisoned with his family in a WWII internment camp. As for the Willamette Chamber Music Festival, in each season it highlights the work of a different composer in residence.Here Leo explains how he developed the ethos that drives his artistry and leadership and details how he continues to put his passion into practice. https://www.leoeguchi.com/https://www.sheffieldchamberplayers.org/https://www.wvchambermusic.org/

Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Albany) New Classical Tracks - Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu by “I just love to play with Clancy because he challenges my mind,” pianist Natalie Zhu says. “This program was Clancy's idea. When I tried to plan for my festival, I asked Clancy if we should play a cello recital together. I asked him, ‘What do you want to play?' And he came up with this program. I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, I don't know any of the pieces on the program.' I had to learn every piece.” Zhu and cellist Clancy Newman have been performing together for over 20 years. During the pandemic lockdown, they created a virtual recital that evolved into their debut recording, From Method to Madness: The American Sound.Newman: “Natalie has always been very kind to go along with whatever I'm doing. She's so open-minded and willing to try whatever I might suggest. Playing with Natalie, I feel like I can do anything, and I have the freedom to be myself."This recording relates and showcases the element of friendship and/or collaboration between composers, performers and friends. And this was a time when you had to really be creative about how you were having those collaborations. How did this come together during the global pandemic?Newman: “The From Method to Madness part is the title of my composition that's on the album. And I thought, there's something about the idea of From Method to Madness that encapsulates both art in general and music. I think it reflects the idea that you need to have both the passion, which you could say is the madness, the irrational element and the emotion, but also the discipline, using some sort of method and structure.“You can see the madness in America certainly now. There's also these sweeping melodies that I think of as part of what America has — not to be cliché, but with the mountains and the valleys and just the beauty of America.”You wrote the title track in 2008, yet this is the first time you've recorded it. Why was it the last piece on the recording rather than maybe the opening piece?Newman: “The piece is 5 minutes long, and it's basically just one huge crescendo all the way to the end. It's a little bit like a cup of water boiling. And then gradually it starts to bubble until finally it's just boiling and boiling over onto the stove. And I think that this piece has that excitement to it. And I guess I thought it would be a good way to end the album after beginning it with the Barber sonata that starts in a more conventional and romantic manner.”Clancy, you gave the premiere performance of composer Kenji Bunch's Broken Music in 2003 at Lincoln Center. It is a piece that was written for you, and again, this is the first time you've recorded it.Newman: “In 2001, I won the Naumberg Competition. Part of winning that was that I would get to premiere a piece that Naumberg would commission. By sheer luck, Naumberg chose Kenji to write the piece, and I knew Kenji because we were at Juilliard together. Every time I've ever performed it, it's always the audience's favorite thing on the program.” Natalie, what strikes you about the piece Broken Music? Is there a section that is especially powerful to you?Zhu: “My favorite movement would be the “Broken Verse,” which is the slow third movement of the piece. It just touches your heart. It's sad and it's lonely, but at the same time, at the very end I am still hopeful. The first moment I heard the piece, it took me somewhere else. Even though it is sad, it comforts me in some way. “Actually, it made me think about my childhood. I immigrated to America from China. I came to America when I was, I think, 10. America is a completely different place, and I feel like this piece really brings back those great memories in my life.” Listen on YouTubeTo hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.ResourcesClancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Amazon)Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu – From Method to Madness: The American Sound (Albany)Clancy Newman (official site)

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 6! Do you think all Asian Pacific Islanders play classical music? There are a lot of APIs who play classical music, but not all of us fulfill that stereotype, especially in the professional sector. The truth is, according to the 2016 report The Racial/Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field by the League of American Orchestras, the vast majority of professional classical musicians are white, and although Asian Pacific Islanders are the most represented classical musicians who are people of color, they are a small minority. The representation drops further for any position of power. So this week we talk about three Asian Pacific Islander composers you should know: Zhou Long, Kenji Bunch, and Cerise Lim Jacobs. To learn more and get involved, we recommend visiting Kenji Bunch's Fear No Music and Cerise Lim Jacob's White Snake Projects which both mix classical music, empowerment, and activism. To open this episode, we discuss the Grammy award wins for the API community. To close the episode we launch a new thematic series called “Not as Asian as You Might Think” where we talk about the Lazy Susan and whether it's as Chinese as most people think. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Reflecting on the Grammy Awards 03:31 Asian Pacific Islanders in Classical Music 14:09 Not as Asian as You Think: The Lazy Susan

Pioneering electric violinist Tracy Silverman shares his thoughts on the music of our time, and its role in the evolution of string playing and classical music. Formerly first violinist with the Turtle Island String Quartet, Silverman was named one of 100 distinguished alumni by The Juilliard School and was lauded by the BBC as "the greatest living exponent of the electric violin." He has performed as a soloist with many of the world's finest orchestras, and is the subject of several electric violin concertos composed specifically for him by Pulitzer-winner John Adams, Terry Riley, Nico Muhly, Kenji Bunch and others, and has composed 3 electric violin concertos of his own.    Craft Brewed Music® The music discovery app that streams music for serious listeners. Available at the App Store and Google Play http://www.craftbrewedmusic.com   The Craft Brewed Music Podcast Music interviews for serious listeners. Available on all major podcast platforms. https://www.podlink.to/CBMPodcast

Tracy Silverman, electric violin virtuoso and pioneer, and conductor Devin Patrick Hughes speak about “The Agony of Modern Music,” the history of how many strings came to be on the violin, Tracy's debut with the Chicago Symphony, his stint as a musical Olympian, how to not achieve perfection, playing like Ray Charles, Jascha Heifetz, and Jimi Hendrix. He also discusses his collaborations with Terry Riley, John Adams and his Electric Violin Concerti, and his album Between the Kiss and the Chaos.   Described as “the greatest living exponent of the electric violin” by the BBC, pioneering violinist and composer Tracy Silverman believes “strings must evolve or they will perish” and his mission is to reconnect strings with our popular culture and to teach string players to groove. His groundbreaking work incorporating rock, jazz, Americana, hip-hop, and other popular genres with the 6-string electric violin has upended the contemporary classical genre, and his strum bowing method has been adopted by performers all around the world.  Terry Riley described Tracy's violin playing as being like an orchestra itself. John Adams said: “When I heard Tracy play I was reminded that in almost all cultures other than the European classical one, the real meaning of the music is in between the notes.  No one makes that instrument sing and soar like Tracy, floating on the cusp between Heifetz and Jimi Hendrix.” Tracy was first violinist in the Turtle Island String Quartet, and was named one of the 100 distinguished alumni by the Juilliard School, and as a composer has 3 Electric Violin concerts among other works, and has performed concertos written for him by John Adams, Terry Riley, Nico Muhly, and Kenji Bunch. The violin virtuoso and humanitarian was recently featured on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, Performance Today, CBS Sunday Morning, and A Prairie Home Companion, and is an internationally in-demand clinician and currently teaches at Belmont University in Nashville.  Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Tracy Silverman for sharing his performances and works. You heard Between the Kiss and the Chaos, Hundred Percent Forever, the Beatles Here Comes the Sun, Axis and Orbits, Crazy Times, John Adams's the Dharma at Big Sur, all performed by Tracy Silverman.   Additional performances were by the Beatles, Fanny Clamagirand, Sinfonia Finlandia, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Berlin Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, and John Adams. Thanks to the record labels Delos, Naxos, Acewonder, and Nonesuch for making this episode possible!  You can check out Tracy's music and books at  tracysilverman.com and strumbowing.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you'd like to lend your support. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

During the news last week, we spent some time with actor George Takei and composer Kenji Bunch on their new performance 'Lost Freedom: A Memory.' Debuting at the Moab Music Festival last weekend, the piece chronicles Takei's early childhood spent in Japanese American confinement. Today we have a feature story on their performance, Takei's visit to the former Moab Isolation Center site, and his lifelong activism to prevent racism through art. Photo: George Takei onsite at the former Moab Isolation Center. The artist activist has made many pilgrimages to former confinement camps that held Japanese American civilians during WWII. Courtesy Richard Bowditch For a transcript of this story and more photos, click here: https://www.kzmu.org/wednesday-september-8-2021/

At five years old, George Takei was classified as an ‘enemy alien' and sent to live in confinement with 120,000 other Japanese civilians for the duration of WWII. Since that time, Takei has made it his life's mission to speak out about this personal experience so it will never happen again in our American democracy. This mission brings him to the Moab Music Festival, where he will perform ‘Lost Freedom: A Memory' based on his personal writings. Today on the news, Takei speaks about the importance of participation in democracy to combat racism and hysteria in our modern world. And, our Weekly News Reel where we highlight stories from our media partners. Doug McMurdo of The Times-Independent discusses rewards for information in the recent double homicide, local election coverage, flooding mitigation, and the ‘last first' middle school dance. Ali Hartford of the Moab Sun News discusses her Q&A with the new parks, rec, and trails director as well as some upcoming events from a filmmaking challenge, free concert, and the first annual Red Sand Powwow. Show Notes: Photo: The Takei Family, Courtesy Moab Music Festival Moab Music Festival: George Takei Makes Moab Music Festival Debut in Newly-Commissioned Work By Kenji Bunch https://myemail.constantcontact.com/George-Takei-Premieres-New-Work-by-Kenji-Bunch-on-WWII-Confinement.html?soid=1103584053506&aid=HeCi4cCLDzM Moab Music Festival https://moabmusicfest.org/ Weekly News Reel Mentions – The Times-Independent: GCSO looks for tips in double murder https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/gcso-looks-for-tips-in-double-murder/ The Times-Independent: What will the next city council do about housing in Moab? https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/what-will-the-next-city-council-do-about-housing-in-moab/ The Times-Independent: How much time will the next mayor spend on the job? https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/how-much-time-will-the-next-mayor-spend-on-the-job/ The Times-Independent: County looks to mitigate future flooding problems https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/county-looks-to-mitigate-future-flooding-problems/ The Times-Independent: First Dance https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/first-dance/ Moab Sun News: Q& A with new Parks, Recreation, and Trails Director Annie McVay: McVay is two months into her job with the City of Moab https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_09e3cf36-0c2c-11ec-9246-7366ff36479b.html Moab Sun News: Moab Film Commission introduces a new filmmaking challenge – Registration for the ‘Moab Monster Mash' challenge opens on Sept 6 https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_c49a2a02-0c1b-11ec-a58d-136c6e23df79.html Moab Sun News: Get a free taste of the Moab Music Festival at their annual community concert – A variety of musicians will play at the concert on September 6 https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_9a21cafc-0c1e-11ec-9e0b-c3c7deb9b115.html Moab Sun News: Red Sand Powwow will be Moab's first ¬– SLC Air Protectors and Full Circle Intertribal Center hold event Sept. 11 – 12 https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_80753fc0-0c1f-11ec-b7d9-8b2aead6a127.html

Almost 80 years ago, in the midst of racist wartime hysteria, the US government rounded up Japanese Americans and unjustly imprisoned them for the duration of WWII. Japanese American composer Kenji Bunch points out that if he was alive back then, he would have been one of the 120,000 people forcibly confined. Bunch is the composer of ‘Lost Freedom: A Memory,' a highly anticipated new work that debuts at the Moab Music Festival on Saturday. It features the memories of actor George Takei, who was confined as a child. Today on the news, we speak with Bunch about being an ‘artist activist,' and connecting the lessons of our brutal history to contemporary times. Show Notes: Moab Music Festival: George Takei Makes Moab Music Festival Debut in Newly-Commissioned Work By Kenji Bunch https://myemail.constantcontact.com/George-Takei-Premieres-New-Work-by-Kenji-Bunch-on-WWII-Confinement.html?soid=1103584053506&aid=HeCi4cCLDzM Moab Music Festival Website https://moabmusicfest.org

John Pitman, director of Music and Programming at All Classical Portland interviews Portland composer Kenji Bunch about an important world premiere happening a few states away, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, on September 4. Inspired by the autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of United States citizens – Japanese-Americans, in World War II – “Lost Freedom: A Memory” is a chamber music piece that is woven with words spoken by a man who, as a boy, was one of those citizens forced from their homes and made to live in desolate camps thousands of miles away from where they had lived: Actor George Takei (Star Trek) will take part in the premiere at Moab Music Festival, reading his own words to Kenji's newly-composed score. Both Kenji Bunch and George Takei join John for this special Arts Blog conversation about the premiere:

Today we're talking with Travis Hatton, the music director of the Beaverton Symphony, about that ensemble's upcoming live stream concert that will close out their 2020-2021 season, entitled “Almost Summer”. The concert will stream on Friday, June 11th at 7:30PM Pacific, with a pre-concert talk by Travis Hatton at 7:00PM. The concert features works by Gustav Holst, George Friedrich Handel, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As always, check out the show notes at www.classicalcurrents.com/shownotes for links to things we've discussed in this and all the other episodes of this podcast. Out theme music was written and performed by Oregon's own Kenji Bunch - please check out his music and more at www.kenjibunch.net.

Kenji Bunch is one of America’s most engaging, influential, and prolific composers. Through an expansive blend of classical and vernacular styles, Bunch makes music that’s “clearly modern but deeply respectful of tradition and instantly enjoyable.” (The Washington Post) Deemed “emotional Americana,” (Oregon ArtsWatch) and infused with folk and roots influences, Bunch’s work has inspired a new genre classification: “Call it neo-American: casual on the outside, complex underneath, immediate and accessible to first-time listeners… Bunch’s music is shiningly original.” (The Oregonian) Hailed by The New York Times as “A Composer To Watch” and cited by Alex Ross in his seminal book The Rest Is Noise, Bunch’s wit, lyricism, unpredictability, and exquisite craftsmanship earn acclaim from audiences, performers, and critics alike. His interests in history, philosophy, and intergenerational and cross-cultural sharing of the arts reflect in his work. Varied style references in Bunch's writing mirror the diversity of global influence on American culture and reveal his deft ability to integrate bluegrass, hip hop, jazz, and funk idioms. Rich, tonal harmonies and drawn-out, satisfying builds characterize Bunch’s work and easily lend themselves to dance and film. Over sixty American orchestras have performed Bunch’s music, which “reache(s) into every section of the orchestra to create an intriguing mixture of sonic colors.” (NW Reverb) Recent works include commissions and premieres from the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Lark Quartet, the Britt Festival, Music From Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, the Eugene Ballet, and the Grant Park Music Festival. His extensive discography includes recordings on Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, RCA, and Naxos labels among others. Also an outstanding violist, Bunch was the first student ever to receive dual Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in viola and composition from The Juilliard School and was a founding member of the highly acclaimed ensembles Flux Quartet (1996-2002) and Ne(x)tworks (2003-2011). Bunch currently serves as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, and teaches viola, composition, and music theory at Portland State University, Reed College, and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.Website: https://www.kenjibunch.netFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenjibunchmusic  

All Classical Portland's annual Lovefest Concert! Featuring performances recorded live at prior years' Lovefest Concerts, with music by Claude Debussy, James Taylor, Franz Liszt, Kenji Bunch, Cole Porter, and many more.

The Portland-based composer talks with Casey about his unique compositional process, his unapologetic inspirations, and his years at Juilliard. Find out more about Kenji at http://www.kenjibunch.netAll music examples used with permission of the composer. (That would be Kenji.)Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/caseybozell)

Subscribe to the podcast here! Kenji Bunch 3:56 - How Kenji got started in music on violin and piano.5:32 - How Kenji always had an "abstract notion" that he wanted to compose and how this led to his double major in Viola Performance and Composition at Juilliard.6:49 - The creative aspect of music and how making his own music was always attached to Kenji's musical consciousness and imagination.7:56 - The value of listening to music in "a non-hierarchical way where everything [is] worth our listening attention. Listening to everything with the same ears and treating it with the same respect."9:22 - "We see a tendency in the classical world of sometimes dismissing the seriousness or value of non-classical or more commercial kinds of music."9:40 - "Even if it's a pop song with three chords, a lot of people worked really hard on that song and took it very seriously....there's something to learn from that amount of detail that's put into a product."10:57 - Kenji's "Neo-American" sensibility in his compositions and how he responds to critics."It would seem less authentic to me to write music that sounds like I'm in Vienna in the 1920's or if I only played music from Vienna in the 1820's. That's not the life I'm living and I don't want to be disconnected...I'd rather embrace and draw inspiration from what's going on around me."12:11 - Why Kenji draws parallels between his compositional style and chefs of the past twenty years who elevate comfort food and respond to multitudinous cuisines present in the culture.13:01 - "I've never thought of myself as an innovator...[but] simply part of a long tradition...of composer who are influenced by what they are hearing around them."15:52 - "My mere existence was a creative risk, as a bi-racial Asian kid in the 1970's." How this experience of identity was "awkward" for Kenji but also liberating: "You're already imperfect in the eyes of a lot of people, so the pressure is off."17:10 - "So much of it is giving ourselves permission to take those risks and to define ourselves, to call ourselves composers or composer-performers, or improvisers.17:59 - What Kenji is doing to continue to grow and develop during quarantine. "The direction I was heading in as a musician has been accelerated because of this extra time."19:45 - "I want to be able to connect with people with my music. If there's a barrier to that, I don't want it to be because of me. I just want to be a flexible musician who can find some way to connect with anyone else through music."20:23 - "I tend to say 'yes' to everything because I want to prove to myself that I can do these things."22:26 - "I felt like a misfit at Juilliard."23:13 - "The paradox: there has to be a rigorous standard for the level of [classical] training and it's very hard to put that in place and also leave room for creative expressions and taking risks."23:45 - "In the last twenty some years, the music world has changed more radically than it ever has, since [Juilliard] has been around."23:54 - Why "being willing to fail publicly" is the key to becoming a flexible musician. Kenji talks about Citigrass, his bluegrass band of fifteen years. "None of us actually knew how to play bluegrass...at one point we were paid not to play." How failing publicly leads to the acquisition of new musical skills and language: "we couldn't help but improve."25:45 - "Willingness to suck in public is so important but also counter to our [classical] training. We spend so many long years learning how not to suck in public."26:57 - Why people assume classical musicians can play everything: "Classical players can play with a facility and virtuosity that's very easily identifiable...and not only [do we assume that] you are a genius and do all these amazing things, you must also somehow be virtuous and noble." The truth is classical musicians are just regular people and "the abilities they've attained have come at the expense of other experiences in theirs lives and it's often a painful thing."27:62 - How classical training "develops the coordination between your eyes and your fingers" but can also "stunt the connection between your ear and your fingers or your mind and your fingers."31:31 - Kenji is the Artistic Director of Fear No Music, a new music group and music education organization in Portland, OR. 34:08 - Why Kenji would tell his younger self to "lighten up, have some fun, don't worry....if you stick to what you really want to do, that's the thing that [you] can contribute to the world that has the most value." Why Kenji wishes the competitiveness of classical music training could be inverted to focusing on what each individual needs to be happy because "when you are comfortable in your own skin and doing something that makes you happy, that's when you can start to contribute and do stuff that's going to help other people."   

This episode features my dear friend, Nicolas Bizub. Over the course of the episode, we cover a lot of ground, including what it means to be a 21st century composer, the possible future of CD's, and issues of equity in the orchestra. Read below for his bio; resources mentioned in the podcast are listed below as well. Award-winning composer Nicolas Bizub writes music which is dark, striving, and yearning, which also points towards radiance and light. Inspired by both the natural world and the human interaction with it, Nicolas often uses nature within his music as metaphors for more human topics, including emotion, politics, creation, and destruction. His musical language blends bittersweet melodic sensibilities with a richly dark harmonic language and volatile driving rhythms to forge a visceral, audible connection with these light and dark sides of humanity.His music has received prizes and awards from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The American Prize, the McKnight Foundation, New York Youth Symphony First Music, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the Wisconsin Cello Society, Lawrence University, and the College-Conservatory of Music. He has been praised for his “ability to weave musical textures, sonorities, and skillfully change pacing” within his works as an element which “truly shines” (Helena Michelson, American Prize). Nicolas’ music has been written for and performed by numerous leading new music ensembles and artists, including, British violinist Madeleine Mitchell, American violist Michael Hall, loadbang, NOW Ensemble, Hypercube, Zodiac Trio, F-PLUS, Unheard-of//Ensemble, and American violist Bailey Poesnecker, among others. His music has been performed throughout the United States and Europe and may be heard on Ablaze Records and Centaur Records.Article: https://theconversation.com/music-education-has-a-race-problem-and-universities-must-address-it-143719?fbclid=IwAR3W8xUbP0vMmxqZXu_AURcB2K03KGxymamxqNdTVIB8lrzaCTIjDeL2Xv8DeCoda ensemble: https://decodamusic.org/ Lutoslwaski: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Witold-Lutoslawski Pauline Oliveros: https://paulineoliveros.us/ IGLU (Improvisation Group of Lawrence University): https://www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/areas_of_study/iglu Kenji Bunch, the piece mentioned is entitled “The 3 G’s,” not “The 3 C’s”: https://www.kenjibunch.net/ Rushad Eggleston: http://facebook.com/rushad.eggleston Casey Driessen and the Chop Notation Project: https://caseydriessen.com, https://www.caseydriessen.com/chop-notation-project

Up next on Adventures in Artslandia, our fearless host Susannah Mars chats with composer and violist Kenji Bunch of Fear No Music who was a recent guest on Artslandia’s Happy Hour. The two explore how Fear No Music and art flex with the time and reflect on how music is responding to our present-day challenges.

Redefining the role of the violin in contemporary music, Tracy Silverman has contributed significantly to the repertoire and development of the 6-string electric violin and what he calls “post-classical violin playing.” Formerly first violinist with the innovative Turtle Island String Quartet, Silverman was named one of 100 distinguished alumni by The Juilliard School. A concert electric violinist, Silverman is the subject of several electric violin concertos composed specifically for him by Pulitzer winner John Adams, “Father of Minimalism” Terry Riley, Nico Muhly and Kenji Bunch, as well as the composer of 3 electric violin concertos of his own. A long-standing advocate for music education, Silverman is the author of The Strum Bowing Method, is an in-demand clinician and on the string faculty at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Learn more about Tracy at tracysilverman.com. Tracks heard in this episode: 3rd Stone from the Sun I Wish 7 steps to heaven Bach Redux Matisse Who Do We Think We Are But Not for Me Europa Rockstar Violinist is the Electric Violin Shop podcast, hosted by Matt Bell and featuring interviews with the most creative and noteworthy electric strings performing and recording artists. Electric Violin Shop is the world leader in amplified strings. Shop at www.electricviolinshop.com or contact us at info@electricviolinshop.com for advice.

Happy New Year! Bring it in with the exciting work of Kenji Bunch, Artistic Director of FEAR NO MUSIC. He talks about the exciting work they are championing, supporting the work of local composers' talent and culture. Locally Sourced, a concert on January 21st at The Old Church, is an annual program celebrating music created right here in the Pacific Northwest by the composers living among us.

Spring Break is upon us, and we are embarking on an adventure. We will be slaying beasts in the fantastical world of novelist Laini Taylor (that have surprising real world parallels), exploring the haunted house of YouTube superstar Sunshine Girl, traveling to SXSW to discover infectious new bands, and trekking to the grand opening of the Portland Japanese Garden.The Portland Japanese Garden Unveils World-Class Expansion - 1:23The Portland Japanese Garden was already considered one of the best in the world, but now it stands to become a cultural institution on a whole other level. After undergoing more than seven years of planning and months of construction, the garden is opening its new expansion and Cultural Village on Apr. 2.The Eugene Ballet And Composer Kenji Bunch Find Beauty In The Snow Queen - 6:57On Apr. 8–9, the Eugene Ballet Company will premieres a work years in the making: a new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Snow Queen," with a modern score by Portland-based composer Kenji Bunch. You might recognize the tale: it was the inspiration for Disney's "Frozen," and Bunch gives it a cinematic treatment.Slaying Demons (And Cliches) With Best-Selling YA Author Laini Taylor - 13:02Portland author Laini Taylor dreams the types of dreams that you want to get lost in — majestic desert journeys to forgotten cities, heroes with dark secrets, tender first kisses between godesses and men — and you're not alone. Her early collaboration with her husband, the illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, "Lips Touch," was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" trilogy is an international best seller.This week, she released the first book in her newest series, "Strange the Dreamer," about an orphaned young librarian who also has big dreams. She'll talk about it with Sara Grundell of the YA website Novel Novice at Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing on Apr. 6. Oregon's Biggest YouTube Sensation Is A Girl, Her Mom, And A Household of Ghosts - 23:04In 2010, Oregon actor Paige McKenzie anonymously released a series of videos on YouTube called "The Haunting of Sunshine Girl." They were DIY, Blair Witch-style episodes following a charismatic 16-year-old who wanted to prove the existence of ghosts to her mom. With no promotion whatsoever, the series blew up and now has had more than 280 million views, making Sunshine Girl one of the most successful YouTube stars in the country.Since then, McKenzie inked a deal with the Weinstein Company for three books and a TV show. The first two books have sold more than 200,000 copies, and the third, "The Sacrifice of Sunshine Girl," comes out Apr. 4. She will read and sign at Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing on Apr. 5 and Voodoo Donuts Too on Apr. 13.Blitzen Trapper Spins Their Narrative Rock Into A Sci-Fi Rock Opera - 32:51Blitzen Trapper is one of the tightest rock bands in Portland, and now the members have partnered with Portland Center Stage to transform their story-rich songs into an evening length musical event. Called "Wild and Reckless," they’re billing it as a "futuristic vision of Portland's past.” As part of our What Are You Looking At series, we went to opening night and discovered a production overflowing with expert musicianship but coming up short on plot. opbmusic's SXSW Recap: Bands We Can't Get Out Of Our Heads & An Exclusive Session with Conor Oberst - 41:17The opbmusic staff saw some 150 bands in four-days at Austin's monster music festival, South by Southwest, and music director Jerad Walker stops by to share some of his favorites, including A Giant Dog, Jay Som, and Portland folkster Johanna Warren.In a lucky turn of events, they were able to sit down with indie royalty Conor Oberst from the folk band Bright Eyes. Oberst spoke with Jerad Walker about the process for his new album "Salutations" and his work with supergroup Monsters of Folk.

Within the last month, the string trio Time for Three has had the unusual distinction of being covered by the Today Show, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Strad and yes, WQXR. The reason? Violinists Zachary De Pue and Nicolas Kendall were told they couldn’t take their violins inside the cabin on a US Airways flight from North Carolina to Arkansas. It was at that point that De Pue began playing J.S. Bach's Partita No. 3 on the tarmac while Kendall, recording the incident on his phone, shows the pair being ignored by various US Airways personnel. The musicians’ video of the incident was posted on YouTube, which quickly set off a social media storm. (US Airways later described it as a misunderstanding of carry-on rules between its employees and the musicians.) Even as Time For Three came on a wider public's radar (and its Facebook feeds) with the incident, the trio has been active for over a decade, appearing everywhere from symphony halls to jazz clubs to football games and even the Indianapolis 500 auto race. The musicians first met and began jamming together in 1999 while classmates at the Curtis Institute of Music. They got their first formal gig in 2001 and soon the sideline became a more serious pursuit. “Our common ground is classical music and each one of us brought a different genre to the table,” Double bassist Ranaan Meyer said in an interview with WQXR host Naomi Lewin. Kendall’s interests included gypsy jazz, hip-hop and R&B; De Pue specialized in Texas fiddling and folk music; Meyer played jazz. “What was really unique was we were able to teach each other some of the influences from those other genres, respectively. In the WQXR Café, the group played two selections for their new, self-titled album on Universal Classics, starting with "Roundabouts," an intimate piece by Kendall that features a round structure. Since 2009, Time for Three has been in residency with the Indianapolis Symphony, where De Pue is the concertmaster. The trio's next song, “Banjo Love,” by Meyer, gives a hint of the American fiddling tradition that has become a part of its musical DNA. It also pays homage to the noted banjo player Béla Fleck, who is a musical hero of the group. The trio’s final song in the café is a cover version of Coldplay’s "UFO." While it attests to the strong pop influences on Time for Three, the musicians are quick to call attention to their classical credits. Along with appearing at Carnegie Hall and other major venues, they have commissioned high-profile composers including Jennifer Higdon, William Bolcom and Chris Brubeck to write works for the group and are currently developing a new piece with the Portland, OR-based composer Kenji Bunch. “When people ask us what we are we have no idea,” noted Meyer, laughing. “We're a marketing nightmare for most record companies. The fact that we're actually signed with Universal is a major pat on the back for us. When we're getting together, frankly it's not a purist thing." Video: Amy Pearl; Audio: Edward Haber; Text & Production: Brian Wise; Interview: Naomi Lewin

We explore compelling installation work with Wafaa Bilal, breakout thinking with Makoto Fujimura, and Alison Roper's longtime love affair with her OBT audience. 1:00 — Kenji Bunch 8:18 — Oregon Rep Singers 10:44 — Alison Roper, the departing principal dancer of Oregon Ballet Theatre, checks in21:05 — Wafaa Bilal’s installation at Linfield, bringing elegant form to the losses of the Iraq War31:11 — What artist Makoto Fujimura has been working on during a residency with Southwest Washington’s Murdock Trust.36:47 — We talk with Portland hip hop promoters and artists on relations with local police.49:28 — Ural Thomas