Stuff like this always makes me want to get better and better! This kind of social reform movement through music should be reflected in other parts of the world. Another program that comes to mind is the El Sistema in Venezuela, which I’ve been connected to through work at NEC. I wonder what Midori thinks of that program?
Midori in Costa Rica from Andrew M. Irwin on Vimeo.
This past week was full of entertaining activities. Randy’s good friend and bassist Alex Tarbert is finally saying goodbye to Boston and starting a new life chapter in Germany. I’m so excited for him! A bunch of friends gathered at Wally’s, a venue famous for Latin jazz sounds, to celebrate and bid farewell to Alex.
On another note, the Luna Duo, I mean, TRIO made its debut at the Bradford School of Music Faculty concert. I’m never big on performing alone on stage, so I thought it would be nice to have a chamber group perform—so why not perform as the Luna Trio, which is basically Leewen, Randy and myself? It was a great chance for us to play together and also expand our repertoire with Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz written for violin, viola (or cello), and double bass. The more I play this piece, the more I enjoy the subtleties of harmonic textures and the meditative lyrical melodies that soar above the blanket of open strings. Here we are making our grand opening gesture:
I also debuted as an 80′s rock band violinist playing “Peg” by Steely Dan. My band was made up of other Bradford faculty members. Man, this song is constantly stuck in my head…… Anyways, looking forward to the next hang with my music buddies next time. Bon voyage, Alex!
So it’s been awhile and many (good) things have happened or will happen in the next few weeks…
1) The WAITIKI 7 tour in Oahu (HI) was the second “big” tour we’ve had. It happened at the right time because not only was it a celebration of our AIP album, it was a solid preview of our next album, “The New Sounds of Exotica.” We performed two great shows, did two school clinics, and one awesome wedding. All I have to say, thank you to our fans and supporters, and boy, do we love those who love exotica music.
2) Luna Duo is getting ready for the summer, hopefully racking in some gigs for the upcoming year. We will also be doing a photoshoot next month so stay tuned for some stunning images.
3) As always, half of my time is dedicated to teaching and sharing my knowledge with my students. My schedule at Bradford is almost full, but I’m always excited to hear of interested persons in learning the violin, or just simply music. If you are around, the faculty recital is on May 7th at 7:00pm at the Osgood Auditorium. Admission is free, but a donation of non-perishable food items are appreciated. Student recitals will be held in June.
That’s it for now. Let’s hope this cold weather doesn’t stay for very long… Ick!
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Aug | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
