Free, streaming concerts from Yale's Norfolk Festival

Looking for some great listening this summer? Look no further than Yale's Norfolk Chamber Music Festival's free live-stream! Yale presents multiple concerts a week, featuring professionals such as the Tokyo String Quartet, David Shifrin, Frank Morelli, Stephen Taylor, William Purvis, and many others, along with the Young Artist Series, featuring the fellows of the chamber music session. Whether you are in the mood for a string quartet, a woodwind quintet, or a piece for percussion and cello, you are sure to find something that you will enjoy.

For you clarinet folks, make sure to tune in on Saturday, August 4th at 8:00pm EST to see David Shifrin and the Tokyo String Quartet perform Brahm's Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

Check out upcoming events HERE.

Tune in to the live-stream HERE.

Teaching Brass in Uganda: Eastern Edge Brass Quintet

Eastern Edge Brass, a Baltimore-based brass quintet, has been given the opportunity to travel to Uganda as a part of T.U.B.A (the Uganda Baltimore Alliance). While there they will be giving lessons, working with music instructors, and giving performances along with bringing along some french horns (an instrument that is absent from the area they will be visiting) and sheet music to share with young, aspiring musicians. Below is a video where the quintet explains exactly what they plan to do and what they hope to achieve while in Uganda.

Unfortunately, getting a brass quintet to a foreign country is not a cheap task. They currently have an Indiegogo campaign going and are attempting to raise $12,000 to cover airfare, lodging, vaccinations, and other travel-related expenses. All gifts are tax-deductible through the non-profit Fractured Atlas. Also, all gifts of $10 or more will receive "perks" such as hand-made gifts from Uganda and mp3 recordings of the group. More details are available at their fund-raising page HERE.

Click here to make a donation!

Eastern Edge Brass Facebook Page and Website
T.U.B.A. Facebook Page

Joel Puckett's Concert Duo Recording Online!

A performance of Joel Puckett's "Concerto Duo" by Anthony and Demarre McGill with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra is available to be listened to online. A beautiful performance of an incredible piece. It's amazing what happens when you combine a world-class composer, seasoned professionals, and the talent and passion of aspiring performers.

Andrew Moses plays Hommage a C. Debussy

Andrew Moses, aged 13, performing Hommage a C. Debussy by Béla Kovács. I have always enjoyed watching Andrew play, though perviously more due to his young age and high level of skill. In this video, I went from enjoying his playing because of his age, to enjoying his playing based on his artistry and musicianship. It is a really beautiful performance. This kid is going to go far.

Andrew's website can be found HERE.
His YouTube page is HERE.

New "Reserve" mouthpiece by Rico

Rico has just released their new artist mouthpiece, the Reserve. The Reserve mouthpiece is based upon the old vintage mouthpieces and is milled out of a single billet of material, making it much more consistent (with tolerances of 0.0005) than mouthpieces made using the more traditional injection molding process. It is endorsed by Richie Hawley, Mark Nuccio, and Lee Livengood, all of whom were involved in the design of the mouthpiece. The Reserve is currently available in three different facings, close (1.00mm), medium (1.05mm), and medium open (1.10mm) and is listed on the Rico site at $117, though they are on sale at Kessler Music for $99. I hope to get a chance to try these out soon. It will be interesting too see if Rico can break into the largely Vandoren-dominated mouthpiece market.

Rico Reserve official product page HERE.

Photos all belong to Rico and D'Addario

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Academy 2012

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Academy was once again a hit, bringing together 104 amateur musicians for a week of learning and music making. The BSO Academy consists of a week of rehearsals, masterclasses, and lessons culminating in a concert at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program includes people from all walks of life such as a neurosurgeon who picked up the clarinet at age 63 and an accountant who learned oboe as a way to connect with her disabled daughter. The full article can be found HERE. It's beautiful to see how much music brings us together, no matter our skill level or day job.