Archive for Elgin
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Ripping Off Your Teachers
I’ve got story for you, and I promise it’s true!
When I was getting started as a freelance musician at the tail end of my masters degree, I was quaking in my boots about my future prospects. After all, I was regularly buying CDs at Borders and Barnes and Noble from former Northwestern doctoral music [...]
The real cost of driving to gigs for the freelance musician
Check out the gig commuting cost calculator by Drew McManus here and determine if you should really be taking that gig.
A recent feature in the Chicago Tribune (Sunday, April 13, 2008 by Jim Mateja) about the actual operating costs per mile for a variety of different vehicles caught my eye–not surprising considering how [...]
Northwesten University proposes new music building
In late 2007, I wrote a lighthearted (or was it?) dig at Northwestern University and the sorry state of their music facilities:
Click for the complete story>>
Though I doubt that there’s a connection here, I like to think that I did my part in getting the word out about this state of affairs and, if nothing [...]
…and everything faded to black
Even in a ‘classic’ art form like music, one that existed well before the advent of electricity, we performers now completely and utterly depend on the power grid for our performances. While hospitals and other such foundational services may have emergency generators, I’ve certainly never seen a concert hall with one. When the power goes [...]
Pounded by snow (and pounded, and pounded…)
We got sucker-punched by the worst snow storm of the season this year, causing most of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra to be one or two hours (!) late to our dress rehearsal. It took me 1 1/2 hours to go nine miles for one stretch, and three hours for the whole drive there. Aaargh!
I’ve [...]
On the road….again
As I started to drive up to Milwaukee to begin my annual Nutcracker run, something suddenly struck me–I hadn’t left the state of Illinois since the summer! In fact, the furthest I’d wandered the whole fall was to take a few trips to Elgin, just 35 miles away from my lake front home.
The last [...]
CBC 52: Virginia Dixon interview and music from Ben Torrey
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview with Suzuki Bass School pioneer, pedagogue, and teacher trainer Virginia Dixon. Virginia shares her years of experience performing and teaching the double bass, highlights unique aspects of the Suzuki bass method, and offers advice for those interested in pursuing a career as a double bass [...]
Scott Rosenthal and Jason goof off before interview
Last week I put out some fun Photo Booth photos of Elgin Symphony bassists Tim Shaffer and Scott Rosenthal. Well, I got in on the action earlier this year as well, just before interviewing Scott for Contrabass Conversations:
I love Photo Booth!
Great responses to ‘Making a Living’
We’ve had some excellent comments from readers to Bill Harrison’s ‘Making a Living’ blog post last week. I have yet to craft my own response to Bill’s question, but I’m working on it. Here are a few comments from this post in response to Bill’s question:
What do you do for a living?
Feel free [...]
CBC 39: Scott Rosenthal interview and music from Stefano Sciascia
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an interview with Chicago-based double bassist and electric bassist Scott Rosenthal. Scott is one of the major players for the Chicago theater scene, having performed in a huge number of productions such as The Producers, Ragtime, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, [...]
