Today, I told my students that I don't listen to Spotify or Pandora because I like radio DJs. To a few astonished faces, I admitted that I listen more through the web than through the airwaves, but a robust response might require an entire semester. In short, it is the hosts of WFUV who explained… Continue reading Changing Stations
Author: Ars Arvole
composer-pianist, teacher, poet
On the Fringe of Conservatories
This December, I performed within ten minutes of two of the most prestigious music schools in the United States: Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Although I applied to both schools (for an undergraduate degree in piano at Eastman and for graduate study in composition at Peabody),… Continue reading On the Fringe of Conservatories
Dessner Convergence
A decade ago, a friend at the Blair School of Music suggested I listen to some music by Steve Reich. Kronos Quartet's album, Steve Reich: Different Trains was the first recording of exclusively this composer's music in our library's CD collection that resonated with me. I had become fascinated with the tightness and camaraderie of… Continue reading Dessner Convergence
How Star Trek Changed My World
Fictional and non-fictional space travel were equally important to me as a child. Immersed in Star Trek: The Next Generation, I dressed up as Mae Jemison for an elementary school project. I wrote "Not Sci-Fi Anymore," a middle school paper about the first U.S. human space flights, while oscillating between Star Trek: Deep Space Nine… Continue reading How Star Trek Changed My World
Return to Flamenco
Most musical genres I know are ones I discovered in the classroom. Flamenco is not one of them. Today, when my friend played the Gipsy Kings' Mosaique on his homemade turntable, I recalled aspects of the music that I learned while attending a flamenco show in Seville, Spain nine years ago. Then, I counted along… Continue reading Return to Flamenco
Goodbye, Living Room
My first visit to The Living Room was because Eric DeArmon was the bookkeeper at the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. He came to the office periodically to manage QuickBooks while I compiled press kits and researched opera instrumentations. As a fellow musician, he invited me to The Living Room to hear his band, The… Continue reading Goodbye, Living Room
Spark Finder
I memorized Matisyahu's album Light. I contemplated why someone would want to "Escape" the triumvirate of "the Bible, blood libels, and false idols." I covered "I Will Be Light" at an open mic and at a church event. I had my students analyze the sounds in the introduction to "Motivate" and build their own sampled… Continue reading Spark Finder
Forbes-Time
A few blocks south of Carl Fischer's clock, Forbes' distant sound cut to thistles shimmering on a hillside afternoon hike. For a moment I walked in two places, two times: University of Edinburgh, 1998 Cooper Square, 2012. *** I paid a 50-cent fare to rest in Rosenthal's presence as bagpipe drones and trills echoed off… Continue reading Forbes-Time
Oases of Bed-Stuy
A year ago, I wrote about deserts of Bed-Stuy as I considered moving to Brooklyn. Since living here, I have made a few discoveries: NYC Green Carts are near bus and subway stops I frequent. I enjoy improvising with, eating, and sharing produce from a CSA. Fresh herbs from volunteering at the Revolutionary Era Garden… Continue reading Oases of Bed-Stuy
Multimedia Meditation
David Irving Weiner and I did not set out to make a spiritual piece for the Westchester Square Arts Festival although the venue was the sanctuary St. Peter's Episcopal Church. The 30-foot-high supports for the dome above the nave compelled us more than the golden altarpiece and inscribed marble floors. We hung the central sculptural… Continue reading Multimedia Meditation
Ars Arvole 