I urge you to
purchase tickets now for the Nov. 11-12 Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra premiere of Joseph Schwantner's Concerto for Section
Percussion and Timpani and Orchestra!
Joe is a Pulitizer Prize winning composer. He was
commissioned by the Percussive Arts Society (an International
organization) to write this composition. We met with Joe
about three years ago and have been practicing since July 1.
As a group of 4 timpani/percussionists I believe we have put
in more than 50 hours. The...
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What little girl didn't prance around her living room
belting "Sixteen Going on Seventeen?" What teenager didn't
experience some kind of adolescent romantic longing as the stars of
the high school musical crooned "Some Enchanted Evening?" What
music appreciation teacher didn't at least reference "Do-Re-Mi" in
a lesson on Solfege syllables?
Although I am a self-proclaimed "orchestra dork" and will
exalt the unparalleled power of classical music until my dying day,
I cannot deny that the works of...
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This Halloween, forget "Scream" costumes, zombie flicks and vampire
novels and let orchestra music scare your socks off!
In the spirit of the approaching weekend of witchery, I chatted
with a few ISO musicians about their favorite creepy concertos,
haunting hymns and ominous overtures. Play some of these pieces as
you're doling out candy or slathering carmel onto your
apples!
"Berlioz’s "Symphonie Fantastique" features the Dies Irae tune,
a hymn to the
dead. We’ve played Paul Dukas’s...
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The oboe exudes a smooth A. The
hall is silent. The conductor strolls to the podium, shakes the
concertmaster’s hand, and raises his baton. Suddenly, the sounds of
two unison clarinets, against the soft, eerie backdrop of low
strings, emanate from the woodwind section. For the first minute or
so of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, the audience focuses only on
the rich sounds of the clarinet.
In my completely biased opinion,
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony has one of the most powerful openings
of any...
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Maybe I've been watching the
World Series too much, but I see this weekend's
Symphonic Hits Concert as a fast
ball, right down the middle. It's strong, it's exciting, and
it doesn't pull any punches - no contemporary works, no difficult
to understand rarity, just three masterworks from the heart of the
ever popular Romantic repertoire. We have an overture by
Bellini inspired by Romeo and Juliet, THE quintessential Romantic
piano concerto by Robert Schumann, and a fatalistic symphony...
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This morning, my boss Jessica gave
me the keys to the ISO’s archive room and told me to “have at it.”
As I stepped into the tiny room tucked away in the middle of the
Marketing and Communications floor and caught a glimpse of the
treasure trove of old ISO photographs, music scores and random
artifacts – including a cornet with the baseball stuffed in the
bell about which I am quite curious and thus plan to explore in a
future blog post – my history-dork senses were awakened.
As a lifelong...
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I bet you have a friend or relative who likes to forward funny
emails. You know, the ones that say "Funniest Church Signs,"
"10 Things Never to Say to Women," (I can think of more than 10),
"Priceless Wedding Invitation from Mother of the Groom," or
"Awkward Family Photos."
Don't tell my mother-in-law (because she's the sender!), but I
usually disregard or delete most of these emails; however, the
Awkward Family Photos website is a must. I picked a few of my
holiday-themed favorites below.
The...
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Music can entertain us. Music can bring us to tears. Music can make
us exercise longer. Music can make us cheer. Music can help us
remember. Studies show that music can even heal.
And music has the power to distract, in a good way.
That's what Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Zach De
Pue was reminded of when he visited Brad Humphrey in the hospital.
Brad is a teenager who plays tennis and the violin. Tragically,
Brad was one of many severely injured during the Indiana State...
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If
two years ago anyone had told me that the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra concert for which I would be most
excited this season would be
Mahler's First Symphony, I would have called them
crazy.
For most of my life as a classical musician, I could
never bring myself to like or even understand Mahler's
compositions. Beethoven symphonies, Brahms sonatas, and even
Strauss tone poems made sense to me, but these long, loud, and
laborious Mahler works that call for an army of brass
players and...
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Hello, everyone!
My name is Shannon Draucker, and I'm the new Communications Intern
for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. I am so excited to be
here - meeting great people, listening to wonderful music, and
learning a lot about the organization!
After I was hired, I immediately visited the ISO's website to
peruse the program for this season. When I saw that the ISO,
joined by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Children's Choir,
would be performing Carl Orff's masterwork
Carmina Burana,
I...
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If you asked me what's been happening this week, this is how I
would sum it up. Maestros. Mansions. Memory. Music. And Jimmy
Fallon.
Our new Music Director, Krzysztof Urbanski ("just call me Krzys")
arrived late Sunday evening. It's been a privilege for me to host
our maestro around town, especially to venues like Lucas Oil
Stadium for a photo shoot on Monday (Krzys will be appearing on the
cover of the winter edition of the Indianapolis Convention
& Visitors Association's 4/c visitor guide)....
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I purchased a new toy for myself last spring: a fancy-schmancy
Nikon 3100 digital camera (it also takes video, although I'm not
interested in reading that page yet in the handbook. One thing at a
time for this beginner).
I don't want to be a professional photographer or even an amateur
for that matter. I just want to play one on TV.
So this season, I put myself to work at several Marsh
Symphony on the Prairie performances to capture a bit
of the audience, the environment, the entertainers and...
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On Monday, Aug. 8, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's single
tickets went on sale to the public. In this
blog post, I mentioned a few
of my favorite pieces, concerts, moments that I was excited about,
and I also included what percussionist Paul Berns was looking
forward to.
And now, we have violinist Jennifer Greenlee and Principal Bassoon
John Wetherill submitting their picks. Lo and
behold...there's some similarity here!
From Jen Greenlee:
I found it difficult to
find highlights, because the...
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It's a big day at the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra on Monday, Aug. 8 at 9 a.m. That's when the flood
gates open and single ticket purchasers can "have at it" and secure
the best seat in the house for virtually any concert of their
choice (except
Yuletide Celebration - you'll have to wait
for late September, folks).
Which begs the question...what concert are you looking forward to
the most?
I know my picks. I blogged about
this particular piece of musica year ago. Thank goodness I get to...
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This week is one of those unusual weeks in the ISO calendar
when the orchestra players are just, well,
everywhere. Four
outdoor locations to be
exact. Welcome to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra - al
fresco style!
On Thursday, July 14, we travel west to the lovely town of
Danville,
Indiana and perform at the picturesque amphitheatre in
Ellis
Park. Danville boasts just over 8,000 residents and to my
naked eye, it seems like at least half of these friendly
folks enthusiastically attend this...
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I
love having contests on this blog. Contests allow us to give
away cool stuff like tickets and gift cards. Contests allow us to
get the word out about Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concerts,
events and programs so that more people attend. Most importantly,
contests allow us to hear from you - our blog readers - and
interact with you.
But when it comes time to pick the winner, I'm not a fan of our
contests. It's the old cliche...you're all winners in my
book. So, I will follow my own rules,...
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My husband and I have been going to the Symphony on the Prairie
since before we got married. We have been married for 8 years.
Though the last few years we had not been able to go. We were
really sad about that. We have a 4 year old daughter. Last year we
decided we would like to take our daughter. She loves music. We
went to te Beatles tribute. We had a blast with her. She danced and
loved that we had a picnic at night. We love the prairie it is so
peacful and relaxing. We would love to come...
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In
an effort to avoid a reputation as the intern who 
Hello,
again!
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