Your 2013-14 Attitude Guide: Four to Cop, Four to Drop for an Amazing Season
September is coming, with all of its promise and terror. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You trained all your life for this stuff, and now you get to do it. Believe in your unique self;...
View ArticleMusic, MOOCs, and Copyright: Digital Dilemmas for Schools of Music
At first glance, the opportunity to take free online courses from some of the country’s most prestigious universities sounds great. But for some educational stakeholders, these classes represent a...
View ArticleDiligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight
In our contemporary music landscape, long-term collaborations can be logistically and financially difficult to achieve. Two weeks ago, I visited violinist Austin Wulliman and composer/bassoonist...
View ArticleAlone At The Top: What Conductor Susanna Malkki’s Success Means—and What It...
Conductor Susanna Malkki leading the Chicago Symphony felt like a massively successful non-event. A woman was on the podium, and everything seemed to be in order. But while Malkki is unquestionably a...
View ArticleMixed Media: Collaborative Music and Visual Art Making for Ten x Ten: 2013
Ten x Ten: 2013 is a collaborative venture between ten Chicago visual artists and ten composers. Working in pairs, they crafted joint “statements of intent” and created pieces of music and art which...
View ArticleIf Elton John Sings But Everyone Else Does Too, Does It Make a Sound?
What is it with people and singing along? No really, what is it? Here, I offer four possible explanations for a phenomenon that, for anyone who celebrates live performance, doesn’t make much sense.
View ArticleCarolyn O’Brien: Making Music as Tactile as Possible
Chicago-based composer Carolyn O’Brien’s path to becoming a composer wasn’t a typical one. She taught in public schools for ten years before she took her first composition lesson at 32, disappointed...
View ArticleThree Words for 2014: Chicago Musicians Reflect and Aspire in the New Year
What was your biggest musical challenge of 2013? What was your favorite record, or favorite thing to listen to, this year? What are you most looking forward to in 2014? Seven Chicago musicians share...
View ArticleSounds Heard: Chris Wild–Abhanden
Chicago-based cellist Chris Wild's onstage presence is intense and contemplative, so it comes as no surprise that Abhanden presents six works which, in radically different ways, explore intimate and...
View ArticleVery Modern Love Songs: Your Weird, Steamy Playlist for V-Day
Valentine’s Day is here, and for contemporary music enthusiasts, it can be hard to compile the proper playlist. From openhearted to kinky, we’ve got some pretty wide-ranging ideas of what romance is....
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