Queen City Musicians: Support Rachelle Moss

Reposting this in a non-Facebook location for friends and family who do not have Facebook accounts.  For those of you new to my blog, Rachelle is my daughter.

Queen City MusiciansRachelle Moss, Mezzo-Contralto

Become a Musicians Friend by supporting one of our musicians for our January performance.

RACHELLE MOSS, $150*

SUPPORT RACHELLE at this link: https://www.crowdrise.com/queencitymusicians

Rachelle Moss is an American mezzo-contralto. She has been praised for her warm and sultry timbre.She performed the Alto Solo for Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the KCKCC Honorworks Choir. Rachelle received a Bachelor’s in Music History and Master’s in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas.

During the summer of 2013 Rachelle worked with Spotlight on Opera in Austin, Texas. She portrayed Madame Larina (Eugene Onegin) and Gertrude (Romeo et Juliette) in scenes programs, and covered both Mama McCourt (The Ballad of Baby Doe) and Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia). Immediately following her return to North Texas, Ms. Moss sang the part of Maddalena in the Rigoletto Quartet for Verdi’s 200th Birthday at the University of North Texas.

Rachelle Moss now resides in Gig Harbor, Wa.

To read more about Rachelle:  http://rachellemoss.blogspot.com/p/biography.html

*6 days of rehearsal as chorus, two performances.

12 Things Only Music Majors Understand

Shout out to my daughter, who is wrapping up* her Masters in Vocal Performance this week.

I have one additional item to add to the list:  Vocal Performers must have an accompanist, which they pay for out of their own pockets.

And, rehearsals are required but again no credit hours applied.

* Update:  Rachelle passed her orals this morning!  Congratulations!

Article: A Win For Fair Use After Record Label, Copyright Lawyer Settle

A Win For Fair Use After Record Label, Copyright Lawyer Settle

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/02/27/283554774/a-win-for-fair-use-after-a-record-label-picked-wrong-guy-to-sue

Rarely do I read good news in the intellectual property area of law. Kudos to Lessig.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

May the Mouse Be With You

Thirty-five years ago I got sucked into Lucas’ Star Wars like most everyone else in the world.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched that movie since then.  More than once in a movie theatre, and many, many times since via my own home theatre.  Every word of dialog is memorized.  Every scene emblazoned on my mind’s eye.  Every soaring sound of the score composed by John Williams ringing in my ears.  It was the right movie magic at the perfect time.

So I scratched my head earlier this week when my phone kept crawling across my desk or buzzing in my pocket because of the swarm of tweets bombarding cyberspace about Disney buying Lucasfilm.  I didn’t get a chance to really delve into that development until days later, thanks to endless meetings at work.  I did glimpse some pretty funny images cropping up in my newsfeeds.

Here are a few of the ones that caught my eye:

And my thoughts on the billions Disney gave George for the Star Wars franchise? At least there will be a seventh movie. I’ll keep hoping it will better than the last three.  George doesn’t need to worry about his retirement now (not that he ever had to worry much).

Meanwhile, I’m still missing those droids I was looking for . . .

Duck Season

First Wednesday rolled around again, faster than it seemed possible.  I drove back to the plaza after work, barely stopping long enough to grab a quick bite to eat.  I arrived with a half-hour to spare, waiting on my long-time friend, Marge, and her husband, Bill.  I stayed in the lobby of Unity Temple until about ten minutes to seven, hoping to catch them as they arrived.  I gave up and grabbed some seats about midway down the aisle.  Marge and Bill arrived with just a couple minutes to spare.

The evening’s program featured the rich, velvet vocals of Lester “Duck” Warner, performing with Tim Whitmer & The Consort Band of Spirituality and All That Jazz.

Lester Warner, affectionately known as “Duck,” is a quiet, soft-spoken man who transforms himself into a spectacular entertainer when he takes the stage. His voice is a rich baritone with a beautiful full falsetto that has been compared to Nat “King” Cole. He is also a gifted instrumentalist who plays trumpet, flugelhorn and trombone. Duck has headlined Japan’s first International Jazz Festival, Kansas City’s Spirit Festival, and The Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival. He was voted Kansas City’s Best Male Vocalist three years in a row. The International Trumpet Guild has recognized duck as a veteran of the revered “old school” associated with the special brand of Kansas City “Swing” music. Benny Powell, trombonist with the Count Basie Band, calls Duck a “premiere entertainer.”

Tim and the usual suspects took the stage and played a short set of jazz standard instrumentals.

  • Autumn Leaves
  • Cute … County Basey tune
  • They’ll Never Be Another You

After those three songs, Tim introduced Duck Warner and the concert proceeded with only a couple of restarts.

  • I’m in Love
  • Witchcraft
  • Georgia
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Everyday I Have the Blues
  • My Romance
  • Route 66
  • L-O-V-E

After the last song, I finally had a chance to snatch a few minutes of conversation with Marge as we walked to the parking garage. We said our goodbyes and I hit the road for the return trip home (second time, no sunglasses necessary). I made it home by ten after nine o’clock and had trouble finding a place to park. Band practice was still going strong in the band room.

I uploaded the videos I took and went to bed and attempted to sleep, band practice not withstanding.

Tim Whitmer piano interlude:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtBrKtIwBNc?rel=0&w=853&h=480]

Everyday I Have the Blues:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JWXGo8K5ds?rel=0&w=853&h=480]

The Way You Look Tonight:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py2dpD_GK6w?rel=0&w=853&h=480]

L-O-V-E

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNO9JDvvyws?rel=0&w=853&h=480]

Next month, on the first Wednesday, the day after my birthday, the featured vocalist is Diane ‘Mama’ Ray at Spirituality and All That Jazz.  Come on down to the Plaza, sit a spell and savor some cool evening jazz.  The best seven bucks you’ll ever spend.

Opera Behind the Scenes Lecture Highlights

Something in this address seems familiarMy jazzy friend branched out to opera this month.  She invited me to attend a lecture in the ‘At Ease with Opera‘ series sponsored by the Kansas City Lyric Opera Guild.  I accepted her invitation, even though it meant driving back on a Monday evening to within sight (a couple of blocks) of where I had just spent eight or nine hours at work.

Monday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m. University of Kansas film professor John Tibbetts, a longtime classical music and opera enthusiast, will present “Backstage at the Opera: Opera at the Movies.” Tibbetts has made a study of operas as portrayed in film, and backstage scenes and opera intrigues as presented in movies. His presentation will feature excerpts from several such films, with commentary and discussion.

I attended a different lecture presented by the same man earlier in the year, prior to the release of John Carter, on Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I did learn something new about him at his “Backstage at the Opera” lecture, specifically that he was previously a radio announcer on a former radio station (KXTR) in Kansas City.  He also mentioned, somewhat in passing, one of his books entitled Composers in the Movies, where he “surveys different styles and periods from the Hollywood of the 1920s and 1930s to the international cinema of today, exploring the role that film biographies play in our understanding of history and culture.”  I couldn’t find a copy available at a local public library, but both KU and UMKC have copies listed as available via WorldCat, which I could probably request via InterLibrary Loan.  Not sure I’ll take this research that far at this point.

Tibbetts provided a few examples of operas popping up in films, including:

  • Risë Stevens singing an aria from Carmen in the Bing Crosby classic Going My Way (1944).  Much to my surprise, Stevens is still alive!  And she was born on June 11, 1913, making her 99 years old and still ticking.  “For over two decades (until 1961) Stevens was the Met’s leading mezzo-soprano and the only mezzo to command the top billing (and commensurate fees) normally awarded only to star sopranos and tenors.”  There must be something to June babies and mezzo sopranos.
  • During the cemetery scene in Driving Miss Daisy, the soundtrack plays a popular aria, “Song to the Moon,” from Dvorak’s Rusalka, a Czech opera.
  • A key moment in the Shawshank Redemption features the “Letter Duet” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Tibbetts next played several excerpts from movies that featured backstage moments for various operas.

He began with several clips from The Life of Verdi, a twelve hour mini-series which originally aired in 1982.  These scenes portrayed the power of Verdi’s compositions and how they were used in support of il Risorgimento (Italian Unification).  Often the subtext of the opera emphasized the nationalist desire to get rid of their Austrian oppressors.  The opera Atilla sparked the flame of national pride and caused a near revolution to start in Milan.

Tibbetts also showed us the sarcastic side of Verdi as he rebuts the censors changes to his Masked Ball libretto.  And finally the obsession of Verdi later in life not only as a composer but as a director of his operas while rehearsing Otello.

Tibbetts put Verdi to rest and took us forward to the 20th century, the 1930s, and the fabulous baritone Lawrence Tibbett (no relation).  He played two clips from the 1935 film Metropolitan (20th Century Fox’s first production following the merger of 20th Century Pictures and Fox Film Corp).  The first, a scene featuring the song “On the Road to Mandalay” and the second of “De Glory Road,” a song Tibbett made his own during his legendary career.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzXoVWjEbo?rel=0]

∞∞∞

http://youtu.be/VAd_enTLYUY\

Tibbetts’ grand finale to his “Backstage at the Opera” came from the movie Topsy Turvy, which he highly recommended both as a film and as a glimpse into all that goes into the making of a stage production.  A period piece set at the original premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado in 1885.  He selected scenes 27, 30  and 37 from the DVD.  Those three scenes intrigued me and prompted quite a few laughs.  I may be adding this DVD to my Netflix queue in the near future.

Not surprisingly, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City will end it’s 2012-13 season with the side-splitting comedic masterpiece Mikado next April.

He concluded his lecture with a plug for the October 15th installment called “What’s Opera, Doc?”

Monday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. ~ “What’s Opera, Doc?” by Dr. Charles Gibbs, a local opera fan. Those of a certain age remember the classic 1950s opera take-off Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny and similar characters. If you remember the cartoons you will enjoy this program, and if the cartoons are new to you then you are in for a real treat. Dr. Gibbs will show the cartoons, with introductions and commentary. See if you can spot all of the opera tunes and references!

A Fiery End to an Extremely Hot Day

Sunset Saturday 14 July 2012
Sunset Saturday 14 July 2012 (click image for rest of album)

I can blame nobody but myself.  I gave up the opportunity to sit in an air conditioned smoke-free bar (Woody’s Watering Hole in Leavenworth), where I could have listened to my husband and his band buddies perform classic rock to support A Ride for the Wounded.  I could have supported a worthy cause through my presence and donations and had a great time with old friends.

But no, I thought I would have a better time with my co-workers at our firm’s summer event, where the beer, barbecue and baseball were all free.  And so was the scorching heat and unrelenting sunshine beating down on us on the unshaded Bud Light Party Deck in right field at the T-Bones stadium.

Sizzle greets Toni and Tracey
Sizzling on the Bud Light Party Deck

Since I don’t drink beer, I walked back down along the concourse to purchase a very tall and cold glass of lemonade. The bottle of water I’d gotten on the Party Deck with one of my two free drink tickets had been warm. I hung out with coworkers, many of them people I see everyday, Monday through Friday, in our small corner of the universe called IT. I ended up giving my other drink ticket to my of my female coworkers, but not before attempting to exchange it for something first (like another lemonade?).

I hardly noticed when the game started. The T-Bones played against the Wichita Wingnuts (who used to be known as the Wranglers when I lived there in the 80s and 90s, but that team name has since moved to Arkansas). Staring directly into the sun from right field and unable to clearly see the scoreboard behind my right shoulder, I completely missed the Wingnuts scoring a run in the second inning. I did notice multiple rookie errors on the part of the T-bones. The only scoring for the home team came with two home-runs (with no one on base). I gave myself a headache staring into the sun for nearly an hour, when it finally hid itself behind a thin cloud bank approaching from the northwest.

With no comfortable seating available on the Party Deck (and because I’d opted to take a ‘left over’ ticket for the firm’s summer event), I decided enough was enough and left the park during the bottom of the fifth inning. Five innings, two runs and five errors on the part of the T-bones.  The Wingnuts had no errors and two runs.  I could see where this game was heading.  As I walked to the van, I could tell the sunset was shaping up to be a fiery one (click first photo above for entire album).

After taking a few photos from West Mary Street, I returned home to discover the bass player’s car parked where I usually park the van. I thought that was odd, since it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. I found Terry and Sean in the nearly empty band room, eating a late supper and reporting that the gig went extremely well. This perturbed me to no end. Since my home hosts most band practices for this group, I get exposed to the best and the worst of the amplified rock music. So I had a somewhat jaundiced view of this latest collection of musicians’ ability to pull it together.  Who knows, if I had attended, I probably would have jinxed the performance.  But it still would have been nice to sit in a cool air conditioned bar and drank something other than beer (or lemonade … unless it was Hard Lemonade) and listen to my husband sing Cumbersome (which he’s not).

Terry singing (and playing) Cumbersome (Sat 14 July 2012)