Beyond Dumbing Down
This post is the speech I delivered at SphinxCon last week. (Video) Yes, it’s long at 15-minutes… but I’ll bring in some of the more interesting pictures from the slideshow. …
Getting Real with Classical Music, Part 2
So I left off here writing about the need for our major institutions to go beyond dumbing down to reach the casual community. In support of that statement, I was at a …
What Did You Learn Playing Classical in Bars, Rick?
I was recently asked in a meeting what I had been learning by sight-reading (unrehearsed) and performing (rehearsed) classical in bars, clubs and restaurants. Where do I start? I learned …
Why Is Your Music Neo-Romantic, Rick?
I only began composing in 1999, about 5 years after I started transcribing symphonic music for my mixed octet CutTime Players (CTP). It started when I had this extremely vivid waking …
Getting Real with Classical Music Part 1
I often write in blog comments about the need for musicians to assume the lead making classical music (esp. symphonic music) truly accessible. By saying truly, I mean going beyond the …