An evening with the Long String Instrument

Last night Paul and I went to Casaninja in Berkeley to hear a concert. It was the first in a series featuring the Long String Instrument. It was my first time hearing it. I had seen it before a couple of times, since it's been in residence at Casaninja.

The Long String Instrument was invented by composer Ellen Fullman, who also performs on it. The instrument takes up the whole length of the ground floor space at Casaninja. It has two sets of strings, 22 on one side and 20 on the other side (if I counted right). There is a space between the sets of strings for Ellen to walk while she plays the strings with her fingers. The strings are so long that an extension had to be built on Casaninja to hold the whole instrument.

The room is long and narrow so the two rows of audience seats were very close to the instrument. I was no more than a foot and a half away in my front row seat. There was a small stage behind the strings where trombonist Monique Buzzarte stood and improvised along with Ellen.

The Long String Instrument sounds like...a string quartet playing in close harmony and/or dissonance; a sitar; and an accordion recorded and played back in reverse. It's got a wide dynamic range from whispery to very loud. It gets so loud you would think it's amplified, but it isn't. All the sound comes from the wooden resonance chambers at one end of the instrument.

Monique Buzzarte, based in New York, was a sensitive improviser who contributed mournful long notes, low growls, and rushing air effects. The long, droning accompaniment could have been meditative but it didn't trance me out at all, since the sight of Ellen playing was so riveting. She plays with a slow burning relentless intensity.

I spoke to Monique after the concert and she said that she had seen the Long String Instrument played in another venue where it was nearly twice as long. She said in that concert she heard a lot more low frequencies than at Casaninja.

Here's a web site where you can learn more:
www.deepmedia.org/ellenfullman/

I enjoyed being back at Casaninja. It belongs to my friend Celeste and even when she's not around, you can still feel her energy.

Hitting the ground running in 2006

Happy New Year, everyone!

There's a lot on the calendar already for me in 2006, so I'm hard at work, not wasting a moment, preparing for all of it.

On March 11, I will be a member of the judges' panel for the Flock of Flutes competition which will take place in Walnut Creek, CA. Student flutists will be competing for cash prizes in two age divisions.

On March 16, I have my next live gig with the Company at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. There will be a mostly-new band lineup.

On April 22, I will give my performance art workshop at the Madison Flute Club's 3rd Annual Flute Fair. I'll also perform in the Gala Recital and sit on the judges' panel for their Young Artist Competition.

In June I'm planning to go back into the studio to finish up my fourth album, "Not Made of Stone". After it's done, I'll spend the rest of 2006 preparing it for release in early 2007.

Other things are in the pipeline, too, with regard to the flute quartet I wrote last year, "Remove Before Flight". The LA Flute Quartet is reading it, and I expect to hear a verdict from them by the end of this month about whether they'll perform it. Also, ALRY Publications is considering adding it to their catalog for 2007. I should hear something about that by the end of this month, also.

Trading Denver for Madison

I was supposed to give my gateway performance art workshop at the Colorado Flute Association's event in April. As it turned out, the University of Denver didn't want to provide the A/V equipment I need to present it, so the CFA had to ask me not to present. That was disappointing as I was really looking forward to it.

But as it happens, a proposal for the same workshop I was supposed to give in Denver has been accepted by the good folks at the Madison Flute Club, who are putting on their Third Annual Flute Fair. I'll be in Madison, WI on Saturday, April 22nd to share my performance art workshop with the assembled classical flutists.

They also tell me I'll play in the Gala Recital, and sit on the judges' panel for the Young Artist Competition.

"I'm a latke; I'm a latke...

...and I'm waiting for Chanukah to come!"

No, they didn't play that song, but I was reminded of it on the drive home from the party at Frieda and Jesse's place last night. The band was Zoyres, and it was their stripped-down lineup consisting of Mike on saxophones, Liam on trombone, and Eddie on drums. Their slogan is Eastern European Wild Ferment. When we arrived Mike was lying on his back partially supported by a stability ball so I stood over him to say hi.

Paul & I had lots of fun listening to them and ultimately dancing around manically with the assembled folks. Our dancing was nothing like the dance troupe that Zoyres shared the bill with, though. Zooz Middle Eastern Dance Company did a beautiful set of as they put it, "old dances, new dances, and works in progress". I really enjoyed their performance too. Their web site is www.zoozdancecompany.com.

Online community for fans of my tunes

I'm flattered to report that an online community has been created for folks who like my music. They call it "InterPolly", I guess because it's going to be an international network of people in the know.

Here's the URL:

http://tribes.tribe.net/interpolly

Mentioned on Salon.com

My new flute quartet, "Remove Before Flight", written for 2 C flutes,
alto flute, and bass flute, was premiered on October 8.

Patrick Smith, in his aviation column "Ask the Pilot" on Salon.com, mentions the piece in his overview of aviation-related classical music this week. It's only a brief mention and link, but you might enjoy the article on your way to it:

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2005/11/04/askthepilot160/index.html