The Chris and Matt Jazz Duo playing Jazz at Chianti's Sunday 9-30-2012

Bassist Chris Allen and keyboardist Matt Harris will be jazzing it up at Chianti's Italian Restaurant on Line Avenue Sunday September 30 from 6-9 PM in the Green Room. Enjoy the evening while listening to your favorite memories, food and music for the soul. Does it get any better?

Chris Allen above and Matt Harris below jazzing this summer at the SSMF Kozak Jazz Festival

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra opens 2012-2013 September 29 and 30 with R. Strauss, Dohnanyi and Lalo

Violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to the ASO with Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole this Saturday and Sunday at the Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock, Arkansas. Music Director - Philip Mann

photo from ASO webpage

Tickets may be purchased at 501.666.1761

or purchased online at

http://www.arkansassymphony.org/concerts/augustin-returns/

Performances

Saturday 9-29 @  8:00 PM

Sunday 9-30 @ 3:00 PM

-     Program    -

R. Strauss - Don Juan

Dohnanyi - Suite in f sharp minor

Lalo - Symphonie Espangnole

Rapides Symphony Orchestra begins season 9-29-2012 with Pops on the River

The Rapides Symphony Orchestra presents Pops on the River - A Night at the Movies, the sequel. Broadway's Natalie Gallo is the guest vocalist singing songs from the movies past and present.

Music Director of the RSO is Joshua Zona

POPS UPDATE - In anticipation of inclement weather, "Pops on the River", scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. will be moved to the Alexandria Riverfront Center. (707 2nd St., Alexandria, two blocks west of the Riverfront Amphitheater.)

7:30 PM Concert time

for Tickets call 318.442.9709 

Natalie Gallo

photo from the Rapides Symphony webpage

2Chris's at 2Johns this Thursday, 9-27, 2012 beginning 6:00 PM - Jazz and Blues Night

Bassist Chris Allen and keyboardist Chris McCaa will be at 2Johns tomorrow evening from 6-10 PM for some soul touching jazz and blues.

Grab a friend, your significant other or jazz and blues colleague and drive on over to 2Johns for some great entertainment and mouthwatering food.

The 2Chris's
6-10 PM

2Johns Steak and Seafood

2152 Airline Drive, Bossier City

318.841.5646

Chris McCaa and Chris Allen

photos by sjwrogers

Longview Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Tonu Kalam celebrate their 25th season together

This coming Saturday September 29, Tonu Kalam celebrates 25 years as Music Director with the Longview Symphony Orchestra programming two choral works and the Tchaikovsky Serenade in C Major on the first concert of the 2012-2013 season

photo by Susan W. Rogers

7:30 PM Saturday September 29, 2012

Trinity Episcopal Church, Longview, TX

for  Season Tickets

call The Belcher Center

903.233.3073

or go online to

http://www.longviewsymphony.org/order-tickets

Concert Program for 9-29-2012

Prelude b minor by J.S. Bach/L. Stokowski

Mass No. 2 in G Major by Franz Schubert

Serenade in C Major by Peter I. Tchaikovsky

With the Kilgore College Chorale and the East Texas Symphony Chorus under the direction of Jim Taylor.

Soloists are 

Alyssa Marshall, Soprano

Jon Starling, Tenor

Tim Konvalin, Baritone

Unfortunately the program does not include Horns, so I will not be playing until the LSO December Holiday Concert

See you then and enjoy the LSO Season

The Lake Charles Symphony opens its 2012-2013 season September 22 with singer Fred C. Van Ness, Jr

The Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, Bohuslav Rattay, Music Director

presents

soloist Fred C. VanNess, Jr.

in its opening concert of the season

Fred C. VanNess, Jr.

Photo of Mr. VanNess, Jr. and concert info. from Lake Charles Symphony website

Fred C. VanNess Jr. debuts with the Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra this Saturday night September 22, with the following arias.

Vltava" from Ma' vlast                                                            Smetana

Questa o quella from Rigoletto

Recondita from Tosca

Kuda Kuda from Onegin

La Fleur from Carmen

Una Furtiva Lagrima from L'elisir D'amore

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story                          Bernstein

The Rosa Hart Theatre - Lake Charles Civic Theatre - 7:30 PM

for tickets

call 337.433.1611

The East Texas Symphony Orchestra opens its season Saturday 9-22-2012

An All Beethoven Spectacular is planned by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra of Tyler in its season debut this Saturday night, September 22 at the UT Cowan Center.

With newly installed Music Director: Richard Lee

Piano Soloist, Winston Choi

i

photo from the ETSO web page

Program

All Beethoven

Consecration of the House

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

Intermission

Symphony NO. 3, Eroica

UT Cowan Center

Time 7:30 PM

For tickets call 903.566.7424

The Acadiana Symphony presents the Four Corners of Europe at its opening concert of the 2012-2013 season September 22

Join the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Mariusz Smolij, Saturday evening September 22, for a quick tour of Europe with works by Lutoslowski, Brahms, Sibelius and Respighi. Guest Artist is violinist Gyula Stuller

Concert time 7:30 PM

The Heyman Performing Arts Center

Layfayette, LA

For tickets, call 337.232. 4277

ULM and etc. 14 and 21 September 2012

Wonderful day to spend time driving to and from ULM. And I believe there is a football game on campus this evening which is being televised on one of the ESPN stations. Glad I was able to boogie out of the area a little early this week. 

My thanks to Kermit Poling at KDAQ for providing "a little travelling music" for me to enjoy on my trip to Monroe during the lunch hour. Kermit was the guest artist for the final SSO concert of last season playing Samuel Barber's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, one of my very favorite pieces. On this same program was Hanson's Symphony No. 2, a virtual fiesta for Horn players, Bernstein's Overture to Candide and Peck's percussion piece, The Grandeur and the Glory played by Chandler Teague, Anthony Robinson and Douglas Parmelee. Thanks, for the entertainment, guys!

Today James Boldin and I worked with various mutes and then listened to some of the Bach Mass in b minor, rather the 10th section "Quonium" (bassaria) of 24 sections , the one part in the entire Mass which Bach wrote to include the Horn in the instrumentation. Heard three or four versions, one of which I enjoyed more than the others. Natural Horn sound best to me, but a valved horn version was decent as well. Yep, you guessed it. I am now working on that piece together with my trusty Lawson. Sorry, no Corno da Caccia. No descant horn either. Stay with me, mouthpiece. Exciting stuff.

Listening to the last section of the Peck percussion piece on KDAQ in the ULM Arts parking lot

James Boldin in his music studio

Texarkana Symphony Symphony Fund Raising Event 9-18-2012 at the Country Club - "A Little Night Music"

Ever wanted to learn how to waltz? "Stodgy", you say. Absolutely not. TSO Music Director Marc-Andre Bougie led the TSO Chamber Orchestra Tuesday night 9-18 in playing three superb waltzes and Mozart's " A Little Night  Music" (which is for listening, not dancing) for its fund raising event at the Texarkana Country Club this week. Dinner and dancing and fund raising. Sounds like a great combination to me. However, I had to play the waltzes, so no dancing to me.

After only 10 minutes of lessons, our fund raising group was on the floor and whirling around like  professionals.

Check out the opening concert of the season October 13 at the bottom of this post

TSO Music Director, Marc-Andre Bougie with his wife soprano Candice Taylor

TSO Executive Director, Andrew Clark

Texarkana Country Club greets you

Concertmaster Kiril Laskarov, TSO's  Board President  Remica Gray and Music Director Marc-Andre Bougie

Texarkana Symphony Orchestra opens its 2012-2013 season on Saturday evening October 13, 7:30 PM at the Perot Theatre in downtown Texarkana.

for tickets

Contact Perot Theatre Box Office

903.792.4992

CLASSICAL EXCELLENCE         photo and information courtesy of TSO website

Saturday, October 13, 2012 7:30PM at the Historic Perot Theatre

Featuring:  Jean-François Normand

Repertoire:

            Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

            Hayden: Symphony No. 93

            Beethoven: Symphony No. 1

Marshall Symphony Orchestra in the Square - Jeans and Classics Sat. 9-15-2012

Marshall Symphony Orchestra begins its 2012-2013 season this Saturday evening September 15 with its annual "Jeans and Classics" blast of pure rock and roll. Fun, food, shopping and great music from our rock & roll past!

Michael Shotton singing the best of The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, U2, Queen and Kiss

Gavin Hope singing the best of, Michael Jackson,, Earth Wind and Fire, Prince and Stevie Wonder

program includes

Take on Me
Billy Jean
Life in the Fast Lane
Let's groove
We will Rock you/We are the Champions
Heartache Tonight

7:00 PM performance in the Marshall town square at Washington St.

For tickets contact the Marshall Regional Arts Council @ 903.935.4484

Maestro Leonard Kacenjar rehearsing the MSO at ETBU band hall

New gear

Sat. driving to Marshall - fun time in the rain - I love Rainex

My Lawson

MSO violinists

Joe Cooper

Lydia

Break time

Michael

Doug

Anthony and Michelle after rehearsal

Moi, stormy day in Marshall

MSO Maestro Leonard Kacenjar

Hubby with Classics singer and crew




Moi and hubby

Hubby and MSO First Vice President Bill Tankersley

MSO violinist Diana Norwood and Jeans 'N Classics singer Gavin Hope - break time at the concert

ULM and Dr. James Boldin - work studies - 9-7-2012

Today is my brother's BD. Happy Birthday, Frank, and many happy returns. Celebrating by sending you a card and gift and doing work study with my colleague, James Boldin at ULM in Monroe. Sharing my drive to Monroe today with my grandson Michael who will be visiting a friend who is a freshman at ULM this year. After listening to the beginning of the Friday 12 noon regional orchestra program (SSMF's classical concert of the summer), we turned off the radio and chatted about cars - BMW's, Ferraries, Bentleys, RR's, Lamborghinies, Maseraties and, of course, Mustangs. Oh, and the Shelby Cobra.

James Boldin and his Holton F/ Bflat descant horn.

James and I read through the Brandenburg today along with more duets and other studies that have become a familiar routine with us every Friday. An enjoyable hour of playing, a learning experience and worth every mile of the 200 mile round trip drive. 

Someone in recent weeks queried me, "How do you practice intonation"? "What," I said? You see, I rather have a problem with that question, so my answer to this person (twice, I might add) was, I believe, appropriate - "You either hear it or you don't". Such a simple statement, yet so true. All the exercises in the world won't cure the problem if you can't hear that there is a problem. Or you can hear the inconsistency of pitch and/or the harmony but can't decide what to do with it. Is it sharp? Is it flat? And to whom? Is someone else sharp or flat and to whom? To you? To someone in your section? In the orchestra or ensemble? Now in that case I was speaking of professional musicians. With younger students, a different approach is certainly in order. I used a particular method many years ago when I still taught private lessons.

More later!

Michael Rogers

SJWR - leaving Monroe for home to watch tennis