March 2009 is "Music In Our Schools" month, and the National Association for Music Education has posted a series of public-service announcements by quite a variety of musicians answering the question, "Why Music?" Give them a listen!
As Clay Aiken puts it, "Learning music opens up the mind like nothing else."
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Art and Artists
There's some rejoicing going on in the Kingdom of Clay:
Clay Aiken Leaves RCA, as reported exclusively by People magazine.
Spin it any way you want (fired? quit? negotiations breakdown? artistic differences?) the truth is, RCA has never known how to handle Clay Aiken. Never. Did not know who he was as an artist, baffled by his versatility, did not know how to market someone completely original. That would have required creativity.
Even the Time magazine profile of Clay back in 2003 ("Building a Better Pop Star") noted the label's ignorance and even contempt for Clay Aiken. How could anyone expect to succeed without their boss's support? And yet Clay succeeded very well within these constraints.
From Time:
As Time also noted, Clay knew his audience instinctively and could communicate with them. That's art. And now, Clay's Fantasies can come true. He's on his way!
Flames of Paris
(credit: ABT, published in Washington Times)
Speaking of artists, I got to see this beautiful dancer perform with the American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night (Feb. 19). Thanks to YouTube, I could find an earlier performance of the same program by this artist, Daniil Simkin. But this 2007 performance pales compared with what happened the other night. Two more years of maturity, athleticism, and - for lack of better word - chutzpah have turned this young colt into a magnificent thoroughbred.
Watch for Daniil's solo passes in this video of the Flames of Paris pas de deux. His variations now consist of leaping into the air and spinning, but then stretching those strong legs out into a full splits before landing the jumps. His performance on Thursday was "an honest-to-God, 'where did that guy come from,' star" moment.
Come on, Daniil! Now that I see you have your videographers following you all over the world, please please put up your latest variation of this pas!
ETA, update 2-23-09: Here is a review of the ABT's mixed rep program, including kudos for Daniil: "A Lithe and Lively ABT" (Washington Times)
This will be one of many unforgettable moments I've experienced in live theater - or in a gallery or a concert hall. That's why I wrote....
An Open Fan Letter to the Arts
(mailed after Valentine's Day to three dozen arts organizations in the U.S.)
from the back row
Clay Aiken Leaves RCA, as reported exclusively by People magazine.
Spin it any way you want (fired? quit? negotiations breakdown? artistic differences?) the truth is, RCA has never known how to handle Clay Aiken. Never. Did not know who he was as an artist, baffled by his versatility, did not know how to market someone completely original. That would have required creativity.
Even the Time magazine profile of Clay back in 2003 ("Building a Better Pop Star") noted the label's ignorance and even contempt for Clay Aiken. How could anyone expect to succeed without their boss's support? And yet Clay succeeded very well within these constraints.
From Time:
Ask the employees at Clay Aiken's record label, RCA, if they would listen to Aiken's debut album, Measure of a Man, by choice, and the response is almost uniform: a lengthy pause followed by laughter. RCA was the home of Elvis Presley, and its current roster includes critical favorites like the Strokes and the Foo Fighters. It's a rock label. Aiken, who came in second on the most recent installment of American Idol, is not only not a rocker, but, as he says in his aggressively self-deprecating way, "I'm not an artist. I'm just a guy who was on a reality show—and I didn't even win!" Humility aside, Aiken, 24, doesn't mind being doubted because he believes in his bones that his detractors are wrong. "There are many people at the record label who are afraid of me," he says. "They don't understand the reasons that someone as uncool as me is here. In a way—and this is a horrible word to say, and once I say it you're going to print it—it's a revolution."Let the Revolution begin!
As Time also noted, Clay knew his audience instinctively and could communicate with them. That's art. And now, Clay's Fantasies can come true. He's on his way!
Flames of Paris
(credit: ABT, published in Washington Times)
Speaking of artists, I got to see this beautiful dancer perform with the American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night (Feb. 19). Thanks to YouTube, I could find an earlier performance of the same program by this artist, Daniil Simkin. But this 2007 performance pales compared with what happened the other night. Two more years of maturity, athleticism, and - for lack of better word - chutzpah have turned this young colt into a magnificent thoroughbred.
Watch for Daniil's solo passes in this video of the Flames of Paris pas de deux. His variations now consist of leaping into the air and spinning, but then stretching those strong legs out into a full splits before landing the jumps. His performance on Thursday was "an honest-to-God, 'where did that guy come from,' star" moment.
Come on, Daniil! Now that I see you have your videographers following you all over the world, please please put up your latest variation of this pas!
ETA, update 2-23-09: Here is a review of the ABT's mixed rep program, including kudos for Daniil: "A Lithe and Lively ABT" (Washington Times)
This will be one of many unforgettable moments I've experienced in live theater - or in a gallery or a concert hall. That's why I wrote....
An Open Fan Letter to the Arts
(mailed after Valentine's Day to three dozen arts organizations in the U.S.)
If all the world's a stage, somebody's got to be the audience.Love, hosaa
14 February 2009
Dear Artist,
This is a simple thank-you letter from a fan, to acknowledge all the support you have given me over the past few years.
In times of economic hardship, when belts are unwillingly tightened throughout our society, it is demoralizing to see so little public support for that which makes civilization worth saving: the arts.
Do not artists support society by inspiring us with their dreams, exciting us with their imaginations, transporting us to new worlds, and accelerating innovation through new perspectives and new ideas?
I cannot imagine a better model for economic and social success than an orchestra, a theatrical production, or a simple, magical pas de deux. The arts cultivate a spirit of pure cooperation that teaches responsibility for pursuing a shared goal. It should be part of the core curriculum for preparing students to build an enlightened future economy.
Art for art's sake is an underestimation of its value. Art is not for the artist, but for the audience it communicates to and inspires. I see a play whose author plays with words and characters, and I then dream and imagine in ways I had never before explored. I take a class in stone sculpture, and I feel the volume and form of geometry in my own hands; I see the many dimensions of the world from new perspectives.
I fall in love with a singer's voice and discover a community of others similarly inspired; from this community I learn about music, radio and recording, and even about photography, videography, and design. We travel, we explore, and we dream some more.
So this fan letter is for you, with love and gratitude. Thank you for my dreams, my visions, my soul.
Your audience,
[my name]
For identification purposes, I am managing editor of The Futurist magazine (World Future Society, Bethesda, MD). My opinions are my own.
Also: writer of one short play (performed in the Source Theater's 10-Minute Play Competition, 1993), one full-length play (publicly read but unproduced), one novel (unpublished), and two screenplays (unsold); a reader of Shakespeare; a Claymate; a perpetually beginning tap and ballroom dancer; and a lifelong dreamer, happy in the second-to-last row of the balcony.
Special thanks to the following artists and art facilitators, whether public, private, commercial, nonprofit, or informal:
Round House Theatre (Bethesda, MD)
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
American Ballet Theatre
Ford's Theatre (Washington, DC)
National Theatre (Washington, DC)
Warner Theatre (Washington, DC)
Bethesda Theatre
Shakespeare Theatre, Lansburgh Theater (Washington, DC)
Shakespeare Theatre, Sidney Harman Hall (Washington, DC)
Vienna Town Green (Vienna, VA)
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts (Vienna, VA)
The Birchmere (Alexandria, VA)
Koka Booth Amphitheatre (Cary, NC)
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore)
Lyric Opera House (Baltimore)
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
Shubert Theater, Cast, crew, staff, producers of Spamalot
St. James Theater, Cast, crew, staff, producers of Gypsy
Golden Theater, Cast, crew, staff, producers of Avenue Q
Brady Theater (Tulsa)
Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (Houston)
Community Arts Center (Williamsport PA)
National Endowment for the Arts
Smithsonian Institution
National Gallery of Art
The Phillips Collection
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Writer's Center
Bethesda Urban Partnership
Shakespeare Readers
Classical WETA-FM
Theater Communications Group / American Theatre
Playbill magazine
BroadwayWorld.com
Clayversity
Clay Aiken Official Fan Club, c/o Clique Services/Sparkart Group
CC: The Washington Post, op-ed
from the back row
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Random
One of my best good Clay friends was inspired by a current (or now probably passe) Facebook fad of listing 25 random things about oneself, and suggested that we exchange our randomness with each other as Valentine's Day gifts.
The goal was to learn a little more about each other, which we did. As a side effect, I learned a little more about myself, including an inability to stop being random with a specified randomness count. (See # 40.)
One thing I learned is that my value for beauty is more outer-directed than inner-directed. I don't know what that means and don't really care. Another thing I learned is that I still keep a lot of things to myself. I wasn't intending to write a personal history here. There isn't anything about family or deep personal relationships in this list, whereas some of my other friends were much more divulging. That's okay, too. Their secrets are as safe with me as mine are.
1. Have lived in the same town for 38 out of 52 years (not all in a row). Have lived in the same apartment for 26 years.
2. Big wrinkly scar on my right knee from when I fell on the asphalt in seventh grade: Debbie J- stepped on the back of my shoe while we were running outside for gym class.
3. Have never dyed my hair - not even streaks.
4. I have read more novels written in the 19th century than any other century.
6. I considered majoring in psychology but changed my mind when a rat died during a lab experiment.
7. I live two miles from the hospital where I was born, and a half mile from my parents' first apartment.
8. If I won the lottery: I would buy the Baltimore Orioles. (It would need to be a BIG lottery - prices have gone up since I invented that wish when I was 15.)
9. My favorite movie: The Right Stuff (reasons - beautiful cinematography, inspiring soundtrack, Sam Shepard's cool, and Dennis Quaid's grin! I also like movies that explain men to me.)
10. I have more Michael Feinstein CDs than any other artist (excluding bootleg Clay).
11. I cried when I saw Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone" (Museum of Modern Art, New York, January 2009).
12. I got straight A's on two out of four report cards in fourth grade, hence raising expectations of me among all subsequent teachers, dammit.
13. Listed in Who's Who in the World. One of the credits I added to my official bio was that I was a music reviewer for the Beavers On Idol fan Web site. They actually accepted that.
14. I will go to great lengths not to make a phone call to a business or a stranger. (Receiving calls is only slightly less unsettling.)
15. Was baptized a Presbyterian shortly after birth. I haven't participated in organized religion since junior high school.
16. Best TV show of all time: The Dick Van Dyke Show.
17. I collect single champagne glasses (but ran out of room to store them, so I don't buy them anymore).
18. I was born at 6:30 in the morning. That's still about the time I usually get up.
19. Had one manicure once and hated it; pedicure is inconceivable. Clip own nails on an as-needed basis.
20. I have an older half-sister somewhere out there.
21. Paralyzing self-doubt and fear of complexity have led me to assure myself that lack of ambition is completely acceptable. (Either that or I'm just very lazy.)
22. I own my own tap shoes. But since I live in an apartment with wooden floors, I can only "shuffle off to Buffalo" in bunny slippers.
23. I can needlepoint, but not knit or crochet.
24. Allergic to pet dander but love cats and dogs equally. Would probably have another cat if I lived in a bigger place.
25. Never even experimented with drugs in college (or since).
Leftover randomness:
26. Musical instruments attempted to learn: clarinet and guitar.
27. Shoe size: 8-1/2 B
28. I think these pants make my butt look big.
29. No piercings or tattoos, but have a great big mole where the sun don't shine.
30. I believe that kindness is more important than love, and actions are more important than feelings.
31. I have no full-length mirrors in my apartment. (See #28)
32. I only applied to one college.
33. My passport is currently expired.
34. My two main boyfriends from high school (Vic, tenth grade, and Jack, twelfth grade) both became pastors. (Vic was also considering politics at the time. He asked me, in all seriousness, "Would you rather be Mrs. Billy Graham or Mrs. Richard Nixon?")
35. One of my English teachers in junior high school described me as "a quiet revolutionary" and predicted I would become a civil rights worker.
36. Languages attempted to learn: Spanish (2 semesters in high school, 1 in college), French (1 semester in college)
37. I choose to believe all beliefs are choices. I am suspicious of people who express their opinions as though they are facts.
38. Favorite colors = green and pink. (Hence, favorite flower = tulip) Now that I think about it, my fondness for pink tulips may have determined my favorite colors.
39. Passed through my childbearing years without incident.
40. I apparently love thinking about myself more than I thought I did! :)
Love, hosaa
randomly
The goal was to learn a little more about each other, which we did. As a side effect, I learned a little more about myself, including an inability to stop being random with a specified randomness count. (See # 40.)
One thing I learned is that my value for beauty is more outer-directed than inner-directed. I don't know what that means and don't really care. Another thing I learned is that I still keep a lot of things to myself. I wasn't intending to write a personal history here. There isn't anything about family or deep personal relationships in this list, whereas some of my other friends were much more divulging. That's okay, too. Their secrets are as safe with me as mine are.
1. Have lived in the same town for 38 out of 52 years (not all in a row). Have lived in the same apartment for 26 years.
2. Big wrinkly scar on my right knee from when I fell on the asphalt in seventh grade: Debbie J- stepped on the back of my shoe while we were running outside for gym class.
3. Have never dyed my hair - not even streaks.
4. I have read more novels written in the 19th century than any other century.
5. Zero debt (no mortgage, car payments, student loans, or overdue credit cards).
6. I considered majoring in psychology but changed my mind when a rat died during a lab experiment.
7. I live two miles from the hospital where I was born, and a half mile from my parents' first apartment.
8. If I won the lottery: I would buy the Baltimore Orioles. (It would need to be a BIG lottery - prices have gone up since I invented that wish when I was 15.)
9. My favorite movie: The Right Stuff (reasons - beautiful cinematography, inspiring soundtrack, Sam Shepard's cool, and Dennis Quaid's grin! I also like movies that explain men to me.)
10. I have more Michael Feinstein CDs than any other artist (excluding bootleg Clay).
11. I cried when I saw Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone" (Museum of Modern Art, New York, January 2009).
12. I got straight A's on two out of four report cards in fourth grade, hence raising expectations of me among all subsequent teachers, dammit.
13. Listed in Who's Who in the World. One of the credits I added to my official bio was that I was a music reviewer for the Beavers On Idol fan Web site. They actually accepted that.
14. I will go to great lengths not to make a phone call to a business or a stranger. (Receiving calls is only slightly less unsettling.)
15. Was baptized a Presbyterian shortly after birth. I haven't participated in organized religion since junior high school.
16. Best TV show of all time: The Dick Van Dyke Show.
17. I collect single champagne glasses (but ran out of room to store them, so I don't buy them anymore).
18. I was born at 6:30 in the morning. That's still about the time I usually get up.
19. Had one manicure once and hated it; pedicure is inconceivable. Clip own nails on an as-needed basis.
20. I have an older half-sister somewhere out there.
21. Paralyzing self-doubt and fear of complexity have led me to assure myself that lack of ambition is completely acceptable. (Either that or I'm just very lazy.)
22. I own my own tap shoes. But since I live in an apartment with wooden floors, I can only "shuffle off to Buffalo" in bunny slippers.
23. I can needlepoint, but not knit or crochet.
24. Allergic to pet dander but love cats and dogs equally. Would probably have another cat if I lived in a bigger place.
25. Never even experimented with drugs in college (or since).
Leftover randomness:
26. Musical instruments attempted to learn: clarinet and guitar.
27. Shoe size: 8-1/2 B
28. I think these pants make my butt look big.
29. No piercings or tattoos, but have a great big mole where the sun don't shine.
30. I believe that kindness is more important than love, and actions are more important than feelings.
31. I have no full-length mirrors in my apartment. (See #28)
32. I only applied to one college.
33. My passport is currently expired.
34. My two main boyfriends from high school (Vic, tenth grade, and Jack, twelfth grade) both became pastors. (Vic was also considering politics at the time. He asked me, in all seriousness, "Would you rather be Mrs. Billy Graham or Mrs. Richard Nixon?")
35. One of my English teachers in junior high school described me as "a quiet revolutionary" and predicted I would become a civil rights worker.
36. Languages attempted to learn: Spanish (2 semesters in high school, 1 in college), French (1 semester in college)
37. I choose to believe all beliefs are choices. I am suspicious of people who express their opinions as though they are facts.
38. Favorite colors = green and pink. (Hence, favorite flower = tulip) Now that I think about it, my fondness for pink tulips may have determined my favorite colors.
39. Passed through my childbearing years without incident.
40. I apparently love thinking about myself more than I thought I did! :)
Love, hosaa
randomly
Monday, February 9, 2009
"I'm Not Going"
This is a tribute to the dedication of a certain group of very special fans and the object of their affection:
Music: Jennifer Hudson, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls soundtrack.
Sure, there were lots of pictures being taken by Clay Aiken's fans during his last weekend of Spamalot. But I thought it was interesting to see the flashes going off from the windows of the Shubert Theater as Clay was taking his last parting farewell from the roof. Hee! Okay, cast and crew - where are your photos from that night!?
love, hosaa
staying
Music: Jennifer Hudson, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls soundtrack.
Sure, there were lots of pictures being taken by Clay Aiken's fans during his last weekend of Spamalot. But I thought it was interesting to see the flashes going off from the windows of the Shubert Theater as Clay was taking his last parting farewell from the roof. Hee! Okay, cast and crew - where are your photos from that night!?
love, hosaa
staying
Friday, January 30, 2009
Inspired Learning
Here's a quick pitch for my alma mater, Grinnell College. They've produced this great video to celebrate the opening of the new science center. I love seeing the students' enthusiasm for their own education, as well as their balanced approach to life.
About the video from Grinnell:
About the video from Grinnell:
Grinnell science students describe their undergraduate research experiences. In order of appearance:
Ria Laureijs '10, Biological Chemistry (accompanied by Mike Weslander '09,Psychology)
Adhiti Kannan '10, Biology
Filippos Rotzer '10, Physics
Laura Simpson '09, Chemistry/Economics
Mikel Shybut '10, Biological Chemistry/Russian
Jingni Xie '10, Psychology
Sam Calisch '10, Mathematics/Physics
Katie Battani '09, Psychology
This video was produced for the October 4, 2008, dedication of Grinnell College's remarkable new science center, named after Grinnell graduate Robert Noyce, co-inventor of the integrated circuit and co-founder of Intel. The center is designed to reflect the college's active learning approach, in which individuals pursue knowledge as working scientists.
All Rights Reserved, Grinnell College, 2008.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Director's Cut
Clay Aiken's audition for American Idol, as broadcast six years ago (January 28, 2003), left a few things out... e.g., his initial audition in Charlotte ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow") and the song he nervously sang for the screening producers in Atlanta (the theme from "Perfect Strangers").
There were also bits of his Atlanta audition song ("Always and Forever") that were left on the cutting room floor (fortunately picked up by various news clips about him), such as two lines from the song that showcased Clay's beautiful lower-register range.
Here is the complete story of Clay Aiken's March through Atlanta:
There were also bits of his Atlanta audition song ("Always and Forever") that were left on the cutting room floor (fortunately picked up by various news clips about him), such as two lines from the song that showcased Clay's beautiful lower-register range.
Here is the complete story of Clay Aiken's March through Atlanta:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Giving My Regards
Catch it while you can - Broadway is going into hibernation soon. I just came back from seeing the last Spamalot for Clay Aiken on Jan. 4 (the show continues until Jan. 11). I also saw Patti LuPone in Gypsy and a sprightly cast (not the original) in Avenue Q.
I strategized the Spamalot trip a little, coming into the city one day ahead of my ticket. Clay had been coming to the stagedoor to do autographs and photos with fans, but somewhat erratically. I got there about 40 minutes before the end of the Saturday matinee, met up with some friends, and waited for the barricades to be put up right in front of us (we made a semi-circle in front of the door, knowing about where the barricades would be placed. Hee! That was the only way to guarantee ourselves front row).
It turned out Clay did indeed come out to sign autographs, but not have pictures taken - it was way too cold. He signed my copy of Learning To Sing - Yay!
As for the show the next day - what can I say. It's not the same as seeing it for the first time, but it was fun to participate in all the riotous cheering for Clay. I get the feeling not everyone in the cast was happy about it, but most went with the flow. After Clay's big number, "You Won't Succeed on Broadway," Sir Lancelot rode into his next scene, saying he'd better find out where that screaming was coming from. Hee!
We waited in Shubert Alley for Clay after his last show, and he did not disappoint. Goodbye, dear man! Don't be a stranger.
But you know what, "Claymates" (ugh--gotta love us, but I hate the term) have nothing on the Patti Lupone fans. Gosh! They raised the roof for her, and justly so. The mob at her stagedoor was crushing. My only pic of her was but a blur.
By Sunday night and after a heavy but wonderful dinner at Sardi's
with other Clay fans, I was probably too tired to see another show. Poor Avenue Q, the only thing playing on Sunday night that I could get tickets to. I was cramped up in the mezz, my knees aching for not being able to move my legs, and fell asleep during the second half. I loved the show, really I did, but I was just too dang tired.
Monday morning clean-out on Broadway saw lines of trucks ready to pick up lines of trunks - audio and lighting equipment as sets begin to be struck for the last time. On 44th Street, "13" was vacating. It was a sad sight.
I'm glad I went - I need to go again. Broadway, come back!!!
love, hosaa
Theatrical cat
Ooo, I forgot to mention - I caught the bouquet at Clay's last Spamalot!! As thrown by Merle Dandridgeto little me in H-105. I apologized profusely to the lady in H-104, but I just had to have it.
I strategized the Spamalot trip a little, coming into the city one day ahead of my ticket. Clay had been coming to the stagedoor to do autographs and photos with fans, but somewhat erratically. I got there about 40 minutes before the end of the Saturday matinee, met up with some friends, and waited for the barricades to be put up right in front of us (we made a semi-circle in front of the door, knowing about where the barricades would be placed. Hee! That was the only way to guarantee ourselves front row).
It turned out Clay did indeed come out to sign autographs, but not have pictures taken - it was way too cold. He signed my copy of Learning To Sing - Yay!
As for the show the next day - what can I say. It's not the same as seeing it for the first time, but it was fun to participate in all the riotous cheering for Clay. I get the feeling not everyone in the cast was happy about it, but most went with the flow. After Clay's big number, "You Won't Succeed on Broadway," Sir Lancelot rode into his next scene, saying he'd better find out where that screaming was coming from. Hee!
We waited in Shubert Alley for Clay after his last show, and he did not disappoint. Goodbye, dear man! Don't be a stranger.
But you know what, "Claymates" (ugh--gotta love us, but I hate the term) have nothing on the Patti Lupone fans. Gosh! They raised the roof for her, and justly so. The mob at her stagedoor was crushing. My only pic of her was but a blur.
By Sunday night and after a heavy but wonderful dinner at Sardi's
with other Clay fans, I was probably too tired to see another show. Poor Avenue Q, the only thing playing on Sunday night that I could get tickets to. I was cramped up in the mezz, my knees aching for not being able to move my legs, and fell asleep during the second half. I loved the show, really I did, but I was just too dang tired.
Monday morning clean-out on Broadway saw lines of trucks ready to pick up lines of trunks - audio and lighting equipment as sets begin to be struck for the last time. On 44th Street, "13" was vacating. It was a sad sight.
I'm glad I went - I need to go again. Broadway, come back!!!
love, hosaa
Theatrical cat
Ooo, I forgot to mention - I caught the bouquet at Clay's last Spamalot!! As thrown by Merle Dandridgeto little me in H-105. I apologized profusely to the lady in H-104, but I just had to have it.
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