Anne Ku’s arrangement of Star Spangled Banner for not so easy piano was inspired by the book “No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love” and subsequent visit to the USS York Town in Charleston, South Carolina and a meeting with the author.
The National Anthem of the United States is neither easy to sing nor play. It’s not easy to sing because of the wide octave range. It’s not easy to play because the melody and bass move all over the place. What motivated me to arrange the American anthem for piano? Fourth of July?
Continue reading “Star Spangled Banner for not so easy piano”
Why free concerts? Why not? You can find free concerts in Boston nearly every day. Here’s how and why.
Search for “free concerts in Boston” and you will find a list on the calendar of Boston.com. However, this is only a partial list. Browse the websites of the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Longy School of Music, Boston Public Library, to name a few, and you will find free concerts nearly every day in this part of New England.
What’s the catch, you say? Why are concerts free?
Ostinatrio, a minimalist piece written originally for three recorders in 2005, receives an electronic makeover in 2014 and once more for wind trio and piano ensemble.
What a delight it was to receive a request through Twitter to share a variation of my music!
I wrote Ostinatrio for three recorders and revised it for oboe after its premiere in Utrecht, Netherlands. Like most of my music, I forgot about it until I heard the electronic version which is a lot more, hmmm, what shall I say, relevant? for film music? exciting to play? for my piano ensemble?
Continue reading “Ostinatrio electronified minimalist music”
If you google “Giuliani and friends” you get the Mayor of New York, not the guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani who was a friend of Beethoven and whose music is being revived by Braintree pianist Ellyses Kuan and Newton guitarist Robert Bekkers in Massachusetts.
Continue reading “Giuliani’s Friends Concerts in October 2013”
Dutch guitarist Robert Bekkers offers private guitar lessons in the comfort and convenience of your own home, in Newton, Massachusetts.
Breaking news!!
Classical guitarist Robert Bekkers is offering private guitar lessons in the comfort of your home in Newton, MA (ranked 4th out of 100 best places to live in the USA). He brings a wealth of experience from years of teaching pupils aged 3 to 80, in Dutch, English, and German. Here is a chance to study under a sought-after and versatile musician.
Currently Mr Bekkers teaches at the prestigious South Shore Conservatory in Hingham, MA, lauded for the continuum model of artistic education and recognized as a national model for success.
When not teaching, Mr Bekkers gives concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, most recently appearing at the anual Boston Guitar Festival. He specializes in custom-tailoring music for guitar solo or guitar and other instruments for any occasion. At time of writing, he is preparing for his own arrangement of music requested for a wedding for flute and guitar, July 13th.
Prior to moving to Boston to pursue his doctorate in musical arts (DMA) at the New England Conservatory, Mr Bekkers toured as a guitar soloist across the USA for three weeks, and earlier with his piano and guitar duo for 5.5 weeks coast to coast, and sojourned on the island of Maui in Hawaii for the 3-month winter season 2010-2011. Before relocating to the USA where he is now based, he taught all genres of guitar, performed actively as classical guitarist, arranged music for guitar and other instruments, and transcribed music for flamenco guitar. Needless to say, he is a prolific musician catering his music to the needs of his audiences and pupils.
For more information about Robert Bekkers, visit his website at http://www.robertbekkers.com
For more information about Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo, visit http://www.pianoguitar.com
Within our busy schedule of trying to navigate from A to B, there was not enough time to take photographs or video, let alone switch on my laptop, connect to the Internet, and write a blog.
What follows below are cryptic notes to trigger future blog topics of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Boston, Massachusetts
I often look at a building or a scenery and think how nice it would be to have a photographer with us. As events unravel, I dare to dream about bringing a film maker along as well. I wish there’s more time to write or a budget to bring a writer with us on this tour. There is too much to write about and remember.
Within our busy schedule of trying to navigate from A to B, there was not enough time to take photographs or video, let alone switch on my laptop, connect to the Internet, and write a blog.
What follows below are cryptic notes to trigger future blog topics.
Wednesday 20th October 2010
Visit to New England Conservatory: Jason, a graduate composition student took us on a tour of the oldest music school in the USA, which houses 5 concert halls, career office including a “gig” database, alumni office, financial aid office, admissions office in 4 buildings in central Boston.
The oldest conservatory in the Netherlands is Utrecht Conservatory (my alma mater), but there is no career or alumni office. The closest thing to that is Facebook.
That evening, my friend, whom I had not seen for 22 years, took me to her yoga class and treated me to a Chinese foot massage to give me a good rest before our first concert on Thursday 21st October 2010.
Thursday 21 October 2010 Concert at St John’s Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain, Boston
Excellent acoustics.Very receptive audience. Generous concert producer. Post-concert festivities.
Friday 22 October 2010 House Concert in Newton, Massachusetts
The artistic director and concert producer of JP Concerts drove us to our next location after midnight. It was the home of a Suzuki piano teacher who often accommodated international musicians on tour. She made blueberry muffins for us to consume the next morning for breakfast.
Robert woke up at 8 am to practise his guitar in the basement. There was a fire heating up the living room and surrounding area when I walked downstairs. We decided to play Dutch composer Heleen Verleur’s Fire to thank the Suzuki piano teacher for her hospitality.
There is a last of everything in anticipation for the first of everything. Next week, we will give our first public concert on mainland USA.
Robert announced on his Facebook last Thursday: last guitar lesson in 2010.
I gave my last private piano lesson Monday, my last university class Tuesday.
Tomorrow (Friday 15th October) we give our last concert in the Netherlands in 2010.
I had my last rehearsal with French horn this afternoon — the last one in 2010 to prepare for the first concert in 2011.
“Can we meet for a drink before you go?”
“Do you have time for coffee?”
“Can we invite you for dinner?”
“Do we get to say good-bye?”
There is a last of everything in anticipation for the first of everything.
Next week, we will give our first public concert on mainland USA: Thursday 21st October in St John’s Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain, Boston at 8:30 pm. It will be the second concert in a church in the USA (the first was in Makawao Union Church in Maui in 2007).
We will give our first house concert in New England – on Friday 22nd October in the home of a Suzuki piano teacher in Newton, Massachusetts.
We will meet the organisers of the first three concerts for the first time.
Now that I’ve lived outside the USA for more than a decade, and in particular, on continental Europe for most of the past decade, I daresay that I have absorbed some of that European attitude, especially when compared to the way I was. I’m not sure if going to the USA will bring it all back. I notice the differences when I converse with newly arrived Americans.
My late friend, the London-based architect Ayyub Malik, often critisized me for sounding too American in my attitude towards life. He told me to stop trying to optimise and be a go getter. Just sit back and have some slack. Relax. These were not his exact words, but I concluded that’s what he disapproved of. The fast pace of life, the competitiveness, and the 24 by 7 existence was what he wanted to avoid when he turned down that job in Chicago many years before he met me.
Now that I’ve lived outside the USA for more than a decade, and in particular, on continental Europe for most of the past decade, I daresay that I have absorbed some of that European attitude, especially when compared to the way I was. I’m not sure if going to the USA will bring it all back.
I notice the differences when I converse with newly arrived Americans.
They are surprised that they can’t get from A to B by car. I patiently tell them that they can hop on a bus (which seems very foreign) or cycle (which requires renting a bicycle or buying one). “I’ll walk,” they say. But they forget what distances are when they are not used to walking.
American students complain of a lack of flexibility and attentiveness of Dutch administration. Having studied in the USA, I do admit that American universities do a much better job of ensuring new students are provided for. They certainly don’t need to sweat for accommodation after they arrive. It’s all taken care of BEFORE they arrive. It’s almost as if their needs are anticipated before they are voiced. In the Netherlands, I learned that if you don’t ask, you won’t get it. Those were the exact words of a student administrator at the Dutch conservatory where I studied for four years.
I explain the recycling rules. Americans that have lived in Germany nod in understanding. Those that haven’t think it’s novel to separate your waste into different compartments: paper, plastic, glass, refundable glass or plastic bottles, compost, and real trash. It does require getting used to. It does take up extra space before the weekly collection or trip to the depot.
I warn them to get their grocery shopping done before end of day Saturday. Unless it’s the first Sunday of the month, expect all stores to be closed and not reopen until Monday 11 am. Restaurants are even worse. I have starved myself trying to find outdoor seating on a warm summer’s evening, only to be turned away at 10 pm that the kitchen has closed. In some smaller towns the restaurants close at 9 pm. [This happened in Doorn on a Friday evening in July.]
One Dutch-American observed that the Dutch seem so much more organised than the Americans. “There are rules for everything, and the Dutch abide by the rules,” he said. On the flip side, the Dutch are not as flexible or spontaneous as the Americans. You could say that the way of dealing with uncertainty is different: rules vs flexibility.
As I plan how to travel from our upcoming concert in Newton, Massachusetts on 22nd October 2010 to the next one in Hampton, Connecticut on 23rd October, I’m amazed that no public transportation is adequate. “You’ll have either get someone to give you a lift,” advised an American friend, “or rent a car.”
Thank goodness gasoline prices in America are not $8 per gallon as we pay here in the Netherlands!
Concert Blog 