Music & Culture
Classical Music Posts
Passing the Baton: From Isbin And Hauser To Bellingham Symphony Music Director Yaniv Attar
Conducting a symphony orchestra is hard. It takes a special set of skills to bring out just the right sound from a stage full of players. Even after Bellingham Symphony’s Music Director Yaniv Attar finished his studies with legendary classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, he found that she still had a thing or two to teach him about conducting.
Passing The Baton: Dorothy DeLay
“I promise you, children become what they are told they are.” The words of the first teacher to be awarded the National Medal of the Arts, Dorothy DeLay. Her violin students numbered in the hundreds, and they include some of music’s biggest names: Midori, Nigel Kennedy, Sarah Chang, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gil Shaham and Itzhak Perlman.
Black Voices In Classical Music
Classical music has historically been dominated by white voices. Black composers and musicians have been silenced and barred from musical careers, with a long history of not receiving proper credit for their contributions, and even so far as being kept from being audience members for much of music history. But the future of classical music is diverse and inclusive and African American Music Appreciation Month, as well as Juneteenth, has inspired NWPB Classical to compile a list of black voices in classical music that need to be heard.
Passing The Baton: Puget Sound Professor Of Violin Dr. Maria Sampen
From the teaching studio to the concert hall, musicians are uniquely poised to create community through their work. For one Tacoma-based violin teacher, inspiration comes from camaraderie with fellow performers and students.
Passing The Baton: Professor of Flute and Music History Dr. Sophia Tegart
The last time orchestras had a regular concert season, few works by female composers were played. In fact, less then 9% of music programmed by the top orchestras in the U.S. were by women composers. Where are all the women? Dr. Sophia Tegart, professor of flute and music history at Washington State University is making sure they take a prominent place in her classroom.
Music Moment: Ethel Smyth And Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf was lounging in her pajamas in bed one morning when her doorbell rang. A visitor? That was the last thing she expected that day. But, expected or not, there came the sounds of footsteps: through the foyer, up the staircase and down the hall — a moment later into her room, and into her life, burst the composer, writer and suffragette Ethel Smyth.
