Music & Culture
Classical Music Posts
Why A Musician Breathed New Life Into A 17,000-Year-Old Conch Shell Horn
A horn made from a conch shell over 17,000 years ago has blasted out musical notes for the first time in millennia. Archaeologists originally found the seashell in 1931, in a French cave that contains prehistoric wall paintings. They speculated that the cave’s past occupants had used the shell as a ceremonial cup for shared drinks, and that a hole in its tip was just accidental damage. Continue Reading Why A Musician Breathed New Life Into A 17,000-Year-Old Conch Shell Horn
Remembering Flory Jagoda, Who Preserved Sephardic Jewish Music And Language
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and accordionist Flory Jagoda worked hard to preserve the music and language she inherited from her Sephardic Jewish ancestors in her adopted American home. Named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002, she died on Jan. 29 at age 97 in Alexandria, Va. at a long-term memory care facility, according to an obituary placed by her family. Continue Reading Remembering Flory Jagoda, Who Preserved Sephardic Jewish Music And Language
Chick Corea, Jazz Fusion Pioneer, Has Died Of Cancer At 79
The keyboardist, composer and bandleader Chick Corea — one of the most revered figures in contemporary jazz, but whose work spanned fusion to classical — died on Feb. 9 at age 79. Continue Reading Chick Corea, Jazz Fusion Pioneer, Has Died Of Cancer At 79
‘Sisters With Transistors’ Highlights Pioneers Of Electronic Music
In the 1920s, the Russian physicist Leon Theremin debuted an electronic instrument that could be played without any physical contact. Players stood in front of a box and waved their hands over antennas, summoning otherworldly sounds seemingly from thin air. The theremin might have been regarded as a passing novelty if not for the late Clara Rockmore, a virtuoso who helped to refine the instrument’s design, and wowed concert hall audiences with her performances. Continue Reading ‘Sisters With Transistors’ Highlights Pioneers Of Electronic Music
Mary Wilson, Founding Member Of The Supremes, Dies At 76
Mary Wilson, one of the co-founders of The Supremes, died Monday at the age of 76, her publicist announced. Wilson “passed away suddenly” at her Henderson, Nev., home, the singer’s longtime friend and publicist Jay Schwartz said in a statement. No cause of death was given. Continue Reading Mary Wilson, Founding Member Of The Supremes, Dies At 76
Past As Prologue: Harry Allen In The Northwest And The Slow History Of Trans Acceptance
Today we would recognize Harry Allen as trans. That term and concept did not exist in 1912, but there were many people in the past who had been assigned one sex at birth, but later in life transitioned to the sex that they more readily identified with. Continue Reading Past As Prologue: Harry Allen In The Northwest And The Slow History Of Trans Acceptance
