This Saturday, 10/3, the New Music Circle will begin its 51st season at the Mildred E. Bastian Theatre with a concert of interactive media (piano, electronics and video) presented by James Hegarty (Visit http://www.newmusiccircle.org for all details). I attended one of his concerts last season and was nothing short of amazed at how effortlessly and tastefully he is able to blend various electronic sounds and media with his highly virtuosic level of pianism. http://www.jimhegarty.com

As if to take “Multi-media” as a possible theme for this season’s events, other examples would be: Craig Hultgren – cello, synthesizer & poetry; Robert Voisey (“60X60” Dance) – recorded music by new composers & ‘live’ dance; Van McElwee – new video & ‘live’ music. These are only three of the ten concerts on our season, so for all the personnel and details, visit: http://www.newmusiccircle.org/calendar.htm

Also starting this week (what a week!) will be the opening chamber concert of the Pulitzer Series on Wednesday, 09/30. Directed by David Robertson, his pre-concert introduction, relating the music to art works surrounding you at the Pulitzer Foundation, along with historical anecdotes about the composers, insures that your experience will be communicative and intimate. The opening concert on Wed. will feature works by Elliott Carter, Salvatore Sciarrino and Jonathan Harvey. For more details: http://www.pulitzerarts.org/events/concerts/idealdisplacements-harvey/

And of course, The St. Louis Symphony has just opened its new season with lots of new music being presented! Just scroll down 3 entries on this blog to read my entry from a while back.

I just wanted to let you all know about a sensational group, called Dances of India. I saw them perform last season, and the level of rhythmic intricacy and choreography in the dancing is amazing. Their elongated metric patterns make our little 7/8s & 5/4s look like child’s play! But most importantly, the precision and elegance in the dancing makes the presentation a thing of beauty to behold.
They are performing this Friday & Saturday – 7:00pm; and Sunday – 3:00pm at the Edison Theatre.
Here’s a link to their site if you want to learn more about their whole season:  http://www.dancesofindiastlouis.org/

Hi Everybody, I hope you had a good summer. I used part of mine to record a new solo flute piece, called “Solo Extensions”. It’s the latest in a series of flute pieces which employ extended techniques (harmonics, multiphonics, sing/play and a few sounds that I make up on my own and don’t have a name for yet) but each one is in a different setting. A previous work, “Voices”, which is # 3 on my MP3 Player, combines flute sounds with synthesizer, and while the new piece is unaccompanied, it develops through a wide range of moods and tempos.
I hope you enjoy it and get back to me with your opinions and suggestions.

Here’s the link to my MP3 Player with “Solo Extensions” at the top of the playlist: http://www.tompkinsjazz.com/jukebox

Since the pieces on the player are NON downloadable, I have also added “Solo Extensions” to my Amie Street site, where the sound samples are short, but if you liked what you heard on my MP3 Player and decide that you want to upload it to your iPod and take it jogging, you can download the whole piece (It’s an MP3 file.) for free. On Amie Street, after a number of people have downloaded a piece, the cost gradually goes up in small increments. (If you want to learn more, click “How It Works”  when you get there.) Here’s the link to the page on my Amie Street site with “Solo Extensions”:
http://amiestreet.com/music/fred-tompkins/ , then scroll down past “Top Songs”.

Now that we’re talking about extended techniques, a few other collaborations  come to mind – my work with French Hornist, John Clark and Bb clarinetist, Bryant Hayes. Most of that work will be released on upcoming CDs, but right now you should check out a piece called “Waltz Variations”, featuring Bryant Hayes (a specialist in extended techniques). It’s included on a CD of the best of my ’70s & ’80s work, called “Cécile”, available here on my site (Click on the “CDs” link at the top of this page.)

A final heads up: In case the first piece on the MP3 Player still shows “Textures” instead of “Solo Extensions”, just empty the cache in your browser. That should clear things up.

Enjoy the music and don’t be shy about leaving your comments, pro or con.

ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Now that the season is winding down for many of the series which feature new music, it’s time to start thinking about some of those wonderful new works which will be featured by the St. Louis Symphony in ’09-’10, and take a look into their upcoming programs: http://www.slso.org/

If it’s not too contradictory to employ the term “familiar modern works”, then certainly a few of my absolute favorites should be mentioned as highlights of the new symphony season: Bela Bartok’s “The Miraculous Mandarin Suite” comes with a fascinating narrative and colorful, wildly percussive climaxes; Samuel Barber’s “Violin Concerto” is rich in beautiful melodies but solid in tight construction, with one of the most exciting and virtuosic final movements you’ll ever hear! Other classic works are so enduring that they deserve to be restated every so often, i.e.: Barber’s “Adagio”, Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”.

Slightly less familiar composers to be highlighted in the new season will be Osvaldo Golijov (“Azul”, a cello concerto, performed by the Symphony’s own Daniel Lee); Tan Dun (Remember his opera, “The First Emperor”, shown last season at the Art Museum in video simulcast from the Met? In fact, “Water Concerto” is entirely different, but it happens to be featured in one of the more intriguing programs of the new season, called Powerful Percussion); Christopher Rouse (Actually, quite familiar to St. Louis audiences, his new work, “Rapture”, is a bright piece filled with rhythmic energy.); Others in this general category might be Roy Harris, Gustav Holst, Györgi Ligeti (“Violin Concerto” is one of his late works but one of his finest.) and John Adams (“Doctor Atomic – symphony” – If you missed the opera version, recently simulcast “live” from the Met, an interesting video has just been released which documents the production of the opera and its main theme, the Manhattan Project.)

In the category of “composers that even Fred has barely heard of” would be: Magnus Lindberg (a Finnish composer – I know and love his “Clarinet Concerto”, so if  “Parade” is half as good, we’re in for treat.); Luca Francesconi; Connesson and Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

So, if you’re like me and you get excited when you see unfamiliar names that you have a hard time spelling, and equally excited by more familiar names like Janacek (but obviously have no idea how to make the accents on the keyboard) or the standard repertory, there will be plenty to savor in the St. Louis Symphony’s 2009-2010 season!

NEW MUSIC Circle 50th Anniversary SEASON

Chris Brown and Guillermo Galindo River of Voices Sunday, May 31, 2009 – 5 p.m. Co-sponsored by Laumeier Sculpture Park Laumeier Sculpture Park 12580 Rott Rd.Admission:Free with a portable radio, or purchase radio at door.

I hope some of you will be able to attend our annual New Music Circle benefit this year: It will be held at Laumeier Sculpture Park on Sunday, May 31st. Sparing you too much detail here, the event will be divided into two parts: A) An interesting and stimulating,  performance art – audience participation project by Chris Brown and Guillermo Galindo which will start at 5:00pm and be FREE of charge. It will, however, require that you bring your own portable radio or buy one there for $20.00 (For more details on this, click on our website http://newmusiccircle.org/)

B) The performance will be followed by our traditionally fabulous dinner for which the ticket price is $50.00 (It’s our 50th Anniversary Season!) or, since we are in the depths of a recession, I’ll quote the original invitation for possible variations: “If you’re a starving artist, divide by 5; If you’re a little short, subtract $5.00; If you have some to spare, add $5.00; If you love new music, mulitply by 5,4,3, or 2”.

The dinner will be held on the tented deck behind the Education Center.

In any case, if you haven’t already received an invitation for the benefit, you can still phone in your reservations, (314)567-5384, or reserve by e-mail (alumrod@gmail.com), before May 22, if possible and then pay at the dinner.

See you there!

Let me tell you about one really terrific concert I attended last Tuesday, 5/5, presented by The St. Louis Low Brass Collective (http://www.stllbc.org/). It featured a working group called The Trombones of The St. Louis Symphony, led by principal trombonist, Timothy Myers and had to be one of the most well balanced, varied, yet musically challenging programs I’ve enjoyed in some time. Music by Claude Debussy and Jacques Charpentier was answered by modern composers (St. Louis’s own) Robert Wykes and brass specialist, Anthony Plog.

You may know something about Anthony Plog, because his full album of brass music, “Colors For Brass”, features the St. Louis Brass Quintet on one piece, and overall, an amazingly broad range of  brass techniques and color effects. (Just go buy it!).

I loved Robert Wykes’s piece, also. It was short enough to be played at the beginning and at the end of the concert (also a clever programming device), yet it was more than just a fanfare. It ended with an exciting flare, yet developed through a wide range of melodies and harmonic colors in the process of getting there.

So…… keep an eye out for their next event, and I’ll do the same.

Hi All, I have just picked up a notice about an amazing art project (right here in our town), called Wander Full, produced by the Chautauqua Art Lab,
focusing this week on a wildly eclectic festival of events from May 3 – 7. I’ll say no more, because I’m just learning about it as we go along, except to say…..CLICK ON THIS LINK, ASAP, http://artwanderlust.blogspot.com/ and then scroll down to the “calendar of events”.
If you can come out on one or more of the evenings, GREAT, but in any case, be sure to click on all the links from that site to individual artists and arts organizations. You’ll be amazed, as I was, at the range of creativity we have here in St. Louis, from music to painting to theatre to film making to architecture.

CAMA Event!
Tom Hamilton
Fifty (or More)
Saturday, May 2, 2009 – 7:30 p.m.
Kranzberg Arts Center (Big Brothers, Big Sisters Building)
501 N. Grand Blvd.
Unless otherwise noted, tickets to all shows are $15 regular admission, $7 for students with a valid ID.

Descriptive terms like “multi-media”, “eclectic” and “experimental” come to mind when I think about the work of electronic composer and longtime NMC performer, Tom Hamilton. Aside from his own solo compositions and improvisations,  his collaborations have enhanced the work of opera composer, Robert Ashley, the paintings of Bill Kohn, the videos of Van McElwee; and he has enjoyed a close musical rapport with instrumentalists as diverse as classical flutist, Jacqueline Martelle, new music improviser, J.D. Parran, and experimental percussionist, Rich O’Donnell.

Saturday’s performance (5/2) will be sure to follow right in line with any expectations you might have that music should always contain the unexpected. In a very brief description: Pre-recorded musical excerpts will be processed and manipulated spontaneously by Tom Hamilton in a collaborative interaction with a widely diverse group of “live” performers (Tom Brady – performance artist; Robert Fishbone – tape & voice; Rich O’Donnell – percussion; Dave Stone – saxophones; Scott Bryan – percussion & guitar; Zimbabwe Nkenya – bass & kalimba; Tony Renner – guitar.)

Don’t miss this one!

There are some people we try to avoid (sometimes unsuccesfully) and other people we are very happy NOT to avoid,  who keep catching up with us wherever we happen to be. Thankfully,  this is the case with my old buddy, Glen Velez, who’s group, Trio Globo will be performing and giving workshops this Thursday & Friday at Meramec College, and in collaboration with the Meramec Orchestra and Choir are sure to produce two really amazing days of music. (See info. below)

To make a very long story not too long, in the early ‘70s, Glen and I both happened to be assigned to the same Army band, touring various beer festivals in Germany. (Here’s where you DON’T need all the details) – only to know that it was usually Glen, myself, and sometimes a few other guys who would leave the group to visit the Cathedral at Ulm or the Kunst Museum in Munich while the others stayed back and had that second or third really thick, German beer.
Before that, we were both at Ft Hood, Texas, he in the 1st AD, I in the 2nd, and one thing does stand out in my memory: Since there were not a whole lot of cathedrals and museums around, Glen could usually be found hanging back in the bus, before and after the gig,  practicing alone with sticks or a frame drum, not to waste a minute of valuable time, and when we were stuck on the post in Germany, Glen could usually be heard off in the corner of the band hall practicing arpeggios incessantly on a marimba or vibraphone. In other words, if you can project this image of his work habits and enthusiasm from way back then to the present, you do NOT want to miss the workshops and concerts coming up at Meramec College!

So to continue (I’ll be quick),  just a few years after our stint in Germany we both wound up together in New York (That’s not quite as coincidental. You know how the saying goes,  “If you just stand on the corner of Broadway & 48th St., you’ll run into everybody you’ve ever known”). I was recording my pieces with Elvin Jones, Rick Cutler and Billy Mintz (and occassionally borrowing one of Glen’s very special cymbals), and Glen was just starting out with Steve Reich and Musicians. What a thrill it was to hear that group premiering all those early minimalist works in lower Manhattan lofts! The spaces may have seated only 50 – 75 people, but many more would be crouched tightly on the floor and pressed up against the walls, Steve Reich playing Djembé (or some other drum); Glen, fronting a row of mallet players; Jay Clayton blending in with a trio of singers; and after a while you just thought you might float away to a very special place….. and maybe even forget about that cramp in your right knee!

So be sure to come out (There’ll be seats, I promise.) and hear this latest incarnation of his long and varied musical career. Here’s a link to his website to keep you entertained until Thursday:  http://www.glenvelez.com/ It has a great video of Glen playing a frame drum; also, Google in his other videos with longtime duo percussionist, Layne Redmond.

Thursday, April 23
Noon    Trio Globo Opening Concert in the Meramec Theatre
1:30      Choir rehearsal, Eugene Friesen, HW102
2:30      Overtone singing, Glen Velez, HW102
3:30      Harmonica Workshop, Howard Levy, HW102
3:30      Improvisation/spoken word- Eugene Friesen, Theatre
7:30      Dress Rehearsal, Trio Globo with the Meramec Orchestra and
Choir, Theatre

Friday, April 24
10 a.m.-noon     String Workshop, Eugene Friesen, HW102
10 a.m.- noon    Improv and Movement, Glen Velez and Howard Levy HE131
1:30 p.m.             History of Harmonica, Howard Levy, HW102
2:30 p.m.             Percussion workshop, Glen Velez, HW102
3:30 p.m.             The New Cello, Eugene Friesen, HW102
7:30p.m.              Trio Globo Concert with Meramec Orchestra, Concert
Choir, Arts students, Theatre

Trio Globo
Residency at Meramec Community College next week
For information on the following workshops and concerts please call the
Community Relations Office at 314.984.7529 or the Meramec Music
Department at 314.984.7639.

Just a quick follow up to our NMC concert (see previous entry). The concert was great!, and the next day I took a flute lesson with Robert Dick. That was great, too, so I’d like to pass on a word of advice here: Great performers are great performers for a reason, and if you ever have the opportunity to study with one or even just talk to one, never pass it up! Without going into detail….. I learned things during that lesson that have altered my whole approach to playing, and I picked up tips on practicing that I am applying now every day to my work.

Leave a comment and let me know about your experiences, too.