BACK TO BASSICS

50 Ways To Use Twitter

2009-05-03T17:20:00.001-07:00

1. Tell people what's blooming in your Garden.
2. Give a little Grandmotherly Love.
3. Use twitterfeed to feed your blog to twitter.
4. Help spread the word about keeping cool dogs out of hot cars!
5. Announce your artwork "Pick of the Week" on Zazzle.
6. Let people know the 411 on ebay.
7. Give 10 Bright Ideas to Make Your Home Energy Efficient.
8. Use Squidcasting.
9. Show people The Funniest Squidoo Lensmasters.
10. Ask who would win in a fight? Kool-Aid Man or Hawaiian Punch's Punchy?
11. Invite your friends to play Moola!
12. Share the life story of your Toyota Truck.
13. Explain why Orlando Attractions are the best Ever.
14. Let people know what Basa is.
15. Invite people to join your Charity Challenge!
16. Tell people that Kenny Chesney is Hot in more ways than one!
17. Show off the Hottest Tattoo Pictures and Designs!
18. Showcase the Top 10 Tiki Bars.
19. Give out some Inspirational Messages.
20. Use twhirl!
21. Support a Presidential Candidate.
22. Sell your Lenses.
23. Show off The Coolest Blogs Featuring Squidoo Ever!
24. Educate with Baby Poop 101.
25. Show why Cats are Smarter than Dogs.
26. Sell them a Unique Toilet Seat.
27. Ask a fun question like: If you were a robot, and I knew but you didn't, would you want me to tell you?
28. Introduce people to a cool sport!
29. Show people how they can recycle.
30. Promote a movie!
31. Tell people how much you Love Squidoo!
32. Confess!
33. Share a Recipe.
34. Sell your art!
35. Promote your Blog!
36. Brag about a well deserved accomplishment!
37. Share your Ancient Greece Odyssey.
38. Show people how to have some outdoor summer fun!
39. Share your quest for a greener life.
40. Tell people I mog di narrisch gern.
41. Educate people about Making Every Freshwater Aquarium: The Best Freshwater Aquarium Ever!
42. Start a stylish new Trend!
43. Tell people your Claim To Fame!
44. Invite people to join your Poll!
45. Bring back a retro look!
46. Offer your Squidoo Services.
47. Promote you book.
48. Share your hobby.
49. Share some ideas!
50. Invite people to follow you on Twitter!
51. Bonus Tip - Let people know who you'd like to win on American Idol!

"The Chinese Connections" Duo Recital

2009-04-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

"The Chinese Connections"
Duo recital by Wan-Hing Eugene Pook, clarinet & David Chun-Chim Leung, violin.
Guest artists & piano: Cherry Tsang Chit-Lai & Liu Liu

Featuring premiere works by Chen Yi, Zhou Tian, Victoria Bond, and Jiang Wan-Tong, plus other works by Bright Sheng, Chen Shih-Hui, and Chen Qi-Gang

Time & Venue:
8pm, April 9 2009 (Thursday), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 57th Street & 7th Avenue, New York.

I was very happy that my friend Cherry, who is currently a doctoral piano student at Eastman School of Music, invited me to the concert. It was great to listen to these four talented musicians from Hong Kong, China and Malaysia performing contemporary Chinese pieces. I was most impressed by Victoria Bond's "Bridges". It is a quartet for clarinet, bass clarinet, Chinese erhu (Wang Guowei), and pipa (Zhou Yi). Inspired by four bridges, including the Brooklyn and Golden Gate, the work has an accompanying film using historic footage. "Bridges" includes some famous Chinese tunes, and one of them is "Jasmine". It is a really cool piece and it is interesting to know how she got really fascinated by Chinese culture.

I was the page-turner :)

Composers and performers.

The Soloist

2009-04-10T12:21:00.003-07:00

As I've mentioned in my previous post, The Soloist will be coming out on April 24. I cannot wait to watch it!

The film is based on a true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless. Jamie Foxx portrays Nathaniel Ayers, who is considered a cello prodigy, and Robert Downey Jr. portrays Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers Ayers and writes about him in the newspaper. Production of the film began in January 2008 and was filmed mostly in Los Angeles, with some scenes shot in Cleveland.

For more info - http://www.soloistmovie.com/

Make sure you read the book too.

Bow rehair

2009-04-10T12:21:00.001-07:00

Due to the need to sound better on jury and recital coming up in May, I went to Nicholas Caraccio's bow repair shop. He finished my bow within 2 hours (including carving & hair changing!!!) and did an INCREDIBLE job. We talked about pipe-smoking (we are both pipe-smoker) and the movie that will be coming out on April 24, The Soloist (Check it out!). He is a fantastic bow maker and I recommend everyone to go to him if you need to get anything done with you bow.

A customer, Steve M., reviewed Nick's service online:

"Nick Caraccio is THE bow man in NYC. He only does one thing - bows, and bows he does extremely well. Rehairs, repairs, appraisals, sales - Hell, he'll even custom make a bow for you to your own specifications. I've been going to him for years now and I've always been way more than satisfied with everything Nick has ever done for my bows. He is the rightful NYC heir to the legendary Jose DaCunha who retired to Florida many years ago.

Besides being an amazing artist, Nick is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and he'll personally go that extra mile for you simply because he's such a good guy. Knowing Nick, it would never even cross his mind to do anything but. Just this morning, he woke up sick as a dog and rather than stay home from work (as he SHOULD HAVE), he went straight from the doctor to his shop to finish a rehair job for me all because he had promised it to me today. Only after I picked it up did he go home to bed! A true man of honor. He did an exemplary job to boot!

Whether you play violin, viola, 'cello, bass, gamba or for that matter even the musical saw, Nick Caraccio is the man to go to for all things bows. Period."

Perfect day

2009-04-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

woke up without an alarm clock ringing by my bed

brunch at a diner

wear dorky glasses and make a goofy face

stroll around the loop

intrude private property on campus
watch those beautiful horses skip
indulge in the sunshine

go practice.

ditch dorm food. make a wonderful dinner.

:)

Exorcism on Aisle Five

2009-04-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

Exorcism on Aisle Five
April 2, 3, 4 at 8 PM
Purchase College Humanities Theater

An original zombie musical, “Exorcism on Aisle Five,” was premiered last week at Purchase. The piece, written and directed by dramatic writing sophomore Kris Wellman and jazz piano sophomore Andy Roninson, had three performances from April 2-4, in the Humanities Theater.

The musical is about a large corporate chain, Sprawl-Mart, opening their 10,000th supercenter. The opening preparations, including the spinning of the press and the subduing of the liberal protestors, are all complete and the new store is set to open on Black Friday. However, Sprawl-Mart was built on top of a cemetery, so two employees have to fend off not crazy shoppers, but zombies.

Roninson said that his musical inspirations for the project ranged from George Gershwin to Ben Folds, Bob Dylan, Stephen Sondheim, and Randy Newman. “Dylan’s the most subliminal one,” said Roninson. “No one’s gonna get it.” Most of his songs have a kitschy charm, as a musical satire about Walmart and zombies clearly should. “It’s All Over Now,” is the show’s central tune, and it is rightfully very catchy. My favorite though is “Exactly Like Him,” a trio where three of the central women characters reveal their insecurities, but mostly their wishes, about love.

If the plot synopsis doesn’t give it away, the show features its fair share of liberal-minded right bashing, at a variety of times poking fun at everything from social conformity, consumerism, corporate America, Christianity, and Republicans. “It’s not trying to offend, it just kind of does now and then,” said Roninson.

The whole cast seems comfortable with their parts, and they derive a good amount of humor by exaggerating the characteristics of the types they’re playing: a nebbish pharmacist, a struggling widow, a nihilist, a corporate power-head, and (of course) zombies. Christine Schmidt as Melanie is particularly hilarious as the crass and obnoxious super-liberal activist. Her character is incredibly annoying, in the way that super-liberals often are. She nails the part. Among the comedy, there are some scenes of surprising tenderness, mainly during the scenes focusing on Alice, the widow (Mallory Kinney), and Brandon Beck’s pharmacist Howard. Beck (for plot points I won’t divulge) alternates between two characters – one a dweeby pharmacist and one a husband that hasn’t yet evolved from his dude-bro phase. He excellently plays both parts.

Exorcism On Aisle Five: A New Musical from James Madejski on Vimeo.

info from the purchase brick

IT IS SUCH A GREAT MUSICAL! I'M SOOOOOOO GLAD I WENT :)

Purchase Faculty String Quartet (II)

2009-04-04T10:07:00.001-07:00

Violin I:
Laurie Smukler
Violin II:
Calvin Wiersma
Viola:
Ira Weller
Cello:
Julia Lichten

-----

So it was a Friday night, I could see slight hints of tiredness in our teacher's eyes. Nevertheless, they managed to stay coherent and incredibly energetic throughout the 100 minute long performance. The members of the quartet take breaths together and used body language greatly to "communicate" with each other. Even when there were tempo or sudden rhythmic changes, the quartet had no problem to play perfectly together. Not to mention that they have only rehearsed for less than 5 hours. Calvin did a brief introduction about the background of Shostakovich String Quartet no.3, Op. 73 when it was written. Great that we got to know more about the piece before listening to them play! It was a brilliant concert (and explains why there were long lines waiting to greet these great musicians and teachers afterwards)! I'm so happy to be in the Purchase Conservatory, where teachers are not only superb players but also caring mentors.

Purchase Faculty String Quartet (I)

2009-04-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

PURCHASE FACULTY
STRING QUARTET
Laurie Smukler, Calvin Wiersma, Ira Weller & Julia Lichten
play
Beethoven, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn
FREE ADMISSION
Friday, April 3 at 8.00pm
Conservatory of Music Recital Hall

I'm really excited about this. Will write about it when I come back from the concert. Stay tuned!

PURCHASE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC SERIES 08 - 09: Concert Six

2009-04-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

April 2nd at 8:00 P.M.

Music Building Recital Hall

Faculty Composer Concert

Purchase Contemporary Ensemble

Special Guest Artists

PROGRAM

Huang Ruo - The Three Tenses (2005)

Dominic Donato - Points and Lines (2008)

Suzanne Farrin - Time is a Cage (2007)

Joel Thome - Book of Questions (2009)

Steven Lubin - Rag Fantasy (2004)

Allyson Bellink - Lake Summer (2008)

Ted Piltzecker - Los Zapatos Grises (2008)

Du Yun - by of...Lethean (2007)

-----

I am happy and honored to play in this concert. The pieces that I played in are "Book of Questions" by Joel Thome, and "by of...Lethean" by Du Yun.

Joel Thome is a grammy award recipient, an accomplished conductor, artistic director, composer and teacher. He has also been served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Mexican Institute for Culture in New York, etc. He has held a number of prestigious positions in academe and for some years was Head of Music at Carnegie Mellon University, and is currently Professor of Composition at SUNY Purchase.

For more information about Joel Thome, click Here.

Du Yun is a a native of Shanghai, China. She is the alumna of Preparatory School of the Shanghai Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Harvard University, where she was a doctoral student. Her studied with Deng Erbo, Randolph Coleman, Mario Davidovsky, and Bernard Rands. She is the founder of International Contemporary Ensemble. Her grants and awards include the British and International Bass Forum Composition Competition, China National Young Composer Competition, etc. Aside from composing notated music for concert halls, Du Yun’s music also spans from writing for art shows, experimental theatres to improvising/performing actively at avant-garde venues on the amplified/processed Chinese zither.

For more information about Du Yun, click Here.

-----

I still remember the first time when I got the music score of Joel Thome's piece, my jaw dropped. There were 7 movements, and ALL of them are graphs. There were only a very small part of the music that was actually written on staff papers. I have played contemporary music before, but none of them were as intriguing as this piece. "Books of Questions" requires intense concentration from performers. I'm not kidding - this music put me into a meditative mood. Indulging in the music made me felt like I was sent to the outer space. Playing such cool music undoubtedly enriched my experience with contemporary music, also helped exploring another creative part of me (because the piece requires virtual improvisation).

Players were divided into 3 groups, located at 3 different spots surrounding the audience during the performance and there were 3 Gongs and amplifiers at those spots. Percussionists started the piece by bowing on the edge of the Gongs, making a dreamlike, surreal sound effect. I thought the piece is too "weird" or too "contemporary" to be liked by the audience. It turned out that they are clearly mesmerized by every detail of this music. I talked to Joel after the concert - he had a huge smile on his face, and said that he likes my spirit and passion. No matter what that means, I'm truly honored to get compliment from this master.

-----

Du Yun's "by of...Lethean" explores many different possibilities in timbre, articulation, rhythm. Techniques/instruments that rarely appear in classically composed music are used. For instance, vertical bowing on Bass and Buddha bowl (see the picture below).

She is a composer that I admire. She is young and energetic. Her music is incredibly refreshing and unique. Okay, I know everyone's music is unique but here I mean this talented composer really knows what she's going after, and is extremely precise about what she's looking for in her music. Her personal background (e.g. where she comes from, a.k.a. China), personality, religious beliefs and spirituality is often incorporated into her music. That's what makes it her music so special. Everyone should check out her Myspace page!

I did not only enjoy performing music but also seeing the entire concert. Other pieces are inspirational as well and they gave me a few ideas for the bass duet that I'm writing now. What a great concert!

Sesame Noodles

2009-03-29T23:30:00.001-07:00

I miss Chinese food so much that I decided to make sesame noodles...

Ingredient:
Peanut butter sauce (without sugar)

Honey

Sesame

Lo Mein

It is not hard to make at all. Boil Lo Mein with high temperature for 8-10mins. Drain and cool it. Mix peanut butter sauce with honey. Add mixed sauce to the Lo Mein. Sprinkle sesame on top.

Ta-da!!

Michael Adelson

2009-03-29T06:22:00.001-07:00

He is a fantastic conductor. I am very lucky to play in the Purchase Symphony Orchestra (PSO) under his direction. The PSO has 6 hours rehearsal time every week, and he really knows how to make good use of the time to make our orchestra sound better in the most efficient way. He is the man who knows exactly what he wants in music, and is not afraid to use certain force/power to make people obey. Meanwhile, he is humorous and kind-hearted. He is also willing to listen to students and pay a lot of respects their opinions.

I was so fascinated by Mr. Adelson, and asked him to give me a conducting lesson.

...

He said, YES.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, forgot to tell you guys.
I was a conductor in my high school in Hong Kong, Belilios Public School. I led my school orchestra to 2 major competitions in the Youth Music Interflow and the School Music Festival and we won both competitions. In the Youth Music Interflow competition, we played Tchaikovsky's Waltz of flowers. In the School Music Festival, we performed Beethoven's Egmont Overture and Wagner's Die Meistersinger.

Here is the video of the Belilios Symphony Orchestra performing Die Meistersinger on the Hong Kong School Music Festival's Winners Concert. It was broadcasted on TV.

I'm really looking forward to having a conducting lesson with Michael Adelson!

More about Mr. Adelson: http://nyphil.org/attend/guests/index.cfm?page=profile&personNum=1092&seasonNum=6

HAIRY BREAKFAST

2009-03-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

WARNING: You are going to read a disgusting story.

When I was happily enjoying a bowl of Kellogg's Special K Strawberry cereal this morning, I kept finding hair in my mouth. The first 2 hair were black, but then the third one is RED. Realizing those are definitely NOT my hair, I started 'searching' for more in the bowl of cereal. So far, I've found 18 blonde hair. I SWEAR I'M NEVER GOING TO CONSUME ANY KINDS OF KELLOGG'S CEREAL AGAIN. NEVER.

---

I read the follwing blogpost by DIAMONDKT and now sort of understand why that happened.

---

Saturday, May 07, 2005
Rodent Hair Cereal, Grrreat!

Forget Frosted Flakes...Introducing Furry Flakes!

Recently in the news a story broke about a little boy who found a 2 foot ALIVE snake slither out of his morning cereal box. Being a typical boy, I can't help but to think this kid wasn't phased that much and thought "cool". I also doubt it deterred him from finishing the cereal. Now you may of read this story and gasped, nearly fainting at the thought. You're thinking how could such a thing happen when the box is vacuum sealed for my protection and to ensure freshness? Well let me fill you in on a little lesson I learned in a college business course.

You know how people complain about the high price of a box of cereal? Well there is a reason it's so pricey and to be honest, if you wanted "clean" cereal (I'll explain what I mean by that in a minute), then you would be paying $20 a box! Now who would buy the cereal then? Ah, probably nobody. So that is why it's usually just under $5 a box...but there is a catch to keep that price down.

Rodent hairs. That's right, your box of cereal is allowed so many rodent hairs per box in order to safely pass the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rules. What do I mean by that? Well like any food produced in bulk, it's done in large warehouses. The corn flakes or whatever cereal you are eating, gets prepared in huge mixing containers and laid on conveyer belts, ect. Now don't get me wrong, the people there have to wear hairnets, latex gloves and all that other sanitary attire. Although, unlike the cereal bags that are "vacuum sealed" for freshness, the warehouse where it was made is NOT "vacuum sealed". That means it's not uncommon for rodents to be running around from time to time and they shed = their hair blows into the cereal making process = it ends up blowing into your box/bowl of Frosted Flakes! Tony says they're grrreat! Who are you to second guess a tiger's best judgement?

This all sounds disgusting right? Well believe it. The reason this happens is because in order for companies like Kellogg's to run vacuum tight warehouses to ensure absolute cleanliness, it would require big $$$. That in turn you would pay for at the store. Your box of cereal would go from a few bucks up to $20 or more! So no I'm not surprised by this snake tale. Of course if I had to pick, I would rather have some rodent hairs in my mouth than a live snake.

See, I'm full of useless/usefull info and you thought I was just another pretty face - haha. Anyone hungry for breakfast now? Bon a petit.

Lesson with Daxun Zhang (I)

2009-03-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Daxun Zhang has always been my favorite solo bassist. I knew of him 3 years ago and has always been touched by his incredible performances. One day, I searched for his account and hope to "friend" him on facebook. I thought he probably wouldn't have a facebook as famous world-class musician usually don't - all they do in their busy lives are touring, rehearsing, and teaching! However, to my surprise, he does have a facebook and accepted my friend request pretty quickly. So I saw him going online on facebook last Thursday night and wanted to chat with him. At first I was not sure whether I should start a conversation because facebook seems to be a sketchy place for strangers to chat. But then, I realized that the reason why I added him on facebook was not just to see his updates... but to try to actually build a relationship with him (no matter a weak/strong one!). So, I started out by saying "Hey Daxun, I listened to your recording and it was fantastic!". I was not really expecting any responses from him but he replied pretty quickly! (No offence, but apparently he is not one of those "boring" musicians who just practice 15 hours a day without knowing what is going on in the world/new technology :P) We talked for 50 minutes. He told me that he is in Texas most of the time but is staying in New York this week for a chamber concert at Alice Tully Hall. I was really thrilled to hear this and was wanting to see the concert. Unfortunately, tickets were all sold out. It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because he promised to give me a lesson as he would be free on Saturday! I was really excited. Without facebook, I would never be able to get it touch with such a great player, teacher, and friend. The power of the internet (especially social networking sites) has always been changing the world, but this time, I can definitely feel it changing my world.

Thanks technology! Thanks facebook!

In Lesson with Daxun Zhang (II), I'll talk about the details of my lesson with this bass master. Stay tuned!

Check out HIS WEBSITE and go to "media" to watch him play!

Barack Obama- State of the Nation Address (Hip-Hop Interpretation)

2009-02-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

THIS IS AWESOME.

FaceInHole.com!

2009-02-18T07:19:00.000-08:00

Have you ever think of to be a different person? We always have the curious of how will we look like with a different hair style, in a famous photo or even in CD cover page. On a sleepless night when I was procrastinating my work (as usual), I found this pretty awesome website from my friend's facebook. This is really cool and now it's not a hard work to manipulate photo into different character just for fun. All you have to do is to select a scenario, upload a picture which its size does not exceed 2MB, upload and adjust your photo! It is simple, easy to use, and absolutely FREE. If you like your creation, you can even order a t-shirt printed with it. I've already created some pretty funny pictures with it and would love to share with you guys here:

So try it out: http://www.faceinhole.com