Since the successful recital I gave a month and a half ago, I have not touched my marimba. I have however, finished my finals for the semester and come that much closer to graduating and getting out of Weatherford FOREVER!! Thank God...seriously. I'm getting very tired of this place.
So pretty much all I've done since the semester ended is play video games. Yep. That's it. And it is wonderful. Oh wait...I have selected the pieces I'll be doing for the spring. I'll talk about those as the spring semester comes up.
Anyway, this post was completely pointless. But it's 3 in the morning, and I'm bored haha. I now leave you with a quote from my one of my favorite media personalities, Neal Boortz.
"There is nothing quite so depressing as waking up to face a day when you know that you are going to have to deal with a government office or bureaucrat."
True that.
-J
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thank You!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came to my recital. It was really awesome to play for such a wonderful and encouraging audience. Again, thank you!!
-J
-J
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Eternal Debate
This a post about John Cage. If you don't know who he is, check out this video. Then read on...
This post is about a strong debate among musicians of whether or not John Cage is a "good" composer (or a composer at all), or if he is just someone who does "weird" things and calls them artistic. I will offer my opinions here (it is my blog after all haha).
Every now and then I run across a youtube video or overhear a conversation about John Cage and his compositions, and many people are often very critical of him. I don't understand this at all. How a musician can criticize a composer by calling his works "garbage, shit, no-talent, etc." (I have heard or read these things personally) is completely beyond me. I consider John Cage not so much as a composer, but as an individual looking to push the boundries of life--in other words, an ARTIST.
For example, think about Cage's 4'33''. For those not familiar with it, the piece is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. The performer simply sits at the piano bench, and doesn't play a note. The music are the sounds that occur in the 4 minute and 33 second window. For those who are interested, time yourself and just sit for that amount of time. You'll be surprised at what you experience.
Many people have commented on this piece negatively, saying things like "how can this be music" or "anyone could compose this". I will address those two statements.
1. Whether or not this is music could be entirely debatable. Unfortunately, that's not the point of the piece. Cage wasn't trying to do anything except bring sound (which would be the interruption of silence) into the forefront of peoples' thinking--at least for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. That's it.
2. For the people who say that "anyone could compose this", I completely agree with you. But here's the thing: yes, anyone has the possibility of composing this. However, you didn't. The other great composers in the world didn't either. John Cage did, and I believe it was a very courageous thing to do.
This post may seem a little odd to some of the people who read this blog. Some may be thinking "why is this such a big deal?" I believe it is a big deal because some of the greatest inventions, artistic contributions, etc., come from the simplest ideas, such as 4'33''. Many of Cage's pieces are very simple, and that's the incredible beauty of them.
-J
This post is about a strong debate among musicians of whether or not John Cage is a "good" composer (or a composer at all), or if he is just someone who does "weird" things and calls them artistic. I will offer my opinions here (it is my blog after all haha).
Every now and then I run across a youtube video or overhear a conversation about John Cage and his compositions, and many people are often very critical of him. I don't understand this at all. How a musician can criticize a composer by calling his works "garbage, shit, no-talent, etc." (I have heard or read these things personally) is completely beyond me. I consider John Cage not so much as a composer, but as an individual looking to push the boundries of life--in other words, an ARTIST.
For example, think about Cage's 4'33''. For those not familiar with it, the piece is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. The performer simply sits at the piano bench, and doesn't play a note. The music are the sounds that occur in the 4 minute and 33 second window. For those who are interested, time yourself and just sit for that amount of time. You'll be surprised at what you experience.
Many people have commented on this piece negatively, saying things like "how can this be music" or "anyone could compose this". I will address those two statements.
1. Whether or not this is music could be entirely debatable. Unfortunately, that's not the point of the piece. Cage wasn't trying to do anything except bring sound (which would be the interruption of silence) into the forefront of peoples' thinking--at least for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. That's it.
2. For the people who say that "anyone could compose this", I completely agree with you. But here's the thing: yes, anyone has the possibility of composing this. However, you didn't. The other great composers in the world didn't either. John Cage did, and I believe it was a very courageous thing to do.
This post may seem a little odd to some of the people who read this blog. Some may be thinking "why is this such a big deal?" I believe it is a big deal because some of the greatest inventions, artistic contributions, etc., come from the simplest ideas, such as 4'33''. Many of Cage's pieces are very simple, and that's the incredible beauty of them.
-J
Friday, October 31, 2008
Small Update
I have just passed my hearing for my senior recital! It will be on November 21 at 8:15pm.
The end.
-J
The end.
-J
Thursday, October 23, 2008
New Pics and Video
I recently uploaded some new pictures to my myspace. I also uploaded a new video to it as well, but as you can see, the video is on this website as well. Check it out! Beware though, the audio is horrible on it. Anyone want to buy me a new camera?? Please hahaha.
-J
-J
Friday, October 3, 2008
Walkie Talkie
Whenever I'm not practicing or studying (which does not happen very often), I usually end up watching stand-up comedy on youtube or Comedy Central. I came across this video a few weeks ago, and it never fails to crack me up. Enjoy!
-J
-J
Friday, September 19, 2008
Percussion is fun!
Alright, so I finally got some time to update...
Probably the biggest news is that I will be graduating this year (school year, not calender year). This is, of course, very exciting. But it's also a little nerve-wracking, because I now am trying to decide on graduate schools. And it is proving a daunting task. But it's going okay. Here are some of my choices:
-University of Colorado Boulder
-Arizona State University
-Azusa Pacific University
I'm leaning very heavily towards Colorado. The main percussion guy there has an extremely impressive vitae, and he plays a lot of Daniel Levitan's music (for those not familiar with this wonderful composer, click on his name and be ready for some great music). This works great for me because I am playing one of Levitan's pieces on my senior recital.
Speaking of my senior recital, the date is tentatively set for November 21. The chances of it changing are very slim, but there's always something that could happen. I'll update on this website and my myspace if the date changes. Here are the pieces I'll be playing:
School has pretty much consumed my life, but it's really nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least for my undergraduate career, haha.
-J
P.S: I couldn't think of an interesting title, so I just wrote the first thing that came to my mind. Apparently, my first thoughts are extremely generic haha.
Probably the biggest news is that I will be graduating this year (school year, not calender year). This is, of course, very exciting. But it's also a little nerve-wracking, because I now am trying to decide on graduate schools. And it is proving a daunting task. But it's going okay. Here are some of my choices:
-University of Colorado Boulder
-Arizona State University
-Azusa Pacific University
I'm leaning very heavily towards Colorado. The main percussion guy there has an extremely impressive vitae, and he plays a lot of Daniel Levitan's music (for those not familiar with this wonderful composer, click on his name and be ready for some great music). This works great for me because I am playing one of Levitan's pieces on my senior recital.
Speaking of my senior recital, the date is tentatively set for November 21. The chances of it changing are very slim, but there's always something that could happen. I'll update on this website and my myspace if the date changes. Here are the pieces I'll be playing:
- Baroque Suite - Daniel Levitan (this piece kicks so much ass, haha)
- Eight Movements for Four Timpani (March and Improvisation) - Elliot Carter
- Warhammer - Daniel McCarthy
- Rebonds (Movement B) - Iannis Xenakis
- Three Gymnopedies - Jason Johnston (This is a group of piano pieces that I composed as a sort of homage to Erik Satie; the first two are arranged for marimba and vibraphone and the third is arranged for two marimbas)
- Rite of Passage - Jesse Monkman (This is a percussion concerto for solo marimba that is A LOT of fun to play)
School has pretty much consumed my life, but it's really nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least for my undergraduate career, haha.
-J
P.S: I couldn't think of an interesting title, so I just wrote the first thing that came to my mind. Apparently, my first thoughts are extremely generic haha.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wow...
It's been forever since I've updated. For the three or four people who actually read this haha, I apologize. I do plan on updating the "goings-on" very soon. There is much to tell, so get ready!!
-J
-J
Friday, February 15, 2008
Spring '08
The spring semester is in full swing, and I am definitely busy! Here is what I am up to:
1. Taking 16 hours. 16 hours might not seem like a lot, but with time spent practicing/composing, concerts, preparing for my senior recital/graduate school (see below), and not going insane, it is plenty to handle. Fortunately this will be my busiest semester before I graduate in spring '09.
2. Preparing for my senior recital. The concert will be this fall, but I am working very hard toward it now. I almost have all of my pieces selected and I have one of them (Warhammer) completed. Here's the rep in order:
-J
1. Taking 16 hours. 16 hours might not seem like a lot, but with time spent practicing/composing, concerts, preparing for my senior recital/graduate school (see below), and not going insane, it is plenty to handle. Fortunately this will be my busiest semester before I graduate in spring '09.
2. Preparing for my senior recital. The concert will be this fall, but I am working very hard toward it now. I almost have all of my pieces selected and I have one of them (Warhammer) completed. Here's the rep in order:
- 2 Mexican Dances--Stout OR Baroque Suite--Levitan. I haven't figured out which piece I want to play.
- Eight pieces for Four Timpani (Movements VIII, II, V)--Carter
- Warhammer--McCarthy
- Rebonds B--Xenakis
- Sketches of Perseverance--Johnston. I am composing this multi-movement work for my mom.
- Rite of Passage--Monkman. This piece is a percussion concerto and definitely fits my approach to music in general.
-J
Saturday, January 19, 2008
For all Aspiring Musicians
Okay, so this is NOT for aspiring musicians. But it is pretty freaking hilarious. Enjoy!
P.S. I'll get back to the music talk later. After all, everybody needs a break, right? Right.
-J
P.S. I'll get back to the music talk later. After all, everybody needs a break, right? Right.
-J
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Creston Update II
So here's the deal: I didn't place in the competition. But it's okay. It was an amazing experience, and it really is an honor to make the final round of the competition. I found out that 35 people auditioned, so I figure that at the very least I got 12th out of 35. But there's something more important than that:
Music is everything in my life (next to God, which is a given). Therefore, competition--in any form--is irrelevant. It's nice to win (or place), but if someone is absorbed only in the competition aspect of things, then it's entirely meaningless. Music is everything, and anything else gets in the way.
I may elaborate on this topic at some point in my life, but right now I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Updates on what I'll be doing for this semester will come next week. And believe me--there is much to do!
-J
Music is everything in my life (next to God, which is a given). Therefore, competition--in any form--is irrelevant. It's nice to win (or place), but if someone is absorbed only in the competition aspect of things, then it's entirely meaningless. Music is everything, and anything else gets in the way.
I may elaborate on this topic at some point in my life, but right now I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Updates on what I'll be doing for this semester will come next week. And believe me--there is much to do!
-J
Creston Update I
Wow!! I performed at 10:30 this morning, and it was definitely the best performance I have ever done. The other competitors will be hard-pressed to top it. Now I have to wait until 5:30 to hear the results of the competition. It's nerve-wracking, haha. The next update will most likely be around 9:00 pm or so. Until then, enjoy the day!!
-J
-J
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Concerto Competition Updates...
It's 10:10 pm (Mountain Time), and I'm in a Ramada Inn in Denver, CO. The competition is on Saturday, and I will be giving as many updates on the contest as I can. Stay tuned to not miss a thing! Or you could just read it all at once later, haha.
-J
-J
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