Con Vivo Jersey City

news

2010-06-01T10:29:00.001-07:00

It's been more than a year since anything has been posted here! I'm sorry, poor blog, for neglecting you. In the meantime, since last March, we held our first ever composition competition, two Spring Quartet festivals, a Bach Fest... we hosted such fantastic groups as Sweet Plantain, Trio Duriusculus, the Bryant Park String Quartet, Duo Figer-Khanina, and the Toomai Quintet (twice). We collaborated with Nimbus Dance Works, Groove on Grove and Art House Productions. We performed at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn (twice) and at The Stone in Manhattan. We received two grants from the Hudson County Department of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, as well as a Creative Connections grant for work with composer Carmel Raz from Meet the Composer/MetLife. Our audience is growing, at least judging by attendance at recent concerts! This summer we will have a monthly series at super-hip local boutique Kanibal Home, as well as performances at Washington Park (our first at a county park) and hopefully some city parks as well.

In more personal news, my husband Christopher and I are expecting our first baby, due August 15!

I hope we can revive this portal for communication among our musicians and our audience. Please be in touch with your own news, and with any requests for future programming. Keep on supporting the arts in Jersey City!!!

2009-03-21T17:50:00.001-07:00

hey guys,
nice to be in on the blog scene!
little plug for a cd release concert next week by one of my groups, Flexible Music.
we're playing a bunch of new pieces for our group (gtr, piano, percussion, sax) as well as two from the cd. program and info pasted in below, you can check out cd clips at www.newfocusrecordings.com/FM.php or info about the band at www.flexiblemusic.org

take care!
dan

Flexible Music (Eric Huebner, piano; Haruka Fujii, percussion; Tim Ruedeman, saxophone; Dan Lippel, guitar) celebrates the release of its debut CD FM on New Focus Recordings with a concert of four premieres and two pieces off the disc. New pieces by Seung-Ah Oh (Oberlin Conservatory), Ross Bauer (UC Davis), Carl Schimmel (Duke University), and New Zealander John Psathas will be unveiled alongside two of the group's favorite core pieces for their instrumentation by NY locals Orianna Webb and Ryan Streber.

$15 gets you in the door and a copy of the cd!
Wine and snacks to follow the concert.
Hope to see you there!

Program:
Sustenance Variations (2004)- Orianna Webb
Bust A Flame (2009)- Ross Bauer
The Alphabet Turn'd Posture Master (2009)- Carl Schimmel
Fragments (2009)- Seung-Ah Oh
Closing Time (2002)- Ryan Streber
Mal Occhio- (2001)- John Psathas

New CD FM!
Hout- Louis Andriessen
Flexible Music- Nico Muhly
Around the Bend- John Link
Closing Time- Ryan Streber
Sustenance Variations- Orianna Webb
Throw Down or Shut Up- Vineet Shende

good stuff

2009-03-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

I just saw the amazing revival of West Side Story. It's so lovely and charming and great if you're studying Spanish like I am. All that dancing and singing- by the same people! You just don't see that anymore. My only gripe is that the score calls for NO violas in the orchestra. I just don't understand. Why, Lenny, why?
go see it if you have a chance.
Also, I played a recital this weekend in Boston. It was at this Jewish community called Havurat Shalom. Super nice people. I'm going to include a picture, just to show off the Palestinian dress my friend Melissa gave me. It was a wedding present. Seeing West Side Story was a Hannukah present from my mom. I love presents.
At the recital, I met a 5-year-old genius named Litka. She plays cello and speaks 4 languages. When she first meets you, she asks, "How many languages do you speak?" which seems precocious in a... precious way, but actually is just up-front curiosity about all the ways you could maybe communicate with her. She noticed that I played the 6th cello suite in a different key than Yo-Yo Ma plays it on her CD. She also noticed that everyone else in the audience had grey hair! I'm hoping we'll become pen-pals.

2009-02-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

little plug here-- no pun intended! Christopher, my husband, gave me an awesome V-Day present, and since we mention headphones over there in the poll I thought I'd mention it: orange headphones made by "WESC," which stands for, somehow, "We are the Superlative Conspiracy." The model is called "Tangerine Oboe." I've spent many hours already listening to all sorts of music on them, and the sound is absolutely incredible, from Talking Heads, to the Cleveland Quartet, to this amazing middle-eastern mix Omer Avital made for us before we played with him (play with him, you get great music out of it!!!). Highly, highly recommended. I'm going to change my poll answer now.

last night

2009-01-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

I heard an amazing show at Joe's Pub. Or, I should say, I heard half of an amazing show. Janus Trio opened with a set of works written for them. In particular, a *fantastic* piece by Anna Klein. Then they joined Andrew McKenna Lee, a guitarist who plays like he has eight arms, and eight brains for that matter. He continued on his own, a set of his own music that got me thinking about a character in Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain." It's an Italian inmate at the sanatorium who tells the main character that he fears and dislikes music for its power of propaganda- in other words, its power to make people forget that time is passing them by. As Andrew played, the entire space, bar, tables, waiters, was nearly silent the entire time. My mom said he reminded her of a spider, with his incredibly crafty and articulate fingers. To continue the metaphor, he wove a web with his music, on de-tuned, or, rather, altered-tuned guitars, and I was trapped. I think we all were there. Both Janus and Andrew McKenna Lee record for New Amsterdam Records, a label my friend Judd started, which produces great, adventuresome music. Judd and I met when we both studied at Third Street Music School, where I now teach. Third Street, at its best, can be a beautiful, safe, nurturing home for selfless music-making. It was definitely some selfless, generous music-making I heard last night. Joe's Pub had that nurturing feeling that reminded me of when I was a student and we'd all go to hear each other play and support each other all the time. A nice feeling to remember.
-Amelia

free chamber music in Manhattan

2009-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

Next Friday, February 6 7:30 PM Free!!
Third Street Music School Settlement
235 E. 11th Street, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues
Faculty Chamber Music Recital
featuring Con Vivo musicians José Pietri-Coimbre & Amelia Hollander Ames, who will play the Mozart String Quintet in C major along with *Jersey City native* Shanda Wooley, cello as well as Sarah Pratt, violin, and Claire Chan, viola
This concert also features pianists Mary Jo Pagano and Rosemary Caviglia.

Call for Quartet Scores

2009-01-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

Con Vivo announces its first ever Composition Competition! We are looking for new string quartets, less than 25 minutes in length. The winning work will be performed on our 1st Annual "Spring Quartet" festival in May, as well as on an upcoming performance in New York City. Application fee is $25, $15 for each additional work entered. Go to www.convivomusic.org and click on "Competition" to download an application. Deadline is March 30, 2009. Spread the word!

Grand Opening

2009-01-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hello! I started this blog so everyone involved with Con Vivo could share ideas and news. Con Vivo Musicians, please feel free to post concerts you'll be playing in, shows you're excited about, or just stuff you think the CV community would dig. Pictures, too. Everyone else is invited to comment in and tell us what music you would like to hear in the public spaces of Jersey City. Remember to put these dates on your calendar:
1st Annual SPRING QUARTET (ahem, and quintet) Festival:
May 3 at St. Pauls Church: quartets by living composers from around the world
May 8 at Grace Church Van Vorst: Toomai Quintet rocks out on music by Lecuona & more
May 17 at Temple Beth El: Israeli quartets in honor of Yom Yerushalaim

June 11, 12, 13 at Grace Church Van Vorst: Collaboration with Nimbus Dance Works

Keep warm, and keep in touch!
love,
amelia