18
Oct
I recently spent an afternoon digging through the Nicholas Slonimsky Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC to see if I could find evidence of correspondence between Ernie Stires and his beloved mentor. I was pleased to locate a folder which contained several items. Included with one of Ernie’s letters to Slonimsky was [...]
Tags: Ernie Stires, Library of Congress, Middlebury College, Nicholas Slonimsky, Stephanie Rogers
2
Oct
Ernie Stires came from a prestigious lineage of musicians. Ernie’s cousin was legendary American composer Samuel Barber, widely known for his piece Adagio For Strings (or Agnus Dei, for voices arranged by the composer). Louise Homer, Ernie’s grandmother, was a world-class contraltist who sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for 30 years. Her [...]
18
Jun
” Every child should have an opportunity to learn to play some musical instrument and should be taught to sing. All schools, including the lower grades, should have teachers of music of high standard. For children with special aptitude for music, more intensive teaching should be provided, including the study of the counterpoint [...]
Tags: Early Childhood Education, Ernie Stires, Lifelong learning, Louise Homer, MusicianCorps, My Wife and I, Progressive Education, Sidney Homer
10
Jun
I have to quickly remark on a 24-part lecture series I’ve been thoroughly enjoying entitled, “The Symphony” by Robert Greenberg, Ph.D. and distributed by The Teaching Company.
With an energetic and entertaining delivery (think Mel Brooks), Dr. Greenberg brings us the 300-year-old story of the symphony, from its earliest development, breaking free from its Italian opera [...]
Tags: Barber's Symphony No. 1, Dr. Robert Greenberg, Ives' Symphony No. 4, Mel Brooks, Orchestra, Recommended Listening, The Symphony, The Teaching Company, TTC
6
Jun
While listening to NPR’s review of guitarist Sharon Isbin’s latest release Journey to the New World the other day, I was reminded of something Ernie once suggested during a discussion on the composer’s role in popular music. Isbin’s album, which also features performances by Joan Baez and Mark O’Connor, presents a new composition [...]
Tags: House Of The Rising Sun, Joan Baez, John Duarte, Mark O'Connor, Musical Hooks, NPR, Sharon Isbin, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4
Jun
“My muse is a combination of Tallulah Bankhead and Bette Davis,” he drawls. “She smokes and she drinks and she’s sore [...]
Tags: Bette Davis, Composing, Ernie Stires, Inspiration, Muse, Ruth Horowitz, Seven Days, Tallulah Bankhead, Vermont
2
Jun
Ernie often prodded me to listen to more music, especially classics written by the great composers. I once asked him for suggestions and he effortlessly rattled off a list. In my futile attempt to keep up with him, I managed to jot down enough to keep me busy for a while. Ernie was [...]
Tags: Classical Composers, Essential Classical Recordings, Great Works, Summer List
31
May
In my ongoing quest to becoming a more prolific and inspired composer, I always think back to something Ernie once said to me, “You’re only a composer when you’re composing.” In other words, a composer should only call himself a composer when he is actually sitting down and writing music. Many people who [...]
Tags: Brian Griffin, Composing, Family Guy, Inspiration, Quote, Socialite
30
May
With guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish being Ernie’s most publicized disciple, many people are under the impression that Ernie taught guitar lessons. While it is true that most of the budding composers who sought out Ernie’s advice played guitar as their primary instrument (with the exception of Jamie Masefield of JMP, who mostly performs on [...]
Tags: Altered Blues, Bags Meets Wes, Barry Galbraith, J.S. Bach, Jamey Aebersold, Jamie Masefield, Jazz Mandolin Project, Jim Hall, Milt Jackson, Phish, Polytone, Trey Anastasio, Vermont, Wes Montgomery
27
May
Thank you for being patient as I configure the site. Posts and additional content to arrive shortly.
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Oct | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
