Laurel Black Music

Daily life at this point is extraordinary, if I can say so myself. I'm teaching an online class, which is ideal for a flexible work schedule and morning grading/coffee time. Sometimes I go for a runwalkrun in the morning, sometimes I sit outside and read, other times I get to the practice room early. Now that I'm officially registered for the marimba competition in Italy, my practices are regimented and planned. Oddly enough, I've memorized a few pieces in a short timespan. As a player who usually reads everything, I'm pretty proud of this. One of the pieces is by husband, and I find it hard to practice that piece when he's in the building. It's my own insecurity, I know. I'm sewing some each day, which makes me happy. I'm restarting The Artist's Way , which means I'm reconnecting with myself. I'm reading The Power of Now , a book that was recommended to me years ago by Dr. Sousa. I'm preparing my Movement for Musicians course for t...

Being the procrastinator I am of technology-related tasks, I am still uploading videos of Turning Point's October concert at CU. It was an evening of marimba duets, some adapted for the instrument and others composed for it. It was fun. I'm slowly uploading everything to my YouTube channel, Laurel Black .  I still have a few more to go, not to mention the recordings I'm planning to do for the summer. SO MANY. Today's new video addition s: Three Transformations , III. Rhumba Rubio by Andrew Thomas; Three Preludes, II. Andante con moto e poco rubato, and III. Agitato, by George Gershwin. In other news, I'm 99% committed to playing in the Italy Percussion Competition  on marimba. Other areas include vibraphone, timpani, snare drum, drum set, and composition. I figure it will be good for me to play in a competition, regardless of the outcome. I've been here in my comfortable little town for two years now, playing concerts with friends, putting together projec...

The title speaks for itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp6qaQUxIpk

This past weekend was an eventful one for percussionists in WV. Casey and his students headed off to the WV Day of Percussion held Shepherdstown.  There were solo competitions and performances by a variety of colleges in the state. Concord performed well, which is great! Casey was enthusiastic about how his students played, and that's always a good thing. :) Also held this weekend was the Marshall Day of Percussion at Marshall University in Hungtington, WV. I was super stoked that Steve Hall, professor of percussion at MU, invited Matt to hold a class and perform during his weekend's events. How cool! Steve graciously hosted Turning Point in October, so I am very excited that Matt was able to bring his brain back to WV to talk about music stuff. Despite these great events, my weekend was spent at home, preparing for the present week. I have two remaining recital hearings, and full run-throughs of 4 recitals tomorrow!! Eek. But, I am prepared. And, since I stayed home this ...

Technically, I'm on spring break. I don't have to teach a class all week, nor do I have to rehearse with any students. What I do have to do, however, is learn approximately 280 minutes of music to a level I deem worthy of playing in front of my colleagues. So what does that mean? It means Laurel doesn't get a break. Laurel spends hours at a piano hashing and re-hashing parts she learned long ago to make sure that the lines are correct, listens to the metronome for hours on end, and sings those bloomin' melody lines in her head until her brain explodes. Laurel also talks in third person when she's feeling a bit overwhelmed. In the spirit of making myself feel like I've accomplished something in these hours of practicing today, I thought I would catalog the rep I'm learning. Without further ado, Here's what Laurel has been cramming into her brain: with alto sax: J.S. Bach - 2. Sicilienne and Allegro (adapted from Flute Sonata No. 2) Paul Crest...

How last week flew by! From shoveling snow, to rehearsing, to talking about improvisation, to designing posters, to finally  playing a concert, the only thing that would have made the week better was not driving 2.5 hours to the airport to send Nati back to Boston. Looking back, this has to be one of my favorite concerts, and that very much has to do with the space we performed in.  It's amazing how a space can transform music. We used a black box theater on CU's campus; before I reserved the space, a platform for an upcoming stage production had already been built and nailed to the floor. Instead of worrying about it, Nati and I used it as a stage for our intimate setting. Plus, the platform was covered with carpet, which made it stand out from the rest of the theater quite nicely. (See: black box.) Our memory play  concept was carried out in our staging by setting sentimental objects around on the platform. From heirloom trinkets, to photo frames, to throw pillows, ...

This is an exciting week! Natalie flew down from Boston last weekend, and we have been rehearsing for our upcoming concert at CU. We are excited about this new program. Titled memory play , our concert consists of delicate repertoire. The perspective of these pieces feels distant, as if remembering a different time and place.  We are very excited to have two world premieres on this concert: Aphorism 10 , by Andrew Paul Jackson , and lyte , by Tim Mainland , a member of the CU music faculty. We will also perform works by Dalit Hadass Warshaw , Marti Epstein , and Elliot Cole .  See the official press release here. Tonight Natalie and I will present an impromptu improvisation workshop for the CU community. Modeled after an approach from our beloved and admired teacher, Pierre Hurel , we hope to remove some of the anxiety associated with improvising as well as encourage them to play and listen openly. We had the opportunity to present the workshop to the jazz band y...