#guess who has to learn a 4 page symphony

[nukaposting]

encouragement for a tired overwhelmed music student........ blease....

[wishingicouldfly]

I've been actively blogging for more than six months, even though I've had a tumblr account for ten years. I started reading One Direction (specifically Larry) fanfiction about the same time.

Originally, I read exclusively canon compliant fiction--I was hungry for industry insider, what-could-have-happened narratives. But I've slowly branched out into other genres. I find fanfic--good fanfic--super calming. When I've had too much stunting, too much noise, I grab a fanfic and immerse myself. So I thought it was time to do a post about my favorites. Keep in mind, I'm terrible at cataloging, and I have over 150 bookmarks on my A03 Account, so this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I'm not including the classics like Tired, Tired Sea and Escapade. While I do love both of those (so well written), because a lot of people know about those already.

My all time favorites are by @helloamhere

1. The Multipicity of Powers - https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580229

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

Me: I never thought I'd love a super hero 1D cross over, but this is so well done. The backstory, the pacing, the characterization, the friendship. Read it.

2. Saving Symphony Hall and it's prequel Night Out - https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633921

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

Me: The best sex scene I've ever read is in the prequel Night Out. Sexy, but tender. I love the characterizations in this duo--ABO but not traditional. Doesn't feel out of character.

3. Just Let Me -https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695350

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

Me: I love love love this. Harry is so gentle, and Louis is so stubborn and needy. It's ABO but subtle. I'll read this one again and again. It's comforting.

@HelloAmHere is one of the best writers I know--amazing stuff. I also love their werewolf story, but it's not finished, so I won't link it here.

Other favorites:

1. Seven Up by cherrystreet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828539

Very loosely based on the British TV show "The Up Series" and somewhat inspired by the song “Something I Need” by Onerepublic, we follow the lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in an interview setting every seven years. They fall apart and come together, their lives and emotions recorded. Harry calls it a time capsule. Louis calls it a pain in the arse.

Me: Trigger Warning, major character death. I literally SOBBED through the end of this. It was lovely and devastating. So good. But be warned.

2. Light, Spark and Fire series by @greenfeelings

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Louis and Zayn run a music label, Liam is Britain’s up-and-coming pop star, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down until he builds his own up, and Niall holds them all together without realising he does.

Me: A nice healthy three-parter. Characters you just want to live with for a while.

3. Relief Next to Me by dolce_piccante - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117942

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Me: This one is super long, so be prepared when you dive in. It's got a lot of lovely bits, and some great smut.

4. 2012 'Verse by ashavahishta - https://archiveofourown.org/series/27601

Me: This is a five-parter and satisfies my love of canon compliant stories. It spans most of 2012 and into 2013, and illustrates the difficulties of Harry and Louis' relationship amid the band success and management disapproval.

5. Love After the End of the World by mercurial-madhouse (writing_practice) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31251434/chapters/77248901

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

Me: Really unusual (as far as I can tell) end of the world story. I loved the characterizations of soul mates here at the end of the world.

6. Flightless Bird by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401653/chapters/14656807

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

Me: Trigger Warning, sexual assault (by an original character to a major character). This was a little brutal because I hated to see a broken Harry, but it was well written and has a happy ending.

7. Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816771/chapters/3900322

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

Me: I loved Louis in this one--actually they are both pretty great. Scratch that, they are ALL pretty great.

8. Shake Me Down by AGreatPerhaps12 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331958/chapters/7285322

Harry's new to college, fresh out of Catholic school and conversion therapy camp, and Louis runs the campus LGBTQIA organization.

Me: I don't like the self-hate here, but it was necessary for the story and H comes around. Found family vibe.

9. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar - https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Me: I loved Harry in this one. Louis gets there. I don't like Liam, but I don't think you're supposed to. Zayn is great.

10. Own the Scars by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1010796

Louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friend, for the life he's supposed to want. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons. On the long and difficult road to recovery, Louis must confront the truths he’s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. Because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

Me: Harry is lovely in this one. Trigger warning, substance abuse and near death.

11. Wild Love by purpledaisy - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030904

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Me: I loved this way more than I thought I would. It's lovely and messy and I love it.

12. Victorian Boy by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosann1986/readings?page=6

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

Me: Historical fiction I didn't intend to love. I LOVE Harry in this one. LOTS of smut, so be warned.

13. Keep Me Closer by zanni_scaramouche - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752633

Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.

Me: lovely, protective Louis just trying to do the right thing.

14. Turning Page by purpledaisy for SockstheDog

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826345

AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been.  Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

Me: sweet love story. Niall owns a bar, and is pretty great.

15. Freedom Always Comes With a Price by Cyantific - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30278514/chapters/74624262

A shared dream brings them together onto the X-factor stage, but one decision changes Harry and Louis’ lives overnight. Thrust into a world of instant stardom, they're forced to live a lie to sustain their dreams, but years of living in the shadows and under strict management takes its toll.

With the bands impending hiatus, there’s no better time for change, so they think.

Desperate for a solution, they turn to an unlikely source with a radical plan. An unfortunate accident sets everything in motion, but not how they intended, leaving Louis’ memories altered, Harry broken-hearted and full of regret.

Can Harry figure out a way to fix everything? Will he even want to once he sees how Louis moved on after the hiatus? Will Louis ever find out the truth of their past and can he forgive Harry after all this time?

In the end, two friends find out that memories are elusive, trust is everything and love is the only antidote.

Me: Heartbreaking when they lose each other, but really good in the end.

16. Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025519/chapters/13821628

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

17. Hold You Now by solvetheminourdreams - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30253536/chapters/74556744

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind. When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

Me: Niall is great. They almost miss each other in this one, and you just want to bash them over the head. But they figure it out.

18. At Risk, I Fold by clare328 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542480

2015 is a stream of hotel rooms and whisky on the rocks, tired glances and touching hands under tables. It’s the bears and the bees under a rainbow sky, and Harry and Louis have to figure out how to grow up together, instead of apart.

Me: A canon compliant fic that feels like it could have really happened. Set in 2015. Lovely first chapter and scene where Harry writes If I Could Fly--i could read that chapter over and over.

19. Into The Blue by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035822/chapters/2065499

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Me: AKA the Scuba fic.

20. Tie Your Heart by ArcadianMaggie - https://archiveofourown.org/works/546688/chapters/973236

Harry grows wings.

Me: How can you not love a fic where Harry grows wings? Trigger warning: injury of a major character.

21. I think I'll end this here. My last and probably first favorite (read it more than once) is...

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach - https://archiveofourown.org/works/934996/chapters/1820282

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

Me: I LOVED the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I'm a huge fan of time travel, so this is right up my alley. It's really well done, weaving canon into fantasy and then going years forward in tme. I love everything about it. Great character development. Really good smut. Trigger warning, there's a little underage sex, so be aware. Anyway, LOVE this one so much.

I'll add to this but it's already longer than I meant it to be.

[yall-cant-handel-this-blog]

Blog Post 8

*Disclaimer*

I’m sorry this is so long, I got carried away and I enjoyed learning new things about someone I’ve grown up referencing, but never knew much of anything about!! (nerdy I know).

“Beethoven” The Greatest German Composers

1. What is the main idea of the first section? (1 sentence)

Beethoven may have experienced a life riddled with afflictions, yet due to these afflictions, he became one of the most unique, yet popular, composers of all time.

2. How old was Beethoven when he wrote the Eroica (No. 3) and Pastorale (No. 6) Symphonies?

Beethoven was born in 1770 and he wrote Symphony No. 3 “Erocia” between 1805 and 1808, meaning he was around 35 years old.

Interesting how he didn’t start composing until age 35 when Mozart was only able to compose till age 35.

3.Eroica means hero. Describe what happened between Beethoven and his admiration for Napoleon. How does this relate to Enlightenment thought? This work may be the first “romantic” work as we see a shift from absolute to programmatic music.

So through reading this chapter, and some use of the Wikipedia page on this lesser known symphony, I discovered that Beethoven was a fan of Napolean Bonapart in his earlier days during the French Revolution and Enlightenment (taking place during Beethoven’s life) when Napolean was in support of the movement against the monarchy and toward democracy. Thus, Beethoven wrote this symphony as a kind of love song to Napolean, indicating a rendering of the new programmatic (story-telling), and romantic kind of composition.

What’s really funny is how Beethoven revoked his dedication of this symphony to Napolean and gave it to someone else, because Napolean was a mean little man who wanted to defy democracy and ended up joining the aritocracy. Beethoven = real big democracy fan.

4. How would you describe Beethoven’s personality after reading this chapter?

From reading this chapter I get a few different indications of Beethoven’s personality traits. First and foremost I think he is probably an Introvert, because of the descriptions from his contemporaries indicating he often lashed out or hard to read. This also just shows that he’s plain grumpy and mean. However, reading his journal entries we can also understand that under that mean exposition he is struggling with the immense emotional pain of losing one’s hearing. Especially, someone who values sound so much such as Beethoven must’ve. So, was Beethoven mean? Maybe, but I also think he was just a deeply sad man grappling with a handicap. They also said he was determined, and highly passionate and an extremely hard worker when it came to his compositions.

Heiligenstadt Testament

1. How does your perception of Beethoven’s character change after reading this if at all?

This testament that Beethoven wrote to his brothers when he was about 29 before his composer career took off, initially made me sad for him.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through losing one’s hearing later in life after already knowing how beautiful some sounds can be *cough cough music cough*. He just felt so lonely, and just think of this time period in which I’m almost positive ASL (or I guess German Sign Language) was fairly nonexistent. He couldn’t communicate with anyone efficiently and then you are perhaps able to understand the source of passion for his compositions.

So again, was Beethoven mean? No. I still think he was really sad a lonesome and very passionate.

He also tells his brothers that he wants them to obtain his *small* (lol little did he know) fortune after his death and also that any animosity between them had been relieved. Beethoven here shows indication of a caring, even loving disposition.

Hearing Beethoven

*page 28 first paragraph has a psychology reference that makes me happy lol*

1. What did the physicians of Beethoven’s day say was the problem?

Originally Beethoven had abdominal and ear problems and his doctor was able to fix his belly aches, but not his hearing. He was installed with false-hope that his hearing would slightly return, but history shows it never would.

2. What are some of the explanations of today?

Today we know that Beethoven most likely suffered from the hearing implementation of tinnitus which is like an incessant ringing noise that would drive anyone nuts, (indicating his mean disposition and madness). We also know that it was not loud sounds that caused this to happen but rather a sickness that caused nerve damage to the inner ear functions. Also,  another explanation is a weird overgrowth of the small ear bones. Indicating that his hearing loss was likely in part sensorineural.

On the other hand, besides medical causes, some speculations have been made that it was self-inflicted, or possibly due to alcoholism, or even lead poisoning.

All symptoms point back to life long digestive tract problems.

3. What does the author say about his familial relationships (dad and nephew Karl)?

First, we learn that Beethoven’s dad was an alcoholic that just wanted to basically use Beethoven’s talent for his own personal gain. Because of this Beethoven grew up thinking his success was his fathers, putting immense pressure on him. Leading to a life of living for validation.

Second, we learn about Beethoven’s struggle to obtain custody of his nephew Karl, after his brother died. He became so dedicated to this that he lost some focus on composing. However, he later got right back into it with new vigor, maybe by inspiration from the love for his nephew.

4. Wallace speculates about how Beethoven was able to write so many masterpieces toward the end of his life and nearly 20 years after the Heiligenstadt Testament. Which were you most convinced by?

Wallace references a few reasons why Beethoven may perhaps have been able to compose so many great pieces later in his life. First Wallace suggests based on evidence that Beethoven wasn’t completely deaf but rather just really hard of hearing. For this reason his compositions would require Beethoven to use a combination of methods. I think I am most convinced that he in part used vibrations from the piano, his imagination, all fueled by his passion.

The Piano Sonata No.14 in C# minor “Quasi Una Fantasia” Opus 27 No.2 (Moonlight Sonata)

1. What would you say is the texture of the 1st movement and why?

I think the first movement is homophonic because there is a lot going on, like both a melody and a harmony.

2. I am assuming most of you have never heard the other movements of this sonata. What is your initial reaction to the second movement?

The second movement was completely new to me. I kind of wish I knew the motives behind this Sonata because it kind of didn’t fit with the themes of the first and third themes. I wouldn’t have grouped these songs together if I would’ve heard them seperately. I definetly didn’t enjoy the second movement as much as the first and I especially enjoyed the third.

3. How about the third? Around 13 minutes a few things happen that make this ending even more rewarding. Using musical terms and your own words, what happens?

I really enjoyed this movement it was kind of crazy to listen to and watch at how much skill takes to play this piece. The tempo made the song very entertaining to listen to. There were also a lot of crescendos and decrescendos that made it rewarding to listen to because it kept you on the edge of your seat.

[verdiprati]

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES BY DAME SARAH CONNOLLY

[NOTE: this post is now out of date. Check the schedule tag on my blog for the most recent version of this list.]

After the jump: an unofficial schedule of Dame Sarah Connolly’s future performances. Those of you in Britain may catch a performance in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Oxford, Gloucester, Bath, or Chipping Campden. Those on the Continent may see her in Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Geneva, Zeist, or Baden-Baden. And finally, those of us in North America have a recital in Philadelphia to look forward to! Don’t live near one of these places? Take in a concert from afar: I am adding online broadcast and livestream details as they become available.

This is not an authoritative list. These are the upcoming performances by Dame Sarah Connolly that I have been able to learn about from Dame Sarah’s agent's website (Askonas Holt), Operabase, Bachtrack, Dame Sarah's Twitter, and generally ferreting around the web.

I sometimes list concerts that are not yet officially confirmed; you should of course check official sources before making plans and be aware that cast changes and cancellations can happen at any time.

I have added links to venue, ticketing, and broadcast information where available. Tips on new information are always welcome! Please contact me via email (verdiprati [at] selveamene [dot] com), Tumblr messaging, or ask box (plain prose only in the ask box; anything with links or an email address will get eaten by Tumblr filters) with corrections or additions.

[Masterclass] Public masterclass at Wigmore Hall, London, September 19, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore. 

Wagner, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Fricka in both) at the Royal Opera, London, September 24 through October 28, 2018. A revival of Keith Warner’s Ring Cycle, with Antonio Pappano conducting. For cast and date details, see the ROH web pages linked above. The October 28 performance will be livecast to cinemas; the October 18 performance, also marked “Filming,” is presumably a dry run for the camera crews and/or a chance to gather additional footage for promos and perhaps an eventual DVD release (we can hope). Rheingold dates: September 24; October 2, 16, and 26. Walküre dates: September 26; October 4, 18, and 28.

[New! Broadcast] There will be an audio-only broadcast of Das Rheingold by BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, October 27—conveniently timed to prime listeners for the livecast of Die Walküre the following day. If you can’t listen at the time of broadcast, though, you should be able to find the Rheingold audio archived on the BBC website for a month following.

[Cinema livecast] As mentioned above, the October 28 performance of Die Walküre is scheduled for livecast to cinemas. You can use this page to search for a screening near you. Oddly, no screenings are being shown in the US at the time of this writing, but I know of at least one deferred screening in New York, at Symphony Space on November 25.

[New! Broadcast] There will be an audio-only broadcast of Die Walküre by BBC Radio 3 on Saturday, November 3. As with all BBC Radio 3 programming, I would expect it to stay online for a month after broadcast. It seems like a fair guess that the other two Ring operas will be broadcast on subsequent Saturdays; check the Radio 3 website when the time gets closer, if you are interested.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Royal Festival Hall, London, September 29, 2018. With Stuart Skelton and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. In a concert with Mitsiko Uchida playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27.

Appearance at “Opera For All” anniversary show at the English National Opera, London, October 10, 2018. The exact program has not (to my knowledge) been announced, but a blog post from ENO says “The performance will feature moments from operas that have played an important part in ENO’s history, including Britten’s Peter Grimes, Handel’s Alcina, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe Verdi’s Rigoletto and Wagner’s Ring Cycle.” Dame Sarah has sung roles in Alcina, Iolanthe, and the Ring Cycle, but I believe Alcina is the only one she has performed at ENO, and my hunch is that she will offer one or two of the Handel arias she has sung to such acclaim at ENO over the years.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Philharmonie Berlin, October 14, 2018. With Torsten Kerl Robert Dean Smith and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

[Broadcast] The concert is scheduled for live broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Recital of English song at the Oxford Lieder Festival, October 22, 2018. With Eugene Asti. Songs in English by numerous British composers including Rebecca Clarke, Muriel Herbert, and Sally Beamish. There is a good deal of overlap with the selections on Dame Sarah’s recent album “Come to Me in My Dreams.”

Concert with Tenebrae at Wigmore Hall, London, October 24, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. The mostly English repertoire centers on a new piece by Judith Bingham setting poetry by Ivor Gurney. The choir throws in some Schoenberg at the end.

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (Dido) in concert at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, November 3, 2018. With the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn, in a concert also featuring John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (which does not include Dame Sarah in the cast). Dame Sarah’s co-stars are Jonathan McGovern, Lucy Crowe, Dame Felicity Palmer Avery Amereau, and Rowan Pierce.

[New! Broadcast] Thank you to the astute reader who pointed out that, as mentioned on the Early Opera Company’s website (and less explicitly on the Concertgebouw site), this concert will be broadcast live on NPO Radio 4 as part of the NTR Saturday Matinee series. Recordings from the series seem to be kept available online for quite a while, so you should have ample chance to hear the concert even if you cannot tune in at the hour of live broadcast.

Tippett, A Child of our Time at the Paris Philharmonie, November 7 and 8, 2018. With Michelle Bradley, Mark Padmore, John Relyea, and the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Thomas Adès in a concert also featuring symphonic works by Berlioz and Adès.

[New! Broadcast] The Orchestre de Paris website says, “Concert du 7 novembre enregistré et diffusé sur France Musique en différé et disponible à la réécoute sur le site internet de France Musique en streaming pour une période de 3 ans.” I never took French but read that to mean that we can expect a deferred broadcast of the November 7 concert, available for replay for three years. I have not been able to find a date of broadcast yet but I will keep an eye out for it. 

Recital at the Bath Mozartfest, Guildhall, Bath, November 13, 2018. With Joseph Middleton. Repertoire to include “Deh, per questo istante solo” from La Clemenza di Tito as well as songs by Schubert, Ravel, Debussy, Gurney, and Ireland. UPDATE: Dame Sarah withdrew from the concert and was replaced by Louise Alder.

"L’invitation au voyage,” song recital at Wigmore Hall, London, November 16, 2018. With James Newby and Joseph Middleton. The repertoire is Ravel-centric but not all by Ravel himself. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore and also part of a Ravel song series being presented by the venue over the course of the year.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at deSingel, Antwerp, November 21, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

[New! Deferred broadcast] Recital at the Schubertíada Vilabertran. With Malcolm Martineau and Jonathan Brown. Works by Brahms, Mahler, Gurney, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Frank Bridge. Recorded at the live performance on August 18, 2018; scheduled for broadcast [PDF] on Catalunya Música November 23, 2018. 

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Philharmonie Berlin, November 23, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Tickets appear to be on sale here. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, December 1, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Appearance at the Glyndebourne Tour: Golden Anniversary Celebration at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December 4, 2018. Sir Thomas Allen and Sir John Tomlinson are also appearing at the concert, and the Glyndebourne website says “More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.” The program has not been announced yet but I will be surprised if Dame Sarah does not reprise an aria or two from Giulio Cesare. This event does not yet appear on the Southbank Centre’s calendar, and I don’t see a way to purchase tickets online, but they apparently are available by phoning the Glyndebourne box office.

Wagner, Das Rheingold (Fricka) at the Teatro Real, Madrid, January 17 through February 1, 2019. In a production by Robert Carsen; conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. Co-stars include Greer Grimsley (Wotan) and Sophie Bevan (Freia) among others.

Berlioz, L’Enfance du Christ with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, February 15, 2019. Sir Andrew Davis conducts; the other vocal soloists in the all-Brit, all-excellent lineup are Andrew Staples, Roderick Williams, and Matthew Brook.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, March 5, 2019. Works by R. Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, A. Mahler, and Zemlinsky.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, March 7, 2019. I don’t see the repertoire mentioned on the theater’s website as of this writing, but presumably it will be similar to the works presented in Amsterdam and Philadelphia in the duo’s other recitals this month.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, March 11, 2019. Works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinsky.

[New details!] Recital with Julius Drake at Wigmore Hall, London, March 15, 2019. Contrary to my earlier guess, Connolly and Drake are not repeating material from their recitals in Amsterdam and Madrid, but rather are preparing a completely different program for the Wigmore. It is described by Dame Sarah’s agency, Askonas Holt, thus: “On 15 March 2019, Sarah offers Dominick Argento’s cycle from Virginia Woolf’s posthumously published A Writer’s Diary, which won the composer the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and Schumann’s moving late settings of texts attributed to Mary Stuart. She is partnered by pianist Julius Drake and actor Emily Berrington, who will intersperse the songs with reading from Woolf’s diaries and also from Schiller’s ‘Mary Stuart’, in a new translation made especially for the event.” Dame Sarah adds on Twitter, “There will be more songs in the second half.”

Recital with Julius Drake at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, March 22, 2019. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Repertoire includes works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinksy.

[New!] Berlioz, Les nuits d’été at the Chipping Campden Music Festival, May 21, 2019. In a program with orchestral works by Fauré and Mendelssohn. Thomas Hull conducts the Academy Orchestra. As of this writing, the 2019 program has not yet been published on the Festival’s website, but the season brochure is available upon request, and that is how I obtained these concert details.

[Details TBA] Appearance at the Internationaal LiedFestival Zeist (Netherlands), late May, 2019. The festival dates are May 17-26. Programming details have not yet been released as of this writing, but Dame Sarah is mentioned as one of the performing artists.

Elgar, The Dream of Gerontius with the Hallé and three choruses at Victoria Hall, Leeds, June 1, 2019. Barry Banks and David Soar are the other vocal soloists; Simon Wright conducts.

Mahler, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (extracts) and Janáček, Glagolitic Mass at the Maison de la Radio, Paris, June 20, 2019. With the Orchestre National de France and the Choeur de Radio France, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The other soloists for the Glagolitic Mass are Simona Šaturová, Mati Turi, and Christof Fischesser.

[Broadcast] This concert will be broadcast live on France Musique.

Recital with Malcolm Martineau at Wigmore Hall, London, July 23, 2019. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. Repertoire TBA. Listed in the season preview brochure [PDF].

Berlioz, La damnation de Faust (in concert, presumably) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, July 27, 2019. With Peter Hoare, Christopher Purves, and David Ireland. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24.

Bob Chilcott, A Christmas Oratorio (premiere) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, August 1, 2019. With Nick Pritchard and Neal Davies. Note that this is an afternoon concert, not the main evening concert for August 1. (Multi-mezzo fans may want to stick around to hear Anna Stéphany do Les nuites d’été in the evening.) Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24. 

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Handel, Agrippina at the Dutch National Opera. In June 2018, opera critic Hugh Canning tweeted the news that the Royal Opera is planning to offer Barrie Kosky’s new production of Agrippina with Joyce DiDonato in the title role during the ’19/’20 season; in a reply that has now been deleted, Dame Sarah mentioned that she and Alice Coote would do the same production in Amsterdam and Munich. (If you are a member of the Sarah Connolly fan group on Facebook, you can scroll back in time to June and see a screenshot there.) Subsequent discussion revealed that Coote would get the Munich gig (in July 2019), so Connolly must be the Amsterdam Agrippina. The DNO has already announced its ’18-’19 season and Agrippina isn’t in it, so presumably we’re looking towards ’19-’20 or beyond.

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Brett Dean, Hamlet (Gertrude) somewhere in the United States. Allan Clayton, who starred in the title role of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Glyndebourne in 2017, mentioned in a recent interview with the Telegraph that he would be reprising the role at an unspecified date and venue in the US. When prompted on Twitter, Dame Sarah indicated that she would be participating in the revival, too (“I shall be misunderstanding my confused boy again”). Hat tip to Christopher Lowrey, who sang Guildenstern in the original production at Glyndebourne, whose tweet praising Allan Clayton brought the Telegraph interview to my attention. (No indication whether Lowrey will also be cast in the American revival.)

[Details TBA] A future appearance at the Opéra national de Paris is mentioned in the current bio that can be downloaded from Dame Sarah’s page on the Askonas Holt website (click “Publicity Pack”). I cannot find her name mentioned anywhere in the 2018-2019 season, so I suppose we must wait until at least the fall of 2019 if not later.

Previous versions of this list can be found under the schedule tag on this blog. This list published September 10, 2018. Edited September 15 to add the live broadcast of Dido from the Concertgebouw and to update the program details for the ENO concert. Edited September 18 to fill in details of Dame Sarah’s recital with Julius Drake at the Wigmore Hall in March. Edited October 16 to add the Chipping Campden concert and the Rheingold radio broadcast. Edited October 18 to update the cast list for the Concertgebouw concert with the Early Opera Company. Edited October 25 to add the radio broadcast of the ROH Die Walküre. Edited November 8 to add the radio broadcasts of A Child of Our Time and the Vilabertran recital. Edited November 19 to reflect (very belatedly) Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from the Bath Mozartfest recital. I may continue to edit this list as I receive new information.

[stradanie]

Tagged by @punk-rat to do the ten random cool things about me tag. Thank you so much!

1. I can never quite pick a clear interest. I constantly need to find something that is my ‘purpose’, and I go super hyper and nuts about it for like, a year maybe? I wish I could just stick to one topic of interest, I guess. Like when I was 14 I was so obsessed with cosplaying and I made like 20 costumes (some were pretty good, I’ll give myself credit for that). I also used to be super obsessed with horseback riding and stuff, but I couldn’t afford it so I had to force myself out of the obsession. Then when I was 15 I became obsessed with my self-image because I was trying so hard to be girly, feminine, and pretty. This year I’m pretty much a goth dude who wears black, watches horror movies, listens to weird music, and is trapped within a constant struggle with my parents about wanting to be an acttooorrrrrr. Funnnnn. (this was a rant)

2. I went to India last March and, I know this sounds like the lamest cracker thing I’ve ever said, but I felt some kind of weird, spiritual deja-vu connection with the country and the countryside. It was strange... like I was going home.

3. Speaking of India, a fortune teller there told me that this year and next year in my school will be super successful so...

4. I really want to get the part of Sally Bowles in cabaret, and it’s driving me a bit fookin’ crazy. I would normally want to be the Emcee, but one of my baes wants to be the Emcee... He *must* be the Emcee. Ya’ feel me? Ha, that rhymed. IF THE FORTUNE TELLER SAYS THIS YEAR WILL BE GOOD THEN WE CAN ALL PRAY, OKAY?

5. Ummm... I started playing the guitar like five months ago and I love learning it, it’s the best thing. Bass guitars are also so fookin’ badass, really.

6. When I was 13 I was in this play about drug addicts living in New York City in the 60s. I was playing this child who comes into the bar on Halloween and tries to ask all these prostitutes and drug dealers to give me candy (they threw their cigarettes at me instead, haha). After my friend and I gave up, we run around the bar. Then, a guy gets stabbed with a hypodermic needle, and we had to scream hysterically and run offstage. It was so much fun, man.

7. I seriously love red wine. My mom, in an attempt for me to adjust to the world of alcohol before I’m legal to drink, gave me this gothic alchemy wine or something, and it was honestly the most delicious thing I’ve ever drunk. Sooooo good!

8. I realized I wanted to be an actor after going to this show that my best friend was in when she was eight years old. It was a super surreal show about a magician from the late 1890s or early 1900s whose wife and daughter go missing. It’s this strange periscope thing where you look through these goggles and you can see surreal images of the wife and daughter (played by my childhood best friend) blowing bubbles with floating through images of colonial societies in Africa and Asia and stuff (perhaps alluding to historical relevance or something?). It was so amazing and inspiring. They also used a lot of great magical illusions throughout the show, and this was the moment I truly realized that I wanted to be a part of this world too, I guess.

9. I’m in the most horrible play ever written at my school right now. If I had to kill one person in the world, it would be the playwright Neil Labute. The play is so atrociously bad. The writing, the characters, the plot... horrible. Just look up Neil Labute and you will be shocked with how horrible he and his work is. 

10. I am obsessed with Zachary Quinto’s face. It’s awesome. I love it.

That’s about it! Sorry if it was long, but I really don’t know how to make this visible only on my page... something like that? I dunno, I’m spiritually in my 50s so I can’t quite figure out technology haha.

I tag @autofluorescent, @on-the-faultlines, @symphony-in-silver, @ectospazums, @ioftenthinkoftragedies, @asongthatsingsitself, @sxnicyxuth, @seamlesslines, @pennylane1975 or anyone else who wants to do it (if you were already tagged by someone else, lol sorry)

[localkitsune]

The Universe Is Weird

I always wondered if there’s any point to the way the universe moves. I guess we can call it purpose or god if you want. Everything moves chaotically but some days I sit on the window sill of my one bedroom apartment in the City and I ask if there’s a reason behind why everything moves like a symphony. Are there reasons to why we meet strangers who eventually come to change our lives? Is there a reason to why we go through shitty childhoods? Is there a meaning to this chaos?

I walk to my job at a local comic book store everyday, it’s about a mile away from where I live. It’s by the waterfront in the quieter part of this concrete jungle. Usually hearing the sounds of fighting cars competing for a better spot in the middle of city traffic. I see the crowds of men and women moving about their lives together like a flock of birds, even though I know they will eventually go about their separate ways. I taste the smog in the air like dew on the patches of grass in front of the local cafe. 

I get lost in the routine myself, I am part of that flock of birds all rushing across this paved paradise to get to a job we really didn’t want to go in to that day. Yes, I love comic books but that doesn’t stop me from wishing I didn’t have to go in at ten o’ clock in the morning to organize books and stock shelves. Usually my Sunday nights are spent getting mom drunk off of a bottle or two of Moscato Sangria (it’s cheap and sweet wine), so waking up Monday morning is a task in itself. I’d ask myself why I didn’t die in my sleep like a good millennial should, but I’ve been trying my best to live a more positive life. That means doing my best to not say “I want to die” at every little inconvenience. I pat myself on the back but that’s neither here nor there. 

I tend to see a lot of people come into our store --- even though it is on the outskirts of the city. We have a good selection, thanks to my ass. I’m always reading new and weird books so I got the “good stuff” as I’ve been told by a few newcomers when they tell me what brought them to my little comic book store of horrors. I’m usually always questioned about my knowledge about whatever superhero I’m wearing on my shirt that day. “Do you really know ANYTHING about DEADPOOL?” because I must be some poser who’s trying to get the attention of all those cute boys that come into my comic book store. Yes, because I want a boy who walks around with a ketchup stain on his shirt every time he comes into the store. I usually like to give them a false sense of superiority till I kick the pedestal from under them and choke slam their frail egos with my expansive knowledge on my love, Deadpool. I’ve been called a bitch, a slut, and lost some of their business but my manager usually high fives me in front of them and says “fuck them”. At least the good yelp reviews outshine the bad ones. Apart from those crap customers, a lot of the community is goodhearted. It bothers me that the minority of this community is what gives it such a bad look, and it’s only because they are the most vocal.

What led me to work at the store? I wasn’t much of a reader when I started working there. They needed staff and I was jobless, I had been for quite sometime at that point (my mom was ready to kick me out the house back then). So I walked into this run down fixer-uper of a spot and got the job. I was 20 back then and I was a college drop-out. I just wanted a job till I got that major writing gig at some big shot news website in the city. I didn’t see myself at this store for very long but that was 6 years ago, and I’m still running my small tumblr with about 200 followers and no major writing gig. 

I’m not discontent though because I guess you can say that I’m actually enjoy the space I’m at in life --- I don’t mean my apartment (that place is horrid), I mean I enjoy the experiences I’m having at this store. I learned a lot from everyone who walks in here, even the shit heads. I made a fuckton of friends, and I meet a lot of up and coming talent within the comic book community. It’s been weirdly the time of my life.

I met my fiance here. His name is June, or my little Juniper Berry as call him. He hates the name but I don’t care, I call him it anyways as he makes this little grumpy face at me. We’ve got a beautiful thing going --- the sex is godlike too so that makes it even better. He’s a sub and I’m a dom...we just work so well together. We met at this little magic competition we hosted here. He walked in like the little 6′ 2″ shy, sweet-hearted grump that he is, and came up to ask about some comic books. He was into your generic slice of life romance manga and I hadn’t met a boy who was open about that genre being their favorite. So we talked about it for quite a bit of time, he actually didn’t even participate in the competition. We just hung out at the register for three hours and just clicked. I knew I wanted to date him the moment I showed him how weird I looked with glasses on and as I was talking he said “It’s just noise coming from an ugly scientist”. I fell in love pretty quick.

On our first date which was two hours after the competition ended, he talked about how he wasn’t even going to go to the store but his best friend practically kidnapped him and brought him. He called it the only kidnapping he was ever thankful for. We got pretty serious pretty fast, we were both pretty secure in who we were and he proposed about 9 months later. It was cute, he asked me to marry him by a dead body (it was in a museum and it was preserved, so chill the fuck out). We went through some rough patches though. He had a lot of debt from school and my mother died about 2 months after he proposed to me, so yeah, it hasn’t been perfect either.

The wedding is in about 4 months, we’re having it in the store. We’re poor and we got the venue for free. It’s a couple of geeks dream being lived out.

It’s amazing to think that this universe, as chaotic as it can be, brings people into our lives that we can love, laugh, and live with. I never thought all of this would happen to me in this store but good things usually come unexpectedly. It’s not as good when you can see it coming. 

The other day (it was like 3 months ago) was a bit different. A man walked into the store and he looked around for about half an hour, and couldn’t find anything. He walked up to me and asked if I had an interesting indie reads. He was in luck cause he talked to me, and I gave him almost all I had. I talked to him about the art, the story, the structure of the comic, the inking, the process.

“You really know your stuff”

I do. I love comics. I didn’t grow up with them but in this short time I’ve began to read them --- I’ve found a home. I told him about that and he smiled. He asked me what I wanted to do in the future and I told him about how despite how awesome it was to work at the store --- I still saw myself writing. He asked me if I wrote stories and I did. We shared information and I gave him the link to my tumblr where most of my stories are posted. 

I didn’t expect much of the encounter but it’s the unexpected that blows you away.

Turn’s out ol’ boy was actually an editor at a pretty big comic book publishing company and he emailed asking me if I was interested in working as a comics writer. I didn’t know how to reply, but he told me about how he was trying to put something together for up and coming talent --- “to shine a light on the future of comics”. I was skeptical at first, it wasn’t my news writing gig that I wanted but everyone that I loved and has read my stories told me to “DO IT” so I went for it.

I wrote a short ten page story and worked with a fantastic group to tell an amazing story. The universe is weird...

Today I woke up and I walked to my store, got my cup of coffee and there I was organizing the shelves as usual on Wednesday ---I opened a small box expecting it to be filled with special orders but as I opened the box inside was the anthology I worked on. The names of my team were printed on there and I just started to cry like a madman.

Strange how the universe works right?

[passportsymphony]

My nominations for the Liebster Award 2017

Whats the fuss about receiving the Liebster Award 2017? First of all, I’d have to thank Janise Thomas of Gastrotravelogue for nominating me.

What is the Liebster Award 2017?

The Liebster Award is an online award given by bloggers to bloggers and has been around since 2011.  This is a recognition of their contribution to the blogging community. It is simply passed on and its goal is to promote and support fellow bloggers. Not only is this a great way to give fellow bloggers some recognition, but it is motivational as well.

In German, Liebster means sweetest, kindest, nicest, and so on. You get the point. It is a great initiative for supporting and showcasing new blogs.

 My answers to Janine’s questions

  1. What’s on your bucket list?

I want to visit every country during my lifetime and I just wrote an article about the 23 places I want to see before I die, but if I have to name five of those, it would be the Antarctica, Hang Son Doong Cave, the Amazon Jungle, Patagonia, and the Galapagos Island.

2. What country would you never go back to and why?

I’ve had some really bad experiences during my travels, but the overall experience from every country I visited was positive. That’s why I couldn’t say that there’s a country I wouldn’t go back to.

3. What is the funniest thing that happened to you on your travels?

I just landed in Vietnam and I had all of my luggage with me. My first interaction with a local was the one with the taxi driver. Little did I know that the Grab (local Uber-like app) taxi that I booked will turn out to be a motorbike. But the two big bags weren’t a problem for the taxi driver. His answer to my ‘how the hell am I gonna get on this bike with these bags’ face was: “Come on, what are you waiting for”? By the way, he didn’t speak English.

4. What is the story behind the name of your blog?

I always liked the quote ‘the best stories are hiding between the passport pages’. So I decided to slightly change that and turn it into the Passport Symphony. This symphony is expressed through the melodies of the journeys we’ve passed hiding between passport pages.

5. What is the most memorable meal you have had on your travels?

Tashi was the driver that took us from Ladakh to Nubra Valley in the Kashmir region. Later on, he invited us to stay in his place for the night and Tashi and his wife made dinner for us. Now, Delhi has some amazing momo places, but the momos I had there were the best ones I ever tasted. We also drank their traditional butter tea. I was finishing the first cup when poured me another one. And then another. Then Rishabh told me (laughing) that if I don’t say that don’t want any more tea, they will keep refilling my cup. This was a typical example of the amazing Kashmiri hospitality and certainly a great story to tell.

6. Do you prefer cities or nature?

I’m a real nature lover, but I have to go with the cities on this one. It’s because cities tell much more about how the people of a certain country are like, and I can learn a lot by one country and its people just by observing their everyday life, and the cities are the best place to do that.

7. What book(s) have you read that has inspired you to go and visit the place written about?

I have read many books, but none of them had a major influence on me. I guess that every book I read that was talking about a distant country and people with distant customs contributed to growing my desire for travelling.

8. What is the first thing you do, once you have settled in when you arrive at a new destination?

Definitely trying the local food.

9. What is your favourite travel movie?

Seven years in Tibet (2007)

10. What famous person, living or dead, would you like to go on holiday with and why?

Jules Verne. I’ve always been fascinated with the book ‘20,000 leagues under the sea. I can’t say it’s my favorite, but you need to have some crazy imagination to write that and I always wanted to have a beer with the guy who wrote that.

Wandering Earl – One of my favourite blogs

I like Earl’s storytelling. His topics are not only interesting and well researched, but he also makes every place sounds special. And that’s something I’m trying to do with my posts as well. Every place has something beautiful and you just need to keep your mind open enough to find it. And Earl’s articles show the beauty in every place he writes about in a poetic way.

We all have moments in our lives that become a turning point for us. And that moment was similar for both of us. Earl found out that he doesn’t want to go back to his home and stop exploring the world when he was in Angkor Wat. And the similar happened to me. After visiting this magnificent architectural masterpiece, I was sure I want to make a career out of travelling.

So I guess, having a similar writing style and a similar life philosophy makes Wandering earl my favourite blog.

My questions for the nominees

1. Which place left the strongest impression on you so far?

2. If you’re to settle in one city, which one would it be?

3. What made you want to travel the world?

4. What was the most extreme thing you did during your trips?

5. What’s the happiest memory of your trips?

6. If you had had the power what would be the first thing you’d change in this world?

7. Beach or mountains? Why?

8. Which travel blogger do you want to have a beer with?

9. Why did you start blogging?

10. What’s your favourite travel book/travel movie?

My nominees are:

Curious Journeylist

Pikturenama

Daily travel pill

My global attitude

A traveller’s wishlist

The foodie tales

Unconventional and vivid

The road trip guy

Macrotraveller

Liebster Award Rules

The rules are simple:

Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog on your blog.

Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it.

Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog and provide links.

Respond to the questions provided by the blogger who nominated you for the award

Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve the award

List these rules in your post

Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post.

If you are interested in more details regarding the rules and the background to the award you can find it on this site.

  I would like to say a big thank you to all of you who read my posts and offer feedback. Your support is greatly appreciated. I hope that I will be able to keep you entertained for many years to come.

RELATED: 14 Reasons why everyone should travel solo at least once in a lifetime

  The post My nominations for the Liebster Award 2017 appeared first on Passport Symphony.

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[theworstbob]

yellin’ at songs: week 32

brief reviews of the songs which debuted on the billboard hot 100 the weeks of 16 august 1997, 18 august 2007, and 19 august 2017

8.16.1997

6) "2 Become 1," by Spice Girls

This is just a '90s R&B song! This song doesn't even have the courtesy to be kitschy! This is completely indistinguishable from the rest of the '90s R&B, breathy whispered vocals about sex. There's no -- "Be a little bit wiser, baby/Put it on/Put it on" -- okay. OKAY. Sure. I guess that's something. If your song has no other value, might as well throw quality actionable advice in there. I hope the next song is some milquetoast R&B beat while people sing lines like "Your stomach takes a while to tell your brain it's full/Don't have that third slice of the ‘za, baby."

51) "All I Want," by 702

Oh hell yeah, I love this. I love that this is a Missy Elliott track, and I also love that this group did the titular song for Pootie Tang. I am way into this. This is a breezy summer jam that hits all the Good '90s R&B buttons.

54) "To Make You Feel My Love," by Billy Joel

this sounds exactly like you think it would sound and is as pleasant to listen to as you think it would be and i'm just gonna bounce after 30 seconds because i get it, i see what he's trying to do here and don't want to stick around to see if he pulls it off

55) "Big Bad Mama," by Foxy Brown ft./Dru Hill

I don't disagree with this! I can't find any way to hook onto this, but I already called one thing a breezy summer jam because I didn't feel like thinking too hard about it, so I'm in a bit of a predicament here. Like, this song is OK. It has a memorable bass line, Foxy Brown's pretty great at her thing, and whichever member of Dru Hill showed up sure did the most singing of anyone in 1997!, but like I can see why we've left this behind. It's fine. No one needed this one unearthed, though. We've found some buried treasures, y'know? This is like finding a buried booklet of commemorative state quarters. Like, neat! But also, not even $15.

83) "Far from Yours," by O.C. ft./Yvette Michele

"I be the Chosen One/Beyond the Moet and Cristal/A son of King and a Queen/Therefore ability/For song run in my genetics/I gave ideas to L. Ron Hubbard to write books on Dianetics" ...Setting aside the major issues I have with this man's rhyme schemes, IS HE TAKING CREDIT FOR SCIENTOLOGY. IS THI -- IS HE SAYING THAT HE IS THE INSPIRATION FOR SCIENTOLOGY. What the fuck kind of boast. He's saying his raps are so powerful they inspired a crazy man to write books about bad science. I am flummoxed by this song. This would have been just another okay song by a rapper who honestly just seems like a normal-ass dude who somehow wandered into a recoriding studio, but HE'S TAKING CREDIT FOR L. RON HUBBARD'S IDEAS. WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF LUNATIC IS THIS MAN.

89) "Tide Is High," by Angelina

Someone went to the store and said, "OH BOY! Another new verson of 'Tide Is High!' I gotta pick up this new interpretation of this song, which is of course someone's favorite song ever because it's MY favorite song ever!" Also none of the back-up dancers in the video looked like they were trying their absolute best. They knew where they were. They knew it didn't matter. They took a few plays off and got that check. I have so much respect for those backup dancers. ROCK TO THE BEAT ROCK ROCK TO THE BEAT, ROCK TO THE BEAT ROCK ROCK TO THE BEAT and so forth

92) "Relax & Party," by Ivory

So I've been sick the past couple days, which is why this post is going up on Wednesday and why there's no Thing Journal for last week (SUNDAY DOUBLE) and real talk why this has been a weak edition of YAS so far, ‘cuz I'll be honest, I'm still in the doldrums. My back hurts, which is a fun side effect of getting sick in your late 20s, I've found. So I'm not. In a mood? Conducive to caring about this song. I'm sure this is OK, but honestly, right now, in this moment in which we find ourselves, me and this song, sharing the same space on this planet, I could not care less about the things it wants to bring to my life. It's a stupid song and doesn't do anything. It just goes on for four minutes. Great. Great! Hey, just release an album of that fucking bass line for fifty minutes, honestly, it's probably your best bet if you want me to at least respect you.

95) "Dancehall Queen," by Beenie Man ft./Chevelle Franklyn

So there are two different versions of the song "Dancehall Queen" that I could find. There is this one, but there is also one released more recently with Lady Sovereign as the featured artist. So I have a few questions about our beautiful ever-expanding dying universe: 1) What did Chevelle Franklyn do to get deposed? 2) Does Chevelle FRanklyn give input into the decisions Lady Sovreign makes? 3) Who gave Beenie Man the powers of coronation? As far as I can tell, he does not proclaim himself the Dancehall King. 4) How often does the Dancehall Queen title change hands? 5) Is there a library that has data on the Dancehall Queen history which I can look up? 6) What are some books on the Dancehall Queen succession which you would recommend? Let me know in the comments! Hit that follow button and LIKE THIS POST!

8.18.2007

28) "Me Love," Sean Kingston

This is like a song you enjoy if you've never enjoyed a song before. If you're someone who appreciates music and attends symphonies and has opinions on concertos, and you're approached with this song, you'll probably use snooty music language to say, "This is a delightful confection!" Or like, if your musical diet consists entirely of Gary Jules' cover of Mad World and songs of that ilk, if the only songs you've been allowed to enjoy in this life are Gary Jules' "Mad World" cover and other songs which could have been selected for the Donnie Darko soundtrack, and you hear this song for the first time, this is probably the most amazing thing you've ever heard. This would sound so revolutionary. But if you've even heard one other fun pop song, you know this is useless.

89) "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)," Dierks Bentley

it is good when things are nice! at last, a song that says what none of us are brave to say out loud

90) "All My Friends Say," Luke Bryan

I think a couple months ago I tabbed this as a semi-iconic Luke Bryan song, in the sense that it's a song I hear and immediately attribute to Luke Bryan, which is something I can't do for any Blake Shelton song. But like, this is the song that establishes Luke Bryan's persona -- he's a free-wheelin' sumbitch who's gonna drink too much and try not to drunk-dial any ex-girls. There's personality in this song, a hack and shitty personality, but hey at least he hacked up and/or shitted out an identifiable character. All Blake Shelton's songs are about a man who wishes things would either be better or remain the same, depending on how good they presently are. The song is garbage and Luke Bryan only ever got worse, sure, but it is undeniably a product of Luke Bryan’s particular brand of dunderheaded twanging.

100) "Can U Believe," Robin Thicke

There is a long list of things I need to do with my life. Near the top are items like "only wear a suit at your little sister's wedding," "learn the lttp any% nmg speedrun," and "write a whole good thing," you know, standard stuff, standard life goals, and then there's a million pages of things I will never accomplish. Nowhere on that list was "listen to Robin Thicke tell you that I don't know when someone's watching." I did not need to hear Robin Thicke tell me he was stalking me before I died. I could have learned the Blind script with this time. Maybe this is about God? But it's not even vaguley Christian, he just randomly starts saying you never know when someone's watching, which is only something anyone says WHEN THEY ARE PRESENTLY LOOKING AT YOU THROUGH A TWO-WAY MIRROR. Been a decade of garbage with this man, my gosh.

8.19.2017

(38) "You Da Baddest," by Future ft./Nicki Minaj

Beach Future is such a weird thing to consider. I'm on the record as being pro-Beach Future in general, it's not as random a pivot as the time Lil Wayne picked up the electric guitar and said "OH YEAH! THIS IS A THING!" but it's still hard to get the brain around the idea of Beach Future after, what, three years and roughly 20 albums of morose, despondent Future? All of the Future songs I know are about the nightmare of being Famous and codeine, and now he's dropped two songs that are just, "Yeah, man, chillax! Life's pretty breezy, friends, pull up a chair, let's just enjoy a sunset together!" I'm into it? But it feels like the world is imbalanced right now. Beach Future has completely thrown off my equilibrium and I am Scared.

(68) "Unforgettable," by Thomas Rhett

Ah. Balance! After making a surprisingly hot '80s jam earlier this year, Thomas Rhett just sort of bleats over an acoustic guitar for two and a half bland minutes. This song tries to turn the word "mangorita" into a stirring kick-off to its chorus, and while I recognize the enormity of the task it placed upon itself, that doesn't mean it didn't fail to accomplish its goals. "From your blue jeans to your shoes/Girl, the night was just like you/Unforgettable." I'D NEVER SEEN JEANS JUST THAT BLUE BEFORE. I NEVER EVEN KNEW THEY MADE BLUE JEANS IN THAT PARTICULAR SHADE OF BLUE. WHY, THEY WERE... DARE I SAY? TURQUOISE! ALL HISTORY'S SCULPTORS DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TRYING TO MOLD YOU

(85) "When it Rains it Pours," by Luke Combs

A lot of the reason I don’t mind Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban when we run through 2007 is because, when I was growing up, my mom would only listen to country music, and those artists are the ones I minded the least when we were on the half-hour rides to and from church. I forged deep and lasting connections with the dudes I minded the least of anyone else. This song is definitely "best song on the ride to church" quality. It has a Toby Keith-y sense of humor which is more or less agreeable -- I can't imagine any scenario that a waitress at Hooters is impressed enough by any customer at Hooters to leave their number, but here I am, complaining that my suspension of disbelief in a country song was interrupted -- and it's unique, I haven't heard a lot of "fuck her, she's outta my hair!" songs from dude country artists this year. It’s not “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” but what is? Once again, Luke Combs has made a song that's unique enough that I can appreciate its charm, but not so intriguing that I'm gonna seek him out on my own. I'll give his next album a spin, see if he takes the right lessons to heart, but the one he’s got out now, I think I’m good!

(87) "They Don't Know," by Jason Aldean

"Just another field/Just another farm/No, it's the place we grew up on." Jason Aldean is a multi-millionaire who owns several hundred acres of land in a major metropolitan area nad has the chutzpah to speak for the common man. Fuck this dude and fuck him for this Trump-vote of a song.

(88) "Honest," by The Chainsmokers

hey guys the chainsmokers made a song about how they're sensitive boys who're sad about breakup, wow what a fascinating new look for these cats, truly evolving as artists before our very eyes. see, this is the one where they go "whoa-oh." i don't think they've gone "woah-oh" in a song yet. this is a pony certainly capable of developing a second trick!

(89) "The Weekend," by SZA

"What kind of deal is two days?/I need me at least 'bout for of 'em" is one of the single-saddest lyrics 2017 has produced. This song is so good. SZA in general is so good, but I never had to deal with how good this song is, given how much there is to parse with Ctrl. When's the last time we heard from a side piece's perspective, y'know? When's the last time we heard how a booty call felt about being a booty call? We heard "Booty Call," which was about the act of engaging in a booty call, but we don't know anything about the booty call's wants and desires outside of that moment. I enjoy hearing this perspective on the events, hearing from the girl the '90s R&B dude has to apologize for seeing, because that's a person, too, that's a person who's alive and lives a life of their own. It took us until 2017 to get the side piece's take on things. What were the rest of us doing?

(90) "New Rules," by Dua Lipa

This is really enjoyable. Nothing terribly complex, just a "don't fuck your ex" jam, but it's confidently delivered (I get the sense that Dua Lipa is a much better singer than the current musical trends are going to let her be), and I love the subtle horn drop. Evidently, the producer of this song was also involved with "Bad Liar" and "Now and Later," so I'm getting on the Ian Kirkpatrick train. I approve! Great work, all.

(93) "I Wish I Knew You," by The Revivalists

oh wow fuck everything about this. where did this come from? why am i listening to this? did 13 reasons why drop another season? who wanted this. who wanted another indie band biting the hell out of franz ferdinand. they're not even biting franz ferdinand, they're biting all those bands that were biting from franz ferdinand a few years ago, except they're doing so nakedly, "the revivalists" is code for "we have no original ideas." way to revive 2013, yeah dude, it was so long since i heard the neighbourhood, i'm so happy you're reviving four years ago. also this willy wonka-ass muthafucka's hat is stupid. i'm honestly not sure i'm reacting to the song as much as i am the stupid goddamn hat in the music video. (also: i'm not into this song, despite the presence of a saxophone. i have limits. i'm not gonna go home with just any brass instrument, you guys.) white men ruin everything.

(94) "Every Little Thing," by Carly Pearce

Well, number one, it's a country music song with actual drums, so it's automatically starting with 95 points out of a possible 100. This is dope. "They say time is the only healer/God, I hope that isn't right/'Cause right now I'd die to not remember." Fuck, man. That is heavy. And this is a solidly-produced song, too, there's enough going on that the song feels rich and lived-in, but not so much so that it's distracting, it's definitely in the backseat wearing a seatbelt so the lyrics and what might be the saddest fucking voice in 2017 country music can drive in peace. More from this woman, and more from other women, look how good you are when you let women do things, country music!

(97) "Learn to Let Go," by Kesha

I think this is fine. I'm not as into EDM-lite Kesha as I am Kesha declaring her womanhood backed by a million beautiful horns, but this is fine! Three songs. Three songs is enough distance to start delivering back-handed not-criticisms. But no, like, I wouldn't mind this as the opening track to the album, this sets a tone and opens up the possibility for cooler things to come, but on its own, hey! It's just alright, and that's fine! I'm just glad Kesha's making music, y'know?

(98) "All the Pretty Girls," by Kenny Chesney

this song wasn't even released in 2016, what is it doing here, what, why would, i don't, how did we end up here? what do we hope to accomplish while we're here? did he just say "don't blow my cover on freedom night?" what is freedom night? i don't -- you know what country radio, you batted .400 this week. that's ted williams hype, right there. .400 is better than any of us ever could have anticipated, and i can appreciate that you got things as right as you ever possibly could. please tell me what freedom night is, though.

(99) "For Her," by Chris Lane

...adjust that number down to .333. i'm sorry. i saw the haircut and assumed edm, which you'll agree is a fair assumption to make. this dude sucks. he is trying his best with that falsetto but, and i hate to repeat myself, you can't make your own outsized ambition an excuse for your failure. know your limits. i'm sorry i was ever lukewarm about any kesha song. i kinda feel bad for saying those things about the revivalists' hat. this was a good week apart from the bro country! "For her I would walk a straight line/Wear out the soles of my shoes for her." WOAH! SLOW DOWN, BUDDY! LET'S NOT MAKE ANY PROMISES WE CAN'T KEEP, NOW! Careful! Girls remember things you say to them! Imagine how disappointed she'll be when every day she spends with you your shoes still shine as bright as they did the day she met you.

Who won the week?

Well, 2007′s best song was a Luke Bryan joint, so that’s out. Think we gotta give it to 2017. Four shitty country songs, yeah, but 1997 countered with Spice Girls and a Billy Joel cover of a Bob Dylan song, so those cancel out, and the cream of 2017 was much better than the best 1997 gave us this week. I’m still thinking about that Carly Pearce joint, that was really cool, and it anchors an earned win for 2017. THE STANDINGS: 2017: 12 1997: 11 2007: 9 Next week: keep your heart, Three Stacks.

[writingsblog]

On Hot Russian Composers and A Questionable Self Identity

I’m not proud to make this declaration by any means; I’m actually quite devastated that this has become a facet of my being, but holy fuck do I detest reading. I’m not talking about the day-to-day casual Reddit browsing, Facebook lurking stuff, or the kind that is fundamental. I’m talking like the big-ass textbooks, fucking “War and Peace” type of reading expected of me from a bunch of classes I’ve taken. Every Facebook meme ever created that pokes fun at not doing the reading can have my name found tagged somewhere in the comments section. And before you say anything, yes, I see the irony in me writing this for people to read while simultaneously dispelling my unfavorable feelings toward the practice. The title says it all, but bear with me.

I have this inclination to test the patience of authority; I love erring on the side of mischief. I’m honestly a little shit, and this display of little shittiness can best be shown through my inability to tell you about the plot of a single novel the average high schooler should have read in any of their English classes. I mean, I didn’t even check out the last book I was required to read for my AP Lit class senior year, like I was that done with reading by then. Jay Gatsby? I don’t know her. Hamlet? Couldn’t say that I am familiar with that queen. Mrs. Dalloway? Which school did she teach at? Because I can’t say I’ve ever met her. I’m not even telling you all of this to, like, brag, either — like, it’s actually something real embarrassing and shameful to admit, but this primer on my propensity toward not reading becomes relevant soon, I swear.

Reading is hard. Reading is really fucking hard and I relished in the glory of my simple acts of disobedience by just … not doing it. My attention span is essentially the Planck-length equivalent of time, which could perhaps explain my habit of becoming engrossed in the lives and times of the authors of books I should’ve been reading instead of reading the actual books themselves. I mean, I told you it’s not that I hate literature or anything. It most likely was because I couldn’t be bothered to read anything expected of me out of both laziness and adolescent mischief. This habit would manifest itself throughout various classes, in different forms, but nonetheless with the same result. Physics lessons on Einstein’s theories of relativity led me to instead learn about his hobbies as an amateur violinist while calculus lectures on Newton’s creation of an entirely new branch of mathematics led me to follow this tangent about his religious fervor and penchant for being weird as hell.

Toward the end of middle school, I had to learn this Tchaikovsky piece for a symphony audition. It was his “Serenade for Strings,” the 48th opus, which was this orchestral masterpiece written in the absolute most horrific time signature ever. The technical demands of the piece alongside the massive Romantic-era middle finger that was the time signature drove me to, of course, not read through the piece at all. I want to make a brief mention that my habit of disregarding readings did not simply end at the written text; rather, it indiscriminately dismantled any drive I would have to begin reading anything that was required of me, and that included this daunting six-page shitstorm of a serenade. During the free periods I should have spent rehearsing the serenade’s dreaded triple piano “pianississimo” measures, I instead, surprisingly, read this book about the composer himself. It was in “The Life and Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky” that I read this quote from him that would resonate with me well into the current day. Tchaikovsky described himself as “Russian in the fullest sense of the word,” to which I thought: “How incredible. Not just a veritable sense, but the fullest sense. How affirming it must be to be able to fully identify with a culture.” I think the reason as to why his words connected with me to such an extent is because they made me aware of this hollow cavity inside me that housed my cultural identity. It led to the realization that I couldn’t truly say that I fully identify as anything.

I was born on the first of November in Cần Thơ, a large port village that skims the Mekong Delta along the southern fringes of Vietnam. I couldn’t really tell you anything about what life was like there besides the fact that it’s just really fucking hot. I was really young when I left Vietnam with my parents to pursue the prospect of a better life here in the States. The first four years of my life I recall entirely in Vietnamese. My clearest memory from this time in my life was a very specific moment where my mother was sitting at the kitchen table eating. I asked her why she made so much noise while she ate, to which she laughed and asked me if I would like to eat with her. I sat there with her and we just had this casual and carefree conversation in the kitchen. I don’t know why this one specific memory is so clearly branded frame for frame in my mind, but it, like other memories of my early childhood, was narrated back to me entirely in my mother tongue. I think the closest I’ve ever felt to Tchaikovsky’s cultural “fullness” was at this point in my life.

I started school at 4 years old. I never realized that the children in my class had the privilege of growing up in homes where English was regularly spoken. I remember crying so hard on the first day of preschool that I fucking puked a storm on my teacher. It was such a mess; there were all of these people around me mouthing these weird sounds and reacting with confusion when I couldn’t understand them and then the puke being everywhere — like it really was just not cute. I didn’t pick up English as quickly as my teachers would have liked during early elementary school. I swear to God I was about a hair away from repeating the first grade because of my inability to properly speak the language or make any progress in those little English workbooks where you fill in a letter to make words and phrases. In the end, I couldn’t tell you what made it all click, but I would eventually pick up English incredibly fast. Like, scary fast; scary like the reading teachers had to constantly tell me to slow down with my reading, essentially putting a harness on my reading skills so that the other kids could “catch up.” This was pretty much how the rest of my schooling went with regard to English. I honestly did pretty well in my English classes. Like I’m not even trying to gas myself up here or anything, but my essays were usually pretty fucking lit despite my never doing the required readings for any of those classes. I don’t even know, like I went from this scared and confused child who couldn’t understand what anyone around him was saying to someone who would be asked to proofread college and scholarship essays for friends. English was no longer a burden on me. I learned to use it well enough that I began to identify as somebody who had a pretty lit command of the language, but this achievement came at a cost. What I hadn’t noticed was that during the years I spent developing my English, my ability to speak Vietnamese suffered. I began to realize that I couldn’t speak Vietnamese like I used to. I would stutter, mumble and replace various words with their English equivalent. As much as I tried to communicate with my parents, the words just couldn’t come out with the clarity and eloquence I was so familiar with when speaking English. I knew that I knew these words. Spoken to me, I’d understand almost every Vietnamese word my parents would speak, but as I sorted through the linguistic rolodex in my brain to try to hunt for the right string of words or phrases to respond back to them, nothing came out. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s like getting into a really fucked up accident and having to learn how to walk again. Like you knew that at some point in the past you could do it, and that you did it pretty well, but here you are, trying to pick up these pieces of your past so that you can put together at least a semblance of who you once were. With language having had such a profound impact on me, I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I more or less lost my ability to proudly communicate in my mother tongue. I was even having trouble calling it that. Like aren’t you supposed to know your mother tongue better than anything else? By technicality English is my second language, so I just felt so distraught realizing that my ability to speak it had so greatly surpassed the language I was basically born speaking. In a way it felt like language, something I had learned to confide in for so long and something that helped me form my identity, betrayed me in some type of way? I can’t really think of another word for it. Honestly, I was just about 50 shades of shook over the whole situation if you really want to know the truth.

This whole story brings me back to what I was talking about earlier, the whole discussion on “fullness.” I guess a kind of end goal for me in terms of culture and identity would be to connect to something remotely similar to Tchaikovsky’s cultural “fullness,” and I don’t mean end goal like it’s something I want to do before I die or anything. I just mean it in the sense like, “Damn, wouldn’t it be really fucking incredible to feel the way Tchaikovsky felt about his own identity?” I think why this whole ordeal hit me so hard is because I feel like language is one of the most important facets of a culture. Like, beyond anything else, language connects you with others in such a personal way, so I kept asking myself, like, if I can’t speak the language of a particular culture, can I even fully identify with it? I’m just very preoccupied with the word “fully,” but how, like, many things can I even fully identify as? It just brings up a shit ton of questions, like, “Can I fully identify as a given ethnicity if I wasn’t born in a certain place?” or “Can I fully be an ethnicity if I don’t necessarily look like a person who belongs to it?” Perhaps such an inability to fully identify as anything nowadays is something symptomatic of the modern age. Like, it could just be something that accompanies the common practice of compartmentalizing every aspect of our being into these new and labeled divisions. Maybe in some ways this Tchaikovskic fullness isn’t realistic. Like, I could just one day come to the realization that I will never be able to, in any manner, replicate even the modicum of the fullness Tchaikovsky wrote about, but even if that were the case, I don’t think there are any real detriments toward the pursuit of such a feeling. Some might call it myopic, like somehow having this focus on a singular aspect of culture in the hopes of attaining some abstract fulfillment isn’t sensible. I mean, I can definitely see how people would believe that, seeing it as being vapid and shallow, but I think we have to keep in mind that we all currently live in this era where we ourselves have the ability, now more than ever, to form our own identities. We can choose to append or remove certain facets and aspects of ourselves to grow closer to our ideal self, and I think that’s a very freeing aspect of it all, despite claims that it can be seen as being inauthentic or full of shit. I guess the hyper-idealized millennial sense of self is the result of a fluid amalgamation of various different things. Maybe this fluidity is a completely different sense of self than Tchaikovsky’s original interpretation of fullness, or perhaps the result of this amalgamation is exactly how he may have felt. I mean, as much as I’d like to, I can’t really slide into his DMs to ask him how he personally defines fullness, so I guess a lot of it is up in the air. The fact of the matter is, I’m still trying to figure out my own sense of self and how it relates in the context of the world around me. And maybe I won’t ever be able to say that I am Vietnamese in the fullest sense of the word and feel the satisfaction Tchaikovsky felt. I guess I can be fine with that and just do my best to work toward a sense of fullness and fulfillment that reflects what it means to be fully myself, whatever the hell that may even mean.

[hottytoddynews]

As tens of thousands celebrate the 22nd Annual Double Decker Festival this weekend, I thought it would be a great time to share some thoughts about the importance of arts and culture to our university community.  Anyone who has visited Ole Miss and Oxford — even just one time — knows that the cultural life of our university and town are second to none.  It is no mistake that Visit Oxford touts our description as the “Cultural Mecca of the South.”  As Sharon reminds me, the arts keep everything vibrant and relevant, and members of the Ole Miss and Oxford communities have immense opportunities to take advantage of the arts that are so conveniently located.

The arts are a quintessential part of life on a college campus — where members of the university community are exposed to cultural opportunities they might not otherwise have access to — from literature to music to visual and performing arts.  While we cannot all be world-renowned concert pianists like our own Chancellor’s Artist-in-Residence Bruce Levingston or the Poet Laureate of Mississippi like UM English Professor Beth Ann Fennelly, we can all appreciate and benefit from how the arts speak to our human experiences.

For me, my appreciation for the arts is deeply rooted in my New Orleans upbringing.  It only takes one visit to NOLA to grasp the city’s joie de vivre mentality through its strong cultural foundation, vibrant arts scene, and love of music.  The arts provide an enduring legacy that helps us gain insight into cultures of other times and places.  It brings us beauty and joy, expands our thoughts and perceptions, and provides inspiration for the soul.  And the real splendor lies in how the countless expressions of art and culture intersect across all disciplines.

The University of Mississippi Museum. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

From Faulkner to the Ford Center, we have a plethora of amazing experiences and venues here.   While this blog cannot be a comprehensive listing of all our opportunities, suffice it to say that we serve as an art and cultural hub.  For example, did you know that our University Museum is ranked as one of the nation’s best collegiate art museums by Best College Reviews?  With a collection of more than 20,000 objects, our museum serves more than 10,000 Mississippi school children and youth annually.

On any given weekend, you can discover a multitude of performances, concerts, shows, and events.  Take the annual Oxford Conference for the Book just held last month.  Founded by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and Square Books 24 years ago, the conference brings together fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, artists, poets, publishers, teachers, students, and literacy advocates from all over the world to celebrate the written word.  Goodness knows we’ve got quite a bit of literary cred around here — from John Grisham, Barry Hannah, and Willie Morris to Larry Brown, Greg Iles, Donna Tartt, and Tom Franklin!  And, of course, to bring the literary component alive, we have the original family home of William Faulkner, Rowan Oak.

Rowan Oak. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

Or how about our Gertrude C. Ford Center for Performing Arts — truly one of the gems of the Oxford campus for 15 years now — where you can catch phenomenal performances, everything from ballet to Broadway.  It is a premier entertainment venue, with over 50 events a year!

As for music, our Blues Archive, established in 1984, not only serves Ole Miss students and faculty, but researchers worldwide.  With over 60,000 sound recordings, over 20,000 photographs, more than 1,000 videos, and over 34,000 books, periodicals, and newsletters, the Blues Archive houses one of the largest collections of blues recordings, publications, and memorabilia in the world.  Our collections even include B. B. King’s personal record collection!

And staying with the music theme, for more than 40 years our UM Gospel Choir has performed at countless events and received numerous awards and recognition.  In fact, this premier student organization has even been nominated for a Grammy Award. And guess what? They are a featured performance this Sunday at a Gospel Choir Showcase on the Square to close out Double Decker weekend.

The Ole Miss Gospel Choir performs at the 2013 Appreciation Reception. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

In addition to all the exceptional experiences offered on campus, we cultivate our fantastic town–gown relationship with Oxford and regularly collaborate, partner, and sponsor events in the community.  A great example is this weekend’s event, Double Decker, which is presented by UM Museum and Ole Miss Athletics.  Or how about Thacker Mountain Radio — celebrating its 20th anniversary this year — that you can catch live on Rebel Radio 92.1 FM.  And the Oxford Film Fest, celebrating the art of independent cinema for 15 years now, provides a great opportunity for Ole Miss students, faculty, and alumni to volunteer, sponsor, as well as feature their talents.

With many events on the horizon, I encourage you to be on the lookout for opportunities to immerse yourself in the arts — whether by enjoying an exhibit in Gallery 130 in Meek Hall, attending the numerous concerts and recitals hosted by the Department of Music, or taking in one of the 4–5 shows produced each year by Ole Miss Theatre.

Students from Ole Miss’ Department of Theatre Arts Dance Program perform “Water Dance” as part of Ole Miss’ Green Week. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

Be sure to mark your calendars for the May 20th Oxford celebration and author event at City Hall for the publication of The Mississippi Encyclopedia.  This mammoth collaboration includes over 1,451 pages of entries on every county, every governor, and numerous musicians, writers, artists, and activists.  You should also make plans to attend the exciting events in celebration of the state’s Bicentennial.  Country and Americana music legend Marty Stuart will headline the Governor’s Concert on June 24 at the Ford Center, which will also feature Mississippi’s Music and Culture Ambassador Steve Azar, Mac MacAnally, Vasti Jackson, Shannon McNally, David Lee (winner of the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest), the Mississippi Bicentennial Symphony Orchestra, and the Mississippi Bicentennial Singers.  And don’t miss a special edition of Thacker Mountain Radio Show live in the Grove followed by a Mississippi Soul Singer Tribute by our very own Rebel, Damein Wash.   We are certainly helping live up to our state’s motto as “The Birthplace of America’s Music.”

The Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts at sunset. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

As a flagship institution, we are committed to growing our capacity in the arts.  Looking ahead, we must focus efforts to enhance and build upon our wonderful — and numerous — arts and cultural resources and programs.  As I announced in my investiture speech last November, one of our new initiatives is to develop a cultural gateway to draw together our arts and cultural programs to connect our visual arts, performing arts, museums, archives, and archeological resources.  This space will create performance, experiential learning, and enrichment opportunities to support our community and region.  It will allow people of all ages and from all over the world to come — physically and virtually — to learn about our culture and history and to experience the talent and creativity of our artists.

In closing, I remind you of the words of famous writer and philosopher Thomas Merton, who once said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”  I encourage you to come find yourself… and then lose yourself in all the amazing opportunities that abound in the arts at Ole Miss and in Oxford!

Hotty Toddy!

– – Jeff

For questions and comments, email hottytoddynews@gmail.com.

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