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Can you play "Symphony of Destruction" by Megadeth?

Can you play “Symphony of Destruction” by Megadeth?

Bone-Headed Perceptions About Musicians Since I’m pretty new to this blogging business, I’m going to write a ‘listicle’ to work on my writing skills and said as much to my husband, Dan. “What’s a listicle?” says he, sitting in the passenger seat of my car after a shopping trip. I respond that, as I understand it, it is an article based on a list of or about something, intended to be humorous or…

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If Reading Were Taught the Way Choir is Taught

Learning to read music is just as important as learning to read language.

 My job is to teach people to play or sing music, whether it is as a conductor, music director or an educator. In the years of taking on new groups of people, probably the one downside of my job that frustrates me most is the degree to which I must start people from the very bottom rung to learn the music. To put this in perspective, whereas U.S. literacy rates are pretty high, around 95%, music…

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Meet the COOP Troupe

Live actors in a symphony orchestra? Meet the COOP Troupe.

Cue the orchestra! Bring up the lights! Start the slide show! Commonwealth has … actors!

Actors? In an orchestra?

In keeping with heightening the entertainment values of the orchestra by following a variety show format, we have bought on two actors to add to the fun as well as the depth of our goal to challenge some of our deeply mired ideas about what an orchestra should be and to help change…

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The Agony of Modern Music

The Agony of Modern Music

by Amy Dinsmore, Principal Oboe, Commonwealth Orchestra

Amy and her beloved oboe

I recently reacquainted myself with a book that’s been on my bookshelf for years—The Agony of Modern Musicby Henry Pleasants (Simon & Schuster, 1955).  I have to admit I was more attracted to the title than the thought of actually reading it.  Musical scholar I am not.  But I’m drawn to the book again.  The author…

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A Few Words from our Bumper Composer

A Few Words from our Bumper Composer

Composing for COOP from Charles Turner

Charles Turner

AMERICAN classical music!  When COOP music director Lucinda Ellert contacted me in early 2019, I was excited about her ensemble which performs American music that aspires to universality and eternal relevance.  America already has such music, but being an American composer, I wanted more of it.

I love a number of American musical styles: the…

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2 plus 7 = Visibility?

2 plus 7 = Visibility?

  Here are two things you might already know about Florence Price: 1) Her music was lost. 2) Her music was found.

Here are seven things you almost certainly don’t know about Florence Price. 1) She graduated from New England Conservatory in three years, at the top of her class. 2) As an African American, she was part of a very small flock among American Composers. As an African American Woman she…

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The Great Chicken Office Takeover

The Great Chicken Office Takeover

Today was a snow day, giving us an opportunity to sit down and get a little CommonWealth Orchestra clerical work done. I’ve been working on getting our Mailchimp account populated so we can start sending out email postcards to our fans and followers, and Dan has been doing Danstuff and helping me out with exporting addresses from Outlook. But through it all, we’ve been expecting a delivery of…

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Digging into Trench Warfare

Digging into Trench Warfare -- finding common ground in symphonic music.

Wasn’t planning on throwing it at anyone, although sometimes I may want to. Finding Common Ground in Symphonic Music

Our half-acre garden (including orchard and volunteer blackberries and raspberries), is sufficient for me, husband Dan and neighbors Sharron and Don, with enough left over to share some with children who no longer live with us but visit and enjoy the fruits of our efforts.…

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COOP Poll Results:

FINDING OUR VOICES

On June 21, 2019, the Board of Directors of Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project presented a demo concert at the Tewksbury Congregational Church in Tewksbury, MA.

It was a short concert — just under an hour — and its purpose was to demonstrate our reboot of the idea that a symphony concert has to be: 1) just music 2) composed by Europeans, 3) wearing tuxes and 4)…

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De-Googling Bach

Thanks to my daughter, Max Harper Ellert, for allowing me to use this cartoon for a second time. Counterpointing Bach’s Rules of the Road With American Populist Music Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project Blog #4

I had fun this week playing with the Google Doodle to create Bach harmonies from simple melodies. Looking through some of the articles about the process of melding AI and the…

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Force of Listening Habits

Force of Listening Habits

  Just because it’s old, does that make it better? Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project Blog #2

What do you listen to when you go to a symphony concert? If you don’t go to any symphony concerts, indulge me and think about what you would expect to hear. From being involved with symphony orchestras, symphonic wind ensembles and classical music for decades, my seat-of-the-pants sense was…

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Unpacking Our New Banner Photo

Unpacking Our New Banner Photo

Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project Blog #3

When I began thinking about a banner image for COOP a couple months back, I mulled over the ultimate look of this organization and decided it was too soon to try and present a final image of who we are.

We know who we are: a group of musicians and music lovers who are passionate about creating an orchestra that plays music which represents the…

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Classical Music: Born in the U.S.A.?

Classical Music: Born in the U.S.A.?

Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project Post #1

You’re watching TV, watching your favorite show. What’s the opening music? Some hybrid of rock. It goes to commercial: what’s the music? Probably an old rock or pop tune rehashed with new words selling the product. A slight chance that it will be a bit of the O Fortuna movement of Carmina Burana or Confutatis from Mozart’s Requiem. You might or…

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THINK OUTSIDE THE BACH'S

THINK OUTSIDE THE BACH’S

To all our friends of great music,

We’re coming gradually to the end of our first Kickstarter Campaign — just 11 days left! Now is the time to help us get our feet on the ground and make COOP a reality.

Take a look at the message we created below and learn a bit more about our plan.

Then, go to http://tinyurl.com/hvfn9mxand look over our specs, see the video and make a decision to support a new…

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WHY ARE WE SHOWING YOU THESE CHICKENS?

WHY ARE WE SHOWING YOU THESE CHICKENS?

  Because they’re FREE-RANGE, free to explore and experience the world around them as they industriously fill their crops.

We like to think of COOP as a FREE-RANGE ORCHESTRA, constantly on the lookout for the next musical morsel in our diverse cultural barnyard, tearing down the fences that separate the audience from the musicians.

Being FREE-RANGE gives COOP the flexibility to do programming in…

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Why COOP is Important Part 2: From the Manager's desk:

Why COOP is Important Part 2: From the Manager’s desk:

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be working on COOP from a Production Manager’s perspective. The opportunities for creative staging and production values are wide open.  COOP is committed to “breaking the fourth wall” to captivate audiences with an intimate and interactive musical experience.

COOP’s dedication to education and outreach will extend into the production side of our…

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COOP Kickstarter Kickoff

Sunday, October 25 at Boardinghouse Park in Lowell. 3:00-5:30.

We’re setting up a tent with some musicians to play — pretty low-key, but plenty of fun. We’ll also be providing information about Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project, answering all your questions and getting your responses and opinions. If you’d like to be in our Kickstarter video, come on out and let us interview you!