This Sunday, January 31 at 1pm PST, @kcvitas will give the premiere of my song cycle Advertisements, performed by baritone @gpatrickgraham and guitarist @aleiagonzalez. Here’s a clip from my pre-performance talk. Basically, I found five advertisements in old American newspapers and magazines and turned them into songs! LINK IN BIO to the KC VITAs youtube channel, where the concert will be live-streamed! The VOICES OF VITAs concert will feature an amazing lineup of new art songs by composers Leslee Wood, @composinghumanism, Anthony Fort, @benstevenso, @sjserpa, and @ceciliacomposer. Special thanks to @daniel.bayot for lending me his expertise in writing for the voice, and to @jacksoncthomas for believing in this piece!!! Hope to see you at the concert 😌 . . . . . #advertisements #artsong #newartsong #voicefornodivide #voicesofvitas #contemporaryvocal #voiceandguitar #newmusic #newvocalsolo #classicalmusic #classicalmusician #contemporarymusic #songcycle #composer #composersofinstagram 
I could probably sing every song on this album by heart. Anybody have a favorite song? (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman goes straight to my heart every time, but I could never chose between Carole's version and Arethra's. . . . . . #caroleking #tapestry #arethrafranklin #anaturalwoman #cd #cdcover #cdcollection #cdcollector #compactdisc #cdcollections #albumartwork #albummusic #cdalbum #musiccollection #musiccollector #discogs 
#repost • @kcvitas Our upcoming recital concert Voices of VITAs will feature a world premier performance of “Advertisements” by Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei, performed by Patrick Graham, baritone and Aleia Gonzales, guitar. “Advertisements” asks the listener to reflect on the ephemeral and subtle, but powerful, influence of the language of advertising. Kian Ravaei (b. 1999) writes music that evokes the fantastic and the quotidian, engages with dreams and politics, and leverages music's power over the emotions. Kian's works have been inspired by advertisements in early American periodicals, books of etiquette in polite society, Persian poetry, lunar cycles, and a thirteenth century cosmological treatise. His identity as a second-generation Iranian-American is reflected in his music, often embodying the spirit of both cultures. To learn more, please visit kianravaei.com and follow @KianRavaei on Instagram! #voiceandguitar #newmusic #newvocalsolo 
On the back of this record, Joan Tower (whose music I deeply admire) describes her piece using only the driest facts. It is a kind of technical report intended for consumption by other "university composers." "MOVEMENTS for flute and piano is about ten minutes long and is divided into three movements with a coda. The durational sequence of each is approximately 2, 3, 4, and (less than) 1 minutes. A pre-compositional decision was made to use these numbers as a 'quantitative' idea and basis for the local and large scale durations of the piece as well as a generator for registral, textural, and dynamic measurements." Descriptions such as this one fail to acknowledge that the stuff of music is not its structure, but the stirrings of the imagination which those structures miraculously elicit. . . . #joantower #classicalmusic #classicalmusician #contemporarymusic #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #vinyls #classicalmusiclovers #classicalmusiccollection #americansocietyofuniversitycomposers #universitycomposers #composer #composers #composersofinstagram 
When @lavinia_violin and @cellometimbre asked me to write them a duet, their only request was to compose something "cheerful and romantic, and not too difficult." The result was this Caprice for violin and cello! I probably made it more difficult than necessary, but you wouldn't be able to tell by their effortless performance. So blessed to work with such passionate and skilled musicians—not to mention two of the kindest people I know 🙏 . . . . . #composer #composersofinstagram #newmusic #originalmusic #instrumentalmusic #instrumental #moderncomposition #classicalmusic #classicalmusician #newclassic #newclassicalmusic #musicislife #chambermusic #cello #violin #duet #violincelloduo 
How delightful is the painting on this record cover? Claude Bolling and his all-star cast of musicians show that jazz and classical music are related by metamorphosis—like a moth emerging from a cocoon.⠀ ⠀ From the liner notes by Janice May: "The 20th Century, happily, seems to have dedicated itself to bringing all sorts of previously unalignable twains into congenial conjunction. Among these are classical music and jazz. And when it comes to this category, no one of late has been more effective intertwining twains than Claude Bolling."⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #jazz #jazzpiano #chessjazzmastersseries #chessrecords #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #vinyls #jazzrecords #jazzvinyl #jazzvinylcollector #claudebolling #angelromero #raybrown #georgeshearing #shellymanne #angelrecords #classicalguitar #guitar #metamorphosis 
Joan Baez writes on the back of this record, in a message addressed to the reader, "Would it embarrass you very much if I were to tell you...that I love you?"⠀ ⠀ If I could reply I would say: your music already told me. Every warbling note and bright chord and tender word is a proclamation of your love.⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ @joancbaezofficial #joanbaez #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #vinyls #farewellangelina #bobdylan #vanguardstereolab #folksinger 
"Oh, my Father: ancient, hallowed, Lonely, disappointed Father: Rejected Ruler of the Universe: Handsome, jealous Lord and Lover: Angry, wrinkled Old Majesty: I want to pray. I want to say Kaddish." These opening words, written by Bernstein himself, don't address God in any of the ways to which we're accustomed. They do not praise, glorify, exalt, extoll, honor, magnify, nor laud (to paraphrase the Jewish prayer text of the Kaddish). Bernstein depicts God as a dejected and forgotten ruler made weak by the faithlessness of humanity. But forty minutes of musical soul-searching culminate in a triumphant epiphany: "Oh, my Father: Lord and Lover: Beloved Majesty: my Image, my Self!... We are one, after all, you and I: Together we suffer, together exist, And forever will recreate each other." . . . . . #columbiamasterworks @columbiarecords #columbiarecords #classicalmusic #classicalmusician #contemporarymusic #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #vinyls #classicalmusiclovers #classicalmusiccollection #orchestralmusic #orchestra #leonardbernstein @leonardbernsteinofficial 
From the liner notes by jazz writer Gary Giddins: "Although he is very likely the most recorded guitarist in jazz, I doubt there is a single side on which he labors his skillfulness for a purpose that isn't entirely musical. Never overbearing or self-indulgent, his playing has a rare humility and subtlety that sets him apart from most of his colleagues." Now that's something every musician—including rockstars and classical composers—can learn from Kenny. . . . . . @cdtrader #kennyburrell #garygiddins #recapitulation #jazzguitar #jazz #chessjazzmastersseries #chessrecords #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #vinyls #jazzrecords #jazzvinyl #jazzvinylcollector #humility #behumble