Noteworthy institution Southern Music Co. is closing down Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/A-noteworthy-institution-is-

Southern Music Co., a source of printed sheet music for millions of students around the world for the past 75 years, has hit its last note.

The San Antonio retail and wholesale music distributor plans to close its doors Feb. 25, another casualty of the digital age that has claimed thousands of bookstores and record shops across the nation.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/A-noteworthy-institution-is-closing-down-3120467.php#ixzz1pECWMTO3

Leon Theremin: The man and the music machine

"Leon Theremin had come to the Bolshevik leader's attention after inventing a revolutionary electronic musical instrument that was played without being touched.

Theremin was nervous before meeting Lenin, but later said the demonstration of his invention, which became known as the Theremin, had gone well."

For the full story, please see bbc.co.uk.

Earworms: Why That Song Gets Stuck In Your Head

"Chances are, you've fallen victim to earworms — pesky songs or melodies that get stuck in your head and just won't get out.

Research suggests that there may be psychological reasons why some songs are more likely to stick, including memory triggers, emotional states and even stress. Some researchers hope to better understand why this happens and figure out what, if anything, music memory can teach psychologists about how to treat patients dealing with memory loss."

For the full story, please see npr.org.

Want to Write an Opera? Check this out!

For the full story, see Musical America.

Bringing K-Pop to the West

"Patricia Augustin, 19, of Indonesia says she scours the Internet every day for the latest updates on Korean pop music. Paula Lema Aguirre, a high school student from Peru, says she is happiest when she sings Korean songs, especially “It Hurts,” the group 2NE1’s single about teenage love."

For the full story, please see the New York Times.

Accompanists: the unsung heroes of music

"Pity the poor accompanist, condemned to sit in the shadow of the great voices and the even greater egos of today's singers. Being the pianist who plays for them can feel like the most thankless job in music. The singers couldn't do it without them, but it's the braying sopranos and the yodelling tenors who get all the glory, as well as most of the cash and applause – despite the fact that all they've done is sing a few tunes, usually in a foreign language, while the pianists slog their guts out playing fiendishly difficult accompaniments by Schubert, Schumann or Britten."

For the full story, please see the Guardian.

Venerated High Priest and Humble Servant of Music Education

"AS he slowly walked through the adoring and bubbling crowd of young people, the frail elderly man brushed a cheek, clasped an arm, bestowed a smile. He lingered affectionately with members of a choir composed of disabled youngsters."

For the full story, please see nytimes.com.

Composers file complaint with EU

For the full story, please see musicalamerica.com.

Digital project on American Bandstand now online

Digital project on American Bandstand now online, featuring video clips, 100+ images and preview of forthcoming book "The Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock 'n' Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950s Philadelphia" (University of California Press, American Crossroads series, Feb 2012).

Counter to host Dick Clark's claims that he integrated American Bandstand, this project reveals how the first national television program directed at teens discriminated against black youth during its early years and how black teens and civil rights advocates protested this discrimination. The project also brings to light the civil rights activism of black deejays like Georgie Woods and Mitch Thomas, whose locally televised teen dance show debuted fifteen years before "Soul Train" and influenced the dance styles on "American Bandstand."

View "The Nicest Kids in Town" digital project at: http://scalar.usc.edu/nehvectors/nicest-kids

Justin Bieber was found on YouTube, why not a conductor?

"YouTube has been called into service by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra as it sets out to find a new conductor."

For the full story, please see toronto.com.

In Korea, more women than men in orchestras

For the full story, please see musicalamerica.com.

First ever musicians' dystonia conference Mar. 9

Find out more at musicalamerica.com.

Music for Vermont Youth: Domoto’s New Challenge

News on a UW SOM alum!

"Meeting the educational needs of talented young instrumentalists in a rural, sparsely populated state with few musical resources in the schools is a challenge. And it’s a matter of paramount concern to Jeffrey Domoto, now one year into his job as music director of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. The VYOA, based in the Burlington area of northern Vermont—the largest population center in a state that ranks 49th in the U.S., with about 620,000 residents—serves approximately 500 students up through high-school age, who are enrolled in three full symphonic ensembles ranked by experience and technical level (Vermont Youth Orchestra, Vermont Youth Philharmonia, and Vermont Youth Sinfonia) plus two groups for younger string players, a chamber wind ensemble, and two youth choruses."

For the full story, please see symphonynow.org.

‘Tuba Raids’ Plague Schools in California

"When thieves broke into the high school music room here this week, they cut through the bolts on all the storage lockers and ripped two doors off their frames. But they didn’t touch the computer or the projector or even the trumpets."

For the full story, please see the New York Times.

Airline Instrument Policy Set by Congress

For the full story, please see MusicalAmerica.com.

The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor

"Many factors influence the way classical music fans respond to a recording. The expressiveness of the composer. The virtuosity of the musicians. And, it seems, the sex of the conductor."

For the full story, please see Miller-McCune.com.

Purcell and a pint - welcome to a new kind of classical concert

"The 'rules' of concert-going today - sit still, keep quiet, concentrate, only applaud at the end of a piece - often make us feel uncomfortable, and produce a less than authentic experience. And, of course, the other way most of us tend to listen to music - on headphones, sealed into our private own world - would be similarly incomprehensible to composers, musicians and audiences of previous centuries."

For the full story, please see The Guardian.

Are You Really A Musician?

"We've come a long way from banging a couple of rocks together to make music. Apple's version of Garageband for the iPad, for example, includes "smart" instruments that play all the keyboard, bass, guitar and drum parts for you with the push of a button.

It's pretty cool. But if you use something like this to make music, does it really count? If you don't know how to play an instrument such as the piano or guitar or whatever, and you can't read or write music, but you have an app or synth that does the work for you, can you really call yourself a musician?"

For the full story, please see NPR.org.

Finally: U.S. Post Office To Issue Miles Davis Stamp

"It’s about time. Here is a link and snippet of text below from the news item via TheTelegraph.com. Linn’s Stamp News announced that stamps honoring Davis and French singer Edith Piaf would be issued in 2012 as part of a joint issue with French postal service, La Poste."

For the full story, please see milesdavisonline.com.

Philip Glass At 75: Listening With Heart, Not Intellect

"Composer Philip Glass changed the landscape of American music. As a founder of minimalism, Glass came up with a new way to make music and, with it, brought a new audience to the concert halls. Tuesday is Glass' 75th birthday, and the music world is celebrating in a big way with performances and festivals around the globe — including the premiere of Glass' latest work at Carnegie Hall."

For the full story, please see NPR.org.

To learn more about Glass or listen to his recordings, check the UW Music Library library catalog.