William Close and the Earth Harp

“Architecture is frozen music.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

William Close Plays the Earth Harp

This quote sums up musician and inventor William Close’s career. Close has been pushing boundaries with what actually constitutes a musical instrument by turning architecture into instruments and instruments into architecture.

Close’s first major experiment with music and architecture came with the creation of a bridge made of strings. The stringed bridge spanned 1,000 feet across a valley. Vibrations across the strings resonated in the valley below turning the landscape into a giant musical instrument. The instrument later became known as the Earth Harp and has since been constructed in various other architectural masterpieces, including the Coliseum in Rome, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Grand Theatre in Shanghai, and a 9th century castle in Italy.



Behind the Earth Harp at the Strings Music Pavilion

After building the Earth Harp, Close explored other unique instruments. His tinkerings led to the invention of over 100 original musical instruments. Below are a few of the instruments I saw first hand this summer.

Spotlight: Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds

“A seriously funky collective capable of bringing elements of deep soul, New Orleans funk, Stax/Memphis stylings and earthy R&B together . . . Kincheloe wove a sultry, sexy spell with her incredible blues-soaked lines and deep-in-the-groove dance moves.” -The Buffalo News

Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds

Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds have hit the ground running since 2010 with the release of their debut, self-titled album. The band is the next hottest thing, having opened for the Black Keys, the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, the Rebirth Brass Band, and the Soul Rebels Brass Band, and with lead singer Arleigh Kincheloe’s voice being compared to Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Janis. Their music turns jazzy New Orleans blues into rock ‘n roll, and the crowd can’t resist the urge to dance.

Below you can watch the band’s newest music video, 'Another Ride.' Kincheloe says, “The whole carnival idea, “Another Ride” is about life, but the imagery is directly inspired by being a little kid at the Margaretville Fair.”

Spotlight: Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)

“From rock clubs to symphony halls, the composer, musician, and performer Daniel Bernard Roumain seems unstoppable.”  -New York Sun

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)

Before Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) was a nationally known violinist performing with Lady Gaga and Philip Glass, he started out as most of us do. Just trying to figure out who we are. While many musicians conform to set genre lines and follow the rules for their specific instrument, Roumain did the opposite. "What I set out to do was make the violin more reflective of who I am, and what I'm into," Roumain told NPR.  

Along the way he asked himself more questions: "Where does blackness come into play in the violin - and more than that, where does hip-hop come in?" The answers are in the music. So if you thought that the classical violin could never touch hip-hop, dance, and African rhythms, you’re about to be proven wrong.

Besides erasing genre lines, Roumain also challenges the inherent qualities of the violin. The violin is classified as a stringed instrument, where sound is generated from the vibration of strings across a soundboard or soundbox. But Roumain proves that the violin can also be a percussion instrument, where sound is generated by striking one object against another.

Spotlight: Tesla Quartet

The Tesla Quartet

This summer Strings Music Festival welcomes the Tesla Quartet to the Young Artist-in-Residence program. The Tesla Quartet was founded in 2008 at The Julliard School and currently studies with the Takács Quartet through their Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Music festivals are familiar to the Tesla Quartet, and before coming to Strings, they spent three summers at Aspen Music Festival.

Most recently the quartet took 3rd prize in the London International String Quartet Competition. Nick Kimberly of the London Evening Standard wrote the following about the competition:

“The Tesla Quartet (US) followed with Debussy’s String Quartet, the fleeting atmospheres of which have defeated some of the world’s finest. This was a subtly coloured performance that balanced confidently between intimacy and extraversion. A real sense of four players listening to each other did not obstruct a natural rapport with the audience.

Confusingly, the judges’ decision took account of performances in earlier rounds. Based on the final alone, I would have given the prize to the Tesla, whom the jury placed third. First prize went to the Arcadia. All three quartets deserve a bright future.”

The Tesla Quartet at Wigmore Hall, London

Spotlight: Jon Nakamatsu

"The pianist Jon Nakamatsu plays with the calm assurance that comes of having both a solid technique and a gentle, introspective, interpretive spirit." -The New York Times

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu

Now well-known as an established pianist, Jon Nakamatsu resides with the San Francisco Symphony and has performed all over the world. What isn’t so well-known is that he was once considered an amateur with no hope at a musical career. In fact, his degree is in German Studies and Secondary Education and he didn’t even go to a music school. A judge even told him that he had neither the talent nor technique for playing the piano and that he should find something easier to do with his life.  

Spotlight: k.d. lang

“I love going where I’m not supposed to go. I love being the underdog. I love feeling like I’m starting at square zero again. I thrive on it.” -k.d. lang

kdlang.com

k.d. lang has explored it all from country, to pop, to rock, and back to country again. She’s performed solo and with a band, recorded her own original songs, produced albums, and interpreted unforgettable covers, including Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia. One might say she’s the ultimate music Renaissance Woman.  

While many musicians begin as a singer and then switch to the role of songwriter, k.d. lang moves easily between the two. She explains how she does it to Out and About Newspaper: “My main instrument is being a vocalist, so I just enjoy going back and forth between being a songwriter and being an interpreter. As a writer, there's such an emotional connection to the song that's innate and it's something where you know something so intimately. As an interpreter, the palate is way more open and there's more subtext to play with, so that can be interesting.”

Spotlight: Chris Botti

Chris Botti

The trumpet, an instrument mostly known for dramatic fanfares announcing the arrival of the king, takes on a completely different tone in the hands of Chris Botti. His sound, described as dark, smooth, and round, is unlike any other, and it has made him one of the most popular jazz artists of our time. 

But Botti refuses to be limited entirely to jazz. His most influential work blends genres and his greatest example of this talent was demonstrated in a PBS benefit concert titled Live in Boston. In an interview with PBS after the concert, Botti touches on how great musicians can break out of their boxes. 

“We spend a lot of time in the world these days putting artists in different genres and pigeonholing them into different kinds of music – you’re a jazz musician, you’re a classical musician, you’re a rock musician, you’re this, you’re that. I think that show in Boston made it apparent that all of those artists rise above the genre placing and they just sort of operate up here and communicate rather easily.” 

Spotlight: Lee Ann Womack

“You’re trying to catch a moment of someone’s life, and in my case, make the best kind of country music you can, because country music – to me – is real life.” –Lee Ann Womack

Lee Ann Womack

Best known for her single “I Hope You Dance,” which hit #1 six weeks in a row in 2000, Lee Ann Womack grew up in Texas at the heart of the country music scene. She has released six studio albums and is currently working on her seventh. “I don't put albums out as fast as some people, but being in the studio is probably the favorite thing about my job,” she said last year.

Spotlight: Gary Hoffman

Cellist Gary Hoffman

As an internationally acclaimed cellist, Hoffman has performed with orchestras in America and abroad, esteemed music festivals including the Bath International Music Festival, and the Tokyo String Quartet, among others. 

This summer at Strings Music Festival, Gary Hoffman will perform the Dvořák Cello Concerto, arguably one of the most famous cello concertos of all time. In fact, Brahms is said to have commended Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor: “Why on earth didn’t I know that one could write a cello concerto like this? Had I known, I would have written one long ago.” In an interview with Tim Janof of cello.org, Hoffman shares some secrets.

Spotlight: Ruthie Foster

"There's no denying the power of Foster's monstrous voice..."
     -Paste Magazine

Ruthie Foster

In the past few years, Ruthie Foster has exploded in the music world, experimenting with blues, rock, gospel, folk, R&B, and country music. “It didn’t matter to me what genre it was… I just took it all in as great music - music that moved me.”

Foster performs from the heart staying true to her core message, “that through all of the ups and downs of living, you must stay true to yourself. The pain as well as the joy of love, the strength it takes to weather life’s challenges, the hope that grows from seeds of faith and wisdom inspires my music.”

Spotlight: Shawn Colvin

“I consider myself as a singer first, but something that really helped me come into my own is that there's not a separation between me singing and me playing the guitar. The two fed off the other.” -Shawn Colvin

 

About Shawn:

3 Time Grammy Award Winner

8 Albums Released

2.5 Million Albums Sold

50-60 Shows Performed Yearly

 

Starting her career at the relatively late age of 33, Shawn Colvin has proven herself as a singer, songwriter and guitarist for over 20 years. She still tours nationally and internationally and has appeared in films, on television and the radio. Movie soundtracks featuring Shawn Colvin include Serendipity, Runaway Bride and The Emperor’s New Groove.

Shawn Colvin’s album, These Four Walls is a storyline of her life covering her childhood in South Dakota, the success of her first #1 song and her personal struggle as she turned 50. Public Radio Exchange’s special follows her writing and recording process in 2006 as Shawn writes her experiences in music. 

"Colvin's breathy voice conveys the emotion, yearning, sadness, and even the occasional joy and hope behind the melodies." -Amazon.com

As part of her summer 2011 tour, Shawn Colvin visits Steamboat Springs this Friday to perform at Strings Music Festival. For tickets call the box office at (970) 879-5056 x 105.

Spotlight: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

This week the most well-known big band and lead jazz musician, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, will perform on the Strings Stage. Wynton Marsalis, a jazz pioneer, received his first trumpet at the age of six and began performing with a band at the age of 12. He has played everything from classical to funk and picked up nine Grammy awards along the way for both classical and jazz records.

Even from the beginning Marsalis’ soul has been in jazz. In the early years, getting a jazz gig was tough, but eventually Marsalis broke through. He even describes jazz as America’s music, “It’s part of the fabric of our country - the way we speak our language, the way we interact with each other, the tensions and dynamics that make our country what it is, the basic forms and things that we use to comport ourselves - all of that is in jazz.”

Marsalis was the driving force behind bringing jazz a place in New York, co-founding the original jazz program and creating what is now known as Jazz at Lincoln Center. The world’s first institution for jazz, the Frederick P. Rose Hall, also opened due to Marsalis’ influence. He currently serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center and Music Director for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Check out Marsalis’ recent appearance on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, where he talks about his childhood, his passion for music and his experience with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

On Friday July 1, Steamboat Springs will watch the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performance in the intimate 550 seat Strings Music Pavilion. The band typically plays in much larger venues and there’s no bad seat in the house. With our brand new sound system, you’ll feel like you’re in the front row whether you’re sitting in the back or outside. The concert is completely sold out, but lawn seating has just been announced.

What To Know About Lawn Seating

-Ticket price is $55.

-Tickets go on sale at 9:00 am Friday 9/1 at the Strings Box Office.

-You must purchase tickets in person and the limit is 2 tickets per person.

-Tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable, rain or shine.

-Lawn seating is located outside Section A of the Pavilion.

-Seating begins at 7:15 pm. Any articles placed on seats before 7:15 pm will be picked up and removed.

-Our sound system is installed outside, so you will be able to hear the concert well.

-You will have a limited view of the stage.

-The doors to the Pavilion may shut at any time during the concert due to rain or temperature.

-No entry inside the Pavilion.