Composition workshops at NYU

As some of you may know, I (Hannah) am still a student (getting my doctorate at NYU).  While that comes with its downsides -- namely my insane schedule at the end of the semester -- there are also great perks, like free rehearsal space!  Another fun part of being at NYU has been working with Julia Wolfe's composition seminar.  This year-long class of graduate composers meets once a week with the end goal of writing a composition to be performed by the JACK quartet at the end of the spring semester.

As a young composer, having JACK premiere your work is a dream come true!  In order to help their compositions be the best possible, this class includes a series of workshops with performers to try out sketches and work through ideas.  Julia was nice enough to ask me to help out this year by performing and finding the other musicians.  This semester they wrote viola solos, then violin/viola duos (perfect opportunity for some andPlay fun!), and tonight we performed string trios with cellist/friend Meaghan Burke.  In each class we perform the work, go over questions from either the performer or composer, and talk about different ways things could be improved/notated/explored/etc.  It's really a great experience for everyone involved.  Not only do we love working with composers, but it's nice for us to be able to share some of the things we have learned in our experience with performances and collaborations.

Tonight was a marathon with us working through all ten of the student works in one evening, but the students were nice enough to bring plenty of snacks (did they know we love to andSnack?)  We will be back next semester to read some quartet sketches before they go to JACK -- we can't wait to see what they come up with!

andLiked this week: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is the incredible first novel in a four part series by this Neapolitan writer. Check it out, you will not be sorry!

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andThankful

Sometimes life is hard and it is tough to remember to be thankful for the wonderful people and experiences we have in our lives. I notice myself going about my day to day life not thinking about how incredible it is that I am living in the city of elementary school Maya's dreams, playing music that I love, and surrounded by amazingly interesting and passionate friends and colleagues.

There aren't many times in the year where it is appropriate to thank people for being in your life without making them nervous or sounding wayyy too cheesy, but thanksgiving is definitely the time where layering on the cheese is A-okay.

**New and old friends (and even all of you future friends out there waiting to happen), I am incredibly grateful for you.**

Now enough of the mushy gushy and on to some lists! Here are some recipes we are drooling over and a compilation of things that Hannah and I are thankful for.

RECIPES! 

1.) This Greek Pumpkin and Leek pie looks INSANE.  -H

2.) I want these biscuits with everything. Cranberry sauce, gravy, turkey, you name it I will eat it with these. -M

3.) Layers upon layers of crepe.  -H

5.) An Aperol Spritz sounds like the perfect holiday drink to help hold on to that cheer. -M

andThankful for...

a few days off of school! -H

hanging out with my intelligent, witty, and charismatic younger brothers. -M

the nice long Fall that we have been having. -H

a holiday where my love for pies is celebrated! -M

having so many wonderful collaborators and colleagues that inspire us daily! H&M

What are you thankful for? 

-M

andPlay hangs

A couple of things that we love (in no particular order)

1. Composer collabs

2. Bagels and cream cheese

3. Sunny days and dispositions 

4. When Martha leaves her piccolo at home (just kidding Martha, we love you!)

This past Saturday we combined these four loves into one fun morning/afternoon in Sunset Park with Jonah Rosenberg (composer) and Martha Cargo (flute extraordinaire). Jonah is working on a piece for andPlay + Martha (andPlartha? please send us your suggestions) for our split show this coming January, and we wanted to meet to try some things out.

It started out with bagels and cream cheese from Sunset Bagels, pan fried apples with a dash of cinnamon and sugar, and coffee topped with whipped cream (if you haven’t tried this yet, please do; Jonah suggested it and I am never turning back)! We sat around munching, getting to know each other better, and discussing the comeback of cassette tapes/where our old walkmans are.

Next up, off to the studio (Jonah’s living quarters) where we made some recordings for Jonah to do spectral analysis on later. We played solos, trios, and then Jonah even joined us on the soprano sax for a quartet improv! 

The fish and Martha took a real liking to each other.

All in all it was a great hang, and we are looking forward to many more and hearing what Jonah comes up with for us!

-Maya

andLiked this week: I have really been enjoying Lena Dunham's new podcast called Women of the Hour with Lena Dunham. It is wonderful to hear different women talking about issues like female friendships and their relationships with their bodies. Definitely worth a listen.

Welcome back! And NUNC! 2

We're back! (Dual meanings: it's been a while since we posted on our blog, and we just got back from the NUNC! 2 conference at Northwestern University.)

Highlights of our trip included:

1. Performing David Bird's Bezier to an entirely new audience!

2. The (sometimes overwhelming) quantity of interesting speakers and performances throughout the weekend. We especially enjoyed seeing Third Coast Percussion, an amazing group we had never seen before!

3. Finding our new favorite spots in Evanston: Brothers K Coffeehouse, Hoosier Mama Pie Company, Mt. Everest Restaurant (Indian and Himalayan buffet!), and of course, just enjoying Lake Michigan!

Thanks so much to the NUNC! 2 conference staff and the Bienen School of Music for having us and organizing such a great weekend!

And, we will be attempting to post regularly from now on, so see you next Wednesday!

-Hannah

andLiked this week: Metropolis Coffee Company -- we drank their beans every day at the Brothers K!