College Contemporary Music Programs need an update
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
First of all…this is not for the big name NYC/LA/BGSU/etc. programs, don’t come at me with your luxury goods. #notallprograms A friend snap-chatted a picture of a facebook post from his undergrad music program.  The contemporary music ensemble was playing Britten on their next program.  I love Britten.  His operas are beautiful, and his music is amazing. One of my favorite people is a Britten scholar.  But Britten isn’t contemporary.  He died in the 70’s. I went a little bit crazy on twitter about it, but I felt like I needed to flesh out my thoughts beyond 240 charact ..read more
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Mama Said There’d be Days Like This
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
My mom has been my soothsayer and my truth teller.  I’m sure all moms have things they tell their kids all the time, but my mom had mantras: “Pay attention.” “Don’t put yourself in that situation.” “Be sure your sin will find you out.” “Do not terry with the trash of the earth.” I heard one of these, attached to conversation, every day of my life. I was raised by two ADULTS. My parents were 38 and 47 when they had me.  They had lived Entire Adult Lives before I ever came along.  I capitalize that, because I realize how true that is every day. Karen had been divorced, ran tw ..read more
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I Quit the Bassoon
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
For almost 4 months.  Give or take a week. I’m no longer a student…. My defense was over in February.  I was so tired, and so very burnt out.  Here I was, for all intents and purposes, Doctor Jolene Masone, DMA.  Master of the bassoonery arts, and all that entails!  Really, it just felt awful. My dissertation wasn’t at all groundbreaking.  It wasn’t nearly as good as I had wanted it to be.  After I handed it in, I realized all the things I could have added to it.  I hadn’t accomplished any of the things I had wanted to while getting the degree. &nbs ..read more
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A call for arms, and a call for scores
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
(Trigger Warning:  NSFW, depictions of violence below)   I haven’t written here for a long time.  My dissertation has taken a great toll, both on my time, and my life.  However, I do not, and cannot live in a vacuum. Facebook and twitter are rife with news reports and angry updates from friends and family over the events happening in this country.  The country of checks and balances is going too long unchecked, and unbalanced. Flint, Michigan literally does not have water to drink, and no one is going to jail.  Black children are dying, and it seems as if no one&n ..read more
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Best Bassoon Week Ever! June 2013
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
WHAT IS UP, BASSOONISTAS? Picture by January3rd BBWE will now be a monthly installment of this wonderful new enterprise, Signals for Images, and I will be installing it into both blogs for a while. Each month, I will post a new blog covering issues in new music for bassoon, and showing you all the best of what I have found on the web (videos, composers, performers, pictures, etc).  We are all very excited to show you what we got, and how we flaunt it.  So those who are old, welcome back! If you are new, Bienvenue bassoonerinos (and composers, of course)! This is…. Let ..read more
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Submitting a Topic Proposal: As told by Cartoon Villains.
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
(You have to have the colon in the title, or it’s not legit) Writing a dissertation is hard, y’all, but I feel like writing the proposal is way harder.  Once you’ve gotten to the dissertation part, you have all the information, and all the topic stuff out of the way.  But the proposal, step #1, is always the hardest step. First, you have to pick a topic, and you might have a few thoughts. You could do that thing about the bassoon player, or you could do that dissertation on that Baroque thing you found in that book, or you could do a research project about reeds…. Yes. Yes it freakin ..read more
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Best Bassoon Week Ever!!! 01/20/15
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
Guys!  It’s the new year!  So roll out the resolutions, because this is the… Best Bassoon Week Ever! FIRST OF ALL.  Go buy Trent Jacob’s Album. No seriously.  Do it.  It’s good, it has some great pieces on it, AND if you do your homework, you will have listened to it before I review it next week.  Also, because I said so.  Also, we have to support each other, and Trent is awesome.  So just do it. Second of all, I feel like people are just premiering stuff left, and right (well not really), but this is a pretty big deal.  Christopher Millard pr ..read more
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That’s 10 minutes I will never get back.
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
I love finding new compositions. My favorite way to find a new piece is by asking other composers who their favorite new composers are. So I had two separate composers tell me about the same piece, about a week apart from each other. Of course I had to find it. Googled the composer.  No one told me the name of the piece.  Just composer, bassoon piece with piano, ’nuff said. Found him.  No website……Soundcloud……..Great. Soundcloud itself is awesome, but there’s one fatal flaw.  Some composers do not list the instrumentation underneath the title of the piece.  So I, the p ..read more
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Best Bassoon Week Ever (11/2/14)
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
Hey Everyone!  It’s been a few weeks, but I will try to keep these going as much as I can!  I really do love this blog, but time is not on my side.  But the odds are ever in your favor this week, Bassoonists! It’s the Best Bassoon Week Ever! I actually had the time to do some extra sleuthing, and find some pieces not just on youtube! The first piece is by Elizabeth Nonemaker.  I’ve heard her name before, but never experienced any of her pieces.  Her soundcloud is delightful to go through and listen to some of her music.  The piece, Lines and Variations for Two Bas ..read more
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Best Bassoon Week Ever (10/5/14)
Music, life, and an iphone
by jkmbassoon
3y ago
Sooooo…..I’m back!  For real.  For as long as I can.  I figure, if I’m going to be in front of a computer, writing my dissertation and stuff, I might as well start the blog back up! I gave up for a while, because I needed a chance to see what I really wanted and really missed about this and everything else.  Plus, senioritis was setting in.  Or is it doctoritis?  PhDitis? post-graduate-hoop-jumping-horrible-itis?  I don’t know.  All I know, is that after my last recital (which was kind of painful), I had a hard time finding priorities.  I’m still fi ..read more
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