New York Classical Guitar Society Presents Frank Wallace and Nancy Knowles

March 19th, 2018 by bob No comments »

Guitarist/composer Frank Wallace and mezzo-soprano/poet Nancy Knowles are an acclaimed duo pioneering their own outstanding body of original contemporary art song with classical guitar. Touring throughout North and South America and Europe since 1979, they have numerous recordings on the Gyre label.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at 7:30 PM
Diller-Quaile School of Music, 24 East 95th Street, New York City

Program:
Music of Mertz, Tárrega, Sagreras, Villa-Lobos, Rodrigo, and Wallace

Ticket information

Letter from Tom Silver

March 19th, 2018 by bob 1 comment »
Hi Guys,
 
This may come as a shocker but I’m suspending all of my guitar activities, probably for at least the next several years.  No more recordings or gigs during that time, and in fact, probably little or no practice.  All of my life I’ve only been able to focus on one big thing (to me) at a time, whether it was business, finance, or music.  Never been able to compartmentalize.  The reality is that after retiring 12 years ago and doing almost nothing but guitar all day every day for the last 10 years, I’m burned out.  Daily practice became something I wasn’t looking forward to anymore, but more of a chore. That’s not good, so I need to give it a rest.
 
But the coup de grace is a new focus – Japan and Japanese woodblock prints.  Starting last winter I became interested in these subjects and basically turned my website over to them in terms of everything new I wrote for the site on “Tom’s Take”.  After my articles amounted to 10 – 12,000 words I kind of decided to develop them into a full-fledged book, with illustrations from my own print collection.  Whether this ever goes to completion I don’t know, but I’m acting on that assumption.  Talk is cheap before the hard work begins!
 
What’s so great about this is that I come to the subject at ground zero – before this year I knew almost nothing about Japan or their prints.  So it’s the steepest possible learning curve, but endless material to work with. Japan is a fascinating culture going back thousands of years, but my focus will start 400 years ago, which happens to be an important dividing line in Japanese history.  I’m completely into it on a daily basis, so there’s no room for another obsession.  There’s a ton of reading to be done but I’m doing it slowly and building my knowledge base from the ground up.

I wish you all the best, and will stay in touch.  Hope you will do the same and keep me on your mailing lists.

 

Tom

Robert Stephen Norman ( April 25, 1947 – May 04, 2008 )

March 19th, 2018 by bob No comments »

Robert Stephen Norman, 61, of Lawrenceville died on Sunday at his home of metastatic prostate cancer.

Born in New London, CT, he was a Lawrenceville resident since 1994 after living in New York City for 30 years. Bob graduated form Columbia University in 1969 with a degree in English Literature. Bob had been a copy editor for Business Week Magazine for twenty years, but his passion and true vocation was music. He was a well-known singer/songwriter folksinger locally and across the country for over 30 years. From 1970 to 1977, he was editor-in-chief of Sing Out!, and was on its board until 1990. His CD titles include: Romantic Nights on the Upper Westside; To the Core; Love, Lust, and Lilacs; and Time Takin’ Man. His music fused varied influences of blues, country, contemporary folk, and classical guitar writing about topics ranging from the streets of New York to local life in Lawrenceville.

Son of the late Victor and Francis (Sharaf) Norman and brother of the late Jon Norman, he is survived by his wife Clara Haignere, his son Samuel Norman-Haignere, his nephew Daniel Norman, and his nieces: Forest Cattich and Martina Norman Botinelli.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 11 AM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville. Burial will be in the Lawrenceville Cemetery. The family extends an invitation to friends to come to their home at K18 Shirley Lane, Lawrenceville after the burial.

In lieu of flowers, please tax-deductible donations can be made to Sing Out! Magazine (P.O. Box 5460 Bethlehem PA 18015) or to the Westminster Conservatory Young Artist’s Program. Check should include a note that it is for the Young Artist’s Program in Memory of Bob Norman to Westminster Conservatory, Attn Sandra Franc, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton NJ 08540.

R. Conway LeCraw, Founding Member of New Jersey Classical Guitar Society

March 19th, 2018 by bob No comments »

R. Conway (Connie) LeCraw of Hilton Head Island died Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at his residence. He was born in Atlanta on January 10, 1924 to Julia Adams and Roy LeCraw, a former Atlanta mayor. He became an eagle scout at age 11, one of the youngest ever to do so, and was an active member of North Avenue Presbyterian Church. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology and Ohio State University, where he studied electrical engineering and physics. During World War II he served in the Pacific theater as a lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He began his career as a physicist with Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratories in Washington, D.C. in 1951. Four years later he received the Department of the Army Gold Medal Award for Exceptional Civilian Service which was awarded for his outstanding work in microwave energy. From 1955 until his retirement in 1986 he was a renowned physicist at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J. where he authored or co-authored over 100 research papers and was granted 35 U.S. patents. His most significant discovery, that of magnetic bubble devices, revolutionized the storage of information for military technology. He was invited to present his papers at national and international physics conferences, including in Russia, China, and Japan. The year Bell Laboratories established its Distinguished Scientist Awards, he was one of five research scientists to be so honored. As a result of his seminal discoveries, he was offered various teaching posts, including one at UC Berkeley, but he declined in order to continue his research.

After his retirement Mr. LeCraw concentrated on his two avocations, classical music and chess. In New Jersey, he formed a classical guitar society and arranged for free public concerts at a local library. He participated in chess tournaments throughout the East, winning numerous trophies. He moved to Hilton Head Island with his wife, Mildred, in 1990. There he formed a local chess club and sponsored a regional chess tournament. He also helped form a chess club at Hilton Head High School.

He is survived by his wife, Mildred Carolan LeCraw, his sons Timothy of Atlanta and Spencer of Bluffton, S.C., and his brothers Veazey, Julian, and Rupert, all of Atlanta. He was predeceased by his first wife, Mary Luddeke, and his brother, C. Buck LeCraw.

A memorial service will be held at St. Andrew By-The-Sea Methodist Church, 20 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, with a reception to follow at the church.

Lemongrass duo plays Sudamericana

February 26th, 2018 by bob No comments »
Sudamericana
music of Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Pixinguinha
traditional peruvian music
original works by Raul Abbad

performed by
Lemongrass Duo
Elizabeth Moulthrop: violin
Raul Abbad: 6 & 8 string guitars
March 9th at 7:30pm
Rutherford Congregational Church
251 Union Ave
Rutherford,NJ

$10_ adult
$8_ students  & seniors

Rescheduled to March 15: Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts presents Matthew Van Dongen

February 24th, 2018 by bob 1 comment »

Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts (WIPA) presents an evening of contemporary and original works for guitar by faculty member Matthew Van Dongen at the Salon Series on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. at 60 Locust Avenue in Berkeley Heights.

In addition to featuring works by 20th century Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo including Tiento antiguoUn tiempo fue Italica famosa, and Zarabanda lejana, the one-hour concert will include a Beyond the Notes Q&A with Van Dongen, covering topics from composing for the guitar today to how music theory enhances the understanding of music written for the guitar. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for seniors, and free for Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts students. Tickets are available online, at the door or by calling 908-790-0700.

Stanley Alexandrowicz in Lawrenceville, NJ

February 24th, 2018 by bob No comments »

Adath Israel Congregation
1958 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Sunday 4 March, 2018
4:00 to 6:00 PM
Admission to Event: $5.00
RSVP’s appreciated—please RSVP to Gale Cohen at 609-530-0087 0r gabike4@aol.com

Please join me for my upcoming concert of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Masterworks presented at the OBOJC—Adath Israel Congregation 2018 cultural event discussing New York Times best-selling author Lauren Belfer’s wonderful book “After Fire!” 

Beginning with the masterful “Ouverture de la Grotte de Versailles (de Lully)” by Robert de Visee (court guitarist to Louis XIV), my program will feature masterworks by the 19th Century’s greatest composer-guitarists: Napoleon Coste (France), J. K. Mertz (Hungary), and Johann Dubez (Vienna), and include Felix Mendelssohn’s famous “Venetian Boat Song” from his collection of Songs without Words (Lieder ohne Worte)!

March Meeting

February 22nd, 2018 by bob No comments »

These pieces were played at the March 18 meeting in Hopewell Borough:

David Starbuck

  • Carolan’s Farewell — Turlough O’Carolan, arr. Allan Alexander
  • Down by the Sally Gardens — “”
  • The Two William Davis’s — “”

Robert Ey

  • The Boys of Blue Hill/Reedsdale Hornpipe — Trad., arr. Gordon Bok
  • Port Lennox — Rory Dhall O’Cathain, arr. Glenn Weiser
  • Give Me Your Hand — “”

 Gad Berger

  • Un Dia de Noviembre — Leo Brouwer
  • Air on a G String — J.S. Bach, arr. Per-Olov Kindgren
  • Hallelujah — Leonard Cohen, arr. Gad Berger
  • Prelude to Cello Suite — J.S. Bach
  • The Parting Glass — Trad., arr. John Mock

Gary Lee

  • Banks O’ Doon — Robert Burns, arr. Guy Bergeron
  • Muir Woods — Andrew York

Jeff Griesemer

  • Here, There, and Everywhere — Beatles, arr. Jeff Griesemer
  • Slieve Russell/Port Sgian — Trad, arr. Jeff Griesemer

 James Day

  • Night Music — Donald Crockett
  • Guiding the Minotaur — Donald Crockett
  • Roll Out — Paul Lansky

Memorial Service for George Schindler

February 15th, 2018 by bob No comments »

A memorial service for George E. Schindler, Jr. will be held on Saturday, February 24, at 5:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, New Jersey.

George was a leader in our Society, organizing and hosting meetings in his homes in New Providence and, later, Montgomery. He was active over several decades. In addition to the usual repertoire, George was fond of playing arrangements of music from composers not traditionally associated with classical guitar, such as Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, Henry Mancini, and George Gershwin.

Gad Berger will be representing the New Jersey Classical Guitar Society at the service, playing some of the music that George enjoyed and performed. Members are invited to attend.

————————–

George E. Schindler Jr., a passionate hiker, backpacker, and environmentalist, died on February 9 in Princeton, N.J., at Acorn Glen Assisted Living. He was 94. The probable cause of death was pneumonia.

Mr. Schindler was born in 1923 in Carnegie, Pa., son of George E. Schindler Sr. and Stella Victoria Cox. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the tail end of World War II; his military specialty was meteorology. Before enlisting, he had patched together the resources to study chemical engineering at Carnegie Tech for two years; afterwards, thanks to his army training and the GI Bill, he pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina and then at the University of Chicago, from which institution he was awarded a B.S. in Meteorology. His interests having shifted to English literature, he earned his M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. During those early years, he taught himself to play the classical guitar. A lifelong lover of literature, Mr. Schindler was extremely well read, favoring the works of George Bernard Shaw and Charles Dickens. He himself wrote two unpublished novels.

He married Faith Sayre in 1946, and the couple had three daughters. The family lived for many years in New Providence, N.J. In his thirty-one years with AT&T Bell Laboratories, Mr. Schindler edited a technical journal at the Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill, N.J., during the glory years of that company. In the four years preceding his retirement, he was department head in charge of a multivolume history project as well as of the Bell Laboratory archives.

George Schindler was never happier than when outdoors, whether camping, backpacking, or canoeing. He mapped trails and led hikes all over the country. His love of hiking grew into a deep commitment to preserving the natural landscape. He was instrumental in blocking a proposed dam at Tocks Island on the Delaware River, a dam that would have destroyed the nearby lake known as Sunfish Pond as well as spoiling the beauty of the Delaware’s free flow. As forestry coordinator for the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club and member of the board of directors of the NJ Audubon Society, his efforts contributed to the passage of the New Jersey Natural Areas Systems Act in 1975. Among the many other environmental causes for which he fought tirelessly were the preservation of the Pine Barrens and the protection of the Great Swamp from the incursion of a proposed jetport.

Well into his retirement, he made three trips to Alaska. He volunteered at the Lyons VA Hospital where his father spent the last few years of his life. Mr. Schindler’s wife died in 1999. He had been her loving caregiver during her long illness. He leaves his sister, Judy Reams of Walnut Creek, Calif.; his sister-in-law, Jeri Schindler of Klamath Falls, Ore.; his three daughters, Karen Baart of Brookline, Mass., Heather Lovett of Hopewell, N.J., and Sarah Schindler of New York, N.Y.; his two grandsons, Frank Lovett and Nathaniel Lovett; and two great-grandchildren. His younger brother, John Robert Schindler, died in 2009.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey) or the Environmental Defense Fund (www.edf.org).

Concert Artists Guild Presents Jiji

January 29th, 2018 by bob No comments »

Tuesday, Feb 13, 2018
7:30 pm
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Tickets: $25 General; $15 Students
More Information: http://www.concertartists.org/cag-presents/jiji-guitar

Guitarist Jiji is an adventurous artist on both acoustic and electric guitar, playing an extensive range of music from traditional and contemporary classical music to free improvisation. Her impeccable musicianship combined with compelling stage presence and fascinating repertoire earned her First Prize at the 2016 CAG Competition. She will perform works by Steve Reich, J. S. Bach, Ginastera, and Leo Brouwer, as well as a new work for electric guitar and electronics by Gulli Björnsson.