Tag: music

Does classical music actually help calm cats and dogs during fireworks?

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3 November 2022, 16:35

Thunderstorms, fireworks, bright lights and loud noises, can be very scary for animals. Thankfully, research suggests that classical music can help.

Did you know, dogs are capable of hearing sounds up to four times as far away as humans can hear them? It’s no wonder, then, that fireworks, thunderstorms, and other loud noises can cause dogs, cats, and other pets so much stress.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to help your pet handle the hustle and bustle of Bonfire Night – backed up by scientific research.

Ahead of Classic FM’s Pet Classics, our presenter Charlotte Hawkins spoke to RSPCA Chief Inspector Clare Dew about the best ways to keep pets calm during firework displays, from playing them classical music to setting up their own cosy corner at home.

Read more: How to keep your pets safe this firework season, according to the RSPCA

Does classical music really help to calm cats and dogs?

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One of Clare’s recommendations is to desensitise pets ahead of time by playing them music – specifically, classical music without words.

“It drowns out the noise of the fireworks and gives the animals something else to concentrate on”, she told Classic FM. “Music, particularly classical music without words, is one of the best things to keep anything calm.”

Clare’s advice is backed up by several studies. A study by Colorado scientists in 2012 looked at the effect of playing different genres of music to dogs in kennels, while their owners were away. Those who listened to classical music spent more time sleeping, and less time barking, howling and crying, than dogs that were played other genres.

In more recent years, research by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also backed up the claim that classical music lowers stress levels, and, in 2022, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast also discovered that dogs settled down sooner when listening to classical music, compared to audiobooks.

Read more: Dogs find classical music more calming than audiobooks, research reveals

Speaking to Charlotte for Classic FM, Clare Dew shared some extra tips for keeping your pet as calm as possible, adding: “My own rescue dog Frank struggles at this time of year, and he finds it reassuring to know we are there at home with him.”

Charlotte’s own dog also loves to chill out with Pet Classics, as she says: “I’ve seen first-hand from my dog just how difficult a time it can be for pets during the fireworks, but it’s amazing the difference relaxing music can have in helping to calm and soothe animals”.

But don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at how chilled out this pup was last year…





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A Musician’s Maestro: SF Symphony’s Esa-Pekka Salonen | The Interview

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The Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen joined San Francisco Symphony as music director in 2021, following tenures with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.




From an early age, Esa-Pekka Salonen knew music was his destiny. Yet he never dreamed that one day he’d be an internationally renowned composer and conductor.

Born in Helsinki, Finland, to a businessman father and homemaker mother, Salonen took up the French horn, studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and began conducting when his band of young musicians was in need of one. He clearly had a knack for it.

Salonen’s big break came in 1983 when he stepped in, with just a few days’ notice, for Michael Tilson Thomas to conduct Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Philharmonia in London. Salonen was only 25 years old at the time, but it was evident from that performance that the young Finn with the long hair was destined for greatness.

In 1992, Salonen moved his family to Los Angeles, where he became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. During his tenure, which lasted until 2009, he was instrumental in opening the Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry. In 2008, Salonen returned to Europe and the Philharmonia, serving as its principal conductor and artistic advisor before becoming music director of the San Francisco Symphony in the 2020–21 season, succeeding Tilson Thomas.

On a recent afternoon, Salonen and I sat in his stark office at Davies Symphony Hall, where we talked about conducting, composing and the relational nature of music.

So, what exactly does a conductor do? The conductor has multiple functions. On some level, he or she is like a team coach, who gives his or her players — musicians — certain strategies, certain methods, certain concepts and hopefully inspires them. I think that’s 90 percent of it really.

In many cases the musicians have played these pieces many times before, but knowing is not the same thing as having a concept. A conductor has a concept and then he or she, during the rehearsals, realizes that concept. In some cases it can be a very precise, rigid concept. In some cases it can be more like, “OK, let’s have a creative dialogue about things.”




Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and architect Frank Gehry, who worked together in Los Angeles during the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, attended the opening of San Francisco Symphony’s 2022–2023 season at Davies Symphony Hall.




Has your style of conducting evolved over the years? The whole process of conducting, the mechanics of conducting, is about optimizing. Trying to create a gestural vocabulary that very clearly conveys what goes on in my mind, musically. So over the years, partly consciously, partly intuitively, I’ve learned how to do it simply. How to keep things together and how to give people enough flexibility and freedom, and yet steer it. And that balance is very hard to find, also because orchestras are different. That’s why, personally, I like the idea of working with the same group for a long time and intensely, hundreds and thousands of hours, and then you get to a point where things seem to be happening by osmosis, which to me is the ideal leadership. So you’re not controlling, it’s more like you create a flow and everybody becomes part of it.

How would you describe your relationship with the players? When I speak to young conductors about conducting, often the very first thing I say is, “Don’t forget that you’re conducting people. You’re not conducting the second clarinet. You’re not conducting the first trombone. You’re conducting a person who plays that instrument.” Very hard to explain this, but sometimes when people, young people, want to become conductors, they think that this is some kind of a mythological thing, this maestro thing and the images of Herbert von Karajan with the silver hair staring into the horizon and being godlike. None of that is necessary and even true.

How did you begin conducting? When I started studying conducting, we had a group of young composers at the time called Ears Open. Many of those then-young composers are now very well known, some internationally even. We felt that no “real” conductors were interested in our music, so we decided to start an association that would perform new music by young composers. And we needed a conductor, and I had maybe the most experience of performing music, because I was a French horn player and I played in the Helsinki orchestras as a sub. So I became the conductor of the group. …

My pal played the violin, and another pal played piano, percussion, and I conducted, because somebody had to do it. I grew up in an environment where conducting was just one activity among other musical activities. No better, no worse. I, not for a second, thought of myself as being more important than, say, a friend who played the viola or the flute. It was just a different function. I’m deeply grateful for that experience because it has helped me later in life in terms of how I communicate with musicians, because my function is to keep things going. Not dictate, but enable, give them tools to achieve a certain result.

That takes a certain leadership skill. Leadership, absolutely, but my starting point is still the same as it was then. … Everybody is an integral part of this rather reckless thing that a symphony orchestra can be. I don’t like formality particularly. I think if people want to call me maestro, that’s OK, because my name is so difficult to pronounce for non-Finnish speakers. Basically “maestro” is a teacher. That’s the original meaning of the word.

It sounds like your initial experience conducting has kept you grounded. It’s hard to say from within how grounded I am, but the very fact that I’ve gotten this far without major catastrophe, I must be doing something right. Which is not to say that there wouldn’t be room for improvement, and that’s the fun part actually, because I’m nearing an age where many other people are planning their retirement and slowing down and enjoying life. My feeling is, I’m just starting. We have opened the [2022–23] season, which is the first real season after the lockdown with my new orchestra. We’re finally in business, and we’re finally playing all this repertoire that we were supposed to be playing two and a half years ago.




Salonen conducts Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with SF Symphony during its 2022 Opening Night Gala Concert.




Where did your love of music come from? I have no idea. I don’t come from a musical family. My dad was a businessman and my mom was mostly at home. [My mom] claims that when I was very little, I reacted strongly to music. She wanted me to start taking piano lessons when I was 4 years old, and I refused. She was wise enough not to force it. Then, a few years went by and I just heard something on the radio and became aware of this thing called music, and all of a sudden it just hit me. I cannot really remember what happened, because we create these narratives later on in life that fit the bigger narrative. But nevertheless, I moved from primary school to an experimental school where they had a lot of emphasis on the arts. Almost every kid played something, so it was just normal, like breathing. I started playing instruments, started with the recorder.

As they all do. That’s the real test. If you still love music after a semester in the plastic recorder group, then something’s going on. Then I played the trumpet, and I changed to the French horn, which became my main instrument. Then I started taking the piano lessons that I should’ve been taking several years earlier. When I was about 11, I kind of knew that this was it. There was nothing else in the world that would excite me as much. I had an idea then — which I’m happy to say was correct — that it’s endless. It’s like you are never finished. You are never ready. There are always things to learn.

And that appealed to you? I just remember this sense of vastness. … You’re hiking and all of a sudden you come to this amazing vista like a canyon and mountains, and it seems endless and limitless and totally fascinating. And also, in a positive way, beyond your grasp, uncontainable, which of course is a good thing for something that becomes your life’s work. There’s never a moment when you think, “OK, done.”

That’s a very profound thought for a little boy. Obviously I wouldn’t have been able to verbalize it, but it was just a sense I’m never going to get tired of this. There were lots of things I got bored with, but not this.

You are also a composer. When did you start writing music? Composing came very naturally. I heard some contemporary classical pieces randomly on the radio when I was maybe 11 and I thought, “OK, if music can sound like this, then I have to be able to write it myself.” So I started studying music theory, but I had no career thoughts.




Salonen presenting at the Apple Distinguished Educators conference in Amsterdam in July 2015.




I’ve heard you say when you left Europe and came to the States, you experienced a new freedom in your writing, that you were liberated. How so? After [World War II], there was a movement in European classical music, the very strict modernist movement led by people like [Karlheinz] Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. It became mainstream in a funny way. The rules were very strict, and the list of things that were taboo was long. I had this dichotomy. Obviously I went with the way I was taught and trained, but the music that I loved to conduct was this very rich, sonorous, powerful music with pulse and sweeping melodies, like Stravinsky, Mahler, Bruckner. Somehow I couldn’t combine the two. They were two different worlds. Composing became very difficult, because I felt I wasn’t expressing the true me, whatever that is. Then when I moved to L.A. back in the early ’90s, all of a sudden I felt, “OK, I’m far enough away from Europe and all these gurus and rigid aesthetics.”

Wow. So you really did find yourself in California? Yes, I did. I mean, positively. I came with the weight of the European tradition. … Shakespeare’s the greatest dramatist, Beethoven’s the greatest symphonist, Michelangelo is the greatest sculptor. And I’m going to this country and sharing all this. To my credit, I was smart enough to figure out in California that, “OK, as a matter of fact, I have a lot to learn from these people.” And the questions! When I spoke about the complexities and construction and the theory behind a piece of music, people said, “Yeah, that’s all great, but what am I supposed to be feeling? What does it tell me?” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?”

Was that an issue with your orchestra when you were with the Los Angeles Philharmonic? I was very young to be in that position to start with. I had very little experience of the U.S. culture and ways and habits and so on. I was very afraid of being somehow tarnished in this whole Hollywood thing, which now I would be happy to be tarnished a little more.

I heard, in the ’90s, you turned down being named one of People magazine’s 50 sexiest people on earth. Yeah, but now if somebody asked the same question, I would say, “Yeah, happy to be in.” Maybe it was the right thing to do, because I was very worried about my integrity, especially in L.A. I mean, it would’ve been easier here [in San Francisco] for a young person, but L.A. … This entertainment business is so omnipresent, and it’s also ruthless. You’re riding the wave for a while and then nothing. Emptiness and so on. I think I did find a way to navigate all that.

You were instrumental in helping open Frank Gehry’s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. I was living in Los Angeles at the time, and I know that was no easy feat. The initial gift from Lillian Disney came, I think, in ’86 or ’87. I was a music director designate from ’89, so I was part of the process from then. I would say there were at least 10 times when we all thought that the project was dead in the water. And, of course, the riots happened and it seemed to be a completely wrong time to be discussing a new concert hall in downtown L.A. But then the critical mass was reached at some point. There were enough influential, enthusiastic people who saw the potential and the importance, and then it really got going again.




Esa-Pekka Salonen on a summer 2019 respite and at the grill in Aix-En-Provence, France.




What was it like when it opened? I had a few moments before the actual opening, when I knew that something extraordinary was about to happen. There was the very first time Frank [Gehry] and I listened to music in the hall, played by the concertmaster of the L.A. Philharmonic, just one violin. And there was no stage yet. It was just a gaping hole. It was a hard-hat area still, so Frank and I, we sat in the balcony, far back. We were so nervous, we had a couple vodkas before the moment, and then the sound of violin started kind of floating in the space and we knew, “OK, it works.”

Let me take you back to another performance. By all accounts, you stepped onto the international stage when you were called upon to take over for an indisposed Michael Tilson Thomas at the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1983. Correct.

You’re in London and 25 years old. Tell me about that performance. First of all, I’m quite a rational guy, but I think that there’s some kind of beautiful fate that I replaced Michael, and then several decades later, I end up being his successor [at SF Symphony]. He said the same thing himself — things seem to be intertwined.

I certainly believe in destiny. That was still a time when I wasn’t planning to have any kind of conducting career. I was conducting because I liked it and conducting was needed and it seemed to come fairly naturally to me. Not that I felt that I was a master conductor by any means. It just felt like a natural way to interact with other musicians. I had a manager at the time who calls me, and it was kind of early, and says, “So how about Mahler’s Three with the Philharmonia Orchestra?” I thought he was joking, and I used language that I will not repeat here. He called again two hours later and said, “I wasn’t joking, and maybe you feel a little better about it and this is a serious question. So do you want to do it?” So I called the manager of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and they sent the score from the Finnish radio library for me to look at, and I leafed through it and I thought, “OK, well, nothing to lose, I’ll do it.”

That’s amazing. I had three days to prepare or something like that. I didn’t sleep much. Then I flew to London, did one day of rehearsal and then the concert. So it was all very compact. But I wasn’t nervous because I thought, there are two possible outcomes: Either it goes well or it doesn’t. If it goes well, fine. If it doesn’t, at least I could tell my grandchildren that I conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra once and I’ll just carry on. The orchestra was wonderful; they were super-supportive and good-natured and warm. And then it’s a cliché, but my life did change overnight. All of a sudden, telexes were ticking away.

Years later, you became the principal conductor and artistic advisor of that very orchestra. What was your proudest accomplishment there? Very hard to say, because there’s no concrete monument like the Disney Hall. I tried to reimagine the season because the sheer volume of cultural life in London is insane. Every night there are at least 15 concerts happening and five symphony orchestras. So the white-noise level is so strong that you need ways to cut through it rather than just put on a concert with some kind of normal program. I tried to create themes that would focus on either a composer or a certain historic period or a place, such as Paris. I found that method quite successful in London, in terms of creating a profound identity.

What brought you to San Francisco? First of all, I had already decided to step down in London because I thought the Philharmonia is a great orchestra, London is a super-exciting city and all that, but the schedule of a London orchestra is very tough. Constantly on the road, and for years I had the feeling that I wasn’t living anywhere. My marriage fell apart, and I was really, I wouldn’t say drifting, but I didn’t feel I had an anchor.

So I decided to maybe just spend more time in Finland or something like that, and then the [San Francisco] Symphony came calling. We started talking and I thought, “OK, this is a very, very good orchestra conducted by a friend of mine and a colleague I admire a lot.” Michael was one of my heroes since the very beginning. So there was that. And it’s back to California. … I thought this is a place where ideas have been born, and some of the most astonishing success stories in terms of innovation happen. And I thought maybe if a symphony orchestra would be the equivalent of some of these other innovative aspects of this town, it would be deeply satisfying and also super-exciting. And I would be closer to my kids.

Did you come in with a grand vision, or were you willing to just let things unfold? We had quite extensive plans, and then the pandemic happened. So, my last season in London and my first season here didn’t happen, which was the weirdest thing. No proper send-off, but also no proper welcome.

It’s unfortunate on both sides. We went back to the drawing board, obviously. And last season, which was the first season of public concerts, was still a bit like a hybrid. The audiences were not completely back, and also the programming was hybrid. We all feel that now these [recent] weeks have been the real opening, and we are finally getting going, and there are all kinds of exciting plans in the pipeline.

It’s inevitable that people will make comparisons between MTT and you. How will things be different under your direction? It’s very hard to say, because obviously we are very different people, and we are very different musicians, and yet there’s a lot that unites us. I mean, if I were to choose one conductor from the older generation with whom I share many ideas, it would be Michael, and also I’ve learned a lot from him. So, we’re very similar in spirit, I think; very different in execution.

If you weren’t conducting and composing, what would you be doing with your life? I have no idea. I really don’t. I mean, I like the arts generally. I read a lot. I like the visual arts. I love theater, cinema and basically everything. So maybe I would be doing something else. Film maybe.

What inspires you to create? That’s a very hard question because there’s no one thing that it can be. Nature, for sure, especially the sea. It can be something I read. It can be something I see, like a painting, and sometimes it’s this thing which is very difficult to define, like [an] encounter with otherness. Like getting a glimpse to another culture or a completely different way of thinking or something that is completely unexpected and intense, and that encounter sets some things in motion, maybe long afterwards.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.



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Soak Yourself in The Gripping Vibes of Nordic Circuits and His Fluent Ambient Electronic Musical Concoctions

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Experience relaxing music along with some gravitating soundscapes offered by the emerging Amsterdam Electronic Producer and his fluent musical styles of Nordic Circuits.

 

Hailing from Amsterdam, Netherlands Nordic Circuits is making a difference in this world with his flawless musical styles. He has been one of the most impressive music artists who have a lot to offer to this world of music. Recently he has started making his music and releasing it on online music-streaming platforms. His works have already been appreciated by many music lovers. His seamless musical style in ‘Echoes of Sans-Soucis Beats Edit Ambient Sans-vocal mix’ is a treat to witness. This greatly composed ambient track will not only make you dance but also leave you speechless, you will fall for the overwhelming nature of this track.

Being a reflective Amsterdam Electronic Producer his works are very enticing for people who will witness the number. He is just 4 tracks old and another of his track that will consume you is ‘When the Wolf Cries’. Jan Paul Schutten is slowly and strong growing a forever impression on his audience and the compactness of his numbers will surely charm many people around the world. His 70’s synthesizer-inspired tracks are truly very charming to listen to. And his brilliant electronic and ambient track is winning the world in a flawless manner.

The tracks he has produced a delivered by far are ‘Nice To Be in Orbit’, ‘Echoes of Sans-Soucis’, ‘When the Wolf Cries’, and ‘Echoes of Sans-Soucis Beats Edit Ambient Sans-vocal mix’. He is planning to drop more tracks in the near future. Nordic Circuits will soon be an eminent name in this industry with its uniquely crafted numbers and engulfing musical compositions. His passion is burning inside him and slowly and with dedication, he is releasing some gripping music. From his daunting styles to his powerful musical vibes his works will thrill you. If you are intrigued about him you can catch these numbers on SoundCloud anytime.

For more tracks of Nordic Circuits, Please go through the below links: https://soundcloud.com/nordiccircuits



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Book About U.K. Pop Music’s Exciting Era Is Back In Print

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By 1984, the two most popular British bands in America were Culture Club and Duran Duran. Although quite different from each other musically, the two rival acts had several things in common: they were extremely photogenic with their distinct looks and fashions; they consistenly scored hit singles and made eye-catching videos; and they attracted predominantly young female fan bases. Both Culture Club and Duran Duran were the two leading acts of New Pop—a term coined by journalist Paul Morley to describe the music of ambitious, style-minded British artists who made shiny and accessible pop music in the first half of the 1980s. Along with Duran Duran and Culture Club, those New Pop acts—such as the Human League, Soft Cell, Eurythmics, Spandau Ballet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and ABC— achieved popularity first in the U.K. and later in the U.S.

The British music journalist Dave Rimmer documented this lively and colorful U.K. pop music explosion as it was happening with his 1985 book Like Punk Never Happened: Culture Club and the New Pop. A writer for the British music weekly Smash Hits, Rimmer captured the zeitgeist of the movement through his fly-on-the-wall reporting on Culture Club—whose members consisted of Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss and Roy Hay—for about a three-year period. With his observations of Culture Club during their period of sell-out tours, intense media coverage and fan hysteria, Rimmer painted a portrait of a group at their absolute peak in his book.

Having been mostly out of print for decades, Like Punk Never Happened (whose title refers to the fact that most of the New Pop artists first emerged from the late 1970s punk rock era) has now been republished and expanded with a foreword by Neil Tennant (who was once a music journalist before he found fame as half of Pet Shop Boys) and the inclusion of Rimmer’s profile of Duran Duran from 1985 that originally appeared in the British culture magazine The Face.

“It was Neil Tennant that put it in Faber’s head,” Rimmer, who is based in Berlin, explains about the book’s republication. “He was doing a book of his lyrics for Faber, and while he was talking to them, he said: ‘You should republish Like Punk Never Happened.’ The book had been kind of forgotten about at Faber a little bit—this made everybody read it again and they decided, ‘Hey, this is a good book. We should republish it again.’ I suggested that I write a new afterword and that they include the Duran Duran piece that’s in there. Although it’s not directly thematically linked to the book, it’s certainly part of the same period of work, so it seemed to fit really.”

Both working for Smash Hits in the early 1980s, Rimmer and Tennant decided that the story of New Pop should be told through the lens of a particular act—in this case, Culture Club. “It was never meant to be any kind of straightforward pop biography,” says Rimmer. “I found that idea rather boring. The idea was always to write the book about the whole phenomenon using one band as an example of what we were talking about—a combination of music journalist memoir, pop biography, and description of the cultural ecosystem all wrapped up in an episodic and chronological narrative with a generous sprinkling of mischief on top.”

The first time Rimmer met Culture Club occurred in December 1982 when he traveled with them to New York City on their first visit to U.S.; the band members were coming off the smash success of their hit single “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.” Of his initial impressions of Culture Club, Rimmer recalls: “George is quite a surprising character when you meet him. I always liked him, but he wasn’t the easiest person to get on with. Real temper, and he’d flip from one side of his persona to another quite easily. But it was clear that George was kind of like a force of nature, and then the people around him were trying to shape that, temper it a bit. It was Jon Moss who gave him focus on pop music. George’s initial impulse was to try and shock people, and he was sort of dissuaded from that by the other members of the band. In a way, that was an incredibly intelligent position to have a guy that looks vaguely shocking to a lot of people and then you do sweet pop music.

“I got to know them a lot better over the next couple of years and traveled with them to different places. Traveling with bands was always the best way to get to know them. You got more time with them, and then it also had the function of instead of being an outsider like coming in to interview them in some location they’ve been in England, you’d be traveling with them from England. So you become part of their entourage. You become part of the ‘us’ as opposed to the ‘them.’ It was definitely the best way to get to know people.”

As described in the book, between 1983 and 1985, Culture Club was one of the hottest pop groups in the world with such hits as “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock of the Heart),” “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” and “Karma Chameleon.” With his off-the-cuff yet accessible personality and charming charisma—not to mention his unique look of dreadlocks, androgynous makeup and patchwork baggy clothes—George was the most ubiquitous media celebrity outside of Princess Diana.

“It seemed to be kind of logical that they were successful,” Rimmer says of the band’s rise. “[George] was definitely a star. I may be surprised by how much America took to him. You got the impression a lot of American artists looked down on Britain as being too into clothes and the look and not enough into authentic rock and roll. So it was kind of a surprise that George went over so well in America. I guess part of that was because he was very good at doing interviews, coming over as an interesting character. Although that’s a fragile thing as well: if you build your career entirely on being a media personality, that can kind of turn against you quite quickly as well, which is what eventually happened to George.”

Heavily embedded with Culture Club during that period, Rimmer was a witness to the fan hysteria surrounding the group. “It was fascinating,” Rimmer recalls. “I was enjoying the excitement around it…I can remember at one point in Japan, there were loads of loads of Japanese fans who’d all come and did their own version of the Boy George look. I have to say that one very intelligent thing George did was that he made his look into something that people could do their version of. It wasn’t that difficult to kind of find some hair extensions and look a bit like Boy George.”

With Culture Club and Duran Duran leading the way, the New Pop phenomenon reached its high point during the week of July 16, 1983, when seven acts of British origin had hits in the Billboard Top 10. Outside of Michael Jackson during his imperial Thriller reign, British artists were dominating the pop music scene. “A lot of it was down to MTV,” Rimmer explains. “American bands weren’t equipped to deal with this visual media in the same way that the British ones were. The British ones spent a lot of time looking at their look and how that worked and so forth. American bands would be wearing jeans and ‘this-that-and-the-other.’ They just didn’t have the same kind of visual panache that George or Duran Duran had at that time. Also, British bands weren’t ashamed of being pop bands. It wasn’t trying to be rock music, it wasn’t trying to be authentic. It was supremely well-crafted pop music.”

The original edition of Like Punk Never Happened concluded in 1985, the same year as the massive Live Aid event that unofficially marked a turning point for the New Pop acts. By the end of 1986, the music scene had shifted from British New Pop to the emergence of dance music in the U.K., and the return of American music on the Billboard charts via such acts as Madonna, Prince and Bruce Springsteen. Meanwhile, Culture Club’s fortunes significantly changed following Boy George’s publicized drug issues and the group broke up soon afterward.

“It was always clear that George was holding himself back—that he didn’t want to kind of completely reveal himself or go wild for the sake of the band, for the sake of pop music,” says Rimmer. “On another level, before that, he had been very anti-drug and had a puritan side that Jon Moss very much reinforced. I think George having held himself back in order to be this kind of interesting but essentially harmless pop star… there was some part of him that was wound up really tight and about ready to let go.

“It surprised me more in a way that [Culture Club’s] songwriting tailed off so dramatically because their songs had been really good up to that point. Colour by Numbers [from 1983] is a great pop album. And then the one that follows it [1984’s Waking Up With the House on Fire] has like one good song on it or maybe one-and-a-half good songs. That in a way was more surprising to me than the fact that George’s public persona blew up and fractured.”

Much has changed in the decades after the New Pop phenomenon, especially with the advent of the internet and social media that have replaced the British music weeklies (nearly all of them now defunct) and MTV as the gatekeepers and influencers when it came to promoting acts. But the legacy of the New Pop artists continues to endure as Culture Club (who remain active following a late 1990s reunion), Duran Duran (who will be inducted into this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), and their contemporaries are still performing and making new music. “Culture Club had gone and come back again,” says Rimmer. “Duran Duran on the other hand have stayed together and are carried on performing all the time. Their tenacity is quite admirable.

“I’ve read the theory that you always like best the music that was popular when you were a teenager. I’m sure the people who were teenagers when this was going on and were into George, etc., at the time will naturally retain some kind of affection for [those artists] and that music because it meant so much to them.”

Rimmer acknowledges that New Pop might arguably be the last golden age of pop music. “I don’t know if it was the best one,” he says. “You have to compare it with the mid-’60s, really. It was certainly a completely lively era for that kind of stuff. I don’t know how you can directly compare [New Pop’s] impact with earlier or later generations. But certainly, there’s been nothing really like it since then.” As for what new readers should come away from Like Punk Never Happened, the author says: “I’d like them to take away a sense that there is much more to pop music than typically meets the eye, and that the much-maligned 1980s was way more complex and interesting than is commonly supposed.”

The new edition of Like Punk Never Happened: Culture Club and the New Pop by Dave Rimmer, published by Faber & Faber, is out now.



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Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis brings classical Bach arrangements to UGA | Arts & Culture

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On Oct. 27, the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall welcomed a group all the way from Belgium. The visiting music ensemble, Vox Luminis, performed multiple songs in German of different generations of Bach composers, following the famous family tree.

After its establishment in 2004, the group has acquired many great feats including the 2012 Recording of the Year award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards, Klara Ensemble of the Year in 2018, BBC Music Magazine Choral Award Winner in 2018 and another Gramophone Award in the choral category in 2019.

The group that performed on Thursday included 10 singers and seven musicians.

Founder and artistic director of Vox Luminis, French conductor and bass singer Lionel Meunier, is highly acclaimed as an artistic leader in historical performance and choral music.

The coveted classical performance was originally scheduled to run in October 2020, but was canceled twice. Finally, the group was able to visit Georgia on their tour of North America, to the delight of symphonic listeners in Athens.

Carl and Mimi Schmidt, a retired elementary school principal and retired teacher, respectively, said they were very excited to attend the show.

“We love all the things that are part of the Baroque period,” a 17th century era of western classical music style, Mimi Schmidt said. “Bach was a real dynamo.” The couple has been attending shows at UGA’s Performing Arts Center for roughly 20 years.

One piece the group performed, “Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death,” included the unique theorbo, a type of string instrument with a long neck.

“The chord progressions of the different pieces were performed very well and their voices were kept clean, even while using different chord progressions,” Daniel Boscan, a freshman studying viola performance at UGA, said.

Boscan also noted how unique it is for Vox Luminis to play older, rarer instruments such as the viola da gamba, the violone and the theorbo.

A total of six traditional musical renditions of Johann Sebastian Bach and his forebears along with pieces by Dietrich Buxtehude were performed at UGA’s Performing Arts Center. The vocal soloists and timeless instruments alongside the eccentric pieces combined into a hauntingly alluring recital.



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Ang Misyon — To hone and nurture the future of Philippine music

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Music may not be a top priority in a country where many citizens are just getting by to cover their day-to-day needs. But Ang Misyon, Inc. — a non-profit organization that aids talented and underprivileged young musicians in the Philippines — shows that music may, in fact, be a ticket to a better life and, later on, a better society.

ABS-CBN Chairman Emeritus Eugenio Lopez 3rd, First Philippine Holdings Chairman Federico Lopez, and internationally renowned concert pianist Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz founded Ang Misyon in 2012 with the belief that teaching the youth orchestral music can spark social change in the Philippines.

Ang Misyon, Inc. and its main performing arm, the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY), celebrate 10 years of supporting the musically talented, less privileged youth. COVER AND INSIDE PHOTOS COURTESY OF IAN SANTOS VIA OFY

According to celebrated Maestro Gerard Salonga — current Music Director and Chief Conductor of Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY), the main performing arm of Ang Misyon — Ang Misyon was inspired by the success of the social action music program El Sistema.

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Founded by Maestro José Antonio Abreu in Venezuela in 1975, El Sistema used musical programs to take vulnerable children away from the streets. The goal was to build them a future that does not involve crimes, drugs and gangs, among others.

“In a conversation with Piki [Federico Lopez] sometime in 2010, we shared our mutual admiration for El Sistema, and then the conversation went to what if we have something like that here in the Philippines. We thought, bagay siya sa Pilipinas because our conditions here are not dissimilar. And like Venezuela, we too have a lot of talented kids,” Salonga recalled in an interview after the successful 10th-anniversary concert of OFY at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Through musical training and instrument support, Ang Misyon and OFY scholars hone their skills to eventually play at professional level and give back by training future scholars. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANG MISYON, INC.

Improving lives of talented kids

It would take a few more years before that dream was realized, but from that day forward, Ang Misyon never turned its back on its mission. So much so that they are ever on track even after enduring the double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ABS-CBN shutdown.

To this very day, Ang Misyon continues to provide orchestral training and instrument support for their scholars, who now number the thousand-mark count.

And even before performance restrictions because of the pandemic, OFY performed overseas, like Malaysia, United States and Qatar, where they will always be remembered as the first Filipino symphony orchestra to have played at the Katara Opera House.

“Sobrang memorable po sa akin yung performance sa Qatar kasi yun din po yung first time kong makapag travel abroad,” Carmela Casas, 16-year-old flutist of OFY, shared at the sidelines of their anniversary concert.

Casas said she is grateful for the opportunity to travel around the country and overseas. But more importantly, she is thankful for receiving free training from Ang Misyon. The foundation continues to give the scholars one-on-one lessons, sectional workshops, and master classes.

“Yung mga teachers po namin ay professionals, mga nag-aaral sa malalaking universities pati sa ibang bansa and yung knowledge na shine-share nila sa amin, talagang magagamit namin. High quality and libre pa po siya,” Casas enthused.

In its decade-long existence, Ang Misyon has turned several OFY members into mentors to younger scholars and others still as full-time professionals.

Since 2021, Maestro Gerard Salonga has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of Orchestra for OFY, eager to train the future of orchestra music in the country.

OFY’s double bass player Marloe Kyril Maruyama actually did both. He joined OFY in 2016 when he was forced to stop school due to financial constraints. Now, he is the family’s breadwinner, bringing in the salary he earns from playing double bass.

“OFY yung naging daan sa akin para music na yung maging career ko ngayon. It opened doors for me para makatugtog sa ibang orchestra and mag train din ng mga mas batang musicians. Kung dati nakikitira lang kami at palipat-lipat, ngayon ako na yung nakakabayad sa apartment para sa family ko,” Maruyama shared.

For Ang Misyon and for Salonga, these success stories, among many others, affirm that they are on the right track.

“These inspiring results reaffirm the work we do and are a great example that art is an essential part of life and is a form of livelihood for many. There are various art forms out there, and music serves as a universal language we can all connect with. It can also be one of the most transformative, as it can uplift lives and bring hope to others,” Salonga stressed.

But then again, the mission continues.

In composition, these inspiring stories can be likened to bridges, passages that connect sections of a song, and not the coda or the concluding stanza.

Continuing mission

Salonga — concurrently the Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur — stepped in as OFY’s Music Director and Chief Conductor of Orchestras in 2021 intending to further elevate the orchestra.

“When I came in, it was the middle of the pandemic, and I decided that for the quality to go up, they need individual instruction. So what we did is we looked at the way we were doing things — made modifications, kept some of the great stuff that was there already and made some modifications.

“Now all of them have individual instructors, all paid for. They can’t afford it, so they are given lessons, sometimes, yung mga mentors na very generous, twice a week pa magturo.”

On the other hand, Salonga’s arrival also signaled the start of an “extremely stringent standard.”

“That’s one of the hard decisions you must make for a program like this. I let the kids know that yes, we are giving you lessons, but this is not a dole out; you have to your spot.”

What this meant was a round of auditions for all OFY scholars.

“I want them to learn that there are consequences, for lack of diligence or good consequence if you put in the work.”

Those who were able to keep their spot continued with their online sessions while the country was still under varying degrees of lockdowns. And when the locked downs eased in, they gradually met to play together, from small groups to sections, until eventually, in August, they were able to play as an orchestra, with Salonga meeting them all for the first time.

“What they bring is a very raw energy; it has to be sanded, refined, but that’s your building materials. You can’t do anything with people who don’t want to play. And these kids are desperate to play. That’s the single factor that they have with them that makes them special — desperation. They play like there’s no tomorrow,” Salonga noted when asked what it was like training younger musicians.

Meeting them also afforded Salonga to learn more about their stories.

When the weekly training session in the capital returned, he saw how some students, even outside Metro Manila, would find ways just to join these in-person sessions.

As Maestro Salonga puts it, music for these children is like oxygen. ‘For them, there’s no agenda except to play.’

Some kids from Nueva Ecija would leave their province at 4 a.m. to reach Pasig for their 9 a.m. rehearsals. There’s also a story of one scholar based in Cebu whose parents found a distant relative in Manila willing to take the scholar in.

“They do these because they are desperate to play — it’s like oxygen for them. And for them, there’s no agenda. These kids have no agenda except to play,” Salonga stressed.

Nevertheless, Salonga swore he does not coddle these children and gives them his honesty to further improve their skills.

“Syempre, you have to speak to them in a way that they’ll understand, but they have to be exposed to the fact that someone is demanding much more from them than they can offer right now.”

Besides honing their musical talents, Salonga also takes pride in teaching the scholars professional work ethics as early as now.

“We teach them how to behave in an orchestra, when to show your emotions and when to just really be quiet and deadpan — the decorum, the word of conduct for an orchestra.”

Outside music, these sessions of training, according to Salonga, will allow scholars to correct some negative traits that the Filipino culture usually passes down to the young.

“Music can instill diligence, discipline, and in the case of the orchestra, unanimity. Because orchestra won’t work if one group doesn’t listen to the other one. That’s how orchestras work — they play with their eyes and their ears. And then, finally, there’s precision. We don’t have that.”

The ultimate vision

Ultimately, Ang Misyon hopes to bring the orchestral training program nationwide to benefit children even in far-flung areas.

But for that to happen, the foundation will need reinforcement from partners and other organizations.

As Salonga laid out, training musicians are costly.

“Right now, we are paying for the 25 faculty members. We have to pay for our rehearsal venues but to top it all off, what’s really needed is funding for instruments, which are not cheap.”

For example, Salonga said professional piccolo instruments would cost €8,000 per piece, while professional violins could easily cost $40,000.

Sure there are available entry-level versions of these instruments, but Ang Misyon currently sponsors 70 scholars in OFY and 50 more reserve scholars. The amount could quickly balloon out.

Though institutionally funded by the Lopez Group of Companies, including ABS-CBN Corporation, First Philippine Holdings and First Gen Corporation, there are ways to help keep the music scholarships going for those who may not have the financial capability to master an instrument or play in an orchestra.

“What I hope people will realize is that, yes, it’s founded by a successful company, and they are capable of funding this program. But if we want it to get bigger and make an impact for more people, we will need more support,” Salonga finally emphasized.

***

For partnership inquiries and opportunities for support, email [email protected] or send a message through the OFY’s Facebook and Instagram pages: @OFY.ph.



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At Delavan’s Belfry, holiday sounds feature music of Chicago & the Trans Siberian Orchestra

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DELAVAN — What better way to greet the holiday season than with a string of concerts?

Tickets are on sale now for six Christmastime shows at Belfry Music Theatre, 3601 Highway 67, Delavan.

It starts with The Christmas Chronicles, which is Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

The Christmas Chronicles uses HD projections, music and vintage outfits to create a unique and visually stunning, Victorian Era-styles holiday event with intertwined, seasonal vignettes. Features narration by Leonard Ford, Susan Aquila and the Paganini String Trio, with Jeff Lubin on guitar and vocals.

The Four C Notes return to the Belfry for Seasons Greetings Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3. Recreating the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Four C Notes will perform a selection of rock ‘n roll Christmas classics.

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Christmas with Chris Ruggiero is Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 7 and 8. The PBS.TV star will perform fan favorites from his anticipated Christmas album as well as his other music. Fun fact: Ruggiero has worked with the same arranger who created the hits for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Always Olivia, a tribute to Olivia Newton-John, is Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10.

Annie Aiello, a professional singer/songwriter of the Chicagoland area for over 20 years, was a “Round 2” candidate on “The Voice.” She has worked with Richard Marx and several Nashville artists.

Tickets for the next two acts are selling quickly, according to Belfry’s website, belfrymusictheatre.com.

Trans-Infinity Orchestra brings its Trans Siberian Orchestra tribute to the stage Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 14 and 15. Using a state-of-the-art light show and an angelic choir, the act will tell the story of Christmas around the world.

Another act that has played the Belfry before, Chicago Rewired brings A Chicago Christmas to audiences Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17.

All shows start at 7 p.m. Cost is $58 to $76 per ticket.

To purchase tickets and for more details, visit the Belfry website.



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Martin Roth Shares His Favorite 10 Downtempo Tracks You Need To Hear

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Martin Roth is an industry veteran whose eclectic foundations from which he draws inspiration have helped shape his sound into something only heard once in a generation.

The soft textures and delicate harmonies have garnered him releases on top-tier labels such as Anjunadeep and others, all of who respect his compositional mastery as much as his dance-friendly beats, bass, and groove. 

So to celebrate the release of his most recent release, we invited Martin Roth to come on and curate his favorite ambient and downtempo tracks of all time. Each track offers something a little different and helps give a glimpse into the mind of one of the best producers of our time. 

Stream Martin Roth’s ‘Sine Waves’ Below

Made in collaboration with neo-classical pianist and producer, Tom Ashbrook, the two-track EP packs a lot into just a couple of tracks. 

The lead song, ‘Sine Waves’ of which the EP finds its name delivers a dense and textured experience from start to finish. Chittering percussions keep tempo underneath a low-lying bass as the sine-wave-made harmonies slowly churn and evolve across the stereo space. 

‘Alicia’s Noir’ takes a more acoustic direction, mixing the piano aggressively as for it to take precedence in the mix above all other elements. The somber and morose story the keys play tells a disconnecting narrative pockmarked by lighter elements and atmospheres. 

Joep Beving – Sleeping Lotus

“This track is the reason I considered going even deeper into just using the piano. I used it as my only instrument for a while and I discovered what was possible with just that. He also has a very interesting philosophical approach and his whole story inspires me as much as his writing. You should check out his famous commentary album-versions where he shares insight into every track.” – Martin Roth

Sébastien Tellier – L’amour et la violence

“Not exactly an ambient track but the perfect fusion of piano and analog synths diving into nostalgia. I’ve always been a fan of this french-electro-vintage-pop sound of the 70ies throughout the millennium which was also accompanying MY early youth … by the amazing Sébastien Tellier.” – Martin Roth

Cigarettes After Sex – Apocalypse

“The heroes of downtempo who were able to put their music into in a festival format playing smooth tracks on the mainstage. The soundtrack of a lifetime. I could’ve taken every song by them so I took the most prominent.” – Martin Roth

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Hania Rani – Eden

“Such a beautiful likable person creating such beautiful music – even Cercle couldn’t resist taking her to its audience. Eden is one of her earlier pieces and still one of my favorites however worth checking out every single one of her.” – Martin Roth

Nils Frahm – Right Right Right

“Obviously, no list of mine would’ve been complete without Nils Frahm. Every piece by him is an inspiration, and when you look for real analog sound, don’t look any further. His recording techniques, gear, and noise are telling stories already. This one is from his latest album and returns a bit to his earlier works using analog synthesizers in a minimalist way filling the gaps with amazing delays and noise.” – Martin Roth

Moby – Hymn

“My first experiences in the ambient world show how important it is that Artists leave their comfort zones to show extreme corners of the music they are known for. I was a huge Moby fan but mostly for his upbeat/uplifting tunes … then Hymn came out and I was obsessed and kinda fascinated that a beatless almost piano-only track by him became easily my Moby-favorite.” – Martin Roth

Sven Väth – L’esperanza

“Sven Väth has always been my hero in terms of club music and the art of charismatic DJing & entertainment but same as with Hymn by Moby, L’esperanza came quite unexpected & slow making me realize how much easier a calm track can make its way through underground but also radio. This was helping me a lot looking more left & right and being more open-minded for other kinds of Electronic music also in terms of production.” – Martin Roth

Barker – Paradise Engineering

“Ambient can be Techno too – or Techno can be Ambient too. I love tracks without beats shouting desperately FOR percussion & drums but there is none coming … you can mix it on top or you can enjoy it as it is. This one is distributing its energy even without drums so massively, that you feel like you showered seconds ago after.” – Martin Roth

Martin Roth – An Analog Guy in a Digital World

“My breakthrough track into this genre 2017 – it came overnight – I played a bit around with Arps and was heavily inspired by Nils Frahm’s ‘Says’ – many say it is very close to it – actually in musical terms it isn’t really but the feel is obviously very similar and I listened to it before a ton which you will notice. I enjoy a lot those crescendo / ‘Bolero’ techniques bringing everything to a climax which worked here pretty well and for some reason, it touched meant people – so I was lucky that day hitting the right notes. Also still for me a huge one which I still enjoy.” – Martin Roth

Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole Bianche

“A rather obvious one here however I find Ludovico and this piece as all of his music a quite easy entrance into more classical & minimalistic music if you wanna get into it – he has the ability to write sophisticated sounding piano for the regular you & me – after just a few seconds you are already hooked and want to keep listening.“ – Martin Roth



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AROUND CAPE ANN: Love letters focus of Olson lecture | News

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The work of the late Charles Olson, a 20th century American poet who made Gloucester his home, still makes ripples around the world.

In that spirit, the annual Charles Olson Lecture will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Cape Ann Museum auditorium at 27 Pleasant St., in downtown Gloucester. The talk is free to the public but reservations are required. The lecture also will be live-streamed on Facebook and Vimeo.

The featured speaker will be Sharon Thesen, a poet and scholar, who will give a talk titled “Olson & Love: The Transformative Correspondence of Charles Olson and Frances Boldereff.” Thesen will talk about working with Ralph Maud on the pair’s correspondence for which there are two editions: “A Modern Correspondence,” published by Wesleyan in 1999, and “After Completion: The Later Letters,” published in 2014.

“In this lecture, Thesen will show how Olson’s love affair with Frances Boldereff set his compass intellectually in his move toward the recovery of what could be found in the archaic as a guide or inspiration for a new poetics,” according to the museum.

Thesen, who grew up in western Canada, attended Simon Fraser University in British Columbia where she studied poetry with Robin Blaser, George Bowering, and Maud. She later began teaching English and creative writing. This lecture is presented in collaboration with the Gloucester Writers Center.

Olson, a literary giant in the post-modern realm, created a personal library of massive proportions at his home at 28 Fort Square in Gloucester. That library is now housed at the University of Connecticut, along with other Olson papers. Maud created a near duplicate of Olson’s library, which was later given to the Gloucester Writers Center. Earlier this year, the Gloucester Writers Center donated the Maud/Olson Library to the Cape Ann Museum Library & Archives. This is a collection of 4,000 volumes owned, read, or referenced by Charles Olson. The library is now housed within the Janet & William Ellery James Center at the CAM Green.

To mark this new acquisition, the museum will offer a tour of the Maud/Olson Library at the CAM Green,13 Poplar St., on Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. The library is situated next to the Vincent Ferrini Library. Attendees registered for the 1 p.m. talk are welcome to join the tour at 11 a.m. To register and for more details, visit capeannmuseum.org.

Halloween party

The Knowles Halloween Bash, open to the public, takes place Thursday, Oct. 27, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Gloucester Elks, at 101 Atlantic Road on Gloucester’s Back Shore. Costumes encouraged for those wanting to dress up but are not required. There will be food, cash bar and live music from Tregony Bow. Tickets are $20. For details and advance tickets, go to Kenneth J. Knowles’ Facebook page. Tickets also at the door.

Musicians Unleashed

Cape Ann Symphony announces the return of its popular Musicians Unleashed Concert Series with its next performance, “American Classical Music,” on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church St., Gloucester.

“We wanted to put together a program of great music that reflects the vast and wide diversity of peoples and cultures that have made up and continue to make up our great country of America” said Cape Ann Symphony Conductor Yoichi Udagawa.

The concert program features an array of musical styles, from Dvorak to the Grateful Dead. Selections include works by Florence Price, Cape Ann Symphony Concertmaster and violinist Scott Moore, William Grant Still, and Rachel Grimes. The concert will be performed by Cape Ann Symphony violinist Erica Pisaturo, cellist Seth MacLeod and violist Brandon White as well as Moore.

Udagawa said he is thrilled that the audiences will get a chance to hear and meet the new concertmaster.

“Scott Moore is a fabulous violinist who plays at an incredibly high level in all kinds of styles from classical music to Kentucky Bluegrass,” he said.

For more information and tickets, visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner

The 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner, Alisa Amador, will perform on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Old Sloop Presents performing arts series, held at the handicap-accessible Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church of Rockport, 12 School St.

Amador’s music is known for its synthesis of many styles, including rock, jazz, funk and alternative folk, wrapped in the spirit of Latin music. NPR’s Cyrena Touros calls her “a pitch-perfect rendition of my wildest dreams.”

The opener will be Hayley Sabella, who was born in Massachusetts but raised in Nicaragua. She won the 2019 New England Songwriting Competition.

For tickets and information, visit oldslooppresents.org.

Classic films, live music

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation presents an afternoon of classic silent movies this Sunday, Oct. 30, at 3 pm. at the Gloucester Meetinghouse at the corner of Church and Middle streets with live keyboard accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis.

This family-friendly afternoon will feature three works from the early era of cinematic history presented on a large screen with Rapsis infusing his interpretations of this lost technique. The films, with non-stop action and knee-slapping comedy routines, were selected for their wide appeal.

The films are:

“The Haunted House” (1921) with Buster Keaton. A gang of robbers, a crooked bank manager, and a bank teller converge on a booby-trapped house decorated to appear haunted in order to fool the authorities. A series of uproarious encounters between the antagonists leaves the audience wondering who the true villain really is.

“The Floorwalker” (1916) with Charlie Chaplin in his signature role as “The Tramp.” This early comedy features “gags galore” with an early version of an attempt to run down the up escalator and one character mirroring the movements of another.

“The Kid” (1921), which was written and directed by Chaplin. He plays the role of “The Tramp” who cares for a young boy whose mother left him for adoption. The three’s lives become intertwined in this heartwarming story of reconciliation.

Tickets are available online at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org, or at the door. General seating $15; students with ID $5; children under 12 free.

Yellow Brick Road party

The Studio restaurant, at 51 Rocky Neck Ave. in Gloucester, will close out the season by presenting a Wizard of Oz-themed Halloween event on Sunday, Oct. 30, when the team will be decked out as their favorite characters. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

“At Smith Cove’s own Emerald City, country crooner Annie Brobst will serenade scarecrows from 6 to 9 p.m. while the bar mixes up some potent potions,” according to a press release. Some of those libations feature The Studio’s “Oz-twist” on a rum runner, or a “Brain Shot” made with peach schnapps, Bailey’s Irish Cream and grenadine.

In an added note, the restaurant team is rallying around a fund-raiser by Sal Valenti, the sous chef, whose 10-month old dog, Trager, needs an unexpected surgery on his leg estimated to cost $8,000. To help defray the costs, a baseball signed by recent Hall of Fame inductee David “Big Papi” Ortiz as well as a signed Patriots jersey by running back LeGarrette Blount will be auctioned off. Both items will be available for bidding onsite on Oct. 30. There is a fundraiser page also on Sal Valenti’s Facebook page.

Irish folk singer

Tommy Sands, an Irish troubadour and peace activist, is performing “Music of Peace and Healing” at First Church in Ipswich, at 1 Meetinghouse Green, on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. This is a free presentation of the House of Peace in Ipswich.

Gloucester’s Michael O’Leary, vocals, and Carol McIntyre, harp, will open the program; Pierce Woodward, fiddle, and Harry Wagg, guitar, will welcome concertgoers with a set of fiddle tunes in the foyer before the show. For more information, visit www.houseofpeaceinc.org.

Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-675-2706 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com at least two weeks in advance.





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Leslie Jordan did not expect to have a career in country music | Entertainment

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