Rockport Music to Sponsor Motif No.1 Day Events!

Saturday, May 17, 10 AM

Instrument Petting Zoo

Shalin Liu Performance Center, 3rd Floor Reception Hall
If you have ever wanted to experience playing the instruments seen and heard on the stage of the Shalin Liu Performance Center, now is your chance! Experienced professionals and students will be on hand to guide you with the correct way to hold and make music on many of the instruments of the string family, as well as instruments of the brass and woodwind families, and a Celtic harp. It is sure to be a cacophony of sound, but great fun!  Free, no tickets required. Click here to view a flyer of Rockport Music-related events at Motif #1 Day.

Saturday, May 17, 12 PM

Wenham Street Brass

Shalin Liu Performance Center
Justin Stanley, french horn Matthew Baker, trumpet Joseph Walsh, trombone
Created in 2010, the Wenham Street Brass is a trio of young professionals dedicated to engaging audiences through performance and education. They are the ensemble-in-residence for the A Street Music Education, a music school in Quincy, MA. All holders of graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory, the members of Wenham Street Brass have a wide variety of experience, and their programs reflect an interest in music of many time periods and genres.  Free, no tickets required
Motif No. 1 Day is a Rockport, MA town festival, and is a celebration of the arts inspired by Rockport Music’s iconic red fish shack, Motif No. 1. Festival events also include a sidewalk chalk drawing contest, live music, local food, and a 5K road race along Rockport’s scenic shore. Click here to view a flyer of Rockport Music-related events at Motif #1 Day.

This Weekend at Rockport Music!

greetings - this weekend Rockport Music has an embarassment of riches - two exciting prorgrams to chase away the mid winter blues.

 

On Saturday, February 23,  starting at 2:00, Rockport Music's second in-depth adult education event will take place at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Built around the evening concert by the Jasper String Quartet, the afternoon and early evening offers lectures on the cuture, times and music of Beethoven and Haydn, and a look at how players' approach 20th and 21st century music. Also offered will be tips for listeners when the going gets rough with contemporary music. The Jasper Quartet will treat participants to an open rehearsal, and as always food and wine will play their part in making the day memorable.  Flyer is attached with information about the day. The Jasper Quartet is, in my opinion, the Real Deal, and I am excited to hear them again.

 

On Sunday, February 24, two young (16 year old) energetic musicians will give a concert of piano and cello music, including music by Beethoven, Debussy, and their own compositions. In earler days it was the norm for performers to also be composers, and these two teenagers are successfully reviving that tradition. Both are national contest winners on their instrument (cellist Lev Mamuya just won the Sphinx Competition on Sunday at the same moment that pianist Chris Staknys was performing Tchaikovsky at NEC) as well as commissioned composers. It doesn't get much better than this!

 

I hope you will join us for these two events, which underline  Rockport Music's commitment to a culture of learning and fostering emerging artists.

 

Tickets for the Jasper Quartet concert and One Day University are available at the box office. The Sunday concert is free, no tickets required.

 

Rockport Music Offers Free Youth Tickets

Free Community Concert Sponsored by Rockport Music

Movie Premier Comes to Rockport

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Thursday, Aug 25 7:30p

at Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, the film deftly gains unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the mediaindustry at its time of greatest turmoil. read more

Price: Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on our website or over the phone.

Phone: (978) 546-7391

Age Suitability: None Specified

Tags: rockport music, shalin liu performance center

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, the film deftly gains unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the mediaindustry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, while their editors and publishers grapple with up-to-the-minute issues like controversial new sources and the implications of an online pay-wall. Meanwhile, rigorousjournalism is thriving—Page One gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-recordquotes, and skillful page-one pitching that brings the most venerable newspaper in America to fruition each and every day.
Q&A with Director Andrew Rossi and Writer/Producer Kate Novack.

Art News: July

One of our Festival sponsors, Rockport Music, continues their innovative programming by offering some interesting educational programs this coming week. Check out the details below sent to us by Stephanie Woolf, Rockport Music Education Coordinator:

 

On Friday, July 15 at 2 pm,  in the Shalin Liu Performance Center, 35 Main Street, Rockport, pianist Victor Rosenbaum will preside over a masterclass with three amazing young pianists. This is a ticketed event - adults $10, youths FREE, college students FREE also.  (Tickets may be purchased ahead of time at the box office, or on the day of the masterclass.) You might ask, what is a masterclass? The short answer is that it is a public lesson in front of an audience. Is it just for music students? their parents?  teachers?  The answer is all of the above, as well as anyone interested in how a musician thinks about music - what thought process needs to happen to make it sound the way it does. Many concertgoers think it just all comes naturally, and in truth after a while some of it does, but also a great amount of thought goes into the playing of every note, every phrase. An intimate knowledge of the music, and the composer's wishes, are equally important as being able to put one's fingers in the right place. Although on occasion technical matters are discussed, for the most part the making of music, phrasing, is the topic covered.

 

But a picture is worth a thousand words, so I suggest you look at some examples on YouTube. Itzhak Perlman gives an overview of what a masterclass is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkUqsqf_np4.   Two of my favorite masterclasses are by cellists (of which I am going to be one in my next life) - Steven Isserlis   www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq77Dqey1Rw    and the renowned French cellist Paul Tortelier www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWWbcvlQGm4.  (if that link does not work, go to youtube and type in Paul Tortelier masterclass)

 

But this is to be a piano masterclass, and Daniel Barenboim has a three part masterclass with the young Lang Lang, the flamboyant Chinese pianist who has risen to rock star fame. I particularly like his explanation of how one can make a crescendo on one note on the piano. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMXgRIS9Hc, (similarly, if this does not work, type in Daniel Barenboim masterclass) ,www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BItJ-vpSA&feature=related, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM_rW7SSV8g&feature=related

 

On Saturday July 16 at 10 am, the Latino/Caribbean group TenTumbao will present a Family Concert at the Shalin Liu. This is a (free) ticketed event, and at the present no tickets are available. However, some tickets may be turned back in, and I encourage you to call the box office (978.546.7391) and/or to come on Saturday the 16th, when some tickets may become available at 9:50.

 

On Sunday, July 17 at 12:30, renowned Lizst scholar Alan Walker will present a lecture entitled "Liszt and the Keyboard: How the Wizard cast his Spells". To be sure, Liszt was indeed a wizard, flamboyant, and also deeply spiritual. I know this lecture will provide insights into the life of this composer, whose birth 200 years ago is being celebrated, as well as the music being played at the concerts that day at 2:00 and 7:30.

 

Rockport Music presents an Instrument Petting Zoo on Motif No. 1 Day

Join Rockport Music on Motif No. 1 Day as they sponsor an Instrument Petting Zoo for children of all ages. If you have ever wanted to experience "playing" the instruments seen on the stage at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, now is your chance! Experienced professionals and students will be on hand to guide you with the correct way of holding and making music on many of the instruments in the string family, including harp, as well as instruments of the brass family and the flute. It is sure to be a cacophony of sound, but great fun. Thanks to Music & Arts for providing many of the instruments used in this activity.
Saturday, May 21st from 10:30 to 12 noon on the third floor of the Shalin Liu Performance Center.

Kids' Art Zone at HarvestFest

In between listening to live music and checking out what's on tap at the Cape Ann Brewing Co. booth on T-Wharf, parents can spend time with their kids at the HarvestFest Kids' Art Zone. For a donation - which goes to support festival programming - children can play in our haybale mini-maze, paint a pumpkin and more.

And there are plenty of complimentary activities going on as well: families will have a great time checking out all the scarecrows on our Scarecrow Stroll - plan on voting for your favorite! And this year we are featuring a don't-miss event: The Great Scarecrow Chase. The Great Scarecrow Chase begins at Harvey Park at 4:30 pm, parades along Bearskin Neck before ending at the Old Firehouse Trust Building where children will meet The Great Scarecrow himself and receive a festive treat in honor of the season. Costumes for the parade are optional (we especially love homemade ones!).

Of course, no HarvestFest would be complete without hayrides, compliments of Rockport's own Seaview Farm. Children's activities are all centered in Harvey Park in downtown Rockport, just across the street from T-Wharf.

And don't forget to check out the other community events going on in conjunction with the festival. Rockport Music is hosting a Community Day with a full slate of activities for families, including a big-screen showing of The Wizard of Oz! Click here for details.

The Arts Scene in Rockport is Heating Up This Summer!

Michael Lutch for the New York Times

Check out this review of Rockport Music's new Shalin Liu Performance Center's opening night in the New York Times.

The opening of the performance center is a watershed moment for the arts in Rockport. It is now clear that Cape Ann possesses, not only a heritage of the arts, but a vibrant scene where art in every medium is supported today.

Rockport Music's expanded programming will contribute enormously to bringing recognition to the amazing community of artists here in Rockport and Cape Ann, even as the organization brings in performers from all over the world.

Our hope, as Rockport Festivals, is to be a part of this watershed moment by partnering with groups such as Rockport Music, as well as other non-profits, local businesses and individuals - all of us working to bring downtown to life with community-oriented festival programming.

We'd love to have you, as an integral part of this community, join us!

Speaking of which, we have some great things in store for our Rockport HarvestFest. Be sure to put Saturday, October 16th on your calendar now. And plan to make a weekend of it, with our kickoff event scheduled for Friday, October 15th and various community events going on Sunday, October 17th. You won't want to miss a thing!

A Hint of What's To Come...

Our Motif No. 1 Day Schedule of Events will be posted soon. But for now, here's a glimpse into what will be going on in Rockport on May 22nd:

-> Rockport Music is presenting a slate of free community concerts at the beautiful new Shalin Liu Performance Center. Click here to learn more.

-> The one-and-only Brad Byrd will be performing as part of Motif No. 1 Day and at the Old Sloop Coffeehouse in Rockport on the evening of May 22nd.

-> Historian and photographer Les Bartlett will be presenting "Motif No. 1: Why it Matters" - a talk combined with historic photographs of Rockport and its famous fishing shack. Check out his new Motif No. 1 website here.

...all of this and more will be coming your way on May 22nd. See you in downtown Rockport!

Art News in Rockport

Much has been happening in the realm of the Arts in Rockport. Plein air painters, like the artist in this picture at Front Beach, are just an enjoyable part of the every day scenery around here, albeit one that residents and visitors don't take for granted.