On Friday March 12th at 7:30 PM, violinist John Michael Vaida and pianist Timothy Burns team up for a recital at St. Stephen's Episcopal Chruch in Wilkes-Barre, PA. On the program will be sonatas by Aaron Copland, Alfred Schnittke, and Edvard Grieg. The concert will also feature the world premier of "Three Little Lights" by Rochester composer Baljinder Sekhon. The performance will be recorded and broadcast on WVIA FM as part of their series "Music from St. Stephen's."

Perception

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.


4 minutes later:

the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.


45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.


1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

Announcing The Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary 2010 Asia Scholarship Competition

The Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary
2010 Asia Scholarship Competition

Winners will receive full or partial scholarships to attend PAI!
Open to student musicians 14 to 18 years of age.

PAI is an International Summer Program for Serious Music Students Who Seek High Quality Performance Opportunities in Solo, Orchestral and Chamber Music

Program Dates: Three and six-week sessions available:
June 27 - August 7, 2010 (Full six-week program)
June 27 - July 17, 2010 (Session I - three weeks)
July 18 - August 7, 2010 (Session II - three weeks)

Registration:
All students must register online at
http://www.wyomingseminary.org/page.cfm?p=560

Audition Requirements:
A live, CD, DVD or YouTube audition is required for scholarship consideration.
The audition should consist of:
•5 - 10 minutes of musical excerpts that demonstrate both technical and expressive abilities
•A brief live or Skype interview spoken in English
Students will be notified by e-mail of their audition and interview times

Live Video-taped Audition and Interview Dates: Live auditions will be conducted by Mr. David Damico, Director of Admission

Tuesday, March 10 Taipei, Taiwan
Friday, March 12 Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Monday, March 15 Hong Kong
Thursday, March 18 Shanghai, China
Saturday, March 20 Beijing, China
Wednesday, March 24 Seoul, South Korea

DVD and CD Auditions:
Recorded auditions can be delivered in your city. Please email us at onstage@wyomingseminary.org to arrange a time and location to drop off audition materials.

DVD and CD Auditions Can Also Be Mailed To:
Nancy Sanderson, Director
The Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary
201 North Sprague Ave.
Kingston, PA 18704
USA

All DVDs and CDs should be labeled with the date, your name, address, telephone number and email address and include the registration form located at http://www.wyomingseminary.org/page.cfm?p=560.

YouTube Auditions:
Send the URL to onstage@wyomingseminary.org. Please include the date, your name, address, telephone number and email address. Please be sure to fill out an on-line registration form.

*Deadline for the PAI Asia Scholarship Audition is April 1st, 2010*

Scholarship Details
Full PAI scholarship includes tuition, room and board for one three-week session. Scholarship recipients may choose to attend PAI for an additional three-week session for an additional fee. The family is responsible for transportation to and from the Wyoming Seminary campus, medical insurance, private lesson fees and personal spending money.

Questions? Contact us with your questions at onstage@wyomingseminary.org.

The PAI Faculty Present "A Shoenberg Festival"

Wyoming Seminary Department of Music and
The Scranton Area Foundation present…

A Schoenberg Festival
Celebrating the music of Arnold Schoenberg

Saturday, February 20th 8:00 PM, Great Hall

Featuring Lawrence Loh, Maureen Hurd, Christiane Vaida, Wen-ChiLiu, Sophie Till, Elizabeth Duhr, J. M. Vaida, Chris Vaneman

Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) for piano, violin and cello
Also programmed: short violin and cello works by Schoenberg’s student, Anton Webern

Art work demonstrating the parallel abstract movement in
early 20th Century visual arts will be projected during the performance.

Tuesday, February 23rd 8:00 PM, Great Hall

Pierrot Lunaire for small chamber orchestra and mezzo soprano
Prior to the performance, David McGrew will give a short lecture about the music.

Directed by Lawrence Loh, the musicians will perform Pierrot Lunaire
("Moonstruck Pierrot"), a melodrama set to 21 selected poems from
Otto Hartleben's German translation of Albert Giraud's cycle of poems. The narrator delivers the poems in the Sprechstimme style, which complements the mood of the poems aurally.

Both Performances are
Free and Open to the Public
Great Hall at Wyoming Seminary
(Wyoming Ave., just north of Kingston Corners)

PAI Alum - Keri Height is WVIA Artist of the Week

¡Hola! from Zane Forshee

Zane reported that things in Spain are great.

Zane’s doctoral research is focused on the music of Vicente Asencio. He will start writing his final DMA document this next month. Zane is currently working with guitarist, Ignacio Rodes. Rodes knew Asencio and gave Zane information on the scores/manuscripts of these works. Good Luck with the writing Zane!

Zane’s Upcoming Concerts:

Feb. 24th, Conciertos en Palacios: 20:00h, Madrid (this concert is through the U.S. Embassy, the city of Los Angeles, and part of the ARCO Festival

Mar. 17, Alicante, Spain, 20:00h (I don't have the address yet).

Mar. 18, Fulbright Mid-Year Meeting, Santander, Spain (this is not 100% confirmed as of yet)

Mar. 23, Fulbright Summit, Music Gala, Belin, Germany, 20:00