Star City Blog / Music

Berman Music Foundation Announces New Home

LINCOLN, Neb.—After 14 years in separate locations, the Berman Music Foundation museum and office have been combined under one roof, raising its visibility and giving the general public greater access to its valuable resources, especially for students, musicians and music scholars. The move furthers the BMF’s longtime commitment to advocate and educate through music.

Housed on the Skylight Gallery level of The Burkholder Project at 719 P St. in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket District, the combined BMF museum-office will celebrate its grand opening April 3 from 7-9 p.m., in conjunction with the First Friday Gallery Walk.

LSO Presents Pedals and Pipes at First-Plymouth Church

A Two-Night Celebration Featuring the Lied Organ

LINCOLN – Music lovers are in for a unique experience when Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra presents “Pedals and Pipes,” a celebration of the International Year of the Organ. Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3, at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, 20th and D Streets.

LSO will perform two masterworks for organ and orchestra: Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante with Christopher Marks and Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 with Jeremy Bankson.

“The LSO performing with Christopher and Jeremy on the Lied Organ in the acoustically and architecturally magnificent sanctuary of First-Plymouth Church will be an incredible experience,” said Edward Polochick, LSO Music Director. “We are so honored to offer the Lincoln community this two-night presentation, in celebration of the International Year of the Organ.”

2009 YOUNG JAZZ ARTIST COMPETITION

Lincoln, NE - The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra announces auditions for the 2009 Young Jazz Artist Competition. This competition provides an outstanding opportunity for students to audition to perform with some of the finest jazz musicians in Nebraska in front of a live audience. The first prize winner of this competition will win a cash prize of $250 and will perform with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and guest artist Wayne Bergeron at the "Plays Well With Others"  concert to be held on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln, NE. A second place winner will be selected to receive a $100 cash prize.

Lincoln Municipal Band 16th Annual Artist Competition

Lincoln, NE - The Lincoln Municipal Band is pleased to announce the 16th annual John Shildneck Young Artist Competition.

The competition is open to musicians, middle school age and older, who have not reached their 22nd birthday on or before July 12, 2009, and perform on woodwind, brass, percussion or string instruments, as well as vocalists. Those auditioning must be residents of Nebraska or currently studying with a Nebraska teacher.

Interview with Karen Sandene of New Music Agency

[Editor’s Note: BLOG writer John Cutler is working on a series of interviews with arts organizations on just how bad the country’s financial condition is affecting the performing and visual arts. In part 1 we learned that Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra should weather the storm.  In part 2, Dean Haist at Arts Incorporated revealed that most of his organizations will make it with strong board of directors participation and fundraising, despite the fact that the city may not be funding the Lincoln Municipal Band for 2009.  Part 3 takes a look at one of Lincoln’s smallest music organizations, the New Music Agency.]

By John Cutler

Small performing arts groups that are not making it through the economic crunch may be too big. That may seem like a strange rationale, but it’s the mindset of Karen Sandene, mastermind of Lincoln’s New Music Agency.

Sandene is not the Executive Director; the organization is much too small for one of those. She considers herself the group’s Artistic Director. And Concert coordinator. Also a chunk of the marketing staff, the CFO and the Stage Manager.

“We work independently, and we get paid for the performance,” Sandene told the BLOG. Here’s how the process works:

Interview with Dean Haist of Arts Inc.

Second in a series about survival for the arts organizations in town

By John Cutler

Note to our readers: The first article in this series explored the health of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and found it to be a stable, growing organization that’s planning its way through the economic shortfall.

But some Lincoln arts organizations will have a tougher time of it. Star City Blog did a question-and-answer session with Dean Haist, founder and Executive Director of Arts Incorporated. His organization helps several small arts groups, including the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, the Lincoln Municipal Band, and the Nebraska Brass, manage their business functions and guide their boards’ direction.

Interview with Underground Pop Artist John Freidel

By Ashley Buck

“You are into music ‘mathematically’. Why do you choose pop?” I ask.

“I just think that it’s the most beautiful. A lot of people think that pop music is what they hear on the radio. But when I think of pop it’s The Everly Brothers, the early Beatles, its Doo wop, its Motown…you have to think about it applying to more than one genre…I love a good melody and a good hook on things. I love it still being able to rock and have a psychedelic edge and weird textures; things people haven’t heard before but they can still relate and we can make the music listenable to everybody.”

The who: singer/songwriter John Freidel (pronounced fry-dell)

The where: The Manhattan Deli.

The why: to let ya’ll know about what’s happenin’ on music scene

The how: By having lunch with John Freidel at work

Who is this infamous creature of the “underground” Lincoln music scene with his shape shifting stage names and catchy pop melodies? That’s what I was trying to find out.

Music Scene: Are you bored of your current playlist?

By Ashley Buck

If you want to catch some great live music for free, hit the books with some background ambiance, or just meet some new people who are into live music and sip a cappuccino, you can head down to a local Coffee Shop.  Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso is one venue that has live music at least three times a week. It has been my privilege to view a variety of interesting shows there lately. They feature a mix both “artists” and “amateur” musical acts. Here are a few original singer/songwriters performances that caught my attention this week at “The Lark”. You can check out the Meadowlark’s event calendar right here on the Blog for upcoming shows and events.

Monday: Bearkat and Loblolly Boy

Bearkat and Loblolly Boy played a fantastic set. Lucas a.k.a. Loblolly Boy was vocally and lyrically reminiscent of Ryan Adams. He was skillful with the mandolin and the banjolele (pronounced banjo-lay-lee).  He talked about living in a tent in a friend’s backyard in Austin, Texas for a few months. You could feel the traveler coming out in the beats of his guitar. Katie a.k.a. Bearkat accompanied him playing a box with wire brushes and various other percussion instruments. Her voice had floating quality like Snow White’s or Cinderella’s with a little county lilt, a rare voice quality in the world of hearty-voiced radio pop singers. In her own set she flaunted her range and sensibility. She sang songs about revenge and constraint and, of course, love. They were both quiet and grateful in demeanor and even helped the baristas close down the store at the end of the night.  You can check out their music and touring schedule at:

http://www.myspace.com/bearkatmusic and

http://www.myspace.com/loblollyboy

Wednesday: Open Mic

Although the open mic is not limited to music, it is definitely the dominant genre of performance. Some of the best acts included “Jason and the Punk necks”, classical guitar selections preformed by Todd Poore, and ballads Dory Marsh.  Local musicians played three songs each and poets were limited to six minutes. It is fun to see groups of friends supporting each other’s art and helping each other develop skills.  And if you’re tired of writing out your inspirations on “Facebook”, come and share it with some real living human beings.

Friday: Nicole Torres and Camille Bloom

You can tell that these girls have been in the business along time. From head to tote, they were set. They were experts setting up their sound on the less than perfect Meadowlark supplied equipment. They seemed to know that their personalities were inseparable from their performance and they crafted professional appearance as well as exhibit an emotional rawness. Nicole Torres had a vocal quality similar to Shakira. Her songs had both a Latin and Middle Eastern Flare, but somehow would fit into the folk rock genre. Camille’s voice seemed to have multiple personalities. She could go rock or Ani Difranco, country or lullaby on you in a heartbeat.  Both Nicole and Camille seemed to use their songs as a sort of chronicle. They took time to not only sing their songs but also to impart their philosophies and tell a few stories. You can check out their music and touring schedule at:

http://www.myspace.com/camillebloom and http://www.camillebloom.com

www.nicoletorres.