Like most people I have plenty of Bucket List entries that I want to tick off in my life. Many of these are of course associated with the music of Aaron Copland and one of the biggest was seeing a fully staged version of his opera The Tender Land. This opera is performed quite often in the US by young performers and university groups but it is quite a rarity to be put on anywhere else in the world and certainly by...
I love my city – Bristol. For sure, there are things that annoy me – the lack of a mass transit system – why? And certain derelict buildings that have stood like eyesores for...
At heart I’m a city boy. Even though my job involves working with farmers and I love country walks and nature spotting, I feel the need to be close to where culture is. I...
I really like contemporary dance and I love modern classical music. It’s not often I see them combined as it’s hard to keep one’s eyes peeled on all the listings and besides many events...
Throughout Aaron Copland’s life there were very important women who played a major role in inspiring his creativity towards producing his unique sound and some of his most iconic works. His career choices and...
Over the last few days I have had this idea in my head. If there was a new Mount Rushmore exclusively set aside for contemporary American composers, which four heads would be carved in...
Once in a while a book is published that completely fills a void. That is certainly the case with Appalachian Spring Original Ballet Version produced by Music of the United States of America (MUSA)...
I bet you if I asked 100 people the question “Who has recorded the most pieces by Aaron Copland?” the most common answer by a very long way would be the New York Philharmonic...
I’ve been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks so this is a rather belated review of the second Sound World concert in the Crypt at the Mount Without (read my review of...