dancingpebbles

One of my favorite memories of August was when Basil serenaded the cow. I don’t think she was terribly impressed, but the rest of us were.

Last week was the gala performance of the new Syrian Big Band, trained and directed by Amadis Dunkel. It was a beautiful evening with a couple thousand music lovers present. More photos coming.

Our friends from Apple Hill were here this week for student workshops and concerts. Founded by pianist Eric Stumacher almost two decades ago, the Apple Hill string ensemble tours globally, and also holds summer workshops and a music festival where they bring together talented young musicians from the U.S. and from various politically troubled places in the world. Oh, and the music is luscious. If you get a chance to hear them, please don’t miss it.

The last few days have been hectic. Have been persuaded into participating on a charity CD for the now-homeless child survivors of the tsunami. For the last few days our house has been turned into a makeshift studio, friends moved in with a vast array of mikes and sound equipment and upscale computer progams. More friends moved in with a vast array of instruments of various sorts. Some hectic days of recording, re-recording, and mixing. The end result is not perfect but there are some nice songs there. I think the liner notes are in the works now, and then it will be ready for distribution and sale. The CD is called “Karamat” and is a collection of really old Middle Eastern melodies, some instrumentals and some vocals. If you’re interested you can contact pranaparis for more info.