New Music, New Thoughts: Measure for Measure

Life is an exercise in collaboration. Yoav, Yael and their New York multi-media team have turned it into an artform. Their ongoing project, World of Awe, is an imaginary archetypal narrative that pops up in many manifestations: dance, song, web, poetry... Their latest CD, Bit by Bit, Cell by Cell, can be disorienting at times but strangely familiar; just like life.

If Dr. Doolittle played the clarinet and dabbled in experimental composition he'd have some things in common with David Rothenberg. He's a musician who collaborates with the untamed world; he even wrote the Book of Music and Nature. Here he talks with Philip Blackburn about why humans and other animals do it.

How do you get to be a Downtown New York legend-in-the-making? Three of them spill the beans. It takes more than samples, guitars, and drums: gumption and persistence.

Running a music series at a downtown art gallery is an exercise in passion, determination and perseverance. The Meridian Gallery in San Francisco has a long and distinguished track record of integrating music and art (they recently co-produced a major Pauline Oliveros retrospective). Their intern program in which underprivileged youth learn the ropes of museum culture is also an essential element in the mix. To celebrate the opening of the gallery's new location Philip Blackburn talked with director Ann Brodzky and music curator, Tom Bickley. If you are in the Bay Area on May 9, 2007, drop in and hear the inaugural sounding event: Tom Bickley's "Generally Midair" This interview is in two parts. The Bay Area series on Measure for Measure is funded by the generosity of the Hewlett Foundation.

In this second part of the interview we get into the radical aspects of the Cornelius Cardew Choir and seeing exactly how it can inspire a Socialist revolution. Running a music series at a downtown art gallery is an exercise in passion, determination and perseverance. The Meridian Gallery in San Francisco has a long and distinguished track record of integrating music and art (they recently co-produced a major Pauline Oliveros retrospective). Their intern program in which underprivileged youth learn the ropes of museum culture is also an essential element in the mix. To celebrate the opening of the gallery's new location Philip Blackburn talked with director Ann Brodzky and music curator, Tom Bickley. If you are in the Bay Area on May 9, 2007, drop in and hear the inaugural sounding event: Tom Bickley's "Generally Midair" This interview is in two parts. The Bay Area series on Measure for Measure is funded by the generosity of the Hewlett Foundation.

There's more to New Zealand than Kiwis, Xena, and the Shire. They even have composers down there as it turns out. Although Annea Lockwood has lived in New York (and sporadically Montana) for a while now, she and Phil Dadson share a love of the environment and the musicality of place. She has recorded sound maps of the Danube and Hudson rivers; he has invented gargantuan outdoor instruments (as well as the indoor From Scratch PVC pipe band).

What do a jazz sax star, a post-Minimal composer, and a Deep Listener have in common? They once all served on a panel to decide commissioning grants for the American Composers Forum. Here they talk about life on the inside and dispel those tired myths about faceless bureaucrats deciding your future.

Pamela Z defines the independent, self-sufficient artist of the 21st century. Talented with vocal cords, laptop, and vision, she scoffs at the idea of working in one discipline. She's portable, creative, adaptable, and inspiring. She's immersed in the world of everyday technology and plays with the borders of jargon and reality, finding poetry in long URLs and automated voice message machines. Philip Blackburn talks with Bay Area Pamela over the course of three episodes of Measure for Measure. The Bay Area portion of Measure for Measure is supported by the Hewlett Foundation.

Pamela Z defines the independent, self-sufficient artist of the 21st century. Talented with vocal cords, laptop, and vision, she scoffs at the idea of working in one discipline. She's portable, creative, adaptable, and inspiring. She's immersed in the world of everyday technology and plays with the borders of jargon and reality, finding poetry in long URLs and automated voice message machines. Philip Blackburn talks with Bay Area Pamela over the course of three episodes of Measure for Measure. The Bay Area portion of Measure for Measure is supported by the Hewlett Foundation.

What specters awaken you at 3am? The decline of the CD industry as we know it? Welcome to the world of changing formats and the people who are investing in the musical infrastructure of tomorrow while servicing us dinosaurs of today. Meet Joshua Wert, President of Copycats Media, a significant player in the bringing of indie artists to the shelves and bins of our paying audiences. In this two-part conversation with Philip Blackburn he shares what he knows about the current trends in recorded music and what might make his company useful and profitable in the musical world just around the corner.

What specters awaken you at 3am? The decline of the CD industry as we know it? Welcome to the world of changing formats and the people who are investing in the musical infrastructure of tomorrow while servicing us dinosaurs of today. Meet Joshua Wert, President of Copycats Media, a significant player in the bringing of indie artists to the shelves and bins of our paying audiences. In this two-part conversation with Philip Blackburn he shares what he knows about the current trends in recorded music and what might make his company useful and profitable in the musical world just around the corner.

East has been meeting West for some time now, ever since Marco Polo and Debussy. The arrival of Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia and his magnetic attraction for generations of Asian composition students, though, has had a remarkable effect on the U.S. musical landscape. One of his first U.S. students turned out to be Cambodian Chinary Ung, now with a distinguished career at UC-San Diego and other institutions. Here he talks with Philip Blackburn about straddling cultures and the fundamental humanitarian enterprise known as music.

Ever heard of emusic.com? Of course. It's the biggest place to find (legal) indie downloads online. Ever wondered how it works or where that world is going to lead us? Meet Rick Reed, until recently, label rep for emusic.com. Philip Blackburn taped this Emusic101 during a presentation at the Philadelphia Music Project.

Pamela Z defines the independent, self-sufficient artist of the 21st century. Talented with vocal cords, laptop, and vision, she scoffs at the idea of working in one discipline. She's portable, creative, adaptable, and inspiring. She's immersed in the world of everyday technology and plays with the borders of jargon and reality, finding poetry in long URLs and automated voice message machines. Philip Blackburn talks with Bay Area Pamela over the course of three episodes of Measure for Measure. The Bay Area portion of Measure for Measure is supported by the Hewlett Foundation.

The Bay Area portion of Measure for Measure is supported by the Hewlett Foundation.Stanford University composition department is a hotbed of new music making. Bright students from all over the world descend on the campus to spend time improving their craft in encouraging, even pleasant, surroundings. While palm-lined arcades are neither ivory nor towers, what kind of music gets made there? Is it different from the real world? Philip Blackburn finds out from three current graduate composition students: Per Bloland, Bruno Ruviaro, and Juan-Cristobal Morales. The Bay Area portion of Measure for Measure is supported by the Hewlett Foundation.