Celebrity Series of Boston: part of lo-fi movement or strictly digital?

Analog/digital, lo-fi/hi-fi, old/new; the analog, the old school, has gone underground, so says the Chicago Tribune. Adherents to technologies of the past such as cassette tapes, buttons, first generation video games, printed magazines and vinyl records are a persistent underground movement, one that favors the physical and the tactile over the digital. As Christopher Borelli of The Chicago Tribune writes:

"They are the Chicago Lo-Fi Resistance. They are not an organized group, or a collective of practicing luddites, or an especially underground insurrection. But the name fits: How else to describe a loose cadre of antiquarians doing their part to resist that hurtling pace of our digital existence?

Ask them why, and you get a flood of reasons: Nostalgia, politics, quality. They do not share a hive (analog) mind – each has his or her reasons. In fact, if they share anything, it's this: A desire for a more tactile world."

Click here to read the rest of Christopher Borelli's article.

...and while you are reading ask yourself, "Is the Celebrity Series of Boston part of this movement?" It seems to me there are arguments for and against: we have been doing this for over 70 years (we are older than, say, Atari); we present scads of live performances (the original musical medium, pretty tactile stuff); we celebrate musical forms of the past and the distant past. On the other hand we are current, we have a web site (and a blog, ahem); we are Twitterers; we are implementing a state of the art computer-based ticketing system; and things are generally "going digital" in our workplace. So which is it?

MLK Summer Scholars and AileyCamp Boston

The MLK Summer Scholars


L to R: Aidan Dunbar, Boston Globe Publisher Christopher Mayer, Yadarys Familia, Garrecia Powell


L to R: Aidan Dunbar, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Garrecia Powell, Yadarys Familia


L to R: Aidan Dunbar, Garrecia Powell, Yadarys Familia

AileyCamp Boston 2011 started yesterday at Orchard Gardens K-8 school in Roxbury.  AileyCamp Boston is a tuition-free summer camp designed for Boston-area middle school students. Running July 5 through August 11, the program is operated by the Celebrity Series of Boston Arts, Education and Community Program.  A full scholarship summer day camp for 11-14 year olds, the program uses dance as a vehicle for developing self-esteem, self-discipline, creative expression and critical thinking skills. Eighty students have been selected to attend this this summer, and prior dance training is not a consideration for admission.

In addition to the AileyCamp Boston staff, four group leaders who are standout high school students have been chosen from the MLK Summer Scholars program.  MLK Summer Scholars works in close partnership with the Boston Globe, Boston University, Partners HealthCare and the City of Boston, and addresses what was deemed a critical need by Mayor Thomas M. Menino—summer jobs for city youth. AileyCamp Boston is proud to work with these students to help further their personal and professional goals.

Yesterday, the MLK Scholars had an opportunity to attend a meeting with Mayor Menino; Christopher Mayer, Publisher of the Boston Globe; Dr. Gary Gottlieb, CEO of Partners Healthcare; Carol Fulp, VP of Community Relations at John Hancock; James R. Boyle, President of John Hancock Financial Services; Edward Davis, Boston Police Commissioner; and Robert A. Brown, President of Boston University.  They spoke about the importance of youth leadership in Boston communities and the impact that jobs play in the lives of teens. 

We are looking forward to working with the AileyCampers and MLK Scholars this summer!

Music makes cows happy (video)

You may have heard about studies that have found classical music improves milk production in cows. Konzerthaus Dortmund, the performance space of Theater Dortmund in Dortmund Germany, decided to test this theory ...

Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer named one of the 50 most influential global Indians

Pianist Vijay Iyer

Jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer was named one of the "50 most influential global Indians" by GQ India. He is in some impressive company (of course, he is pretty impressive in his own right).

The Celebrity Series of Boston presents Vijay Iyer with another influential jazz musician, saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenon in a double-bill concert at Berklee Performance Center on December 9.

Boston Globe reviews Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Jeffrey Gantz, formerly of the Boston Phoenix, reviewed this past weekend's Celebrity Series and World Music co-presentation of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. The Complexions run at the Cutler Majestic Theatre was the final performance in the Celebrity Series of Boston's 2010-11 season. Read Complexions dancers rise to the occasion.

Boston Early Music Festival head gets Lifetime Achievement award

Congratulations to our friend Kathleen Fay. Early Music America has awarded Fay, the Executive Director of the Boston Early Music Festival, the Howard Mayer Brown award for lifetime achievement. The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is considered one of the world's leading early music organizations and is a regular Celebrity Series presenting partner (including this season's presentation of The English Concert on October 23). Fay has been with BEMF since 1987.

Cellist Bernard Greenhouse (1916-2011)

The founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio:
(L to R) Isidore Cohen, violin, Menahem Pressler,
piano, Bernard Greenhouse, cello

Distinguished cellist and longtime Wellfleet, Mass. resident Bernard Greenhouse died May 13. Among many accomplishments and accolades, Mr. Greenhouse was a founding member of The Beaux Arts Trio, with whom he performed regularly from 1955 until his retirement in 1987.

Mr. Greenhouse made two appearances on the Celebrity Series. In 1968 he appeared with the Bach Aria Group (with soloists Samuel Baron, flute; Robert Bloom, oboe; Norman Farrow, bass-baritone; Maureen Forrester, alto; Richard Lewis, tenor; Lois Marshall, soprano; Oscar Shumsky, violin; and Paul Ulanowsky, piano). In 1971 he performed with the then Beaux Arts Trio of New York (Menahem Pressler, piano, Isidore Cohen, violin).

New York Times

Boston Globe

Telegraph (UK)

2009 interview with Bernard Greenhouse

Beaux Arts Trio performance (from Schubert Trio in B-flat)

Beaux Arts Trio performance (from Ravel Trio in A minor)

Bernard Greenhouse performing Song of the Birds at age 95 (Catalan folk song arranged by Pablo Casals)