http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog Ben's musical topics blog. Classical music for electric bass. Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:48:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Another cute little ditty from 400 Songs and Dances from the Stuart Masques. I worked on a lot of variations of position and fingerings, but then decided this set would work the best. I'm staying in position (1st finger on 17th fret of D string) on the top line just ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=348 The spring workshop put on by the Viola da Gamba Society of New England was a really good time last weekend. The theme was Music for Voices and Viols by 17th Century German Composers. I think my favorite thing we did was a Buxtehude piece, Vulnerasti cor meum. What a ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=346 Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Time: 8:00pm Location: Distler Hall, Granoff Music Center, Tufts University On April 20th, the Early Music Ensemble will explore their recent and ongoing gifts from the London Early Music Shop, with six part viol consorts by Orlando Gibbons, early Baroque sonatas, 16th century dance music with ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=337 Last night I played a really fun gig with the Boston Classical Guitar Society Orchestra. We premiered a really great piece by Jose Lezcano who also conducted the orchestra. Tons of fun. Scott Borg did a great job getting the orchestra together and pulling together some great rehearsals. I played ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=335 I've been having a good time playing lute with the Tufts Early Music Ensemble this semester. Here's some info on our semester-end concert. Du Fay & Co. Tufts Early Music Ensemble Fall Concert Featuring Guest Artist: Daniela Tošic Music Performed by: Tufts Early Music Ensemble Seven Hills Renaissance Wind Band Tuesday, December 1, 2009 8PM~~FREE Distler Hall, Tufts University http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=317 Wow, it's been awhile since I put a post up. I've been mostly busy with cello. I've got a string trio & quartet together now, and we practice usually every other week. We're working on some of the early Mozart Quartets (K.155-160), some great Corelli rep including the Christmas Concerto and ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=304 I took the Thoughts on Tone Production workshop with Gabriel Bolkosky at the MA Suzuki Fest at New England Conservatory a few weeks back. What a great musician. I would definitely like to study with him sometime. There were two things in his presentation that really stuck with me. One ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=302 I've been totally out of energy for my blog of late. Not sure exactly why that is, but I have been working hard on gamba and cello of late, so I think that's been taking most of my energy. Anyway, have a gig tomorrow with the Tufts Early Music Ensemble. ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=293 This book is a classic, and with the MA Suzuki Fest coming up next month, I figured I was due for a re-read of Ability Development from Age Zero. What a joyous book. Here's a great quote from page 25: "A recording of the piece the student is practicing-a recording of ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=287 I just finished reading a fantastic book called Talent is Overrated:What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin. It it, he discusses what makes great performers and analyzes their practice methods in particular. It's fascinating. I highly recommend it. It really made me think about my own ... http://bentorrey.com:2112/blog/?p=286