The Boston Violinist

2010-07-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Boston Violinist

Shilakowsky String Quartet Concert Bookings
on EBAY.

2010-07-01T20:38:00.001-07:00

Go to eBay & book SSQ at item #250659838675

Andrew List, composer

2010-06-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

June 27, 2010
I get a lot of link requests and they're mostly irrelevant to me and my art, but this one I couldn't ignore. Always on the prowl for music for solo violin and/or small ensembles, like my string quartet, or my chamber orchestra...
I just discovered, or maybe re-discovered Andrew List. I’m checking out his website at:
http://www.myspace.com/andrewlistcomposer
Soliloquy from 6 Bagatelles String Trio. I like the lyricism of this piece.
Halcyon Quintet Mvt. 1 is a breath of fresh aire. The flute playing is clean and expressive without going over the top, so to speak.
String Quartet #4, Scherzo has a nice angular jazziness and clusterish chords accented with Bartokian rhythmic drive. Nice octave pillar at the end resolves with that old perfect interval, tho’ nothing really predicts it. Kind of like Dostoyevsky, huh?

I love Donna McElroy's CD, Fly to Forever

2010-06-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

After months of work, writing new arrangments for my string quartet to play, to accompany Donna and her band of jazz stars, Mr. John Lockwood (bass), Yoron Israel (drums) and Mr. Smooth, himself, George W. Russell, Jr (piano), we played a really fun concert at St. Mark's Church in North Easton, MA, to help raise money for their handicapped elevator fund. We had fun, and raised some cash. So, I hope we can play some of the tunes we worked on in other venues soon, since I arranged a lot more music than we even needed. Check out Donna's CD at:
http://donnamcelroy.net/
She's a great teacher, too!
You can see where we're headed at the Perfect Harmony webpage.
The goal is to see if the message of Donna's song, "Why Can't We All Live Together?" can be achieved!
Chamber Music Society of Easton will be supporting more projects to reach our objectives of sharing cultures and understanding and loving each other!

All My Arrangements Categorized & Links Updated

2010-06-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was frustrated with other contractors who hired me to play for Jewish weddings, but didn't bring any Jewish tunes! Not even the most important, like Siman Tov und Mazel Tov, and Havah Nagilah. I didn't like all the stuff I found...and I did buy other peoples' arrangements. I have a good size collection which started out with string quartets. But I wanted to see if I could write better ones. I now have a catalog of about 60 pieces which, since I found them useful on my own gigs, I decided to offer them to other musicians...not just professionals. I've found that many serious amateur musicians like to get my arrangements, too.
For other professional musicians who need sheet music in a hurry for gigs, my arrangements of wedding and other music is now better organized. Check it out at: shilakowskyarts.com/sheet_music_categories.htm
or navigate from my index page; www.shilakowskyarts.com

The Boston Violinist

2010-01-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

So, after closing my short-lived sheet-music store...I realized that being a violinist first and foremost... Better to leave the selling of music to people who have a lot more experience than I. My experiences have been in performance and teaching. Years of orchestral work criss-crossing the country and the world with my fiddle in my hand. Concerts and auditions and contracts. Operas and ballets. Quartets and rock n' roll concerts. Recording sessions...

Its winter, and time to hunker down and write about it. So my first post on this new blog will be an announcement. I've closed down the violinmusicstore.com. But I've started a website to share what I really do know something about; the violin; playing, learning, thinking, experimenting, sharing, teaching, talking. The new site is called, www.violinmusicsite.com
--or--
http://violinmusicsite.com/
I know, I know...could have thought of something more clever. Well, lets hope that the clever gets into the articles and interviews and thoughts.

My thought was that there are so many great violinists and schools and great institutions like the Boston Symphony Orchestra, my alma mater, NEC, BU, Longy, BCM, etc., in the greater Boston area. I'd like to give them voice on the internet. So, here's a proverbial bottle of champagne over the bow. Cheers. See you at TheViolinSite.com soon.