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The Bell Hop Orchestra
You got to have a hook.In showbiz as in fishing,you can't catch the big onesunless you lure them in with a good hook.For a dance band it might bedoubling or tripling the instrumentswith multiple...
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The Perrydale Concert Band
Taking a picture of a large group of peoplealways presents a challenge to a photographer.Should his subjects be crushed together inside a dimly lit roomor strung out in a line in the sunshine? The most...
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Ein schönes Mädchen
A photographer paints with light.Shadows and luminescenceare used like brushes to record the subject through the camera lens.An artist on the other handdeals with line,sketching only what is neededto...
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How to Make an Oboe
"Some assembly required."It's a familiar phrase of modern lifeusually written in 12 languages on the side of a carton of Swedish furniture.Yet those words can apply to a musical instrument too. In this...
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Men with Sticks
An orchestra conductor's baton seems to have special powers.With a wave of his hand, like a magician he flourishes it to conjure up a bevy of musical rabbits.But it's an illusion.The baton is really...
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Gingerbread Children
It's not exactly a photographor a watercolor,but a hybrid illustrationfor a well known children's story.Two youngsters, a little girl and boysit at low worktablesassembling bundles of tree switches.Do...
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To Your Health!
Three wishes for the new year:A toast to your good health!May nature cure any ailment.`And may music always bring you great joy.* * *The first young womanoffers us a cheery toast to the New Year -...
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Kids with Talent
Sometimes the sequins give it away.Costumes with glitter,fringed sleeves, and short skirtsare not the clothes regular kids wear.This is the wardrobe of professional entertainers.Shoes are the best...
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The Harry Sisters - part 1
Once upon a timethere were three sisterswho lived in Pennsylvania.Each was a nimble violinistand a beauty too.The three girls liked to entertain peoplewith music and literature,playing their violins,...
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The Harry Sisters - part 2
In every fairy talethere's always an adventurethat the heroes undertaketo seek their fortune.It might be some great task to complete,or rich treasure to find,or giant obstacle to overcome.Yet despite...
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The Harry Sisters - part 3
Every folk story or fairy talecontains a message.A bit of practical or moral instructionlike "pay attention,"or "don't eat that,"or "beware of strangers."But some tales include dark secrets.Mysterious...
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Music on the Wing
It's been a human desiresince the dawn of time.A universal dream of mankindthat always seemed impossibleuntil suddenly it became possible.A wonder so amazingly achievable that even young boys might do...
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Music at the Coliseum
"Say there, Bill. Isn't that Miss Annie from finance?""Mother, do you think the band might play 'Violette' if Father asked the director?""Waiter! Where's my soup?""Oh, Judith, you should have been...
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Music at Sea
Enduring the queasy vertigo of Mal de Mer is never pleasant.And fretting over a lee shore during a terrible stormis most unwelcome. But in between these afflictionsthere is one malady that follows...
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Burnished Brass
It's not just the blaze of sound that makes brass instrumentsso arresting in music. It's also the brillianceof their coils of shiny metal tubingthat commands attention.Even on an overexposed photo of a...
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On Tour with the Metropolitan Ladies' Orchestra - part 1
Do you remember that delightful afternoon?That magical summer when you made new friends,experienced new joy you'd never imagined before,and went on a wondrous adventure of a lifetime? How could you...
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On Tour with the Metropolitan Ladies Orchestra - part 2
Every adventure tale always includes a description of the delectable food,or the hospitable accommodations.Yet years later the memory of some refreshing journeyon that adventure,or a day of unexpected...
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Three of a Kind
It used to be a requirement for every theater, opera, and concert hall.Just before the performance began,the house lights would dim,and slowly the proscenium curtain would rise.On some stagesthe velvet...
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Herr Julian Kändt and his Austrian Blue Band
A conductor commands the pulse of his musicians. They know the notes and rhythmsbut they can't begin until they see the flick of the baton.And even then the speed they play is not of their choosingbut...
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Don't Forget to Write!
There are weekendswhen I know that I have the perfect photo to feature on my blog.If only I can remember which album it's in.Then comes the hard part—writing something originaland still appropriate for...
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