From the monthly archives:
Yesterday I was amazed by the desperation of a young composer who came to visit me. Jean Claude flew all the way from Paris to interview me about the UCLA new Masters degree in film composition, er, visual media. He was SOOOO excited that we were about to launch this degree. In the course of [...]
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Two years ago I discontinued the LA Times. I just never read it, was tired of the music critics, and preferred to get my news on the internet. Yesterday I started the paper again. Like a kid at Xmas I got up early to fetch and read my Tuesday LA Times. I missed it. The [...]
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The Smirking Chimp dug up a marvelous piece of reseearch from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is entitled “Elvis to Eminem: Quantifying the price of fame through early mortality of European and North American rock and pop stars.” Why am I not surprised that rock stars’ health is not as robust as they get [...]
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This was one of my favorite Lovin’ Spoonful songs. A peculiar stylistic mixture: a classical head, a country bridge, and it ends on an unresolved dominant 7th chord. Who knew that John Sebastian played the harp, I mean a REAL harp? I don’t understand why this group hasn’t fared as well in the oldies department. [...]
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A year ago I spent 10 days in Maui with Mark Carlson working on the third installment of settings of poetry of Francisco X Alarcón. The first set was commissioned by Vance Wolverton and the Cal State Women’s Fullerton Women’s Chorus. Books 2 and 3 were commissioned by Iris Levine and Vox Femina/Los Angeles. (All [...]
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Some of my favorite Spanish wines included a grape that I hadn’t known: Cariñena, which in Catalunya is called Samso. If you find this in a blend, try it out. I have no idea whether this wine makes it out to California, but I will keep my eyes open for it. The Wine Info Site [...]
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A terrific song, powerful melody, call and response chorus, and the unforgettable gritty timbre of the voice of Son House.
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Susan,
I have purged the salutation “dear” as in “Dear Susan,” and have replaced it with the more to the point “Susan” as I would if I called Susan on the phone. Usually she can tell it’s me by the timbre in my voice. For someone who doesn’t know or recognize my voice, I would say [...]
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I’ve spent the last 10 days in Spain on the Costa Brava. I’ve been blogging to y’all daily in my mind, recharging my batteries, rethinking everything, eating fabulous Catalan cuisine and discovering amazing Spanish wines. Gaudi and Dali have been my constant companions. No UCLA, no blogging, no composing, no dogs, no bills, no Los [...]
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[Interview with with Roger Bourland by Vance Wolverton, 1994]
VW: How did you come to choral music or composing choral music?
RB: My earliest experiences with choral music were in church because my father was a minister. I recall singing in church with my family: my grandfather singing bass, my grandmother singing soprano, [...]
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