Bella Ciao

With fellow musicians I recently provided music for the release of Ciao Bella, co-authored by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk - pictured above - held November 4th at Ben McNally Books in downtown Toronto. Check out this slideshow on Phanfare for more music and images from the wonderful reception.

The music featured here is the traditional Italian resistance song Bella Ciao, and features singer Sergio Restagno, myself on flute, along with Max Scheinin, violin and Ronen Segall on accordion.

Congratulations Gina and Janice for a successful launch and the opportunity to provide music for the event!

Excerpted from Ciao Bella:

Once again Clario picked up his accordion. This time though his song was not mournful but a spirited rendition of Bella Ciao – Goodbye Sweetheart, the story of a partisan whose mountainside grave was marked by a beautiful flower, as she hoped Ugo’s was.

This is the flower of the partisan.

O bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!

Who died for liberty.

O bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!

Urban Flute Ensemble invites you to discover St. Anne’s…

• Featuring the music of Handel, Bernstein, Debussy, Gann, Hindemith, Ravel &  Pierne
  
• The unique, domed interior of St. Anne’s was painted by members of Canada’s Group of Seven
  
• ‘Spatial’ use of St. Anne’s incredible sanctuary enhances the listening experience of the audience
• Renowned for its warm acoustics, St. Anne’s is also a vibrant, welcoming community hub
  
Free-will donations will be directed to the St. Anne’s Restoration Campaign
The accessible, colourful program will run without intermission
Read more about St. Anne’s Jeremiah Community
Next concert: Wednesday, January 13th, 7.30 pm
St. Anne’s Anglican Church: truly one of Toronto’s best kept secrets!

Urban Flute Ensemble’s next concert @ St. Anne’s

Shibaten, Spirit Dreams

Happy Hallowe’en from Urban Flute Project - it was three years ago to this very day that I began recording with my trusty Edirol out in Mississauga near the lake, after dark and alone at a haunted, historic property replete with pet cemetery!

Of all the collaborative adventures that have resulted  in the past three years, the Creative Places + Spaces conference definitely ranks up there. The final party for the event was held late yesterday at Frank’s in the AGO, where this picture was taken…the jack-o-lantern is a real scream, don’t you think?

And of all the musicians I have had a chance to meet and collaborate with since launching UFP, Shibaten, is one of the most extraordinary. So it came as a pleasant surprise to see him setting up as the  final performer for the conference yesterday, and the recording here is of a spontaneous improvisation that he created for the final delegates and organizers as they prepared to depart from MaRS to visit this Munsch-inspired pumpkin at the AGO.

Shibaten, originally from Japan and who has travelled the globe with his unique one-man performances, made headlines earlier in the summer when he was busted for making music in Dundas Square. This tied in directly with a lot of what was discussed at the CP+S conference: risk-taking, thinking outside the box, facilitating collaboration and open dialogue - if anything, making waves and taking chances with one’s art was encouraged, and in this regard I feel that Shibaten and I are kindred spirits in a certain regard. After reconnecting yesterday, we’re going to keep in touch to maybe get some didgeridoo lessons set up - I want to learn more about his shamanistic circular breathing!

All in all a great conference, and many stories to tell here, so I’ll keep you posted.

And I’d like to thank you for all of your interest and support for Urban Flute Project over the past three years - Happy Hallowe’en!

Debussy, Syrinx

As a hired musician and media-blogger for Artscape’s Creative Places + Spaces conference here at the MaRS Discovery District at the corner of College Street and University Avenue, I’m really enjoying the whole collaborative spirit of the three day event. The range of internationally-acclaimed creative thinkers and the topics being discussed are impressive and incredibly stimulating. The conference also offers a unique opportunity to re-connect with friends and colleagues as well as make new connections in both the arts and business sectors.

Here are photos of CP+S on Flickr, and you can follow the conference in real time on their Scribble platform - you might even see a tweet or two from yours truly, with links to this post, for example. The sustained sense of collaboration and sharing of ideas is truly inspiring as the CP+S moves into its final day.

So I’ve been wanting to use this ‘First Flutist on Mars’ tag for quite some time now, and I can’t think of a better opportunity than this conference that celebrates collaboration in business and the arts and is so aligned with my Urban Flute Project philosophy - I hope you enjoy some early-morning Debussy that I played in the spacious lobby as delegates arrived this morning.

More stories from MaRS and the Creative Places + Spaces conference coming soon!

Duo for Flute & Chainsaw #1

Here’s one of a handful of duos for Flute & Chainsaw, and just in time for Hallowe’en!  Yeah, the tree out back got a serious pruning yesterday, and I felt she needed some TLC as she was ripped limb from limb. Here’s a pic of Robby, the arborist, during a moment of repose as he efficiently and rather dramatically re-shaped the canopy of the tree. Totally unrehearsed, I felt that our duos worked out nicely, his chainsaw accompaniment to my Piazza Etude revealing musical sophistication and a surprising depth of expression!

I guess you could call this another one of my whacky duos!

And this just in from the Western Canada Widerness Committee:

Stop logging around Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove is the location of one of Canada’s most internationally famous and beloved old-growth parks, and we were shocked to learn that logging had started on a steep slope above the park this week without any public consultation.

The company doing the logging is called ‘Island Timberlands’ but is owned by an international asset management corporation with offices around the globe.

Cathedral Grove’s Labour Day Lake Headwaters and its canyon, where Island Timberlands have flagged the biggest ancient giants, are the drinking water sources for the Town of Qualicum Beach and surrounding communities.

Numerous invitations over the past six years to Environment Minister Barry Penner to see the Cathedral Grove Canyon and its headwaters, have gone unanswered. This arrogant act by a multinational corporation is spurring an energetic public outcry here on Vancouver Island.

To get involved in saving Cathedral Grove contact the Wilderness Committee’s Mid-Island Chapter.

Best,

Annette Tanner | Wilderness Committee Mid-Island Chapter

Piazza, Metodo Popolare, Etude #3

Since The Carlu re-opened a number of years ago after being moth-balled for decades I’d been curious to check out this Art Moderne architectural treasure, tucked away on the south-west corner of Yonge & Carlton. The Carlu will be one of the sites for this week’s Creative Places + Spaces conference, and as an official media-blogger for the event, I finally had my chance yesterday to tour this historic site as part of a CP+S conference orientation for media and volunteers. The CP+S conference is presented by Artscape, in collaboration with MaRS, Martin Prosperity Institute, and the City of Toronto - Economic Development, Culture & Tourism.

I only had a quick peek inside the deserted lobby spaces, yet am happy to report that The Carlu is a treat for both the eyes and the ears! In a couple of days, it will also be a treat for the ol’ grey matter as some of the most visionary thinkers assemble to discuss the role of Creativity in the making of a successful society as part of the conference. Learn more about Richard Florida and the other guest speakers here.

Also hired in as a performer for the conference, I’m looking forward to teaming up with cellist Lucas Tensen at The Carlu and MaRS as over 600 delegates arrive on Thursday morning for the first of two days of presentations - more soundfiles and stories to follow later in the week!

Based on the overwhelming response, organizers have made available discounted tickets that allow guests into the balcony of the Carlu theater space this Thursday. Learn more about attending the conference here or contact Creative Places + Spaces at 416-392-1038 ext 31 or info@creativeplacesandspaces.ca.

Puccini, O Mio Babbino Caro

It was wonderful to team up with acclaimed harpist Sharlene Wallace to provide music for a wedding this weekend. With over 250 expectant guests assembled in St. Mary’s  Ukrainian Church on Cawthra Road in Mississauga, you could just about hear a pin drop as we provided Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro as the processional music.

Bach Sarabande & Minuet

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in almost three years of oft-times stealth performances, its a gut instinct for when I should ask for permission and when I should just set up and play. Recent posts describe what a revelation it was to visit the American side of Niagara Falls, and am inspired to tell more about my adventure after reading Too Close to the Falls, by Toronto-based author and psychologist, Catherine Gildiner.

Before I took the elevator descent through the equivalent of 18 storeys of escarpment, and as I was about to don my yellow poncho and souvenir flip-flops, I decided that this was one of those situations where I just dive into some Bach. My heart was in my throat as I opened to a favourite movement from the Cello Suites, and as I played, I furtively kept one eye open for the ominous approach of some security guard. Yet everyone including the staff seemed to be in a festive mood, and I thankfully wasn’t interrupted!

As wonderfully vibrant and rich as the acoustics of this old wood-frame structure on Goat Island proved to be, what was even more wonderful was the spontaneous round of applause that greeted my flute-playing! Several people remarked afterward how much they had enjoyed the spontaneous performance. Even the woman who had handed out the flip-flops the way one receives bowling shoes at the bowling alley commented on how beautiful the music was.

If I had of asked permission, I can just about guarantee that I would have denied myself the opportunity of creating this random musical memory for everyone that day! I love the ambient, background sounds in this recording, the multi-lingual banter and the rustling sounds of tourists pulling rain slickers over their heads - the air was electric with anticipation as we all prepared for our descent into the unknown!

Even in these modern times, there is something magical and compelling about the Falls - one of the Seven Wonders of the World for a reason, I guess - and the feeling in this ante-room was of child-like excitement. For a while we were united as strangers as we forgot about our regular, everyday lives, thoughts of which would be obliterated by the thundering cascade of the American Falls!

I highly recommend Catherine Gildiner’s popular and critically-acclaimed Too Close to the Falls, a charming and engaging memoir that reveals some of the colourful history of the Niagara Falls area, and just a couple of weeks back I was lucky enough to be invited to the splashy launch for her much-anticipated After the Falls.

But that’s a whole other story!

Summertime/House of Rising Sun

It’s a long story how I ended up heading to NYC with Steve Mann and his hydraulophone team a couple of weeks ago for Gadgetoff 2009.

I first met Steve about 15 years back at one of U of T’s Sunday afternoon public swims at the Athletic Center, where I couldn’t help but notice this guy in the corner of the wading pool tinkering with an early prototype of one of his ‘water pianos’. In reconnecting with Steve earlier back in the Spring, I was fascinated to learn that his unique musical invention had really taken off in the intervening years, and that he had a FUNtain factory-showroom on Dundas Street, directly across from the newly renovated AGO.

So it was back in June that I dropped by and jammed with Steve as described here.

Based on that enjoyable collaboration, and with the realization that the Hydraulophone could serve perfectly as a water-based keyboard, I suggested that a ‘Salon Concert’ be organized in the FUNtain showroom. What I had in mind was an informal Schubertian-style chamber music recital, but what transpired was even better somehow: every Wednesday throughout the summer, several of the Hydraulophones - including the whimsical Nessies as seen on the Gadgetoff stage above - were set up out on the sidewalk, and through the afternoon into the evening musicians would drop by and perform together, improvising and running through some of the ’standards’ as can be heard in this rehearsal before our performance at the conference. We had cellists and violinists, including Dr. Draw and his band, drop by and some weeks the sound of Native Drum and Didgeridoo could be heard wafting along Dundas Street along with my flute and the mysterious, watery organ-sounds of the Hydraulophone.

We truly had instruments that represented the three states of matter - Solid, Liquid and Gas - not to mention representing diverse eras and cultures, and came up with the name H2Orchestra!

Inevitably passersby would crowd around to watch and listen in amazement. When they were invited to try the instruments themselves, expressions of curiosity and puzzlement turned to laughter and joy as they discovered for themselves just how wonderfully easy it was to cover the jets of water and make music….and get a little wet in the process!

A superb, sculptural, stainless-steel version of the hydraulaphone is on permanent display in front of the Ontario Science Centre. Steve Mann’s Hydraulaphone is also up for nomination in the Smithsonian Institute’s prestigious People’s Choice Design Award. Read more here, and please take a minute to place your vote!

Gadgetoff 2009 was a huge success, and our performance was unique in a showcase featuring some of the most leading-edge applications of technology in the world today.

Manhattan Soundscape

Here is a view of Lower Manhattan as seen from the ferry as a boat-load of us returned from the fabulous Gadgetoff ‘09 convention. The night-time skyline as seen from the harbor was incredibly peaceful somehow.

With the boat’s diesel engines drowning out the distant din of the city, I realized that  there was without a doubt a whole encyclopedia of soundscapes contained in this scene! Sound is a funny thing - especially on a Friday night in NYC on a warm, early autumn evening, one can only imagine the extent of these varied and collective urban sounds.

Disembarking from the boat within walking distance of the Port Authority near 42nd Street, the first of two ‘miracles’ was having a local New Yorker from the convention lead me to the nearest Starbucks. After three days on Staten Island with its propensity for Dunkin Donuts and White Castle locations, this was a real treat!

The second ‘miracle’ on 42nd street was that I actually got the last bus ticket out of NYC to make it back to Toronto in time to meet with my Saturday flute students at the Royal Conservatory!

Sounds, like smells, can be an indelible stimulus where memory is concerned, yet fleeting and somehow ephemeral. Taking in the sights and sounds of the city as I walked along to catch my bus, I was reminded of  Scents and the City, a recent article in the New York Times that humorously described a catalogue of Manhattan smells: an olfactory guide to the Big Apple!

Pictured above is the Port Authority entranceway where I recorded this mp3 and I hope you enjoy this sonic glimpse of a New York streetscape. I would have played flute a bit, but as it was I barely made my bus. For some awesome beatbox flute playing, check out New York’s Greg Pattillo and Robert Dick. And below is a clearer image of the NYC skyline as viewed from the harbour at night.

NOTE: If you look carefully at the first of these three images, you will see the head and face of King Kong in the upper right of the photo…still haunting the Empire State Building it would seem!!

Thunder of Waters

Clambering about the Escher-inspired wooden platforms of the Cave of the Winds, the overwhelming din of the American Falls all but drowned out these sounds of tourists at the base of the impressive cataract. I had elected to play my First Nations North American flute for a reason - read more here about the early history and oft-times turbulent clash of cultures in the area. On both sides of the border, descriptive plaques bear testimony to this not-so-distant and turbulent history.

There are currently 39 records of variations of the name for the Region in which this landscape feature occurs, including: Ongniaahra, Onguiaahra, Unghiara and Oniagara. However, it is thought to be of Iroquoian or Neutral Indian origin. There are also various interpretations of the word such as “thunder of waters”, or “resounding with great noise.” Most significant is Indian occupants of the peninsula from about 1550 onwards, when subsistence agricultural villages were established. These were generally located on light-textured sandy soils, including at St. David’s with its ossuary and above the escarpment at Thorold. Sites were probably shifted every 20 years through soil depletion, fuel exhaustion, and sanitary considerations. Some communities were large, covering up to twelve acres and perhaps accomodating up to 2000 persons. They belonged to the Neutral Indians, who were destroyed and assimilated by the Iroquois shortly after 1650.

Cave of the Winds Improv

Located in America’s oldest state park, the intriguing-sounding Cave of the Winds does not disappoint! For years now I’ve been hankering to play in the Niagara Falls tunnels directly under the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls. Yesterday I finally had my chance to realize this obsessive dream, albeit from the American side of the gorge!

Having presented my lecture ‘Examination Slam-Dunk’ for local music teachers and members of the Niagara Falls Branch of ORMTA first thing in the day, I found I had a free afternoon on my hands. So I decided to play tourist and headed straight for the Rainbow Bridge with its border crossing to the U.S.A. Despite recent beefed-up security measures, the friendly U.S. border guard kindly let me in sans passport, allowing my driver’s license to suffice: sweet!

The American side of the falls has retained much more of its natural setting and really blew me away - but not as much as the gale-force winds from the rickety wooden platforms that are part of the Cave of the Winds adventure! If you’ve never been to Goat Island wit its wooded parkland and spectacular vistas, take it from this old goat: you don’t know what you’re missing!

A long tunnel presented 18 storeys down through the escarpment where the acoustics were phenomenal, especially when you consider the 100+ year history of the place - a space that had been hewn by hand back in the 1820’s. After this short improv on my cedar native North American flute, I emerged from the far end of the tunnel to discover this view overlooking the majestic Niagara River towards the awe-inspiring Horeshoe Falls.

Minutes later I would find myself totally soaked by the unpredictable winds of the water of the American Falls thundering nearby!

Duo for Cello and Walkie-Talkie

On the occasion of the last full moon, the haunted Crystal ballroom beckoned the brave of heart. As described in Classical Music Rave, a number of us returned after-hours to this evocative for another rather renegade music-adventure.The basic idea had been to increase the ensemble one player at a time and return to the same venue until we got busted. Sounds like a plan, right? We even had visions of eventually having a chamber orchestra in formal attire, perhaps even some ballroom dancing in the darkness. I guess we’re looking for a new venue now!

As we set up to play and took turns sounding the magical acoustics in the shadows of the massive space, we were once again a little on edge in case we might be interrupted. Max played some Bach on his violin, and, his first time in the space, was blown away by the incredible acoustics: Bach suddenly made a new kind of sense! I followed suit by playing a couple of movements from Bach’s cello Suites arranged for solo flute, and was equally delighted by how the notes melded together and the harmonies took on a liquid, fresh quality.

Next was Lucas taking a turn with selections from the same Suites before we perhaps settled into some duos and trios. Or at least that was the plan. Little did we know what was about to unfold!

As the wonderfully rich, full tone of the cello filled the space, I spotted the beam of a flashlight at the far end of the ballroom, up in the darkened balcony: busted! Some quick thinking on my part, and I realized that we had a few minutes to play with, so I encouraged Lucas to keep playing as I headed off to intercept the security guard who was likely making his way down to have a little chat with us.

The resulting soundfile is intriguing on a number of levels, not the least of which is the amazing sound of Lucas’ playing. Of particular note is the way that the sound of the music plays in counterpoint to the walkie-talkie of our intrepid security guard as he radios for back-up support! “We have a situation in the ballroom!” you can almost hear him say. Note:  The evening wasn’t over for us yet, as we were determined to play through some Bach and Quantz trios, preferably not in a jail cell!

On a more serious note, urban explorers beware: today’s front page story in the Toronto papers about a ghost-hunter falling to her death off of one University of Toronto’s historic buildings late last night is enough to give anyone pause. Sincere condolences to family and friends of Leah Kubik in this unfortunate and tragic mishap.

Oops, I inserted the wrong soundfile at first, so here is as a musical epilogue to our recent Crystal Ballroom adventure, and thanks once again to everyone who attended! Quantz Trio Sonata (Allegro) This is the sound of the full trio reading through the music of Quantz recently at Toronto’s historic St.Annes Church.

  Mapparium Improv 1

As I embarked on my recent trip to New England, on my short list of places that I was determined to visit there was the Poughkeepsie Bridge and then there was the incredible Mapparium in Boston. This three-storey glass globe constructed in 1935 was recommended to me for its exceptional acoustics. With clear signage that photography was strictly prohibited, this photo is courtesy of  Atlas Obscura. I didn’t see any signs barring playing flute in this unique space, and the friendly tour guide graciously permitted me to play briefly on my Mary Baker Eddy-era single-keyed wooden flute and sound the playful acoustics.

 Shakuhachi Improv 3

With night moving in and the batteries in my Edirol recorder dying, here are some final impressions before leaving Sleepy Hollow (see images below). Having tried valiantly to capture images of fireflies and one last image of the moon through the haunted woods of the area, I decided that I had tarried long enough in Tarrytown!

As I sped my way northwards towards Poughkeepsie, the glowing presence of the moon pursuing me at every turn of the road offered little comfort as cars in apparent great haste repeatedly pushed me past the posted 40 MPH to well beyond 60 miles per hour - the locals evidently knew the twists and turns of the shadowy two-lane highway better than as we raced along in tandem through the dark!

With a shudder I suddenly realized how Ichabod Crane must have felt as he travelled this same route, especially when a lone rider on a motorcycle appeared directly behind me from out of nowhere and pushed me even faster, his single headlamp glaring in my rearview mirror! Moments later, on a short stretch of twisting roadway where passing was all but impossible, the motorcycle went roaring past at over 8o miles per hour.

A sidelong glance of the shadowy figure as he flew past confirmed my worst fear: the rider had no helmet! 

Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow here.

Read more about Washington Irving’s Sunnyside Estate here.

As described in Irving’s strange tale, the fireflies in the woods where I had played in that shadowed glade by the brook were great in number and like none that I had ever seen before! Their phosphorescent lightshow left an indelible and magical afterimage in my imagination!

 Shakuhachi Improv 2

Keeping up my recent tradition of unusual Full Moon Concerts, here is a second recording from the overgrown woods of Sunnyside Estate where Washington Irving passed his final years. This image features Sleepy Hollow’s famous bridge on the left and the full moon rising through the trees in the background. To read more about the colourful history of the Hudson River, here is a wonderful story by Corey Kilgannon as featured recently in the New York Times. Kilgannon decided to borrow a kayak and paddle the length of the Hudson from Manhatten Island to its headwaters, a paddle which would have taken him right along the shores of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

 Shakuhachi Improv 1

Following the Hawk’s directions I found the closed grounds of the old Washington Irving estate, just at the border of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, nestled on the eastern shores of the Hudson River.

With dusk settling in, you can listen for the sound of the brook in the glen and the slight echo of my shakuhachi flute bouncing off the treetrunks in this desolate wood. A small bird can be heard keeping me company.

Afterwards I was trying to figure out why I had selected to play the Shakuhachi - I knew there was a reason besides the fact that I had just had my first official lesson with a Shakuhachi Grand Master in the Boston area the previous evening.

Suddenly it came to me in a flash: the Komuso Zen Monks of ancient Japan who wandered the countryside playing flute for alms (and spying for the ruling Samurai) were thought to be Priests of Nothingness. These musicians wore straw baskets on their heads to maintain their anonymity, which perhaps could be equated with the menacing headless horseman who, many moons ago and in the dead of night, threw his hollow pumpkin head at the terrified Ichabod Crane as those two raced along the nearby roadway!?

 Flute Moose Calls

Well, I had vowed to myself that I would get my New England stories out by the end of summer, and here it is September already - I don’t know about you, but I’m still in denial and convinced it’s still August!

While in Brattleboro, someone tipped me off that if I was heading all the way to Poughkeepsie, NY, that I should just carry on a little further south along the Hudson River to check out Sleepy Hollow. I was immediately intrigued, what with spooky tale of the Headless Horseman, and I have to admit that I didn’t even know that there was a town by that name.

Watching the vegetation close in me around me in the late afternoon as I drove into the area, I decided to do a U-turn and pulled into a gas station to tank up and maybe get directions to the famous bridge. Hawk, pictured, filled me in with info and directions for how to find the Washington Irving estate. Having spotted my Canadian license plates, he and I got talking about moose hunting from when he owned a lodge up in northern Ontario.Turns out, as luck would have it, that unbeknownst to me I had just passed over the famous bridge which was in plain view and barely a pumpkin’s throw back up the 2-lane highway!

This recording catches some of our conversation as I demonstrate my ability to produce a convincing moose call on the the tube of my flute, which clearly meets with Hawk’s approval! Not the first time there have been moose wander through the Urban Flute Project site, it is incredible to think that these giant herbivores once populated this area of the Hudson River where now there is a gas station and the nearby bridge which provided the setting for the headless horseman on his wild ride chasing poor old Ichabod Crane!

More spooky Sleepy Hollow stories on the way…

 Penny Lane

Here is the the view from the back deck of where I was house-sitting for a bass player and his family (who I had only just recently met on Twitter!) near Poughkeepsie before visiting the Musical Bridge described in the previous post. As soon as I heard a lawnmower fire up, I new there was a unique recording opportunity in the making akin to my duos for flute with jackhammer,  jet plane, or pneumatic drill to name but a few.

After a lull in the sounds of lawn care and I had just retreated from the hot glare of the sun, that’s when the weed whacker started up, and I jumped at the opportunity for a second go at this 60’s classic. It was only when I gave a quick listen driving back to Massachusetts the next day that I realized how well the two sound together - it’s almost as if the weed whacker operator is following a score!

You may be wondering why I settled on more Beatles after recording Yellow Submarine in a yellow submarine. Well, after a long day of driving, when I first rolled into Walden, New York, I got some rather confusing directions from the attendant who served me a well-deserved chocolate-dip softee cone. I ended up completely at the wrong end of town on Penny Lane, not a word of a lie, right around the corner from the colourful and welcoming Tschen Kunchab Ling (Tibetan Buddhist) Temple of All-Encompassing Great Compassion, which turns out to be the centre for His Holiness the Sakya Trizin in the Unites States.

My first take of Penny Lane with  lawnmower was a bit rough as I sorted out page turns and da capos. Click on the icon below to hear my first read-through as the lawnmower sounds in the background. I felt badly for the young guy doing the lawn care, who appeared to be doing a great job taking care of several adjoined backyards. I guess it was the woman in charge - maybe his mom - who appeared at one point and berated him about something, somewhere between the lawnmower and weed whacker movements of this impromptu Petite Suite pour Flute & Lawn Care Implements!

Ah-h, the sweet sounds of summer!

 Duo for Flute & Lawnmower

 Bridge Music, Bertolozzi

I first heard about Joseph Bertolozzi’s Bridge Music project from a friend at Toronto’s Jet Fuel Coffee a couple of years ago, and immediately my imagination was seized with curiosity. So much of what I heard described about turning a bridge into a massive, musical instrument for the general public to enjoy - not to mention the audacity of such an undertaking - resonated with for me with my fledgling Urban Flute Project, and I simply had to go. During a lull in the Tanglewood festivities and after driving 4 hours west from Boston, nothing could prepare me for the real experience of walking out on the Mid-Hudson Bridge and exploring this amazing musical creation.

Having finally arriving in the Poughkeepsie area, there was no problem locating this massive suspension bridge that spans the Hudson River. The real challenge, as it turned out, was to find the musical installation! Like Torontonians perhaps taking the CN Towerfor granted, most locals I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about, or only a vague idea as to how to get ‘there’ and listen to  the bridge! Finally, after an hour of crossing the bridge a couple of times, I ended up in the right little parkette tucked in the shadow of the bridge on the west side of the Hudson, just north of the tollbooth - $1 US to drive across: ouch! 

After a bridge traffic prelude, here is a colourful sampler of Bertolozzi’s captivating musical creations assembled from the sounds that he sampled from the bridge - the range of textures and musical styles is simply astonishing! Alternatively, if you have a fancy shortwave radio or find yourself in the Poughkeepsie area, this bridge music plays 24/7 at 95.3 on your FM dial. Or better yet? Walk out on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge  (The Mid-Hudson Bridge) and experience this unique music for yourself!

For directions t0 the Poughkeepsie Bridge click here.