[08/02/2010] Orchestra Concert Publicity

Listen to Bob Spear being interviewed by Gregory Keeler on WSKG public radio. Spear was interviewed on July 28 at the WSKG studios in Vestal, New York. The interview was broadcast on Monday morning, August 2 during Bill Snyder's morning classical music program. In the interview, Spear tells a little about the history of the New Violin Family and how the NVFO came into being.

[07/15/2010] Rehearsals Underway for 2010 NVF Orchestra

Last-minute recruitment and a record heat wave have not been enough to stop the intrepid members of the 2010 New Violin Family Orchestra from rehearsing. The group, which numbers 24 players, is conducted by Erik Kibelsbeck in this recent photo. First concert is on July 29 for the New York ASTA chapter (American String Teachers Association), followed by concerts on August 7 in Fayetteville, NY for the benefit of the Fayetteville-Manlius Food Pantry and August 8 in Ithaca, NY for the benefit of Loaves & Fishes. More details on the concert on the NVFO Orchestra page.

[06/24/2010] YouTube Milestone

Total views of New Violin Family performing groups have recently exceeded 6,000. Of the 14 videos presently available, the clip of the Archus String Trio playing the 3rd movement of Haydn's Divertimento in G remains the most popular and has just had its 1,000th view. The first movement of the Holberg Suite and the first part of the Introduction videos are in a virtual tie for second place with approximately 750 views each at the time of this writing.

These numbers are not overwhelming on a service that receives over 2 billion hits per day, but it is a respectable showing considering that the videos have been available for less than a year. The YouTube site has recently been redesigned in a way that makes it easier to find related videos. Look for the word "octavivo" above the upper left corner of the video frame. Next to it is a double-down arrow that you may click to produce a scrolling bar of available videos. The channel is also accesible directly.

[05/14/2010] NVFO and China Strad Bulletin Board

Your editor, in his never-ending quest to find mention of the New Family in the wider world, hit a small lode on this Chinese bulletin board. We don't speak more than two words of Chinese, but there are photos on the linked page that were taken from this web site. It's nice to know that we're gaining notice (and possibly some new friends) in such a faraway part of the world. It might be fun to go and play there some time!

[05/10/2010] New Family Bass Quartet at Ithaca College

Based on the requests of interested students and the support of Ithaca College bass professor Nicholas Walker, a most unusual quartet is scheduled to perform in December. The group will consist of all the low-pitched instruments of the New Family; a baritone violin, the chamber bass tuned in fifths (bassetto), the 5/8 bass (similar to the original Hutchins Small Bass), and Spear's large contrabass. Walker told us, "The students got behind it and asked to have it as a chamber music credit, by filling in the official form, etc.  It fits into the repertoire the string faculty feel comfortable with. (The cello teacher) chose the repertoire." Stay tuned in the fall of 2010 when the group starts rehearsing.

[05/08/2010] Orchestra Roster Filling

With about five weeks to go before the first rehearsal, the roster of players for the summer is beginning to fill up. The ensemble will be about 25% larger this year, which has led to some challenges finding both instruments and players. The core of the group consists of players from the 2009 orchestra bolstered by strong support from Ithaca College undergrads who will be staying in the area over the summer.

[04/18/2010] Chamber Bassetto in Recital at Ithaca College

Bassist Jarrett Bastow played his Junior Performance Recital in the Hockett Family Recital Hall, and began his program with three Ricecare by Domenico Gabrieli (1651-1690) that are considered among the first virtuoso compositions for the cello-- only Bastow played them on the fifths-tuned chamber bass recently developed by luthier Robert J. Spear. Bastow's performance of the pieces in g minor, D major, and Eb major marked the first time the chamber bass has been used as a solo instrument in recital. Video pending.

[04/07/2010] Concert for Haitian Relief

Although repairs to the elevator at Ithaca's Community School of Music and Arts had still not been completed, about 30 determined souls trudged up three flights of stairs to the school's acoustically excellent performance space to hear "Trios in Concert," a benefit for the International Medical Corps' work in earthquake-devastated Haiti. Two trios formed by mezzo violinist Bill Hurley gave a varied and delightful program. The Archus String Trio, with mezzo violinist Suzanne Miller and baritonist Elisa Evett, played works by Handel, Bach, and Turlough O'Carolan. After intermission, Three, a trio with Hurley, Evett, and pianist Karen Melamed Smith, performed a series of tangos by Astor Piazzolla. We hope to have some videos up later.

[03/13/10] New Family To Record Movie Score?

John Martoccia, producer of the as-yet unreleased indie film, Vito Bonafacci, starring Paul Borghese, has expressed a strong interest in having the music for his film soundtrack recorded by a group of players using instruments of the New Violin Family. Composer Joe Prusch, who is a an almnus of the 2008 New Violin Family Orchestra, was hired to complete the score and lead the recording session for the film. Prusch says that the score will consist for the most part of arrangements of relatively unknown works by Italian composers of the last 6 centuries, including some rarely-heard sacred works.

Prusch desired a consort sound but didn't want to use period instruments. The production company also had considered computer-generated music, but Prusch had another idea. "When I showed some YouTube video of the New Violin Family to the production crew," he said, "the sound designer was particularly impressed with (the) instruments' tones, and everybody is excited about the possibility of featuring these instruments in the soundtrack. . . . This film will be making its way around the country at independent festivals . . . . If any film judges have any clue what the classical violin family sounds like, they will be as stunned as our production crew was hearing that strong, solid tone . . . " Discussions continue, and we'll post the latest right here.

[03/01/10] VSA Offer Withdrawn

Fan Chia Tao, Chair of the Events Committee for the 2010 Violin Society of America (VSA) Convention says that the tentative plan to have an evening concert by a group of New Violin Family instruments has been withdrawn due to a "lack of time and space." Tao offered a one-hour afternoon lecture slot instead to assess "if there is interest in a full NVF concert at future conventions." Robert Spear, organizer of the New Family group, has declined the offer with regret, noting that the considerable time, effort, and expense involved in a greatly shortened performance before a restricted audience did not represent "the best use of our resources in these difficult financial times." Spear says the offer to perform at future conventions remains open.

[01/25/10] Orlando Cole

Cellist Orlando Cole has passed away in Philadelphia at the age of 101. Recognized as a great pedagog, and famous for the number of fine cellists he trained, Cole also was a champion of new music when he played in the Curtis Quartet. Few know that he was also active for a time in promoting the New Violin Family. In this undated photo, right, Cole is seen playing one of the original, deep-ribbed models of the baritone violin. Cole's passing serves as another reminder that the generation linking us with the earliest days of the Violin Octet is rapidly disappearing, and warns us that it is time for a new generation to step in and keep the momentum going.

[01/17/10] Patrick Tobin at the Smart Monkey

Patrick Tobin's run at Ithaca's Smart Monkey Natural Foods Cafe has come to an end after more than two years. Tobin, whose Sunday brunch performances on the alto violin of the complete Bach Suites have become somewhat of a legend in this Upstate New York community, played his last performance on this date as the cafe closed its doors for good. We are all hoping that the Cafe will one day appear again, and that Patrick will find a new home even sooner. When it happens, you'll read about it here first!

[01/12/10] User Forums

User Forums are coming soon . . . we think. We're till considering which vendor to go with, but it looks like vBulletin since we've had good experiences with their product on other websites. We need some ideas for forum topics, so put on your thinking caps and don't keep results a secret.

[01/11/10] 2010 NVFO

Planning for the 2010 New Violin Family Orchestra is in full swing. The first rehearsal is tentatively set for Monday, June 14, at 8:00. The conductor for the ensemble this year and the location of rehearsals will be posted on the Orchestra page shortly. Concert dates and venues will follow shortly.

[01/10/10] Video Stats

Stats for views of the New Family clips on YouTube continue to increase. Aggregate views now number over 3,000, with many individual clips in excess of 300 views apiece. The most often-referenced clips are the 1st movement of the Holberg Suite and the first two parts of the Introduction to the New Violin Family. It comes as a surprise, then, that the clip that is almost never referenced is in a close race for the most-viewed of our current 14 choices. It is the Archus Trio, with Bill Hurley and Suzanne Miller, mezzos, and Elisa Evett, baritone, performing the last movement of Haydn's Divertimento in G. Folks out in Tube Land really seem to love it. Check it out.

 

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