a kate west greeting
from Nordstrom's Santa Anita Mall
Surprise! Xmas Flash Mob
Brought to you by All Saints Episcopal Choir, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pasadena Presbyterian Church Kirk Choir, Pasadena Master Chorale and many others!
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a kate west recommendation
Finland's latest export comes in the form of an extraordinary Children's Choir known as Vox Aurea (a.k.a. The Golden Voice, in Latin). The kids (ages 11-18) come from Jyväskylä, Finland and travel the world bringing awed audiences the gift of music. With choreographed movement, they showcase folk and modern pieces, all perfectly rehearsed. Founded by Torsten Lindfors in 1968, the touring company includes world famous composer and conductor Pekka Kostiainen and Sanna Salminen. They hit San Francisco and Los Angeles this summer and have performed all over.
Scaling the music staff from top to bottom, the children's remarkable range dazzles and delights. You may not understand all the words (although some pieces are in English), but you will most decidedly understand the emotions, as they act out little dramas, set to original and traditional songs. Chirping and clicking, they mimic atmospheric sounds, becoming wind or train whistles or whatever the piece may require and they are obviously having the time of their lives as they grin joyfully and sing their little hearts out. Bowing their heads during solemn lulls, they will invoke Rockette precision the very next moment. And as an added bonus, the costumes are beautiful, colorful and fitting.
Kudos to the parents for providing this great opportunity to cross culture. Look them up and see if you can become a lucky host family and get to know Finland like no one else. You can regale your neighbors with fun Finnish facts. Well worth catching their act and here's how:
Performing at:
International Choral Exchange
with Los Angeles Children's Chorus
at Pasadena Presbyterian Church
July 21, 2009 @7pm
www.ppc.net
585 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101-2036
(626) 793-2191
Tour Dates
July 9 - 23, 2009
www.voxaurea.org
Or Catch them on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/VoxAureaFIN
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St. Robert's Jubilee
a kate west reflection
In this day and age, Catholicism seems so archaic and medieval; however, it often provides comforting ritual ceremony. Certain traditions like incense, the repetitive prayers that we all know and all that genuflecting are so richly engrained in many of us. It is truly an audience participatory rite. You can reach a divine meditational state just as easily recting the rosary as you can chanting in a yoga pose. Plus the music is great. And often more passionate than less traditional pop Christian faiths. Speaking of which, prominent local Burbank church, St. Robert Bellarmine, celebrated its one-hundredth year this September, with a recorded cd to prove it.
Combining several choirs (Children’s, Filipino, Contemporary and Adult Choirs), St. Robert's Music Ministry recently recorded their greatest hits, including well-known spirituals like "Wade in the Water" and "Precious Lord, Take My Hand". There is also a lovely Latin chant version of the "Ave Maria" and some pieces the choirs play during Good Friday, when they musically reenact the Passion of the Christ. There are a few nods to their annual Christmas Concert as well ("Sing Noel") and to good will toward man ("Peace") as well as many other favorites. If you like choral music, it's a nice local cd and, if you live in Burbank, California, a nice way to support your community.
And by the way, contrary to certain opinion, it is possible to be a Liberal Catholic, with some doubts here and there. In fact, that's probably even healthy. Life is contradictory, not black and white. As with everything else, you get out of it what you put into it. Besides, religion is very personal and private (and should always be separated from state).
The Music:
Faith In Our Time - 100 Years of Music
St. Robert Bellarmine Music Ministry
Leo Marchildon - Music Director
Father Lawrence Signey - Beloved Pastor
(April 4, 1961 - March 10, 2007)
To learn more (or order the cd) check out www.srbburbank.org.
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700 Sundays
a kate west review
starring Billy Crystal
directed by Des McAnuff
additional content by Alan Zweibel
producers Janice Crystal, Larry Magid
at the Wilshire Theater
8440 Wilshire Blvd, LA 90211
running Jan 6 - February 18,2006
contact www.broadwayla.org or Face Productions
When Comedian Billy Crystal was only fifteen, his father Jack unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1963. Young Billy was devastated and angry. He finally came to a kind of resolution by pooling his memories into a one-man show called "700 Sundays", referring to the total number of Sundays he actually spent with his dad. Originally on Broadway, Tony Award winner Des McAnuff ("Big River", "Tommy") directs Crystal's opus once again, here in Los Angeles.
We learn many fascinating thing about Crystal's life, including his famous love of baseball and his surprising family involvement in jazz history. Crystal has often mentioned the beauty of baseball in interviews, his first glimpse of the green, green field so different from the picture in black and white television, as well as his experience directing a warm and loving tribute to his idols, Yankee greats Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (HBO's seamless "61"). Ken Burns even captured Crystal's baseball stories on film in his "Baseball" PBS series. And doesn't Crystal don a New York Mets baseball hat in "City Slickers"?
More interesting still is that Crystal's family owned the Commodore Record Label and had their own store in Manhattan for a while, meaning Billy grew up with jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. In fact, Uncle Milt Gabler was the only man brave enough to record Holiday's controversial "Strange Fruit", a mournful jazz ballad reflecting on the unfortunate still prevalent lynchings in the south at the time. An unusual childhood indeed.
Crystal spends much of the show impersonating relatives such as an eccentric aunt ruminating on lesbianism, pointing out the real deal in 8 millimeter home movies and making typical crude one-liners. For the most part, it is a heartfelt love note to his quiet and unassuming father, and, as many one-person shows seem to be, a therapeutic catharsis for the mourner. Jack worked hard for his family and always reserved Sundays to spend with them, no matter what, taking Billy to baseball games and hosting the odd and end jazz legend. We learn a lot about his family along the way and understand how Crystal got into comedy in the first place, so much of it holds audience interest, but the show does run too long.
Scenic Designer David F. Weiner creates a cozy set with a screen door porch, replicating Crystal's Cape Cod cottage, (actually in Long Beach New York), helped out by Lighting Designer David Lee Cuthbert, Projectionist Michael Clark and Sound Designer Steve Canyon Kennedy. Director Des McAnuff creates an interesting stage picture, but Crystal is obviously the focus here and the main creative hand. As when hosting the Oscars, Billy Crystal is funny at first, but grows a little tedious after a while. If you are a Crystal fan, by all means, don't miss the show; otherwise, you may just want to borrow his book in order to cull the meatier bits of the family history, which really are quite absorbing.
Billy's Book:
700 Sundays
The Passion of Joan of Arc
(La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)
a kate west favorite
"The Passion of Joan of Arc" is a beautiful version of the story of Joan of Arc, the French martyr captured by the English and later made a saint. The key word in the title definitely being passion. Maria Falconetti is a soulful and intense Joan. Although the film is silent (just try it, you'll like it), she conveys a wealth of emotion in Director Carl Dreyer's close ups.
Truly a cinematic and prolific genius, Dreyer knows quite well how to show stark feelings and human agony in a profound way. Originally filmed in 1928 ,what makes this edition all the more special is that in 1994, Richard Einhorn composed a soundtrack for the film ("Voices of Light"), a choral masterpiece blending classical and modern elements, turning the work into a true epic.
This is one of the most amazing films in cinematic history, not only for its artistry, but as a truly moving depiction of the life of an historical icon. It is a must see for film students and general public alike.
Director:
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Writers:
Joseph Delteil
Carl Theodor Dreyer
1994 Composer:
Richard Einhorn (Voices of Light)
Release Date:
21 April 1928 (Denmark)
Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431)
Maria Falconetti ... Jeanne d'Arc (Renè Jean Falconetti)
Évêque Pierre Cauchon ... Bishop Pierre Cauchon (as Eugène Silvain)
Antonin Artaud ... Jean Massieu
Andrè Berley ... Jean d'Estivet
The 1985 Criterion Edition:
The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection
Voices of Light:
Richard Einhorn: Voices Of Light
