A Far Cry

Congratulations to our friends Courtney Lewis and the Discovery Ensemble on their great review in the Boston Globe. The reporter, Jeremy Eichler, compares the Discovery Ensemble with another little chamber orchestra in town:
In the last couple of years, the city’s classical music scene has been receiving shots of adrenaline from what might appear to be [...]

Want to head into our Lunatic concert knowing your stuff? Check out our program notes by the awesome young musicologist Kathryn Bacasmot!
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The most terrifying things are those that appear familiar on the outside, but are alien within. For centuries societies blamed strange events or intermittent loss of sanity on the phases [...]

Our very own Jae was interviewed in yesterday’s Boston Globe. Apparently he and reporter Geoff Edgers sat down and put Jae’s iPod on shuffle mode, and Jae describes the first 10 tunes that come up. Hilarious, insightful, and bad-ass.
Link

I visited one of my dear friends, violinist Julia Cash at Point Counterpoint music camp on the shores of Lake Dunmore, Vermont last week, where she is in her second summer of performing & teaching teenage musicians. A gorgeous spot on the Lake right at the foothills of the Green Mountains, the camp reminded me [...]

Kathryn Bacasmot authored these highly entertaining and thought-provoking program notes. Enjoy!

This is your shovel. The music is your earth. Dig in.
I know, I know. You’re looking at this and thinking, “these are the program notes? Where is the anecdotal story followed by interesting historical factoids, dates, and a roadmap to the music itself?” Don’t flip [...]

Wow – what an incredible trip to the Florida Keys! The audiences were amazing, the hospitality was out-of-this-world, and our rental Priuses only used $20 of gas to go 500 miles. What a tour. Here are a few photos, mostly from a couple of educational concerts from Tuesday morning: Courtenay, Frank, Annie, and I played [...]

Jason and I were interviewed for a Strings Magazine feature on musician-centric internet services. If you’re interested in the technological side of A Far Cry, or how we coordinate our activities, you might enjoy reading the article:
Beyond MySpace

A Far Cry arrived in the Florida Keys today, and this is my first time here. The beauty everywhere took me by surprise, and being so completely surrounded by water (even the humidity in the air) makes me feel like a completely new person. I think that I can expand and be more fully myself [...]

Years ago, I’m sitting in a car with a group of people, heading
somewhere – a music festival? A bassist is driving the car, I think.
We are having a great time listening to Bela Fleck when the driver
decides that it is time to turn things up a notch.
“Listen to this,” he says, puts in a Kronos [...]

The Criers returned from our Vermont retreat yesterday, energized and excited by our meeting discussions, well-cared for thanks to May Bigelow’s incredible hospitality, and nourished thanks to fantastic meals prepared by Far Cry Chefs Fisher, Irons, Shaw and Stohs – all true artists! We arrived in the Boston area, eager to find the March [...]

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When we’re not playing together in A Far Cry, the members are doing a lot of different things around the world. Especially right now during the holidays, we’re mostly in different states spending time with family. Sharon is at home in Israel, and if you’ve been watching the news, you know some of the crazy [...]

Our trip to Duluth was probably one of our most successful trips to a new town we’ve ever had! We flew over for two nights only- played in a performance class at University of Minnesota Duluth Music Department, then got to listen to their awesome unconducted string orchestra, and ended the day with a concert [...]

Thanks to the Patriot Ledger, for publishing this great story on A Far Cry!

Just imagine:A classical music concert, where the musicians play in their everyday clothes.Where the audience STANDS UP.Where people clap when they feel like it.Where people talk if they want to.Where everyone feels free to be themselves…
I have dreamt of this imaginary concert for years. And I was thinking- we stand up when we perform because [...]

A Far Cry performed today at Seattle’s world famous Pike Place Market to try to drum up interest in the big concert tomorrow night. In some ways, this was A Far Cry at its best – we showed up with instruments, stands, and T-shirts in tow, found a good high-foot-traffic spot, and took the music [...]

So yesterday was the big driving day – we loaded up our rental minivans (Bigfoot, Bounty Hunter, El Toro Loco, and Carolina Crusher) and headed up Route 101 from Santa Rosa.
101 is an amazing drive. First it leads through Sonoma County – beautiful Tuscan rolling countryside covered with vineyards and wineries. Then the road [...]

We had a nice, smooth flight over to San Francisco yesterday. I can only speak for myself, but having leather seats and the ability to watch Top Chef continuously on a personal TV really speed up a coast-to-coast flight. Plus, the flight attendants were great.
I knew Loewi was up to something when he went [...]

I’m standing at the center of Logan Airport Terminal C, waiting for the rest of the Criers to arrive. Jason and I considered the T, but broke down and called a taxi – 4 heavy suitcases filled with posters, music, postcards, and (oh yeah) clothes, plus two instruments and a backpack, were just a bit [...]

Dear Friends,
On Tuesday, May 13th, the Criers fly to San Francisco to begin their 3-week trek up the West Coast to Seattle, with stops along the way in Santa Rosa, Roseburg, and Portland. From outreach programs to concert hall performances, chamber music shenanigans, and a working retreat, A Far Cry is prepping for a very [...]