La Bella Cubana at Kaufman Center

A little bird requested La Bella Cubana, by José White Lefitte, so here's the recording of the Crowden 7th & 8th grade violinists performing it at the Kaufman Center near Juilliard in New York City on June 22, 2007. (play it now or check your Crowden Life podcast in iTunes) This performance took place in a recording studio, so the sound is a bit dull, especially for this beautiful piece which would probably like a little more room to breathe and soar. I've heard the kids rehearsing it, so hopefully we'll get another performance or two in the next few days.

Bloch at the German Church of St. Paul June 24

Play the Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra and Piano Obbligato, No. 1 by Ernst Bloch as performed by the Crowden 7th & 8th grades and recorded at the German Evangelical-Lutheran Church of St. Paul in New York City on June 24, 2007.

Bloch at St. Paul's Chapel June 23

Play the Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra and Piano Obbligato, No. 1 by Ernst Bloch as performed by the Crowden 7th & 8th grades and recorded at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero in New York City on June 23, 2007.

Bloch at Kaufman Center June 22

Play the Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra and Piano Obbligato, No. 1 by Ernst Bloch as performed by the Crowden 7th & 8th grades and recorded in a studio at the Kaufman Center near Juilliard in New York City on June 22, 2007.

(Note: click Add to iTunes, to subscribe to this podcast, which will automatically download future recordings and allow you to sync with your iPod.)

Bach Double at Kaufman Center

Listen to the first performance of our tour: Concerto in D minor for Two Violins (BWV 1043) by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on June 22, 2007 with Maya Ramchandran and Lyly Li soloing on violin and Lisa Grodin conducting. This was performed in a small recording studio in Kaufman Center, near Juilliard. It will be interesting to see how the performance of this piece sounds towards the end of the tour, after a few more rehearsals and performances. Stay tuned!

Note that this recording sounds best when heard on headphones, as it was made using binaural recording techniques. This typically involves inserting small microphones in the ears of a dummy head (in this case, mine) to produce a realistic image of the sound, especially when played on headphones. Try it and send comments!