Music, Art, and Everything in Between

https://vimeo.com/140590889?fl=pl&fe=sh Porridge for Goldilocks celebrated their third year at the Urban Arts Festival July 18, 2015. Every year has been a treat and Porridge is always excited to share new discoveries, relationships, movement, and music with you. Performed at The Gateway Mall at Festival Stage at 2pm. Performers Include //Musicians// Davis Johnson & Mason Johnson (Creature Double Feature) Michele Medina Wachira Waigwa-Stone //Movers// Micah Sir-Patrick Burkhardt Erin Bailey Margarita Kozhevnikova Amy Freitas Monzie Remes Corbin Schmidt Emma Wilson McKenzie Barkdull Come hang out and enjoy the fantastic festival that is Urban Arts

Asturias . . .  Hana Janatova on Piano and Michele Medina on Violin. Misky Merino videographer.

The culmination of all my work and vision! Rustikas Ephemerales was performed at Mudson with Amy Freitas, Emily Haygeman, and Katherine Alder. Violinists were Michele Medina and Sarah Glistos. The only other thing I would have done was make all the costumes, and perhaps hire a double so I could watch myself perform. Emily, Katherine, Amy, and I shared ideas for choreography. We split up the selected pieces, and magic happened, including friendships and more creations in the future.

Interpretation of selected Bartok duos performed by Michele Medina, Jon Kahananui and danced by Samuel Hansen.

The last time I wrote for my blog was after I returned from Honduras. Not only was Juticalpa, Honduras a learning experience that taught me that anything that you dream up can become a reality, but it was also breeding ground for the ideas that I have thought up, planned, executed, and still will execute in the future. Before I left, I had dreamed up a vision of performing a selection of Bartok's Violin Duos with 3-5 modern dancers who would improvise or loosely choreograph movement to the short pieces. Sam, a creative dancer enjoyed the idea and his response was simply "We would just need a space . . . " and I was impressed at the ease of his voice and the lack of limits he put on such a project. The other violinist and I coordinated with Sam and the performance came through but there were no other dancers like I had wanted. We all wore black (unplanned), but there was the promised recital of Bruch's Violin Concerto, a Ysaye violin sonata, and the Bartok Duos...

Last night (December 13, 2012) I played a unique house concert in Sugarhouse, Utah.  I play with  a group of musicians who play early music: medieval, renaissance, and baroque.  We even play Turkish music, and a few years ago we played Jarabe tapatio from Mexico.  This group appreciates all music! There are recorders, drums, bells. Most of the times Mary Amanda plays harp but she played keyboard tonight. A few of the musicians also sang songs, as did the audience!  Our program was the following: One of the fun parts of these concerts is that we wear Renaissance garb, most of it made by Mary Amanda or by the musicians (or a seamstress they know). I think I shall have to get back into sewing and sew myself a little tunic. If you think about it, Renaissance garb really does come in handy because one never knows when they will need it! One of the highlights of the concert was when Anna, Sidney, and I played Pachelbel's Canon in D. I haven...

Walking past La Casa de la Cultura on Saturday, April 21, 2012 was different than most Saturdays. Normally, it's closed. This time, it was open. Students and teachers from The Day-Star School were taking tickets at a table situated at the door. The main themes of the event were “The Divinity of Art and Music” and “I love Honduras!” A few students did works of art that were different, but had high quality and strong meaning. Once the patrons entered the building, they were greeted with a painting of a red and blue Guacamaya, the national bird of Honduras. Next to it a meticulously painted crying boy, a brown tree in a sunset of rose and gold, and a painting of the yellow Casa de la Cultura itself. All the paintings at the art exhibit were set up on wooden easels. Dioramas of Mayan pyramids were lined up on the center of the floor. One group of students created diorama which contained figures of clay primitive people and branches from live trees. Two eighth grade gir...

It's about time! My 30th birthday recital. Bruch from my 30th! http://youtu.be/Q4bqnO6TZlU Not like I've had 30 recitals, one on each birthday, but it was my wonderful celebration with lots of good musician friends and family and other random supporters.  Hope that this link works. 

Michele Medina, Samuel Hanson, and Jon Kahananui Present: Dancing to the Resonance of Béla Bartók And Other Modern Delights Thursday, August 4, 2011 7:30 PM Salt Lake Main Library 210 East 400 South I.                     Eugène Ysaÿe Violin Sonata played by Jon Kahananui II.                     Max Bruch Violin Concerto #1 in G Minor Opus 26 1. Prelude (Allegro moderato) 2. Adagio (Adagio) played by Michele Medina, Featuring Kelly Richardson as Piano Accompanist III.                 Béla Bartók Selections from 44 Duets for Two Violins 14. Polster-tanz/Pillow dance/Párnás Tánc 5. Slowakisches Lied/Slovakian Song/Tót Nóta 38. Rumänischier Dreh-Tanz/Rumanian Whirling Dance/Forgatós 4. Somm...

Here is the second violin part to Minuetto by Bach.

This is the first violin part of a Minuetto by J.S. Bach.  My students will be playing this in a recital soon!

Ludwig Van Beethoven. December 16. 1770 - March 26, 1827 I bought a t-shirt from the Grand Teton Music Festival a while back, and it has the first 5 measures of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.  Underneath them, it says "POWER BARS".  I threw it on for work today, without realizing what day it was, until someone asked me if I did it for Beethoven's birthday.  I must have, without thinking!  How funny, so I thought it'd be appropriate to write a little of this famous composer in the scope of the Romantic Era (1820-1900). At the beginning, Beethoven's work was considered Classical.  This style can be considred emotionally restrained, ordered and structured, objectivity, and clear form.  Mozart and Handel fall into this era.  But, many of Beethoven's works were more emotional.  Take for instance, "Moonlight Sonata, Movement 1" or Fur Elise" for the piano.  Or his Piano Concertos.  #4 and #5.  Or his later  Symphonies or Violin Conc...

fauve: Literally, "wild beasts." An early 20th-century art movement led by Henri Matisse and characterized by wild, bright colors. Henri Matisse is among my top favorite artists.  Why? Because I love color! I don't purposely try to paint similar to him, but it just happens naturally. He was French, but I'm not.

WITHOUT ART There is no culture WITHOUT MUSIC There is no sound WITHOUT PASSION There is no progress WITHOUT LANGUAGE There is no expression.  These days I teach music, work at a coffee shop, and make jewelry.  I do these things that I love while I study education.  I also play substitute teacher when I'm lucky.  I can't wait to have my own classroom where I can educate my students about these things, and show my students how to integrate them into everyday life and academics. I have had many interests throughout my whole life, but the things that have stuck with me are these things.  My deegree is in Art History and Spanish, and I have been lucky to have a great number of amazing violin teachers. In this blog, I will show you and your students all that I know about masterpieces in art, music repertoire, and the integration of all the other disciplines including languages, drama, and many more things. This is to help students and anyone who is intere...