Jean-Francois Charles

My friend Michael Heller , a great musician whom I met at the Harvard Music Department , led in 2011-2012 an exciting year with the Dudley House Jazz Band. I already told you about his 2010 project around Mary Lou Williams' music ; he went further in 2011-12 when he invited Dave Liebman and Lewis Porter to perform with the band in Paine Hall. Michael released videos of the concert. Here is a favorite, Hiroshima Memorial : Creation Creation lied at the core of this artistic project, with improvisation, creative arrangements, and the world première of a concerto for Dave Liebman and symphonic orchestra, composed by Lewis Porter in what we could call the Third Stream tradition of mixing genres. An excerpt from the program, where composer Lewis Porter presents his Liebman concerto .

Composer Gabriele Vanoni has been a friend of mine since his arrival at the Harvard Music Department . He has been spending the year in Paris, taking part in the selective Ircam Cursus . Gabriele wrote a new piece for mezzo soprano & live electronics: Don . The world premiere is taking place on April 13th at Ircam in Paris. Entrance is free, but make sure you get in touch with Ircam to reserve. CF8FTJEMEG7D

The problem book, companion to Why You Hear What You Hear , is out. The pdf is available as a free download from http://www.whyyouhearwhatyouhear.com/subpages/Problems.html . The book is organized to mirror the structure of Why You Hear What You Hear (link to amazon): Sound Itself Analyzing Sound Making Sound Musical Instruments Psychoacoustics & Music Soundspaces If you are interested in music, sound, and acoustics, I hope you are going to enjoy having a look. Would you guess which piano is the biggest, given samples from three different instruments?

Two recent takes on a wonderful instrument : the pipe organ . First, listen to this story of a Melbourne Town Hall's pipe organ controlled by gestures. Microsoft's Kinect connected to Cycling 74's Max has enabled composers to control music with gestures for a while. The interesting point in composer Chris Vik's approach is the mix of old and new, as well as the scenic aspect (although a computer screen on stage is not appealing). Check it out here: Kinect-Controlled Pipe Organ . Second, I'm glad that reverend Gomes ' project for Harvard Memorial Church is achieved: Memorial Church's new organ . Listen to the new Fisk Organ in Memorial Church The last event in the inaugural series is the ARTS FIRST Concert, taking place this Sunday, April 29, at 4:00 p.m. The Harvard University Choir presents a program showcasing the new organs in The Memorial Church, including works for two organs and choir.

I'm very excited to announce that Dudley House , where I had a lot of fun serving as a jazz band leader, is holding its first artist residency with saxophonist Dave Liebman . Residency starts tonight! At the warm Cafe Gato Rojo, the Dudley House Jazz Combo performs a free pre-residency kickoff concert: Liebman and More . The Cafe Gato Rojo is a lovely place - I spent quite some time there, meeting friends, studying, reading, composing, and even playing music: nothing like a jam session at the Gato! David Liebman Master Class On Wednesday, Dave Liebman is giving a master-class at the Harvard music department. It will be a great event. Dave Liebman is an amazing artist & composer who enjoys talking about theory. I discovered him through his book: A chromatic approach to jazz harmony and melody . World première: the Liebman Concerto If you're in the Boston area, don't miss the concert on Thursday, April 19th, in Harvard Paine Hall at 8 p.m. The Liebman Concerto , a...

I met with composer Christopher Trapani during Expo'74, an interactive electronic music expo that took place in Brooklyn, New-York in October, 2011. We enjoyed talking about Harvard, where he was an undergraduate student, and about Paris, where he spent quite a few years already. I'm thrilled to see that Christopher was recently selected for a six-month Musical Research Residency at IRCAM, the Parisian . I'm sure his stay at the Parisian institute for research & coordination acoustics/music will be very productive; I'm looking forward to hearing the music he will be producing after that. Christopher Trapani's upcoming concerts If you're in New York City, here are two upcoming events to discover: From Beaubourg to Brooklyn: electroacoustic music from Paris , a concert Christopher curated for the MATA festival . A new work is going to be performed in March by the Ensemble de Musique Interactive, a French ensemble visiting Columbia university in March - ...

Music & education often cross paths. But they are rarely linked as in today's event: Lady Gaga's presence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to launch the Born This Way Foundation , which goal includes inspiring bravery and kindness in young people and stopping bullying. Alyssa Rodemeyer, "youth empowered", talking with Lady Gaga in Sanders Theater. Of course, we want to believe their messages: Lady Gaga: You are all born superstars! Alyssa Rodemeyer: If one kid can set an example, then the rest will follow. The live event just ended: it might be time to watch Lady Gaga's recent video Marry the night :

Harvard recently kicked off a new initiative for better teaching . As a music educator, I feel very much concerned by the quality of teaching, and I feel very lucky to have been working with great mentors at Harvard. In Professor Heller's Physics of Music & Sound course, the teaching staff were working hard to make the class engaging and efficient. For instance, we were using methods with great records of success, such as peer-instruction and live student response systems ("clickers"). Since I was recruited in the Conservatoire du Pays de Montbeliard, I've been working on improving the art & science connections around. I've been impressed to see so many talents in the area: in universities, high schools, public and private organizations; but a lack of communication between people prevents the emergence of real creative breakthroughs. After recent invigorating talks, I'm confident great multimedia projects are going to crystalize in the next months. ...

I spent a couple of years with Ulrich Kreppein when we were in the Ph.D. program at the Harvard Music Department together. A great orchestral composer, Ulrich is also interested in writing opera and chamber music. Discover a part of his sonic world in the string trio Windinnres : Composers' Prize Ulrich Kreppein is one of the three recipients of the 2012 Composers' Prize, awarded by the famous Ernst von Siemens foundation . Congratulations, Ulrich! Of course, I do congratulate Ulrich's fellow composers: Luke Bedford & Zeynep Gedizlioglu !

Dr. Yannatos passed away yesterday, October 19th, 2011. I have been his teaching assistant the last semester he taught orchestral conducting at Harvard University, in the Spring of 2009. I remember his sharp humor. His great experience was very valuable to the undergraduates who were taking his class. The Harvard Music Department has not yet announced the news on their web site, but I guess they are going to plan a celebration concert. Besides being a great musician and a charismatic conductor, he was a true educator. Published in 1978, his book Explorations in musical materials: A working approach to making music was written while Dr. Yannatos was teaching elementary composition to students with little musical training. Just a quote from the preface: When teachers reexamine the elements of music with the fresh perspective and perceptions of their students, they can better organize their own understanding of basic musical elements - no matter what period of music they specializ...

Voilà! Photograph by Martha Stewart from the GSAS web site images of commencement 2011 It was a great pleasure to meet many friends in Cambridge last week. Thank you all for your friendship. Thanks for your support during my years as a Ph.D. student! Bénédicte photographed the early procession This Commencement was also a musical event. Tenor Plácido Domingo was made Doctor of Music. Then, hearing that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an opera aficionado, he improvised a little song for her (see embedded video below):

On Thursday, I'm having the honor to serve as one of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Commencement Marshals during the 360th Harvard Commencement . Last year, I played clarinet during a 6 a.m. procession to the Tercentenary Theater . For sure, this year will be different! Commencement 2010, playing an early gig with my friend Alan, and others.

This week-end, Harvard is celebrating 40 years of jazz , and the Boston Herald finds this is cool . The jazz program at the college has been lead by trombonist Tom Everett since 1971! If you're in the area, don't miss the concert on Saturday in Sanders Theater. The 1972 Harvard Jazz Band! But remember that Dudley House , the graduate students center at Harvard, hosts a dynamic jazz program as well! One of the great recent events was the performance of Mary Lou Williams ' Zodiac Suite, a project led by my friend Michael Heller. Make sure you read the fascinating article written by scholar Ryan Banagale: a comparison of the Dudley House performance with historical recordings .

This is the untold story of this week's New York Times article on the International Music Score Library Project . It features a prominent picture of the IMSLP founder, with the following caption: Edward W. Guo's online repository of free, downloadable music works has grown to 85,000 scores, with additions every month. But what the journalists don't mention is that Mr. Guo was photographed in another beautiful score library: the Harvard Music Department's Loeb Music Library . And today, there are still more music scores in this library than in the IMSL (more than 168,000). The IMSL is very useful to find public domain scores. But make sure you visit Harvard's Digital Scores & Libretti : you will find treasures there. An excerpt of Mozart's Magic Flute overture. To get the news on newly digitized scores, read the Loeb Music Library's blog ...

My friend Michael Heller is the new leader of the Harvard Dudley House Jazz Bands . He is brilliant both as an ethnomusicologist and as a musician. I am thrilled to announce the wonderful program he created for this winter concert: the big band is performing Mary Lou Williams's Zodiac Suite on December 17th at 8 p.m. in Harvard's Paine Hall ( Harvard Music Building ). This is the first large ensemble performance of the work in 65 years: I hope you can attend! More details on the Dudley House web site .

Yesterday, Jacques Steinberg wrote an article about the use of "clickers" in education: More Professors Give Out Hand-Held Devices to Monitor Students and Engage Them . I'm glad to read about this pedagogical tool in the Times, but it's important to mention that the benefits of the clickers, when backed by a great pedagogical approach, go far beyond the article description. In The Physics of Music & Sound , a course from the General Education program at Harvard , the clickers are part of the numerous tools Pr. Eric Heller uses to engage the students in a deeper level of reflection (I was a Head Teaching Fellow for the class in the Spring). He uses them to make the class as participatory as possible. Discussions, live demonstrations of experiments, student demonstration of voice and instruments, computer experiments that you can also easily do, peer instruction and PRS "clicker” participation are all part of the experience . In Pr. Heller's class, peer i...

Last year, I invited you to the concert of the Dudley House Jazz Bands , during which we performed three versions of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue . Here is the live recording of Duke Ellington 's 1932 arrangement ( also on youtube ): Featuring: Piano & musical research: Ryan Raul Bañagale Clarinet intro & musical direction: Jean-François Charles Soprano & tenor saxs: Eric Diebold Alto saxs: Kimberly August, Jillian DeMair & Richa Gawande Baritone sax: Aaron Silberstein Trumpets: Evan Biela, Gary Smiley, Chris Zuidema & Stephen Furqueron Trombones: Ethan Fenn, Rob Cautillo, Cara Takakjian & Tim Fung Guitar: Jonathan Buonocore Bass: Andres Enrique Drums: Max Behrens Update after L's comment. CDs and mp3s of the two other versions we played during the concert: Billy Strayhorn's Rhapsody in Blue (Duke Ellington's band) and Bill Putnam's Rhapsody in Blue (Stan Kenton's band). Amazon.com Widgets

Dudley House is a very important place for the community of Graduate Students at Harvard. I've been blessed to work with great colleagues, and to make real friends in the house. Energy, creativity, and concern for others , these are qualities that we are all striving to develop. Thank you, Dudley House, and all of the persons who keep this place well alive!

I just discovered that Jonathan Ruel posted great pictures of the Acquainted with the night concert. With singer Michael Barrett, we premiered my composition for voice, basset-horn, and live electronics. But as you may recall, four other premières took place during this musical evening. See all of the performers and composers on Jonathan's shots:

Harvard Music Building - picture by eileansiar During the Spring, the students in the music department met a number of candidates for a new position: professor in composition at Harvard. All of the students who met with candidates were asked to share their thoughts with the recruiting committee. Here is an excerpt from my letter to the committee. I was not completely clear on the type of profile the department was looking for (see the original announcement for this tenure position ), so I imagined a course that could be a great addition to the department's offering: an exciting Gen Ed class about 20th and 21st century music... ...A Gen Ed class that would show how great and influent have been creative artists such as (I'll name just a few from the top of my head, trying to keep in mind the American orientation) George Antheil Milton Babbitt John Cage George Crumb Miles Davis Duke Ellington Michael Jackson Scott Joplin Alan Parsons Les Paul Pink Floyd Steve Reich Buddy Rich Ka...