Jean-Francois Charles

Patrice Thomas, guitar - Anne Condamin, piano Jean-Marc Larché, saxophone - Jean-François Charles, contrabass clarinet & electronics June 15th, 2012, Prisme concert

Tonight's concert features a unique blend of classical and improvised music. Piano compositions by Scarlatti , Bach , Bartok , and Crumb , are interlaced with variations by Jean-Marc Larché (soprano saxophone), Patrice Thomas (guitar), and myself (contrabass clarinet & electronics). Anne Condamin & Jean-Marc Larché are giving with this program their personal vision of the third stream music. Yet another reason why I'm so happy to perform with them tonight.

You are invited this Friday night, June 15th, 2012, in Montbéliard (France). I'm going to let you know about the program, but first, let me introduce the artists: I'm thrilled to be performing with amazing musicians. The artists Anne Condamin, piano Anne Condamin enjoys performing piano music covering an impressive range of classical music, from baroque music to creations in collaboration with the composers. Check out her recent album simply titled Schumann : Jean-Marc Larché, soprano saxophone Jean-Marc Larché is known for his collaborations with pianist François Couturier: their most recent major project is the Tarkovsky Quartet. Patrice Thomas, guitar Patrice Thomas performs with different groups, composes, and teaches jazz workshops. He won the 1st prize at the La Defense (Paris) jazz competition with the Isis Quartet.

I've been an active user of the mind mapping technique for years. Again and again, I find it very useful in many situations: planning a concert or a tour working on a course syllabus designing electronic music software or hardware set-up even composing new music I recently discovered a beautiful mind map conceived by pianist and music educator Margaret Brandman . A rich drawing with many ideas to think about for music teachers, and for students, too: I hope you find it thought-provoking - and useful!

On Saturday, I'll be leading a workshop dedicated to Alpine music. I summed up the day's content on the following sketch: I'm looking forward to this day of musical exchange with amateur musicians, keeping in mind that amator is latin for lover .

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.

Vincent Vigon is a mathematician, and a long time friend of mine. We studied together at the Insa de Lyon , in the Musique Études section. Come listen to his group Tadja - I'm gonna jam with them, too. Concert is this Thursday, April 19th, at 8:30pm at the Xanadu bar in Strasbourg. By the way, how does Tadja sound? Here is how they describe their music - en français dans le texte : Musique azimutée Est-Ouest, Celtique-Yiddish Musique Trad relookée, mixerisée, micro-ondée