Puget Brass!!

The bold sounds of Puget Brass definitely encourage the use of exclamation points! (!)

On Sunday, March 17th at 2 p.m., Puget Sound’s premier British style brass band, Puget Brass, will blow out the dreary winter days with a Spring concert for the whole family at the Redmond Library. You will be regaled by marches and soothed by symphonies, all played in the unique and entertaining style popularized by British colliery* bands of the early 20th century.

Hope to see you there – come early to grab a good seat!

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*colliery = coal mine and associated buildings
If you want to study up before you hear the music, consider renting the movie Brassed Off, which inspired the creation of Puget Brass.  If you still own a VCR, borrow it from the library!  Otherwise, Netflix also has available in their streaming collection.

Orphee et Euridice: A Seattle Opera Preview

Christoph Willibald Gluck was one of the three greatest opera composers of the 18th Century. His most famous work is his operatic retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Euridice. Seattle Opera will be presenting the French version, Orphee et Euridice, which features a tenor in the role of Orpheus rather than a mezzo-soprano as in the Italian version. This splendid operatic masterpiece has not been presented in Seattle in more than 20 years.

Join opera lecturer, Norm Hollingshead, for a talk on what makes this opera so special. The talk is at the Redmond Library on Monday, February 6th at 7pm.  Mr. Hollingshead is an engaging speaker, who illustrate his commentary with recorded music excerpts.

The talk will also be given at the following KCLS locations:

Monday, January 30th, 7pm	Kirkland Library
Tuesday, February 21st, 7pm	Issaquah Library
Wednesday, February 22nd, 7pm	Mercer Island Library

Orphee et Euridice
This sumptuous and exhilarating account of the legendary Greek hero’s descent into the underworld to rescue his true love changed the course of musical storytelling forever. With its perfectly crafted libretto and generous helping of exceptional music — evocative choral passages, imaginative ballets, dramatic duets, and the hero’s famous lament — Orphee et Euridice conveys a timeless message of love’s power to triumph over all.

Seattle Opera performs Orphee et Euridice six times from February 25th through March 10th.

The Seattle Opera sets for Orphee have the challenge that they must portray two worlds: above-ground earth and the underworld. Go behind-the-scenes as the Scene Shop builds an 800 pound tree — both its above ground earthly stature and its unruly underworld root system. Here’s a video that shows a behind-the-scenes tour of building the sets:

Puget Brass Holiday Concert

Join Puget Brass on Sunday, December 11th at 2:00pm for a holiday concert at the Redmond Library. This  entertaining performance for the whole family consists of popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of you may remember that Puget Brass performed at the Redmond Library in December 2009.

Puget Brass is a local British brass band that performs traditional and contemporary music throughout the Pacific Northwest. From school teachers to Boeing engineers, truck drivers to entrepreneurs, the group brings together 30 community brass and percussion musicians to perform this genre of music.

Here's a video of their performance at the Northwest Brass Band Festival in January 2011.

Brass Bands
Puget Brass was formed in 1999, inspired by the movie, Brassed Off, based on a modern-day English mining town and its brass band. The band members’ camaraderie combined with the movie’s stirring renditions of songs such as Danny Boy and Floral Dance served as a template for Puget Brass.

In the mining industry, bands were sponsored by companies, and over time contests with rival company bands developed. At the turn of the 20th century, these contests drew audiences of up to seventy thousand in large industrial cities, such as Manchester. Today hundreds of brass bands worldwide, like Puget Brass, keep the spirit and fun of the golden-age of the brass bands alive.

Caspar Babypants: A Declaration of Kindiependence

Caspar Babypants (aka Chris Ballew) will perform at 12 KCLS libraries during November and December 2010. Chris and his band play piano, guitar, and percussion, and sing simple songs — their audience is children ages 2 to 5. For library performance and schedule info, see Caspar Babypants Presents – More Please!

BTW, Chris is better know as the lead singer of the Seattle-based rock band, The Presidents of the United States of America.

Gaspar Babypants Videos
googly eyes is from the album, This is Fun!

ramshackle is from the album, More Please!

The Seattle Kindiependent Movement
Kindiependent is a group of musicians who are passionate about creating a vibrant kids’ and family music scene in the Pacific Northwest. Through collaborations and community events, Kindiependent’s mission is to develop a network of family-friendly artists and organizations that supports cultural innovation. Kindiependent is comprised of six diverse performers:
   Recess Monkey
   The Not Its! 
   Caspar Babypants
   Johnny Bregar
   The Board of Education
   The Harmonica Pocket

Puget Brass Concert on June 7th

Puget Brass, a traditional British style brass band, will give a free public concert at the Redmond Library on Sunday, June 7th at 2:00pm. The brass band movement is an outgrowth of the industrial revolution in Britain. The bands began as social gatherings in small communities, where men and women were often housed and employed by the same company.

In the mining industry, bands were sponsored by companies, and over time contests with rival company bands developed. At the turn of the 20th century, these contests drew audiences of up to seventy thousand in large industrial cities, such as Manchester. Today hundreds of brass bands worldwide, like Puget Brass, keep the spirit and fun of the brass band golden-age alive.

About Puget Brass
Puget Brass is a local British brass band that performs traditional and contemporary music throughout the Pacific Northwest. From school teachers to Boeing engineers, truck drivers to entrepreneurs, the group brings together 30 community brass and percussion musicians to perform this genre of music.

Puget Brass was formed in 1999. The group was inspired by the movie, Brassed Off, which is based on a modern-day English mining town and its brass band. The band members’ camaraderie combined with the movie’s stirring renditions of songs such as Danny Boy and Floral Dance served as a model for Puget Brass.

Libraries: Not Just for Books, Part IV

The following is the fourth part in a five part series on services offered at the library that most people might not think about when they think of their local library (or librarian!)

What do Chopin, T Bone Burnett, and Twilight (the motion picture soundtrack) have in common? They are available for borrow from the King County Library System. In addition to traditional formats, like CDs, some music titles are available for download for a limited period of time.

Audio collections range from the latest Top 40 offerings to world music to choral performances. In partnership with KPLU, the system also brings the best in high school jazz for western Washington.

Your library account also allows you to access to the Smithsonian Global Sound collection. Listening to music from all over the world and eras of time, plus recordings from W.E.B. Du Bois, Margaret Mead, and Sir Edmund Hillary can be a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Purchases from this collection continue to support the collection's mission.

More information about the Library's music collection can be accessed on the King County Library System's website.

Redmond City Lights: 10th Annual Winter Festival

Update:

For info on Redmond Lights 2009, click here.

Redmond Lights is a month-long celebration of traditions, cultures, and faiths. The biggest event during Redmond Lights is the 10th Annual Winter Festival. Gather at City Hall Plaza for fun activities and a festive tree lighting, followed by a winter walk along the Sammamish River. You'll stroll past performers and dazzling lighted displays. At Redmond Town Center, enjoy tastes of complimentary holiday treats, kids crafts, and entertainment from the community and around the world.

	Date:	Sunday, December 7, 2008
	Time:	4:00 to 8:00 pm
	Location:	Begins at Redmond City Hall plaza

Scheduled Performers 
Here’s a look at two of the scheduled performers. The Keith Highlanders Pipe Band performs traditional Scottish piping and drumming. The band has performed previously at the Winter Festival and is one of the crowd favorites. The Keith Highlanders Pipe Band was formed in 1952 and has a long history of involvement with the Seattle community.

Another popular entertainer is Kaze Daiko, which is a Japanese American performing taiko group for youth. The word taiko (太鼓) means “drum” in Japanese, and is often used to refer to the art-form of ensemble taiko drumming. Here’s a YouTube video of a recent performance by Kaze Daiko:

For a complete listing of all Winter Festival activities, click here.

Holiday Songs Around the World

Discover holiday songs from Latin America, Japan and other countries accompanied by a wonderful array of instruments including Andean bamboo flutes, the marimba, percussion and guitar. This musical performance is presented by the Miho & Diego Duo.

The Miho & Diego Duo has been boldly blending Latino, Japanese, African and American musical traditions since 2006. Both accomplished musicians in their own right, Miho Takekawa and Diego Coy came together after years of admiring each other’s work and discovering that their sounds could be combined to make something genuinely new and unique. To learn more about them and their music, visit their Web site at Miho & Diego Duo.

Music Sampler
You can hear an MP3 version of Yellow Bird performed by the Miho & Diego Duo.

Performances
The Miho & Diego Duo will perform at the following KCLS locations:

	Library Connection @ Crossroads Friday, November 7, 5:30pm Crossroads Bellevue Market Stage
	Newport Way Library Saturday, November 8, 11am Sponsored by the Newport Way Library Association.
	Kingsgate Library Saturday, November 22, 1pm
	Bothell Regional Library Tuesday, December 9, 7pm
	Issaquah Library Wednesday, December 17, 10:30am and 11:30am Co-sponsored by the Issaquah Friends of the Library.