AntSaint

Celtic Music at Cosmic Pizza, Nov. 10

Sounds like a good night of Celtic music!

• Who: Paddy O'Brien, Dale Russ and Nancy Conescu
• When: 8 p.m. Monday, November 10th
• Cost: $12
• Where: Cozmic Pizza, 199 West 8th Ave, Eugene (Charnelton and 8th)

About the Musicians

Paddy O'Brien: Button accordion icon Paddy O'Brien has amassed a veritable hoard of rare versions of tunes and stories gleaned from more than 40 years of patiently seeking out and spending time with older musicians throughout Ireland. A native of County Offaly in the Midlands of Ireland, Paddy is revered by Irish music aficionados worldwide. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant to record 500 dance tunes (a small fraction of his repertoire).

Dale Russ: Dale Russ started playing the fiddle in 1973 when first moving to Washington State from his native Connecticut. Although self-taught &150; and 100% Slovak – in 1990 he was invited to perform at the first Boston College Irish Music Festival "My Love is in America," featuring 16 of the finest Irish fiddle players living in the States. The concert was recorded and released by Green Linnet Records and won an award from the Smithsonian Institute as "Traditional Recording of the Year". His playing is known for its balance of power and elegance.

Nancy Conescu: Nancy Conescu is an internationally respected guitarist and vocalist. She has toured Ireland with the group Aontas, plays Irish music festivals and clubs in Ireland, France, Australia and the U.S.A. and performs regularly in Portland, Oregon.  She has performed with Joannie Madden, Andy McGann, Martin Hayes, Kevin Burke, Patrick Ourceau, Brian Conway, John Redmond, Linka Hickman and Johnny B.Connolly.

Yachats Celtic Music Festival, Nov. 7-9

Looking for a bit of Celtic music from stormy ol' Ireland in November, but can't make it to Ireland itself? Yachats on the Oregon coast will do just fine – head there during Nov. 7-9 for the Yachats Celtic Music Festival, with featured acts including:

Performers

• Timothy Hull
• Crumac
• Nancy Conescu, Mike Doolin, Paddy O'Brien
• Kevin Burke and Cal Scott
• Kevin Auld
• Rebecca Lomnicky
• Circled By Hounds
• Stringed Migration
• Cul an Ti

Learn more: Yachats Celtic Music Festival

Original Solo Piano Music - Oct. 12 in Portland, Oct. 14 in Eugene

Over these next few days you can enjoy 2 performances of original piano music in Portland and Eugene. Louis Landon, a pianist from New York, plays Portland on Oct. 12, and on Oct. 14 he joins Eugene pianists Neil Patton and Rebecca Oswald for another night of original music. All three pianists are Whisperings Artists, and styles can range from jazz and Latin to classical and pop.

Details and Tickets

• Sunday, Oct. 12, 4:30 p.m., Solo Piano at Sherman Clay/Moe's Piano, 131 NW 13th Avenue, Portland - More Info and Order Tickets
• Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m., 3 Solo Pianists at United Lutheran Church, 2230 Washington St., Eugene More Info and Order Tickets

Traditional Irish Music Tonight at UO's Beall Hall - Eugene Irish Cultural Festival

The Eugene Irish Cultural Festival's evening concert, in collaboration with the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, is tonight at Beall Hall:

Ticket prices are $13 for adults, and $9 for students and senior citizens. Tickets are for assigned seating.

The musicians playing are:

• Gerry Carthy, who grew up in Co. Mayo, Ireland
• Eliot Grasso (Uilleann piper) and Dave Cory (tenor banjo, guitar)
• The Black Brothers, who grew up in Dublin in Ireland's foremost "family of song"

To order tickets, call the UO Ticket Office at 541-346-4363. The Beall Hall Box Office doors open at 7 p.m. Beall Hall Concert Hall doors open at 7:30 pm. Concert starts at 8 pm.

Note About Parking: There is a lot of construction occurring near Beall Hall. There is a parking lot behind the Knight Library. To get there, go south on Alder Street and take a left across from East 16th Avenue, just south of the College of Education. Signs will lead you to the parking area behind Knight Library.

What is the best recording of Orff's Carmina Burana?

The Eugene Symphony rocked the Hult Center last night with a stellar performance of Orff's Carmina Burana. There's nothing like a good intense chorus, sung in Latin in German, that sounds all transcendent and high-minded, but really it's about drinking, getting some booty and how crappy life can be. The roast swan is a nice touch too. Now I'm obsessed with getting Carmina Burana on CD.

But what is the best recording of Orff's carmina burana? Here are some contenders I've encountered on my surfing search:

• Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
• Vaclav Smetacek conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Singers Choir
• Stokowski/EMI
• Amazon.com: Orff: Carmina Burana / McNair, Aler, Hagegard; Slatkin: Music: Carl Orff,Leonard Slatkin,Sylvia McNair,John Aler,Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Chorus,Hakan Hagegard
• Amazon.com: Orff: Carmina Burana: Music: Jonathan Summers,Carl Orff,Riccardo Muti,Arleen Augér,John van Kesteren

These all sound like mighty contenders, though based off the reviews, the Carmina Burana / McNair, Aler, Hagegard on Amazon intrigues me most. Jodie, are you making notes for my Christmas list?

Is the internet bringing back classical music?

Video may have killed the radio star, but the internet is breathing new life into classical music. It's not an in-your-face occurrence, but something gradual, something you might not even notice, lest you look over your hip-hop-fan friend's shoulder, and see a heap of Beethoven and Mendelssohn sharing space in his iTunes library.

Everything TypePad: A brief interview with Alex Ross

A Critic at Large: The Well-tempered Web: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Over $21,000 raised in 5 hours - congratulations KWAX!

Last day of the fundraiser. $21,000 to raise. Can the listeners of a wee radio station in the wilds of Oregon pull it off?

With aplomb.

At 1:45 p.m., KWAX finished it's fall fundraiser. They raised over $80,000 in 8 days — over $21,000 on the final day.

Congratulations, KWAX! Now it's time to get back to music...

$20,000 by 5 o'clock - can KWAX finish their fundraiser?

Today is the last day of the KWAX fundraiser, and they have about $20,000 to raise between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Daunting? Um, well, yeah — $20,000 in 8 hours breaks down to about $2500 per hour.

But is it doable? I think so.

Do you like classical music? Tune in today, 91.1 in Eugene/Springfield, or listen online. And call in with your pledge, of any amount — you'll both knock down that $20,000 amount, and also get to listen to some great music.

• (541) 345-9451
• Toll-free (877) 592-9911
• Online at KWAX.com

Got $31,000? Only 2 days left for KWAX fall fundraiser

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, there's about $31,000 left for Eugene classical music station KWAX to raise by Friday. As the DJ's would say, "that means you have only 31 changes left to make a $1,000 pledge".

The fundraiser picks up Thursday morning at 9 a.m., with funny challenges, good music, and dollar by dollar closer to this station raising all the money needed to operate.

And you can help them out. Call (541) 345-9451 (Eugene/Springfield area) or toll-free (877) 592-9911

You can also get in on the Antsaint Blogger's Challenge:

Antsaint's Bloggers Challenge
In addition to my regular contributions to KWAX, I will donate $50 if 5 bloggers will each pledge at least US$10 to the station by noon on Friday, Oct. 26. This challenge is open to bloggers anywhere in the world.

Antsaint's Bloggers Challenge to support KWAX

When it comes to fundraising, it's all about putting your own money where your mouth — or your blog — is. So I'd like to put a challenge out to the bloggers — because I'm betting there's a lot of bloggers who love classical music and have $10 to contribute to a unique, independent radio station.

Recap: KWAX 91.1 FM is an independent, non-commercial, listener-funded, all-classical radio station based in Eugene but available worldwide (more here). Since KWAX is 100% listener-funded, they run 2 pledge drives each year to raise the money needed to operate the station. I'm a big fan of KWAX, and will be blogging about the station and the fundraiser through the end of the fall fund drive on Fri., Oct. 26.

Antsaint's Bloggers Challenge
In addition to my regular contributions to KWAX, I will donate $50 if 5 bloggers will each pledge at least US$10 to the station by noon on Friday, Oct. 26. This challenge is open to bloggers anywhere in the world.

Here's what you do

1. Between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PT, spare about 90 seconds. Seriously. These folks have got the process down
2. Call (541) 345-9451 (Eugene/Springfield area) or toll-free (877) 592-9911. You can also donate (and listen) online, anytime
3. Tell KWAX that you are are responding to Antsaint's Bloggers Challenge (I'll be calling the station to issue my challenge over the air too, so they'll know what you're talking about)
4. Pledge at least US$10. The volunteer at KWAX will walk you through the options. BTW, they are very good about protecting privacy. Installment plans are also available, so if you'd like to make a larger pledge, you can break it down into interest-free monthly payments (I use this for my main pledge). Contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent of U.S. law.
5. Leave a comment on this post with your name and blog to say that you responded (you don't have to say how much you pledged, unless you really want to)
6. Sit back, enjoy some fine classical music, and know you've helped keep a unique station on the air

That's it. Pretty painless, right?

What's a challenge?
The challenge is one of the main ways KWAX listeners get each other to send in pledges to the station. Someone calls up and says, "Hey, I'll give you, oh, I dunno, $100, if you can get 10 pledges from people who... [insert requirement here]".

And the requirement can be pretty much anything. People may have to be "new members" who have never pledged. They can be dog lovers, cat lovers, federal employees, Beethoven fans, Mozart fans, people who've never ridden unicorns*, whatever. If you're calling in the challenge, you name the terms. If the station — and the listeners — come through, you pony up the dosh, and help the station get closer to finishing their fundraiser.

* Yes, these are real challenges

Check out KWAX. If you like classical music, you'll like this station. Whether or not you're a blogger, I hope you'll support the station. And bloggers, I hope you'll help me and KWAX meet this Bloggers Challenge!