Calliope Music

We hope you have a wonderful weekend - Happy Halloween! A tradition in our household is to play Saint Saens Danse Macabre for piano duet. It's so much fun! https://youtu.be/JkahJ92iTOI

Gloria Coates was born October 10, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin. She is an American composer who has lived in Germany since 1969. Her teachers include Alexander Tcherepnin, Otto Luening, and Jack Beeson. Her father, Roland E Kannenberg served as a Progressive in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1935 to 1939 and she sang at his rallies as a child. I found her as I was looking up birthdays in October and became fascinated with her music described as: Her music features canonic st...ructures and prominent, sometimes exclusive, glissandos, being "characterized by extremely strict, even rigid technical procedures (canonic structures), which are often worked out with unusual musical materials (glissandi)".[2] Her music is postminimalist, marked by the tension "not only between material and technique (...an attempt to give structure to chaos), but even more so between what would have to be termed 'sober-technical' compositional principles and the genuine direct expressive power and emotionality of the music" Angels that I have linked here might not be everybody’s cup of tea however, I found it mesmerizing especially in these times that we are living! https://youtu.be/Bj7gKJSbtyg See more

We hosted a private concert at our home on Saturday night - a jazz trio called Founders Trio with Michael on sax, Sandy on string bass, and Matt on drums. They haven't had a chance to really perform with an appreciative audience since March. Of course there is the occasional wedding gig or special occasion but Sat eve was wonderful! We managed to raise quite a bit of money for them as well - all social distanced and masked up we still came together as a group and were able to share the wonder of music...thank you Founders Trio for making many people happy that night.

Michael on sax, Sandy on string bass and Matt on drums!

We are so excited that there are music programs in the schools despite what this Pandemic has been throwing at us. If you don't already know, we work with Menchey Music Services out of Hanover, PA to provide the best possible rental school instruments with best prices and best customer service. As musicians and teachers (and parents) we know we have quality instruments for your beginner and even step ups for your more advanced players. Give us a call for more details or to reserve an instrument. 610-649-8842 Store hours during the pandemic are 10-4 Tues through Sat. Thanks!

Loved this chalkboard illustration but I have to give credit to one of my favorite music retailers, Johnson String Instruments, just outside of Boston. Someone there really can draw! https://blog.johnsonstring.com//

We are closed Fri 9/4, Sat 9/5, Sun 9/6, Mon 9/7 for the holiday weekend. We look forward to seeing you on Tues 9/8 with regular (COVID-19) hours 10-4 Tues through Sat. Thank you for all of your support - we have needed it and will still need it! We hope you have a lovely weekend - sadly, music festivals have been cancelled in Philly so...play music!

In October of last year we lost one of our favorite customers, Denis M Abelson M.D. FRCP....Dr Abelson to us. Luckily he did not see the pandemic but died naturally. I wish I could remember his age since it was impressive however, his age was not important. He was forever young. I don't think I have known many people as positive and as inspiring about music as Dr Abelson. He would tell us stories of playing operas over the phone to his friends who were wheelchair bound or cou...ld not speak. Many of them former musicians. He was convinced that music made the soul happier. And he was right. Joe, one of my colleagues writes about Dr Abelson: "Dr. Abelson was one of the most enthusiastic amateur musicians to call the store. He would request piano scores for opera arias, songs from the 40's, movie music, show music and more. Sometimes he would play "Name That Tune", humming "dah dee dee dee" and asking, "Do you know that? I just heard it on the radio! Isn't it wonderful?!!" He was constantly adding to his repertoire with the intention of playing for people and getting them excited about his discoveries. Everything seemed to be an exciting discovery for him. If only there could be more of that kind of energetic excitement in our musical world." We will miss Dr Abelson but are very lucky to have had him in our lives for so many years. He will continue to inspire. See more

A Clementi Piano, well...forte piano. If you are a teacher or a student who played at least 3 years then you are familiar with Muzio Clementi and his Sonatinas especially Opus 36. Every once in a while I realize how great these pieces are for teaching. If you can manage a scale then play the Clementi Sonatinas. And yes, we have them in stock in different editions AND we have his Sonatas as well.

We had to close early today: Tues 4 August 2020 due to Isaias, the tropical storm. We have no electricity and there is massive flooding in the area. Stay home and stay safe! Play an instrument that doesn't require electricity...

Just in case you were wondering...our store hours are 10-4 Tues through Sat. We encourage you to call ahead however, we really want you to come and browse! Just knock on the door as we are limiting the numbers of people in the store at one time. We miss seeing you! And if you still feel uncomfortable coming in to browse, call us and we will make recommendations and talk you through the variations publications that we have. Thank you for your support!

https://www.inquirer.com//philadelphia-vigil-elijah-mcclai