Recording Sessions
Recordings can still happen with social distancing in place. It was fun to spend some time today working on some violin parts for a composition by Gregory Nottingham.
What to do when lock-down means no more performing?
As lock-down approaches as a result of the Covid-19 virus, many musicians have found that bookings and events of all kinds have had to cancel or postpone, leaving musicians with a lot more time on their hands and likely less money in their pockets as a result.
In the 21-day lock-down period, I’ve made a list of productive music-related activities to keep ‘in the game’ as well as retain a sense of sanity. One such activity is to record and work on some new music material and videos. Such activities are time-consuming, perfect for long stretches of time shut in at home!
New Album Release
Hot off the press, a new classical album is available titled ‘Vignettes for Violin’
It is a collection of evocative classical miniatures for violin and piano
Be transported by this varied and skillfully-performed collection of classical vignettes. Each short piece of music on this album captures an emotion in time.
For a sneak peak at what we’ve put together, take a listen to the beautiful ‘Apres un Reve’ by Gabriel Faure
If you liked this please add us to your classical playlist! The album will be shortly available on popular digital platforms.
The album is available at https://kristelbirkholtz.bandcamp.com/album/vignettes-for-violin
New Video Recordings : The Muppet Show
In this set is a wide mix of classical miniatures, folk songs as well as a Jazz piece titles Pitlochry and The Muppets Theme Song.
Ashlea Martin (pianist) and myself have been recording the violin exam syllabus as reference material to violin students. We make a backing track of the piano accompaniment available for download and provide a quality audio and visual reference of the pieces.
https://kristelbirkholtz.bandcamp.com
ABRSM Grade 1 is just out, so please check out the following links if you are looking to learn some new pieces. The selection is lovely just great for listening.
These are two of our favourites.
Filming for Elephants
As delicious coffee aromas hung thick in the air at Urban Grind Coffee Roastery in Parkhurst, a small film crew headed by passionate wildlife videographer Paul Mills, started setting up camera angles. The story for the shoot was to create a typical morning on-the-go scenario of a woman drinking a cappuccino.
The punchline of the shoot is that in the time it takes to drink a cuppa, an elephant has been shot. Paul, who directed and scripted the shoot is making the hard-hitting scene with the aim of shocking everyday people out of complacency. To preserve the future of wildlife for our children and their children’s children, it is important to act now.
It was fun to shoot the scenes drinking coffee, which is a pastime I enjoy, but to drink up for a good cause was even better.
The resident barista at the Urban Grind coffee shop has been practicing his latte […]
New Album by Cherry Pill: Instrumental in their Success
Cherry Pill took a detour this year and recorded an instrumental album titled Si Tu Savais. Si Tu Savais is a collection of well-loved standards that have helped shape Cherry Pill’s sound over the years, including rousing gypsy jazz inspired by Reinhardt and Grappelli, a touching rendition of Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro, and much more.
Kristel and Rory of Cherry Pill decided to record Si Tu Savais as a tribute to some of the composers and songs that influenced them when they first started playing together over 10 years ago, performing various styles of jazz standards as an instrumental duo at restaurants and craft markets. Their mutual love of the eclectic styles of music found on this album is what ultimately lead them to begin collaborating on writing original music together, culminating in their 2014 release, Chocolate Box. Although today their sound has evolved into something uniquely their own, much […]
Recording of the 2016 Violin Exams Syllabus
I’ve been working on an ambitious project with Ashlea Martin to record the new violin syllabus.
The first one is up on YouTube
Separate piano accompaniments tracks are available at https://kristelbirkholtz.bandcamp.com/
More videos to follow.
Lovemore Music in Illovo supplied the sheet music and we’ve been recording at the lovely Rosebank Union Church auditorium.
Ashlea and I have performed together on a number of different concert productions ranging from serious classical to contemporary and we’ve enjoyed putting this exam series of recordings together.
Lights, Camera, Action!
An exciting day spent on set filming 2 scenes for an upcoming slot on the popular “Binnelanders” soapie.
I can’t give away any of the plot, but suffice to say I am playing violin in 2 scenes. The slot should air in December so keep watching!