Shawn GalvinShawn Galvin | Shawn Galvin

Update

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:08:18 +0000

Here’s a picture of me with the Pittsburgh Symphony Percussion Section during a recent intermission. I’ll be back in Raleigh for a few weeks now for performances of Carmina Burana with the Carolina Ballet, Il Trovatore with the North Carolina Opera and two shows with New Music Raleigh. I hope to see you soon!

PASIC 2011 Wrap-up

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:45:32 +0000

I’ve recently returned home from Indianapolis and PASIC 2011 where Dennis Hoffmann and I performed Missy Mazzoli’s Volume; a 2006 work for Vibraphone, Steel Drums, five Bottles, and two Kick Drums. Volume can be purchased here, and you can learn more about Missy Mazzoli here. I’d like to thank the Percussive Arts Society, Eugene Novotney and the New Music/Research Committee for the invitation to perform. I’d also like to thank Yamaha Percussion and Innovative Percussion for their continued support all the way back to the Tempus Fugit days. These guys are constantly working behind the scenes to support percussionists, and I really appreciate it. Events like PASIC can’t happen without their support.

Here are a few photos from PASIC and our warm-up show/masterclass at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA.

Volume at PASIC 2011

Volume at Seton Hill University

Seton Hill University Percussion Studio, RJ Heid, Dennis Hoffmann, Shawn Galvin

Welcome

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:30:31 +0000

Lots of great things are on the horizon. Click on the Performances tab for details.

Thanks for your support IP!

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:50:56 +0000

Here’s a link to my artist profile on the Innovative Percussion website. I’ve been involved with IP since their very beginning through my work with Tempus Fugit. I have always been overwhelmingly pleased with IP’s quality and commitment to developing sticks and mallets that meet the needs of today’s percussionists. Thanks again Innovative Percussion for all of your support!

PASIC 2011

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:57:38 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that I have been invited to perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention on Thursday, November 10th in Indianapolis, Indiana. I’ll be performing the 2006 work, Volume by the Brooklyn based composer Missy Mazzoli with my great friend Dennis Hoffmann. Volume is a percussion duo for Vibraphone, Steel Drums, Tuned Bottles, and two Kick Drums and was written in 2006. I’m pleased to bring this piece to a wider audience of percussionists at PASIC, but in the mean time please check out more about Missy at her website. I would like to thank Yamaha and Innovative Percussion for their support.

Penelope Band

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:09:49 +0000

I couldn’t be happier about the ensemble that we have put together for New Music Raleigh‘s performance of Penelope with Shara Worden. The tricky and most interesting thing about this music is that it requires both classical music and rock music awareness. Not everyone can pull this off, but let me tell you – we got the right folks, and it’s going to be great!

Here’s just a few of the musicians who will be involved:

Karen Strittmatter Galvin, Maria Evola, and Jackie Wolborsky – Violins – North Carolina Symphony

David Marschall – Viola – North Carolina Symphony

Kimberly Sparr – Viola – Richmond Symphony

Jeff Crawford – Bass – Arbor Ridge Studios and many local bands

D.J. Sparr – Guitar – Composer

Dennis Hoffmann – Drums – Max Impact, US Air Force Rock Band (Washington, DC)

Timothy Myers – Keyboard (Harp) – Artistic Director, NC Opera

NMR’s $10 Microfinance Campaign

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:47:49 +0000

To our fans:

New Music Raleigh needs your help. We need $10. From each of you.

Please follow this link to make a donation:

https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/4281

Next month, NMR will be producing our biggest project to date: on April 18 we will be performing “Penelope” featuring singer Shara Worden. Written by Sarah Kirkland Snider, “Penelope” was named one of NPR’s Top 5 Genre-Defying Albums of 2010 in addition to numerous other accolades. Ms. Worden is best known for her work as an indy-rock artist – performing with the band My Brightest Diamond, as well as withThe Decemberists and with Sufjan Stevens. This event is an exciting event for the music community of Raleigh, as it is the first such cross-genre collaboration of its type, pairing compelling classical musicians with a highly esteemed, classically trained, genuine rock star. To top it off, this work will be presented at Downtown Raleigh’s most popular music venue, King’s Barcade.

On April 18, there will be fourteen musicians, a sound designer, a conductor, and a rock star on stage at King’s, creating only the second fully-orchestrated live version of “Penelope” in its history. We are passionate about the importance and impact of this piece of music and are determined that the arts community of Raleigh will be able to experience it live. To do this, we need your help and financial assistance.

We are challenging each fan of NMR on Facebook to donate $5 or $10. Doing so will help to ensure that this event happens and that NMR continues to grow in its mission and output. If you REALLY like us, and are capable, NMR would happily accept larger donations. If at this time, you can’t make a donation, please help by (1) sharing this donation link with someone who can, (2) coming to King’s on April 18 to see an amazing show, and (3) spreading the word about NMR.

Please follow this link to make a donation:

https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/4281

New Music Raleigh is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of New Music Raleigh may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you for your generous support. We love you.

Big Star NYC Press Round-up

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:48:37 +0000

Photo: Willie Davis

If you’ve watched this space, you’re aware of the Big Star Third Live show that I have been playing. The most blown out version of it happened over the weekend in NYC with a great cast of rock star contributers. Here’s a round-up of the press from the weekend. NY Times and Rolling Stone are a good place to start. Oh, and by the way, it was pretty cool to work with Michael Stipe!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsKb1c74B5I

Press Release Day

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:18:34 +0000

So today was Press Release day for the upcoming New Music Raleigh show. The actual physical release was already done, but today was spent alerting news outlets, blogs, event calenders, and reviewers. Because of the fact that NMR is such a small organization, all of these types of responsibilities fall to myself, my wife, or a few fantastic volunteers.

The interesting part of writing and releasing this one is that Penelope is such a cross-genre piece of music that it needed to be useful for classical and rock outlets.

Here it is. Let me know what you think.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: shawn@newmusicraleigh.org

Shara Worden to Sing with New Music Raleigh at Kings

Raleigh, NC, March 3, 2011 – New Music Raleigh will pair with indie rock star, Shara Worden to present Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Penelope at Kings Barcade on Monday, April 18^th, 2011 at 8PM. Inspired by Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, Penelope is a meditation on memory, identity and what it means to come home. An ensemble of thirteen musicians will perform the lush score that is suspended somewhere between art song, indie rock, and chamber folk, and moves organically from moments of elegiac strings-and-harp refection to dusky post-rock textures with drums, guitars and electronics, all directed by a strong sense of melody and craftsman’s approach to songwriting.

“Snider’s music lives in a netherland between richly orchestrated indie rock and straight chamber music, an increasingly populous inter-genre space that, as of yet, has produced only a few clear, confident voices. Snider is perhaps the most sophisticated of them all: No matter what perspective you bring to this album, it bears profound rewards.” wrote Jayson Greene for Pitchfork in his review of the the recording which was released this past October. NMR’s performance in Raleigh will be one of the first since the release.

Shara Worden is best known as the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of My Brightest Diamond, a band that mixes elements of opera, cabaret, chamber music, and rock. Classically trained as a singer and composer, Shara received a BA in Classical Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas and later continued her opera training privately in New York, where she also studied composition with Padma Newsome and composed music for theater. In addition to her work as My Brightest Diamond, Shara has performed and recorded as a guest vocalist with a number of artists across a diverse array of genres including Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists, Bon Iver, and the National, among others.

New Music Raleigh is a collective of classically trained musicians dedicated to presenting outstanding performances of music by living composers. NMR fills a gap in Raleigh’s vibrant music scene, serving as a catalyst for creation and presentation of new music. Learn more about New Music Raleigh at www.newmusicraleigh.org.

New Music Raleigh

Monday, April 18, 2011, 8PM

Kings Barcade, 14 West Martin Street, Raleigh, NC

Admission $13 adv/$15 day of, doors at 7:30PM

Tickets are available at www.kingsbarcade.com

###

Penelope Live in Raleigh

Shawn @shawn_galvin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:26:58 +0000

Back in early October, I received an email from the folks at New Amsterdam Records announcing the upcoming release of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Penelope with Shara Worden. This track from the recording accompanied the email:

[audio:http://shawngalvin.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/This-Is-What-Youre-Like-m3.mp3|titles=This Is What You're Like]

At the time, I was in the process of planning the fourth concert of my new music project called New Music Raleigh. In our previous three concerts we had presented music by a wide range of living composers, but the events all felt a bit like classical concerts. For our fourth show, I was looking for music that would play well in a rock club. I was so intrigued by the sound of the Penelope track that I decided to fly to New York for the CD release show. The performance featured the ensemble yMusic and Shara in a smaller arrangement than is on the CD, but I was able to hear the entire piece and Shara Worden live. I had a hunch before my trip that Penelope was going to be the perfect music to present in Raleigh, but after hearing it I was completely convinced.

Now it’s official. New Music Raleigh, will present Sarah Kirkland Snider’s acclaimed Penelope in Raleigh on April 18th. The show will be at Kings Barcade and I’m very excited about it. First, North Carolina is a rich area for indie music. Merge Records, great local bands, and informed consumers make this a perfect place to present this music. Second, we are honored to work with Shara Worden. Her work with her band My Brightest Diamond, the Decemberists, and Sufjan Stevens speaks for itself, but take it from me – she is a dynamo and you really need to hear her live. Lastly, this will be the biggest undertaking to date for New Music Raleigh, and we are very pleased to make this step with the work of Sarah Kirkland Snider. Hers is a voice for the future, and I’m happy to make a relationship with her and her music.

It’s still a bit early for a big press push, but you can find information and a link to tickets here. I have a feeling that this is going to be a big event for Raleigh, so if you’ve been convinced by my pitch, get your tickets now. Also, please consider making a donation to New Music Raleigh. As you all know, presenting music such as this requires a budget that can not be generated by ticket sales alone. I believe that supporting living composers and bringing pieces like Penelope to new audiences is very important. You can make a donation to support New Music Raleigh here.

In the coming weeks, I’m going to consistently update this space with details of putting this show together. Everything from the administrative details to musical preparation to fundraising and hopefully a few surprises!