photo by Lolly Lewis They’re renovating the park across from my house. It’s a two-square-block area that includes a playground, a soccer field, and two softball diamonds. I was worried, when they really tore it all out, that they’d use the space for something else, but today it’s almost done and the softball fields, one whole square block, are getting green again. Of course, they don’t seed the field these days; they just roll out huge swaths of lawn. Well,…
This is a guest post by Kathy Angus, a retired SFUSD teacher and former arts administrator. She is currently on the board of AMN and the Chrysalis Foundation. I recently retired from teaching in the SFUSD public schools. When I first thought about writing a blog post for AMN, I thought I’d focus on the importance of music as a creative force in kids’ lives. For five years, I worked with a music educator from the SF Opera to create…
Now that the Corona Pandemic has disrupted our music life we’re reminded how dramatically music plays a part in keeping people’s spirits up. Let’s collect “stay-at-home” music resources here. Our local (SF Bay Area) musicians are playing and broadcasting their music. Here are some wonderful streams to continue to connect with local artists. Please post ideas below or send via our contact page and we’ll add them to the list. SF Symphony’s principal oboe Eugene Izotov plays Bach for you:…
A Guest Blog by Steve Schaefer I started playing the bass at the age of 50, and it has become a very important part of my life. Sometimes it just takes a while to be ready. I got my first guitar in 1967. I fell in love with it and played for fun alone and with friends for several years. My bass story, though, begins in 1972. I’d been playing the guitar for five years and picked…
Amateur Music Network is all about people who love music, and we want to hear their stories! If you have an idea for a blog post, or wish to submit a short piece to the AMN blog, we would love that! Use the contact page and select “Guest blog submission” to send us an email, containing your piece or with your idea. We’ll get back to you with our reply and, if we wish to publish your piece, a request for more…
I had such a great experience at the Awesöme Orchestra reading that I just can’t resist telling you about it. Awesöme is a collective that presents open readings for local musicians. It’s all about people having fun playing orchestra music – how is that not great??? The reading I attended was of the Kyrie movement of Requiem without Words, a beautiful new work by local composer Arturo Rodriguez that was written in response to the Ghost Ship tragedy in 2016. Which made…
A friend just sent me this great article by Ariane Todes! You should read the whole thing HERE. Ariane is a terrific writer who lives in London and runs the website Elbow Music. Check it out!! 17 ways amateur musicians contribute to the classical music world: We go to concerts We offer solo performing opportunities for young stars, orchestral players and international celebrities who need try-out gigs We support venues by booking concerts in them and usually filling them up…
Everybody’s saying it: Choral singing is good for you! Just google “choral singing” and you’ll get tons of references for how singing with a group boosts mental health, boosts mindfulness, and is just an all around good thing. I saw an interesting segment on “Face the Nation” recently, an interview with author Daniel Pink, whose book When (“The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”) focuses on the physicality of creativity and how to maximize our bodies’ natural rhythms to be more…
Hello and welcome to the Amateur Music Network blog! This is my first post so I thought I’d introduce myself: I’m Lolly Lewis, the founder of AMN. I’m a recording producer and an amateur singer, and I sang for nearly 15 years with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. This is where I learned how porous the boundary between “amateur” and “professional” is in music. I studied music and singing in college, and I have sung professionally (that is, for money)…