Accolades News - Accolades Tours for the Arts

Sydney Opera House Getting Acoustic Makeover

5/12/2017

The first such undertaking since its 1973 opening

Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most famous music venues, has long had a problem. Everyone loves the building, but not everyone loved the way it sounds, especially in its largest venue, the Concert Hall, Some felt that the acoustics lacked power; actor and director John Malkovich quipped (of the old design) that "an airplane hangar would sound better".

After 43 years of mixed reviews, the Concert Hall is getting a major upgrade. The air-conditioning is being replaced, better access and more room to accommodate wheelchairs. The biggest change will be to how the hall sounds: the stage will be lower, the walls beneath the boxes will tilt differently and new acoustic reflectors will replace the plastic ‘donuts’ that have been hanging above the stage since the Opera House opened in 1973.

TRIVIA:

The Concert Hall Grand Organ is believed to be one of the largest mechanical organ in the world, with 10,154 pipes ranging in size from as small as a drinking straw to as large as a telegraph pole. It took 10 years to complete.

A sneak-peek at the acoustic improvements

Renewing the Joan Sutherland Theatre

The Exterior: Conserving a Concrete Masterpiece

Read more here about the transformation including how lasers help design the acoustic space.

Images and material from www.sydneyoperahouse.com

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The Nation's Report Card on 8th Grade Music

4/26/2017

The NAEP arts assessment measured students' knowledge and skills in the arts disciplines of music and visual arts. Average scores for eighth-graders were not significantly different between 2008 and 2016, nor were there significant differences in the percentages of students who reported taking music and/or visual arts classes.

Typical questions asked include:

Identify the solo instrument beginning "Rhapsody in Blue"
Identify a correct time signature for a piece of music
Identify the name of piano dynamic marking and explain its meaning
Identify type of note duration

Sixty-three percent of eighth-graders took a music class in 2016.

An included poll asked about students' opportunities to access and engage in music, both in and outside of school. The reporting method of the study allows you to break down the results by various student groups.

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Accolades Mug a Big Hit

3/27/2017

Folks own dozens of coffee mugs. We realize that if we design one for our clients, it had better be a good one. Attendees at the last two choral conferences apparently agreed with us, as they scooped them up.

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The Schalmei

8/29/2016

... or Martin-Trumpet

In any other context, the “Schalmei” (French chalumai, English shawm) is a completely different instrument: a woodwind forerunner of the modern oboe tracing back to the Middle Ages (see the sidebar) . How the name came to be applied to two such unrelated instruments is not clear, but this otherworldly German cousin to the military bugle is also called a Martin’s Trumpet (named for the inventor Max Martin

Martin may best be remembered for the hi-low tone used on emergency vehicles

Shawm: the Predecessors

Shawm are double-reed woodwind instruments made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. Their classic Renaissance sound was gradually eclipsed by the oboe family of descendant instruments in classical music.

More on Max B. Martin

The foundation stone for the German signal instrument factory Max B. Martin GmbH & Co. KG which opened in 1880 were hunting horns, cavalry trumpets and fanfare trumpets for two- or four-note signals. The now-famous Kaiserfanfare signal, "now here, now there," announces vehicles of the royal family.

In the early days, motor car horns and fire horns were production-priorities. These were also the years when many volunteer fire brigades called Martin Chapels were already responding to fires using onboard 8-tone Martin trumpets,

In 1932 they developed the German signal instrument factory to manufacture for fire and police departments a horn with a "prescribed priority warning". Up to World War II, these horns were made for emergency vehicles only.

Thanks to the Max Martin Company and the Wende Museum

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Hackers publish 3D blueprints for TSA "Master Keys"

8/4/2016

“TSA locks [are] only one step above having no lock at all”

At a conference in New York., a group of hackers released files that allows anyone with a 3D printer to produce the eighth and last TSA master key (TSA approved luggage locks allow TSA and other luggage security personnel to unlock and inspect your bags using master keys).

In 2014, the Washington Post inadvertently published an article which included a high resolution photo of all seven Travel Sentry TSA master keys from which someone was able to digitally recreate the keys, and then share the files.

The hackers have said that the purpose of the project was not to scare people but to highlight the dangers of "government key escrow", a data security measure in which a third party is trusted with a cryptographic key that they may only use with the authorization of the entrusting agency. Nevertheless, the net result of their move was that anyone with a 3D printed key could have access to your luggage,

What to Do?
Security experts have long touted that, even before the breech, TSA locks do not fully protect your belongings. Matt Blaze (University of PA computer science professor) told Wired that he sometimes picks his own TSA locks as it's faster than locating his keys.

security consultant Chris McGoey told the Intercept that “TSA locks on luggage [are] only one step above having no lock at all -- especially on soft-sided luggage”

So we recommend you continue using TSA-locks, but put high-valued items in your carry-on or arrange to have them shipped via an insured carrier (e,g, FedEx, UPS).

What Are TSA Locks?

In the United States the TSA requires access to luggage without the passenger being present; to allow travelers to secure their luggage they have accepted certain locks which the TSA can open and relock. to avoid a forced (lock-breaking) action.

Locks with the Travel Sentry identifying mark (red diamond) are TSA-accepted.

Some TSA accepted locks feature an indicator which will appear red if opened by a master key, so the owner will know that their bag has been accessed.

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Variations on "Happy Birthday" a viral sensation

8/2/2016

Nicole Pesce at a 2011 concert displayed virtuosity, creativity, and humor as she speculates on how master composers might have performed "Happy Birthday". We've also included a Victor Borge performance recorded 60 years earlier..

Study finds some people can be trained to learn absolute pitch.

6/23/2016

Perfect Pitch

Excerpt from Neuroscience news:

If you’re a musician, this sounds too good to be true: UChicago psychologists have been able to train some adults to develop the prized musical ability of absolute pitch, and the training’s effects last for months.

Absolute pitch, commonly known as “perfect pitch,” is the ability to identify a note by hearing it. The ability is considered remarkably rare, estimated to be less than one in 10,000 individuals. It has always been a very desired ability among musicians, especially since several famous composers, including Mozart, reportedly had it. The assumption has been that this special talent has a critical period to be established in childhood based on early musical training and that it was not possible for adults to acquire this skill.

In this 2015 study published by the journal Cognition, Howard Nusbaum, professor of psychology, and colleagues tested how much an individual’s general auditory working memory capacity can predict the success of acquiring absolute pitch. Other UChicago authors on the paper are psychology doctoral student Stephen C. Van Hedger, post-doctoral scholar Shannon L.M. Heald and College undergraduate Rachelle Koch.

more

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A Match Made on Tour!

5/10/2016

On an Accolades tour to Poland, Hudson High School Choir director and Accolades client Andy Haase had shared with our co-owner Janet Tollund that, while he’d like to be married, his busy schedule as teacher and director left little time to find that special person.

Sigismund Bell Clapper

Andy Haase at the clapper

In Krakow, our local guide had secured access to the famous bell tower at the Wawel Cathedral. With the entire group gathered round the 14-ton bell, the guide explained that it also carried a legend: Should an unmarried person touch the bell, he or she will be married within the year. Everyone (including Andy's mother) encouraged him to touch the bell.

A few months after the tour, Andy called us with the news he was getting married -- and to one of the chaperons he had met on the tour! Andy and Jen are happily married with two beautiful little girls.

Accolades itineraries are second-to-none, yet off-itinerary moments can be just as memorable.

More About The Royal Sigismund Bell

The Royal Sigismund Bell is the largest of the five bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower of the Wawel Cathedral in the Polish city of Kraków. It was cast in 1520 by Hans Behem and named after King Sigismund I of Poland, who commissioned it. Weighing almost 28 thousand pounds, it requires 12 bell-ringers to ring it.

It is rung on special occasions, mostly religious and national holidays, and is regarded as one of Poland's national symbols.

The body of the Sigismund Bell is cast in bronze and weighs 9,650 kg. Its diameter at the lip is 242 cm and its height is 241 cm.[1] The wall of the body is from 7 to 21 cm thick.[2] The crown of the bell is attached to a yoke made of oak wood and measuring 308 cm in length and 219 cm in height. Within the bell, suspended on a leather belt of up to 12 layers, attached to an iron supporting structure, is a Gothic clapper, weighing – together with the belt – 365 kg.[1]

Royal Sigismund Bell

image and history courtesy wikipedia

“If you see something, say something"

4/19/2016

... can we be more vague?

Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak addresses the balance of vigilance and common sense, especially regarding unknown cultures, in her April 18 article.

What’s even scarier is the “something” that was part of a leaked TSA checklist ... included such gems as:
~ arrives late for flight,
~ increased perspiration,
~ increased breathing rate
~ or excessive fidgeting.

That describes just about every parent who has ever flown anywhere with small children.

-Petula Dvorak
more

TSA See Say

Music Program Improves Reading in Children

4/8/2016

Ann Kay

Lifelong music educator Ann Kay has devoted her retirement to using music to help children read better. Two years ago she and her husband bought an old city bus.

They drove it to North Minneapolis and turned it into a mobile computer lab outfitted with innovative sing-along software that research shows helps students make rapid improvements in literacy.

Kay’s “Rock ‘n’ Read” nonprofit has also helped establish computer labs in several Minneapolis public schools.

Singing and “steady-beat activities” result in better auditory processing, which is associated with higher reading achievement, Kay said. Selcer said it was important look at all available tools in helping struggling students, and the “startling results” of the “simple yet potentially powerful” method were worth exploring further.

MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE TO
FUND RESEARCH

Sponsored by Rep. Yvonne Selcer (Mtka), a proposed bill would provide money to explore the effects of the music software on student reading ability at three Minnesota schools, using assessments developed by the University of Minnesota.

The pilot program would be aimed at students reading below grade level, she said, and would reach up to 150 students in grades 3 to 5 in each school.

A companion bill sponsored by Sen. Alice Johnson (Blaine), awaits action by the Senate Finance Committee.

Other Studies

Music to Enhance Reading Skills of
2nd Graders w/wo disabilities

Can Music Be Used to Teach Reading?

more news here

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