Monthly Archives: June 2015

A SPREE FOREST MUSICAL EXCURSION Part 1

Posted on June 29, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Let’s take a musical trip to the one-of-a-kind Spreewald.  The Spreewald (AKA the Spree Forest) is a gorgeous region, a kind of rural Venice located an hour southeast of Berlin, Germany in the source of the Spree River (which flows … Continue reading →

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OUR DAY HAS COME – a personal marriage story with musical accompaniment

Posted on June 26, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I got married in 1998.  And again in 2011.  Then our marriage got federally augmented in 2013.  And now finally in 2015 the state of our union will be fully recognized in every state of the Union.   It’s … Continue reading →

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GETTIN’ WITCHY WITH IT

Posted on June 25, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Above is the first video I ever posted on YouTube, and easily the most visually fun of the ones I’ve posted so far: a demo recording of three songs from the musical “Witches” enhanced with 105 illustrations of witches past … Continue reading →

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Rest in Peace, James Horner

Posted on June 22, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

May you soar in the heavens with your melodies. (Hymn to the Sea – James Horner (from Titanic)

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MERMAIDS AND WIZARDS AND DRAGONS: The Kindergarten Fairy Tale Opera Project

Posted on June 20, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I have already written about how First Grade Operas are created by the students at the Brooklyn Children’s School, and posted one, two, three examples.  If the First Grade Opera Project is the creating original music theater equivalent of riding … Continue reading →

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Jacqui Sutton waxes musically about Mark Twain and American Anthems

Posted on June 17, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Jacqui Sutton isn’t merely a performer who has sung my music at numerous occasions, she is also a friend whose wedding to the writer Edward Porter I have attended (with my husband whom I call “my Ed” to distinguish him … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY – Dream a little Dream of Dreams

Posted on June 14, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

When we first meet John and Jane Allison in the musical Speakeasy they are making love. We don’t see them actually.  The lights are out.  We just hear them, some faint sounds of intimacy followed by a post-coital conversation in … Continue reading →

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SNOW WHITE and the SEVEN HOS: an SCA Benefit Performance

Posted on June 11, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Be warned.  This will not be the Disney Musical Fairy Tale of your or anyone else’s childhood.  For one, Snow White is a recovering sex addict, and the seven dwarfs she meets all struggle with sex addiction and a variety … Continue reading →

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Like me, really like me, on FACEBOOK! :-)

Posted on June 9, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

There is now a Facebook page for “Notes from a Composer”. All new blog posts will also be listed on the “Notes from a Composer – Danny Ashkenasi” Facebook page: Notes from a Composer – Danny Ashkenasi FACEBOOK PAGE So … Continue reading →

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Lisa Kron’s acceptance speech must be heard and shared!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Lisa Kron won a Tony for writing the book of the musical Fun Home. She gave a wonderful speech with a fantastic extended metaphor that just needs to be heard and shared. No one saw this on CBS.  They aired … Continue reading →

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TONY! TONY! TONY! Just Live-Blogging it is Reward Enough!

Posted on June 7, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Tonight are the Tony Awards!  Woo-hoo!  The Second Gay High Holy Day!  (Well, let’s face it, the Oscars are indisputably the #1 Gay High Holy Day, Gay Christmas!  But the Tonys are a close second, right?  Gay New Year!  Day … Continue reading →

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THE DAY I BECAME A COMPOSER

Posted on June 4, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

It was Friday, April 23, 1982.  I was fourteen, one month shy of my fifteenth birthday.  I remember the day and the events that sealed my fate very clearly (although admittedly I had to dig up the old journal I’d … Continue reading →

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5 X FUN with LUDWIG’S 5th

Posted on June 1, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Let’s have some fun with Beethoven!   Specifically the 1st movement of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, easily the most famous piece of classical music in the world.  The indelible Duh Duh Duh DAH motif that opens and shapes the movement may … Continue reading →

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