Category Archives: Musicabilia

About my musicals that are not “Speakeasy” or a “Poe musicabre”

Introducing the MARK TWAIN MUSICAL Page

Posted on July 5, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

  It’s been a while since I’ve built a new permanent page on Notes from a Composer.  See the black banner border above?  Where you can access the following pages, or skip to the following content: Home Bio Credits & … Continue reading →

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NfaC Repost: THE DAY I BECAME A COMPOSER

Posted on April 2, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

I have not yet written much about my parents on this blog so far, but this piece from last June includes one of my favorite anecdotes about my father: “My parents were always supportive of all my creative endeavors, but … Continue reading →

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HOPE for a New Year

Posted on December 31, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I believe in the good of mankind I believe in the end truth prevails It resides in our hearts and our minds Should we seek it we’d find love unveiled HOPE Happy New Year.  Let’s hope for a 2016 that … Continue reading →

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS – How this Carol Curmudgeon Ended Up Unwittingly Writing Three Seasonably Suited Carols Himself

Posted on December 21, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I plead guilty to being a bit of a Christmas Carol Grinch.  OK, I used to be a BIG Christmas Carol Grinch, really loathing most carols and sometimes resorting to lip syncing rather than singing out loud when drawn into … Continue reading →

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Speakeasy – An interview conducted by author Rebecca Cantrell – updated

Posted on November 17, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The bestselling Author Rebecca Cantrell has posted an interview with me about Speakeasy on her blog.  In it I reveal some tidbits about Speakeasy and a song demo that had not yet found their way to Notes from a Composer. … Continue reading →

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THE SONG OF JOB 9:11 – 14 year anniversary of 9/11/2001

Posted on September 8, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The Song of Job 9:11 – Chapter Ten: HOPE – concert video, Sep 9, 2011 The Song of Job 9:11 – Chapter Ten: HOPE – concert audio, Sep 11, 2011 Above are recordings of the finale of the tenth anniversary … Continue reading →

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An ORPHAN MELODY is remembered in POMPEII

Posted on July 30, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Mark Twain.  Pompeii.  An orphan melody.  What connects these three disparate things? Wait, what do I mean by an orphan melody? A week ago Ed plunked the latest Smithsonian magazine next to my breakfast dishes and pointed to its front … Continue reading →

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THE SUMMER OF FROG – How a grand musical for 35 performers became a better musical for 6.

Posted on July 27, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The summer of ’84 I stayed home alone in Berlin while my parents left on vacation.  It was my choice to spend the six week break between my junior and senior high school year spending 8-14 hours every day working … 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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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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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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