Graveyards, Orchestras, and Swimming Pools

I saw three amazing things today, all very different!
Eitt. I went to the Reykjavik cemetery today and saw the graves there from the 1800's onward. One of my favorite things to do is to visit cemeteries; I know it's morbid, but every city does it differently, and it's a good way to get back to reality, or ponder things, or just take some pictures. It's a small site but there are a lot of plots packed into a small space! And TONS of trees. I think this is the most densely-packed tree area in the whole city! It was a drizzly morning and quiet, save for a funny parade happening down the street with a marching band that sounded like it was playing 'Bomboleyo'. I noticed that one half of the cemetery has trees of almost solely one type; the other side has different species. You can also tell where newer sites are planted; some old plots have giant stones for gravestones, some have iron crosses, some have what I think of as 'traditional' headstones, and some are like fences around a square of grass. The best sites have a tree growing right out of the middle of the plot, which I assume (without reading up on anything) was a tradition upon death. The description of the cemetery does say that you can see the styles and habits of burial change, and I think a lot of people today here just get cremated. It also says that the side of the cemetery with only one kind of tree will change; those trees only grow to be about 80 years old and then they die, to be ousted by longer-living trees.

But oh my goodness do some of these plots look amazing! I just think of the most amazing images- imagine planting a tree over your loved one, and in a hundred years, that tree had totally taken over the plot. Its roots have literally crushed and covered over your beloved- they've become one again with nature. Strong but silent forces, over years and years. How very Icelandic, so it seems. And for the sites with cairn-like stones on them, it looks totally haunting, as if the stone is necessary to press down on the ground preventing the thin earth in Iceland from pushing the grave back up to the topsoil.

Tvö. I went to the Symphony Orchestra's 'Open House' for families, where the symphony played a couple short 'hits' and there were activities for kids and snacks. This is the way to do orchestral music for families, y'all! A pianist played some Rachmaninoff. There was a lady in costume who came out on stage and entertained the kids with stories. There were treats. And really great music. The kids were so well-behaved! It's just a first-impression, but I think Icelandic children are better-behaved than American brats. I saw a lot of babies and kids really enjoying the music being played, which lest I remind you was NOT Peter and the Wolf. It didn't have to be dumbed-down for anyone. Speaking of babies, I cried like one at several moments during the short concert. I think it's been a stressful week (good stresses, but nonetheless tiring) and to hear such well-played music really brightened my spirits, and the tears just poured out. Luckily I was sitting in the back so no one could see my slobber.

I will be back for more concerts with the symphony; in the winter and spring they're putting on some particularly-good works, including pieces by Icelandic composers, Penderecki's Threnody, and Steve Reich's Drumming.

Þrjú. The swimming pool! This totally made my day, as if the Symphony wasn't enough. For under three dollars you can swim as much as you want in the olympic-size pool, complete with kids' area, lanes for laps, and four hot tubs ('hot pots') of differing hot temperatures. I was particularly fond of 36 degrees (celsius), 'cause I could sit in that bath water all day, but the 40 degrees pot was pretty muscle-relaxant-y and one could feel a bit internally overheated after a while. There's a sauna too.

There are some rules in Iceland about pools. The water is not really cleaned, because people clean themselves before and after entering. There is a great (funny) article about swimming here at style.com, but I will quote Joe Sugarman's article that yes, it does feel at first like high-school swimming torture/I mean CLASS, but then you realize the water is so wonderful and warm and womb-like, and that "...in America, people swim to cool off. In Iceland, people swim to warm up." After a half-hour at the pool, I dried off, put on some clothes, and I definitely felt more comfortable than I had been in the last few days! I went to the grocery store and didn't feel overwhelmed by baskets and meats and fish displays. I walked back to the apartment very relaxed. And now it's time for dinner, which I bought myself, and I'm going to attempt to cook some Icelandic ham (skinka) and pasta (conveniently, pasta) which I think I am going to conquer.

Pool photo credits: sundlaugur.is.

Windy day, nice evening, Fulbright fellows

It was a windy and dark morning this morning, the first of many days I'm sure that I'll be using my hood of my new raincoat. But the view from the sea looks pretty cool with dark clouds making the water also very dark. I still took a walk through Gamli Vesurbænum, or the 'old' part of Reykjavík's downtown, which includes Fríkirkja and Landspítali, a big hospital. It also borders the area with the library and SÍM, the artist residence/workspace in Iceland. I saw the big boats docked there; I'm not sure if they're all used for whaling and fishing, though, as one seemed to look pretty touristy. This is also the area where whale and puffin-watching tours leave.

The evening was lovely, though, and after seeing some bad art I had a couple drinks with another Fulbright artist (Nicole) here in Iceland, and it warmed the evening very nicely with good company in a cozy bar. It wasn't exactly the craziness of the rúntur that happens here on weekends, but I'm sure I'll have my chances for all-night partying in the months to come. Besides, I'm more of a classy drink drinker, and it's hard for me to come to grips with paying a lot for really bad beers, when I could pay just a bit more for a better (though not awesome) couple glasses of wine and get a little tipsy, but then not also have to pee all night. But that might change, the Icelandic version of PBR could be my new best friend.

Around 107 Reykjavík

I almost have a sunburn, it was so nice out today! I didn't expect the sun to shine so warmly and I am very overdressed, at least right this second. That's bound to change.

Big news everyone, I went to the mall today and bought a cellphone. It's so much more easy here, buying one flat out and just paying for what you need. I also had a moment of joy when I heard my name being called out- in the mall- and it was for me! And it wasn't because I had forgotten my credit card in a store or something. Another Fulbright student, Nicole, saw me as she was shopping and we had an amazing lunch and shopping adventure together. I also bought an Iceland-appropriate coat, as nothing I brought was good enough for the damp wind and rain here.

Around my apartment are some great things. Though I currently don't live in the center of town, which is about a 20 minute walk away, there is plenty to do around this side of RVK. My apartment now is near the university (Háskóli Íslands) and many other schools, from elementary to high schools. There are children everywhere (tiny ones= okay, medium sized ones= annoying). I live about a three-minute walk from a movie theatre (Háskólabío) which also houses the concert hall for the Iceland Symphony Orchestra! I could just roll out of bed from a nap and get my culture on.
I can go swimming in one of the city's best pools very nearby, but I will probably just lay in the hot tubs there. And of course, I can walk to the sea which is down the street, past one row of houses. I can see the sea from my room's window! There is also a pharmacy, two convenience stores, and a hot dog shop (naturally) within a short walk, as well as the National Museum of Iceland which houses a lot of ancient artifacts, and the Saga Museum, housing some ancient manuscripts of Iceland.

First Impressions of the Second Time in Iceland

I finally made it to Iceland for the start of my Fulbright. It's been since 2006 that I had been here, and that was only for three days. I had a few hyperventily moments of 'what the hell am I doing here?' when I got on the bus from the airport, but the first day was a good day so that lifted my hopes. I'm going to try to update frequently, trying for a regular weekly basis, and perhaps more if inspiration hits!

Here are a few first impressions (and pictures) of being in Iceland for more than just Touriste Purposes.
-The shopping carts at Bónus (a grocery store with a drunken pig for a logo) are brilliant, they have both carrying handles and luggage-style wheels for the ground. Why push a whole cart when you don't have to, but why have to carry a basket if you have to lug around milk? Here is a good compromise.
-This time of the year in Reykjavík has almost home-like amounts of daylight and evening. I can go to bed now when it is dark (darkness is around 9:30pm now), and get up when it's light (light around 6am)! How novel.

-There are many bike and pedestrian paths everywhere, which makes it nice for walking and taking your time to gawk at everything.
-Children's playgrounds often have this amazing swing-type thing that I've never seen before, it's like a round swing you straddle but there's a cable that it slides on so you can launch off this ramp and cast off, kind of like in the jungle movies. I want that. Also, playgrounds have mounds of earth and grass on them like ancient burial grounds. King of your own mountain.

-I spoke so much more Icelandic today than I thought I would, though I also didn't understand any of people's ordinary conversations. I was totally surprised at people's willingness to speak Icelandic back to me, though difficult questions I had to revert to English. This might not always be the case, but it's good to try. Luckily I have two Icelandic roommates who are putting up with all my questions thus far, "why does this orange juice translate to 'clean oranges? Are there dirty oranges?'", "what do you say in place of 'what's up?'", "How much money does a text message cost?" "how do I get to the Immigration office over this weird highway thingie?".
-The sea is a totally new phenomenon to me, and it's right on my doorstep. But to Icelanders, it's always all around them. I asked someone if he went with his family down to the water all the time to play, having lived so close all his life, and he said, 'why would I want to do that? It's so brutal.' I might have asked my family to play on the rocks all the time, but I guess lots of lava everywhere gets old real' fast. Luckily now there is a man-made beach in Reyjkavík so Islanders can have some sand with their surf.


I think next post: my area of town.

Imposter Squirrel

Someone keeps taking acorns from the front yard, but we can't tell who or what it is--every time he arrives, he's wearing a disguise! He's so sneaky.

Modern Dance Wideos

I'm a sucker for dance, especially modern dance. I always wanted to do it properly, I pretend to know how to do it in the privacy of my living room, and I love watching it when it's perfectly integrated to music. Music videos (or 'wideos', as I say in my 'Cherman' accent) are a great way to get modern dance out to the amateur masses like myself!
On the eve of my sister's wedding, I'm sitting in a hotel room with some time to post a couple of my favorites from the YouTubes. My sister's fianceé has dance in her blood; her grandmother started a dance company in Western New York and it's still run by the family. Thank goodness my sister is marrying into a family with dance parties coursing through their veins–maybe they can teach me some sweet moves.
Here's a small sample of my faves that have passed my way lately.

'Islands' by xx. Just f'ing brilliant! I was duped into thinking that the camera pan-out was just repeating; then I started noticing subtle differences on-screen. Then I watched it again and pondered how long it took for all of this work to be pieced together.


'Rosas', choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. It's kind of like saying 'Mental Illness is fun, you guys, come on try it!' It also has really intricate internal rhythm to the dance patterns, if what I can interpret for myself is correct.


This is a fan tribute video to Wild Beasts's 'All the King's Men', by Little Stolen Moments Dance. I might like it even better than the original video!


'Amelia', by LaLaLa Dance Company, chor. Eduarde Lock; I love the cinematography in this. Amazing shadows!


Well, this one isn't really modern-dance related but it does involve an 80's aerobic dance workout-slash-battle between vampire babes and heavy metal/Kiss-type dudes. Always good for my own personal dance around the room, which I'm going to do right now.


(p.s. I had to change the screen size for the vids to get them to play without getting chopped off the side of the frame in various blogreaders- let me know if they look okay.)

Country Routine

I'm back at my parents house, unpacking boxes and trying to decide what to take to Iceland, and just how important to fitting in my suitcases is the 80's running jacket (very) versus the pillow (not as much), the digital recorder (essential) versus the box of wires and jewelry stuff (maybe I'll ship it so I don't look like a crafty terrorist?). In any case, the routine lately has been: wake up, eat cereal, sort things, break down a box, dance around, throw out crap, eat lunch, practice piano, swim, shower, think about editing music, eat dinner, parents go to sleep, reminisce about my childhood, sleep, repeat. Not a bad cycle thus far. I also survived my 10-year high school reunion.
Posts might be scant for the upcoming month or so, but fear not! My sister's getting married, and I'm sure I'll have something to say about that. Soon after, I'm scheduled to leave for my Fulbright. If all goes well with immigration paperwork, I should be there starting Aug 31st. You should be seeing this blog change a bit to be 'Midnight Shoveler in Iceland', but aside from more posts about glaciers and Reykjavík, not much should change. There are already posts about those things so maybe you won't even know the difference, right? Well, to fully prepare yourselves, let's say hello to the two Icelandic letters English doesn't have: ð and þ (you can all them 'eth' and 'thorn' as they sort of sound), and now you're good to go.

Sage Sage Derby Derby

I found out that there is a cheese called 'Sage Derby' which has this crazy green marbled look. I don't know if I'd like to eat it, but I did realize that the two words are also things unto themselves. What if you could make a sage-colored derby hat whose structure was made out of sage derby cheese? It would be a sage sage derby derby, of course. Here's a quick prototype. I'm sure it's gonna make millions, like the Cheeseheads of the 21st century.

Music of North Side Spaces Recap

It's over! Music of North Side Spaces was a great success, and a personal triumph. If you missed it, here's a play-by-play of what happened, with some pho-toes to accompa-knee your reading. Tee hee.

New Hazlett Theater
The tour began at the New Hazlett Theater, with a ‘tour guide’ presentation by Danny Bracken, a coworker at Mattress Factory. The first piece of the tour was inspired by the New Hazlett building itself, which was built as Andrew Carnegie’s first library of Pittsburgh. All words in the piece came directly from Andrew Carnegie's writings, spoken/sung by four singers up on the balcony of the lobby. Three percussionists were stationed at typewriters, books, and rhythmically tearing papers. Much to the tour’s delight, a passing thunderstorm ended just as the tour headed outside.

Children’s Museum
At the Children's Museum/old Buhl Planetarium, we moved portable sound equipment outside for a performance inspired by old historical exhibit titles from the Planetarium and texts carved on the side of the building. For there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars/For one star differeth from another start in glory. Beautiful! Three singers (also known as the band Wungsten, I don't know if you know them but you should, they're huge in Japan) played glockenspiels and electric bass while singing. One additional percussionist was placed about 50 feet away, playing antiphonal chimes, like distant stars and galaxies.

Aviary/Allegheny Commons
Two instrumentalists played birdsong-inspired improvisations near the Aviary. The audience walked along the trail through the park and was delighted to find the musicians located not on the ground but nestled up in the trees! I think this was a lot of people's favorite piece, short but very effective in presentation. It was not easy trying to stay up on those tree limbs, or so I heard from B and K playing soprano sax and flute. Sorry 'bout that. Thank goodness I didn't write the piece for instruments any bigger.

Lake Elizabeth
A brass quintet played at Lake Elizabeth, complete with frolicking kayakers in conjunction with Venture Outdoors' free kayaking program.The quintet began their music near the War Memorial, but marched while playing to the island of the lake, with one musician entering the water to play! I really wanted all the musicians to trudge down into the water, but wouldn't you know, over the course of the last couple months, all this algae grew on the stones in the "lake" (more like a man-made pond) that wasn't there when I tested out the space. Luckily one player had enough time in his music to hop down, and his two sons were kayaking right by him. It was a pretty great sight. The music was inspired by a music pavilion in North Park, torn down after the early 1900's. I also borrowed an idea from Pittsburgh ethnic groups who used to form small bands and would play Eastern European folk music in the park. The brass quintet had melodies of Czech folk songs and polkas as well as a snippet of chords from Billy Strayhorn's jazz songs. (We're missing our second trumpeter in this photo, but we do get more kayaks in the frame).

Mattress Factory
The final performance at Mattress Factory was constructed like one of the museum’s multimedia installations, and the music was an abstract tour of the collection. MF staff helped me create a small stage with colored lighting and amazing textured fabric, and I placed several ladders and musical instruments around the floor to interact with. I sang the vocal part of the work, but two singers and four improvisers also played found instruments and enthusiastically recited lists of art objects in the museum (One thousand bars of pink soap! Liquid gardenia scent! Medieval battle reenactors! Salt!). This piece finally let me make my dream of singing quasi-pop music (with an experimental twist) with a backing string quartet...pretty glamorous. 'Course, I also got to run up ladders, play a music box, a melodica, and dance around. By the time the tour reached Mattress Factory, we had a hundred people in the audience, much more than I ever anticipated! It was also about 90 degrees that day and I sweated through several shirts...but the audience seemed content, even through the heat.

I certainly learned a lot from Music of North Side Spaces, especially about grant-writing, budget-planning, rehearsal planning, and logistics. A Memo to Me: always hire anyone you want to document the work, it will be totally worth shelling out the cash and not having to worry about getting good photos or video. It was a great project, and I should have a CD release of some of the music at some point. Now I can't wait for working in Iceland, where culture is so intertwined with nature that you can't possibly walk outside without being affected by the landscape, right in your backyard.

(all photo credits: Magali Duzant.)

Wistful summer nights

It's the one-month marker ‘til I leave Pittsburgh, and the two-month marker to Iceland. After a swelteringly hot concert of Music of North Side Spaces, which went totally well (more to come in a post will include pictures!) despite the 90-degree heat, the weather has now cooled for a couple days. That means I can use an actual blanket at night, and sleep soundly for more than 4 hours, not having to wake up in a humid, sticky sweat.

There’s something funny about this weather that always makes me feel wistful. Do others feel like that small lonely-like sensation, as if summer has come and gone too soon, even though you know that's not the case? The night feels like a sneak preview to Autumn without the impending doom of frost. The pleasantly introspective summer-feeling began right after I left Vassar and I had a little apartment to myself in Millbrook, New York. It was a second-floor of a farm-house, with colorfully painted rooms and rickety windows, my own front porch to sweep. I didn't think it would stand the winter, though it must have been more resilient than it looked. That summer I finally felt my first independent living, and the solitude that comes from single life in a small town. The nights would be cool enough for long sleeves, perfect for walks up to the little park on top of the hill with its expertly manicured rock garden and bourgeois playsets. I spied once on some very out-of-place car hotboxing it up with some teenagers inside trying not to get caught. This was Millbrook after all, home of wealthy Manhattanites with summer homes, and celebrities getting away from it all.

One cool summer night I decided to take a drive and ended up in nearby Rhinebeck at the Upstate movie theatre, and I saw 'The Door in the Floor'. The very next day, I checked out the book it was based on, John Irving's 'A Widow for One Year'. An excellent book. ‘Door’ only covers the first hundred pages of an epic novel, but something about the film latched on to my wistful mindset and I was hooked. It has become one of my favorite movies over the last six years, and hasn't let up its top ranking. ‘The Door in the Floor’ showcases themes I'm very much interested in, which is the Teen Angst/Coming of Age/Identity Crisis Trifecta. Eddie, the cute boy character in this book, doesn't have much crisis of identity other than he doesn't know what he wants to do for a summer job. He know how sexy Kim Basinger's character is. Then, cue the angst about having an affair with a married woman who can't get over the deaths of her two sons; difficulties dealing with a strange, nonsensical children’s-book writer who's separating from Basinger's character, and Eddie definitely grows wiser over the course of the film. The film also stays almost constantly in a neutral color palette; the beaches are so beige and the skies so grey; the whole film could be in black and white if it weren't for the sudden bursts of color from smart wardrobe decisions. Misty beach scenes, lugubrious string orchestra writing and sparse dialogue; it's been the perfect setting to house my wistful summer nostalgia.

House of Physics/Psychics

I don't know why I find this comic so funny, because it really doesn't make sense. In all honesty I was thinking 'psychic' and wrote 'physics' and tried to run with it. But I did end up liking the fifth-grade shwoopy handwriting style and the weird combination of religion, science, and the sixth sense with a neon palm tree, eyeballs as coconuts, and a moon for good luck. "Now accepting Visa. Ten minutes is all I need, come right in! I tell you your future, and it looks like Newton's Third Law."

Post-Gazette Writeup of North Side Spaces

Sunday's music event got some great press in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, hopefully it will get some interested folks to hear it! Many thanks to Diana for interviewing me and coming to hear the brass quintet rehearse.
There's also a video of the quintet, check it out!

Musicians to add notes to North Side tour sites

Friday, June 25, 2010

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If Lake Elizabeth were music, what might it sound like?

A free tour Sunday of four North Side places will offer Nathan Hall's interpretation of what each site would be if it were a piece of music.

The tour, from 3 to 4 p.m., begins at the New Hazlett Theater and is open to the public.

A different group of musicians will play at each of the sites -- the New Hazlett, the Children's Museum, Allegheny Commons Park and the Mattress Factory -- while tourists move from one to the next.

Mr. Hall had vied for a Charm Bracelet microgrant to present this musical itinerary "outside the composition box."

"I saw the opportunity to tie all these sites together" through music and "make it interactive. Usually, the audience is removed from the musicians, but this will bring them up close and personal."

The tour venues are among those in a "Charm Bracelet" of cultural sites on the North Side; Charm Bracelet became a brand in 2007.

"It is a network of cultural, educational and recreational organizations [collaborating on] projects that come together outside our walls and through the neighborhood to foster an attractive North Side," said Chris Siefert, deputy director of the Children's Museum.

The Grable Foundation granted the bulk of funding for this round of seven Charm Bracelet microgrants. The $6,700 grant pays the 20 musicians and for technical support.

The next round of funding will be announced in the fall for small projects that are art- and design-oriented, said Mr. Siefert. The grants of $500 to $10,000 will be funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mr. Siefert called Music of North Side Spaces "an original idea that touched on a few different layers. It really excited reviewers in our stakeholder group, mostly for its interpretation, making the streets lively. These are what we call everyday space, places people encounter by walking around or getting off a bus."

Last Sunday, amid kayak rentals and bouncing dogs, a brass quintet assembled beside Lake Elizabeth in Allegheny Commons Park to rehearse. The group began at the Civil War Memorial and paraded across a bridge onto the lake's island, each horn making punctuations of sound, both abstract and plaintive. Trumpeter Josh Boudreau popped down into the water and stood, calf deep, as the others stood near the water as it lapped over a slope of Belgian blocks.

"Each composition is based on the architecture and the history of the site," said Mr. Hall, 27, who works as the office manager at the Mattress Factory and has a master's degree in music composition from Carnegie Mellon University. "The inspiration at Lake Elizabeth is that there used to be a music pavilion."

At the New Hazlett, seven musicians -- vocalists and percussionists -- will present a piece inspired by the fact that the building shares space with what was Andrew Carnegie's second oldest library. The percussionists will be playing typewriters.

At the Children's Museum, three glockenspiels, singers and a bass guitar will provide music inspired by the science exhibits that once were at the Buhl Planetarium on the same site.

A flutist and soprano saxophonist will play along the walkway leading toward the lake. To signify the proximity to the National Aviary, the duo will play music adapted from a 19th-century transcription of bird song.

"When the flute plays at a certain register, birds are responsive," said Mr. Hall.

A string quartet, singers and improvisors at the Mattress Factory will present a work inspired by a piece John Cage performed at the art museum in 1990.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10176/1068067-388.stm#ixzz0ruKMHwIr

Music of North Side Spaces Update

Music of North Side Spaces (MoNSS from here on out) is just over three weeks away. My day-job's insane fundraiser, the Urban Garden Party, is just over two weeks away, and the combination of these two things is really intense! I feel like I could be working full-time on a project like MoNSS and it still wouldn't be up to my level of satisfaction, and I'm already working overtime at the museum preparing for the Garden Party. I had a really sleepless night the other night thinking about planning for MoNSS as my mind kept racing with thoughts like "He needs to take the music stand here and what if it thunderstorms but what about costumes will they get up in the trees do I need to hire someone else I don't have a photographer yet and we need one more rehearsal but ugh I hate scheduling I forgot about the crotales".

I should have requested more money from the grant that funded me, but as this is my first grant, I haven't had enough experience yet to know about all of the back-work logistical things that have to happen with a multi-site performance. Luckily I have enough support from friends and colleagues that I think no matter what happens it will be successful. So what if I didn't think of putting in the budget some money for ten yards of fabric, I can do without it. I didn't have to rent a sound system, therefore I can hire a professional photographer, those kinds of things. It will still be a cool event, with brand-new music written for it, friends and family there to support everyone, and that kind of event hasn't happened in that area before. Please don't thunderstorm. I really didn't prepare for that kind of thing. Rain, okay.

So far for MoNSS we've recorded about 50% of the music in the studio (I want to have a non-live version of things to possibly put out an album of the works, or at least for posterity), and two big pieces are all set and ready to go. This leaves a piece for the New Hazlett Theatre (about Andrew Carnegie) to rehearse and polish up, a brass quintet piece, and a string quartet + vocals piece yet to be heard, recorded, or rehearsed. I'm so glad I made a calendar in advance to help me keep a basic schedule! I can just barely wrap my brain around who's supposed to be where, who's rehearsing at what time, are there enough music stands, does everyone have their music, let alone think about performing in some of the pieces.

I think some of the things are going to be even better than I expected, too! The birdsongs piece in the park will be awesome, and in our dress rehearsal, the flutist mesmerized a squirrel with her trill stylings. The musical typewriters I have planned are going to sound really good, and I think there will be a great-looking 'installation' of lights, seating, and furniture for the Mattress Factory piece.

(Photo, right: mesmerized squirrel.)

In other news, Eyafjallajökull has stopped erupting, much to the pleasure of my impending plane ticket to Iceland on 30 August.

Names of Places

Short list of places I would like to visit purely on the pronunciation of its name:

Addis Ababa
Kyrgyzstan
Saskatoon
Missoula
Boise
Tuvalu
Sacramento
Cote D'Ivoire
Oman
Nuuk
Taipei
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Honshu
Saskatchewan (obviously)









I know that these names are totally random, some cities, some countries, some islands. Some of these places I even blogged about before, as I'm fascinated by places that are scarcely populated. But once you go, you get the pleasure of having the story around the dinner table, "Remember that time I went to Baffin Bay just because I thought it sounded good? That was a good time."

We've past the 20,000th visitor! Congratulations to whoever you are. Perhaps I'll have a party on the internet for the 25,000th patron. You'll get a slice of internet cake, your choice of flavor. (Insert joke about delicious "bytes" here.)

Photo: skyline of Nuuk, capital of Greenland. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Olde Timey collage

I put this in a shadowbox for added depth, even though all the layers are flat. I love the cutout shape of that pool combined with the orangey bit from an old map of Eastern Europe.

North Side updates, Icelandic, estate sale

I finally got my park permit for Music of Northside Spaces–now I can perform music there without the cops busting up my classical-music nonprofit grant proposal. Though it would be quite the exciting event to have police sirens pull up to my brass quintet and haul everyone away! It would be as if I planned the whole thing. Except the event would have an abrupt premature ending.

Promo image for Music of North Side Spaces has arrived- designed by the fabulous Shannon Knepper at War Admiral Press.

I've been practicing my Icelandic and making a million errors, but I can now form basic sentences! I'm working on past tense verbs. This week I had a practice conversation with my teacher in past tense, and I attempted to tell my teacher about Betty White's recent performances on SNL. However, it came across sounding more like: "Yesterday, I saw a film about an actress. Her name was Betty White. She sang and played. She was very funny and good-looking. My friends laughed. I walked to my friend's house and watched the TV". I don't really know that that quite conveys the event, but it had sentences in it! It included the words í gær, sjónvarpinu, leikona, husið, myndaleg. Though probably some of those declensions were wrong at the time, too. Hey, I'm trying, Icelandic is HRAD (sic- that's just 'hard' misspelled).

I'm looking to sell some of my things before I move in August, and I think it's time that I get stuff on craigslist. Ugh. I've been very happy with loveseat that I got a few years ago, but who needs to worry about furniture when you may be moving across the country in two different directions, twice in the next 14 months? So that's the biggest item that should go. I'd rather become minimalist again. A minimalist who happens to have a big CD and art book collection. I'm also hoping to have a goodbye concert + Icelandic fundraiser that might resemble a silent auction or estate sale in my apartment. Good idea? It's slightly more interesting and cost-effective than a yard sale. Or will people try to buy the things that I need? Or, will people feel awkward about buying my possessions? I think I might tag everything I want to sell and then it can be taken with you at the end of the night. There will even be free stuff too! Plus, you get a cheap concert out of it, right in my living room.

Fulbright to Iceland!

After months of waiting, I am delighted to have found out that I've been selected for a Fulbright fellowship to Iceland in 2010-11. I leave in September, and will live there for nine months, possibly a little longer. I couldn't be happier! My proposal, once I arrive, is to experience as much of Iceland's culture, music scene, and landscape as possible, and write music based on these experiences. The end result as it currently stands is to create some kind of music-based installation that can play in Iceland, sort of introducing my experiences as an American in Iceland, and then I can take the installation back to the States for viewings. I hope that there will also be a performance aspect as well, though everything is subject to change based on my time there, the people I meet, and the network of contacts I've set up.

Come August, I'll get to spend a couple weeks at home before I go abroad, which will be the first time since 2001 since I've had more than 9 days off in a row. I had to defer my doctoral plans, and I also hope to sell some of my things to raise a little extra cash for my trip. Right now I'm in the midst of getting health tests and mailing back a lot of forms and reading up on rules and regulations. I'll have to find my own housing (with a little help, I'm sure) and I hope it won't use up the entirety of my stipend there! Luckily the cost of living is less than when I visited several years ago, before the economic crisis and collapse. In fact, people may be actively seeking out guests for apartments, so I hope to find a good deal for a shared room or sublet.

I told my bosses and coworkers that I will be leaving them in the fall, and I was so relieved that they were all incredibly supportive. I'm sure they're all a little upset, however, that they won't be able to find someone quite as good as me at removing paper jams from the copier, or cleaning up the dirty dishes, or greeting the multitude of people at the door in the mornings. The staff even applauded for me at the staff meeting! You would have thought that I had just given each of them a new car or something, with all the happiness floating around the room (but sadly I don't have Oprah's budget, I can only make everyone brownies). I'm sad to be leaving the museum, and Pittsburgh, but I'm glad it's for a terribly exciting new adventure. I'm looking forward to meeting long-admired musicians, hot dogs, harbors, fermented shark meat, beautiful light (and darkness), beautiful language, volcanoes, glaciers, kronur, and more asymmetrical haircuts than I can shake a stick at.

As I don't leave for another three months, there are still more comics, collages, and music projects to detail. 'Course, come September, this blog will probably transform into an Icelandic journal of sorts, so I hope you will all continue to read and enjoy.

(Photo: Hallgrimskirkja, the large cathedral in the center of Reykjavik. Taken on my 2007 trip.)

Typewriter + Glockenspiel

A second sneak peek into two other elements of 'Music of North Side Spaces' in June. Glockenspiels and musical typewriters! This particular typewriter, on loan, has a sideways 'T' and is loved all the more for it. And it still has working ribbon inside of it! Those machines are fantastically indestructible.

Love Affair with Pittsburgh

I love Pittsburgh. I just hope my boyfriend doesn't find out I'm two-timing him with a geographic location.
I've lived in Pittsburgh for almost four years and there hasn't been a week that goes by where I see something, hear about something, or do something that prompts me to say, "that's why I like it here so much". I was born in Western New York in a small town, and I've lived in Upstate NY and Boston before, but never have I found such a good fit for me. The size of the city seems just right, and the cost of living is almost right where can pay the rent and my student loans. I like that "Pittsburgh" as an entity covers a lot of territory, so that my address can be in the right city– few New Yorkers ever get to see "New York, NY" on their mail, and when I lived in Boston, I technically lived in Somerville, which is more like a town outside of a town outside of Boston.

I love Pittsburgh in a sort of Michael Chabon "Mysteries of Pittsburgh"-esque romanticized way, as the first time I ever visited was to see A.S., who was born and raised here, and he showed me all of the local sights in a way that tourists just wouldn't (the slag heap! the angsty teen hangout! the places you can get bubble tea!).It was during the intense heat and humidity of August summer, and we were in college, and I still had blocks of time resembling summer vacation. A.S. convinced me there was something dreamy about the place, and others who have moved here since then have reconfirmed that fact. I've even seen two Pirates games during my times here, though I can't admit to staying through to the end of both of them.

Sure, there are some things that frustrate me about Pittsburgh. I'm also seriously irked by mass transit at least once a week as well, waiting around for a bus that doesn't show up, or missing a connection. I don't have a car, and Pittsburgh teeters on the border of one's not needing a car, and one's inability to lug big objects onto the bus, and bothering friends by asking them for rides. Also, obnoxious drunks, my crappy landlord, and Steelers-obsessed fans, but you can find those people anywhere.

Nevertheless, I came here for Carnegie-Mellon but I stuck around. Here are some things I love about the city. It's a list in no particular order (you know I love lists). I love the immediacy of the skyline as viewed from across one of Pittsburgh's 400+ bridges. I love the city's green initatives. The city steps! They are stairways, sometimes enormous, that are also technically city streets, often dubbed "paper streets"...just don't try to turn right on them when driving, as your paper map is misleading. I love the varied architecture of Pittsburgh, from a Richard Meier house on Chatham's campus, to Henry Hornbostle's Rodef Shalom Temple, and many repurposed old warehouses and old factories. I love that the weather is always changing, and that it rains a lot, which reminds me of my semester abroad in Scotland (and perhaps with Andrew Carnegie's influence on the city, the place physically looks a bit more Scottish than other cities). I love being a part of an art scene that allows me to actually get to know people, exhibit a work, get a piece performed, and collaborate with others. Cupcake shops, a vintage clothing store, and a gay bar just down the street from my apartment. Friends made along the way, the quality of light, the closeness to home without being too close. Mattress Factory is of course on the best-of list. Distinct neighborhoods with close-knit concentrations of Russians, Italians, Jews, and families that have stuck around the same street for generations. Putting french fries on every meal item. Pittsburgh's home-boy, Fred Rogers. What's not to love about Mister Rogers' own neighborhood? A restaurant that only sells waffles. New boutiquey shops that open up and try their best to succeed. Andy Warhol is everywhere. The Phipps Conservatory's Japanese garden. A crazy man who ties entire car bumpers to his bike and spray-paints everything teal.

It's only poignant that I write a post to PGH after contemplating moving away, or perhaps starting another chapter of my life in my plan to conquer the music composition-slash-art world, but these thoughts are only fermenting. This is the longest I've ever stayed in one place since college. Maybe the sense that I may not be here forever makes the memories I do have all the more poignant. And there's still more to do, like eating at one of the fancy restaurants on Mount Washington, and going to the Science Center, and visiting Kentuck Knob, out by Frank Llyod Wright's other masterpiece, Fallingwater.
If you haven't visited the city, you should check it out. Just don't move here all at once- I need the rent price to stay low for a little while longer.

(Photos: all taken by myself: Kraus Campos, Carnegie Mellon; airplane over Pittsburgh; downtown Pittsburgh at the Trinity Cathedral; Warhol Museum; private residence in Shadyside.)

Mp3 in a blog!

I know I'm totally behind the times, but I just figured out how to embed an mp3 of my own into my blog. So now if I have a piece premiered, y'all can be the first to hear it! Well, except those who came to the performance, of course. And if I have something random to talk about, I can include a clip of it. For example, here is a miniature I wrote for a tiny music box to play!

This music box may or may not feature in my summer performance of 'Music of North Side Spaces'- I'm still working out the different pieces for several sites. Also, here is a 'teaser' image of some artfully blurred falling papers, as I was testing out how to toss them in various ways for a piece being performed at the New Hazlett Theatre. How mysterious.

String Orchestra of Brooklyn

Last Saturday night, I had a piece premiered by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn. It was a piece I wrote especially for them entitled 'The Last Rose': a set of 'variations' on the melody of a traditional Irish song titled 'The Last Rose of Summer'. I enjoyed being in New York and this was my first official NYC premiere! That is, if you count Brooklyn as New York City, which I would. Hoboken, I'm not so sure. Yonkers, definitely not. But Brooklyn Heights is right across the river. In fact, NYC was so close that this was the view from the end of the street that the performance space resided. I couldn't have asked for more beautiful days!
I spent time hanging out with friends, spent a birthday-day with J, and went to the Cloisters, relaxing in their Medieval art collection...until I set off a blazing alarm by pointing at something which was almost two feet away. I work in a museum, people, I know not to get my greasy hands on the Joseph Campin.
D got us got comp tickets to Sondheim on Sondheim, a revue of songs tied to the composer's life, using video, vintage footage, interviews, and a crazy rotating set of TVs. Hearing music from so many shows made me want to see Sondheim's 'Sunday in the Park with George'. And not see 'Sweeney Todd'. Well, at least D has a job arranging and working on music parts to theatre productions, and I also saw Michael Urie cheering on Vanessa Williams. He has strikingly good hair. Vanessa's hair is just okay.
Rehearsals and the concert for the string piece took place in the church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, which is about the most ghettofabulous place I've had a piece performed. By ghettofabulous I mean it was the most well-worn, squeaky-doored, sinking-floored cathedral, and yet also ridiculously ornate. The entryway had the tightest Gothic-carved wooden spiral staircase I've ever seen–even I wondered if I'd be able to climb it, and I'm pretty svelte. I was very impressed.
The alter/concert space was thusly bejeweled, and the orchestra looked quite snazzy.
The performance of the piece was quite good, considering this is a community orchestra. They are all volunteers! Some of them devote a lot of time and energy into the group and I totally applaud that. A couple people had some pitch issues and rhythm issues (not owing to the difficultly of the piece, which was quite moderate), but it all came together for the concert. And so resonant! The program was varied, short but sweet, and included works by Josh Penman, Josh Feltman, and Judd Greenstein. The SoB also seem to have worked out good deals with the price of the venue and people's involvement in pitching in with poster-hanging, ticket sales, baked-goods-buying, etc.
Afterward I went for drinks at a Brooklyn hipster hangout, which was even trashier than Pittsburgh's hipster hangouts, and this one had an indoor Bocce Ball area. It was a good time. Eli, the conductor of the orchestra, and I found out that we have the same glasses.
Curiously artsy!
I'm glad to be back in Pittsburgh, as New York is so expensive and I have more work to do. But it was but it was such a good time and hope to be going back soon. Maybe for another commission? Or a well-paying job? ... Any takers? ... Well, I'll be around if you need me.

Mustache Pipe

He was so salty, even his mustache smoked a pipe.Also funny to think about: a mustache (or if you prefer, moustache) wearing a mustache, or perhaps a pipe smoking a pipe. A pipe with a mustache on it would also be a pretty great disguise for going incognito. Or even, picture a mustache wearing a tiny mustache, and that tiny mustache is smoking an even tinier pipe. How meta. But I am not that fancy of an artist, so this is what you get. Thar she blows!

Five Characters/Man at Carnival

Two oldies as collage studies: here's a hunky model relaxing near a ferris wheel and I think I see the Coliseum in there somewhere, circa 2001. Strange, but I kind of like all the textures and the vivid colors happening in this one. And an old friend's handwritten letter is in the background as our model's thought-bubble.

And here's an old collage-slash-drawing I did where Bill Clinton is holding out fort next to Bjork and a frog-shaped eraser. Naturally. It's good to know that my drawing style has not evolved much since age 16. Maybe an art class or two could boost the intellectual complexity of cartoony snakes and alien tentacles.

St. Vincent and Meatballs in Icelandic

Nearly a month has passed but it has not felt like it. I've been busy but would rather not bother you all with stories mostly of being preoccupied with age-old questions like What Will I Do With My Life, or How Will I Pay These Taxes. Needless to say those stresses have been put to rest, at least for now. I saw a fabulous concert by St. Vincent tonight, which if you don't know her or her band, it's about time you checked out this video. She and her delightful curlyhaired litheness (and the soundguys) totally rocked the multi-instrument arrangements on stage without losing the quirkiness of her amazing compositions that seem to take inspiration from classical music, funk, french pop, and avant-garde noise. I would also kill for those lyrical skills. Plus, everyone in the house thought she was pretty badass when she did her experimental electric guitar whacking i.e. the shredding of the 21st century. Annie Clark is St. Vincent, pictured right.
Those points, and the punctuality of the concert, were the pros. The con was that I stood in back of a girl who was annoyingly texting the entire concert and her phone's light was blaring in my face the whole time. If you're going to pay $20 to see a concert, please do not text to your gurlz the entire time. A picture, maybe. A single text of 'OMGAmazing!', fair enough. But otherwise, keep the clam closed. Though, truth be told, I secretly saw several of the texts including one that read "There is not a single guy here I'm interested in. Not my type." Well, I don't think they're interested in you either, sweets. Most of these people are gay, and the others wouldn't appreciate a girlfriend who can't pay attention. Pictured: someone somewhere is texting something completely inane.

Musically, I've been working on Music of North Side Spaces a bit, and have some sample pages for the vocal groups to try out. I've written/rearranged some music for my sister's wedding, and I've also been preparing for a trip to NYC in March to hear the String Orchestra of Brooklyn play a piece I wrote for them based on an Irish folk tune, The Last Rose of Summer.

I've also been practicing Icelandic! What better way to sing along with some of my favorite musical groups but to study the language. It's hard, but very rewarding. I'm glad I can still memorize nouns and adjectives, but the retaining of genders and declining and agreement and all these case issues are pretty difficult. I can, however, say "meatballs with gravy and potatoes". Kjötbollur í brúnni sósu með kartöflum. This is very important.

Music of North Side Spaces

Some of you may know about my 'Music of North Side Spaces' project in the works. For those of you who don't...well, I have a project called 'Music of North Side Spaces' in the works. There you go. But for those of you who want to know more, I received a grant in the fall of '09 to write music for the summer of '10, scheduled for June 27th at 3pm. Mark your calendars. The performance will feature live performances in site-specific settings on the North Side of Pittsburgh. The project has wider ambitions to connect several organizations in that area, including the New Hazlett Theatre, Children's Museum, Lake Elizabeth/National Aviary, and Mattress Factory, promoting the organizations in general and get people over to the North Side, as well as use alternative transportation (walking/buses). There were several awards chosen as part of the Grable Foundation ' Charm Bracelet Microgrant' process. My project in particular involves guests taking a walking tour of the area, and along one's route you'll hear live music, written by myself, inspired by the history and architecture, natural landscape, and fun facts about one's surroundings. Not only will wanderers realize how close some of these museum/cultural attractions are to one another, I hope it adds a little spontaneity to some of the usual sights on the North Side, and maybe passers by will join in and listen. The best part is that it will be free!

I'm setting to work on this project with a few upcoming meetings, and I hope I can have some questions answered. There are so many factors I've never had to consider before, like park permits, rain plans, coordinating musicians along a time-line, a monologue for a tour guide, and expenses written into the grant. Do I take elements from current cultural trends, like the large African-American population in that area, or do I highlight a site for its former life in the 1900's as a vegetable stand and outdoor pavillion? Do I keep the size intimate, and only distribute a few postcards, or do the other organizations get involved and promote the concert, which might make the group so large that nobody can hear any of the acoustic music? Will I need a megaphone? Oh, and what is everyone going to wear, and I hope it involves top hats and/or costumes. It's going to be a great experience, but the list of questions is pretty long. On top of all of that I have hopes that the music I'll write for it is still interesting.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of planning a possible brass band, Andrew Carnegie's ghost, typewriter percussion, DJ, melodica, folk trio, improvised flute music in trees, and other exciting possibilities...

(Photo above: Deborah Asheim work at Mattress Factory, as I don't have any pictures of the spaces I want to use yet. To be continued!)

And They're Off!

Welcome back, little buddies, I missed you.

Stalactite Press

My sculpture/sound installation received a nice mention on the Pittsburgh Arts- Digging Pitt blog a couple days ago:


"The above work, Nathan Hall's Stalactite, is beautiful. It is this softly glimmering work, with a subtle sound component. I won't try to project a philosophical interpretation on this. For me, it was purely an aesthetic enjoyment of a beautiful object."

Well, thank you Susan, for writing kind words about the piece!

If you haven't seen the work already, please stop by SPACE gallery downtown Pittsburgh before February 13th, when the show closes. Admission is free. If the other sound pieces in the gallery are too loud for you to hear the ambient component of the work, you can ask the gallery staff to turn the other piece(s) down for you.