If you spell Ithaca backwards

Review from the travels, 3/5/10

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a good break; I was stuck in Albany teaching until Wednesday, then to Syracuse, followed by Ithaca, a return to the Cuse, then to Vermont (where I am currently, writing from a wi-fi connected bar. )Whew! It ‘s been a long two weeks of travel, and we have a few things on the agenda to talk about. First, Ithaca. I trekked out that way Thursday night for \ and  Morton’s Sophomore Recital. It was a joint cello and double bass show respectively, with Morton’s jazz trio filling up the middle. Jordan is a little tiny red head who whaled out J.S. Bach’s ten minute Suite No1 in G major BWV 1007, leaving the audience straight up baffled. Upright bass has a great sound live, soo much ambience. \ also played a similar Bach piece (Suite No. 2 in D minor) which was equally (but a little less) stellar as Morton. The rest of the performance was classically based and segued into the Ithaca Orchestra’s dress rehearsal, which I saw the next day in a huge auditorium with sounds everywhere. 

However, it was weird being in a school founded in music. Unlike the eclectic atmosphere at St Rose, all the heads I met at the place were creative, but very liner, highlighting the classical and formulaic undertones present in performance based majors. The orchestra played Stravinsky’s Firebird Suit and I got chills. But enough of this Ithaca jazz. Last Friday, Saint Joe’s Auditorium hosted the Saint Rose Music Awards. The show was spectacular, however, due to an Adventure Club Ski trip that I rocked out at (bruised lungs and a concussion due to an epic backflip fail) we’ll discuss the winners and losers, heroes and villains of the SMAs next week.  Until then, what do you get if you spell Ithaca backwards?...acahti!