Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
Schocker’s third collection of Christmas carols arranged for solo harp dives deeper into traditional carols across Europe, from Portugal to Scandinavia. This set of 22 carols augments his two previous collections: Joy to the World! (21 Favorite Christmas Carols) and In the Moon of Wintertime (20 Favorite Christmas Carols).
To Touch Their Harps of Gold: 22 Favorite Christmas Carols (arranged for harp), by Gary Schocker, Theodore Presser Company, www.presser.com
Pianist Lee Evans, of Local 802 (New York City), has released his latest intermediate/upper-intermediate level book, which consists of 13 jazz-tinged piano solo arrangements of music from the Baroque era. Selections include music from Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, J.S. Bach’s organ preludes, Inventions and Sinfonias, a work by him for solo cello, and his famous Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Jazz Baroque:Vivaldi/Bach is available only in an interactive digital format in SuperScore Music on the iPad.
Jazz Baroque:Vivaldi/Bach, by Lee Evans, SuperScore Music, www.timewarptech.com.
This orchestral work was written by Carter Pann after he visited a bistro on a cliff in Big Sur, CA. The place so inspired Pann that he began humming the opening melody. Written as a gift for conductor Alastair Willis, the colorful five-minute work, which includes electrifying percussion parts, is suitable for advanced student orchestras, intermediate players, and professional ensembles.
Tiny Tattoo for Orchestra, by Carter Pann, Theodore Presser, www.presser.com.
In his final years, Liszt was beset by tragedy, depression, and poor health. This collection presents 30 solo piano pieces from that period (until his death in 1886), many that were unknown and underperformed well into the 20th century. Included is an in-depth essay by music scholar Nicholas Hopkins exploring the influences of major life events on the composer’s work, as well as a detailed analysis demonstrating the stylistic quality and highly original nature of the pieces.
Franz Liszt: Selected Late Works for Piano Solo, 1870-1886, edited by Nicholas Hopkins, Carl Fischer, www.carlfischer.com.
Music critic Andrea Warner draws on more than 60 hours of exclusive interviews to offer a powerful, intimate look at the life of the beloved artist and her 77-year career as a singer-songwriter and a tireless advocate for Indigenous rights. Sainte-Marie of Local 802 (New York City) stood out among the ranks of musicians in the 1960s and has received countless accolades, among them the only Academy Award won by an Indigenous artist. This biography celebrates Sainte-Marie’s unique talent, her commitment to activism, and leadership in the protest movement.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography, by Andrea Warner, greystonebooks.com.
A dozen of the most beautiful traditional melodies from the British Isles and North America are arranged here as concert pieces, with rich harmonies and variations, by Local 802 (New York City) member John Lehmann-Haupt. Carefully voiced and fingered for fluidity and effectiveness, the collection offers a wide range of style and expression, from contemporary to Elizabethan to Arabic and Celtic, to gentle bluegrass swing, with a hint of gospel.
Airs and Ballads for Classic Guitar, by John Lehmann-Haupt, Mel Bay, www.melbay.com.
Paul Coles’ three-volume Classical Guitar Album offers nearly 100 varied pieces of increasing difficulty. His works are designed for the developing musician but include commissioned works performed and premiered by some of the world’s leading guitarists. He draws on Baroque, contemporary, and classical Spanish influences.
Volume 1 contains 43 preparatory pieces and includes well-known melodies for the beginning guitarist in accessible keys (1-2). Volume 2 has 28 original pieces, which take the player to the next level (2-3). Volume 3 includes 28 pieces written for the middle-grade guitarist, advancing in keys 3-4.
Classical Guitar Album: New and well-known pieces, by Paul Coles, Universal Edition, www.universaledition.com
This set of arrangements of Luciano Berio’s Duetti, originally for two violins, represents an expansion of the limited repertoire for two violas. These duets, originally conceived as a collection of occasional pieces, became a full compositional project with pedagogical overtones. The wide variation in technical demands for Duetti—from beginner to high-level skills—illuminates Berio’s unique approach.
Luciano Berio: Duetti (arrangement for two violas), arranged by Annegret Mayer-Lindenberg, Universal Edition, www.universaledition.com
Written for choirs of all types, this book provides a systematic and sequential process for those who teach sight reading using Fixed DO (the key of C). The book is organized by key so that students are immersed in a key, enabling them to identify the steps of the scales on sight as well as the intervals from the tonic triad.
STEPS Using Fixed DO: Strategies & Tools Encouraging Proficient Sightsinging, by Denise Eaton in collaboration with Janice Bradshaw
www.carlfischer.com
Based on a multi-sensory approach to music reading, this book integrates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles to achieve confident sight-reading skills. Learning strategies will help choral singers improve reading accuracy, increase their ability to recognize and perform rhythmic tonal patterns, and sing with accurate pitch and rhythm.
InSight Singing: Fixed DO. A Multi-Sensory Approach to Reading Music Using Fixed Do, by Denise Eaton, Jan Juneau, and Sally Schott
www.carlfisher.com
