The Journey is the Reward!

Instead of anticipating the goal, learn to enjoy the Journey for this is where we spend 99.9% of our time.

Archive for March, 2010

Jose Luis Merlin Quartet 2010 US Tour!

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 16, 2010

I’m very pleased to share with you the news that one of my favorite contemporary composers and performers will be touring the Northeast US during the next few weeks with his quartet – The Jose Luis Merlin Quartet

And even more exciting is that Mr. Jose Luis Merlin has graciously invited me to meet with him and his quartet and has offered a private guitar lesson as part of our meeting.

One of the great composers of today! Mr. Jose Luis Merlin

Needless to say I’m very very excited. I find his Latin American pieces to be very beautiful and inspiring and while I have purchased several of his scores to learn in the future,  I can only play the first piece “Evocacion” from his “Suite De Recuerdo”, which I plan to play for him at our lesson.

I will be writing about my visit with Mr. Merlin and his quartet, the recital and lesson upon my return.

I highly recommend that you check out some of his videos on youtube. You can also see the full Suite Del Recuerdo in his alternate arrangement for flute and guitar as performed by my good friends Michael Nigro and Lisa Schroeder – The Noteworthy Duo on my youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/olarte99 this is the only video that I have ever seen of this great masterpiece performed as a duo for flute and so it’s a real treat. It was an honor for me to videotape this great performance and to host it on my channel. For More information about the Noteworthy Duo, please visit their site at http://noteworthyduo.com/

If you like his music, you can purchase his CDs at any of the usual venues including Amazon, CDbaby and Itunes. As well as great renditions by other artists such as The Noteworthy Duo.

In any case, below is a fact sheet regarding The Jose Luis Merlin Quartet US tour and a listing of the engagements they will be doing in Washington DC, New York City and Upstate new york during March & April.

THE JOSÉ LUIS MERLÍN QUARTET- U.S. Tour 2010
José Luis Merlín- Guitar, Voice
Brian Baumbusch- Guitar, Voice
David Merlín- Violín
Solange Merdinian- Voice
Aaron Shafer-Haiss- Drumms

The José Luis Merlín Quartet is a group dedicated to performing Folklore Argentino, the music of the gauchos, the pampa, el asado, and el vino! It was formed as a collaboration between the family of world renowned Argentinean classical guitarist and composer José Luis Merlín and his protégé Brian Baumbusch, an ethnomusicologist specializing in Argentinean Quechuan folk music.  It began as an opportunity for the Merlin family to return to their roots as Argentineans, using their distinct talents from the world of classical music, and creating musical arrangements that celebrate their artistic foundations, the folk music of their country.

The group was originally founded in Madrid, and included José Luis, David, and Sebastian Merlín, and Brian Baumbusch, a quartet for two guitars, violin, and the bomboleguero of Argentina.

The group is now organizing its first tour in the United States, including New York Latin percussionist Aaron Shafer-Haiss, and Argentinean singer Solange Merdinian, a Julliard graduate and student of famous soprano Dawn Upshaw.

The group has been sponsored by the Argentine Embassy in Washington, DC, and promoted through the Argentine Consulate of New York in the hopes that this will be their opportunity to continue to spread their culture throughout the U.S.

The music that is shared in Argentinean folk culture is a music inspired by humility and pride. This humility and pride is evoked by broad plains of grain and cattle, the golden tides of wheat and the jagged majestic cordilleras, the winding brooks and dried up river beds that make ravines through the ranges of spiny bushes upon which wanders a tarantula toward a small glebe where a little mud ranch rests peacefully, and where the sandy and dusty grounds which when stomped upon in dance raise a cloud of mysterious haze around the coals from the algarrobo wood roasting the baby goat and asado, hanging in a circle around the fire.

This is what evokes humility and pride in the people of Argentina, and this is what The José Luis Merlín Quartet aims to transmit.

2010 USA TOUR DATES

3/27/2010 6pm.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the Millennium Stage
Beatty Competition winners.

World premiere Jose Luis Merlin pieces for this competition:
Un paseo a Caballo
Beso de Luna
Bailongo Campero

3/28/2010 7pm
Gala Hispanic Theatre (Grupo de Artistas Latinoamericanos)
3333 14th St. NW, Washington DC 20010
202.234.7174
Metro: Columbia Heights

http://www.galatheatre.org/

It is in a beautiful old converted theater, and it is our first performance in the US tour.
Tuesday, April 6th, 12:30 pm.

3/31/2010 8pm
Zebulon Cafe Concert
258 Wythe Ave. Brooklyn NY 11211
718.218.6934

http://www.zebuloncafeconcert.com/

This venue is a small club that is dedicated to hosting performances of ethnic music every night of the week. It has a really nice vibe but is quite informal, although unlike many other clubs in NY the people come to listen to music rather than to drink.

4/1/2010 7:30pm
Bard College.
Bard Hall
5000 Annandale-on-Hudson NY 12504
845.758.6822

The concert will be in a small converted Chapel where the college hosts many recitals. The space is very intimate and lovely, and it has great acoustics for this kind of music.

4/3/2010
Barbes
376 9th St. Park Slope, Brooklyn NY 11215
718.965.9177
347.422.0248

http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/

Very similar vibe to that of Zebuloon, except this venue has a private room in the back of the club where all the performances take place.  The quartet will be an opening act on Saturday.

4/6/2010 12:30pm
Inter-American Development Bank, Art Galery – Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, Galerìa de arte
1300 New York Ave. NW. Washington, DC. 20577
202.623.1000

Not sure exactly what this concert will be like, but the auditorium is formal and very nice

4/7/2010 8:00pm
Public Assembly
70 N 6th St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.384.4586

http://www.publicassemblynyc.com/

There are three other groups playing with us on the same night, including a Brazilian coco percussion group, a Cajón and hammer dulcimer duo called Mecca Bodega, and a Bulgarian Brass ensemble which will perform in between sets, walking around the ground floor like a marching band.

4/8/2010 5:00pm
Argentine Consulate
12 W 56th St, NY, NY 10019
212.603.0400

Very nice stage and venue, free entrance, performance is scheduled for 35 minutes.

4/8/2010 8:00pm
Caffe Vivaldi
32 Jones St. New York, NY 10014
212.691.7538

http://www.caffevivaldi.com/

Small downtown Manhattan cafe that has music every night, more of the singer-songwriter vibe, but open to all sorts of music. The Quartet will be playing from 8 to 9 with other groups playing before and after.

Posted in Classical Guitar | Tagged: , , , , | 8 Comments »

So, what’s it all about… Ivan?

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 9, 2010

You may have stumbled on my page, or have been invited to stop by for a visit. You have arrived here, and now what… You think “what is all this ivanolarte.com business all about”.

I myself, don’t  know where this is headed yet. But I can tell you that what started as an idea to keep a personal journal of sorts, is now a simple desire to share my thoughts, and experiences with whoever wants to hear what I have to say.

I realized that some of what I plan to write might actually be of use to someone out there. So, I have set this website to jot down and share whatever information I can about my passions, which include Classical Guitar, great eating, and living a healthy and happy life.

In the coming months, I plan to add a lot more content within these two categories, along with miscellaneous ramblings such as this post ;-) and whatever else comes to mind.

I hope that you come by for a visit once in a while or (even better) that you subscribe to my page for updates if you are interested in what I have to share.

This is part of my personal journey towards living a good life,  enjoying each day and moment that I can, and to share with you what I can.

Because this website is about documenting my own journey, I decided to simply use my name instead of any one specific topic or idea.

While I don’t know where all this is headed,  I can assure you that I’m having a lot of fun along the way.

So please look around, leave a comment or two, and come back if you can.

But even more important, please be happy, cherish each day and enjoy your own Journey through life.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ivan

Nothing personal Geoff, but as you know with my company being taken over and forced to change our identity even here in the US… well let’s just say it’s has not been a good experience.

But thanks to places like Delcamp, with friends around the globe, and greats such as Julian Bream, Arthur Conan Doyle (one of my childhood heros of sorts),  and many others my negative feelings are limited on

Posted in Personal | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

Practice Routine – What works for me.

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 7, 2010

Ah the pursuit of the mastery of classical guitar.  It’s amazing that whena guitar is  played well, it looks so easy. But making it look easy, like most things in life, takes a lot of work behind the scenes and countless hours of daily practice.

In our current times, with all sorts of things going on in our lives how can we manage to put in the kind of work needed to master anything, especially something as demanding as CG?

For me it’s the consistency of a focused daily practice routine, whether it’s as short as 30 minutes, or a solid one or two hour practice session. The key is focusing on the quality of the practice of specific exercises and pieces, with particular attention to certain attributes, like quality of sound, consistency, and good technique. A good 30 minute focused practice session is far more productive than playing music for 2 hours without specific goals in mind.

I think it is important to distinguish practice sessions from playing music. And while there is some over lap between practicing and playing, both activities have specific purposes, advantages and a proper place. Too many times, we can spend hours playing what we already know over and over, and while that is  fun and enjoyable, it does not add as much to our progress as a focused practice session does.

For me, when practicing, what works best is a routine that consists of focused exercises, which are part of an overall structure in any given session. So whether I only have 30 minutes to practice or can spare a proper hour or two on any given day I try to maximize the time available to me, and use a systematic approach. I break up any given session into the following components.

Daily Practice Routine

1. Left Hand Warm up:

Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant – exercises focusing mainly on Left Hand finger independence.

2. Right Hand Warm up:

120 Studies for the Right Hand by Mauro Giuliani – exercises focusing on Right Hand dexterity and consistency of  tone & quality. These studies are divided into groups, and I focus on a different group each week.

3. Scales:

Royal Conservatory Of Music (RCM) Scale book – Various scales with intervals & chord progressions. – This focuses on dexterity, mastery of the fretboard, and knowledge of all musical keys.

4. New Etudes & Pieces:

These include pieces that are still new, and being worked on during weekly classes. Currently working on Sor – Segovia Etudes & Villa-Lobos Prelude #4.

5. Repertoire – Etudes & Pieces:

If I don’t have as much time, I do a short warm up perhaps with Giuliani, or scales, then work on a specific item like an etude I’m learning or a new piece. Then I try to cover the other sections later on in the day.If time allows, during the week, I try to play a couple  of pieces in my repertoire each day at the end of a practice session.

On the weekends, I do an extended session focused on my repertoire . During these sessions I play them using sheet music to insure accuracy, then from memory to keep them performance ready.

All this is not as rigid as it sounds, if I have an hour or more to spare, I divide the time up and practice items from each of the sections above.

For me I find it important to follow the gradual pattern from warm up, to focused scales & mechanics and ending up in the more free form and complex process of playing etudes & pieces. I think this results in better playing and gives me a chance to warm up and work up to the musical expression of playing pieces and etudes.

I would be interested in your comments and to hear what works for you.

Ivan

Posted in Classical Guitar | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

The pursuit of Healthy Living

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 3, 2010

At the age of 48, having tried many things in life, and like most of us, always trying to be healthier etc… I finally saw the light and chaged the way I eat and cook.

In a relatively short span of time (4 months) I have lost 42 pounds, I am no longer considered a diabetic (I had type 2 diabetes) and just as important I have come to love both eating and cooking my favorite foods from scratch.

Ironically, I find it cheaper, and more enjoyable to cook 99% of the foods that I eat (all from scratch). I have learned to make all kinds of food from breads, to pastas, baked goods and exotic dishes like Stuffed Grape Leaves, Egg Rolls, Tabouli, and other foods from around the world.

I started with Weight Watchers and It’s a great program. While I highly recommend WW, and still use their points system, my interest in health morphed into a passion for cooking and eating not unlike my passion for Classical Guitar.

In the near future I plan to blog about my findings about health issues, exercise, cooking equipment and techniques. So I hope you join me as I chronicle my adventures in Healthy Living.

Ah but before I go, here are a few pictures to whet your appetite ;)

These pictures are from one of the first dinner parties that I hosted about 2 months ago. All dishes were done from scratch.

Home made breads:

Ah home made breads... ummm, they smell and taste so good!

Pork a la Milanese:

Ah, Breaded Pork Chops, tenderized and breaded with Panko bread crumbs and spices.

The full spread: – Other dishes included fresh salad (with about 10 ingredients), pasta, spinach casserole, and butternut squash soup

The Full Spread!

With all this food, I feel like I’m cheating the system… here I am loosing weight and getting healthier by the day. And it’s all as a result of eating great delicious food, with more taste, quality and variety then ever before… go figure!

Posted in Healthy Living | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Delcamp.us a great place to visit

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 3, 2010

As you can see, my blog is just starting out so there is very little content yet.

However, in the meantime If you are interested in Classical Guitar, I suggest that you visit delcamp.us which is the largest forum on the internet dedicated to the mastery of Classical Guitar.

It’s a truly Global community, with members from around the world.  I have been a member for about 2 years, and have gotten a lot of information and help, and have made many great friends.

So, stop by and visit delcamp.us when you get a chance, and join if you are into Classical Guitar (CG) whether you play, or just like to listen to it.

Posted in Classical Guitar | Leave a Comment »

My Journey

Posted by Ivan Olarte on March 3, 2010

Hi, Welcome to my space on the web.

After many years of wanting to be a writer of sorts, I decided to look into the available options on the net, and started this site to write down my thoughts and document some of the highlights in my personal journey through life.

I have setup some pages to focus on some of my favorite passions in life including Classical Guitar, and healthy cooking and eating.

I hope you enjoy some of what I have to say, and that you visit when you get a chance.

I look forward to your comments.

Warm Regards,
Ivan Olarte

Ivan Olarte at 14

Me at 14

Posted in Personal | 6 Comments »

 
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