Low Cost Music and Opera Performances

If you have a university in your area, most music departments have at least one major musical or opera per year. These events are nominally in cost (usually free or between $5-10). Proceeds typically go towards the cost of the production or music scholarships. You have an opportunity to enjoy a great stage production as well as support the local music department.

Some high schools will also host musicals (especially now that musicals are so popular for the teen group). These are less formal (since everyone's little brothers and sisters will be in the audience). And they are usually low cost.

If having young children is an issue, you might want to contact the music department or even local opera company and ask if there are any educational programs for children (usually these are reduced or free) or if you can attend a rehearsal with the children. Most large scale professional ensembles have an educational program that is open to the public or to children (there might be age limits). These are low cost or free.

The local university may allow you to visit during dress rehearsal (when all the costuming and staging is complete) as long as the children can be relatively quiet. The benefit of attending a rehearsal (besides not taking place at night) is that you can leave whenever you wish, have bathroom breaks, and the children do not have to stay put in one seat the whole time.

You can enjoy amazing musical performances with a little ingenuity and little money.

Comments

New Music Artist Spotlight EXCLUSIVE: Steampunk Musical and Interview With Gretchen Suarez-Peña

New Music Artist Spotlight: Steampunk Musical & Interview With Gretchen Suarez-Peña New Music Resource was excited to interview exciting musical theater playwright and director Gretchen Suarez-Peña about her latest musical theater production: Melina A Steampunk Musical Tragedy. Gretchen Suarez-Peña is a long-time playwright and lover of the theatre. She has been acting, directing, and writing plays since her teenage years. Her most recent success was winning overall best full-length play at the 2018 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival for her show Conversations in the Car. Playwright and Director Gretchen Suarez-Peña NMR: How did you start in musical theatre? What inspired you to follow this path? I've been involved in musical theatre since I was a kid. I loved the theatre, acting, singing, and acting in middle school and high school. I participated in every thespian competition and community theatre production I could at that time and into college and early ...

Percussion 101: How to Play Hand Crash Cymbols

Young Girl Plays Cymbals The hand cymbals (or crash cymbals ) are extremely versatile percussion instruments . The hand cymbals are used in the military, drum and bugle corps , the orchestra, and wind ensembles. Proper percussion hand cymbal technique takes many years of practice and hard work, as well as stamina and upper body strength. The most common use of the hand cymbals is in the drum line, whether in a high school band or a professional drum and bugle corps. Two cymbals are held by straps to the cymbal player's hands. In marching band and drum and bugle corps, the cymbal player often will loop their own hand in the strap, then grab the strap. Protect Your Hands Tape, strap pads, and gloves are often used to protect the cymbal player's hands from blisters and the slow grinding away of skin during a lengthy band show. In the orchestra setting, where the crash cymbal is often reserved for music accents and shorter music passages, the percussion player does...

Machinima Magic using Moviestorm, Final Cut, and Photoshop

For those who have been wondering about the hiatus here at the New Music Resource, wonder no more! The past six months I have been working on a sci-fi machinima musical Libertaria: The Virtual Opera . Created almost entirely in the machinima software platform Moviestorm and scored with a catchy combo of electronic music, film scores, and dramatic vocals, Libertaria has been an incredible collaborative project. Moviestorm has been an excellent and inexpensive way to create an entire epic sci-fi tale for a minimal amount of resources. Almost three years ago I started using Moviestorm for a variety of video projects, and then decided to make an entire feature length musical using only machinima. The project proved challenging, involved a couple of dozen singers, animators, and other artistic professionals volunteering their talent and resources to create an incredible feature. W atch a the lo-res version of the song Pilar of the Underground from Libertaria: The Virtual Opera : ...

Search This Blog