Robinson Music is Central Massachusetts' one-stop music shop carrying a full inventory of new and used instruments to buy or rent. Located in Westborough, we offer on-site lessons, complete instrument repair services, and the region’s largest selection of sheet music!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
"A Far Cry" Chamber Orchestra and David Krakauer, clarinet
"Dreams & Prayers"
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Mechanics Hall - 3:00 PM Performance, Pre-concert Lecture 2:00 PM by Stephen Ledbetter
Tickets: Adult $42, Student $15, Youth $5 - Buy Tickets
Mechanics Hall - 3:00 PM Performance, Pre-concert Lecture 2:00 PM by Stephen Ledbetter
Tickets: Adult $42, Student $15, Youth $5 - Buy Tickets
“A Far Cry sounds poignant, precise, and subtle…the high caliber of musicianship was so constant, and that is something listeners have grown accustomed to at this ensemble’s performances" - The Boston Globe
about the Artists
A Far Cry stands at the forefront of an exciting new generation in classical music. According to the New York Times, the self-conducted orchestra “brims with personality or, better, personalities, many and varied.” A Far Cry was founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians – the Criers – and since the beginning has fostered those personalities, developing an innovative structure of rotating leadership both on stage and behind the scenes. By expanding the boundaries of orchestral repertoire and experimenting with the ways music is prepared, performed, and experienced, A Far Cry has been embraced throughout the world with more than two hundred performances, three albums, a powerful presence on the internet, and a European debut tour planned for 2012. The Criers are proud to call Boston home, and maintain strong roots in the city rehearsing at their storefront music center in Jamaica Plain and fulfilling the role of Chamber Orchestra in Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Collaborating with local students through an educational partnership with the New England Conservatory, A Far Cry aims to pass on the spirit of collaboratively-empowered music to the next generation.
Known simply as “Krakauer” to his fervent following, David Krakauer is nothing less than an American original who has embarked on a tremendous journey transforming the music of his Eastern European Jewish heritage into something uniquely contemporary. That journey has lead Krakauer to an astounding diversity of projects and collaborations ranging from solo appearances with orchestras to major festival concerts with his own improvisation based bands.
He has shared the stage with a wide array of artists such as the Klezmatics, Fred Wesley, Itzhak Perlman, Socalled, Eiko and Koma, Leonard Slatkin and Iva Bitova while being sought after by such composers as Danny Elfman, Osvaldo Golijov, David Del Tredici, John Zorn, George Tsontakis, Mohammed Fairouz and Wlad Marhulets to interpret their works. In addition, he has performed with renowned string quartets including the Kronos, Tokyo and the Emerson and as soloist with orchestras such as the Orchestre de Lyon, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Madrid, the Phoenix Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Dresdener Philharmonie and the Detroit Symphony, among many others.
Having been showered with accolades for his groundbreaking work in classical, klezmer and jazz, Krakauer now finds himself at an artistic crossroads and is ready to make a daring leap into a new phase in his career. His next project, The Big Picture, may be his most adventurous to date. With an all-star crew of fellow musical renegades, Krakauer is re-imagining familiar themes by such renowned film music composers as John Williams, Marvin Hamlisch, Randy Newman, Wojciech Kilar and Vangelis, as well as interpreting melodic gems by the likes of Sidney Bechet, Sergei Prokofiev, Mel Brooks, Ralph Burns, John Kander & Fred Ebb and Jerry Bock that have appeared in popular films. Having already contributed to films by directors Ang Lee and Sally Potter, Krakauer now takes on the challenge of bringing a modernist vision to tunes that resonate on a deeply emotional level with generations of moviegoers.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Once again the Sunny Side Swing Band will be playing at Tenka Asian Bistro in westborough on Rt9. Sept 28th from 9pm-11PM
On Rt 9 in Westborough MA. Below is a little bit about SSSB. Please go check them out.
Sunnyside Swing Band is: Bob Mooney, guitar; JoAnn Martone-Pipes, percussion; Brian Shaw, bass: and Randy Scaletta, guitar and vocals. Bob, JoAnn and Randy started the group in 2010 and Brian joined them in 2011. Veteran musicians who have played various styles of music, the group shares a love of jazz, especially swing classics from the Great American Songbook of the 30’s and 40’s. Blending in some Latin instrumentals, a few jazz classics from the modern era and the occasional pop hit, the SSB repertoire has expanded from the swing foundation but not strayed from “good tunes that are easily conveyed through an acoustic light-jazz format”.
Randy:
“I was in Hawaii and the country band I had played with for 30 years had recently disbanded. While I was there, I bought an ukulele to learn and pluck while I sat on the beach and vacationed. I also bought a book of jazz classics and had a great time strumming the uke and singing. After revisiting all these great songs from my days as a clarinetist…Gershwin numbers, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington tunes, etc…. I wondered why I’m not playing these on the guitar. The music is so deep and has so much potential, both emotionally and theoretically. Every time you play a tune the challenge is there to ride the inspiration and use your imagination towards greater musical expression. I came home from Hawaii, bought an archtop guitar and haven’t stopped digging into the rich catalog of music from the period before rock and roll took over the world. I’m happy to have partners in SSB that share my enthusiasm.”
SSB has been performing in a variety of venues, such as restaurants, bookstores, and private concerts and functions.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
WHY MUSIC EDUCATIONROCKS!
Do you have a budding pianist? A drummer wannabe? A future flutist? Playing a musical instrument is very beneficial to children. So, why should yours learn to play?
They say that music is the universal language. Regardless of where you are from or what your background, a good melody is something that everyone can enjoy and understand. There must be something behind that, right?
For children, music provides many, many benefits. Experts agree, there are lots of good things about letting your child learn to play an instrument. Here are 10 reasons why your child should put down the remote and pick up a musical instrument.
1. IT WILL BOOST THEIR BRAIN POWER
Want to give your child a mental advantage? Music can do that. "More and more studies show a correlation between higher academic achievement with children who are exposed to music," says children's music specialist Meredith LeVande of MonkeyMonkeyMusic.com. "Music simply stimulates parts of the brain that are related to reading, math, and emotional development."2. IT WILL IMPROVE THEIR MEMORY
Where did that shoe go? That's a question asked far too many times in far too many households with kids. Help your kids remember more (and learn more!) with music. "Further research has shown that participation in music at an early age can help improve a child's learning ability and memory by stimulating different patterns of brain development," says Maestro Eduardo Marturet, a conductor, composer and musical director for the Miami Symphony Orchestra.3. IT HELPS THEM SOCIALLY
Picking up an instrument can also help your child break out of their social shell too, experts say. "Socially, children who become involved in a musical group or ensemble learn important life skills, such as how to relate to others, how to work as a team and appreciate the rewards that come from working together, and the development of leadership skills and discipline," says Marturet, who also oversees the MISO Young Artist program in South Florida, which allows young musicians to hone their musical skills as part of a professional orchestra.4. IT'S A CONFIDENCE BUILDER
Are there any areas of life that aren't enhanced by having good confidence? Probably not. And if you want your child to develop their confidence, learning to play a musical instrument can help."They find that they can develop a skill by themselves, that they can get better and better," says Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen, a music teacher and performer.
5. IT TEACHES PATIENCE
We live in a world of instant gratification, but real life demands having patience. When you are playing in a band or orchestra (and most musicians do), you have to be willing to wait your turn to play otherwise the sound is a mess. That inadvertently teaches patience. "You need to work together in a group to make music," says Dotson-Westphalen.6. IT CAN HELP THEM CONNECT
Who doesn't sometimes feel a little disconnected from their lives? Music can be a much-needed connection for kids (and adults too!). "It can satisfy the need to unwind from the worries of life, but unlike the other things people often use for this purpose, such as excessive eating, drinking, or TV or aimless web browsing, it makes people more alive and connected with one another," says Michael Jolkovski, a psychologist who specializes in musicians.7. IT'S CONSTANT LEARNING
In some pursuits, you can never truly learn everything there is to know. Music is like that. "It is inexhaustible -- there is always more to learn," says Jolkovski.8. IT'S A GREAT FORM OF EXPRESSION
People pay a lot of lip-service to expressing yourself. But how can kids really do that? One great way is through the arts -- like music. "It gives pleasure and expresses nuances of emotional life for which there are no words," says Jolkovski.9. IT TEACHES DISCIPLINE
There's this old joke that begins "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer? "Practice, practice, practice." To improve in music, you have to not only do well in classes, but devote time to practicing outside of the lessons too. That requires discipline. "Exposing kids to musical instruments is the key. They are naturally curious and excited about them -- and the discipline that parents AND kids learn by sticking with it is a lesson in itself," says Mira Stulberg-Halpert of 3D Learner Inc., who works with children who have ADHD.10. IT FOSTERS CREATIVITY
Above all, playing music -- particularly as kids get to more advanced levels in it -- is a creative pursuit. Creatively is good for the mind, body and soul.by Sarah W. Caron
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Many school instrumental music programs remove students from aregular classroom for individual or small-group instrumentalinstruction. Often, this practice causes tension among teachers and administrators. Many of those opposed to pull-out lessons are concerned that students will fall behind in their academic performance by missing classroom instruction time. In the study described below, the test scores of students who leave theirclassroom for thirty-minute string instrument lessons twice each week are compared to the scores of students who remain in the classroom.
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Friday, July 12, 2013
Why Music Makes Our Brain Sing
By ROBERT J. ZATORRE and VALORIE N. SALIMPOOR
Published: June 7, 2013
MUSIC is not tangible. You can’t eat it, drink it or mate with it. It doesn’t protect against the rain, wind or cold. It doesn’t vanquish predators or mend broken bones. And yet humans have always prized music — or well beyond prized, loved it.
In the modern age we spend great sums of money to attend concerts, download music files, play instruments and listen to our favorite artists whether we’re in a subway or salon. But even in Paleolithic times, people invested significant time and effort to create music, as the discovery of flutes carved from animal bones would suggest.
So why does this thingless “thing” — at its core, a mere sequence of sounds — hold such potentially enormous intrinsic value?
The quick and easy explanation is that music brings a unique pleasure to humans. Of course, that still leaves the question of why. But for that, neuroscience is starting to provide some answers.
More than a decade ago, our research team used brain imaging to show that music that people described as highly emotional engaged the reward system deep in their brains — activating subcortical nuclei known to be important in reward, motivation and emotion.Subsequently we found that listening to what might be called “peak emotional moments” in music — that moment when you feel a “chill” of pleasure to a musical passage — causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, an essential signaling molecule in the brain.
When pleasurable music is heard, dopamine is released in the striatum — an ancient part of the brain found in other vertebrates as well — which is known to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli like food and sex and which is artificially targeted by drugs like cocaine and amphetamine.
But what may be most interesting here is when this neurotransmitter is released: not only when the music rises to a peak emotional moment, but also several seconds before, during what we might call the anticipation phase.
The idea that reward is partly related to anticipation (or the prediction of a desired outcome) has a long history in neuroscience. Making good predictions about the outcome of one’s actions would seem to be essential in the context of survival, after all. And dopamine neurons, both in humans and other animals, play a role in recording which of our predictions turn out to be correct.
To dig deeper into how music engages the brain’s reward system, we designed a study to mimic online music purchasing. Our goal was to determine what goes on in the brain when someone hears a new piece of music and decides he likes it enough to buy it.
We used music-recommendation programs to customize the selections to our listeners’ preferences, which turned out to be indie and electronic music, matching Montreal’s hip music scene. And we found that neural activity within the striatum — the reward-related structure — was directly proportional to the amount of money people were willing to spend.
But more interesting still was the cross talk between this structure and the auditory cortex, which also increased for songs that were ultimately purchased compared with those that were not.
Why the auditory cortex? Some 50 years ago, Wilder Penfield, the famed neurosurgeon and the founder of the Montreal Neurological Institute, reported that when neurosurgical patients received electrical stimulation to the auditory cortex while they were awake, they would sometimes report hearing music. Dr. Penfield’s observations, along with those of many others, suggest that musical information is likely to be represented in these brain regions.
The auditory cortex is also active when we imagine a tune: think of the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony — your cortex is abuzz! This ability allows us not only to experience music even when it’s physically absent, but also to invent new compositions and to reimagine how a piece might sound with a different tempo or instrumentation.
We also know that these areas of the brain encode the abstract relationships between sounds — for instance, the particular sound pattern that makes a major chord major, regardless of the key or instrument. Other studies show distinctive neural responses from similar regions when there is an unexpected break in a repetitive pattern of sounds, or in a chord progression. This is akin to what happens if you hear someone play a wrong note — easily noticeable even in an unfamiliar piece of music.
These cortical circuits allow us to make predictions about coming events on the basis of past events. They are thought to accumulate musical information over our lifetime, creating templates of the statistical regularities that are present in the music of our culture and enabling us to understand the music we hear in relation to our stored mental representations of the music we’ve heard.
So each act of listening to music may be thought of as both recapitulating the past and predicting the future. When we listen to music, these brain networks actively create expectations based on our stored knowledge.
Composers and performers intuitively understand this: they manipulate these prediction mechanisms to give us what we want — or to surprise us, perhaps even with something better.
In the cross talk between our cortical systems, which analyze patterns and yield expectations, and our ancient reward and motivational systems, may lie the answer to the question: does a particular piece of music move us?
When that answer is yes, there is little — in those moments of listening, at least — that we value more.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
4th of July store hours
We will be closed July 4th-7th. We will reopen Monday July 8th with normal business hours. Have a great weekend everyone!!
If anyone is down the cape My band milk street station will be playing @ bourne scenic park at the rotary.
http://www.bournescenicpark.com/entertainment_schedule
If anyone is down the cape My band milk street station will be playing @ bourne scenic park at the rotary.
http://www.bournescenicpark.com/entertainment_schedule
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Just wanted to let you all know of a great group called the Sunny Side Swing band. They will be playing at
Tenka Asian Bistro june 29th from 9pm-11PM On Rt 9 in Westborough MA. Below is a little bit about them. Please go check them out.
Sunnyside Swing Band is: Bob Mooney, guitar; JoAnn
Martone-Pipes, percussion; Brian Shaw, bass: and Randy Scaletta, guitar and
vocals. Bob, JoAnn and Randy started the group in 2010 and Brian joined
them in 2011. Veteran musicians who have played various styles of music,
the group shares a love of jazz, especially swing classics from the Great
American Songbook of the 30’s and 40’s. Blending in some Latin
instrumentals, a few jazz classics from the modern era and the occasional pop
hit, the SSB repertoire has expanded from the swing foundation but not strayed
from “good tunes that are easily conveyed through an acoustic light-jazz
format”.
Randy:
“I was in Hawaii and the country band I had played with for
30 years had recently disbanded. While I was there, I bought an ukulele
to learn and pluck while I sat on the beach and vacationed. I also bought
a book of jazz classics and had a great time strumming the uke and
singing. After revisiting all these great songs from my days as a
clarinetist…Gershwin numbers, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington tunes, etc…. I
wondered why I’m not playing these on the guitar. The music is so deep
and has so much potential, both emotionally and theoretically. Every time
you play a tune the challenge is there to ride the inspiration and use your
imagination towards greater musical expression. I came home from Hawaii,
bought an archtop guitar and haven’t stopped digging into the rich catalog of
music from the period before rock and roll took over the world. I’m happy
to have partners in SSB that share my enthusiasm.”
SSB has been performing in a variety of venues, such as
restaurants, bookstores, and private concerts and functions.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Milk Street Station Band
Just wanted to let everyone know of an event coming up June 28th from 6pm-8PM. It's the annual 4th of July Block party and the Band Milk street Station will be playing on Baystate Common in Westborough MA.
Milk Street Station was formed right at Robinson music, It started with just 4 members and built to a 8 piece group. We play a wide variety of styles with conviction and groove: rock (classic, alternative and modern) blues, Soul, R&B, jazz, and beyond. They have a seasoned lineup with a 3 piece horn section, guitar, keys, bass, drums, and vocalist.
Milk Street Station was formed right at Robinson music, It started with just 4 members and built to a 8 piece group. We play a wide variety of styles with conviction and groove: rock (classic, alternative and modern) blues, Soul, R&B, jazz, and beyond. They have a seasoned lineup with a 3 piece horn section, guitar, keys, bass, drums, and vocalist.
A lot of the musicians are locally based, John Binnici our lead guitar player and Matt Vella trumpet player live right here in Westborough, Gabrellia Wilson vocalist , Spencer MA, Ed Clough Keyboards, Shrewsbury MA, Chris Ryan Trombone, Worcester MA, Chris Haggerty AKA "Haggs" Tenor Sax, Taunton MA, Mike Martone, Bass Norton MA.
Listen to the demo on this site and hear what they are all about. Please check out our website and give a listen to some of our music.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Musical Instrument Fun Day
Just wanted to let everyone know about our excellent event coming up Sunday June 9th from 12pm to 4pm. An unforgettable day for you and your family. We will have all kinds of opportunities to try out various Musical instruments. Please see the link below for more details.
https://www.robinsonmusic.com/t/metrowestmusicalfunday/2
https://www.robinsonmusic.com/t/metrowestmusicalfunday/2
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