Random Monday: Thanks, El Sistema America and PSO Musicians Reach Out

• Kudos and thanks
  This new site and its open access allows visitors to browse previously posted articles – occasionally mistakes and oversights may be noticed.

  Thanks to Jonathan West for pointing out a few errors in my transposition chart. Since this chart is one of the most popular pages it is important for it to be correct! He also adds a nice tabulation of transpositions from the major Romantic composers.

  Thanks too to the many private emailers that have sent their comments and suggestions. Your feedback is important to us!

• El Sistema comes to America
  The New England Conservatory has launched El Sistema America:

  The Abreu Fellows Program provides tuition-free instruction and a living stipend for young postgraduate musicians who seek to develop El Sistema programs in the U.S. and beyond, according to the organization. The fellows range in age from 22 to 44 and are graduates of university or conservatory music programs.

• An extreme example
  An article here on embouchure focal dystonia has gotten a steady stream of traffic. What was once considered as something “in your head,” now has confirmation from the medical community as a neuro-muscular disorder that causes muscles in the body to contract or spasm.

  A recent news video illustrates the debilitating physical and spiritual effects of full blown dystonia. The featured woman asserts that her condition was a side effect from a flu shot may. The video nonetheless illustrates her heartbreaking case.

• Maximus Musicus
  In a cute illustration, a little mouse gets doused by a thoughtless horn player.

• Phoenix Symphony musicians launch web site
  The PSO musicians have launched their own musician’s web site. Interestingly, it includes a PDF of a National Labor Relations Board notice that must be posted in the workplace. The notice is part of a legal settlement where musicians where allegedly singled out for speaking up.

  In the desert, it’s a “dry heat” indeed.