Working with Harvard Burma Action Movement

May 26th, 2008

Boston Guitar Project will be working with Harvard Burma Action Movement in the last two concerts of the season to aid Myanmar cyclone victims. A portion of both evening’s proceeds will be donated to disaster relief funds.

I spoke to Ohnmar Khin this morning, president of Harvard BAM. Their own benefit event will take place one June 3 at the Harvard Square T-Stop. Incidentally, that’s right between the last two Boston Guitar Project concerts, May 30 and June 6.

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On June 3rd, 4pm-7pm, the Harvard Burma Action Movement will host an open air concert at the Harvard T-pit stop (Red Line) to raise money for the victims of Burma’s cyclone. Please come to hear local musicians and spoken word artists perform for urgent humanitarian aid to Burma. Burmese food from Yoma Restaurant will be served to raise money for relief efforts. The concert also features speakers and a candlelight vigil for the thousands who have died.

Timing is critical because the aftermath of the Nargis cyclone could kill more than a million people in the next few weeks. The UN estimates that at least 100,000 have already died and 220,000 more are missing. Even before the natural disaster, Burma had the second worst health system in the world and suffered from what UNICEF called, a “silent humanitarian emergency.”

Now in the wake of the cyclone, the desperate cries are louder. Those who have survived lost their houses. Without shelter or a viable source of income, survivors are dying slowly from malnutrition, diarrhea, cholera, and other infectious diseases. Yet in the midst of this immense tragedy, there is hope.

All the money raised will benefit the Burma Relief Network (http://www.burmareliefnetwork.org), a local NGO providing healthcare, safe drinking water, and food to survivors of Burma’s cyclone. Although the military junta has restricted international aid, teams of doctors and local volunteers from the Burma Relief Network are able to reach the hardest hit regions, inaccessible to foreign aid workers.

To learn more about Burma and the urgent aid needed, please visit http://harvardbam.blogspot.com or contact brightprism@gmail.com

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Boston Guitar Project plans concerts for Myanmar Cyclone victims

May 22nd, 2008

Boston Guitar Project will be committing its last two concerts of the season to aid cyclone victims in Myanmar. Belgian guitarist Jérôme Mouffe and the Boston-based flute-guitar duo with Erik Puslys and Ona Jonaitytė will appear at Third Life Studio at 33 Union Square at 8:00 pm on May 30 and June 6, respectively. A portion of both evening’s proceeds will be donated to disaster relief funds.

Director of the Project Steve Lin said, “As I watched the news unfold, I had the same gut feeling as when I watched the Hurricane Katrina coverage three years ago. BGP needed to do something, so I called Mouffe and Puslys, who immediately agreed to lend their talents to the effort.”

“I understand that some may feel indifferent to Myanmar because of the political situation, but I believe this crisis speaks to humans on a much more fundamental level—the need for water, food, shelter, basic medical supplies, etc,” says Scott Borg, assistant director of the Project. “It is tantamount as to what individuals can do through organizations that will be allowed to help.”

Mouffe recently won second prize in the 2007 Boston GuitarFest Competition and will be performing a program of virtuoso Italian compositions. Puslys and Jonaitytė are an established flute-guitar duo and will offer a diverse program of works from the Baroque to 20th century Eastern European.

The Project was founded in 2005 as a way for guitar students at New England Conservatory of Music to make guitar music more relevant to the Greater Boston communities through concerts and outreach. Tickets for both upcoming concerts are available online for $12.00 or at the door on the evening of the concert for $15.00. For more information, please call (617) 628-0916 or visit http://www.linguitar.com/bostonguitarproject.

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California Trip

May 22nd, 2008

I just got back from California! I love San Francisco–I think it may be my favorite place. So far at least. It was a busy week of concerts and tons of outreach with with the South Bay Guitar Society. I owe them a huge thanks for all their hard work and all the coordination with the high schools and board members. I also owe tons to Vince Go who went with me all around the SF and South Bay area, introducing me to new people and getting me to my gigs.

Los Angeles was fine as well — seeing my sister and my mother. I had a small concert and a private concert, both of which went very well. I also caught up with two old friends from my undergrad days. One of them kept reminding me that it’s been seven years since we last saw each other. Hopefully it won’t be another seven before I see them again.

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Interview with 8Asians.com

May 9th, 2008

The Asians in San Francisco found out about my upcoming concert in the Bay Area on Saturday May 10. Jen was very kind to interview me about my work as a guitarist and other ramblings. Check out Part 1 of the interview:
http://www.8asians.com/2008/05/08/interview-with-guitarist-steve-lin-part-i/

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A beautiful CD Review

May 6th, 2008

Wow… I’m very flattered and excited. I just got a wonderful review of my second CD, “Imagen” on Minor7th.com.

Check it out here:
http://www.minor7th.com/shorttakes6_08.html

Here’s the review:

Steve Lin, “Imagen,” 2007 The music of Antonio Lauro and Augustin Barrios Mangore has been an inspiration to countless guitarists since the early decades of the 20th century. Both composers and players - equally powerful in composition and performance — brought the folk dances and melodies of their native lands (Venezuela and Paraguay) to the broader world, interpreted by such masters as John Williams and David Russell, among others. What Bach did for well-structured guitar music through the hands of Andres Segovia, Lauro and Mangore did for the romantic musical ideas of Latin America. Steve Lin, a young guitarist from the Boston areas, has attempted his own versions of some of their works on “Imagen,” picking up part of the title of one of Barrios’ compostions, “Tua Imagen”. With Lauro, Lin brings out the sensitivity of “La Gatica”, the rollicking power of “El Marabino”, and the tempered conflict inherent in “Angostura”. With Barrios, the lovely “Julia Florida” — perhaps Barrios’ best-known work — is given the room it needs in tempo to lull and soothe as a timeless melody. The waltzing ‘tua imagen” dances delicately with great clarity and focus. While Lin may remain a student (working toward his PhD at the New England Conservatory of Music), he does justice to these lovely works. Lin shows equal skill on the closing track of the CD, “Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios”, revealing a fine tremolo while varying dynamics enough to take the listener through Barrios’ own spiritual journey. This is a fine addition to the works of Lauro and Barrios now on the market, from a developing artist. © Kirk Albrecht

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PBS Shows

April 30th, 2008

I’ve been on a PBS thing lately. First I saw “King Corn” (or is it King Korn?) on Sunday, which was very thought-provoking. I’m glad to say, I’ve never developed a habit of drinking sodas and eating mega-chain fast foods. Sodas tended to be too sweet for me, and the the mystery meats between the mystery buns never sat well in my system.

Then I started watching “Carrier” which was incredibly fascinating. After a few episodes you begin to learn about people’s lives, the diversity, the craziness it must be on that “floating high school.” It was like a reality TV show, except… real. I’ve always had a thing for boats, maybe because my grandfather did too. I was on a cargo ship once, something around the 4000 TEU capacity, I think. One can only imagine the kinds of goods that get loaded onto those ships from Asian ports, that find their way into the US a week or two later, that after many more hours by rail and road, finally hit our shelves.

Thinking about that is kinda like tracing corn’s destiny–starting from a plot of land in Iowa, ending up as feed for cattle or as nutrition-less processed food.
Where does music come from?

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Spring is finally here

April 1st, 2008

Today I finally woke from my hibernation and played guitar outside for the first time in ages. And the fact that it’s raining now means that very soon we’ll be seeing leaves on the trees again. I can’t wait to sit outside again. I even feel my moods getting better. Soon the city will be glowing with a different kind of life.

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Performing Lachenmann with the Callithumpian Consort!

March 3rd, 2008

Wednesday, March 5 @ 8 pm
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall
30 Gainsborough Street, Boston MA 02115

On Wednesday evening I’ll have the pleasure of performing with the Callithumpian Consort, directed by the wonderful Stephen Drury. The program will include‘…zwei Gefühle…’, Musik mit Leonardo by Helmut Lachenmann. The composer himself will be present and will also take part in the performance.

Helmut Lachenmann is one of today’s greatest living composers and is this year’s lecturer for Harvard University’s Norton Lecture Series. I have had the honor and privilege of receiving a private coaching from the composer; he has also been attending our recent rehearsals and has brought incredible insight, humor, and beauty to the entire process.

While music exists for the entertainment of many, it also has the power to make one think, and more importantly, to challenge one’s preconceptions. For myself, Lachenmann’s music has certainly done the latter and more. For example, it’s caused me to rethink what “idiomatic guitar composition” means–even with the extended techniques in this composer’s contemporary musical language, I have found that everything Lachenmann has notated to be incredibly guitaristic.

The music was very difficult to learn, and even harder to coordinate with the rest of the ensemble. However, this process has been an incredible learning experience and has been very rewarding.

If you’re free on Wednesday evening, please stop by Jordan Hall for this extremely rare musical opportunity, musical offering, and musical gift.

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Upcoming House Concert!

February 22nd, 2008

http://www.hilltownfamilies.org/

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St. Matthew Passion

February 19th, 2008

I’ve been listening to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion non-stop for the past who knows how many hours. It’s repeating on its third cycle now. This is amazing music… making me forget about the world.

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