Bücher veröffentlicht von Cultural Conservation

Classical music, jazz, film scores, and the masterpieces of musical theater are in danger of fading into an undeserved oblivion. This crisis extends not only to music, but also to an ignorance of good books, art, theater, and films. Students are emerging from school unfamiliar with our past and unprepared for our future This crisis is exacerbated by our vanishing history, a decline in language, and a pervasive celebrity culture. If this problem is not solved, our nation's cultural and artistic heritage will be irretrievably lost. "Mark! My Words" by Mark Evans is the first book to address the challenge of this crisis. The author, a composer, writer, and broadcaster presents compelling evidence that change and progress are not synonymous and that "new and improved" often means a bigger box and fewer corn flakes .He explains why we have become a nation of hares instead of tortoises. In today's high tech world, students are emerging from school:¿Unfamiliar with any music other than what they've encountered through social media ¿Unable to write, spell, or speak using the English language correctly. ¿As experts on the lives of celebrities, but ignorant of the most basic facts of American history. ¿Spending countless hours texting, tweeting, and downloading on the latest digital devices, but without reading any book that hasn't been assigned to them in years. ¿With a healthy respect for the present, but a complete disdain for the past. In "Mark! My Words" readers will encounter:¿True achievers in the arts who are ignored while we celebrate the accomplishments by geniuses of self-promotion. ¿Teenagers who are mesmerized by pop culture and say they would rather be the assistant to a celebrity than president of a university or a successful business enterprise. ¿Composers of classical music who have turned music into mathematics and have lost their audience as a result, while great composers are dismissed and ridiculed by critics. ¿Promoters of rock, pop, and rap music that have corrupted our musical culture while crying all the way to the bank. ¿Modern artists who promote the credo "Art is what you can get away with." ¿Graduates of prestigious colleges who are who are unfamiliar with the great events of American history, and who can't tell the difference between the words of Thomas Jefferson and those of Karl Marx. ¿Librarians who are busy taking our best books off the shelves of their libraries. ¿Teachers who smile and nod while children make mistakes in reading. ¿Lawyers and government bureaucrats who can't write a simple English sentence ¿English professors who have never read a play by Shakespeare. But "Mark! My Words" isn't just about our cultural problems; it also offers solutions to those problems. You'll meet real heroes in "Mark! My Words" like the inner city teacher who changed the lives of her students by starting her own school. You'll celebrate the achievements of composers, writers, and artists who have stood for integrity in an age of cultural confusion. The solution cannot be found in academia, government, or the entertainment industry. It can be found in our own energy, inspiration, and resolve. This book is dedicated to the proposition that we should pursue "cultural conservation," devoting the same energy to preserving our cultural resources that we devote to preserving our natural resources. "Mark! My Words" details what we can do as a society and what you can do as an individual to embark on an exciting journey of discovery that can truly impact your daily life. If you are a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a student, or someone who cares about music, books, art, language, and our history as a nation, you will want to read this book.

America has a rich musical heritage, but it is in danger of falling into an undeserved oblivion. Classical music, jazz, film scores, and the masterpieces of musical theater are an essential part of our history. "Our Musical Heritage" by Mark Evans explores America's musical past, provides a link to our musical present, and distills the essence of our nation's musical spirit from the music itself. From unsung heroes to the musical giants of the modern age, meet the composers, conductors, performers, and teachers who gave us an incredible legacy. "Our Musical Heritage" guides you on an exciting journey of discovery that can make the world of music a part of your daily life. American concert music has pursued a unique journey. "Our Musical Heritage" introduces a musical Founding Fathers, Francis Hopkinson, the composer who signed the Declaration of Independence, Francis Scott Key who wrote the words to "The Star Spangled Banner." and John Philip Sousa, the March King. We meet Lowell Mason, the father of music education in the United States and the important composers and conductors who devoted their lives to pursuing a truly American style of music, from "Yankee Doodle" to Carnegie Hall, we must rediscover our musical history. Jazz has been called America's classical music. From the early days of pioneering African American musicians in New Orleans through the masters of stride piano in Harlem, from the swing era of big bands through the age of bebop, jazz evolved as a unique art form. Jazz is defined by two elements, improvisation (simultaneous composition and performance) and swing. The finest jazz musicians created a legacy that has traveled around the world. American musical theater was born of Viennese operetta, British music halls, immigrants from Ireland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Russia, the sounds of jazz from New Orleans to Chicago, the folk-songs of African Americans, and even the Italian operatic tradition. From this musical melting pot, a remarkable group of composers, lyricists and playwrights fashioned a musical genre and a Great American Songbook quite unique with skill, technique, imagination, and a touch of magic. Music in the movies comes from the pens of the talented composers who have written the scores that give life, energy, and emotion to motion pictures, which have captivated audiences around the world. This book was written to introduce your children or grandchildren to our musical heritage. They may not discover it on their own; it will be their loss, but also ours. Whether you are an experienced musical traveler or a first-time explorer, this book may inspire you to take many more musical journeys every day.