Ken and Jeannie Veltz are driving to an open-mike night in Old Town Alexandria. A guitar rides in the back seat; the trunk is filled with sound and music equipment. The duo are scheduled to perform at Iota in a few days. Playing live will limber them up and get them ready for the paying gigs. Unlike most of the musicians on the D.C. open-mike circuit, Ken and Jeannie are grandparents. Also separating them from the usual six-string strummers: They nearly made it big. As the band Cecilia , the Veltzes were signed to Atlantic Records in 2001. And it wasn’t just the two of them; it was the entire family: son Drew on lead guitar, daughters Laura and Allison singing, Dad on rhythm guitar and percussion, Mom completing the three-part harmonies and shaking the tambourine. Yes, just like the Partridge Family, only real and with better music. Read full article > >

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Couple hit the road to follow their dream of a music career

“Music for a while / Shall all your cares beguile,” as English poet John Dryden put it, but who shall beguile the cares of the musicians? Shortly after the Scottish tenor Paul Agnew had sung Henry Purcell’s setting of that text, in a beguiling concert at La Maison Francaise on Monday night, the harpsichordist accompanying him, Beatrice Martin, felt faint and asked her colleagues to pause the concert in the middle of a dance from Purcell’s G Minor Suite. Read full article > >

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Music review: Les Arts Florissants

Norwegian pop band a-ha will reunite to perform at a memorial ceremony in Oslo for the victims of the 22 July attacks, the musicians say.

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A-ha reunite for Norway memorial

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has had an uneven crop of guest conductors over the past several seasons, some distinctly second-rate. But Saturday at the Music Center at Strathmore, Carlos Kalmar, an Uruguayan who leads the Oregon Symphony and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, pushed and challenged the orchestra to some of the best playing I’ve heard from it. His vehicle was the rarely heard Symphony No. 1 by William Walton, a virtuoso work that few American ensembles know well; certainly the BSO players were pushed to the brink, the weaker ones falling by the wayside in spots. But Kalmar had the piece thoroughly in hand, and despite the undersize string section the BSO is fielding these days and the orchestra’s lack of familiarity with the piece, he crafted an impressive performance overall. Other conductors might have more expressive batons, but Kalmar’s rhythm comes from his whole body, imparting confidence to the musicians. Aside from a few bobbled wind and brass entrances, the orchestra played with remarkable accuracy and power. Read full article > >

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Baltimore Symphony gives first-rate performance under Carlos Kalmar

Few church choirs can realistically claim to have the best singers inside the Beltway. Bethesda United Methodist Church may, however, have the most ambitious. Sunday evening, the church’s 38 choristers took on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Requiem,” a major work for orchestra, soloists and a highly trained, sizable choir. Under the direction of David A. Fanning, his musicians not only emerged largely unscathed but also turned in some very creditable moments.

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Bethesda United Methodist Church choir shines in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Requiem’

After the Grammys received the most viewers in a decade, it’s no surprise that many of the musicians who graced the stage as performers and winners at Sunday’s Grammy Awards will soon be heading down south for the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts…

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Eminem and Arcade Fire Lead Bonnaroo Lineup

At this fantasy camp, casual drummers and guitar players get a chance to jam with the musicians from their record collections.

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Rock Stars for a Night, and for a Price

High-tech boomboxes, a turntable and a classic watch—all limited editions up for auction just in time for the holidays by Vic Reznik Of the series of limited-edition collaborative products that we introduced this season, a few are so rare that we couldn’t even offer them for sale. Instead, we present them here for your bidding pleasure. From the shores of Lake Neuchatel to the Cool Hunting pop up shop at 680 Fifth Avenue, the Marvin Toujours Malton 160s was only produced in an edition of eight. The Malton 160, handcrafted for Cool Hunting, celebrates the reintroduction of Marvin to the U.S. market after a hiatus that started over a decade ago, and one of them is now available through the eBay auction. Proceeds will benefit Animal Haven Shelter , a New York City nonprofit dedicated to finding a loving home for abandoned cats and dogs. The auction is going on now, so hurry before this limited edition becomes unavailable! Our other auction items involve a product that you can’t get your hands on until later in 2011. TDK’s new produce range, called Life On Record, includes a three-speaker boombox with a 6-inch subwoofer as well as two 6-inch coaxial drivers that can deliver a robust range of sounds. In addition the line includes a two-speaker boombox with an integrated equalizer and shoulder strap for those warmer picnic-ready days. TDK further realizes their vision of bringing old-school chic into 2011 with the limited-edition turntable they’re pre-releasing through the auction. The new-age music-players will be available next year, but through our charity auction benefiting Musicians On Call, you can be the first kid on the block paying homage to Radio Raheem with editions customized in green leather by leather maestro Mathieu Brown .

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CH Editions Auctions

A 19-year-old has helped form the new National Youth Orchestra of Iraq, bringing together musicians from all over the country. Hugh Sykes reports.

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Music bringing young Iraqis together