Evelina De Lain in concert with Katya Lazareva (viola) on 28th of October in Central London.

Dear Friends !

It is my pleasure to invite you to my concert
at 7pm (doors: 6.30) on 28th of October in Central London at Schott Recital Room,
48, Great Marlborough street, W1F 7BB.

I will be playing some famous classical
compositions and performing my new album "12 Colourful Preludes" with an amazing
viola player Katya Lazareva (Minsk).
The venue is very modern and intimate at
the same time and I hope we will have a lovely time together.

Please bring your friends and partners with you or pass the
flyer along to people who love classical and contemporary classical music.

The tickets are £10 but there's also
a £5 option for those of you who are low on the cash flow at the moment. :)
You
can get the tickets here: http://evelina1.eventbrite.com/
or
here: 020 7534 0710. http://www.schott-music.co.uk/shopnav/events/

Please, RSVP to me directly as well if
you can, so that I know how many people are coming because I'm planning to organise
some drinks. :)

I'm looking
forward to seeing you there and to celebrate my new beginnings with you.

Best wishes, Evelina.

Saturday 28nd October 2011, 7.00pm

Evelina De Lain -piano
"When my fingers touch the keys", - says pianist Evelina De Lain,
- "I speak my true language." 

The inspired jazz-classical
fusion artist makes her first appearance at the Schott Recital Room tonight, complementing
a number of jazz and contemporary events we have hosted in recent months. Her
performances combine interpretations of composers such as Satie and Debussy with
her own improvisations in a  contemporary jazz-classical style suggestive
of boundless space and reminiscence. Her album "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair.
Continued..." came out (on disc and download) earlier this year as her international
profile continues to rise.
Tonight she includes works by Beethoven, Prokofiev
and Sakamoto and, in the second half, launches her new cycle "12 Colourful Preludes".
She also introduces her special guest violist Katya Lazareva - a student of Yuri
Bashmet from Minsk, Belarus - in new duet-interpretations of some of her already-known
pieces.

Evelina will be here again on 24th November with renown saxophone player Tony Kofi.
Tickets - £10
(£5 concessions)
More information:www.evelinadelain.com

Things that make my life as a musician easier. No 3.

Tool no3. Sibelius.

"Lets take what we feel and write it all down."

  Yellowcard. 

SIBELIUS WEBSITE!

I feel that since I got Sibelius and started creating sheet music - my understanding of myself and my writing process grew considerably.
It's one thing to listen to your own music, but it's completely another thing - to see it coming alive on the screen in front of you, and then on paper.
It's a been a little longer than a year since I started using Sibelius and now it's irreplaceable.

It's completely intuitive, very convenient in every way and it helps me to constantly develop my writing.

I usually record all my new compositions in midi, then I open this midi in Sibelius and edit it untill it looks like something you can play. :)

So far I've created 2 music books and numerous single compositions sheets.
But I'm looking forward to doing more.


I'm telling you, there's nothing like holding your own book in your hands. :)







And this is all possible thanks to Sibelius.

There's a concept called Dreyfus model of skille acquisition (click here to find out more).
And, in my opinion, when you write music intuitively - you are on a "Proficient" level.
But notating your music helps you rise to an "Expert" level.
You suddenly realise your patterns, your style, your favourite chords etc.
Listening to it and seeing it - are completely different things.

Since I started notating my music - I became much more in control of my writing and I can always rely on the inspiration to come when I need it, as opposed to being a "slave of the inspiration".

http://www.sibelius.com/home/index_flash.html

Things that make my life as a musician easier. No 2.

Tool no2. Midi. 

“Better to be a geek than an idiot.”
  Anonymous.

STEINBERG WEBSITE. CUBASE 6.

I don't know if I could really be a composer before the invention of midi.

Imagining Mozart composing in his head and then recording 70 orchestra parts on paper by hand with the candlelight - it's just scary.

Since I'm a pianist first and composer second - I write all of my music in improvisational way.

I usually get into "the right state of mind" and then I just play it all the way through.

And then I don't remember a thing about it!

So, I can't be any happier about the possibility to record all the music that comes to me - straight to midi.

In a strange way - sometimes that 1st take is the best one - and some of those first takes end up on a record.

I use Cubase for my recording, but people keep pressuring me to turn to Logic. 

But the thought of learning a new program is too much. :)

So I'm sticking with my "old friend" for now. :)

One of the biggest break-troughs in my composition - was an advice that I record absolutely everything that comes into my head into Cubase.  (It was quite a few years back).

Then I would listen to everything that came to me - and pick out the "worthy parts".

Eventually I trained myself (with the help of some psychological techniques) to figure out exactly when the good composition is "coming", so I switch my midi and my keyboard on - and I'm 100% sure that I'm gonna just write something "complete" (usually, no afterthought or editing necessary).

I call it "Improvisational Composition".

 http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/cubase/cubase6_start.html

Things that make my life as a musician easier. No 1.

This post opens up a series of tiny accounts of the things I use in every day life that help me to be a composer and a performer.
It's gonna be about tools and gadgets mainly.  Some of them are pretty basic, but I'm gonna mention them anyway.

 Tool no1. Digital keyboard. 

“Pianos are such noble instruments – they’re either upright or grand.” 

Author Unknown 

YAMAHA. P-SERIES KEYBOARDS.

Well, my piano is neither upright, nor grand, yet, I would still call it "noble". :)
There's only one digital piano I've owned in my life - it's Yamaha P-90.
I bought it in 2004 - and since then it's travelled with me through many cities and countries and it's never let me down.
I know Yamaha doesn't produce it anymore and probably they moved on to something more advanced, but I still can't part with my P-90.
My entire debut album  - "THE GIRL WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR, CONTINUED..."  was written and recorded on my Yamaha P-90.
I liked its sound better than any sampled pianos I've ever encountered.

It's great for practicing - you can turn the volume up and down or use your headphones and you don't bug your neighbours. Also, you obviously can use it as a midi keyboard.
And the touch is almost like a real piano, so it's great for practicing your recitals.

Of course, ideally I'd like to own a Yamaha grand, but I'm still waiting for an offer. :)
I really like Yamaha. It's pure quality.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/digitalpianos/p_series/?mode=series