November 3 - Getting Down

Greetings in hope, World Music!

Feel free to listen to / watch the video playlist below to fulfill the c. 300-500 word Notes requirement -- or, as a second option, you can research the content of the playlists on Wikipedia, YouTube, etc., and provide your own interpretation of the material!

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2. Hovhaness to Berio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3QopGwr80g&list=PLtV-SdP8TZcci9Ll1MgpdChLtcPoTQIvf

re latter option (and you can mix-n-max), including...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indeterminacy_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conlon_Nancarrow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_Piazzolla

The constinuent parts o' videos...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2a. Hovhaness to Cage)
Alan Hovhaness, Robert Johnson, Jan Koetsier, Gian Carlo Menotti, John Cage
https://youtu.be/t3QopGwr80g

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2b. Cage)
John Cage
https://youtu.be/MN-QNdc5Ut4

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2c. Cage to Britten)
John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow, Benjamin Britten
https://youtu.be/lkSFYugn0Xw

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2d. Britten to Bernstein)
Benjamin Britten, Witold Lutoslawski, Willie Dixon, Carlos Surinach, Alberto Ginastera,
Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Leonard Bernstein
https://youtu.be/xPlLr--bQl0

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2e. Bernstein to Arnold)
Leonard Bernstein, George Rochberg, Bobby Troup, Alexander Courage, Malcolm Arnold
https://youtu.be/2acYaT_6dBM

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (2f. Piazzolla to Berio)
Astor Piazzolla, Nelson Riddle, Elmer Bernstein, Neal Hefti, Iannis Xenakis, Gyorgy Ligeti
Paul Desmond, Maurice Jarre, Henry Mancini, Leonard Rosenman, Luciano Berio
https://youtu.be/IXtPQAa-PGk

***

[John Cage, overjoyed about being featured on Quiz 11 (Music c. 1940-1960) -- take-home worksheet, due back as an attached pdf or jpg to mus21stc@gmail.com, by 6pm, Friday,  November 5... which is, of course, also turn-in time for Notes (c. 300-500 words) on Lecture-Playlist or Wikipedia / YouTube original in-your-own-words research]


Write your own 4-Note Passage (Prime), followed by its Retrograde (Backwards), 
Inversion (Upside-Down), and Retrograd-Inversion (Backwards Upside-Down)

Example:

Prime: DEAG
Retrograde: GADE (the above backwards)
Inversion: DCGA (start with first note of Prime,
                                    inverting intervals... D to E is a 2nd up, in Prime
                                                               so, D to C is a 2nd down, in Inversion, etc.
Retrograde-Inversion: AGCD (backwards of the Inversion)
     

Instrumentation of Three Styles of Jazz (Oldest to Most Recent - c. 1920 - 1950)

             Dixieland                             Swing                          Bebop
             (New-Orleans Style)            (Big Band)                  (Bop)

[Horns]  [1-2] Clarinet(s)                  [4-5] Saxophones        Saxophone
              [1-2] Trumpet(s)                  [4-5] Trumpets           Trumpet
               Trombone                           [4-5] Trombones         Trombone

Rhythm  Banjo                                  Guitar                          Guitar
               Piano                                   Piano                          Piano
               Bass [Tuba]                         Bass                            Bass
               Drums                                  Drums                        Drums



Listening


Virginia (Joe Garland, 1903-1977) - In the Mood (1938, Eastern America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPXwkWVEIIw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Garland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Mood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_band

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Miller_Orchestra


Armenia / Georgia (Aram Khachaturian, 1903-1978) - Gayane (1942): Sabre Dance (Western Asia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL357YnFr2DIp_roU8aoVc71B8t5oOJNKW&v=mUQHGpxrz-8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_Khachaturian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayane_(ballet)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_Dance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Armenia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Georgia_(country)


Hungary (Miklos Rozsa, 1907-1995) - Ben Hur (1959): Rowing of the Galley Slaves (Eastern Europe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYrmcQoovmI
(with condensed Score and Film!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikl%C3%B3s_R%C3%B3zsa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur_(1959_film)#Musical_score

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_score


California (John Cage, 1912-1992) - Sonatas and Interludes (1948): Sonata V (Western America)
https://youtu.be/MN-QNdc5Ut4
(@ 6:47, with Score!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonatas_and_Interludes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepared_piano


Argentina (Alberto Ginastera, 1916-1983) - Harp Concerto, Op. 25 (1956):
I. Allegro guisto (Southern America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3CJk32SOMU
(with Score!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Ginastera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp_Concerto_(Ginastera)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Argentina


Ghana / Nigeria (1920) - Highlife Music (Nyakrom Brass Band, 1974) /
Highlife Improvisation  (1972, Western Africa)
https://youtu.be/kstBJ2_fQ24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJJMdihXbZw
(Live Performance, 2010!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Ghana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife

November 2 - Limits of Perception

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1. Copland to Hovhaness)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcbm9QvOGO0&list=PLtV-SdP8TZccLCMecbIxT385TP9N3Fcb2

For Music Appreciation, live or online, consisting of...

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1a. Copland to Partch)
Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill, Louis Armstrong, Jester Hairston, Frederick Loewe, Harry Partch
https://youtu.be/Bcbm9QvOGO0

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1b. Partch to Khachaturian)
Harry Partch, Joaquin Rodrigo, Richard Rodgers, Meredith Willson, Aram Khachaturian
https://youtu.be/HPC4-yh8cc4

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1c. Khachaturian to Shostakovich)
Aram Khachaturian, Luigi Dallapiccola, Joe Garland, Dmitri Kabalevsky,
Fats Waller, Josephine Baker, Dmitri Shostakovich
https://youtu.be/ro_WW1w_8RQ

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1d. Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich
https://youtu.be/DqA4xS0qabo

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1e. Shostakovich to Messiaen)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Cab Calloway, Miklos Rozsa, Olivier Messiaen
https://youtu.be/W2uYhA7Yv2s
(N.B. Shostakovich Symphony No. 15 blocked!)

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music III (1f. Messiaen to Hovhaness)
Olivier Messiaen, Samuel Barber, T-Bone Walker, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Hovhaness
https://youtu.be/OU15yhAxNEs

Well, we're getting closer!  If you can't make class, your perceptive personal notes (c. 300 - 500 words) by 6pm, Friday, November 5, as attached pdf / jpg to mus21stc@gmail.com...

November 1 - Comrades

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1. Copland to Hovhaness)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcbm9QvOGO0&list=PLtV-SdP8TZccLCMecbIxT385TP9N3Fcb2

In the World Music spirit of John Muir:
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe,"

Some of the links directly below may be of interest re the Playlist...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_theatre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixieland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microtonal_music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stride_(music)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Soviet_Union

... consisting of...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1a. Copland to Partch)
Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill, Louis Armstrong, Jester Hairston, Frederick Loewe, Harry Partch
https://youtu.be/Bcbm9QvOGO0

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1b. Partch to Khachaturian)
Harry Partch, Joaquin Rodrigo, Richard Rodgers, Meredith Willson, Aram Khachaturian
https://youtu.be/HPC4-yh8cc4

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1c. Khachaturian to Shostakovich)
Aram Khachaturian, Luigi Dallapiccola, Joe Garland, Dmitri Kabalevsky,
Fats Waller, Josephine Baker, Dmitri Shostakovich
https://youtu.be/ro_WW1w_8RQ

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1d. Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich
https://youtu.be/DqA4xS0qabo

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1e. Shostakovich to Messiaen)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Cab Calloway, Miklos Rozsa, Olivier Messiaen
https://youtu.be/W2uYhA7Yv2s
(N.B. Shostakovich Symphony No. 15 blocked!)

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1940-1960 (1f. Messiaen to Hovhaness)
Olivier Messiaen, Samuel Barber, T-Bone Walker, Bernard Herrmann, Alan Hovhaness
https://youtu.be/OU15yhAxNEs

Here's to change!  Your perceptive personal notes (c. 300 - 500 words) by 6pm, Friday, November 5, as attached pdf or jpg to mus21stc@gmail.com...

October 28 - Intense

Well Music Appreciation, here's the next Online Lecture (playlist of 6 linked c. 15-minute original videos on YouTube).  If you can't make class, the typical drill: c. 300-500 words of notes -- handwritten or typed -- as pdf or jpg attachment to mus21stc@gmail.com, by 6pm, this Friday, October 29).  Happy pre-Halloween!

Information for Quiz 10 (20th-Century Music II) below second picture -- emailing y'all blank pdf of same, w/ identical due date above.

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2. Berg to Copland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnPrgWFuhqI&list=PLtV-SdP8TZceAgn3oKT-0Z8j18DO8PUBu

Details of the 6 constituent parts below...

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2a. Berg to Prokofiev)
Alban Berg, King Oliver, Ernst Toch, Max Steiner, Jelly Roll Morton, Sergei Prokofiev
https://youtu.be/OnPrgWFuhqI

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2b. Prokofiev to Hindemith)
Sergei Prokofiev, Ferde Grofe, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Paul Hindemith
https://youtu.be/0FV-60cF0VY

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2c. Orff to Gershwin)
Carl Orff, Henry Cowell, Adolph Deutsch, George Gershwin
https://youtu.be/6tyXX4djxC0

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2d. Gershwin to Poulenc)
George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Francis Poulenc
https://youtu.be/IXCxbGZ9jn8

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2e. Poulenc to Copland)
Francis Poulenc, George Antheil, Aaron Copland
https://youtu.be/V6-h5ifvYv8

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (2f. Copland)
Aaron Copland
https://youtu.be/uQkyte7Obeg

***

[Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, concerned about authoritarianism (as we still are, given continued lies on the right), but not Quiz 10 -- 20th-Century Music II... Take-Home Worksheet, actually... emailing you all a blank copy (alternately, you can always make your own hand-written version): due as returned email pdf / jpg attachment by 6pm, Friday, October 29, to mus21stc@gmail.com]

 
C (Lydian) Blues Scale / Four C Chords

Chord Pattern in a Typical 12-Bar Blues


Chord           I
Measure       1    2    3    4

                     IV        I
                     5    6    7   8

                     V   IV   I
                     9   10   11   12



Listening


Sergei Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf

https://www.teachertube.com/video/peter-and-the-wolf-245162
(N.B. this is the Walt Disney version - not quite Prokofiev's original!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofiev

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_the_Wolf


George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2_yRwPPIEc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue

http://imslp.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue_(Gershwin,_George)


Francis Poulenc - Double Piano Concerto: I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V87wGyfUQiQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Poulenc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerto_for_Two_Pianos_and_Orchestra_(Poulenc)

http://imslp.org/wiki/Concerto_for_2_Pianos,_FP_61_(Poulenc,_Francis)


Aaron Copland - Appalachian Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVahuS9hk_s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring


Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5: I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTqsU7tQW48

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_(Shostakovich)


Olivier Messiaen - Turangalila Symphonie: IV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PjyCpRKDrk (@20:36)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivier_Messiaen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turangal%C3%AEla-Symphonie

October 27 - Bluminating

Onward, in hope, World Music!  Here's the next Online Lecture (playlist of 6 linked c. 15-minute original videos on YouTube).  Looking forward to your notes on this one and/or related subjects, as well as re past Tuesday (c. 300-500 words each) -- handwritten or typed -- as pdf or jpg attachment to mus21stc@gmail.com, by 6pm, this Friday, October 29).

Information for Quiz 10 (Music c. 1920-1940) below second picture (Marital Bliss?) -- emailing y'all blank pdf of same, w/ identical due date above.

Also planning on Zoom 10 for all interested parties -- a tenth optional online get-together... 5pm, later today, Wednesday, October 27... sending out Zoom invite via group email approx. 15-30 minutes prior!...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2. Berg to Copland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnPrgWFuhqI&list=PLtV-SdP8TZceAgn3oKT-0Z8j18DO8PUBu

Just about all the featured composers have connections to the following topics
of worldwid import (or previously cited ones), so feel free to make connections and
focus on whatever intrigues!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_score

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassicism#Later_Neoclassicism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_music

Details of the 6 constituent videos below...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2a. Berg to Prokofiev)
Alban Berg, King Oliver, Ernst Toch, Max Steiner, Jelly Roll Morton, Sergei Prokofiev
https://youtu.be/OnPrgWFuhqI

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2b. Prokofiev to Hindemith)
Sergei Prokofiev, Ferde Grofe, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Paul Hindemith
https://youtu.be/0FV-60cF0VY

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2c. Orff to Gershwin)
Carl Orff, Henry Cowell, Adolph Deutsch, George Gershwin
https://youtu.be/6tyXX4djxC0

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2d. Gershwin to Poulenc)
George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Francis Poulenc
https://youtu.be/IXCxbGZ9jn8

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2e. Poulenc to Copland)
Francis Poulenc, George Antheil, Aaron Copland
https://youtu.be/V6-h5ifvYv8

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (2f. Copland)
Aaron Copland
https://youtu.be/uQkyte7Obeg

*** 

[Are we having fun yet?, perhaps its time for Quiz 10 -- Music c. 1920-1940... Take-Home Worksheet, actually... emailing you a blank copy (alternately, you can always make your own hand-written version): due as returned email pdf / jpg attachment by 6pm, Friday, October 29, to mus21stc@gmail.com]

Happy Halloween and beyond!

 
C (Lydian) Blues Scale / Four C Chords

Chord Pattern in a Typical 12-Bar Blues


Chord           I
Measure       1    2    3    4

                     IV        I
                     5    6    7   8

                     V   IV   I
                     9   10   11   12



Listening


Russia (Igor Stravinsky, 1882-1971) - Les Noces (The Wedding), 1923 (Eastern Europe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNBDJNHeZmo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Stravinsky

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_noces


Brazil (Heitor Villa-Lobos, 1887-1959) - Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 (1930):
V. Little Train of the Brazilian Countryman (Southern America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C3elyR43NU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heitor_Villa-Lobos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachianas_Brasileiras

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Brazil


Louisiana (Jelly Roll Morton, 1890-1938) - Dead Man Blues
(1926, Northern America /  Western Africa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXbJSzj27JA
(Original Recording)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSoEHUKr7VU
(Wynton Marsalis Performance)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Morton

http://people.virginia.edu/~skd9r/MUSI212_new/diagrams/dead_man_blues.html
(N.B. re Original Recording)


Indonesia (Bali, Wayan Limbak, 1897-2003) - Ketjak Dance, 1966 (Eastern Asia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qJADwogOUw
(Classic recording)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUdEnGvYFk
(Live)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayan_Limbak

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak


Egypt (Umm Kulthum, 1898-1975)) - Enta Omri (You Are My Life), 1967 (Northern Africa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPGHpBOt5sE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Kulthum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Egypt


District of Columbia (Duke Ellington, 1899-1974) - Bunny Hop Mambo, 1954 (Eastern America)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-53ex_W90A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Ellington

https://www.eclassical.com/the-bunny-hop-mambo.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambo_(dance)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_jazz

October 26 - Illuminating

Ah, Mid-Semester, Music Appreciation!  Hope you are having a great one!  And, ah, yes, for the next video playlist (6 linked c. 15-minute short original movies) presentation on YouTube...

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1. Stravinsky to Berg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Eesd9I2lY&list=PLtV-SdP8TZccIfXPzbcsgLY17VLdXodI2

Particulars as follows...

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1a. Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky
https://youtu.be/15Eesd9I2lY

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1b. Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky
https://youtu.be/u2gCnEkiXW0

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1c. Stravinsky to Varese)
Igor Stravinsky, Josef Matthias Hauer, Edgar Varese
https://youtu.be/J2s4G3vwYVE
(N.B. Stravinsky - The Flood - Blocked)

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1d. Varese / Webern)
Edgar Varese, Anton Webern
https://youtu.be/_CGBiDG9QNY

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1e. Webern / Berg)
Anton Webern, Alban Berg
https://youtu.be/6qx0im5yD3Q

Mark Alburger - 20th-Century Music II (1f. Berg)
Alban Berg
https://youtu.be/5yDZjKVE4sI

If you can't make class today, same deal re lecture notes... 300-500 words, should be at least c. a page, feel free to just listen and watch while jotting down your thoughts... handwritten or typed, emailing attached pdf or jpg of same by 6pm, Friday, October 29, to mus21stc@gmail.com.

Hope to see you soon!  .

October 25 - Everything And

Farewell soon to October, World Music!  And, hello to the next video playlist (6 linked c. 15-minute short original movies) presentation on YouTube...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1. Stravinsky to Berg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Eesd9I2lY&list=PLtV-SdP8TZccIfXPzbcsgLY17VLdXodI2

Feel free to write on part or all of the playlist,
perhaps focussing on aspects connected w/ wirtten links below

Stravinsky and Russian Folk Music
http://www.petruschka-klavierfestival.de/index.asp?level1=5&level2=2&page=0&lang=2&pdt=4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-tone_technique

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_in_Nazi_Germany

Particulars of videos follow...

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1a. Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky
https://youtu.be/15Eesd9I2lY

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1b. Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky
https://youtu.be/u2gCnEkiXW0

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1c. Stravinsky to Varese)
Igor Stravinsky, Josef Matthias Hauer, Edgar Varese
https://youtu.be/J2s4G3vwYVE
(N.B. Stravinsky - The Flood - Blocked)

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1d. Varese / Webern)
Edgar Varese, Anton Webern
https://youtu.be/_CGBiDG9QNY

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1e. Webern / Berg)
Anton Webern, Alban Berg
https://youtu.be/6qx0im5yD3Q

Mark Alburger - Music c. 1920-1940 (1f. Berg)
Alban Berg
https://youtu.be/5yDZjKVE4sI

Same deal re lecture notes... 300-500 words, should be at least c. a page... handwritten or typed, emailing attached pdf or jpg of same by 6pm, Friday, Almost Halloween Eve, October 29, to mus21stc@gmail.com.

It's been great hearing and seeing you!  Planning on a tenth Zoom get-together this Wednesday-- 5pm, sending out email invite c. 15-30 minutes prior...