Anne Rhodes

The Prof. Gates incident and the "race card" card

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

What's worse than playing the race card? Playing the race card...card. After Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested last Thursday, I've been reading, against my better judgment, numerous comments that news sites (against their better judgment) allow beneath their articles. Most of these articles contained inconclusive details and demonstrated conflicting accounts between Gates and those of the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley. And many, many of the comments complained of Gates "playing the race card". Accusing minorities of playing the race card, it seems, has become code for, "Can we drop this distasteful subject already?" Many of these comments were accompanied by the assertion that now that we have a black president in the White House, it's time to put the whole "race thing" to rest (or as one commenter so tastefully put it, "that ship has sailed"). It seems that, for some Americans, a black president, rather than representing an historic milestone in an ongoing struggle, means that they are off the hook; no more of this messy white guilt. The new face of racism (not that the old ones have gone away) is an impatient rush towards complacency.

It's impossible to know for sure what motivated Sgt. Crowley to arrest Prof. Gates. Regardless, I think we all need a refresher about what exactly "racial profiling" means. It is unfortunate that the phrase itself has a PC ring to it, allowing cynics to dismiss it as bleeding-heart liberal jargon. Whatever you want to call it, there's a very important element to racial profiling that isn't discussed nearly enough: you don't necessarily know when you're doing it. And once you know what it is, dismissing it as something you would "never" engage in isn't enough. Furthermore, no matter what your race, you probably have done it, and you may be just as likely to do it to people of your race as to another.

In order to illustrate, let me share something embarrassing about myself. This is something I realized a couple of years ago, and admitting it hasn't been enough to make it go away. I'm pretty sensitive to the random harassment -- ranging from ogling to unwelcome advances to shouting and whistling -- women are regularly subject to on the street. When I see a male or group of males on the sidewalk or in a car, I immediately brace myself and assess the likelihood that I'm about to be harassed. What I've realized is that this assessment is made up of age, race, and class identifiers. Middle-aged working class males who are white or Hispanic are always high on the alert meter. Yet I've been wrong and been harassed by crotchety old black men, and by young white guys in business-casual garb. I've been right and been harassed by someone whom I was wary of. The times I wasn't harassed don't really prove anything. And what all that probably proves is that my unconscious system is pretty much useless. In my fear of a victimization, I'm passively victimizing other people. I have not yet succeeded in overcoming this way of thinking. Yet I still try, and, more importantly, I try to acknowledge this sort of pattern of thinking and act independently of it.

My point is that avoiding ones own prejudice takes vigilance; it's a decision we have to make over and over again, sometimes in the face of less-than-ideal circumstances. It takes admitting to yourself that your instincts can be not only wrong, but can go against your own dearly held value system. There is no point at which we can sit back and say with self-satisfaction, "I'm not racist, and neither is anyone else." Those who feel that all this is tiresome and requires too much effort likely do not live every day on the receiving end of racial discrimination (or sexism, or classism, or homophobia). But we all have empathy at our disposal if only we chose to exercise it.

Maybe our society has become post-racial in the sense that most of us don't want to be racist, but that's really only a fraction of the struggle.

One of the best things on the internet

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Chances are, you are already familiar with An Engineers Guide to Cats. Well, those wacky guys at Gutsy Movie Productions have a new video on Advanced Cat Yodeling, which is not to be missed, particularly if your cat, like mine, is "...mellow enough, yet still capable of being annoyed."

Yale says, "Pls send $ kthxbai"

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Dear Yale Health Services,
If you are going to be sending me a bill, kindly let me know what you are charging me for. Failing that, you could give me some clues. If I at least knew some details like date of service, or name of provider, then this little game would seem slightly less one-sided.

A bad time to discover a funny superlative

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Two days ago, there was a horrific murder at Wesleyan, where I went to grad school. It turned out to be the escalation of a long-time stalking. A student was shot, while working at her job in the cafe at the campus bookstore, by a man who had had no connection to Wesleyan or Middletown, and who had been harassing her for at least two years. I can't even begin to fathom the detestation her family, friends, and the witnesses to the shooting must be feeling.

When initial reports came out, I assumed it was either an escalation of tensions between the school and the Middletown community, or an escaped mental patient. Middletown, a town of about 48,000 located on the CT River in central CT, is not the idyllic place that description conjures up; it's rough. I moved there from Boston, where I'd lived for six years. I my four years in Middletown, I witnessed a mugging, robberies, at least one major drug bust, a bunch of kids beating each other with baseball bats, and an absolutely crazy suspected arson. One night I was assumed by men in passing cars to be a prostitute, because of the particular (quiet, residential) street I was walking down, (even though I was wearing a long winter coat, jeans, and clogs). I frequently heard gun shots from my apartment. I still get public safety reports at my Wesleyan email, and incidents in the past year, if memory serves, include an altercation with armed local teenagers at a college party, and the brutal on-campus beating of a male and female college student by some high school students. There is a also a mental hospital in Middletown, and there are a lot of halfway houses around (the mugging I witnessed, from my window in broad daylight, was of a mental patient who lived across the parking lot from me). As for the Wesleyan students and alums I've spoken to who seem unaware of these issues, I can only assume that they just weren't paying attention.

Which brings me to the students. Although I met a lot of great undergrads at Wesleyan (including one who is now my husband), on the whole I and my fellow grad students noticed a marked air of unconscious privileged, and a distinct lack of awareness about the surrounding community (or even the extended campus community...I met upperclassmen who were unaware graduate students existed at Wesleyan, and got a lot of comments like "You don't LOOK 30!" in the same tone that one might say, "You don't SEEM like a Nazi!".)

No doubt this is true, to some extent, of most college student bodies. I know I did my fair share of dicking around drunk in Potsdam, NY, the small North Country town where I spent my freshman and sophomore years of college, and Allston, MA, the Boston neighborhood where I lived during the rest of my college years. But I posit that Wesleyan's combo of wealth and, shall we say, free-spiritedness, combined with Middletown's relatively depressed and crime-ridden situation, make for a unique powder-keg of bad relations. I'm comparing not only to my own undergrad situations at SUNY Potsdam and BU, but also to MIT and Yale, where I've worked for extended periods, and to University of Southern Maine, located in Portland, ME, where I grew up, and at which my father taught and my mom worked.

ANYHOODLE, this has all been a long preamble to the fact that, in the course of the online obsessing about the Wesleyan shooting that I've been engaging in over the past couple of days, I made an interesting discovery. After reading the Gawker's report on the shooting (which, taste-wise, I would rate somewhere between "questionable" and "piss-poor"), I went on to read some other Wesleyan-related posts and found that they rated Wesleyan "Most Annoying Liberal Arts College" a couple of years ago. I find this, and the supporting posts, hilarious and spot-on. For example, they site a course offering in which students study global warming through both "scientific and choreographic" inquiry, as well as an article in the campus newspaper in which radical left students are gently requested not to harass the young Iraq War veterans who will be enrolling.

Had I made this discovery (a) when it was current and (b) when a terrible tragedy had not just hit the campus, I would be disseminating these posts far and wide (probably only to find that everyone else I knew already read them, but whatever). As it is, I'm just musing about the whole thing on this blog that nobody reads. That is all.

Oh yeah. There's also this:

http://cdn.stereogum.com/mp3/Party%20On%20Fountain.mp3

NEW WEBSITE

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Howdy. This is now a general blog, and no longer my music website. You can find my new, less-bloggy music website at annerhodes.net.

Upcoming Performances

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Lots of exciting new music coming up!

Rachel Bernsen's Unicorns were Horses
Draftwork
Saturday, March 7 at 3:00

Rachel Bernsen - choreography, dance
Anne Rhodes - voice
Carl Testa - electronics, electric bass
Lindsay Bauer - dance

Danspace at St. Mark's Church
131 East 10th Street
New York, NY

Carl Testa's Clouds
Educational Center for the Arts: New Music New Sounds III
Thursday, March 19th at 7:00

Anne Rhodes - voice
ECA Student Chamber Orchestra

Arts Hall
Educational Center for the Arts
55 Audubon St
New Haven, CT

Sally Norris's Clara: a music box opera
Saturday, March 28 at 8:00

featuring:
Judith Berkson - Clara, soprano
Anne Rhodes - Logic, soprano
Larissa Mason - Butterfly, soprano
Brittany Fowler - Freya, mezzo-soprano
Carl Testa - bass
Katherine Young - bassoon
Dan Peck - tuba

Memorial Chapel
Wesleyan University
221 High St.
Middletown, CT

Connecticut Opera's season cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Connecticut Opera, with two remaining productions in their three-show season (Daughter of the Regiment, for which I was to sing in the chorus, and an exciting production of La Boheme with a fantastic African-American cast), has become the latest victim of the national economic crisis, and had to close mid-season.

For those of us in the chorus, this is a disappointment, to say the least. For full-time members of the company, the financial and professional loss is immeasurable. So is the loss to the community. The prospect that this could be a permanent closure (nobody can know for sure in times like this) potentially leaves a gaping hole in the Connecticut arts scene that can never be filled. Particularly heart-wrenching is the possibility of saying good-bye to Maestro Willie Anthony Waters, who has been bringing opera to the Bushnell and to the greater Hartford community for over 25 years. Working with Willie, an opera-world badass and a truly kind soul, has been an unequalled privlege.

This is indeed a sad time for the arts.

Update: Not long after this post, CT Opera announced that it has closed for good.

Upcoming Performances

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Here is a list of performances I have coming up this season. Details for individual shows to follow.

"Unicorns were horses"
by dancer/choreographer Rachel Bernson
Rachel Bernson, dance
Carl Testa, electric bass/electronics
Anne Rhodes, Voice
Dixon Place
NYC
January 28 and 29

The Magic Flute
Yale Opera
New Haven, CT
(I'm in the chorus)
Feb. 13, 14, 15

Daughter of the Regiment
Connecticut Opera
Hartford, CT
(I'm in the chorus...and it's small, so you might hear me!)
March 6, 7, 12, 14

"Unicorns were horses"
DanceSpace Project
NYC
March 7

A new opera by Sally Norris
(I'll be singing a major role)
Wesleyan University
March 28

SOLO SHOW Dec. 13 in New Haven

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:13:00 +0000

For this Uncertainty Music Series show, I'll be performing Adam Delacour's "Game-Hate-Box" and Chris McDonald's "Everybody's Autobiography" (featuring wearable electronics!), as well as premiering "Clouds" by Carl Testa. Word is that McDonald also has a new piece in the works for me. Bassist Ivan Naranjo will perform for the first set.

Uncertainty Music Series
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008
8pm
Neverending Books
810 State St. New Haven, CT
$5 suggested donation
BYOB

TONIGHT! Premier of Adam de la Cour's "Game-Hate-Box" at ArLow

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:08:00 +0000

ArLoW One Year Anniversary Concert + Gallery Opening
featuring Welcome + a world premiere of "Game-Hate-Box" performed by vocalist Anne Rhodes
My Name is Gallery will be hosting an art opening upstairs. For more info on the opening, visit http://hellomynameisgallery.com/

Hosted by: Adam Kubota
At: ArLoW (Adam's Apartment/Storefront-thingy/ Den of Iniquity)
838 Whalley Ave., New Haven, CT
When: Saturday, Dec. 7 from 8:05 pm to 11:05 pm
$: Adam will pick your pocket
B: BYO

Classical Recital This Saturday, Aug. 23

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:14:00 +0000

Please join me this Saturday in New Haven for an afternoon of songs and arias. I'll be performing Debussy's Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse, Barber's Hermit Songs, a set of Schubert songs, and arias by Mozart, Gounod, and Menotti.

I've been working really hard on this recital with my fabulous new teacher, Elizabeth Saunders, and my vocal coach, Steven Morris. As some of you know, I've dealt with a lot of technique issues over the years. Well, thanks to these two wonderful mentors, I feel like things are finally getting sorted out, and I'm singing much more joy than I've ever been able to before. I'm very excited about this performance!

Anne Rhodes, soprano
Steven Morris, piano
Saturday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m.
Suggested donation $10
First Presbyterian Church of New Haven
705 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511
(203) 562-5664

Bruxism this Friday, Classical Recital in August

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:27:00 +0000

Carl and I have a show this Friday at the Art League of New Britain, as part of their Hideout Performance Series. We'll be doing some original stuff, as well as pieces by Chris McDonald, Sabrina Schroeder, and Katie Young. This is a great chance to hear C. McD's great piece for wearable electronics and voice, as well as Carl's marvellously ear-splitting bullhorn duet.

Bruxism (Anne Rhodes, voice, and Carl Testa, bass, bass clarinet, and electronics)
Friday, July 18 at 7pm
Suggested donation $5
Art League of New Britain
30 Cedar St.
New Britain, CT 06052
contact@albn.org

As for performing the rest of the summer, I'm largely devoting my efforts to a classical recital, which will include works by Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, Gounod, Barber, and Menotti. I've been working with a wonderful new teacher, Elizabeth Saunders, and am really excited to demonstrate what I've learned from her so far. Joining me for this recital will be Boston-based collaborative pianist Steven Morris. Steven and I haven't had a chance to work together since I moved away from Boston, and I can't wait to perform with him again.

(Please note that this is a SATURDAY AFTERNOON recital.)

Anne Rhodes, soprano
Steven Morris, piano
Saturday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m.
Suggested donation $10
First Presbyterian Church of New Haven
705 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511
(203) 562-5664

We had a great show...

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:41:00 +0000

...last Friday at GASP in Boston! To see some pictures, go to Carl's news page. There was a nice little write-up about the space and the show in the Boston Globe .

More shows to come this summer. I'll post again soon.

Tomorrow: Bruxism at GASP

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:15:00 +0000

BRUXISM:
(ANNE RHODES voice; CARL TESTA double bass/bass clarinet/electronics)
with guest NEIL LEONARD bass clarinet/electronics

ALLAN CHASE /BRUNO RÅBERG DUO
Chase - saxophones, Råberg - double bass

Friday, May 2 @ 8:00
$10 suggested donation, $6 with a student ID
GASP (Gallery Artists Studio Projects)
362-4 Boylston St., Brookline, MA

We'll be doing pieces by Neil Leonard, Chris McDonald, Sabrina Schroeder, and Katie Young, as well as Carl's piece for two bullhorns and my graphic embroidery piece. Should be a good show!

In other news, I'm planning a classical recital for July 26 at First Presbyterian Church in New Haven.

Save the date: May 2, Bruxism in Boston (and a general update)

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Not a lot of shows coming up in the near future, since I've been busy with library school. However, I am planning a classical recital for mid summer and will post when I have a date.

But the next show I have for sure will be with Carl on May 2 at GASP in Brookline, MA. It will be a repeat performance of most of the commissioned pieces I premiered last November, as well as Carl's wicked cool piece for two bullhorns, and possibly a piece of my own. We will be joined by Todd Brunel and Neil Leonard (proprietor of Sonic Arts At GASP) on bass clarinets. Neil is cooking up a piece for 3 bass clarinets and voice, so we are very excited!

BRUXISM WITH NEIL LEONARD AND TODD BRUNEL
ALLAN CHASE/BRUNO RÅBERG DUO
GASP (Gallery Artists Studio Projects)
362-4 Boylston St., Brookline, MA
8 pm

Bruxism and Architeusis Walks on Land TOMORROW

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:51:00 +0000

Bruxism
Anne Rhodes, voice, and Carl Testa, double bass, clarinets, and electronics.
Architeusis Walks on Land
Katie Young, bassoon, and Ami Cimini, violin

Part of the Uncertainty Music Series, curated by Carl Testa

Where: Never Ending Books (810 State St., New Haven, CT)
When: 8:oo p.m.
Cost: $5 suggested donation
uncertaintymusic.info
neverendingbooks.net

BOSTON SHOW POSTPONED

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:28:00 +0000

Sorry for the last-minute notice, but the Boston show of commissioned works, originally set for Dec. 1, has been postponed. I'll post again as soon as the new date has been established.

Solo Show this Saturday, Nov. 10

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:55:00 +0000

Solo Show
Nov. 10, Saturday
Premiering commissioned works for voice by Jessica Pavone, Laura Goldhamer, Sabrina Schoeder, Katie Young, and Chris McDonald.
Special guest Carl Testa, double bass.
Part of the Uncertainty Music Series, curated by Carl Testa.
Where: Never Ending Books (810 State St., New Haven, CT)
When: 8:oo p.m.
Cost: $5 suggested donation
uncertaintymusic.info
neverendingbooks.net

FULL FALL SCHEDULE!

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:24:00 +0000

OK, Looks like my Fall performance schedule is set. I'm still unsure about some details, but dates and locations are all here. I will post individual reminders as things approach.

New Haven Improvisers Collective
Oct. 27, Saturday
Where: Firehouse 12 (45 Crown St., New Haven, CT)
When: 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 gets you in to both sets
nhic-music.org
firehouse12.com

Solo Show
Nov. 10, Saturday
Premiering commissioned works for voice by Jessica Pavone, Laura Goldhamer, Sabrina Schoeder, Katie Young, and Chris McDonald.
Special guest Carl Testa, double bass.
Part of the Uncertainty Music Series, curated by Carl Testa.
Where: Never Ending Books (810 State St., New Haven, CT)
When: 8:oo p.m.
Cost: $5 suggested donation
uncertaintymusic.info
neverendingbooks.net

Young/Cage/Brown
Nov. 13, Tuesday
Ensemble performances, by Wesleyan students and alumni, of John Cage's "Etcetera", Earl Brown's "Available Forms" and a new piece by Katie Young.
Where: Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT - building TBA)
When: TBA
Cost: free

Interval series concert at MATA
Nov. 30, Friday
Chamber music concert commissioned by the MATA foundation for young composers.
Works by Jessica Pavone, Jack Layton and Ray Sweeton.
Carl and I will perform Pavone's new piece, "Look on the floor".
Where: Issue Project Room (232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY)
When: 8:00 p.m.
Cost: tba
jessicapavone.com
matafestival.org
issueprojectroom.org

Solo Show and Neil Leonard
Dec. 1, Saturday
Performing new commissioned works for voice by Jessica Pavone, Laura Goldhamer, Sabrina Schoeder, Katie Young, and Chris McDonald.
Special guest Carl Testa, double bass.
Neil Leonard, saxophone and electronics, also performing
Where: GASP Gallery (362-4 Boylston St., Brookline, MA)
When: 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 suggested donation, $6 with student ID
myspace.com/sonicartsatgasp
gaspsound.blogspot.com

Bruxism
Dec. 8, Saturday
Anne Rhodes, voice, and Carl Testa, double bass, clarinets, and electronics.
Part of the Uncertainty Music Series, curated by Carl Testa
Where: Never Ending Books (810 State St., New Haven, CT)
When: 8:oo p.m.
Cost: $5 suggested donation
uncertaintymusic.info
neverendingbooks.net

Hanging of the Greens church service
Dec. 9, Sunday
Under the direction of organist Ronald Ebrecht, the choir and soloists of the First Church of Waterbury will perform seasonal music as part of this special pre-Christmas service.
Where: First Congregational Church of Waterbury (222 West Main St., Waterbury, CT)
When: 3:00 p.m. (?-will confirm!)
Cost: free
firstchurch-wtby.org

Preliminary Fall Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:08:00 +0000

Looks like it's going to be a tolerably active Fall (so much so that I won't be able to participate in the beloved CT Opera Chorus. I'll miss the music and the people, but not the drive to Hartford.). Here's what's on the docket so far:

NHIC at Firehouse 12
Saturday, Oct. 27
The Hew Haven Improviser's Collective, lead by guitarist Bob Gorry, will perform at New Haven's swankiest music spot. Carl and I will both be participating. Details, including other performers, TBA.

Solo show at Never Ending Books
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8:00
I will perform new works for voice (and) by composers Jessica Pavone, Katie Young, Laura Goldhamer, and Sabrina Schroeder, and will be joined by other musicians still TBD. This performance is part of a tour for which I haven't set the other dates yet.

Bruxism at Never Ending Books
Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8:00
Carl and I will perform a variety of works for voice with bass/bass clarinet/electronics. We also plan to premier a piece Carl is writing for 2 bullhorns. You know you don't want to miss that.

Bruxism in Chicago, August 14th

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:54:00 +0000

Bruxism + Chicago Clarinet Trio

Elastic

Chicago, IL

9pm

Anne Rhodes – voice

Aaron Getsug – woodwinds

Carl Testa – string bass, bass clarinet, and electronics

Bruxism: Friday, July 6

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:02:00 +0000

Bruxism:
Anne Rhodes, voice
Carl Testa, bass, bass Clarinet and electronics

performing new compositions and improvisations

with special guests:
Katie Young, basoon
Bob Gorry, guitar

Never Ending Books
810 State St.
New Haven, CT
$5 suggested donation
BYOB (liquor store next door!)

Anne and Carl (Bruxism) May 31 at Moka

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:39:00 +0000

Carl and I have formed a duo called "Bruxism", performing original compositions (Carl's) and improvisations. Though our official debut is July 6 (see previous post), we will also be playing for an art opening at Moka on Thursday, May 31. The artist is by my friend and coworker, photographer Aubrey Novak.

Photography by Aubrey Novak
Music by Bruxism (Anne Rhodes, voice; Carl Testa, string bass and bass clarinet)
Moka coffee house
141 Orange St.
New Haven, CT
7:00 p.m.

Save the date: July 6

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:07:00 +0000

Rhodes, Testa, Gorry & Young
Never Ending Books
Friday, July 6, 2007 at 8pm
810, New Haven, Connecticut 06511
$5 suggested donation

New compositions and improvisations for voice, bass clarinet, string bass, electronics, guitar, and bassoon.

New Haven Improvisors Collective - May 12

noreply@blogger.com (AnneR) — Mon, 07 May 2007 14:01:00 +0000

This Saturday in New Haven I will be performing with the New Haven Improvisors Collective at Never Ending Books. We'll be doing new pieces and guided improvs contributed by each of the members performing.

NHIC
Saturday, May 12
8pm
Never Ending Books
810 State St.
New Haven , CT 06511
free/donation

Bob Gorry, guitar
Chris Depino, harmonica
Carl Testa, bass and bass clarinet
Jeff Cedrone, guitar
John Venter, baritone sax
Steve Zieminski, drums
Anne Rhodes, voice