It's always Christmas when Dubway gets to work with the talented Elizabeth Chan! Chris Abel engineered a series of tracking sessions on this year's album from Elizabeth.
Tracking for Vocal Students
Sharon Spinetti brought her vocal students in this weekend to record in our mezzanine studio. Natalie Tenenbaum accompanied the young musicians on the piano, while Spinetti coached them from the control room. The vocal students were excited to experience a professional recording session in which they were the lead artists.
Sharon Spinetti is widely accomplished musician and educator. She is the founder of her own private voice and piano studio in Manhattan as well as the “song-girls” brand: a company dedicated to creating positive, creative outlets for city girls of all ages.
Orchestral Tracking for Film with Adam Wachter
Dubway Engineer Chris Abell had the pleasure of working with composer Adam Wachter this past week. Wachter brought in a ten piece orchestra to track original music for film in the Mezzanine Studio.
Members of the Orchestra
2016 Daytime Emmy Nomination for Michael Rubin
We are proud to announce that our friend Michael Rubin has been nominated for a 2016 Daytime Emmy. Rubin's song "Little Froggie" is nominated for Outstanding Original Song and was featured in the children's show Bubble Guppies. The track features Marco Giovino on percussion, and Mark Deffenbaugh on guitar, lap steel and dobro.
This is Michael Rubin's fourth Emmy nomination. He is honored to be among the nominees for this years ceremony. Congratulations on all your hard work Michael!
Music Tracking with Eliza Carthy
This past week Eliza Carthy came in to record music with Dubway Studios and Engineer Rory Young. Carthy is a popular English folk musician known for singing and playing fiddle during her performances.
Eliza Carthy tracked vocals for a musical setting of Johnathan Swift's 17th century poetry. Swift's works were set to music by Dave Solider, a modern day jack of all trades with a passion for composition. The piece features a quartet of Harp, Viola, Flute, and Voice.
2016 Daytime Emmy Nominations for Peg + Cat
Peg + Cat has been nominated for a 2016 daytime Emmy! The show has been nominated several categories including Outstanding Pre-School Children's Animated Program, Outstanding Music Direction and Composition, and Outstanding Original Song.
Dubway has the opportunity to work PBS Music Supervisor Steven Rebollido, and Music Director J. Walter Hawkes when they come in to record in the Mezzanine for Peg + Cat. Congratulations to our talented friends at PBS!
Music Tracking for Virtual Reality Film
Dubway hosted a music tracking session for a Virtual Reality Film this past week. The 'Pluto Chorale' from 'Seeking Pluto's Frigid Heart' was composed and produced by Graham Robert of the New York Times (who has worked with the Kronos Quartet). The recording session consisted of recording the vocal quartet with both traditional recording methods and the use of a Soundfield Surround Sound microphone.
Mr. Robert's interactive piece of art will feature Virtual Reality audio and video components that incorporates head tracking technology to further immerse the user into the sonic and visual environment that he has created. The Virtual Reality film is to be shown at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival this April.
Rehearsal in the Mezz for Michael ball and Alfie Boe
Michael Ball & Alfie Boe
Renowned UK performers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe were in our Mezzanine studio rehearsing for an upcoming performance. You can find Ball and Boe on many of the marquees for theatrical performance in the West End for the past twenty years.
Music Tracking for Michael Riesman
Michael Riesman in our Mezzanine Studio
Michael Riesman came in to track strings for the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'. Riesman worked with our engineers to capture violin and cello for the original score by Philip Glass, the accomplished American composer.
Michael Riesman is a multi-talented composer and musical director. His collaborative efforts with Philip Glass have made their works a display of aural artistry.
‘The Crucible’ provides excellent social commentary on the modern day ‘witch hunt’. The revival will open on Broadway in April of 2016.
Tracking for Julia Douglass' new Album
Julia Douglas & Rob Moose
Singer-songwriter and producer Julia Douglass was tracking violin arrangements this past week with Violinist Rob Moose for the upcoming title track “The Waitresses Are Real". The track was co-written by Julia Douglass and singer-songwriter Brian Tighe.
Described as Beth Orton meets Kate Bush meets the Beach Boys, “The Waitresses Are Real" features complex, poignant lyrics, and virtuosic singing with a sophisticated, spare chamber pop arrangement. Julia Douglass' new album “The Waitresses Are Real” is slated for release in 2017.
Rob Moose is a prominent multi-instrumentalist in the NYC area. As violinist and guitarist, Moose has toured with Antony & the Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, Glen Hansard, Blake Mills, and Beth Orton.
Julia Douglas graduated from Yale School of Music in 1990, moved to New York City and began writing songs about her experiences. Ever since her first performance Douglas has been a musical force to be reckoned with.
Music Tracking with Flor De Toloache
Flor De Toloache
The creators of the PBS Kids show, Peg + Cat, had an excellent time recording in our Mezzanine Studio this month. Engineer Adrian Thorstensen had the opportunity to speak with the music director for the show J. Walter Hawkes, and record the NYC based mariachi band, Flor De Toloache.
Flor De Toloache was the musical feature on this episode of Peg + Cat. The band is comprised of talented musicians in the NYC area with passion for performance, and Latin culture.
Their debut album, Mariachi Flor De Toloache, reached #2 on the iTunes Latino Charts. The all female group tours regularly, you can see them preform at the Brooklyn Bowl to the 2016 Latin Grammys.
Peg + Cat is a popular children’s television show based on the book “The Chicken Problem”. The show emphasizes math skills for ages 3 to 5 years old and seeks to inspire a child’s natural curiosity.
Adam Pascal in the studio
Broadway star, Adam Pascal (Rent, Aida), was in the studio last week recording vocals as part of an ongoing project with Dan and Laura Curtis, which incorporates several guest singers. Sam Palumbo engineered the session.
Many moons ago, Adam Pascal recorded his band at Dubway, asking the musical querie, "Do you think they have dogs on mars?"
Recording Judy Collins with Ari Hest
Judy Collins, Ari Hest, the band, and Keith Rigling
Judy Collins (Wildflowers, A Little Night Music) was in our mezzanine studio earlier this week recording vocals with Ari Hest for his upcoming album. Alan Silverman produced while Ari Hest was on vocals and acoustic guitar. They brought a band with them, which we also tracked live in the mezz! Members of the band included Zev Katz on bass, Gerry Leonard on guitar, Doug Yowell on drums, Russell Walden on piano, and Robbie Kondor on keys and accordion.
These guys are pros! It's a pleasure seeing their album come together so smoothly. All in all, we recorded basics and vocals for six songs. Keith Rigling engineered.
Remembering Liz Swados
Composer, writer, director, and long-time friend of Dubway, Liz Swados, passed away on Tuesday. Liz was a vibrant presence on the New York music scene, known for creating incredibly smart, unique, and socially conscious musicals. In 1978, her breakout hit "Runaways," a musical revue about runaway teenagers, made the move from the Public Theater's Cabaret to Broadway and earned four Tony nominations.
Liz created and directed a countless number of progressive stage productions for the next several decades. Critics used vocabulary like "song cycles, mosaics, tapestries, and oratorios" to describe her work. In the 1980s she collaborated with cartoonist Garry Trudeau to create two social satires for the theater, "Doonesbury" and "Rap Master Ronnie."
She also wrote three novels, seven books for children, and two memoirs, one of which was translated into the animated film, "My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)," which was broadcast on HBO in July.
Liz recorded a lot at Dubway over the years, and we will continue to be inspired by her creative nature. She was kind, genuine, and brilliant.
Read more about Liz's life and work in this article published in The New York Times.
Recording piano for Simone Dinnerstein
It was a pleasure having the lovely Simone Dinnerstein in the studio last week recording piano for Peg + Cat, the latest hit children's show on PBS KIDS. The American classical pianist began making big waves back in 2007, when she was praised critically and commercially for her self-financed recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations. In its first week of commercial release, the recording was at number one on the Billboard classical music charts.
In 2009 Simone Dinnerstein founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public and hosted by New York City public schools. The series features musicians Dinnerstein has met throughout her career, and raises funds for schools.
In 2010 Dinnerstein signed with Sony Classical, and in January 2011 she released her first album on the label entitled Bach: A Strange Beauty. It was at number one on the Billboard Traditional Classical Charts in its first week of release. Most recently in 2015, Sony released a recording featuring Simone Dinnerstein as soloist, entitled Broadway-Lafayette.
Contemporary mix for Vadim Petrov
Dubway has recently been tasked with doing a contemporary mix of one of renowned composer Vadim Petrov's pieces. He is a pianist and Czech composer of classical and popular music.
Vadim Petrov has composed over 1300 works over the span of his career, concentrating his production mainly in theatre, film, radio, and television music. In the 1960's he founded the People's Conservatory (now Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and College) specializing in dance-music and jazz, and became its first director.
Vadim Petrov and granddaughter Linda Vojtová
Dubway's Eric Namaky and Chris Abell are the producers on the project. In addition, his granddaughter is international supermodel, Linda Vojtová. It's through her inspiration that Petrov is making an effort to put a contemporary spin on his work.
Berkshire Chorus in the mezz
A shot from the 2014 Berkshire Choral Festival in Sheffeild, Massachusetts
Members of the Berkshire Chorus, long-time clients of Dubway, were rehearsing in our mezzanine studio this past week in preparation for the Berkshire Choral Festival next July. Beautiful sounds happened and it's always a joy having them in the studio!
John Luther Adams mixing in the mezz
Grammy-Award and Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Luther Adams was in studio this week with Grammy-nominated engineer, Nathaniel Reichman mixing his newest recording, Ilimaq, in 5.1 surround sound. The new piece was a collaboration between JLA and Wilco drummer and composer Glenn Kotche for Cantaloupe Music.
Bernadette Peters session for "Mozart in the Jungle"
Bernadette Peters was in the studio recently recording a number for "Mozart in the Jungle" with team Warren Odze and Ray Kilday. Chris Camilleri engineered the session.
Jonathan Reid Gealt's "Whatever I Want It To Be"
We've had a busy month with composer Jonathan Reid Gealt working on his fun, new album titled "Whatever I Want It To Be." Produced by James Bilodeau, Matt Hinkley and Jonathan Reid Gealt, the album features jazz, big band, soul, pop, rock and roll, singer-songwriter, and Motown influences.
Everything was tracked here in our mezzanine studio - horns, strings, the band and vocals - by Dubway engineer Chris Abell.
Alysha Umphress and Jane Monheit
Lindsay Mendez
Jonathan Reid Gealt has been joined by a company of Broadway vocalists including Alysha Umphress (American Idiot, On the Town), Jane Monheit (two-time Grammy nominee), Laura Osnes (Carousel, Grease, South Pacific), Alex Brightman (School of Rock), Celisse Henderson (Godspell), Lindsay Mendez (Significant Other, Dogfight, Wicked), Lilli Cooper (Spring Awakening, Wicked), Loren Allred (Season 3 of "The Voice"), Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Les Miserables), and Whitney Bashor (Bridges of Madison County, Beaches).
Natalie Weiss, Luke Edgemon, Loren Allred
Jonathan Reid Gealt will be celebrating the release of "Whatever I Want It To Be" at the Broadway at Birdland concert series on Sunday, November 29 at 6 p.m.