Weekly CORtado

 After a long day playing with the Muscatine Symphony (we love a dress rehearsal & concert on the same day…), both Martin and I were too exhausted this morning to make our usual breakfast & coffee. We decided to try out a new coffee spot on our way to check on a friend’s cats: Scooter’s Coffee.  Drive thru coffee places always remind me of a chain called Dutch Bros. that we have back home in California. One of my favorite memories from high school was stopping for caramel apple frozen drinks on the way home from community band rehearsals with my friend Michael. My mom was convinced they were the most disgusting drink on the planet, but the laughs shared over them made up for their aggressive sweetness.  Because of this, I will be honest and say that I came into Scooter’s with pretty low expectations. I was expecting something which sacrificed taste for speed & convenience. Low and behold was I surprised. Will this replace my specialty coffee favorites any time...

 Are you even a music student at the University of Iowa if you don't regularly go to the Encounter Cafe? Its location and cinnamon rolls can't be beat. I go here more than my bank account would probably like, but it's more than worth it. I'm sure that everyone reading this blog has already been here many times, so I won't bother with a review of a place we all know & love.  Maybe this post will be the tipping point so we can finally have class at the Annex.... 👀 I figured it would be best to pair a Voxman staple with a brass ensemble classic: music by Giovanni Gabrieli. Gabrieli was one of the leading composers of the Italian Renaissance. His output features both vocal and instrumental works written for the church. His works for multiple antiphonal choirs are some of the earliest works we have today for brass ensemble. They have been transcribed for modern instruments by multiple people and with slightly varying performing forces. Gabrieli works are great for s...

 It finally feels like spring in Iowa! After what has felt like the longest winter, we finally get to ditch our winter coats for some sunshine. My fiancé Martina and I decided to immediately take advantage of the nice weather and enjoy our morning coffee outside. We decided to go to one of our somewhat regular spots: Press Coffee.  Press' specialty is french press coffee, which is typically a home brew specialty. I have yet to have a drink here that I didn't enjoy, so it is definitely at the top of my list for Iowa City coffee recommendations. They have plenty of seating whether you prefer outside on the patio or inside on a funky couch.  This morning's iced latte was much needed after yesterday's Iowa Horn Festival. Overall it was a great day centered all around the horn, and we culminated the day with a massive horn choir performance. I realized I had yet to talk about any horn ensemble works on this blog bigger than a quartet outside of my ABEL Bangers playlist, so I...

In a rare change of scenery, this post's coffee feature is not near Voxman. This weekend I ventured a little farther off campus and checked out the High Ground Cafe. There was plenty of seating for a Sunday morning, and I quickly received my drink. Unfortunately, my cortado was slightly over steamed (the texture was more in line with what I would expect from a cappuccino) so I would like to come back and try out something else from their menu.  This week in class I'm excited to talk about the Sonata for Four Horns by Carlos Chávez. Carlos Chávez was a Mexican conductor and composer of the 20th century (he was born June 13, 1899 in Mexico City and died there on August 2, 1978). He composed a plethora of works, including symphonies, concertos (including a trombone concerto), ballets, and chamber music. His music combines elements of Western Classical and indigenous Mexican music. For example, he uses a lot of melodic and rhythmic patterns from Mexican folk music, alongside the i...

 We've officially reached the point in the semester where the most energy I can muster is to walk across the street and go to Starbucks. I'm sure everyone here already has their opinions of Starbucks already decided, so I'm not going to attempt to sway anyone either direction. As much as I am not the biggest fan, I can't deny the extreme convenience of being able to order from my phone and barely leave the music building.  Like many people my age, Starbucks was my first foray into coffee. My mom & stepdad Greg used to love taking me and my older sister to the beach for day trips. We would leave before the sun rose, and to keep us from being obnoxious the entire drive, we would always start trips with Starbucks. They would order drinks for us kids loaded with espresso and sugar, so we would have a crazy burst of energy, followed swiftly by a crash that would leave us knocked out for hours.  I wanted to contrast a coffee chain that is so ubiquitous with a piece of mus...

 It's only Wednesday, and I already am missing Spring Break...  I was fortunate to spend the first half of my break down in Fayetteville, Arkansas attending the SHE: Festival of Women in Music hosted by the U of A. It was a weekend of presentations and performances celebrating the music of non-male composers & performers, not to mention a lot of good Southern food. I went with fellow University of Iowa doctoral student Sara Remoy who is a proud Arkansas alumna, so I had an expert source to finding the best spots in Fayetteville. My favorite coffee shop we stopped by was the Onyx Coffee Lab.  Onyx was rather busy, but still managed to maintain a quiet enough atmosphere to have a conversation or get some work done on your own. At first sip, it was easy to see why this roaster has won so many awards (one of their former baristas & now wholesale director Lance Hedrick has a great YouTube channel for learning more about coffee brewing & equipment reviews). Their m...