Berko’s December Update!

By Alex Berko
December 14, 2023

It’s probably the Midwesterner in me, but I love talking to people. I think that everyone has something to say and a lot of people have great stories to tell.

Work-In-Progress: Guitar Sounds

By Tanner Porter
December 11, 2023

Here in the LOCC, we’re already preparing for our Creators Corps concerts in May 2024,  which will feature premieres of new works by this year’s cohort. Ahead of the May concerts, the LO has offered us three days of “reading” rehearsals, which will take place in January. 

Nkeiru’s November Blog Entry

By Nkeiru Okoye
November 30, 2023

This month’s blog is dedicated to a person who made a recent concert, especially memorable.

He was tall. Standing a couple of feet away, he met my eyes, even with my 6-foot frame in three-inch heels. His silver-gray suit accentuated his hair and commanding presence. Now in his late 60s or early 70s, he’d been handsome in his prime.

Berko’s November Update!

By Alex Berko
November 16, 2023

It is somehow November already! Wild how quickly things have gone and how I’ve settled into a routine with writing, researching for upcoming projects, and taking walks in Cherokee Park and Olmstead Conservancy with my wife and dog. As we roll into the holidays, we’re nearing closer to the due date for an upcoming piece I am writing for the orchestra’s tour in February. Lately, when I’ve started a new project, I’ll make a playlist on Spotify to build a sort of “sonic landscape” that inspires me. My favorite part of this process is discovering and collecting new sounds and artists.

Daffodils and Garden Beds

By Tanner Porter
November 13, 2023
One of the amazing aspects of getting to be a Creator in Residence with the Louisville Orchestra Creators Corps is that the LO provides the composers with housing for the year, so that we can live full-time in Louisville during our residency. Having rented small city apartments most of my adult life, I was absolutely thrilled when I moved to Louisville and saw that the residence I’d be living in had a yard, complete with garden beds in the back. I decided to plant Hyacinth, Crocus, and Daffodil bulbs. The thing I find loveliest about this is that the flowers will come back next year, after my residency is over, and hopefully bloom for whichever Creator is living here at that time.

Berko’s October Update!

By Alex Berko
October 26, 2023 
I have had a wonderful month and a half here in Louisville getting settled into my new home in Shelby Park. We have really hit the ground running here with several orienting and project meetings, recording an upcoming PBS special with Teddy, and having many chances already to see rehearsals and performances by the orchestra. It has been very inspiring to see all the ground-breaking ways this organization operates, especially how they reach so many people who would not normally have access to an orchestra. It has also been exciting to see Chris Thile and Rufus Wainwright, two musicians whom I deeply admire, perform genre-bending sets with the orchestra.

Flea Market Treasures

By Tanner Porter
October 9, 2023

Our first month here in Louisville as a part of the LO (Louisville Orchestra) Creators Corps was a fantastic whirlwind. After arriving in late August, my fellow Creators and I launched wholeheartedly into introductions to both the Orchestra and the city, exploring the many beautiful venues, parks, and eateries that Louisville offers. In those first weeks, one of my favorite experiences was attending the Labor Day Flea at the Kentucky Expo Center. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE flea markets, thrift stores, or garage sales. You never know what you are going to find! And WOW, was that the case at the Kentucky Flea, where I spied a true treasure out of the corner of my eye — a spectacularly large Waterphone.