Music School

Strolling the neighborhood around Berklee College of Music at Boylston Street and Mass. Ave. this week, Rick Peckham pointed out where the instrument sales and repair shops used to be: LaSalle Music Inc., E.U. Wurlitzer Music & Sound, and Jack's Drum Shop. Cambridge Music Center and Boston Guitar Works also had locations nearby. "The people that worked in those were not just salesmen, they were musicians who were involved in getting the lore across in a different way, a different way than it was at the music school, that's for sure," said Peckham, assistant chair of the guitar department at Berklee,...

CHICAGO — Grammy Award-winning polka great Eddie Blazonczyk, who began playing the lively music in the 1950s and went on to earn the nickname ‘‘Polka King" after starting his own band and label, has died. He was 70. His record label, Bel-Aire Recordings, and his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr., said Tuesday that Mr. Blazonczyk died of natural causes Monday at a hospital in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. Mr. Blazonczyk retired in 2001 after suffering a stroke, and his son took over his band, Eddie ­Blazonczyk and the Versatones.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy Award-winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. The city's Berklee College of Music also has honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, an alumnus. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

‘How far would you go for someone you love?" Liam Deval asks Gavin Sasaki toward the end of this intricately plotted novel. But what he means is: How vile a crime would you be willing to commit? This constitutes one of the central questions of "The Lola Quartet," Emily St. John Mandel's new novel that blends elements of mystery with character studies of a group of young adults in Florida prematurely filled with dark disappointment about their lives. The overlapping complications of this story are manifold.

CAMBRIDGE - Big plans are afoot at a small music school. In June, the Longy School of Music officially merged with Bard College. Over the last year, merger news competed with headlines generated by the school's battle with its own faculty members that had been laid off as part of a pre-merger restructuring. As that conflict seems to be receding, Longy and Bard have grown more public in discussing their new relationship. As a kind of symbolic opening to the new chapter, the school's annual fall concert series, SeptemberFest, began on Friday night with Karen Zorn...

Grammy Award-winning polka great Eddie Blazonczyk, who began playing the lively music in the 1950s and went on to earn the nickname "Polka King" after starting his own band and label, has died. He was 70. His record label, Bel-Aire Recordings, and his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr., said Tuesday that Blazonczyk died of natural causes Monday at a hospital in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. Blazonczyk retired in 2001 after suffering a stroke, and his son took over his band, Eddie Blazonczyk and the Versatones.

‘How far would you go for someone you love?" Liam Deval asks Gavin Sasaki toward the end of this intricately plotted novel. But what he means is: How vile a crime would you be willing to commit? This constitutes one of the central questions of "The Lola Quartet," Emily St. John Mandel's new novel that blends elements of mystery with character studies of a group of young adults in Florida prematurely filled with dark disappointment about their lives. The overlapping complications of this story are manifold.

It has been an eventful few months for cellist Matt Haimovitz. He began the year touring with pianist Christopher O'Riley in support of the duo's recent CD, "Shuffle.Play.Listen," whose tracklist ranges from Janacek and Stravinsky to arrangements of Blonde Redhead and Cocteau Twins. In March he gave the world premiere of Philip Glass's Second Cello Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. When not on the road, he's usually occupied with teaching students at McGill University in Montreal, where he is a professor in the music school.

The faculty of Brookline Music School will present a concert exploring expression in music on May 21 with pieces by J.S. Bach, Messiaen, Schubert, John Cage, and Gabriel Faure. Pianist Valerie Ross will be joined by violinist Aubrey Burdick and tenor Joshua Pelkey in a recital called "Music of Joy, Sorrow and Stillness," starting at 7 p.m. at the music school, 25 Kennard Road. All ages are welcome, admission is free, and a reception will follow. Andreae Downs

From 9 in the morning until 9 at night, the activity never stops at the South Shore Conservatory in Hingham. Preschoolers run into the building in the early morning. Kindergarten classes run until 2:15. There is yoga for kindergarteners, followed by semiprivate recorder lessons, then Music Together classes for toddlers, a drumming and singing group, and Suzuki method music lessons. And that's just for the students younger than 9. The number of classes reflects the growing enrollment, which increased 23 percent in the last three years to 2,700 students at the Hingham and Duxbury campuses, the...

Grammy Award-winning polka great Eddie Blazonczyk, who began playing the lively music in the 1950s and went on to earn the nickname "Polka King" after starting his own band and label, has died. He was 70. His record label, Bel-Aire Recordings, and his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr., said Tuesday that Blazonczyk died of natural causes Monday at a hospital in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. Blazonczyk retired in 2001 after suffering a stroke, and his son took over his band, Eddie Blazonczyk and the Versatones.

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world has awarded honorary degrees to the Eagles and Grammy Award-winning country singer Alison Krauss at a ceremony in Boston. The city's Berklee College of Music also has honored influential Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, an alumnus. The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday. Students paid tribute to the artists with a concert featuring their music. More than 900 students from 58 countries graduated from Berklee this year.

It has been an eventful few months for cellist Matt Haimovitz. He began the year touring with pianist Christopher O'Riley in support of the duo's recent CD, "Shuffle.Play.Listen," whose tracklist ranges from Janacek and Stravinsky to arrangements of Blonde Redhead and Cocteau Twins. In March he gave the world premiere of Philip Glass's Second Cello Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. When not on the road, he's usually occupied with teaching students at McGill University in Montreal, where he is a professor in the music school.

The faculty of Brookline Music School will present a concert exploring expression in music on May 21 with pieces by J.S. Bach, Messiaen, Schubert, John Cage, and Gabriel Faure. Pianist Valerie Ross will be joined by violinist Aubrey Burdick and tenor Joshua Pelkey in a recital called "Music of Joy, Sorrow and Stillness," starting at 7 p.m. at the music school, 25 Kennard Road. All ages are welcome, admission is free, and a reception will follow. Andreae Downs

You can't always get what you want, as the fella once said in the song. It's a rock 'n' roll sentiment that Amy Douglas, the brash powerhouse singer, found out on an unexpected detour toward becoming a widely in-demand voice in the electronic dance music world. Aside from her work with producer Rob Phillips in the local duo SPF5000, including tracks like the sexy disco throwback "White Hot Fantasy" and the similarly steamy "Doorknocker," just out this month on New York City's Nurvous Records, the Somerville resident and New York City native has been popping up all over the dance map. She's worked...

The nation's oldest independent music school says the director and condutor of its Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is leaving. The New England Conservatory on Thursday announced Benjamin Zander's departure effective immediately. President Tony Woodcock won't say what triggered the exit from the Boston-based conservatory, which was founded in 1867 and has hundreds of students. Zander also is a Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor. He hasn't responded to messages seeking comment left at his home and with his assistants.

MONROE, Ga. - Fred Mills, a Grammy nominee who made numerous records as a trumpeter with the Canadian Brass quintet and performed with several orchestras, was killed Monday night in a car crash in Georgia, said officials at the University of Georgia. He was 74. Mr. Mills was a professor at the university, joining it in 1996. Besides teaching trumpet, he coached a graduate brass quintet, The Bulldog Brass Society. A native of Canada and graduate of the Juilliard School of music in New York, Mr. Mills performed across the globe, from Sweden’s Brass Nova to Orquesta...

The nation's oldest independent music school says the director and condutor of its Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is leaving. The New England Conservatory on Thursday announced Benjamin Zander's departure effective immediately. President Tony Woodcock won't say what triggered the exit from the Boston-based conservatory, which was founded in 1867 and has hundreds of students. Zander also is a Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor. He hasn't responded to messages seeking comment left at his home and with his assistants.

It took some coaxing before Shea Rose was ready to let her "little warrior" come out for the world to see. Anyone who saw the Braintree-born singer's bold performance at the Boston Music Awards in November, where she picked up the trophy for R&B/soul/urban contemporary artist of the year, probably wouldn't have guessed as much. That night she lit up the room with a striking combination of raw energy and polished musicianship, leading her band as they fearlessly bounded through the myriad of hip-hop, rock, and funk influences that colored her 2011 mix tape "Little Warrior.

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com) In the 6-year-olds class, Micaiah Brown wrote on a whiteboard as Rahmani Malabre, Zachery Darden, and instructor Brian Washington looked on. By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent A new school in Hyde Park is teaching music to dozens of children from throughout the area and preparing to expand in the new year. Husband-and-wife team Brian and Jayme Washington, both 31 and Berklee College of Music alumni, opened the Boston branch of Music Schools International at One Westinghouse Plaza less than four months ago,...