If you teach your children music appreciation and/or if you enjoy classical music, I have an album you may enjoy. Joshua Bell has been in the music industry since he was 14 years old (!). 20 years and 30 albums later, he is still producing top quality classical violin music for us to enjoy and now I get to give away one of his albums!
The children we are educating need new classical influences like Joshua Bell, in my opinion, to broaden their minds in music appreciation. We do not need to think that the best classical music has already been played. Why can't it continue to be created? Mr. Bell is relevant to the younger generation as he is the first musician to have a classical music video played on VH1 and he has appeared on Sesame Street. He has also been crowned with "Classical Artist of the Year" and "Classical CD of the Year" by Billboard Magazine.
I agreed to review Joshua Bell's latest album because I am familiar with his fine work. Although I'm pretty sure I'd like any of his albums, I was particularly intrigued by this album, At Home with Friends, because in this one, Joshua has friends join him in performing. You see, in Manhattan, where he lives, Mr. Bell hosts gatherings of friends who come, perform, sing, or play with him. This album captures those moments in the following songs:
- I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I'll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals
As part of our education, we have enjoyed this album, particularly while the students work on their copywork or writing, or during poetry reading. Who will be considered the classical musicians in the future? Maybe Joshua Bell?
I invite you to find out what you think of Joshua Bell's latest album, At Home with Friends. One of you will receive the new CD in the mail (free, yes!).
If you want to be entered, just say you want one in the comments below (I hope you win!).
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Bonus Entries for…
- Tweeting this giveaway
- Facebooking this giveaway
- Publishing about this giveaway somewhere (email, newsletter, blogging, on your site, etc.)
Just let me know you what you did (winning entry will be verified).
You may enter up to 4 times (one time per entry method, eg. 1. commenting, 2. facebooking, 3., tweeting., 4. blogging/etc.)!
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Deadline: Friday, October 23rd
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UPDATED Monday, October 26th
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Timestamp: 2009-10-26 19:55:06 UTC




Lisa said…
Just saying I want one! LOVE violins.
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There are a lot of Mr. Bell’s friends that our family knows and loves on that listing, especially his “New Grass” buds Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile. And I think it was Joshua Bell who took part in the experiment where he played as a busker in a big city subway station to see who’d even stop and pay attention. Our girls found that amazing to watch, since they can’t walk by ANYONE who is making music.
There are a great number of musical offerings aimed specifically at kids, and some of them are quite fine. Others seem to vastly underestimate childrens’ ability to enjoy anything beyond “The Wheels on the Bus”. We’ve had great good fortune with playing music not aimed specifically at kids, and seeing what our girls enjoy out of it. (Medeski, Martin, and Wood among them. Who knew?) We’ve ended up having some great family discussions about music and the arts in general as a result.
We’d love to have the CD. Thanks for making it available.
I’d like one. 🙂
Gerky
http://homefrontlines.blogspot.com
I want one.
We would love to have one of these CD’s. My daughter longs to learn violin and would love listening to it. My son on the other hand loves classical and instrumental music and would love to have this to listen to in the car.
I want one.
We would love one! Thank you for making this available. Our son calls the classical music station “his” music (as he conducts in the back seat), so I know he’d love this!
I would definitely like a cd! I love classical music, and so do my kids.
I shared on my facebook page, not sure how to show you as my profile is private.
I would like one too! Sounds wonderful!
Candace
We would love this CD in our house. It sounds like so much fun. Thank you for the offer.
Just say you want one, and we would love to have one! My daughter plays the cello, clarinet and is currently learning the oboe. She has been interested in playing the violin since she was 5! She loves classical music!
This year, we are doing a composer study, so we’ve been listening to more classical music. To my surprise and pleasure, it turns out the my daughter really enjoys classical music. We would love to win this cd. Thank you!
We would love to have a copy of this CD!
I advertised for your giveaway here. Thanks again for the giveaway!
I’d love to have one. Description sounds great.
Would sure enjoy having one!
I would LOVE this CD!
I would love this CD for track 1 alone!! I would like to have a copy of this!
That's fine, Meghan! If this is the winning entry, I'd just verify it was done.
We’d love one! Big fans of Joshua Bell.
I facebooked this!
Blogged it here! http://praiseworthythings.blogspot.com/2009/10/joshua-bell-cd-giveaway.html
I want one.
We’d love to have one too 😉
I would LOVE to win this! Thanks!
We would love this. Thanks.
I want one! I love Joshua Bell!
Sounds great! Count me in.
Bre loves this man and his musical talent we are on his fan page website. He came to Mobile last year.
Would love one!!
I definitely want one! Thank you so much!
I want one.
Count me in 🙂 I love Joshua Bell’s music! I just twittered, Facebooked and blogged this one for you 🙂
I’d love one too. I’m a violinist too so it would be an awesome treat!
Blogged it!
Facebooked it!
Tweeted this!
Would love to have it!!
I want one! My daughter and I love the violin. Thank you.
Just saying I want one! LOVE violins.
Would love to have one!
I want one!
I want one and I hope I win! In my book Not So Fast, I wrote about Joshua Bell and the “experiment” conducted by The Washington Post newspaper when they had him play at a DC Metro stop. I used it as a way to talk about how, in our fast-paced world, we pass right by beauty when it is right in our path every single day. The vast majority walked right past Joshua Bell while he played at that Metro stop, not realizing they were being offered a world-class concert for free.
I would love to win a copy of this album because I would love to have that beauty wafting in the air at our home, as well.
Plus…with Sting on the album, too? That just makes me happy. And I haven’t even heard it yet!
Just tweeted it!
Oooooo, me too! Thanks!
I want one! 🙂
(Monday, October 26th)…You won, Lisa!