My Blog inspiration book, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book” reminds us
to “be unique” and unique is just what you get with Black Violin. Classically
trained violist (Wil B) and violinist (Kev Marcus) fuse classical
music with hip hop, pop and rock. They call their new musical genre “Classical Boom”. Their
music is not just about a new sound but as Wil B said during their show, it is about “breaking stereotypes, thinking outside the box and creating your own path.”
Reflection
I have always enjoyed
the symphony and even a little violin/fiddle as in the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” but I never really listened to hip hop. I was curious
how they would put it all together.
Black Violin exploded with energy from the start. I definitely picked out bits and pieces of familiar classical music as they played. Then they mixed in beat boxing rhythms and song hooks by using a DJ and/or a rock beat from a phenomenal drummer. They added the violin and viola to pop
songs from Bruno Mars (Uptown Funk), Ed Sheeran
(The Shape of You) and Marvin Gaye (Let’s get it On).
The audience was often on their feet scything an arm through the air in time with the beat and words. I particularly enjoyed the song “Invisible” from their third released
album Stereotypes, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical
Crossover Chart and # 4 on Billboard R&B Chart (listen here).
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| Encore with students from Hope Academy and Pittsburgh CAPA |
Black Violin’s commitment to music outreach was evident during the encore which was played with students
from Hope Academy and Pittsburgh CAPA. These school kids aging from 7 to 17, sounded terrific and their excitement for playing string instruments was infectious.
These two guys sure created their own enjoyable musical path and by doing so, encourage others to "think outside the box".
(With their
dedication to innovation and creativity this event and more are brought to Pittsburgh
by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust , part
of the 2017-2018 Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series. I definitely will continue to see what new “outside
the box” shows are next at www.trustarts.org.)
Spiritual source
Don’t copy the
behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think. (Romans 12:2)
Other sources
Black Violin http://blackviolin.net/
Stereotypes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYerKidQGcc
Black Violin http://blackviolin.net/
Stereotypes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYerKidQGcc
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