Luna Nova  Last week I went to an incredible concert in which a
guest group, Luna Nova performed. Luna Nova is modern ensemble
the was made up with a flautist, celliest, and pianist. All of
the musicians in this ensemble are experienced musicians and
have truly mastered their instruments. They played a wide
variety of works, but the one the caught my attention was a
George Crumb piece called Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale). If
you don’t know who George Crumb is, he is a historical famous
composer, being one of the first to use recordings in live
performance. Although there was no particular recording used in
the performance, the cello was amplified so that the harmonics
of the notes he played could be heard. Many advanced techniques
were used during this song. The song used a prepared piano,
which is when the strings of a piano have been labeled and
objects have been placed on them so the pianist can pluck the
strings witht their hands. The flute player had to sing and play
the flute at the same time, which