Mary Beth Crain

They're four brassy guys who all play trombone -- and who've set the music world to buzzing. The New York City-based Guidonian Hand trombone collective, consisting of ace musicians Mark Broschinsky, William Lang, James Rogers and Sebastian Vera, is not your average brass quartet. "The sum of these four extraordinary......

When you hear them, it sounds like magic -- the incredible blending of unaccompanied vocal sonorities that have taken three outstanding L.A. area a cappella groups into the championship realm. The Scattertones, UCLA's coed a cappella ensemble; Chapman University's SoundCheck; and USC's premier a cappella group, the SoCal VoCals, are......

When it comes to Philip Glass, the universe is the limit. L'Espace du Temps is a case in point. A trilogy of commissions from the L.A. Philharmonic, the work is a mesmerizing exploration of time, space, movement and sound. This week, Bramwell Tovey conducts the Phil in Music by Glass,......

In the world of American underground experimental sound/noise, Aaron Dilloway and Jason Lescalleet rule. Dilloway, who has been releasing and recording music since the age of 16, is a former guitarist and tape manipulator for the experimental band Wolf Eyes. Lescalleet's aural universe, a mesmerizing sonic domain utilizing post-EAI, tape......

Just how much can you pack in for breakfast? Let's see. If you're being good, a yogurt, a banana and a piece of multigrain bread should do it. But if you're being bad, consider dropping by Vibiana for the L.A. Weekly Pancake Breakfast, a gastronomical extravaganza that includes a sampling......

One of L.A.'s most eagerly awaited summer treats is the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates. IPalpiti means "heartbeat" in Italian, and these amazing, award-winning young soloists from around the world have been described as sharing one heart and soul. The "Musical Peace Corps," as it's known, is not only an......

The great Cole Porter, master of both music and lyrics, once snidely remarked about Rodgers and Hammerstein, "Since when does it take two people to write a song?" Stephen Schwartz might agree -- after all, he's written both the music and lyrics to umpteen Broadway and screen hits. This weekend,......

If you're a fan of 21st-century movie music, you're probably well acquainted with Two Steps From Hell, the brainchild of composers Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, who got together in 2006 to write original music for movie trailers. Their amazing music has enhanced numerous blockbusters (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,......

If you haven't yet experienced L.A. Opera and the Broad Stage's co-production of Lee Holdridge and Richard Sparks' new opera, Dulce Rosa, which premiered May 17, there's still time. This ambitious work takes on a difficult theme: a young woman's quest for revenge against the brutal guerrilla who murdered her......