Thursday, March 21, 2013

Aubrie Dionne Author of Playing the Maestro Talks About Music

State of the Orchestra in Today’s World

One of the reasons why I decided to write Playing the Maestro was to bring attention to classical music. Sure, there’s smooching, romance, adventure, and wickedly evil deceit, but underlying all of the personal dramas is the story of a struggling orchestra and what it has to do to survive in today’s modern world.

With American Idol, sold out rock concerts, and Lady Gaga’s theatrics, classical music can seem very stuffy and boring. Less and less people go to orchestra concerts, and I consider classical music a dying art form. The NH Symphony- the first orchestra I soloed in front of in high school, went out of business years ago, and orchestras all over the country are struggling- the same struggles you’ll read about in Playing the Maestro.

The sad part is, classical music improves test scores, it makes kids smarter. It teaches them discipline, perseverance, and how to use their hands to do something other than play video games and text. It is totally worth it and essential to a well-rounded society. Besides that, it’s part of the classics like Pride and Prejudice in literature, and part of history. It shouldn’t die along with the white wigs and tights.

The main hero in the story, Wolfgang Braun, makes it his life mission to replace every video game controller with an instrument. We need more of these heroes today.

What do you think about the decline of classical music in today’s society? Do you think it should be saved? She’ll have to play her boss to come out on a high note…

Playing the Maestro ~ Maestro Series Book One

Melody Mires has sworn off dating musicians, but when the sexy European conductor Wolf Braun takes over her struggling symphony, her hesitation almost flies out the window with the notes of her flute—until he opens his mouth. Wolf is arrogant, haughty, and seems to have a personal vendetta against Melody. Oh, and he’s her boss. If she wants to keep her job as principal flutist, she’ll have to impress Wolf while simultaneously keeping her undeniable attraction to herself.

Wolf came to America to get as far away from his past as possible, and to recover some of the swagger he had as one of the world’s best maestros. He never imagined being forced to reassess the entire orchestra’s talent—and potentially fire anyone who doesn’t make his cut. Dating the attractive flutist is out of the question, but as their feelings reach a fever pitch, can they risk both their careers for a chance at love?

About the Author:

Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation--favorite character was Data by far--and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "a concert flutist" when she grew up. She majored in flute performance at the University of New Hampshire on a full scholarship, then secured two teaching jobs at a University and a local community music school. While playing in orchestras and teaching, stories popped into her head, and she used them to make the music come alive for her flute students. Her students said they were so good, she had to write them down! Maybe they were right, who knows? Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.

She is represented by Dawn Dowdle and writes sweet and adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary romance.

www.authoraubrie.net

http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

@authoraubrie

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057.Aubrie_Dionne

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4 comments:

Aubrie said...

Thank you for having me on your blog!

Catherine Stine said...

Save classical music, yes! I love it. And I just went to a Carnegie Hall concert. It revives me and inspires me.

Angela Brown said...

It is quite sad to consider that classical music is something of a dying art form. It is beautiful and one of the things that attracted me, as a parent, to kid shows like Little Einsteins when my daughter was a toddler. What could be done to give classical music something of a revival?

Talli Roland said...

Congrats to Aubrie on her book - it sounds wonderful. I'm a huge fan of classical music.