On Tour with Cirque du Soleil “CRYSTAL” Show

I’m currently on tour as Bandleader, Keyboards and Accordion with the Cirque du Soleil ice skating show “Crystal”. Thrilled to be back to performing and touring after the Covid shut down. The Crystal touring schedule link is posted below if you happen to be in any of the cities that we are performing in.

Cirque du Soleil “CRYSTAL” Touring Schedule:
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/crystal

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89.7 FM Perth, WA Interview Sue Myc and Conrad Askland

Here’s a SoundCloud audio link to an interview I did with 89.7 FM in Perth, Western Australia with Sue Myc. She interviews musicians local to Perth, WA and included me in her lineup on September 13, 2023 a couple days before our show Crystal by Cirque du Soleil opened in Perth at the RAC Arena. I’m the bandleader, accordion and keyboards for the Cirque du Soleil Crystal ice skating show.

And ironically, I met Sue Myc the week before in Perth while attending a live concert of Post Modern Jukebox (and it was an AWESOME concert!)

Adelaide, Australia photos 2023

Adelaide, Australia photos late August 2023. We only did one week of shows in Adelaide Australia which only gave me a couple days to explore the city. It’s a fairly small city compared to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It’s very charming and the highlights for me was the Botannical Gardens, University of Adelaide and the National Gallery of South Australia (NGSA).

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Melbourne, Australia 2023 photos

Of all the cities I’ve been to in Australia, I think Melbourne might be my favorite. Great art scene, gardens and vibrant urban city quarters. I also took a day trip to Phillip Island to watch the daily “Penguin Parade” as the penguins make their way to the shore every night right after sunset.

Some great highlights for me in Melbourne was going to the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) to see the Rembrandt and Bonnard exhibits. Amazing! Also saw two shows. A suspense play called “2:22” (His Majesty’s Theatre) and a new musical comedy called “Bloom” (Melbourne Art Centre).

We performed our Cirque du Soleil CRYSTAL show at the John Cain arena which was a beautiful walk from the hotel through the botannical gardens and war memorial. Melbourne is a stunningly beautiful and vibrant city!

See my photos of Melbourne street art on AC/DC lane here: https://conradaskland.com/blog/ac-dc-lane-street-art-in-melbourne-australia/

And here are photos from Melbourne and Prince Phillip Island (Sony A7iv and Sony GM 35mm lens):

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Sydney, Australia 2023 photos

I didn’t get a lot of photos in Sydney, Australia. My two weeks there with Cirque du Soleil was mainly spent visiting friends on the days off. But a highlight for me was attending the Sydney Opera House for a concert performance of La Gioconda “the world’s leading tenor” Jonas Kaufmann. Brilliant concert!

And don’t tell anyone, but I had my first dinner at a vegetarian restaurant and the food was really good! Normally when I see any word with “-tarian” in it I run. After I ate, it didn’t feel like I had just had dinner. Hmmm… maybe there’s something to all that after all.

So here’s a few photos from my Sydney walks with friends:

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AC/DC Lane street art in Melbourne, Australia

AC/DC Lane in Melbourne, Australia is full of fantastic street art and murals. Here are photos I took on “Acca Dacca” lane and surrounding streets in Melbourne. This was the most fun I’ve had yet doing street art photography. The only other city I’ve been to that even comes close is Hamburg, Germany (which I affectionately call the “Steampunk City”)

Photos taken with a Sony A7 iv camera and Sony GM 35mm lens. Photos taken August 2023

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Brisbane, Australia photos – July 2023

On to Australia with Cirque du Soleil starting with Brisbane as we make our way performing down the East Coast. Highlights for me were visiting the Australia Zoo (the conservation park of the Steve Irwin family), the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Museum of Natural History and of course the wonderful restaurants in Brisbane

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In music, what is Timbre?

Timbre (pronounced “tamber” or “tam-bur”) refers to the unique quality or character of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds with the same pitch and volume. It is also known as tone color or sound color. Timbre is what allows us to distinguish between different musical instruments or voices, even when they are playing or singing the same pitch at the same volume.

Timbre is determined by several factors, including the harmonic content, envelope, and spectral characteristics of a sound. Harmonic content refers to the specific combination and strength of overtones or harmonics present in a sound, which gives it its unique tonal color. Envelope refers to the way in which a sound changes over time, including its attack (how it starts), sustain (how it sustains), and decay (how it ends). Spectral characteristics refer to the overall frequency distribution of a sound, which affects its timbral characteristics.

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