As I write this, the Twin Cities are bracing for a major snowstorm which should affect holiday travel in the coming days. We don't know what will happen, but hope that everyone enjoys a relaxing and refreshing break, and more importantly, that they stay SAFE during the storm.
Folks today take food, clothing and warm shelter pretty much for granted. The oncoming storm is a reminder that we shouldn't. So be well, everyone, wherever you are! Those of you who participate in or support GTCYS, bravi tutti and enjoy some quality time off. Oh, and find some good music to enjoy in the coming days! It helps remind us of what's really important in life.
See you in 2010!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
First Fall Happenings
GTCYS had its 38th annual Fall Festival Sunday, November 8, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The crowd was rapt with attention and vigorous in its applause, from Philharmonia, our entry-level strings group, leading the way with a polished performance of “Seashore Festival” by Edmund Siennicki, through Symphony, our premiere ensemble, capping things off with a rousing rendition of Berlioz’s “Roman Carnival.”
We are lucky to have audiences that are not just enthusiastic, but truly interested in the music they’re hearing—they want to share in its expressive depths. Our conductors are dedicated to bringing the most out of the six orchestras, and the students understand that we’re trying to get to the root of the music, so that they can speak as facilely with their instruments as with their tongues. That kind of approach allows everyone in the room, whether playing or listening, to connect, both with a lesser-known work like Del Borgo’s “Aboriginal Rituals,” and with the familiar spookiness of Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” a piece which entertains but also chills with its glimpse at a heart of darkness.
By the way, a week and a half before the concert, the author of these words got married. So it’s been a great fall in the Twin Cities!
We are lucky to have audiences that are not just enthusiastic, but truly interested in the music they’re hearing—they want to share in its expressive depths. Our conductors are dedicated to bringing the most out of the six orchestras, and the students understand that we’re trying to get to the root of the music, so that they can speak as facilely with their instruments as with their tongues. That kind of approach allows everyone in the room, whether playing or listening, to connect, both with a lesser-known work like Del Borgo’s “Aboriginal Rituals,” and with the familiar spookiness of Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” a piece which entertains but also chills with its glimpse at a heart of darkness.
By the way, a week and a half before the concert, the author of these words got married. So it’s been a great fall in the Twin Cities!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Sounds of Summer
Overseeing a youth symphony program means that keeping up with a blog is hard. Wanting to actually write decent entries makes it harder. But it’s been too long, and last Tuesday we had our summer concert—in a beautiful lakeside setting, no less—so it’s time for an update!
While GTCYS’ school-year orchestras, like most similar groups elsewhere, have an audition process, our summer orchestras are open admission. Just fill out a form indicating your musical experience, send in your payment or request financial assistance, and you’re in—simple. While this makes our summer program less intimidating for first-timers, it also means that participants are often kids with less playing experience. And yet, they did an outstanding job at the performance and the audience was very enthusiastic—both for classical repertoire by the likes of Bach and Dvorak, and for light-hearted bluegrass and mariachi numbers. What gives?
I think it goes back to passion. What’s arguably the greatest music education program in the world right now, Venezuela’s El Sistema, has a philosophy of “passion first, precision second.” That doesn’t mean that accurate playing isn’t important. Good rhythm, good intonation, everyone playing at the same time—those are all crucial elements of a successful performance. But they are best utilized when they serve the higher purpose of an exciting, communicative experience. Audiences want to be entertained, they want high energy, and they want to hear a group that holds together not for precision’s sake, but for the wondrous affect that true unity makes. And deep down inside, it’s also what performers want.
It was that kind of thinking that guided a lot of our work this summer. Accuracy, yes—but within the context of “coming out of our expressive shells.” The result was that a non-auditioned, very young crop of players was able to play “outside themselves” and the audience got it. Should we be thinking about this kind of thing more not just with educational, but also professional orchestras?
While GTCYS’ school-year orchestras, like most similar groups elsewhere, have an audition process, our summer orchestras are open admission. Just fill out a form indicating your musical experience, send in your payment or request financial assistance, and you’re in—simple. While this makes our summer program less intimidating for first-timers, it also means that participants are often kids with less playing experience. And yet, they did an outstanding job at the performance and the audience was very enthusiastic—both for classical repertoire by the likes of Bach and Dvorak, and for light-hearted bluegrass and mariachi numbers. What gives?
I think it goes back to passion. What’s arguably the greatest music education program in the world right now, Venezuela’s El Sistema, has a philosophy of “passion first, precision second.” That doesn’t mean that accurate playing isn’t important. Good rhythm, good intonation, everyone playing at the same time—those are all crucial elements of a successful performance. But they are best utilized when they serve the higher purpose of an exciting, communicative experience. Audiences want to be entertained, they want high energy, and they want to hear a group that holds together not for precision’s sake, but for the wondrous affect that true unity makes. And deep down inside, it’s also what performers want.
It was that kind of thinking that guided a lot of our work this summer. Accuracy, yes—but within the context of “coming out of our expressive shells.” The result was that a non-auditioned, very young crop of players was able to play “outside themselves” and the audience got it. Should we be thinking about this kind of thing more not just with educational, but also professional orchestras?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A great event provokes reflection
I know I’ve raised all kinds of issues in recent posts that deserve follow-up, so let me be up-front—I can’t follow up right now. Sorry. There was just an event I was involved with last week which was so wonderful I had to write about it.
The great and warm (snicker, snicker) state of Minnesota in which I reside groups public schools into conferences. The schools within a conference will repeatedly beat each other up on the football field and hockey rink, yet collaborate convivially in matters such as music. The Northwest Suburban Conference—an area near Minneapolis which includes towns with such picturesque names as Coon Rapids, Elk River, Osseo and Maple Grove—just had a music festival highlighted by rehearsals and performances by an honors choir, orchestra and band (I guest-conducted the orchestra) as well as public performances/workshops, called clinics, by 28 ensembles from ten conference high schools (I served as a clinician—kind of a guest teacher—to eight orchestras). Herewith, several observations about the event:
1) Music breaks down barriers. So what if it’s a cliché? It’s true. The students represented different income levels, ethnic groups, personality types, etc. Some probably would be my close friends if I were an awkward, geeky teenager again, others perhaps wouldn’t. It mattered not—our common purpose overrode all differences as we worked towards musical development and an excellent concert.
2) Preparation is key. The kids in the honors orchestra had met over two weekends before I rehearsed with them. Other conductors—teachers from their schools—rehearsed them so that they were well-prepared for our first rehearsal together. Also, all conference logistics had been thought out, down to the smallest detail, and the activities director at the event’s host high school was highly involved (Kelley Scott, you rock!).
3) Administrators, take notice—arts bring out the best in your students! You want to teach them about balancing common purpose with individuality, emotion with reason, intelligence with physicality, exaltation with self-control—what’s comparable to music? These kids worked very hard—basically five hours of nearly non-stop activity on Sunday, and then either rehearsing, hearing or performing music from 8am to 9pm Monday—and they kept on task. Oh, and don’t tell me it’s the successful kids who take arts classes—rather, arts classes make successful kids—successful in academic subjects, behavior, concentration, creativity, thoughtfulness, etc. Why, just click on this link, or this one, or this one (page 12 is good). The ancient Greeks considered music an essential part of good education, not an extra—and we’re overdue for such thinking today!
4) It matters little what kind of music it is, as long as it’s played well. Audiences at both the clinics and final concert responded most vigorously not to a particular kind of music, but to the most soulful and polished performances. Trust me, if you’ve got both those qualities—honest expression and high-quality presentation—people respond. They want to be touched and entertained.
I’ll finish up by saying thanks to all the students, teachers and staff in the Northwest Suburban Conference who gave their all last week and created such a great event. Also, if you’re concerned about music budget cuts in your school, please look at the links above and share the information with administrators. And I promise to get back soon to issues raised in previous posts, including readers’ replies.
The great and warm (snicker, snicker) state of Minnesota in which I reside groups public schools into conferences. The schools within a conference will repeatedly beat each other up on the football field and hockey rink, yet collaborate convivially in matters such as music. The Northwest Suburban Conference—an area near Minneapolis which includes towns with such picturesque names as Coon Rapids, Elk River, Osseo and Maple Grove—just had a music festival highlighted by rehearsals and performances by an honors choir, orchestra and band (I guest-conducted the orchestra) as well as public performances/workshops, called clinics, by 28 ensembles from ten conference high schools (I served as a clinician—kind of a guest teacher—to eight orchestras). Herewith, several observations about the event:
1) Music breaks down barriers. So what if it’s a cliché? It’s true. The students represented different income levels, ethnic groups, personality types, etc. Some probably would be my close friends if I were an awkward, geeky teenager again, others perhaps wouldn’t. It mattered not—our common purpose overrode all differences as we worked towards musical development and an excellent concert.
2) Preparation is key. The kids in the honors orchestra had met over two weekends before I rehearsed with them. Other conductors—teachers from their schools—rehearsed them so that they were well-prepared for our first rehearsal together. Also, all conference logistics had been thought out, down to the smallest detail, and the activities director at the event’s host high school was highly involved (Kelley Scott, you rock!).
3) Administrators, take notice—arts bring out the best in your students! You want to teach them about balancing common purpose with individuality, emotion with reason, intelligence with physicality, exaltation with self-control—what’s comparable to music? These kids worked very hard—basically five hours of nearly non-stop activity on Sunday, and then either rehearsing, hearing or performing music from 8am to 9pm Monday—and they kept on task. Oh, and don’t tell me it’s the successful kids who take arts classes—rather, arts classes make successful kids—successful in academic subjects, behavior, concentration, creativity, thoughtfulness, etc. Why, just click on this link, or this one, or this one (page 12 is good). The ancient Greeks considered music an essential part of good education, not an extra—and we’re overdue for such thinking today!
4) It matters little what kind of music it is, as long as it’s played well. Audiences at both the clinics and final concert responded most vigorously not to a particular kind of music, but to the most soulful and polished performances. Trust me, if you’ve got both those qualities—honest expression and high-quality presentation—people respond. They want to be touched and entertained.
I’ll finish up by saying thanks to all the students, teachers and staff in the Northwest Suburban Conference who gave their all last week and created such a great event. Also, if you’re concerned about music budget cuts in your school, please look at the links above and share the information with administrators. And I promise to get back soon to issues raised in previous posts, including readers’ replies.
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