Sunday, August 27, 2017

September Songs

Just around the corner lay the 32nd annual Ijams Nature Center Symphony in the Park, on September 10. I have only missed one of these concerts, back in 2014 when I had a broken finger. It's also notable that not one of these concerts has been rained out or even rained upon. Gates open at 5:30, and the music should start around 7:15. These concerts, set in South Knoxville's urban wilderness, have always represented a delightful return to the season. The concert is a fundraiser for the Ijams Nature Center, Knoxville's escape zone from metropolitan drudgery. The guest artists have also been a perennial treat, be they local entertainers (David Keith), UT coaches (Pat Summitt), or public figures (Senator Lamar Alexander). This year's guest will be Knoxville singer-songwriter Zoƫ Nutt. Check her website out here.



Tickets to the Ijams Nature Center 32nd Annual Symphony in the Park event here.


The KSO's celebration of Knoxville continues on September 21 and 22 with “Knoxville Postcards.” Along with relevant works by Barber, Rachmaninoff and Copland, a world premiere work by Michael Schachter will be offered, entitled Overture to Knoxville. In programming and commissioning the work, Maestro Aram Demirjian said; “...this program isn't just about the past -- it is also about the future, and the future partially depends on bringing new music into the world, which is why we have commissioned a new overture by one of my dearest friends, Michael Schachter. Michael is a composer who was just as endeared by East Tennessee's musical landscape as I was when he traveled here to soak in our city as he was writing the piece...” Mr. Schachter is busy composer, teacher and scholar who resides in Ann Arbor, MI. Here is a link to his website with musical examples.

See you at the symphony for opening night!


Friday, August 18, 2017

2017-18 Season Hits the Ground Running

Hello!  I'm back.  I've had some time this summer to reflect and clean out my mental in-box, and the 2017-18 season looms on the horizon. I hope you didn't miss me too badly! It's going to be fun, with some old musical friends combining with some new musical trends to create a crop of concerts well worth harvesting. Old friends like Carmina Burana, Dvorak's Symphony No. 8, Scheherazade, Rhapsody in Blue, and Bolero. New trends like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone live with orchestra, and “KSO Unstaged, which promises to break the mold of traditional concert venues. All of this, brought to you by “that old gang of mine,” the players of the KSO.

In the first 23 days of the 2017-18 season, we will be performing six comPLETEly different programs from six different series. Our first Masterworks concert, Knoxville Postcards on September 21 and 22, will be dedicated to the influences of Knoxville on classical music. Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, narrated by Knoxville's poet laureate, RB Morris; Copland's Tender Land Suite, the composition of which is said to have been inspired by Copland's reading Knoxville writer James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men; and Rachmaninov's captivating Symphonic Dances are the major players in those shows. Hot on the heels of that pair, on the 27th, will be the first Q Series concert at Market Square's Square Room, with the Principal String Quartet performing works of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Piazzolla.


The opening of the Chamber Classics series will be October 1 at 2:30 the luscious Bijou Theatre. Haydn's Symphony No. 60, “Il distratto” (“The Distraught”), Prokofiev's freaky Classical Symphony, and a theater piece by Austrian composer HK Gruber entitled Frankenstein! New concertmaster William Shaub will then launch his build of the Concertmaster recital series on October 4 and 5 at 7:00 with music by Franck, Sarasate and Brahms at the acoustically spacious Great Room of the Knoxville Museum of Art.

On October 7 and 8 we will tap into one of the most successful series of children's books ever written, when we provide the soundtrack to the first movie based on J.K. Rowling's smash success, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone TM  at the Civic Auditorium. (Tickets to this show are sold through Ticketmaster, not the KSO box office). Then, after going FOUR WHOLE DAYS without a performance, we will host the Classical Mystery Tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album at the Tennessee Theatre at 8:00 p.m.


Hmmm, I'm going to drift into an advanced state of relaxation, as I am exhausted from simply WRITING ABOUT these concerts. Just wait until they actually happen! Check the KSO website for concert times and venues. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Single Tickets on Sale Monday, including "UnStaged"

KSO Goes “UnStaged.”

If you like classical music and craft beer, we have good news for you. KSO is launching a new series of events, "UnStaged," where guests can expect to hear the KSO with craft beer in hand or while standing in the midst of the Orchestra in an airplane hangar, with sound “taking flight” all around. Contrary to the typical concert setting and structure, small ensembles of musicians will play several sets of 10-15 minutes of music throughout the night.

The first of these events will take place in November at The Standard at Jackson Row. Crafted for your pleasure, one beer tasting from four local breweries will coincide with each of the four musical sets, all surrounding the theme of “creating” or “crafting.” Click here to find out more or invite your friends on Facebook.
Keep Calm: All tickets go on sale August 14 at 9 a.m.
Monday morning, both season and individual tickets to all KSO concerts will go on sale. Tickets are available by web, phone, or in person. Patrons can buy tickets to an entire series or one singular show. During the week of Aug. 14, handling fees will be waived for purchases made over the phone.


Get Opening Night Tickets for Just $20.
During the week of August 14, patrons may purchase tickets to the KSO Season Opening Concert, Knoxville Postcards on Sept. 21-22, FOR JUST $20 by calling the box office. This special $20 ticket price includes seats anywhere in the Tennessee Theatre pending availability.
Not sure what you’ll like? Here is a quick guide. View the entire KSO concert calendar here.

This post authored by the KSO communications dept.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Concertmaster Chat: Q&A with William Shaub

This September, the KSO will welcome new Concertmaster William Shaub, who accepted the position in May after an audition and two guest appearances on the March and May Masterworks stage. You COULD read his bio here, but it would be more fun to read the Q&A below and hear directly from our newest addition to the KSO family. Enjoy!


Q&A with the new Concertmaster, William Shaub


1. What is the main role of a concertmaster? What does being a concertmaster mean to you?

The role of concertmaster is to serve as a musical representative to the community, on behalf of the orchestra. When the concertmaster first enters the stage to tune, we walk out to greet the audience on behalf of all the musicians; a wonderful tradition! The concertmaster also prepares bowings (making sure all the bows go in the same direction), helps to focus attention on different musical styles, and serves to communicate the artistic ideas of the conductor to the string section. Every once in a while, the concertmaster has a violin solo in a piece, but most of the time, I’m a member of the violin section. To me, serving as concertmaster means overseeing the overall orchestral sound with the intentions of the conductor in mind, and that means attentively listening to everybody’s part and not just my own.


2. What do you wish people knew about playing in an orchestra or being a full-time classical musician?


I think that most people approach music like a hobby, a pastime, or an interest--and that is wonderful. In fact, it’s why we do what we do! But to be a classical musician and performer, we are as precise and serious as a brain surgeon. We take brightening someone’s day with music very seriously. This is somewhat because that service in itself is enormously helpful in society: If you’ve had a hard day, we are here to soothe those stresses with our music. It is also because we are handling some of the greatest works of art ever made, and they deserve the formalities of our professional approach.


3. How often, on average, do you practice? When you’re tired or don’t LOVE a piece of music, what motivates you to keep going?


On average, I practice 4 hours a day and I take a day off about once per month. When I’m not in love with a piece of music, I try to fall in love with a little something about it. Maybe it’s a phrase or two in the piece, or perhaps it’s the end result of playing the work. Some pieces are designed specifically to make you better at your instrument. When I work with students, I often share the importance of starting the practice day (especially a day when you’re not up for practicing!) with a piece that you absolutely love--it could be anything from Star Wars to Schumann’s Piano Quintet. I believe that enthusiasm is a lifelong joy, it’s infectious and completely necessary towards developing an expressive technique.


4. Why Knoxville?

I first learned about Knoxville and the orchestra here when I met Gabriel Lefkowitz at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston (at the beach!) I would later find that this orchestra and this city is growing rapidly, with an energy that is really special. I discovered that the quality and professionalism of our orchestra in both the concert hall and the greater Knoxville region is second to none, and our nationally-renowned commitments to community engagement, education, and innovative programming fit with my vision as an artist. I was excited about the opportunity to be here!


5. Name something you enjoy about each of the following: playing in a small ensemble, playing a solo, playing in full orchestra/leading it as the concertmaster
.

In a small ensemble, I enjoy the intimacy and directness of communicating with other players. Playing a solo is wonderful because of the opportunity to fill a hall with my sound--it is an exhilarating mode of expression. When playing in a full orchestra, I get to hear the sounds of other instrument families and really listen to what they have to say. There is nothing like a brass chorale in the middle of a Mendelssohn symphony: you cannot reproduce that kind of magisterial moment with strings!


6. What experiences, in school or otherwise, have prepared you for the position of KSO Concertmaster?


After attending Juilliard in NYC, I was based in Houston for one year prior to coming to Knoxville and I auditioned for a spot on the artist roster of Da Camera Chamber Music and Jazz. With Da Camera, I performed in alternative venues throughout Houston, from hospitals and classrooms to new music and jazz hubs. Outreach became an every-week experience, and reaching new audiences was now a very real part of my life instead of just “a good idea.” I also made numerous recordings of great violin music for Da Camera’s Houston Methodist Hospital Video Series, which will be broadcast to patients on demand--a very heartwarming project. Reaching broad audiences is something I hope to do as a member of our orchestra, and my experience on this artist roster was good preparation.



7. What is something you’d like your fellow Knoxvillians to know about you?

I would like them to know that I am always happy to chat about sports. I am a big Cleveland Browns fan (I am originally from Canton, Ohio), so I am also an expert on the NFL Draft. I have also enjoyed playing tennis from a very young age. I can replicate Andy Roddick’s unique serve but at one-third of the speed! I enjoy watches and watchmaking, and I’m not the only musician to be fascinated by them--singer/songwriter John Mayer has an unbelievable watch collection!





8. A large (and attractive) part of this job will be to program, perform in, and headline the Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series; three pairs of concerts held at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Can you tell us a little bit about what to expect from that series in 2017-18?

In programming the exciting 2017-2018 Merchant and Gould Concertmaster Series, I chose pieces out of a passion to tell the wonderful stories behind the music. Since many of them are pieces from the chamber music repertoire, I get to do it with my new KSO colleagues. The opportunity to perform with them outside of the orchestra is a great way for me to get to know them intimately as musicians. I get to hear their sounds and their musical voices up close for the first time and establish a chemistry. It’s exciting and many of our collaborations coming up are must-see events for this reason!


(From a gondola in the beautiful mountains at the Breckenridge Music Festival)


This post authored by the KSO Communications Dept. and Concertmaster William Shaub.