This morning the quartet had an extra long rehearsal. My brain is a little bit fried, so here are some small observations about our rehearsal process this past week.
* Yesterday the quartet rehearsed at my house. Progress on the Bartok was compared to a football game: 6 inches forward at a time and a whole lotta instant replay in slow motion.
* Unlike Miro's cats, my cat, and Andy's as well, doesn't seem to care one way or the other about Bartok. No singing along and neither hid nor parked themselves close to us.
* After one particularly heinous "crash and burn" moment in rehearsal yesterday we looked out the window and noticed an ambulance slowly driving by my house. I wondered if the neighbors had called.
* Some of the chords I have to play make me wish for a sixth finger: three note clusters, perfect fifths over three or four strings. There are some things that are just about impossible. I know that Bartok knew this and just didn't care. I like that. Pushing technique to the limit is how we get better. After all, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto was declared unplayable at one time.
* I love Brahms but find it just as difficult to play as the Bartok. It's not as technically challenging; the phrases are so long it is easy to get lost in the middle. I need a GPS in the Bartok to guide me through the mixed meter and rhythmical craziness. I need one in the Brahms to perfectly shape the phrases.
* As much as I joke, the more we rehearse the Bartok, the more I like it. Modern music tends to be like that: the first listening leaves you a bit speechless but the more you get to know the piece the better you like it. Putting the Bartok together is very satisfying, both because it takes so much work to figure it out and also because it is a piece that is much greater than the sum of its parts. I'm really happy we're playing it, it's a wonderful piece. I also know I wouldn't have gotten to know it this well otherwise and this has been a great lesson to me in giving unfamiliar music a chance.
Showing posts with label backstage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backstage. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
To Clap or Not to Clap
Our Masterworks concert last Friday caused quite a stir amongst us musicians. The audience applauded between each and every movement during the concert. They even made the review in the News Sentinel. This sparked a somewhat heated backstage debate on audience etiquette. Musician's opinions on the subject fell on a wide spectrum from some really enjoying applause between movements to others who couldn't stand it and felt the symphony should post signs instructing audiences to wait. Who knew applause could be so controversial?!
The practice of holding applause until the end of a multi-movement work is relatively young. In fact, up until the late 1800's, it was common practice not only to applaud between movements but also to clap DURING the movement. Composers rejoiced with audience applause and were upset when it was withheld. The seeds of silence seem to have been planted in the late 1800's with the premier of Wagner's Parsifal when the singers agreed not to take a curtain call to avoid disrupting the flow of the opera. Mahler also played a role by policing claques, which essentially were people paid to enthusiastically applaud often to the point of disrupting the performance. (At that time, people were also paid to laugh, cry and boo. Guest artists were often exhorted to pay a fee to the concert house to avoid having the booing audience present at their performance.)
But perhaps the biggest champion of squelching audience applause between movements was Leopold Stokowski in the 1930's. Actually, Stokowski was opposed to applause at any time during the concert. He felt it was as absurd to applaud at a concert as it would be to stand in front of a great work of visual art and applaud. It was such a hot topic that eventually the Philadelphia audience was put to a vote. Applause overwhelmingly won out.
The practice of not applauding between movements was slow to spread and didn't really take hold until the 1950's. I haven't been able to find out why that happened at that time. Perhaps people were becoming accustomed to silence between movements through the recordings they were playing at home. I think another real possibility is that it was a way that classical music could distinguish itself as being more civilized than the emerging popular music of the day.
Personally, applause between movements doesn't really bother me. To me, "inapproprate" applause means that we have new audience members (yay!) who will hopefully come back. Besides, I don't really understand how you can be upset with someone who is paying you a compliment. Audiences applaud out of appreciation. I can't imagine anything much worse than getting to the end of a performance and standing up to stony silence. Likewise, if I were an audience member who was glared at for applauding I would not be likely to return for another performance.
In my view, rules such as this are a major contributor to the decline of classical music. Going to a concert shouldn't be a difficult experience fraught with random unspoken rules. The thing I hear most from people who have never attended a symphony concert is that they are intimidated. Symphonies around the country have tried to combat this by offering blue jeans concerts, rush hour concerts, concerts of lite classics, etc, etc, etc. This is a good start, but I don't think there will be a true mass cross-over of audience until the unspoken rules of concert-going are either clearly defined or abolished.
What do you think about applause between movements? Is it a random rule or does it serve a purpose?
The practice of holding applause until the end of a multi-movement work is relatively young. In fact, up until the late 1800's, it was common practice not only to applaud between movements but also to clap DURING the movement. Composers rejoiced with audience applause and were upset when it was withheld. The seeds of silence seem to have been planted in the late 1800's with the premier of Wagner's Parsifal when the singers agreed not to take a curtain call to avoid disrupting the flow of the opera. Mahler also played a role by policing claques, which essentially were people paid to enthusiastically applaud often to the point of disrupting the performance. (At that time, people were also paid to laugh, cry and boo. Guest artists were often exhorted to pay a fee to the concert house to avoid having the booing audience present at their performance.)
But perhaps the biggest champion of squelching audience applause between movements was Leopold Stokowski in the 1930's. Actually, Stokowski was opposed to applause at any time during the concert. He felt it was as absurd to applaud at a concert as it would be to stand in front of a great work of visual art and applaud. It was such a hot topic that eventually the Philadelphia audience was put to a vote. Applause overwhelmingly won out.
The practice of not applauding between movements was slow to spread and didn't really take hold until the 1950's. I haven't been able to find out why that happened at that time. Perhaps people were becoming accustomed to silence between movements through the recordings they were playing at home. I think another real possibility is that it was a way that classical music could distinguish itself as being more civilized than the emerging popular music of the day.
Personally, applause between movements doesn't really bother me. To me, "inapproprate" applause means that we have new audience members (yay!) who will hopefully come back. Besides, I don't really understand how you can be upset with someone who is paying you a compliment. Audiences applaud out of appreciation. I can't imagine anything much worse than getting to the end of a performance and standing up to stony silence. Likewise, if I were an audience member who was glared at for applauding I would not be likely to return for another performance.
In my view, rules such as this are a major contributor to the decline of classical music. Going to a concert shouldn't be a difficult experience fraught with random unspoken rules. The thing I hear most from people who have never attended a symphony concert is that they are intimidated. Symphonies around the country have tried to combat this by offering blue jeans concerts, rush hour concerts, concerts of lite classics, etc, etc, etc. This is a good start, but I don't think there will be a true mass cross-over of audience until the unspoken rules of concert-going are either clearly defined or abolished.
What do you think about applause between movements? Is it a random rule or does it serve a purpose?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Good Beginning, Good Ending
One of the best things about being a musician is the endless variety in the work. In about a 10 day time span, the KSO has performed or will perform a pops concert, a children's concert, a pair of Masterworks concerts, and a concert honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Not to mention the string quartets that have been out and about in the community. Today I started my day with our Family concert performance for a hall full of school children and I will end it with (hopefully!) a hall full of people for our January Masterworks concert. Good beginning, good ending.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!
At this weeks Masterworks performances, the KSO will be honoring concertmaster Mark Zelmanovich, who will be retiring at the end of this season.
This is a difficult post for me to write because I owe a lot to Mark. There is no way that I can repay him for all he has taught me in a single blog post. Nor do I want this to sound like a eulogy. Mark has spent the last 24 years serving as concertmaster of the KSO. The organization owes him a debt that is immeasurable.
Watching Mark for the past 10 years has taught me how to be a good principal. I was 22 years old and fresh out of college when I joined the KSO as principal violist. It was (is) my first major job. Before I came here I had played principal in a few smaller orchestras, but it was nothing like this. Sitting near him, I've also picked up a eensy bit of Russian and learned some great jokes. (None of which I shall repeat here.) Mark has traveled around the world making music. He has played with great artists and conductors as a soloist as well as an orchestral player. His wealth of knowledge of violin repertoire and technique is vast. I always have to laugh, because invariably when we stop playing during rehearsal he will find some way to turn whatever we've been playing into some violin concerto or piece. Mark is an amazing musician and I'm sad to see him retire.
Although the KSO is celebrating Mark this week, he is not retiring until the end of the season. In fact, in May he will be the featured soloist for Ben-Haim's Concerto Grosso on the final Chamber Classics concert of the season.
For now, though, I lift my bottle to you, Mark. (Forget the glass!) I wish you great happiness in retirement.
This is a difficult post for me to write because I owe a lot to Mark. There is no way that I can repay him for all he has taught me in a single blog post. Nor do I want this to sound like a eulogy. Mark has spent the last 24 years serving as concertmaster of the KSO. The organization owes him a debt that is immeasurable.
Watching Mark for the past 10 years has taught me how to be a good principal. I was 22 years old and fresh out of college when I joined the KSO as principal violist. It was (is) my first major job. Before I came here I had played principal in a few smaller orchestras, but it was nothing like this. Sitting near him, I've also picked up a eensy bit of Russian and learned some great jokes. (None of which I shall repeat here.) Mark has traveled around the world making music. He has played with great artists and conductors as a soloist as well as an orchestral player. His wealth of knowledge of violin repertoire and technique is vast. I always have to laugh, because invariably when we stop playing during rehearsal he will find some way to turn whatever we've been playing into some violin concerto or piece. Mark is an amazing musician and I'm sad to see him retire.
Although the KSO is celebrating Mark this week, he is not retiring until the end of the season. In fact, in May he will be the featured soloist for Ben-Haim's Concerto Grosso on the final Chamber Classics concert of the season.
For now, though, I lift my bottle to you, Mark. (Forget the glass!) I wish you great happiness in retirement.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Hi Ho, Hi Ho....
This week the KSO is back to work after a two-week vacation. I admit I put the viola down for a few days over the break. Today, eyeing the stack of music waiting on my stand, I see that we've got a lot coming up in the next 10 days or so.
This weekend we're playing our first Pops concert of the season. The Piano Man features music from the 1970's, specifically, the music of Elton John and Billy Joel. Now, I don't remember the 1970's. (Actually, I wasn't around for most of the decade.) I do know many of the tunes we'll be playing, though. Elton John and Billy Joel have so many hits it's impossible not to know their music. Both have penned songs that have stood the test of time and remained popular across generations. I love Pops concerts where I've heard all the charts. This is a good one to come see, even if you aren't particularly versed in pop music. If I know the songs, you will too. Trust me. I am the dunce of pop music.
My position on the stage is a prime spot for people watching. (If you've ever wondered if the orchestra watches the audience, there's your answer.) Pops concerts, in particular, are great for audience-watching. The atmosphere at a pops concert is much different than at a masterworks or chamber concert. Pops concerts encourage more audience participation than traditional concerts. Dancing in the aisles is not uncommon, and the audience is often invited to sing along. That just doesn't happen in the middle of a performance of a Beethoven symphony. Maybe it should....
This weeks pops concert will take place on Sat, Jan 9 at 8:00. It will be nice and warm inside the Civic, I promise.
This weekend we're playing our first Pops concert of the season. The Piano Man features music from the 1970's, specifically, the music of Elton John and Billy Joel. Now, I don't remember the 1970's. (Actually, I wasn't around for most of the decade.) I do know many of the tunes we'll be playing, though. Elton John and Billy Joel have so many hits it's impossible not to know their music. Both have penned songs that have stood the test of time and remained popular across generations. I love Pops concerts where I've heard all the charts. This is a good one to come see, even if you aren't particularly versed in pop music. If I know the songs, you will too. Trust me. I am the dunce of pop music.
My position on the stage is a prime spot for people watching. (If you've ever wondered if the orchestra watches the audience, there's your answer.) Pops concerts, in particular, are great for audience-watching. The atmosphere at a pops concert is much different than at a masterworks or chamber concert. Pops concerts encourage more audience participation than traditional concerts. Dancing in the aisles is not uncommon, and the audience is often invited to sing along. That just doesn't happen in the middle of a performance of a Beethoven symphony. Maybe it should....
This weeks pops concert will take place on Sat, Jan 9 at 8:00. It will be nice and warm inside the Civic, I promise.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Getting to Know James Fellenbaum
A week or so ago I had the chance to catch up with KSO's Resident Conductor, James Fellenbaum. Jim humored me and agreed to participate in the blog's "getting to know..." series. (Thanks, Jim!)
KG: You have a Bachelor's in cello performance and a dual Master's in cello performance and conducting. When did you decide that you wanted to pursue conducting full-time? What made you want to start conducting in the first place?
JF: I became very interested in conducting in high school and, if there were such a thing as a bachelor's in conducting, I would have pursued that in college instead of cello. But, I'm glad I began my serious musical training in cello...playing orchestra pieces FIRST in an orchestra was/has been extremely important in my career. And, in high school I would conduct along with John Williams soundtracks...I loved the sound, and the idea of leading people through symphonic music. He was a big influence on me as I began to develop musically.
KG: Why did you choose the cello? When did you start playing?
JF: I chose the cello for the same reason Yo-Yo Ma chose the cello: we both wanted to play the bass (the BIGGEST instrument) but were too short! (Yo-Yo and I don't know each other...I've met him once...I just know that story about him). I started playing in fourth grade, as part of the Virginia public school system that offered orchestra instruments (4th grade) and band instruments (5th grade).
KG: Who has influenced your conducting, either as a mentor or just as a conductor you admire?
JF: Victor Yampolsky was, and still is, my biggest physical influence in my conducting. As a youth, I played in a lot of orchestras with unclear conductors, and one of my mantras was to be a clear, physical communicator on the podium, to which Yampolsky's style was a beautiful example. He's also one of my biggest musical influences. I've always liked Zubin Mehta's presence and ease on the podium, and I've picked up a lot of bits and pieces from other conductors while playing cello in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago...that was a GREAT learning and playing experience for me. Learned a lot from Cliff Colnot while in Chicago, too...excellent teacher for score reading, musicality and rehearsal techniques.
KG: Do you have any disastrous moments in conducting or playing that you'd be willing to share? Have you ever had any conducting injuries: baton through the hand, tripped on the podium, etc?
JF: Well, first: no injuries to report...thank goodness! I've never had any "disastrous" moments in conducting or playing, although there have been a few times where I've come close to "failing" at a project. I remember trying to present the Mozart Horn Concerto No. 1 at a summer camp once. The horn player was superb, but the orchestra consisted of mostly 7th and 8th graders; as simple as Mozart can look sometimes, the young students just couldn't quite get it...both technically and musically. So, we ended up doing just one of the movements...I just remember, at the time, it took ALL of my being to get them to play that one movement, so it felt like I was failing.
KG: Now to the IMPORTANT questions! I know you like sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Stargate, etc. (me too!) Which is your favorite series? And, isn't it terrible that Firefly only ran one season?
JF: Yes! I like science fiction very much, and grew up in a wonderful time for it: the late 70's and 80's with Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Trek, etc. And, most all of them have John Williams in common which, as I said before, was one of the biggest influences on my becoming a musician (all three of my YPCs have ended with John Williams...coincidence?!?). Now, I haven't gotten into Stargate, Farscape or Firefly YET...thanks to Netflix, I'm going to, eventually, catch up on ALL of those series someday. I'm a big Star Trek The Next Generation fan, and do like the other versions of Star Trek that have come out, both in movies and TV. What I find terrible is that Fox canceled the Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles after just a season and a half. REALLY liked that show. I'm checking out the current remake of "V" on TV right now (2 episodes, not bad so far...saw the original 80's miniseries). I like 24, Scrubs, Grey's, the Sunday night cartoon lineup on Fox (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.), and am a big ESPN fan (PTI, First Take, Sports Reporters, Sportscenter). My wife, Sarah Chumney Fellenbaum, and I enjoy quite a few shows together, and find it a nice way to wind down in the evening. Why is my answer for this question the longest one so far?
KG: Do you have any hobbies outside of music?
JF: I like websurfing/computer things, exercising, racquetball with Lucas, TV/movies, and caring for animals: I have two kittens (I'm a dog person, but have really grown to love the kittens) and four rabbits: Tigger, Roo, Rabbit, and Mr. Bun. Dog coming soon, probably within a year.
KG: Favorite concert moment, KSO or otherwise?
JF: Boy, that's tough. Recently, with KSO, a couple of things: First - our recent Chamber Classics concert with the String Serenades...I must say there were some really special moments in that concert. Second - each time, during a Young People's Concert or a runout concert where adults and children have had a "Wow" or "I get it" or "I love it" moment. You can tangibly feel that during the concerts, and I just love that. And at UT, when we've taken on a big, challenging project and we arrive at moments where we all realize that we've achieved something higher, greater or special...Pines of Rome, Mozart Requiem, Marvin Stamm Jazz concert, last February's Voice concert...those really come to mind.
KG: What is your favorite piece to conduct? What haven't you conducted that you'd love to conduct?
JF: No favorite piece to conduct...really enjoy a lot of works. Now, works I HAVEN'T conducted that I'd like to: that's too long! Mahler Symphony No. 1, Verdi Requiem, Beethoven 3, 7, and 9, Brahms 2, Rite of Spring, the operas Tosca, La Boheme and Der Rosenkavalier, to name a few.
KG: What music are you currently listening to? Not necessarily right at this very second, but what are your go-to recordings right now, classical or otherwise?
JF: Well, right now, I'm listening to bits and pieces of small works, as I plan the LMU Holiday runout concert. In general, I'm not listening to anything right now, since I've been conducting quite a bit of music. When I do listen to recordings, it's usually something Romantic era or 20th-Century era in classical music.
KG: Anything else you'd like to share?
JF: The younger of our two kittens, Pirate (the newest member of the family) has decided he's tired of me typing, and has come over to start chewing on my foot. Typical.
KG: You have a Bachelor's in cello performance and a dual Master's in cello performance and conducting. When did you decide that you wanted to pursue conducting full-time? What made you want to start conducting in the first place?
JF: I became very interested in conducting in high school and, if there were such a thing as a bachelor's in conducting, I would have pursued that in college instead of cello. But, I'm glad I began my serious musical training in cello...playing orchestra pieces FIRST in an orchestra was/has been extremely important in my career. And, in high school I would conduct along with John Williams soundtracks...I loved the sound, and the idea of leading people through symphonic music. He was a big influence on me as I began to develop musically.
KG: Why did you choose the cello? When did you start playing?
JF: I chose the cello for the same reason Yo-Yo Ma chose the cello: we both wanted to play the bass (the BIGGEST instrument) but were too short! (Yo-Yo and I don't know each other...I've met him once...I just know that story about him). I started playing in fourth grade, as part of the Virginia public school system that offered orchestra instruments (4th grade) and band instruments (5th grade).
KG: Who has influenced your conducting, either as a mentor or just as a conductor you admire?
JF: Victor Yampolsky was, and still is, my biggest physical influence in my conducting. As a youth, I played in a lot of orchestras with unclear conductors, and one of my mantras was to be a clear, physical communicator on the podium, to which Yampolsky's style was a beautiful example. He's also one of my biggest musical influences. I've always liked Zubin Mehta's presence and ease on the podium, and I've picked up a lot of bits and pieces from other conductors while playing cello in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago...that was a GREAT learning and playing experience for me. Learned a lot from Cliff Colnot while in Chicago, too...excellent teacher for score reading, musicality and rehearsal techniques.
KG: Do you have any disastrous moments in conducting or playing that you'd be willing to share? Have you ever had any conducting injuries: baton through the hand, tripped on the podium, etc?
JF: Well, first: no injuries to report...thank goodness! I've never had any "disastrous" moments in conducting or playing, although there have been a few times where I've come close to "failing" at a project. I remember trying to present the Mozart Horn Concerto No. 1 at a summer camp once. The horn player was superb, but the orchestra consisted of mostly 7th and 8th graders; as simple as Mozart can look sometimes, the young students just couldn't quite get it...both technically and musically. So, we ended up doing just one of the movements...I just remember, at the time, it took ALL of my being to get them to play that one movement, so it felt like I was failing.
KG: Now to the IMPORTANT questions! I know you like sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Stargate, etc. (me too!) Which is your favorite series? And, isn't it terrible that Firefly only ran one season?
JF: Yes! I like science fiction very much, and grew up in a wonderful time for it: the late 70's and 80's with Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Trek, etc. And, most all of them have John Williams in common which, as I said before, was one of the biggest influences on my becoming a musician (all three of my YPCs have ended with John Williams...coincidence?!?). Now, I haven't gotten into Stargate, Farscape or Firefly YET...thanks to Netflix, I'm going to, eventually, catch up on ALL of those series someday. I'm a big Star Trek The Next Generation fan, and do like the other versions of Star Trek that have come out, both in movies and TV. What I find terrible is that Fox canceled the Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles after just a season and a half. REALLY liked that show. I'm checking out the current remake of "V" on TV right now (2 episodes, not bad so far...saw the original 80's miniseries). I like 24, Scrubs, Grey's, the Sunday night cartoon lineup on Fox (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.), and am a big ESPN fan (PTI, First Take, Sports Reporters, Sportscenter). My wife, Sarah Chumney Fellenbaum, and I enjoy quite a few shows together, and find it a nice way to wind down in the evening. Why is my answer for this question the longest one so far?
KG: Do you have any hobbies outside of music?
JF: I like websurfing/computer things, exercising, racquetball with Lucas, TV/movies, and caring for animals: I have two kittens (I'm a dog person, but have really grown to love the kittens) and four rabbits: Tigger, Roo, Rabbit, and Mr. Bun. Dog coming soon, probably within a year.
KG: Favorite concert moment, KSO or otherwise?
JF: Boy, that's tough. Recently, with KSO, a couple of things: First - our recent Chamber Classics concert with the String Serenades...I must say there were some really special moments in that concert. Second - each time, during a Young People's Concert or a runout concert where adults and children have had a "Wow" or "I get it" or "I love it" moment. You can tangibly feel that during the concerts, and I just love that. And at UT, when we've taken on a big, challenging project and we arrive at moments where we all realize that we've achieved something higher, greater or special...Pines of Rome, Mozart Requiem, Marvin Stamm Jazz concert, last February's Voice concert...those really come to mind.
KG: What is your favorite piece to conduct? What haven't you conducted that you'd love to conduct?
JF: No favorite piece to conduct...really enjoy a lot of works. Now, works I HAVEN'T conducted that I'd like to: that's too long! Mahler Symphony No. 1, Verdi Requiem, Beethoven 3, 7, and 9, Brahms 2, Rite of Spring, the operas Tosca, La Boheme and Der Rosenkavalier, to name a few.
KG: What music are you currently listening to? Not necessarily right at this very second, but what are your go-to recordings right now, classical or otherwise?
JF: Well, right now, I'm listening to bits and pieces of small works, as I plan the LMU Holiday runout concert. In general, I'm not listening to anything right now, since I've been conducting quite a bit of music. When I do listen to recordings, it's usually something Romantic era or 20th-Century era in classical music.
KG: Anything else you'd like to share?
JF: The younger of our two kittens, Pirate (the newest member of the family) has decided he's tired of me typing, and has come over to start chewing on my foot. Typical.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Getting to Know Jay Oberfeitinger
This is part of an ongoing series of interviews with KSO musicians. My goal is to move beyond what is published in our biographies to give you a more personal look at the musicians who make up the KSO.
Jay Oberfeitinger has been a percussionist with the KSO since 1995. I'd like to thank him for being willing to be interviewed for this blog!
KG: I feel silly asking you why you chose to pursue percussion because I think it is the coolest thing ever (besides the viola, of course) but, what drew you to percussion? Did you have a teacher who inspired you along the way?
JO: I actually started out on Trumpet. Still play, a little - along with most of the basic brass & woodwind instruments (leftover from my days as a middle- and high school band director...but I digress).....I had been playing trumpet for about 6 months when our family took a trip to the local shopping mall. Back then fully enclosed shopping malls were rare so this place was quite popular. The local regional orchestra - The Westmoreland Symphony - was giving a concert in the "public square" in the mall. We happened to come up behind the percussion section. I do not know what work they were playing, but it used a ton of percussion, and the guys in the section were scrambling around to the different instruments. I was transfixed. Once my parents were able to pry me away I declared that percussion was what I wanted to play.
As for inspiring teachers.....I have had several. My first teacher, Ray Szymarek, introduced me to the playing of the great jazzers - Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, etc. My undergraduate college teachers were huge influences on me as a musician. Both are retired from the Pittsburgh Symphony - Jerry Unger (who was associate Principal) and Stan Leonard (Principal Timpanist).
KG: How did you get the idea to start a band and orchestra program for home-schoolers?
JO: Well, I had recently moved my private lesson business out of the house into a dedicated space in downtown Kingsport. I had also left public school teaching and had begun college / university work - part time. Several home-schoolers began taking private lessons and were looking for a performance outlet. When one commented that the one thing she missed about "normal" school was having the opportunity to be in the band - forming the group was obvious. The group functions just like a school band - except they only meet once a week. They have practice chart requirements; the beginning ensemble uses standard school band method books; I give grades..The orchestra component has not really taken off though, not enough string players!..We put on at least two concerts a year. One near Christmas time and one usually in May. During the Christmas season we also go to the local hospitals and setup in the lobby and play. We also perform at several Assisted Living communities.
KG: In an average concert, how many different instruments do you play? What is the most you've ever played in a concert?
JO: Hmmm....on average, maybe two or three - cymbals, bass drum & triangle - for example. I think the most instruments I have ever played in one concert happened last week with the Symphony of the Mountains. We gave a Family concert as part of our Virginia concert series - I was the soloist in a novelty work titled "The Worried Drummer". This piece was popular back in the 50's and 60's and has been getting more play again recently. It is written for the soloist to race about the stage from instrument to instrument - just "barely making it" to play a note or two before zooming off to the next. In one 10 minute work I played: Timpani, Snare Drum, Triangle, Tambourine, Castanets, Sleigh Bells, Slap stick (whip), Bass Drum and Cymbals, Glockenspiel (bells) and Xylophone! Oh, and add Drum Set to that list for other parts of the concert! I was tired afterward!
KG: How does the percussion section decide who covers which parts? Do you ever run into each other when you're running around back there?
JO: Great questions! The "industry standard" is for the Principal of the section to make part assignments. In the KSO we generally use two methods. Most of the time the Principal (Clark or Bob, depending on the concert) will make the assignments. For Pops, things are a bit different. We usually only have 3 percussionists for pops - regardless of what forces the music actually calls for - so we have to get creative. Over the years Bob, Andy and I have worked out a system we refer to as "playing zone defense". We will group instruments together - mallets (xylophone, vibes, etc); bass drum / cymbals; snare drum plus others; hand percussion (tambourine, triangle, etc.) Each of us will cover one or more "zones" and we play as much of the parts as we can cover. This gets interesting as we really put our skills at playing multiple instruments simultaneously to the test. It is much different than most of the Masterworks repertoire - where you may only play one instrument for an entire work. That is also what makes works such as Petrushka so much fun - we all have to play several instruments in works such as that.
As for running into each other....well, it can happen, especially in pops shows at the first read-through. We sometimes have to plot out - actually choreograph what moves we will make - so everything gets covered without collisions! We have played together for so long now that it doesn't happen much....We all pretty much know how each other thinks!
KG: Do you have any hobbies outside of music that you'd like to share?
JO: I am a collector of U.S coins. I am an Assistant Scoutmaster for BSA Troop 387 here in Kingsport. Mountain and road bicycling are big favorites.....along with hiking, camping, canoeing and sailing (don't get to do that much, though). It is a bit odd, but I am also a big fan of the old, pre-computer, board-based historical simulation games, AKA wargames. These are games that re-create historic battles or even entire campaigns in a board game format. The rules are very complex, with lots of tables to consult for weather effects, combat results, etc. All are based on actual historic events and the game pieces usually represent the actual units that were involved. My two favorite games of the type are "Battle of the Bulge" which simulates the Ardennes campaign during WWII; and "Jutland" which re-creates the famous Naval battle of the first World War.
KG: What is your favorite piece to play? To listen to?
JO: OK, these are tough......I cannot pick just one favorite work to play....but some of my favorites are: Pines of Rome, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, Beethoven Symphonies - love those Timpani parts! - , Percussion music of John Cage.....I could go on.....
As for listening; my tastes are wide-ranging. When listening to music for pleasure - as opposed to listening for "work" - I tend to favor Big Band and Jazz (think Tommy Dorsey or Miles Davis) or Classic Rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd). I also enjoy Frank Zappa's music, and music of the Renaissance - especially for Recorder, an instrument I like to play as a musical "hobby".
KG: Favorite KSO moment?
JO: I would have to say the Pops concerts where we did bits of movie soundtracks with the actual film clips playing on a screen over the orchestra. (KG: that was my favorite pops concert, too, and the hardest I can remember playing!) JO: One of my "Walter Middy" fantasies is to have been a member of one of the studio orchestras at MGM,Warner Bros. or the like during the golden age of Hollywood movie making.
KG: Any disasters you'd be willing to share? (the car horn that broke at the first Masterworks concert this year comes to mind!)
JO: Oh, yes...what a way to start the season! Every Percussionist's nightmare is for something to break during a performance. The main culprits are cymbal straps and the thin cord (basically like fishing line) that holds triangles. Two weeks ago during a Young Peoples concert I had a cymbal strap break on the last crash of the National Anthem! I was left with a cymbal in one hand and just the strap in the other - watching the loose cymbal falling to the stage with no way to do anything about it! What a racket! Thankfully, we had another pair of cymbals for a different work so we used them until we got to a point in the program where no percussion was needed for a little while. Zipped backstage to our storage cabinet and the spare straps! I think it was close to a record time for tying a cymbal strap.
The oddest disaster of this sort was one I was in the audience for. During my college days, I was at a Pittsburgh Symphony concert and Don Liuzzi (now Timpanist in Philadelphia) was playing a very intricate tambourine part. Right in the middle of a particularly busy section of the part the shell of the tambourine broke. Now, that may not seem too bad - but tambourines are actually under quite a bit of tension. You might say that the instrument exploded! Bits of wood and loose jingles flying about all over the stage. Don stood there for a moment, then (since we don't usually keep spare tambourines on stage) just set the remains of the tambourine down on the trap table and sat down with a little shrug to the conductor as if to say "sorry, don't know what else to do.." I'm glad it wasn't me.
KG: Anything else you'd like to share?
JO: I will be giving a solo recital on January 10, 2010 at 3:00pm in the Renaissance Center Auditorium in Kingsport, TN as part of the Art Nights, City Lights concert series. Marimba works by C. O. Musser, Solo Percussion Music of John Cage and a duo for Percussion and Trumpet by William Kraft will be featured. I hope some Knoxvillians will make the trek to the Tri-Cities for the show!
Jay Oberfeitinger has been a percussionist with the KSO since 1995. I'd like to thank him for being willing to be interviewed for this blog!
KG: I feel silly asking you why you chose to pursue percussion because I think it is the coolest thing ever (besides the viola, of course) but, what drew you to percussion? Did you have a teacher who inspired you along the way?
JO: I actually started out on Trumpet. Still play, a little - along with most of the basic brass & woodwind instruments (leftover from my days as a middle- and high school band director...but I digress).....I had been playing trumpet for about 6 months when our family took a trip to the local shopping mall. Back then fully enclosed shopping malls were rare so this place was quite popular. The local regional orchestra - The Westmoreland Symphony - was giving a concert in the "public square" in the mall. We happened to come up behind the percussion section. I do not know what work they were playing, but it used a ton of percussion, and the guys in the section were scrambling around to the different instruments. I was transfixed. Once my parents were able to pry me away I declared that percussion was what I wanted to play.
As for inspiring teachers.....I have had several. My first teacher, Ray Szymarek, introduced me to the playing of the great jazzers - Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, etc. My undergraduate college teachers were huge influences on me as a musician. Both are retired from the Pittsburgh Symphony - Jerry Unger (who was associate Principal) and Stan Leonard (Principal Timpanist).
KG: How did you get the idea to start a band and orchestra program for home-schoolers?
JO: Well, I had recently moved my private lesson business out of the house into a dedicated space in downtown Kingsport. I had also left public school teaching and had begun college / university work - part time. Several home-schoolers began taking private lessons and were looking for a performance outlet. When one commented that the one thing she missed about "normal" school was having the opportunity to be in the band - forming the group was obvious. The group functions just like a school band - except they only meet once a week. They have practice chart requirements; the beginning ensemble uses standard school band method books; I give grades..The orchestra component has not really taken off though, not enough string players!..We put on at least two concerts a year. One near Christmas time and one usually in May. During the Christmas season we also go to the local hospitals and setup in the lobby and play. We also perform at several Assisted Living communities.
KG: In an average concert, how many different instruments do you play? What is the most you've ever played in a concert?
JO: Hmmm....on average, maybe two or three - cymbals, bass drum & triangle - for example. I think the most instruments I have ever played in one concert happened last week with the Symphony of the Mountains. We gave a Family concert as part of our Virginia concert series - I was the soloist in a novelty work titled "The Worried Drummer". This piece was popular back in the 50's and 60's and has been getting more play again recently. It is written for the soloist to race about the stage from instrument to instrument - just "barely making it" to play a note or two before zooming off to the next. In one 10 minute work I played: Timpani, Snare Drum, Triangle, Tambourine, Castanets, Sleigh Bells, Slap stick (whip), Bass Drum and Cymbals, Glockenspiel (bells) and Xylophone! Oh, and add Drum Set to that list for other parts of the concert! I was tired afterward!
KG: How does the percussion section decide who covers which parts? Do you ever run into each other when you're running around back there?
JO: Great questions! The "industry standard" is for the Principal of the section to make part assignments. In the KSO we generally use two methods. Most of the time the Principal (Clark or Bob, depending on the concert) will make the assignments. For Pops, things are a bit different. We usually only have 3 percussionists for pops - regardless of what forces the music actually calls for - so we have to get creative. Over the years Bob, Andy and I have worked out a system we refer to as "playing zone defense". We will group instruments together - mallets (xylophone, vibes, etc); bass drum / cymbals; snare drum plus others; hand percussion (tambourine, triangle, etc.) Each of us will cover one or more "zones" and we play as much of the parts as we can cover. This gets interesting as we really put our skills at playing multiple instruments simultaneously to the test. It is much different than most of the Masterworks repertoire - where you may only play one instrument for an entire work. That is also what makes works such as Petrushka so much fun - we all have to play several instruments in works such as that.
As for running into each other....well, it can happen, especially in pops shows at the first read-through. We sometimes have to plot out - actually choreograph what moves we will make - so everything gets covered without collisions! We have played together for so long now that it doesn't happen much....We all pretty much know how each other thinks!
KG: Do you have any hobbies outside of music that you'd like to share?
JO: I am a collector of U.S coins. I am an Assistant Scoutmaster for BSA Troop 387 here in Kingsport. Mountain and road bicycling are big favorites.....along with hiking, camping, canoeing and sailing (don't get to do that much, though). It is a bit odd, but I am also a big fan of the old, pre-computer, board-based historical simulation games, AKA wargames. These are games that re-create historic battles or even entire campaigns in a board game format. The rules are very complex, with lots of tables to consult for weather effects, combat results, etc. All are based on actual historic events and the game pieces usually represent the actual units that were involved. My two favorite games of the type are "Battle of the Bulge" which simulates the Ardennes campaign during WWII; and "Jutland" which re-creates the famous Naval battle of the first World War.
KG: What is your favorite piece to play? To listen to?
JO: OK, these are tough......I cannot pick just one favorite work to play....but some of my favorites are: Pines of Rome, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, Beethoven Symphonies - love those Timpani parts! - , Percussion music of John Cage.....I could go on.....
As for listening; my tastes are wide-ranging. When listening to music for pleasure - as opposed to listening for "work" - I tend to favor Big Band and Jazz (think Tommy Dorsey or Miles Davis) or Classic Rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd). I also enjoy Frank Zappa's music, and music of the Renaissance - especially for Recorder, an instrument I like to play as a musical "hobby".
KG: Favorite KSO moment?
JO: I would have to say the Pops concerts where we did bits of movie soundtracks with the actual film clips playing on a screen over the orchestra. (KG: that was my favorite pops concert, too, and the hardest I can remember playing!) JO: One of my "Walter Middy" fantasies is to have been a member of one of the studio orchestras at MGM,Warner Bros. or the like during the golden age of Hollywood movie making.
KG: Any disasters you'd be willing to share? (the car horn that broke at the first Masterworks concert this year comes to mind!)
JO: Oh, yes...what a way to start the season! Every Percussionist's nightmare is for something to break during a performance. The main culprits are cymbal straps and the thin cord (basically like fishing line) that holds triangles. Two weeks ago during a Young Peoples concert I had a cymbal strap break on the last crash of the National Anthem! I was left with a cymbal in one hand and just the strap in the other - watching the loose cymbal falling to the stage with no way to do anything about it! What a racket! Thankfully, we had another pair of cymbals for a different work so we used them until we got to a point in the program where no percussion was needed for a little while. Zipped backstage to our storage cabinet and the spare straps! I think it was close to a record time for tying a cymbal strap.
The oddest disaster of this sort was one I was in the audience for. During my college days, I was at a Pittsburgh Symphony concert and Don Liuzzi (now Timpanist in Philadelphia) was playing a very intricate tambourine part. Right in the middle of a particularly busy section of the part the shell of the tambourine broke. Now, that may not seem too bad - but tambourines are actually under quite a bit of tension. You might say that the instrument exploded! Bits of wood and loose jingles flying about all over the stage. Don stood there for a moment, then (since we don't usually keep spare tambourines on stage) just set the remains of the tambourine down on the trap table and sat down with a little shrug to the conductor as if to say "sorry, don't know what else to do.." I'm glad it wasn't me.
KG: Anything else you'd like to share?
JO: I will be giving a solo recital on January 10, 2010 at 3:00pm in the Renaissance Center Auditorium in Kingsport, TN as part of the Art Nights, City Lights concert series. Marimba works by C. O. Musser, Solo Percussion Music of John Cage and a duo for Percussion and Trumpet by William Kraft will be featured. I hope some Knoxvillians will make the trek to the Tri-Cities for the show!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Day in the Life
Playing in a symphony orchestra is an unusual job. It certainly does not follow the usual business format. We do not have an office to go to every day and we don't clock in and out of practice rooms. Our hours are unusual: concerts start anywhere from 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM with rehearsals scheduled from 10 AM to 8 PM. Our rehearsals are generally only 2-1/2 hours long which leads some people to wonder what we do with the rest of our day.
Well, I can't give you a schedule for every day, but I will give you a snapshot of what today will be like for me. Today is a fairly typical day. We have a rehearsal this afternoon in the Bijou for this Sunday's Chamber Classics concert.
This morning I got up at 6:45. I am not a morning person by choice. If I didn't have to take my daughter to school I would probably sleep later. On days that we rehearse until 10:30 PM or have evening concerts I try to take a nap because otherwise my focus and energy is gone by 9:30. No naps today, though.
Mondays and Thursdays I sit down and write this blog, or, if I've set something to auto-post, I log in to make sure that it posted.
After I finish this blog it will be time to practice. I have a stack of symphony music sitting by my stand that needs attention: this weeks chamber music, the November Masterworks music, Brahms 1st String Quartet, and the third Bartok String Quartet for the April chamber concert. (Yes, I'm already practicing music for April!) Today I will focus on the string serenades for this weekend's performance. I also have a stack of non-symphony music that I'm practicing. Playing for the symphony is wonderful, but it takes some of the personal creativity out of music. My job is to bring the conductor's vision of a piece to life. Even if I agree with what the conductor is asking for, its not MY interpretation. I don't have full creative reign. Practicing non-symphony music regularly gives me a creative outlet and does a lot to keep my technique up. These days I'm practicing violin quite a bit. I find it's easier on the body since it's smaller, and the technique transfers quite nicely to the viola. I'm working on the Brahms violin concerto, the third unaccompanied violin sonata by Bach, and scales. Always scales. Some days I have a stack of music to mark bowings in for the viola section to follow. Happily, I am caught up with bowings for the moment, so I won't work on any today.
A nice perk about working from home is that, well, you're home. I can take 5 minute breaks in practicing here and there to throw dinner in the crock pot, move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, etc.
When I'm done practicing it will be time for a quick lunch. Then I'll pick up my daughter from school, get her settled with the sitter and head to rehearsal. Today we only have one rehearsal. After rehearsal I'll head home and spend time with my family. I may have another look at the music depending on how rehearsal goes this afternoon just to remind myself what I need to practice tomorrow.
So, there you have a day in the life of a musician.
Well, I can't give you a schedule for every day, but I will give you a snapshot of what today will be like for me. Today is a fairly typical day. We have a rehearsal this afternoon in the Bijou for this Sunday's Chamber Classics concert.
This morning I got up at 6:45. I am not a morning person by choice. If I didn't have to take my daughter to school I would probably sleep later. On days that we rehearse until 10:30 PM or have evening concerts I try to take a nap because otherwise my focus and energy is gone by 9:30. No naps today, though.
Mondays and Thursdays I sit down and write this blog, or, if I've set something to auto-post, I log in to make sure that it posted.
After I finish this blog it will be time to practice. I have a stack of symphony music sitting by my stand that needs attention: this weeks chamber music, the November Masterworks music, Brahms 1st String Quartet, and the third Bartok String Quartet for the April chamber concert. (Yes, I'm already practicing music for April!) Today I will focus on the string serenades for this weekend's performance. I also have a stack of non-symphony music that I'm practicing. Playing for the symphony is wonderful, but it takes some of the personal creativity out of music. My job is to bring the conductor's vision of a piece to life. Even if I agree with what the conductor is asking for, its not MY interpretation. I don't have full creative reign. Practicing non-symphony music regularly gives me a creative outlet and does a lot to keep my technique up. These days I'm practicing violin quite a bit. I find it's easier on the body since it's smaller, and the technique transfers quite nicely to the viola. I'm working on the Brahms violin concerto, the third unaccompanied violin sonata by Bach, and scales. Always scales. Some days I have a stack of music to mark bowings in for the viola section to follow. Happily, I am caught up with bowings for the moment, so I won't work on any today.
A nice perk about working from home is that, well, you're home. I can take 5 minute breaks in practicing here and there to throw dinner in the crock pot, move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, etc.
When I'm done practicing it will be time for a quick lunch. Then I'll pick up my daughter from school, get her settled with the sitter and head to rehearsal. Today we only have one rehearsal. After rehearsal I'll head home and spend time with my family. I may have another look at the music depending on how rehearsal goes this afternoon just to remind myself what I need to practice tomorrow.
So, there you have a day in the life of a musician.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Knoxville Jazz Orchestra
For a musician, playing an instrument is like breathing. Not meaning that it's effortless, but that to play means to live. Even in retirement it is rare for a musician to completely give up playing unless they are forced to stop for physical reasons. Playing is an emotional outlet, a way to connect with people that transcends language. The ways to express one's self through music are numerous and most musicians don't limit themselves to a single genre. I've mentioned before that many KSO musicians moonlight in other groups. Tonight the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra is giving a concert in the Bijou Theater. About half the musicians who will be on the stage also play in the KSO. Of course, the numbers are somewhat skewed because the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra is using strings for this concert. I will be playing, along with several colleagues from the KSO string section. It's rare for string players to get to play along with a jazz orchestra and we're all excited to have the opportunity. The soloist for tonight's concert is vocalist Deborah Brown. Her voice is pure and her sound is absolutely effortless. I think I could listen to her all day. I have also been awed by KSO clarinetist Mark Tucker (playing saxophone) and trombonist Tom Lundberg. The mere thought of improvising makes me break into a cold sweat. I much prefer the security of notes on a page. They make it sound easy.
This is going to be an awesome concert. (I know I always say that, but it's true!) If you plan to buy a ticket at the door I advise you to get there early because Knoxville Jazz Orchestra concerts are quite popular and often sell out.
This is going to be an awesome concert. (I know I always say that, but it's true!) If you plan to buy a ticket at the door I advise you to get there early because Knoxville Jazz Orchestra concerts are quite popular and often sell out.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Finish Strong
This year was a difficult year. Too many businesses closed their doors and way too many people found themselves without work. Like everyone else, arts organizations across the country were hit hard. Many groups were forced to shorten their season, cut salaries or staff, and a few completely folded. It has been an incredibly stress-filled year for everyone involved in the arts, which makes what happened in Knoxville even more stunning.
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra finished the 2008-2009 season in the black.
Finishing in the black is not the easiest thing for any orchestra to do under normal economic conditions. Finishing in the black under the economic conditions of 2008-09 is a monumental accomplishment. Everyone in the organization worked incredibly hard on and off the stage to make it happen. Everyone who donated made a difference, too, whether they donated ten dollars or ten thousand dollars. We all deserve a pat on the back. But, the 2008-09 season has ended, and while we ended strong, the 2009-2010 season is starting this week and we need your support. There is no such thing as a small donation. Every dollar helps keep us on the stage where we belong.
Lets make the 2009-2010 season even better than 2008-09. If you would like to donate online here is the link.
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra finished the 2008-2009 season in the black.
Finishing in the black is not the easiest thing for any orchestra to do under normal economic conditions. Finishing in the black under the economic conditions of 2008-09 is a monumental accomplishment. Everyone in the organization worked incredibly hard on and off the stage to make it happen. Everyone who donated made a difference, too, whether they donated ten dollars or ten thousand dollars. We all deserve a pat on the back. But, the 2008-09 season has ended, and while we ended strong, the 2009-2010 season is starting this week and we need your support. There is no such thing as a small donation. Every dollar helps keep us on the stage where we belong.
Lets make the 2009-2010 season even better than 2008-09. If you would like to donate online here is the link.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Local Musician Portrait Series
I always cringe a bit when I walk into a restaurant and see musical instruments hanging on the walls. To me instruments are meant to be played. Still, I appreciate their beauty as objects. Shiny brass instruments with their maze of tubing, the contrast of wood and metal of the woodwinds, stringed instruments polished to the point you can see your reflection: musical instruments are beautiful and intriguing to look at. They also make great subject matter for visual art.
Brian Wagner, a local artist, has been an artist-in-residence with the Art and Cultural Alliance here in Knoxville for the past six months. During his time as artist-in-residence he worked on a project called the Local Musician Portrait Series. He photographed local musicians using a photo booth and then transferred the images onto canvas. Several musicians from the Knoxville Symphony volunteered to be photographed for this project. I have seen a few of his portraits online and they are stunning. I can't wait to experience the full effect of his large prints in person. Wagner's show will open this Friday in conjunction with First Friday. The show will be at the Balcony Gallery in the Emporium Building and will run through the month after which it will move to various places throughout Knoxville.
Brian Wagner, a local artist, has been an artist-in-residence with the Art and Cultural Alliance here in Knoxville for the past six months. During his time as artist-in-residence he worked on a project called the Local Musician Portrait Series. He photographed local musicians using a photo booth and then transferred the images onto canvas. Several musicians from the Knoxville Symphony volunteered to be photographed for this project. I have seen a few of his portraits online and they are stunning. I can't wait to experience the full effect of his large prints in person. Wagner's show will open this Friday in conjunction with First Friday. The show will be at the Balcony Gallery in the Emporium Building and will run through the month after which it will move to various places throughout Knoxville.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
How to Practice....
Judging by the feedback I've gotten, Monday's post about practicing struck a chord (ha!). (By the way, I love getting feedback. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself here. Comments are always welcome.) As the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra is gearing up to start in a few weeks I thought I would expand on how to practice well when you aren't crazy about practicing.
Practice every day. Practice every day. Practice every day. Practice every day. The repetition of daily practice creates muscle memory. It's the same process as learning to shoot free throws. The only difference is the use of fine motor skills vs gross motor skills. Muscle memory is not something you can cram at the last minute. If you wait to practice until the day before your lesson most likely you will wind up having “played it better at home.” You don't need to slave over your instrument for hours every day. On super busy days even 10 minutes of quality practicing is better than nothing. The bottom line is that you need to practice every day. You have time, trust me.
Have a plan when you practice. How long are you going to practice? What do you need to accomplish this week? How does that translate to today's practice session? When you practice without a plan you tend to wander. Things will get done but not nearly as quickly as when you have a plan. And when you are busy and don't particularly enjoy practicing, it's best to get things done as quickly and efficiently as you can. Your plan should be as specific as possible. Planning to practice your youth orchestra music is too general. Identifying the piece, section, and problem within the section that you need to practice in your youth orchestra music is much better.
Go slow and start small. I'm considering printing this on a tee shirt because this is, by far, the phrase I say to students the most. (It is also, by far, the most unpopular thing I tell my students.) Can't play a section without crashing and burning? Slow it down. Still having trouble? Identify the problem and break it down into smaller parts. Really listen and pay attention as you play. Ten minutes of concentrated work like this is tedious but at the end of the ten minutes you will be miles ahead of where you were when you started and certainly in better shape than if you had spent ten minutes muddling through.
Make the best of it. Practicing is not inherently fun because practicing is work. Realizing that playing an instrument doesn't have to be fun all the time can go a long way in reshaping your attitude toward practicing. Find ways to make it fun. When I was in college a group of us always hit the practice rooms at the same time. After awhile we would take a break, hole up in someones practice room and have tea and chocolate. We also had scale parties where everyone got together to practice scales, but that's another story... See if you can practice 100 days in a row or compete with a friend to see who can go the longest without missing a day. Record yourself playing a piece or section when you first start working on it and then record yourself playing the same thing a few weeks later. It is very motivating to hear your progress, especially if you feel like you're at a standstill. Find recordings of great artists playing your instrument and listen to them often. Attend live performances for even more motivation.
The better you practice, the better you will play and the more you will enjoy your instrument. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go practice.
Practice every day. Practice every day. Practice every day. Practice every day. The repetition of daily practice creates muscle memory. It's the same process as learning to shoot free throws. The only difference is the use of fine motor skills vs gross motor skills. Muscle memory is not something you can cram at the last minute. If you wait to practice until the day before your lesson most likely you will wind up having “played it better at home.” You don't need to slave over your instrument for hours every day. On super busy days even 10 minutes of quality practicing is better than nothing. The bottom line is that you need to practice every day. You have time, trust me.
Have a plan when you practice. How long are you going to practice? What do you need to accomplish this week? How does that translate to today's practice session? When you practice without a plan you tend to wander. Things will get done but not nearly as quickly as when you have a plan. And when you are busy and don't particularly enjoy practicing, it's best to get things done as quickly and efficiently as you can. Your plan should be as specific as possible. Planning to practice your youth orchestra music is too general. Identifying the piece, section, and problem within the section that you need to practice in your youth orchestra music is much better.
Go slow and start small. I'm considering printing this on a tee shirt because this is, by far, the phrase I say to students the most. (It is also, by far, the most unpopular thing I tell my students.) Can't play a section without crashing and burning? Slow it down. Still having trouble? Identify the problem and break it down into smaller parts. Really listen and pay attention as you play. Ten minutes of concentrated work like this is tedious but at the end of the ten minutes you will be miles ahead of where you were when you started and certainly in better shape than if you had spent ten minutes muddling through.
Make the best of it. Practicing is not inherently fun because practicing is work. Realizing that playing an instrument doesn't have to be fun all the time can go a long way in reshaping your attitude toward practicing. Find ways to make it fun. When I was in college a group of us always hit the practice rooms at the same time. After awhile we would take a break, hole up in someones practice room and have tea and chocolate. We also had scale parties where everyone got together to practice scales, but that's another story... See if you can practice 100 days in a row or compete with a friend to see who can go the longest without missing a day. Record yourself playing a piece or section when you first start working on it and then record yourself playing the same thing a few weeks later. It is very motivating to hear your progress, especially if you feel like you're at a standstill. Find recordings of great artists playing your instrument and listen to them often. Attend live performances for even more motivation.
The better you practice, the better you will play and the more you will enjoy your instrument. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go practice.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Practice Only on the Days You Eat
When people find out I am a professional musician many will share that they, too played an instrument sometime. Most end by saying something along the lines of, “but I didn't like to practice.” I'm never quite sure how to respond to that because the fact is I have a secret. I don't particularly enjoy practicing either.
Playing I enjoy, and there is nothing quite like the rush from performing, but practicing? Not my favorite. I think a lot of musicians feel the same way. Practicing is a necessary task to get to do the other things we enjoy about playing an instrument. For me and many others the joy we get from playing and performing far outweigh the pain of practicing, so we do it. And it is a pain. To practice effectively you have to turn away all distractions, be incredibly critical of your work and be willing to repeat things until they are exactly right. The difference between a note being in tune and out of tune is minuscule but separates a great performance from a mediocre one.
Think of it this way: you've moved into a new house and the yard is a complete mess. The grass is overgrown, there are dead flowers and several tree stumps to get rid of. It's a daunting task. After many hours of sweat labor things look better but still aren't great. Every day you work a little more and eventually your yard is beautiful. This is a lot like practicing. Some parts of the journey are enjoyable, some aren't. The end result is completely worth it. The sense of accomplishment at being able to play a passage flawlessly that used to trip you up every time is awesome.
Playing I enjoy, and there is nothing quite like the rush from performing, but practicing? Not my favorite. I think a lot of musicians feel the same way. Practicing is a necessary task to get to do the other things we enjoy about playing an instrument. For me and many others the joy we get from playing and performing far outweigh the pain of practicing, so we do it. And it is a pain. To practice effectively you have to turn away all distractions, be incredibly critical of your work and be willing to repeat things until they are exactly right. The difference between a note being in tune and out of tune is minuscule but separates a great performance from a mediocre one.
Think of it this way: you've moved into a new house and the yard is a complete mess. The grass is overgrown, there are dead flowers and several tree stumps to get rid of. It's a daunting task. After many hours of sweat labor things look better but still aren't great. Every day you work a little more and eventually your yard is beautiful. This is a lot like practicing. Some parts of the journey are enjoyable, some aren't. The end result is completely worth it. The sense of accomplishment at being able to play a passage flawlessly that used to trip you up every time is awesome.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Red-Haired Mary
Most musicians enjoy exploring more than their chosen specialty. There are several members of the KSO who moonlight with various bands or on secondary instruments. Tomorrow KSO flutist Jill Allard will perform as a member of Red-Haired Mary on WDVX's Blue Plate Special. The concert is free and starts at noon. The WDVX studio is located downtown at the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill. If you can't make it downtown, you can stream the concert live from the WDVX website.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Getting to Know Carol Zinavage
This is the second of a series of interviews with the musicians and staff of the Knoxville Symphony. My aim for this series is to go beyond the usual of where we've played and with whom we've studied to talk about who we are outside the concert hall.
Carol Zinavage is the principal keyboard player for the KSO.
KG: Did you choose the piano or did someone "help" you make that decision? I know from your cameo at last year's July 4th concert that you also play the flute / piccolo. Which came first? Any other instruments?
CZ: My mother was a pianist. My heroes when I was a baby were Hopalong Cassidy and Liberace. I liked the piano, but my mother looms large in my legend (ha.) I started flute in the 6th grade, and shortly after that, became a Certified Band Geek. Later, in my 20's, I joined a professional rock band on electric bass, which I taught myself. I can also play Suzuki Book One on violin.
KG: Playing keyboard for the symphony can involve some waiting around while the group rehearses a piece you don't play. Usually I see you passing the time with a crossword puzzle or a book. How did you get into doing crossword puzzles? Do you like other puzzles?
CZ: I love reading and I love words. I love the gestalt of The New York Times crossword puzzle - there's a certain way of thinking about language there that I feel very in tune with. Everyone asks me if I do Sudoku, too, but I have no patience for Sudoku and numbers - I'm too interested in words.
KG: What are you reading right now? What is the best book you've read lately (or ever...)?
CZ: I am reading a ghost story called The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters, whose writing reminds me of Daphne du Maurier, one of my favorite writers. I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein and it is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
KG: What is your favorite KSO memory / performance?
CZ: I was in awe of Henry Mancini. We shared the piano - meaning I would play and he would conduct the orchestra, and then he'd move to the piano and I would sit elsewhere, out of the way, while he performed. The orchestra played a not-so-well-known piece of his and I was one of the only ones who recognized it - there was a piano solo for me and I think he was pleased that I knew the tune and made the most of the solo, because he gave me a bow. He was rather crusty at the time, late in life, but I will always remember him smiling at me from the podium and saying, "C'mon, take a bow." Also, backing up The Moody Blues was practically a religious experience for me. My favorite classical moments have been on big Stravinsky pieces, or Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste," which just slays me.
KG: Do you have a favorite composer?
CZ: Beethoven, if I had to choose just one, largely for his sonorities. There's just no one else that makes an orchestra or piano sound like that. Others are Britten, Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev - I really like 20th-century.
KG: I can't imagine having to play on different violas all the time, yet that is the plight of the pianist since you can't take your instrument with you. Is it difficult adjusting to different pianos? How long does it take you to get comfortable with a new instrument?
CZ: I've always taken a "well, this is what it is, and by golly, it's gonna sound good anyway" approach. Positive thinking can cover a lot of ills. The worst piano I ever played was at a private party. The person who hired me went on and on about how the party-giver was so proud of his "Civil War-era piano," which made me groan inwardly - pianos always get worse, never better. It was indeed a disaster - the pedals fell off while I was playing and half the keys didn't work, and that's no exaggeration.
People are always asking me about technical aspects of the workings of the piano, and about electric pianos. I have no idea. My favorite story about that is the time someone ran into Sir Paul McCartney in a music store and asked him what kind of guitar/bass strings he used. He replied, "Uh - long, shiny, silver things?" I can so relate to that.
KG: What concert or piece are you looking forward to the most this upcoming season?
CZ: PETRUSHKA!!! (KG: Me too!)
KG: Do you have any summer plans you'd be willing to share?
CZ: I'm running away to Florida next week to visit my old college roomie, and freeload off of her and her husband for as long as they'll tolerate me. When I get back, I'm taking my dog and my best friend and heading for a cabin in NC, where we plan to do nothing but float in the river with a book and eat lots of stuff that is bad for us. There will probably be some hiking, too, but mainly water/books/food.
Carol Zinavage is the principal keyboard player for the KSO.
KG: Did you choose the piano or did someone "help" you make that decision? I know from your cameo at last year's July 4th concert that you also play the flute / piccolo. Which came first? Any other instruments?
CZ: My mother was a pianist. My heroes when I was a baby were Hopalong Cassidy and Liberace. I liked the piano, but my mother looms large in my legend (ha.) I started flute in the 6th grade, and shortly after that, became a Certified Band Geek. Later, in my 20's, I joined a professional rock band on electric bass, which I taught myself. I can also play Suzuki Book One on violin.
KG: Playing keyboard for the symphony can involve some waiting around while the group rehearses a piece you don't play. Usually I see you passing the time with a crossword puzzle or a book. How did you get into doing crossword puzzles? Do you like other puzzles?
CZ: I love reading and I love words. I love the gestalt of The New York Times crossword puzzle - there's a certain way of thinking about language there that I feel very in tune with. Everyone asks me if I do Sudoku, too, but I have no patience for Sudoku and numbers - I'm too interested in words.
KG: What are you reading right now? What is the best book you've read lately (or ever...)?
CZ: I am reading a ghost story called The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters, whose writing reminds me of Daphne du Maurier, one of my favorite writers. I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein and it is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
KG: What is your favorite KSO memory / performance?
CZ: I was in awe of Henry Mancini. We shared the piano - meaning I would play and he would conduct the orchestra, and then he'd move to the piano and I would sit elsewhere, out of the way, while he performed. The orchestra played a not-so-well-known piece of his and I was one of the only ones who recognized it - there was a piano solo for me and I think he was pleased that I knew the tune and made the most of the solo, because he gave me a bow. He was rather crusty at the time, late in life, but I will always remember him smiling at me from the podium and saying, "C'mon, take a bow." Also, backing up The Moody Blues was practically a religious experience for me. My favorite classical moments have been on big Stravinsky pieces, or Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste," which just slays me.
KG: Do you have a favorite composer?
CZ: Beethoven, if I had to choose just one, largely for his sonorities. There's just no one else that makes an orchestra or piano sound like that. Others are Britten, Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev - I really like 20th-century.
KG: I can't imagine having to play on different violas all the time, yet that is the plight of the pianist since you can't take your instrument with you. Is it difficult adjusting to different pianos? How long does it take you to get comfortable with a new instrument?
CZ: I've always taken a "well, this is what it is, and by golly, it's gonna sound good anyway" approach. Positive thinking can cover a lot of ills. The worst piano I ever played was at a private party. The person who hired me went on and on about how the party-giver was so proud of his "Civil War-era piano," which made me groan inwardly - pianos always get worse, never better. It was indeed a disaster - the pedals fell off while I was playing and half the keys didn't work, and that's no exaggeration.
People are always asking me about technical aspects of the workings of the piano, and about electric pianos. I have no idea. My favorite story about that is the time someone ran into Sir Paul McCartney in a music store and asked him what kind of guitar/bass strings he used. He replied, "Uh - long, shiny, silver things?" I can so relate to that.
KG: What concert or piece are you looking forward to the most this upcoming season?
CZ: PETRUSHKA!!! (KG: Me too!)
KG: Do you have any summer plans you'd be willing to share?
CZ: I'm running away to Florida next week to visit my old college roomie, and freeload off of her and her husband for as long as they'll tolerate me. When I get back, I'm taking my dog and my best friend and heading for a cabin in NC, where we plan to do nothing but float in the river with a book and eat lots of stuff that is bad for us. There will probably be some hiking, too, but mainly water/books/food.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Getting to Know Lisa Muci Eckhoff
One of my plans for summer blogging is to do a series of "getting to know" posts about the staff and musicians who make the Knoxville Symphony what it is. As musicians we all have our professional biographies, most of which are on the KSO website. My aim for this series is to go beyond the usual of where we've played and with whom we've studied to talk about who we are outside the concert hall. The musicians of the KSO are a diverse group of folks. We all love music, but beyond that everyone's interests splinter off. I'm excited to get to know my colleagues better. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to convince Maestro Richman to participate!
Lisa Muci Eckhoff plays 1st violin in the Knoxville Symphony. She was gracious enough to go first in this series of e-interviews.
KG: I know you are crazy about your dogs. How old is Beauty now? And how did you come to have such big beautiful dogs?
LME: Beauty is around 7 years old; she was in a foster home in the rescue system when we got her, so we don't know her exact age; but we've had her for 3 wonderful years. She is an amazing and gorgeous dog with a fabulous personality!
Arabella is the puppy - 11 months old! After an extremely busy season at the KSO, Arabella is finally receiving much needed attention. Obedience class has been the best thing ever. We have a wonderful trainer named Shauna at Petsmart. Of course, Arabella won't "perform" in class. She only wants to visit with the other dogs...and people! "See how cute I am!" "Don't you want to pet me?" "Can I sniff you?" But, the training is helping out immensely with her behavior on the home front. Hurray!
I have also been searching out dog training shows on TV. The Dog Whisperer is one of my favorites, but I did watch a very interesting documentary-type show on either National Geographic or the Learning Channel the other day. It was all about studies being done in Europe on dog behavior. One of the most interesting things was unraveling the secrets to tail-wagging. Who knew there are studies on tail-wagging! Apparently, if a dog's tail is wagging predominantly on/to the right side of his body, he sees his master; if the tail is wagging to the left side, it is someone other than the master that he is looking at.
The dogs are both Great Pyrenees (known as "gentle giants" originating from Siberia and having served as guard dogs in the Pyrenees Mountains for thousands of years before becoming the Court Dog of Louis XIV in France), and many years ago, I saw a picture of one in the News Sentinel who was at the Knox County Animal Shelter. I started to research the breed, and that's how we came to own this breed. Beauty and Arabella are #3 and #4. Sorry to write so much about my dogs, but, they are my children...
KG: How / why did you get started playing the violin and what made you want to make music your career? Was violin your first choice or did someone choose for you?
LME: Back to music! I started lessons when I was 5. My birthday came immediately after the cut-off date for enrolling in school, so I had to wait another year. My mother was looking for activities to keep me busy. I told her that I wanted to play the violin; I had heard a recording of Sheherezade! Little did my mother know that when she enrolled me in violin lessons that it would become all consuming...for me ...and for her! When I was speaking with her a few days ago, she told me that she was finally shredding some old, old, old sentimental checks; they were checks written out to my first violin teacher - $1.50/lesson!
KG: Your husband, Herb Eckhoff, sings opera professionaly. What is the best thing about being married to an opera singer? Were you an opera fan before you met Herb?
LME: I was just entering my study of opera phase when I met Herb. I had auditioned for and won a position in a summer opera company - the Des Moines Metro Opera Company - two months before I met Herb. As a student, I had played in a few operas during my university studies, but during school, you are so focussed on your own solo studies that, well, it's pretty impossible to broaden your horizons too much. I know, isn't that what college is for?? But anyway, when I lived in Chicago, the husband of the personnel director of the (non-school) orchestra I played in (the Chicago Sinfonietta) was a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. He had access to student tickets, so that's where I really got my introduction to opera - going to the Chicago Lyric Opera.
After I met Herb, I had the opportunity to attend opera rehearsals - not orchestra rehearsals, but staging rehearsals for the singers. This includes all of the technical side of opera production - lighting, sets, costumes, stage direction, etc. Then, finally the orchestra joins in. It is FASCINATING - how all those elements come together! I strongly urge anyone who has not attended an opera, to find a way to do so. Also, if it is possible to take a backstage tour of an opera stage, do it. The magnitude of it all is daunting! And, of course, do read the plot ahead of time; this will make a huge difference!
...So, to answer your other question...the best thing about being married to an opera singer is: being serenaded regularly! Also, getting to travel worldwide. And, attending operas and concerts and seeing performing arts centers. Meeting other musicians, singers, composers, and conductors...and the wonderful people who support the arts! Oh, and of course, having a spouse who is also a musician helps the marriage because we both understand and accept the unconventional life style and rehearsal and performance schedule of the other. Okay, so the question should be, "What are the best things (plural) about being married to an opera singer?" Those are just a few of "my favorite things!"
KG: I'm interested in knowing more about your study of Baroque music. Is it something you have studied on your own or have you taken classes / workshops / etc?
LME: Many colleges and universities have early music and baroque ensembles. Unfortunately, my course work did not include this, as my focus was elsewhere. Several years later, I decided that I really needed to put in some concerted study time devoted to early music. So, aside from a ton of listening - public libraries are always a good resource for this - I finally got up the nerve to apply for a workshop - the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto.
Wow, what an intense immersion into the baroque! Every morning, I attended baroque dance class! It actually felt like Pilates set to renaissance/baroque music. In other words, quite a workout, but to weird music! Then, there were the art exhibits to study baroque art, and classes to study music history, ornamentation, instrument construction, and, private lessons, etc. Awesome! In the afternoons, I practiced period performance in baroque violin, viola d'amore, chamber ensembles, and orchestra. The evenings were devoted to concert attendance and performance. I shed plenty of tears when my coach made me "lose" my shoulder pad and chin rest. Yikes! This was the real deal! Everything was so different - from how you hold the instrument and produce sound, to the phrasing and tempi that we all learn as players of modernized instruments. (Most noticeable for string instruments is that the instruments then had shorter necks and fingerboards and a flatter bridge; the bows were not as straight and employed looser hair.) In playing, for example, most tempo markings should be interpreted faster than what is normally accepted on a modern instrument. And, there's not a ritard at the end of every little piece. Where even notes are written, it is likely that the notes should be played unevenly. Every phrase has diminuendi in it - even within a crescendo. Improvisation is expected - except in Bach who almost always wrote out everything. It all finally made so much sense. I try to bring a little of the flavor to my playing on "modern" equipment, but many articulations and bowings are simply not possible. But, the spirit is! Now, I am hooked! I confess that the viola d'amore is more interesting to me than the baroque violin. Someday I hope to own one. In the interim, I take a refresher lesson with a well-known and recorded d'amorist every time I get to Toronto!
KG: Favorite recording(s)? (classical or otherwise)
LME: More than recordings, I love live music! As an audience member, you experience all the drama, excitement, and sonics that recordings cannot convey - even dvds. I'd much rather spend my money going to a concert/recital and then have those memories in my head, than listen to the same recording over and over again! That said, some of my favorite concerts...anything in Carnegie Hall - what an incredible performance venue! Isaac Stern soloing when I was a member of the Wichita Symphony. The 2005 New Orleans Opera production of Wagner's opera, Siegfried. (Yes, Herb was in that production, but I'm not entirely biased. It was a knockout cast and production that received rave reviews!) Sting, when he was a member of the band, The Police!
In the KSO and Knoxville Opera... the ones that come to mind instantly are solo performances of Gil Shaham, Midori, Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Luciano Pavarotti... and KSO performances of Strauß' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Beethoven's 7th Symphony conducted by Maestro Richman, and Strauß' Der Rosenkavalier Suite and Ravel's Bolero led by Maestro Kirk Trevor.
Too bad that attending concerts isn't always practical...in that case, please support the classical music recording industry by buying recordings of your favorite artist or composer!! All that said, my confession is that I do, of course, own several recordings of all of the above named artists and composers...and then some! For baroque performances on period instruments, I love the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra led by Jeanne Lamon or Bruno Weill, and Franz Brüggen conducting the Orchestra of the 18th Century. The Metropolitan Opera also has some incredible baroque opera recordings of live performances, in particular, Julius Ceasar by Handel; I am embarrassed that I cannot think of the conductor's name at this moment...
KG: Favorite color?
LME: I like to wear purples! (Me too, Lisa!)
KG: Any memorable concert mishaps you'd be willing to share (KSO or otherwise)?
LME: There is the infamous, I Sneezed and Popped the Button off My Pants story that happened with the downbeat of Barber's Adagio for Strings! I don't think it's necessary to elaborate. Just envision it! Or, the other story when my standpartner and I collided and I accidentally dropped my bow down his tuxedo sleeve!
KG: Any summer plans you'd be willing to share?
LME: Where ever I go, attending as many concerts as I can as an audience member!
Lisa Muci Eckhoff plays 1st violin in the Knoxville Symphony. She was gracious enough to go first in this series of e-interviews.
KG: I know you are crazy about your dogs. How old is Beauty now? And how did you come to have such big beautiful dogs?
LME: Beauty is around 7 years old; she was in a foster home in the rescue system when we got her, so we don't know her exact age; but we've had her for 3 wonderful years. She is an amazing and gorgeous dog with a fabulous personality!
Arabella is the puppy - 11 months old! After an extremely busy season at the KSO, Arabella is finally receiving much needed attention. Obedience class has been the best thing ever. We have a wonderful trainer named Shauna at Petsmart. Of course, Arabella won't "perform" in class. She only wants to visit with the other dogs...and people! "See how cute I am!" "Don't you want to pet me?" "Can I sniff you?" But, the training is helping out immensely with her behavior on the home front. Hurray!
I have also been searching out dog training shows on TV. The Dog Whisperer is one of my favorites, but I did watch a very interesting documentary-type show on either National Geographic or the Learning Channel the other day. It was all about studies being done in Europe on dog behavior. One of the most interesting things was unraveling the secrets to tail-wagging. Who knew there are studies on tail-wagging! Apparently, if a dog's tail is wagging predominantly on/to the right side of his body, he sees his master; if the tail is wagging to the left side, it is someone other than the master that he is looking at.
The dogs are both Great Pyrenees (known as "gentle giants" originating from Siberia and having served as guard dogs in the Pyrenees Mountains for thousands of years before becoming the Court Dog of Louis XIV in France), and many years ago, I saw a picture of one in the News Sentinel who was at the Knox County Animal Shelter. I started to research the breed, and that's how we came to own this breed. Beauty and Arabella are #3 and #4. Sorry to write so much about my dogs, but, they are my children...
KG: How / why did you get started playing the violin and what made you want to make music your career? Was violin your first choice or did someone choose for you?
LME: Back to music! I started lessons when I was 5. My birthday came immediately after the cut-off date for enrolling in school, so I had to wait another year. My mother was looking for activities to keep me busy. I told her that I wanted to play the violin; I had heard a recording of Sheherezade! Little did my mother know that when she enrolled me in violin lessons that it would become all consuming...for me ...and for her! When I was speaking with her a few days ago, she told me that she was finally shredding some old, old, old sentimental checks; they were checks written out to my first violin teacher - $1.50/lesson!
KG: Your husband, Herb Eckhoff, sings opera professionaly. What is the best thing about being married to an opera singer? Were you an opera fan before you met Herb?
LME: I was just entering my study of opera phase when I met Herb. I had auditioned for and won a position in a summer opera company - the Des Moines Metro Opera Company - two months before I met Herb. As a student, I had played in a few operas during my university studies, but during school, you are so focussed on your own solo studies that, well, it's pretty impossible to broaden your horizons too much. I know, isn't that what college is for?? But anyway, when I lived in Chicago, the husband of the personnel director of the (non-school) orchestra I played in (the Chicago Sinfonietta) was a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. He had access to student tickets, so that's where I really got my introduction to opera - going to the Chicago Lyric Opera.
After I met Herb, I had the opportunity to attend opera rehearsals - not orchestra rehearsals, but staging rehearsals for the singers. This includes all of the technical side of opera production - lighting, sets, costumes, stage direction, etc. Then, finally the orchestra joins in. It is FASCINATING - how all those elements come together! I strongly urge anyone who has not attended an opera, to find a way to do so. Also, if it is possible to take a backstage tour of an opera stage, do it. The magnitude of it all is daunting! And, of course, do read the plot ahead of time; this will make a huge difference!
...So, to answer your other question...the best thing about being married to an opera singer is: being serenaded regularly! Also, getting to travel worldwide. And, attending operas and concerts and seeing performing arts centers. Meeting other musicians, singers, composers, and conductors...and the wonderful people who support the arts! Oh, and of course, having a spouse who is also a musician helps the marriage because we both understand and accept the unconventional life style and rehearsal and performance schedule of the other. Okay, so the question should be, "What are the best things (plural) about being married to an opera singer?" Those are just a few of "my favorite things!"
KG: I'm interested in knowing more about your study of Baroque music. Is it something you have studied on your own or have you taken classes / workshops / etc?
LME: Many colleges and universities have early music and baroque ensembles. Unfortunately, my course work did not include this, as my focus was elsewhere. Several years later, I decided that I really needed to put in some concerted study time devoted to early music. So, aside from a ton of listening - public libraries are always a good resource for this - I finally got up the nerve to apply for a workshop - the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute in Toronto.
Wow, what an intense immersion into the baroque! Every morning, I attended baroque dance class! It actually felt like Pilates set to renaissance/baroque music. In other words, quite a workout, but to weird music! Then, there were the art exhibits to study baroque art, and classes to study music history, ornamentation, instrument construction, and, private lessons, etc. Awesome! In the afternoons, I practiced period performance in baroque violin, viola d'amore, chamber ensembles, and orchestra. The evenings were devoted to concert attendance and performance. I shed plenty of tears when my coach made me "lose" my shoulder pad and chin rest. Yikes! This was the real deal! Everything was so different - from how you hold the instrument and produce sound, to the phrasing and tempi that we all learn as players of modernized instruments. (Most noticeable for string instruments is that the instruments then had shorter necks and fingerboards and a flatter bridge; the bows were not as straight and employed looser hair.) In playing, for example, most tempo markings should be interpreted faster than what is normally accepted on a modern instrument. And, there's not a ritard at the end of every little piece. Where even notes are written, it is likely that the notes should be played unevenly. Every phrase has diminuendi in it - even within a crescendo. Improvisation is expected - except in Bach who almost always wrote out everything. It all finally made so much sense. I try to bring a little of the flavor to my playing on "modern" equipment, but many articulations and bowings are simply not possible. But, the spirit is! Now, I am hooked! I confess that the viola d'amore is more interesting to me than the baroque violin. Someday I hope to own one. In the interim, I take a refresher lesson with a well-known and recorded d'amorist every time I get to Toronto!
KG: Favorite recording(s)? (classical or otherwise)
LME: More than recordings, I love live music! As an audience member, you experience all the drama, excitement, and sonics that recordings cannot convey - even dvds. I'd much rather spend my money going to a concert/recital and then have those memories in my head, than listen to the same recording over and over again! That said, some of my favorite concerts...anything in Carnegie Hall - what an incredible performance venue! Isaac Stern soloing when I was a member of the Wichita Symphony. The 2005 New Orleans Opera production of Wagner's opera, Siegfried. (Yes, Herb was in that production, but I'm not entirely biased. It was a knockout cast and production that received rave reviews!) Sting, when he was a member of the band, The Police!
In the KSO and Knoxville Opera... the ones that come to mind instantly are solo performances of Gil Shaham, Midori, Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Luciano Pavarotti... and KSO performances of Strauß' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Beethoven's 7th Symphony conducted by Maestro Richman, and Strauß' Der Rosenkavalier Suite and Ravel's Bolero led by Maestro Kirk Trevor.
Too bad that attending concerts isn't always practical...in that case, please support the classical music recording industry by buying recordings of your favorite artist or composer!! All that said, my confession is that I do, of course, own several recordings of all of the above named artists and composers...and then some! For baroque performances on period instruments, I love the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra led by Jeanne Lamon or Bruno Weill, and Franz Brüggen conducting the Orchestra of the 18th Century. The Metropolitan Opera also has some incredible baroque opera recordings of live performances, in particular, Julius Ceasar by Handel; I am embarrassed that I cannot think of the conductor's name at this moment...
KG: Favorite color?
LME: I like to wear purples! (Me too, Lisa!)
KG: Any memorable concert mishaps you'd be willing to share (KSO or otherwise)?
LME: There is the infamous, I Sneezed and Popped the Button off My Pants story that happened with the downbeat of Barber's Adagio for Strings! I don't think it's necessary to elaborate. Just envision it! Or, the other story when my standpartner and I collided and I accidentally dropped my bow down his tuxedo sleeve!
KG: Any summer plans you'd be willing to share?
LME: Where ever I go, attending as many concerts as I can as an audience member!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Pit
Some of my fondest memories are from playing in pit orchestras for various musicals. The atmosphere in the pit is a lot different than when we are on the main stage. People relax. It's not that the music is necessarily easier than our usual symphonic fare. Actually, scores for musicals can be quite challenging. The songs are scored for the comfort of the vocalists, not the musicians, so keys like B major (five sharps) or D-flat major (five flats) are quite common. Really, I think the musicians relax in the pit because the focus is not primarily on us. Our job is to make the people on stage look good. If we are noticed it's not always a good thing.
Just about every musical I have played for has had some near-disaster during production. (I don't think I'm the violist equivalent of Typhoid Mary, but who knows....) Most disasters happen without the audience ever knowing, but a few memorable times things have gone horribly wrong for everyone to see or hear. The worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) disaster that I witnessed happened during a run of Oklahoma when I was freelancing in the Chicago area. We were giving a special presentation for a packed house of school children. It was a doomed venture from the overture. A picnic basket was kicked into the pit (if you come see the Knoxville Opera next week, you will notice that there is a net above part of the pit to catch falling objects), a actor forgot an entire verse of a song, and several people missed entrances or forgot lines.
Clearly, it was not going well, but the show didn't reach full fiasco status until near the end. Curly, the leading male, had a fast costume change. Apparently no one was around backstage to help him get dressed and when he came back out on stage it was clear that he hadn't had time to properly put his pants on. For a few minutes he made it work by keeping one hand on his pants and using the other in his fight scene with the evil Jud Fry. Given that handicap, you would think that Jud would have had a better chance, but Curly still got the best of him. When the actors playing the police came out to arrest Curly they didn't notice he was holding his pants up. Or maybe they just didn't care. They turned him around and forced his hands behind his back. His pants fell down around his ankles to the screaming delight of over 700 elementary school children. Cowboys really shouldn't wear polka dot boxer shorts.
This weekend we are not in the pit, but we are staging a Valentine's pops show full of Richard Rodger's greatest hits. It should be an enchanted evening full of great music. And, hopefully, no fiascos.
Just about every musical I have played for has had some near-disaster during production. (I don't think I'm the violist equivalent of Typhoid Mary, but who knows....) Most disasters happen without the audience ever knowing, but a few memorable times things have gone horribly wrong for everyone to see or hear. The worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) disaster that I witnessed happened during a run of Oklahoma when I was freelancing in the Chicago area. We were giving a special presentation for a packed house of school children. It was a doomed venture from the overture. A picnic basket was kicked into the pit (if you come see the Knoxville Opera next week, you will notice that there is a net above part of the pit to catch falling objects), a actor forgot an entire verse of a song, and several people missed entrances or forgot lines.
Clearly, it was not going well, but the show didn't reach full fiasco status until near the end. Curly, the leading male, had a fast costume change. Apparently no one was around backstage to help him get dressed and when he came back out on stage it was clear that he hadn't had time to properly put his pants on. For a few minutes he made it work by keeping one hand on his pants and using the other in his fight scene with the evil Jud Fry. Given that handicap, you would think that Jud would have had a better chance, but Curly still got the best of him. When the actors playing the police came out to arrest Curly they didn't notice he was holding his pants up. Or maybe they just didn't care. They turned him around and forced his hands behind his back. His pants fell down around his ankles to the screaming delight of over 700 elementary school children. Cowboys really shouldn't wear polka dot boxer shorts.
This weekend we are not in the pit, but we are staging a Valentine's pops show full of Richard Rodger's greatest hits. It should be an enchanted evening full of great music. And, hopefully, no fiascos.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I Saw Mommy Stitching Santa's Pants
Friday evening when Santa came on-stage for the first time during the Clayton Holiday Concert, I noticed that he had a hole in his pants. I figured that since I could see it, the audience probably could too so I told the symphony's director of operations after the concert. Her reaction was, “Oh no, not again!” Turns out this is not the first time Santa has had a problem with his pants. I offered to fix them.
I think most people have a secret, or not-so-secret passion. Mine is all things related to sewing. When we bought our house one of the big selling points with us was the large bonus room. At first the room was primarily dedicated to music with a small corner for my sewing machine. Now the opposite is true. Slowly, the sewing machines, cutting table, and fabric have taken over the room. Even when I am ripping out a pants zipper that I accidentally installed backward (so you would have to reach your hand down your pants to pull it up...) I am always happy when I'm sewing. I love playing the viola and I'm glad to play with the Knoxville Symphony, but if The Metropolitan Opera Company or Cirque du Soleil called needing a costume designer I'd be there in a heartbeat. This is why I offered to fix Santa's pants.
My motto when fixing something is “First do no harm.” This is followed closely by, “Measure twice, cut once.” When I took out the old repairs to see what I had to work with I had visions of Santa wearing a pair of red sweat pants for the rest of the Clayton performances. The pants were in bad shape. Finally I said a little prayer, made a slit in the lining and repaired them as best I could. Luckily my repairs held for the rest of the performances. I did cringe every time Santa high kicked or karate-chopped his way across the stage. I had hideous visions of his pants disintegrating on the spot.
I enjoyed playing costume mistress for the night, but I think the best part of the whole situation was seeing my four-year-old's reaction when she got up in the morning to find Santa's pants hanging up in the studio.
I think most people have a secret, or not-so-secret passion. Mine is all things related to sewing. When we bought our house one of the big selling points with us was the large bonus room. At first the room was primarily dedicated to music with a small corner for my sewing machine. Now the opposite is true. Slowly, the sewing machines, cutting table, and fabric have taken over the room. Even when I am ripping out a pants zipper that I accidentally installed backward (so you would have to reach your hand down your pants to pull it up...) I am always happy when I'm sewing. I love playing the viola and I'm glad to play with the Knoxville Symphony, but if The Metropolitan Opera Company or Cirque du Soleil called needing a costume designer I'd be there in a heartbeat. This is why I offered to fix Santa's pants.
My motto when fixing something is “First do no harm.” This is followed closely by, “Measure twice, cut once.” When I took out the old repairs to see what I had to work with I had visions of Santa wearing a pair of red sweat pants for the rest of the Clayton performances. The pants were in bad shape. Finally I said a little prayer, made a slit in the lining and repaired them as best I could. Luckily my repairs held for the rest of the performances. I did cringe every time Santa high kicked or karate-chopped his way across the stage. I had hideous visions of his pants disintegrating on the spot.
I enjoyed playing costume mistress for the night, but I think the best part of the whole situation was seeing my four-year-old's reaction when she got up in the morning to find Santa's pants hanging up in the studio.
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