Newton's Third Law

The motto "the show must go on" is as applicable to the symphony stage as it is to a Broadway show. Life doesn't stop just because there is a concert. Sometimes the unexpected happens. People get sick, strings break, or Broadway calls.

It is moments like these that lead to greatness. I was not around for the pops concert about 10 years ago when the guest artist suddenly became violently ill right before the performance. I have heard all about it, though. Not because it was a disaster, but because everyone in the symphony banded together and gave a memorable performance on the fly. It has become a KSO legend. The Masterworks concert where Lara St. John broke her E string in the middle of the Shostakovich violin concerto is one of the highlights of my nine seasons with the orchestra. It was dramatic and exciting. I have never heard an audience roar like they did when she finished that piece.

You see, Newton's Third Law of Motion applies to the symphony orchestra nearly as well as it applies to physics. You push on us, we'll push back. The greater the disaster, the greater our effort to compensate. Not that we don't try to play our best under normal circumstances, its just that when something unexpected happens everyone pushes a little bit harder. This is when greatness occurs.

On Saturday the orchestra will be performing a pops show. A few months back, the unexpected happened when our guest artist for the show canceled. KSO management found a replacement in singer Steve Lippia. Now, this is not in any form a disaster since Lippia is an experienced and quite talented singer, but when I flipped through my pops music this weekend my sixth sense started tingling. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those times where the unexpected leads to greatness. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if we were still talking about this pops concert in 2020.

The Grammys

Congratulations to composer Jennifer Higdon, who grew up in Seymour, TN; for her Grammy win last night! Higdon won the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for her Percussion Concerto.

As I watched the Grammys last night, I couldn't help thinking about what symphony pops shows will be like in another 20 years or so. It's easy for me to picture Taylor Swift performing a symphony show. Chris Botti is a no-brainer. I can even see Pink, The Dave Matthews Band, and Beyonce performing with a symphony in a dozen years or so (not together...). The Black Eyed Peas? Not so much. The thought of Lady Gaga performing with a symphony is both frightening and intriguing. (Much like Lady Gaga herself.) If it ever happens, I want to be there.

If you missed the Grammys or you want to check out the winners in categories that weren't featured last night on television, the entire list of nominees and winners can be found here.

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.

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.

Concert Smorgasbord

The Knoxville Symphony has several concerts coming up this week, including two free concerts.

Tonight at 7:00 the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra will perform their final concert of the season at the Tennessee Theater. Several orchestras of all levels will perform from kids who have only been playing a few years to high school students who have been seriously studying their instruments for many years. All the ensembles present a polished performance. This concert is free.

Tomorrow string players from the KSO will partner with the orchestra students at Farragut High School to present a side by side performance at Farragut High School. The concert begins at 7:30 at Farragut High School.

Wednesday at 6:30 we will be playing on Market Square. This concert was rescheduled from last Friday due to rain. This concert is free.

Finally, on Saturday Peter Cetera is coming for the KSO's final pops concert of the season. This is the concert I'm looking forward to the most this week. Peter Cetera has written hit after hit after hit. It should be a great evening.

Pop Challenged

There is a note floating around the internet right now titled “The Top 25 Songs that Changed My Life.” I've enjoyed reading about music other people like, but I could never write my own list. I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit it, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't name 25 songs outside the classical music genre, let alone name songs that changed my life. I try to like popular music. Last week I was at the library, determined (after reading someone's “top 25” list) to find SOMETHING outside of classical music. I came away with nothing, overwhelmed by all the choices. I don't even know where to start. (suggestions?) I understand and sympathize with people who find classical music inaccessible and intimidating because I feel the same way about popular music.

I did listen to some popular music as a youth, but my choices were influenced by what my friends liked, or what my love interest of the moment was playing on his walkman. My family also played a role in my popular music diet. My sister was attending high school in the 1980's when MTV first made it's debut. We watched together. Those were the days when MTV actually played music videos. We watched Dire Straits get their money for nothing, Peter Gabriel's dancing poultry, and Michael Jackson's uncut Thriller video. My dad also did his part to expose me to the world of pop. We listened to the oldies station on car trips and I remember being amazed at his ability to identify all the songs from the 50's and 60's within the first few chords. For whatever reason, music from that era really clicked with me. When I do seek out popular music on my own, that is usually what I choose to listen to. Unlike my father, I can't tell you the names of the songs, artists, or the year they came out, but when I hear one of the oldie goldies, I can usually sing along.

This weekend the symphony is playing with The Lettermen. I enjoy playing these kinds of pops shows because I do know many of the songs. (I'll be in trouble when Brittany Spears starts giving symphony shows!) My aunt and uncle are passing through town and plan to attend the concert on Saturday. When I asked my aunt if she thought they would want to attend after a day of being on the road she said something about The Lettermen being from her era. “Mine, too,” I thought.

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.