Making Music and College Basketball

I know it’s been a long time since I posted, and I probably should write about where I’ve been and why it is I haven’t posted in a while, and I will. I’ll post a “why I haven’t been writing” blog post next week. This week, I want to talk about one of my loves: college basketball (specifically, Duke – go figure).

People who know me know my love of the sport (which tends to be lacking when it comes to the NBA). I think my favorite month of the year is March. It’s a time when you have seniors facing their last games ever. It’s a time of “win or go home.” UNC’s drubbing of Duke wasn’t without its silver lining. (And congrats to those UNC fans out there – you’re team really showed up and overwhelmed us at home.) I think the most impressive player on the floor was Miles Plumlee – Duke’s only senior. He played with determination, heart, and skill that seems to be something only seniors can do in their last games at home. Miles Plumlee played above himself and did all he could to will the team to win. He made me proud to be a Duke alum.

So, why is an opera company founder and conductor talking about a college basketball player’s heart and desire? It’s simple: great performances seem to have Miles Plumlee’s passion and intensity. They seem to have that back against the wall all or nothing feel. Great performances of opera or orchestra “leave everything on the floor.”

How do we channel that as musicians? How do we go out there each time we perform and “leave it all on the floor?” It’s been something that has become easier and easier for me, and I think it’s because I realized recently how much music means to me. Building Opera Vista has been a voyage – it has involved a lot of sacrifice (working two jobs at times in order to keep the company afloat, devoting time that took away from family and friends, lost relationships, etc). It has the difficulties of any start-up company coupled with the difficulties of a start-up non-profit in a rough economic climate.

That being said, I couldn’t be prouder of the shows we have put on stage in the past five years. We have focused on creating great art, and I think each show we have put on has displayed passion and determination – especially when you factor in the resource constraints we have always faced and the sheer scheduling nightmares we have faced.

The opportunity to make music never seems to come around often enough. I feel as though I spend most of my time on administrative stuff, and the conducting subsequently flies by. (In some senses, it’s a bit like skiing. You spend a good bit of time in line for the lift and then on the lift, and then it feels like 2 seconds later, you’re waiting in line again).

There is really no feeling like being on the podium to make music – at least not for me. In some ways, I look at each opportunity in the same way Miles viewed the Duke/UNC game in Cameron – his last opportunity to play at home. I try to focus on each show as if it will be my last. How do you other musicians do it? What do you do to get your head in the game?

And to my favorite college basketball team, in the words of Coach K, “Next Play!”

Of Men and Mountains (2 day countdown)

I had an interesting phone interview with Bill Forman from the Colorado Springs Independent to preview my concert with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. It was a great discussion about music and the CSPO. He did stump me when he asked a great question about what I would add to my program if I were to add a contemporary piece of music. As I said in my blog yesterday, I intentionally did not put a contemporary piece of music on the program because that has been my area of focus for the past four years. My thinking was that the orchestra and administration would automatically assume that I could conduct contemporary music.

The question was tough on multiple levels. First, when you put a program together, you try to put together a satisfying program with all the included music. The best comparison is a meal – a great chef would try to put a meal that was satisfying on its own. Once the meal is planned, it’s tough to think of another dish you would add. That was the first challenge – what could I add to my already complete program? The next challenge was trying to think of a piece that would fit the rest of the program. This program is a very European program. An American piece would be perhaps to energetic and colorful. The Beethoven already provides that rhythmic energy. The Tchaikovsky is a romantic masterpiece with heart-on-the-sleeve emotional impact, so adding something of that nature might not work.

I felt like we would need something contemporary but European. The first thoughts that came to mind were Dutilleux and Aarvo Pärt. Part of the reason Pärt came up was because we are thinking of doing one of his pieces on an upcoming Opera Vista performance. So then the thought of rehearsal time came to mind. Dutilleux takes more rehearsal time than Pärt. I also thought that Pärt’s Cantus in Memoriam of Benjamin Britten was a good contrast. There is a solemn, almost sacred feel to that piece. It has a lot of dramatic tension but in a different way from the rest of the program.

So, when you read my answer to that question in the article, you now know why I came up with that idea.

Of Men and Mountains! (3 day countdown)

First, I want to wish my dad the happiest of birthdays.  He’s somehow been able to put up with me for 34 years of my life!  Congratulations to the Florida State Seminoles for killing my Blue Devils’ 25-game win streak.  FSU played a tough game.

So the reason for the title of this blog is that I’m soon off to Colorado Springs to work with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic for a week.  Get your tickets now.  I’m excited about the repertoire, the soloist, and the opportunity that the week presents.  I’ll be conducting Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 4, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.  It’s an interesting program.  (To read my thoughts on the first movement of Beethoven 7, check out my previous blog.)

A lot goes into putting a program together, but even more goes into putting an audition program together.  Most of you who know my work know that I am a champion of living composers and new music.  I wanted a program that gave the orchestra and public an idea of the variety of music that I could do.  I actually left contemporary music off the program because I figured it was already seen as an area of expertise.  (I’ve been running an opera company that performs only contemporary music for the past 4 years, after all!)

I’ll talk more about the program over the next few days.  The past few weeks have been busy because we’re trying to get the second half of Opera Vista’s season put together, and I’ve been preparing the pieces to conduct in Colorado.  (Plus the whole New Year’s resolutions bit…)  I leave for Colorado on January 16, so I’ll try to blog the entire trip.  Oh, and I owe you all a bunch of pictures from my Asia trip.  I’ll get those up with the Colorado Springs pics!

The Beautiful Game!

As most of you know, I’m a pretty die-hard college basketball fan.  (Another shout out to my 2010 National Champion Duke University Blue Devils!)  But, I’m pretty stoked about the World Cup starting tomorrow.  (A spoiler alert – I will most likely not talk much about music in this post).

I was listening to BBC’s World Have Your Say yesterday afternoon on KUHF’s HD channel 3, and they had an interesting discussion involving artists, poets and business folk.  The question was whether soccer is an art form.  (They also discussed whether soccer was one of man’s greatest inventions, but I’m going to skip that portion of the discussion).  What I found interesting were the number of artists who took offense (or since it was on the BBC offence) at the question having even been posed.  As a musician, many of the offended struck me as simply being jealous – of course in our culture, sports figures make more money, get more publicity, and are heralded more than artists.  I count myself as one who thinks that’s a bit of a shame, but as a sports’ fan myself, I’m not sure I’m in the position to argue much.

I do have to say, though, that I truly think there are some athletes who transcend the game and truly become artists.  (I also think there are some artists who transcend the mundane and truly become artists).  Michael Jordan is the first who comes to mind.  (The dark blue side of me cringes).  What he was able to do with the basketball was truly artistic.  My favorite Jordan moment was when he went up to dunk the ball, saw Sam Perkins coming over, switches hands and lays the ball in – all in midair.  Larry Bird was another one!  What passing ability!

But, the focus should be on the World Cup.  It starts tomorrow.  Pele is still the gold standard artist of the game, but in my memory, it has to be Zidane.  His ability to control the ball and rule the midfield was artistic.  Check out this video.  If a ballet dancer is considered an artist, why can’t great football players also be in the running?  (That can include Barry Sanders, Peyton Manning, or any number of American football greats.)

The level of mastery some of these players show is akin to a great musician, dancer, painter, or sculptor.  I was amazed that many of the arguments from the “sportsmen can’t be considered as artists” camp came because of the lack of intellectualism.  That argument is so elitist.  The training athletes go through to understand tactics, their teammates’ movements, what to do with the ball, etc. are pretty intellectually demanding.  Is it similar to understanding Camus?  No, but I can tell you there are some pretty “unintellectual” musicians who are brilliant artists.

In the end, art endeavors to create beauty and order.  Watching some of these players make such beautiful moves with the ball – hanging in midair, switching hands while a defender comes over to block you? – and these teams play with such order (Germany?) – how can we NOT see the art in it.

Enjoy a month of the beautiful game.  I know I will.  Allez les bleus!  (Please don’t let Domenech screw up a great team!)  Go USA!

Next week, I’ll tell you about the cool Opera Vista developments!

The Off-Season

My apologies for being AWOL so long.  Last season was truly a tough one in a lot of ways.  Running a very young arts organization in the midst of a recession was mentally and physically exhausting – not only for me, but for everyone involved in the company, as well as those around me.

As usual, Michael Kaiser has a great take on this last season and the toll it took on arts administrators.  (One of the most interesting aspects to my job with Opera Vista is that I’m not only the Artistic Director, I also have a ton of administrative responsibilities.)

In Kaiser’s article he talks quite a bit about the current feel of burnout in the arts community.  One of the most interesting things about arts managers is that they tend to be extremely efficient.  There just isn’t enough money to do all that needs to be done, so you are constantly looking to find the most efficient and cost effective ways to deliver the greatest quality art possible.  The constant struggle to keep organizations efficient and keep costs low often renders arts managers exhausted.  Tack on the fact that we were all navigating through a recession, and I think it’s the biggest reason you see such exhaustion in the arts community.

The part of Mr. Kaiser’s post I found the most interesting were the comments section.  I highly recommend reading those.  I was surprised at how many people were talking about their health issues and the level of exhaustion.

I have to admit that both Joe White and I felt much of that towards the end of last season.  We couldn’t really blame our donors for cutting their donations – nobody knew what the future would hold, so being conservative made sense.  But, that also meant that we had to find a way to navigate through the reduced donations, etc.

I think the arts tend to be the first hit and the last to recover when the economy slides.  There is increased uncertainty, so people feel that they must start cutting back on the non-essentials.  The arts take that hit pretty hard.  The nice thing is that with the economy recovering, generosity is increasing!  And, OV’s next season is looking to be an amazing one.  (Think live elephant).

I think I am finally beginning to recover mentally from last season, and next season’s projects seem truly exciting, so consider my biweekly blog back!  My only regret from last season was how stressed I constantly was, and the final toll it took on those around me – one person in particular.  But, we all snap back, and hopefully things return to normal.

Music Director Audition – Days 7, 8, and 9 (And Home Again)

I have been meaning to post this for days, but it seemed as though the second I got back to Houston, I was thrown back into the day to day of Opera Vista. Part of it is that there is always a bit of a let down after a big concert. When you get to do a big piece like Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, you put a lot of emotional energy into it. Once the concert is done, it’s tough not to feel a bit empty. (Given that I’m up to my ears designing the stage direction and putting Line Tjornhoj’s Anorexia Sacra together, I don’t have much time to wallow!)

Thursday, Feb 25, 2010

The last two full days in Yakima were a true blur. Thursday started with a tour of Mighty Tieton, which is an amazing set of warehouse lofts built in Tieton. They also converted an adjoining warehouse into studios for artists. We had the opportunity to see some of Trimpin’s sound sculptures, and I have to admit that I don”t think Lauren and I wanted to leave. Ann Orminski was a wonderful tour guide. I really thought that Tieton had some great potential for artists.

We then went to the Rotary Lunch, and I was excited to see that there were so many people who took a keen interest in contributing to the community. We finished the Rotary lunch and piled into the car with Neal Lessenger who drove us through the canyon to Ellensburg to see Washington Central. That was followed by the drive back, and a quick pit stop to watch the Duke/Tulsa game. (Thankfully, they won, so I was in a good mood for rehearsal, which started 30 minutes after the game finished).

Rehearsal went very well. I was pleased by the work that the orchestra had put in since the Tuesday rehearsal. They really stepped up and pushed themselves in the direction I had been hoping for.

Video 15 – Waltz from Bernstein’s Fancy Free

Friday, Feb 26, 2010

This was another really busy day. It started with a real estate tour of Yakima. Lauren and I really loved what they had done with the lofts. I thought they were really beautiful. (And they’re across the street from the symphony office!) We went from the real estate tour to lunch with the Yakima Symphony Chorus folks. It was great meeting Dr. Scott Peterson and the rest of the chorus supporters. It was again one of those times where I realized all the potential that this organization has. No matter who wins the YSO job, there is so much potential for that orchestra to really do great things for the community.

We had a little bit of time off in the afternoon, so I had some time to figure out what I was going to work on in the rehearsal. I then headed over to the Capitol Theater at 5:00PM to meet with YSO board member Natalie Martinkus since she had not had a chance to meet me earlier. (This was one of the most encouraging parts of this audition – there were so many board members who cleared parts of the schedule to find times to meet with me. There was a definite focus on really getting to know my ideas and my vision for the orchestra). After meeting with Natalie, I went directly to the orchestra committee meeting (while Lauren went wine tasting with Natalie). I really admire the effort put behind making the orchestra committee such a functional organization. It was made up of board members, staff members, and orchestra members. It served as an avenue of communication between each of the three stakeholders.

We then had our final rehearsal. One of the things I had in the back of my mind for this rehearsal was really doing as much as we could to be ready for the concert on Friday night. I had a rehearsal on Saturday morning, but I was worried about doing too much on Saturday morning. The Beethoven is really an endurance trial, so I wanted to leave Saturday morning’s rehearsal with something in the tank for that evening.

I was also truly honored by this article by Yakima Herald reporter, Patrick Muir.

Video 16 – First Read Through of Beethoven Seventh, movement 2

Saturday, February 27, 2010

It’s game day! I tried to make the dress rehearsal as easy as possible. I wanted to make sure we had the energy to really nail it that night. They then arranged an orchestra lunch for after the rehearsal, so the orchestra could then ask me questions. I was asked such questions as, “What is your vision for the orchestra?” and “What is your favorite Star Wars movie?” (Empire is of course the only answer).

One of my habits has always been a quick nap the afternoon of a concert. (More often than not, I don’t actually sleep, but the pieces run through my head). I then take a ridiculously long shower, and I drink a cup of coffee.  Then, I’m ready to go. We threw my tux in a suitcase around 5:45 and headed over to the theater at 6:00PM. I got changed and then went out to meet the YSO audience. I was asked to do a pre-concert talk, but as opposed to really preparing anything, they told me to be ready to answer questions from the audience – and answer questions I did! I was truly impressed. Just as with the search committee and the board, the audience asked excellent questions, and there was definitely a focus on building the orchestra. I really felt that there was some great energy and focus to build the orchestra.

Then, we had the concert. I was extremely proud of the performance – the orchestra really put everything they had into it. Kara Hunnicutt played wonderfully, and the orchestra matched that on the Respighi. I think the audience truly enjoyed the Revueltas. And then… there was the Beethoven. I was extremely proud of what the orchestra did. It had all the energy and fire that I could have hoped for. The amazing thing is that there is still room to build. That was just a start, so the future of the YSO is very bright!

Of course we hadn’t packed, so after the concert, the public reception, and the private reception we finally got some sleep at 1:00AM… and then were up at 6:00AM since we weren’t packed yet!

Music Director Audition – Days 5 and 6

I kept meaning to post something yesterday, but things were crazy busy, so today, you get a post about yesterday and the day before.

2 Days Ago:

On Tuesday, I had my first rehearsal with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Amid all the interviews, receptions, and publicity spots, one of the challenges is keeping in mind that the most important reason I’m here in Yakima is to actually conduct the orchestra. (In the end, if I’m hired, that’s what they’re going to pay me to do after all.) One of the biggest challenges is that you have no idea what to expect. It’s a bit like being asked to coach a basketball team you’ve never seen play. I usually start by going through a game plan of a rehearsal in my head (and 90% of the time, it never goes as I envision it!)

Video 12 – Rehearsal Prep

Brooke Creswell, the outgoing music director of the orchestra, introduced me to the orchestra at 6:00PM, and then it was time to get going. I had previously decided that the first half of the rehearsal would be Bernstein’s Three Dance Variations from Fancy Free and Revueltas’ Janitzio. There was a practical reason for the rehearsal order – the Beethoven doesn’t use trombones, tuba, etc., so by doing those pieces in the first half of the rehearsal, the extra brass and percussion could leave.

The orchestra had never played the Bernstein or the Revueltas, so it really was a reading of the music. Taking that into account, we made a good start on the work. As you can hear in the following video, we need to work on the off beats during the trumpet solo. One of the challenges of this hall is that on stage, you can’t really hear the brass well, but from the video, you can tell that the brass do project fairly well. I will need to correct my own thinking on that in the next rehearsal.

Video 13 – Bernstein’s Galop from Fancy Free

In the next rehearsal, I am going to focus primarily on string sound. The hall is bass shy (in other words, the cellos and basses don’t project as well), so the strings have to work harder to really produce a balanced and warm sound. It can be done, but it’s something that we will have to constantly focus on.

All in all, I was truly pleased with the first rehearsal. I think there is a lot of potential, and as we get through the music more and more, we’re really going to make great progress.

Yesterday:

Yesterday was a long day. In the morning I was on KiT radio with Noel Moxley, the executive director of the orchestra. I then had a few hours off before we went to lunch with the endowment oversight committee and some of the bigger donors to the orchestra. Roger, the second trombone player, picked us up and gave us a really neat tour of the area. I got some keen insight into the agriculture industry that drives the valley. I also got a cool lecture on hops growing and production.

Video 14 – How we grow hops (Thanks to Roger Finch)

After our tour, I met the endowment oversight committee and some of the major donors for lunch. We went to a place called Tony’s, which is run by a guy from Austin. (Small world!) I’ll give serious props to Richard Rodriguez because he runs a great restaurant.

I then had about an hour and a half before moving on to the next event – the board interview. There is always a fear that the atmosphere around these board interviews will be one of really bright lights and constant questions – Sayeed-style from Lost, but this really was a wonderful discussion. (I mean, it ended with me discussing fixed cost allocation with the board treasurer, Charley Hanses, so you know it was fun!) One of the things I need to do is pour through the current financial report, but I think that will have to wait until I get back to Houston on Sunday.

Yakima Symphony Music Director Audition – Day 4

This was another long day, but from here on out, they’re all going to be pretty long. I started with a piano rehearsal with Kara Hunnicutt, the soloist for my concert on Saturday. We’re doing Respighi’s Adagio con Variazioni. I have to admit that when it was assigned, I didn’t know the piece! I knew of it, but I had never heard it – what would we do without iTunes?

I thought the piano rehearsal went quite well. Kara doesn’t do the piece the same way twice, so the music is really an organic entity when she plays it. (Tempi might be a bit different, slightly different rubato each time, etc.) The nice thing was that even though she changed quite a bit as she played through the piece, it was very easy to figure out where she was going.

Video 10 – Piano rehearsal with Kara Hunnicutt (Thanks to Lauren for being the camera person!)

In the evening, the outgoing Music Director, Brooke Creswell took us to the youth orchestra rehearsal. I thought there was a good foundation for the young musicians of Yakima. One of the things I need to figure out is what the relationship is between the Yakima Symphony Orchestra and the youth symphony. There is a lot of potential in the youth orchestra for really developing a younger generation of musicians.

Video 11 – Youth Orchestra Rehearsal

The State of the Music Is Strong

I spent last weekend in Austin as part of a grant evaluation committee for the Texas Commission on the Arts. I was extremely honored to be asked to take part in the selection process for the Texas Young Masters program. The competition was across the artistic disciplines, and will give the selected high school students a grant of $2500 per year to help them with their training. I will admit that when I received almost 70 grant applications from high school students, I wondered what it was that I had volunteered for!

I was sent a binder with 66 grant applications from musicians all over the state with the instructions to read through each of the applications and be ready to critique them in the panel. I was a bit worried as I read through them because there were a lot of similar essays. (I have to say that it was the first time I’ve really felt like a crotchety old man – I kept muttering to myself about the state of writing in high school these days… dadgummit!)

By the time I finally arrived in Austin, I was preparing myself for a long two days of reviewing recordings from high school kids. I was prepared for a lot of all-state etudes, etc. (You can tell that I was a bit jaded by this point).

Then we heard them play.

I can say in all honesty that I am thoroughly convinced that we will see some major concert artists (in everything from jazz to pop to classical) coming out of Texas over the next few years. I am convinced that we’ll see some great classical guitarists, some inspirational pop artists, a few singers on Broadway or the Metropolitan Opera (or Opera Vista), and some violinists that go on to solo careers or major orchestra jobs – with musicians at all levels in between. It was amazing to see how high school students put together such wonderful videos. Some of them played so well that my jaw dropped! I also appreciated the process that the TCA had in that the applicants would receive our critiques. I also had wonderful colleagues on the panel, and I felt that everyone brought extremely constructive critiques to the table.

I am pretty sure that I’ve seen the next Yo Yo Ma. You’ll all be seeing an incredible cellist coming out of Texas in the next few years. We were all getting pretty tired by the time we saw his video, and for a really young kid who hadn’t been playing that long, he was truly impressive.  He oozed music, but more importantly, he loved every single note he was playing. I was truly awed.

I can say that after my worries about the crazy number of applicants, the difficulty in scoring and evaluating them all, and the long days that I found it to be one of the most inspiring experiences in a long time. Texas is going to be turning out some great musicians over the next years, and that’s something to be proud of… let’s just hope they edit their essays!

I can say in all honesty that I am thoroughly convinced that we will see some major concert artists (in everything from jazz to pop to classical) coming out of Texas over the next few years.

American Music, Marin, and Mahler

I’ve been doing a lot of work with American music lately.  I’m performing Bernstein’s Three Dance Variations from Fancy Free in February, and we have our Opera 101: It’s in English! this evening.  I also went to two rehearsals of Marin Alsop’s with the Houston Symphony.  She’s performing Barber’s Symphony no. 1 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1.  All of this has led me to going back through great American music – and we have some truly great American music.

I had never heard Barber’s first symphony.  (In all the great repertoire from so many countries and over a few hundred years, it’s pretty easy to miss a great work!)  After hearing the Houston Symphony rehearse it, I can honestly say that I missed a wonderful piece of music.  I would say (perhaps without debate) that rhythm is the driving force between most American music.  If you think of Aaron Copland’s music, there is a very wide open sound to his music (think the music from westerns), and there is a driving rhythmic element to most of it.  This could perhaps be due to the fact that much of the music for which he is famous was written for the ballet, but I also think there is a deeper “America” to his rhythmic ideas.  Leonard Bernstein is probably most famous – aside from his conducting – for his music for West Side Story. There was again collaboration with dance in his work with Jerome Robbins, but again, I would suggest that there is a rhythmic drive that is American even in their purely orchestral works.

Barber’s music also has that American rhythmic drive to it, but in a way that is different from the music of Bernstein and Copland.  I believe that much of that difference arises from his sound concept.  Both Bernstein and Copland orchestrated their works to create a light and colorful sound.  (I’m generalizing and over simplifying, I know!)  In some ways, I always hear a French style to Bernstein’s and Copland’s orchestration – and I think it is because of the incredible color.  On the other side, Barber tends to be the more “Germanic” of the Americans.  I hear (again gross generalization) Brahms meets America in that there is a deep, dark, Germanic orchestra sound but with that American rhythmic drive and underlying pulse.

Speaking of American music, Houstonians have a great opportunity to see a great American conductor working with the Houston Symphony this week.  Full disclosure moment – I’ve done 3 masterclasses with Marin Alsop, and I think she is one of the better conducting teachers out there.  She really gives the student an idea of what you experience with professional orchestras on a daily basis.  When I was living in Paris, I remember seeing a headline for Marin’s concert with the Orchestre de Lyons.  It was Lyons or Bordeaux.  The title they chose for the concert was Un chef… une femme.  (A conductor… a woman).  Well, Marin Alsop isn’t a great female conductor – she’s a great conductor, and Barber is her bread and butter.  She is one of the foremost interpreters of Barber’s music these days.  She’s also performing one of my favorite pieces in Mahler’s first symphony.  You can catch it on Saturday or Sunday.  You can find more information on the Houston Symphony’s website.

Since those concerts are on Saturday and Sunday, you can catch Opera Vista’s Opera 101: It’s in English! tonight at Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar at 8:00PM!  See you there.

Also, I wanted to throw some love to the University of Texas.  They played a heck of a game after losing their star quarterback.  I thought Garrett Gilbert walked into a crazy situation and proved that he has a huge upside.  That team is going to be good for years!