Music, together with certain sorts of majestic landscape, had a well-known tendency to induce such faux-sublime moments: artificial intimations of transcendent truths, grandiose hunches about the nature of the universe. It was all nonsense. Her tears had been no different from the ones people cried at sentimental television commercials. They represented nothing but a momentary and regrettable submission to kitsch.
- From The Believers by Zoe Heller
I have to admit that I am still riding a high from last week’s Rite of Swing show. For me, it was the culmination of three years of working to establish a truly unique musical voice for the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore. In many ways, Rite of Swing was the epitome of the vision I have for Mobtown Modern; it was a piece of music commissioned and created especially for the Contemporary Museum and Mobtown Modern, the product was exceptional both in terms of the music itself and the polish and professionalism of the performance, we provided an opportunity and platform for an artist (Darryl Brenzel) to present his work to a larger audience and receive some much deserved critical attention, we were able to reach even more people through a variety of public outreach activities made possible by a grant from the Meet The Composer organization, and it happened right here in Baltimore—not New York, not Chicago, not Los Angeles, not Washington, DC—which, to me, is so critical as I continue to work to establish Baltimore as a leading voice for musical innovation and a vital center for contemporary music.
Yours truly with Contemporary Museum Executive Director Irene Hofmann
Here’s a round-up of all the good news that came out of the event:
[Top two photos courtesy of Philip Laubner via What Weekly; bottom image courtesy of Robert McIver Photography.]
The small part of the Baltimore music scene that I run in has gotten some big mentions outside of our fair city these past couple of weeks. Last week, Mobtown Modern‘s presentation of the first ever arrangement of the complete Rite of Spring for big band was plugged by Alex Ross on his New Yorker blog. And today, Baltimore’s own intrepid beatboxer / vocal percussionist, Shodekeh, was thrust into the spotlight on NewMusicBox, the web magazine of the American Music Center. Those who were at Sho’s show at the Creative Alliance back in March will recognize some of the performance footage in the video. Check out the video and be sure to catch Shodekeh in his Baltimore Symphony debut this July 23 at the Meyerhoff.
The League of American Orchestras, which just launched its new Orchestra R/Evolution website, doesn’t mention the neat project anywhere on its own website. Someone get on that. Stat.
Update: It appears someone did indeed get on that. Screenshot taken just before 3 p.m. EST.
In advance of their June conference in Atlanta, the League of American Orchestras has launched a new website that seeks to help answer that time-honored question: How do orchestras need to change? They’re probably gonna have a lot to talk / fight about. There will be several bloggers contributing to the pre-conference discussion on the new site, including my fair lady. Should be interesting to follow along to see what, if anything, comes from the discussion.
Personally, I’d like to see some organization take a huge risk; one that pisses off a bunch of their board and crusty old subscribers, but really pushes an innovative agenda and new ways of presenting / imagining / programming / experiencing the orchestra. I don’t know what this is. I’ll think about it some more. And if I come up with an answer I will charge for it. It’s possible that something ‘r/evolutionary’ could be a complete flop and destroy an organization, but it could also ‘r/evolutionize’ the field. Feel like it’s hard to make changes like that in a big organization though, right?
Speaking of changes, I wanted to call your attention to a change that Tim Smith, our Baltimore Sun critic, proposed in a recent review of a Baltimore Symphony program that included Strauss’s Don Juan, Schumann’s Piano Concerto, and Brahms’s Third Symphony. Tim suggested that in some instances it might be wise to dispense with the ‘curtain-raiser’-concerto-symphony convention in favor of putting the meaty piece—the Brahms Symphony, in this case—on the first half and saving the other, ‘lighter’ fare for the second half. Sounds like a small change that could be implemented / experimented with that wouldn’t cause much uproar. From a ticket sales point of view, I guess it really doesn’t matter whether people leave at intermission or not—that money’s already in the bank. But it’s not about money, right? It’s about people experiencing music, right? Isn’t it?
Jerry Bowles, the sage zookeeper of the ‘new music’ blog / community / website Sequenza 21, made himself a lightning rod this afternoon by asking a provocative question about composer Nico Muhly. Did he mean to start a discussion? Yes. Did he mean to be incendiary? Probably. Did he mean to be a jerk? I don’t think so. He asked a question to get the kiddies to talk. Add your 2 cents but don’t shoot the messenger.
Remember the radio spot the Cleveland Orchestra made to promote their Carmina Burana concert ‘in support of’ the Cavs in the playoffs? Well, now they have used the popular online video sharing website YouTube to create a companion ‘VIRAL VIDEO’ showing their support:
I think maybe the Cleveland Orchestra has misunderstood what a ‘VIRAL VIDEO’ is. As I understand it, a ‘VIRAL VIDEO’ is the name given to a video after it is posted on the internet and is subsequently shared and viewed by lots of people [via email / YouTube / Twitter / Facebook / et al.] It’s something that happens to a video, not something you call a video. Though maybe if you call your video a ‘VIRAL VIDEO’ you can say, “Hey, we made a ‘VIRAL VIDEO’!” and your board will all nod and be srsly impressed.
If u name ur YouTube video ‘VIRAL VIDEO’ does that increase its chances of ‘going viral’?
What is the minimum number of ‘views’ when you can consider ur video a ‘VIRAL VIDEO’?
Is the Cleveland Orchestra ‘out of touch’ with the internet?
Is the Cleveland Orchestra trying to be ironic?
Sorta feel like maybe because of this oboe bro in a sweet headband.
Though prbly not.
Why is the Cleveland Orchestra trying so hard to kiss the Cavs’s ass?
Do orchestra musicians really know what ‘triple-doubles’ are?
Were the Cleveland Orchestra musicians ‘pissed the eff off’ that they had to come in and shoot this ‘VIRAL VIDEO’?
Or did they not care because they were making mad bank with some sweet union wages?
Did the oboe player lose a game of rock, paper, scissors and have to wear that headband?
Is the Cleveland Orchestra ‘unexpecting’ themselves?
[Ed. note: Please read the following in the voice of Don LaFontaine.]
In a world where classical music struggles for ‘relevancy’ and ‘identity.’ Where no genre is safe from the clutches of classicism. Where crossing the streams isn’t always bad. In life, there are moments that define us. Moments that forge friendships that will last for decades. And moments that will be replayed in slow motion 25 years from now with the triumphant-sounding, montage-worthy pop music of today as the soundtrack. From the conservatory that brought you the Metallica cello trio cover band cover band, comes something so potentially viral it can only be called The Lady Gaga Saga (for bassoon quartet?).
Is the Eastman School of Music a ‘hotbed’ of alt-classicism?
Is having ‘break’ in the name of your bandsemble a requirement at Eastman?
Does ‘break’ imply that u r breaking from ‘tradition’ / ‘convention’?
Is bassoon quartet a viable artistic medium?
Will The Breaking Winds win Concert Artists Guild?
Do girls just wanna have fun?
Is Michael Daugherty really pissed off he didn’t come up with this idea first?
[h/t Clef Notes]
You’ll have to forgive this rather blatant act of promoting something that I’m behind, but to borrow a phrase from Vice President Joe Biden, this is kind of a “big fucking deal.” It’s a big fucking deal because this is the first time Stravinsky’s entire score for The Rite of Spring has been arranged for modern jazz orchestra. It’s a big fucking deal because we have perhaps the best big band in the Mid-Atlantic region to perform the work. And it’s a big fucking deal because it’s happening right here in Baltimore!
Here are the dirty details: You can hear the Rite of Swing presented by the Contemporary Museum’s Mobtown Modern Music Series TONIGHT (May 12, 2010) at the Metro Gallery at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.—yes, there are two sets. AND, I’m thrilled to announce that the 7:30 p.m. set will be livestreamed online by Radar Redux! Click here to be transported to Radar’s live page.
As you might expect, creating a new arrangement of any kind of the complete Rite of Spring score is no easy task. I’d certainly want to know what was going on in somebody’s head as he/she made their way through something so daunting. Luckily for the curious among us, Darryl Brenzel, the amazing jazz composer/arranger we commissioned to create the new arrangement, kept a journal of his exploits on his blog Stravinsky for Jazz Ensemble. And with the support of a grant from Meet The Composer, we were able to hold two open rehearsals in advance of the performance. Here’s a shot from one of them (and you can check out all the open rehearsal photos at Mobtown Modern’s Flickr page):
We were very fortunate to receive some really awesome pre-event coverage, including this Critic’s Pick by Lee Gardner in the Baltimore City Paper, a wonderful profile of Darryl by Lauren LaRocca in the Frederick News-Post, and this interview of Darryl by yours truly right here in these pages. Our Rite of Swing performance also did not go unnoticed in the blogosphere as it was given a plug by New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, by Jerry Bowles, who first coaxed me onto the internet over at his vital ‘new music’ community website Sequenza21, by our friends from the Out Of Your Head collective, and by Shawn Galvin, a percussionist and ‘new music’-lover from Raleigh, NC.
Hope to see you at the Metro Gallery tonight for this truly unique event!
Brian Sacawa is the Curator of the Contemporary Museum's Mobtown Modern music series.
As a saxophonist, Brian has been called many things—most of them good—including "an inventive musician" (The New York Times), "inspired" (The Washington Post), and "brilliant" (Baltimore Sun). His versatile career has led to appearances ranging from Carnegie Hall to Baltimore's Metro Gallery and with ensembles including the Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, and St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic.
Brian can be heard on the Grammy-winning album Songs of Innocence and Experience (Naxos) and his critically-acclaimed debut solo recording, American Voices, is available on the Innova record label.
You can learn more about Brian on his website, where you're likely to find out that he also performs in the genre-bending duo Hybrid Groove Project and is a Category 2 bicycle racer for District Velocity Racing p/b The Bike Rack.
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