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:
- Tim Smith’s review in the Baltimore Sun
- Andrew Lindemann Malone’s review on the DMV Classical blog
- A write up in the online pages of What Weekly Magazine
- A photo set via What Weekly’s Facebook page
- Robert McIver’s photos via the Mobtown Modern Flickr page
- And the first set is archived over at Radar Redux
[Top two photos courtesy of Philip Laubner via What Weekly; bottom image courtesy of Robert McIver Photography.]
