My First DSO Concert!

Today, Corey and I took our first trip to Orchestra Hall to see the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and it was awesome! Much like the city, their funding is suffering, but you'd never know it from the spirit of the players and audience.

We (meaning Corey) chose this performance for our maiden concert because if the program. The DSO, along with the UMS Choral Union and the Michigan State University Children's Choir, performed "On the Transmigration of Souls" by John Adams and Brahms' "Ein deutsc
hes Requiem." Both are favorites of Corey's. The somber theme of the program did not seem to dampen the spirit of the concert-going experience for anyone.

"On the Transmigration of Souls" was commissioned by the New York Phil for their 2002-03 season to remember those lost in the September 11th attacks. The piece uses orchestra, choir, children's choir, and a prerecorded track of city sounds and voices reading names and texts from homemade missing signs.

From the program notes: "Adams had in mind something different from the standard requiem or memorial; rather he envisioned a "memory space" where listeners could reflect on the event."

Both the piece and the performance were deeply moving. I was literally brought to tears when the choir was singing text describing some of the deceased in the words of family members, specifically "she had the voice of an angel, and she shared it with everyone." The sadness was fleeting as the music signaled a shift from loss to hope.

From the program notes: "Adams explains the the word 'transmigration' refers to the 'movement of the soul from one state to another...' not just 'from living to dead, but also the change that takes place within the souls of those that stay behind, of those who suffer pain and loss, and then themselves come away from that experience transformed.'"

Simply broken down, the piece allows you to fully feel the grief, then brings you to a place of peace and acceptance and hope. "Memory space" is eerily accurate.

Personally, children's choirs always get to me. There is something so profound in the complexities of the world expressed through innocent voices. The kids performing on this piece today were either too young to remember 9/11, or not born yet; and I don't think that invalidates their expression of the emotions surrounding that event, I think it comments on the hope for the future.

The Brahms was also very well done. It wasn't as moving to me as the Adams, but it was a great performance. I was excited to see that the DSO streamed this concert live on their Web site and launched a conversation on Twitter under #DSOLive. With their current financial situation, I'm please to see that this established organization (4th oldest orchestra in the U.S.) has embraced new media.

You can check out their schedule of streaming concerts at www.dso.org.

Music at the Movies

In the spirit of Oscar Day, I asked my Facebook friends to highlight their favorite movie soundtracks. I have since added some movies to my must-watch list (or reinforced choices already on it).

Here is a selection of soundtracks that were suggested to me:

Hitchcock's Vertigo - Score by Bernard Herrmann, not a very decorated film composer in terms of big awards but the artist behind many iconic films. His filmography includes Psycho, Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, North by Northwest, and Kill Bill vol. 1. With only one Oscar for The Devil and Daniel Webster in 1941, I'd say he still comes out on top for composing some of the most memorable music in American film.

The Pianist - Original music by Wojciech Kilar. No awards or noms for this film, but Kilar won an award from ASCAP for his score to the 1993 version of Brahm Stoker's Dracula, one of my guilty pleasures.

Amadeus - Mozart (Sir Neville Marriner, music supervisor). I know this film can be considered a joke by music professionals, but I really like it. It's funny, dramatic, and I think it brings classical music to a wider audience. I love the way the music is used throughout the film both in on-screen performances and as background, especially the scene where Salieri is leafing through Mozart's sketches and the music is playing in his head. Amadeus won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Sound in 1985. (Fun fact from IMDb: The performance of "Don Giovanni" in the movie was filmed on the same stage where the opera first appeared.)

My favorite movie soundtrack is from Sleepless in Seattle. I know it's SO cheesy, but I love the old standards! "A Wink and a Smile" "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the perfectly placed "Stand by Your Man" and "Back in the Saddle" get me every time. The film was scored by Marc Shaiman, who holds no Oscars, but has been nominated for some of my other favorites: An American President, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, and even South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (he wrote "Blame Canada"). Genius.

Let's talk about...Wedding Music

So I'm going to take a little break from concert reviews to chat about a lighter topic.

Today at work, I was put on hold by a particularly dysfunctional insurance company when the hold music was none other than "Canon in D." While this mind-numbing tune may have been meant to calm the angry customer on hold, it only fuels my rage. God damn that freaking tune.

After hanging up without having reached a supervisor, I was put in mind of planning my wedding music. I wanted something unique for the ceremony that would still be OK'd by my traditional Catholic Church (no pop or show tunes, they said).

As you may have guessed, the internet was NO help in this matter. What do wedding websites think is an original processional? "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. No thanks. And every site lists the wedding greatest (yawn!) hits, which can be found in any Hal Leonard "Wedding Classics" piano book. This led me to ask my pianist friends what songs they had (over)played at weddings. Topping the charts: CiD. Snore.

Let's break down the top choices, shall we?

Ave Maria, Bach - Hail Mary, Full of Grace...I'm getting married, not doing penance.
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Bach - Pretty, common, too Christmas-y for me.
Air on a G String, Bach - I'm not mature enough for this.
Four Seasons: Winter, Vivaldi - Actually, what I wanted in high school. When I thought I would marry my high school boyfriend. Thank you, no.
O mio babbino caro, Puccini - Ok, this song is about a girl threatening to kill herself if her father doesn't let her marry the man she wants. Not quite the sentiment I'm going for.
Trumpet Voluntary, Clarke - All the rage after Princess Di's wedding, and we all know how that worked out.
The Bridal Chorus, Wagner - pass.
The Wedding March, Mendelsson - also pass. These last two are so over-used that they are the butt of jokes these days.

And Canon in D, Pachelbel - the bass line to end all brain work for pop music.



I know it's an oldie, but it's a goodie. Plus I saw him do this live :)

So you may be wondering "Lauren, what DID you use? You and Corey are so creative, you MUST have come up with something awesome and cool and different!" (your sarcasm has been noted)

The processional was the first movement of "Glassworks" by Philip Glass, and the recessional was "Da tempeste il legno infranto" from Giulio Cesare by Handel performed by flute and piano.

Now I'm interested to hear what you think! What is the most unique or meaningful song you've heard at a wedding?

Valentine's Day (observed)

Corey and I are not really into Valentine's Day. We may go out for dinner and open a nice bottle of wine at home, but we don't make a big deal out of it. No gifts, no grand gestures.

This year, I did get a little gift. Corey took me to not one but TWO concerts of vocal music. Choir concerts really aren't his bag, but this Valentine's (week) he took me to two, and he only got class credit for one :)

On Thursday night we went to the Tallis Scholars at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. They are THE group for studying and performing Renaissance music today. Their collective tone was awe-inspiring. Even if you don't particularly like that style of choral singing, you have to give respect when it's done so well. They sang Gesualdo's music for Holy Saturday, which was beautiful but a depressing topic (Jesus' burial between crucifixion and resurrection). The second half of the program was made up of various other sacred tunes by Italian Renaissance composers.

On Friday, Corey took me to see Sweet Honey in the Rock, an all-female African-American a capella group. I sang two of their original tunes while I was in choir in college, so I was really interested in see them live. Their shows are so neat because they sing all kinds of music: Gospel songs, African tribal songs, R&B classics and their own original music. They have a great time doing it, too.

So I had a great Valentine's experience this year, our second one married, our fourth together. Being married to a musician means I get to listen to the kind of music I like on Valentine's Day :)

Winston helped me write today.

Go Blue Composers! (Part 2 of 2)

Part Two: The Master's Thesis Concert.

A BIG (albeit late) shout-out to my new friends Joey, Garrett, Chaz and Micheal for a job extremely well done on their thesis compositions. They were performed on Monday, 2/6 (I know, I'm so behind!) by the University Symphony Orchestra and conducted by graduate student conductors.

The concert featured seven total works, all master's degree theses except for one undergrad entry due to extra room in the concert. The music was all pretty great, but what really interests me is the inspiration. I am way more fascinated by the reasons to create rather than the skill to create.

Here's a briefing of my favorites from the concert:

The first piece, "TOTI" by Andy Ly, was inspired by the films of Quentin Tarantino, specifically his characters. (I'm a huge fan BTW.) The piece reflected the "organized chaos" typical of a Tarantino film, reiterating musical "characters" throughout. I enjoyed that idea played out in an orchestral setting. I feel like I'd catch on to way more connecting subtleties if I could hear it a few times.

"Aftermath," by Joey Prestamo, was inspired by Revelation 21:1-4, which speaks of a new heaven and earth after the end of this one. Joey liked the idea of hope and perfection rising out of chaos. In the piece he "attempted to explore beauty within disorder and peace within turmoil."

Garrett Schumann's piece, "Kharybdis," was titled after it was written. Garrett has originally intended to write something calm, quiet, "mature" as he put it. Instead, the piece took a turn for the tumultuous. He described being caught up in this piece like the mythical maelstrom. (It's from The Odyssey btw, for those of you, like me, who couldn't quite put your finger on where you heard that name before. Ah! 10th grade English!)

The one undergraduate work was by Pierre Derycz. It was named for a verse by Victor Hugo which translates to "Tomorrow, at the very break of dawn, at the hour when the countryside whitens." It was written for string orchestra only, at which I scoffed at first, but ended up really enjoying. I really amazed me what range of textures came be made with that seemingly limited instrumentation.

(I pause here a moment to acknowledge the fact that there is probably a lot of really great music for string orchestra, and that some people would find me very ignorant for not having heard any before this. I'd like to mention that every concert I attend is a learning experience for me. How great is it that I am now turned on to string orchestra music because of a piece I heard by a 21-year-old student rather than by some dead guy?)

Finally, Micheal Schachter's "Freylekhe Tanzen" was inspired by traditional European Jewish music. The Yiddish title translates to "joyous dances" and the piece really captured that energy and represented a folk culture without feeling like a recycled traditional. The composer even supplied his own shofar that was blown from the audience at the beginning of the piece.

Overall, the concert was a huge success. Corey will be on the concert next year, and the only part he is nervous about is presenting his piece during the pre-concert talk :)

Go Blue Composers! (Part 1 of 2)

Two concerts, two nights, all student works. That was about all these concerts had in common.

Saturday night was the 24-hour Composition Marathon Concert produced by the Michigan Student Composers organization. The participating composers were emailed at 8pm on Friday night with an instrumentation assignment. Their piece for that instrumentation would be performed at the concert that began at 8pm on Saturday. They had 20 hours to write a piece and four hours to rehearse with their ensemble. I'm sure it was stressful, but the end result was a pretty decent concert.

There were 11 pieces, all but one composer were undergrads. The ensembles were small, mostly duets with a few trios, but were chosen to be challenging: bass and percussion, oboe and viola, flute and tuba to name a few.

The spirit of the concert was pretty casual, and I was pleased to see that some composers took risks with the project, or approached it with a genuine sense of humor. One had a "surprise" speaker jump out of the audience and join the players on stage. One piece was dedicated to a friend who saved the composer's life earlier that day by alerting him to oncoming traffic. The crowd favorite, titled "The Drunken Sparrow," featured a visibly drunk (acting, of course) flutist trying to prove how "sober" he was while playing.

My heart goes out to those artists brave enough to tackle a challenge like this. I am constantly editing my work, so writing a piece for performance in 24 hours would give me a stroke (mostly because I am crap at writing music, but I speak in general terms).

Side note: I mentioned that most of the composers were undergrads, yes? Well it also gives me a mild stroke to see a birth date of 1993 on a college concert program. When did these kids get so young?

Stay tuned for part 2, The Master's Thesis Concert! (or, Corey: What have I gotten myself into?)