The American Mavericks Festival, Concert 1

The San Francisco Symphony is in town presenting the American Mavericks Festival; the first concert last night was awesome.

Prior to the show, Corey had been at the American Orchestra Summit (#orchsummit2012) all day. On our walk from the parking garage to the auditorium, he told me about a panel discussion he attended earlier in the afternoon about how orchestras can better serve their audiences and in turn grow them. Apparently, there was a resounding disapproval by the panelists for social media involvement in audience relations. I find that extremely disappointing. These orchestra managers say they want to gain a broader audience and engage young people, but it seems they are not willing to meet them half way. Corey also noted that there was very little discussion about actual music and new programming.

This conversation was fresh in my mind last night during one of the most engaging concerts I have ever attended. For the first half, the full SF Symphony played Copland's Orchestral Variations and Piano Concerto by Henry Cowell. Conductor extraordinaire Micheal Tilson Thomas introduced each piece and talked about what made them "maverick" works of their times. I really enjoyed his descriptions; they didn't go on too long, told me what to listen for, but didn't give everything away. While the first half of the concert was a solid performance of two impressive works, the second half was much more exciting.

The second half opened with a new work by Mason Bates called Mass Transition. It is a piece for mixed choir, organ, and electronics. The text is taken from a conversation between a mother and daughter via telegraph transmission in the 1920s. The mother was in Holland, the daughter in Java. It was once of the first instances of a long-distance transmission for personal use. At first, I was just enjoying the piece as an interesting text concept and astute use of electronics, when all of a sudden, two soloists stepped out the of choir and sang the parts of the mother and daughter. Unexpectedly, I got really emotional! I didn't expect it, and it was a very fleeting experience, but I was close to actual tears. I always talk about the human element in music being the thing that really draws me in. Mason Bates just made a big fan yesterday.

Another thing I love is percussion music. I am fascinated by the visceral reaction we all have to just loud, driving percussion beats. (I think it's because my dad was in drum corps and I attended competitions while still in utero.)

The last piece on the Thursday night concert was Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra by Lou Harrison. Before they began, MTT said that Harrison was influenced by music from all over the world, and you could tell in this piece. The eight percussionists played a menagerie of instruments from all corners, including some that Harrison himself invented for the piece. You could feel the excitement reverberating from the audience during the silence between movements. The end applause lasted for three bows.

At dinner, Corey and I were discussing the concert and the conference. The concert proved that new, exciting music is much more effective at engaging audiences. I think that these struggling orchestras would meet their goal of gaining a wider audience if they would present music that is more relatable than Bach or Mozart. For example, if you are trying to reach a teenage kid from the inner-city, present music written and played by people who are interested in and influenced by the same types of music that he already likes (hip-hop, rock, R&B, etc.) The music, life and times of Bach is about as far from his realm of experience as one can get.

That doesn't at all mean dumbing down your programs, just broaden your commissions and personnel. Once the kid is hooked by a really high-energy performance, he will be receptive to more "traditional" programming, just one step at a time. From this new composer, take a step back to Phillip Glass, to Copland, to Stravinsky, to Beethoven, to Mozart, and finally, to Bach. This reverse-chronological approach to music appreciation will take that kid just one step further out of his box at a time. I think this gradual transition from the familiar to the unfamiliar would be a much more affective and valuable experience for kids, rather that just making them listen to Mozart "because it's good for them."

I am really excited to attend the rest of the American Mavericks Festival concerts this weekend. I promise the rest of my posts wont be as long or rant-y. :)