The Eckhart Ensemble

H. H. the Dalai Lama

Some years back I attended a teaching given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and this photo was taken. Putting it here on the blog as backup to the hard copy.

Lama Tashi News

Back in November Lama Tashi was in Palermo, Sicily performing the music from Kundun with an orchestra. 

Here are some pics:

Here is an article written about him.

And here is a photo he gave me years ago from, I think, the premiere of the music in New York, with him standing next to Philip Glass:

Performance Diary

Courtesy of my cousin-in-law Eduardo who volunteers at the Art Center in Orange, here are some pics of our Christmas sing along yesterday.

Here's the whole group:



















Here's our interpretive dancer taking a break:






































Here are Stephen on cello and Crawford on Eb tuba:



















Don on recorders:


Karla and Maryvonne, the international contingent:



















Here, to the right of Maryvonne, are Judy, Joanna and Sydney:

Performance Diary

Courtesy of Jeff Poole at the Orange Review, here are some pics of the Rapidan Orchestra's performance at the Orange Presbyterian Church 11/20/15.

Performance Diary

Here's a snapshot from last Friday night's Art Center Gala. Some of us Kenwood Players did some Dixieland and big band tunes during the silent auction.

Audio Note

Here's a post by Bob Shingleton on the value of the bass sound in the enjoyment of music, and I've added a comment on my experience.

A New Venture

This flyer is for the inaugural performances of a small community orchestra recently formed here in Orange, Madison, and Greene counties (though which the Rapidan river runs) to give locals a chance to play and perform pieces from the standard repertoire for their friends and neighbors. 

For me this is a twofer. I'm getting to play this kind of music on horn for the first time in my life and find it exhilarating. And as a music therapist, bringing this music to small community venues so as to make it accessible to people who may never have experienced it live is a great opportunity. 

A Little Dixieland Jazz

Last night I got to sit in with some fine players doing some Dixieland over in Charlottesville. A member of the audience took this video and posted it to FaceBook. The tune is called "Fidgety Feet".

Ingolf Wunder

This past Sunday afternoon I had the great good fortune to hear Ingolf Wunder perform over at Montpelier. The concert was arranged by Chopin in Barboursville.

Here is the program:

Mozart:

   Sonata in B-flat Major - KV 333

Chopin:

   Nocturne Op. 55/2

   Nocturne Op. 9/3

   Ballade No. 1

   Nocturne Op. 62/1

   Allegro de concert Op. 46

Liszt:

   Hexameron

It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of listening to music I've ever had. Mr. Wunder has the uncanny ability of bringing music to life in such a way that at every moment you feel the totality of the piece, while at the same time each detail is lovingly created. 

Over and over I had the sense he was feeling every note of the music within himself. Not once did I have the sensation, that I often get from classical musicians, that he was just getting through some notes played a thousand times to get to the bits he liked. Every note and every phrase was played in such a way as to convey to the audience his deep sense of what the music expresses.

It was a gestalt experience, and pulling out details does something of a disservice, but I have to mention his astonishing dynamic palette. He used everything from ppp to fff and all manner of shades between them. Most amazing to me was how his crescendi and decrescendi sometimes seemed to go on for measures at a time to wonderful effect. 

Another part of how his playing brings such life to music is his always letting the music breathe, so even when fast it never once sounded rushed. 

Listening to music rarely brings me to tears, but at this performance it happened several times. It was always during the gorgeous pianissimos with the amazingly subtle dynamic shifts followed by just the slightest of breaths. The palpable tenderness catalyzed emotional releases that were analogous to a skilled masseur finding and working on knots of muscle tension and the release feeling so good tears come.

Really good music making is magic, as it casts a spell and takes you for a while to a different plane. After each piece there was a bit of silence as the audience needed to come out of the reveries induced by the music before being able to applaud.  

Thanks to the Chopin in Barbourville group, Montpelier, and especially Ingolf Wunder for this transcendent experience.

Eckhart Ensemble 2015

The Eckhart Ensemble returned to Orange this year and gave a wonderful performance, as they did last year. Many thanks to the Orange Music Society for making this gift to the community. Here is the capsule review I put on their Facebook page the morning after:

The concert in Orange tonight was splendid - there were all the technical things you could hope for - intonation, phrasing, dynamics, ensemble unity - but it's the enthusiasm and love of music making coming through at every moment that make this group really special. And the Italian Renaissance music bowled over both experienced listeners and people previously unfamiliar with it. Bravo!

Nicolas Duchamp on flute, the guest soloist, was terrific. In particular, I've never heard such strength of tone in the low and mid register. Everyone else was excellent as well, but I want to mention Fred Dole on bass. He was also a standout last year. His sound fills the room and gives a solid foundation to the music I can feel as well as hear.

Someone else to mention, who wasn't with them last year, is Giustino Riccio the percussionist for the Renaissance tunes. Besides wearing a feathered cap straight from a Renaissance painting, his percussion on various instruments was superb. I've never seen one performer watch other performers with such intensity so as to better support them with his playing.

With all the hubbub about the death of classical music and what can be done to get audiences more interested, these people have some answers:

1) Except for the cellos and harpsichordist - they all stood while playing and moved with their music making. As regular readers of the blog know, I think l lot of the power of music is that it is, in part, physical gesture made audible. Seeing players moving their entire body while making music emphasizes that aspect - and I think it helps communicate more of the music to the audience than sitting and moving as little as possible, giving the impression of robots.

2) They dressed individually and comfortably, which besides letting them look like people instead of penguins, gave a hint of the personalities behind the instruments, giving more context to the music making.

3) They were obviously having fun! As I've said about my group, when you're having fun making music, that transmits to the audience as well as the music. There's something contagious about people having fun that adds a whole dimension to music making.

3) They're mostly (from my perspective, anyway) young people and have the enthusiasm of the young and that also comes through in the music.

4) The programming of the Renaissance tunes was a master stroke. The immediacy of the music spoke both to experienced and novice listeners of classical music. One of the most experienced listeners was visibly swept away by "Belicha". And a family member I'd encouraged to go, who is not a regular listener to classical music, was one of the initiators of the standing ovation.

5) One minor point that may be more important than it seems at first - lots of alto range instruments in the Renaissance music - English horns (including a trio of them at one point!), violas and alto flute. I have a number of friends, all women as it happens, that simply do not like high treble sounds. My guess is that these same tunes played up a fifth or an octave would not have been as appealing to a number of folks.

To close, a phrase from perhaps the most experienced listener of classical music at the concert:

They played with heart from the heart.


ADDED LATER: After writing this post have thought of at least a dozen things I didn't mention. I could have gone around the entire group of players and talked about instances of their great individual and ensemble music making - every single one of them. 

And to amend my comment on some people not liking high treble sounds. During one of the Renaissance dances there was a piccolo duet. I've never heard one piccolo played so well in tune, much less two together. It was an astonishing moment. If all treble sounds were played that well, I don't think they'd be so associated with shrillness. Anecdotal proof of that being one of the people I know to dislike high treble sounds later commented on how amazing that duet was.