well it's done.. at least for now.
the big weekend has come and gone... i say tournament because the action ran thursday through sunday, and was filled with emotional highs and lows, silence and thunderous volume - and dramatic moments where we all held our breath.. and everything seemed to ride on a single instant.
it was a jam-packed, four-day blur of rousing artistry... and profound simplicity - and i'll never be the same again.
thursday afternoon, the string instructors from 317 and i had a workshop/master-class with Mr.O'Connor at the center in yarmouth, maine. we were upstairs in the beautiful old victorian, bright sun spilling in through the windows... and eager, smiling faces circling the room
"so... welcome to maine!" i say, enthusiastically - in an effort to break the silence and get things started.
"it's great to be here, thank you.. " Mr.O'Connor says.
"have you been here before.. ?"
"yes.. i've been here quite a few times"
(okay.. duh!! insert foot now - his signature violin was made right here in portland by our very own Jonathan Cooper... what was i thinking..?? i wasn't thinking, i wasn't even breathing.. i was just trying to converse and be cordial.)
oh well.. all that disappeared when he started playing. he began by 'bouncing' through several tunes from his first couple of string method books. i was flooded with silent surprises.. 'whoa! look at how he holds the bow!! whoa!! look how tight he keeps his bow.. ! and look at how much bow pressure he's using.. !! is everything that i'm doing wrong..??' no, of course not. it was, however, a wonderful surprise to notice these things.
i was also struck (during the instructor workshop and the student workshop afterward) by his enthusiasm for the real power of a simple melody. after 'boil 'em cabbage down' he smiled and nodded and said.. "that's a great melody.." - after the students played Oh Susanna he said "that's a great melody..". at first i thought "huh..?? what does he mean that's a great melody"... but almost immediately it made me think of things that i often talk about with my students. i often talk about Ode To Joy.. and try to prompt discussion about melody. "how did that simple little string of notes become what it is to us today..? what makes it different or great..? if i sat down, or a child sat down and came up with that same five tone melody - would anyone recognize it as being great? is it actually great in and of itself, or is it just what it represents..? (the monumental achievement of the 9th symphony, Beethoven's life, his place in history, etc.)"
so, i was delighted to hear similar questions and line of thinking from Mr.O'Connor. it was the same discussion, in a way... just started with american tunes instead of european. too cool.
at the end of the workshop, i went up and thanked him for a great afternoon, and asked if it would be alright to offer to share some of my music with him. he said 'of course..' and i gave him a CD sampler that i had burned for him earlier that morning.
8 tracks, including: Pneumonia, Orange Blossom Spectacular, On Metal Strings, I Rise With You, Until The Light Of Day, Spiritual, Excerpts from Symphony #9, and Ode To Joy. (speaking of... ) i felt that i had to choose tracks that best represented me overall - not just good fiddle performances... not even necessarily the best fiddle performances. i wanted to feature good ideas as much as playing.
and that was that.. i headed back to teach lessons, and they went off to dinner.
--------------------------------
Friday - i spent the afternoon getting ready for the pre-concert presentation. i was invited (along with four other teachers) to perform and present some thoughts on Mr.O'Connor's music, style, impact on american music, impact on musical study.. etc. at the Merril Auditorium here in Portland, Maine. it was a free-form lecture style, really.. with each of us slated to take ten minutes to play and talk.
i am delighted to say that i was nervous. what a wonderful feeling!! it's been a long time since i've been nervous for anything.. and i have to say - it was great. (not that i'd like to be nervous all the time.. but every once in a while the butterflies are a welcome, fun kind of excitement).
part of my nervousness probably stemmed from the fact that i had decided to do something new. on the sunday five days previous, i had a dream that i was performing at the lecture, and that i was talking about Mr.O'Connor's influence.. etc. and i played a solo violin arrangement of 'Every Little Thing She Does is Magic' by Sting and The Police, pointing out the ideas from his version of The Star Spangled Banner as inspiration. i thought, 'well.. i can't very well disregard this dream, can i?' and embarked on a blistering (literally) week long journey to try and play for real what i had only dreamed of.
i worked it out pretty well, and i'm happy to say.. i stuck with the decision and played it at the lecture. i talked about arrangement ideas.. covering lots of ground with one instrument.. 'poking' at the melody with short repeated notes.. and not being constrained to hold one long note, just because that's how the melody normally goes. 'filling in' with extra bow strokes in between to imply the syncopated rhythm better... and outlining harmonic content that otherwise couldn't be hinted at without breaking apart the melody line. this approach leaves the listener (and the brain) to kind of 'assemble' the whole picture out of the parts... none of which ever actually happen simultaneously! SO much fun.. !
i also extended and connected my talk about melody and this arrangement style into a real time deconstruction of Eating The Moon in front of the audience. this was great fun, and between the two pieces.. made me realize that it's time i do a solo violin record.. no accompaniment allowed! (yikes!)
(later that night, i was told by one of the symphony benefactors that ours was one of the best pre-concert lectures she had ever seen.. : )
then.. the concert!
as expected, Mr.O'Connor dazzled us with his playing (and his silver suit!). the centerpiece of the playbill, his 3rd string quartet, was unbelievably beautiful... the second movement leaving the audience in stunned silence. it has been a long time since i was moved so emotionally by a new piece of music. it happens all the time with the classics... but a new piece..? one that i've never heard before..? nahh..
that second movement was as good as Appalachia Waltz.. only with ten more years of experience and composition under his belt.
i will never forget hearing that piece for the first time - as long as i live.
later, at the reception following the show, i got the chance to tell Mr.O'Connor how moved i was by that piece, and he seemed genuinely touched... i think he could sense the sincerity in my words.
--------------------------------------------
sunday - i had the rare opportunity to go to boston with Jonathan Cooper, Darol Anger (and family), Erica Brown and Matt Shipman. Mr.O'Connor had mentioned to us that he would be premiering his 9th concerto - the Improvised Violin Concerto - in boston on sunday, and we organized a road trip!
i was SO excited on the ride down.. (it felt like i was going to see RUSH!). first of all... when Darol Anger came in to the shop to meet us for the car-pool, he walked right up to me and said "hey, i really enjoyed your presentation the other night.. it was personal.. and really great.. and i loved your arrangement of the Police tune.. ". (wow!!) i told him he had just made my year, and off we went. so... i was already on cloud nine before we even left town, which made the drive even more fun.
i had never been inside symphony hall - just walked past it a thousand thousand times... so the anticipation was wonderful. we cleared the tobin bridge and the city lay before us. as we shuttled down storrow drive.. past the 'chahhs' river, past the arthur fiedler footbridge, park and the hatch shell stage.. we noticed that the joggers wore short sleeves. "HUH!?" we said.. and opened the windows to let the warm air spill in.
being locked in ice the last few months in maine has not been particularly happy or easy.. (those of you that have read my past entries probably remember), so this was just... awesome.
we circled our way in to the symphony parking garage, and stepped out into the warm air. we breathed deeply, smiled.. and stood for just a moment out on the sidewalk. everyone was hungry so we dove into the market for a quick bite. matt and i had sushi with little almond slivers and aromatic sesame seeds around the edge - we both delighted in several intense wasabi blasts to the sinuses.. red faced, watery-eyed... deliciousness. i also bought a bag of trail mix which just fit into my coat pocket, and crinkled whenever i took a step. each bite tasted faintly like soap at first.. but soon the m&ms overpowered and won the battle.
in to symphony hall. i didn't have a ticket yet, so i waited in line and got a single.. and found my way down to the orchestra section. i was bristling with excitement - anticipating the historic nature of the program. a violin concerto... completely improvised form beginning to end. Mr.O'Connor had showed us the score on thursday..
"you'll notice that the entire is orchestra is in full score, as normal.. but if you look closely you'll see that the solo violin line is left completely empty.. " he said.
well.. okay, not completely empty.. there were chord symbols that read like a jazz chart.. tempo marks.. meter marks.. and expression cues. just no... notes.
as i sat in symphony hall, waiting... i couldn't help but stare at the big gold emblem at the very crest of the arch that framed the concert stage. in large gold letters.. blazing across a smooth golden surface and decorated with ornate edges and carved trim hung one single word.. one single name in the entire hall... hovering above all else... and casting a discriminating and powerful 'stare' down on all below..
'Beethoven'
the concert began.. the piece was wonderful. the Improvised Violin Concerto is a five movement piece, based on what Mark O'Connor believes to be the five elements: Fire, Air, Water, Earth and Faith.
as hard as i am trying to bring you all in to the experience.. words are just not going to cut it. i can, however, tell you that the overall experience was fun.. (in contrast to the 3rd quartet from friday night.. which was moving). in fact, i had the chance to talk to Mr.O'Connor at the reception after the concert, and, along with congratulations and other compliments.. i found myself saying.. "that third movement was fun.. but the fifth movement was REALLY fun.. !!" he seemed genuinely pleased by my comments and shook my hand.
when all was said, done, played and heard.. we motored up route one and stopped for some greek food at the Bros. Kousina restaurant. the place was warm.. everyone was smiling, and we ordered food and compared 'notes' on the experience.
on the drive home, everyone in the back seats fell asleep, wrapped in the low hum of the highway.. and Jon Cooper and i traded stories of travel, and talked a little violin tech.. but there were long stretches of silence.
in the end, i was left totally inspired..
i just want to learn everything i can possibly learn, and i am determined to find a way to attend one of Mr.O'Connor's camps this year.
as i said in my presentation friday night.. the one lesson i have learned from Mark O'Connor over the years is that there are no boundaries... no limits... no real rules - only a new system of artistry and expression that draws on all of history, and looks to the future at the same time.. (there's that Janus guy again..) The biggest lesson i have learned from Mr. O'Connor...??? that's easy..
anything is possible.
Thank you Mark.
]]>
