by natchaitkin | Feb 18, 2016 | events, Uncategorized
With me from left – Bayla Keyes and Lois Shapiro of Triple Helix, and concert presenter Ruth Haddock, director of the Jefferson Academy of Music. We’re in front of a mural of Alexej von Jawlensky’s “Schokko with Red Hat.”
First off, sorry to be gone so long! I realize that it’s been far too long since I posted, but I do have a good excuse. Many of you know about my dream to start a community-based string quartet, and it’s up and running. We’re called 4-Way (in honor of Cincinnati’s famous chili), and we’ll have a website and PR materials up any day now. In fact, we are rehearsing for our debut concert, on Sunday, March 13 at Cincinnati’s Taft Museum. I will post more about that soon, but today, I wanted to share a story about a recent adventure I had.
As our recent quartet rehearsals have reminded me, so much of playing chamber music is slow, painstaking work – everyone practices their part, comes to rehearsal and hashes out the details of how the music will sound. EVERYTHING is up for discussion – how fast is it going to go; how loud is this section; does this phrase go to here or to there; up-bow or down (there’s a discussion that can kill an entire afternoon!); could we play this section more in the style of a hurdy-gurdy; etc.
And then, there’s the dots. Many notes in a piece of music will have dots on them, and musicians love to sit around and talk about what they mean (usually, that the note is shorter than it could be). This can take all day. There are some rehearsals where I’ve felt “Forget about seeing the forest for the trees, we’re arguing about one pine needle on the ground.”
In all seriousness, all this detailed work is essential to making music, and the back and forth that goes on in rehearsal is actually a lot of fun. But, sometimes I wonder, “What if we could skip all that and fast forward to the fun part?” I had that exact experience this past Sunday.
Thanks to some quick thinking by one of my employers, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, I got a last-minute chance to fill in with a terrific piano trio, Boston’s Triple Helix. Their cellist, Rhonda Rider, got sick and couldn’t make the trip for their concert at the Columbus Museum of Art (luckily, she has recovered).
It was a real treat for me to play with such a high-level group – I felt the way a minor league baseball player must feel when they get called up to the big leagues. Pianist Lois Shapiro and violinist Bayla Keyes, who have played in this group for 20 years, were incredibly gracious and welcoming – I felt right at home immediately.
And of course, we didn’t have time for any of the discussion I mentioned earlier- we had one rehearsal Sunday morning, and the concert was that afternoon. I had played the music before, and the trio of course had as well, and so my job was very easy – just jump in and try to keep up with their interpretation. They had done all the decision-making already – I just got to have fun!
In one way, it reminded me of the very first chamber group I ever played in, when I had only been playing the cello for a year.
My teacher got a call from the School for Strings, a New York Suzuki school – they needed an extra cellist for a string quartet, and she sent me. I was 12, and walked into a group that was made up of 14 year-olds. We started playing a quartet by David Stone (I still remember the opening tune), and I remember thinking, “I have no idea what is going on here, but I’m enjoying it!” From that day forward, playing quartets has been my favorite way to make music.
Being the least experienced player in that group was great for me, and over the years, I’ve had the chance to be the low man on the totem pole a few times, both as a student and professional. Sunday’s concert was a nice reminder that there’s always lots to learn from great colleagues, and I’m looking forward to doing more of that with 4-Way in the weeks and years to come. As I mentioned, I’ll have an update from our rehearsals and more information about that March 13 concert soon.
In the meantime, to Bayla and Lois from Triple Helix, presenter Ruth Haddock of the Jefferson Academy of Music, as well as my ProMusica bosses, Executive Director Janet Chen and board president Steve Keyes – thanks for a great time!
Till next time,
Nat
by natchaitkin | Dec 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
In my last post, I wrote about my trip to the Flint School of Performing Arts, where, in addition to teaching, I had the wonderful experience of playing pop-up performances in various settings across the city, including a homeless shelter and a farmers market. This video is from that day, expertly produced by Kyle Sanchez of Mayberry Media.
At the beginning of the video, Glenn Wilson, the director of Communities First, Inc., the Flint non-profit which presents the Culture Shock program, sums up the whole experience perfectly – we touched many people from different walks of life in a beautiful, surprising way.
There are a lot of reasons to admire the work Glenn and his wife Essence are doing at Communities First, providing affordable housing and other vital services to Flint residents in need. What I especially admire is how committed they are to including the arts in their work, and that they see the experience of going to a concert or seeing a beautiful painting as an essential and necessary part of human existence, not just something nice for the fortunate.
Their commitment to this doesn’t end with Culture Shock – Communities First partners with the Flint Symphony and the FSPA to bring their clients to performances, often for the first time in their lives.
Being part of great work like this was more than enough reason for me to make this trip. But as an advocate for an art form which, frankly, needs a lot of help, I also want to highlight the reaction of Susan Borrego, chancellor of the University of Michigan at Flint, who came to the performance at the school’s student union food court. It is a perfect endorsement of bringing great music to new spaces – here it is again:
https://youtu.be/I8nlVw-b6Cs&w=550&start=61&end=81
Thank you, Sue, for putting it so perfectly – I hope the music world listens!
I would love to help more orchestras and concert presenters fill their seats with new listeners by going out into their communities with Bach and Boombox, especially when there’s a chance to bring great music to the underserved. I hope partnerships like these between arts organizations and community development groups flourish everywhere, and I’d like to help. If you have a place in mind, please let me know, and we’ll get started!
Till next time (and probably next year!),
Nat
by natchaitkin | Nov 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
The city of Flint, MI has had it rough for many years, and, unfortunately, usually makes the news for bad reasons. From Flint native Michael Moore’s film “Roger and Me” to the recent stories about lead in the city’s water supply, Flint’s image is not in the best of shape. However, I recently had a chance to spend some time there, and I met some remarkable people who are working hard to engage and enrich their city, and sharing great music is integral to their work.
I went to Flint as a representative of CCM Prep, where I teach – the school has an exchange with the Flint School of Performing Arts. This was a return visit for me – I played occasionally in the Flint Symphony as a student at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor’s about an hour away).
The FSPA campus is spacious and well kept up – a stark contrast with nearby neighborhoods full of boarded up homes and empty lots. What was great was seeing how connected to those neighborhoods the FSPA is, and how integral to the city the arts are.
Throughout my visit, the halls were full of kids going to lessons, rehearsals and dance classes, many of whom receive financial aid to make their participation possible. Kudos to FSPA director Davin Torre and the board for making their school a real part of the community – it’s a model for all arts groups!
My visit included several “cello-centric” events, including workshops with adult and younger students and a cello choir. I always enjoy working with other cellists – we’re a happy, social bunch who enjoy getting together to talk shop. The part of the visit I want to focus on here, though, was a series of short pop-up performances I gave of Bach and Boombox around the city, as part of a program called “Culture Shock”, presented by local non-profit Communities First, Inc.
CFI is run by two Flint natives, husband and wife Glenn and Essence Wilson, who left the worlds of business and engineering, respectively, to devote themselves to serving the neediest in their city. Their commitment to their work is abundantly clear, and its impact equally so. And they don’t mess around – we hit six locations in less than three hours!
The mini-tour resembled something out of a Marx Brothers movie – three cars would pull up at a location, we’d run in with cello, boombox, sign and film crew (CFI is producing a short video about the day that I will share when it’s up), and fifteen minutes later, run out and take off like NASCAR drivers after a pit stop.
We began our mad dash at Carriage Town Ministries, a homeless shelter a few blocks from the FSPA. Glenn spoke at each event about art’s central place in CFI’s work – I was particularly touched to learn that CFI’s affordable housing projects include art galleries! I share Glenn’s belief that the experience of enjoying something beautiful is essential for all -nowhere was that more evident than here, and it set the tone for the rest of the day.
We went on to visit a senior center, a charter school and a farmer’s market – you can see more photos here. At each location, we were greeted with a variety of reactions – indifference, puzzlement, and, thankfully, sometimes great enjoyment. At the food court at the U-M Flint Student Union, I had a great conversation with a woman next to the Subway about how hearing Bach there made her want to go to a regular concert (orchestras, take note!) – turns out she’s the chancellor of the University!
This whirlwind day was a great reminder of why I do what I do – it also was a reminder that I need a lot of help to do it! So, much thanks to the many people who made this visit possible – Glenn and Essence Wilson, Davin Torre, Brandon Cota, FSPA’s cello teacher (and my Culture Shock tour driver!), Ina Yoon and Jeffrey Price, FSPA faculty and my hosts, and CCM’s Assistant Dean John Martin and Prep Program Coordinator Amy Dennison- let’s keep shocking people with culture!
Till next time,
Nat
by natchaitkin | Oct 6, 2015 | Uncategorized
A recent article in the New York Times about a new attempt to make formalwear more comfortable for performing musicians reminded me of one of my favorite gripes – why do we wear this stuff, anyway?
The article is about Kevin Yu, pictured above in one of his “performal” hi-tech tux shirts, made of a stretchable, breathable fabric that has proven very popular – he’s already sold out his first run (at $120 each, by the way).
Kudos to Mr. Yu for taking initiative, being creative and knowing his market – all good. I wish him well, but only in the short term. Why? Because that market shouldn’t exist anymore!
The Times article begins by pointing out that much change has been made in clothing, citing the tweed hiker’s garb and full body wool swimsuits of yesteryear as examples of outdated, uncomfortable victims of progress. It also acknowledges that concert clothes have changed some since the days of Haydn, but not as much. Leonard Bernstein famously tried to dress the New York Philharmonic in Nehru jackets in the late 50’s – it wasn’t well received (not sure why – looks ok to me).
Men in orchestras usually wear white tie and tails, a tradition which dates back more than a century (to the days when there were no women in these groups, by the way). The formal clothes made some sense when the audience wore them too:
This photo (from Wikipedia, I confess) was taken in 1901 at something called a “Liedertafel smoke concert,” “a gathering of men who meet to listen to male choirs or male part songs.” The audience did have some women, seated up in the balcony. This is a pretty archaic setting- you’ve got a segregated audience, all male performers, and smoking (what did the singers think of that, I wonder?).
Along with improvementsin the areas of personnel, seating and air quality, there’s been a lot of changein what the audience wears since then – nowadays, they can look like this:
Maybe it’s time the orchestra caught up!
Recently, I spent a week subbing in the Cincinnati Symphony for their season-opening concerts. On the Saturday night concert, the male players and music director Louis Langree were in the customary tails and white tie. Not playing on the first half, I went out into the hall to listen to the guest soloist, Yefim Bronfman, play Bartok’s Second Piano Concerto. He came out wearing a black suit and shirt, and I’ll bet he was a lot more comfortable than the rest of us.
Many conductors and soloists have ditched their tails, usually in favor of something else black. However, here’s an eye-catching alternative, worn by Kiril Petrenko and his orchestra in Liverpool for a charity benefit:
I really hope Petrenko wears that outfit when he takes over the Berlin Philharmonic next year – now that would be progress!
With all this in mind, I asked my son to design a new outfit for orchestra musicians to wear – here it is:
The yellow shoes are my favorite. In any case, a little more color onstage would liven up orchestra concerts – so let’s hear some suggestions for newconcert clothes, please! Because frankly, right now we’re “dressed to kill” – our appeal to new audiences.
Till next time,
Nat
by natchaitkin | Sep 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
In a previous post, I wrote about my visit to Community MusicWorks and my plans to start a similar program in Cincinnati. Time for an update – there are a lot of things we’ll need help with, but I’ll start with the most pressing:
Wanted – violinist for community-based string quartet.
The ideal candidate will have significant experience with performing chamber music at a high level, teaching violin and chamber music, engaging underserved audiences and students, fundraising, board development, web design and SEO, budgeting, accounting, and social media. Must be willing to to work long hours with no immediate promise of compensation. Independent wealth, lack of social life and family obligations are preferred, though not required.
As the kids today put it: So……um……yeah.
All kidding aside, the person we’re looking for will have to wear several hats – which ones will depend on everyone’s strengths and interests. My hope is to eventually have a paid staff member to handle some of these tasks, but at the outset, we’ll be doing everything. I have two great colleagues already, violinist Sujean Kim and violist Kevin Boden – both are terrific players (and people!) who are committed to building a quartet that will be part of the fabric of Cincinnati.
So if you are or know the violinist we’re looking for, please let me know! Here’sa word document with a fuller job description:
violinist job description – Community String Quartet
Cincinnati is renowned for its musical institutions – the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and the Cincinnati Symphony are both reminders that the city punches well above its weight class, culturally. Chamber music is well-represented, with two well-respected presenting series bringing world-class ensembles to town, as well as a resident quartet at CCM (the excellent Ariel Quartet).
What we don’t have here, though, is a quartet that is part of the community, performing and teaching in neighborhood settings, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’ll be working with kids who otherwise might not have the chance to study string instruments privately, and whose academic work will benefit from the boost music lessons are well-known to give, as well as the mentorship we hope to give them.
Along with private instrumental lessons, the kids will learn to play chamber music themselves, which helps them develops teamwork and leadership skills. As the program grows, we may include an El Sistema-style orchestra program, too.
When we find our fourth, we’ll start rehearsing and developing concert and educational programs. There’s lots more to do, though, and that’s where you come in.
We need to choose a name for the group – ideas that will resonate with Cincinnati residents are especially welcome (to my fellow Reds fans, please note – The Pete Rose Quartet has already been considered and set aside). Seriously, names of streets or local cultural/historical figures are great – please post or e-mail your suggestions.
We will also begin planning house concerts – much of the great chamber music repertoire was first heard in private homes, and that’s a tradition we’d like this group to build on. If you want to host a performance or know someone who would, please let me know that, too. These concerts will help us build a base of support in the community and raise funds for the most important piece of this project, the teaching.
This last part is the most crucial – we will need a home. I have had discussions with schools and community leaders in several neighborhoods, but haven’t yet found the right place. If you know of a community or school where we can be of service, please let me know!
To those readers outside the Cincinnati area, we’ll need your help, too. When we have the pieces I’ve described in place (most likely this winter or early spring), we’ll begin a crowdfunding campaign to help us start the teaching program. I will post again about that when the time comes, along with updates about what else is happening – please stay tuned!
Till next time,
Nat
by natchaitkin | Sep 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
Wouldn’t it be great if an orchestra concert started like this?
https://youtu.be/fSbFgt0wp_4&w=550&start=007&end=014
OK, maybe not – but we classical musicians can learn something about a good opening from the boxing world, and we need to. I’ll get to that in a second – first, some compliments.
Last night, I played in a great concert with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, a group I’ve been a part of for several years. This was the final concert of our new Summermusik series, and frankly, we killed it. Over the four weeks of the festival, we played a great variety of music – kudos to our interim Music Director (and candidate for the permanent job), Kelly Kuo, for his thoughtful and creative programming and energetic leadership – the orchestra sounded great. We also had great guest soloists, including Cho-Liang Lin, DaXun Zhang and Sarah Coburn, and enjoyed big and enthusiastic crowds – much thanks and credit go to the CCO board and hardworking staff – Ann Stewart, Ralf Ehrhardt, and especially acting General Manager, LeAnne Anklan! (A suggestion to the board – LeAnne’s title should be one word shorter.)
As you can tell, things went well, and I want to underscore that before I get on my soapbox here – everyone did their jobs very well. However, the opening of our last two concerts reminded me how pre-concert routine can undermine the excitement of a performance and make the audience feel distant, and I’ve got a proposal for orchestras to update a ritual that badly needs it.
At both concerts, the evening began with a welcome from our intrepid board president, Jennifer Funk, who warmly thanked the audience for coming, acknowledged major donors and supporters, and reminded everyone of our next concert – a standard curtain speech, well-delivered. What happened next, though, was very telling. Last Saturday, she ended her remarks with: “And now, please welcome Maestra Karina Cannelakis and your Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra!”, and went offstage. There was warm applause, and then, crickets.
This would never happen at a boxing match, and at a rock concert, the band would have bounded on stage right then and started playing. But that’s not how orchestra concerts work. The players were already on stage (minus one), and the conductor was nowhere to be seen. Why? Because it wasn’t time yet, according to the age-old ritual.
After a long, silent pause, our fearless leader, concertmaster Amy Kiradjieff, came out, bowed, turned to the orchestra and we tuned to the oboe’s A. Then she sat, and we waited some more, again in silence. Then the conductor came out, we all stood up, she bowed, we sat down again, and she took the mic and welcomed the audience too, while also giving a few remarks about the Mozart Symphony we were about to play. Again, well-done – she seemed very comfortable and kept it brief.
Let me reiterate here that everyone did their jobs perfectly – it’s not the participants, but the format that doesn’t work! Jennifer’s warm welcome and the enthusiasm it inspired were long past by the time we actually started playing, and in the interim, the audience witnessed a series of rituals that don’t really make a lot of sense, and which told them that this concert was serious business, not a show.
What if all three women had come out at the same time instead, perhaps with LeAnne as well? All the leaders of the orchestra would have been on stage at the same time, sending a nice message about how board, staff, conductor and musicians are interdependent, a fact whose importance can’t be overstated. Each could introduce themselves, say a few words (or not, if they didn’t want to) welcoming the audience, thanking donors, and saying a few words about the program. Then we could tune while Jennifer and LeAnne walked offstage, and get on with it!
Now, I realize that I’m going to lose several people right off the bat here – to my conductor and concertmaster friends, sorry – but to me, it makes no sense to work up the crowd and then make them wait, mostly in silence, for what they came for, music.
Now I know some longtime concertgoers feel that these rituals are an important part of the concert, but I bet there are lots more people who don’t come to concerts at all because of stuff like this seems overly formal and intimidating.
The CCO took a big risk and showed its willingness to try something new this summer, and it seems to have paid off. To build on the success, and continue to reach new audiences, I propose we (and other orchestras!) make another change – the way we start concerts. Because (with apologies to Cole Porter) another kind of opening might lead to another kind of show, one with more people in the audience!
Till next time,
Nat
