Posts tagged theoroi

Soovin Kim’s performance with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra was impressive for many reasons, not the least of which is for the fact that he had 4 days to prepare. As a truly polished professional, Kim friggin’ nailed it. At the Theoroi’s pre-concert talk with Rob Hubbard, arts writer for the Pioneer Press, Rob mentioned that he would be easier than usual on Kim due to the fact that he got the call just a few days prior, but there really was no need to give him a break. Kim’s presence on stage was overflowing with confidence and joy.

There’s a difference between the way you listen to music live versus how you hear it when it’s on your iPod, the radio, in the background at a restaurant, or in the car. Live performances like Kim’s go beyond the sound of music. It’s an experience that involves a room, an audience, an energy form the audience, lighting, acoustics, and, most importantly, a closeness and intimacy with the artists creating their art right there in front of you. This holds true for any type of performance wether it be a chamber orchestra, a theater performance, a hip-hop festival, a sporting event, or a DJ at a night club. I love listening to music and watching performances, but more importantly, I love experiencing live events.

The interesting thing about going to different types of shows is the difference in the type of people in attendance. I once went to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and a Blue Scholars show in one night (not kidding). SPCO = old white people who are probably upper middle class and educated. Blue Scholars = young culturally diverse crowd drinking PBR Tallboys and smoking spliffs. 

What I would love to do is watch the SPCO in a less formal venue where I can stand up, move around, and throw back a few beers during the show. Why not? On the flip side, I don’t want to be one of two spectators at the 7th Street Entry for a hip hop show who was born in the 1970s. Yes, that was actually determined when Macklemore asked the crowd if there were any children of the 70s and I and one other dude started cheering.

So, now I’m on a mission. I want to find out what it was like to attend an orchestra concert during the 18th century. Was it as “stuffy” as it is today? Or did people loosen up, relax, and play it less formal? There clearly were no hip hop shows to distract the younger folks, so did more young people attend the symphony performances? 

If you know any good resources where I can find out this information, please let me know!

The Guthrie’s production of Conor McPherson’s The Birds brought me to the Dowling Studio for the first time. It was also the first time I had ever met a professional sound designer and assistant director of a play. As part of the Theoroi group, we get opportunities to see some of the behind-the-scenes action that takes place, which is really cool. It also sheds a light on things that really affects the way I consume the performance.

I must admit, before The Birds I never even knew that there was such a thing as a resident “sound designer.” I’ve been to plenty of plays before, and of course there’s always some sound effects, but it never dawned on me that it’s somebody’s job to make those sounds. Well, duh. So throughout the play, I found myself concentrating more than ever on the audio component. Totally new experience. I kept listening to the background track of the chirping birds from the speaker in the upper left of the stage, and found myself timing the loop… and really noticing the half-second pause at the end of the loop. It kind of ruined a piece of the experience for me. Not because the play was bad — it was fantastic — but rather because I wasn’t transported to a magical theater experience like I normally would be. I had just learned about the real work that goes into a small part of a production, and I started noticing the minute details and flaws. In some ways, I’d rather just be ignorant and blissful.

Before the show I must admit I was not particularly excited to hear a vocal recital, even a recital from the one and only Susan Graham. I may have been thinking like one of those purists who believe that music should be performed in its intended manner, and when you pull a piece out of an opera, the singer out of character and costume, and the stage out of the set, it’s just different and weird.

I take back all those thoughts after last night’s performance. Oh man, was I blown away!

In particular, during the second encore Graham’s performance of À Chloris by Reynaldo Hahn literally left me breathless. I don’t think I inhaled for the final 30 seconds of the piece. I had never head that piece before last night, and now I’ll always remember her performance when I listen to it. 

The above video is not from last night. It is, however, the same piece performed by Susan Graham and Malcolm Martineau at a different recital a few years ago. I found this recording – an illicit one I’m sure – and debated whether I should re-post it here. On one hand, it’s against the rules to record at the performance, so I don’t want to help promote bad behavior.

On the other hand, I want as many people as possible to get a glimpse into the beauty of Susan Graham’s art, which hopefully can inspire others to make an effort to see her in concert, or see another vocalist in concert, or to see any musical performance for that matter. Our post-performance discussion included the topic of whether the audience for this type of music is aging out, and sadly I think it is. I don’t know why. I don’t understand why young people don’t make the effort to enjoy vocal performance, opera, or classical music in general. There’s a demographic gap that needs to be filled, and, for better or worse, I think social media channels like Youtube can be a powerful tool to reach that younger audience.

Growing up in Oberlin, Ohio, home of the Oberlin Conservatory, I was always surrounded by great musical talent of all kinds - vocal, instrumental, orchestral, composition, classical, rock, jazz, electronic, etc. Meeting with Nachito Herrera and then hearing him play was a treat that not only reminded me of my home town, but also reminded me how important music is in our lives.

I could write about how incredibly musically talented Mr. Herrera is, and how his trio jazzed up classic Christmas tunes with hip-shakin’ cuban rhythms, but what really stayed with me from that night was listening to Nachito talk for an hour before the show about how much he loved music - ALL kinds of music.

“There are two kinds of music: good music and bad music,” he told us. (At that time I wanted to ask if he had ever seen a performance by Vox Lumiere and if so how he would categorize them.) He told us stories of his youth in Cuba, and how his group of musician friends would learn jazz by secretly tuning in to American radio stations to listen to and transcribe music by Chick Corea, just so they could study it, play it, and have it. They risked their safety and well-being for the love of music.

That story alone made me realize how lucky we are, to be able to go listen to music wherever, whenever, and however we choose. Music is everywhere in the United States. Sometimes it’s less accessible when ticket prices jump into the hundreds of dollars for certain popular concerts, but for the most part music can be consumed by anybody. A resident of a major metropolitan area such as the Twin Cities can easily see live music any day of the week. And if you’re a diligent shopper, you can see several performances for free!

Music moves the soul, and Nachito preaches this message stronger than most. Jokingly, he offered to show us what music he had in his car, and I’d actually love to go for a drive with him just to listen to what he has, and to share what I have as well.

I can’t describe how much I enjoyed the Jungle Theater’s performance of “I Am My Own Wife” by Doug Wright Directed by Joel Sass and Starring the amazing Bradley Greenwald. The play tells the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a collector of antiques, non-conformist, and guardian of the past. Most interesting, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was a transvestite who survived the Nazi terror and the communist oppression of East Germany.

Greenwald’s performance was utterly impeccable. He carried the one-man show through decades of Charlotte’s life and crossed over into dozens of other characters so seamlessly I eventually forgot it was one actor on stage for the entire performance.

After the show, we were treated to a private tour of the Jungle Theater by none other than the Twin Cities’ own Bain Boehlke, a legend in the local theater scene. I could not imagine a better way to end a night at the theater!

If you haven’t heard of Vox Lumiere, check them out. You may find them absolutely amazing, you may not get it. I fell a little more on the latter side of the measure as somebody who was simply confused and maybe even a bit turned off by the sensory overload of a silent movie mixed with steam punk costumes mixed with Broadway musical mixed with operetta vocals mixed with Paula Abdul dance choreography, mixed with rock and roll.

And then, intermission happened. I’m not sure if it was just that I needed to catch a breather and think about the performance, or whether it was the two glasses of wine I threw back in 10 minutes, but the artistry of the performance really grew on me in the second half.

In high school our art class spent a number of class sessions at the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College studying with a studio art major. The museum is widely considered the best art museum of any liberal arts college in the nation, so the selection of works was pretty diverse. We did an exercise one day where we sat in front of a Renaissance painting of an old man wearing black in a dark room at night. At first glance, the painting was just a dim shadow of a man’s face in the upper left corner. But, our teacher instructed us to concentrate on the painting for 15 minutes straight, which initially seemed to be a long time to look at a boring painting. However, after the 15 minutes, we started to see physical objects, lines, and textures that only adjusted eyes would pick out. Some students even told the story of that old man and why he was sitting in the dark room. We got to know the art.

I can’t say Vox Lumiere’s performance is on my all-time top ten list of performances, but I can say that, as a spectator of art, once you let your mind go just a little bit and allow yourself to become immersed in an art form, it’s possible to begin to understand the art, the artist, and the performers. This understanding does not necessarily lead to enjoyment, but it does lead to appreciation of the form and a respect for the creators.

I’m really excited to be a part of the first class of participants in the Theoroi Project, an initiative developed by the Schubert Club where 26 individuals ages 21-35 attend local arts performances over the next year. The responsibility of the Theoroi Project participants is to not only engage with the artists, participants, and performances, but then to use social media to spread the word about the experience.

The project was created by former Schubert Club executive director Kathleen van Bergen and board member Matt Zumwalt, and aims to engage a diverse group of people who share a common interest in the arts. The Schubert Club coordinates the year-long program with a grant from the Knight Foundation.

I will be using this tumblog along with my Twitter and Facebook accounts to publish my thoughts on the performances.