Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

But inside the music is so delightful. I just finished listening to our podcast recording on the upcoming Lionheart concert and the music clips simply warmed my soul. I could just imagine the Gregorian Chant filling a large cathedral to the point that it rings back into my ears and down to my toes. The sound of this group is simply perfection and I look forward to sitting inside a warm cathedral on a cold evening and enjoying the sounds of a medieval Christmas. To learn more about this incredible group listen to our podcast recording at http://focmkc.podbean.com/. Cynthia Siebert will share interesting details regarding the origins or Gregorian Chant and medieval music. Be sure to join us for a unique Christmas tradition inside one of the city’s most beautiful cathedrals. Happy Tydings!

Yet Another Connection

It’s like when you buy a new car and you say to someone “I never saw a car like mine before I got this one. Now I see them all the time.” It’s all about awareness. I have become more aware of my love of music since I have started at The Friends.

I am proud to say I know a lot about music. Not as much about classical music but in general a lot about music. However my passion for classical music has skyrocketed since starting my work with The Friends, and I find my awareness of how much classical music means to me increasing as well.

For example, working here has awakened me with renewed interest to my love of Gregorian chant. This discovery has probably led to the annoyance of my fellow staffers as I blast Requiem masses and other chant works while I work. This renewed interest has continued expanding and also led me to rediscover my love of Beethoven.

Ole’ Ludwig and I go way back to when I first started to really get into music. In an earlier blog entry I had mentioned my first CD purchase to be that of Beethoven Sonatas played by Friend’s favorite Dubravka Tomisc, but recently I was connected yet again to this great master while at the same time being connected to someone very special.

I was visiting my aunt recently and was telling her about my new work at The Friends. She has always been a close relative engaged in my life and what I do. As I was telling her about my new work she mentioned that her late husband loved classical music and she had found some CDs of his that she wanted to share with me.

My late uncle was a really great person. Unfortunately, he passed away much too soon from ALS before he and I got to really know each other. I was in 4th grade and remember his great energy but we didn’t get to share a lot. As I looked through the CDs with my aunt that day I found something that gave me great joy to find.

When I was younger, after discovering Beethoven through Dubravka Tomsic I remember buying as many Beethoven CDs as my paper route would allow. One of those was his 6th Symphony by Academy of Saint Martin’s in the Fields. I played that CD out listening to the masterful composition so much that I had the tune memorized. My love of the Beethoven symphonies has never wavered and continues today.

As I looked through the CDs with my aunt I found one that I had to take. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Sinfonia Pastorale” by the Academy of Ancient Music. The Friends will present them this season and it was such a neat connection to know that my uncle was a big fan of their work and he has several of their recordings. That connection means a lot to me because yet again the power of music has been confirmed within me and I continue to realize how important my work at The Friends is. That concert this year is sure to be even more special to me as I get to work on presenting them to Kansas City.

My memories of my uncle will be at that concert and though we may not have had the chance to share much while he was alive we will be sharing the power of music that night.

'Just War' According to Dialogos

The staged musical production of ‘Judith’ by Katarina Livljanić and members of the ensemble Dialogos tells the biblical tale of the beautiful enchantress, Judith, who seduces and then beheads the Assyrian general Holofernes to liberate the Hebrews. The score also includes a medieval 5-string fiddle, a lirica (Croatian traditional stringed instrument, tuned in ‘archaic’ manner), and archaic flutes. The beauty and Croatian authenticity of Livljanić’s voice, the narrative and discursive power of the instrumental parts, the elegance of the staging and lighting, and the poetics of the carefully devised, historically informed Glagolitic text (and translation that is sympathetic to the needs of the audience, as opposed to Livljanić’s fellow scholars)—all of these combine to achieve a compelling artistic result, just as with ‘Vision of Tondal’ and other of Dialogos’s productions.

Character development in Livljanić’s version of ‘Judith’ is fuller than in the simplified accounts of the story that are familiar to us, and far more complex than in the synoptic artworks through which most of us are acquainted with it ... Klimt and Caravaggio and Reubens and so many others.

Holofernes, the general of the Babylonian King Nebuchadrezzar, whose decapitation by Judith is referenced in the Old Testament. Holofernes, the powerful general of King Nebuchadnezzar’s army. A number of provinces of the Second Jewish Commonwealth had withheld their assistance from Nebuchadnezzar and his government—had declined to join the coalition of the willing. So now comes Holofernes, the guy Nebuchadnezzar dispatches to give them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

The historical general did lay siege to Bethulia. The city was on the verge of surrendering but was saved by Judith, a beautiful Hebrew widow who preyed upon Holofernes’s huge vanity, deceived him, drank him under the table, sliced off his head in bed. Judith, she who then returned to Bethulia displaying the severed head, after which the Hebrews went on to beat Nebuchadnezzar’s now-generalless army. Morals: Be careful who you drink with, and be sure to drink responsibly. (more)

History and Heritage

The Folly Theater is such a charming, wonderful place. It was built in the first part of the last century and in those early decades hosted the best entertainers and shows on the circuit. Later it saw some really raunchy X-rated days in the middle of the century when classy places had left that part of downtown, and the pictures of it then look like it was really sad for what people had let it become. When people in the 60s or 70s wanted to put it out of its misery, I’m so glad somebody had the chuzpah to put down their foot and say, “No, I won’t let you destroy this place of history and quality!” I’m glad that at some point people of culture came to their senses and realized that destroying the old to bring in the new wasn’t all of the equasion for a healthy society. That we stand on the shoulders of the ones before us. That newness is shallow and incomplete without the the foundation of the old. That you can’t develop a better future without knowing and understanding the past.

Jordi Savall’s concert on the music of Don Quixote last weekend was breathtaking! I love that there are scholar-musicians in our time that have the knowledge, interest, and skill to reconstruct the music, instruments, and techniques of their ancestors, bringing back to life (as closely as one can without recordings of the actual music) the experience of musicians and listeners from centuries ago. Last Friday we heard Renaissance Spanish music played by period instruments and interspersed with narrative from the 17th century text of the novel by Cervantes. This was a “bringing back to life” moment of people long-dead, but whose culture and society lives on in the people who played for us.

Next week we’ll experience Croatian musicians presenting the music and scholarship of their ancestors in medieval Croatian music and texts. In February, the spell-binding storytelling of the Old English text, Beowulf, will come to Kansas City. And although this all comes to us through the centuries from lands afar and people very long since dead, those heritages of culture and the sense of who those people were directly affect the mixing pot that is our country today and the direct connectedness that is our world today.

Canon in D in Everything

As a college student, usually if the topic of classical music is brought up, it’s to remark on how boring it is, or how they use it to fall asleep. But people don’t realize how much influence and what part classical music plays in their lives. One of the best videos that I’ve seen on youtube has been the Pachelbel Rant. A comedian finds that Pachelbel’s canon in D is in much of mainstream music today. It’s amazing to see people so turned off by classical music turn to these different forms of music which have the same melodies and chords as classical music. In harder rock music, such as metal, it is very prominent; and is also prominent in punk music, to many people’s surprise.

Another place that people often discount classical music is in movies. Try to imagine watching any movie today without a soundtrack. People notice when there’s no soundtrack to a movie. Something is distinctly missing. I really noticed this when watching the movie, “No Country for Old Men.” The movie had barely any score, and feeling it conveyed was very pronounced. The entire time, something was missing, and it was unsettling. A score can also be one of the strongest things in a movie. There are always certain melodies from movies that instantly will remind you of them. A few of my favorites are Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Amèlie, and Lord of the Rings. It’s funny when you think about these things, you start to give more appreciation to classical music, and all that it’s brought.

Connecting to the Past

I recently had an interesting connection in my career. As I look back on what got me to the place I am now, it took me a while to discover what it was that I wanted to do with my career. I took a rather unconventional journey to get the point where I am now in that my degree is in theater and not marketing. Also, I am often labeled as the “creative one” in my family because I'm the only one that has a job in marketing and the only one that has done work in the performing arts. However, I recently had an interesting discovery about someone very special to me. A few years ago, my grandmother Marguerite entered the phase of her life in which she needed to live in a nursing home. When this transition occurred my aunt, who manages her day-to-day affairs, gave me a couple of very special gifts that helped me feel a deeper connection to my grandmother.
The first of these was a literary magazine in which my grandmother was published in 1935. I found this very inspiring because I enjoy creative writing myself and I too was published for the first time some 60 years later than my Grandmother in 1995.
Secondly, I received two of my grandmother's college yearbooks. She had attended St. Mary's College in Leavenworth, Kansas and graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1933. As I look through the yearbooks I discovered many ways in which my grandmother and I are similar. One is that she, in addition to mathematics, excelled in literature--something I've always prided myself on. I also discovered that she had a love of the arts and of language and was a member of the drama club. She had also played golf which is something I pretend to play as well. Upon further inspection I discovered that my grandmother had been the illustrator for her yearbook. There wedged inside of one of the yearbooks was a proof that she had made. (A “proof” is a document that when received back from the printing company requires your signature to ensure its accuracy.) It was very interesting to see that the proofing process hadn't changed much in the 70+ years since the yearbook was published.
As I continue to expand my knowledge base of chamber music and grow more with our organization, something I have enjoyed is connecting to the past through the art of music. In this instance not only was I able to connect to the past but I was also able to discover a possible source of my talents. I look forward to carrying out the legacy of not only great composers but also that of my grandmother.

My Granmother at St. Mary's College in 1930

Spanish From Spain

I am sitting here at my desk listening to the Don Quixote CD by Jordi Savall to get my ears ready for the concert this Friday. This music awakens a deep part of my soul that only comes alive when I hear the unique sounds of castanets, clapping and stomping combined with classical guitar (or this case the viola da gamba.) It is the unmistakable sound of Spain. I know this sound well as I spent nearly a year in Spain studying while in college. I spent my year learning the culture by taking flamenco lessons, learning to play the castanets myself, listening to classical guitar, studying their accents and simply taking in the beautiful Moorish culture of Southern Spain.

The narration on the CD is in Spanish and my heart leapt when I heard the distinctive Spanish accent that can only be heard in Spain. There are of course many varieties of this accent as you travel from region to region. The clearest version is spoken in Madrid, the capital of Spain. The easiest way to know if you are hearing Spanish from Spain or some other country are in the “S’s.” Spain Spanish uses a “Th” sound rather than using a crisp “S” sound when using “S’s”. For example, “Gracias” in Spain would sound something more like “Grathias” and “Barcelona” now sounds like “Barthelona.” In Andalucia, the Southern region where I studied, you would also hear the “S” left off the end of words all together. So now “Gracias” becomes “Grathia” and “Vamos” becomes “Vamoh” with an emphasis on the “H” at the end.

I couldn’t tell you exactly where this unique accent originates. My guess would be that it has something to do with the strong Catalonian influence in the region. Catalonia is still an autonomous community within Spain and people in that area still speak this medieval language called Catalan. Regardless of its origin, the Spanish in Spain is unique and unmistakable. The narration that you will hear at our Don Quixote concert on Friday night is in English so you will not need to worry about paddling your way through the difficult Spanish accent but I guarantee the music will awaken your inner flamenco dancer and send you dreaming about your next vacation to Spain. Do not miss this concert on Friday, it is going to be a highlight of our season!

Musical Respite

Things have been very busy at The Friends lately – the season has begun, and I’m keeping up with grant deadlines, donor cultivation and acknowledgement, benefit planning, board stewardship, and the general filing and correspondence that are always present. It’s easy to get lost in administrative tasks, but this weekend’s piano recital by Richard Goode will be a nice reminder of why we do what we do!

I first heard Goode on The Friends’ series in March of 2007, a couple of months after I had started my position here. I was very moved by his thoughtful, skilled, and beautiful playing. I remember thinking what an awesome responsibility it must be to have the kind of intense talent that he does. Sure, any amateur pianist can play the notes in a Mozart, Bach, or Schubert piece, but only a rare few can shed light on the composer’s meaning, as though the composer was speaking through him. Goode is one of these artists.

The program tomorrow evening is made up of relatively short pieces by Bach and Chopin, two of my favorite composers. When the lights go down and the curtain goes up, I’m looking forward to sitting back in my theater chair and letting Goode’s masterful interpretations wash over me, a welcome musical respite from the daily grind.

Minimum is Sometimes the Maximum

I remember sometime ago watching the Superbowl and seeing a commercial for Pepsi. The commercial featured Albert Einstein floating in space as cans of Pepsi slowly drifted past him. Accompanying this strange movement was the soothing melodic sounds of a soprano counting in sequence from 1-8. I remember finding the sounds incredibly interesting. I used the powerful tool of Google and searched to find the source of this sound.
It was at this moment that I was first introduced to Philip Glass and further the art of minimalist music. I had come across the expressionistic theatrical work known as Einstein on the Beach. Minimalist music has always been fascinating to me because although it is “minimal” it seems to fill the ear of the listener and its slow progression and slight changes in key put me into a meditative state that lets my imagination run wild.

Further, the Piano Etudes (or studies) of Philip Glass present a challenging fast-paced ride through a short progression of notes.

I guess ultimately what really fascinates me about this style of music is simply the simplicity. How so little can produce so much. I like all kinds of music and I very much enjoy the big symphonies and huge choral works but I also find that minimal music is a nice respite that takes my mind on a different journey.

The Lack of Television Coverage on the Arts

Last night I was watching my evening local news and counted down in my head the expected news segments. In my Journalism class in college we learned that all news starts with what are called “bullets” or big shocking stories and then funnels it way down to the “BB’s” or the smaller stories of the evening. So I waited in anticipation for the murder and robbery count (a.k.a. the “bullets”) and then watched all the way through until the sports reports (a.k.a. the “BB’s”.) But, between the murder/robbery count and the sports news I wondered where the arts fits into all of this. I don’t know about you but I become afraid to live in my own home when I watch our local news. The news reports on the most horrific events in our community first and foremost to the point where I believe that the next time I walk out my front door I could get mugged at any moment. Personally, I would like to see more coverage on the good in our community including the local arts scene.

Now, I do believe that sports reporting is a great thing in our community. Who doesn’t want to see the Chief’s do well and find out what Herm plans to do to get ready for the next game? And who doesn’t want to see our local high school sports teams do well and play in championship games? This sort of positive reporting on local community sports is wonderful. But, why doesn’t the news also cover what our high school orchestras are doing and report on the competitions they win? Why don’t we ever hear about local actors who get called to New York to perform in a play on the nightly news? And, more importantly, why doesn’t our local TV stations report on the “major leagues” of the arts in town? I want to know about our local ballet company and how they were invited to perform at the famed Joyce Theater in New York City last spring. I want to know that KC Rep launched a play here in town that is now showing at Lincoln Center in New York. The artistic talent in this community is of equal or greater caliber than that of our professional Chiefs players and I think that it is about time that the arts received equal coverage on local television stations.

I’ve got to say, thanks but no thanks to the murder count in Kansas City for the day. I don’t need to be afraid to live in my own community. I want to see more of the great things happening in Kansas City on television. If you feel as strongly as I do about the lack of arts coverage on our local television stations in Kansas City then please send them an email or write a letter expressing your thoughts. Let’s show how great Kansas City is on television!

Remember the Arts

Times are bad. Uncertainty and loss loom around every corner. And since none of us knows what’s really happening to our money, except the numbers keep becoming more dismal every time we open our retirement statements, most people are hunkering down until the economy evens out again.

Unfortunately, one of the first places to get hit with lowered donations and reduced tickets sales are the arts. That seems understandable—if it’s a choice between putting food on my or my neighbors’ table and going to the ballet, I choose food. But for those of us who are lucky enough to be able to afford our needs while also helping our neighbors some, continuing our support of the arts is also important. Anyone interested in reading this blog probably already understands the importance of art and music in our lives: It helps civilize humanity; it helps us explore our emotions and expand our understandings. And that’s in addition to teaching us logic, problem solving and a host of other very useful attributes. If artists or musicians or organizations are forced to succumb to an unfriendly economy to the point that they can’t produce or present their art, we all are poorer for it.

So while you’re hunkered down protecting your pennies, please make the effort to attend a musical event or go to a play or give a donation to an arts organization. When the economy finally recovers, it would be very sad if we raise our collective heads and breathe sighs of relief just to discover that members of our arts community have taken the ultimate economic hit.

Merge Two Competing Chamber Music Presenter Organizations?

The performing arts market is tremendously fragmented. That fragmentation inevitably leads to inefficiencies. There are more than 520 presenter entities who are organizational members of Chamber Music America. And one thing that’s clear from examining CMA’s directory of chamber music presenters is that communities in the U.S. that have performing arts markets that are robust enough to have one presenter tend in fact to have two or more chamber music presenters. In many cases, that means that there is relatively intense competition for what is almost certainly a finite market—a finite monthly or quarterly consumer spend per household. Probably the same is also true in cities in Europe and the U.K.

For simplicity and to directly respond to the anonymous emailer’s question, I’ve put together a mathematical model that is for two competitors in a market—a duopoly. It would be far more complex to create an accurate, actionable financial merger model for three or more competitors. Actually, if the proposition were to simultaneously consolidate three or more competitors into one unified presenter organization, then you could still use this Cournot-Nash game-theory model as-is. You would simply put your own figures in as Presenter P, and then sum the figures for all of your competitors and put those sums in the Rival R column. Click here to read more.

Volunteers are the Backbone of Nonprofits

Last week we welcomed back our volunteers with a party to kick-off the season and thank all of them for their dedication and service. During the party I looked around and realized what a unique relationship non-profit organizations get to have with dedicated, hard-working individuals who have a passion for what they volunteer for. While the party was given by the staff to thank the volunteers many of them showed up early to help us set up even though they were not asked to. It’s funny how the core of a person never changes no matter what the circumstance. Once a volunteer, always a volunteer.

Whether the non-profit is big or small I guarantee it could not survive without the worthy volunteer time of individuals. Take The Nelson-Atkins Art Museum for instance. Most of the greeters and security people standing throughout the galleries are volunteers. One of the reasons The Nelson-Atkins is able to open their doors for free to the public is because of these individuals willingness to serve.

Tomorrow night is our first concert of the season and I look forward to seeing our volunteers in action. At the box office I will be working with two women who have been volunteering in the box office during concerts for many years now. Since this is my first concert it is a great relief to me to be with two wonderful people who can show me the ropes.

I honestly do not know how we would survive without the help of many, many people who are dedicated to helping us bring beautiful music to the masses. If you are not yet volunteering for a non-profit arts organization I would highly recommend it. There is nothing more satisfying than working for a cause you believe in.

Working for The Friends

Working in a non-profit office for chamber music was not something that was exactly high on my list of things to do as a college student. I had homework to do, real work to do, money to make, friends to hang out with, papers to write, naps to take; an internship was one of the last things on my mind. If I happened to find one, sure, that'd be fine, but it was not pertinent to my life at that present moment. But fate would happen to intervene. One day, after my brain had been slighted by too many hours of dull repetitive work, my cell phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize, so I let it go to voicemail. Upon hearing the message that our marketing director Jeremy had left, I was astounded. He had actually offered me an internship. It wasn't I who was fighting through ranks to earn a prestigious position as office intern, I was chosen.

I'd have to admit, for a few seconds, I felt like Highlander.

But once reality came back to me, and I stepped off the nearest table and relinquished my pen which I had brandished as a sword, I immediately called him back. We set up a meeting for the next Wednesday. When the day arrived, I dressed to look my best and went to the interview. We discussed the facets of working in the office, the music, the not being paid-ness (much to my chagrin). At the end of it all, I didn't feel like running out of the office into the street, so I decided that I'd work for them. A shake of the hand and my work schedule was set.

I do some of the basic boring intern things: Calling, filing, mailing, answering phones, typing; it's to be expected to do those things. But I do have opportunities to have more responsibilities. Because I'm the only one in the office under the age of 22, I have become the in-house techie and master of Facebook and Myspace. Also being a film student, I get to make a promotion video for The Friends of Chamber Music, which is something I highly look forward to. Plus it's always nice to be able to work in a professional atmosphere, and I look forward to being with the Friends for a long time.

Bring the Kids

We’re going to Paradise Park! That’s one of my favorite spots to enjoy with my grandkids—a delightful educational play spot right off 470/291 in Lee’s Summit with lots of great things to do and experience for kids from tiny to big! Granddaughter Carlyn and I went there to play last week—splashed in the water tables, checked out pretend groceries in the play store, made a beautiful “apple tree” out of the art supplies, and played outside on the little-kids’ jungle gym.

On December 7th, we’ll get to go back! For the first time, The Friends have made arrangements to have one of our “What Makes It Great?” performances there. Entertaining and educational Rob Kapilow, with the Biava and Penderecki String Quartets, will explore and perform Mendelssohn’s Octet. 2:00 Sunday afternoon, December 7, 2008. We’ll have an entire afternoon to learn about classical music together with our families, grab a bite at the food court, and play together until we’re all happily exhausted! (Paradise Park is staying open late especially for us folks going to the music program.)
Be sure to join Carlyn and me (oh, and maybe her mama and daddy) at Paradise Park on December 7th.

Great music with great fun! Great combination!

Music's Healing Power

My grandmother recently passed away. She was 96, and lived a long, happy life. Her cancer diagnosis came only one month ago, and we were fortunate that she didn’t suffer for very long. My family is grieving over this loss, but I find that we’re all using music to help lift our spirits.

A couple of weeks ago, on my way to visit Grandma, I listened to the Carter Family in the car. I wanted to hear something “old-timey” and simple, something that would remind me of Grandma’s childhood days on a farm in central Missouri. Much of the Carter Family’s gospel-themed music was appropriate to my mood, too. Grandma always followed the Carters’ advice to “Keep on the Sunny Side”!

Over that weekend visit to see Grandma, my dad, a bluegrass enthusiast, played his old record of Bill Monroe doing classics such as “What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul?” and “He Will Set Your Fields on Fire.” He played this record a lot while I was growing up, so the songs sounded very familiar and comforting. Later that day, my mom played a CD of hymns arranged by John Rutter, one of her favorite composers and arrangers. I realized that as all of us were coming to terms with Grandma’s prognosis, we were finding music that wouldn’t necessarily provide complete solace, but that would give us a soundtrack under which we could reflect upon our emotions and memories.

Both of my grandparents were big jazz fans. My grandfather, who passed away ten years ago, had a record collection that included all the “greats”. When he was in the nursing home, my mom would play Benny Goodman or Billie Holiday on a small stereo in his room, and he would smile as if this elixir was better than any pain medicine. Music can be powerful not only for those who love the dying, but for the dying, themselves.

My mom is going to play the organ at Grandma’s funeral. She says that Grandma always loved hearing her play, especially when she would “bang out” big, powerful hymns. One of Grandma’s favorite hymns was “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” Mom will play it at the funeral, and will play it LOUD! Grandma will be smiling, I’m sure.

Art is Always Present

We have had a cloud of doom and gloom over our lives with threats and worries of a troubled economic state. Everywhere you turn there are talks of cutbacks and foreclosures and minimal resources. It’s real and it’s serious.

Often in situations where there is a question of resources we often look at what we can cut back on that will help to alleviate our financial burden. Unfortunately, that is often the arts. Those of us in the industry argue its need in maintaining a society of expression and diverse culture; others may argue that it is an extra benefit, something that we can live without. My opinion was recently confirmed in a new way.

A couple of weeks ago, The Friends participated in the Plaza Art Fair. This is always a very exciting event for our organizations because we get to interact with long committed patrons while at the same time informing others who are interested in learning about who we are and what we do. I chose to really take in as much as I could this year being relatively new to The Friends. When it was all over I was at the art fair all 28 hours! I interacted with countless attendees about The Friends and our upcoming season. We even had a game in which contestants could win a prize by playing “Name that Composer.” I ended up learning a lot about the impact of the arts that weekend. I have a degree in theatre and I have always been an advocate for the arts but I saw something a little different with this experience. Whenever someone would engage in a conversation with me about the season I would see excitement build within them and an energy just take off. The mere thought of what they might experience through catharsis at one of our concerts really exhibited the power of art. I would like to say that they were excited due to my eloquent words and engaging delivery but I will have to take a hit to the ego because it was more than that. It was the art. It was the legacy of the wide range of music we present, some of it going back 1200 years.

That weekend left me even more energized about the art we present. It drove my passion for the arts to be even stronger as I saw how art is always present no matter what the crisis, and furthermore that classical music isn’t for the elite but for everyone. Its effect can be the redemption we need in a time of crisis.

Classic Behavior

The Friends is presenting performances this year based on three different famous literary sources—Judith, Beowulf, and Don Quixote de la Mancha. I’m working my way through them so I know what’s going on in the performances.
I read Beowulf first—the Seamus Heaney translation. I love words and the astounding craft that the original poet used with his sophisticated poetic devices in that Olde English was mesmerizing to me. Heaney’s attempt to recreate the use of the same devices in his translation, while still keeping the spirit and meaning of the words, was even more fascinating to me than the story itself. But the story is also captivating—a man who volunteers to fight a horrible sea monster who is killing many people in a far-off land.
I read Judith second. Being a Protestant, it isn’t part of my canon but I found the Biblical words of faith and heroism inspiring and familiar. A woman who volunteered for certain death to save her people.
I’m reading Don Quixote last. All, what, gazillion pages of it? I can sing songs from “The Man of La Mancha” from my childhood (in fact during the often-painful process of editing and compiling the Friends’ season program book, I confess to humming “To Dream the Impossible Dream” over many times!), and I’m finding the book charming. The other night when my husband and I were reading, I think he was a bit disturbed because while he was trying to learn about the layers of inner wisdom or something, I kept guffawing out loud over this self-declared “knight errant” and his mad pursuit of imaginary enemies while seeking glory for his equally-imaginary love, Dulcinea. Off he rides on his consumptive horse followed by his paunchy, needfully-stupid peasant-cum-squire who is riding along behind on his mule. A madman charging at windmills in his private effort to make the world a better place.
It’s struck me how much alike the themes of these three classic works are. These are pieces of literature hundreds or thousands of years old and they’ve not only lived but thrived. And directly inspired thousands of other works of art and music—even movies—and the lives of millions of people all over the world. All three of them portray a solitary individual—not a government, a profession, or even a club—but one person who voluntarily put their own life on the line to save the lives of other people. And none of them were expected to perform those deeds—none of them were even asked. One was in another country; one was a woman (!); and one was an old madman. But each of them felt that they were the only person in the world to do a certain very important job, and each of them stepped up to the plate.
I think that’s a classic lesson for all of us.

A Connection from the Past

I was looking for a CD the other day and I came across the first CDs that I ever bought. I was roughly 10 years old and received a CD player for Christmas. It was the new wave in technology which, although I may be young, amazes me as to how far technology has come since then. Anyway, I remember having a little bit of money left over from Christmas. I suffered from the “money burning a hole in my pocket disease,” and I needed to purchase at least one CD for my new possession.

My dad took me to Best Buy and I found the box set of Beethoven’s Complete Piano Works on sale. This was even more appealing to me because I hadn’t discovered my eclectic taste for music yet and I could get more CDs for the price of one. I remember playing those CD’s so much that if my new CD player could speak it would have said “Enough!”

So when I saw those CDs the other day I, serving in my current position of employment, couldn’t help but to look to see who the artist was who introduced me to the works of Beethoven. It was none other than Dubravka Tomsic, a pianist who has appeared with The Friends often and become a Kansas City favorite.

I had come full circle yet again. Thank you to Ms. Tomsic for planting the seeds for my future.

Back to School...

Outside is getting cooler, the air is crisp and the days are getting shorter. Yes, fall is definitely knocking on our doors. While many families and students prepare for another school year and the familiar rhythms that it brings your local arts organizations are also preparing for another full season of exhilarating, live performing art.

Your friends at The Friends are no exception. We have been working busily over the summer to prepare for you what I believe is one of the most exciting seasons in our history. Over the summer we decided the season theme for the year (in this case its “An Epic Journey Awaits You”), mapped out a “look and feel” that embraced all the concerts for the season and then began plotting out advertisements and direct mail pieces that announced the season’s concerts and theme. This was an extremely creative and fun process but the real fun began when the phone started ringing because the advertisements had done their job!
The tickets, oh the tickets. This is a big part of preparing for a full season of concerts to begin. Tickets typically go on sale for the new season in the spring and then by August it is time to mail out all the orders for the year. All arts organizations go through a mad ticket stuffing frenzy during August to quickly try to get the much-adored tickets out to our patrons. Being new to box office management I found this process to be frantic . Once we got our tickets mailed out I held my breath praying that I did not make any mistakes. I can let out a big sigh of relief now. Tickets are in the hands of our patrons with very few hiccups and now I can anticipate our “Epic Journey” beginning in just a few short weeks. Be sure to join us for the first concert on October 3!

Politics of Politics: Fretwork Recreates the Cosmopolitan Vision of ca. 1600

In 1540, Henry VIII requisitioned musicians from Italy to compose and perform at his court. Two families came—they were not only Italian but clandestine Jews (marranos, or nominally converted ‘New Christians’). The Lupo and the Bassano families thrived in England and served the monarchy for over a century. Yesterday, the ensemble Fretwork performed a program of their music, ‘Birds on Fire: Jewish Musicians in the English Court,’ at Wigmore Hall in London:

• Augustine Bassano: Pavan and Galliard No. 1;


• Heironymus Bassano: Fantasia No. 1 in 5 parts;


• Joseph Lupo: Pavan in 5 parts;


• Thomas Lupo: Two Fantasias in 6 parts; Pavan in 3 parts*; Fantasia for three trebles;


• Fantasy for three basses; Fantasia in 6 parts; Two Fantasias in 6 parts;


• Van Wilder: Fantasia, con e senza pause (“Emmentaler vs. Gruyere”);


• Duarte: Two Symphonies in 5 parts;


• Salmone Rossi: Hashkivenu; Shir hamma’ a lot (Psalm 128);


• Gough: Birds on Fire;


• Various: A suite of dances from the Lumley Part Books: Desperada, Pavan and Gallyard,

The program notes assert that these pieces illustrate the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Tudor and Stuart courts, drawing upon the idioms of Franco-Flemish or Italian music. Although the Jews had been banished from the kingdom of England since 1290, the Italian-Jewish Bassano and Lupo families became composer dynasties, dominating English music between 1550 and 1650. But this program is, I think, far more than nominally ‘cosmopolitan.’ It is a story of international relations and the perennial pitfalls of international politics. Click here to read more...

Cutting Hours Makes Dollars and Sense

As someone in the field of arts administration, I’m always interested to learn how arts organizations manage and cope with the challenges they face. In the August 30 Kansas City Star, the article announcing that The Nelson-Atkins Museum will close on Tuesdays in order to save costs caught my eye. Before this change, the museum’s doors were closed to the public on Mondays only, a schedule followed by many visual arts institutions.

The Nelson-Atkins continues to be free of charge to the public, except for some special exhibitions. The article mentions the Tuesday closing as a way to help maintain free admission, a big part of the museum’s mission.

Other institutions could easily claim that the economy is just too weak right now to justify having a museum that’s free of charge. My cousin, who works at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, visited Kansas City recently and took a trip to the Nelson-Atkins – she was greatly impressed, and couldn’t believe that she didn’t have to pay a dime to get in! She was curious as to how such a large institution could run without admission revenue, even given the generous support that it receives from private and government funders. Museums and other cultural institutions exist for the benefit of the public – how nice that the Nelson-Atkins’ benefits can be enjoyed free of charge.

Arts organizations must make many difficult decisions and compromises in order to stay afloat. I applaud the museum’s decision to decrease their hours, rather than increase admission costs, in order to survive in these challenging times.

Can't Wait!

We’re very close to the beginning of our season now, which means my artist juggling is intensifying. One of my duties is taking care of our musicians—that’s working with the agents and artists to ensure that our musicians are well taken care of and have everything they need for their trip and stay here. Who needs how many hotel rooms? (And who shares rooms with whom? ;-) Do they need a babysitter for any children travelling with them? What chairs and lighting will they need on the stage? Does the cellist want a piano bench or straight-backed chair? Who has dietary needs for receptions and dinners? Who might have medical needs? Who needs transportation and who doesn’t? (I drive a Grand Prix—who’s going to drive them all with their luggage and instruments?)

But also when it gets to this time of the year, and most of that work is done, I look forward to being with the artists themselves. I love spending time with them (well, most of them—I admit there are a couple I’ve met I’d rather just hit with a rock!). The vast majority of them are extremely nice and down-to-earth. We have the same kinds of conversations one would have with any other acquaintance. We talk about our families, our homes, politics, our hobbies. I find that the younger ones are often very excited about travelling and being on our prestigious series. They like to hear about Kansas City if they haven’t been here, and often plan to enjoy the Bar-B-Que, the Plaza, and maybe KC jazz while they’re here. The more experienced ones sometimes have travelled for so many years that they’re very appreciative of just a little extra effort and a smile. And when they return on the series, they greet you like old friends.

The first concert’s right around the corner! There are other duties coming I’d rather do without, but spending time with the artists—can’t wait!

Passion is the Most Important Ingredient

One of my favorite scenes from the film Amadeus is when Salieri says, “All I wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing... and then made me mute. Why? Tell me that. If He didn't want me to praise him with music, why implant the desire? … And then deny me the talent?”
That scene reminded me a little of my life and my relationship with music. Perpetuating our societal stereotype I haven’t got a rhythmic bone in my body. I’ve tried to play piano and after two years I was only able to choke my way through “When the Saints Go Marching In.” After many years of singing in choirs and 4 years of intense classical training I can technically sing very well, but the sound? Well, let’s just say that The Friends won’t be presenting my work anytime soon. Despite the obstacles before me I have always had a passion for music. A lot of that passion came from an unlikely source.
I served as cantor once when I was in high school. The nerves of singing solo in front of roughly a thousand people definitely were present but despite nearly choking on butterflies I made it through getting a “thumbs up” from my psyche. The week after cantering I received a letter from the parish priest telling me that I should focus on the talents that God had given me and not singing. This crushed me. In spite of those discouraging words however, my passion grew stronger. I took voice lessons, plunked away on the keys of the piano, and I continue to perform a full concert while driving or taking a shower. I’ve actually grown to thank that priest.
My talent was and may not be the best but like Salieri music is my greatest desire. Sure that person wasn’t very nice to me, but looking back he made me love music even more. Talent is important but without passion there would be no need for art.

Wish You Were Here

Music has the ability to help me remember things or recall memories, feelings, sensory images. It gets in my soul and by simply listening to a piece of music I can be transformed, greatly affected. I have a very eclectic taste in music and whatever the genre may be I instantly connect to the artist as their commentary plays out melodically to my ears. Whereas every piece of music triggers a thought there are specific works that I have heard over the course of my life that have become very important to me. So much so that by merely hearing them they can take me to a new emotional state. One such song is Wish You Were Here by Incubus.
In my junior year in college I was in the middle of rehearsals for King Henry the IV part I. I was driving to an early morning class after having been up very late rehearsing. I was half asleep almost on auto pilot and the song Wish You Were Here began to play on my car’s CD player.
I received a call on my cell phone that my Grandfather was in the hospital in critical condition from pneumonia. It was very unexpected. I raced there to be by his side like he had for me so many times before. He passed away three days later. Amidst all my grief I still had thousands of lines of iambic pentameter to memorize. At that moment that song became something so much more to me than a Top 40 hit. It became a tribute to my relationship with my Grandfather. He never knew the song but it helped me to deal with my grief, and it inspired me to press on with my performance. When I graduated college, the first in that family to do so and something my Grandfather supported, I actually thought of that song. I knew that day when he left this world that he was a part of me and though I may wish that he “were here” in the physical sense that his memory would be with me always.

If you like alternative music I recommend the album "Morning View" by Incubus it is a great body of work.

Chopin and My Grandma

One of my daughters-in-law is ¾ Polish, which makes my adorable curly-headed 1-year-old granddaughter, Carlyn, 37.5% Polish. I think that’s pretty terrific since I’m more of just a “Heinz 57” myself ancestor-wise.

I have decided that I’m going to be the grandmother in charge of helping Carlyn explore music, so along with singing nursery rhymes and playing the piano with her (she sits on my lap and I play the melody holding her little index finger while playing the bass part myself), I thought she should be exposed to some of the great classical music from her own heritage. I wanted to find a recording of music by Chopin (the fine Polish composer) being played by a renowned Polish pianist for her. I looked for something recorded by Krystian Zimerman who has been featured on Friends’ series in the past, but couldn’t find something that would exactly work for listening to while she falls asleep at bedtime. But I did find a delightful CD of Artur Rubenstein playing Chopin Nocturnes.

Someday Carlyn’s going to be old enough that she and Grandma can enjoy the “What Makes It Great?” programs together, and then graduate to full concerts. And when we hear Chopin we can enjoy his Polish tie to Carlyn!

Green “Dei”

How Gregorian Chant helped inspire me to be more environmentally conscious.
I was in the gym the other day, an inconsistent feat for me as I battle the bulge, and I was going at my fastest RPM on the elliptical. Techno music was blaring on the loud speaker, weights were clanking around, so I turned up my iPod, louder than recommended, and as if communicated to me by God, the spirit, my ancestors, the circuits from Apple, whoever, I was graced by the beautiful, sometimes haunting sounds of the Versija Chamber Choir singing “Agnus Dei.” Everything around me simply faded away and I was taken to another place. The piece itself happens to be one of my favorite works because of the passion of the text, however I have developed a new appreciation for it because of the parallel that I was recently able to draw regarding the environment. In that recording you have many voices working together, coexisting if you will, to achieve something greater. To preserve beauty and to pay homage to a great creation, whomever they believed to have created it. In this particular interpretation the words Agnus Dei are constant and the higher voices continue to climb higher in pitch and the lower voices continue to descend creating this balance among the constant that is amazing. It takes such precision to achieve such an effect as a choir and vocalist and they accomplish it perfectly.
As unusual as it may sound, I was truly inspired by this moment to reconnect myself to the environment, and despite the origin that we may believe it to have, to honor this creation and work together for something greater.
If you haven’t experienced chant I highly recommend that you try it out. Currently, the #1 album in the classical section of iTunes is “Chant” by the Monks of Cistercian Abbey Stift Heiligenkruez and it is amazing, especially “In Paradisum.” Enjoy.

Finding Love in Music

About four years ago I met this interesting guy through a church group we were both involved in. I initially thought he was pretty good-looking but then immediately wrote him off as a person I wouldn’t be interested in because he was a “banker” and I thought he would be too boring for me. But, our paths kept crossing and we got to know each other a little more each time we met.

Finally, several months later, he called me up and asked me to go on our first date together. Now, at this point I was in my mid-twenties and had been on a few dates. I was very used to the normal first date scenario; pick me at 6pm, take me to dinner at a nice but not too nice restaurant, chat about life plans, hopes and dreams, quickly realize that we have nothing in common, sit painfully through a lame movie. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Well, this guy was different. He casually mentioned on the phone that he was planning to see a chamber music concert with the Summerfest Chamber Music Series at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in downtown Kansas City and was planning to go by himself. I offered to go with him. I couldn’t believe I just invited myself on a date!

On the evening of the concert he came to pick me up and was already more impressive than any other first date I’ve ever had. He was dressed up and looked sharp for the concert. We drove to this cool old-looking church in downtown KC and sat through one of the most beautiful chamber music concerts. The sound from the instruments resonated throughout the church and, for lack of better words, made me feel as though something magical were in the air. I looked over at my date and saw the smile across his face. I knew he was enjoying the concert as much as I. What a unique first date! After that evening I had a sneaking suspicion that this man was going to be my husband.

Sure enough, one year later he brought me back to another Summerfest concert at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and proposed to me! We’ve been married for over two years now and go back to the chamber music concerts every summer to reminisce about how we first fell in love through listening to beautiful music together.

Have you ever taken a date to a chamber music concert? If not, you must try it. It is a unique experience that neither of you will forget!

I've Grown So Ugly

No, I’m not talking about myself. I was exploring the library of upcoming artists in the 2008-2009 season and while I was buzzing around iTunes I stumbled across an album from the Brentano String Quartet, the artists for our first show of the season. The album’s title is Mackey: String Theory. I decided to sample some of the tracks. I found the album itself to be quite amazing and original, but there was one track in particular that blew me away.
“I’ve Grown So Ugly”, track number 2, presented me with a sound that I totally did not expect. If someone were to ask me to imagine the sound of a string quartet I would think of very fluid, soft sounds as all four instruments blended together. The Brentano Quartet does this but not in a way that I expected at all. The piece almost sounded like a folk song from the Civil War with its plucks of strings and knocking sounds on the instruments. It is a very diverse piece that certainly shatters any preconceived notion as to what a string quartet will “sound like.” I admire artists who explore new inventions of themselves and their art while staying true to who they are and the art that they produce. In general, the Brentano Quartet seems to do this well.
Go to iTunes and check out the track and album. You’ll be surprised and amazed.

Opening Pandora's Box

Jeremy let me know about a wonderful website recently: http://www.pandora.com/. This internet radio service is officially titled “Pandora, Radio from the Music Genome Project.” I won’t try to explain the Music Genome Project, but, basically, this service takes one song or artist that you like and “matches” it to countless other songs that share similar characteristics. I think there are close to 400 different attributes that can be used to describe a song or artist – pretty incredible! It’s a great way to discover new music – or, at least music new to you. If you like a song enough to buy it, you can do so directly from the site using iTunes or Amazon; the only catch is that you can’t play songs “on demand” (i.e., just like the radio).

While playing around on Pandora the other day, I typed in “Francis Poulenc,” one of my favorite composers. My ears were greeted with several Poulenc tunes, along with some Milhaud, Faure, and Debussy. A little later on, as I kept listening, the “Poulenc station” veered into slightly different territory, and started playing some Stravinsky and Brahms, along with other composers I wasn’t familiar with. Enjoying this musical journey, I kept on listening and working simultaneously. One track made me stop working, though, so I could devote my full attention to my computer speakers – it was John Tavener’s “The Lamb” for a capella voices. The simple yet arresting harmonies grabbed my attention and didn’t let go for the whole three-odd minutes of the piece. I love the way the key and tonality is uncertain at the beginning of the song – is it major or minor? Or neither? I also like the text that this piece uses, William Blake’s “The Lamb” from Songs of Innocence and Experience. I first read this work in college, and it seems to re-appear in my life once or twice a year, a nice reminder of previous intellectual pursuits. Tavener’s “The Lamb” reminded me that great music can stop you in your tracks. As a result of this discovery, I now have a “Tavener station” on my Pandora account.

I don’t think one would immediately associate Poulenc with Tavener; however, now that I’ve listened to them within the same aural context, I do notice their similar penchant for using dissonance in ways that are not jarring, but rather pleasing and, at times, quite fascinating.

If you want to open yourself up to new musical adventures, try Pandora – you won’t be disappointed!