Brunchtime Cat and Mouse Game Provides Education and Entertainment

I'm not sure how they were going to keep score, but WV Public Radio Host Jim Lange had 11 musical clips queued up for Maestro Grant Cooper last Saturday morning.

Maestro Cooper had agreed to put his listening skills on the line, and the attendees were encouraged to submit some ideas for clips as well.

Not only did Maestro agree to name the particular piece of music and composer from a 90-second excerpt, he vowed he would go deeper into the recording and even venture an educated guess about the orchestra performing or the conductor. A parlor trick? I SHOULD SAY NOT!

The forty patrons who attended the brunch at the Craik-Patton House on January 17 watched Grant's face closely. His expression would be very non-committal at first, but barely seconds into the piece I could tell that yes--he knew this piece OR no--a much more memorable scrunch of the face which would finally melt back into a more peaceful expression as he could wrap his ears around some familiar aspects of the recorded performance.

I recall similar experiences in my college education where part of music history class grades were based on "Drop the Needle" tests. We were given a list of recordings for the semester which coincided with the era we were studying. It was up to us to listen, discern, memorize, absorb, dissect--whatever it took to be able to identify those recordings on the test which was literally done as the professor dropped the needle onto the turntable.

I applaud Maestro for this experiment, not only for his trained ear, but for his willingness to put his musical knowledge on the line in such a public forum. How many did he get out of the 11? Well, he was right on with almost all the titles/composers; and even closer on guessing the orchestra and most of the time even guessing the conductor.

Jim Lange did give him a few hints, but only if Maestro phrased his guesses in the form of a question. I hope Jim will post the pieces he used and some commentary too.

Did you attend the brunch? What did you think?