The combined Capital-South Charleston HS Orchestras, now known as SCORCH, performed in the National Orchestra Festival on Thursday, March 19 in Atlanta, Georgia, under the direction of Colleen Tan.
This is the first high school group to be invited and perform from the state of West Virginia. The National Orchestra Festival invited only 12 schools nationally in the HS String Orchestra category. SCORCH earned an "Excellent" rating.
"Our students performed the best concert I have ever conducted in my twelve years of teaching," said Tan. "The preparatory concerts in our community at the Clay Center and at WVSU were fine performances, but the Atlanta showing exceeded all previous efforts. The students performed to their highest capacity and made KCS and WV very proud. "
The students also performed and participated in four different Masterclasses: violin, viola, jazz, and fiddling. They had a clinic with a professor from George Mason University who offered world-class pedagogy. They perused the American String Teacher Association's conference exhibit hall with exposure to fine instruments, music, and music technology. Students observed national peer groups performing and attended a professional styles concert.
Students were able to explore some of Atlanta's cultural/educational offerings such as the Chinese Terracotta Army exhibit and the Georgia Aquarium, among others. It was indeed a life-changing experience for them musically, educationally, and personally.
This performance experience would not have been possible without years of arts support from KCS and school-based administration, as well as the WVSO. It took the students many years to attain this incredible level of mastery of their instruments.
Hats off to everyone who helped make this experience possible!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
March--like a lion and a lamb?
...not at the WV Symphony.
Actually the month came in with a movie score by John Corigliano (The Red Violin) and is going out with scores by Maestro Cooper (Easy Street and The Immigrant).
I was fascinated by the technical aspects of the filming of The Red Violin with Joshua Bell as the performer, sometimes behind the scenes on the audio and other times with him on screen in costume. Sometimes his playing was techno-morphed onto the actor's hands...check out the DVD, especially the extra clips where Corigliano talks about how composing this score was so different from how most movie soundtracks are created. I really hadn't thought much about the process in the first place, so I got a double dose about the musical behind the scenes on a movie set and in the editing room. This movie is unique and worth an evening and some popcorn. Rating is probably R due to a brief scene of nudity, but the story is revealed in the same time-sequence style as "Slumdog Millionaire."
So how will the month end?
Brand new music composed and orchestrated by our own Maestro Cooper for two classic Chaplin films, Easy Street and The Immigrant, will be unleashed on the classical world this coming weekend. The even greater challenge will be the live performance by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra while the films are playing before the audiences' very eyes.
Luckily, we'll have Maestro Cooper at the helm. Having written every note, he's intimately aware of the nuances of the score and how it "fits" with the action on the screen. He now faces the task of taking 50 or so musicians on the musical journey with him.
Blogger's note: I remember a number of years ago when the symphony performed a timed accompaniment to the fireworks display. You can imagine something like the "rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" and the corresponding firework visual coming together--not so easy to time in real life. How about the mathematical computations involved in the release of the ignited firework, the timing of the explosion of the device and the subsequent sound and light travel?
This will be quite similar...
Plus we will have guest artist Dan Kamin (and Maestro Cooper's partner in crime on the project) on stage to help us navigate the experience. Dan is quite the Chaplin aficionado, both as entertainer and choreographer-trainer. He trained Johnny Depp for scenes in Benny and Joon , and Robert Downey, Jr. for Downey's Oscar-nominated role in Chaplin.
Following the world-premier this weekend, Cooper and Kamin will take this show on the road--the two-some is already booked for performances in VA and Jacksonville, FL. See more details about Chaplin and the press from the show. http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/infos
See the next blog entry for a Q&A with Dan for more information. Check out Dan's web site at http://www.dankamin.com/ for a preview.
Come enjoy the movies, the music, the technology, and the artistry on so many levels. Blog back with your comments about any and aspects of the concert!
Actually the month came in with a movie score by John Corigliano (The Red Violin) and is going out with scores by Maestro Cooper (Easy Street and The Immigrant).
I was fascinated by the technical aspects of the filming of The Red Violin with Joshua Bell as the performer, sometimes behind the scenes on the audio and other times with him on screen in costume. Sometimes his playing was techno-morphed onto the actor's hands...check out the DVD, especially the extra clips where Corigliano talks about how composing this score was so different from how most movie soundtracks are created. I really hadn't thought much about the process in the first place, so I got a double dose about the musical behind the scenes on a movie set and in the editing room. This movie is unique and worth an evening and some popcorn. Rating is probably R due to a brief scene of nudity, but the story is revealed in the same time-sequence style as "Slumdog Millionaire."
So how will the month end?
Brand new music composed and orchestrated by our own Maestro Cooper for two classic Chaplin films, Easy Street and The Immigrant, will be unleashed on the classical world this coming weekend. The even greater challenge will be the live performance by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra while the films are playing before the audiences' very eyes.
Luckily, we'll have Maestro Cooper at the helm. Having written every note, he's intimately aware of the nuances of the score and how it "fits" with the action on the screen. He now faces the task of taking 50 or so musicians on the musical journey with him.
Blogger's note: I remember a number of years ago when the symphony performed a timed accompaniment to the fireworks display. You can imagine something like the "rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air" and the corresponding firework visual coming together--not so easy to time in real life. How about the mathematical computations involved in the release of the ignited firework, the timing of the explosion of the device and the subsequent sound and light travel?
This will be quite similar...
Plus we will have guest artist Dan Kamin (and Maestro Cooper's partner in crime on the project) on stage to help us navigate the experience. Dan is quite the Chaplin aficionado, both as entertainer and choreographer-trainer. He trained Johnny Depp for scenes in Benny and Joon , and Robert Downey, Jr. for Downey's Oscar-nominated role in Chaplin.
Following the world-premier this weekend, Cooper and Kamin will take this show on the road--the two-some is already booked for performances in VA and Jacksonville, FL. See more details about Chaplin and the press from the show. http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/infos
See the next blog entry for a Q&A with Dan for more information. Check out Dan's web site at http://www.dankamin.com/ for a preview.
Come enjoy the movies, the music, the technology, and the artistry on so many levels. Blog back with your comments about any and aspects of the concert!
Talking with Dan Kamin Q&A
Dan Kamin Q&A
What got you interested in the type of stuff you do?
I'm overly susceptible to movies. As a kid I saw the movie Houdini with Tony Curtis, and I promptly became a boy magician. In college at Carnegie Mellon I saw a Chaplin film, and I became a silent comedian. Your readers will be relieved to know that I've never seen The Boston Strangler.
How did you learn magic?
I grew up in Miami, a notoriously crime-ridden city then as now. I was taken under the wing of various shady criminal-types who liked to show off their skills at cardsharping and such to a goggle-eyed kid. I became fascinated with the mechanics of deception, which naturally enough led me to a career in show business.
Why did you want to be a performer?
I was desperate for money, and I couldn't get the job I really wanted, which was to be a bagboy or stock clerk at the local supermarket. Those guys had cars, and girlfriends. The best I could do was magic shows at the birthday parties of hyperkinetic, sugar-crazed children. Unfortunately, I soon learned that girls tended to be repelled by magicians.
When I was sixteen my gambler friends offered me a job as a dealer on the cruise boats, but somehow I couldn't see myself as a boy criminal. Instead I tried to find fame by performing at local talent shows. I never won a single one, but I did make it onto The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, the American Idol of its day, on which I lost on national TV to a group of four sailors who sang "Blue Moon."
After you saw that Chaplin film in college how did you go about learning to do physical comedy?
At first I had no idea. I read some books about Charlie Chaplin, but they didn’t help. Then I met a man named Jewel Walker, a world-class mime artist who taught in the world-class drama department at Carnegie Mellon, where I was studying industrial design. I realized that mime was where silent movie comedy had gone, so I attached myself to Jewel like a leech, becoming the sorcerer’s apprentice. Just as I once spent hours learning how to manipulate coins and cards, now I learned how to create illusions and tell stories in movement, thus completely ruining my chances of leading a normal life.
Is it just you in your performances?
Usually there's also an audience. I refuse to go on if I outnumber the audience.
You often perform with symphonies. Do you play an instrument?
I play the buffoon. Symphonies are so desperate to attract audiences that they turn to charlatans like me. By adding visual comedy and silent storytelling, I cheapen the classical experience and make it great fun for everyone except for the conductor, Grant Cooper, who will me to his dying day.
What can the audience expect at a "comedy concerto?"
A lifetime of regret.
What happens in “Charlie Chaplin at the Symphony?”
In the first half, “The Classical Clown,” everything gets turned upside down. I play a mime who wants to conduct, and by the end of the show I do, and Cooper and the whole orchestra become mimes. It is truly humiliating for all concerned, and yet another reason to hate mimes. Then we’ll show two restored Chaplin films from 1917, with brand new orchestral scores by Grant, and the audience will see that they don’t have to hate all mimes.
Are you a silent character in all your symphony shows?
As you can tell from my responses to your interview questions, I have a hard time shutting up. The Classical Clown is the only silent stage show I do--but Grant Cooper will make up for it by talking all through the show.
You’re doing a residency in town before your performance. What does that entail?
The symphony is basically unleashing me on the town for a whole week. I'll freak people out by strolling through public places in slow motion. I'll be the worse luncheon speaker the Rotary has ever had. And I'll visit several schools to combat the influence of rational thought.
Is this your first performance in Charleston?
No, but it’ll probably my last. I’ve performed several family concerts with the orchestra before, but this is our first pops concert. Incidentally, it’s the debut of this show.
What was it like working with Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp?
It was a dream come true to work in movies. Classic movies inspired me, and I came full circle by adding classic visual comedy to modern films. By the way, I taught Johnny Depp how to roll the coin around his fingers the way he does at the end of Pirate of the Caribbean. He became my magic apprentice while we were working on Benny and Joon. But does he call? Never.
Do you think it takes a certain person to be able to pull off the type of performance required for these roles?
All it takes is the willingness to endure public ridicule.
How often do you come up with new performances?
I come up with new ones whenever I'm artistically inspired, or someone offers me money. Which may be the same thing, come to think of it.
What other types of places do you perform?
I’ve performed in just about every imaginable setting—factories, the streets of London and in mental hospitals. For the patients, I hasten to add, not as a patient.
What makes these different that performing for a huge audience in a theatre?
I love performing for hospital patients or old people because they can't run very fast. Large audiences tend to turn into angry mobs of screaming, torch-bearing villagers out for my blood.
Have you ever been in any movies yourself?
I did cameos in Chaplin and Benny and Joon and played a wooden Indian who came to life in the film Creepshow 2. I also played a small, uncredited role in D.W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation.
Wait, wasn’t The Birth of a Nation made in 1915?
Don’t quibble.
Do you have a favorite performance?
The next one.
Do you have any suggestions for anyone interested in this type of performing?
Seek counseling at once.
What got you interested in the type of stuff you do?
I'm overly susceptible to movies. As a kid I saw the movie Houdini with Tony Curtis, and I promptly became a boy magician. In college at Carnegie Mellon I saw a Chaplin film, and I became a silent comedian. Your readers will be relieved to know that I've never seen The Boston Strangler.
How did you learn magic?
I grew up in Miami, a notoriously crime-ridden city then as now. I was taken under the wing of various shady criminal-types who liked to show off their skills at cardsharping and such to a goggle-eyed kid. I became fascinated with the mechanics of deception, which naturally enough led me to a career in show business.
Why did you want to be a performer?
I was desperate for money, and I couldn't get the job I really wanted, which was to be a bagboy or stock clerk at the local supermarket. Those guys had cars, and girlfriends. The best I could do was magic shows at the birthday parties of hyperkinetic, sugar-crazed children. Unfortunately, I soon learned that girls tended to be repelled by magicians.
When I was sixteen my gambler friends offered me a job as a dealer on the cruise boats, but somehow I couldn't see myself as a boy criminal. Instead I tried to find fame by performing at local talent shows. I never won a single one, but I did make it onto The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, the American Idol of its day, on which I lost on national TV to a group of four sailors who sang "Blue Moon."
After you saw that Chaplin film in college how did you go about learning to do physical comedy?
At first I had no idea. I read some books about Charlie Chaplin, but they didn’t help. Then I met a man named Jewel Walker, a world-class mime artist who taught in the world-class drama department at Carnegie Mellon, where I was studying industrial design. I realized that mime was where silent movie comedy had gone, so I attached myself to Jewel like a leech, becoming the sorcerer’s apprentice. Just as I once spent hours learning how to manipulate coins and cards, now I learned how to create illusions and tell stories in movement, thus completely ruining my chances of leading a normal life.
Is it just you in your performances?
Usually there's also an audience. I refuse to go on if I outnumber the audience.
You often perform with symphonies. Do you play an instrument?
I play the buffoon. Symphonies are so desperate to attract audiences that they turn to charlatans like me. By adding visual comedy and silent storytelling, I cheapen the classical experience and make it great fun for everyone except for the conductor, Grant Cooper, who will me to his dying day.
What can the audience expect at a "comedy concerto?"
A lifetime of regret.
What happens in “Charlie Chaplin at the Symphony?”
In the first half, “The Classical Clown,” everything gets turned upside down. I play a mime who wants to conduct, and by the end of the show I do, and Cooper and the whole orchestra become mimes. It is truly humiliating for all concerned, and yet another reason to hate mimes. Then we’ll show two restored Chaplin films from 1917, with brand new orchestral scores by Grant, and the audience will see that they don’t have to hate all mimes.
Are you a silent character in all your symphony shows?
As you can tell from my responses to your interview questions, I have a hard time shutting up. The Classical Clown is the only silent stage show I do--but Grant Cooper will make up for it by talking all through the show.
You’re doing a residency in town before your performance. What does that entail?
The symphony is basically unleashing me on the town for a whole week. I'll freak people out by strolling through public places in slow motion. I'll be the worse luncheon speaker the Rotary has ever had. And I'll visit several schools to combat the influence of rational thought.
Is this your first performance in Charleston?
No, but it’ll probably my last. I’ve performed several family concerts with the orchestra before, but this is our first pops concert. Incidentally, it’s the debut of this show.
What was it like working with Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp?
It was a dream come true to work in movies. Classic movies inspired me, and I came full circle by adding classic visual comedy to modern films. By the way, I taught Johnny Depp how to roll the coin around his fingers the way he does at the end of Pirate of the Caribbean. He became my magic apprentice while we were working on Benny and Joon. But does he call? Never.
Do you think it takes a certain person to be able to pull off the type of performance required for these roles?
All it takes is the willingness to endure public ridicule.
How often do you come up with new performances?
I come up with new ones whenever I'm artistically inspired, or someone offers me money. Which may be the same thing, come to think of it.
What other types of places do you perform?
I’ve performed in just about every imaginable setting—factories, the streets of London and in mental hospitals. For the patients, I hasten to add, not as a patient.
What makes these different that performing for a huge audience in a theatre?
I love performing for hospital patients or old people because they can't run very fast. Large audiences tend to turn into angry mobs of screaming, torch-bearing villagers out for my blood.
Have you ever been in any movies yourself?
I did cameos in Chaplin and Benny and Joon and played a wooden Indian who came to life in the film Creepshow 2. I also played a small, uncredited role in D.W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation.
Wait, wasn’t The Birth of a Nation made in 1915?
Don’t quibble.
Do you have a favorite performance?
The next one.
Do you have any suggestions for anyone interested in this type of performing?
Seek counseling at once.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Warning--this entry may compel you to attend a concert
Music itself is pretty powerful, but I find that the stories behind the music can really propel the case for showing up in the first place. Such is the case with Olivier Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time."
This piece was written in 1940 by a young Frenchman at the time his country entered World War II. Captured, he was transported in a cattle car across Germany and was imprisoned in Stalag VIIIA in Gorlitz, Germany. Messiaen himself was a pianist and composer. He was not the only musician in the camp.
This version of the story came from comments by Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of music division at the Boston Conservatory to a group of freshmen:
[Messiaen] was fortunate to find a sympathetic prison guard who gave him paper and a place to compose. There were three other musicians in the camp, a cellist, a violinist, and a clarinetist, and Messiaen wrote his [original composition] with these specific players in mind. It was performed in January 1941 for four thousand prisoners and guards in the prison camp.
An additional quote in the MSQ program notes by Amelia Chan came from Messiaen himself about the premiere, "Never was I listened to with such rapt attention and comprehension."
If you don't have cold chills yet, let me share more of Paulnack's comments:
Given what we have since learned about life in the concentration camps, why would anyone in his right mind waste time and energy writing or playing music? There was barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torture--why would anyone bother with music? And yet--from the camps, we have poetry, we have music, we have visual art; it wasn't just this one fanatic Messiaen; many, many people created art.
Why?
Well, in a place where people are only focused on survival, on the bare necessities, the obvious conclusion is that art must be, somehow, essential for life. The camps were without money, without hope, without commerce, without recreation, without basic respect, but they were not without art.
Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, "I am alive, and my life has meaning."
The Montclaire String Quartet will perform "Quartet for the End of Time" on Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m. at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students.
I hope to see you there.
Paulnack's comments used with permission.
This piece was written in 1940 by a young Frenchman at the time his country entered World War II. Captured, he was transported in a cattle car across Germany and was imprisoned in Stalag VIIIA in Gorlitz, Germany. Messiaen himself was a pianist and composer. He was not the only musician in the camp.
This version of the story came from comments by Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of music division at the Boston Conservatory to a group of freshmen:
[Messiaen] was fortunate to find a sympathetic prison guard who gave him paper and a place to compose. There were three other musicians in the camp, a cellist, a violinist, and a clarinetist, and Messiaen wrote his [original composition] with these specific players in mind. It was performed in January 1941 for four thousand prisoners and guards in the prison camp.
An additional quote in the MSQ program notes by Amelia Chan came from Messiaen himself about the premiere, "Never was I listened to with such rapt attention and comprehension."
If you don't have cold chills yet, let me share more of Paulnack's comments:
Given what we have since learned about life in the concentration camps, why would anyone in his right mind waste time and energy writing or playing music? There was barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torture--why would anyone bother with music? And yet--from the camps, we have poetry, we have music, we have visual art; it wasn't just this one fanatic Messiaen; many, many people created art.
Why?
Well, in a place where people are only focused on survival, on the bare necessities, the obvious conclusion is that art must be, somehow, essential for life. The camps were without money, without hope, without commerce, without recreation, without basic respect, but they were not without art.
Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, "I am alive, and my life has meaning."
The Montclaire String Quartet will perform "Quartet for the End of Time" on Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m. at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students.
I hope to see you there.
Paulnack's comments used with permission.
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