Well this musical has certainly become quite popular among the musical theatre crowd, and after seeing it last Sunday I can see why.
I'll start with my overall opinion of the show: First, the music is incredibly beautiful and personally some of the most gorgeous music I've heard in musical theatre. The orchestrations are ingenious and actually compliment the music rather than just 'filling in' as an orchestra. There are certain numbers like "Blue Wind" that are just heartbreakingly beautiful and then the rock songs like "My Junk" and "And Then There Were None" that are just full of spirit and energy. The music is a big highlight in this show!
The story is great and needs to be told. There are so many important messages in this show and the characters really live the story and their tracks and emotions display them quite well. Although this show is definitely not for everyone there are some great statements about religion and education that otherwise go unheard.
The relationship between Melchior and Wendla is particularly thought provoking. I wish I had the words to fully describe it. Another beautiful story, though not as forward in the plot, is that of Moritz and Ilse. They share a memorable scene right before his suicide in which Ilse recounts their childhood romance and happiness. She sings Blue Wind, quite possibly my favorite song. I somehow feel so connected to that song. Something about the lyrics:
"Spring and summer every other day
Blue wind gets so pained
blowing through the thick corn and through the bails of hay
through the open books on the grass
Spring and summer."
is so moving to me. I can picture a happy group of children with no cares in life; then flash to 10 years later where a society that has taken away from these kids the chance to be human and experience human emotions and feelings, pushes them over the edge as a result of their frustration. (Maybe that's not the right way to describe it). Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but I can't help but fall in love with that story and with the story of this musical. I think we all have those moments when we wish we can just be children again, when our biggest worries at times was whether the wind would blow away the picnic we'd set outside. The wind has certainly blown away those years almost as quickly as it would the pages of an "open book on the grass."
I wish I had a wider vocabulary to describe how I feel about music and theatre. I want to be able to put chord progressions into words, or take the sound of a cello and write it down.....Then again maybe that's the beauty of music is that so much of it can't be described. It's meant to be heard and I guess that's what we'll have to do. I only wish I can show people what I see in things and have them hear what I hear. There again is another beauty of music: it's different for everyone.
I hope this made sense to someone. I will try to think of other ways to describe how I feel about this. Maybe one day I'll be able to!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Dwelling on the past...
As an artist I try to take inspiration from everyday things to use in my creative process. It's been really fun changing over the past few years and really feeling the amount of growth and development I've undergone, both as a pianist and creative being.
I was recently invited back to accompany two of my former high school choirs as they prepared and performed for large group adjudications. I was a member of the concert choir, which is the highest level choir in my high school, for three of my four years there; and the women's chorus is now a comfortable creative outlet for my sister. I had mixed feelings about spending my spring break in a high school and seeing some (not many by this point) people I knew back then; however it proved to be rewarding in many ways and helped me to reconnect with my artistic roots and those teachers who first inspired me.
Although my main goal for the week was working with the choirs, I did take advantage of visiting my former theatre director. I have meet several amazing people in my life but this woman holds a high spot in my book of favorites. Her dedication to her art and her undying support of all levels of creativity is still as strong as the day I met her. If you know me well enough you already know that for me theatre was my life throughout high school. I could have cared less about academics; and why should I have when I had an incredibly talented group of people to work with. I don't regret my distribution of time one bit seeing as acting (not necessarily theatre itself) has all but left my life. Sure there is the occasional 'gig' but, I'm sure I will never get the thrill of hopping from show to show like I did then. I had a wonderful time visiting with her and like I said, she always helps me get in touch with my true creative self and always reminds me why I do what I do.
Working with my other previous obsession, our concert choir, was another wonderful opportunity. If you asked me to pick between choir(music) and theatre I honestly could not give you an answer. Both run through my veins so heavily that I can't imagine functioning without both. My high school choir director is another incredibly gifted man and I admire him for much more than just musical reasons. It always blew my mind how he can take a group of seventy-two teenagers in September, and by March turn them into seventy-two incredible musicians, not to mention having them all focused on one thing -- success.
The adjudications were held at Avon Lake High School in their beautiful performance facility. As soon as I walked on stage with the group a rush of memories flew my way. My sophomore year in high school was my first year in concert choir and coincidentally we were the second choir in the history of the school to receive a superior rating at state adjudications which were held on that very same stage four years ago.
I only had one piece to play with the group, but as I was playing (on a concert hall-worthy Steinway) I was thinking to myself: "some of my greatest musical experiences have been with this choir, with this director, and playing with them." I know very well that I am not the same pianist I was four years ago, nor I am I the same pianist I was two years ago pre-college and conservatory life. Despite all of my numerous solo performance opportunities at college I was amazed to come to realization that the times I have felt most fulfilled and most blessed as a pianist has been the moments I spent playing with my concert choir. Here I am playing music that is hardly profound when compared to a Beethoven sonata or a Brahms Intermezzo, but at the heart of this 'simple' music is the true meaning of what music really is. I have come to discover that sometimes the most simple of tasks, or music for that matter, can be the most rewarding and fulfilling; and this most recent encounter was no different.
It's really amazing how quickly we change and how easily we can extinguish the spark that started it all. I hope that artists everywhere can take the time to appreciate this advice. When times get rough and you really feel stuck in the mud, take a minute to remember what brought you there in the first place. Learn from the past and let that guide you into the future. Everyone's future is bright and shinning, sometimes you just need something to light your way.
I was recently invited back to accompany two of my former high school choirs as they prepared and performed for large group adjudications. I was a member of the concert choir, which is the highest level choir in my high school, for three of my four years there; and the women's chorus is now a comfortable creative outlet for my sister. I had mixed feelings about spending my spring break in a high school and seeing some (not many by this point) people I knew back then; however it proved to be rewarding in many ways and helped me to reconnect with my artistic roots and those teachers who first inspired me.
Although my main goal for the week was working with the choirs, I did take advantage of visiting my former theatre director. I have meet several amazing people in my life but this woman holds a high spot in my book of favorites. Her dedication to her art and her undying support of all levels of creativity is still as strong as the day I met her. If you know me well enough you already know that for me theatre was my life throughout high school. I could have cared less about academics; and why should I have when I had an incredibly talented group of people to work with. I don't regret my distribution of time one bit seeing as acting (not necessarily theatre itself) has all but left my life. Sure there is the occasional 'gig' but, I'm sure I will never get the thrill of hopping from show to show like I did then. I had a wonderful time visiting with her and like I said, she always helps me get in touch with my true creative self and always reminds me why I do what I do.
Working with my other previous obsession, our concert choir, was another wonderful opportunity. If you asked me to pick between choir(music) and theatre I honestly could not give you an answer. Both run through my veins so heavily that I can't imagine functioning without both. My high school choir director is another incredibly gifted man and I admire him for much more than just musical reasons. It always blew my mind how he can take a group of seventy-two teenagers in September, and by March turn them into seventy-two incredible musicians, not to mention having them all focused on one thing -- success.
The adjudications were held at Avon Lake High School in their beautiful performance facility. As soon as I walked on stage with the group a rush of memories flew my way. My sophomore year in high school was my first year in concert choir and coincidentally we were the second choir in the history of the school to receive a superior rating at state adjudications which were held on that very same stage four years ago.
I only had one piece to play with the group, but as I was playing (on a concert hall-worthy Steinway) I was thinking to myself: "some of my greatest musical experiences have been with this choir, with this director, and playing with them." I know very well that I am not the same pianist I was four years ago, nor I am I the same pianist I was two years ago pre-college and conservatory life. Despite all of my numerous solo performance opportunities at college I was amazed to come to realization that the times I have felt most fulfilled and most blessed as a pianist has been the moments I spent playing with my concert choir. Here I am playing music that is hardly profound when compared to a Beethoven sonata or a Brahms Intermezzo, but at the heart of this 'simple' music is the true meaning of what music really is. I have come to discover that sometimes the most simple of tasks, or music for that matter, can be the most rewarding and fulfilling; and this most recent encounter was no different.
It's really amazing how quickly we change and how easily we can extinguish the spark that started it all. I hope that artists everywhere can take the time to appreciate this advice. When times get rough and you really feel stuck in the mud, take a minute to remember what brought you there in the first place. Learn from the past and let that guide you into the future. Everyone's future is bright and shinning, sometimes you just need something to light your way.
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