I miss my theme music.

I went to summer camps as a teenager. Orchestra camps. I say this knowing full well ridicule will ensue when I tell people this. Make fun all you want, I won't budge on how awesome they were. I bring up orchestra camp because of one specific moment. When I wasn't practicing or in rehearsal, I would take a book out to the dock and read. I remember pulling my headphones out of my pocket to listen to a CD (yes, CD player, not iPod), but then I heard music in the background.

I'm not crazy- these camps have rehearsals going constantly around the clock, and as it happened, the resident faculty orchestra was having rehearsal just across the pond. They were housed in a building, but since the rehearsal room opened up to the pond the music was able to find its way to all corners of the camp grounds. I put my headphones down, and enjoyed my own little live soundtrack.

How picturesque is that moment? Yeah, I staged it a little bit. I'm not an avid reader and sometimes I just do things because they make me feel cool, but that hour or so gave me a movie moment; those moments where you need a little theme music to make everything perfect. Only problem being- I can't really keep on orchestra on staff to follow me around.

Where can I find that moment again? Sadly, the probability of a true recreation is not promising. However, the ability to take music wherever we are is available, and although the fidelity is not optimal, it's still affords us the opportunity to make our day to day routines a little bit more... scenic.

I get it- iPods have been around for a while and we all know that we can create our own "walk to work" playlist- not revolutionary. This post is merely to make my argument for some classical music on that list. I was inspired to write this when I had Brahms' Symphony No. 4 playing on my iPhone for a downtown trek to my car after work. Coincidentally, Brahms is the same composer that seeped into my ambience at camp some odd years ago, and I thought of that moment as I walked downtown.

Brahms' Fourth Symphony is absolutely enchanting. Mystery and beauty weave in and out of this piece, with moments that make you take a big breath and realize just how rewarding life can be. It made me so much more aware of my surroundings, and as odd as it sounds I felt like I had a better insight into the lives of those who walked past me. I felt that same feeling of joy as if I was back sitting on the dock with a book in hand and an orchestra only a short walk away.

LoveAlways,

Gnarleigh

Reviving the 1812 Overture

Last October I performed Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection; it's a monumental work lasting about an hour and 20 minutes and absolutely daunting. It revolves around themes of death and the meaning of life, questions of doubt and redemption and concludes with the strongest argument for heaven I can think of. As pointed out by a colleague of mine during rehearsals, we would perform this piece the very same week the Chilean miners were rescued. At first I couldn't tell if she was trying to make a joke about it or if she was actually inspired by the correlation; of course it was the latter and the more I thought about it the more I was inspired by it as well.

When playing pieces that deal with topics such as death, sorrow, doubt or fear, I honestly cannot rely on my own experience and/or thoughts to connect to the piece. When Mahler wrote his second symphony, he was dealing with death and the meaning of life, and the fear that it is meaningless. Not to say I haven't lightly pondered on the subject, but I'm a young, white female from Kansas with not much struggle to speak of. My life account of adversity amounts to about a two on a scale of 10. But if I were to imagine being trapped deep underground for 3 months with no assurance that I would live- that is something I can draw upon when trying to connect to a symphony like Mahler's.

Our conversation renewed this week as we rehearsed for an all Tchaikovsky concert, mainly because the 1812 Overture is on the program. Look at a musician's face when they learn they will be playing this piece and you might catch an eye roll. The 1812 Overture has become so commercialized by pop culture that it has almost lost the spark it ignited when first written. We hear it on commercials, the band plays it on the Fourth of July and I'm sure you can find in a bad, old war movie. But seeing the new development that our Orchestra seemingly has a say in world events, my eyes have been opened anew to it.

The Overture was written as a symbol of overcoming impossible odds. You may have seen V for Vendetta, a film in which a tyrannical government is overturned, and in the end a sea of masked citizens join together to celebrate their new found freedom. In this fashion we have had the privilege to watch the people of Egypt come together to fight for their human rights and completely shift their future- 18 days of protesting and an oppressive government steps down. It's a powerful reminder of what we are actually capable of.

So tonight and tomorrow, I dedicate my performance to the citizens of Egypt and the opportunity that lay ahead them. And I'll put in a word to our music director not to have us play anything too morbid. We don't want that on our hands.

LoveAlways,

Gnarleigh

Kicking the Caviar Habit

A couple weeks ago I had a fascinating conversation with a man named Markand Thakar. Markand is the Music Director for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, as well as a co-director of graduate level conducting at the Peabody Conservatory of music. He was in Wichita as a guest conductor for the Wichita Symphony, and he was my captive audience for an hour long car ride to and from a radio interview. I learned a lot about his family, his background and in turn I divulged a little about myself. He said something about music, though, that I feel I already knew yet had never heard put quite so simply and accurately.

The gem: Music has two functions. One, to facilitate reflection and/or meditation on one's own life, or two, to connect us the world.

It was so simple, yet so profound in my mind. Too often classical music's defined function in society is "culture". Yes, music is culture, but culture for the sake of culture is useless. Aspects of culture survive because they reflect upon those the culture represents. This could explain why the concept of classical music is seemingly lost on a generation of music lovers- what part of them is reflected by classical music? When I ask this question, the typical response is more or less "nothing".

Ooooohhhhh how I wish they knew it wasn't the case, but who can blame them? Classical music has been embodied as the caviar of musical tastes only to be enjoyed by the elite, and really for no other self-gain than to say, "Yes, yes, I went to the Symphony last weekend and it was absolutely spleeendid." It's all of a sudden something that boosts your social stature rather than your sense of self and sense of what is all around us. As a 23 year old cellist from Kansas, whenever I share my occupation it never fails that I am told how wonderful that is- it's cool to be the cellist walking around with a big blue case. But when I ask them if they've been to a concert, 9 times out of 10 they will say, "No, that's not really my thing."

I know the picture in their head- 1,000 senior citizens gathered in concert hall, dozing off for an afternoon nap. I wish so badly they knew the picture in my head when I play. The pictures of loved ones; images of dreams; stories of history. The music serves the exact functions Markand explained to me. Here's an example.

This past concert season the orchestra I'm in performed Sibelius' 5th Symphony. I had never heard the work and frankly was not too terribly excited to play it. I did my homework and did my practicing- found out that parts of the piece were based on WWI and its horrors, and then randomly the last movement's theme was based on swans- weird. I listened to recordings on Youtube and thought okay, this sounds cool but there was no connection right away. About 3 days into rehearsal we were going over this "swan theme"- Now according to Markand, when you pinpoint something for a listener to listen for or think about, you take away music's highest potential. So, disregarding imagining swans flying around in my head, I let my mind wonder.

Have you ever had a dream where you tried to run but you couldn't? You were giving all you could to move but it just wouldn't work? Now, have you ever had a dream in which you could leap 20 feet with every bound? Knowing the feeling of not being able to move, having this second dream feels absolutely wonderful. You feel free and able to do anything, and I found myself imagining this feeling when I played. Having this feeling and this image in mind when I performed made me feel weightless. The music threw me back into this euphoric state where I felt like I could literally do anything.

This is what we must convey. Classical music is not caviar- it's moist, chocolate cake full of rich textures and enjoyable for everyone. Once this generation feels that classical music can tap into their most wonderful thoughts, that's when we can stop worrying about whether classical music still holds value in today's society. To wrap up my point, I encourage you all to watch this video with Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. His energy is contagious, and I think you'll be hard-pressed to hold onto any hardened feelings you may have for classical music.

Love Always,

Gnarleigh

YouTube- A Classical Musician's Best Friend and Worst Enemy

As a classical musician in a professional orchestra, there are a number of frustrations to overcome when practicing/preparing for a symphony performance. I'm not just talking about the difficulty of music; we all know that Don Juan makes us want to throw our instrument against a wall. For me, the most difficult part of this process is fitting my part in with the rest of the orchestra. Being in rehearsal with the entire orchestra and practicing alone in your home are two entirely different experiences. At home all you have is your part- the rests are filled with silence as opposed to being brought to life by the rest of the orchestra. The sound of your metronome is like chinese water torture.

As someone who has trouble multitasking, it's hard to hear the music in my head while trying to perfect my part. A way I overcame it as a young musician was to buy a recording. Once I was fairly proficient in my part, I would play along with the recording so I could hear what else was happening. Eventually I stopped counting rests and listened for the oboe solo that cued my entrance. I realize that there are downsides to this method- the recording does not necessarily portray your own conductor's vision. Tempos may slightly vary, nuances may be adhered to differently; It's not a perfect system. However as someone who does not see relationships by studying a score, the recording is what pieces the orchestra together for me.

Now, let's bring this method to 2011. When I was growing up, I loved going to Borders to browse the classical disc section. I would purchase the recording of a piece I was preparing for about $15, then take it home to practice with. Much of the time this couldn't take place unless music had already been provided. This puts me in a bind present day, simply because music sometimes isn't available until 2 weeks before my concert, and the process is accelerated considerably. There are two resources that put me in control of this dilemma: YouTube and imslp.org.

The general population does not realize the gold mine that YouTube provides for classical musicians. Some of the best recordings, be it merely audio or a video of a live performance, reside in the search box. Now instead of spending $15 on a recording, I can literally be practicing with Leonard Bernstein on my computer screen. Incredible.

Now as to the dilemma of accessibility to music, there is almost no excuse for a musician to not be prepared. That 2 week window is now infinitely expanded with www.imslp.org, an online resource that provides scores and individual parts for instruments for virtually every staple in the symphonic repertoire. You may not have the luxury of set bowings, but the time you get to master the notes of your part is now increased to the time you know what piece you'll be performing. The best part? It. Is. FREE.

We know this is great for professional musicians, but what about amateur or aspiring musicians? What we have now is the opportunity to have an entire orchestra at everyone's disposal. Great orchestras at that. Now a high school musician who dreams of playing Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov (okay, that was me) but does not have the resources to pull an orchestra together or buy a $15 recording has everything he/she needs to do it, even if it's just for fun. Young musicians of the world don't have to wait to see if their youth orchestras are performing their favorite pieces- they can print the music for free and play along with top orchestras of the world, right in their home.

Before I go further on my endless possibilities rant, I want to acknowledge the downside- and it's a big one. Orchestras struggle. Recordings they sell don't do a fraction as well as their popular music counterparts, and having these recordings available online for free robs them just as much as copying a disc does. Is it really in an orchestras best interest to have these recordings on YouTube? Should they police YouTube and take their recordings down?

Many orchestras have taken this approach, and rightfully so. The endless database, however, goes on. We live in a society where so much information is available, it's hard to get off of the wave of knowledge it provides. My opinion is this. Orchestras have every right to take down their music, and I shall never condemn an orchestra for protecting its property. But as for the recordings that will inevitably remain available on YouTube and the accessibility of free, downloadable music on IMSLP, I can't help but marvel at what is now possible for the modern musician.

Get to practicing.

LoveAlways,

Gnarleigh