aeblog

mission accomplished

I bit the bullet this year and became a season ticket holder to the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). I know that I have written some positive and some critical things about BMOP in the past, but at the end of the day, I always come down feeling very grateful that BMOP exists and that I have the opportunity to see them 5 or so times a year. So why the hell not be a subscriber? It's really quite inexpensive too, so you should all join me! I've never gotten season tickets to anything before, so this is a new and exciting form of membership that I am feeling.
The opening show of the season was last night at Jordan Hall. The program was called 'Voices' (which got me particularly excited for obvious reasons) because it was comprised solely of pieces written for solo vocalists. As I listened, I realized that it is not an easy thing to do to write a piece of music for orchestra and vocalist without sounding goofy; especially if the singing is in English. Both baritone soloists were great, but the female soloists and the tenor came across as not having resisted the goofiness. This might have been due to the over-dramatic facial expressions, the painfully wrong color of the mezzo's dress and the coif that sat on the tenor's head which made Lyle Lovett's most extended days seem insignificant.
However, there is nothing at all like hearing a full orchestra live in a concert hall. Eighty musicians all locked in and cranking. There were even moments in the Fussel piece where I thought to myself that is was almost loud enough for earplugs. That was cool! The orchestra is such a versatile instrument, and Gil Rose did a great job wringing all the dynamics and power out of it.

Speaking of Gil Rose, I had another motive for going to this concert. I thought that given his focus on voices, he might appreciate my 'words and voices'. So I decided to make a special cd for him and try to pawn it off on him after the show. This is not something I am good at. In fact, I am pathetically bad at meeting new people without an introduction and thrusting my needs/wants upon them. So at the after-show reception, I stood around for half an hour quietly observing the musicians and other guests all the while feeling fairly silly for not having anyone to talk to. Sometimes I even write to myself in these sorts of situations to busy myself and not look so out of place and also to psych myself up to interact more. So after writing "Gil Rose is standing ten feet from me though I haven't yet given him the cd", I became determined.
He was quite nice and accepting, it turns out. I thanked him for the wonderful concert and he put my cd in his suit pocket after a brief discussion. I don't anticipate hearing back from him, but I am feeling good that I put it in his hands, and if he listens, I will be honored. My music, of course, is not something suited at all for BMOP, but this is not why I wanted him to hear it. I want him to hear it because he certainly has a much broader taste in music than what he performs, because he is a great musician, and for some reason I felt he might just appreciate what I am doing. Who knows, but I feel good for having done what I did, and the old addage of "you never know unless you try" will always hold true.