My new Director of Music position!

Tags

choir, church job

Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford, where the Wesley brothers studied ~ Image via Wikipedia

I have a new job!  I’m so excited about it!  The position is Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton, MA.

A surprise email response

It must be Karma.  Just after applying for an office job online, I alerted my references by email.  The minister of the church is on my list.

He responded by saying he would keep an ear out for a call, also mentioning that the Minister of Music position was available.  Was I interested?

So I emailed him a resumé 5 minutes later.

The funny thing is, I had never heard him preach, and he hadn’t heard me play.

Interview/audition

My interview went so well, I almost couldn’t believe it.  I felt like I knew exactly what to say, and contributed several ideas about growing the music program.

Then I played a Bach prelude on the piano, since I hadn’t played organ for the past 8 years.  The organ playing would have been no problem, but I was concerned about the pedals.

When I asked the search committee to choose a hymn, they were ready.  (They had been planning to do so all along.)  No problem ~ it was something I had played many times.

I was asked to play the hymn as if for a service, with whatever introduction I felt appropriate.

And then, one committee member said “this is the Methodist test.”  Again, a hymn I knew well.  (I’ll leave it up to you to guess the composer.)  But I wasn’t worried about the hymns anyway, since I’m a good sight-reader.

Image via Wikipedia

The position

The church is in transition, and has recently dropped Wednesday night choir rehearsals.  This morning (my first Sunday), we talked about how we might proceed.  I don’t want to see the choir become nonexistent.  Starting over would be more difficult than doing something.

Next Sunday, we will rehearse from 9:00-9:40 a.m.  We decided to go with singing twice a month for now.  But if things work out so we can sing every week, we will!

A choir member volunteers to file the music.  She gave me a tour, then offered to set aside some anthems that would be easily learned.  The goal is to get us going for 2 months.  I appreciate her help!

First Sunday

Although I have played for church in many different situations and denominations, there is always something unfamiliar.  This morning, a choir member (who introduced himself as “my bass”) anticipated the things I might not know.  He was right on, and talked me through a few spots in the service.

As a result, things went very smoothly!  No music dropped on the floor unintentionally (although that is where it went whenever I was finished with a book), no responses out of order, no introductions missing when needed.  May my luck continue!

New shoes!

After coffee hour, where I met many wonderful, friendly parishoners, I stayed to acclimate myself to the organ.  The delay from key drop to sound will take a little getting used to, especially in faster tempi.  I remembered how to pedal better than I had expected, though.

This week, I purchased professional pedal shoes for the first time.  I tried them out today.  They are absolutely wonderful!  I looked online, and ordered from www.organmastershoes.com.

The shoes have 1-1/2 inch heels, a steel shank, and suede soles.  I was concerned with the soles, having never seen suede soles before.  Would they be thin like ballet slippers?  Would they wear through right away?

The soles are firm and feel like normal shoes.  Suede is used because it “sticks” just enough for accuracy, yet moves around well, too.  It makes noiseless pedaling easy!

And the shoes look cool, too.

A look to the future

This job is not in my town.  Since travel is involved, and since I will be making the trip to practice there, the time commitment may affect the frequency of my blog posts.

If I feel pressured for time, I may be posting once a week rather than twice.  The most likely day would be Friday… we’ll see.

So please bear with me as I adjust to new things, and be patient.  But don’t go away!  I’ll still be here.   🙂

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Guest Post: 9 Movies That Never Should’ve Become Musicals

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guest post, movies, musicals

Thanks to Jennifer Lynch of www.toponlinecolleges.com for sharing this article.

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

Music has charms to soothe the savage beast (or breast, if you’re going with the correct but weirder version of the saying), but these movies-turned-musicals have the power to have us plugging our ears and rolling our eyes. While many films have transitioned well to the stage, like Monty Python and the Holy Grail adaptation Spamalot, as well as The Producers, many others have failed to live up to the success the movie experienced. Some words are just better left unsung.

1. Spiderman

   Fine, this started as a comic book, not a movie, but the stage version, called Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, mimicked the popular film franchise. Some of the big problems with the idea of putting an action flick in front of a live audience is the danger and the huge cost associated with keeping actors safe. And even with the record-breaking budget of $70 million, Spider-Man couldn’t seem to keep its actors from injury. Several cast members were hurt during rehearsals and many began to think of the show as cursed. The director left, the stunts were toned down, which made them more boring, and the whole story was rewritten. And to top it off, the songs, written by U2’s Bono and the Edge, received lackluster reviews. The show may have picked up since its original disasters but it feels more like pre-spider bite Peter Parker rather than the impressive Spiderman.

2. The Wedding Singer

   Just because the movie had “singer” in the title doesn’t mean it needed to involve more music. The 1998 film succeeded largely due to having Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as the leads and because we all felt we were in on the joke that the movie seemed to be playing on: “Look how crazy we all were in the ’80s!” Watching the musical, though, you feel like you’re just watching a cast of celebrity impersonators, rather than a bunch of people living blissfully through the golden years of the ’80s. Though the plot follows very closely along with that of the movie, developing a depth in the characters seems to have been foregone for dance numbers that evoke memories of the decade’s music videos. Most of us will agree that the songs in the movie version were plenty with just the right amount of sass and humor. The extras in the musical just make it tiring.

3. 9 to 5

   Young people who aren’t familiar with the 1980 hit film starring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda as they try to overthrow their horrible boss are missing out. If they don’t know about the musical based on the movie, they’re pretty lucky. Sitting through it feels a bit like working a 9-to-5 job, trying to keep up with every set change and looking for a moment of peace and quiet. Parton took part in adapting the movie for the stage, but much like her hair and her breasts, the show is obviously overinflated. Even with a standout actress like Allison Janney in the lead role, the show flopped with its caricatures of the characters, campy, slapstick humor, and loud musical numbers.

4. Carrie

   Yes, Carrie, as in Stephen King’s Carrie. Do we need to go farther than saying the cast dances and sings about slaughtering a pig? OK, we will, but it’s not going to get any better, as you’d probably expect. Some of the bizarre source material for the extravagant Broadway numbers provides laughs, but a lot of the lyrics and lines are corny to the point of being unenjoyable and the acting leaves a lot to be desired. None of the vulnerability and cruelty of high school are fully realized in this adaptation. The King novel/movie could’ve been turned into a dark smash-hit, something like Sweeney Todd, but all aspects of the production missed the mark.

5. Big

   Some things just don’t work without Tom Hanks. Meg Ryan, “Life is like a box of chocolates,” and of course, the classic tale of a boy turned into a grown-up, Big. Producers thought this movie would be a huge money-maker as a Broadway play, so in 1996, they opened it with high hopes. One of these producers, though, was F.A.O. Schwarz, the famous toy store with the floor piano you play with your feet, and this might have been the nail in the Big coffin. After opening in Detroit, audiences panned the show for coming off as a two-hour advertisement for the toy store, with promotional lines of dialogue and tie-ins in every scene. It was overhauled for Broadway, but still met mixed reviews, many believing it didn’t share the heart and charm of the movie.

6. Saturday Night Fever

   You can’t really go wrong musically with the Bee Gees’ music that carries this musical, but beyond the fun of the rock group, there isn’t a lot of new substance to sink your teeth into. Any of the grit or wonder that bedecked the movie in the ’70s is gone; references to race, drugs, or violence that brought a realism to the screen have been replaced with vapid impersonations of the film’s characters. If you’re just looking for a cheesy disco play or Bee Gees tribute show to attend with your kids, Saturday Night Fever will work but don’t expect it to have any of the impact the film had.

7. Dirty Dancing

   It’s a hard, though not impossible, feat to make a musical raw and dirty with the rehearsed, precise dance numbers and exaggerated acting. Spring Awakening managed to come of age with an edgy, praised production. Unfortunately, the musical adaptation of Dirty Dancing couldn’t make the story of a girl growing up and losing her innocence look convincing. Instead, the story is campy — literally. Of course, it takes place at a camp-style summer resort and the story gets so weighed down by unnecessary camp activities that you lose sight of the plot. Even with stunning dancing from some characters and decent acting, like you would’ve found in the Los Angeles production, the musical deserves to be put in a corner.

8. High Fidelity

   A lot of musicals try to cash in on the success and nostalgia factor a certain movie had with audiences. When that movie (and the book it was based on) relied heavily on characters that walked a fine line between being unbearably annoying and enchantingly relatable, it’s virtually impossible to recreate that charm on the musical stage, a place that is slightly annoying to begin with. High Fidelity‘s story focuses on extreme music snobs, another problem for creators of the musical who have to match the exacting taste level of the show’s main characters. With so-so music and under-developed characters, the musical adaptation becomes totally forgettable, which is probably good since it might tarnish your fondness for the movie.

9. Young Frankenstein

   Maybe this musical would’ve performed better without the high expectations set by Mel Brooks’ other Broadway musical, The Producers, a classic, hilarious take on producing a theatrical failure. Brooks seems to have gotten a personal taste of a Broadway flop with Young Frankenstein, modeled after his well-loved movie about Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson. While the movie found success in parodying the early, black-and-white horror movies, the stage couldn’t produce such an effect and with seats as expensive as $450 a head, the play just wasn’t good enough. Musical numbers were unvaried and loud, and jokes were delivered with the ease of a hippo doing the tango. The play closed in 2009, just over a year after it opened.

Do you agree?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Opera rehearsals, next stage

Tags

Haddon Hall, piano reduction, rehearsal

Programme for Haddon Hall from 1893 ~ Image via Wikipedia

Practice notes, short version.

Haddon Hall rehearsals will reach a new level next week.  The soloists have been asked to attend rehearsal, and will be integrated with the chorus.

Why practice differently?

The piece is difficult for both soloists and chorus.  The key level changes without warning, so it’s hard to hear where your line is headed.  In addition, the soloists, orchestra, and chorus play off each other in intricate rhythms.  Sometimes only the rhythms are difficult; at other times, the key level changes simultaneously.

Why more than once?

This afternoon, I practiced differently than in previous sessions for the same piece.  In fact, I practiced many sections 2 or 3 times.

In Monday’s rehearsal, I will be jumping around in the score more than ever.  So first, I made sure I knew all the voice parts (solos plus chorus).  After that, I practiced the piano reduction.

And then I went back to be sure the singers will be able to hear which key they’re in!  That means that it’s crucial to play some harmony all the time.

What we need to see

Keep in mind that when you’re dealing with opera scores, the voice parts are often out of order, i.e. a bass part often appears above a treble part.  It’s up to us to keep them all sorted out.  Brackets, arrows, and extra clef signs help, as do fingerings, circled bass intervals and harmonic changes, and surprising accidentals.

I frequently mark the key or time signature at the beginning of a line, page, or entrance, as rehearsals skip around in the score and start in the middle of a line or page.  There may be key or meter change indicated a page and a half before a starting point.  So if it’s not marked where you need it, you may not remember.

Also, writing in the name of the character at the top of a page in the middle of a solo line assures that we will play the line in the correct octave, even when rushed, starting in the middle of the solo.  (Tenor or soprano?)

Mark your score!

Got a pencil?  Marking the score can save you lots of time and even more mistakes.

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Related articles

• How to practice for opera rehearsals (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Guest Post: 10 Incredible Musicians With Physical Handicaps

Tags

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disability, guest post

Many thanks to Liz Nutt of  www.insurancequotes.org for sharing this article.

Posted by Staff Writers on Jan 17, 2012

President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990. As a result, disabled people have gained greater access to services nondisabled people take for granted. The ADA may also be partly responsible for an increased presence of disabled people in popular culture, including music of all genres. The popularity of the singing, rapping, wheelchair-riding character Artie Abrams (played by non-disabled actor Kevin McHale) on the hit TV show Glee pushed that show’s producers to cast disabled actors in a variety of guest roles. So who are some examples of real-life disabled individuals who are also incredible musicians?

1.  Thomas Quasthoff

Bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff is currently one of the most successful singers in classical music. Quasthoff was one of thousands of babies who were born severely deformed as a result of their mothers innocently taking the drug Thalidomide for morning sickness. “I am not here as some sort of role model,” says Quasthoff in a recent interview. “Of course, maybe at first people would come to see a freak. But they come a second time, so then I know it’s for my singing.”

2.  Evelyn Glennie

Virtuoso solo percussionist Evelyn Glennie has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12. She hears sound, but at a barely audible level that necessitates her being able to read the lips of people speaking to her. She has written an essay explaining her deafness and how she is able to play complex dynamic music in spite of it.
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3.  Ian Dury

British post-punk singer and band leader Ian Dury contracted polio as a child, leaving him with limited use of his legs and a shrunken arm. Always provocative as a performer and lyricist, he composed his 1981 hit song “Spasticus Autisticus” as a reaction to that year’s International Year of Disabled Persons, an initiative by the United Nations that Dury considered misguided, patronizing, and self-serving.
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4.  Stevie Wonder

Blind since shortly after birth, singer, keyboardist and composer Stevie Wonder is truly an American icon. He has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 22 Grammys, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist.
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5.  Michel Petrucciani

French jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that caused his very short stature. Although he passed at the young age of 36, Petrucciani left an extensive recorded legacy. He performed live with some of the greatest musicians in jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie and Wayne Shorter.
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6.  Vic Chesnutt

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Vic Chesnutt’s songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in popular music. Partially paralyzed at the age of 18 as a result of an automobile accident, Chesnutt struggled with health issues and depression for most of his life. In spite of support from musicians like Michael Stipe, Chesnutt tragically committed suicide in 2009. His musical legacy continues to resonate among independent musicians across genres.
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7.  Prudence Mabheya

Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabheya is the subject of the critically acclaimed 2009 documentary Music by Prudence, which also features her band Liyana. Each member of Liyana is physically handicapped. Mabheya was born with arthogryposis, a rare congenital disorder, in a society where some people consider disabilities to be the result of witchcraft.
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8.  Rick Allen

Drummer Rick Allen of the mighty Def Leppard lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984. But Allen refused to quit playing music. Using a specially developed semi-electronic kit, Allen continues to drum with the band to this day, both in the studio and live.
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9.  Itzhak Perlman

Classical violinist Itzhak Perlman contracted polio at the age of 4. A child prodigy, Perlman made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 18. Using crutches or a scooter for mobility, Perlman continues to record, perform, teach, and, in spite of his condition, conduct across the globe.
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10.  Diane Schuur

Blinded at birth, jazz singer and pianist Diane Schuur used to hide in a closet as a child and sing to herself for comfort. Now, in addition to being a Grammy-winning musician, she is the first national spokesperson for the Los Angeles based Disability Rights Legal Center.
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Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

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Last weekend’s Met broadcast

Tags

Bellini, Carlo Bergonzi, Cesare Siepi, Donizetti, Joan Sutherland, Kurt Adler, Marilyn Horne, Merkin Concert Hall, Metropolitan Opera, Roberta Peters

Image via Wikipedia

 The best opera broadcast was on the radio last Saturday from 1:00-5:00 p.m.  Bellini’s Norma, was followed by some Donizetti with Roberta Peters and Carlo Bergonzi.

The Norma recording was from 1970 ~ Joan Sutherland‘s Met debut and Marilyn Horne‘s first Met Broadcast.  The cast also included Carlo Bergonzi and Cesare Siepi. (Saying “also included” is a disservice here.)

Everything about it was incredible!  No one was nervous, and everyone was younger than what I’ve heard until now.

Kurt Adler was the chorus director ~ we read one of his coaching books in graduate school.  And Alberta Maisiello was in charge of musical stage direction.  We went to one of her master classes in New York during graduate school.  There she was in her living room, seated at a small desk, smoking skinny cigars.  She knew everything.  She had hired a pianist to play for the class, but at one point she wanted to play herself.  She left nothing out of this opera’s piano reduction, double-third trills included.  She was a singer!  No pianist I know would have played the trills like she did.  She quit singing onstage because her stage fright was debilitating.

Martin Katz arranged for our class of 4 to attend by leaving answering machine messages.  Neither Maisiello nor her secretary ever called back.  So eventually, Martin left a message, “If you have no objection, 5 of us will appear at your door at 10 a.m. on Saturday.”  Our Plan B was to go to lunch.

I heard Bergonzi live just once, at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall with John Wustman.  He was old, way past his prime.  The second he released the last note of every aria, the audience went wild.  I didn’t hear even one note of any of the postludes.

Turns out the entire audience was Italian, and knew a lot more than I did.

Horne sounded even better than I’ve ever heard her, and I’ve never been less than blown away by her singing.  The first time I would have heard her live had to have been about 7 years later.

And then, Roberta Peters was stunning.  Also before my time.  And after that, Bergonzi sang “Una furtiva lagrima.”  He started softly.  Nobody ever starts softly.  He was so expressive, had perfect modulation of his voice, diminuendi, etc.  Incredible voice, agility, breath control (connected 2 phrases I’ve never heard connected), and of course diction.

What a wonderful afternoon of opera!

What have you listened to lately that made your day?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Really!  Please leave a comment!  Not many comments lately.

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

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How to practice for opera rehearsals

Tags

Arthur Sullivan, Haddon Hall, Sydney Grundy

Image via Wikipedia

Many readers have expressed an interest
in detailed practice notes.
So… let’s try it!

For the next few weeks, I will be accompanying rehearsals for Haddon Hall, a light opera by Sydney Grundy and Arthur Sullivan. Since it has likely not been performed in the United States, no one in the group has sung the piece. I had not heard or played it.

What follows is more detail about how I am learning the piece. I will discuss the playing skills needed to play effective rehearsals. After that, special attention is given to preparing for specific types of rehearsals, such as a run-through, chorus rehearsals, and soloist rehearsals.

Image by sjdunphy via Flickr

Skills

Certain types of playing are rehearsal-specific. In this case, the singers need clarity. To accomplish that, the keys will be struck more percussively much of the time. Less pedal is needed, as it obscures note duration, dynamic changes, and even range differences.

Rehearsal playing often has less to do with good piano playing than you might think. Playing well to reach the goals of the rehearsal, of course, is crucial. But this is not a performance for you or anyone else. This is note-learning time, when entrances become secure, rhythms become sharp, and dynamics become second nature.

Our job as rehearsal pianists is to listen to what is going on in the rehearsal and facilitate that. Listening to everyone else is far more important than assessing our own performance.

An “effective rehearsal” is one in which the singers hear their cues and are able to learn their parts easily. It’s not about us.

Scene from Haddon Hall ~ Image via Wikipedia

Run-through

As I wrote in a prior post, I listened to the recording in order to gain a general idea of the piece. After listening, I practiced enough to play the first rehearsal. All the singers were sight-reading, for the most part.

I played voice parts more often than not. The piano reduction is not needed in early rehearsals except during interludes, and can sometimes confuse the singers.

Haddon Hall cover

Chorus rehearsal

I practiced the last phrase or two before each chorus entrance. That could be a solo line with some of the piano reduction, or the reduction alone. The chorus needs to hear its cues.

Example of a chorus cue:

Note:  Click on each musical example to enlarge the score.

Haddon Hall pg 10

Then I practiced chorus parts, circling unexpected key changes, tempo changes, unusual accidentals, and sudden pattern changes.

Clarity of who sings what is more important than playing all the notes.

The solo parts need to be played in the correct octave. (If the altos get their pitch from the last tenor note, don’t make them transpose an octave.)

Sometimes there will be a tenor or bass solo, say, printed above the soprano line in the chorus. It is crucial to play the solo, the chorus parts, and enough of the piano reduction so everyone knows what key they’re singing in. (This piece is chromatic, changing key level without warning. So adding chords makes a big difference in the way the singers hear the piece.)

Example of tenor solo (printed in treble clef, played one octave lower) above chorus parts.  I make breaks between the solo and the chorus.  That can be done without taking extra time.  Connecting the lines confuse the singers, and that’s not what the performance will sound like, anyway.

Haddon Hall pg 36

Example of chromatic writing ~ accenting chord changes helps the singers.  Here I played the vocal solo part and percussive chords on downbeats.

Haddon Hall pg 26

Soloist rehearsal

The soloists need to know what the music sounds like leading into their entrances. So we need to play chorus parts sometimes, and also the piano reduction.

Make sure to note unusual or difficult rhythms. When we play them correctly in rehearsal, the singers will learn them correctly. Correcting mistakes after several rehearsals is something to be avoided.

Sing every solo before the first rehearsal. When we feel where time is needed and experience where to breathe, the music makes sense right away. Second-guessing is no fun, and slows things down.

In this example, all vocal parts need to be played.  The soloist learns his entrance by hearing the chorus, so he doesn’t need to count.  And the chorus hears a continuous vocal line as well.  So, no matter whether this is a chorus or a soloist rehearsal.  Just play everything!

Haddon Hall pg 159

Conclusion

No matter how much practicing goes into our rehearsal preparation, that is not enough.  We must also:

• always listen.
• always anticipate what is needed.
• be able to jump to a different part quickly.
• know when to accent and when not to.
• distinguish between solo, chorus, and orchestra parts with our playing.
• play what the singers need to hear in order best to learn their parts.

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Now it’s your turn!

Do you find these notes helpful?

Interesting?

Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comment section below!

Related:

Haddon Hall piano/vocal score  free download

Article  Listen first, learn later? (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

August 2011 review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

When You Buy a Piano

How to Maintain Your Piano

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Some perspective on rejection

Tags

Arts and Entertainment, dance, Music, perspective, rejection, theater

Audition season is here!

That’s exciting, right?

Usually that feeling will last until you receive your first rejection.

Prior posts about auditions

In prior blog posts, I have written about choosing an audition program, getting that program together, making a convincing presentation, and the importance of having plans for later.

This is a partial list!

This article is a collection of rejections I’ve received and heard about from other musicians. Many of them are silly! And that’s the point. Don’t take them seriously.

A singer I know uses his rejection letters for bathroom wallpaper.

You are confident about what you do.  When a rejection comes your way, it probably has nothing to do with you personally.

Here are some plausible-sounding rejections:

• Maybe they have hired your “type” already.
• Maybe they’re holding open auditions but only have one spot available.
• Maybe they’re very happy with what you do, but what they’re looking for this time is different.
• In a concert series, maybe the available date happens to fall between 2 other concerts featuring the same instrument.  Most venues like variety.
• If you are rejected by a school, maybe it wasn’t right for you anyway.  That happened to me.  Soon after, the perfect situation appeared.
• Maybe they’re presenting only a certain type of concerts this year (music of a certain composer, children’s concerts, an anniversary of the venue or city, early music, organ recitals, etc.).
• Maybe they’re so self-absorbed, your performance isn’t exactly the same as theirs!  (Yes, Virginia, it happens.  They only hire clones.)

Whatever.  It’s hard, I know.  But it’s really not worth your time to obsess about the outcome.

Rejections are nothing personal

You can’t, and shouldn’t, change your self merely to fit what you think “they” want.  Changing your game plan “just in case” they want whatever it is you think they want?  Never!  Second-guessing makes you sound tentative.

And now for some silly reasons.  It’s obvious that these were made up.

• We wanted someone with more experience (when you’ve aced the audition).

• Your sight-reading was… adequate. I received a rejection recently with that as the first line. Since I’ve been hired on the basis of my sight-reading for jobs where the stakes were much higher, it was clear that someone was making up excuses.
• Your choice of repertoire was inappropriate. This was part of the same rejection. The repertoire in question was from a list they submitted! Part of the audition required playing something from that list.
• We didn’t like your outfit. This may be the best line I’ve heard yet! (Someone else’s audition. I wasn’t there.)

What have you experienced when an audition didn’t work out? How did you “deal”?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Listen first, learn later?

Tags

Arthur Sullivan, George Gershwin, Haddon Hall, Leonard Bernstein, Sydney Grundy

Image via Wikipedia

When is it acceptable to listen to a recording before learning a piece?

Most of the time, I am strongly against this as a learning method.  For purposes of interpretation, copying someone else’s recording will always sound like a copy.  It will never sound like you.

One scenario

I heard of two pianists who played a 4-hands recital 2 or 3 years ago.  The program included a set of 3 Gershwin Preludes, but neither performer was familiar with the style.  “So we listened to Leonard Bernstein‘s recording and we just did what he did.”

I don’t think I’m the only person who finds this unacceptable!

Why now?

Last week, I listened to a recording before playing a note in order to learn a score as quickly as possible.

So why is that OK this time?

The score is an operetta.  I will be playing rehearsals but not the performance (which is with orchestra).  So this is not about my artistic integrity; it’s about learning notes, tempi, and orchestration.

This score is not well-known (Haddon Hall by Sydney Grundy and Arthur Sullivan (not Gilbert and Sullivan)), and is printed in 19th century English style.  In other words, what Americans are accustomed to seeing as a quarter rest looks like a backwards 8th-note rest instead.  The notes are smaller and everything looks a lot less clear.  All the lines, note heads, stems, etc. look about as substantial as if they had been written with a pencil.  The repeat signs are very dim, with no double bars drawing attention to them.

I had a week to learn this, having intentionally taken some time off.  My plan is to play about 1/2 by what I’ve heard and 1/2 by sight.  Listening to the recording will save needing to look so closely at the music for accidentals, hopefully.

The first rehearsal, a run-through, is tonight!  I’ll let you know how it goes.

This is fun!

Best part so far:  the second-hand contribution of Mr. Syntax.  He seems merely to be quoted, rather than appearing as a character himself.

Under what circumstances do you consider it acceptable to listen to a recording before learning a piece?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Holiday Funnies (mostly)

Tags

Cady Coleman, Helen Hunt, Ian Anderson, Paul Reiser

On the Lighter Side of the Holidays

Excerpts from a Thanksgiving episode of “Mad About You”
with Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser

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Baby Jesus with His Baby Guard Dog

via Facebook

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Everyone knows the Christmas story, right?

This is one child’s take on what happened after Mary and Joseph had settled down in the stable.

“Mary fell asleep, and when the cows woke up, Baby Jesus was lying in the manger!”

(from a video of Sunday School kids someone sent in an email)

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Link to article:

Goat in Minnesota escapes from nativity scene.

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Cartoon by Synthrob ~ Photobucket.com

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Bonus Video:

This is way too cool to leave out. Although it’s not about the Holidays, it is unique.

Ian Anderson and Cady Coleman play a flute duet
between earth and space.