Applause, with variations

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Applause, Carnegie Hall, concert, Maryland, New York Times, Riverside Church

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When is applause acceptable? Is it sometimes out of place?

This topic has been in my mind since last Sunday morning, when my choir was applauded immediately after singing the anthem.

My feeling was that applause was most welcome at that moment. In thinking it over after the service, many varied scenarios ran through my head.

Early on

While growing up in the Midwest, applause was never heard in church, whether that be a service or a concert.

A later surprise

Many years later, I was taken by surprise when playing a concert in a church in Maryland with a cellist. When we entered to begin the concert, there was no applause.

Things had changed.  In an earlier time, I would not have expected to hear applause in a church.

Audience questions

Programs often included a line encouraging applause during concerts held in churches. Audiences were frequently unsure what the norm was, and it changed from place to place.

Another audience instruction sometimes appears that requests no applause until the end of a group in the program. (Applause after ever song in a voice recital can add a lot of time to a program, as well as interrupting the theme of a set or story line of a cycle.)

Spontaneous reaction

A few years after the Maryland concert, I attended a service at The Riverside Church in New York in which the sermon received a standing ovation!

This was a first in my experience. The preacher had been channeling his Pentecostal roots, and the congregation was appreciative.

Other genres

In other genres, such as jazz and opera, applause during performances is expected. Think of especially well-navigated solos and ensemble sections, for example.

Just last week

A concert review published last Monday in The New York Times included the following quote:

Mr. Norrington encouraged applause after Mr. Denk stormed with aplomb through Beethoven’s long, wild cadenza.

That means that the audience at Carnegie Hall applauded at the end of the 1^st movement!

My opinion so far

It strikes me that applause probably varies depending on geographical location, venue, and type of audience.

If applause is spontaneous, but not an uninformed response (i.e. following every song), and doesn’t feel forced, then it can be a wonderful thing.

What have you encountered in your own performances or in concerts you’ve attended?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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15 things you need to know before you perform in a church

Tags

church as venue, concert, Music

Image by Matthew Midnight© via Flickr

There are many churches that present their own concert series.  Here are a few things you should know that no one may think to tell you.

I have several years’ experience being involved with churches as a preacher’s kid, a church musician, and a performer in concerts held in churches.  If you are not accustomed to being in churches, there are some things you need to know that will help you be asked back.

    The basics

1. The “rules” are often unwritten, and vary by congregation.
2. ​”We’ve always done it this way” is alive and well, and “everybody knows” is too.
   

   How to deal with concert issues

3. Ask about program choices.  Is it acceptable to play a rag?  How about a Beatles arrangement?
4. Inquire where you should park.  There are often reserved spaces, and sometimes the signs have long since disappeared.
5. Always ask about moving the piano or furniture.  If the furniture normally stays right where it is, leave it there and deal.
6. Ask how artists usually enter for their performances.  There may be expectations about this.
7. Walk, don’t run.
8. Speak softly.
9. If you have children with you, give them something to do.  They need to be discouraged from running up and down the steps in front of the sanctuary, running around the altar, playing on the communion rail, etc.
10. If you want to prop the piano lid open with something like a book, never use a bible or a hymnal.  You need a block of wood that you can take along for this purpose.
11. No food in the sanctuary.
12. Watch for signs posted elsewhere in the church concerning food and beverages.
13. There may or may not be applause in a concert situation.  In congregations where applause is not part of the church service, people are sometimes shy about applauding at other times.  So be prepared, and don’t let it throw you.
14. Make sure to thank the church secretary, who tracked down the director of music when you called and answered your questions.
15. If there is a reception, thank the kitchen crew.  They are volunteers, and they’ll appreciate it.

Churches are wonderful places to perform.  The audience usually includes many members of the congregation, who appreciate music and will enjoy meeting you.  So check it out ahead of time, and enjoy your concert!

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Working with an opposite personality

Tags

concert, conductor, Music, piano reduction, rehearsal, tempo

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There is an occasional performance situation in which I feel consistently thrown off my game.  Does the same thing happen to you?

It’s about major changes in tempo or interpretation at the last minute.

Background

I was trained never to sightread in public.  And I never do in a concert situation.  Sight-reading is often required in rehearsals, though.

During the Art Song Festival at Westminster Choir College one summer, I heard a recital presented by a famous singer and an equally famous collaborative pianist (not my teacher).  It was wonderful.

The audience clearly wanted an encore.  What happened next is something I will always remember.  And it isn’t positive.

The singer walked onto the stage, followed by the pianist.  The pianist had his face in the music as he was walking ~ not a good sign.  Apparently the singer had surprised him with the music backstage.

And then the pianist started the song, played a few bars, and stopped.  He started over in a different key!  I don’t want anyone to remember my playing for that reason.

​Scenario #1

A talented cellist with whom I worked rehearsed one way and performed another.  The timing of the rubato would change drastically in performances with no warning, making good ensemble impossible.

Other pianists must have encountered the same problem, as the cellist changed pianists every six months.

Scenario #2

There is a conductor who works in the opposite way to my approach.  I was trained to prepare very well in advance.  So I am accustomed to having a handle on what is likely to happen during a performance.  When I feel secure in that way, the unexpected just goes with the territory, no problem.  Major changes the day before, though, throw me.  The conductor, on the other hand, is quite comfortable with this.

While practicing for a concert, I found myself editing a piano reduction because my part was unplayable.  This took a significant amount of time, after which it was necessary to practice the edited version for several days.

Rehearsals went well, and I reached performance level a week before the concert.

In the dress rehearsal the evening before the concert, the conductor decided on a drastically faster tempo.  It was so much faster, my revised version of the piano reduction was impossible to play, particularly in the interludes.  How were the soloists to get their cues?  Marked allegro, we were racing along at presto, at least.

When I mentioned my discomfort to the conductor, the response was, “I like it fast!”  There was no further discussion.  The sound was exciting, but I felt that there was no way I could catch up.

On the day of the concert, I practiced in the new tempo, deciding to omit most of the inner parts in order to preserve the melody and bass.

When I arrived at the concert venue 15 minutes before call, a student was just beginning to set up the electronic keyboard for the performance.  I had planned on having a few minutes to acclimate myself to the keyboard, but that didn’t work out.

In the concert, the conductor reverted to the previous, slower tempo.  I wasn’t ready for that, and wasn’t happy with my playing.

How could this be handled in the future?  Do accompanists have a say?

I could have called the conductor to confirm the tempo before practicing.

I could have practiced both the slower and the faster tempi.

Arranging for a few minutes to play the keyboard may have helped.  Playing on different pianos, even without warmup time on the instrument, is something I am used to.  And playing a keyboard is no problem, but the action, sound, pedal, and sustain time are all different from the piano.  The absence of warmup time for this concert was likely a contributing factor to my heightened sense of unease.

What would you do?  Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below!

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Finding the switch

Tags

concert, flexibility, Music, perform

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Oratorio soloists often talk about what it’s like to walk out on stage, sit quietly for 20 minutes or more and then sing.

I found myself in a similar situation last weekend.

Playing complete programs has happened more often in my life recently.  The difference gave me something to think about.

In last weekend’s chorus concert, I played the first, fifth and sixth pieces.  In between, I gave pitches.

How do these two scenarios differ?

In a full program, there are variations in tempo, volume, articulation and mood​ from one movement to the next.  Finding a way to use one’s energy well through out the program is important.  However, even with the frequent changes, one is playing throughout.

In the other situation described here, ​there are times of almost complete uninvolvement.​  When I first began performing, I found it difficult to “turn on” the required technique, energy and focus at the appropriate moments.​  The feeling I had was, “Play!  NOW!”  And that made me tense.

As collaborative pianists, we wear many hats.

Sometimes we are playing constantly ~ at other times, intermittently.  In the second case, we need to be able to find the switch in order to turn it on.

The first thing to master is knowing​ what is required.  What type of concert are we playing?  Activating the switch can be practiced, more or less.

What does it take?

To play after being on stage for several minutes doing nothing, one needs everything mentioned above:

• good technique that can be “fired” at will
• energy that can be turned on when needed
• focus so we don’t lose it when it counts

Being very familiar with the music​ is a huge advantage.

And of course experience helps.  So get out there and play!

Thanks to C.I. for the topic idea!

Do you wear a variety of “hats?”  How do you approach playing portions of a concert?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Why tennis matches are like concerts

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concert, Music, perform, process, tennis

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On Sunday I watched the men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Gael Monfils in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.  Since watching the best players is such a draw for me, I’ve been thinking about why that is.

My all-time favorite activity is performing concerts.  Professional tennis has a lot in common with that.

Nadal’s uncle Toni, who is also his coach,  said in a New York Times interview:

“People see the victories; they don’t see the obstacles…. Rafa has an approach which is very important and that is even if things don’t come quickly, he continues to believe they are going to come, and he is ready to keep trying until they do.”

You know, obstacles like the intense work required, injuries, fatigue, meeting the public even when you’d rather be at dinner or sleeping or seeing a movie….

In other words, it isn’t always fun.  I get it, and I’m sure other performers do, too.

Until they have gained a certain amount of experience, music students often see only the end result.  After hearing a wonderful performance on CD, it can be very hard to honor the process of getting there.  It sounds so easy!  When reminded that some musicians spend 10 years or more on a piece before performing it, they honestly can’t believe it.

But that’s what it takes.

• Always practice
• Challenge yourself
• Celebrate your progress
• Acknowledge your failures
• Seek good advice
• When you fall backwards, “pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again”*
• Never give up
  
• Always be gracious
• Be ready for surprises
• Be in charge of you
• Know that you’re in it for the long haul

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

While you’re here, please take a look at my new E-book ~ “Goal-oriented Practice:  How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” ~ make steady progress without getting stuck!

*From the Film: Swing Time  1936
(Lyrics by: Dorothy Fields / Music by: Jerome Kern)
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

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