A musical “gateway”

For many young people, wind ensembles – more popularly known as school “bands” – provide a gateway to a more intimate relationship with concert music.  Playing one’s part in an ensemble allows students to hear how each part fits together, to understand concepts of balance, proportion, and color, and to internalize the deeper themes that underlie the greatest music.

My own experience began in 5th grade, when I joined the trumpet section of our town’s middle school band.  But it wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school – when we graduated from simple pop tunes to the standards of the traditional wind ensemble repertoire – that I discovered the power of great music for band.   The work was Gustav Holst‘s First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, a tightly-constructed three-movement work that revealed to my young ears a new world of complexity, craft, and power at which the theme from “Dallas” never hinted.

There is a profound quality to Holst’s suite that belies its brevity.  A broad theme played by the tuba opens the work and serves as the germ for all the noble melodies still to come, which Holst seems to spin out without effort.  But the melodies truly sing, taking listeners and players through emotions ranging from a tentative, searching pathos to joy and celebration.

I’m really looking forward to hearing the NSO’s wind and brass players perform this piece on March 5, along with other classic works for winds like Vaughan Williams’ charming “Folk Song Suite”, Stravinsky’s sublime “Symphonies of Wind Instruments”, and Mozart’s elegant “Serenade No 11 in E-flat”.  For students currently participating in their school bands, this concert presents a rare opportunity to hear the classics of this repertoire performed by seasoned professionals.

I was lucky enough to encounter Holst’s suite when I was just 14, but not all school bands have the wherewithal to perform this kind of music.  Our hope is that a concert like this can inspire young players to seek out the wide range of musical experiences available to them, beyond what their school may be able to offer.

The dust has settled…

Our production of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” is now history.  Although we didn’t have 1,000 performers (more like 300, which is still quite a few), we did get 1,058 people in the audience.  It was an amazing experience for the audience, orchestra, chorus, and soloists, all of whom have been buzzing about it ever since.  The Boston Musical Intelligencer described it as a “tsunami of ecstacy” – only this was one tsunami where there was no loss of life or property!  It was a unique pleasure to collaborate with the New World Chorale, Lexington Symphony, and Boston Children’s Chorus, all under the magnificent direction of our Music Director Jonathan McPhee.

For me, the project lit a path toward a new appreciation for Mahler’s achievement in this symphony.  A lifelong fan of this composer, I had never quite warmed up to the Eighth until getting to know it during this production process.  Despite its breathtaking scale and massive forces, it is nevertheless an astonishingly economical work.   From just a few musical ideas Mahler generates an outpouring of sound over the course of its 80 minutes that is carefully crafted to transport the listener to a kind of parallel universe of feeling.  By the end, he has whipped the audience into a frothing excitement (tsunami of ecstacy?) that compels a standing ovation, even 100 years later.

Were you there?  (If not, I’m so sorry you missed it.)  If so, I hope you’ll add your comments!

200 Voices

Baritone Steven Scheschareg rehearses for Mahler 8 along with New World Chorale, Nashua Symphony Chorus, and Boston Children's Chorus.

The Nashua Symphony Chorus got together last night with the New World Chorale and Boston Children’s Chorus for a rehearsal of Mahler 8 in Wellesley Hills. Jonathan McPhee conducted, and it was the first time the three ensembles – about 200 people – had combined their voices under one roof in preparation for this weekend’s performances of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand.” Several of the vocal soloists (Elizabeth Keusch, Michele Trainor, Tania Mandzy, Janice Edwards, & Steven Scheshareg) were also there to get a feel for this massive sonic universe.

Vanessa Gardner, the new General Manager for Lexington Symphony Orchestra, told me that the sound of all these voices singing together was “awesome” and declared herself “amazed” by the power of the solo voices as well. Excitement is definitely building!

Henry Fogel on Mahler

The unique nature of this project is confirmed in this comment from Henry Fogel, Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and Former President of the League of American Orchestras and Chicago Symphony Orchestra:

In my 46 years of professional involvement with symphony orchestras and classical music, I have never come across a project like this, where two symphony orchestras have combined their forces to produce a performance of Mahler’s gigantic Eighth Symphony. Mahler’s Eighth is an enormous undertaking, not only because of the huge performing forces required to bring it off, but because it requires a conductor with the right blend of technical accomplishment and ability to inspire. Having had the privilege of seeing Jonathan McPhee conduct on a number of occasions, there is no question in my mind that he is the right person for the task. This will be a thrilling pair of performances for those lucky enough to be present.”

Tenor Lemonade

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons.

This afternoon, I got a call from the management representing tenor John MacMaster, alerting me to the fact that MacMaster was having to withdraw from our upcoming performances of Mahler 8. For those of you who don’t know the piece well, the tenor role is at the heart of the piece, so this had the potential to be a devastating blow to the project.

I have to give Jonathan McPhee a lot of credit, though. With all the stuff he’s got going on – premiere performances of La Bayadère at Boston Ballet chief among them – he took the news calmly and we sorted through our options. Each of us had some connections with whom we agreed to follow up… one thing led to another and within a few hours we had several tenors interested in stepping in.

Thomas Studebaker was the obvious choice; he’d just performed Mahler 8 this week with conductor Lorin Maazel (and 999 other performers!) in the Rühl region of Germany. Here’s a guy with serious tenor “chops” – he’s sung Wagner at the Met under James Levine, Beethoven everywhere under conductors like Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, and dozens of operas the world over. I’m ready for him to blow the audience away!

A Lovely Evening

Just got home from a private recital by mezzo-soprano Tania Mandzy, a frequent soloist with the NSO and one who will join us for Mahler 8 in a couple of weeks. At my request, Tania was kind enough to share her voice as part of a fundraising event to support the Mahler 8 performance in Nashua. It was just lovely: she put together a stirring program and her voice wowed everyone in attendance. What’s more, the event was at her parents’ home (John & Nadia Mandzy) in Hollis, and several people (trustees and other supporters) provided food, beverages, and dessert. There were about 40 people there, and everyone seemed to have a terrific time. Even Jonathan McPhee made an appearance, following a performance of La Bayadère with Boston Ballet that afternoon!