The PCA Blog

A residency to remember

2008-05-16T12:46:00Z

Commitment. That’s what the Borromeo String Quartet exudes along with talent, passion, and spirit.

The first time the Borromeo String Quartet played at Merrill Auditorium in 2006, they were part of PCA’s celebration of seventy-five years of bringing world-class artists to Maine. A small residency with these talented artist-educators was a first for PCA in its efforts to new and different ways to support music education, specifically to support the five strings programs still alive in school districts throughout Maine. The spring concert and residency activities were a triumph! The Borromeo had groupies who followed them from Portland to Presque Isle for concerts later that year.

In 2008, PCA collaborated with the Borromeo String Quartet for another first – a premiere of a PCA-commissioned piece by Maine composer Elliott Schwartz. While rehearsing the new piece, the Quartet also performed, coached, and taught a week-long strings residency that involved patrons of all ages. From Kennebunk to Lewiston, from Gorham to Windham, from Portland to Augusta, to Searsport, Mount Desert Island, and Orono, more than one thousand patrons could hear the Borromeo String Quartet play Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and Schwartz.

This quartet and composer Elliott Schwartz took advantage of the latest technology to bring the magic of music as close to people as possible. From projecting the score of Elliott’s new piece to showing a clip of the premiere recorded by Nick Kitchen over the state’s distance learning network or using laptops to read music scores, audiences were fascinated. Whether in a coaching session, masterclass, Q&A, or open rehearsal, music lovers and those “not so sure about classical music” had a chance to explore, to ask questions, and to get up close and personal with live music. As one high school student noted: “I would never choose to listen to this music or buy it, but hearing it live was ‘sweet.’ It is so much better listening to a live performance!”

There are so many highlights that were thrilling: hearing Elliott’s piece for the first time and then hearing it evolve over seven rehearsals. Watching teenagers watch the BSQ play and then ask engaging, highly technical questions about the processes of composing and rehearsing a new work. Listening to a PATHS Arts Academy student’s newly created string quartet that he had created with Garageband software on this laptop, but he had never heard played by a string quartet until the Borromeo played it for him. Another first! Seeing lightbulbs go on in young Pineland Suzuki, Thornton Academy, and Portland strings program musicians as they tried a new a bowing technique and modeled the commitment and passion they observed when the Borromeo played for them or with them....

There were testimonials from parents whose children were “awed” by the music they heard the Borromeo play. It was “cool.” Older patrons who had to be dragged to hear the quartet admitting that hearing “that music” wasn’t as bad as they had thought it would be and being up close to musicians was awe inspiring.

Interestingly, it was the members of the iPod, YouTube, laptop, iPhone generation who had the most praise for Elliott’s work and the power of hearing classical music – live. They appreciated the quartet’s commitment to their music and willingness to be open to new technology.

As we traveled throughout the state by car caravan, I marveled at the quartet’s stamina, good humor, and compassion for others. They told me playing in a quartet is a lot like being in a family. For strings players, the Borromeo are definitely not high-strung. They are a pleasure to hear and an inspiration to watch while they play or teach.

— Barri Lynn Moreau, Director of Education and Outreach

Celebrate with PCA in 2008–09

2008-05-15T13:27:00Z

I am delighted to share with you PCA Great Performances’ seventy-eighth season.

When I think of PCA’s 2008–09 season, the word that springs to mind is “celebration.” Together we’ll celebrate exquisite artistry, singular perspectives, global expressions, our vibrant community and young audiences.

Any discussion of exquisite artistry must recognize world-renowned master of the cello and cultural ambassador, Yo-Yo Ma. In February 2009, PCA celebrates its eighth presentation of Mr. Ma to Maine audiences with a special Endowment Benefit Event. We’ll celebrate the American songbook with works inspired or created by Irving Berlin and Stephen Sondheim. From a singular voice to an unabashedly American dance sensation to an incomparable a cappella singing ensemble, these artists bring to light contemporary perspectives and rich traditions.

Traveling the globe from United States and Canada to west Africa, Europe, and China, the 2008–09 season illuminates our interconnected world. Our own community takes center stage with dynamic artists’ residencies, the showcasing of a community choir, and exciting collaborations. Even one of the Broadway hits will look to our neighbors for some local color. A variety of family-friendly events in dance, opera, circus arts and culturally specific arts forms extend PCA’s popular family series. This season we introduce day-time performances for students and an expanded student ticket program for many of our evening events.

Come celebrate with PCA in 2008–09! Rejoice in the skill of illustrious artists, rejoice in a sense of community and family, rejoice in a shared world. We look forward to sharing the exhilaration and joy of the performing arts with you all season long.

— Aimée M. Petrin, Executive Director, PCA Great Performances

A close call for a precious violin

2008-05-06T15:01:00Z

I have a special morbid fascination for valuable instruments that come to harm – it isn’t schadenfreude (I swear) but rather empathy for the unlucky musician mixed with a horrible fear that I will cause some similar disaster someday.

In that light, I offer you this BBC story with a happier ending than some. Violinist Philippe Quint left a 1723 Stradivarius in a Newark, New Jersey taxicab last month. The cabbie very kindly returned it, and has been rewarded with money, with a private concert by Mr. Quint at the taxicab waiting area of Newark Liberty International Airport, with tickets to Mr. Quint’s upcoming Carnegie Hall performance, and – get this – with the key to the city of Newark. I think I speak for us all when I say that he deserves every bit of it.

Anyone interested, as am I, in historically significant musical instruments will be interested in next week’s James Ehnes performance – Mr. Ehnes plays the 1715 “Ex Marsick” Stradivarius. And this coming Thursday we welcome the Borromeo String Quartet, whose cellist Yeesun Kim plays a remarkably gorgeous instrument crafted by Bresciani Peregrino Zanetto sometime around the year 1575.

— Andrew Shuttleworth, Marketing and Design, PCA Great Performances

The Borromeo and Elliott Schwartz in the news

2008-05-05T13:44:01Z

The Borromeo String Quartet and composer Elliott Schwartz are getting some press attention for the upcoming premiere.

— Andrew Shuttleworth, Marketing and Design, PCA Great Performances

When classical music was not classic

2008-04-24T21:13:00Z

At my advanced age, I consider myself a classic; so does my “tweenage” daughter. I remember when rock and roll was “new” to me and I claimed it as my own. Now, the Stones, the Beatles, and Elvis are considered the classics of rock music. Funny how your perspective of the word “classic” changes as you age.

I was thinking about classical music as I prepared to write a primer for the Borromeo String Quartet lecture-demonstration during their May residency here with us and one on chamber music in general for PCA Offstage, a companion to the primer on modern dance. Download the primer now.

Was classical music so-called because it was “classic” or because it followed some renowned Greek or Roman form, notation, or defined structure? Did Mozart consider himself a classic? Certainly not. He was just creating music to please himself or others and pay the bills. He played around with tunes he liked or disliked, written or influenced by someone else. It was after all, just the music of his time. Now it’s considered “classic” just like rock ’n roll from the fifties and sixties! I asked Nick Kitchen, first violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet, and Elliott Schwartz, composer and music professor, about their thoughts on the term “classical music.” You can find their responses right here on the PCA blog.

As much as I love classic rock, however, I love classical music as well. I chuckle when I hear it remixed for television, radio commercials, or elevator music. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Bach fugues come to mind immediately. But I remember hearing the Portland Symphony Orchestra perform a Mahler symphony (possibly the sixth?) that blew me away with its power and beauty. The music just rolled off the stage like thunder and slammed into the audience, quite a feat because that was before Merrill’s renovation, when the sound quality improved.

But the most compelling, memorable experience I have of classical music comes from my childhood. It lives in me as a bright memory from the first movie my parents took me to see—Disney’s Fantasia. The theater darkened and then the screen came alive with color and music.

I had heard classical music before. Our house was always filled with music: either the radio was playing or my dad was playing his favorite classical, choral, or Broadway musical LPs – those large, round black discs played on a turntable – on our stereo. With speakers all over the house, we couldn’t escape music. We had a piano, too.

But Fantasia changed me forever. On that day, classical music became a synesthetic experience. I can’t listen to classical music without closing my eyes and seeing colorful shapes floating through the air. I imagine the music washing over me in a wave of color and sound; it carries me along with its ebb and flow of dynamics, tempo, and orchestration. It’s as entertaining and enthralling as the animation in Fantasia. My life would be downright bland without it.

Try expanding your musical repertoire with the upcoming PCA performances by the Borromeo String Quartet or violinist James Ehnes. They are passionate about all kinds of music and love sharing their enthusiasm with their audiences.

— Barri Lynn Moreau, Director of Education and Outreach

The feel of eavesdroppers

2008-04-17T14:02:00Z

The Merrill audience was treated to a marvelous piece of theater last night in the Acting Company’s rendition of Orson Welles’s Moby Dick Rehearsed. Sparse sets, rich lighting, imaginative direction, a brilliant script, and uniformly excellent acting made this a performance devoutly to be remembered.

As part of PCA’s marketing staff, I have been reading and writing about the show for a year now, so I knew what I was getting: Welles’s take on the many parallels between King Lear and Moby Dick. But the parallels were both more plentiful and less blatant than I expected, and I found myself never quite sure whether they were being drawn by Welles, or by Melville, or by the talented cast and director.

In the first scene, someone mentioned that Ahab’s whale was like Lear’s storm, and this was indeed the most fundamental parallel. Much later, when Stubb and Ahab feverishly call out from the whaleboat for Moby Dick to blow and spout and for the ship to crack, I heard Lear storming across the heath: “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout till you have drenched the steeples, drowned the cocks!”

One of my favorite moments came during the dialogue between Ahab and the carpenter as the latter fashions a new leg for the former. Since Ahab still has sensation in his missing leg even as the carpenter puts his living leg “in the place where mine was,” Ahab wonders whether entire living, thinking beings might not inhabit his very molecular space, watching him unseen and unfelt. In this scene in Melville’s novel, Ahab was making a hellfire and brimstone threat ("Why mayest not thou, carpenter, feel the fiery pains of hell for ever, and without a body? Hah!"). But this was Welles’s Ahab talking, not Melville’s – this Ahab fears not hell but “the feel of eavesdroppers” listening in on his “most solitary hours.”

I was very pleased to be allowed to be one of those eavesdroppers last night.

That was my take on it, but that’s just my part of a conversation, one that started many months ago with illuminating PCA Offstage lectures with the Portland Public Library, the Maine Historical Society, and the Portland Harbor Museum. Please, share with us and with your fellow audience members your thoughts and reactions using the comments feature below.

— Andrew Shuttleworth, Marketing and Design, PCA Great Performances

On working with the Borromeo

2008-04-10T20:04:00Z

I had a wonderful time at the March 21 meeting with the Borromeo String Quartet – not only going through various passages with them, discussing questions of articulation and the like, but also taking part in the public open rehearsal at USM that followed. As the composer of For Louise and Aaron, I’ve been “hearing” the new piece in my imagination for months – but not in the real acoustic world until the quartet members and I got together in Gorham. Of course I’ve played my new piece at the piano – passage by passage, chord by chord, while I was writing it. But piano sounds don’t really translate into the sonority of four string players – and certainly not these four string players, who are so remarkably gifted, flexible, and capable of great nuance in their phrasing and textural balance. Hearing the piece played in its proper string context – and by the fabulous Borromeos – and in front of an audience – was a remarkable experience!

— Elliott Schwartz, Composer

In Ron Brown’s dance, the telling takes us home

2008-04-10T18:36:00Z

It’s confession time: although I’ve become an increasingly passionate devotee of contemporary dance, I still have a decided penchant for narrative dance as opposed to more abstract work that celebrates the human form in movement for movement’s sake. In last evening’s PCA-presented Ronald K. Brown/Evidence dance performance at Merrill, we were treated to three works that ranged in succession from the obtuse and oft-challenging “One Shot” to the riveting, transcendent storytelling of “Order My Steps” and “High Life,” replete with the narrative brilliance that is the hallmark of choreographer Brown’s best work.

In “Order My Steps,” Brown offered a “dance poem” about a man seeking order in his life while struggling to keep his demons – oppression, insecurity, rejection, drug abuse – at bay. The dance was inspired by Psalm 119 (“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me”) and set to glorious music, including Bob Marley’s “War/No More Trouble” and “Exodus” and the Kronos Quartet’s exquisite renderings of Terry O’Riley’s “Echoes of Primordial Time” and “Mongolian Winds.” In sometimes propulsive, sometimes pensive movement that evoked traditional African dance, classical movement, and the improvisational gestures of the streets, the Evidence dancers swept us along on one man’s journey through confrontation, struggle, and the possible liberation to be found in a “Promised Land” of one’s own making.

“High Life” capped an extraordinary evening of dance that began on a somewhat rocky note with the technical woes, abstract movement, and disconnect between the projected images and dancers that bedeviled “One Shot.” Mesmerizing and engaging in its evocation of the African diaspora, “High Life” used a breathtaking array of dance styles, ranging from traditional African to balletic, swing, ballroom, and hip-hop, to document the travails of the journey into bondage and slavery in the American South and the subsequent venture northward in search of work, opportunity, acceptance, and community in the cities of Chicago, Detroit, and the industrial heartland. Music from Fela Kuti, Oscar Brown Jr., and the JB Horns, and poetry by Nikki Giovanni provided the soundtrack for a lyrical and deeply moving story of farewells and hellos, remorse and remembrance, acceptance and determination. “High Life” was a stunning work that sent me off into the streets of Portland full of thoughts about the human potential for cruelty, self-affirmation, reconciliation, and redemption. Such is the genius of Ronald K. Brown’s storytelling powers and the beauty of the Evidence dancers as together they illuminate the human spirit in all of its complexities.

— Tom Ayres, Director of Marketing and Audience Development

Making new Ugandan friends

2008-04-01T17:07:01Z

Rajab Bosaga, age 14, from Nakisenyi, Iganga, Uganda and Maria Moreau, age 11½, a sixth grader at NYA.

I went in to Spirit of Uganda not knowing what to expect, and left wanting to dance and sing forever. The performance sent a sort energy around the whole auditorium, transfixing everybody with beautiful native songs and dancing from Uganda. The loud melodic sound of the drums and other native Ugandan instruments made everything even more lovely. It is definitely something I would like to see again and again.

Then came the community supper. I had waited about three weeks in suspense to meet the kids from Spirit of Uganda. But as soon as their bus came in sight, I was all nervous and scared. As they filed neatly from the bus and I shook some of their hands, I was suddenly struck by how nice, polite, and dignified they were.

The community supper was fabulous! The food was a amazing and talking to the Spirit of Uganda troupe was awesome. Daniel, Rajab, and Peter were just a few of the members I talked to while eating. I also met David Katende who lives in Maine but is from Uganda. They were kind and very open to make new friends. It was very nice.

[Editor’s note: also see Tom Ayres’s impressions of the evening.]

— Maria Moreau, Sixth grade, North Yarmouth Academy

Catching the spirit

2008-03-31T17:07:00Z

Sunday afternoon’s Merrill Auditorium performance by Spirit of Uganda was a joyous celebration of life, an affirmation of community both regionally and internationally, and, in these deeply troubled times, an invigorating reminder of the noblest of human ideals and of the universal bonds that tie us together in a common humanity.

Themes of family and community, longing and loss, nature and nurture, love, celebration, empowerment, spirituality, and self– and cultural identity were woven eloquently throughout the ninety-minute performance by the young dancers, singers, and drummers. Artistic Director Peter Kasule’s witty yet insightful narration between pieces helped connect us viscerally with the sounds, sights, and cultures of east Africa, captured heartwarmingly and with such extraordinary vigor by the young men and women of Spirit of Uganda. The matinée performance – and the community supper and reception for the artists that followed with representatives of Maine’s African immigrant, faith, and arts communities – was a very personal reminder for me of why we do what we do at PCA Great Performances, contributing in however modest a way to build community and celebrate the loftiest aspects of the human condition through the power of the performing arts.

We invite you to share your reactions to the show using the comments feature below. And enjoy some of these pictures from last night’s community supper, held at the East End Elementary School.

[Editor’s note: also see 11½-year-old Maria Moreau’s impressions of the evening.]

— Tom Ayres, Director of Marketing and Audience Development

Sing us a song, you’re the piano men

2008-03-31T00:59:00Z

Often when you hear of a last-minute cast substitution for an upcoming performance, it gives rise to concern. Who will take over the role? Will it still be magical? Can they fill the shoes (or piano seat, as it were)?

Last week, Portland was treated to a rare treat when the Wednesday night performance of the Tony-winning Movin’ Out featured one of the original Broadway cast members, Wade Preston, in the role of the piano man. And on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the role was filled by Matthew Friedman, who played at Billy Joel’s wedding not so long ago. (Mr. Preston was especially taken by the Kotzschmar Organ; he raved after being given the dime tour of the organ’s insides that he’d never seen such an impressive specimen and he insisted on returning for some FOKO performances this summer.)

This role is wonderfully conceived. It is not so much about “being” Billy Joel, as being a thoughtful interpreter of his music with the cast members’ own personality and skill shining through. For those of you who did not notice the dynamic Piano Men, you were probably too busy watching Twyla Tharp’s choreography and the absolutely, amazing dancing cast. All who were there over those three nights shared a “Portland State of Mind….”

Share your thoughts on the show using the comments feature below.

— Aimée M. Petrin, Executive Director, PCA Great Performances

Spirit of Uganda information

2008-03-30T15:45:00Z

For those of you who want to learn more about Spirit of Uganda and the organization that supports them, check out Empower African Children.

— Barri Lynn Moreau, Director of Education and Outreach

On learning Schwartz’s String Quartet No 2

2008-03-26T13:26:00Z

There is a moment which just might be my favorite moment in musical working: it is the moment when a set of pitches which you have become familiar with stop just being a sequence and become music.

With pieces we have heard for many years we never experience this transformation. We are already familiar with some musical journey from our listening. We make choices about how much to repeat what we have already experienced and how much to re-invent it, but we are always starting from an act of repetition.

But with a piece of music that has just come from a pen of a composer, we have the experience of sounding out the notes without any familiarity. We sound them, we correct them, we sound them, we correct them. And then the moment comes, a character forms within the notes. We start to feel that we are conversing with something that has a life of its own. This is where I feel fresh the human ability to take a sequence and with it create music. It is a kind of miracle, really.

Well, on Friday, March 21, as we worked with Elliott Schwartz at USM in Gorham, I had the experience of many breakthroughs as I have just described. First of all, I find some composers exert a commentary just by being there. There were a few things we had not been sure how to do in the score, and a number of them just seemed obvious once Elliott was sitting with us.

Then a few things were made clear through direct commentary from Elliott. [Editor’s note: watch some video clips of Elliott after the jump.]

But then another invaluable part of the learning process had an important chance to be activated. In the open rehearsal we played through the piece for the people attending the class. At that moment it is not just a piece of music but a message going from us the performers to the audience. There is a little higher tension, a little bit of nerves, and most importantly a fresh instinctive impression of how audience relates to what they are hearing.

All of these experiences boded well for the piece. Soon we will get to try to bring it successfully to the audience at Merrill.

video clips of composer Elliott Schwartz

On the Artistic Process and Inspiration 5:33

Get Flash to see a video clip. Sorry, these clips won't work on an iPhone or many mobile devices.

On Blending Louise Nevelson and Aaron Copland 3:53

Get Flash to see a video clip. Sorry, these clips won't work on an iPhone or many mobile devices.

You might be interested in Rockland’s Farnsworth Museum, the second-largest US collection of Louise Nevelson’s work.

On Chamber Music and the Borromeo String Quartet 6:38

Get Flash to see a video clip. Sorry, these clips won't work on an iPhone or many mobile devices.

— Nicholas Kitchen, Violinist, Borromeo String Quartet

What a Blast!

2008-03-13T14:46:01Z

What a great treat to have Blast! come to Maine! Everyone in the opening night audience was in awe of the talented cast’s ability to play a multitude of drums and horns while executing precision choreography.

The opening number was breathtaking. The sound of a snare’s cadence and a sea of silver horns performing Ravel’s majestic Bolero pulled the audience in for a fantastic ride.

My fiancée loved it. I glanced over during the finale to see her on the edge of her seat, eyes wide with an enormous smile. One of our favorite scenes was the drummer face-off in which two insanely gifted drummers challenge each other duel-style. We also enjoyed being literally surrounded by the horns as they left the stage and journeyed into every pocket of audience seating for one number.

I can think of few things more difficult than to describe this wonderful show to others. Words simply fail.

— Brett Williams, PCA Staff, 2000–06

Share your reactions to Pink Martini

2008-03-08T16:57:01Z

The great American treasure, Duke Ellington, once suggested that there were only two kinds of music – good and bad. I have very eclectic tastes and I’ve always been drawn to artists who transcend the narrowly defined confines of genre to create music that is engaging, eye-opening, mind-expanding, and supremely well-played. Imagine, if you will, Béla Bartók and Celia Cruz rendezvousing with Sergio Leone, Art Tatum, Herb Alpert, and Edith Piaf en route to Tom Waits’ house to compose the soundtrack for a long-lost Fellini film. The resulting musical stew – melding jazz, world-beat, classical, Latin, art song, pop, film music elements, and more – might give you some approximation of the globe-trotting sound of Pink Martini.

The brilliant ensemble from “the other Portland” put on what I expect may well be the PCA Great Performance of the year last evening in Merrill Auditorium. Bandleader Thomas Lauderdale is a masterful pianist, skillful arranger, and film geek extraordinaire, mining a deep vein of American and European film music dating back to the 1930s and the heyday of Carmen Miranda to stir Pink Martini’s volatile musical mix. Lead singer China Forbes delivers sultry, oh-so-tasty vocals in a veritable United Nations of languages with a delightful theatricality that is alternately charming and compelling, and never campy or mannered. Pink Martini violinist Nicholas Corosa, guitarist Dan Faehnle, and trumpet master Gavin Bondy also wowed me and my fellow concert-goers.

I left Merrill last evening wearing such a broad smile that my face is still sore this morning. Pink Martini was that intoxicating.

— Tom Ayres, Director of Marketing and Audience Development