Classical Afternoon with the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra

My wife just sent me an article about the decline in interest in Classical music. That may well be so, but that wasn't what I saw in Oakland, California today, when I attended a packed church to hear three renowned classical pieces.

I play in an orchestra myself, so I like to go hear this music performed whenever I can. I have several friends in the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra in Oakland, so when I found myself free today, off I went.

The orchestra is celebrating its 49th season, which is a remarkable accomplishment. Working through Merritt College, a local community college, it has grown and matured over the years to an ensemble of notable power and capability. Although the group rehearses at the college, performances are at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in the scenic part of the city of Oakland, right by Lake Merritt.

I drove along Grand Avenue and located the church. The problem, of course, was parking, but with a few minutes to spare, I found a good spot two blocks away. I arrived just in time to walk through the large wooden doors and receive my nicely-designed and information-packed program.

As a bassist, I chose to sit where I could watch my fellows, selecting a spot on a hard wooden pew on the right side, a few rows back from the musicians. As the orchestra members assembled, I noted that the men were dressed in tuxedos, the women in black dresses. It was a formal occasion! Naturally, the audience was more casually attired, but there was the right sense of decorum but friendly excitement.

Classical music is better with some explanation, and we got an excellent preparation to hear each piece from Eric Hansen, the conductor and music director since 1997. Like Leonard Bernstein used to do, Hansen, with humor and insight, told us about the composers and the pieces we were about to hear.

Hansen's talk really helped with the first selection, Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question. Ives, a greatly talented man who composed while working full-time in the insurance industry, was not well understood in his time, but has since become a significant figure in 20th-Century music. The Unanswered Question combines a very slow and subtle string part over which a Q and A takes place between solo trumpet and a group of woodwinds. In fact, the two parts are so different that Hansen brought in a second conductor to keep the strings moving slowly while the winds did their thing. It worked for the audience, who seemed to appreciate the work.

Moving then to Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite, the music became a little more familiar. Copland, a major 20th-Century figure during his long lifetime (1900-90), wrote music that sounds like the cowboy west (Marlboro Country) and reminded me too of Alexander Courage's Star Trek theme. Copland borrowed Folk and Jazz motifs and worked with great artists and dancers of the time. In fact, the Appalachian Spring Suite is subtitled Ballet for Martha, for dancer/choreographer Martha Graham. The 1945 piece went over well, and then, off we went to chat with some of the musicians and other listeners outside. By the way, Copland received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for this score.

After a brownie and some surprisingly good coffee, I found my seat and got ready for the main course. Antonin Dvorak's Concerto for Cello in B Minor Op. 104 is a grand and familiar piece. We got the special treat of hearing 16-year-old soloist Ila Shon, who won the Felix Khuner Young Artist Concerto Competition. The award, now in its 25th year, is named for violinist Felix Khuner, who retired from the San Francisco Symphony and played with the Prometheus. His son, Jonathan, later conducted the orchestra. This award goes to two deserving young musicians each year. The other musician in this year's competition will play at the next Prometheus concert on March 23rd.

Shon, who has already studied cello for ten of her 16 years, was a sensation, playing with feeling and exquisite precision. The way she brought her bow up with a flourish after a particularly lively solo passage was dramatic, and she seemed to be having a good time.

All too soon, the concert ended, and people filed out of the handsome, clerestoried church onto the street. The sun was just going down on an unseasonably warm January Sunday afternoon, and all seemed right with the world.

Classical music is here to stay, and there's plenty of it out there, if you know where to look and how to listen. The Prometheus Symphony Orchestra, by presenting five free concerts throughout the year, is doing a lot to keep it accessible. Although the concerts are free, you are encouraged to donate, during intermission and anytime. I did, and it was a deal!

Castro Valley Orchestra -- Concert Preparation is a Big Job

Three bassists from our last concert.

The Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra plays three or four concerts a year, and has done it for more than a decade. What you hear is the result of months of rehearsals and practice. Here’s how it works.

Tuesday is the official weekly rehearsal night. As it approaches 7 p.m., cars begin to arrive at Creekside Middle School. The musicians carry, and sometimes roll, their instruments into the school and down the hall. On the right, the band room door is usually open and folks stream in and go to their customary places.

The band room, with its tall ceiling, lockers on all four sides, and whiteboards, is used by the middle school for its music programs. It’s already set up with chairs and stands, but they may not be arranged perfectly, so there is some scraping and carrying before instruments come out of their cases and tuning begins. Many of the musicians have been playing in the group for years together, so there is plenty of friendly banter and telling of jokes, including some hilarious musical ones that are the specialty of a certain clarinetist.

Normally, music director Josh Cohen is already there, and he gets ready, sometimes passing out music for new pieces the orchestra will work on later. However, slowly, he is training the group to use the Internet to download and print out the music at home before coming to rehearsal.

By 7:15 p.m., it’s time to start. The oboist plays a piercing “A” and the other musicians match it, bringing the group into tune. Then, with a wave of his slender baton, the orchestra’s seasoned leader gets the 30 to 40 musicians under way.

When you attend a concert, you hear the pieces in their entirety, one after the other, but that’s not how the orchestra rehearses them. There are frequent stops and lots of repetition to get the sound just right. And it takes a couple of months to do it. Luckily, the sheet music is marked with measure numbers or a rehearsal number or letter to make sure everyone starts in the same place.

Sometimes, just the strings will play, and the winds sit and listen, thinking about how their parts fit in. Then, it’s their turn to play and the strings listen. Sometimes one section plays. Normally, before moving on to another piece—or a movement within it—the group plays the section through from start to finish. Knowing what to play is important, but knowing how it relates to the entire orchestra is essential to having a good concert.

The group works on the tempo—how fast or slow it goes. There are frequent changes in dynamics—how loud or quiet it is. Dynamics are especially tricky. The entire orchestra may change volume level together or some instruments may play louder to stand out, for example, during a solo. The entire orchestra or sections can change volume slowly, too. It’s very important to have these changes learned by concert time.

Josh, with support from the advisory board, made up of several members of the orchestra, plans the programs in advance. It can take time, and often costs money, to borrow all of the sheet music to a piece of music. It can cost several hundred dollars if it’s not available in public domain.

At about the halfway point, Josh calls a break and people go back to chatting and heading down the hall to the restrooms. Then, it’s back to work. “Let’s hear the violins and cellos at measure 147,” says Josh, in his friendly tone. Although he controls the musicians, Josh doesn’t holler at or berate them. That’s part of why the musicians keep coming back for more each season. The group meets from September to May, echoing the school year. As a part of Castro Valley Adult and Career Education, that’s natural.

It’s important to practice your part to learn the nuances and get it smooth for the show. I keep my bass in a stand in my dining room, so I can pick it up every day and work on the concert pieces. There isn’t time in the group rehearsal to do this.

The upcoming concert on Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. features four works, including Reinecke’s Harp Concerto. It takes place at the Castro Valley Center for the Arts at 19501 Redwood Road, Castro Valley. Adult admission is $10, seniors and children 13-18 are $5 and kids 12 and under get in for free.

Another Classical Afternoon - with Beethoven!

Steve And Amy's basses rest before concert duty

The calendar rolls onward, and suddenly, after less than two months of practice, it's October 14th and time to perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and two smaller pieces! Where does the time go?

I put in my time--two hours a week with the Castro Valley Adult School Orchestra rehearsing, and hours a week at home, in my dining room. I'd pick up the bass and work on the tough parts, where cascades of sixteenth notes complicated the work. The easy parts, with a pizzicato quarter note per measure, I neglected.

Beethoven, by the seventh of his eight symphonies, was mostly deaf and really works the orchestra good. Maybe he was frustrated that he wouldn't hear the output himself, but there is some serious beating on the instruments to get the energetic, sometimes frenetic sounds he calls for in this piece. The second movement, though, is a bit of a respite, although unlike other symphonies, it doesn't feature a quiet, slow second movement but an allegretto--a dance number--that satisfies but is not a real rest. This movement is the sound behind King George Sixth's speech in The King's Speech, and sounds no less wonderful in the Castro Valley Center for the Arts with no stuttering monarch as a visual.

The piece is brisk once again as it moves through the last two movements, with some serious sawing on the strings of the bass. What was the composer thinking? What did he want to say? After our performance, we didn't know, but it was definitely something worth exploring. I may get another opportunity at this work in the future--when I can perhaps play perfectly the parts that I goofed up this time.

Funny, but the couple parts I really wanted to perform well I didn't but some tough areas that I didn't have down did come through today. So--it was a noble effort, and we can all breathe easier knowing it's time, once again, to move onto the next show.

The show was only 1/2 Beethoven. The first half featured two shorter pieces. One was Gluck's Ipheginie en Aulide, a German piece that hails from before the American Revolution.This Opera music was sweet and easy to play--a good way to warm up listeners for Lee Actor's Divertimento for Small Orchestra, which was written last year as a commission. Full of time signature changes and shifts in mood, it was a challenge to play, but rewarding, despite it's extreme modernity.

But the Beethoven was the heart of the program, and we all hope that folks went home happy.

Humboldt Day Three -- a Change of Pace

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

The wise leaders of the Humboldt Chamber Music Workshop know that the extremely busy players need a little break in mid-event, so they have engineered Wednesday as a shorter day. By chopping out the afternoon practice session and scheduling the sampler program before dinner, they give attendees a chance to take a night off.

I had a great time with my extra evening, but first, it was a full day of music. I was assigned the Nonet in F minor by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. I was thinking it was the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, but the latter preceded the composer and is a completely different guy. Coleridge-Taylor, a product of an English mother and an African father, lived a short 37 years, but turned out a pretty good batch of music.

My first impression of the Scherzo, the piece we performed, was that it was spare for the bass. In truth, much of my part was runs of pizzicato (plucked) notes, but with some practice with my eight fellow musicians, it became interesting--and fun. The challenge was to play the runs properly-and in the right place. Because we occupied the main stage for our rehearsals, we got to go on first, so after a quick performance, we had the entire rest of the afternoon to sit and enjoy the other compositions.

Many were remarkable, but the one that stood out was Quintet by John Steinmetz (b. 1951). It started out with what sounded like the five winds tuning up and morphed into a drone piece, which was not only gorgeous but hypnotic. The crowd loved it. It's a real pleasure to see and hear the other groups' performances. Some apparently work out better than others, but we all know that sometimes the sound in the practice room doesn't get fully realized on stage. This is a workshop, and we tolerate the inevitable (and everpresent) imperfections. The different playing configurations let us get to know each other better each day.

After the performances, I treated myself to a 45-minute nap--I was bushed. But then, I took off with five others to the lovely Moonstone Grill, just a few miles up the coast, in Westhaven. We went there because it is a great restaurant with a sensational view, but also to remember a fellow chamber musician who is undergoing a bone marrow transplant now and who would much rather have been with us. We all hope he will be attending next year.

The food was wonderful. We shared crab rolls and oysters before the main course, which was beautifully prepared fish of various kinds. We also shared two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc from A to Z Wineworks. One of our party actually knows the owner of the winery, making it all the better.

We made it back by just after 8:30 p.m., in time to play more music. I had the distinct privilege to play two trio works for viola, cello and bass, a first for me. Thanks to Margaret, who knew the music and got it from the workshop library we three "lower strings" made beautiful music together. We played the Divertimento for Viola, Violoncello and Kontrabass by Anton Albrechtsberger and Leopold Hoffman's Trio Op. 1, Nr. 3.

The hour and a half flew by. The bass normally doesn't get to play with such a small configuration--I'm used to quintets as a minimum--but I've already played in a quartet and done these trios this week, besides the nonet from Wednesday, so who knows what the rest of the workshop holds?

A Double Dose of Schubert at Humboldt, Day Two

The Schubert Trout Quintet is a very famous and beautiful piece of music. Orchestral bass players often get to play it--or you may even say HAVE to play it--to satisfy the cravings of other musicians to play along with the biggest member of the string family.

Well, luckily, I LOVE the piece. I've already had two runs through it--and it's only Wednesday early morning.

The Piano Quintet in A major (Trout is really its nickname) is called that because it's based on a song Schubert wrote about the sad tale of a fish who struggles with the fisherman and dies (that's the thumbnail description). In reality, it is an achingly beautiful piece that gives a pianist and one representative from each member of the string family a workout.

My group met about 9 a.m. in our practice room to start. I was a little miffed because I had climbed the stairs to grab my bass, carried it all the way down to our morning meeting spot, only to find out that my assigned room was across the hall from my locker! Back up the stairs I went.

We quickly got down to business and the lovely sounds of the piece wafted through the room. After around 45 minutes, Daniela, our coach arrived. She did what good coaches do, and helped us identify areas we needed to work on (namely, all of it!). We selected the first movement and had to make a cut to get it down to a five-minute playing time. Then, we worked on the rough patches, and especially on the usual goal--playing well together.

We had no problem as people--I had a nice group-as I always seem to have. One of the many wonderful things about playing for five days in a row is that you get a different set of new friends each day. In this case, I had already played with two of the members and two were new to me. We worked through the piece in two morning and one afternoon practice sessions, broken up by our a.m. coffee break and lunch.

Strange for July--even in Northern California--was genuine rain--so our breaks were inside. I wore my porous and absorbent Levi jacket, but seemed to fare fine--it was not windy or particularly cold, so it just felt refreshing.

The joys of chamber music are great--if you like that kind of thing. We worked hard, but saw, over the day, our performance pick up speed, lock together, and by the end we were pretty happy that we had it down well. We drew the absolute final performance of the day, so we played after dinner. I wasn't sure I'd like that, but I had heard so much fine music by our turn that I was really in the mood.

After a brief reconnection before the evening session--and a few minutes in the green room, we stood backstage waiting, listening to a finely rendered trio just ahead of us on the other side of the curtain. Then, we strolled onto the stage for our turn.

It's funny that the stage looks far away from the seats but the people look close when you're up there. I glanced out briefly, but spent most of my time and attention on my music stand--and feeling my fingers on the familiar fingerboard of my bass as I listened and played along with our group. Nana, our violinist, counted us in and off we went!

The bass part has some wonderful half and whole note runs that flow below the more active melody parts that are incredibly enjoyable to play. One section, in the middle, is a piano solo, and I like to sing along with the part. One of my colleagues noticed this and teased me about it later (in a good-natured way, of course). Sorry, it's the Trout, and I can't help myself.

After our successful performance (we came back for a second set of bows), I went right behind the stage to a practice room to tackle Schubert's Octet. In this case, we played as a tiny orchestra, with violin, viola, cello, bass as well as oboe, bassoon, clarinet and horn (is that right?).

The piece is fairly long and twists and turns through slow and fast sections, but other than a few stops to re-sync ourselves, it flowed along nicely. I was pleased that all the players sounded good--and seemed to be having as much fun as I was. By around 10 p.m. we played the final notes, and smiles broke out everywhere. We had made it--and topped off another fine day of chamber music.

Then--two hours of drinking and snacking in the dorm meeting room. Ah, the college life!

Humboldt Chamber Music Workshop--Day One

Rossini

The chamber music workshop week always begins with a group meeting in the  main theater to learn the details of the week's activities and anything else you  might want to know to get around. This being my second time up here, I had a good idea of what to expect. Alan Geier, the workshop director, explained it all in his friendly, humorous way, welcoming us back--and helping to relax the newcomers. We learned where to get the music (the music library), details of the schedule, Do's and Don't's, things to watch out for, and the rest.

Then, we were released to go crowd around the posted lists of who's playing what with whom where. I got assigned to some Rossini quartets that include bass, in the Art Building. Luckily, it's just across from the main theater, but I still had to climb up the Music Building stairs (no elevator during construction) and grab my bass before I went there. But I arrived and found my musical companions.

One of the many beauties of the workshop is that you play a different piece, with different people, each day. Also, the professional coaches rotate, too, so you get the guidance of different experts. Since I'm the only bassist signed up (as usual) there is never a "bass coach," but our cellist coach was great at guiding the group to play well together.

First, we looked at the three Rossini quartets on our music stands and then decided on one to run through. We then isolated the particular section we would be devoting the day's efforts to "perfecting" and went with that. You have to do this to get good enough at it to do well in the afternoon recital.

Gioachino Rossini is best known for his opera, The Barber of Seville, and the piece we worked on had an operatic quality, with expressive voices from the different instruments. The violin even gets to "laugh." I had two sections of solo work that I was able to pull off during the afternoon performance. Whew.

Things started coming together and improved over the day. We had our first session, then took a break in the courtyard with coffee and snacks. I've always liked this part, both for the social pleasures but also to get a break for my hands--and my eyes. Unfortunately, I am the ONLY person who stands all day, and this is more standing. I really should find someplace to sit down.

I lollygagged a little longer, and found my cohorts already there when I returned. We worked on our quartet--two violins, a cello and me on bass--through until lunch, with direction from Carol, our coach. It's hard sometimes to sync your playing with the other musicians--but therein lies beauty and satisfaction. We gradually tune in to the others. Intonation improves, the speed increases, we get more even, and play sections in which we share the melody or pattern in the same way so it sounds euphonious.

In the afternoon, we played late in the first of the two hourly sessions. Just after we played, we went off to dinner. It seems like there's lots of eating at these events. The food is OK--but it is "dorm fare" and I heard some grumblings about the consistency and flavor of the chicken. We went back for another hour of fine performances--every group seemed to be aware of the five-minute rule so it rolled through. Then--off to freelancing.

Freelancing gives you a choice to play what you want when you've completed your daily assignment. I played the Schubert's Trout Quintet--a favorite of chamber music players because of its beauty and also it seems to be the first piece anyone thinks of that includes a bass. We bassists are not in the center of chamber music but on the periphery. So--I'm glad to play it, and usually, at least one of the five of us is doing it for the first time--exciting and challenging. We played it fairly slowly, but the group focused and really heated up the room. At last, it came to its satifying conclusion and we packed up and headed back to the dorms for a little alcohol, snacks and conversation.

And so ended the first day. Today, we do it all over again.

Wind Symphony Satisfies

I just got back from an enjoyable evening of orchestral music--without a single stringed instrument on the stage. Instead, it was a wind symphony, known also as a concert band, filled with a skilled contingent of horns and woodwinds--backed by a powerful percussion section.Over the course of the show we would hear a brass quartet, brass ensemble, woodwind ensemble, and in the second half, the whole group together.

I need to thank Amy, my fellow bassist, who not only played with me last Sunday on Beethoven and Balalaika music, but performed as a tuba player tonight with the group. That's a tuba pictured.

I heard the CSU East Bay Wind Symphony, along with separate ensembles from it, in the theater at the Hayward, California campus. The group was expertly led by John Eros, who kept the beat perfectly with his baton.

The show began when four young men in tuxedos walked onto the stage with their trumpets and trombones. They played Paul Hindemith's Morgenmusik from Ploner Musiktag, from 1932. It was kind of a wake up for the audience to focus their attention. Nicely done, with sharply defined harmonies and everything tidy.

Then, the rest of the brass joined the four to play Vaclav Nelhybel's Numismata (1965). Pretty impressive with the two tubas, French horns, and euphonium. Then, they all exited, stage left and turned the show over to their woodwind colleagues. Not only were there clarinets in abundance, but a saxophone or two, a row of flutes, and even a contralto clarinet--so large it sat with its bell on the ground while the curving tube delivered the mouthpiece to the proper height. You could hear it holding down the bottom, especially before the tubas joined it in the second half.

The woodwinds got some heavy support for the following selection, In Another Time, a newly composed work by Nicholas Vasallo, who teaches at the university and created this lively piece especially for this concert. It's great to hear music by living composers, and I got to meet him afterwards. The bass drum player jumped into the air as he struck powerfully on his instrument during this piece. Nobody would sleep through this exuberant composition.

The intermission gave me time to stretch and to talk with Lea, my orchestra colleague, who had joined the group on French horn for the concert.

The combined forces of the woodwinds, brass and percussion opened the second half with a rousing John Philip Sousa march, The Black Horse Troop. Then, a change of pace, with two pretty Irish melodies by David Gillingham--one traditional and one newly written in 2000. The grand finale was the martial-sounding Symphony No. 3 by Boris Kozhevnikov. It had me wondering what was going on in the Soviet Union back then. Had party secretary Khrushchev pounded his shoe at the United Nations yet?

Then, applause, and it was over. The nicely dressed, pleasingly skilled musicians left the stage. It was surely worth much more than the $5 ticket I had bought. I walked into the cool evening air in a happy frame of mind.

As a string player, I tend to think along the lines of the "full" orchestra, but these guys really did a great job.

Weekend of Music and Beer

Somehow, the last three days became a whirlwind tour of music and beer. Today, starting with my oatmeal with almonds, I will get back to normal.

Friday night, I met three people from a company I work with through my job at the Devil's Canyon Brewing Company's monthly public events. Music was by Billy Manzik, featuring Billy on guitar, a guy on saxophone and a lady upright bass player (always a treat). It went well with the two beers I sampled--a light champagne style and the Kaleidoscope dark.

Afterwards, we went to a Louisiana style restaurant where a third beer, along with a pound of spicy shrimp, went down much too easily.

Saturday evening I went to hear the highly talented Stadler Gibbons Band, featuring Mike Stadler, Mary Gibbons, with ace pedal steel and dobro player Jon Mitguard and incredible bassist Chuck Irvin--who makes it look easy (it's not). They played at the Urban Island Concert Series, which takes place at the loading doc behind the Urban Island used furniture store. The evening began with a surprisingly entertaining duo, The Red Shoes, comprising two young ladies that appeared to be high school seniors playing fiddle with cello, occasionally switching up for ukelele. Their stage presence and apparent total lack of stage fright was charming--and they had the chops to keep it moving with just the two of them.

The next act, Emily Bonn and the Vivants, delivered a powerful shot of old-time dance tunes, honky-tonk country, and western swing. Emily writes a lot of her own material and her powerful voice invigorates the show. Accompanied by a tap-dancing violinist, a double-bassist with the longest mustache I've seen in some time, and a stirring accordionist, Emily's guitar playing and presence made this a group worth watching--and following.

Stadler Gibbons was the headliner, and they gave the kind of performance that has kept me following them around for the last year. Mike has the fine pipes of an old folkie, as does Mary, and the musicianship is extremely high level. As a bassist, I appreciate Chuck's versatility and style, and Jon's pedal steel is out of this world.

The beer this time had to happen afterwards, since the Urban Island provided a solitary Thai food truck (the roti was tasty, but no alcohol was available). We went to the Hobnob bar nearby for a couple glasses of Arrogant Bastard Ale. Yum.

Sunday I shifted gears and listened to fine chamber music performances by the Summer Quartet (strings) and the Hillside Quintet (winds) at my local library. All nine people are members of the Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra, of which I also am a member. Afterwards, some of the musicians went to a local Mexican restaurant for beer and, it turned out, some tasty food. (I had the golfos).

Now it, Monday, and time to get back to work!

Playing Faure Requiem is Thought Provoking

Thanks to my increasing skills and interest in playing the bass, I found myself this weekend, by invitation, playing the Faure Requiem at Trinity Church in Menlo Park, California. Gabriel Faure (pictured) wrote it in the late 1880s and it has become very popular. Like many classical works, there are different arrangements.

It was a very satisfying--even moving--experience. Take a listen. And this is from someone who is not a Christian. It did leave me feeling like I don't have much of a spiritual life, though, as church services often do.

I was fortunate to work with some excellent musicians, led by the brilliant Michael Taylor, who has sung professionally for a quarter century yet still looks like a young man. He arranged our parts for this performance.

We were a small group, just flute, violin, viola, cello, bass and harp, but with the strength of the strong mixed choir and Taylor's sublime baritone we "rocked the house." I was a little bugged by my few missed notes and entrances, but I felt a little more nervous than I expected to--especially after making the first goof. I figured I would be forgiven in a church--and nobody seemed to either notice or mind (although I bet Michael heard them).

A requiem is a mass for the dead, and today, in the All Saints mass, many people were remembered, and listed, some with last names and some without. I didn't know any of them personally, but the grand sounds of the organ (which made my bass vibrate) and the fine choral work helped put me in the right frame of mind to think about the departed that I did know, starting with my father.

The senior associate rector, Rev. Frannie Hall Kieschnick, delivered a rousing sermon about the dead being carried with us, she said, in a kind of "balcony," able to give counsel, comfort and guidance. She even quoted a Jewish prayer that in essence said that the dead were not really gone if they lived on in our memories. Makes sense. I was so rapt in thinking about my dad that I missed an entrance--but jumped right in at the right place a couple of measures in--that was a wake-up call!

Despite being brought up as Jews, my parents weren't religious at all, although we did occasionally show up at temple and lit candles on Chanukah. My parents are (and were) good, honest, decent folks and not what I'd call "sinners" although they have surely had their moments, like anyone (and I guess we are all sinners, according to the church).

In any case, I didn't learn at home any reason to go to a house of worship when you wanted a spiritual connection. I think it's entirely possible that most church attendees are just showing up by habit, but something spiritually thought-provoking could seep in while they're sitting there, especially if beautiful music is playing. I don't know--but it would seem to increase the odds.

I'll have to think about it.

It's Orchestra Season Again!

Tonight I resumed playing with the Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra--my musical pals since the beginning of 2007. Each year, from September to June, we gather on Tuesday nights at the middle school and rehearse for two hours each week, preparing for our three concerts per session.

Tonight we played a Mozart Double Piano Concerto that featured one of the most out-of-tune pianos I've ever heard. It made the great composer sound like the entertainment in a honky tonk bar despite fine playing by Tom. We also went through a piece this same fine piano player composed that will be a treat for anyone attending the upcoming concert on Sunday, October 23.

We tackled another Mozart piece, Symphony No. 31, which, unlike the Double Piano Concerto, I had never laid eyes on before. I was gratified at the amount of notes I was able to play on the first time through, sightreading. Part of the reward of playing in a community orchestra, besides the beauty and the camaraderie, is seeing yourself grow and improve over time.

Josh, our beloved and very hard working conductor, recommended playing chamber music to improve your sensitivity to other players, and I couldn't agree more. I belong to the Chamber Musicians of Northern California, which puts on three weekend workshops a year for players with at least some experience playing. I've attended about a dozen so far. The next workshop is the weekend of October 15-16, but you should join the group and apply now if you're interested.

Incredible: Modern Mandolin Quartet and Tim Weed

Tonight, I drove myself into the far reaches of Western Marin County to hear what I expected would be a fine evening of music. It turned out to be an amazing experience of virtuosity and warmth played to an appreciative audience.

The show, at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station, opened with Tim Weed, who is to regular banjo plucking what Beethoven's 9th Symphony is to Chopsticks. Even the great Flatt & Scruggs got nothing on this guy. The complex and classical passages that leap off his fingers wowed the crowd--including me. I have heard bluegrass picking and I've heard classical masterpieces. This lean, youthful looking man with a full head of white hair delivered both.

Tim played solo at first--including a fine Spanish style composition. He plays enough notes per minute for five people. He then called up his significant other, who played a wonderful Indian tamboura. It's the drone accompanyment heard in Indian classical music. Who knew that the humble banjo could sound like an Indian sarod? It was spellbinding.

Then, before turning over the show to the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Tim brought up Dana Rath, a founding member of that group and ace mandolinist, for a gorgeous duet.

Then, the Modern Mandolin Quartet settled in. They can play chamber music--because they replicate the normal string parts. Instead of two violins, a viola and a cello, they use two mandolins, a mandola and a mandocello (which looks about the size of a guitar). The group includes Dana Rath and Matt Flinner on mandolins, Paul Binkley on Mandola and guitar and Adam Roszkiewicz on mandocello and guitar. They formed in 1985 to introduce the mandolin family to more people and to commission new works for the instruments. They began recording in 1988. Many recordings have followed.

They performed a couple of incredible selections, then broke for a friendly intermission. That gave me a chance to acquire a CD of Tim's (he autographed it for me and we spoke for a couple minutes) and one of the quartet. It's from 2004, but they are going in to record a new one soon. It will include Dvorak's American Quartet, part of which the group set on fire in the second half of the program. That second set started with Bernstein's "Cool" and went on to include a few pieces that the group has played for many years, and the exquisite Pavanne by Gabriel Faure. They played the Flower Duet from Lakme--an opera--gorgeous!

At the end, they brought Tim back and they played some amazing Bill Monroe bluegrass music. Then, as an encore, Tim set them up in a "jam" that gave the show a triumphant finish.

The intimate venue meant you could meet and get to know the performers a bit. I will definitely follow these artists, and hope you will, too.

Russian Classical Concert Sunday

This Sunday, the Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra takes the stage again to play a concert of Russian classical music. Besides exciting works by Mussorgsky (the famous Pictures at an Exhibition) and Borodin (Symphony No. 2) we'll be playing a few stimulating pieces with Grigoriy Krumik, who's bringing his bayan. A bayan is a button accordion and Grigoriy is a master of it.

Rehearsing for a show takes time and effort. We've been meeting for 2+ hours every Tuesday night since September, and I just got back from the "dress rehearsal" -- an extra two hours to go through the concert selections again. Even on concert day we won't be perfect--but that's what's great about being amateurs.

I love every minute I spend with my fellow musicians--since my start on January 2, 2007. I'm sure I'll be back for more next Fall.

If you're in the vicinity at 2 p.m. on Sunday, here's concert information. Like the Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra on Facebook, too!

Playing Music--it's Good for You

Last night, my band, Red Paint, played a party for a friend of our lead singer's friend. Free food and drink, interesting company, and an OK, if not inspired set.

We played between two sets by a tight blues band called Grease, Grit & Grime. They set up a fine background for the party, which featured beers on tap and a pig on a spit among other attractions.

Today, Sunday, I played my Spring concert with the Castro Valley Chamber Orchestra. It included beautiful music by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Chopin. The Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 featured Lois Brandwynne, a brilliant pianist. What a joy to play along with her.

All of my adult music playing began in 2003, when I picked up my electric Fender bass. It was reinforced by starting the upright bass in 2004. Finding bandmates was great, but to play in an orchestra you need help. I found my community orchestra through the Adult School, but there is another way to do it--the New Horizons International Music Association.

I learned about this group in the AARP Bulletin. If you're 50 or over, you can attend one of the sessions and start playing a new instrument--or resume playing the one you gave up after high school. There are about 7,000 members in 182 orchestras, bands and choruses in 41 states and overseas.

Groups meet once a week for an hour lesson followed by playing together for another hour. I have found my two-hour weekly orchestra rehearsals, with concerts every three months or so, to work out perfectly. However, with an orchestra you may need some experience to join, but with New Horizons, you can start whenever you're ready, at whatever level you're at.

It can make all the difference in your life. I know it has in mine.

Classical Music Shifts Gears in the S.F. Bay Area

I've listened to KDFC 102.1 for decades. They used to be very snooty--and announced only the composer and name of the work. Then, they became more chatty when KKHI, the other classical music station, which had that kind of format, went away. I've noticed that they have started saying "Classical and then some"--meaning you might hear the movie theme from Harry Potter after one movement of a Beethoven symphony. They don't play the whole piece unless it's a special program.

Now, they are becoming a non-profit and moving way up to the short end of the dial, at 89.9 and 90.3. I hope that means they'll cut out the commercials! Unfortunately, their signal was already iffy in some areas and the new station will be even weaker. Well, that's why I own an iPod.

Prepare for pledge drives!

Read an interesting story that ran today on the San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com website.

Orchestra Conductor for a Day

Here's a cool idea: At the Community Women's Orchestra's forthcoming Chamber Music Soiree, on Sunday January 23, at 2:30 pm., you have a great opportunity to bid to conduct a piece with the orchestra next season.

It includes a private conducting lesson with award-winning conductor Dr. Kathleen McGuire. The Conductor-for-a-Day also gets a souvenir conductor's baton, a photo with the orchestra, and a video recording of the performance.

Even though it's an all-female orchestra, the Conductor-for-a-Day can be male or female. So give it a shot if you've always dreamed of standing up there running the musical show!