Intermediate Concert Orchestra Repertoire: 2017 Concert #1

Each year, while it Interlochen, I try to post some thoughts without the repertoire that we are preparing. I am a little late in posting notes about our repertoire from our first concert. But, I will make up for it in this post. Look for a second post about our upcoming concert within the next day or so. 

For first concert we did three pieces: 

• Mendelssohn's Sinfonia Number 2 in D Major, Mvt. 1
• Water Reflections by Yukiko Nishimura.
• Heart of Fire by Lauren Bernofsky  

Felix Mendelssohn wrote his String Sinfonias between the years of 1821 through 1823. He was only in his early teens when he wrote these works for string orchestra as part of a music composition assignment. This year, I selected the first movement of Sinfonia number 2. It is an Allegro in D Major and features a wonderful rhythmic verve and strong independence in each of the voices. I have done a number of String Symfonias by Mendelssohn over the years, but this was the first time I have conducted this movement of this piece. It was perfect for the Intermediate Concert Orchestra.  The real challenge in this piece, after learning the notes and general style that is appropriate for the work, is to have the students find and sense the role of their voice within the context of the greater work. Sometimes the students are in the lead and are playing the primary motive. Other times they are providing background harmonic or rhythmic information. (Or both!) The other great challenge in this piece is to have the students demonstrate the more subtle musical lines within the overall dynamic scheme of the piece. Rise and fall of melodic line means everything to the overall impact that the piece can have. It all, I am very pleased with the way the students prepared and performed this lovely work.

Next, we did Water Reflections, by Yukiko Nishimura. This is listed as a grade 3.5 and is published by Carl Fischer. When I first heard this piece, I knew that I had to perform it at Interlochen Kresge Hall. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had as a conductor is conducting at Kresge. As I am looking at the ensemble in every concert, I can look past them, through huge plate glass windows, to the beautiful Green Lake behind the hall with boats, water skiers, sails, birds , and a generally beautiful setting while conducting. So, this gorgeous piece with a title of Water Reflections was absolutely appropriate for this setting and ensemble. This piece begins with an Andante section that is lush and beautiful . It provides ample opportunity to teach expression, bow use, and advanced ensemble technique. It then moves to a happy-go-lucky Piu Mosso that includes interesting syncopated rhythmic drive and a light moving violin part. It then returns to Tempo 1 and finishes out after a very interesting transitional section. The work ends with some well-placed pizzicato notes that remind the listener of drops of water falling into a pond or puddle at the end of the day. This piece will become a staple of my repertoire. I absolutely love the sounds and opportunities for teaching that are found within this work.

We rounded out our first concert with Heart of Fire by Interlochen composition faculty member Lauren Bernofsky. I wrote about this work extensively in a previous post, Composer Visit . So, I won't repeat myself here. This is listed as a Grade 3 work and is published by FJH Publishing. The work features a Vivaldi like opening and closing with a more lyrical middle section with a wonderful cello solo feature. Please see my previous post for more on this wonderful work. It, too, will become a staple of my repertoire.

I will be writing about our current repertoire within the next day or so. Our second concert of the season is tomorrow, July 14, 6:30 p.m. Please refer to the Interlochen live stream link to see the program. 

Peace.

Scott

Amazing Staff

Makenzie Wade, Stage Services; Saralyn Klepaczyk, Orchestra Manager; Annie Swigart, Librarian

Today I want to take some time to recognize our amazing Intermediate Concert Orchestra staff.
For those of you that are teachers in public schools or of school orchestra programs, you know that we spend a great deal of time buying, organizing, and filing music, organizing our music library, setting up chairs, creating programs, and doing all kinds of other administrative work. Here at Interlochen, one of the great joys of conducting an orchestra is working with a wonderful staff of young professionals who are charged with doing all of the administrative and set up work for my orchestra.

Truly, I feel like a king each day when I am asked, "What else do you need, Mr. Laird?" These wonderful staff members truly desire to serve the orchestra and my needs as the conductor and I appreciate all of their hard work and dedication.   I have three staff members each summer. This year I have been blessed with wonderful folks every year that I've been at Interlochen. This year is certainly no exception and my staff truly stands out as exceptional.

They include Saralyn Klepaczyk, Orchestra Manager; Annie Swigart, Librarian; and Makenzie Wade, Stage Services. Each one of these young professionals serves an integral role in our orchestra's mission on a daily basis.

Saralyn, our Orchestra manager, is wonderful. She is responsible for all of the daily details of the Ensemble. She takes attendance, makes daily announcements, deals with students who need extra attention, rounds the kids up after breaks in rehearsal, and serves as a liaison between the music department and the Student Life division of the camp. Sarah essentially handles all of the nitty-gritty details of the day-to-day work of the orchestra so that I don't have to. If we need to contact a student's counselor, she takes care of it. Just this week we have been trying to find a percussionist for one of our pieces and it has been her job to take care of that. I couldn't ask for a more dedicated, sensitive and caring person to fill this role.  I have quickly learned that I can count on Saralyn to be sensitive to student needs, articulate in every way, and interested in real conversation when it comes to what is best for both students and for the ensemble.

Our librarian, Annie, is responsible for everything related to the printed music that the students are using every day. She organized all of the repertoire before camp began. She makes sure that the parts are bowed and accurate. She distributes the music at the beginning of the concert cycle and collects the music immediately following each concert. She also handles any small details regarding the music such as providing extra pages to avoid page turns and other details. Annie also is on hand and  available for just about any need throughout each rehearsal. One day last week we had a sick student and I needed her to walk with them to the camp medical office. It is so great to have her on hand during every rehearsal.  And, the printed music is always exactly as it should be!

Makenzie is a member of our Stage Services division and has been assigned to our primary rehearsal space, Grunow Hall. So, she has quickly become an integral part of the Intermediate Concert Orchestra staff. Makenzie is wonderful! She has such a wonderful disposition and is a pleasure to interact with every day. She is responsible for making sure that the ensemble chairs and stands are set up properly for each rehearsal. She's also responsible for any auxiliary instruments that we may be using including piano, percussion, or other instruments. Orchestra setup may seem like a small thing, but it is so wonderful to walk into the room each day with the right number of chairs and stands all placed beautifully in the right position. I frequently joke that 75% the orchestra directors job is moving furniture. At Interlochen, that 75% falls on Makenzie's shoulders! Makenzie is incredibly dedicated and makes sure that everything is ready to go.

These three wonderful young professionals make my job easy everyday. As a result of their work, I can truly focus on the task of teaching the students in the orchestra and making music each day. Thanks to each of these three and to Interlochen for providing such wonderful staff members for me and all of the conductors at this amazing place!

Concert tomorrow!

Peace.

Scott

Intermediate Concert Orchestra Section Faculty

Intermediate Concert Orchestra Section Faculty

Left to Right: Aaron Tenney, David Carter, Jane Schranze, Brittni Brown, 

Scott Laird, Graham Emberton

Today I want to highlight our awesome Intermediate Concert Orchestra Section Faculty.  We are fortunate at Interlochen to have a magnificent faculty of some of the finest musicians and teachers in the country. In every orchestra there is a faculty member assigned to each section. That faculty member runs sectional rehearsals and frequently comes to orchestra rehearsals to take note of the work that is being done and give instructions specific to that instrument or voice. Every year we have wonderful folks and I wanted to take a minute to thank and highlight this year's section faculty.  

In ICO, we welcome our Section Faculty to the first hour of rehearsal on Tuesday and Thursday.  We call these "side-by-side" rehearsals.  During this time the faculty member sits in the section and plays along with the orchestra. They hear what the orchestra is doing, how their section is responding musically, and have opportunities to offer suggestions and insights into the repertoire and technical aspects of the works. These are wonderful collaborative rehearsals and I value their input very much. I believe that our students find this time to be fun and exciting. There is nothing like sitting beside your teacher while in a rehearsal. I believe I learned more about orchestral playing sitting beside my college violin instructor than in any other class. I do my best to rotate our students so that as many as possible have the opportunity to sit beside their teacher.

Additionally, on Fridays, the orchestra students have a one-hour sectional rehearsal with their section faculty member. At this time the section focuses on their specific part and the faculty member offers specific suggestions on bowing, fingering, specific techniques, and other aspects of the music. Sectional rehearsals are absolutely vital to the life of an orchestra. That is certainly the case here. A great deal of progress gets made individually and corporately in these rehearsals.

For more information on each of these fine musicians:

Dr. Brittni Brown, violin

Graham Emberton, violin

Jane Schranze, viola

Dr. David Carter, cello

Aaron Tenney, String Bass

This will give you some insights into the folks that are working with our students this summer.  They are a wonderful group and we certainly have some magnificent teaching going on here.  I want to personally thank each of these folks for their investment in the Intermediate Concert Orchestra.

Peace.
Scott

Essence

Last week in rehearsal we began talking about the concept of finding the essence of difficult passages in the repertoire. This is a rehearsal technique that I have been developing over the past several years and wanted to introduce to this fine ensemble. This technique is by no means uniquely mine. But, I believe I have created some wrinkles in the technique that allow for greater learning by each member of the ensemble, regardless of their technical proficiency.   (If you heard the Mendelssohn Sinfonia last night, you heard this without knowing it.)

In virtually every ensemble there is some range of technical ability exhibited by the members of the group. There will almost always be some who grasp the most difficult technical passages quickly and others who take longer to learn the passages or, perhaps even find those passages to be above their technical capabilities. This is the case this week and virtually every summer here in the Intermediate Concert Orchestra. Again, I would stress that this is the case in most youth and community orchestras.

So, as music directors, we have one of two choices. We can either program all music in which everyone in the ensemble can play every technical passage. Or, we can give the musicians tools for seeing the deeper meaning in passages and finding ways to adapt technically so that they are enhancing the orchestral performance, not detracting from it. In several of the conducting situations in which I find myself, the latter is the better choice. (Let me stress to young teachers that sometimes the former is the better choice. It depends on your particular situation and requires great thought in reference to the goals of the ensemble and the type of musician that you are reaching.)

My friend, conductor Scott Speck, put it this way: think of a meter in front of the orchestra. For every right note you play the meter goes to the right. That is good! For every wrong note you play, the meter goes to the left.  That is bad. If you don't play anything the meter stays straight up and down. No harm done. The goal for each musician is to make the meter go to the right constantly. That said, by not playing a wrong note, the meter is not impacted. I am trying to get young musicians to make that meter go to the right. If they play in correct rhythms or incorrect pitches, that meter goes in the wrong direction. It is hard to convince young musicians that they are helping The Ensemble by leaving stuff out. So, in response to this I created this rehearsal technique. If done correctly, the musicians that ought the for playing the essence not only serve a benign role of not hurting the ensemble. They also help the ensemble by stabilizing rhythmic and pitch information for the other players.

I called my technique finding the ESSENCE of a passage.  It works like this:

Many times in the repertoire there will be very fast passages of 16th notes, difficult fingerings or shifts or, perhaps, very high notes that are technically challenging. I can always tell from the podium when there are students who are struggling to keep up with the ensemble.  It is at this point that I invite the ensemble to step back, listen to the passage, think about the passage, and ascertain the essence of the passage. Sometimes when we are simply seeing a difficult fast passage or technical requirements that are above our level, it's easy to get lost in the forest and missed the trees. Many times in a sixteenth note passage the essence is the first note of the 16th . Or, perhaps if the passage is very high and require shifting on the part of the string player, simply taking note of the name of the note can be an enlightening activity. I always say that correct pitches are way more important than high notes. A pitch that is difficult to find up high on the fingerboard is better off being played an octave lower in a position that is accessible to a less-experienced string player.

In addition to finding these essence passages when left hand is in focus, I will also look for rhythmic essence at times. If an ensemble is struggling with a rhythmic passage, I try to look for the fundamental rhythms and break the difficulties down into manageable pieces. Sometimes this means adding sixteenth notes to a tricky eighth note passage that may be rushing or slowing down. Sometimes it means just finding the accented notes in a fast passage. Other times, it means clarifying who is providing the rhythmic information in the passage.  Really, it is the same process: find the technically difficult passage and break it down into manageable parts that still fit into the greater work.  After a while, musicians get quite good at doing this!

Please bear in mind that these are my values as a conductor and ensemble leader.  My thinking might be different if I was working as a private instructor on solo repertoire.  As a conductor, my ultimate goal is an accurate and moving performance.

Once I have established exactly what the essence of a passage includes, we go to work on using it meaningfully.

• We play the essence passage by itself. 
• We add the rest of the ensemble playing the actual part while the section in question is playing the essence. 
• Sometimes I will have the outside player play the written part and the inside player do the essence. 
• I will then reverse that. 
• Sometimes I will have the front three stands play the written part and the rest of the section play the essence. 

I typically give musicians the choice as to what they will play in a concert. In other words, a student might play The essence in rehearsal for several weeks while they are perfecting the difficult passage. I always make it clear that I would prefer essence in performance over a sloppy technically difficult passage. Essence always makes the ensemble stronger. Wrong notes make the ensemble weaker.  And, I always remind students that no one in the audience will have any idea that they are playing something other than what is written in the part.  At the core is the notion that each players' responsibility is to make the ensemble better!  Sometimes that means playing the essence.

So, this is a brief description of my thoughts on finding Essence in Ensemble repertoire. Sometimes it is absolutely imperative that this be defined and that students know that they can use it as a purposeful tool as part of the rehearsal process and perhaps even part of the performance . I welcome your comments and thoughts on the subject.

Until next time.

Peace.

Scott

What? and How?

This week in Intermediate Concert Orchestra, in the days prior to our performance, I asked my students to consider what inspires them when they see and hear a great orchestra and how can we work to emulate that in our performances.

Response: I can see Passion and Emotion in the performance.

The response that I received from my students was primarily that they can see and hear passion in a great performance and that they could see and hear emotion in a great performance. This interested me a great deal because neither of these words have anything to do with the difficulty of the repertoire being performed or the technical prowess or capabilities of the players.  My students (and all music consumers) want to be moved by a performance.  The want the performers to feel something and they want to in turn feel something.

How do we show or achieve passion in performance?

The larger question, of course, is what do we need to do to give that same experience to our audience. When I asked that question, the answer was significantly less clear. The students know what they want to see and here, but were certainly not sure how to get to the point of giving that to their audiences. They definitely knew that the first step was to play the right notes. They also had a good sense of the importance of finding the inner dynamic motion of a piece of music. So, I knew that I had begun to do my job as their conductor. These, of course, are the first steps in developing a fine ensemble. Students must know and demonstrate correct notes and rhythms, they must play with the appropriate technique, and the must know and demonstrate the shaping of phrases and dynamic contrasts . This, however, is still not the end of the process. There is so much more that an ensemble can achieve in order to truly demonstrate passion and emotion inner performance.

I have been reflecting on these same questions throughout the week. I want to be able to articulate a model to my students which they can fall back on in their process of preparing music . They are all at various stages of working towards a goal of artistry and greater proficiency on their instrument . But, if they don't have a sense of the path to giving passionate, emotional performances , it is possible that they will be less than purposeful in their practice and rehearsals. So, I have come up with a simple model that can begin to tell the story of this process.

I believe that an artistic, moving performance requires the following:

• Technique
• Artistry
• Purpose
• Perspective

Obviously, the technique aspect goes without saying. Many music students never get past this. The musician must focus on so many aspects of technique in their practice time. They must isolate various techniques in their practice. For a string player, this includes intonation, fingering, vibrato, bow hand and arm, bow technique, tone production, posture, intonation, shifting and many many more. As I said, it's easy to get stuck right here and never get past it. Technique is the first key to giving a moving performance.

Next, I would include all of the aspects of artistry. This includes shaping phrases, adjustments and variations of tone quality, dynamic contrast , fluency, and many more.  This is where the young musician begins to find a voice as a an artist. Their music begins to take on a personality and the process of true communication with the audience begins.

Now we get into the nitty-gritty . I list purpose next. Purpose, from an ensemble perspective, is having a clear understanding of the role of each instrument at every given time in the context of the piece. Everyone must know when they have the melody or a supporting role. They must know the purpose of each line , motive, and passage in the repertoire. Sometimes their voice must be the lead. Sometimes their voice is a response to a question. Sometimes their voice provides rhythmic underpinning. Sometimes a voice provides harmonic underpinning. Sometimes they are plaing the role of another instrument.  They must know when the tempo stretches and when it pushes. And, they must know how to demonstrate these variations within the piece.These larger questions in the preparation of ensemble and solo repertoire are vital. If a musician performs an ensemble piece in a vacuum, without regard to their role and the role of others, they really can't be part of a moving performance which requires that they interact with the other voices.

I would consider perspective to be a greater understanding of the history of a composition, the artistic possibilities of the composition, and a desire to emote all of the possible responses to the listener in both a sonic and physical way. I believe that listeners of live music take cues not only from the aural information that they are receiving, but also from the physiological information that they are receiving. We must look the part in order to convey the message. We must know the message before we can look the part. This, of course is not a fully objective task. This is where a great deal of subjective concepts and decisions come into play. It gets a little abstract. And, thus, can be a roadblock for a young artist.I was talking with a friend last night who was a jazz musician. He was telling me that in order for a jazz musician to perform a great ballad well, they must know the lyrics to the song. This, is perspective.  In order to perform an instrumental piece as a soloist, or as an ensemble, everyone must have a unified perspective on exactly what they are saying.

Almost 10 years ago, I gave a session to the American String Teachers Association and many other state organizations entitled "The Art of Developing Passionate Ensembles."  For that presentation, I developed the following model. It stated that in order to develop a passionate ensemble, the teacher/director had to provide and model the following criteria:

• The importance of the experience and the relationships between the members of the ensemble
• A safe artistic chemistry and environment in the rehearsal
• A clear understanding of the importance and value of the experience
• A clear demonstration of the human value and overall humanity of the process.
• The importance of the investment of self in the process

I feel like, after a decade, I still adhere to this model as an instructor.  I find it interesting that I don't list the technical aspects of the whole musician in this model at all.  I think that I believed it was understood. And, I find the variation in the models to be interesting especially as one is directed particularly at the person in the ensemble and the other is directed at the one leading the ensemble.  It is, I believe, an important distinction.

I will continue to consider these models as I move through the summer with ICO. I will continue to challenge the ICO musicians with these concepts. I will also bring them to my work in the fall at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. I welcome your input and thoughts on these and look forward to possibly hearing from some of you.

Here's to many passionate, emotional performances as we all move forward.

Peace.

Scott

Live Stream for Concert Today

The Intermediate Concert Orchestra performance at Interlochen will be Live-Streamed this afternoon.

6:30 PM.
Kresge Hall.

http://live.interlochen.org/live-webcast-schedule

We would love to have you check us out!

Peace.
Scott

First Day in Kresge

On Monday, the Intermediate Concert Orchestra had their first rehearsal in Kresge Auditorium. This is always one of my favorite rehearsals of the first week or so of camp. We started rehearsal by simply reflecting on the history of that stage. I had the kids consider all of the great artists that have graced that stage over the years. We mentioned many by name and considered the responsibility that we have as artists on that stage as well. Next, we turned and looked out the large picture windows on the back of the stage. We looked at the beauty of the lake, the sky, and the trees across the lake. We considered the birds, fish, nature, the boats, and the stunning view. It is such a beautiful scene.  It is actually surreal for me every time I walk on that stage. Finally, we considered the wonderful quote that that reminds us every time we walk on that stage why we are doing what we do. "Dedicated to the promotion of world friendship through the promotion of the Arts." It is a wonderful charge for each and every artist that sets foot on the stage. And, it is a wonderful reminder for all of the students in the Intermediate Concert Orchestra.  Suddenly, a wrong note isn't as much of a concern and the big picture becomes clear.

We then went on to have a wonderful rehearsal. We worked a great deal on getting used to the auditorium and the sounds that we were hearing there as opposed to in Grunow Hall. It has become apparent that our largest challenges for our last two rehearsals will be maintaining a steady tempo, expressively and appropriately shaping phrases, and listening for the pertinent material from other sections of the orchestra. (It is funny how listening is one of the most difficult things for young musicians to do in an ensemble setting. There is so much for them to think about regarding their own part, that sometimes they forget to listen.) This group is well on its way to becoming a listening ensemble.

It was a great rehearsal and we have plenty to do today and tomorrow. I am truly looking forward to our performance on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Kresge Hall.

Peace.

Scott

PS: Happy 4th of July! I have been enjoying fireworks every night over Duck Lake. Tonight I will go to a ball game, then fireworks.