Philip Glass' Day and Nights Festival in Monterey is Underway

By -

After a rousing opening night, the Days and Nights Festival is now in full swing and all the preparation has paid off! The excitement of the gala event is propelling us forward into an action packed weekend of wonderful chamber music as well as the inimitable John Moran + Saori.

I had a chance to chat with John and Saori yesterday. The relax atmosphere felt like the perfect place to discuss the experience of being at the festival. With the remote location nestled in the hills of Carmel Valley, the fresh air and natural surroundings created a sense of openness to the conversation. We were joined by Tim Fain, violinist of the festival players to find out Tim and Saori are neighbors in New York.

It's a small world and the Days and Nights Festival has just that sort of feel, intimate, welcoming with a air of accessibility to the music you just don't find anywhere else.

But wait, the musicians performing here are world class. John Moran is a critically-acclaimed and enigmatic composer and choreographer. Tim Fain electrified audiences at his New York concerto debut at Alice Tully Hall with Gerard Schwarz and the New York Chamber Symphony, and at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. YOA Orchestra of the Americas will be lead by Plácido Domingo. The festival also has the Molissa Fenley Dance company, poets Eleni Sikelianos, Jerry Quickley, Francesco Levato and Maria Teutsch.

In any other setting these stars in the art world might seem daunting, or aloof. But here at the Days and Nights Festival there is a sense of approach-ability that draws you in - makes you part of the experience.

I'm here all week, so there will be lots more updates and experience from the FIRST Days and Nights Festival

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more