Author Archives: Webmaster

About Webmaster

A career-long broadcast journalist and manager, my early music training was on the violin, but at the age of 53 I was able to fulfill a latent desire to play the piano. The benefits were outstanding, and I want to share that experience with others.
by | June 19, 2011 · 10:52 pm

BSO Academy, The Final Day (Georgeann)

BSO AcademyI can’t believe it’s over.

As I write this, I’m on the road home.  So much has happened, and I’ve learned so much that it will fuel this blog with content for a couple more weeks, at least.

Dress Rehearsal

BSO Academy Group 1 Dress Rehearsal with Marin Alsop conducting.

Saturday brought dress rehearsal with Marin Alsop and the orchestra.   Our group, Group 2, finally had a chance to sit in the hall and listen to the rehearsal of Group 1.  Group 1 had a different repertoire to perform:

  • The Overture to Candide, by Leonard Bernstein (an Alsop mentor!)
  •  Alborada del gracioso, by Maurice Ravel, and
  • The first movement of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony #2.
Dress Rehearsal-Correcting a problem

Marin Alsop works with the orchestra to iron out a problem.

The Bernstein is a favorite orchestra concert opener, and is full of light-hearted humor and fun.  The Ravel is a French Impressionist composer’s take on Spanish music, and was very different from the Rimskey-Korsakov take on Spanish music that our group had in the Capriccio.   The Mahler was alternately thrilling and ethereal, appropriate for a Symphony that has the subtitle, “Resurrection.”

Dress Rehearsal-Cellos

Group 1 plays Mahler at rehearsal.

Our group one colleagues returned the favor as our Group took the stage for our final rehearsal.  My extra practice on the Capriccio paid off, in a compliment from my stand partner on the progress I had made in 24 hours.    A “class photo”, lunch and a Q&A with Marin Alsop followed, and then we had the afternoon off to relax, rendezvous with our families and friends, and prepare for the final concert.

The Meyerhoff was about three-quarters full for the final concert; the size of the audience surprised the BSO musicians.  The Symphony had also billed the concert as a “Donor Appreciate Concert” so the private boxes were well populated.  The concert was also free to the general public, so we also attracted some local fans of the symphony.

Unlike most of my colleagues who sat in the audience, I listened in the Green Room with another Academy member – an oboe player – during the first half of the concert.  It turned out to be strategic:  I was able to hear Marin’s comments as she came off-stage after the Mahler.  She was clearly happy with the Group 1 performance.

Then it was time for our Group to take the stage.  I felt surprisingly relaxed – no attack of nerves like I had suffered on Friday during the chamber performance – and it was all over way too quickly.  The Capriccio and the Hindemith are both such show pieces, that the audience immediately left to its feet at the end, giving us a standing ovation and three curtain calls.

We were all exhilarated.  We had done it!  We had played side-by-side with the BSO, and had learned so much and worked so hard.  None of us were ready for it to be over.

We have many memories and a host of ideas to improve our playing for the future.  So, where do I sign up for next year?

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by | June 19, 2011 · 10:11 pm

BSO Academy, Friday Chamber Music (Georgeann)

Friday afternoon, our String Quintet assembled for a final rehearsal before the Friday night chamber concert.   Our usual rehearsal space was occupied, but we were able to use the platform set up in the lobby of the Meyerhoff for the performance.  The acoustics were very different from the vestibule area we had been using, and we were able to make some adjustments that would pay off big time in the performance.

In all, more than half of the Academy participants had signed up for Chamber, so 17 groups in all were performing on Friday night.  There were string trios and quartets, flute trios, a double-reed quartet (three oboes and a bassoon) and a number of different combinations of brass. Our group was number 16 on the program, and I have to admit it was intimidating to play with nearly half of the professional orchestra members sitting in the audience!   We played the Scherzo from Dvorak’s Op. 77 String Quintet in G — a piece that was not familiar to most of the orchestra musicians (not many string basses play chamber music!). I played 2nd violin on this piece (the part played by the woman in the gold dress in this YouTube video.) We acquitted ourselves well and toasted each other at the end.

The only part of the orchestra not represented in the Chamber experience was percussion, but they had performed for us at lunch earlier in the day.  More than a dozen musicians beat drums, shook rattles, rang bells, played vibraphones, and even used a rain-stick on a piece called Rainforest Journey.   They were great (MUCH better than this YouTube video of a high school band) and we asked them for an encore.

Many of the amateurs found the Chamber experience a particularly meaningful part of the Academy.  Participating gave you extended one-on-one time with a symphony professional in your instrument, a small group to become very close to, and a piece of music that we could play just for fun.  Our group certainly bonded, sharing several dinners together at neighborhood restaurants, and introducing each other to our spouses as they began showing up for the final concert.

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by | June 19, 2011 · 9:58 pm

BSO Academy, Friday Orchestra (Georgeann)

Friday morning, our group had a long practice scheduled with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony.  A lot of focused practice allowed me to become more secure on some of the fast runs of the Hindemith, so I was anxious for rehearsal to see if i had it right.  As it turned out, Marin was stuck in traffic, and we began under the leadership of her graduate student, who is completing a two-year fellowship at the BSO.

He began the first movement at a somewhat slower tempo than we had experienced with Marin, which made playing the Hindemith easier for me.  (He is the conductor at the podium in the WBAL-TV report on the camp.) Marin appeared a few minutes into the rehearsal, and spent some of the morning coaching him on his techniques.  “You have to play every instrument,” she told him.

With her conducting style, using her entire body, there is no ambiguity about what she wants and when she wants it.  A wind player told me that it felt to him like his experience as a naval aviator:  it was like that moment in air-to-air combat when a “target solution” is reached.   When she cues you, it’s clear you are locked in her sight down the baton, and you either play, or you die!

When Marin took over, she made an adjustment in the original plan that was univerally praised by the Academy members.  Based on feedback from Academy musicians that they wanted to hear more of the BSO, she had the BSO players play a movement, before having us all play it together.  That change allowed us amateurs to pull our noses out of the score and watch our stand partners closely.  We also had a chance to listen to the nuances of dynamics and tone Marin wanted in the music.  That change allowed us to ramp up our game, and play better.

On the downside, what became glaringly obvious to me was that I had been TOO focused on the Hindemith in practice at the expense of the Rimskey-Korsakov – a situation I needed able to remedy with more practice!

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by | June 19, 2011 · 9:50 pm

BSO Academy: Little Change, Big Difference (Georgeann)

Thursday morning, our Group had a late rehearsal with Marin Alsop and the orchestra, so it gave me a chance to “lock in” on some advice I had received in a Wednesday morning lesson with Associate Concertmaster Madeline Adkins of the BSO.

Ever since I took up the violin again, I have not felt secure about my control over the bow.  She looked at my grip, suggested a slight change, and then said, “I don’t feel secure unless I can feel the music in my index finger (of the right hand).”  What she said immediately connected with me, and I gave it a try.   But I couldn’t seem to get it.

Her ultimate diagnosis was simple.

“Allow your arm weight to rest on the bow.  The violin can take it.”   She was right.  I had been holding the bow up and moving it across the strings, but not allowing my arm weight to rest on the bow and fully engage the instrument.

I relaxed, and let my arm weight settle on the bow.  The change in sound was immediate, and my finger could “feel the music.”  A few more bows across the string, and it felt “right.”  I had regained the sense of control I had been missing.

That’s not to say that I have mastered the bow.  It seems to be a constant struggle for everyone.  The scales professional orchestra players do before each concert are as much about bow discipline as they are about fingering the notes correctly with the left hand.  It is also said that Pablo Casals used to spend hours playing open strings on his cello, figuring out the nuances of bow control.

Nearly all of the orchestra members I talked with mentioned the importance of the bow, and that the bow needs to be “in charge”.  I was frequently told that if the bow is doing the correct rhythm, the left hand fingers will eventually fall into line in difficult music.

I’m still figuring that one out, but in the meantime, I do know one immediate side effect of my lesson with Madeline:  letting my arm weight rest on the bow, instead of holding the bow above the instrument, helped prevent the “knife in the back” pain I had been experiencing when playing for longer periods of time.

One simple change.  Big change in sound.  No more pain.

I’ll be writing about the interesting “musician’s body” stuff we learned at the Academy in future posts.

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by | June 16, 2011 · 11:53 pm

Media Coverage of BSO Academy

WBAL-TV attended our rehearsal on Friday morning, while our group was performing the Hindemith, and did a story on their newscast which you can see here.  I play second violin on this piece, and am seated immediately in front of (or behind, if you will) the conductor.   Marin Alsop was caught in traffic and was late for rehearsal, so in this story, you’ll see her “intern” filling in.

WJZ-TV, the CBS Affiliate in Baltimore, aired this story on Thursday.  More media are expected to attend our rehearsal on Friday.  Check back for additional links!

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by | June 16, 2011 · 11:38 pm

BSO Academy: Day 5-Talent on Display (Georgeann)

After a lighter day yesterday and a much-needed break, it was back to intense music today at the BSO Academy.  Our group’s rehearsal with the full orchestra and Marin Alsop wasn’t scheduled until 11:30am, so I had some time this morning for intense practice of some of my “trouble spots” in the orchestra program, and in the movement from the Dvorak String Quintet my chamber group is performing Friday night.

At the orchestra rehearsal, we received our final seating assignments, and I was surprised and pleased to see that I had been assigned to the 3rd desk in both the Second and the First Violins.  I’m sitting next to Assistant Concertmaster Igor Yusefovich in the First Violins.  He’s the engaging Russian who led our violin sectional on Monday. The assignment was even more surprising when the afternoon and evening showcased the amazing talent that is here among the 88 amateur (and mostly midlife!) musicians attending the academy.

BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney coaches a BSO Academy player.

BSO Concertmaster Jonathan Carney coaches a BSO Academy player.

During the afternoon, Concertmaster Jonathan Carney led a master class for violin and viola players.  Eight musicians played.  Carney proved himself to be a master teacher, gently coaching each musician into a better sound or more musical approach to their playing.  I learned a lot from watching and listening, and am sure my own abilities to play will be greatly enhanced.   (I am planning to post many of the tips and concepts I’ve learned this week elsewhere on this blog in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!)

After dinner, 24 musicians from the BSO Academy class played in recital at Meyerhoff hall.  Most were solo performances, with a few small groups thrown in.  There were performances by every kind of woodwind, brass instrument, and stringed instrument from the orchestra, but the real star of the night was BSO Violist Mary Woehr, who in less than two months prepared the piano accompaniment for all the musicians: 24 different pieces of music!  She endured hours at the keyboard helping the musicians prepare this week for what turned out to be a delightful evening.

Tomorrow, a long rehearsal is on tap, then a break for some yoga.  In the evening, 16 different chamber groups will perform.  I’m in group #2, along with Viola Judy, an ER doctor from Hershey, PA on cello, a doctor from DC on string base, and Rebecca Nichols, a BSO violinist and Interlochen Arts Academy graduate.

Wish me luck!

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by | June 15, 2011 · 10:34 pm

BSO Academy, Day 4 (Georgeann)

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop took the podium in our string sectionals this morning to work through some of the rough spots in Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphoses.  At one point, in the second movement, she turned to the violins and said, “Let’s do that section with the nightmare triplets.”

About three minutes into the movement, the first violins, second violins, and violas have about 30 measures of triplets – sometimes in chromatic scales, but other times in unpredictable patterns that we are all struggling to master.

Tonight at dinner, we did the math and realized what we are trying to do.  The movement is in 2/2 time, with each half note having an assigned value of 96 beats per minute.   That means each quarter note has a metronome value of 192 beats per measure.  Subdivide those quarters into triplets, and that means we are trying to play 576 beats per minute. Put another way, we are playing more about 9-1/2 notes PER SECOND!  Sheez …

The other night, on the phone with Chuck, I told him I didn’t think I had ever played this fast in my life.  Now, I have an idea what my speed limit is!

The good news, I suppose, is that Marin and many of the top players in the orchestra have told us repeatedly to “focus on the rhythm, not the notes, because the brass is so noisy no one will notice if you make a mistake!”

The section I’m talking about can be heard in this YouTube video – just when the worst run of the “nightmare triplets” for violins begin.  It sounds on the video like one continuous line, but let me assure you, we are sawing our hearts out!

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by | June 14, 2011 · 10:31 pm

BSO Academy, Day 3 (Georgeann)

A marathon day of playing in Baltimore, starting with my own need to practice and work out some issues, followed by strings sectional.  Then, one of the key moments of the week, our first rehearsal on-stage at Meyerhoff Hall sharing stands with the professional musicians of the BSO, rehearsing with Marin Alsop.

In all, the rehearsal was very business-like and moved quickly.   In the middle of the Rimskey-Korsakov, I heard something remarkable:  the shuffling of musicians feet on the floor in applause for an extremely beautiful harp cadenza performed by our amateur harpist.   It was very cool.

After a break for lunch (and another hour for me in the practice room), BSO concert master Jonathan Carney led a string orchestra workshop, and I was proud to hear Mike, the cellist from our string quintet, performing another beautiful solo in the middle of Grieg’s Holberg Suite.

Then it was on to chamber music rehearsal, with our quintet coming together astonishingly well on the piece we plan to at Friday night’s concert.  Then another break for dinner, and class on getting most out of practice time.

In all, I calculated that the violin had been under my chin for at least seven full hours today.  Made me recall another quote from Monday’s session with the physical therapist:  “People don’t realize musicians are elite athletes.  It takes great strength to hold and play your instrument.”    Amen.

Sidenote:  Along with the intense schedule, the midlife musicians who decided to stay in the nearby dorm for the week were promised today they would finally have hot water tonight.   Can’t imagine what they’ve been putting up with!

 

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by | June 13, 2011 · 10:41 pm

BSO Academy, Day 2 (Georgeann)

A very jam-packed day in Baltimore, with six hours of playing and a whole lot of music.  Some phrases that stick in my mind from the day:

  • “Use less bow.”  From my private lesson this morning with Gregory Kuperstein, a BSO first violinist, originally from Russia, and a long-time orchestra member.
  • “In this section, it’s very noisy with drums and horns, so if you get the notes wrong, it’s not a big deal.”  GK, again, commenting on the Hindemith.  (You have to imagine the Russian accent).
  • “Balance your skull over your spine, and release your legs to the floor.”   From this morning’s class on the Alexander Technique.
  • “When you are exhausted, you start muscling through, and that’s when injuries happen.”  From this morning’s session with a physical therapist, who warned that unless a therapist specializes in musicians, they may give you the wrong treatment.
  • “Here’s a simple stretch for string players to relieve tension in your hands before and after you play.”  Advice from same physical therapist.  One hour later, therapist is mentally subjected to some choice language when stretching results in a cramp in my left hand (the one that fingers the strings) just as sectional practice is beginning.
  • “Have any of you tried playing the first violin solos in the Rimskey-Korsakov”.  In violin sectional practice. Several players start demonstrating their proficiency.  I am firmly shaking my head — isn’t the concertmaster supposed to play those and let me just do the pizzicato?
  • “In this section, it’s very noisy with drums and horns, so if you get the notes wrong, it’s not a big deal.” Igor Yuzefovich, Assistant Concertmaster leading the string sectional, commenting on the Hindemith.  He was born in Russian, but doesn’t have the accent.
  • “Each of you WILL play a violin solo in the Rimskey-Korsakov.  Expect Marin to call on you during rehearsal tomorrow.”  IY’s announcement at the end of the string sectional.  Yikes!  Where is the practice room?
  • “WE DID IT.”  Group chorus after our string quintet manages to sight-read through the entire Dvorak Quintet in G Major, before deciding to focus on the Scherzo (2nd movement) only for Friday night’s concert.

And finally,

  • “Thank goodness we decided not to stay in the dorm.”  Viola Judy and myself, as we return to our hotel room after a 12 hour day of music to freshly made beds and clean towels.  The folks staying in the dorm have been without hot water because of a malfunction, and have to get through the week using only one towel.
Tomorrow, our first full rehearsal with the musicians of the BSO and Marin Alsop.   That will be me ducking when the Rimskey-Korsakov solos are assigned!

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by | June 12, 2011 · 9:56 pm

BSO Academy, Day 1

The afternoon performance of Verdi’s Requiem, with more than 120 voices joining the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, was alternately stunning, ethereal, and emotionally moving.  So it was amusing to learn, talking to members of the brass section after the performance, that they nearly “lost it” midway through the performance when a cell phone went off at a critical moment, with a ringtone that was perfectly in key.

Marin Alsop addresses the BSO Academy Musicians

BSO Music Director Marin Alsop addresses the BSO Academy Musicians

That casual, companions-in-music camaraderie, set a great tone for the opening day of the BSO Academy.   As music director Marin Alsop told the assembled musicians (mostly midlifers like me), “it’s about the passion we all share for music.”   The BSO Academy, now in its second year, is a very different experience for the musicians, too, she says.

“We are here to help,” she told us.  “It’s not about pressure.  Any pressure you feel, you are putting on yourself.  We just want to help you improve your skill set and music making, so you can reach new goals.”

At the same time, Alsop warned that she would not go easy on the BSO Academy musicians, just because we are amateurs.  “I can’t help it,” she said.  “I work with every orchestra as if it is a major orchestra.”  But she also promised that the experience would “take you where you are and move you ten levels up.”

There are a lot of people here who do other things for a living:  a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a retired marketing executive, and so on, with home addresses that include Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Massachusetts, and California.

Crab Cake Sandwich at Phillips Seafood at Harborplace in Baltimore

As the schedules were passed out over dinner, it’s clear it will be a challenging week.  I have my first private lesson at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, followed by classes on preventing injury, Alexander Technique, sectional rehearsal, chamber music rehearsal, and — after dinner — another class on sight reading.

Good thing I got my crab cake fix at lunch today!

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