It's safe to say that A Far Cry is a nocturnal set. Most performing artists are, and after a performance there's remaining adrenaline to expend, celebrating, discussion, winding down to do. And this becomes our normal pattern of life. So having a 9 am rehearsal to get ready for can be tough on any day. I have to get up early enough to warm up my muscles, eat a substantial meal...well, it's not quite as intense as Michael Phelps getting up at 5 am for his 9 am practice sessions, but there are parallels. And tomorrow morning we have our first Open Rehearsal... We've talked about doing this for a while, letting the public in to see how we work on honing our ensemble playing, but doing it is another thing, and I do wish it didn't have to be first thing in the morning! We had a planning session today to decide what to work on, and how to make it accessible and interesting for an audience, while still maximizing the time because we need all the minutes we can get for our concert in the evening. We reminded each other to basically do all the things we say we want to do...work on specific ideas and define our collective decisions before moving on, speak clearly and loudly, encourage each other to try crazy and unusual possibilities, etc. So I think the open rehearsal could prove to be one of our most useful tools, crystallizing our energy and use of time in a way that will help all of our rehearsing. But it's a little like inviting a reporter to your quirky family's Fourth of July BBQ and telling your crazy aunts and uncles and cousins to be themselves, just the best versions...it should be fun and who knows what will come out of the mix and across to everyone.
Home again in another Nest
The Criers have landed again in Blue Hill, ME to play concerts, retreat, and plan for the coming season. Once again Kneisel Hall Music Festival is our home for the week, continuing a very happy (and hopefully annual) tradition. I love being here by the water, in the trees, where the sky and water and ground all feel so close together. Long before I had any presentiment of a group like A Far Cry coming into being, I would come here to play chamber music for the summers. This camp was my first gateway to the East Coast, and the place that connected me to most of the people I still love playing with today. Driving up with Sarah, I realized that I now feel luckier than I had ever imagined, because I always get very attached to these little places tucked away in the woods where I made musical discoveries...I used to get blue for weeks after leaving...and now I get to be part of them again, contributing to the musical life of the festival and this town that I love so much. It is very sweet to know that our group has many musical homes in the communities up and down both coasts. Real homes where we spend time with friends, have favorite haunts, and share our experiences in and out of music with the people who have become our family. And speaking of homes...Since 99.9% of the group resides in Jamaica Plain, MA, it's very exciting to say that we may soon have our very own Far Cry home in the heart of JP. Fingers crossed, and stay tuned for a newsflash soon!
Yoon Byun, photographer extraordinaire!
You may have seen the new pictures of A Far Cry, embedded throughout the website recently, and I wanted to take the chance to thank and acknowledge our photographer extraordinaire, Yoon S. Byun for his amazing work. Yoon works as a staff photographer for the Boston Globe, and was the eye that captured our moments for the featured article in the Globe back in April, and the accompanying audio-slide show on its website, Boston.com (both links can be found on the "Press Room" page of our website). We wanted to work with him ever since the article came out, but for various reasons, we could not schedule a shoot until mid-June. Plus, we only had a 2 day window to schedule it, since we were re-grouping shortly to rehearse for our Vermont tour in the midst of everyone's busy schedule. We were originally planning to do it at Revere Beach, which is just up north of the city, for candid, open feel shots. However, a couple of days before the shoot, there was a storm front that kept on pouring rain all over the city, and the forecast did not show a ray of sunshine throughout the week, and we were definitely more than nervous.
Our alternate locale for an indoor shoot, in case of rain, was not completely solidified (the main reason being that we wanted to do an outdoor shoot, because of the size of our group), and the evening prior to the day of the shoot, there were scattered showers and we needed to be ready to make some adjustments. I guess it's like planning an outdoor wedding for one of the summer months, and no one wants to predict that their wedding is going to be rained out. Since I was Yoon's contact for the group, I had searched a few hours on the web for a possible solution if our photo shoot got rained out, but envisioning more panoramic pictures, my choices were limited. And me, freaking out..
7pm came around and the rain actually stopped. Wanting to cool my head, I went on a walk to the Arnold Arboretum, just down the street from my house in Jamaica Plain (actually most of us in the group live here). As the evening clouds parted their way and the beautiful, dusking twilight permeated its colors through the moistures still left by the rain, I walked in to the Shrub & Vine garden inside the space. There is a free standing structure with a roof, giant open space with large stairs, and in the glimmering maroon sunlight all this was a stunning vision. Thinking more about the possible rain, called up our esteemed photographer, while on the spot, sent him some photos I took on my cell phone, and we agreed on changing the location of the shoot.
The day of the shoot was a warm, though overcast day, and by the evening (when our shoot was happening), the sun showed its crimsoned closing segments. How lucky we were. Then Yoon went to town. It was just a great day (the Criers that day had already rehearsed 5 hours) of making music & hanging out with my crew.
Yoon, who's gentle spoken demeanor imbues refinement, is an awesome guy...and he's genuinely passionate about his work. I think everyone in A Far Cry can realistically appreciate and relate to that. I personally hope, he and A Far Cry have a lot more bright futures together.
Criers Retirin'
It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that two of the Criers are leaving us to pursue other commitments. Cellist Blaise Dejardin, who added a surpassing sense of balance, perspective, and elegance to A Far Cry's musical conversation, recently won a position with that other orchestra in town. Violinist Angelia Cho, whose astonishing brilliance was an inspiration to us all, has moved to New York as a participant in the prestigious Academy run by Juilliard, Carnegie, and the Weill Institute.
As our paths diverge, I can't help but think about how A Far Cry's path has been affected by these two incredible individuals, and I can't help but wonder how Angie and Blaise's paths might have been different if not for the experiences we shared. Although they have left us, they will never leave us. As Angie shares her gift with discerning Carnegie Hall audiences and inner city schoolchildren, and Blaise takes his well-deserved place among the world's most exalted musicians, A Far Cry looks on with pride, secure in the knowledge that our paths will cross again, repeatedly. Good luck, Angie. Bonne chance, Blaise. You will always be Criers.
The Bay Taper and Classical Rev
Bill Swerbo, who writes the excellent blog baytaper, has a couple of posts which you should really go check out. First, Bill has a recent post about A Far Cry's recent San Francisco performance here. The new concert photos which are starting to be sprinkled around this website can also be seen there, as Bill is not only a writer, but also a talented photographer. But wait, there's more! Bill also recorded our concert, and you can hear our San Francisco performance of Corelli's Concerto Grosso in F on his website as well.
The baytaper also recently wrote up one of the weekly music parties of Classical Revolution. The "revolutionaries" invited A Far Cry to come sight-read with them when we were in town, and it was one of the highlights of the tour, by far. Classical Rev, in addition to putting on chamber music concerts with core members, holds a weekly classical music jam session at different bars and cafes in the Mission. There's nothing like being cheered on by a crowd of random onlookers as you fearlessly attack some fearsome Mendelssohn passagework, sight-unseen. Can a Boston Classical Revolution be far off? How could it not?
Song and Dance
We will be performing a new program, "Song and Dance," in Montpelier and Weston, Vermont later this month. Despite the fact that it shares both the Corelli and the Grieg with our "ensembleENSEMBLE" program, it has its own very different feel that I really love. As the title might give away, the program features music for strings inspired by both song and dance. Mozart's Divertimento #3 in F starts the concert with a festive, welcoming note. Mozart is the great master of the human voice, and the Divertimento is saturated with hummable tunes. Next, we turn to Benjamin Britten, who wrote his "Simple Symphony" at the ripe old age of 20, based on pieces he wrote even earlier. Less simple than you might think, the Britten combines baroque dance forms ("Boisterous Bourree" and "Sentimental Sarabande" are two of the movements) with melodies reminiscent of English folk songs. The second half of the program is all dance, combining the quintessential baroque dance suite - the Corelli Concerto Grosso op. 6 #9 - and the classic baroque-romantic fusion of Grieg's Holberg Suite. This is a program of contrasts, beautiful melodies, and foot-tapping rhythms, perfect for the summer!
ensembleENSEMBLE (aka Concerto Grosso)
A Far Cry is performing later this month at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival in Putney, Vermont. The program is one of our West Coast Tour programs, and it is one I personally love. All three pieces feature soloists drawn from among the Criers. The individual spirit of the soloist, unashamed and uncompromising, is a great metaphor for A Far Cry itself, which was founded by musicians eager to make their own path. These pieces are the musical expression of this orchestra.
The 17th century Italian violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli leads off the concert with Concerto Grosso opus 6 #9. Three soloists - two violinists and a cellist - indulge in improvised, virtuosic flights of fancy within the framework of a buoyant Baroque dance suite. This is the individual elevated by society, skimming along the crests of the wave created by the massed strings behind. Next, we turn to the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite. Writing some 150 years after Corelli's death, Grieg nevertheless drew inspiration from Corelli and the Baroque. The Holberg Suite is alternately exhilarating and heartfelt, and finishes with a mad dash of a hoedown, featuring the concertmaster. A Far Cry concludes the evening with another, very different concerto grosso: Bela Bartok's Divertimento for Strings. Written in 1939, the Divertimento is vintage Bartok, combining a modernist ear with his beloved Eastern-European folk songs. The outer movements are lively and varied and the middle movement is nocturnal and ominous, and throughout Bartok pits the principal players - the solo string quartet - against the rest, often in a back-and-forth tug of war for supremacy.
We hope those in southern Vermont will come to this concert! Tickets are available at Yellow Barn's website.
Great Pictures from San Francisco
We were fortunate to have Bill Swerbo, the Bay Taper, at our recent concert at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Bill photographs and records some of the most amazing musicians out there performing in the trenches today, and posts the beautiful results on his blog. Take a look at the collection of photographs he took of A Far Cry here.
The photo above is of me (Jesse) looking all intense.
Pike Place Market
A Far Cry performed today at Seattle's world famous Pike Place Market to try to drum up interest in the big concert tomorrow night. In some ways, this was A Far Cry at its best - we showed up with instruments, stands, and T-shirts in tow, found a good high-foot-traffic spot, and took the music to the people! It was exhilarating and let's hope the huge audience we drew comes out to the concert tomorrow.
Portland Debut
Our Portland, Oregon debut is behind us, and we are now in the home stretch, with only the Memorial Day Seattle concert left to perform. But I'm still thinking about Portland. Portland has been, for me, an almost mythical place. In conversations with friends in Boston, when the question comes up: where do you want to end up?, the answer is invariably Berlin, Germany or Portland, Oregon. Berlin is self-explanstory I think, but why Portland? Now I have a much better idea.
Yes, it's a big city with big city amenities, clean air and water, excellent public transit, and stunning natural scenery easily accessible. But more than that, the people of Portland are energized! 75,000 of them will go to a political rally. They recycle. And, they go to concerts of young, unconducted chamber orchestras. We had such an enthusiastic audience, it was overwhelming. Thanks Portland! If you are reading this and were part of our Portland crowd, please leave a note telling us what you thought!
