The Gifted Youth

The return to Interlochen was just a reminder that winter was taking hold of this tiny town in northern Michigan. In the two months we had been here our view out the porch windows overlooking Green Lake had gone from one of vibrant colors to one of hibernating gray. When the rain falls, then the snow, the once obvious cottages and pine trees on the opposite shores become invisible. We only know they must be there. Life on the lake changes, too. The boats, the fisherman, the docks, etc. have all gone ashore. Oblivious to the oncoming “polar vortex” are a couple of beautiful white swans who swim gracefully in the shallow waters in front of our cabin. It’s hard not to shiver when they plunge their heads under the surface to grab something edible. We wonder where the swans go when the whole lake becomes a frozen mass.

On the campus at the Interlochen Center for the Arts the student body of 495 is busy studying, practicing and planning their futures. The cafeteria is much changed since my days as a student. Large salad bars, a gluten free section, a make-your-own omelet section, a sandwich station, sodas, etc. are all new (to me). Had I forgotten how loud it can get, and all the drama? It’s a school for the arts, so maybe it should seem normal that scenes are being played out in every corner of the dining hall. It’s here where we would join my high school teacher, Dan Stolper, to discuss the state of American orchestras, American oboe playing and all the changes we’ve seen over several decades. Mr. Stolper’s success in turning out talented oboe players is unparalleled and I’d soon get to hear the latest crop play etudes from one of my books.

The room for the master class was in a building that did not exist during my days as a student. A lot of buildings are new. Progress. I talked to the students about taking advantage of this Interlochen experience and looked for a volunteer to start us off. A quietness immediately filled the room. It was a sharp contrast to the noise level in the cafeteria. The students, all juniors, came from places like New Mexico, Florida, Washington and Japan. After a couple months of school, they already seemed to be friends. The young oboe players all seemed to possess attractive sounds and good fundamentals. It was fun to hear them wield their way through some difficult music. I left thinking that the oboe would be an important part of their futures.

We met up with Nancy Stagnitta, flute instructor at Interlochen, at the Hofbrau in Interlochen. Nancy and Lisa both studied with Tim Day in San Francisco and played with the Sarasota Opera Company, Nancy following Lisa. Nancy is also on sabbatical, so it was fun to hear about her projects which involve interviews with former teachers. The restaurant was warm and cozy with a lot of television screens showing different sporting events. The restaurant was there when I was a student, but I don’t remember all those TVs.

The concerto competition on Saturday would feature 14 talented young musicians. Judging with me were three high-profile musicians. From the Eastman School of Music was percussionist Michael Burritt, from Mannes College was pianist Pavlina Dokovska and from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau. There were many stand-outs, but the two top prizes would go to J. T. Hassell playing the Bartok Piano Concerto No. 3 and Seung Min Sara Han playing Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations for clarinet. Another stand-out included Alyssa Katahara, playing a harp concerto by Ginastera. An arrangement with NPR’s “From the Top” would mean the prize winners would appear on that well-known radio program.

A reception at the Frohlich Lodge followed the concerto competition. The judges and Interlochen faculty members Thomas Riccobono (trombone), Renee Skerik (viola), (both of whom were at Eastman with Lisa), Michael Coonrod (piano), Carolyn Watson (conducting), T. J. Lymenstull (piano), Nancy Stagnitta (flute) and many others joined in celebrating the young musicians.
If the gifted youth at Interlochen are any indication, the future of classical music looks bright.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

 

Boston & Niagara Falls

We had an early start from Hopewell Junction and a smooth ride into Boston. Well, sort of smooth. Big cities like Boston, Philadelphia, New York, etc. have some common traits when it comes to the roads, the drivers and the congestion. We must be lucky in Salt Lake City, where the roads are most often straight, wide and without excessive amounts of potholes. The narrow streets, circles or roundabouts and impatient drivers of a city like Boston make driving a real thrill ride. At any minute we felt on the verge of being side-swiped, rear-ended, tail-gated, cut off, honked at or flipped-off. That we escaped without a scratch is a minor miracle.

Meeting us for lunch at Symphony Sushi in Boston was Richard Svoboda and his wife, Liz Foulser. It was a fun hour (or however long we had left on the parking meter). It was interesting to hear about life as a musician in Boston and brag about stealing Erin Svoboda away from New England. Liz and Richard were animated and entertaining. Their choice in restaurants was good too.

Lisa had found another Airbnb for our two days in Boston. This proved to be in a wonderful spot, not too far from Symphony Hall and the New England Conservatory. We by chance ran into my Curtis classmate, John Ferrillo, at Moby Dick’s of Boston. It probably wasn’t such a surprise as John and I had eaten there together a couple of years ago and Richard Svoboda called it “John’s Second Home”. Because John’s real home is almost two hours away, he spends a lot of time in the city. He was in his running clothes. We had a great time catching up and John seemed especially relaxed considering he was scheduled to play Bach’s “Wedding Cantata” in a few hours. The recital at NEC was very good. We heard Beethoven’s “Storm” Quintet and Cantata #202 by Bach. Playing second violin in the Beethoven was Kristopher Tong, former student of Leonard Braus. The quintet played with excellent ensemble and character. Hearing John play the “Wedding Cantata” was a real treat. His playing had personality and beauty. Lisa Saffer did a beautiful job singing the soprano arias.

The next morning we took off for Quincy and the home of John Adams, his son John Quincy and two more generations of Adams. We got a tour of the first Adams home and then the “Old House” where the Adams name appeared on the mailbox for more than 100 years. Like the other Presidential homes, a keyboard was amongst the pieces of colonial furniture. John Adams’ favorite instrument was the organ and the church where the Adams worshipped and heard an organ on a weekly basis was close by. The tour guides helped illuminate this dynamic father/son combination, their time in history and their love of country. John Adams, unlike other Founding Fathers, refused to own slaves and had a vision of the future. He was famous for saying, “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.”

We had some great Indian food on Adams Street in Quincy. It’s a town that celebrates the Adams name. Joining us for dinner in Boston was Lynn and Theresa Larsen, both former members of the Utah Symphony, and John Ferrillo. We ate at John’s “Second Home”. The food tasted familiar. Lynn is of course the orchestra and personnel manager for the Boston Symphony and Theresa plays cello (mostly with the BSO). Theresa and I were also classmates in high school and at the Academy of the West, and our kids are of a similar age. There was plenty to talk about, but much of the discussion centered around conductors. Because John has played in San Francisco and the Met, he’s seen some pretty good conductors. Thierry Fischer had just conducted Nielsen in Boston and the reviews were favorable.

John gave us a great tour of Symphony Hall. There are walls, statues and displays devoted to the history of the orchestra. Gift shops, restaurants and bars are plentiful. We ran into associate principal oboist, Keisuke Wakao, before the concert. Lisa and Keisuke had been in New World together, so that was a fun reunion. The area under and around the hall is vast, and John explained that the Boston Symphony has same excellent investors. Much of the surrounding real estate belongs to the Boston Symphony.

 

The 8:00 concert featured the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Schubert Symphony in C, “The Great”. The soloist was Frank Peter Zimmermann, who raced through the concerto and a Bach encore with mechanical precision. It was great to hear another fabulous orchestra. The clarinets, the strings, Richard Svoboda and Keisuke were at the top of their game. Our seats, which faced at right angles to the stage, were also quite uncomfortable. We made a switch that brought us from that first tier in the back to something closer. Acoustically both spots were good. The degree of twisting to see the orchestra had been mildly reduced. Stars make up most of the Boston Symphony, but the wind playing in the Schubert was especially outstanding. Besides John Ferrillo, we got to enjoy Elizabeth Rowe playing first flute. They make a winning combination and afterwards we would see them both along with Steve Ansell, another Curtis classmate.

Leaving early again, we made a stop in Stockbridge to see the Norman Rockwell Museum. His long career as an illustrator was well documented. His actual studio was moved from an area by Main Street to the country where the museum is situated. One of the guides told us Rockwell liked to listen to Italian opera when he painted. All of his works tell a story. We took advantage of the gift shop and had lunch at the historic Red Lion Inn, a hotel that is more than 200 years old. It is one of the buildings featured in Rockwell’s painting, “Christmas on Main Street”. He liked to use locals for models, so as we strolled down Main Street we imagined seeing some familiar faces, or perhaps the descendants of people in his work.

We continued the drive northwest on Interstate 90 and found our hotel close by Niagara Falls. We went exploring and saw the falls for the first time. They were very dramatic and very loud. More than a hundred years ago Gustav Mahler said about the falls, “Finally, a fortissimo!” Catching the falls in November meant fewer crowds and access to the observatory which hung over the river connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, was free of charge. We could still hear the falls from our hotel.

 

We had arranged for our passports to be sent to us while in Hopewell Junction, NY. This made it possible to see Niagara Falls from Canada. The view from Canada is the best. Towering hotels and casinos make the most of the view. A lot of foreign languages and snapping pictures were a part of an excited audience. Whether it was raining or misting heavily, most people had the sense to wear water-repellant jackets. Umbrellas were the norm. It was a nice introduction to our “Sister from the North”.

It was still a long trip back to Interlochen, but fifteen days after we left the cottage by the lake, we had finally returned.

The leaves had fallen off the trees by the lake and a full moon began to rise over the water. It felt like winter was on the way.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

New York

We had experienced temperatures in the 80s during the week but left Washington D.C. in a windy, cold rain. The skyscrapers of Manhattan make a big impression, but our accommodations would be on the other side of the Hudson River in Jersey City. More than 25% of the musicians in the Metropolitan Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic live in the “Garden State” of New Jersey. It has some beautiful areas. By the time we left New Jersey a couple of days later, I felt like a million commuters had been on the subways at the same time with us.

My son Kendall, living in Brooklyn and going to school in Manhattan, was the perfect tour guide. He met us in Jersey City. Kendall knew all the right trains to catch, sights to see and restaurants to frequent. We took the subway to NYC and then went to the Chelsea Market for some amazing chicken and cactus tacos and the number one tourist attraction, the High Line. The High Line is fairly new and runs for almost a mile and a half on the elevated tracks of an abandoned railway. All of it offers the greatest views of the Hudson and block after block of giant buildings.

New York City is alive and growing. Most of the growing seems to be up and not for office space but for apartments and condos. People are moving into this slender slice of the Big Apple. Under construction was a huge modern apartment building advertising apartments with 2-5 bedrooms at a price tag of two to twenty million dollars. We decided we’d have to keep looking. The City seems cleaner and friendlier than my memories of 30-some years ago. There are very few abandoned buildings or unused space. We enjoyed Union Square and the various sights used by The New School, where Kendall is getting his masters degree. We would dine at “Republic”, and like all the restaurants we would try, it was really good.

“Aida” at the Met was on the agenda for 7:30. The opera house was opulent and grand. Winding stairways, beautiful statues, shining chandeliers, great art and expensive gowns were everywhere. The Egyptian-style sets (almost four stories tall!), a cast of 200 people, horses, carts, dancers, a terrific chorus and a stellar orchestra kept our attention until the final curtain at 11:15pm. Aida, was sung by Liudmyla Monastyrka and Aida’s father by Zeljko Lucic. They were the standouts, but individual members of the opera orchestra like flutist Denis Bouriakov, oboist Elaine Douvas and clarinetist Jessica Phillips Rieske had their moments in the spotlight. The orchestra sings with a fine-tuned expression.

The subway ride back to our Doubletree hotel in Jersey City made us feel like a couple of sardines in a very big can of fish. Many travelers were in costume from Halloween parties (a day early!) and despite the wall to wall humanity, the mood was jovial. With the late concert and train delays, it was 1:00am when we finally got back to the hotel.
The next morning we met at “Juliette” in Brooklyn for breakfast. Kendall gave us a tour of his apartment on Jefferson, and then Lisa and I went to the September 11 Memorial in NYC. Hundreds of other people were there to see the dramatic memorial and look up 105 floors to the top of the new World Trade Center 1. Heavy security is all around the construction sights and new buildings. We also took time to visit Trinity Church, one of the oldest in NY, where young children were parading around the cemetery in their Halloween costumes and young students in period dress were recreating scenes from America’s past.

We met the Sirineks of Ridgewood, NJ for dinner at the “Atlantic Grill”, close to Lincoln Center. Bob Sirinek is a former trumpet player for the the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the present orchestra manager for the same orchestra. His wife is Elaine Douvas, the orchestra’s principal oboist for more than 35 years and one of my oldest musical friends. Our friendship goes back to our high school days at Interlochen, Michigan. The Sirineks also brought their beautiful daughter, Portia, who is in med school at Columbia and was just joining us from a recording session. Portia plays the horn and like her mother, spent many summers at the National Music Camp at Interlochen. Dinner was great, and of course it was fun to catch up. Elaine taught James Hall and Titus Underwood at Juilliard and sang the praises of Lori Wike from their time at Aspen together and Jennifer Rhodes from Jen’s time as a student at Juilliard. Though Elaine is the most petite woman, her influence has cast a wide shadow.

Lisa and I went to hear the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fischer. Kendall and his friends Ian and Davis would join us. This concert was the centerpiece for all of our “hear-the-orchestras” tour because of the Christopher Rouse Flute Concerto. Appearing as soloist was Robert Langevin, the orchestra’s principal flutist. There’s nothing like hearing a great player live. I felt it with Emmanuel Pahud, Josh Smith and Lorna McGhee and would feel it again with Robert Langevin. Before the flute concerto, the orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin played Copland’s “El Salon Mexico”. The orchestra played with a strong degree of bravado. In the flute concerto, Mr. Langevin was in complete control. His tone was rich, focused and controlled. Many of the technical passages were over-balanced in favor of the orchestra, but Langevin kept my interest throughout. After the intermission the orchestra played an arrangement of Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit”. There was some beautiful playing by oboist Liang Wang and bassoonist Judith Le Clair. “Bolero” was last on the program. It started out surprisingly loud and the players went through the piece in the usual fashion. Being Halloween, it was another crowded and colorful trip back to New Jersey.

We had breakfast with Kendall again and said our goodbyes for who knows how long. He plans a trip to Korea to see his girlfriend around Christmas and will look for a job, who knows where, when he graduates in May. Gerri and Gayle Rhodes of Hopewell Junction met us for the Met production, “Carmen” by Bizet. The glowing red lighting, the passionate pas de deux in the beginning and then again later, the giant sets, a fabulous cast and orchestra, a terrific chorus, and the live simulcast made for an exhilarating experience. The music is so heart-wrenching and the artists above and below the stage so great, it can make the most seasoned instrumentalist teary-eyed.

Our time with the Rhodes was really wonderful. Their beautiful home reflected years of exciting travel, raising two precious girls and creating many happy memories. We drove to Hyde Park to see the homes of the Vanderbilts (from the outside) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (inside and out). We were all fans of FDR before the tour and more so after the tour. We dined at a diner Gayle knew from long ago. The chili he ordered was still as good as it was 30 years ago. We talked until late about Gayle’s career with IBM, the challenges of a career in music and their grandson, Anderson. Sometimes it’s a two year old that can put it all in perspective.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Washington, D.C.

We spent a couple days driving to the homes of Presidents Washington, Monroe, Madison and Jefferson. Their properties were vast. Slaves serviced the homes, the families and the land. The tour guides all mentioned the contradiction between the idea of ‘We, the people’ and the Founding Fathers all owning hundreds of slaves. The Blue Ridge Mountains were a backdrop for the home of James Madison and the Potomac River for George Washington. Jefferson’s home at Monticello sat atop a hilltop looking over much of Virginia. His estate bordered the estate of his close friend, James Monroe. The homes have been well maintained with period furniture and original colors and flooring. The land surrounding these homes have been protected and remain undeveloped. The changing colors of the trees made for some beautiful views. Though none of the Presidents played the piano, all homes had keyboard instruments. The tour guides all knew what First Lady, sister or daughter played the piano. When I asked about Jefferson’s violin, I was told that the whereabouts of any violin were unknown.

The arts were important to Jefferson. He was quoted as saying during one of his long stints in Europe, ‘If there is a gratification which I envy any people in this world it is to your country it’s music. This is the favorite passion of my soul, and fortune has cast my lot in a country where it is in a state of deplorable barbarism.’ The Presidents all had gathering rooms for games and relaxation, but they all spent most of their solitude with books. Their collections were some of the largest in all of the new United States. A person like Madison, widely regarded as the genius among great thinkers, knew seven or eight languages and had studied the history of failed democracies covering the time of Ancient Greece to his own time. We also saw the original manuscript of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ by Francis Scott Key at Mount Vernon. We always left the subject of an early U.S. President with the realization that they were the right people at the right time.
The monuments and memorials in Washington D.C. all left strong impressions.It’s a city with more domes, statues, pillars and marble than any other city in the United States. It was reminiscent of my times in Rome. It’s a city with a lot of bicyclists, joggers, helicopters, squirrels, restaurants and fast cabs with drivers who are not afraid to use their horns. Sirens and large crowds were normal.

Lisa had arranged for a special tour of the White House and the flute collection at the Library of Congress. The White House tour was early and the security heavy. We went through the East room where later in the day President Obama would be making a national address, the Lincoln room, the red room, the green room, etc. The windows had very thick glass. The window treatments, rugs, furniture, floors, light fixtures, etc. were in prime condition. The secret service agents were experts in the rooms they guarded and ‘held court’ before the large crowds detailing the history of the rooms, specific events that have taken place in various rooms and identifying the significance of Presidents past and present. We could see the outside lawn where the Presidents are often filmed boarding a helicopter. Everywhere there was art work and paintings of Presidents. The agents knew the details about all the unmarked art. Like the earlier Presidential homes, an old keyboard instrument was featured in one of the rooms.

 

Seeing the Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection at the Library of Congress was very interesting. There are approximately 1,700 flutes all gathered in this secure and private room. Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford showed us the collection and answered our questions for more than an hour. We saw flutes made from hiking sticks, bones, bamboo, different woods, different metals, glass, etc. Specific flutes like the ‘Quantz’ flute played by Frederick the Great, a Louis Lot flute, the first piccolo ever used to play ‘The Stars and Stripes’, a glass flute owned by President Madison, flutes in different keys, a flute made from one solid piece of metal, and many more were there to see. Lisa left wishing the instruments could be played in public more often. I left wishing there was such a collection for oboes.

 

We sat through part of an early music concert at the Library of Congress. The excellent vocal ensemble first sang Monteverdi. I fell asleep through no fault of the musicians. Sometimes a sabbatical can be exhausting.

– Lisa Byrnes and Robert Stephenson

10-11-14

Like it’s name implies, Interlochen is situated between two lakes. Except for our Mighty Eight Orchestra Road Trip, which begins later this month, this will be our home through November. It’s a beautiful place to be with so many trees and so much color. The school has produced famous artists, authors, dancers, actors and musicians, including Utah Symphony’s own Caitlyn Valovick-Moore, James Hall, John Eckstein and my classmate, Scott Lewis. Since Scott and I graduated, the school has added Creative Writing, Comparative Arts, Film and Song-Writing to it’s curriculum. The campus has excellent facilities and an enrollment of about 500 students. With a tuition of $54,000, scholarships must be generous, or the families sending their child to this school, rich. Most of those students were on display last night, as we went to see and hear the Collage concert in Corson Hall. The hall seats close to 1000 people and every seat was taken. All the seating is on one floor, but the tiers along the side offer antiphonal opportunities which were amply realized last night. The short-but-sweet performances went uninterrupted for about 90 minutes. There were dance (modern and classical) segments, percussion ensembles, a flute choir, a clarinet quartet, a student film, a band, a string quartet, songs, a jazz band, creative writing readings, choirs, a harp ensemble, piano solos, nine bassoons playing “Mars” from The Planets, a scene from “Into the Woods”, a brass quintet, a trombone quartet and the orchestra playing Copland’s “Hoe-Down”. Though the announcement to hold your applause until the end was made before the concert, it was a challenge to do so. We left feeling inspired by the energy and fearlessness of the students. It all gave me a good idea of what to expect when I conduct a master class with the oboes and judge the concerto competition next month. Today I should see Dan Stolper, the oboe instructor at Interlochen for the last 43 years! He has students in orchestras all over the world, so I’m eager to learn his secrets. As we might have been able to forecast, we think we’re seeing music and the arts from a different perspective and perhaps with a greater appreciation. Like our beautiful surroundings, there is lot yet undiscovered.

10-23-14

The color season in northern Michigan reached it’s peak during the past couple weeks. We loved taking pictures of all the red, yellow, gold and orange trees. The homeowners along the shores of Green Lake began bringing in their boats, docks, lawn furniture, etc. for the upcoming winter. A lot of raking and the installing of shutters have occupied people’s time. The Farmer’s Almanac, the U.S Weather Service and the dozens of squirrels hoarding food, give us an idea another “polar vortex” could be on it’s way. We bundled up for a couple of canoe trips on the lake before packing it into the boathouse for the next seven months.We took time out from our various projects to make a trip to Frankfurt for dinner and a recital featuring a flute and guitar duo. It was our great fortune to hear Jeffery Zook and Bret Hoag. Jeff plays flute and piccolo with the Detroit Symphony. He and Bret have been performing together for many years and their ensemble playing proved it. The recital took place at an impressive art gallery with some excellent art, primarily paintings by Michigan artists. Debra Fayroian was the director of the chamber music series. She and her husband Wes Jacobs are former members of the Detroit Symphony and both were especially entertaining. Jeff and Bret’s recital was varied and colorful. Jeff played on four different instruments, including an alto flute and a B-flat flute. His playing was beautiful and convincing. We had the feeling he was experienced and comfortable with his audience. Afterwards, we all went out to a local brew pub. We discussed coming to hear the Detroit Symphony in February. Maybe something with a lot of piccolo? The Traverse Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kevin Rhodes appeared at Interlochen to a sold-out audience. Their soloist in the Berg violin concerto was an Interlochen graduate, Caroline Goulding. She gave an excellent performance of a difficult concerto, and Mr. Rhodes’ preconcert lecture helped the listeners appreciate the music. The orchestra gave a spirited performance of Beethoven’s 5th for the second half. It appeared that there was good communication between Mr. Rhodes and his players. The audience left happy. Our fifteen-day road trip started in Detroit and St. Claire Shores. We spent time and money at Flute World in Farmington Hills before arriving in St. Claire Shores. Our hosts were friends Carolyn and Mike Florin, long-time residents of St. Claire Shores. Their beautiful home close to Lake St. Claire was filled with charm and family memories. We enjoyed seafood dinners before heading off to see the opera “Elektra” by Strauss. The performance featured the Michigan Opera Theatre in the historic Detroit Opera House and soprano Christine Goerke in the title role. The imposing tower and slabs of granite-looking debris set the scene. For almost two hours, Ms. Goerke transfixed her audience. The orchestra was secure and dynamic. Having never seen or played “Elektra”, I was struck by the music. When you’ve played pieces like Don Juan, Ein Heldenleben, Don Quixote, Till, the Strauss Oboe Concerto, etc. for so long and loved them all, the sound of that unique Strauss voice made a huge impression. The opera is intense and exhausting to perform, but the voices were strong and convincing. The audience had been on a journey.For us, the next journey….Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio.

10-28-14

We made it from Detroit to Cleveland in time to meet another Utah Symphony alum, David Brockett and his wife, Dini, for an excellent dinner at Lopez in Cleveland Heights. The restaurant was opened by Rick Bayless of TV’s ‘One Plate at a Time’ fame. Dave is playing, teaching horn and going back to school through the Cleveland Clinic. He should someday have a ‘Dr.’ in front of his name. Our connection goes back to the Blossom Music Festival and all before my audition with the Utah Symphony. Dini has a fascinating job working as a music, dance and art collaborator with young people in Cleveland. The food was good. The concert at Severance Hall was suppose to feature Hilary Hahn, but a wrist injury prevented her from appearing. Instead, we were treated to the Bach Cantata No. 199. The cantata featured soprano, Yulia Van Doren, who sang beautifully, but it was oboist, Frank Rosenwein, who stole the show. Frank’s playing was smooth and effortless, controlled, but sparkling. As an oboe player, you couldn’t help but notice how at ease he seemed singing through such a challenging piece. Former Utah Symphony concertmaster, Bill Prueucil, led the strings with all his 35 years of experience. The hall was beautiful, though there were many empty seats. The Brahms ‘Song of Destiny’ concluded the first half. Guest conductor, James Gaffigan, conducted the evenings works. He brought about the most gorgeous sound from the chorus. It was rich and balanced. Joshua Smith, playing on a wooden flute, was one of the highlights. Mendelssohn’s 5th Symphony finished the program. The orchestra’s playing was clean and refined. Lisa got to see Josh Smith after the performance and they enjoyed remembering their time together as students at Curtis. The next morning we were able to meet Robert Walters for breakfast in Shaker Heights. Robert plays English horn in the Cleveland Orchestra and teaches oboe at Oberlin. He admitted that playing English horn in a four-person section gave him time for both jobs. Lisa and Robert were classmates in Philadelphia. Robert had spent time in Utah and told a really funny story about climbing Mount Olympus. He somehow survived being stuck between a cliff and a rattlesnake. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so funny if the cliff or the snake had altered his survival. Lisa mentioned that we had been to Flute World in Michigan. Robert suggested that maybe it was some kind of amusement park, so we imagined all the different ways an enormous flute could serve as a tubular ride. We could understand why he has also been a successful poet in his colorful career.

The ride to Pittsburgh didn’t take too long. The major cities all seem closely situated compared to the wide open spaces of the west. The scenery featured mile after mile of rolling hills. Quite suddenly the Pittsburgh sky-line came into view. With all the rivers, Pittsburgh has more bridges than you can count on two hands. With Google Map’s help we made it successfully to Harold Smoliar’s house. Harold and I know each other from both Interlochen and Curtis. He has played English horn in Pittsburgh for more than three decades, surviving multiple music directors, forming his own jazz combo and raising twins. Like Robert Walters, Harold would be off for the night. We went out for Italian and then heard the Pittsburgh Symphony play three works. Harold found seats for us that were centrally located but back in the second tier, the “best seats in the house”. The Suite from Peer Gynt opened the concert. Yan Pascal Tortellier conducted. Newcomer Henry Ward played the first oboe part and distinguished himself admirably. The acoustics were really good and the orchestra seemed to notch up the energy level. It was great to see and hear former Utah Symphony brass players, Steve Kostyniak and Murray Crewe, assume their starring roles. Both would get solo bows before the night was done. Lorna McGhee played the solo flute part in Nielsen’s Flute Concerto. It didn’t take long to see why she’s regarded as one of the country’s greatest flute players. Her playing had personality, color and execution. Her resonant tone projected in the softest dynamic and the most thrilling forte. The huge bouquet of flowers brought out for her afterwards were well deserved and her colleagues joined in the long-lasting applause. We met still another Utah Symphony alumnus, Jim Nova, at the concert’s intermission. Jim looks the same and seems very happy. Many of us remember his wife, Lindsay, who worked in the administration of the Utah Symphony. The Sibelius Symphony No. 5 finished the program. The orchestra’s playing was passionate, energized and expansive. A large cast joined the group, increasing the level of excitement. There were so many stars contributing, my report would go on for ever. At least a dozen, mostly musicians, went to a restaurant following the concert. My student, Brooke King, from the Sewanee Music Festival and now studying with Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida and an old friend of Lisa’s, Jennifer Ann Steele, also came for the celebration. It was loud and fun.

We drove to Philadelphia for the next part of our orchestra tour (without instruments). As we had both been students in Philadelphia, it was a time of true nostalgia. We spent time walking the familiar halls of the Curtis Institute of Music and even interrupted a horn duo so I could see the Tabuteau Room. Tabuteau was my musical grandfather and though we never met, his influence looms large. We had dinner with Jeff Kirschen, another Utah Symphony alumnus, and then would meet my classmate, David Cramer after the concert. The city has a new energy, more restaurants, cleaner streets and somehow those streets seemed less wide than our memories. The arts district is bigger and the new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra is the Kimmel Arts Center. It’s big and our seats took a while to reach. The players photos line the walls where the audience members congregate. Our seats were high up and the curving architecture made it impossible to see the majority of the orchestra! We had to lean over the railing to see who was playing. It seemed dangerous. We would switch seats before the night was through. A piece by Julian Anderson, ‘The Stations of the Sun’, opened the concert. Vladimir Jurowski conducted. The work was atmospheric and complex. The Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 with Alina Ibragimova as soloist came next. Ms. Ibragimova was especially exciting to hear. Her playing was very clean and stylistic. ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ followed intermission. This was a piece that the Philadelphia Orchestra owns. The mass of players and extras make a collective sound that is almost overwhelming. I was especially impressed with the brass, the strings, the woodwinds and the percussion. Oh, that’s everybody! Once again, we got to see another former Utah Symphony musician, Shelley Showers, adding her brilliance to the horn section along with Jeff Kirschen. We stayed the night on the third floor of a house in Germantown, courtesy of AirBnB.

We were up early to get to Baltimore and the home of Jane Marvine and Jim Olin, classmates at Interlochen and members of the Baltimore Symphony. Jane made a great brunch. Jim is recovering from eye surgery. Their house is beautiful. The lots where Jane and Jim live are big and giant trees are everywhere. Jane is especially busy playing oboe and English horn and spear-heading various programs that help the Baltimore Symphony. Orchestras from far and wide have approached her about the work with amateurs that the Baltimore Symphony has utilized over the past ten years. We drove to Strathmore for a Sunday afternoon concert. Marin Alsop conducted Christopher Rouse’s ‘Rapture’, Scriabin’s ‘Poem of Ecstasy’ and ‘Ein Heldenleben’ by Strauss. The Baltimore Symphony is a very good orchestra with many stars. Ms. Alsop conducts with fluid clarity and obvious energy. It was wonderful to hear Jane play for the first time since our high school days, along with one of my favorites, Katherine Needleman, Michael Lisicky and brand-spanking-new Melissa Hooper, another Interlochen graduate. The repertoire gave ample opportunity for the concertmaster, the first horn and the first trumpet to shine. Andrew Balio, on trumpet, was someone Lisa knew from a summer at Tanglewood, along with Tony DiLorenzo and a young singer/piano-man named Harry Connick, Jr. Two things about our trip are holding true; there are some fabulous orchestras out there and ……it’s a small world.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

One of the plans during our joint sabbatical is to hear as many orchestras as possible. From October through November we anticipate hearing about 15 youth, university, community and professional orchestras. Our trip from Salt Lake City to northern Michigan began on October 3rd. Those drives are for the most part long and boring. Approaching Denver and their mile-high road construction and heavy traffic, quickly altered our calm demeanors, however.

We were fortunate enough to have dinner with Alex George, an old family friend and manager of Colorado’s top youth orchestra. It’s a busy group that takes tours to Europe on a regular basis. Dinner was great!

We heard the Colorado Symphony play three works at Boettcher Concert Hall. The hall includes seating to the side and behind the orchestra. It was an opening night for their new season and Gil Shaham was their soloist.

Our seats in row 4 put us close to the cellos. Andrew Litton, the orchestra’s music director, was on the podium. The men in the orchestra wore one color, black. It seems like they need more contrast. (Perhaps a white shirt?) The hall, unfortunately, was only half full. The orchestra opened with Cindy McTee’s exciting “Timepiece”. The orchestra played with a lot of energy and color. Litton kept the momentum forward from start to finish. The Utah Symphony should look to program this work!

The Brahms Violin Concerto completed the first half. Gil Shaham was in fine form and the orchestra played some beautiful accompaniment under Litton’s direction. Long-time principal oboist, Peter Cooper, sounded truly special both in the solos here and throughout the evening. Microphones were scattered throughout the stage and may have influenced where Shaham stood, which was between the first and second violins at the left front corner of the podium. Because of our location, our view and the sound from Shaham was blocked by Mr. Litton’s wide coattails. We found seats in the first tier for the second half.

The Colorado Symphony played Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 for the second half. The collective sound of the orchestra was very good! Litton’s enthusiasm had him airborne at times and for the most part, his orchestra responded well. His atypical tempo pullbacks in the first movement were very dramatic and the brass and percussion sections rose to the occasion. The audience was very receptive and the applause was well sustained.

We were up early to begin the drive to Kansas City and had a great visit with Stephanie Cathcart and she and husband Brian’s new baby, George. George and Stephanie look great and they have a terrific house in Kansas City, not too far from the orchestra’s new hall. The orchestra was not working this Saturday night, so we’ll try and hear them on the trip back to Utah (we noticed, however, on the Kansas City Symphony website an ad for the hall’s businesses that read, “Concert Listings: Bars open at 5:00″. We told each other, “We’re not in Utah anymore.”).

We later met Matt Rombaum for a sushi dinner. Matt plays viola in the Kansas City Symphony with Stephanie and knows Brant Bayless from their early days in Oklahoma. Matt is passionate about music and his energy level is off the charts! It was fun.

The scenery in Kansas and Missouri became increasingly green the further east you go and the gas got cheaper, as well. We had some great barbecue at Bandana’s near St. Louis and then made it to beautiful Powell Symphony Hall in time for an excellent pre-concert lecture before the 3:00 Sunday afternoon concert. There were probably 200 people listening to Amy Kaiser’s lecture. She sang, showed pictures of Brahms, Brahms’ mother and played sections from the Requiem. Incorporating photos, excerpts from musical scores, and playing musical highlights is a good idea.

We sat on the lower floor for the first half and the first tier for the second half, as we had in Denver. The lobby has pictures of all the players in the orchestra and down certain hallways are photos of the many famous soloists who have played in St. Louis.

Lisa bought a CD of Mark Sparks, the orchestra’s principal flute and one of its stars. The program featured two works by Brahms, “Four Preludes and Serious Songs” and “The German Requiem”. Markus Stenz conducted and did so without out a baton. The first half featured Bass-baritone, Patrick Carfizzi. He had a strong, rich voice that was enhanced by a pronounced dramatic flair. The orchestra had a real richness in sound and ensemble was first class.

For the Requiem, we noticed former Utah Symphony Tubist, Michael Sanders, on stage along with others we know. The Requiem was very exciting and we could see and hear why the St. Louis Symphony has such a long, distinguished history.

Courtesy of Lissa Stolz, we met up with Jelena Dirks, the brilliant new Principal Oboist with St. Louis, her husband Aaron Sherman and just-retired-from-the-Chicago-Symphony-Violist, Karen Dirks. We had a fabulous meal at a nearby Italian restaurant and got to see Jelena and Aaron’s new home. Like the concert, it was amazing. Jelena told us that Krispy Kreme sponsors a Friday morning concert for school children in St. Louis. The children and musicians get free donuts! We should try that in Utah!

After hearing just a couple of orchestras, we decided this was going to be a very good idea!

For now, thanks to all the players back in Utah for holding down the fort. More to come.

–Lisa Byrnes and Robert Stephenson

by Holly Mulcahy

This isn’t the article I had prepared to publish this month but a recent event has compelled me to post this article now, before the summer season is over. Performing as a violinist in the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra for the past seven years has allowed me to encounter the most interesting listener. He drives 85 miles, one-way, along with his enormous black lab from Pinedale, WY purely to experience our live symphony concerts.

Dressed in denim and plaid shirts this seemingly ageless man, a real-life cowboy, follows a well worn routine: after arriving at the hall he sets out a bowl of water and a thick blanket for his dog, secures the dog’s leash, and then patiently waits for the doors to open so he can take his seat. During intermission, he checks on his dog and talks with the players who are able to get outside. I have never known a listener quite like him. The devotion this man shows with his four-hour round trip drive to hear us perform is particularly touching.

From the performer’s perspective, audience faces blend together over the years. As a result, I had stopped wondering why people come to the concerts and noticing individual audience members in general but meeting this man at our concerts has somehow revived my outlook on performing.

Recently, I asked him why he endured such a long drive to come listen to our concerts.

He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and responded,

“I work about 80 hours on my ranch, these concerts take me out of my body and brightens the soul,” he said. “And besides, it keeps the cows happy when I’m happy.”

I don’t recall expecting any answer in particular but that caught me a bit off guard. Nevertheless, intermission was nearly over and it was time for me to get my instrument ready for the second half of the concert.

But after that brief encounter, my outlook was different.
Having someone in the audience come to revive their own soul, escape their week, and “make their cows happy” made playing more fulfilling. I don’t know when I started to lose site of the importance of audience enjoyment but thanks to the conversation with this man, and his trusty dog in tow, it’s as if I have revived my own soul.

On my way into the hall for last week’s concerts, I caught sight of the black lab enjoying the comfort of his blanket and it brought me great joy. I knew the man was somewhere in the audience and I knew he was going to get a soul-brightening experience but I also knew that I would be receiving the same benefit. Having an audience full of listeners like this man helps make this profession worth it.

This year I have encountered other interesting and unlikely orchestra fans that come to the Grand Teton Music Festival: fishermen, hunters, biologists, and pilots for Fed Ex. Each individual has their own story and their own reason for attending which, in turn, gives me more enjoyment in sharing the music. Having such a diverse audience gives me hope for the future of classical music.

After last week’s concert, I caught sight of the cowboy pulling along his very sleepy dog while humming the last bits of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 5. The man will never know the importance of our brief conversation, but I am forever grateful.

For me, this encounter has reaffirmed one of the most important elements in classical music: the audience.

Originally posted on Neo Classical – Holly Mulcahy on the future of classical music

By Eric Hopkins, paid to play the triangle.

“Wow, you’ve got the best job in the world! I mean, how hard it can be to play the triangle?” Oh no you didn’t.

I would try to convince you that the triangle is an extremely challenging and complex percussion instrument, the intricacies of which can only be mastered after years of diligent practice. But I’m not. Because that is not exactly the truth.
The truth is that anyone can play the triangle. It is one of the most basic musical instruments. I mean, its name is the shape. You hit a triangle-shaped piece of metal with another piece of metal, and “Ding!” No worries about hitting a wrong note or playing out of tune. You don’t even have to bother with note length; just hit it and you’re done.

But that’s not exactly true either.

The truth is that the triangle is part of a collection of percussion instruments, that together, warrant a profession in which one strives to master the art of performance. Through manipulation of timbre (sound color) and articulation (length), one can start to convey the common musical elements of phrasing, clarity, texture, balance, and finesse, to name a few. This holds true from snare drum and xylophone to tambourine and triangle.

So what makes tasteful triangle playing, if there is such a thing?

Triangle 101

Imagine yourself as the professional triangle player you’ve dreamt of being. To get you started, I’ll lend you my triangle collection. This gives you six triangles to choose from, clips to suspend them from, five pairs of graduated steel beaters, and three pairs of graduated brass beaters.
Now we’ll put you in the orchestra. Since I play with the Utah Symphony, and I happen to be playing triangle on Mahler’s Fifth Symphony this week, that’s what you get to play.

Your To-Do list…

1. Youtube, Spotify, or tape-deck some recordings of the music and start to get an idea of the tempos, rhythmic challenges, style, and volume of the piece.
2. Translate the German musical indications that you do not understand.
3. Listen again, specifically for when to let the triangle ring and when to muffle. Quick muffle, taper muffle, or let vibrate? Make up a short-hand notation for this and mark it in your part.
4. Decide what triangle(s) to use. Do you want a clear-toned, pristine sounding triangle, or a more shimmery triangle with a bigger overtone spectrum? Or somewhere in between? Articulation or smoothness?
5. Decide what beaters to use. Stainless steel or the more malleable brass? Heavy or light, and to what degree?
6. Decide where on the triangle you want to hit, depending on the desired timbre. Dark sound or light sound?
7. Decide if you want to play that tricky passage in the fifth movement with one hand as normal, or to mount the triangle on a special stand, freeing both hands.
8. Vibrato or no vibrato?
9. Now practice along with your favorite recording, then with five others. Do your sounds blend with the orchestra in context, or do you need to make adjustments?
10.  Get to know the part well enough so that nothing can throw you off (nerves, curve balls from the conductor, etc.).
11. Practice counting the rests. You don’t play all the time, but you need to know when to play if the music says “Tacet until you play,” which it does in this piece.
12. Practice your triangle roll. It’s unlike any other percussion instrument technique, and it will be really obvious to the audience if there are hiccups and gaps in that clangy metal noise.
13. Practice your soft playing. Thierry Fischer, our music director, really likes to exploit soft playing, so make sure you can make that metal-on-metal steel alloy triangle sound really soft and delicate, even under pressure.
14. Remember, don’t whiff it, or the conductor may stop the orchestra and make you feel really dumb for messing up something as easy as the triangle.
15. Practice hitting the triangle three times in a row and getting the same sound. Good luck!
16. Don’t forget to start practicing for next week’s triangle repertoire.
17. Don’t mess up!

I think there is a reason why the late George Plimpton, known for his participatory journalism, said that playing triangle with the New York Philharmonic was the scariest thing he ever did– more unnerving than playing football with the pros or playing a role in a film. He writes, “One reason it was terrifying was that in music you cannot make a mistake. If you make a mistake, a big one, you destroy a work of art. The thought of doing this nags, of course, at the consciousness of all musicians, even the very good ones”. That is, possibly, one of the reasons why orchestral music as a career path is such a niche community. Of the 15,000 music graduates in 2003, for example, there were approximately 160 job openings for all orchestral instruments combined, as reported by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians. That means only 1% of graduating musicians got a job in an orchestra. The odds are no different for percussion. Consider that if 75 cellists audition for an orchestra, the odds of any one person winning are 1 in 75. In percussion auditions, which actually do usually include triangle playing, the odds are not better.

So in summary, the triangle is an extremely simple device, but I do not believe that this changes the difficulty of mastery of this instrument, especially when coupled with the percussion collection as a whole. Compare Yo-Yo Ma playing Hot Cross Buns with a young cellist playing the same. Yo-Yo Ma’s playing will surely stand out, but still both players present a recognizable and fine rendition. The young player can still hit the notes, play mostly in tune, and probably phrase a little too, but Yo-Yo Ma would have extra verve and an overall richer sound. It’s a career spent devoted to mastery of an instrument that, in this case, shows its fruit in such a subtle display.

(Click here to listen to Eric’s interview for NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday)

Eric Hopkins is the associate principal timpanist and section percussionist of the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. He actually plays much more than just the triangle.

Regarding the San Francisco Symphony’s 2013 musicians’ strike, Anthony Alfidi, a San Francisco investor, writes,
“If the Symphony needs a scab player for the triangle or tambourine to help break the strike, then I volunteer to perform for free. I’ve had no musical education at all but those instruments don’t look that difficult.”

Lessons Learned Over Three Fascinating Seasons.

By George Brown, Principal Timpanist

(This is a follow-up article to the original blog post I submitted to the Utah Symphony’s Official Website following the new drums’ premiere performance in September 2011. That article can be found here)
(Photo reproduced here with written permission of Utah Symphony and Opera)

In late June of 2011, I got the call from our Management that the three Lefima Timpani ordered by the Symphony had arrived at Abravanel Hall. Ironically – and somewhat sadly – I was unable to rush downtown to unload these bad boys and start pounding on them. This was owing to upper back surgery I had JUST undergone and I was still waiting to be cleared by my surgeon, not only to play timpani, but simply even to drive.

Understandably, the more my discomfort subsided, the more I was chompin’ at the bit to get up close & personal with the Symphony’s “new toys.” I had taken medical leave for the entirety of the Summer Season to convalesce and prepare to begin the Masterworks Series in September; however, my Doctor had finally cleared me to begin playing in short doses starting late in July. So, in order to begin learning about these drums (while keeping my own playing time to a minimum) I invited a group of my local Percussionist friends to all take part in playing and listening to the Lefimas in Abravanel Hall one weekend afternoon when it was empty, save for a couple of security guards. After a concert the previous evening, the stage hands stayed around a few minutes later than usual and assisted me in re-setting the front of the stage, placing the new timps in a long line with our usual hall drums, our road set and a friends’ pair of (newly built) Baroque Era style Timpani.

The following afternoon, members of our group each took turns going up onstage to play on the Lefimas (as well as the other drums) for comparing and contrasting the various qualities of their sounds. As the rest of us listened intently, individuals would call suggestions out to the player such as, “Try playing that again on the new drums but with softer sticks;” or, “Can you darken the sound on the Yamahas to somehow match the Lefimas on that passage?”

We still jokingly refer to our little event that day as The Timpani “Cook-Off,” and it proved to be not only a lot of fun, but tremendously helpful and instructive for all of us. Although it went on for over three hours, it allowed me to play in short bursts to begin getting a feel for the drums, while also giving me the benefit of hearing them played out in the hall. And thus began a most fascinating journey that continues to this day.

In his book, Drumming at the Edge of Magic, author and percussion legend Mickey Hart (formerly of the Grateful Dead) states that drums, as well as their sticks and mallets, reveal their secrets to one slowly over time, and our Lefimas are no exception. As mentioned in my original blog post on the Symphony’s website, they were purchased to arrive in time for our Beethoven Festival in which we performed all nine of his Symphonies in reverse order, spread over the course of the 2011-2012 Masterworks Season. In fact, someone in our Marketing Department titled my article, “Utah Symphony’s New Beethoven Timpani,” which, although accurate on one level, was also a highly restrictive description, as I would discover over time.

As I’d also mentioned in the article, these are not bona fide “Period (historically authentic) Instruments” but rather hybrid drums (we’ll call them “historically informed”), combining a size and bowl shape common to timpani of the 18th and early 19th centuries, yet with modern day engineering features that make them easier both to play and to maintain. And although, when placing the order, I knew I’d be able to use them on works of the entire Viennese Classical Period (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.) and most likely also for the Baroque era (Bach, Handel, and such) to my delight they turned out to be perfectly suited for at least, selected works from the Romantic Era onward. I was astounded, in fact, as to their versatility and was proud to pass along my kudos to the fine folks over at the Lefima factory in Bavaria for their craftsmanship and attention to detail.

For example, the next season we did all of the five Mendelssohn Symphonies and the new drums worked perfectly on them, although recently I discovered I needed my larger hall drums (Mark XIVs made in Denver by the American Drum Company) for Mendelssohn’s fuller sounding “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Similarly, the Lefimas worked beautifully on Brahms’ 2nd Symphony, yet the only way I could get them to work on his Symphony #1 was to haul out my largest Yamaha timp (from our road set) to handle a number of the louder low notes. And given the way Brahms continued to develop his use of orchestral sound I don’t think I’d attempt to play them on his thicker, more massive 4th Symphony. Still, over the course of almost three seasons, by reverting to the softer felt covered mallets used in the modern orchestra (earlier sticks were normally solid wood or covered by various cured animal skins) I found their sound to be “right in the pocket” for works by Rossini, Weber and Liszt and some others. Interestingly, their usefulness occasionally creeps into, at least, smaller orchestrated 20th century works which the audience will discover next season when I use them on Stravinsky’s Danses Concertantes.

The other trick I use – which came from an esteemed colleague who shouted out this idea onto the stage at me at the Timpani Cook Off – is my use in earlier music of these little blue gel pads on the center of the head marketed to drummers with the name of Moon Gels. I think they’re the same material used in some shoe inserts. (Do you recall those TV ads where they say: I’m gellin’. Are YOU gellin’?) I occasionally get questions about these little pads from both colleagues and audience members who ask me, “What the HECK are THOSE things?!?” Placing these on the center of the drum heads not only darkens the drums’ sound but reduces their volume and resonance a smidge, making them sound even more authentically “historic,” and allowing me to blend with the group more effectively when we perform the more sparsely orchestrated works from the 17th through the early 19th centuries. But as we move into larger, more Romanticist works of the mid 19th century, I can remove these gel pads and transition away from the solid wood mallets to those softer felt covered sticks which bring back the drums’ full volume and resonance.

So as these Lefimas continue to “reveal their secrets” they also continue to amaze! My Associate Principal Timpanist, Eric Hopkins and I still receive kudos on their sound from audience members, orchestra colleagues, our Conducting Staff, guest conductors, soloists, as well as from members of our Symphony and Opera Choruses. I truly had no idea when we ordered these drums back in February of 2011, that they would impact the sound of the Utah Symphony – literally: from the bottom up – to the extent that they have. Nor would I have anticipated that they would still make me feel like such a “kid in a candy store.” But, oh my, they certainly do!