Huge Success at OMC Febr 21st, 2016
Open Mic Classical February 21st, 2016 a Huge Success
“The Revolution introduced me to art, and in turn, art introduced me to the Revolution!” ― Albert Einstein
From Wellfleet to New York, we had performers from the whole wide Cape and beyond. So much so that a revolution is clearly afoot. Down with bad techno beats and auto-tuned Nashville starlets in glam-rock attire. Up with woodwind reeds, ivory keys and natural acoustic resonance chambers that serenade one of the cape's most beautiful and historic churches (oh, and you - our wonderful audience members - as well!)
The afternoon opened with six year old Zsoka Woods who was (in her own words) "inspired by the public" and presented her first ever recorder composition. (She even wrote a piano intro for the piece, and asked guitarist John Dirac to add harmonies.) Since I opened with a quote from that crazy theoretical violinist (aka: Einstein), here goes another (insertion inspired by our performing youth):
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - A. Einstein
Our collaborative pianist, Lucy Banner, accommodated rehearsals for four amazing singers (two tenors and two sopranos) and an equally amazing flute player. One of the sopranos, Lee Wynne from Falmouth, is an old friend of Open Mic Classical. She was one of the very first performers at our very first Open Mic Classical in March 2015 (when we launched). Soprano Linda Delorey is there at every event, helping us (“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."- Einstein), and representing First Parish Brewster UU Church, but this is the FIRST time she surprised us with a magical solo. And our tenors brought some very interesting material. The high C-s surely reached the high seas after
bouncing beautifully around our lovely parish walls (phenomenal acoustics!).
As new groups are emerging at Open Mic Classical, a "new world" on the classical music scene is forming, which leads me to this Einstein quote:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving" or maybe I meant this one:
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Jeez, maybe it was stupid of me to try and squeeze two Einstein quotes sequentially which leads me to:
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -Einstein, of course.
But I'll tell you what else does NOT have limits: the passion and productive networking of our local classical music revolution as seen in, among other places, the freshly formed Guitar Trio that performed. (Was that a clever segue? “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."- Einstein) The guitarists met, believe it or not, at our recent January Open Mic Classical, and decided to form a trio. They debuted at our February Open Mic classical with an excerpt from Dvorak's New World Symphony, and they are looking forward to playing even more pieces for us in the near future.
Our guest performers (guitarist John Dirac and Elizabeth Tipton) whisked us to a new dimension with their rendition of Vivaldi's Lute Concerto in D major, RV 93. Elizabeth (aka: "Betty" as she prefers) magically transformed the piano into a harpsichord with her amazing musicality and technique, while John's improvisational licks laced the endlessly ethereal guitar parts. Beautiful. Unreal. ("Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -Einstein.)
St. Peter's Pipers, consisting of 6 recorder players, played some fascinating early music. They were accompanied by cellist Christian Holleck, who was a huge success as a guest performer at our January Open Mic Classical.
The afternoon closed with an arrangement of the beautiful Ave Maria, performed by guitarist John Dirac and clarinetist Monika Woods.
CDs donated by local composer/WOMR DJ Canary Burton (seabirdstudio.com) went out, via raffle, to four lucky listeners.
So to all: thanks again / please come again / please spread the word from valley to hilltop so our wonderful cape classical community can continue to evolve and intertwine and inspire all.
Oh, and try and bring a piece next time in the key of E, because E equals M C squared.
-Let's keep the energy building.
Announcement from one of our Open Mic Classical Members:
Stan Elias, oboist would like to put together a woodwind quintet – at first for reading, later perhaps for paying gigs at corporate functions, etc. He will supply the arrangements, which will contain contemporary and lighter pieces along with the classical repertoire – think Canadian Brass.
Looking for following players: clarinet, flute, French horn and bassoon players. Given the scarcity of French horn and bassoon players, if necessary I would make adjustments to the arrangements – substituting bass clarinet for bassoon and trombone (or preferably baritone) for French horn.
Stan Elias selias001@gmail.com (323)401-1290
