Friday, December 3, 2010

Sound Off! Orchestra Underground: A Time and Place

I know you've been waiting for it... Now is your chance to tell us what you thought about the concert!

Conductor George Manahan, Concertmaster Eva Gruesser, composer Chris Trapani

L to R: Cellist Maya Beiser, composer Doug Cuomo, conductor George Manahan
Here are a few questions to get the ball rolling...

- Which piece most clearly evoked a time and place?
- What surprised you most about the concert?
- Which piece did you enjoy the most? Why?

See what other people are saying and let us know what you think!

(By the way, if you filled out a SoundAdvice survey at the concert, look for your answers in the comments section!)

Orchestra Underground: A Time and Place

ACO's second Orchestra Underground concert of the season is tonight! Rehearsals this week have gone really smoothly, even with all the complicated tech and challenges with setups, etc. Sometimes I feel like a broken record player saying this, but it has been really amazing to see everything come together throughout the week. We started this week with a string sectional, then had a percussion/piano/harp/mandolin sectional the next morning, then a full orchestra rehearsal that afternoon, and finally brought everything together with the soloists yesterday.

Highlights from rehearsal week include:
- Hearing the orchestra 'sing' in Jerome Kitzke's piece The Fire at 4 a.m. while working through the syllables with the composer.
- Two words: hexaphonic guitar. It sounds fantastic and Chris Trapani is a wizard.
- If Chris is a wizard, then cellist Maya Beiser is a sorceress. She was mesmerizing in rehearsal!
- High Line really seems to capture the spirit of the park in the piece; especially great is hearing the 'buildings' pop out of the texture

You can read more about the concert on our website here, or just come to the show and see for yourself! Tickets are almost all gone, so act fast!

Hope to see you tonight! If nothing else, check back for our next post, the latest installment of Sound Advice.