Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Big Week, Part 2: Choral Hall!

Toward the end of the week, we celebrated a major achievement for our department and the university: the building and opening of our first facility designed specifically for music. The space is a beautiful room for choral rehearsals and will also house jazz ensemble and string orchestra rehearsals for the next year or so. Another larger rehearsal room for wind ensemble and orchestra is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.

Just before the public ribbon cutting, we held a brief event for donors in the space during which our dean, two students, and I spoke. Dr. Gordon also led Chamber Singers in Bruckner's "Locus iste" which was a perfect choice for the occasion.

My remarks ended up being about the legacy we have received and what should be the impact of that on the future. I shared those remarks a few days ago here. In the process of preparing those remarks, I found myself contemplating the contributions of the two men in the middle of organization who led us to this special day. Of course none of this could have been done without the vision of the university's administration or the gifts of donors, but as chair, I have special knowledge of the contributions of our former chair and our dean, Drs. Tindall and Collins, contributions which might be overlooked in the excitement of the event.

Dr. Tindall was brought to Southeastern as chair nearly thirty years ago. He built the department just about from scratch and committed his entire career to "building people" in our programs. He did so with humility through the constant change of these decades in American universities and in Christian higher education in particular. It has been his dream for years and years and years to move that solemn, people-building work into facilities worthy of the endeavor, and he has hung in there until this has finally started coming to pass. Without his service, dreams, and sacrifice - a great deal of which took place before the rest of us came to SEU - we would never have reached this milestone.

And from the dean's office, Dr. Collins has cogitated, advocated, and collaborated pretty much non-stop from his first day on the job to make this milestone a very fine one. He has considered every detail of the building and has masterfully consulted with everyone involved from the architect to the builders to the donors so that the facility would be of the highest quality. His passion and effort has been thorough-going and I simply cannot imagine anyone achieving this better than he has.We are blessed to have him spearheading such works in our midst.

Over, around, and through the work of these colleagues, there is a sense that the entire project is something much bigger than any of us, and this great synergy, spanning from our alumni to the impact of our programs on the distant future, seemed evident at the ribbon cutting. Even bigger than our collective imaginings and our best efforts at plans at the University, I dare say I believe we are finding ourselves within a movement of the Spirit. I hope this strengthens the faith of others as it has mine.  

Monday, September 21, 2015

Big Week, Part I: Faculty Gala


First Presbyterian, Lakeland
This week was a big week for all of us here in the Department of Music at Southeastern. It started with the first concert of our season, the faculty gala.

This time around, the gala was built around the concept music of the Americas and my colleagues provided works ranging from Canada to the Caribbean. I was particularly pleased by the variety of works spanning opera arias, chamber music (including a work for snare drum and computer), and jazz. A favorite aspect of this concert for me was being introduced to the music of Srul Irving Glick. I am copying the program and a few remarks shared during the gala at the end of this post.

I also enjoyed getting back into thinking about a canon of American keyboard works that could serve as an alternative to the traditional European canon that most of us continue to promulgate. I am not looking to displace that canon, but I am interested in providing a somewhat parallel set of experiences developed on our shores that raises awareness of how things have evolved here.

There are several points that are on my mind today regarding that alternative canon.  

1. It’s lacking in significant Baroque-era works. That should not come as a surprise as we didn’t get the country started quite early enough. Even after Bach and others were done writing in a heavily contrapuntal style in Europe, we were mostly just starting to get a bit of musical infrastructure in place. By the time that was a little bit up and running, early Classical music was on the scene. Some composers had come across the ocean with those new ideas while others already here were operating with older models suggesting a compositional mindset that almost had more in common with Medieval procedures than those of the Baroque or Classical periods.

At that time, Alexander Reinagle was writing in an early classical style informed by what was idiomatic on harpsichord and fortepiano. His dances and variations can provide a sense of airiness similar to what a Handel suite or Mozart variations might contribute to a European-based recital.

2. It seems that the early American repertoire is much more engaged with British material than the mainstream European music that has survived in the standard repertoire. While Scottish songs of Haydn or Beethoven are occasionally performed, the keyboardist playing early American music will be frequently confronted with sets of reels, variations on fiddle tunes, and references to British military triumphs.

3. As one moves toward the repertoire of the 20th century, Afro-Cuban influences become more and more important. Beginning with Gottschalk’s musical souvenirs of Havana and continuing with the crossover of those ideas into ragtime, Latin rhythms become a part of the fundamental vocabulary of music in the United States. In some ways, our music might be a whole lot better integrated than our nation.

  
Jefferson’s March - Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809)

The Willow Song - Douglas Moore (1893-1969)

Ricordanza - George Rochberg (1918-2005)

Stop Speaking - Andy Akiho (b. 1979) 
    
Intermission
                                                                                   
Caprice: Sui Moi! - Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869)
                                                                               
Monica’s Waltz - Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)                                                                           
Suite Hebraique no. 6 - Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002)
        
St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins (b. 1930)

                                                                                       

Who is an American? Where is an American? When is an American?


These three increasingly strange sounding questions remind us that the American experience differs significantly depending upon one’s culture, location, and moment in time. The music of this year’s faculty gala has been chosen to move us across such boundaries of geography, history, and ethnicity so as to hear, as it were, America singing.

We begin in the early days of the United States with a march composed for our third president. Then, Dr. Braamse will join me for an aria from the 1950s that is strongly suggestive of folk music, particularly British folk music which shaped the sound of American popular music in the 1800s. Our third work is described by its composer as a “commentary” on the opening passage of a Beethoven cello sonata and leads us to recollect the Germanic roots of American classical music.

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More and more, we find ourselves collaborating with machines. And these machines seem to be taking on a life of their own. But it is a life that we gave them. We are about to hear a work that explores that very relationship. A snare drum over there and a “digital storyteller” over here are going to have a conversation. That has always been the ideal of chamber music: a conversation. So the concept of this piece is tried and true, but some of the sounds are new and reflect the age of machines in which we are living.


At yesterday’s rehearsal, I checked the volume level with a decibel meter and I can assure you that what you are about hear will never be louder than 90 decibels and will generally not be much over 80 decibels. That means that the sounds bouncing around the room will not be much louder than a rather noisy car driving down the street. This performance will also rarely be significantly louder than it is at its beginning. I tell you that so can relax and not be worried that it will suddenly get much louder. However, the sounds will continue at a fairly intense level for a while. So those with hearing aids or those with sensitive ears who are sitting directly in front of the amplifier might want to make some little adjustments.

Mr. Blume is doing a great service by performing a work like this right here on our concert series. While this work might seem a bit abstract or odd to some of us, it is representative of the huge repertoire of electro-acoustic music that has been created since the advent of the tape recorder. And, like any work of art, “Stop Speaking” is open to a range of interpretations. So you should feel free to find it off-putting, or witty, or maybe even poignant.

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A New Orleans native, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, was the first American pianist to achieve acclaim in Europe. In addition to his time there, he went on numerous tours performing in the United States and in Latin America. His many experiences abroad are expressed in works like the one you just heard which combines a Chopin-like flare for the keyboard with the rhythms Gottschalk heard in the music of Cuba.

Now we turn to another aria from the mid-20th, century this time from Menotti’s The Medium. The character Monica is singing to, and on behalf of, a mute boy named Toby who works as a servant in her home. Monica is expressing their affection for each other. After this aria, Mrs. Gardiner and I will share a beautiful work by the prolific Canadian composer, Srul Glick who is well known for his contributions to concert music and to the Jewish liturgical repertoire.

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Our final selection this evening is a great example of sounds of music that journey through time and space to create a sense of identity in our hemisphere. The tune, St. Thomas, is thought to have its origins in an English tune that first appeared in print in the 1770s. Transplanted to the Caribbean, in was transformed into a nursery song. Finally, through the “interpretation” of Sonny Rollins it has become a jazz classic.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

"Excellence with Anointing"

I'm sharing my remarks from this morning's SEU Choral Hall ribbon cutting below for those who might be interested.


It is my honor and privilege to speak to you today on behalf of the music faculty.

We could not be more grateful or more deeply touched by the fact that our university’s administration and all of you generous donors have made this moment possible.  You should know that scores and scores of alumni, as well as faculty members who came before us, are rejoicing because they dreamed of this day, and they committed to our programs even though they had no hope of benefitting from the exquisite experience of learning and working in a wonderful space like this. 

They left us a legacy of “excellence with anointing.”[1] It is our joy to carry on that tradition much more fully equipped because of your giving. In this room, we will continue to train students for artistic distinction and we will provide them with paths to professional fulfillment.

But we will also challenge them with holy questions -
questions like: “What are you doing with your for music?” . . .
questions like: “Whom are you loving with your music?[2]

So I feel confident in telling you that by building this facility you have invested in students who will make a difference in this world and the next.
 
Like Miriam in the desert, they will teach their peers what and how to celebrate.[3]

Like Moses on the banks of the Jordan, they will sing out the history that should not be forgotten.[4]

Like Joshua at Jericho, they will play down walls that need to fall. [5]

Like David with Saul, they will calm the souls of the troubled. [6]

And like Paul and Silas in the dungeon, they will worship and God will move.[7]

We know these students, and that is what they’re going to do.



[1] Dr. Danny Tindall
[2] Br. Stefan Waligur
[3] Exodus 15
[4] Deuteronomy 31
[5] Joshua 6
[6] I Samuel 16
[7] Acts 16

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Musical Gifts

All Saints' Episcopal Church, Lakeland

Recently, I had the privilege of playing my friend Stefan Waligur's song "Consider the Lilies" with a young friend at church. I was certain that the experience of this pure voice singing music that is so inviting to a sense of God's provision would be well worth the trip that morning and I thought of inviting friends on Facebook to join us for the service just to hear the song.

As the service unfolded, logistical details and various unknowns distracted us. The singing and the playing were okay, but they didn't rise to the level of specialness we had experienced in our rehearsals. And that's alright. I trust that what needed to be communicated was communicated.

That said, this occasion reminded me of two powerful truths.

1. The most meaningful moments of music making - the moments in which something breaks through to our souls and lets us know that some wonderfulness exists beyond our material lives - these moments often come in the practice room and the rehearsal space, not in the sanctuary or the concert hall with lots of listeners. This is an excellent reason to be involved in making music one's self!

2. If we supposedly mature musicians are feeling stressed or unfocused, we need intentionally to take time to provide what we are able to give the musicians around us: stability and a comfort zone, a platform for singing/playing into their potential. The same must be true of our teaching. By taking time and creating this space, we can grow the great "kin-dom" of peace which Jesus announced.