Monday, January 20, 2014

Day 5: Saturday, January 18, 2014--Dress rehearsal, premiere, and everything after

The post-concert festivities wrapped up pretty late Saturday evening (at a vegan diner of all places!), and all of yesterday was taken up by the trip back home, so I'm sitting down on Monday afternoon to write my short recap of the event on Saturday evening, along with some final thoughts about my residency and experiences in Chicago this week...

The workshops were over and it was finally time to get to my piece--the new and third version of my "in shadows, in silence" (2002), this one arranged specifically for Renee's 20-piece chamber orchestra of winds, percussion, piano, and strings.

I drove out to the dress rehearsal Saturday afternoon in the first real snowstorm of the week and the roads were a mess, I was averaging 10 mph all the way. An hour later, I arrived in the attractive, affluent suburb of Oak Park--a town with ties to both Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright--to the campus of Dominican University. The beautiful old stone buildings I saw here reminded me of a campus a little closer to my home, Princeton University, and it certainly seemed like a lovely setting for a concert. As I entered the concert hall, I could hear some of the players practicing parts of my piece, and it was clear they had spent some time with it and had worked very hard preparing for this premiere.

This new version of the piece, though about half the size of the first chamber orchestra version, packed quite a punch! Honestly, aside from the lack of brass in this version, it sounded almost the same and about as big, so I was happy with my new arrangement. The rehearsal was easy for me, they ran the piece through and asked for my comments--a little slower here, a little faster there, more piano here, a little less percussion there--that was all I had, and I could tell it was going to be a great performance.

The concert was an interesting, unpredictable and eclectic mix, typical of what I had seen of CMOP's previous programs--aside from my work https://soundcloud.com/gregg-wramage/in-shadows-in-silence-2002-1, there was Miep Geeson's jazz-inspired "Hammered Down", given an excellent performance by the talented tenor Saalik Ziyad nationofhipness.com/;  Renee's new "Freedom March", featuring her own very successful brand of structured, cued improvisation; a rendition of the spiritual "Witness" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AR5wkHldb8, by the marvelous tenor Roderick Hawkins; and perhaps my favorite part of the evening--a performance of the well-known protest song, "We Shall Overcome" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhnPVP23rzo, sung by the two tenor soloists and the audience, accompanied by Renee and the orchestra. We did a quick Q&A with the audience after my piece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DJhuv2tNvk, and I was impressed by both the quantity and quality of the questions, including those about my influences, musical style, inspiration, and creative process. I was also very happy to take part in a concert that was not just about the music, Renee made the whole evening a tasteful, understated tribute to Dr. King's life and legacy, and I was proud in my own way, to be a small part of it, and to reflect for a moment on all that has been accomplished, and all that still needs to be done.

The premiere, the concert, and the entire evening were a success, and I could see the sense of satisfaction Renee and her orchestra felt when it was over. And I felt it too, not only about my new score, but because she and I had worked on making this night happen for more than a year, and it did, and I think our "New Partnership" was better than we both could have imagined.

As I boarded the plane and flew back to Newark yesterday, I took with me a lot of great memories of my residency this week, and I spent the flight recalling a few of them: my experiences meeting and working with a great new conductor and orchestra; a successful, new version of what has become my most popular piece; and perhaps most of all, the beautiful, happy young musicians I was lucky enough to meet and work with a little in our classes. I hope that the time Renee and I spent with them will be of some use to them as they move through their lives, musical and otherwise, and that perhaps the next time I return to Chicago, some of them will be playing in Renee's orchestra and working with me on my latest piece.

For me, that would make this a truly successful residency, and new partnership.

P.S. Photos, video, and audio should start rolling in this week, I'll add them as they arrive, so please stay tuned.....







































Saturday, January 18, 2014

Day 4: Friday, January 17, 2014

I had no idea what to expect as I drove in the heavy traffic and light snow, out past U.S. Cellular Field (home of the Chicago White Sox) to Sherwood Park, for two workshops with string students of CMOP violist, Robert Fisher.

This morning, Renee had asked me to handle these two classes on my own as she was immersed in work for tomorrow's dress rehearsal and concert, and just as I got in the car to drive out she texted me a venue/address change--luckily I read it just before I got onto the highway!




Sherwood is a city park with a building/facility that sponsors after-school programs and activities for Chicago elementary school students, and they have a wonderful music program and some great young string players. (I'm amazed to see all the elementary/high school string programs out here, there were relatively scarce back in NJ during my student days--I knew exactly one string player in all 4 years of high school).

The first class had about 5 students from 2nd-5th grade; the second three girls who had just started high school.

I listened as they rehearsed and practiced for an upcoming performance with CMOP, and then played my "in shadows, in silence" for them, talked a little about the background and genesis of the piece and how I wrote it. We then discussed the different roles of the composer and the performers in preparing for a concert like the ones we both had coming up with CMOP.

I did a little Q&A with each group, focusing on creativity, and how one actually goes about composing, and we also explored some further relationships between performing and composing.

The students were wonderful, happy, hard-working, focused, and playful, and Robert is doing an amazing job working with them!

The parents and grand parents of all of the students stayed with the children after dropping them off to class, and I had a chance to chat with all of them. I mentioned how inspiring I thought their dedication to their children was, and how for about 6 years of middle school and high school my father routinely drove me all over N.J. to my music lessons, rehearsals, and concerts--usually after 8-12-hour work days.
He never complained once.

Leaving the workshop in the even heavier snow that was falling now, it was hard not to feel optimistic about the future of music education here in Chicago, and even harder to decide who I was more inspired by--the talented young students, or their dedicated families.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Day 3: Thursday January 16, 2014




Today, Renee and I headed to the Kenwood Academy arts high school to work with the young musicians in the string orchestra. Renee and CMOP principal string players have been teaching these students and coaching the string orchestra since October, to help prepare them for their upcoming performance of four short pieces on the CMOP concert this coming Wednesday. The students had been working very hard on the pieces, including Pachelbel's "Canon", and it was clear that they were very excited about their upcoming performance.

I began by talking with the students about my time as a high school musician playing trumpet and guitar, and how that led me to study music in college, where in the first two years, my interests quickly shifted from instrumental performance, to conducting, and ultimately to composition by the time I was 20. I then quickly recounted how at that point, I followed a pretty standard path for a young composer, a Masters degree followed by a PhD, and a half-dozen-or-so summer festivals along the way, to round out my education and training. We then did a short Q&A--one student asked how I learned to write down the music I was hearing, another asked me if music was a hard field and profession. I wanted them to hear some music too, so I played the piece Renee and CMOP were preparing for Saturday's concert--"in shadows, in silence". Then some more Q&A, with astute observations/questions about narrative in the piece (the story behind the music), and also about the inspiration for my works in general and this piece in specific.

I felt it was important to try and leave the students with some useful advice from someone who was just like them 15 years ago and has remained a musician in the years that followed, and the thought that came to me, on the spot really, was this:
follow your passion and pursue your goals, be open to the unfamiliar and unexpected, and be aware that the life you imagine for yourself now might not be the life you find yourself living 10 years from now; instead, what you're imaging now might be a path that leads you to a life you never imagined.

When I was 18, I didn't know that there were living composers--I was convinced I would be an orchestral trumpeter, since basically, I had spent all my time from about age 12 to 18 preparing to be one. But when I got to college, I learned about things I had never been exposed to before, like conducting, and new music, and composing, and my interests and passions quickly shifted--it felt strange and difficult at the time, but ultimately right--I trusted my instincts, and they were telling me that I was a composer, not  a performer.

When I looked out at these young students, I could almost see myself at 14 again, sitting in my high school band room with my trumpet and guitar, eating my lunch between rehearsals, completely in love with music. And I could feel how I felt back then, so sure about my future, yet unaware that I was so completely wrong about it all...
I'm glad that I was.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Day 2: Wednesday January 15, 2014














So today was our first workshop, and perhaps more importantly, my first face-to-face meeting with Renee Baker--and I'm happy to report, that she does in fact exist! This workshop was at Midwest Christian Montessori Academy in Bolingbrook, IL, a pre-K-6th grade elementary school about 30 minutes outside of Chicago. Renee had a wonderful two-part idea for this workshop--first, we would each play some of our music for the children and show them the printed scores; mine as an example of traditionally-notated music, Renee's as an example of graphic notation. We then asked the children each to "compose" a short piece for us, following the model of Renee's graphic score, using paper, crayons, and markers. These children do have regular music instruction and some even play instruments already, so I was not surprised to see some of the scores they turned in contained symbols very much like the traditional musical staves and notes I had just shown them; the bulk of the scores however, were purely graphic. We then went on to "perform" the pieces in succession as a single composition--Renee sang, I played percussion on my knees and clapped, and Gregg, the principal flute of CMOP joined us. The children loved it! Their eyes lit up, they were smiling and laughing and singing along, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing along with them a few times as we "performed" this crazy music! Perhaps the best part of this event is that Renee and the orchestra are going to copy/bind/publish the group composition as a single book/score, make a recorded performance of the piece with various instruments/performers from CMOP, and present the score and recording to the teachers and students that were involved in our workshop. They were all very excited about this.

Thinking back on my own education in public schools and later in music schools, I realized although I was active musically from age five on, the first piece of contemporary music I heard by a living composer and the first living composer I actually met and was when I started college at 18, about two years before I started composing. It made me realize what an important and rare opportunity this was for these young students yesterday, and it made me hopeful that this early exposure to composers and new music might help later on, to either stimulate their interest in art music (or any music), or at least just to help them to keep their minds open as the invariable peer-pressure of middle school and high school sets in.

Perhaps most importantly, for these students, yesterday was not really about studying, lessons, tests, or classes--it was about having fun; the same kind of feeling I have when I'm working on my latest composition, because as Hemingway famously said about writing--"nothing else gives me the same kick." That "kick" is what has never gone away for me, it's what has kept me involved in music and composing for most of my life, and hopefully for these wonderful young students I met yesterday, it's what will keep them happy, having fun, and continuing to exlpore music.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

P.S. Thanks are in order

Before things get too busy this week and I forget, this wonderful residency would not have been possible without the support of: Brett Deubner, Renee Baker, Scott Winship, New Music USA, League of American Orchestras www.americanorchestras.org/‎, Aaron Kernis, Andrew Rudin, my teachers--Richard Danielpour, George Tsontakis, and David Del Tredici, and my parents, Victor and Stephany Wramage--my sincerest thanks to all.

Day 1: Tuesday January 14, 2014

I arrived in Chicago yesterday afternoon for what will amount to the first performances of my music in this city and the Chicago premiere of my most popular work, the 2002 sextet, "in shadows, in silence" https://soundcloud.com/gregg-wramage/in-shadows-in-silence-2002.
I'm staying downtown in a beautiful hotel in the historic Printer's Row district of The Loop neighborhood, and as I sit here in my quiet room up on the 7th floor, looking out my window at the snow that just began falling, it feels like a good time to reflect on how exactly, I managed to get myself out here....

Looking back now, I'm amazed at the spider's web of connections that lead me to this residency, pretty common in the world of new music, I suppose, but still amazing to take stock of everyone who was involved along the way, and how all the pieces finally fell into place.

In the Fall of 2008, my orchestral work, "La tristesse durera" http://www.greggwramage.com/compositions.html#orchestra received the EAMA Prize eamusic.org/‎, and shortly after, I was contacted through my website by a former teacher, composer Andrew Rudin, who wrote to congratulate me. As we were catching up with each other, he mentioned having just finished a concerto for a wonderful violist named Brett Deubner brettdeubner.com/‎, who he said was a real champion of new music, and particularly of young American composers. Andrew later mentioned me and my music to Brett in an email, and shortly after, he sent around another email about a benefit concert Brett had organized in Winter 2010 for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. I happened to see this email the morning of the concert, so my wife (then girlfriend) and I drove up to Montclair, NJ, for the concert and I introduced myself to Brett after the performance. I honestly can't remember if I suggested a collaboration or he did, be we agreed it was a good idea that I write a piece for him. Amazingly, that summer a commission from The Barlow Endowment barlow.byu.edu/‎came through, and I started writing a chamber concerto for Brett shortly after.

That Fall, Brett and I began pitching the concerto to various potential conductors and ensembles, and at some point in Fall 2011, Brett mentioned that he had spoken to a violist/conductor/composer in Chicago named Renee Baker reneebakercomposer.com/‎, who had her own orchestra, Chicago Modern Orchestra Project www.chicagomodernorchestraproject.org/‎ that specialized in new music. I wrote to Renee and introduced myself, she said she was interested in the concerto but wanted to her some of my music first. So--how many times have we composers heard that before, sent along our materials, and then--nothing. Well, this time, it was a composer's dream-come-true--not only did Renee like all the music I sent, she said she wanted to perform the concerto and two other works with her orchestra across the next two seasons! Needless to say, I was thrilled, and immediately set out to secure some funding for what would effectively be a 2-year residency with the orchestra.

At some point in 2011-2012 I had filled out a survey, I believe from the American Music Center, directed to composers who had recently participated in readings of their music by American orchestras. In the last question of the survey, I mentioned my upcoming performances and that I had a performance of the new viola concerto coming up in the next couple seasons. Shortly after, Scott Winship (now of NewMusicUSA https://www.newmusicusa.org/‎) wrote me about the possibility of funding the performance with a Music Alive: New Partnerships grant.

Scott, Renee, and I spent the next year or so--roughly from summer 2012 to Fall 2013--ironing out the details of the project, and in October of 2013, after dozens of emails, phone calls, and Facebook messages between the three of us, and about a year after my first phone conversation with Renee, our grant came through.

Since I will be working with some young composers and musicians this week as part of my residency, I find myself asking what, if any, lessons can be learned from this experience? Well for now I would offer the following: winning prizes helps, a website helps, staying in touch with your teachers helps, going to concerts and introducing yourself to performers helps, and being active in email and social media helps. Of course, you need to have a good piece(s) to promote, and to find the performers, like Brett Deubner and Renee, who are really sincere about promoting new music by living composers. Oh, and persistence, LOTS of persistence--and probably, a little bit of luck.....

In one sense, this trip and premiere are a homecoming of sorts for my little sextet, since it was originally written for the marvelous Chicago-based ensemble, eighth blackbird www.eighthblackbird.org/‎, who premiered the work at the 2002 Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Twelve years ago, this residency--the possibility of this residency--seemed as remote to me as downtown Chicago is from Norfolk, Connecticut; but now, as I am about to roll up my sleeves and get to work--it all seems to make perfect sense.