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.....
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