Hi everyone! Wow, has it been a busy term so far! I’ve been wanting to write for quite some time now, but I’ve been so busy with concerts and conservatory/musical events ever since fall term started on September 14th! One of my favorite parts of being a student in the conservatory here at Lawrence is that there is such a plethora and variety of musical events going on all the time…on average, there are 3 musical events per night in the conservatory, and there are quite often more! I do spend a lot of time attending and performing in concerts, recitals, and masterclasses, but all of these events are really valuable learning experiences for me, and I’ve learned and grown quite a lot from the many concert and performance experiences I’ve had during my time at Lawrence.
My first (and perhaps biggest) major musical project for this year was preparing and performing my junior recital! All of us in the conservatory who are pursuing the Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree in Performance are required to give two recitals during our time at Lawrence: one half-hour recital during our junior year, and one full-hour recital during our senior year. Preparing for my junior recital was one of the most intense but exciting musical experiences I’ve had, and I really feel like I grew as a musician and performer as a result. At the end of spring term last year, I sat down with my clarinet professor, David Bell, to figure out what I would be playing for my recital. We examined some pieces I was currently working on, past pieces I had performed or played, and some new ones as well…and I came up with a list that I was very satisfied with and excited about! My recital pieces were Three Preludes by George Gershwin, Première Rhapsodie by Claude Debussy, Sonatina for Clarinet Solo by Miklós Rózsa, and a clarinet quartet adaptation of Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla. Yep, all 20th century music! I started preparing for my recital as soon as the summer started, and keeping up with my recital and other practicing, on top of a 40-hour work week over the summer, definitely wasn’t easy…but it was well worth it, and choosing repertoire that I really loved made me excited and motivated to go practice each day. Of course, the individual practicing for a recital is one thing…but I also needed to rehearse with my piano accompanist, my quartet members (for the Piazzolla piece), make lots of room reservations for rehearsals, and arrange the refreshments for the reception after the recital. I tried to make sure that my commitment-load for the first half of this term was fairly light so that I could really focus on my recital, and I’m very glad I did that! The recital itself went well and was a lot of fun, and although I was sick with a bad cold in the week leading up to the recital, I managed to pull through and put on the fun and dynamic performance that I had wanted to!
The conservatory also brings in numerous professional artists from outside Lawrence throughout the year, to perform concerts but also to give masterclasses and workshops. In the two days before my recital, the critically-acclaimed chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird was on campus, and getting to watch and learn from them was quite an eye-opening experience. The clarinetist and flutist in the ensemble, Michael Maccaferri and Nathalie Joachim, gave a masterclass for all of the woodwinds, and my recital quartet and I played for them! They gave us a lot of really helpful feedback on how to be more engaged and engaging while performing, and how to bring out the character and personality of the piece we were playing, and it was amazing to then see how the Eighth Blackbird ensemble performed together in such a captivating way the next night. If you haven’t listened to them, definitely check them out…they will amaze you.
Another big musical event this term (which involved almost everyone in the conservatory) was our semi-annual Kaleidoscope concert, at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (just a few blocks away from Lawrence). Kaleidoscope is basically a 1 hour and 15-minute long musical extravaganza, where 14 ensembles from the conservatory each perform one 5-minute selection in immediate succession, one right after another (no breaks at all!). I would love to see how the performance looks from the audience, but I know it is quite an amazing experience for the performer. The ensembles range from our major instrumental and choral ensembles to small chamber groups and combos, and with no breaks between each of the ensembles/pieces, performing can be quite logistically challenging for people who are in multiple ensembles! I performed first in the clarinet ensemble, where we played the third movement of Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint, and then I played in the orchestra, followed by the “grand finale” work of Kaleidoscope! This finale work was called The Music Makers and was written just for this Kaleidoscope concert by Garth Neustadter, a Lawrence alumnus (Class of 2010) and Emmy-award winning film composer! He actually conducted the piece at the concert, and it was a true honor to work with such a distinguished Lawrence alumnus.
Kaleidoscope will actually be broadcast live on Wisconsin Public Television in December, if you happen to be in Wisconsin! Otherwise, here are a few clips on Wisconsin Public Television’s website of Kaleidoscope 2013!
Here are a couple of behind-the-scenes photos from Kaleidoscope:
A portion of the dress rehearsal, before the concert later that evening!
This is a picture of our clarinet ensemble after the concert (I’m on the far right). Photo courtesy of Nina Sultan ’17
This is the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, which is where we performed Kaleidoscope. Its main theater (where we performed) seats 2,100, and it’s just a few blocks away from Lawrence in Downtown Appleton. The Fox Cities PAC has a fantastic lineup of concerts and shows every year, including popular musical artists and traveling Broadway shows! (Click here to check out this year’s season!)
Well, this isn’t a Kaleidoscope picture, but the fall foliage has just been so beautiful here. I took this a few days ago in front of Main Hall, near the center of campus.