From Mastery to a Master

Morten_Lauridsen72dpiA Master

This past week Morten Lauridsen was composer in residence at Rollins College. On Sunday afternoon, the Rollins College Choir and members of the Bach Festival Choir under the direction of Dr. John Sinclair presented some of Lauridsen’s most famous choral works: O Magnum Mysterium, “Dirait-on” from Les Chansons des Roses, Nocturnes, and Lux Aeterna. In addition, Dr. Julia Foster sang his song cycle A Winter Come. Aside from hearing the splendid music, one of the highlights of the afternoon was hearing the composer speak about the pieces and even sit at the piano to play for a couple of them. Following the concert presentation, Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout conducted a delightful conversation with Lauridsen that shed even more light on the works and Lauridsen’s compositional style and processes.

Calm

If you have never heard Morten Lauridsen’s setting of O Magnum Mysterium, then click here to listen to a performance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale with Paul Salamunovich as conductor. Lauridsen served as composer in residence for the ensemble for several years. About ten years ago, I had the pleasure to attend a rehearsal of the LA Master Chorale under Salamunovich while they rehearsed this piece and/or Lux Aeterna. Both pieces always leave me with a deep sense of calm when I listen to them. On Sunday, I found out part of the reason for that: Lauridsen lives and composes on an island off the northern coast of Washington State. Less than 100 people live on the island, and there is no electric service there. He had a $70 used piano brought over on a barge to the former general store that became his island residence. With such a quiet backdrop for composing, it becomes clear to me that the environment where he writes is represented in his output.

leafblowersNoise Pollution

Perhaps because of his island home, Lauridsen is highly sensitive to noise pollution. During his interview Sunday afternoon, he encouraged everyone to do what they can to eliminate extraneous noise from their life. At the University of Southern California, after several years of protesting, Lauridsen successfully convinced the school to no longer use gas-powered leaf blowers on campus! I remember back when I was in high school, as soon as I came home, the stereo was turned on and stayed on through the night until I left the next morning. How many of us do that with the radio or TV now? How about when we are driving? Are we really listening to the radio or is it just road noise?

We often pay attention to the food we give our body, but do we spend any time whatsoever considering what sounds we feed ourselves? We know our body feels and functions better when we give it proper nutrition and avoid the junk food. How much better might we feel if we cut out the junk noise?

One of the items on my to do list last year (that didn’t happen) was to spend a week on a silent retreat. After hearing Morten Lauridsen’s music and comments this week, I am recommitting to making that happen this year. What will you do to find some quiet time?

Wishing you peace and quiet,

Glenn

Newsletter Issue 14 – 2014 01 30
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Practice, Practice, Practice

Mastery

carnegie3I forget the exact setup, but the standard joke is a musician on the streets of New York asks, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” and the reply is, “Practice, practice, practice.” From the research widely publicized by Malcolm Gladwell, we know that in order to become an expert at just about anything, it requires 10,000 hours of practice. While I’m sure I’ve put in at least that much time at the organ, I’m still looking for opportunities to improve and learn more.

Rice University

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the symposium on French music and improvisation at Rice University. Featured on the schedule were performances by Ken Cowan, George Baker, Tom Trenney, Johann Vexo, and Philippe Lefebvre. Because I had worked with Philippe Lefebvre previously, I was very excited to see him again and to see what new tips and tricks he might have to share with us this time.

Fisk109RiceThe instrument for the class was C.B. Fisk, Inc. Opus 109 / Rosales Organ Builders, Inc. Opus 21. When I was looking for someone to build a French-style instrument for the Cathedral in Albany while I was music director there, I heard a great deal about this instrument, so was delighted to finally be able to see and hear it. It is decidedly well-suited for the French repertoire and offered many tantalizing sounds for the concerts and masterclasses. One of the elements that Philippe Lefebvre shared with us in the final improvisation masterclass was how he searches for new and different sounds at the organ. Most organ stops have very traditional uses and functions, however, he encouraged us to consider non-standard uses and registers. Instead of using the 8′ Harmonic Flute as the solo, why not try the 2′ Octavin played two octaves lower? Or the Quint or Tierce by itself as a solo stop? I have always been attracted to the organ because of the variety of colors available, but Philippe showed us an even wider palette of possibilities!

Improvisation Practice

While many musicians are accustomed to practicing repertoire (after all, how else will they get to Carnegie Hall?), many seem confused at the idea of practicing improvisations. Aren’t improvisations supposed to be “instant music” created on the spot? How can you ever practice such a thing? The truth is that to do it well, those same 10,000 hours of practice are required.

Any one who has attempted to learn a foreign language should recognize the difference between being able to read or pronounce what they see on the page and being able to carry on a conversation. For me, musical improvisation is being able to carry on a conversation. We have to learn the rules of grammar and be able to apply them spontaneously to convey our thoughts in a way that is meaningful to the listener(s). Just as a child learns to spell, we must learn how to spell musically. Which notes will follow in what order to create what words? How do we fit the words together to make sentences and paragraphs? These are all items that we must study and practice if we are to improvise well.

The concert by Philippe Lefebvre at Rice was one of the best organ recitals I have heard in quite some time. He took us through a Sunday at Notre Dame, sharing both improvisations and repertoire that reflected the typical activities of the day. Having heard him play there, I truly felt like I had been transported to Paris for the evening! Thanks to the marvels of YouTube, we can all visit Notre Dame from the comfort of our own homes without any jetlag! Below is a fugue that Philippe improvised for Communion at Notre Dame.

Enjoy the music and keep practicing!

Glenn

Newsletter Issue 13 – 2014 01 16
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Goals: Old and New

2014GreenHappy New Year!

I hope the Christmas holidays brought you much peace and joy with a chance to rest and recover amidst all the celebrating! As 2014 is approaching quickly, it seems appropriate to reflect on 2013 and consider how to make the best of the new year.

Review

Last January, I made a few New Year’s resolutions. I was very intentional about choosing goals in different areas of life: health, social, professional, and spiritual. I regret to say that I didn’t accomplish all that I set out to do in 2013. The one area where I had the most progress and met my goal was in health: I successfully completed a half-marathon. I believe part of my success in this area was the public accountability that I established through my regular workout postings to Facebook. If you want to make sure you achieve something in 2014, be sure to find an accountability partner or a public forum that will keep you on track and encourage you to keep going.

Orlando2013FinishRaising the Bar

Even though I was never much of an athlete, after meeting my health goal for 2013, I have decided to raise the bar for 2014. Because I like a challenge, I have decided not simply to go for a full marathon, but to complete the Dopey Challenge in January 2015. Because this requires running a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and then a full marathon over four days, I want to make you a challenge to come and run one of the races with me. Doing them all is probably nuts, but surely one of them could be your health goal for 2014!

Professional and Social

Honestly, I’m not 100% certain what my professional goal was for 2013. (Maybe that’s why I didn’t make it….) This year, my goal is to get my psalter printed and available for sales and distribution. I’m hoping there will be many other compositions that will follow along as well, but the psalm settings have been sitting on the back burner long enough that it’s time they went public! As a secondary goal for 2014, I’d also like to have my own CD available. I have ideas for over a dozen recording projects, so feel free to let me know what you think I should record first.

I’m going to include travel as a social activity this year. My long standing travel goal is to make it to all 50 states before I reach age 50. In my college days on choir tour and auditions, I was ahead of schedule (at one state per year), but then I left the continent to live in Europe, and so now, I’m behind. I’d really like to knock two or three more states off my list this year. Below is a map of where I’ve been so far. Only in airports in the red states, overnight in the orange ones, at least twice to the blue ones, and I have lived for extended times in the green ones. Alaska and Hawaii aren’t shown because I haven’t been there yet…. Create your own version here: http://www.defocus.net/visitedstates/

USAStateMap2013Spiritual

While I’ve had some wonderfully moving spiritual experiences during different worship services in 2013 (most notably at the RSCM Course in Tulsa, Advent Lessons and Carols, and The Messiah), my goal for 2013 was to go on a week long silent retreat. Because I was not able to do that in 2013, I am going to try again for 2014. I know now that I must schedule the time in advance on my calendar before other activities make it impossible for me to get away.

And what about you?

I’ve shared some of my goals and plans for 2014 with you. Will you share your plans now with me? Choose a couple of different areas in your life where you’d like to change or do something new and exciting. Let me know what they are, and if I can do anything to help you out or keep you on track, I’ll do my best to work with you so that we may all have a happy and prosperous new year!

Wishing you all the best for 2014!

Glenn

Newsletter Issue 12 – 2013 12 31
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Merry Christmas!

ChristmasMallMerry Christmas!

Last night, we finally put up and decorated our Christmas tree. As my schedule keeps me out of the house for concerts and rehearsals quite often before Christmas, and then we have typically been traveling to visit family immediately afterwards, decorating a tree has not been a common occurrence since I left the parental household. In fact, last night, we almost didn’t get a tree either as the lots where we have bought trees before have been replaced by a Dunkin Donuts and a WaWa! It also appears that in this more temperate southern climate, people put up their trees earlier, so the selection was slim. But now that most of the concerts are over, and because I’ll be here for Christmas, I look forward to enjoying our tree.

Concerts Galore, Part 2

The last two weekends have been absolutely packed with wonderful events: the Christmas concert at the Basilica, Advent Lessons and Carols at the Cathedral of St. Luke, Messiah at North Orlando SDA Church, and a Carol Sing at Holy Redeemer. The most challenging part, however, was going from the Orlando half-marathon straight on to rehearsal for Lessons and Carols. Luckily, I was in much better shape at the end of this race than Nashville. Even so, I think I know why Ben Lane and the choir stayed at the other end of the building that morning:
11158_AdventRehearsal

The Angels Sing

The Basilica Choir is one of my favorite groups here in Orlando. In addition to playing and conducting for them, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to compose for them as well. Included on their latest CD, Christmas with the Basilica Choir, is my setting of the text by John Dalles, “God, We Would Hear the Angels Sing.” And if you’ve heard the Basilica Choir sing, I hope you’ll agree with me that they indeed sound like angels. If you haven’t heard them, then you’re in for a treat below. I was able to record the performance of my carol at the concert and put it up on YouTube for your listening pleasure. May the angels bring you lots of Christmas cheer!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Glenn

Newsletter Issue 11 – 2013 12 17
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