My name is Sarah and I attend Covenant Christian High School. Each year after Christmas break, students at my school participate in a two week experience called “J-term”, or two week internship. I love music and thought that the Indianapolis Symphony would be a great opportunity. For my two weeks, I was part of the Learning Community. There were many activities and projects that I participated in during these two weeks, like the Young People's Discovery Concert teacher workshops designed to help teachers prepare their students for concerts and assisting HR with paper filing. The teacher workshop was a brand new experience for me and I loved learning the different ways of presenting classical music to groups of elementary level students.
I was able to sit in on an ISO rehearsal and listen to the orchestra practice. Also, I attended a Happy Hour Concert planning meeting for the upcoming January event. It was interesting hearing all of the work that had been put into the event, and the work that still had to be done. Also, I was able to see the new promotional video for these concerts.
I attended a Coffee Concert and it was neat listening to the orchestra perform the songs that I heard them practice the day before. Also, before the Coffee Concert I served coffee and tea to patrons. It was fun and fascinating talking to the different people attending the concert. That ended my first week at the ISO, and I could not wait for the next week.
On Tuesday of my second week, I helped the HR department again with some filing. I saw more paper than I have ever seen in most of my life! It was interesting how many papers and documents go through this department.
This week I was able to eat lunch with Becky, the principal piccolo player in the orchestra. It was fun hearing some of her stories and talk about flutes! Then I said bye and continued with my work in the Learning Community - mainly creating a database of orchestra music for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra program.
Next came Friday, my last day at the ISO. Today there was a Coffee Pops Concert that I was able to enjoy. I loved this concert and had a great time listening to it.
Well, that was my J-term experience at the ISO. I could not have hoped for a better internship. I learned many things about the business behind the orchestra on stage. I was also able to meet new people and get to know them better. I am glad that I had this opportunity to spend my two weeks with the ISO!
Name: Michael Colter
City: Indianapolis
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City: Indianapolis
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Orchestras around the world perform Requiem masses quite regularly as part of their season. Apart from orchestral works based on love, heroism or nature, the Requiem Mass seems to be one of the very few genres that concentrate on a particular event in a person’s life: death. What intrigues us is how each composer utilizes the same liturgical texts from the mass proper but applies it differently in the music.
Without going into a history of each composer’s philosophies on life and death, consider for a moment the differences (and occasionally stark similarities) between three of the most well-known Requiem masses: Mozart, Verdi and Brahms. Some may remember recent performances by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphonic Choir of the Mozart (January 2006), Verdi (June 2008) and Brahms (May 2007) Requiems, all of which have had modest success at the box office. Perhaps we love the heart-wrenching climaxes of Mozart’s Lacrimosa (“Tears”), the fever-inducing bass drum blasts of Verdi’s frightening Dies Irae (“Day of Wrath”), or the dramatic urgency of Brahms’ Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Statt (“For here we have no continuing place”). While Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem (based on German texts from the Lutheran Bible, and not from the traditional Latin mass) is known for its compassion toward those whom are still living, other Requiems relish in the dramatic and formidable aspect of death.
The Requiem of Gabriel Fauré (pronounced “4-A”), on the other hand, is one of optimism, peace and humanity.
Fauré himself was a quiet, gentle and sincere man, and his Requiem portrays this beautifully. It is written, not as a blatant reminder of death, but rather, as Fauré himself put it, “a joyful deliverance, an aspiration towards a happiness beyond the grave, rather than as a painful experience.” As one who directed the music of countless funerals, Fauré wished to create something different. His Requiem would soothe those who mourn, a gentle reminder that death is another part of life and should not be met with fear.
For those readers unfamiliar with the work, here’s what to listen for.
Sanctus (Holy): A glorious and resounding movement featuring melodic lines by the violins interwoven with the vocal entrances. (Note that this is the first movement which features the violins; only the lower strings were used in first two movements.) Its rising climax “Hosanna in excelsis!” is triumphant, yielding a simple yet powerful declaration by the horns, accompanied by full orchestral accompaniment including organ. This occurs at 1:50 in the following clip.
Pie Jesu (Kind Lord Jesus): A beautifully simple movement for solo soprano and one of the most well-known in the repertory. The premiere performance of the Requiem featured a boy soprano in this solo role, but only because women were not allowed to sing in the choir of that venue. In subsequent performances, Fauré preferred a female soprano sing the role, due to its difficult breathing passages, long phrasing and difficult interval leaps. This weekend this movement is sung by soprano and IU alumna Jacqueline Brecheen. Listen here.
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God): This movement features a very beautiful yet simple transition of tonality as the sopranos enter alone on the note “C” on the word “lux” (“light”), shifting the character into a hymn until its climax with full orchestra. (In this clip, begin listening around 2 minutes)
Libera Me Domine (Deliver Us, Lord): This is the second of the two movements that feature the baritone solo (this weekend performed by Hugh Russell), and is perhaps the most somber of the Requiem. It is also the movement that includes the ill-fated Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), which Fauré was hesitant to include, but was obliged by the local diocese. Clearly announced by the sinister register of the horns, the Dies Irae is understandably dark but quite brief, but quickly rises itself up out of the depths with unison choir with a return of the main theme sung quietly by the choir. Listen here.
In Paradisum (In Paradise): The final and most cherubic of the Requiem. The organ provides a gentle lulling with accompanying muted strings, closing the Requiem into a peaceful serenity. Listen here.
Fauré was not a religious man, but seemed to have understood life’s journey in a very optimistic and simplistic manner. Through his Requiem, he assures the listener that there is nothing to fear at the end of life, and that perhaps a more peaceful existence awaits us.
* I chose the French translation to honor Fauré’s gentle masterpiece, but also because “Lullaby of Death” in English sounds too depressing…
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Please join us this weekend to hear Fauré’s Requiem, along with Mahler’s Songs of the Wayfarer (featuring Hugh Russell) and Dvořák Symphony No. 7 ~ this Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, featuring the ISO debut of Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen.
www.indianapolissymphony.org
I would like to thank all of you for submitting comments about our first Stella Artois Happy Hour at the Symphony concert of the season. Your reviews of any symphony concert, program or event are important to us, so check back in to this blog often and post away!
Many of you remarked about operational challenges related to the January Happy Hour. We hear you -- we were not as prepared as we needed to be for the record-breaking attendance. We are actively planning for the next Happy Hour on Feb. 18 (featuring our charismatic ensemble-in-residence Time for Three) so that we can create a comfortable and accessible experience for everyone.
See you at the Symphony!
Name: Allison Bowen
City: Indianapolis
Name: Kelly
City: Indianapolis
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Name: Julie
City: Indianapolis
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Name: Shauna
City: Indianapolis
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Name: Michael Colter
City: Indianapolis
Name: Karen Mangia
City: Carmel
Name: Laura
City: Indianapolis
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Everyone thinks marketers are all about numbers, charts and strange acronyms. It's true, ROI is crucial. (That’s Return On Investment, or, was the cost of the ad worth the money it generated?) And, yes, we've got to hit our revenue goals. But I certainly don't work in marketing at the ISO because I love graphs and spreadsheets. I work at the ISO because I love music, and I’m in marketing because I’m a people person. At the end of the day, I’m here to connect people more closely to our music.
Others might look at a ticket order and see a sale; I look at that ticket order and see a person and a story. In the case of our $20.10 sale, there are a lot of orders. That’s means a lot of stories and I’d like to share one of them with you.
The promotion began with a two day pre-sale for our subscribers and donors. One of the first orders was from Rebecca. She’s a current donor to the ISO, but it’s been about five years since her last concert. That worries me. While her financial support is most welcome, the longer someone goes without attending concerts, the less likely she is to attend in the future and continue that support.
Rebecca used the $20.10 sale to purchase two upcoming Classical concerts (Scheherazade and Fauré’s Requiem) and two upcoming Pops concerts (Marvin Hamlisch and Classically Cinematic). In other words, she went from 0 to 4 in just one order. Rebecca is now going to rediscover what she always loved about the ISO and, hopefully, start coming to concerts on a regular basis for years to come. That’s good for the ISO, but it’s also good for Rebecca. For me, it’s extremely gratifying to know that one order spurred by one special offer can create that difference in someone’s life.
So that’s Rebecca’s story. Now I want to know yours! Don’t worry, you don’t have to write anything down or call me. All you have to do is visit IndianapolisSymphony.org and place your order. I’ll be able to read between the lines.
By the way, for those who don’t know, now through January 9, $20.10 gets you any ticket to any remaining Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Classical, Pops or Symphonic Hits concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.
This month and last - teachers from all over Central Indiana are learning what Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 4 has to do with the Three Little Pigs. What?!? You Ask?
Well, each year over 25,000 students attend the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Young People's Discovery Concerts where they "discover" the exciting sounds of the symphony. Historically, these Discovery concerts are many people's first trip to the symphony. In fact, over a million people have attended these concerts over the decades and it's not unusual for me to hear stories from adult symphony goers saying their first trip to the ISO was as a child on a school field trip!
This year's program, "Musical Storytelling", features several programmatic works - meaning music representing characters, ideas or stories. Examples include Mozart and Bernstein overtures (aka, musical abbreviations of the full length works) of The Marriage of Figaro and West Side Story. The penultimate work on the program is The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky based on the Russian folktales of the magical bird.
Oddly, Brahms' Scherzo from Symphony No. 4 appears on this "Musical Storytelling" concert. An example of absolute music, or rather, music that tells no story nor conveys an idea, this piece may appear out of place. I sat in the first of two teacher workshops to specifically see how master teacher, Lisa Sullivan was going to connect this piece to the program's theme. Little did I know, I was in for a treat.
Well, you all know the story of the three little pigs, the houses and the recurring theme of "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" I'll admit that when I think of the Scherzo from Brahms' 4th symphony, a nursery story is far from my mind... alas, no longer! She assigned themes from the movement to very parts of the story: the wolf, the pigs, the huff and puff and the celebration at the end. Extracting and downloading these themes and pictures onto her computer, she used PowerPoint to tell the story. The story version she chose to tell was Yo, Hungry Wolf (A Nursery Rap) by Davis Vozar (ISBN 0-440-40953-5).
The storytelling was delightful, but what ensued next was truly memorable. Teachers were introduced to rhythmic words created by Lisa and divided into groups. Each group was assigned the task of creating movements truly worthy of a child's rap. We had a ball!!
Check out the video below of what the teachers created.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoZQRRUFnMM
Now, my favorite parts of this movement will always be the recurring ding-a-linging of the triangle, but I will definitely be listening to Brahms' work a little differently now. Next time you listen to the piece, see if you can make out the themes representing the wolf, pigs or celebration.
I also challenge you to add a comment to this post and let us know about your first trip to the ISO. Was it on a school field trip like the Young People's Discovery Concert??
Below is a link to more information about this upcoming program. The next teacher workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan 5.
http://www.indianapolissymphony.org/learningcommunity/elementary/discovery
Happy New Year, everyone – I hope 2010 is off to a terrific start for all of you!
This coming Friday and Saturday, the 8th and 9th, the ISO’s series of popular classics, Symphonic Hits powered by Lilly, returns to the Hilbert Circle Theater stage, and of course, that also means the return of Sound Off, the preconcert event that I host one hour prior to each concert (AKA 6:30pm).
This week’s concert program is full of spectacular music, including a suite of excerpts from my favorite work by Sergei Prokofiev, his ballet music for Romeo and Juliet. The excerpts for this suite were chosen by this week’s conductor, Andrew Litton, and I believe that these will be the first-ever performances of this particular combination of movements. The concert also features Tchaikovsky’s warhorse Violin Concerto, with soloist Vadim Gluzman, and Tchaikovsky’s Coronation March.
The first couple editions of Sound Off have been a lot of fun, thanks in large part to your terrific participation and questions for me and my guests. If you have a burning question about orchestras or symphonic music that you’d like to see me answer during our The Audience Wants to Know segment, please submit it by commenting on this blog post, posting it on the ISO Facebook page, or emailing it to soundoff@indianapolissymphony.org. In the next few days, I think the ISO staff may be even posting a special free concert ticket offer on our Facebook page for the best question submitted, so be sure to check for that.
Here are some videos to kindle your interest in this week’s repertoire. I couldn’t resist starting with what is probably the most novel performance of music from the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that I’ve ever heard. This is a young accordion virtuoso from
And to balance that, here’s a classic “normal” performance of the first movement with the legendary David Oistrakh as soloist. (This is only the first part of the movement, but the remainder of the movement, as well as the rest of the concerto, are easily accessible on YouTube).
Here is a performance by the famous Bolshoi Ballet of the scene ‘Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb’ from Romeo and Juliet. This scene will not be included in this weekend’s performances, but I thought you would enjoy it.
And finally, here is a concert performance by Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic of the devastating ‘Death of Tybalt’, which will conclude the Romeo and Juliet suite in this weekend’s performances.
See you at the symphony!
Every year, the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras, performs a series of New Year’s Concerts on December 30, 31, and January 1. These concerts have become beloved around the world through the annual broadcast of the New Year’s Day performance. These programs feature almost exclusively Austrian music, and in particular, music of the Johann Strauss family: waltzes, polkas, overtures, and the like.
I’m thrilled that this year, for the first time in a number of years, the ISO will be doing an entire New Year’s Eve performance inspired by this wonderful tradition, and I have the privilege of conducting it. This is music that is very close to my heart – it has an elegance, charm, and nobility matched by little else in the repertoire. I’ve done individual pieces from this concert on many other occasions in the past, but this will be my first time doing an entire concert of Viennese repertoire, so I’m really looking forward to it.
The video productions of the VPO concerts frequently feature dance performances with the musical ones, and so I’m delighted that in that spirit, Indy’s own Dance Kaleidoscope will be joining us on stage for several numbers. I saw their choreography the other day, and DK Artistic Director David Hochoy has done a great job of capturing the special qualities of this music. Also in the tradition of the VPO concerts, we will have a wonderful guest soprano, Jacqueline Brecheen, to sing several arias from Viennese operettas.
I’ll leave you with a video from the 1987 VPO performance, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the famous “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” waltzes, also featuring dancers from the Vienna State Opera Ballet.
See you (New Year’s Eve) at the Symphony!
In the meantime, read those heartwarming stories of families receiving holiday gifts from Children's Bureau case manager, Angela Floyd.
The mother is diagnosed with MS, and the seven year old boy is diagnosed with CP, and is wheelchair bound. The mother moved to Indianapolis from Northern Indiana, so that they could be closer to the hospital and closer to her son’s doctors. They currently have no friends or family in Indianapolis.
Mother’s only wish for Christmas is to have wheelchair ramps put in, so she will be able to get her son in and out of the house safely. Right now her fiancé carries her son in and out of the house, but he will not be able to do that for much longer, seeing as how the son is getting bigger.
This caseworker and the family called numerous agencies to see about getting the wheelchair ramps put in, but due to the fact that the mother is renting her house, nobody was able to help. This caseworker spoke to the Volunteer Department at Children's Bureau and they suggested the caseworker place the family on Hope for the Holidays website and ask for a licensed bonded contractor to do the work. The caseworker placed the family on the site and with in a matter of days, a very generous person sponsored this family. The caseworker as well as the family were both so excited to hear this family had been sponsored for Christmas.
In the meantime, read those heartwarming stories of families receiving holiday gifts from Children's Bureau case manager, Rachel Hughes.
First Christmas Stories
by Rachel Hughes, Children's Bureau
A few Christmas’ ago, we had a 12 year old boy. His prior living conditions and relationship with his biological mother was horrible. On Christmas morning, he didn’t have a visit or pass and he was one of a few kids that had no one to see him. He woke up early and staff let him open up a few presents. This boy was just so excited to have presents. He wasn’t sure when the last time was that he had gifts on Christmas. It didn’t matter if it was a toy, socks, clothes or underwear, he was so grateful and appreciated everything he received. After every package, he thanked everyone and his smile was so big. He thanked everyone he saw for him getting presents (even if they weren’t involved) and wrote a good thank you letter which was a struggle for him due to not having enough space to write his note. Behaviorally, this kid was a challenge but that Christmas he was grateful, compliant and happy.
Last year, we had a little girl whose house caught on fire. She lost all of her toys and clothing. More than anything else, she wanted a Bratz head doll to replace the one she lost in the fire. On Christmas morning when she saw the Bratz doll, she was so happy. It was like a piece of her life before the fire was given back to her.
We had an 8 year old girl that was afraid that Santa wouldn’t be able to find her since her address had changed many times since last Christmas. We had the security officer call pretending to be Santa and telling her that he knew where she was and what one of her presents was. She was so excited and was relieved that even though she was in a placement, Santa could still find her. It gave her a reassurance that Christmas was still going to be okay even though she wasn’t placed in a home or with a family for Christmas.
Working with children in the system is very hard. Success is not high but staff still fights for every kid to have had at least one success while in placement. We have had many children learn to read while here even though they were 15 or so. We’ve had kids learn better coping skills than hurting themselves or others. The most valuable lesson most learn while they are here is that they are worth something. No matter what they have been told, they are valuable. They are important. They mean something. They don’t need to define themselves through others or behaviors. Who they are is enough. They don’t need their family to say they are worth something. They don’t need a boy or a girl to make them feel good about themselves. They can achieve and have a future no matter what their past has been.
That's the number of people in the audience the ISO and I played for on Sunday night when we performed the Star-Spangled Banner at the Colts-Patriots game at Lucas Oil Stadium - equivalent to almost 38 times the capacity of the Hilbert Circle Theater! I'm guessing that it was the largest audience the ISO has ever played for, and it was definitely record attendance for Lucas Oil Stadium (they announced that later, during the game).It was a pretty surreal experience all the way around - before we played, we were hanging out in the end zone (which is where we performed from) as the players were warming up, with practice kicks soaring practically over our heads through the uprights. The crowd noise was unbelievable down on the field - the roar that went up as we got to the final phrase of the SSB, and as we finished, was overwhelming.
Check out the video below, which starts as we're waiting for our cue, while the giant flag is being unrolled on the field. Go Colts!
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