The Seraphic Fire Blog

Monday, February 28, 2011

A Letter to our Colleagues in Wisconsin

To our Teacher Colleagues in Wisconsin Public Schools and Universities:

As we prepare travel to Wisconsin for our March 2011, it is not lost on the members of Seraphic Fire that many of our teacher colleagues are in the midst of a difficult and emotionally wrenching conflict. One of our concert venues, Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, is literally in the shadow of the capitol building -- we empathize with the gravity of your situation.

In what we know has been a trying and tumultuous time, we would like our colleagues, the educators from Wisconsin’s public schools and universities, to be our guest at our concerts on Friday and Saturday. Many of us are teachers, have partners and parents who are teachers – we empathize with your hardship, and we hope that our singing on will bring you a moment of peace.

Anyone with a faculty ID from a Wisconsin public school or university will be admitted free of charge to our concerts this coming weekend. This is not a political statement; rather, it is a statement of empathy and compassion. While we cannot solve the problems facing government in Wisconsin, we do hope that we can bring a small amount of tranquility and comfort during this time of turbulence.

Sincerely,

The Musicians of Seraphic Fire

**Tickets are first-come, first-served at the door of the concert. Seraphic Fire will provide 1 complimentary ticket per Wisconsin Public School or University Faculty ID.

CONCERT VENUES:

Friday, March 4, 7:30PM
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
914 East Knapp Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Saturday, March 5, 7:30PM
Grace Episcopal Church
116 W Washington Ave
Madison, WI 53703

More information on Seraphic Fire at www.SeraphicFire.org or by calling (305) 285-9060.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Pictures from Recording Monteverdi Vespers

Here are some of the photos from our Monteverdi recording sessions in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Just in time for our next performance of Monteverdi (and Rossi!) on May 14 - 17, 2009!

We started out the trip rehearsing for two days in my hotel suite at the La Quinta at the O'Hare Airport. I promise you, the room has never seen so much Italian Baroque music before. It was the O'Hare La Quinta Premiere of the Monteverdi Vespers. :)

Once we arrived in Kalamazoo, MI, our home for our recording sessions was the Holy Family Chapel. What an a-MAZING acoustic. Huge thanks to James Bass, our chorusmaster, for finding such a great room.

Peter Rutenberg, our producer, and Jamie Tagg, our recording engineer, loaded in enough recording equipment into that chapel to record the soundtrack for Jurassic Park. :) Here's us with the full group recording.

Our continuo group consisted of Scott Jarrett and Karl Shrock on continuo organs, Phil Spray on the violone and Joel Spears on the lute and theorbo.

Here's tenor Derek Chester recording one of his solos in the Vespers.

Seraphic Fire soprano Gabrielle Tinto marks her score while we take a break in recording.

It was VERY late after about 10 hours of recording when this picture was taken. We were SO CLOSE to having it all finished.

Around midnight of the second day of recording, we wrapped. Here's James Bass, Peter Rutenberg and me beaming knowing that we got an awesome recording.

And a post-session toast finished the project.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Preparing for "Portrait of a Mother"

I'm currently in medias res preparing for next week's concerts of Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater" and Paul Crabtree's "Sedebat Mater" (with two arias by Vivaldi and Bach thrown in for good measure). I've been asked by a number of y'all how I prepare for these premieres of commissioned works, so I thought I'd sortof give a glimpse of my (very quirky) process.

The big (and probably obvious) difference between learning a work that is in the standard repertory and learning a work that was written for you is that, for the latter, there is no received wisdom in performing the piece -- no colleagues who have performed it before, no recordings with which to agree or disagree, no list of errata in the score and parts....nada. You're on your own here...

Fortunately, when working with Paul Crabtree (a great friend and the genius composer of "Sedebat Mater"), the last of the four (errors in parts/score) tend to be nonexistent, as he is a meticulous editor of his own work. This still leaves the fact that there is no roadmap of what to expect once you open the package of scores and parts from the composer.

In the case of "Sedebat Mater," I received the full score and parts about two months ago. Initially, when I receive a new score, I try (as much as possible) to spend a considerable time reading through the score and hearing the music in my head. I prefer not to, initially, play through the music at the piano or listen to a MIDI-generated recording of the work. I find that this helps me get an overall concept of what the arc of the piece will eventually resemble.

After a few weeks of silent study and singing through all the parts without the aid of a piano, I begin to start to learn the work at the keyboard, figuring out the important harmonic landmarks in the piece. With new works, this can be challenging, as rhythms and counterpoint are often purposely at odds with traditional Western musical theory, so much of my time is spent trying to anticipate what will be difficult when actual live musicians are rehearsing/performing the piece.

Once I have a reasonably good handle on the harmonic structure, I take out my colored pencils (it's like kindegarden!) and mark the hell out of the score. Everyone has a different shorthand when it comes to marking their scores -- mine is mostly to overcome my astigmatism so that I don't have to wear my glasses in rehearsal or performance. :) Big red, blue and green marks thoughout my score remind me of what I've been studying for the past few months so that I can just glance down and know what's coming next.

Finally, once my preparation is mostly done, I'll call up the composer (in this case Paul -- EXPECT A CALL SOON!) and ask him or her what THEY really feel are the most imporant musical ideas to get across. I don't really like to have this conversation until I've developed opinions of my own, based on the notes on the page.

So, yeah... A bit of insight on how a World Premiere goes from score to first rehearsal with Seraphic Fire.

-PDQ

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

New Orleans: Part 1 (PDQ)

Growing up in New Orleans is one of those things that is hard to explain. It is mostly like living in America, just with more parties. People in New Orleans have a very specific view on life: it is meant to be lived. From all walks of life, citizens of New Orleans conduct daily business and personal interactions with a certain joie de vivre that always seems to say, "Life is not about work -- life is about living."

I was born in Mid City, one of the neighborhoods that received about 8 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina. Mardi Gras parades passed in front of my house. My mother is Cajun, and, like most New Orleanians, we ate red beans and rice every Monday (a tradition which went back to when Monday was wash day).

I heard stories of Hurricane Betsy throughout my formative years. Older neighbors told stories of their roofs being torn off with them inside, flood waters rising to the second story, bringing an axe with them as the crawled into their atics in order to be able to hack their way out in case the water got too high.

In a very "youthful" way, I think we always dismissed these stories as the hyperbole of grandparents. I lived through 7 large storms while in New Orleans, including the downsized version of Hurricane Andrew, and knew of uprooted trees, flooded cars, etc., but the largescale tragedy seemed like an inflation of the past.

So as I spoke to my mother the Tuesday after Katrina, while she and my father were trapped in Memorial Hospital with 2000 other people, it was as if all those stories were coming true. Mom cried a bit on the phone as she told me that the lights were flickering, and that the water had already reached halfway up the first story of the hospital.

To be continued....

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Amazing Grace Videos (PDQ)

I've just uploaded a ton of Seraphic Fire videos to You Tube (we really ARE the ichoir!). Here's one of many from our Amazing Grace program--we'll be repeating it June 18 - 22, so make sure to come and hear us!

Here's Reggie Mobley singing "Precious Lord" by Thomas Dorsey.

There are MANY more videos posted on YouTube. You can access them by clicking here.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

NYC Tour Stories and Pictures! (PDQ)

TOUR DAY 1: We woke up VERY early (for musicians, that's any time before 9:00 a.m.) to get to the airport to fly to NYC. After a few minor issues with tickets, we reached the gate and ate a well rounded breakfast of airport food. Terribly healthy. Here's a pic of Gabby, Scott, Reggie and Vince curbside at MIA.

The flight was smooth, but we were told at the end of the flight (after two failed landing attempts) that we might be re-directed to Washington DC, as the pilots could not see the runway in the fog. Ho-boy. Getting from DC to downtown Manhattan for an 8 p.m. concert? Visions of a mad scramble played through my head. Thankfully, on the 3rd attempt, we landed (2 hours late) at LaGuardia airport. Whew...

We jumped in our 4 rental cars (CARAVAN!!) and zoomed off to Manhattan. One of our board members, Daniel Perron, opened his apartment to us, and served us a MAGNIFICENT meal from NYC's Balthazar. Amazing pre-concert fuel, let me tell you. Here's a picture of the entire group after lunch:

We changed into concert black and headed 7 blocks south to the magnificent acoustics of the chapel at St. Bartholomew's Church in Midtown Manhattan. The crowd was enthusiastic, and the ensemble made Miami proud that night. One New Yorker said to us, "Wow...you guys should move to Manhattan--you could compete with any ensemble here!" Don't worry--no plans to move to Manhattan. We love Miami, and know that we couldn't take the cold!

That evening, we jumped in the vans and headed to Connecticut. We reached Branford at 1 am and settled in for 9 hours of sleep--the first we'd had in over a week.

TOUR DAY 2: The guys and gals spent the day in New Haven (Thai food anyone) and then met at Yale's Battell Chapel for an afternoon rehearsal and sound check. We were able to use the amazing balconies there for Victoria's double choir "Ave Regina Caelorum." Beautiful! Here is us in rehearsal:

That evening we went to the incomparable Yorkside Pizza (a haunt of mine when at Yale for grad school) for dinner with some of the students at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Maggie Brooks, head of the Yale choral program. That evening was spent with host families.

TOUR DAY 3: Another early start at 7:45 am! We left the New Haven Green, hyped up on cafine from Starbucks (unofficial mascot of Seraphic Fire). Packed into the vans early in the morning, everyone was a bit giddy--the first annual Seraphic Fire Tour Limerick contest ensued!

No one told me or Gabby that too much caffeine makes for much faster driving than usual. On the road to Syracuse, both Gabrielle and I were stopped for speeding. Argh! Here's a picture of Kathryn Mueller holding my ticket on the Mass Pike:

After slowing down to the speed limit, we eventually reached Syracuse and went directly to Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University for a quick soundcheck. Again, we were able to use the many balconies to create a surround sound effect for the concert. Awesome. This picture shows us during rehearsal. Tenor Derek Chester comments that we look like the Von Trapp children refusing to sing "The Hills are Alive" after Maria went back to the concert (we were tired, and the coffee was wearing off). Notice Paul Tipton's far-off gaze...

After a FANTASTIC concert (they wouldn't stop clapping!) we packed up and traveled over to Spirito, the marvelous home of Dr. Barbara Tagg, professor of choral music at Syracuse University and director of the fantastic Syracuse Children's Choir. Here are a James Bass, Derek Chester and Abigail Haynes Lennox at Spirito's Inspiration Point.

After an awesome reception, we went back to the hotel where we were treated to a serenade by Misty and Al Bermudez, backed up by the incomparable Paul Max Tipton:

TOUR DAY 4: Before half of the group left to fly home, the entire ensemble acted as a lab chorus while I gave a masterclass on conducting to the undergraduate students at Syracuse University. Bolstered by Starbucks (notice a theme) the Fire-ites sang through movements of Messiah, Haydn's Creation and Byrd's Ave Verum while I worked with some of the conductors. First, the choir at 8:30 am:

And then me with one of the conducting students:

Post-workshop, half of the ensemble flew back to their homes across the country, while the other half stayed and worked with the Syracuse Children's Choir. Our own managing director, Gabrielle Tinto, was a member of the Syracuse Children's Choir for many years.

One of the most memorable moments from this tour happened when Gabrielle Tinto led the senior choir in a version of "I Want to Sing My Own Song," a piece that is sung year after year by members of the choir. By the end of the piece, Dr. Tagg, Gabrielle, all the SCC members as well as the musicians from Seraphic Fire were all in tears. An unforgettable moment:

We had a great dinner afterward at Dinosaur Bar-B-Q in downtown Syracuse, then headed back to reality the next morning. Totally awesome. Totally awesome.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Home again, Home again.

I'm currently sitting in the Syracuse Airport with James Bass, Gabrielle Tinto, Matthew Tresler and Ben Johns. We're all reconnecting with the real world after a truly amazing first domestic tour. Yesterday, 8 of the Seraphic Folk and I worked with a number of young singers at Syracuse University.

Monday morning began with Seraphic Fire (totally hyped up on Starbucks and sugar cereal) singing for the intermediate choral conducting class at the University, followed a few hours later with a workshop with the Syracuse University Singers. It was really wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the young singers.

The high point of the day, though, was working with the kids in the Syracuse Children Choir (directed by the seemingly tireless Dr. Barbara Tagg). Gabrielle Tinto spent 8 years as a member of the SCC, and when she sang a solo with the ensemble, Dr. Tagg and the entire SF cadre were in tears. Pretty powerful stuff.

I've got a bunch of pictures from the trip that I'll be posting over the next week, so stay tuned. This was an awesome week for Seraphic Fire--I'm excited that we'll be doing this a lot over the coming seasons.