Jen Plummer wrote me a very kind note this morning, and so I started thinking about what I wanted to say to you all as I wrote my reply to her. I just don’t know how to say it succinctly. So pour a glass of wine and read on.
Many performances are judged by rubrics geared toward accuracy, intonation, musicianship — all of us have been on one side or the other of this. Naturally, I strive to attain our very best efforts in all those categories. I recognize that no performance is perfect, even performances that go as well as yesterday. But what is most important to me is the emotional impact inherent in our performances, and the memories we create for our audiences. It is always my hope that our audience members will leave our concerts recognizing that they have been changed — that they are not the same people as they were when they walked in.
I really think we attained this yesterday, and in huge ways. Here are two examples:
First, this morning we received a new donation to our Technology Fund. Made in honor of Dan Chiplock, the donation noted, “Thank you, Dan, for continuing to share the beautiful music of WSW. We are so grateful to have them and fortunate to have them right here in our backyard. Yesterday’s concert was life changing! I have never been so moved by a musical performance before.”
And second, a friend of mine brought along a guest who had never heard our group before, and introduced him to me after the concert. This gentleman just spent the past 28 years in prison, and was just released on parole last week. This was the first live performance of any kind he heard since 1995. This is what he told me — and pay special attention to what he said about the finale: “Classical music has always relaxed me. I don’t know who wrote what, but I know what it makes me feel. Each piece had different moods, sometimes intense, sometimes soft, and a lot of them ended with a soft kiss.The last piece told me the musicians had some sense of what we are dealing with in our communities, and that was powerful. I love that. Sitting there listening to all of that was amazing for me. I could listen to this all day.” So if you had any doubts that our performance moved people, that’s the evidence that it absolutely did.
Our guest artists repeated to me over and over that you welcomed them warmly. This has truly become a hallmark of this ensemble, and one of which I am truly proud. Thank you for continuing to extend an open hand and heart to them. Roland Davis wrote today to say, “To be present for the band’s spectacular performance was nothing short of soul-stirring. I was so glad to have been a part of it!”
Thank you for your individual, section, and full ensemble musicianship that has helped this ensemble gain a foothold and hang on through a global pandemic. And thank you for the myriad of individual sacrifices you make on a weekly basis to promote the health and well-being of this ensemble. Our ensemble is truly an organism that can thrive with nurture and care, or decline with neglect; thank you for continuing to make choices that insure our ongoing survival and growth amidst times that can often be difficult and uncertain.
We did not engage the professional videographer for this concert. However, we will move the audio recording to Band Camp as quickly as possible, as soon as Rob LaPorta and Richard Price produce and send the AIFF files and we complete the licensing process. Stay tuned for the announcement of the album release.
Lastly, I want to make a special note to thank everyone who has made a pledge to our new commission project. In case you couldn’t tell, I was truly surprised, emotional, and a bit overwhelmed by the presentation Wednesday night. I am especially grateful to Rachel for contacting my husband, Tim, and driving him over from White Plains to be a part of the moment. I have a short list of composers who interest me for this project, but I’m keeping an open mind to research and suggestions. Factors include costs (paramount, of course), availability, timeline, general composing style, previous project successes, and the intersection of where he/she and I meet musically and artistically. That last point is important, because the work with this composer will be personal and at times intense, like it was with Michael Markowski, and in 2000, with Timothy Broege. I’m grateful for those two previous commission experiences, and I feel I’ve learned a great deal about the process that will be helpful, even pivotal, with this third project.
In closing, thank you most especially for trusting me as your conductor and music director. In the trenches, as you approach the first reading rehearsal of each cycle, it must be challenging at times to see what I’m trying to do with the program as a whole. Sometimes it takes several weeks — or even the entire cycle — to see the view from 10,000 feet up. So thank you for sharing that trust, so we can all eventually share the magnificent view — and sound — of our work together.
Our next rehearsal is the Spring Concert read through, on Monday, February 27 at 7:30 pm at TMH. Until then, enjoy the time to rest and reflect on all these accomplishments.
Westchester Chamber Soloists Concert on Sunday, March 5