Watching string quartet Brooklyn Rider rehearse is, like their music, a mixture of experiences. While at rehearsal yesterday at the intimate Simons Center Recital Hall, I often found myself struck by the virtuosity of the playing and, just about the time that I was totally engrossed and in my own little world, the Riders would laugh or begin talking, snapping me out of the musical hypnosis.
One thing is for sure–the guys are as laid back as they are talented. Watching them play is an experience in and of itself, due to their incredible talent and technical skills, but watching them rehearse reminds you that they are just four guys who really enjoy playing music together. And that is what makes it fun.
Photo by Bethany E. Larson
Check out the video from rehearsal below.
Brooklyn Rider will perform June 10th at 9PM. Click here for tickets.
Tweets by Sonaite Debebe-Kumssa. Written by Bethany E. Larson. Video by Jason Fox Berger.
At the historic Dock Street Theatre, where both Flora: An Opera and Present Laughter areperformed for this year’s Spoleto Festival USA, there are massive, elaborate sets that have to be torn down and set up between shows multiple times a day. To find out exactly how smooth–or not–this process is, Sonaite Debebe-Kumssa sat with Dock Street Theatre’s Technical Director Rhys Williams to talk about the logistics of changing the sets, while watching it all happen, which you can always watch happen, thanks to the time lapse video shot by Jason Fox Berger. Sonaite live-tweeted the entire conversation, which we have compiled for you after the jump.
Emmanuel Villuame directs a Spoleto Festival USA orchestra rehearsal.
Official release from Spoleto Festival USA:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emmanuel Villaume to Step Down
as Spoleto Festival USA Music Director for Opera & Orchestra
MAY 31, 2010 (CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA)—Emmanuel Villaume, the Christel DeHaan Music Director for Opera & Orchestra for Spoleto Festival USA, announced at today’s full board meeting that he will leave his position after the current season. “I love this Festival deeply and I have always said that if I could not give the organization what I consider to be the necessary time, I would step down from my position,” said Villaume. Recently appointed Chief Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Maestro Villaume also serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and is a highly sought-after guest conductor worldwide.
“Emmanuel will be deeply missed. He did brilliant work developing the quality of our orchestra,” said Spoleto General Director Nigel Redden. “We have already talked about his returning to the Festival in future seasons as a guest conductor,” Mr. Redden added.
“Emmanuel has been a wonderful music director and an important presence here at the Festival. We are grateful that he is leaving the orchestra and the Festival in such good shape,” said Spoleto Chairman Martha Ingram.
Mr. Villaume has conducted many celebrated productions over the last ten years. The production of Don Giovanni, directed by Günther Krämer, was described in The New York Times as a “triumph.” The success of that production led to the innovative renovation of Memminger Auditorium in which it was staged. Maestro Villaume chose to open the newly renovated Memminger with the premiere of Anthony Davis’ newly revised Amistad. Opera Today declared the production “a coup of music theater for Spoleto — an experiment in opera grand and intimate and timely in its content.”
Perhaps Maestro Villaume’s major achievement at the Festival was his work with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. The orchestra, made up of young musicians chosen from some 800 candidates who audition throughout the United States, has been described as “one of the best orchestras in America” by Tim Page of The Post and Courier (Charleston). “The orchestra is truly the star of this show” declared James Oestreich of The New York Times on its work in 2008’s Faustus, the Last Night.
During the 2010 season, Maestro Villaume will conduct the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in two orchestral concerts, on Monday, May 31, and Sunday, June 6.
I went to the Norma Winstone concert on Friday night and was astounded by how bad it was.  Not only was the music style nowhere near the jazz genre, the compositions lacked in substance, went on too long, and the continuous endings were excruciating to listen too.  The pianist didn’t play a single jazz voicing all night.  The woodwind player noodled incessantly and the bass clarinet sounded like a kazoo.  When the soprano sax played in unison with the singer, it exposed her poor intonation.  I’m not sure how all this went unnoticed in the press…
The P&C review said they didn’t swing as hard as Tierney Sutton’s band last year.  That was correct.  They didn’t come close to attempting to swing.  Spoleto should make an effort to do better in the future for jazz musicians selections.  The ukulele show last year was ridiculous (although obviously entertaining for those lacking musical insight).  I have read multiple stellar reviews  on Heloisa Fernandes, but when I saw her play, she train wrecked twice.  I mean she stopped dead, had to
collect herself and figure out where to restart.  Nobody else seemed to notice.
Lest you think I am bashing everyone unconditionally, let me say that Enrico Pieranunzi, with John Patitucci, was fabulous.  This is an example of a great player who ACTUALLY PLAYS JAZZ.  It is also an example of the quality of performance you would expect for such a venue.  Also, Tierney Sutton’s band was teriffic last year (especially when she wasn’t singing).  I realize that people love female singers and
as far as they go, she is definitely one of the best, although she brought the level of the musicianship in the band down.  Was anyone else present at her Friday afternoon sound check when she chewed out her bass player for “not making it easy for her know when to come in”?
I also understand that this is a pop culture driven society and you are trying to feed that with gimmicks, but the quality of the music should not be diminished by this effort.  How about choosing someone like Toots Thielemans?  He plays the chromatic harmonica (there’s your gimmick), is Belgian (goes with the European slant) and plays jazz.
The Post and Courier’s Live Twitter Wall is up! The scrolling wall of text made its debut Friday at the opening night of the Trocks at The Gaillard Auditorium. Onlookers stared at the large-scale video installation of real-time live tweets on the second-floor lobby wall as they entered the auditorium and during both intermissions. Audience members were able to see their own contributions to the festival-wide online discussion, while picking up tips and sneak peaks from tweeters at other locales.
If you missed the first run, don’t fret. The Twitter Wall will be on view at Gaillard an hour before each of the shows listed below. Stop by and keep tweeting using #spoto.
Monday, May 31, Strauss, Ravel, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 2, Lizz Wright, 8 p.m.
Friday, June 4, Lucinda Childs’ Dance, 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 6, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, 7:30 p.m.
Last night Courtney and I attended the Spoleto debut of Gallim Dance’s I Can See Myself in Your Pupil. Although we’re sure that you would love to read all of the things we have to say about it, we thought that maybe you’d like to know what other audience members thought instead. So, during intermission and after the performance, which, btw, received a standing ovation, we asked some dance-loving Spoleto audience members what they thought of Pupil.
We’ll be scouting out people to interview during each Spoleto USA and Piccolo Spoleto dance event we go to. Â So if you see two girls with a camera, make sure you say hi. We promise we don’t bite.
For more exclusive Spoleto USA and Piccolo Spoleto footage, visit Barre None.
So here’s the Piccolo Spoleto Poster by Tate Nation. Do you know what it means? The vote around town was that it was art, but what does that make the Spoleto Festival USA poster by Maya Lin. And just what was she trying to say with that? Here’s her poster:
Patrons were sitting under the oak trees last night at The Cistern when Spoleto Festival USA canceled ‘Noche Flamenca’ because of inclement weather. A free outdoors Piccolo Spoleto jazz concert was also canceled earlier in the afternoon for the same reason.
‘We take it day by day, often minute by minute,’ said Paula Edwards, marketing and public relations director for Spoleto Festival USA. ‘We won’t call it unless we have to.’
As thunderstorms moved through the area, ‘Flamenca’ was canceled just as it was about to begin. The flamenco group has two more outdoor performances, tonight and Saturday night, in the same venue as space is available. Edwards said that the festival will honor tickets from Thursday’s performance at either show, or patrons can call the box office and Spoleto will issue a refund.
In other instances this year, the festival has moved the performances to an indoor venue and notified patrons as they entered the Cistern.
The weather forecast for today calls for a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms.
The festival’s finale at Middleton Place on Sunday is a rain-or-shine event, so no refunds will be issued if it is rained out.
Piccolo Spoleto canceled a free Jazz in the Street concert at 5 p.m. earlier in the afternoon.
To contact Spoleto Festival, call (843) 579-3100. To contact Piccolo about events, call 888-374-2656.
One of the passengers on the Air France passenger list from the missing airlineris Silvio Barbato, who conducted ”I Capuleti e i Montecchi,” a bel canto opera at Spoleto Festival USA in 2004. The work was commissioned by the festival for the Sottile Theater.
Barbato was artistic director of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Theatre of Brazil in the nation’s capital, BrasÃlia, from 1989 to 1992 and from 1999 to 2006. He also conducted the Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro.
Mayor Joe spoke Italian
then gave his traditional opening declaration:
“And now maestro, Let the music begin,
The dancers dance, The choirs sing,
The children play, And the banners fly,
I hereby declare that
the thirty-third Spoleto festival USA has begun!”
Listen to it - Click for the audio of the event.
2 minutes 20 seconds
BOOM goes the confetti cannon,
and Whoo-Hoo goes the crowd!
The snappy snare drum kicks in, the brass blows,
and away we go. . . Spoleto USA 2009 is underway.
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