Music Kitchen-Food for the Soul
c/o Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
3 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023
Stravinsky Soldier's Tale
Music Kitchen 84th Performance
Park Avenue Armory Shelter
Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violin; Dan Krekeler, bass
Liam Burke, clarinet, Brad Balliett, bassoon
Billy Hunter, trumpet; Weston Sprott, trombone
Joe Tompkins, percussion
(Photos by Gregory Routt)
Wow!
What a wonderful afternoon today's concert was! Thanks to the Sphinx
MPower Grant we were able to reprise another performance of the
Stravinsky Soldier's Tale and thanks to a new partnership with Andrew
Heinrich of Project Rousseau, we were able to identify a perfect new
venue in which to present it. We performed today at the Lenox Hill
shelter for Women housed in the Park Avenue Armory. The massive venue
is just beginning to present public concerts. In fact, I was one of the
artists in the freelance orchestra several years ago which played a
brief performance as an exploratory exercise for the possible new
venture. So it seems fitting, now alongside that public series, to also
bring great concerts to the shelter clients upstairs.
Though
I know and fully appreciate what an amazing piece of music the
Stravinsky Soldier's Tale is, I'm always a bit nervous about how the
discordant lines will fall on the ears of the clients in a shelter who
yearn to be soothed. I discovered the answer right away- they were
energized and excited by it! Not only were several clients seen dancing
to the music through the glass door during our rehearsal, but after the
brief first movement they cheered joyfully. "You are wonderful!" one
woman blurted happily. Another woman, who would become a frequent voice
throughout the performance captured it brilliantly when she said that
the music felt smart and perfectly crafted.
As
with the previous performances of this work, I explained the story of
L'Histoire in broad strokes, saying that yes it is a Faustian theme, but
for our purposes we are going to think of it as the struggle with
trouble and difficulty which we ultimately leave behind, slamming the
door shut behind us. That is again where the musical interpretation can
serve this notion by the final statement of percussion getting softer
and distant, before the final slam. Once again, our audience was very
pleased to hear this pronouncement, nodding as they made it their own.
At
most Music Kitchen concerts, it typically takes a while a while for the
clients to open up. Not so today! The ladies were brimming over with
comments and questions right away. One woman asked each musician in
turn in a variety of different ways until she was satisfied- how does
the music feel to us as we play it. We each had a personal way of
framing it, but fairly central is the idea that music, especially this
piece, has complexities and difficulties, and there is a time to work
through those. Then one must, having assimilated all that, play from
the heart.
There
were some interesting characters in our audience- one woman, arriving
in the middle of our discussion, said, "I just arrived- I haven't heard
anything yet, please play for me!" We launched into the soldier's
March. "Does that make you feel like walking?" I asked. "It makes me
feel like dancing!" said several ladies. After each movement, the same
lady had more and more questions for us, to the delight of a few and
the chagrin of others. But it was a delightfully interactive performance
with lots of laughter. We concluded as always with a group picture.
When I was leaving, a woman touched my arm and said, "You are like an
angel passing through, thank you so much for coming here."
Following are the notes from the listeners:
“The
music was delightful and enchanting. Thank you all for taking the time
to share your love of music.” All the Best! Katherine
Great Great Great
Thank you
Shirley
Thank you for playing with fervor!
All
you musicians were extremely focused on the journey this gentleman
wanted to dedicate. I know he smiles upon you all for making life’s
journey more exceptible. The sky is the limit; and goals. Beverly
Thank you for your support of Music Kitchen concerts!
Sincerely,
Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Violinist/Founder/Executive Director
We welcome your checks at the following address:
c/o Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
3 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023
No comments:
Post a Comment