27.3.11

Festival Reflections Part 5


By Saturday, the 40 festival guests had become a little family. Everyone was walking around like they had known each other for years! Since there was no one else at the school, there was a special and secretive atmosphere to the festival. It was nice, and great to start the day with everyone making some music (even if we were all a bit sleepy! 

The schedule: 
9.00 – 10.30 Improvisation Session 3
11.00 – 12.30: Percussion and Media with Charles Martin and Chi-Hsia Lai (Lisa)
12.30 – 13.30: Lunch
14.00 – 14.45: Trevor Saint – Solo Glockenspiel session
14.45 – 15.30: Solo piece Session with Shaun Gallant and Evan Dabbs
16.00 – 17.00: Morris Palter - How to Memorize multi set-ups
19.00: CONCERT: Smörgasbord of International Percussionist featuring all festival participants

After the improvisation rehearsals, the whole group went to the student union where we provided coffee and some snacks to make sure everyone was alert for the interactive media session. We were the only people in the student house, so we put our feet up and enjoyed our "fika" (Swedish word for coffee break!) 

Charles' and Lisa's media session was really cool! I knew that Charles had a big interest in computer music, but it was so great to see him present his past projects and ideas! He worked with Lisa back in Australia, and now she lives in Helsinki, Finland, so it was a perfect opportunity for them to get together again! 
check out Strike on Stage!!

Lunch was not really a break for the whole group...those who could go out, did...but many of us stayed to rehearse for the closing concert. Daniel and I needed to run through a duo, and other groups spread out to touch up their pieces. We had some sandwiches and snacks left over from the night before, so it was actually a cozy environment of rehearsing and munching! 

The afternoon was much more self-propelled than the rest of the festival. I put these individual sessions at the end because they involved the least amount of people and assistance. Since everyone would be involved in the evening concert, we thought it would be best to have an afternoon that was low stress....it was great! 

First, Trevor presented more solo glock pieces! this one for glock and amplified snow! very cool! 

Then, Shaun Gallant played Garage Drummer by Jim Campbell and talked about his Mourning Dove Sonet (Christopher Deane) performance on the soloist concert. Evan Dabbs also presented a piece for quartet that he wrote just for this festival. It was a great platform for him present a composition and get feedback. 

Morris Palter gave a great clinic on memorizing multi set-ups! Here he is working with Evan Dabbs from Fort Worth, Texas. 

Morris working with Sami, from Tampere, Finland

The sessions had concluded, and now it was time for the real fun! The whole festival would be summed up by the closing concert. First, I made sure that the performers were fed and happy. With the money the Kommun donated, I had pizza delivered (well, actually Arvid picked it up and delivered it!) Free pizza makes everyone happy! :)

After the quick dinner we rearranged the Black Box Theatre. We wanted to create a cool "Pub Night" feel. We hired the restaurant to bring their portable bar in the theatre to sell drinks, and set up couches instead of the regular stadium seating. My favorite lighting girl, Linda, put up some colored LEDs and the stage looked great! We had 4 improv groups, and 5 other pieces to perform. Instead of setting an order, I asked the audience what they wanted to hear after each piece! The night was a BLAST!!!!!! I can't express how much fun everyone had! We had a ton of non-percussionists there too‚ which added another exciting element! 

Casey started the show with a bang! 

I had a great time chatting with the audience! 

The Improv Groups were awesome!!! 

Jake, Shaun and Fiona tearing it up on a cajon trio! 

Had a great time playing with Daniel on his piece The Legacy

Found Instruments improv 

Ended with a mass improv! It was amazing to see everyone involved! 

"great job, everyone! Now...let's clean up!!!"

We couldn't have asked for a more successful festival! Jake, Charles and I were so happy that night! After cleaning everything, the Finnish groups hopped back in their vans and drove home (so crazy!), and the rest of us headed to the bar!! Wouldn't be a percussion event without a few drinks! 

I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback from everyone in attendance. The students admitted they never knew that percussion music could be so exciting and diverse, and the teachers said they hadn't been to a more unique or well-organized event. I was overjoyed, and still am! We're collecting quotes from the attendees and will post them on our website once we have all of the evaluation forms. 

The next morning, many of us headed to Stockholm at 6:30 in the morning to give another concert. There wasn't much time to bask in the festival success, but if you're going to do something...do it big! More about the Stockholm trip later. I've just written 5 blog entries after weeks and weeks of blog hiatus...time to take a break! 

Festival Reflections Part 4

What did Friday have in store? By this point, the pace and craziness of festival production was becoming normal, but that didn't mean there wasn't plenty to coordinate and oversee!

The day's schedule was:
9.00 – 10.00: Highlighting pubications by Edition Svitzer; Ensemble Evolution and Rhythm Art Duo
10.00 – 10.30: Johan Svitzer Clinic: the publishing world
11.00 – 11.30: Ensemble Performance by Palmgren Conservatory Ensemble
11.30 – 12.00: Ensemble Performance by Framnäs Folkhögskolan 
12.00 – 12.30: Ensemble performance by Tampere Conservatory, Tamk Percussion Ensemble
12.30 – 13.30: lunch
13.30 14.00: Informal foyer concert with Ensemble Evolution
14.00 – 15.00: Improvisation Session 2
15.30 – 17.00: Solo Marimba Repertiore with Daniel Berg, Jacob Remington, and Ellen Sjö Sander
19.00: CONCERT: International Soloist Showcase

This was a packed day, that begin with an EE performance! It was very important for us to highlight the works published by EditionSvitzer. He has supported us in so many ways; published Hittade, gave me tons of contacts for the festival, advertised for the festival, sent us free music, donated music to our duo Kickstarter project and came all the way from Copenhagen to attend and network! He sent us a trio by Broström called Bridging the World, so we decided to begin the session with the piece. It was good for us to play with little rehearsal and with little sleep! Welcome to the life of a pro!! 

Bridging the World: great for intermediate ensembles and educational tool to introduce Bach!

Johan runs a world class publishing company. He really cares about all of his artists and the production of high quality music!

Fredrik checks out the EditionSvitzer display

Next up was an hour and a half very special to the students in attendance. Our goal was to give every single participant a chance to perform! It was great to see passionate performers at all levels! 

From Pori Palmgren, Finland. This was their first performance ever! so great! 

From the folkschool here in Piteå

Showing some ragtime skills! From Tampere, Finland

Another "great idea" that EE had during the planning process was to present an improvisation project that Charles created with iPhones. Of course, playing a lunch time concert in the middle of the festival was really smart. Haha :)  well, we were a bit stressed...but improvising with iPhones is super fun, and everyone loved it! It was fun to present one of our new ideas...we hope to keep developing the concept to make it into a sustainable work!

Half of the reason to do this little gig was to play in the beautiful Acusticum foyer! marimba + vibes + drums + toy piano + 3 iphone triggers/effects + 2 speakers = super fun! 

Following this taste of improvisation was the students groups' improvisation rehearsals. This time, I ran around to listen to each group. It was incredible to see the students having so much fun and working so well together! I then practiced for 5 minutes, and I think I sat down for about 5 minutes to eat half of Anders sandwich before it was time to start the solo marimba session. 

The afternoon session was lead by Daniel Berg, Jake Remington and Ellen Sjö Sander. Each one played works special to them. I couldn't attend because I had to prepare the hall and the light/sound technicians for the evening concert. I heard it was great though! 

Seeing pieces performed by the composer is a great educational tool! 

Once the dinner break started, my body started to shut down. I sent those not involved in the soloist concert away for dinner and set up some sandwiches and snacks backstage (or rather, my two friends Anna and Margret did!) Then, I attempted to produce a full concert including 8 soloists in under 1.5 hours. This was the biggest challenge of the whole festival...and my body was telling me to stop. I don't really remember too much from this part of the day. I had to make sure every performer had a chance to warm-up on stage while explaining to concert order and flow and testing the lights (working the lighting board myself) Not to mention, I was going to perform Hittade with Jake, Charles, and Daniel. Daniel hadn't played it with us before...the only preparation was playing it through with just him during the improvisation session earlier in the day. Not only was I physically exhausted, but nervous that my piece would fall apart. I can't say that this was a healthy combination. 

But, the show must go on! It was an impressive concert in hindsight. Soloists from all around the world, impressive and personal repertoire, and the lighting was pretty awesome too....

Jake started the concert with tons of energy!!!!! 

Charles' piece for snare drum and computer!! So cool to see us each do our own thing!

Ellen had a beautiful touch! 

Daniel is one of the grooviest guys I know!

I love this piece, but I have to admit that this was not my best performance. I was so exhausted, I had no control over my arms or my mind. Although it was painful to get through, I did my best to hide my disappointment, and am glad that I went through this experience. I know I can handle a lot, but maybe I shouldn't preform so much while overseeing such a huge event! 

Trevor's glockenspiel solo in the balcony. I really respect his glockenspiel project! 

Morris is a powerful multi player! 

Shaun Gallant came all the way from California to be apart of the festival and check out the school. great guy, and we hope to work with him in our ensemble in the future! 

The concert ended in amazement! Casey rocks. That's all I can say! 

I had a lot of emotions at the end of this day. Great success within the festival, but a less than stellar personal performance. The good definitely outweighed the bad, but it was still annoying! Luckily, I think that the day was packed with so many great things that no one but me remembers...maybe I shouldn't have written so much! haha :) 

Festival Reflections Part 3

Thursday, March 17 was the first full day of the festival. I arrived at school at 8am to make sure that everything was organized for the day. The session schedule was: 


9.00 – 10.00: Ensemble Performance by Ensemble 64.8
10.15 – 11.00: Casey Cangelosi – Performance Techniques 
11.15 – 12.30: Anders Åstrand and Global Percussion Network – Tools in improvisation 
12.30 – 13.30 lunch
14.00 – 15.00 Improvisation Session 1
15.30 – 17.00: Casey Cangelosi and Ensemble Evolution with Musichögskolan composition department
19.00: CONCERT:  Sweden’s “Slagverk” Stars with Global Percussion Network and Rhythm Art Duo

Along with simply making sure that every session started and ended ontime, I also was awaiting the arrival of two groups from Finland. They left at 9pm on Wednesday and drove through the night to get to the festival! The worried mom in me couldn't wait for them to arrive, just so my nerves could calm down! The first two sessions were great, and the Finnish groups arrived in time to have a 30 minute nap and catch the Global Percussion Network session at 11:15am. 

Ensemble 64.8 started the sessions with a bang! It was great to hear their approach to contemporary works and their more about their relationship with JLA. Unfortunately I was fielding phone calls from the Finnish groups and our team of helpers (worried mother!) Good thing we recorded everything!  

I hadn't met Casey before this festival. He's so great! Jake worked hard to get him here, and I'm so glad that it worked out. In this session Casey talked about his approach to music interpretation in general and our sustainability as musicians. 

It is ALWAYS great to see Anders, Rolf and Daniel perform! It was even greater to see them work will these diverse students and talk about improvisation. This really jump-started something great in week! 

Anders is one of the best presenters I know!!! 

After the full morning, I sent the group of 40 participants to the concert hall restuarant for a free lunch by one of our sponsors. The convenience of the lunch really helped the flow of the festival, and kept everyone in the same place! I don't think I ate, though...I really didn't eat much the whole time (best diet ever!!) Everytime I would walk in one direction with a purpose, I would be bombarded with 3 more questions and get sidetracked. It's all part of the gig though, and I hope I answered each question with a smile! 

After lunch, we broke all of the students in the festival (about 32) up into 4 improvisation groups, with the goal that they will come together, create a new piece of music, and perform it on the final concert. The concept was one of the first ideas we had to make this festival unique, and I was praying that it would work out alright. We planned to have Anders' session just before breaking into groups, and it was a plan well executed...all of the students were so excited to improvise, even though most of them had never done anything like it before! We even had a flutist and a pianist involved. Some of the students were really young, but everyone worked together beautifully! Check out the photos from the last concert that I will post in a later blog entry :) 

During this hour and a half of improv groups, Anders and I were interviewed by the local newspaper. The writer presented a fabulous article the next day that expressed the need for international relations, and the unique atmosphere that Piteå has to offer. We were all really pleased with the review! Go here to see: Piteå newspaper article, photos, and TV report! 

After lunch, I had to put my "performing hat" back on. Whew, exhausting! This session was with the composition department at Piteå. We asked students to write 1-2 minute ideas for percussion trio. We gave them 2 set-ups, one for mallets and one for 3 multi set-ups, and set no other limits. We sent the scores to Casey to prepare, and we sight read the parts during the session. This idea was also one whose success was uncertain (especially since we were sight-reading! there was just no time to rehearse!) I was so happy by the end of the session, the composers and the attendees were really motivated! Casey gave some fantastic advice about notation and clarity, and it was actually good that we sight read the parts to show the composers exactly what we understood from their music. 

We projected the scores on the screen while we read the music. Then Casey offered advice and comments, while asking our opinions as well as the audiences' 

The dinner break was a bit hectic. Luckily, Rhythm Art Duo (Daniel Berg and Fredrik Duvling) and Global Percussion Network (Anders, Rolf Landberg, and Daniel Saur) had been preparing and sound-checking in the concert hall during the afternoon sessions. I didn't have to help them, but we did have to feed the guests, print programs, and prepare the space. Small tasks are still time consuming! 

The evening concert was called "Sweden's Slagverk Stars!" (Slagverk is percussion in Swedish!) And it truly was a representation of Sweden's finest percussionists! The groups were very different, but high-class through and through! It was nice to sit back, relax, and enjoy some great music! 

This was the first time I had met or heard Daniel and Fredrik play. They are really great people and performers. I feel so grateful that they wanted to come to the festival. They inspired and encouraged me to continue in music, and I know they did the same for many of the students that were here!

What is there to say about GPN!? Amazing group...and I've thought so since they came to Ohio State when I was there back in the day (haha!) Now that I've gotten to know them each so much the past 2 years, it's even more uplifting to watch them play. 

Charles, Jake, and I also took on the responsibility of filming and streaming all of the concerts and events online. We were disappointed that we could not get any of the TV production students or teachers to help (that's a whole other story), but felt very passionate about recording and archiving the events. It was a whole new level of responsibility, but I'm so glad we did it. This concert was fantastic, and you can watch the streamed version at anytime here -  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ensemble-evolution. The video is not great, but the sound is very good. We are now trying to edit the 30+ hours of HD video, and will post the completed clips on our website as soon as we can! 

Festival Reflections Part 2

Day 2, Tuesday, of festival week was dedicated creating The Arctic Connection collaboration. After Anders and Morris spoke at PASIC we all decided that having two groups living in similar climates and dedicated to new repertoire was too ironic to not be exploited. The opening concert for our festival was the first meeting of the two groups, and we all crossed our fingers that the idea would come to fruition with ease! 
Welcome to Piteå, 64.8!

Jake, Charles, and I decided that we would premiere our new compositions on this concert. Throughout the festival planning process, we had been composing for the group and treating rehearsals like workshops. We had recorded the pieces with Anders and Evaristo Aguilar a few weeks prior to the concert, and even since then the pieces had undergone many edits and revisions. We were very proud to present our music, which added another level of intensity in the situation: premiering our group, our festival, our collaboration, and our music! 

EE rehearsing, trying to block all of the other stressors from our minds and focus on playing! 

Along with Ensemble 64.8, we performed Terry Riley's In C, and added everyone on Jake's piece called Birdo (which was the perfect high-energy closer!) We also premiered a piece by a composer that just graduated from Piteå, and played a Tobias Broström piece to represent a well-known Swedish figure. Ensemble 64.8 performed contemporary works by John Luther Adams, Bruce Mather, and Timothy Constable. Together, the concert was a perfect representation of how diverse our field can be! 

Ensemble 64.8, getting used to the instruments and the space. Luckily, we have great equipment and the Acusticum is an amazing concert hall! 

We had Tuesday and Wednesday morning to rehearse together and separately. Anders arrived on Tuesday evening and coached us. I felt really great after our rehearsals together. It was obvious that Charles, Jake and I had really grown since the recording we had done earlier. To see Anders proud really got me excited about the experience. 

Luckily, we bonded very quickly with the other group! Fiona and I are long lost personality twins! It was great to work with such amazing musicians and people! 

I was 200% "on" preparing for the concert on Wednesday. To me, it was a defining moment in my career. Could I handle so many elements at once, and still perform to my potential? All of the stressors were self induced, but that's normal for me. I just wanted everything to go well! There were a ton of last minute details to worry about before the concert...and I think I sat down during our lovely dinner (sponsored by the Kommun at the restaurant in the concert hall building) for about 25 minutes. The 2 bites I had of the food was delicious! We had a lot of people to thank at that dinner, and it was a lovely way to initiate the festival. My mind was always about 5-30 minutes ahead of what was actually going on, though! 

We began the concert with by playing a recording of John Luther Adam's In White Silence in the lobby before the audience was let into the concert hall. 
It's a beautiful space! 
Photo: Anna Åström

As the audience entered the hall, we provided an etherial sound scape from the balcony 
Photo: Anna Åström

One by one, we left the balcony and entered the stage to begin In C.
Photo: Anna Åström

Ensemble Evolution premiering Björn Sikström's piece Blocks and Bells
We were so happy to perform a piece by a young composer. We are very passionate about working with composers and highlighting our generation! 
Photo: Anna Åström

Premiering Charles' piece Travel
Photo: Anna Åström

Ensemble 64.8's performances were excellent! 
Photo: Anna Åström

At the end of this concert, I had a great feeling, and was more at ease than the beginning of the week. Before our last piece, Anders had some closing remarks for the audience, and he said some wonderful things about the guys and me. Although I've done a lot of concerts while I've been in Sweden, this one was very special to me, and in my opinion, the perfect way to begin the festival! 

Festival Reflections Part 1

It's hard to believe that the festival ended just one week ago. An event that consumed our lives for months is now just a small memory, and fleeting moment in this Swedish adventure! However, I can say with confidence, that our work and dedication to this project was worth it and the final product exceeded all of our expectations! The feedback we've received from the students and professionals in attendance is so motivating. Through this experience I've been truly touched musically, but also enlightened to a career path that I didn't know existed. 

If you would have asked me on Monday, March 14 how I was feeling, if would have been a combination of excitement and nerves. Charles, Jake and I decided to put 100% into organizing this festival after a few conversations with Anders in the fall. Anders' idea was to host an international festival in Piteå and give us the artistic direction. Anders met Morris Palter at PASIC in November, and decided that we should invite him and his graduate ensemble, Ensemble 64.8 to Piteå. Once that decision was made, Charles, Jake and I hit the ground running.

Planning a festival in just a few months is a complicated process. Where to begin? We knew that Morris' group from Alaska was confirmed, but other than that we could create anything that we wanted to imagine. So, our mission became to create a venue in which percussionists, regardless of status (student, teacher, professional) could present and perform works and projects that are creative and unique. 

To get people interested, I wrote tons of emails. TONS. I networked as much as I could through Anders, Johan Svitzer (of the publishing company and advocate, EditionSvitzer), and within my own contacts. At first,  I did not get tons of replies. It's hard to convince people that a unknown group in Northern Sweden could organize an event! However, by the end of January, we had a great list of attendees and presenters. Phew! 

During these months, I was also responsible for the practicality of the festival...meaning, the MONEY! Our percussion department (which consists of the three of us and Daniel Saur) had a budget, but not nearly enough. We spent a lot of time approaching the school administration, school organizations, and local businesses trying to get support. We were extremely excited to be supported by the Piteå Kommun which covered some meals and transportation for the guests, as well as a company called Centrek, that supports entrepreneurship. We arranged to do everything on a scale that would not require huge amounts of money, but made sure that everything was covered. We aren't sponsored by any percussion companies yet, so felt strongly about doing this "on our own", I am amazed at what we accomplished with what we had...no one at the festival could believe it! 

The Kommun donated these great bags and a few goodies! We also had a fabulous media team that helped us create great posters and these programs filled with the schedule, everyone's biography and other important information. I am so happy with how professional everything looked.

Alright, so we've got the guests and the budget support, now we need to organize the schedule, press, transportation, rehearsals, publicity, equipment, technical support, and keep our sanity. Easy :) 

Again, it's now Monday, and all of these aspects had theoretically been covered, and we were waiting for the group from Alaska to arrive. The day was spent collecting instruments from nearby schools (where we experienced Jake driving a stick for the first time! Group bonding at it's best...hoping not to die!), printing badges and programs, stuffing the bags, and preparing all of the rooms. We created an intense rehearse schedule the week before knowing that we would be so consumed with the administrative tasks we wouldn't have time to play everyday. I'm really glad we pushed ourselves so much! At this point, all I could think about was what I was forgetting!

We greeted our Arctic friends that evening, showed them around the school and headed out for dinner. None of us had met before (aside from some Skype conversations with Morris), so I put my "social butterfly" hat on and tried to get to know everyone personally in hopes that we would all musically mesh for the concert on Wednesday! 

The "first day" of the festival had gone well...no catastrophes...the group traveling the farthest had arrived and it was time to try to sleep...