Opera from the Infield: Daniel Sonenberg's "The Summer King"

PORTLAND, ME—After a decade in the works, “The Summer King” opera debuts this week, portraying in music and words the life of Negro League baseball player Josh Gibson. The work was composed by Daniel Sonenberg, University of Southern Maine professor of music and resident composer. Portland Ovation stages the world debut Thursday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Merrill Auditorium.

Sonenberg, who has previously lived in New York City, said he never thought his opera would premier in Maine. With an almost exclusively African-American cast, and singers from around the world, the opera is the first major production of this type for Portland Ovations.

“They don't really do this, they're not a producing company,” Sonenberg said. “This has been a real learning experience for both of us.”

Baritone Stephen Salters, who plays Gibson, said he auditioned for the part in December and has been practicing since January. Salters, who lives in Brussels, Belgium, has performed major opera roles in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

Sonenberg said when auditions were held in New York, Salters' name was thrown into the mix as a potential fit for the part.

“He showed up, which surprised me because he has pretty big gigs,” Sonenberg said. “He's clearly the guy for the part. He really has, not just dramatic capability but musical chops. He's a force of nature.”

Salters said both the honor of playing Gibson as well as debuting “The Summer King” makes him feel that he is a part of history.

“I hope this piece will be taken across the world and become one of the great new American operas,” Salters said. “I do feel it is one of those great pieces. It's Dan's voice. He has mixed standards, really contemporary idiomatic music, classical contemporary music, with jazz, with swing … and with great emotional depth, but it doesn't sound like another composer's music. He's pulled little snippets of a feeling of jazz here, or a composer here or there. but it's his voice. I even hear some gospel sometimes and I think, 'Where did that come from?'--so skillfully put in there.”

Salters said a gratifying part of working on a premier is seeing the composer's reaction when the piece starts to come to life.

“For (Sonenberg), this is a huge labor of love and it's very interesting watching him in rehearsals,” said Salters. “He got teary-eyed, was like a dumb-founded kid. 'Was that what I wrote?' For them to hear their work is a special thing … And I negotiate with him, change a note here and there. I love having those discussions because everybody grows.”

The opening scene of “The Summer King” takes place in 1957, ten years after Gibson’s death, as the Dodgers move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Two barbers argue whether Gibson or Jackie Robinson was the better player. Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first African-American to play in the Major League when he joined the Dodgers in 1947, months after Gibson’s death.

From there, the opera explores Gibson's life—his relationships with women, his baseball career and his health struggles at the end of his life. A brain tumor is the suspected cause of his death in 1947.

Known as the “black Babe Ruth,” legend suggests that Gibson is the only player to ever hit a ball completely out of Yankee Stadium. Considered to be one of the best catchers and power hitters in baseball history, Gibson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972—the second Negro League player to be honored in the hall.

“I'm very exciting about how Dan set the relationships with the women in (Gibson's) life,” Salters said. “He has a very different relationship with (wife) Helen than with (mistress) Grace … and the other part we get to hear, and I think not enough of, is that he's going crazy. We hear it musically. I think we'll feel it in a visceral force in the portrayal and the music.”

Helen Mason was Gibson's wife early in life; the 18-year old died while giving birth to twins. Grace Fournier was a “headstrong, ambitious woman” who loved Gibson in his later years, Sonenberg said.

Sean Gibson, a great-grandson of Josh Gibson and Mason, said he met Sonenberg in 2007 at a game in Pittsburgh, and has known that Sonenberg's opera was in the works.

“It's an honor, anytime you can have an opera about a relative,” Sean Gibson said.

Sonenberg said he has kept in touch with Sean Gibson over the years. Sonenberg even took a tour of Josh Gibson's old stomping grounds in Pittsburgh, including the original locations of Greenlee Field and Crawford Grill.

“Considering the history involved, there were very few markers (to find them),” Sonenberg said.

Sean Gibson, who is attending the debut, said he is excited “to see how Daniel is going to make this work.”

“It's different in an opera, than in a documentary or book,” Sean Gibson said. “Someone singing about the life of Josh Gibson—to see how this all comes out will be interesting."

Sean Gibson is the executive director of the Josh Gibson Foundation; Sonenberg said he would like to form a partnership with the foundation in the future.

As for the music, Sean Gibson said he hasn't heard any of it because he wants to experience it for the first time at the opera's debut.

“I'm glad I didn't (hear any). I want to do the best I can to critique it,” said Sean Gibson. “I want to be surprised and listen. I'm looking forward to it.”

Ben Meiklejohn can be contacted at benjamin.meiklejohn@maine.edu

Hoboe and Beethoven

-sigh- I realize it's been three months since I contributed an article to this blog, but I have a very fine excuse for it. I have been neck-deep in rehearsals for a project that is the epitome of tne intent of this very blog. You see, my band Hoboe, in which I play amplified oboe, has undertaken a most ambitious goal of playing rock renditions of movements of Beethoven's 5th Symphony--more specifically, movements 2, 4 and 1 (in that order) in celebration of his 241st birthday. The show is on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at Slainte Wine Bar and Lounge in Portland, Maine.

The exciting this about this concert is that nobody has ever done anything like this. First off, there really aren't any proper alternative versions of the first movement. Sure, there's the "disco" version, the "metal" version, "electronica/techno", etc., etc.... but none of them bother to even play the whole movement, instead simply remixing and repeating the popular opening melody. Hoboe may have made some reductions vertically (as in, we may have reduced chords to their most basic elements and not have been able to get ALL the notes in our version--after all, we are only one guitar, one bass, one oboe and one drumkit), but we made absolutely no reductions horizontally (as in, we are playing every measure from beginning to end, not skipping any parts or sections of the form).

In addition, has anybody heard of any alternative-genre artists even bothering to try to get beyond the first movement? We haven't been able to find any rock, jazz, bluegrass, disco, you name it versions of any other movement.

Alas, Beethoven is too great to be glossed over like that. So in honor of the great legendary composer's 241st birthday, Hoboe is going to play these movements in their entirety, live, a one shot deal.

It's going to be a lot of fun, and as you can see, it's a first-hand example of the kind of crossing over of classical-to-contemporary that I strive to bring out in this blog. So there's my excuse... I've been "living the dream".

But expect more articles in 2012, about contemporary "classical" music happenings occurring here in Maine... and... thanks for allowing me this vacation to "walk the talk."

yours,
Zen Ben Meiklejohn

Moody Blues's Norda Mullen Mulls the Moods of Music

Norda Mullen, current flautist (since 2003) for classical-rock pioneers The Moody Blues interviewed with me from her Ogunquit summer house this week. The daughter of a classical violinist, Mullen was greatly influenced by her older siblings' love of 60's pop. She discusses the "Moodies" and the varying “moods” between pop and classical music.

What are some of your earliest memories of playing pop flute?

My sister was having a party and we weren't allowed in the party room. I was in my parents' bedroom and didn't have anything to do. They kept playing the Moodies' album Days of Future Passed and I kept hearing "Nights in White Satin.” I was sitting there and my flute was with me, and I thought "oh wow, I'll play that flute solo," so I figured it out by ear. And the Jethro Tull album called Stand Up which has their version of the Bach piece "Bourée"—that too I figured out. My sister played flute also. It's a duet on that version, so she and I figured out both parts. That was very cool because you just “got” that you could play by ear and not have to read everything.

During your classical training at Interlochen and Northwestern, did your mentors and peers know about your pop interests?

My hidden identity? I never let on in the classical world that I enjoyed playing by ear. The two never really clashed but it was good to juxtapose them. The timing of the two never really merged until I started doing it professionally. I know many classical players that have never played by ear, and it wasn't my case so I was very lucky to have done that preparation.

There seems to be a thick line dividing those genres [rock and classical]. Have you encountered any stigma attached [to playing both]?

It never came up but I do think that a lot of classical musicians, when they hear that I toured with The Moody Blues, they wouldn't judge me but I think they'd judge rock and roll. Some really get it, but 80% of them don't even think about it as anything valid.

How about on the rock side?

I think The Moodies are happy with what I've done. I don't know how they'd feel if they spent a day with Ian Anderson—if they'd come back and say "Can't you play a little more like him?". I think the way I play is a perfect fit for what their music demands. They're such a symphonic sound, that's what they did. They recorded with an orchestra, they were one of the first bands that did that.

When you think of pop bands that infuse classical music, the Moodies come up as one of the first and best at it. How does it feel to play with them?

They are the pioneers of it really. They combined them well. It's timeless music as a result and it appeals to a lot of people because of it. It has a wide range of acceptance because it combines so many elements, and why not? Why shouldn't music combine many elements? It's all music.

Was it difficult replacing Ray Thomas?

It was difficult because the fans didn't know he was leaving, they were confused. Musically it wasn't difficult, but replacing an original member wasn't easy. I think I've grown on the fans and they're used to me by now, but I've always respected the fact that I'm not him.

What's your favorite song to play with the Moodies?

"Are You Sitting Comfortably?" because there's a great flute solo in the middle. Actually I wrote that solo—kind of expanded from what Ray did into my own solo. I love the song “The Actor,” and of course “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon.” “Never Comes The Day” has a fun jamming part I play on harmonica. There's so many of them, it's hard to pick a favorite. I also like “Isn't Life Strange?”, a beautiful John Lodge song. I was in love with that when I was about 14 so I really enjoy playing it. There's a little bit of noodling I get to do on "Peak Hour."

How about your own projects?

I'm working on a solo album right now. I think it will be out in early winter of 2012. I'm also in a flute choir in LA that has seven of us, called Resonance. We just completed a second CD called The Magnificent Seven. It's a CD of movie and TV themes, but jazz arrangements of them. As a guest soloist we had Tim Weisberg—a huge, great jazz flute player.

Do you still play classical compositions?

I do. I have so much flute music and it really just depends on my mood every day. I practice all my exercises, my scales and long tones. Literally, I still think about and work on everything. Actually I found out that my teacher from Interlochen, Alexander Murray, also a flautist for the London Symphony Orchestra, was at his home in London [where Mullen currently lives] and I emailed him to say "I would love to have a lesson with you." I had not seen him since I was 17. We talked about vibrato and how to warm up. You can never go back to basics enough. I learned so much in that two hours, he had so much to teach me.

What pop bands that showcase orchestral instruments do you listen to?

Well, I LOVE this band Elbow. They're amazing, a pop band. There's a great performance of them recording with the BBC orchestra at Abbey Road—fantastic—with choir and orchestra. I love, love, love their music. They are my favorite for that kind of thing, combining orchestras—like the Moodies did—orchestras with pop songs—fantastic !

What advice would you give an orchestral player who wants to play pop?

Play as much by ear as you can. Put down the music stand, put away any sheet music. Let there be nothing in your vision and turn on the radio. Play along whether you like it or not and see what you can come up with. Don't judge yourself, just keep doing it and you'll get better at it. Just pretend that the band has hired you on your instrument and play along. And don't try to tell your orchestra-mates what you're doing because they're just going to not listen anyway. It's not even a judgment, it's just a fact, kind of like whether you're an ophthalmologist or a knee doctor. Then try to link it up with what you have learned—the key, the chords, the theory of it—after you've figured out the sound of it. There are no set rules. It's not like classical music in that way. That's the one obstacle classical players have, myself included—they are used to it being a set way, and that's the thing you have to abandon. Then you're free. Anything [instrument] can be transferred to rock if played right.

The Moody Blues and Norda Mullen perform this Tuesday, September 13^th at 8 p.m. at Portland's Merrill Auditorium.

Space Music

I know this blog was formed for the purpose of showcasing contemporary classical music composition and performances in Maine, USA, but in the broader perspective, planet Earth is a pretty cool place to be.

I'll be gone for two weeks participating in a NASA-funded research study where I will be living in an environment with no time cues, no windows to the outside, and no communication with the outside world via computers or cell phones. I've been trained how to operate the robotic arm on the International Space Station and will be tested on my performance in doing so.

This blog will be stagnant for the duration and I thought it best to take the opportunity to share some links highlighting the rich albeit recent history that music shares with mankind's exploration of space.

Many astronauts have played musical instruments in space:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/04sep_music/

http://www.hobbyspace.com/Music/index.html#InSpace

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/16/138171055/music-in-space

The fact is, music has played a very important role in many ways, during our explorations beyond this planet, as it should... because after all, music is ingrained into our psyche, whether we be on the ground or floating above.

To conclude, check out my absolute favorite, bridging the gap between classical and popular music in an extra-worldly way--this duet by Astronaut Cady Cole and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson!



Enjoy! and.. I'll talk to you when I hit ground in Maine again!

Astro-lutely yours,
Major Meiklejohn

Going "Organic" in Portland

Going “Organic”
Two Concerts Close Out the Kotzchmar Organ's Summer Series

In its 99th year, the country's oldest working municipal pipe organ, Portland's Kotzchmar Organ housed in Merrill Auditorium offers two concerts to close out its Summer Series in upcoming weeks. Ray Cornils, the man with the true “keys” to the city (sorry, I couldn't resist)--Portland's designated municipal organist since 1990—will conclude the series on Tuesday, August 30th. But first, California native and world-renowned organist and composer, 27-year old Chelsea Chen will grace the Kotzchmar solo this upcoming Tuesday with a diverse program ranging from early music organ standards to contemporary pieces.

Chen will open the concert with J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, probably THE pinnacle piece for organ. You know those notes you hear on horror films or on Scooby Doo, when the creaky door to the haunted mansion is first opened? Those are the initial notes of Bach's toccata. Expect this composition to return to Kotzchmar programs at Halloween time.

Chen will play her own arrangements also, Three Taiwanese Songs, from her Taiwan Tableaux-- a tribute to her Chinese father completed in 2007 after residing in Taiwan on a Fulbright Fellowship. The piece is based on Taiwanese folk songs from the 1930's and 1940's. Chen will treat us to her renditions of Four Seasons, The Cradle Song, and Song of the Country Farmer.

And then there is something for the children, the video gamers and jazzers. The program that Chen has planned has an impressive range of appeal—it's no wonder she was alluded to as “a harbinger of the generation on the horizon” by the Journal of American Organbuilders. Claude Debussy's Children's Corner and Rod Gorby's Three Jazz Standards (arrangements of pieces by Duke Ellington, Ben Bernie and George Gershwin) will be performed, but the highlight of entertainment will likely be Chen's arrangement of Koji Kondo's Super Mario Fantasia. With her masterfully placed imitations of Mario jumping over turtles and collecting coins interjected into Kondo's melodies, Chen brings the organ full circle and back to relevance for all of us that spent hundreds (ahem, thousands) of hours gaming in front of the television in the 1990's—something unheard of in 1912 when the Kotzchmar was first installed.

This brings us back home to Cornils, one of only a handful of municipal organists nationwide. Cornil's performance will include his own arrangements of selections not originally composed for organ—William Walton's royal coronation composition Crown Imperial March (to be performed with the Kotzchmar Festival Brass) and Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio. The Brass will accompany Cornils for pieces by Giovanni Gabrieli and Pyotr Tchaikovsky and for those who need their fix of traditional early music organ works, a requisite solo piece by Bach, the undisputed organ-master of all time, will be performed.

The showcase of this concert however, could very well be the performance of a work by a living artist, Toccata by Denis Bédard who is perhaps Canada's premier composer for organ. Toccata is a festive, very “20th Century” composition rich in sixteenth note passages and a finale so full in octaval depth that it should knock your tube socks off—a grand piece to close out the concert and the series with.

History may indeed hold the keys to the present, but Chen and Cornil demonstrate this month that the Koztchmar is not just a relic of the past, a museum so to speak. Owned and maintained by the people of Portland, it continues to serve as a vehicle for modern creative expression with contemporary relevance while simultaneously serving as a symbol of artistic heritage and pride.

Now that's something worth piping up about.

At MERRILL AUDITORIUM:

August 23, 2011, 7 30 PM Chelsea Chen
August 30, 2011, 7 30 PM Ray Cornils with Kotzschmar Festival Brass

Classical Music ME!

Welcome to the new blog--Classical Music ME--dedicated to bringing exposure to and casting spotlights on the variety of performances that occur throughout the state of Maine that feature contemporary classical compositions. I used to write classical columns for a local publication in Portland, Maine and one of my major focuses was always to find a way to cast "classical" music in the freshest and most modern of lights. Sure, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky were absolutely great composers, timeless even. But that doesn't mean we have to live forever in the past and cast a blind eye to the interesting and entertaining sounds being produced today in the 21st century, by brilliant and thoughtful living composers.

Yes, I also enjoy pop--rock, folk, disco, blues, funk, adult contemporary, punk--you name it. However, these musical forms already consume the vast majority of the publicity dedicated to music and the arts in today's media. Everybody is already a-ga-ga for pop, you almost have to go "underground" to really dig in to what it means to be a part of the modern classical music movement. If you're a local or modern composer or performer who is doing new and unique, interesting things in a "classical" context, and you want to get in on that little slice of the media pie that's leftover from pop and rock, you're probably going to get run over by aforementioned giants of the past--Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and more...

So... hence comes the ClassicalMusicME blog. I want to cover contemporary classical music happenings in Maine. You may occasionally see my articles as a freelance writer in publications in Maine, but I don't want to wait for them to get on the "bandwagon." There are
interesting things happening and they are happening now.

Classical music doesn't need to be relegated to the stuffy cobweb-ridden museums of the past. The bridge between yesterday and today can be crossed, and there's a place for the classical form in that passage.

The focus of this blog will be to bridge the gap of time, to modernize and bring to present relevance, the classical form, and promoting Maine concerts, performers and composers in the process.

I hope you will enjoy this blog, and I do welcome contributing writers. My first story will be up within the day!

Classically Today,
Benjamin J. Meiklejohn