Amsterdam visits Bethlehem, PA

Last Friday my High School played host to Sylvia and Peter. They had traveled from Amsterdam to America earlier in the week, to create more performance opportunities for us – at the United Nations in New York City (18 October) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. (21 October). Mr. Hersh and Mrs. Maniscalco traveled up to the city to pick up Sylvia and Peter at 7:30 a.m.; everyone arrived at the school by 9:15 and Peter immediately jumped into rehearsal with our 11/12th grade choir. I cannot adequately express how I felt – I was overwhelmed with feelings: happiness that our students experienced Peter and Sylvia’s wonderful energy and passion; pride that we are involved in this project; joy that friends and colleagues at school met and experienced the people about whom I have spoken so much over the last few weeks; sadness that Sylvia and Peter could only stay for a few hours before leaving for home. Though I have only known them for a few short weeks, they have had a major impact on my life and I enjoy spending time with them – a few hours simply aren’t enough.

Peter worked with the 11/12th grade choir for almost two hours, working through four of the five movements. His style and working method are so different from what our students experience with anyone of the LVPA staff, but they took to him immediately and their performance just got better and better. We then whisked them off to lunch at our favorite local Italian eatery, then returned to school for a Press Conference. It seemed a great success: two area papers, the local Cable news station, and our local congressman came. Peter and Sylvia spoke (followed by Congressman Dent, myself, Kim, and our Superintendent), followed by a chance to film Peter working with the choir and to watch the dancers perform.

All in all, a fabulous day – but Peter could not stop there; after all of this, he went back in to choir room to do more rehearsing. His enthusiasm and positive energy filled the room; I have never seen our students more excited with any other visitor. They seem to fully understand the importance of what we are doing, which speaks volumes about their maturity and openness and commitment. These are rare qualities to find in people today, let alone teenagers. I write this on 17 September – we have exactly one month to make what is good, great. And I believe we will!

Back in America

Arriving home on Monday was a terrible shock...Sunday we performed the Requiem twice in The Hague and had a final meal together by the Nordic Sea. Saying 'goodbye' proved difficult: at the restaurant it took almost a half-hour to say our 'thank yous' and 'goodbyes' to our new Amsterdam family and when we got back to the hotel the conductors gathered together for a final drink - and that went on for another two hours. Working on this piece, spending this concentrated time together on an issue that is truly significant to us, has bonded us very quickly and very deeply. At least for me, that was an unexpected -and wonderfully precious - gift from the workshop.

So that made Monday all the more disconcerting...home and suddenly thinking about starting school, church and returning to rehearsals for the musicals I am directing, as well as college choir rehearsal starting in two weeks. However, I did talk and begin working on the Requiem: at church, I invited my choir to come join us in Bethlehem - an unrealistic request, since many will still be at work, but they are loving, caring, compassionate people who might very well enjoy an opportunity to be part of such a thing. At school, we decided to involve as many people as possible (all of the vocal majors will sing, all of the dancers will dance) and we decided to perform it twice, in both the afternoon and evening, to create more publicity and allow more people to hear and participate in the work. More importantly, we started learning the music - the students really seem to like it and are very excited about being a part of this project. That makes me very happy and proud of every one of them!

The school week ended with a wonderful surprise: Sylvia and Peter are coming to the United States next week! They are trying to create more performances for us - at the United Nations on 16 October and then sometime during the G8 Summit during the week of 19-25 October in Washington D.C. To do those concerts would be the high point of anything our school has done in it's five year history. We would truly be using our art for the good of millions of people; that is perhaps the most important lesson we can teach our students about their artist endeavours. And the best part is that Sylvia and Peter plan to visit us on Friday, 14 September and that will be a wonderful experience for everyone in the school; it will be a joy to see these new friends again. So next week will be filled with rehearsals to ensure our visitors have something to hear and see; it is wonderful to be involved with this project and I do hope that our work on and performance of this piece will inspire all those who perform and hear it to dedicate themselves to the death of poverty.

Amsterdam - Day 5

Reflections…

Today we traveled to The Hague, rehearsing with a new conductor and additional performers for performance(s) on Sunday. We arrived at 10:15 (late due to traffic, which I understand is a common problem here) and rehearsal began a few minutes later. It was interesting and instructive to see another person work on this music - he had a very different style and was concerned with very different things than Peter...that is not meant to be negative, simply an accurate description.

Rehearsal ended and we headed home and I think everyone was glad have a night to see Amsterdam. When you have studied and worked on a piece so intensely over a period of three days, no matter how wonderful it is, you need time away from me, so it doesn’t completely over run your mind. So tonight a few of us ate at an excellent Indian restaurant and then several of us met up and went to see a concert on one of the canals - and I mean that literally!! For this festival they close the entrances to the canal (no tourist boat rides under these bridges) and park barges in the water that become the stage, dance and food areas...I’ve never seen anything quite like it. In fact, this whole trip has been unlike anything I have ever experienced - I have been to many conductors meetings, but all too often they are conventions where many folk feel competitive or want to ensure they are taken seriously, or master classes where the teacher is going to make you a better conductor by destroying your ego by insisting that everything you are doing is wrong, and then building you into the new and improved (in their image) conductor. Here we have come together, as professionals, to work on a piece that has a strong spiritual and social purpose, and we have traveled from several countries throughout the world to teach, question, support and inspire one another. That atmosphere is the result of the hard work, commitment and passion of Peter and the entire staff at oxfam-novib. They are, each and every one of them, wonderful people, who have done all they can to make this a beautiful experience for all of us, and I can only hope that my work here and in the future will match their efforts here.

Then there is this wonderful city. I know from talking to new friends that live here that they have problems and struggles, as all cities and societies have. But I see so many signs of an integrated society, one in which people of various backgrounds (colors, nationalities, religions, political and social beliefs) have so enjoined themselves to one another, that diversity is a completely natural part of their daily lives. America talk a good game about diversity, and certainly it is better than it ever was, but we have a long way to go before we are as successful as Netherlanders. And it is necessity for the future of our world...we are becoming a global village and that will not change. We can fight against, no matter - it will still come. Instead, we should embrace it and strive to make it a beautiful, strengthening thing...and this city and it's people, and this work and it's composer, have shown me how important is that goal.

Conductor's Workshop - Day 3

Today seemed more easygoing - and that is a good thing since the first two days were so intense. Our morning was spent with the choreographers who created the dance for the Requiem. We began with the first movement: they asked us to stand up and do the choreography with them - it is a daunting task to stand next to professional dancers, who move with such agility and grace, and follow/copy their movements. Frankly, I felt a bit of an ass, but the room, as usual, was filled with a fun, gentle, and positive spirit - so I felt more comfortable than I normally do when making a fool of myself - and I suppose that is a good thing.

Once that movement was over, they kindly allowed us to sit and talk through the other movements, showing us film of their recent performances. This was actually the first time I have sat and watched a complete production and I continue to be amazed by the work. (Certainly the audience in the video felt similarly, as evidenced by their reaction at the end of the performance.)

Again, I must compliment Peter's abilities as a composer. It must have been a difficult task to compose a work about poverty that is universal and approachable, yet reflects the music of countries where poverty is more keenly felt. Additionally, the work is complicated, with parts for four different choirs, two soloists and at least 3 percussionists. With all those forces, a lot can go wrong, and it could easily go beyond the abilities of amateur singers, but Peter has written the piece in such a way that if something goes off track during a performance, there are compositional 'anchors' that enable everyone to come together again. And the music remains entirely doable by choirs with even the least amount of experience. Despite how difficult and complicated it might sound, the structure is clear and well laid out - everything really works together. Peter's true gift is that he met all of the challenges and created a powerful musical experience out of this - a pretty great accomplishment for any composer.

In the afternoon we did a final run of the work, with each movement led by a different conductor. It was certainly wonderful to see everyone in action - to see similarities and differences in approach and technique...but what was evident in everyone was a love for the work and a passionate desire to make it speak to the performers and audience alike. I am quite sure that Peter feels his work is in good hands - and now we need to go out with what we learned and allow the music to teach and inspire.

Conductor's Workshop - Day 2

Reflections…

Today I feel more strongly than ever that this is an event of unique importance. It started with another beautiful morning, a tasty breakfast, and a pleasant drive to Oxfam headquarters. We were set to spend the morning addressing issues about the percussion: what instruments to use, how many players to have, creating new rhythms, using some established rhythmic patterns, balancing with choirs of various sizes – an incredibly long list, created by the conductors. It looked like it would be an excellent and informative morning.

However the discussion suddenly became more potent and emotional when Falou Wade spoke. He began by apologizing to us for not being able to speak in English. Certainly this was unnecessary, but he then continued (through Myguel’s translation) with kindness and nobility in his voice and demeanor, to compliment the composer, the librettist, the soloists, the percussionist, the other conductors in the room. He spoke of the importance of this project and then said to us, “Everyone in my country is poor.” I cannot adequately express how powerfully that hit me. “Everyone in my country is poor.” I live in arguably the richest country in the world, where if we changed the way we spend and/or use money we could completely eliminate poverty throughout the world. (Simplistic? Perhaps, but often the simplest answer is the right answer, though we are loathe to admit it.) And this kind and gentle man lives in a country where everyone is poor. I cannot, as an American who has barely traveled out of the United States, truly comprehend what that feels like. However, I recognize how terrible it is and how it is absolutely avoidable if we work together. Poverty is not cancer, it is not HIV/AIDS…we have the vaccine, we know the cure – we just don’t want enough…and that is terribly sad.

We went on and our discussions about the percussion were indeed thorough and helpful. In fact, there was so much to talk about that we ended up dedicating the entire day to it, so none of the conductors had to conduct a movement (secretly I think many/all of us were relieved).

We ended the day with a visit from Oxfam Novib’s (Netherlands) general director Sylvia Borren, the librettist for the Requiem. She was articulate and passionate as she described the genesis of the work, what drove her to start the project, the difficulties she encountered as she sought to capture this issue in the poetry. She clarified sections of text in the fourth movement I didn’t understand: the words are happy and seemed out of place to me. She explained that the happiness in the text was hallow – that she has met so many people who adopt a kind of ‘forced happiness’ to keep themselves from feeling the full weight of their losses and struggle to survive. She told us about meeting a mother and asking her how many children she had. The woman answered, ‘fourteen.’ Sylvia then asked how many were alive that day and the mother answered, ‘seven.’ Most if not all of those children probably died from hunger and/or preventable diseases – how can we allow such a thing to continue?

So this work is so important, so incredibly important. We need as many people involved as possible. People must be made more aware of these issues; even more importantly, we must make them feel the horror and sadness of it, so that they will be work to change it. The Poverty Requiem has the power to make us feel that horror and sadness, but it also give us the hope that we can (we must) do better.

Amsterdam - first day of conductor's workshop

Today we rehearsed from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Peter (the composer) went through each movement, picking apart each section, explaining what has worked best in the many performances he has led. For the first movement he asked us to learn by rote – a very strange feeling for me, being so used to having a score and reading my way through the music. Like being a car mechanic, but being asked to hand in the normal tools to use a strange new set – I can’t say I liked it, but I did get a sense of what it must be like for people in my choirs when I expect them to look at and read music as I do: something to be mindful of…

I have not sung in a choir in so long – singing for all these hours was tiring to say the least. It is an easy piece to get into and as a result I ‘over sang’ a lot, but I quickly realized I had to monitor what I was doing so I didn’t hurt my voice.

Fascinating to watch Peter come at technical and musical issues from a different perspective – wrong rhythms, wrong notes, etc., were repaired in different, less technical ways than I use – hopefully I can recall these new ideas when I come back to teach this – and any other – piece. His enthusiasm and commitment is certainly contagious.

This is an important work – I don’t understand why more people in the states aren’t doing it…but I feel, more strongly than ever, that we need to make this event as big as possible and find ways to get others involved. Reading over the Millennium Development Goals that 189 country leaders agreed to in 2000 (see www.standagainstpoverty.org), it is painfully obvious that we are not close to accomplishing any of the stated goals. That is the primary purpose of this work – to remind us of those commitments and renew our efforts to make them a reality. That is why it is so important to do it throughout America and the world – otherwise these goals will never be reached.

I love hearing about other countries – comparing our differing and similar political and social issues. All of us struggle with things we find unsatisfactory about the country in which we live. It is interesting to hear how America is perceived in the world - it is amazing how much they know about our upcoming (2008!) presidential election – we are not the only ones anxious to say goodbye to Bush.