Divertimento 1
At the risk of diverting you (and myself!) from valuable practice time, I’m going to try on a semi-regular basis to offer posts on a range of musical topics, from the SSMF-specific to broader issues in our musical world. Please join the conversation—I prefer chamber music to solo sonatas!
My first real post, however, will have to wait a few days. Tomorrow I am off to Chicago (because it isn’t cold enough here in Sewanee–at a balmy 8 degrees this a.m.!), to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, a gathering of some 20,000 music educators. I am excited to see Bruce Dinkins, who knows about 3/4 of the people there! I’ll also be getting a little work done on my fiddle, seeing friends, and catching the Joffrey Nutcracker.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this item. NY Phil. conductor Alan Gilbert’s blog, Curiously Random, this week discusses his project in Paris, projecting images onto a screen behind the orchestra for a performance of Pelléas et Mélisande. Increasingly orchestras are incorporating visual elements into concerts. In this era of screens, when we are all hyper-visually aware, do we need to feed the eyes in order to keep the ears attentive? Does the use of images enhance the music, or distract? What are your thoughts?
Stay warm, and now, get back to your practicing. . .
