Thanks to everyone that came out to the Numinous performance of Vipassana on Wednesday night. (even though it landed on the first day of the World Series). As always for me, the production of marshalling all the forces to put on Vipassana usually colors how I feel just after a performance. Looking back now with a few days separating the performance, I feel things went well. It is always special to perform Vipassana and share it with people, and the comments from listeners (and musicians) after the show were heartwarming and touching. There were many old and new friends who came Wednesday night and I am very appreciative of the support. And the performance, with some truly inspired moments, felt good and I feel happy with how things went. I had a great time at the concert, and the hang at a local bar afterward with friends and some of the musicians (who are also friends) was very fun. Again thanks to everyone that came out and the next time we perform Vipassana I hope to continue making more new converts.

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 7:45 PM

Here's a brief article in today's Daily News about the PS 321 Neighborhood Series, which Simone Dinnerstein has organized. It starts this Thursday with Clive Greensmith, cellist from the Toyko String Quartet and pianist Jean Schneider. While they didn't use much from my interview,  the photo shoot on Monday was fun with Simone and one of my kindergarten classes and we hope the article will help draw people to the concerts.

PS 321 Neighborhood Concert Series

October 29th, 2009: Clive Greensmith (cello) and Jean Schneider (piano)

January 10th, 2010: Simone Dinnerstein with American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME)

 February 4th, 2010: The Chiara String Quartet

 April 15th, 2010: Face the Music featuring premiere of a composition by Joseph C. Phillips Jr.  

Also, I have my own concert tonight:

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM to 9 PM
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 7:41 AM

Come out and experience Vipassana live, tomorrow night one set only.

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM to 9 PM
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

featuring 

Ben Kono, Rob Mosher, Alden Banta (woodwinds), Evan Weiss (trumpet/flügelhorn), Ernest Stuart, (trombone), Tom Beckham (vibraphone), Megan Levin, (harp), Amanda Monaco, Sebastian Noelle (electric guitars), Carmen Staaf, Michael Eckroth, (pianos), Jared Soldiviero, Sam Levin, (percussion), Charenee Wade, Amy Cervini, Sara Serpa, Julie Hardy, Wendy Gilles (voices), Ana Milosavljevic, Scott Tixier (violins), Nick Revel, Brian Lindgren (violas), Will Martina, Lauren Riley-Rigby (violoncellos), Kevin Thomas, (bass), Joseph C. Phillips Jr., (conductor, composer)

Learn more about Vipassana by reading the Inside Vipassana series:

Inside Vipassana #1: The Silent Treatment
(how did I come to Vipassana)
Inside Vipassana #2: Seeing the forest for the trees
(where the Vipassana cover photos came from)
Inside Vipassana #3: Harping with Megan Levin
(the story of how a harp came to be in Vipassana and an interview with Numinous harpist, Megan Levin)
Inside Vipassana #4: Finding More than the Red Lights of Amsterdam
(the inspiration behind "Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth")
Inside Vipassana #5: Eight is Enough, Ben Kono on Woodwinds and Vipassana
(woodwind specialist Ben Kono speaks Vipassana) 
Inside Vipassana #6: Inside the studio, no man is an island
(photos from the Vipassana recording session)
Inside Vipassana #7: Voices Carry, part one
(how voices came to be on Vipassana; interviews with Numinous singers Julie Hardy and Sara Serpa)
Inside Vipassana #8: Voices Carry, part two
(interviews with Numinous singers Amy Cervini and Wendy Gilles)
Inside Vipassana #9: When Ms. Guðmundsdóttir met Mr. Mahler
(what do Björk, Gustav Mahler and Vipassana have in common)
Inside Vipassana #10: Also sprach Joe
(Joe interviews Joe)

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 8:00 AM

I thought given I'm asking some musicians to answer questions about themselves, I should as well. So here we go:

What challenges does Vipassana pose for you?
Well, organizing 25 very busy people for rehearsals and performances, finding space for us to play, and figuring out how to pay for it all is always a challenge, but it always seems to works out. The music can also be very tricky rhythmically. One person might be playing one thing and next to them another might be playing the same thing slightly offset or perhaps even some completely different rhythmic grouping. So it can be very easy for the musicians to get lost and part of my job is to be very focused while conducting to make sure we are all on the same page; to be the lighthouse beacon, so to speak, and to lead the way in the sea of sounds not only rhythmically but also by bringing out the meaning behind the music, to help it connect with the listeners.

What do you like about Vipassana?
I like that people find something special that resonates within them when listening to the music I created and that makes me happy. 

What do you find beautiful (or where do you find beauty)?
To me beauty is not just those things that are pretty or sound euphonic, but also things that seem to represent connectivity to truth or wholeness or oneness. I'm not speaking in any way religious, although for some people that's their equivalent. When I think of Carl Sagan's famous saying, "We are all made from starstuff", to me that says everything that is, is connected in some fundamental way. So while the typical things one might find beautific are so, even tragedy and ugliness, has that beautiful notion that still connects us all to each other and the world. 

Who are your musician heroes?
Well there is much that is not music that offers me inspiration, but my Mount Rushmore of musical influencers are (in no particular order): Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Steve Reich, Maria Schneider, John Adams. Although people like John Coltrane, Morton Feldman, Prince, Björk, John Williams, and Arvo Pärt hold much appeal not only with their music but also have affected my own musical thinking and philosophy. 

If you could be flying over any place in the world, where would it be? Why?
I loved flying over the Alps to Milan, Italy earlier this year. Seeing a whole line of classic white peaked mountains stretching along the horizon was very breathtaking. One thing I want to do someday is take a "Bergsommerferien" (a summer vacation/tour of mountains) to see the mountains and/or fjords of the world that I haven't been to: Iceland, Norway, Finland, the Himalayas, Alaska, Peru and Chile. 

What is a book(s) that have inspired you?
There have been many books over the years that have affected me. That Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, to give one example from many, exists in the world makes me joyous and hopeful with my own music, that something of such beauty and excellence can be created.

When was the last time you've had that numinous feeling about something?
This summer in upstate New York, spending a number of nights just looking up at the stars and being. This summer's wondering and contemplating also helped me remember why I want to create music in the first place, a thought which sometimes gets lost with all of the noise of living.

Tell us something fun or interesting about you that most people wouldn't know or suspect?
Well, two things. One in high school, I was in a guitar-synth-electro-rock band where not only did I play saxophone and (bad) electric guitar, I was also the lyrics man (and even sang on a few tunes!).  I have tapes somewhere and no you can't listen to them...

Secondly, in general I'm a late bloomer. For example, my growth spurt was in high school and then another one (growing another 4 inches!) in college as well as coming late to a career in music. I was studying biochemistry for my first two years of college (with no music making, except my rock band) before switching to a music major. In truth, I probably should have really been an astronomy major when I started but I was thinking about becoming a genetic engineer, so biochem was the way to go (I still love and read up on many sciences today). However, I wasn't really happy with biochem (my high school senoritis extended into my first semesters of college) and realized I did not want to be in a lab coat the rest of my life so decided to pursue music. I really was raw when I started my music studies but I soaked in EVERYTHING and soon was in the practice room working on my fledgling compositions and I haven't looked back since.

What's next up for you in your own music career?
A commission for a composition from Face the Music, which came about because of world renown pianist Simone Dinnerstein. The piece, which I'll talk about in later posts, will premiere on April 15, 2010 as part of Simone's Neighborhood Concert Series in Brooklyn. There is also my collaboration with dance choreographer Edisa Weeks, To Begin the World Over Again which is an exploration of the words and legacy of Thomas Paine and will also include a symposium with Paine and history scholars on the meaning of democracy in today's America. The premiere is slated for June of 2010 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. With  my composer 'federation' Pulse, we have a dance collaboration with the Take Dance Company. My piece will be choreographed by Take himself and is scheduled for June and July 2010. There are a few other things in the works so you'll have to check back for more details. 

(photos by Donald Martinez)


Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 7:00 AM

One thing that I wanted to create with Vipassana was a composition that was integrated from the first piece to the last. My conception was more symphonic, with cross relationships and development between parts rather than suite-like. In fact Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 was a structural inspiration, although it didn't work out exactly as I planned. Like Symphony No. 9, my initial thought for Vipassana was to have two large Adagios one at the beginning and one at the end, with two smaller works in the middle. I did end up with two larger movements, although "Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth" (the first movement) happily did not want to become an Adagio. Also unlike the Mahler, my original intent was to link the individual works with small "transitions" featuring the different instrumental sections of the ensemble. But as I was writing the pieces that idea didn't seem to be what the whole needed or was saying either, although a vestige of this idea can still be found in the opening soli string sextet of last movement, "The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything".

Each of the individual movements of Vipassana can stand on their own, but it is in the totality of the four parts together that more richness of details and commonality become apparent. One of these details is the relationship Vipassana has to two compositions by other composers I admire: New World by Björk and "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" by Gustav Mahler. Here's how I described the development of "The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything" in the program notes at the premiere:

The last movement was the longest on my mind and the last I decided to tackle. Originally I entitled this movement, "Ich bin der neuen Welt abhanden gekommen" (“I am lost to the new world”). This was to reflect the dual inspirations of the piece: Gustav Mahler’s beautiful orchestral song "Ich bin der neuen Welt abhanden gekommen" (“I am lost to the world”) from Rückertlieder (1899-1903) and Björk Guðmundsdóttir’s haunting "New World" from Lars von Trier’s movie Dancer in the Dark (2000). I had Selmasongs (the title of the Dancer in the Dark soundtrack) long before I saw the movie. However, it wasn’t until after watching the movie on DVD, that I was really moved to arrange the final haunting song of the movie, sung by Selma (Björk) as she is waiting to be executed for a crime she didn’t commit. I transcribed "New World" with the hopes of arranging it for Numinous but over time I could not complete it to my satisfaction. Working on the arrangement intermittently for a year, it wasn’t until in the middle of a casual conversation with one of my musicians about the status of my 'arrangement', I suddenly thought of combining material from "New World" with "Ich bin der neuen Welt abhanden gekommen". Not in an arrangement per se, but by using those pieces as source material to inspire a newly composed piece. Now, this final movement of Vipassana began to take shape, at least in my mind. 

You might wonder why I would have thought that Björk and Mahler would have anything to do with each other? I know that they do kind of make strange musical bedfellows but it's interesting how the unconscious mind can see connections or other qualities that we might otherwise miss or not notice. It really was a 'moment' when the solution appeared to me seemly out of no where, when seconds before there was nothing to see. Thinking about it after the fact, the connections between the Mahler and Björk pieces seem obvious, at least on the surface. Here's the melody for "New World":

Both pieces share a few things: I didn't include the key signatures but both are in Eb, both share an octave range (from Bb3 to Bb4), and both have a similar melodic contour. How I used these two pieces as source material is by often utilizing, subverting, or refracting the intervallic relationships in the melodies. Sometimes this intervallic manipulation affected how I moved between harmonies, but more often than not, the subtle influence of the two pieces on what I created was more melodic. And while all of the melodic material is original in the four parts of Vipassana (except for one almost literal quote from Mahler), there is really only one place where the relationship between Mahler and Björk is in the foreground.

This comes at the very end of "The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything" where a sort of Björk "New World"-like melody (played by a solo oboe, second line) is pitted in counterpoint against the sort of Mahler "abhanden gekommen"-like melody (played by a solo English Horn, top line):

One could look at this proxy battle between Mahler and Björk as a choice between the hope of a 'new world' versus the despair of being 'lost' in the old one. In the end not only does hope and Björk 'win out', but the English Horn melody, which was playing the sort of Mahler, is transformed to the hope of the 'new world' and the sort of Björk. Now this kind of extra musical existential crisis was not what I had in mind as I was writing the piece. All I knew is I wanted the melodies to play against each other and I did not think about "fate knocking at the door" or anything like that. My analysis came when after performing the piece and thinking about it, I realized that one could 'interpret' the end in that way. 

Whether that interpretation is true or not for you is beside the point really. I love the six-part Leonard Bernstein Harvard University Norton Lectures from the early 1970's and in the last talk he postulates that Mahler's 9th Symphony (one of my all-time favorite works) is a harbinger of the horrors of the 20th century: world wars, genocide, poverty. Yet somehow Mahler, despite ultimately speaking to the hope for mankind, foreshadowed all of the terrors to come in his music. In a very quietly intense and gripping description of the symphony, Bernstein, with melodramatic earnestness heighten by a slowly tightening camera close-up which was common at the time (I think of some of the 'serious' TV shows such as All in the Family which used the device to emotional effect), is so compelling you COULD believe that is what the 9th Symphony is and what Mahler had in mind. But was Mahler really some kind of Nostradamus, seeing the future and trying to impart Cassandra-like warnings in his music? Doubtful. But the Mahler is nonetheless very moving, beautiful and hopeful in the end, extra-musical prophecies or no. And I wish at the end of Vipassana you are also similarly stirred and moved and hopeful.

Check back soon for more insider info about Vipassana!

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 5:19 PM

In an earlier post in May 2009, I mentioned that world-acclaimed pianist Simone Dinnerstein was curating a new concert series in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. Well, this week is the beginning of that series: the PS 321 Neighborhood Concert Series. All of the concerts are open to the general public and are held in the PS 321 Auditorium (180 7th Avenue). The musicians on the series are artists Simone has worked with or admired over the years and are donating their time and efforts in order for all of the proceeds to benefit the school's Parent Teacher Association.

Simone states her reasons for starting the series: "I wanted to start a concert series that would bring families together to listen to classical music, and doing this in my own neighborhood seemed like a good place to begin [and] my hope is that other musicians will similarly 'adopt' schools and bring performances to students in their own communities. We can all look just outside our front doors for opportunities like this."

Here's the incredible line-up Simone has put together for the inaugural season of the series:

October 29th, 2009: Clive Greensmith (cello) and Jean Schneider (piano)

January 10th, 2010: Simone Dinnerstein with American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME)

 February 4th, 2010: The Chiara String Quartet

 April 15th, 2010: Face the Music featuring premiere of a composition by Joseph C. Phillips Jr.  

Now the astute reader might have noticed that my name is part of the line-up. I do have a connection to PS 321 and Simone because it is where I have been teaching kindergarten music for a number of years now and where her husband is one of my colleagues and where her son attends (who I had when he was a kindergartener). PS 321 is one of the top elementary schools in New York City but you don't have to take my word for it, you can read this. Maybe one of these days I'll write another post about what it is like to stand in front of 24 cute little four-, five-, and six-year olds. As you might imagine, I'll have plenty of fun and interesting stories! So with my experience with kids, of course I said yes when Simone asked if I wanted a commission to write a work for Face the Music. The students of Face the Music are "20 classically trained musicians ranging from 6th to 12th grade"and come from the Special Music School at the Kaufman Center in Manhattan, a public school for "musically gifted children". They are champions of new and contemporary music and have performed compositions written by composers such as Phil Kline, David Lang, and later in 2010 Nico Muhly.  In future posts, I will be writing more about my composition and what it is like working with the students in rehearsals, but for now, since I'm still writing the piece, all I will say is it will be in honor of Gustav Mahler for his upcoming 'Gala Years' of 2010 and 2011 ('10 being the 150th anniversary of his birth and '11 being the 100th anniversary of his death). And although it will be inspired by Mahler and his symphonic world, it won't sound like Mahler...

Coming out and supporting this great concert series means you are going to hear great music AND help benefit public school students at the same time. With the economy and the looming budget cuts in the state capital, public education needs all the help it can get. Even at a school such as PS 321 with an active and incredible PTA, we do feel the effects of less money from Albany. This series is a way to help alleviate some of those effects. Remember the performers are graciously donating their services so that ALL of the money earned from the concerts goes to the school! With starting this concert series Simone shows that supporting public education is important to her and she is hoping that you also share in that support. We hope you consider being a good neighbor (whether you live in Park Slope or not) and coming to one or more of the concerts!

PS 321 Neighborhood Concert Series
180 7th Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11215

To purchase tickets or more information, you can go to www.ps321.org.

Update: NY Daily News article about series 

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 8:00 AM

Here's part two of the interview with the singers of Vipassana, this time featuring Amy Cervini and Wendy Gilles. Part one (October 22, 2009) discussed the background of how voices came to be on Vipassana as well as interviews with Julie Hardy and Sara Serpa.

What challenges does Vipassana pose for you as singers? Have you sung anything like it before?
As a vocalist, I rarely get the chance to sing such challenging music especially with other vocalists.  The concept of large ensemble with 5 singers is something I’ve never been a part of before.  I imagine that it is more a classical music concept but I welcome the opportunity.  It is fun and challenging.

What are you feeling when you sing Vipassana?
The first few times I sang Vipassana I was concentrating intensely and not able to experience the performance outside of my part in it.  Over the years, as I become more confident I’m able to listen to what’s happening around me and that is the magic of this piece.  The sections that groove have become really fun to sing.  I find myself dancing and getting lost in the music instead of focusing intently on each note or phrase.  It really can become a meditative experience for me.  There are still sections that require my absolute focus but I’m finding more and more moments to lie in the music.

What do you like about Vipassana?
I really enjoy being part of a large ensemble and as a vocalist I rarely get that opportunity.  It’s such a pleasure to be one small piece of the larger puzzle.  As a vocalist I’m more often than not the band leader or front and center on stage.  Being a part of this allows me to flex different muscles and make music in a different way. 

What do you find beautiful (or where do you find beauty)?
The most awe inspiring moments of beauty for me involve water.  I am very strongly attracted to water and find myself lost in the beauty of water and it’s surroundings every time I’m near it.  It gives me a sense of peace that I haven’t found in any other experience.

Who are your musician heroes?
I have a lot of musician role models but right now I’m really into Matt Wilson. As a human, as a musician, as a business man.  Full disclosure: I’m working with him as his manager right now.  I think that says even more about my admiration for him.  He’s positive, he has ridiculous chops and I’ve never had more fun making music or working with anyone.

If you could watch a summer sunset anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
Tel-Aviv.  The ocean in Tel-Aviv is the most enchanting place in the world for me right now.  I visit at least once a year and am transfixed by the sea every time.

What is a book(s) that have inspired you?
There have been many books that inspired me but I often find myself going back to things that I learned in The Little Prince [by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry].  “It is also lonely among men.” This quote comforted me in times when I felt like an alien in my surroundings.  It also made me realize that somewhere I would find my “people.”  I have been very lucky to find many of these people in the community of musicians in NYC.

When was the last time you had that numinous feeling about something?
I converted to Judaism earlier this year for what I thought to be very practical reasons, not much more. I was surprised to experience the deep emotions when I experienced the conversion ceremony. The Rabbi performing the ceremony is a deeply moving, intelligent and spiritual man who had a great impact on me and helped to make the moment so important and deep.  

Tell us something fun or interesting about you that most people wouldn't know or suspect?
I was a very serious classical pianist until I was 18 and was a jazz saxophone major in college. 

What's next up for you in your own music career?
My new record, Lovefool will be released on November 3, 2009.  We’re have some East Coast gigs in December — Jazz Standard, NYC, December 8, The Lily Pad, Boston, December 10, Firehouse 12, New Haven, December 11.  I’m really excited about this record and can’t wait to start sharing it!

www.amycervini.com

One thing that many listeners have commented on has been the use of the five female voices in Vipassana. Voices were almost always part of the conception of the music, although I originally thought four voices would be ideal instead of five. However, somewhere between finishing the piece and the first reading of Vipassana on July 1, 2004, my thoughts had changed and five voices were what I REALLY needed. Now looking back, I'm not sure what exactly prompted the switch, but I do know that having the five voices gave me more flexibility in terms of chordal voicings and textures.

I always loved (and still do) both Claude Debussy's orchestral Nocturnes, whose last movement "Sirenes" features a choir of wordless female voices and Gustav Holst's The Planets, whose last movement, "Neptune, the Mystic", also has a choir of female wordless vocalists which adds a sense of ethereal mystery especially as they repeat a phrase that fades out at the end (actually on the score the choir is directed to be in another room and as the piece quietly ends, someone is to slowly close the door as the choir is singing). Both of these works I love because the wordless voices add such a wonderful atmosphere and richness to the sound of the compositions. And while not directly inspired by any of those pieces, I wanted Vipassana to nonetheless have a similar warmth of sound that the voices gave those compositions.

In general for Vipassana I treated the voices much like another instrument, where they are another color in the overall landscape. For example at the beginning of "Stillness Flows Ever Changing", the voices are subtly pulsing underneath the weaving melodic figures of the strings. The random, percolating burst of sounds and vocalizations early and at the end of "Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth" are another example where the voices are just another color added to the overall sound. Of course there are times when the voices are front and center. For example, the last movement "The Nothingness that is the Source of Everything", is a setting of Denise Levertov's beautiful poem "Variations and Reflections on a Theme by Rilke". In "The Nothingness" both the solo of Julie Hardy in the first part of the poem, which is essentially a orchestral song (similar to what Gustav Mahler made famous) or the choir of voices in the second half, the words are quite important and their meaning affects what music goes on around them.

Operatic voices and their wide vibrato, were never what I envisioned for Vipassana. I always wanted a directness and warmth of sound which you find more in popular singing styles (and it seems more and more in new music circles as well). And while many of the singers I have used are more known in jazz circles, all are well-versed in all forms of popular, art and folk music. For the concert on the 28th, we have Charenee Wade, Amy Cervini, Sara Serpa, Julie Hardy, and Wendy Gilles. Including those five, over the years I've been fortunate to have had great singers perform Vipassana (thanks to Julie who has been my vocal pimp, ah connector). From Kate McGarry, who sang on the premiere performance, to Gretchen Parlato, who sang the very first rehearsal, to Jo Lawry, who sang the second concert, to Sofia Rei Koutsovitis and Monika Heidemann, both of whom are on the recording, some of the best young voices on the scene today have sung Vipassana. They all lead their own ensembles and  have their own recordings but they also lend their voices to many projects by other musicians and composers. I mean look at what they are doing outside of Numinous, to see how lucky I am to have them singing for me: performed at the Osvaldo Golijov/Dawn Upshaw Workshop at Carneige Hall and sung on tour with Maria Schneider (Sofia), Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition winner (Gretchen) and finalist (Charenee), Grammy nominee and sung with Fred Hersch (Kate), sung with Sting, yes that Sting (Jo), sings with Greg Osby (Sara), ASCAP Young Composer Award winner (Julie), critically acclaimed album (Amy) and ensemble (Wendy).

So I've asked each singer on the upcoming concert a few questions so you can get to know what they are like away from the mics. In this part one, you'll hear from Julie Hardy and Sara Serpa. The second part, in another post another day, will feature Amy Cervini, Wendy Gilles, and Charenee Wade.

What challenges does Vipassana pose for you as singers? Have you sung anything like it before?
I have sang in a  choir for a long time during my childhood and to sing collectively with other singers was something that always gave great pleasure. Vipassana is a completely different repertoire, but it's a great feeling to sing again with a  group of amazing singers. The biggest challenge for me is to blend with the other voices and to create a homogeneous texture while singing it. 

What are you feeling when you sing Vipassana?
It's hard to describe the feelings of a performance. It's a mix of concentration with enjoyment.

What do you like about Vipassana?
I like the compositional concept of Vipassana and I think it has beautiful moments. Sometimes I wish  I could be in the audience to enjoy it as a listener.

What do you find beautiful (or where do you find beauty)?
I find the combination of instruments and voices to be very beautiful. It's a long piece, very intense and very visual at the same time.

If you could watch a summer sunset anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
Praia Grande, Sintra, Portugal. I love it there.

What is a book(s) that have inspired you?
Travelling with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski

When was the last time you've had that numinous feeling about something?
Hiking in the mountains. 

Tell us something fun or interesting about you that most people wouldn't know or suspect?
I take Flamenco dance classes.

What's next up for you in your own music career?
A duo recording with my good friend, great teacher and amazing pianist Ran Blake.

www.saraserpa.com

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana and those that make the music!

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 9:00 AM

In the recording studio, despite being quite busy, focused, and at times feeling like an island "entire of itself", I did manage to take all of these shots from the Vipassana sessions at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York in March and August of 2007.

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana and those that make the music! 

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 11:13 PM

When I started Numinous back in the fall of 2000, I knew I wanted flexibility of colors in the woodwind section. Even though I'm a saxophone/woodwind player, I didn't want a saxophone dominant sound to the section. I also didn't want to have 10 woodwind players to cover saxophones, oboe, English Horn, flutes, clarinets, and whatever woodwinds I happen to write for. So the most natural solution was to have woodwind doublers who would be able to play multiple instruments. Of course with the demands of my music, I didn't want or need a typical jazz saxophone doubler: someone that plays maybe passable flute or clarinet but not well enough to match their saxophone abilities. In addition to being able to improvise well on all of the instruments, I really need musicians whose abilities on the other woodwind instruments are all fairly equal and could move easily between jazz, classical, and popular genres. And while there are great players like this everywhere, in New York we are blessed with an abundance beyond any composer's dream! With Broadway as well as the many professional orchestras, new music ensembles, and jazz bands here there are many musicians who not only fit my requirements, but because of the steady work on the Great White Way and other ensembles are also are willing to play more "adventurous" (and usually less lucrative) musical projects of people like me and my contemporaries.

I have been fortunate to always have great woodwind players in Numinous. And with Vipassana, I'm asking a lot of each player. Not only from a technical standpoint, but from sheer logistics: Reed 1 has to play 8 instruments (Piccolo, Flute, Alto Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Bb Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, and Alto Saxophone), Reed 2 plays 6 (Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone) and Reed 3 plays 5 (Flute, Alto Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone). Ben Kono, who plays Reed 1, has been with me from almost the beginning. Coming to an early rehearsal way back in the fall of 2000, he seemed to be tailor-made for Numinous. Not only does he play all the woodwinds with equal aplomb but is versatile enough to play and improvise in various genres and styles. In a recent interview, I said that since Ben has been with me from the beginning, his sound on various instruments (and what he brings to each instrument) has been in my head as I am composing for awhile now. Sure, other musician's can play well what I wrote, but without Ben it doesn't sound quite the same, since I think about what he brings to a specific instrument as I'm writing the music. For example, as I was composing "Stillness Flows Ever Changing", the second part of Vipassana, I was specifically thinking of Ben's soprano saxophone surfing over the weaving waves of melodies from the ensemble. And whether it is his soloing, like on "Stillness" or "Sweetness" which is a wonderful highlight for me from my first CD or his ensemble playing throughout Vipassana, Ben's tasteful and dynamic playing is highly valued and integral to Numinous. 

So I asked this maven of woodwinds some questions about himself and performing Vipassana:

On Vipassana you play 8 different instruments, but truth be told, how many instruments can you play? What are some of the more unusual or interesting ones?
As a woodwind specialist, I am classically trained on all five woodwind families of the orchestra: saxophones, clarinets (Bb and Eb soprano, bass), flutes, oboe/english horn, and bassoon. In practice, however, I tend to play some more than others, and I have left bassoon completely behind. About fifteen years ago or so, I became interested in indigenous musics from other countries and started to collect instruments from my travels, some of which I have incorporated into my own music. I have performed and recorded (in various degrees of success) on the "kena" flute from South America; the "khaen" pipes from Thailand; and the "dizi" flute from China. Of course, as a Japanese descendent I have a special interest in the shakuhachi flute which I was exposed to early on by my aunt who performs traditional Japanese music on the shamisen and koto. I played it on a Pulse Composers concert, and the lesson I learned is that playing western music on it is a lot more difficult than I imagined! So in answer, I am constantly adding and subtracting the number of instruments. 

What challenges does Vipassana pose for you as a woodwind player?
Many instruments and instrument changes. And because of it's length and long phrases, it's quite a challenge endurance-wise to make it through the English horn solo at the end. I've learned to pace myself and take a few breaks during some long oboe passages preceding. And, rhythmically the music takes many twists and turns--sometimes an instrument behind you will be playing, literally, in a different time signature than you are, so you need to be alert to all the changes in pulse and meter.

What do you like about Vipassana?
Coming from a jazz background, I like that Vipassana is NOT that. It has some jazz elements and improvisation, but the general structure and vibe of the music shares more with classical and minimalist composition. Extended forms, non-traditional harmonies, lush orchestrations and textures (or almost none, sometimes) allow the soloist to explore some improvisational freedoms and possibilities not afforded by the more standard jazz environment. I find it easier to approach this music without preconception. I also like playing in a large ensemble where the volume never gets above a forte and more attention is paid to subtle dynamics.

What do you find beautiful (or where do you find beauty)?
As a parent of a curious three-year-old girl, I am finding beauty in places unexpected and long-forgotten. She forces me to slow down and contemplate the pattern a leaf makes in the snow, or the arc that a balloon makes when tossed into the air. I still love going to a museum and admiring a Matisse or a Rothko, but when I am with my daughter I can find the beauty in a fire-escape as well. And more and more I'm appreciating the beauty of silence, which is very rare indeed in the city.

Who are your musician heroes?
My musician heroes are too many to list properly. There are those that inspire me through listening to recordings, like Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, John Coltrane; those that I have met and had discourse with on a more personal level like Joe Lovano, Paul McCandless and Michael Brecker; and those colleagues who are in the "trenches", like John Hollenbeck and Theo Bleckmann, who are involved in creating a new place for creative music. Then, there is Gary Campbell, a tremendous saxophonist who could have been a major jazz artist but chose to become one of the great educators and mentors of our generation. I guess, really any artist who dares to change the listeners' expectations of what is possible or acceptable and can do it on a level that touches the "human spirit" in us. 

If you could be flying over any place in the world, where would it be? Why?
I would love to fly over the Sahara Desert. I think the vastness and beauty of it would blow my mind. And as Lawrence of Arabia said of it ,"It's clean".

What is a book(s) that have inspired you?
I don't seem to read a lot of 'inspirational' material, but something that I read recently did inspire me despite the tragic nature of it's subject. The book Impounded is a collection of photographs by Dorothea Lange, accompanied by essays and interviews of Japanese-Americans interned during WWII in the United States. Alongside the images of gross injustices by the U.S. government are images of a culture struggling to maintain it's strength and dignity under terrible conditions. So in the middle of a barren desert you can see a beautiful Japanese garden, or children attending an art school, or vegetable crops growing in carefully cultivated soil. I found the tenacity and patriotism of the wronged citizens to be an inspiration, although the situation was altogether shocking and reprehensible.

When was the last time you've had that numinous feeling about something?
I almost always feel that way when I return to my Vermont childhood home and take a walk in the woods--especially in the fall!

Tell us something fun or interesting about you that most people wouldn't know or suspect?
My mother steered me away from a career in art and into music because she thought it too competitive and unstable.

What's next up for you in your own music career?
I'm getting ready to record my own project of original music. And, like Vipassana, I will probably be playing close to eight instruments. I do this to myself.

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana!

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 10:50 PM

The first sixteen days of December 2003 saw me in the Netherlands for the Steve Reich Festival hosted by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Haag. For two weeks almost everything Steve Reich wrote up to that time was performed by various ensembles from the Conservatory as well as professional groups such as Paul Hillier and Theater of Voices, the Schoenberg Ensemble, Maya Beiser, and Anne De Keersmaeker. Also on the Festival were works by other composers who were his contemporaries, his influences, or influenced and inspired by him. The Jazz Ensemble wanted to be part of the Festival as well so the director asked Jim McNeely if there were any composers he knew of that were working with Steve Reich-ian influences in a more jazzy context. Hmm, that seems to sound a lot like me! So the director contacted me in the Fall and after some back and forth, settled on performing two of my compositions: To Kyoto and Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys. In addition I was to give two symposiums on composition during the Festival. Into all the Valleys in July 2003 was one of the finalist for the BMI Jazz Composer's Workshop Manny Albam Commission Prize (I didn't win...). By the time December and my trip rolled around I had already orchestrated Valleys for Numinous, almost finished Stillness Flows Ever Changing, and in the middle of sketches on what would turn out to be the first movement of my, as of then nameless, "large work." So I was ready and excited to be taking a little break from writing and heading to the land of windmills, tall women, and Heineken. 

The Festival was very exciting because not only did I hear, sometimes for my first time live, much of the Reich canon (and looked at the scores at the school library!), but I also heard other compositions live for the first time as well. Pieces by Arvo Pärt (Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten), Michael Torke (Music on the Floor), Louie Andressian (Hout), and Michael Gordon (Yo, Shakespeare) were some that I especially remembered. Also, at intermission of the concert with Paul Hillier and Theater of Voices (where they performed Reich's Proverb), I actually talked at length with Steve Reich for about 20 minutes. This wasn't the first time I had met him (the first time was for less than 5 minutes at a concert at Miller Theater at Columbia University about a year earlier) but it was my first real conversation with him. I even gave him a copy of my first CD, which had come out that September, and we spoke warmly about various record labels and the state of jazz at the time.

Now even though the Festival was thrilling and I was busy with the preparations for the two Jazz Ensemble concerts where my compositions would be performed, I was a bit overloaded after awhile. So one of the days where I didn't have any official duties, I took a train from The Hague north to Amsterdam. I didn't have a map or anything to guide me so I just walked around that first day. Of course not far from Central Station, if you walk in the right direction (which somehow, I seemed to be doing) you soon run into one of the infamous Red Light Districts. Now there was a smaller one in Den Haag not far from where I was staying and which was on the way in my walk to the Conservatory (also a fun, cheap local Turkish diner I ate at most evenings), so I already knew what to expect. Continuing my walk outside the District I soon came upon a giant map on the sidewalk. Looking up from the ground I saw many large photos on outdoor displays. Most of the photos were aerial shots of nature with captions detailing some societal or ecological danger in the area of the photograph. This was my first exposure to Earth From Above by the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. I walked around and around the exhibition, often stopping by various photos only to circle back to them later and take another look. I was very moved and taken with the entire photo show. And because I really didn't have much money at the time, I didn't buy the Earth from Above book then, which I would have had I the euros, so I bought three postcards of some my favorites photos (about a year or so later, I finally bought the book). 

There was one photo by Arthus-Bertrand that I was particularly struck by and it was one I came back to at least five times while walking around the exhibit. The photo, of a flock of scarlet ibis flying over the Amacuro delta in Venezuela, was taken from a perspective high above the flock. The very striking juxtaposition of the deep red birds against the rich black soil evoked in me a sense of ‘soaringness’ and beauty. It was this feeling that solidified for me what I wanted to achieve with the stalled next movement of my "large work." So even though many of the musical ideas were already on paper (yes, I still sketch ideas on paper), and the final composition was still a few months away, that photograph helped lead me to discover my own composition, "Of Climbing Heaven and Gazing on the Earth".

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana! 

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 9:00 AM

One of the things I thought would be fun to do with the Inside Vipassana series is to not only give you some of the background and inspiration behind the music, but also of the people that perform it. I have asked a few of the musicians to answer some questions about themselves and what it is like to sit for an hour or so and sing or play Vipassana. So first up (if you didn't guess from the title of the post and the photos) on harp, Megan Levin.

The first time I wrote for the harp was in college. The first time a harpist actually played the music I wrote was back in 2005 with the first installment of the Pulse project, The Eloquent Light. That was a cool project because we wrote music inspired by photographs as well as got to work with guitar great John Abercrombie and trumpeter John McNeil. As far as the harp, I thought it would be a crazy idea to have one in the ensemble along with some of the Pulse "regulars" even though I knew no harpist at the time. In addition I knew that because of the harp's large size, transportation to and from rehearsals and the concert would be difficult.

So what's a harp have to do with Vipassana, there's not one on the recording?

Excellent question my esteemed reader, yes there is no harp on the recording. During the run up to the Vipassana CD release concert in May, I was planning to have two vibraphones like on the recording. However, the reality didn't want to follow my plan. I needed a second vibraphone player, one with their own vibraphone and willing to transport it (which surprising but partly understandable isn't always the case). So I called and emailed various people. Again, and again, and again. I must have called or emailed all of the vibraphonists in New York City and still no one could do the concert, the rehearsals, or some combination. Anyway after that 15th rejection and the first rehearsal only days away, I decided to take a different approach. I thought what instrument could play (mostly) what I wrote for the second vibraphone? Hey, how about harp?!

Now if I was having trouble finding a vibraphonist, what was I thinking thinking about the much larger and harder to transport harp?! Well, I love the harp and thought it would add an intriguing element to the sound of the ensemble. Also, how many times do you see the harp in new music or jazz? In my experience, not much if at all, so of course, I had to have one in Numinous. I contacted a number of harpists (by now I had a few numbers I could call), but no luck. However, one of my harp rejectors gave me a name of a young and incredible harpist recently arrived to NYC, who turned out to be a saving grace since she was available and willing to do the concert! So that is how I met Numinous harpist extraordinaire, Megan Levin. With Megan on board, I modify the second vibraphone part to fit the special abilities of the harp. And Megan is such a great player and a wonderful and enthusiastic part of the group and she made my crazy thought of having a harp in Numinous such a success that I didn't even think about a second vibraphone this time around. I just contacted her. Now I'm hooked on harp; don't be surprised if you see Megan and the harp on future Numinous projects!

So here are Megan's answers to the the few questions I asked about herself and the harp, and now you can know a little bit about the person behind that rather large and beautiful instrument you'll see at the concert.

Give us a little of your musical background before coming to NYC?
I'm from Austin, Texas, where I grew up as part of musical family.  I started taking harp lessons when I was five, and pretty much loved it from the start.  Being in Austin and having a musician dad, I ended up playing a lot of gigs and on albums of local artists.  My first orchestral experiences came later, and this became my focus in college at Rice University.  After college, I spent a year studying music in Paris, France, on a Fulbright grant. 

What challenges does Vipassana pose for you as a harpist?
While there are never a lot of fast notes or many pedal changes, the repetitive nature of the piece is very challenging.  I have to maintain absolute concentration and focus, or else I'll lose my place!

What do you like about Vipassana?
Well, first of all it is beautiful.  I think that the harmonies are not predictable, but that doesn't mean that they are startling or harsh.  The piece evolves, and the repetition gives a sense of growth and movement and progress on different levels.  I feel like every time I hear the piece I hear something new, and it affects me in a different way.  I also like the choice of instruments and voice.  I think the combination produces a beautiful and powerful sonority.

Who are your musician heroes?
I love Louis Armstrong, because I think you can hear the joy in his playing.  I love the French harpist and my former teacher Isabelle Perrin for her incredible musicality and again, love of music.  I am a huge fan of Chris Thile (mandolin) and his band the Punchbrothers, who play a variety of styles with joy and spontaneity, but maintain the highest level of quality.  I am also amazed by the Columbian harpist Edmar Castaneda, with his incredible groove and rhythmic drive.  My father, Danny Levin, can play pretty much every instrument except harp.  He is an amazing performer who continues to inspire me and keep my standards high. 

If you could be flying over any place in the world, where would it be? Why?
Unfortunately, I am pretty afraid of flying, so I would have say just let me fly through clear skies and I'll be happy.

What is a book(s) that have inspired you?
I have just recently finished Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, which has encouraged me to think more about my connection with nature.

What was the last time you've had that numinous feeling about something?
It happens all the time that I have the sense of things working out just as they need to, in a way that I could never have expected or predicted.  I feel grateful, and blessed.

Tell us something fun or interesting about you that most people wouldn't know or suspect?
I was home-schooled until high school, which meant I had a lot of time to practice, but also means I'm still a little shy of big groups.

What's next up for you in your own music career?
I'm playing with some members of ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) at a music festival in Lima, Peru, in mid-November.  I'm excited for my first trip to South America! 

Megan Levin: www.meglevin.com 

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana and those that make the music though you'll have to come on the 28th to get your real harp fix.

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 8:00 AM

Just came across this interesting opinion article from Slate about the lack of "all" in NPR's All Music Considered. The idea in the Slate article that indie-rockers are THE most valued by NPR and their listeners, all of whom share similar backgrounds, and are most like them (and who are more often than not, the gatekeepers of cultural taste and history) hits at the perception game I talked about in a post this summer.

"Maybe a problem is how those [African-American] musicians are valued or perceived both in the general and black public and press, not on the quality of their work. An on-going dialogue 'Ain't But a Few of Us: Black Jazz Writers Tell Their Story at The Independent Ear discusses the lack of coverage of black serious music by even the mainstream black press but I think it also focuses a light on what all press in general deem important, worth covering or probably more accurately, what the editors believe the readers want to read...With choice of what is covered denotes the perception of "importance" or "worthiness" and I think writer John Murph put it cogently for some African-American musicians in an interview on The Independent Ear when he says, "...there’s the whole idea of what is deemed more artistically valid when it comes to jazz artists incorporating contemporary pop music. I notice a certain disdain when some black jazz artists channel R&B, funk, and hip-hop, while their white contemporaries get kudos for giving makeovers to the likes of Radiohead, Nick Drake, and Bjork."

And later I go on to write,

"And whether something is perceived as quality hits on the head what I think because since the majority of tastemakers, gatekeepers, mavens are not black (or women), and often come from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds and experiences, maybe sometimes African-American musicians (or women) might not be as fully understood, valued, or appreciated as someone coming from the same background."

When you think about the inroads that rap and hip-hop and other 'urban' music has had on the Top 40, why isn't music from non-DORF artists not shown the same acclaim and accord as their indie-rock brethren?

In a more recent post (September 2009) where I'm talking about jazz music's 'too cool for school' perception, it could equally be attached to non-DORF artists of color.

"While today much of urban or black and Latino culture and music is fairly mainstream, the power or control in what people see, hear, and for the most part do, is not in the hands of minorities. A small group of tastemakers and insiders lets us know what is cool by what is covered, advertised, or showed [in the mainstream]. How many minorities are part of this group? Not many. Why?"

This a problem in many parts of the mainstream society. While the typical NPR listener might love an indy movie such as The Education, my guess is that many (certainly not all) would shy away from something like Precious, which while certainly worthy of critical attention, might be perceived as being 'too black' or 'too urban' by many. And hence not seen with the same quality as something with more Anglo sensibilities. Or while I might not personally like many of Tyler Perry's movies, the lack of coverage about and the respect toward his quite financially successful production studio operating outside the standard Hollywood machine, seems quite strange for a culture that loves a good "Horatio Alger" myth. Or more importantly, how a majority African-American or Latino school (or neighborhood) might be looked at with inferiority or condensation by some, no matter how successful and/or affluent they may be. Or the thought of how during last year's election, some said Obama couldn't show anger at all of the false accusations from the GOP because he would be perceived as the "angry black man" and this would have (supposedly) scared or killed off many of the white, liberal voters.  I mean, c'mon, if I'm angry at unjust or unfair criticisms, I should be able to show it, just like anyone else, without feeling like I'll be dismissed as a classic stereotype. All of these are examples of how a certain bias might be ingrained in what we see as quality or valuable or relevant. 

Hey, I'm a regular NPR listener and have been a member too (WNYC!!!) and frankly, it doesn't matter to me too much what music NPR programs and which musicians are profiled (as long as it is good), as the Slate article states, "in matters of musical taste, everyone has a God-given right to provincialism and conservatism, even those NPR listeners who consider themselves cosmopolitan and liberal." (Maybe the DORF aesthetic is like what Chris Rock said in his new film, Good Hair, about how "relaxing black hair relaxes white people": maybe DORF programming relaxes NPR listeners?). But it DOES matter to me whether a minority artist or musician, who might be foreign to the tastemaker's cultural background (or to their usual social and professional circles), is perceived as less worthy of acclaim, not because of their music's worth, but just because they aren't understood as well.

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 3:04 PM

The photos that grace the front and back of the Vipassana CD, I took on my trip to Malaysia a few years ago. What does a photo of trees have to do with Vipassana and "seeing things as they are"? Well, nature was always in my mind and served as one of the inspirations as I was composing the pieces. If you come to a Vipassana performance and open my conducting score (preferably AFTER the concert), along with my various cue markings and missives to myself ("Don't slow here", "Give a big downbeat", "building throughout") you'd find various photos of nature heading each movement. Only one of the photos (a beautiful picture of scarlet ibis taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, which I'll talk about in more detail in a later post about the first movement) had any direct influence in the inspiration of any composition. Rather those photos in my score just remind me of the feeling I'm looking for my pieces to evoke. Of course, that feeling is difficult to describe in words. What does seeing flying birds (or a picture of them) feel like to me? What does a lovely periwinkle and rose colored sunset sky mean to me? Trying to answer questions like those is one reason why I named my group Numinous: to create music that hopes to resonate with that indescribable numinous feeling one might get looking at a landscape or the night sky or a tree or a sleeping puppy or from many other experiences. And whether you feel the same things I feel when I hear the music is not necessary or even hoped for. What I wish is that you'll hear something that does connect you to the music. 

My trip to Malaysia was a surprising wealth of inspiration with two compositions directly coming from it: Rihla and Kelip-Kelip, as well as more unmined ideas still floating around my mind. More details of the trip are in the notes to Rihla. Well, Vipassana was already about three years old by the time we took the trip. Actually the trip occurred a few weeks before the Vipassana studio sessions, so a perfect break to clear my head before having to jumping into the enjoyable abyss of recording. One of the days in Malaysia we visited a national park and walking around we came across monkeys darting about in the trees and very interesting birds and fauna all around. Along our walk, almost by accident, we came across this dry marsh filled with a stand of trees. I think I was attracted to the almost starkness of the scene because it seemed a bit odd that there were many dead trees surrounded by many leaf bearing ones and I took two photos of the forest from two slightly different perspectives.

So when it was time to start thinking about a cover design for the Vipassana CD, I immediately thought of the Yann-Arthus Bertrand photo I mentioned before. While it is a beautiful photo and had a direct inspiration to the creation to some of the music, I didn't want to go through the hassle (and expense) of trying to get rights for the photo. Also, since the photo represented only one part of the whole, I didn't feel strongly enough to pursue the idea of using the picture. So my thoughts came to the photos I took in Malaysia. Looking at the photo I used for the cover, one is struck with the dead tree stand prominent in the foreground and the lush green fields lower and in the background. I thought of the idiomatic phrase "seeing the forest for the trees" and how generally it reflects NOT seeing things as they are. If one looks at the photo and sees just some dead trees, you are missing the beauty of the whole and how there is much life on and going on around those dead trees. To me they represent an aspect of the connectivity of all things and seemed quite appropriate for Vipassana.

Check back soon for more insider tidbits about Vipassana though you'll have to come on the 28th to see the full monty for yourself.

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 10:08 AM

It's time again for another Composer Salon. The last one in September on the topic, The Audience, was a good time with a lively and fun discussion. The next Salon is:

Tuesday October 20, 2009 from 7 pm to around 9 pm at the Brooklyn Lyceum (227 4th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn). The Lyceum is literally above the Union Street M, R Train stop in Brooklyn. The Lyceum does have various inexpensive libations including different beers, wine and other non-alcoholic beverages, as well as coffee and baked goods. 

Salon Topic #2: With some topics I read on various blogs recently (which you can find the links to below) I thought the subject of where classical music and jazz are headed to leads to this month's Salon topic: Future Past Present. This quote from Hannah Arendt, which I think I first read in the liner notes to the Dave Douglas CD Five, seems to fit with my thinking about where both classical and jazz at the moment (or at least where it should be going): 

There is an element in the critical interpretation of the past, an interpretation whose chief aim is to discover the real origins of traditional concepts in order to distill from them anew their original spirit which has so sadly evaporated. 

I. Pat Metheny in his keynote address to the (now defunct) International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) convention in 2001 challenged musicians “to recreate and reinvent the music to a new paradigm resonant to this era, a new time.” Not to recreate the past, but to push and remake music of and for our own generation and time. Like the first line in the Stephen George poem "Entrückung" that Arnold Schoenberg set in his groundbreaking Second String Quartet, I also feel the “Luft von anderem Planeten" ("the air from another planet"). There does seem to be something in the zeitgeist where “artistic” composers and musicians are thinking beyond genre and really seeing the popular music of their times as valuable sources of inspiration (let alone for plain guilt-free enjoyment). I'm actually very excited with what is happening with this development in art music (something that I, along with many in my and younger generations have felt along) but frustrated in the continued old ways and thinking that seem to dominate much of the cultural artistic space. I am hopeful though because like Sam Cooke sang, "a change is gonna come..." 
How do you address Metheny’s sentiment in your own work? Or do you feel it is even important to do this?

II. In an interview years ago composer John Adams was asked the question: What's your opinion of the future of the orchestra? I think his response was quite telling coming from one of America’s leading composers of orchestral music: “When people ask that question I have to be quite blunt: I think the orchestral tradition has pretty much come and gone. There are periods in which a certain artistic genre sees a birth, a flourishing and then an eventual decline. It doesn't matter whether it's Elizabethan drama or Italian madrigal or the Homeric epic. Every genre eventually passes from the scene. Orchestral music reached its peak around 1900, and there's been a period of natural decline ever since. Look at how few substantial additions there have been to the repertoire since 1950 - it speaks for itself.” 

From my viewpoint it seems that orchestras and orchestral music is quite entrenched, well at least as far as cultural dollars go. In the comments of a posting on Greg Sandow’s blog about classical music’s presentation problem, I said, “Certainly the large classical institutions draw a lot of financial oxygen from any market. $10,000 or $20,000 might not make much difference to the NY Phil, but make it an easily available grant to a hungry new music outfit, I think you would immediately see more diverse, daring, interesting (not always successful, but that's ok) programming that would attract a more diverse (racially, aged, and economically) group of people, especially if they aren't charging $50-75+ for seats, and would feel more real and relevant to the listeners.” In our society with its unacknowledged plutocratic tendencies, seems like that entrenchment isn’t going to change anytime soon. In the jazz world, Jazz at Lincoln Center operates much like the jazz equilvant of an orchestra organization. Larry Blumenfeld wrote about J@LC in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago and also in a blog in a post about Jazz at Lincoln Center. I commented on his blog, I think that J@LC does deserve credit for raising the bar for jazz in the upper crust circles that previously would never consider jazz worthy of support. However, with such a mark of status, J@LC could be so much more. I think there is frustration that the conservative attitude at J@LC by freezing jazz in amber freezes out many great musicians who don't fit the model. And without any real choice or competition, there doesn't seem to be any (or very little) institutional avenue for more contemporary and progressive takes of what jazz is. The only major jazz institution with any clout really is J@LC and that's frustrating. In the classical world, sure you can have some fundamentally conservative and cautious organizations like the NY Phil and the Met (both which are disappointing in similar ways as J@LC, although under Gelb at least the Met is moving in a different direction), but that is more than offset by other adventurous organizations such as the SF Symphony or even Bang on a Can. Where is the Bang on a Can-like organization for jazz? If there were some competition for the 'jazz dollar', some other high profile organization to take on music/groups/composers that which J@LC won't or can't, some one other than Wynton to be able to bend the ear (and get the eye) of Obama and Clinton, I bet there would be less animosity toward Wynton and J@LC because he wouldn't be the only gatekeeper, his voice would be balanced by a competing voice.

Just as you could never have a working class person run for state-wide offices in today’s society because the amounts of money needed for a campaign, how can the non- institutional groups, ensembles, performers of classical and jazz many of which often are pointing to new and exciting directions for the music (and where my hope for the future of the music lies), ever hope for the recognition and dollars (which in itself can represent status), if they don’t have the resources to compete? Sadly in many ways, this seems to me a class struggle between the haves (large orchestra and opera companies or J@LC in the jazz world) and the have-nots or has a little (smaller organizations and ensembles) fighting for survival in genres that generally speaking, very few are listening to or are much interested in.  
So since classical and jazz are just niche markets that are shrinking in the music marketplace, have we hit that decline that John Adams talks? As Greg Sandow says in the above blog post, is it the music or the presentation? If we change either, will people listen and the music become more relevant? More listened to? Where is the music going and what is it evolving into? Do all of the social networking media, blogs, and direct marketing over the Internet affect what classical and jazz are? Will become?

If you are a composer or musician or music lover in the New York City area, I hope you'll consider coming down to the Lyceum and join the discussion, or at the very least add your thoughts in the comments. Hope to see some of you on the 20th. 

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 9:42 PM

Leading up to my concert of Vipassana on October 28, over the next couple of weeks in regular posts, I thought I would share various details and inside information about my composition Vipassana.

Pronouncing Vipassana 
vi-pas-sa-na, the primary accent is on the pas, the secondary accent is on the last syllable na, which has an ‘ah’ sound.

What Vipassana means
The word vipassana comes from the Pali language of early Buddhist texts. It means "to see things as they really are" but is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing." The type of seeing denoted by vipassana is that of direct perception or observation, as opposed to knowledge derived from reasoning or argument. Today, vipassana is a type of meditation that seeks spiritual clarity and insight through silence. While I have yet to do the vipassana retreat workshop, someday I do hope to find 10 days to try it. 

How I came to know Vipassana
Originally I had no idea how to pronounce the word; I was saying vi-pa-ssana, with the sanasounding like sauna. It wasn't until we had performed the piece for the third time when an audience member came up to me and said that he enjoyed the piece and had actually done the vipassana retreat. At that moment, I realized that I had been saying the word wrong for a couple of years! Well before that moment, my first run in with the word was through an article in the May 8-15, 2003 Time Out New York. In the Chill Out section, the article The Silent Treatment by Jennifer Romolini caught my attention (it was taped above my piano for many years, as you can see from the photo). I was in the process of finishing the composing of the music and was searching for the right name for my baby. I needed just the right word(s) to convey the spirit of what the music is. Always a challenge, but one I love, I had a number of viable choices (of which I'm keeping to myself, unlike George in that Seinfeld episode) but the word vipassana seemed the most fitting, although it took a while to realize it for myself. 

Check back soon for more tidbits about Vipassana! Just saw Julie and Julia last week and like one of those beautiful French meals or wines that Julia Child loved, Vipassana is best experienced and appreciated with your own palette so come out and have a tasting for yourself.

Numinous performs Vipassana
Wednesday October 28, 2009 8 PM (one set only)
$10  
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Park Slope
Take the M, R Train to Union Street

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 7:05 PM