Two Chances to attend Music as Meditation
Sunday, July 2 ~ 5 PM at Christ
Church in North Conway, NH
Sunday, July 9 ~ 4 PM,
Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH
More than a year ago, I
began Music as Meditation as a way to share my new music and satisfy my craving for the experience of a shared meditative spirit. The idea is to present
music with its connection to human hearts in mind. I play musical selections in groups that flow, setting the stage for
contemplation. I intersperse familiar piano literature, contemporary
pieces, and my own new compositions with improvisations on piano,
violin, and viola. Scheduled on the first Sunday of each Month and generously hosted by Christ Church in North Conway, Music as Meditation has been well received and has begun to attract a regular audience.
Most of you know that I make some of my living by teaching music at Mountain Top Music Center in Conway. Sometime
during the flurry of end-of-school-year recitals and concerts, Susan
Ferre of Berlin, NH contacted me to ask if I would bring a Music for
Meditation program to Gorham, NH. The Medallion Opera House had
recently acquired a grand piano and was looking for piano programs to
present. So on Sunday, July 9, I will bring Music as Meditation to
Gorham. I'm grateful to share this form of music-making with a wider audience.
This month, I've been preparing an allegro and adagio from a Haydn Sonata and a Romance by Germaine Tailleferre. What these
two pieces have in common are beautiful harmonies and very planned,
proportional structure. They are completely different in style but
both depend on the pianist's ear being attuned to two musical lines
happening simultaneously. I can't seem to stop playing
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata so I will be including that gem as well.
The thread that connects all this is careful listening. It's easy in
piano playing—as in life—to go about the business of sounding
notes and “getting through” the structure of piece of music (or
a day's schedule) while thinking of just about everything else. The
trick to making great art and to living well just may be the same
trick—to pay attention to what is actually going on around us as
much of the time as possible.
All
that is not to say that a composer's life lacks long-term planning. At this Month's Music as Meditation, I
will be sharing more themes from my forthcoming double concerto
titled Music for a Resonant Space and tunes and rhythmic improvisations from a set of Hymns and Dances I'm writing for viola and strings. Stay
tuned to this space for more information on the two-state tour of those pieces—scheduled for August 6 in New Hampshire and for September 9th in Kansas.
Music
for Meditation is free of admission. In Gorham, donations to support
the creation of more music will be gratefully accepted at the door.
These donations will support Music in the Great North Woods, The
Medallion Opera House, and Ellen's work in equal amounts. If you
would like to support my work, please use the paypal button on this
site to make a donation. I am grateful for all sorts of help in
bringing music to life.
