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Musician Spotlight: Jonathan Mueller

The Jazz Influence with Jonathan Mueller

This season we invited Louisville Orchestra musicians to write an essay on a topic of their choice for our program magazine. March’s program highlights JONATHAN MUELLER, violist for the LO. Jonathan talks about his love of improvisation and its connection to jazz.  Hear more from Jonathan at the CONCERT TALK before each of our “The Jazz Influence” performances on Friday and Saturday, March 8 + 9.

As we hurry through our busy lives, we often try to slow down and “live in the moment.” We do yoga, meditate, keep a journal or listen to music. For professional musicians, though, it seems that our whole profession is an exercise in mindfulness. We spend countless hours practicing minute details. When we rehearse, we put all our focus into playing in-sync. We watch, listen and react to all that is surrounding us. Even so, we are reading music that was written by someone else, from another time, under different circumstances. To find a style of music that is entirely “in the moment” one must search no further than Jazz. Improvisation, the bedrock of Jazz, is the act of playing something spontaneous. It is music that is made up on the spot. Nothing is written down. It comes entirely from the mind of the musician.

I grew up in a musical family (father plays guitar, mother plays piano, older sister plays violin and younger brother plays cello), and began taking violin lessons through the Suzuki method when I was 6. The Suzuki method stresses aural skills through repetitive listening, so my musical ear continued to grow as I progressed through the Suzuki repertoire. The one thing that wasn’t emphasized in the Suzuki method was improvisation. My interest in that didn’t begin until I switched to the viola at age 13.

It was around that time that I began to appreciate improvisational rock music from the 1960s (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix were among my favorites). Then in 1995, I stumbled upon the band Phish. Unlike most rock or jazz groups where one person solos over the rest of the band, Phish perfected a form of group improvisation. There“jamming” involves active listening by all of its members to create segments of music created entirely on the spot.

By the late 1990s I began jamming with fellow musicians from my high school and was soon sitting in with their bands at live shows. As I entered college, I continued to collaborate with musicians that had similar interests in improvisational music and even took a jazz improvisation course at Indiana University with the David Baker.

Since joining the Louisville Orchestra in 2006, I have been fortunate enough to showcase my improvisational skills on a few occasions. In 2009, I, along with a few fellow musicians, performed solos in the last movement of the Voodoo Violin Concerto by Daniel Bernard Roumain. Then in the spring of 2017 I played a solo on amplified viola during Teddy Abrams’ arrangement of Uptown Funk at Ben Folds’ Louisville Orchestra concert.

It has been a blessing to perform with my esteemed colleagues in the Louisville Orchestra for the past 12 seasons. They inspire me daily and have always supported my love of improvisation. I must also give my appreciation to Teddy Abrams. His free spirit and shared love of improvisation has brought much-needed
excitement and variety to many Louisville Orchestra concerts. Thank you, Louisville, for supporting new and exciting styles of music and encouraging YOUR orchestra to strive to be the most interesting one in the world.

~Jonathan Mueller

Musician Spotlight: Cheri Lyon Kelley

February’s Audience highlights CHERI LYON KELLEY, first violin with the LO.  

A violinist’s relationship with their instrument is, well…personal, unique, rather intimate actually. After all, the violin is our voice. The sound I hear in my head is my violin. In high school, my parents made a huge sacrifice for me and purchased a beautiful French violin for my future education and career. I named “him” Pierre. Perfect, I thought for a Paris 1839 beauty. Pierre took me through college, lessons with renowned violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian, Tanglewood, quartet coaching with the Tokyo String Quartet, and my winning audition with the Louisville Orchestra. I loved that violin and still do. But then one day Pierre became “second fiddle.” Here’s our story.

Orchestrated by my husband’s boss, we met two New Albany brothers, William and Earl Hedden, both retired businessmen who were also amateur musicians. Mr. Earl played the cello and Mr. Will the violin. For years they met in the home of Hattie Speed on weekends to read chamber music with music-loving friends. When one of these friends passed away, his remarkable old Italian violin from Cremona, Italy – the city in which Stradivari and Guarneri lived and worked – was acquired by Mr. Will who loved and admired this instrument, often just opening the case to gaze at its marvelous craftsmanship.

Years later, at the age of 100, Mr. Will passed away. This beautiful Cremonese violin was inherited by his nephew who wanted the instrument to continue its life here in Kentuckiana, honoring his dear uncle.  Unbeknownst to me, he gifted the violin to the Louisville Orchestra with the stipulation that I, alone, was to play it as long as I remained a member. What an honor! And now I had a new voice!  Mr. Will’s violin is a Giovanni Battista Ceruti, circa 1810.  His chamber music friend had bought it from a traveling Chicago dealer in January of 1901.  The Ceruti has spent over half of its life right here in Kentuckiana!  Now it’s time in our story to fast forward another two decades.

The year was 2000 and I owned “Pierre,” but not the Ceruti.  However, Tom and I were now in a position to make an offer to the LO Board of Directors to buy the Ceruti from the Orchestra. Understanding that this would fulfill Mr. Hedden’s nephew’s desire to honor his uncle, the Board approved the sale and this glorious instrument, my own true voice, was mine. We became permanently and joyfully united!  I still find my eyes tearing with emotion when I tell our story. I am blessed to have a beautiful example of Italian craftsmanship in my hands – an instrument with a history so dear to me and this community. Now that is an amazing relationship!

~Cheri Lyon Kelley

Musician Spotlight: Donna Parkes

My musical adventures began at the age of nine when I discovered my instrument—the trombone. Growing up in Canberra, Australia, I was incredibly fortunate to attend a school with a wonderful instrumental music program. My older sister already played trumpet, which meant the options were down to the French horn and the trombone; for me, the choice was an easy one. The trombone sound has always fascinated me—so much like the human voice—and one that I still love creating. I quickly realized the importance of practice, allowing me to play with many bands and ensembles. I am still grateful for the incredible teachers I had in my formative years that set me on a journey of truly valuing the art of making music.

Playing trombone was my way to connect with other musicians and audiences and explore the world. I finished my undergraduate degree in Australia and moved to Chicago for grad school at DePaul
University. Living abroad opened up amazing opportunities like the New World Symphony in Miami. I loved moving to different parts of the United States to perform—particularly with the San Francisco
Symphony and the Utah Symphony. My career has meant performing in places as diverse as Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, the Sydney Opera House and even Doha in the Middle East.

Even when there was no common language or culture the bridge of music has allowed me to connect with both musicians and audiences across the world. The magic of being a musician is that you have this ability to share art anywhere with anyone, and I will never take that for granted.

Joining the Louisville orchestra in 2008, I had no idea just how much I would come to appreciate this city and the orchestral musicians with whom I share this stage. My other passion is running, and Louisville has the most beautiful city parks. I have run eight marathons, including the Boston Marathon. The solitude of a long run gives me the same sense of calm that a long trombone practice session does.
Running and music are a great combination for me— challenging me to see how much I can grow and improve. Despite my give-away accent, I consider myself a local and am proud of the role the
Louisville Orchestra plays in our community. Whether it is a performance at a homeless shelter or a visit to a class of 4th graders, I have the unique privilege of connecting with the people of
Louisville through music.

Supporting the arts makes our community thrive and our sense of connection stronger. Thank you for being here as such an integral part of the Louisville Orchestra family and enjoy the performance!

Read Donna’s official bio here: https://louisvilleorchestra.org/donna-parkes/

Musician Spotlight: Matthew Karr

Art + Music with Matt Karr

As a child, I was surrounded by music. My mother, Annora Sue Karr was a professional soprano. She frequently gave recitals in the Toledo Museum of Art and sang solos with the Toledo Symphony. My father, Samuel, played the French horn. There were professional musicians in our home quite frequently. So it was only natural that my younger brothers and I took up instruments.  My parents started me on the piano, but I fell in love with the clarinet. I showed enough aptitude, that my High School band director suggested (forced) me to switch over to the bassoon.

I learned to play the bassoon, fell in love with it, and entered the Oberlin Conservatory in 1974. While I was studying music at Oberlin, I heard about a fabulous Art History Professor there and began enrolling in his courses. He was incredibly passionate about his subject and his students became completely absorbed. First I studied Italian Renaissance Art, then Northern Italian Art, Modern Art and an entire semester on Van Gogh! I accumulated enough credits to accidentally graduate with a minor in Art History!

I love working with my hands. My father had a basement workshop in our family home. I enjoyed spending time with him doing home repair and some basic construction. I didn’t realize that someday I would become excited by design, and ultimately, furniture design.  I enjoy building furniture that is functional, but also simple and elegant! My brother Joel is an Architect, so the design bug must be in our family DNA!

I’m very lucky. I get to sit in the middle of a glorious, enormous, breathing organism: a Symphony Orchestra! I’ve learned to live and breathe with Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, and Stravinsky in my veins!  I get to play in the Louisville Orchestra with my wife, Kathy Karr too! It has been an honor to have the opportunity to work with these talented musicians, and serve our community for almost 40 years!

My music making is so fleeting, moving, spiritual, and then suddenly disappearing into memory. But my furniture building is permanent, solid, a legacy. I enjoy a wonderful balance, the inanimate and the animate!

~Matt Karr

Why Elgar’s Enigma Variations Choke Us Up Every Time

3 Jan 2019… Especially the “Nimrod” variation.

According to Classicsfm.com, the reasoned explanation of why Sir Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations is super overwhelming and can bring us to tears is that, “It’s all in the fluctuating dynamics, the unresolved tension and the cracking timpani rolls…”

LINK to the detailed article

Perhaps it is possible to analyse the component parts of this English composer’s genius, in this work or in his rhapsodic cello concerto, or in his popular marches like “Pomp and Circumstances,” to explain the swell of emotions and joyful reaction to his music. However, explanations and even the best recordings simply pale in comparison to a live performance with a master conductor leading our Louisville Orchestra.

On Saturday, January 12 at 8PM (for one performance only) the American master conductor Leonard Slatkin leads the LO in Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The performance also features a work composed by the conductor and another contemporary work by Cindy McTee. Featuring LO’s beloved principal flutist, Kathy Kerr, the program includes Walter Piston’s suite from The Incredible Flutist.  Excellent seats are still available at the Kentucky Center for this concert.

LINK to get tickets at KentuckyCenter.org

Maestro Leonard Slatkin

As one of the preeminent conductors on the American scene, Leonard Slatkin spent many years on the podium of the St. Louis Symphony, the National Symphony, and most recently at the Detroit Symphony. A multiple Grammy Award winner and recipient of a National Medial of Arts, Mr. Slatkin is also a champion of the music of American composers and musicians. He is a friend, teacher, mentor and tireless advocate for musician and music lovers around the world.

Teddy Abrams was assistant conductor to Mr. Slatkin at the Detroit Symphony and is excited to bring this friend and mentor to Louisville. “I learned so much from Leonard and can’t wait to have him with our orchestra. Did you know that he conducted here many years ago early in his career? So this is a homecoming of sorts,” says Abrams.

When he leaves Louisville, Mr. Slatkin travels to Europe to lead performances with the Orchestre National de Lyons — an orchestra with which he holds a long history and most recently toured with throughout Germany last fall.

A thoughtful observer of life, Mr. Slatkin posts an online journal of his performances and general observations. LINK to online journal.

We invite you to enjoy the music of Leonard Slatkin and his wife Cindy McTee with the Louisville Orchestra on Saturday, January 12.

LINK TO MORE INFORMATION

Breaking Barriers :: Making Art… This Might Get Messy

Art + Music
Classics Series Concert
FRI 25 JAN 2019 at 11AM
SAT 26 JAN 2019 at 8PM
Kentucky Center

LINK TO GET TICKETS NOW!

BREAKING BARRIERS :: MAKING ART
ART + MUSIC Promises to be one of the highlights of the 2019 Louisville Art Season

Do you know the story behind the Russian masterpiece Pictures at an Exhibition?  The composer, Modest Mussorgsky, was inspired to write the music after seeing an exhibition of drawings and paintings created by his friend Viktor Hartmann.

Light – Sound – Taste
This concert “flips” the concept as our Music Director Teddy Abrams reached out to artists affiliated with the Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD) and invited them to created new works of art based on a selection of musical classics. The Louisville Orchestra, with Teddy Abrams conducting, will perform the listed works as written. The artists will either create their time-based and site-specific artworks during the concert or present their work that was created in advance of the performances.

Eight artists have stepped forward to engage in this collaboration and the plans underway are shaping into an exceptional pair of concerts for Louisville audiences. Here’s a brief description of what to anticipate.

■ G.F. HANDEL:                “Alla Hornpipe” from Water Music  (4 minutes)
Mariam Eqbal, a Pakistani-American artist whose art has been seen around the world, will amplify conductor Teddy Abrams’ motions with moving projections that abstract the timing and form of the music into gestures and visual elements.

■ ROBERT SCHUMANN:  Symphony No. 3 (“Rhenish”), Mvt. 4 (6 minutes)
Josh Azzarella, an explorer at the intersection of personal experience and history, will use depth mapping cameras to record and image the magnetic space between musicians, then process and amplify this data through a triangle oscillator giving “voice” to this unseen element of the concert experience.

■ IGOR STRAVINSKY:  “Infernal Dance” from The Firebird  (5 minutes)
Jace Stovall, a Louisville-based illustrator, is pioneering work that focuses on asexuality, identity, and intimacy. Illustrating a re-telling of the classic Russian tale, Jace presents an animation to reimage the relationships in The Firebird.

■ MAURICE RAVEL:  “The Fairy Garden” from Mother Goose  (4 minutes)
Ron Schildknecht, a Louisville-based award-winning independent filmmaker, reveals a Sleeping Beauty story of refugee children whose families live in migrant centers in Sweden. Tragically, many of these children have fallen into an unresponsive physical state diagnosed as “resignation syndrome” and emerge from their deep sleeping illness only when they understand that their families are safe in a new permanent residence.

■ BELA BARTÓK:  Music for Strings. Percussion & Celesta, Mvt. 4  (6 minutes)
Ricardo Mondragon, a Chicago-based artist and composer, seeks to transform sound into light in an ingenious transfer of the orchestra’s performance through a custom algorithm. Watch for a 3-dimensional effect produced with the orchestra being washed in a color matrix projected onto a semi-transparent scrim. The artist controls the algorithm and effect in real-time.

■ CHARLES IVES:  “The Housatonic at Stockbridge” from Three Places in New England  (4 minutes)
Charles Rivera, a sound artist, composer, and musician, creates an “homage” to the composer by taking his creation of “The Housatonic at Stockbridge,” a sonic collage of disparate musical elements, and overlaying a new set of musical and sound elements over the original composition. Approved by the estate of Charles Ives, this is an extraordinary mingling of sound to create myriad fractal relationships.

■ MODEST MUSSORGSKY:  Night on Bald Mountain (12 minutes :: Saturday performance only)
Taria Camerino, self-identified as a Gustatory Synesthete – able to experience taste through sound, has been a chef, confectioner, and an herbalist for her entire career. A battle with cancer brought a surprising new element to her creativity as sound and taste are now a shared sensation – an extraordinary experience she hopes to share with our audience by creating a tasting element for everyone to synchronize with listening to this performance.

■ MODEST MUSSORGSKY:  Pictures at an Exhibition (35 minutes)
Anthony Schrag sports an international reputation as an artist, researcher and educator who seeks to build participation in the arts.  Expanding the place of participatory artworks within the public realm drives Schrag to include people from around the world to share our performance through their own experience of this work whether through this live performance or listening to recordings or performing in any other version. There will be no visual element at the concert – just your awareness that hundreds of other people, young and old, are sharing your experience in some coordinated way through the curatorial efforts of the artist.

Top L – R: Charles Rivera, Ricardo Mondragon, Moira Scott Payne (KyCAD president), Teddy Abrams, Anthony Schrag, Ron Schildknecht Front L – R: Jace Stovall, Mariam Equbal, Lori Larusso (curator and project manager), Hannah Goodwin (assisting Ron Schildknecht), Josh Azzarella (PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Witzke)

The Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD)

KyCAD is the only four-year independent college of art and design in the Commonwealth. With approval from the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education to award a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art, KyCAD is now designing its future and creating exciting new goals to be a college that sees the city of Louisville as its campus. KyCAD welcomed its first class of students in January 2019 and is currently accepting applications for Fall 2019. For enrollment information or to make a donation to help further the education of KyCAD students, visit www.KyCAD.org

Taking Risks at Paristown

Teddy Abrams is now working out the details of the first LO concert to be performed on SAT 2 NOV at the Old Foresters’ Paristown Hall. And as promised, he’s taking some chances and bringing new voices to our local soundscape. It always takes some musical courage and curiosity to follow Teddy into the embrace of his latest discovery. However, most of us have found that his taste is unerring and his enthusiasm can make the exploration a true joy. In this program, he surrounds the very new with the very familiar.

His program opens by ringing the Paristown rafters with the “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland. The piece is the shortcode definition of being American. It stacks up against our National Anthem, “God Bless America,” and any other of the patriotic favorites for simply making us feel proud of ourselves no matter what. The Fanfare seems to echo from city buildings and across wide-open spaces. How it never fails to straighten my shoulders is simply a mystery to me.

Next up is Samuel Barber’s “Second Essay for Orchestra” — a intimidating title that suggests an academic exercise. You might know Samuel Barber mainly for the hauntingly beautiful “Adagio for Strings,” heard in movies like Platoon. The Second Essay for Orchestra rivals its famous cousin in the beauty of the music for the string instruments but adds every color of the orchestra, growing and building on the original musical ideas until ending in a huge fanfare for the entire orchestra, only to be tagged at the very end by those vulnerable strings sailing out there alone. Strong, logical, beautiful, and thoughtful, the work was shaped by a clean-cut American romanticism.

Just when we’re getting into the grace and strength of our Americans, Teddy pulls out a tricky little number, only 6  minutes long, but still ground-breaking in its vigor and startling language. A nutty Yankee of the most creative sort, Charles Ives wrote “The Unanswered Question” back in 1906. We’re still trying to catch up to this visionary. The question screams in our bones as the trumpet brays it again and again, but the raging avalanche of answers never enough. Why indeed?

If you’re a regular at the LO, you may have heard a couple of works by Mason Bates that Teddy brought to past concerts. A list of awards and credentials (led by his Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and his position as the first composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center) is a bit of a distraction when trying to discover more about Mason Bates. All that’s necessary is a dose of the sonic excitement he packs in his music. Mixing acoustic with the electronic, he composes music that risks actually becoming popular with orchestra audiences. He was named the most-performed contemporary orchestra composer and you’ll hear why. We get to hear his baroque-tinged thriller Auditorium. It’s exactly the piece you would have wanted to compose if you could.

Ellen Reid won a Pulitzer for her opera Prism.  Even listening to the excepts on Reid’s website is surprisingly shattering. Complex and layered, her opera digs into places that can leave you gasping for breath. By contrast, the work on this program is fresh and bright. It’s titled Petrichor, which I’m delighted to discover is the word for that scent that rises from dry earth after a rain. Listening to the music of this woman makes me think she must be fearless. Link to Petrichor.

Teddy saved the last place on this program for another fearless innovator. Ludwig van Beethoven. He has the last word in this concert of courage, curiosity, and hope with the first and last movements of his Fifth Symphony.

So here’s a program that asks you to take a risk. Perhaps try something new. But most of all, it asks you to take the chance to rise up and be a truly romantic optimist. Shed a layer of skepticism… and bring a friend.

LINK TO EVENT DETAILS 

Event Notes: NO CHAIRS! Please be aware that Old Forester’s Paristown Hall is a standing-only venue.

~Michelle Winters
Director of Marketing, Louisville Orchestra

ALL IN VINYL RELEASED BY CROSLEY RADIO

(12 OCT 2018),   Crosley Radio, a leading audio brand since launching its first radio in the 1920s, has collaborated with the Louisville Orchestra to press the orchestra’s first vinyl album in 30 years. Crosley and The Louisville Orchestra have pressed 500 LPs of the album “All In,” making this release a limited-edition collector’s item. In addition, Crosley Radio has created a custom turntable that features the Louisville Orchestra.

LINK TO PURCHASE LP

LINK TO PURCHASE CUSTOM TURNTABLE

The Louisville Orchestra has a long history of releasing award-winning music with over 100 albums released on vinyl throughout the 1940s and 1980s. Due to loss of funding, producing vinyl albums took a backseat for the last 30 years until Crosley and the Orchestra explored a partnership to produce “All In” on vinyl.

“We are always looking to connect the Crosley brand to all areas of the music industry and when the opportunity to partner with a local organization as prestigious as the Louisville Orchestra presented itself, there was no question about what to do,” said Crosley artist and entertainment director, Jeff Parrish. “Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra are highly esteemed by peers and patrons in the classical music space and this partnership will be mutually beneficial in more ways than one.”

“All In” debuted on CD and streaming in September of 2017 where it saw great success including the number one spot on the Billboard classical list for two weeks in a row. A vinyl release was not originally in the plan, however, when Teddy Abrams proposed the idea to Crosley, the plan was immediately set into motion for a 500 LPs high quality, limited edition issue of the Louisville Orchestra’s album.

“The Louisville Orchestra and I are deeply grateful to Crosley for partnering with the Orchestra to release our album “All In” on vinyl,” said Louisville Orchestra music director, Teddy Abrams. “As a local company with global reach, Crosley has been a tremendous, positive force in the Louisville music community, and the company’s vision to reconnect the modern LO with its history of seminal vinyl records is absolutely extraordinary. We are very excited to share our music on this classic and beautiful medium, and we thank Crosley for making it possible.”

STAR WARS – A NEW HOPE IN CONCERT

(Monday, April 30) — See Star Wars: A New Hope as you never have before! Travel to “a galaxy far, far away” as the full feature film is projected onto a large screen at the Kentucky Center, with John Williams’ Oscar-winning score performed live by your Louisville Orchestra.

ON SALE NOW!

100%!! An Education Goal Achieved

Each year for more than 70 years, the Louisville Orchestra has presented MakingMUSIC — our educational concerts for school children. Four years ago, we made it a priority to ensure that every 4th Grade student in a Jefferson County Public School would have the opportunity to hear either a full orchestra concert or an in-school concert with one of our seven small ensembles. And for the fourth consecutive year, we have reached 100% of the 92 JCPS elementary schools.

Because these are not programs that are open to the public, not many people get the chance to witness the incredible energy and excitement of these concerts. We are so privileged to witness the alternating rapture and fidgets of the children throughout these events. If we could capture the spirit of fun in the room and the crazy enthusiasm of cheering standing ovations, we could light up the city!

Everyone knows that education is expensive and we could not achieve this success without the support of many. Costs include theater and music rentals, transportation for the students, general operating funding that pays the musicians and other staff involved in these productions. We would like to thank JCPS for consistent support.

Started by Music Director Robert Whitney in the 1940s, these concerts are part of what it means to be a Louisvillian — creative, energetic, and engaged. Some people have enjoyed life-long love of orchestral music that started at these concerts — an experience that happens every year with the students attending MakingMUSIC at the Louisville Orchestra.

We are committed to continuing this important program.

If you would like to join us, we welcome your gift in honor of MakingMusic, Robert Whitney and the musicians of the Louisville Orchestra.

Thank you for allowing us to serve.

Online donations are gratefully accepted. Link Here.