June 16, 2011

In the spring of 2009, the skull and upper torso of an ancient child were discovered buried in the soil of a Moroccan cave. The archaeological team couldn't even tell if it was a boy or girl, though they opted to call it 'Bouchra', a feminine name meaning "good news." But that did little to answer the questions that swirled around 'her'.How long ago did she live? What did she look like? Was she one of us? Few answers were to be found there in the cave, but one thing was clear: this child was special. Not only because ancient human bones are rare, not only because a near-complete child's skull is an almost unique discovery, but (1) because she hails from a period of our history that we know almost nothing about. (2) It may be that Bouchra will shed light on one of the last great mysteries of our evolution: the development of modern thinking. Yet with little more than the few pieces of her skeleton and the dirt she was buried in to study, it remains to be seen what stories she will tell …  (more about it from Nat Geo)

In composing the music for this, I got to work closely for the first time with editor Tony Bacon and producer Owen Palmquist.  Lisa Wolfinger, Rocky Collins, and Kirk Wolfinger masterfully supervised the project.  Particularly amazing were the prehistoric recreations shot in South Africa and the way artists and scientists collaborated to turn an ancient skull into a realistic model face.

June 8, 2011

We got some nice words directed at us by Boston Globe correspondent David Perkins for last week's Family Concert at the Hyde Park Library.  I'm really glad that he focused his kudos on Chameleon Arts Ensemble's artistic director Deborah Boldin, who year after year, holds steadfastly to her belief that children's concerts can be as sophisticated as her regular season performances. 

Indeed, Debbie puts countless hours of research, thought and passionate hand-wringing into planning Chameleon's concert season.  She takes her art of putting together concerts very, very seriously, examining all aspects of each piece and how it would fit in the overall flow.   The individual concert and even the season as a whole become a work of meta-art: While composers create individual pieces, she composes not only a concert's worth of well connected pieces, but she masterminds an entire through-composed season.

While I was in and out of Boston over the past couple of weeks, she was finishing putting together the 2011-2012 season.  She has an elaborate system for matching potential repertoire selections with interesting theme ideas, which she then cross references against desired and practical instrumentation combinations.  "This sounds like the kind of task a computer database could handle easily," I told her. 

"I have to touch it and see it spread out," she told me. 

That's passion: Talk about a labor of love!

Her zeal for the music itself and her commitment to putting together compelling programs seems to keep her going despite the many financial and practical obstacles she faces in a time when concert attendance is down and orchestras continue to fold.  Nonetheless, the Chameleons continue to pack the Goethe-Institute in Back Bay concert after concert.

June 7, 2011

Chameleon Arts Ensemble's recent concert at the Hyde Park Library got these kind words from Globe Correspondent David Perkins…

"We don’t need neurologist Oliver Sacks to convince us that classical music is one of the deepest human experiences. All you have to do is look at children. When they are exposed to it — serious, complex, soul-stirring music, I mean — their bodies shake, and they become alert and focused, taking it in. Ask them to volunteer to try instruments they have never played before, hands shoot up."

full article

June 3, 2011

Just watched Gnomeo & Juliet for our family pizza-movie-night. Dug the way James Newton Howard infused SUBTLE elements from Bernstein & the old Romeo & Juliet love theme into the Elton John driven score. The little bits of musical intelligence were like the many Shakespeare references strewn about (like the pelican named Featherstone coming out of the old shed with the "As You Like It" ticket tacked to the wall. Get it? Touchstone? Featherstone?) But hey, Elton John, how about a NEW tune in there? Did we really need the whole thing built around Crocodile Rock?  Maybe it helped to build the score around something so damned recognizeable.