Bowling Green recap
Got back yesterday morning from Bowling Green, and headed straight from the airport to rehearsal at UT for this Sunday’s concert. More about that shortly.
It was great to be back in BG – sort of a second home to me after spending a year in residence there, and this was my third time at their New Music Festival they hold every October. The premiere was a success, and John Harbison, even came up to me afterward and said it held his attention throughout the entire work, which was a nice affirmation. The band worked hard on the piece, and the overall effect was dramatic and what I’d hoped for. A few things went wrong that never had before (as is always the case): got some feedback in the Bassoon mics at one point, some sync problems between the band and the playback, etc., but these are the growing pains of dealing with this type of music. Integrating electronics into live concert music is always a challenge, and to do it on this scale with 60-70 people in the ensemble, only compounds the likelihood Murphy’s Law will be enforced. So, it was a definite success, and a big thank-you to Bruce Moss and the BGSU Wind Symphony for giving the world premiere of the piece! Best wishes for the rest of the semester – now you can take out your earplugs… 🙂