Cobbs Hill Reservoir

on a clear day, you can see downtown...

Our dog loves it when we drive him to the reservoir for a walk – he sits up when we make the turn up the hill and he whines impatiently until we let him out of the car. We love walking him there for many reasons: the paved walkway, which is plowed in winter; the low risk of deer ticks, relative to the parks; the waste bins, for proper disposal of...things that need to be disposed of; and of course, the view. On a clear day, you get not just the best view of the city of Rochester to the north, but also stunning vistas to the south, and the rolling hills hiding the Finger Lakes.

...and south to the Finger Lakes

I occasionally walk there with my friend Gwen, as well. Most people seem to walk the route counter-clockwise, but Gwen likes to shake things up and walk clockwise, so that we frequently meet people face to face, rather than passing or being passed. We encounter all sorts of people – young and old, walkers (with and without dogs) and joggers, friendly and unfriendly. But while Todd likes to be driven right up to the reservoir, Gwen likes to start out in the neighborhood below, and climb up the hill. One time she took me through a lovely neighborhood, where we met a resident who explained the cleanup effort that resulted in the now hike-able Washington Grove Park, a remnant forest. According to the information panels, “Washington Grove potentially holds the tallest and oldest individuals of white and black oak, sassafras, and butternut in New York State.”

yes, there are tiny people down there!

Cobbs Hill Reservoir was completed in 1908, and the plaque on-site explains that, “of unsurpassed quality, the water in this reservoir flows by gravity from lakes Hemlock and Canadice located 30 miles south.” The walking distance around the reservoir, measured specifically from the center of the walkway, is .69 miles. The reservoir recently underwent major maintenance, to clean the muck from the bottom and repair some of the pipes, so has been empty for months. I learned, from chatting with a couple of the engineers, that the reservoir holds 144 million gallons of water and covers 19 acres. While the water apparently is filtered at some point before it enters the reservoir, it goes straight out from there to our taps. There has been some discussion regarding additional filtering to improve water quality, although the reports we occasionally get from the Monroe Water Authority usually look pretty good. One engineer suggested that if the quality deteriorated, they would need to consider a giant pool cover!

the engineers discovered the water flowed better
if they didn't replace a section of corroded pipe

The water is flowing into the reservoir again, and it will take about a month to fill. When just over half full, they’ll start letting water back into our pipes. Here in Rochester, we seem to take our tap water for granted, because it is safe, abundant, and virtually free. I, for one, would be happy to compromise on the third to ensure the first two are never compromised…

beautiful sunset...

...and lampposts!

Rochappella

When I moved home from London in 2003, I desperately missed my a cappella singing group, the Treblemakers. We sang a mix of doo-wop, show tunes, and barbershop, with a holiday repertoire for December gigs. I explored two groups in New Jersey, neither of which was satisfactory (one sang to CD accompaniment, and involved choreography; the other was directed by an octogenarian and barely sang 2-part arrangements). When I moved to Rochester, I thought the Sweet Adelines might be the ticket, so I went to one of their rehearsals. For so many reasons (they must stand for their entire 2.5 hour rehearsal, and tape themselves and be judged by other members; they use arrangements that are written in SATB format; and they have very specific instructions for applying eye shadow for performances), they were not. I finally discovered Concentus, which I love being a part of, but it’s not my favorite genre of music, as beautiful as it is.

Some of my London friends urged me to start my own group, and I finally got the nerve, casually mentioning my dream to random women, and asking them if they sing. The usual response was a variation of “only in the shower,” but occasionally someone would say “yes”! We started small, and added friends, and friends of friends, until we reached critical mass, with 10 women. Rochappella was born. My goal for the group was to sing well enough to perform at nursing homes and the like, for free, and to have fun as well as bring some joy to our listeners. Although our target audience might not worry about the quality of our sound, we wanted to be decent, since there might also be staff and caregivers in the audience, who could hear…

Since we always have wine at our rehearsals, Lucy, who serendipitously lives across the street, dubbed us “a drinking group with a singing problem.” Ali, who I picked up at a holiday party last year, liked to say that we were “booking a year out.” And so now we are a year out. We just had our first performance, at the Brightonian nursing home, and we sang a mix of the familiar (including “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “White Christmas”) and the not so familiar (songs like “African Noel” and “S’Vivon”). It was heartwarming to entertain the residents and staff on a cold winter’s night, and to engage them in a sing-along before we departed.

We have one more holiday gig, and then we move on to the fun stuff – songs like “Summertime,” “Royals,” “Mister Sandman,” and a couple of Beatles arrangements (including one from the Treblemakers). Ali's already talking dates with the Brightonian for the Spring, and I suspect we can convince a couple of other nursing homes in Rochester to let us come entertain them next holiday season. In the meanwhile, there are songs to be learned and there's wine to be drunk, and “a girl has to celebrate what passes by.” I celebrate Rochappella, and the women who incredibly came together to create such a fun group, with such potential for the future.

Video Games Live with the RPO

members of Concentus who volunteered their voices
for the VGL concert

I’ve always dreamt of performing a choral soundtrack piece (preferably Koyaanisqatsi or La Double Vie de Véronique), but I guess Video Games Live is as close as I’ll ever come. There’s something about incidental soundtrack music that can be rich and compelling, with its tendency to use the chorus as an instrument – an extension of the orchestra. In the case of the VGL music, complexity was not a factor, although the lyrics were tricky – some seemed to be Slavic and others perhaps made-up, and by the end of the performance, I know most of the chorus had made up their own words to fit the fast-paced music! But it was rollicking. When Concentus’ conductor, Gwen, asked if I wanted to participate in what would be a motley crew of chorus members, I didn’t hesitate, even though it meant learning the music on my own (to mp3s sent by the concert coordinator) and an all-afternoon rehearsal immediately prior to the concert.

the orchestra watches as an audience member plays
Guitar Hero to mostly recorded music

This was the first time I’d been on stage with the RPO (singing the Holst didn’t count, since we were offstage behind a wall), and it was an amazing perspective on the musicians, conductor, and audience, whose energy we could see and feel. It was exhilarating to feel a part of the RPO, even though we were situated behind them and we feared our sound might not carry. The conductor and many of the musicians had earpieces that clicked the tempo for them, so they would stay together with the video projection (and the backtrack – there was obviously some electronic music that was being played simultaneously, perhaps even supplementing the chorus…).

There wasn’t a lot of finesse to this type of music – it was more theatrical (the music was really in support of the video) than interpretive – and it showed in the more casual approach of the conductor. At our choral rehearsal, we skimmed through the pieces, and received only minimal guidance from Maestro Fratianni about dynamics and entrances and cutoffs. The orchestra rehearsal was similarly lacking in subtlety – it really was all about the tempo – and the earpieces almost made the conductor redundant.

the audience are invited to shine their
cellphone flashlights

The event itself resembled a rock concert more than a traditional RPO performance. The audience was overwhelmingly young (people who were familiar with games like Tron, World of Warcraft, Tetris, and Skyrim), the songs were short, and there was a great deal of audience participation. This was probably the first exposure to the RPO for many, and it will be a challenge for the organization to find ways to continue to engage them in live orchestral concerts. At dinner between rehearsal and the performance with other Concentus participants, as well as principal clarinetist Kenny Grant (husband of one of the singers), we chatted about the need for more John Williams-type concerts, which stealthily expose a new generation to classical music.

conductor, creator/guitarist, and soloist
take bows as the orchestra departs

The final song was performed just by the show’s creator/guitarist (who had quite an ego…) and the soloist, as an audience sing-along. Many of the younger men in the chorus didn’t even need to twist around to see the words displayed on the giant screen behind them to add their voices. It made me think that there had been a lost collaborative opportunity for the RPO with a local college or high school choir. Not only would such a group have had more volume, they might also have been familiar with the genre, if not the specific music. And they could have brought additional audience to the hall in the form of family and friends. Their loss was my gain!

Ticket Forgiveness (not the traffic kind!)

Last Fall, a friend and subscriber of the NYC Ballet purchased extra tickets for us and two other friends, for a date in the Spring when I’d be in the city. But in her haste to get to her seat for that night’s performance, she didn’t bother to look inside the envelope. Apparently, there was mayhem at the box office that evening, and the agent misheard the request, and gave her tickets for February, instead of May. When she finally looked at the tickets in March, she was dismayed, and we both contacted the box office (they were no help, because they didn’t work for the ballet company) and then NYC Ballet’s customer service. They initially refused to exchange the tickets for the correct evening, even though we both explained the circumstances, and that it was unlikely that four of us all forgot to attend the performance. I even contacted the development office, promising to make a contribution if they rectified the situation (and checking online, there were still plenty of seats available for the performance we intended!). Radio silence, until a few days before the date, when the organization grudgingly reseated us for the correct date. What a struggle, and not the best way to build customer loyalty…

I’ve recently learned that two performing arts groups in Rochester have generous “ticket forgiveness” policies. Geva’s “Missed Performance Insurance” allows 6-Show Season Ticket Holders to see a show they’ve accidentally missed, as long as there is availability (you need to get there no more than two hours prior to curtain). Similarly, the RPO has something called “Subscriber Standby,” which allows subscribers to exchange unused tickets for a future performance in the same season, again, subject to availability. So one more reason to be a subscriber!

Obviously, both Geva and the RPO would rather you notify them in advance so they can re-sell your unused ticket, in addition to exchanging your ticket for a future performance. And if too many people abuse these forgiveness policies, the organizations might have to get less forgiving. Now, if you realize your error after the run of the show at Geva, or after the final RPO performance in May (it happens – my parents once showed up at the Kennedy Center for a concert only to find an empty parking lot and hall – they didn’t realize the tickets were for the prior year…), you’re out of luck. But as long as you catch your mistake in time, neither Geva nor the RPO will be as rude to you as the NYC Ballet was to me!

“Good People” – Great Show!

Charlie and I both thoroughly enjoyed Geva’s Good People, directed by Mark Cuddy, on its opening night two weeks ago – it’s funny, it’s thought-provoking, and it deals with issues that we here in Rochester can definitely relate to, even though it’s set in South Boston. And speaking of setting, the rotating triangular sets were fantastic and seamless (I’d seen this concept once before, in the first Broadway production of Chess, and it was a miracle no one was hurt, they were so erratic).

All of the actors are wonderful, and it was impossible to tell whose accent was real (Mark informed us at a pre-show talk that one of the actors actually hails from Boston) and whose were not, and Charlie and I each guessed a different person. I saw the show again on my regular subscription night, this time with my sister-in-law Kathryn, and my friend Jan. I was worried I might not enjoy it as much, knowing some of the jokes and all of the dramatic twists, but I think I actually liked it more, since I had had time to think about the issues in between. The characters of Good People remind us that, just as in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” you can never know what might have happened if you’d chosen a different path. And they remind us that our memory is more elastic than photographic – we mold it to fit the story we want to make of the memory. That “truth” is not something absolute, and that one person’s “luck,” when viewed from a different perspective, is actually guided by unacknowledged, but very real actions on the part of other people.

Jan emailed me the next morning, saying, “I keep thinking about the play we saw last night, which is most often my measure of whether I really liked something or not – if I leave and never think about it again it probably was good, but not good enough to think about again. So I must have really loved the play.”

Good People is yet another memorable Geva co-production that will move elsewhere when it ends its run here on November 16. So unless you are planning to visit Indianapolis in January, see it here, soon. 

“Girls Only” – Downstairs Cabaret Theatre

our group's table in the cabaret theatre

If you’re looking for an evening of pure fun on a girls’ night out, this is it. This combination of skits, improvisation, song, and dance is hysterical from beginning to end. Even before the beginning, as the actresses lounge on stage in their underwear, welcoming audience members with a wave as if we were already best friends, coming for a sleepover. My friend Mary Ann even went to talk to them before the theatre went dark! You’ve got to give actress and co-writer Linda Klein credit for guts and self-confidence, since she’s more like an older Lena Dunham than an older Keira Knightley… Amie MacKenzie, who plays the part written by and originally for Barbara Gehring, reminded me of a cross between Tina Fey and Mary Steenburgen.

Both women were thoroughly entertaining and quick on their feet, and even the one man in the audience enjoyed the show (although I’m not sure he got some of the jokes, and some of them had to make him downright uncomfortable!). And I suspect that all of the women in the audience could relate to most of the show, from the dramatic pre-teen diary entries, some of which no longer made sense to their adult selves, to a post-menopausal sketch on recycling ideas for sanitary products.

girls' night out, posing with Linda Klein and
Amy MacKenzie (front middle & right) after the show

The promotional material for “Girls Only – The Secret Comedy of Women” says it best:

“Born out of the earnest and sweetly ridiculous writings the two authors discovered in their girlhood diaries, the GIRLS ONLY mix of sketch comedy, improvisation, audience participation, and hilarious songs and videos will remind you that underneath, women all have very funny and charming feminine similarities. Bring your mothers, daughters, sisters and girlfriends; we promise you’ll leave laughing, ready to dig out YOUR diary!”

The show made me thankful that decades ago, I did a last reading through my teen diaries (seriously, who was that depressing girl?!) and carefully shredded them, so no one else would stumble on them. But the show also made me want to go again, if I can find the time to fit it in. The show runs until November 16 at the Downstairs Cabaret Theatre at Winton Place.

http://downstairscabaret.org/GIRLS%20ONLY%20Website.html

Planned Parenthood Luncheon

It was overwhelming to see so many people (mostly women, but there were a few men) turn out for the annual Planned Parenthood lunch at the Convention Center – there were at least 45 tables of about 10. My sister-in-law Kathryn and I arrived just in time to be seated, because of the time we wasted trying to park in the adjacent garage, so we didn’t have time to catch up with many friends, although I did manage to spot her cousin at a nearby table and introduce them to each other (they hadn’t seen each other in decades!).

Karen Nelson, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, welcomed the audience, gave apologies for Mayor Lovely Warren, who had another event that was more important to her, and introduced Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who received a standing ovation. I wondered whether County Executive Maggie Brooks had been invited…

The highlight of the afternoon was the keynote speaker – Sarah Weddington. I will admit I’d never heard of her. Roe v. Wade was decided when I was still a pre-teen. Thanks to her, two of my high school friends were able to have safe and legal abortions. Sadly, the Supreme Court decision did not put the issue to rest, and I must have written my Senator in my 20s, because I still have his reply (see below), complete with misspelled last name.

Ms. Weddington was a fantastic speaker, and I suspect we could have listened to her for hours and not been bored. It is amazing to think that she was only 26 years old when she went before the Supreme Court. She appalled us with stories of states that as recently as 50 years ago criminalized birth control, let alone abortion. And she rued that she never would have thought that abortion would still be an issue almost 40 years later, and admitted she is “worried about whether we’re on the edge of losing.” Her state, Texas, like many other southern “red” states, is trying to make abortion unavailable. She implored us to keep New York a haven for women in states that curtail women’s rights. The timing of the luncheon couldn’t have been better, as we approach mid-term elections next week. Obviously, there are many issues to consider in choosing a political candidate (or in many cases, casting a ‘yes’ vote for one candidate merely as a way of saying ‘no’ to the other). But this is one issue I hope is a non-issue in our state, now and forever.

Infinity boxes by Matt Elson at the Memorial Art Gallery

First, let me say that there is no way to communicate how cool this exhibit is in words – you really have to see it in person – but I will try.

Linda & Sue in one of the boxes

In August, the Memorial Art Gallery ran an on-line fundraiser to bring the Infinity Boxes to Rochester, and one of the levels gave the supporters (and their friends) a private one-hour tour with the artist himself. It’s a rare privilege to actually meet a creator, so I didn’t hesitate. Although the boxes have been on a road trip cross-country (Matt lives in LA), the MAG is the first museum to host the exhibit. Marie Via, Director of Exhibitions, coordinated and accompanied us on our visit, and explained that while the bulk of the boxes are together in one room, others are strategically located throughout the galleries to encourage visitors to explore the entire museum (Matt remarked that this was an extraordinary experience for him as an artist). And since it’s such a compact museum, that isn’t such a hardship!

Many Gwens

Matt couldn’t have been more delightful as he introduced himself (his background is in computer graphics, and he spent time at both Dreamworks and Disney) and the Infinity Box concept: “artworks that play with and explore human perception and social connection.” Each box is different, each window provides a unique experience, and the boxes are “only active when they’re shared, because art happens in community.” 

Many Lindas

With one exception, each box requires at least two people to experience fully (“It takes two. I thought one was enough, It’s not true: It takes two of us”*). And since the perspective from each opening of each box differs, you need to take your time exploring. Matt urged us not to be timid, but to get our heads totally inside the boxes, to “immerse (ourselves) in the particular experience,” and to touch his artwork and exquisite frames on the outside. How often do you get that up close and personal with museum art? He also wants people to take pictures and share them, to encourage social interaction. Matt graciously offered to send me a copy of the audio he was recording of our tour, which allowed me to put down my notepad and really be present in the “here and now” of the experience.

Many mes

Although there are some warnings about possible vertigo or nausea, my group’s reaction was overwhelmingly:  “Wow!” No dizziness, just some occasional “magic eye” moments, and amazement at the miracle of mirrors, and the ways they can trick your eyes and brain. There was one box in particular that lent itself to panoramic photography. When I requested that he photograph me while I changed my expression, he remarked that I was “one of the very few people that intuitively gets that” (maybe you just have to be a bit of a geek...). Unfortunately, even though he called out “change” to warn me of the stitching, we weren’t quite in synch, so sometimes my face looks a bit wacky.

Sue, me, Matt, Linda, and Gwen

The exhibit runs through January 4, 2015, and would be great for taking visiting relatives to over the holidays. Apparently, all the security guards have been trained to assist museum-goers in experiencing the art, since they won’t have the benefit of personal instruction by the artist. I have a feeling I’ll be back a couple of times with different sets of friends, and I’ll keep trying for the perfect panorama.

For more information, visit the museum’s website: http://mag.rochester.edu/exhibitions/infinity-boxes/

Or Matt Elson’s website: www.mattelson.com

* It’s always Sondheim.

DANCE/Hartwell

"At the Jubilee" (photo courtesy of the College at Brockport)

Our friend Colleen, who is getting her MFA in Dance at Suny Brockport, presented her masters thesis dance at the past weekend’s performances in the DANCE/Hartwell program. She had invited me to some of the rehearsals, but I hadn’t had time, so the piece was a complete (and exciting!) surprise. Charlie and I were accompanied by her uncle Tom and his partner Glen, and as I entered Hartwell Hall, two girls with bouquets of flowers reminded me we hadn’t bought Colleen any. Luckily some students were selling single roses, for $3.50, and I bought four, one for each of us to give her (I was such an old lady to the girl taking my $20, who immediately went to her phone to calculate my total – I admonished her to do the math in her head, and she just stared at me blankly, until one of her friends loudly whispered the answer).

Although there were eight pieces on the program, it ran just under an hour. The first piece, “111, Go!” completely captivated me. Allison Bohman’s choreography (“in collaboration with the dancers”) was a perfect counterpoint to her music choice of two movements from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The creative, and complementary, costumes, designed by Emma Scholl, were all made from the same fabrics, but none was alike. I also liked the use of light and shadow, and the fact that the lone male dancer wasn’t marginalized, but had a role equal to that of the women.

I had seen “Glassy Ladies” (choreographed by Rachel Keane, Maya Gonzales, and Christina Gorman) before, in a smaller space, and either because it was not new to me, or because it was no longer an intimate performance, it didn’t seem to have the same impact on this stage. And as amusing as the addition of video was to the piece, it seemed to distract, rather than fill the larger space. Some of the works were set to music with lyrics that I felt also distracted from the movement, especially when they required effort to listen to, or were more clever than the choreography. But all of the dancers performed beautifully.

"At the Jubilee" (photo courtesy of the College at Brockport)

Colleen’s piece, “At the Jubilee,” was last but not least (I was reminded of my youth piano recitals, where the best students performed first and last, and the rest of us were sandwiched forgettably in between). This was the first time I had seen her work choreographed for dancers other than herself, and I was impressed by her ability to translate her vocabulary of movements to her troupe. She also incorporated some lighter moments into the work, and gave the audience a chance to laugh, which we did. It was a great ensemble piece, and although Colleen also participated, she did not solo, or even put herself in front. We only got to spend a few minutes afterward with her, because we kept getting interrupted by other people who wanted to congratulate her on a job so well done! I really hope Colleen finds a niche in Rochester post-graduation, so our community can continue to benefit from her talent and enthusiasm. I remarked to Charlie on our drive home that this was probably our last visit to Hartwell Hall, but as he replied, “you never know...”

University of Rochester Meliora Weekend

When I think of college towns, I think of my own college in Vermont, or Cambridge, MA, or even Ithaca, closer to home. I never thought of Rochester as being a college town, but when you realize that the University of Rochester is the city’s largest employer (and incredibly, the sixth largest employer in New York State!), perhaps I need to reconsider…

Charlie walking Todd on campus
at a break in a Warner School meeting
we attended

Last weekend was “Meliora Weekend,” which appears to be parents’ and alumni weekend crammed together. It’s such a big affair that they create a whole website and booklet devoted to the various activities that occur on their multiple campuses, and tickets to the keynote address (this year by Doris Kearns Goodwin) and the major entertainer (this year Jason Alexander) can be rather difficult to score. There is obviously quite an economic impact on the city, as one would expect in a college town – restaurant reservations are hard to come by, unless you want to eat at 4:30 or 8:30, and various hotels, including the Strathallen and several lower-end brands (Radisson, Mariott Courtyard, Staybridge) were completely sold out. The son of one of Charlie’s U of R roommates is attending the school, so his parents come visit each year and stay with us. Last year, we were lucky enough all to get tickets to Demetri Martin (our were procured by a friend who works at the school, otherwise we would have been shut out!).

"Jason Alexander and His Hair"

This year, we purchased the Jason Alexander tickets as part of an “Eastmant Presents” subscription, before we even knew it would be part of Meliora Weekend, so our tickets were quite a bit better than our visiting friends’. Jason Alexander gave a wonderful performance, with a mix of comedy (including embarrassing various front-row audience members) and musical numbers. He is a talented musician, and he sang a hysterical mad-libs sort of song, with phrases related to Rochester. He paid homage to the garbage plate, of course, but also gave a nod to High Falls, which, he rhymed, aren’t so great.

In answer to our houseguests’ query about what to do with their son Saturday afternoon, I provided them with passes to the Susan B. Anthony House (which they hadn’t heard of) and the George Eastman House, with recommendations to visit both, if possible. Instead, they chose the Strong Museum of Play (also a good choice, I just didn’t have any freebies there). It saddens me that just as I didn’t engage with my Vermont community as a student (and yes, there were things to do, even in that rural countryside!), most U of R students don’t interact with the Rochester community – they could just as easily be in Evanston or Pittsburgh, given the bubble they live in. Part of this probably is due to the campus location, and lack of proximity or transportation to non-University cultural activities, but I suspect it is mostly due to lack of student curiosity in their surroundings, and lack of time. I say “sad” because when they graduate, they likely feel no particular tie to Rochester itself, and no great desire to choose to continue to live and work here. You would hope that the U of R would do more to connect their students with culture and opportunities here, to try to retain them post-graduation. The result would not only contribute greatly to the local economy, but increase the probability that the graduates become meaningful donors, since they would then understand the larger context of their alma mater, and the integral role it plays in our city. 

Live from Hochstein: the RPO

I had no idea that the RPO’s new maestro, Ward Stare, would be conducting this free lunchtime concert when my friend Martha asked if I was interested in attending with her, but I accepted the invitation anyway, just to have a chance to hear (and see…) the RPO in a more informal setting (brown-bagging lunch is encouraged, and the concert lasts under an hour).

The atmosphere was indeed relaxed, and it was fun to run into other friends in the audience, as well as to see young children, and even a couple of babies!  (Yes, one was probably heard on the broadcast.)  I was surprised that the orchestra was dressed in concert black, since none of the radio listeners would know if they were wearing tuxes or jeans (I recall being at a broadcast ago of Lake Wobegon decades ago, when Garrison Kiellor described for the listeners, in meticulous detail, the uniforms of the on-stage band, only they were wearing no such thing!)  The orchestra seats were reasonably full, despite the difficulty of parking in that area on a weekday, and it was weird finally seeing the WXXI host, Mona Seghatoleslami, in person (of course, I recognized her voice immediately).

The orchestra played two extremely familiar pieces (the overture to Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 “Italian”), and I could hear a woman behind me humming along. Ward Stare was such a joy to watch conduct, as he danced to the beat of the Rossini. Martha, who was seeing him for the first time, remarked, “Oh my God, his energy is amazing!”

As much as I enjoy watching the conductor and musicians from the orchestra seats (principal violist, Melissa Matson, was particularly fun to observe, as her head hypnotically followed Stare’s baton at one point when the violas were silent), I wished that I had sat on the far side of the balcony, where I could have seen Stare’s face as he conducted, and viewed him almost from the perspective of the orchestra itself. Note to myself for next time! 

Why attend a live performance

(Another little something I wrote for Concentus' blog (the women's group in which I sing):

Why does anyone bother to attend a live classical concert?  It seems obvious that if Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay came to town, the hall (or, more likely, stadium) would be sold out.  But a choral concert?  Or the symphony orchestra?  Why not just stay home and listen to a CD, while doing something productive, instead of sitting captive for an hour or two?  I can think of many reasons to witness music live –for example, to hear different musicians’ and conductors’ interpretations of familiar works, to be introduced to unfamiliar pieces, to share in the social experience.

When I was younger and would tell my mother about having gone to see a particular  concert, she would correct me:  you go to hear a performance, not see it.  In thinking about why it matters to go to live performances at all, it occurs to me that she wasn’t entirely correct.  If one just wanted to hear Holst’s The Planets* or “perhaps a piece of Mahler’s,” one could just listen to a recording at home.  If one wanted exposure to unfamiliar music, there’s always (for now, at least) a local classical music radio station.  So I beg to differ – I do go to concerts to see the performance, in addition to hearing it! 

In a live performance, you can actually observe, as well as hear, the music rippling through an orchestra.  Or see the singers’ intensity or watch them sway to the beat. You can follow the conductor as he or she guides the musicians.  And only in live performance will you have the opportunity to experience the unexpected – the hiccups that get edited out for the sake of recorded perfection, or the spontaneity of a truly deserved standing ovation.  I’ve been in an audience which witnessed a touching moment  when Alicia de Larrocha blanked in the middle of a piano solo and had to be brought the score, and in another where we couldn’t get enough of the folk choir “Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares.”

In addition, you also get to see different conducting styles.  Years ago, my brother Bill and I attended a New York Philharmonic concert conducted by Bobby McFerrin, and we will never forget it.  McFerrin didn’t quite connect with the orchestra, and they managed to practically ignore him as he did, in Bill’s words, “his dance of the sugar plum fairy imitation.”  At the other end of the spectrum, Leonard Slatkin, conducting the same orchestra, was so in tune with the musician as they responded to his every movement, that the audience was actually able to watch, as well as hear the music, as melodies bounced from one section of the orchestra to another.

Rochester has an amazing range of resident classical musical groups, orchestral and choral, professional and amateur, that there is surely something for everyone.  The only challenges are finding out who’s performing where and when, and finding the time to fit it all in. Live.

*Concentus will be reprising their “stellar” RPO performance of this piece with the Penfield Symphony Orchestra in October – click here for more information: http://www.concentus.org/concerts/e/penfield-symphony-orchestra-out-of-this-world

Rochester Sunday Assembly Kickoff

I’ve been volunteering with four other women (no men volunteered - what’s up with that?) to organize the kickoff of Sunday Assembly in Rochester – Sunday was the rollout of new chapters across the nation and the world. The organization was started in England as a godless community (not necessarily atheist or agnostic, just without reference or deference to a deity), to be as inclusive as most religions are exclusive. It took many months of meetings to get ready for this morning’s event, since we had to figure out everything from where to meet, what to eat (very important!), how to find musicians (music is a must), and how to get people to donate their time and the funds necessary to make this happen.

The Academy of Medicine, on East Avenue, graciously allowed us to use their auditorium at a discount, in order to help get us off the ground. The space is wonderful, the seats are comfortable (unlike, say, pews), and the parking ample and free. Volunteers brought cake and cookies and coffee and tea, as well as juice for the youngsters. And of our total 50+ people who turned out to find out what Sunday Assembly is about, we did have a handful of kids.

The morning’s topic was “wonder,” which not only fit into the motto of Sunday Assembly (live better, help often, wonder more), but tried to address the audience’s curiosity of what Sunday Assembly is. In addition to a speaker (Arlene Leach from Nazareth College, talking about wonder in education), four of the organizers, including me, participated in running the assembly (our fifth, one of the plaintiffs in the Greece invocation lawsuit, was unfortunately traveling this week). There was a lot of excitement about the event, and the D&C even sent a reporter and photographer (although neither stayed for the actual assembly).

It was thrilling to be part of something brand new in Rochester, and part of a larger community in the world. Our goal is to provide a monthly place to meet, celebrate life, and find ways to volunteer as a group, to dispel the belief among people of belief that non-believers are non-participators. We just need a way to get organized! I was flattered that after the assembly, a young woman asked me if she could have a copy of my talk – she wanted to share it with some of her friends who didn’t understand what Sunday Assembly is. So I’m also putting a part of that below. Our next meeting is October 26, and should be a lot less stressful to plan, since we will be in the same lovely venue, and we’ve already approached a potential speaker. So the next hurdle is to form a legal entity and get our 501c3 status, so we can apply to be on the Assemblies List for invocations at the Greece Town Board Meetings...

Excerpt from my reflections at the Sunday Assembly:

When I am explaining to people who wonder what Sunday Assembly is, I find it’s easiest to explain it in terms of what it is not – it is not a religion or dogma, it is not a church, it is not a certain set of beliefs, or even a certain set of non-beliefs…. So why are we here? ….One of the benefits of belonging to a church is its ability to address people’s need to belong – to connect with other people – to be part of a community. Until now, atheists and agnostics haven’t had much opportunity for this…. So one of Sunday Assembly’s goals is to fulfill that need to belong to a group of like-minded people, to connect with the other “Nones” who comprise ‘1 in 5’ in the U.S.

Another reason to be part of Sunday Assembly is to counter the notion that “atheist” and “agnostic” equate to “amoral” and “apathetic.” As most of us probably would agree, the Bible is not the basis of morality, and we don’t need the threat or promise of an afterlife to be good here and now in this life. But we can learn from organized religion – in terms of the “organized” part. Groups of people are more visible than individuals, and groups have the potential to make the whole greater than the sum of just its parts…. The non-religious haven’t had an organized opportunity to counter (religious groups), until now. So we hope to have a large enough presence that we can be active as a group volunteering, whether it’s to take a rotation at a soup kitchen or to participate as a team on a 5K run….

So whether you’re here because you’re looking for a community for yourself or your children that doesn’t involve praying to a deity and looking to a supernatural power for guidance, or because you want to be active in the larger community in the name of non-religion, or just because you’re curious, you are welcome here. Personally, I am here because I want to meet more of the ‘1 in 5’s – to show each other that we do exist, we’re not just a statistic. And to show the community that we do exist, in a way that can be a positive influence in Rochester. I look forward, with your participation, to the day when some sort of contribution to Rochester by Sunday Assembly becomes as newsworthy in the D&C as those of a local religious group. And I look forward, with your participation, to building Sunday Assembly into an organization whose presence in Rochester simply becomes part of its everyday fabric.

Spoon River Anthology

I was so excited when I got the initial email invitation to take part in a street performance of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology for the Rochester Fringe Festival, coordinated by Rochester theatre group Method Machine. Decades ago, in high school acting class, I performed in a student production, and I still remember two of my characters, plus the songs I had sung. I volunteered these in my reply, but was assigned a different poem – Amelia Garrick (I suspect that with trying to coordinate 244 participants, accommodating requests was not a priority for them!). Hers wasn’t one we did in school, and it’s not on the original cast recording so I had no help on figuring out who she was (yes, I still have my paperback with the notes, and I do have the record…). 

my group of wanderers

Was she an aborted baby? An institutionalized child? A lesbian lover? A husband’s illicit affair? And how would those interpretations affect my reading? My friend Colleen weighed in on characterization, and she actually pointed me in a great direction with a suggestion of violence – I decided I was a middle-aged first wife, poisoned by a social-climbing successor. We had one rehearsal, mostly for logistics, not acting (and I think for the director to make sure we would really show up, in costume and makeup…).

Last night was show time! Most of the ghosts were lined up along Gibbs Street downtown, but I was assigned to an area near the Spiegeltent as a ‘wanderer.’ At 6:30, bells rang, and a dozen of us milled around, speaking in turn, and able to choose whom to confront. As many times as I rehearsed my lines, I was nervous that I would forget them in the heat of the moment, and I was glad that the half-hour performance time allowed for more than one chance to get it right. We were extremely lucky with the warm and dry weather, so we had a decent audience. I only got to do my poem twice, but I enjoyed my wandering, and I really freaked out one couple, who started walking faster to try to lose me, and a couple of kids, who kept looking around to see if I was still there. My husband, his sister, and his brother-in-law also attended the spectacle, but I tried to stay away from them, so I wouldn’t break my concentration.

j'accuse!

At 7:00, the bells rang again and we all dispersed into the crowd, and resumed our own identities. The couple I spooked actually asked to have their photo taken with me then. It was a fun experience to perform, and to see the audience’s reaction. If you didn’t get a chance to experience this presentation of Spoon River, you have another opportunity tonight at 6:30.

Geva Evening

Part I – Merged II – Rochester Fringe Festival

Jim Hanson, whom my friend Colleen had introduced me to last year, choreographed two of the seven pieces in the program at the Next Stage Theatre at Geva (along with Melanie Aceto and Heather Roffe, who also performed). Colleen and I caught the third and final performance, which was extremely well attended. I’m not generally a fan of modern dance, but I’m always game to broaden my horizons, and a Fringe performance is the perfect opportunity, since they're usually short and inexpensive! There were a couple of pieces I didn’t “get,” and one I thought was interesting...in concept... but far and away my favorite was the final piece: Ophelia’s Reclamation, choreographed by Jim. It was stunning, and I liked the choice of music in addition to the beautifully fluid movement Jim conceived.

Part II – Lobby

The Geva lobby was bustling as I’ve never seen it before. As the audience for Merged II let out, a line was forming for the next Next Stage performance, and the doors were also open for the evening’s performance of Wait Until Dark on the Main Stage. All of the tables in the café were occupied, so it took some time for me to locate my husband, who had walked to Rocco’s (yes, it can be done!) for dinner, instead of watching dancers, and who was meeting me to see the play. We also ran into various other friends, some departing Merged II, others waiting for Wait Until Dark. And we were enthralled by the work of Sand Mandala artist, Katie Jo Suddaby (also part of Fringe). She seemed to be almost in a trance as she tapped tiny amounts of sand into her design, and used tiny instruments to make even tinier spaces for even tinier amounts of a different sand color to be applied. But she did entertain questions, and when I said it was sad that her entire creation would simply be destroyed when she’s done, she calmly responded that that was the nature of life – everything is temporary. Since I’m a person who used to glue most of her jigsaw puzzles together when I was done, she was definitely talking to someone with a different Weltanschauung…

Part III – Wait Until Dark

This production only runs until October 5, which is too bad, because it is wonderful. I didn’t check my watch once or squirm in my seat (well, I did squirm a bit, but from suspense, not boredom). I never saw the movie, because I don’t like things that give me nightmares (might have come from seeing  Bunny Lake is Missing as a young child?!), so I was truly seeing this show for the first time, and I didn’t always guess the twists. The actors were all very well cast, and the action moved at a good pace. Even the music was perfectly chosen. If you miss it here, you can still see it if you plan to be in Tuscon or Phoenix in the next month or so, where it’ll transfer when it closes in Rochester.