CONCERT PREVIEW: Q&A with Jamie Jordan

by Maggie Molloy

We hear it all the time in the classical music world: the “Three B’s”—Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. But this season the North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO) is putting a little twist on this old adage.

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Their concert this weekend features three bold “B’s” with a little more bite: Bartók, Barber, and Beethoven. And while the program is grounded in the traditional classical canon (ahem, Beethoven), the lineup bends the “B’s” into the 20th century.

NOCCO will be performing Beethoven’s classic First Symphony and Bartók’s neoclassic crowd-favorite, Divertimento for String Orchestra—but the centerpiece of the show is Barber’s 1947 masterwork Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a lush, richly textured work for soprano and orchestra.

The 15-minute lyric rhapsody takes its text from a 1938 short prose piece by author James Agee. Barber’s interpretation of the text paints an idyllic and poignant picture of Agee’s native Knoxville, Tennessee, blurring the lines between dreamy reminiscence and reality.

And to bring the nostalgic dreamland to life, NOCCO has enlisted the talents of New York-based soprano Jamie Jordan, a specialist in contemporary classical music with a strong background in jazz, classical, opera, improvisation, and more.

Second Inversion sat down with Jamie to ask her five questions about Knoxville, contemporary classical, and NOCCO’s upcoming concert.

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Second Inversion: What do you think is most unique or inspiring about Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915?

Jamie Jordan: Knoxville is so tremendously moving for me because Barber chose a wonderfully touching, poignant text (by James Agee), and set it to music with utmost sensitivity and great imagination. Barber paints the text through his orchestration, and creates very vivid imagery.

SI: You specialize in contemporary classical music but also have lots of experience with jazz, opera, improvisation, and more. What do you find to be some of the unique challenges and rewards of performing contemporary classical works?

JJ: For me, repertoire written since 1905 is usually most fulfilling. Every piece is an adventure. Understanding the structure, intent and also the great fun of learning pitches and rhythms brings me joy. Collaborating with a composer and bringing their work to life is also extremely meaningful; I have premiered dozens of works so far.

SI: Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations? What composers, artists, or styles of music most influence you?

JJ: My late mentor, Judith Kellock, was a truly great inspiration, beautiful artist and consummate pedagogue. Judy was a student of Jan DeGaetani, who is also someone who I deeply admire, along with her contemporary Cathy Berberian.

There isn’t enough ink or space on the web for me to list all the artists I respect and love. The 1960s were to me one of the greatest decades in music. George Crumb, Berio, Boulez, Copland, Druckman, Feldman, Messiaen, Pousseur, Shostakovich, Stockhausen, Stravinsky, and Xennakis are just a few of the incredible composers that were creating their art. In jazz many of my favorite artists—Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Elvin Jones, Sarah Vaughan…plus Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and many other great bands…It was an unbelievable era. I’ll stop myself.

SI: What are you most looking forward to with this NOCCO performance?

JJ: The opportunity to work with exquisite musicians on this masterwork. Most of the music I perform is chamber music for only a handful of instruments. This piece is very ‘classical’ for me, and it has resonated with me for many years. It is thrilling to sing with a fine chamber orchestra- not something I do very often at this point.

SI: What do you hope audiences will take away from your performance of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915?

JJ: I hope the audience loves Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and that listeners are transported and touched by this stunning piece.

Performances of NOCCO’s “Three B’s with a Twist” are this Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. at University Christian Church in the University District and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Royal Room in Columbia City. For additional information and tickets, visit NOCCO.org.

NEW VIDEOS: Paul D Miller (aka DJ Spooky): Peace Symphony (excerpts)

by Maggie Stapleton

In December 2015, Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) and The Nouveau Classical Project presented the world premiere of Miller’s Peace Symphony: 8 Stories at Seattle’s Cornish Playhouse. Second Inversion was able to capture some of this piece, which you can read about below.

“Inspired by the everyday stories of the last remaining survivors of the nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the idea behind this work came from Miller’s personal interaction with eight Hibakusha (被爆者 Atomic bomb survivors) on Peace Boat’s 83rd Global Voyage (Peace Boat is an international non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment) where Miller recently served as a guest educator and artist-in-residence.  

Hibakusha’s stories highlight the humanitarian consequences of these weapons of mass destruction, educate youth, and help to bring about a nuclear free world.  Miller has sampled the words and stories of Hibakusha to create electronic and acoustic musical portraits that resonate with some of the deepest issues facing modern society.” – Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky)

The stories Miller engages come from several of the last survivors of the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and he takes their tales and weaves together a sound portrait of one of the most powerful moments of the 20th Century.

A few excerpts from an interview between the chair of Cornish College of the Arts with DJ Spooky about Peace Symphony:

Tom Baker: First of all, how in the world do you find the time for all that you do as a creative artist? And secondly, do you find the time to notice the rhythm of the space between things with what must be an incredibly busy life?

​Paul D. Miller: I would say everyone is feeling that they never have enough time in the 21st century. For me, music, art, and literature are all simply reflections of the same creative impulse. It’s a core issue in the 21st Century. Capitalism forces our attention span to be framed by the huge array of commercial advertising that inundate us. I guess you could say that I use my art and compositions to create more time and space to think about all the issues facing us, and distill it all in one form. Music is the language we all speak.

​TB: This new piece, Peace Symphony, draws on a dramatic and profoundly disturbing time in world history. I know that you were artist-in-residence for Peace Boat (an international non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment). Was that experience an inspiration for this piece?

​PDM: Japan and Germany took radically different routes after World War 2. Japan has an amazing group of peace activists and so does Germany, but Japan has a very different relationship to its collective memory of the war. I wanted to talk about memory with the survivors to see what could be done with their story. It’s a story we Americans never get a chance to actually hear. That’s what this project bears witness to: it has to be about purple to people shared experiences. Anything else is government propaganda. I try make this as much about humanity as possible.

​TB: Your work encompasses so many disparate pathways, though there always seems to be singular vision at play, even in the midst of intertwined collaboration. How do you reconcile these diverse adventures and creative work into an aesthetic focus?

​PDM: Inter-disciplinary art is the legacy of some of my favorite composers – from John Cage on one hand and Nam June Paik on the other. Aesthetics in the 21st century is one of the most complex forces because it encompasses everything about what it means to be a creative person in this Era. DJ culture is a kind of template because it’s always about searching for new ways to reconsider history. That’s what a good mix does. It gives you a good idea of what is possible.

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Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky is a composer, multimedia artist and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. His written work has been published by The Village Voice, The Source, and Artforum, among others, and he is the Editor of Origin Magazine. Miller’s work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial; The Venice Biennial for Architecture; the Ludwig Museum in Cologne; Kunsthalle, Vienna; The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Miami/Art Basel fair, and many other museums and galleries.

CONCERT REVIEW: Brooklyn Rider and Gabriel Kahane at the Tractor Tavern

by Christophe Chagnard

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Last night, I went to the Second Inversion’s presentation of Gabriel Kahane and Brooklyn Rider in concert. It was a stunning display of boundless creativity, artistic commitment, freedom and virtuosity that was deeply inspiring. Kahane’s singular melodic style is captivating, always taking unexpected turns, colored by sophisticated and beautiful harmonies. Just when you think that you have grasped his musical intentions, he takes you to a whole different sonic universe. In the end, you feel that you have been on a fantastic journey with a purpose that reveals itself once you’ve arrived. His voice is always soulful and completely committed to the true meaning of each word. I don’t use the word lightly but those were the creations of a natural and honest musical genius. His sense of pitch was astounding and “Ambassador Hotel” is a perfect song in my book.

Brooklyn Rider, with Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen on violin, Nicholas Cords on viola and Eric Jacobsen on cello, was a wonder of refinement, precision, with a huge expressive range and more colors than I have ever heard from a string quartet. The quality and care of each attack, the complete mastery of the many “sound-effects,” the vibrato matching, the rhythmic drive and transcendence of the bar lines, the intelligence of the rubato were all in full display. It was obvious that their understanding of Kahane’s compositions was very personal, like the expression of a deep friendship. The drama and poetry in Schubert’s “Rosamunde” quartet provided a delightful anachronism but it’s in Kahane’s own Quartet that Brooklyn Rider displayed the full range of its musical might. The symbiosis between Kahane’s relentless creative assault and the quartet’s sheer virtuosity and passion was a wonder to behold and the highlight of the concert. The Tractor Tavern was packed with many young and fewer old, and a great assortment of personalities from professional colleagues to fans. It was exactly the sort of musical evening that we need a lot more of and a tribute to Second Inversion’s leading role and impact. It was one of those rare treats when great art unfolds before us as the unapologetic and intelligent reflection of our time.

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Stay tuned for a couple of in-studio videos of music by Gabriel Kahane, filmed yesterday afternoon in our studios!

LIVE BROADCAST: So Percussion presented by UW World Series

by Maggie Stapleton

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On Sunday, January 31 at 7:30pm PT, Second Inversion will present a LIVE Broadcast of Sō Percussion, presented by the UW World Series! This performance kicks off a week-long residency with UW World Series and UW School of Music at Meany Hall. 

Tune in to our 24/7 live stream to hear:

Steve ReichMallet Quartet
Glenn Kotche: Drum Kit Quartet #51  
John CageThird Construction 
Bryce DessnerMusic For Wood and Strings

If you’re in Seattle, come hear and see this show in person! Tickets are available here.

Concluding their residency, Sō Percussion will offer a collaborative performance of Steve Reich’s Drumming with UW School of Music Students on Thursday, February 4 at 6pm. This performance is free and open to the public! Second Inversion will be there, too – RSVP via Facebook.

For information on other upcoming events where Second Inversion will be in the future, check our Community page!

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More about Sō Percussion:

For over a decade, Sō Percussion has redefined the modern percussion ensemble as a flexible, omnivorous entity, pushing its voice to the forefront of American musical culture. Praised by The New Yorker for their “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam,” Sō Percussion’s career now encompasses 16 albums, touring around the world, a dizzying array of collaborative projects and several ambitious educational programs.

NEW VIDEO: Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint

by Maggie Stapleton

New York Counterpoint for amplified clarinet and prerecorded clarinets is one of many pieces in Steve Reich’s “counterpoint” series, in which one live performer typically plays against up to a dozen recordings of the same instrument. Reich aims to capture “the throbbing vibrancy of Manhattan” in this work, performed here by Rachel Yoder, who also recorded the backing tracks.

This is our first of three Steve Reich videos in collaboration with On the Boards Ambassador James Holt, who is presenting a concert dedicated to the music of Steve Reich on Tuesday, February 2 at 8pm:

Counterpoint | Phase – A hypnotic evening of music in a non-traditional setting from the American master of minimalism. 

LINEUP:
Nagoya Marimbas: Erin Jorgensen & Memmi Ochi
Cello Counterpoint: Rose Bellini
New York Counterpoint: Rachel Yoder
Violin Phase: Luke Fitzpatrick/Marcin Pączkowski

Pre-sales for this event are sold out. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Stay tuned for our of video Violin Phase! Cello Counterpoint is now up and running

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Rachel Yoder is a versatile clarinetist and teacher based in the Seattle area, currently performing with the Seattle Modern Orchestra, Madera Wind Quintet and the Odd Partials clarinet/electronics duo. Rachel is editor of The Clarinet, journal of the International Clarinet Association, and works as adjunct professor of music at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA. She has performed and presented throughout the United States, including appearances at conferences of the International Clarinet Association, International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), and Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). She holds a doctorate in clarinet from the University of North Texas, and also holds degrees from Michigan State University and Ball State University.