CONCERT PREVIEW: Silent Movie Mondays “Silent Treasures Series” featuring “Ben Hur: A Tale of The Christ (1925)” + Q&A with Stewart Copeland

Posted on February 26, 2016 by maestrobeats

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What is so delicate that even saying its name will break it? Silence. And on February 29th the silence will be obliterated by Seattle Rock Orchestra’s performance of a new score to an old classic. Wave your lighters in the air and thank Stewart Copeland for bringing the noise.

Kim Roy conducts SRO. Photo credit: Holly Kerchner, http://wildideal.com/

A former drummer for The Police, Copeland pivoted his musical career in 1982 when he began composing for film. In addition to the numerous film scores he’s now got under his belt, he has also composed for videogames, ballets, and operas and even took on film editing. He’s further honed those editing chops by condensing the very old, very damaged reel of Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ from 143 minutes to a family-friendly 90 minutes. He was then able to score the film and take it on tour. The chariot awaits you on the big-screen as Seattle Rock Orchestra performs the score live with Copeland himself keeping the beat on drums.

SRO Cello section. Photo credit: Holly Kerchner, http://wildideal.com/

Ben-Hur is the most expensive silent film ever made and the iconic chariot race scene has inspired numerous copy-cats, including the pod race in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. It’s the story of Ben-Hur, who is the childhood friend of a powerful Tribune who later betrays him and his family. As a slave, he meets a certain carpenter’s son (Hi, Jesus!) who offers him kindness and… well, I can’t give away the ending.

Ben-Hur will be closing out the Silent Movie Mondays “Silent Treasure Series” at The Paramount Theatre on Monday, February 29th at 7pm. Tickets are $25. There will be a post-movie VIP Q&A with Copeland at the theatre.

Rachele Hales: I understand that you got to enter the Warner Brothers cold-storage vault to fish out a very damaged “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ.” Can you describe what it was like being inside that vault?

Stewart Copeland: Well I never actually went into the vault. We just had to wait for over a week for it to defrost. I now regret not personally attending the telecine either. It would have been spiritually uplifting to handle the actual celluloid.

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RH: Can you talk about some of the unique challenges with the “Ben-Hur” project?

SC: The opportunities outweighed the challenges by far. The silence allowed complete freedom to drive it all with music. No dialogue or sound effects to dodge! The operatic acting style and the enormous scale of the images gave license to set the orchestra to full rage. Figuring out how to tell the tale in ninety minutes did take some careful consideration and cleaning up the dust and scratches, repairing damaged frames, sorting out the varying frames per second (which depended on who was cranking the camera that day) and refining the color (technically b&w but they used color washes) all could be described as work but it sure was fun!

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RH: You jumped into solo film scoring while still with The Police. Was it a nice break from the thrill of being in a rock band or was it a different kind of thrill for you? What was the impetus for the new musical focus?

SC: It was a nice break from the miseries that we inflicted upon one another in the band! Although the humble film composer is a mere craftsman in the service of the director’s art it was liberating to only answer to a non-musician. It meant that I could be the non-negotiating god of music in the studio and be judged at the end rather than during the process.

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RH: You’ve collaborated with many other musicians, including Tom Waits, Snoop Dogg, and Adam Ant. What have you learned from those artists and have those collaborations influenced your solo work at all?

SC: Oh yes, I try to learn from everyone and everything. From Tom Waits how to look in a different direction from the obvious, from Snoop how to give everything a try, and from Adam, um, I never did quite get his knack for coolness.

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RH: What would the soundtrack of your own life include?

SC: Jimi Hendrix, Stravinsky and Ravel would cover most of it although you might need some Wagner in some spots and Donald Duck in others.

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RH: You’ve composed operas, ballets, film and television scores and, of course, been a mega rock idol. What is next for you?

SC: Stay tuned. I’ve got a whole ‘nuther deal coming up…(hint)…if the network buys it.

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LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: March 6-9

Posted on March 5, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

This week’s music calendar features a multitude of musical genres and artistic mediums!

Genre Bender 2015

This weekend Seattle musicians are bending the rules. They’re bending the rules of functional harmony, they’re bending the rules of performance—in fact, they’re bending the very constructs of the music medium itself. City Arts Magazine’s annual Genre Bender event pairs innovative artists working in different media, inviting them to collaborate with one another to create the ultimate genre-defying performance.

This year’s artistic duos include conceptual artist C. Davida Ingram and composer/multi-instrumentalist Hanna Benn, rapper Raz Simone and multimedia artist Justin Roberts, photographer Steven Miller and actress/singer Sarah Rudinoff, vocalist/poet okanomodé and aerialist Lara Paxton, and last but not least, poet Sarah Galvin and musician/filmmaker/philosopher David Nixon.

Genre Bender 2015 is this Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7 at the Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. A party in the lobby will follow the performance on Saturday evening.

Seattle Rock Orchestra Performs Beck

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Beck shocked audiences around the world when he beat out Beyoncé for the Album of the Year at the Grammys last month. The lowly singer-songwriter who first made it big in 1994 with a song titled “Loser” (you know the one: “I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?”) proved that maybe, just maybe, he’s not such a loser after all.

This weekend, Seattle Rock Orchestra is paying tribute to this musical underdog with a retrospective of Beck’s lengthy career. With his 12 studio releases, they definitely have a lot to draw from. From the lo-fi folk releases of “One Foot in the Grave” to the funky party music of “Midnite Vultures” to the pensive ballads of “Sea Change,” Beck has never written the same album twice.

The performance is this Saturday, March 7 at the Moore Theatre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.

Seattle Composers Alliance’s 2015 Spring Fling

As the winter months melt away and the beautiful blossoms of spring begin to bloom, it’s always nice to get out of the house and go celebrate the new season. And what better way to do it than with an evening of new music?

Next week Seattle Composers Alliance is presenting its 2015 Spring Fling, featuring live music by a wide range of local musicians. From the jazzy jams of Industrial Revolution Trio and the Tim Carey Quartet to the folksongs of Alchymeia and Aslan Rife, this concert has it all! The evening also includes a silent auction and generous door prizes.

The performance is this Monday, March 9 at the Royal Room at 7 p.m.

LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 21 & 23

Posted on November 20, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

David Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet

David Bazan is a Seattle singer-songwriter best known as the creative force behind Pedro the Lion, a local indie-rock band which broke up in 2006 when Bazan went solo. However, this weekend Bazan is joining forces with a new type of band: the Passenger String Quartet.

The Passenger String Quartet is a neoclassical Northwestern ensemble dedicated to playing avant-garde, experimental new works. The group recently collaborated with Bazan to create an album full of all new studio recordings of Pedro the Lion and Bazan solo songs. For the past couple months, Bazan and the quartet have been touring in support of the album, titled “David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet Volume 1.”

After a long series of sold-out shows across the U.S., this weekend Bazan and the Passenger String Quartet are bringing the tour back home with a performance at Seattle’s own Neptune Theatre. The show is this Friday, Nov. 21. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the performance begins at 9 p.m.

TangleTown Trio Presents “Night of the Living Composers”

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Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in a spooky, spoofy musical performance every once in a while. This weekend TangleTown Trio is presenting “Night of the Living Composers.” A most unusual performance, the concert features the works of several contemporary, living composers.

TangleTown Trio is a local ensemble composed of mezzo-soprano and composer Sarah Mattox, violinist and violist Jo Nardolillo, and pianist Judith Cohen. The group specializes in classical music inspired by different genres of American music, including jazz, folk, and theatre.

For this weekend’s performance, they are tackling the works of many local living composers, including Christophe Chagnard, Bern Herbolsheimer, Carol Sams, Randolph Hokanson, and several others. The concert features but one dead composer—see if you can tell which one is the ghost.

“Night of the Living Composers” is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Columbia City Theater. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the performance begins at 5:30 p.m.

The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary

Over the centuries, the piano trio has grown to include an extraordinarily large and diverse repertoire, securing a name for itself as a staple component of chamber music. This weekend, violinist Michael Jinsoo, cellist David Requiro, and pianist Christina Valdes are celebrating that vast and vibrant repertoire with a performance titled “The Piano Trio: Classic to Contemporary.”

The program features piano trios ranging from the passionate, poignant Beethoven to the experimental, aleatoric Ives. The concert will also feature trios by Brahms and Garcia, rounding out a program of exceptional chamber works from throughout history.

The concert is this Sunday, Nov. 23 at Cornish’s PONCHO Hall at 7 p.m.

LIVE CONCERT SPOTLIGHT: November 7, 8, 9

Posted on November 6, 2014 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Club Shostakovich Celebrates 50^th Anniversary of String Quartets No. 9 and 10

Come lift a glass to Dmitri Shostakovich this weekend as Trio Pardalote celebrates the 50^th anniversary his 9^th and 10^th String Quartets. Though the pieces originally premiered in Moscow in 1964, Trio Pardalote is recreating this historic event a little closer to home.

The trio—composed of violinist Victoria Parker, violist Heather Bentley, and cellist Rowena Hammill—will be joined by violinists Blayne Barnes, Natasha Bazhanov, Artur Girsky, and Mikhail Shmidt to present Shostakovich’s 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th String Quartets. Guests are invited to enjoy the drama and passion of some of Shostakovich’s most exciting string compositions, which were written during a time of great political unrest in the Soviet Union.

The performance will be followed by a late night jazz set with Quartet Royale featuring pianist Wayne Horvitz, vocalist Jimmie Herrod, bassist Geoff Harper, and drummer Eric Eagle.

The performance will take place at the Royal Room this Friday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.

Seattle Rock Orchestra Presents a Police Tribute

2012.02.18: Zach Davidson (w/ Seattle Rock Orchestra) @ The Moor

It’s been nearly 30 years since the critically acclaimed British rock band the Police broke up, but none of us could ever forget classics like “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take.” Instead of early awaiting another sold-out reunion tour, you can catch some of your favorite Police tunes this weekend when Seattle Rock Orchestra presents a Police tribute night at the Moore Theatre.

It’s everything you love about the punky 80s power quartet, except for expanded into a 50+ piece orchestra featuring vocalists David Terry, Erin Austin, Andrew Vait, and Annie Janzter. Come witness as some of Seattle’s top classically-trained musicians pay tribute to one of the greatest punk, reggae, jazz-infused rock bands the 80s had to offer.

Renowned Seattle folk artist Naomi Wachira is the opening act. A Kenyan-born musician who grew up singing gospel in a traveling family band, her music is deeply influenced by both her African roots as well as her experience living in the Pacific Northwest.

The performance will take place this Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Moore Theatre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 8 p.m.

Music of Remembrance Presents Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht”

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This weekend marks the 76^th anniversary of the tragic Kristallnacht, a massacre against Jews throughout Germany and Austria carried out by Nazi military forces. In honor of the those innocent civilians who lost their lives in these devastating attacks, Music of Remembrance is presenting a performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht” (“Transfigured Night”), a tender and romantic string sextet.The performance will also be the world premiere of Spectrum Dance Theater choreographer Donald Byrd’s new dances for the enchanting piece.

“Verklärte Nacht” was inspired by Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name, which tells the story of a woman and her lover walking through a shadowy forest on a moonlit night. The woman confesses to her lover that she is pregnant with another man’s baby, and her lover accepts and forgives her. Schoenberg’s composition captures the grave sorrow of the woman’s confession, the calm and thoughtful reflection of her lover, and the bright, hopeful acceptance of her secret.

The concert will also feature works by Dutch composers under Nazi occupation as well as a medley of songs from cabaret shows staged by prisoners at Terezin, a ghetto and concentration camp in the Czech Republic during World War II.

The performance will take place at Benaroya Hall this Sunday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.