Plymouth Performance & End of Semester

This past Sunday, I went to Plymouth to hear soprano Elisabeth Halliday & saxophonist Zach Herchen perform some of my work, including one little piece that I'd completely forgot I sent their way. I was blown out of the water by their energy, and am still feeling quite ecstatic about the whole experience.

They are raising money to commision voice/sax pieces, and record them. I worked with Zach over this past summer when he came to NEC for a new music institute and played my duos with a soprano. On the day of this performance, I was able to meet some friends of theirs in Brookline who were driving down to hear them. I find myself constantly harping on my love of car travel, as it is a rarity for me these days. It took us less than an hour to get there from the city. Had I taken a train, it would have been more of a schlep.

The venue was in a house owned by a doctor who regularly hosts performances there. The house (2 blocks from the waterfront) is quite old, and the second floor living space holds about 80-100 listeners. Plymouth is a relatively small town, but after a full semester of the city, it's particular atmosphere suggests something much more spacious, and simultaneously cozy.

After the performance, we went to Zach's parents house for a reception. They live right on the waterfront, and you could see Cape Cod hugging the ocean. Their audience was really wonderful - some people came a long way to hear them, and you could tell that everyone loves what they are doing. I felt like I was at some kind of family gathering. If I didn't know someone, I was still able to talk to them like I'd known them for years.

We got back to Boston around 6 or 7pm. I loved how such a getaway could be so close, and not require too much traveling. I'm always on the lookout for such things, and this was one of those days I loved every second of.

Anthony Braxton @ Weslyan University

About 2 weeks ago, I traveled to Middletown, CT to hear Anthony Braxton's Large Ensemble perform at Wesleyan University. This trip was special for a few reasons - I think the most important is that it was unexpected. I've been thinking about trying to visit Braxton at Weslyan for a while (at the suggestion of Joe Morris), and on somewhat of a whim, I threw out the idea on facebook. Joe saw this and informed me of Anthony's fall semester performances, and the next thing I knew, I heard from a friend who said he was up for making the trip to CT.

I drove down there with Dave Dominique, who I'd met at an NEC new music workshop this past summer. He's working on a Ph.D in composition at Brandeis, and also plays trombone. He's a longtime Braxton nut, and we decided to make the drive down about a week in advance.

On the day of the concert, I left NEC at 4 to go to North Station and catch the train to Brandeis, where I met up with Dave. Our route from Waltham to I-84 was a little complicated, because the GPS we were using was set to exclude toll roads. We were in Framingham when we figured this out, and immediately got on I-90. After that, getting to Middletown was a breeze. It took us less than 2 hours to get there from Brandeis.

The idea of going out to Wesleyan was daunting in the past, because there is no direct bus or train connection to Boston. What I didn't realize before is that Middletown is about 20 minutes from Hartford by car. Now, if I ever want to make the trip alone by bus, I'll be maybe a little less hesitant.

We were able to park on the campus and find the concert hall in time to sit and relax for minute before they started playing. Their concert was less than 90 minutes, with a very short intermission. I was completely overjoyed to hear and see this group play, and everyone we met after the concert was wonderful. Braxton warmly greeted us, and seemed really happy that a couple of students would drive there from Boston to hear his group. He invited us to have dinner with everyone at a local bar, with most of us at a big round table (they need these at UNO's!). Dave and I didn't know anyone there, but these people were really easy to talk to, and all of them had worked with him somehow. Dave asked him if we could join the group once a week next semester, and he said we could. We didn't leave Middletown until midnight!

Joe says we're the first active students who are going to try and go down there every week. I don't know if we'll be able to keep it up when the weather gets harsher, but either way, I'm excited to learn more about Braxton and his music, and I think these trips will be highly worthwhile.

Music for the TRIIIBE Installation

In Search of Eden for multiple performers &/or ensembles

JASON BELCHER

Notes on performance:

The stipulations here were made for the purpose of creating a sonic element for TRIIIBE’s installation In Search of Eden at the 808 Gallery at Boston University. However, they may be carried out in any space where there is artwork, interesting structures, or architecture. Stipulations that are specific to the 808 Gallery can be altered or omitted if the performance is elsewhere.

Each stipulation has a number (I-VIII). The numbers can be carried out in any order and should repeat at the will of the performers/ensembles involved. Stipulation V is for an ensemble of three or more - the others can be executed by soloists, or larger groups.

About the gallery and installation:

The 808 Gallery is located along Commonwealth Avenue and is part of Boston University. It is a large rectangular space with two rows of pillars that run in the direction of Commonwealth Avenue. In the Triiibe installation, there are seven large triptychs lining the windows along Commonwealth Avenue, with enough space between each triptych and the windows so that observers inside the gallery can stand between them, and be seen from the street.

About half of the gallery is being used for structures that the artists are building, and the other half is left largely open (except for a few small pieces, and the triptychs in the windows facing the street). There are also bushels of apples spread about the gallery, and a table with mugs and tea.

In Search of Eden -

I. Go to a corner of the gallery, and imitate something you hear from the opposite end of the room.

II. Go to a print, structure, or non-musician, and improvise something based on it, him, or her.

III. Alone or with an ensemble, improvise or play a piece in your repertoire as if you are performing for an audience in a concert hall. If another soloist or ensemble is doing this, make sure you are far away from them so both parties can be heard separately if a listener desires. No more than two ensembles or soloists should be playing at the same time.

IV. Go over to a musician and imitate what they are doing.

V. (Laser Tag) A group of more than 3 people should be spread around the open half of the gallery. Members of the group tag each other by shooting out single sounds of relatively short (but possibly varied) lengths. When a musician tags someone, they must make sure the person they tag notices that they have been tagged. When a musician has been tagged ten times, they must stop playing, and leave the open area. The game ends when all but one person has stopped, and there is no one left to tag. Games can be of various lengths. Limit fast motions (running etc.) to open spaces far away from prints, structures, and observers!

VI. Standing in front of a triptych, play something facing the window, possibly to passers by on Commonwealth Avenue. You may try to interact with them or get their attention if you wish.

VII. Stand outside the long rows of pillars, and play single sounds aimed down Commonwealth Avenue. Use ample silences between tones.

VIII. Take a break. Have a cup of tea. Be an observer.

12/4/2010

BU Installation

www.bu.edu/cfa/visual-arts/galleries/808/

Above is a link to an installation I visited at BU the other day. It runs until December 23rd - The artists have invited us (and any others) to contribute with sounds.

MM MM

It's November, and while I haven't done to much in terms of traveling, I feel like things are moving in a great direction.

I'm pursuing my Master's degree at NEC, and I wasn't sure that too much would change in terms of how and where I would work. I was completely wrong. I have continued the Thai Brass Band, Premiered someone's Doctoral thesis in JP, Played an orchestral percussion gig at Harvard, and received a grant to build an Inter-Collegiate forum and concert series in the Boston Area. Part of the grant is a performance at the YMCA theater in Cambridge - This year has been incredible, and shows no signs of becoming anything less.

I've been meeting some great people who are interested in contributing to the series, and it should be a good way for alot of folks to make professional connections, and build a whole new community for the research and development of our ideas.

I'm on even more of a Thai Brass kick than usual due to my finding of a blogger who has posted a bunch of Thai records (3 or 4 of which feature brass bands). He spent a good amount of time in Bangkok, but is from the Boston area and has recently returned. Because of the records he posted, I've been able to expand the rep of the TBB here in Boston, and write some original Thai Brass tunes as well.

Inter-NEC has our next performance on Saturday in JP - there's a poster attached. This is my first effort at making a real poster, and it can only get better!

Moving out of 16 Armstrong

Another re-discovered post from a while back. I'm guessing mid-August 2010.

It's been over a month since I moved, and my new apartment feels like home, but it is never easy to turn your back to anything you've been close to for a while. At the end of July, I left 16 Armstrong St. for the last time.

I'd lived in that apartment for three years. It was nicely broken in, and I felt settled. When we secured this new place, I really didn't think at all about how strange leaving Armstrong was going to be. Our two leases overlapped for the last two weeks of July, and I didn't hesitate to begin the move right away. I stayed in the new place on the first night, and all I had was a duffle bag full of clothes to use as a pillow. My brother and I moved most of my belongings in one day, and after that, I was basically done living on Armstrong.

I went back there every day to clean the place, pack a few more boxes, and even rehearse with Richard Saunders (a great vocalist I have a duo with). At one point, there were only two chairs left, and nothing except bookshelf and dust in the living room.

I started spending all my free time there during the day, even when I was not busy cleaning. My roomates were there at different times (much earlier usually), so I was often alone. About three days before the lease ended, I moved the last of my belongings (again with my brothers' help) over to my current dwelling. It was then that this reflective feeling started to sink in. My brother asked how I was feeling about this, and I told him that it was starting to feel strange.

The next two days were fairly busy - my roommates were making sure everything was tidy (so as to not lose our deposit), and we spent more time there than usual. On the last night of the lease, I was there from about 8PM to Midnight. Casey (my longtime friend and roommate of a year) showed up at about 11PM (from work) to help take down the last of the trash (there was alot of trash). We had one or two more trips to make when I asked her if we could stay there for a while after we finished because I wasn't ready to leave. With that, I started to cry.

Moving into that apartment was the first good thing to happen to me after my mother died, and I think that's what had struck me the most upon leaving it. Knowing a place really well isn't everything (although I will admit I got a slight sinking feeling in my gut when I moved out of my dorm after freshman year), but I don't think I'll ever forget what that place looked like, the experiences I had there, or any of the five other people I lived there with over that time.

North Adams Trip/Bang on a Can Concert

About a week ago, Jared Burrell and I set out to North Adams, Massachusetts (3 1/2 hours from Boston) to hear an afternoon concert given by the participants at the Bang on a Can summer institute at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. I had gone to their marathon concert in NY a couple years ago (another long haul from Boston), but this was in a much more remote location, and the experience I had getting there was also remarkably different (this one was favorable).

We drove all the way across the state on Route 2, and considering the scenery, it's at times hard to realize that this is the same route 2 that runs into Downtown Boston. These days, the hills, valleys, and peaks we rode through are much more interesting to me than any city skyline could be. My phone had run out of batteries by the time we met up in Braintree, but I would have taken pictures. The whole ride was really fun. It felt great to be in a car (instead of a bus or a train) and Jared and I always have really good conversations.

North Adams is a town full of abandoned industrial buildings that were converted into artist spaces. I got a really nice feeling from being out there, and if I ever decided to just be a composer (and not perform with anyone) I'd want to call a town like that home.

Upon arriving in North Adams, we had lunch in a coffee shop that served great hamburgers. In Boston, coffee shops don't go anywhere near hamburgers. I like the non-specialization that happens in smaller communities that (although small) have to cater to a wide variety of people.

The concert was in a black box theater with seats that gradually rose like bleachers. On the way home, we discussed what we heard, and came to the conclusion that most of the music was really good, but aesthetically limited. This group was founded by three composers who have similarities in their musical language, and while other concerts that week featured some varied styles and composers, it was clear that most of the composers picked for the institute were chosen for the amount they had in common with each other, and the founding members of the organization. This gave Jared some peace of mind, as he had wanted to be part of the program.

This has to be the only time I'd gone to a Dunkin' Donuts twice in one day, but despite this, things got a little quiet towards the end of our return trip. I think it was because of the lack of sun after 8:30 or so. Jared admittedly tends to miss turns and stuff while driving, and this is made worse in the dark.

I wish he had dropped me off in Cambridge (right off of rt.2) instead of in Braintree, because the red line was running shuttle busses between Quincy Center, and JFK/Umass. This was really strange, but I suppose I took note of some oddly interesting (or just strange) people/streets, and it only added about a half-hour to my entire day.

Overall, I had a great time. I was reminded that my roots are outside of the city, got to spend a day traveling with a friend I've known for ten years, and am happy that I'm working with so many different people and influences.