I had no idea what to expect tonight at the Musicircus–the last time I participated in a similar event was in the Spring of 1995 at the University of Cincinnati, and tonight’s event was heavily modelled on that experience. That concert was all new music, while tonight was much more eclectic.
I hope all the performers and the audience are as pleased as I am with the results. Turning about 30 small (and not-so-small) pieces into an hour-long celebration of music and the joy that it can bring was a very healthy activity for all of us, I think. It was refreshing to see audience members I had never seen before along with many of our faithful fans, as well.
Organizing this kind of thing means that someone–tonight, me–has to lose the sense of spontaneity and discovery of the event. It takes a lot of preparation to be so random. All the same, there were some wonderful “moments:”
About a third of the way into Stockhausen’s Gesang der Junglinge, Krista Margrave and Melody Gum started an a capella version of “I’ll Fly Away.”
Kevin Coons’ fantastic vibraphone solo growing out of the texture of the evening.
The minute of silence–it was randomly chosen, but it came at just the right place in the hour to give some relief.
All the performances were fantastic, and it seemed like everyone had a good time… and I dare say John Cage made a few converts this evening.