Come towards the light

We've successfully navigated through our first Inside the Classics concerts, which is a huge relief. We had the added pressure of creating a show that was radio-friendly (which meant, among other things, no sight gags and minimizing dead air, which changes the tempo of what we do), so it was a stressful week.

I've been saying for a while now that one of the more unusual features of my new position as Principal Conductor, Pops and Presentations (did I officially mention that on the blog? Can't remember...) is that I conduct a huge spectrum of repertoire (much more than in your average pops conducting position) - "everything from Beethoven to Ben Folds" has been my line. Well, last week was where the idea of that sound bite came from, and it certainly was a dramatic switch between Friday night's ItC MPR live broadcast to Saturday's concert featuringBen Folds.

The fact that the show happened to land on Halloween added to what was already a huge event - the Hall was beyond sold out, and tickets for standing room disappeared in an instant. There was definitely a different feel in the house - I don't think I've ever heard an audience make so much noise as a guest artist walked onstage - and much of the crowd was in the Halloween spirit, decked out in elaborate costumes.

Orchestra concerts generally tend to be fairly serious affairs, so it was interesting to see how our players would react to a concert that was outside the norm - and I think it's a credit to our musicians that they decided to join in on the fun. We had a variety of bewigged and costumed players onstage; we also handed out Folds-esque glasses for a subtle costuming touch (we had about 20 players with them on, and I donned them for the first half). A video sampling of backstage shenanigans (including an explanation from Ben about how to figure out if pants will fit you):





I met Ben over a year ago at when we did a show at the Mann Center in Philadelphia, and we've been working together on and off ever since. I love collaborating with him; aside from being a great songwriter and performer, he's really a consummate musician (and his classical training background comes in handy when working with an orchestra!). I mean, who else discusses the Lydian mode as part of their mid-concert schtick?

For the second half of the show we did a hasty outfit change, pulled on wigs and re-emerged as Sonny and Cher (I was apparently so unrecognizable that several members of the Orchestra were wondering "Who's that woman?" when I walked onstage):



(We're singing "I got you babe". Good times.)

I'm all for formality and seriousness where it's warranted (and part of me really loves the sense of decorum and ritual that is a large part of the usual classical concert process). But I do love a regular foray into the lighter side of things. Because life (and music, for that matter) is that much better with a sense of humor.