I neglected in my post for Day 3 to mention how I took a moment to enjoy the quaint little town of Bennington, which is a few short miles outside Bennington College. I was pleasantly surprised at how vibrant the downtown area was. I enjoyed lunch at a wonderful little coffee shop called South Street Cafe and Bakery, ordering a curried chicken sandwich, cream of celery soup, and a latte. There were also a number of shops along the main stretch, and as I walked by Jay’s Cards and Gifts, I noticed that they had displays of maple syrup. Before I even arrived in Vermont, I was already on a mission to make sure to buy maple syrup while I was here. (Because that’s obviously what you do when you come to Vermont.) I decided to purchase a grading sampler of four syrups (Vermont Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, Grade B… basically a sampling going from lightest to darkest), and I can’t wait to give them a taste at breakfast some day.
A pleasant little town, Bennington. It’s often nice to “get away from it all,” by escaping the large city for a jaunt into a country town. Some of the locals seemed to think Bennington wasn’t something to write home about, and while I would agree that I don’t think I’d be able to stand the smallness of everything, the town’s definitely worth a visit.
The big news from my fourth day at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference, however, was the premiere of my Wind Quintet and Laura Schwendinger’s Wet Ink. Both groups performed absolutely splendidly. It was an interesting challenge, writing music for so-called amateurs, as it was a delicate balance of writing music that fit this order while also making sure that the music still sounded like me. Even still, I was happy to discover that the music I wrote still stretched the performers. While I could have chosen to write music that had nothing but quarters and eighths, for example, I felt that that would have been more of a kind of disrespectful dumbing down of the possibilities, and the musicians who performed would have probably just been bored.
At the same time, this whole project got me thinking about what it means to be an amateur musician. I suppose it could mean that they are musicians who don’t make their living by being a musician. Many of the performers at this conference are of really very high grade and could very easily make a living out of being musicians. Instead, they’re doctors, lawyers, financial assistants, teachers, and so on. It seems the wrong word to call them amateurs, though, as it seems like a pejorative. I was speaking with someone who preferred the word non-professional, and that seem to sit better with me. Still, it’s annoying to have to call these people by something that puts them on a scale.
Anyway, though, the performances of the Wind Quintet and Wet Ink were absolutely rock solid. They performed with such confidence and grace and musicality that it would astound individuals everywhere. I would have loved to have continued working with my performers for the whole week, to see how detailed we could get with the performance and how solid we could make the ensemble be, but I’m just still so impressed with the music we did make together in three short days, a total of 4-1/2 hours of rehearsals. Many thanks to you all: Martha Somach on flute, Hilary Major on oboe, Janet Johnson on clarinet, Barbara Folb on horn, and Abby Wells on bassoon.
The other highlight of the day was the faculty concert in the Greenwall Auditorium. The concert opened with the Hanns Eisler Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, a cute little two-movement work. I haven’t listened to much Eisler, but after listening to this performance, I must seek out more of the composer’s work. The duo was well crafted, colorful, and a surprisingly wonderful treat. The first movement was a capricious little mischievous bugger, finding a perfect balance between high drama and light hearted comedy between its fortissimo double stops to its pianissimo pizzicatos. The second movement a kind of fughetta of sorts, both lines alternating between a jagged subject and a soaring countermelody. This was followed by a perfectly splendid performance of the Eugene Bozza Contrastes II written in 1977. I can’t praise the performers enough, but the less said about the actual music the better. Bozza is just so, so square, and this music wasn’t worthy of the caliber of the performers. Let’s just leave it at that. (Well, I’ll just add that one of the movements was the boxiest tango I’ve ever heard.) Fortunately, the program closed with Schubert’s “Trout” piano quintet, and what a treat it was to listen to this! Such energy, such delicacy, such a tight ensemble. This piece is just one of the pieces that’s difficult not to love. And if you don’t love it, then frankly something’s wrong with you.
The evening closed with a wonderful little party in Bingham hall. Simple hors d’oeuvres were available, and a sampling of beer, prosecco, and wine. It was wonderful to catch up with many of the performers, and I was so happy to have the chance to try some local Vermont beers. The state does rank #1 in craft brewing in the nation per capita, which is exciting. So naturally, I’ve done two of the most important things here: buy some maple syrup from Vermont and try some beer from Vermont.
So, that’s excellent, then.