For the upcoming Imagine US: Celebrating America at 250, IPR has appointed two Interlochen Arts Academy student tour ambassadors to keep us informed about how tour preparations are going.
This week, we get the latest from Ryan Crawford, a sophomore studying bassoon at Interlochen.
Listen to Ryan's latest dispatch on demand, or read an edited transcript below.
On playing the new Wynton Marsalis cello concerto
We just played it for the first time with a soloist. It was a lot of fun. I think it's one of my favorite pieces I've ever played in orchestra.
It's a really great piece, and it's even more fun now with a soloist because we can play all the parts with no gaps.
This is my very first time playing a concerto in the orchestra. I don't play much in it, but I really like the second movement. The third movement is also very fun.
On playing familiar music in the Charles Ives Symphony no. 4
VIDEO: see Interlochen Arts Academy orchestra musicians Ryan Crawford and Damian Carrasco play an excerpt of the bassoon part from the second movement of the Ives fourth symphony
Even though we're playing a familiar melody ("Turkey in the Straw"), it doesn't feel very clear.
The bassoons are the only people in the orchestra playing that melody then. Everyone else is playing different stuff, so it doesn't really feel like it's just that melody at that time.
That's how most of Ives's music feels. A bunch of people might have melodies at the same time, but they're all different.
On knowing which conductor to follow
Note: The Symphony No. 4 by Charles Ives calls for two conductors due to the piece's complexity.
We took about five or 10 minutes a few days ago with conductor Alex Amsel where he told everybody, if you're in this meter, you follow this conductor, and if you're in this meter, you follow that conductor. So now everyone just has it written in their parts.
Which conductor I'm following depends on the section. In the second movement, I think there's three parts that have two conductors. For two of them I'm with Mr. Măcelaru, and for the other one I'm with Mr. Amsel.
It's a lot easier than I thought it would be to play with two conductors, and it definitely does help that I have everything written in. Now it's much easier to just ignore the other conductor.
About the tour
This March, Interlochen Arts Academy students are hitting the road and going on tour.
After a kickoff performance in Interlochen, they’ll then travel to Detroit, Philadelphia, and Boston.
The tour is called Imagine US: Celebrating America at 250.
The tour program includes the premiere of a new cello concerto, composed by Wynton Marsalis and featuring Yo-Yo Ma as the soloist. The students are also performing the Symphony no. 4 by Charles Ives and RE|Member, a work by Reena Esmail.
In each city, Arts Academy Orchestra members will play alongside professional musicians from the host cities' orchestras: the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
All of these orchestra pieces are woven together with multidisciplinary elements.
Classical IPR has invited two Interlochen Arts Academy students to serve as tour ambassadors, giving us regular dispatches as they prepare for the tour. They’ll send updates from the road once they’re on tour, and then we’ll talk with them after they return to find out how it all went.
Get the latest from IPR's tour ambassadors every Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. on Classical IPR or on demand online.
