Art In 3D

So I turn my blog over to guests, and suddenly I have stuff to tell you about!  Anyway, about 4 months ago I got a call on my cellphone as I was standing in the Costco parking lot.  It was Midori.  Do you know how loud crashing shopping carts seem when you’re talking to a famous violinist while standing in the Costco parking lot?

Anyway, she had come up with an idea for USC and Idyllwild Arts to pool some resources and bring two of the worlds most respected string teachers to our campus, Roland and Almita Vamos.  We struck the deal right there among the carts and oversized bottles of olive oil and the Vamoses arrived on our campus yesterday!

It’s always such a pleasure to turn our students over to great artists from around the world.  (And I mean that in the best way, even though today is the last day of third quarter and spring break starts tomorrow)  They spent four hours teaching violin and viola in the most no nonsense way.  I wonder how many of our violinists placed the violin next to the bed last night, set the alarm for 3 am, grabbed the violin and tested nailing the shift up to the high B flat?!  I hope they all did.  Glad I’m not a dorm parent…  As Mr. Vamos said, we can talk about fancy interpretation all afternoon, but if the notes are wrong, it sounds like hell anyway…

Hi Everyone!  As you know, I’ve been much slower about posting this year than I was last year.  We’ve found a solution.  Guests!  So now you’ll be finding some posts from others at our school, and a few from me as well.  Thanks for reading!

Yesterday, we were listening to a new recording of showtunes and standards that we bought last summer while on vacation.  A song came on that I’d never heard before.  So I researched it on Google, found out is was from a little-known broadway musical I’d never heard of, and within minutes was watching a landmark performance of it on youtube from the 1979 Tonys.  This was while whizzing across western Oklahoma in a Subaru, using my iPhone.  What a lucky bunch we are to live in a time when we have such resources as artists and people, and the technology to take advantage of it.  I hope all of our holidays are full of joy and thankfulness.

Here is that performance of “Fifty Percent” by Dorothy Loudon.

I haven’t written a blog entry in a VERY long time.  Sorry about that.  I kept telling myself I had too much to do, to much work, was too tired at the end of the day.  It’s not that there hasn’t been great stuff to write about.  A brilliant fall dance concert, a great play, an excellent parents weekend.  But today, I spent some time watching the orchestra rehearse Mozart’s Sinfonae Concertante with the Concertmaster and principal Violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as soloists.  It was a long rehearsal, three hours.  After the rehearsal I saw a lone violinist walking off toward the practice room.  “Aren’t you tired, I asked?”  “No.  Just thinking about how I can play better..”  And off he went to practice before the next rehearsal, which starts in two hours.  Mission accomplished.  And no more excuses for me.

It’s summer in Idyllwild, the summer camp kids are just arriving.  Those of us that work with the Academy are busy tidying up things for the fall.  We’re in the process of updating our curriculum guide a bit, and it’s called some things to my attention.  At this time of economic uncertainty many organizations(especially public schools) are pulling back, reducing program or offerings, letting quality suffer.  That’s not what’s happening here!  I was just doing some proofreading and was reminded that we’re increasing the intensity of our fashion design courses, adding computer animation, ramping up the collaboration between music and film, including our wonderful film scoring program.  More private lesson opportunity for voice lessons for dancers(or anybody else) if they wish them, helping to prepare them for today’s multifacted careers.  Acting for the camera is getting a fresh injection of energy, making it possible for our actors to leave here with a reel as they audition for colleges, conservatories, jobs.

It’s exciting to be here in the summer because of the different energy on campus, but it’s even more fun to think about possibilities for the fall, who our kids are going to be and what they’re going to create.

I was just surfing around facebook today and found this status update from one of our horn player alums:

About to play Die Walkure with Zubin Mehta and Placido Domingo. Performance to be broadcast live in Manchester, Liverpool, Sofia, Ravena, Mola, and downtown Valencia

Congratulations Todor!  We’re very proud of you.

I know I say wow a lot.  But really, last night we went to see the premiere of the films that the department of Moving Pictures made this year.  Wow.  Six documentaries ranging from the paralyzing effect electronics have had on our lives to a piano competition’s drama to the recent life of Rodney King.  Smart, funny, moving.  Then we had four of the most beautiful short films imaginable.  I still don’t quite to know what to say about it because I’m still processing them.  I could speak about the beautiful photography, the smart and moving stories.  I could go on for days about the wonderful performances of Howard, our theatre chair, or Rendan, who’s on our acting faculty.  Student Mykal was compelling as a (mostly) honest teenager, partying and trying to woo one of his colleagues.  In years past, the films were scored by students from our film scoring program.  But this year for the first time the scores were not performed only by computer or by a few students musicians.  The whole orchestra assembled on the soundstage last weekend(how is that POSSIBLE when we saw the finished product last night?!  You all work REALLY hard.)   The scores were recorded and assembled into the films this week.  I guess I could say a lot about the beautiful scores, brilliant playing, etc.  Just like I could about the acting and photography if I had a better vocabulary.  But here’s what I really want to say:  I forgot I was watching student films.  I forgot there was a score even there.  I went someplace else for a few hours, into Leila’s and Gurk’s imagination.  Along with the imaginations of those other writers, composers, camerapeople, editors.

I could have been on Hollywood Boulevard at the Chinese.  Or sundance…  Can’t WAIT til it comes out on DVD.

I did have a line, though!  I am so impressed by our young filmmakers and their excellent faculty.  I know that’s been a theme lately, but as I’ve spent more time on the soundstage, I’ve really seen how prepared and professional they are.  On Saturday we had to drag the chair of the Theatre department into a cell and then beat him.  Today’s action was earlier in the story, when we arrested him for murder.  I can’t wait to see it after it’s edited and scored.

In other events, we had The Learned Ladies this weekend.  This was witty, smart and visually stunning.  Who knew that wigs and rhyming couplets could be so much fun?

Tonight it’s off to Music in the Meadow.  Tomorrow Rimbo and Kathryn’s recital(I get to play a Brahms Sonata with Rimbo) Wednesday the Writing Chair is giving a lecture in town.  Thursday the Interdisciplinary Show Liquid debuts.  Friday it’s Everett and Mariya’s recital.  Saturday we go to the LA Music Center to see Timmy and Sam in the finals of the Spotlight Awards.

Sunday we collapse.

I dropped by the soundstage yesterday, a student film is in production, and I wanted to spy on the shoot.  It was very cool, darkly atmospheric.  Some of our faculty are playing roles, and it was really fun to seem them put through their paces.  The crew, director, producer, etc are so impressive.  They are organized, know what they want and move very quickly.  No time is wasted making decisions, fixing equipment, messing around.  This is a professional shoot.

I thought they might let me operate the fog machine, or push a button on a microphone or something, but no.  I just watched in the monitor.

But they asked me to come back on Saturday and be IN the film!!!  I’m going to be a prison guard.  I wonder if I’ll have a line to say.  This has completely changed the complexion of the weekend.  I’ll write another entry after the shoot tomorrow morning!