Yesterday’s rehearsal with the band and the artists was amazing. Thanks to a creative and disciplined week of writing, I was able to hand each of them sheet music instead of a pile of scribbled notes. We sat down on the beautiful mainstage at ArtYard and one by one, met with the 5 artists and played them their score as if we’d been playing together all week. These musicians are seriously talented. My only pang of longing is that I wish I’d written more.
Today, we’ll have a 9 am tech rehearsal to light and cue the crankies. Then, the artists will put the finishing touches on their scrolls while the musicians make any final adjustments and additions to the score.
I was remiss yesterday to not give a gigantic shoutout to the man and organization behind this and so many other of my opportunities to compose music: Dan Swern and coLAB Arts. When Dan envisioned this residency, he advocated for live, original music and he sold ArtYard on the idea that one person could come in and write all of it in one week and perform it live with other musicians. coLAB offered, ArtYard accepted, and I know I’ve delivered. My hat is always off to coLAB, my bald white head bowing to their commitment to transformative new works of art.
That’s it for today. I’ve woken up early with peace of mind and a feeling of ease, which is something to be grateful for at the end of a week like this.
Show’s at 7. You should come.