Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Howdy folks,

My sincere apologies for the delay; I know you’ve all been chomping at the bit for the chance to read my penetrating insights into the goings-on at the Concert Hall last week, but sometimes snow days happen, schedules get thrown off, and human fallibility prevails. Or perhaps I delayed our blog in order to give all of you a Valentine’s Day present? You’re welcome. Either way, I’m here now! Luckily, snow days also caused CMS to be rescheduled for last Thursday, which means I got to attend the whole thing! And I can tell you about it, if I can remember back that far. It was super cool! I don’t think I’d ever seen a performance of any piece written for more than one piano before, so it was really interesting to see how the two instruments exchange ideas throughout the music. Sometimes one piano was playing rhythmic underscoring, sometimes it was doing more complicated musical tricks, and then sometimes they both went crazy at one time. The amount of communication between the performers was also impressive, especially considering how much they had to pay attention to at one time. My favorite piece was Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants, which used the piano to suggest several children’s games. The piece was so light and happy, and the music did an incredible job of illustrating the games in question, which included a swing, a merry-go-round, and Blind Man’s Bluff. And then the encore piece, which featured all four players on the same instrument, was just fifty different kinds of fun. Let it never be said that professional musicians don’t know how to entertain an audience. Whether it be through physical humor, musical excellence, snappy clothing choices, or a combination of all three, it’s obvious that these CMS folks know how to have a good time.

Our Concert Hall also played host to two of Drew’s presidential search forums last week, so you know we’re fancy. I wasn’t able to attend any of them, of course; I have a reputation to maintain here. But our fearless leader Ellis Hilton was there, and paying very close attention, so I think I’ll just take his word for it that they were both worth considering. I do think it’s admirable that the search committee is providing so many opportunities for students and faculty alike to get acquainted with, and provide feedback on, the presidential candidates. I have only my insatiable need to be busy to blame for my inability to take advantage of those opportunities.

Speaking of my need to be busy, and my consequential tendency to miss everything, you won’t have to worry about that this week, because our next event isn’t until Saturday the 22nd! Yes, a week from tomorrow, our da Camera series will return with the Quodlibet Ensemble’s The Art of the Concerto Grosso. What does that last part mean? Well I don’t know Italian all that well, but as far as I can tell, the translation is “thick concert.” Or “large concert.” “Lengthy concert,” maybe? Someone help me, in the name of God. Hold on, I’m doing research. Okay, here we go. A concerto grosso is a kind of concert where the music is exchanged between a group of soloists and a larger orchestra. This in contrast to a regular concerto, in which a solo instrument has the melody, and the orchestra accompanies it. Thank you, Internet. So we can all look forward to Quodlibet illustrating that for us next Saturday! In the meantime, build a snowman! That’s what I did today, and boy was it fun. All right, I’m done now. See you next time!