There were many moments that I will always remember from the Ethermusic festival.
The opportunity to spend three days with people that share the love of music and passion for the theremin was inspiring.
I learned much at the festival and look forward to refining my approach to the theremin. I also received much encouragement to keep performing and to keep composing.
There are many friends who I've known via the internet who I got to meet in person at the festival: Philip, Thomas, Shueh-li, and Dorit. I became aquainted with others who I now count among my theremin-playing friends: Lydia, Carolina, Francisco, and Randy. The sound engineers from the Orange Peel, Dan and Alex, were awesome and they really cared about the sound quality. The folks from Moog Music -- Mike, Linda, Heidi, Chris, Jason were great hosts. I got a chance to speak with Ileana Grams-Moog which was priceless. I enjoyed talking with Michael Gough (thereminist from L.A.) and various people from the Asheville community. I could go on and on.
I got to play Philip's hand-made theremin: "Gabriella". I managed an impromptu (unaccompanied) rendition of the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria". Gabriella has a sweet sound -- a kind of pleasant and musical humming quality. And the playability/linearity is superb.
Thomas Grillo showed me the latest Burns theremin in an attractive wooden cabinet. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to play it -- I was pretty tied up with rehearsal for most of the festival.
Each and every performer had much to offer -- the programs gave us a chance to see and hear great music-making in a variety of genres.
My solo set went ok for the first 20 minutes until I experienced a hardware failure (the ADAT lightpipe converter that linked my equipment rack with my computer failed). I asked Jason Danillo (from Moog Music) if he would join me on stage for an improv. He obliged and a saxophone-playing friend of Jason's joined us. We ended with a pleasant, somewhat spacey, improv. Jason was able to showcase the new Moog Guitar, and the sax-player (sorry, can't remember his name) and I traded off lead and background melodies. So, my set didn't progress according to plan however the audience seemed pleased with the impromptu ensemble that we pulled together. I am indebted to these musicians for stepping in and saving the show!
None-the-less, I was disappointed that my equipment failed on stage. On Friday (the morning after my set) Shueh-li said that she "really felt for me" -- she and many others complimented me on my set and on the improvisation. This enabled me to put my setback behind me.
[i](The organizers worked a slot into Saturday's concert that enabled me to perform "Mummies and Unholy Ghosts" without my equipment rack.)[/i]
My participation in ensembles gave me the opportunity to make music with thereminists from all over the world. I can't wait for another theremin festival -- it was very inspiring.
At one of the seminars, I accompanied Lydia Kavina -- we performed the Bach "Arioso" and the standard "Unforgettable". We had had no time to rehearse these works together in advance. However, everything seemed to click -- as if we had played together for years. To make music with Lydia was sweet and, indeed, unforgettable.
I also played some of Lydia's ensemble works. All of them were challenging to play. There was one piano passage in particular -- I just wasn't "feeling" it the way Lydia had in mind... she never lost patience and worked with me until I had it "right".
Thus, I played some of Lydia's compositions. Is turnabout fair play? Stay tuned :)
Will I get to perform with Lydia again? I hope so. I'm applying for a passport -- just in case.
[i]-- Kevin[/i]
