Transitory was a great success! I love that fact that these projects cannot really fail. The improbability of assembling such a diverse cast of players, the experience that they receive, and that the support crew, the videographers and sound recordists, received. And the surprise and delight and even consternation on the faces of the unsuspecting and expectant audience members guarantees a successful outcome!
BUT the performances were amazing too. Icing on the cake. The boys choir sang beautifully, Vianney Aubreght was an awesome ringleader, the percussionists from Dalhousie locked the rhythm, and the parade of improvisers from the suddenlyLISTEN workshop added a layer of groove and surrealism to the whole package! People were smiling, and looking confused and surprised and clapping along, a few even joined in!
Most importantly though, people experienced something: Sandy Moore got a huge artistic challenged that he met with his usual joy and wonder. The Halifax Boys Honour Choir got a completely new performance experience that involved collaborating with others, learning new techniques for making sound and singing in a new venue. The kids from The Centre for Arts and Technology who added SO much to this, got a real challenge in capturing the sites and sounds of the performance and the audience and will have an even bigger challenge to cut it all together and show us a final video! Oh and the Airport got to show their customers that art can happen there, and that community can exist within the walls of a building that is often perceived as cold.
So thanks go out to Peter Spurway and Sherrie Clow from Stanfield International Airport. They turned us down at first, and then on a hunch I went back to them almost a year later, and they saw the possibilities I saw. Thanks to Sandy Moore for accepting suddenlyLISTEN’s commission, bringing Vianney on board, taking on so many of the organizational chores, facing his challenges with a light heart and of course making a great piece. Thanks to Vianney for working with the boys so well, and having the enthusiasm that turns young musician’s cranks! Thanks the Pam Burton and Earl Leslie from the Halifax Boys Honour Choir for embracing our crazy scheme and giving so much of the choir’s time in an always busy season. HBHC is a great program: well run, with spectacular musical results, if I could count the number of times I had tears in my eyes at their performances……And of course thanks to the boys and their parents who throw all their energy into all of the choirs activities. Thanks to D’Arcy Gray from Dal Music for finding Clare and Donald who came in at the last minute to anchor the groove for the choir. A special thanks to the students and staff (Thor and Tony) of the Centre for Arts and Technology they came onboard with flexibility and enthusiasm, we can't wait to see the finished video! Thanks to the members of the suddenlyLISTEN Improv Workshop whose musicality and presence made it a better performance, and an even better sounding one as well! Thanks to MJ MacLeod who added another layer of organization to the whole (lord knows Sandy and I are not the most organized at times…) we needed her.
Of course suddenlyLISTEN thanks to Nova Scotia Communities Culture and Heritage who shared our vision and supported both the commission and production of the Transitory project, and support suddenlyLISTEN throughout the year for all our activities.
And finally thanks to Barbara Richman who has supported suddenlyLISTEN for 10 years and who brainstormed the vision for Transitory late in the evenings of February 2010! We had a great time building the concept for the project, and picturing the finished project together. It was great to have her there for the performances yesterday!
So now on to Evan Parker! Tuesday the 19th, don’t miss it!
This is a fun job
Apr 17, 2011 at 12:46