Spring Pops, The Race for Space

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The City of Winter Park
hosted the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor Dean Whiteside as
they presented Spring Pops in Winter Park’s Central Park main stage. Patrons set up on the grass lawn
with blankets and lawn chairs. Some folks came really prepared with wine
candles and a full spread. Everyone was ready for a relaxing evening of music
under the stars. The sun set behind the stage as I sketched creating a warm
glow behind the performers. I squinted as I starred straight into the sunset.

The evening featured music by composer John Williams along
with other space themed music. Guest vocalists for the night were Natalie
Cordone and Shawn Kilgore. I was set up and sketching before the performer got
on stage. I was fascinated with the cello player that had a wheel on the bottom
of his instrument so he could roll it around like a wheel barrel. By the end of
the performance the stage s lit by two stage spot lights that had been set up
stage left and right.

It is so nice to enjoy an outdoor concert as the northern
states are still experiencing cold temperatures. As I write this I am at my
Sister’s home in Port Charlotte Florida.
She is looking up photos of the snow covered landscapes in the northern towns
where out other brothers and sisters live. There is nothing so rewarding as
seeing cold weather while basking in the Florida
sun.

Immerse by the Creative City Project 2

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Five blocks of Orange Avenue were closed off downtown allowing five stages to be set up, which would allow over 1,000 performers to showcase their talents in downtown Orlando. One stage was in the park in front of the History Center, the Red Bull Stage was at Pine Street in front of what used to be City Arts Factory, the UCF Stage was on Church Street, EA sponsored a stage down by Jackson Street,  and the Massey Services stage was between Pine Street and Church Street on Orange Avenue, where I stopped to sketch.

Rollins Choir and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra were on stage when I started this sketch, but at that time I was focusing on people in the foreground. Being Present took to the stage and I decided to place them in my sketch. The female singer on guitar took center stage and she was surrounded by percussion, a bass player and a dance company who improvised to her performance. Being Present was followed by All the Light You Cannot See and then The Orlando Ballet.

The artists who had come out to my ODD event (Orlando Drink and Draw) stood on a cement planter so we could see over the now standing and shoulder to shoulder crowd. The Orlando Ballet performed dances with a hip urban edge which perfectly fit in with the vibe of the night. Dancers were paired off with men and women partners and by the end of the choreography boys were dancing with boys and women were dancing with women. When they walked off the dance floor hand in hand the crowd whooped its approval. It reminded me of the “Keep Dancing” movement that swept Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub massacre.

After the Ballet left the stage the crowd dissipated and we decided to informally share our work for the evening and then disband ourselves. Perhaps a few years ago I would have stayed until 11pm to finish another sketch but I was all sketched out. I just needed to get home to crash. With so much to see and do, Immerse can be overwhelming, but in a good way.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for April 14th and 15th

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Saturday April 14, 2018

9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Free. Curry Ford Community Bike and Pedestrian Safety Fair. 2850 Curry Ford Rd, Orlando, FL 32806. Curry Ford Road is undergoing a temporary transformation to make
the corridor safer and more accommodating for all modes of travel. This
includes a reduction in travel lanes and the addition of bicycle lanes
and mid-block pedestrian crossings. This community event will focus on
bicycle and pedestrian safety by providing demonstrations, interactive
drills, helmet fittings, and giveaways. Walk or ride your bike to the
free event.

4 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Free. Young Voices. J.B. Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL.

Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the month.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free. Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart and Dvorak. Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church (2021 West SR 426 Oviedo FL. Benjamin Hochman, Pianist and guest Conductor.

Sunday April 15, 2018

10 a.m. to noon.  Free, Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811.  The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

Noon to3 p.m. Donation based. Music at the Casa. Flamenco Guitarist Omar Miguel. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum to listen to live music and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

10 p.m. to midnight. Free but get some coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out and laugh, or give it a try yourself.

IMMERSE by the Creative City Project.

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On November 21st, the downtown street of Orange Avenue was shut down from just north of Pine Street, down towards South Street.  IMMERSE is an invitation to unexpected creative encounters in the
heart of Downtown Orlando. You’ll find yourself truly immersed in art,
performance, and interactive installations.

With collaborators like Cirque du Soleil, Orlando Philharmonic,
Orlando Ballet, and the Central Florida Community Arts Orchestra, you
won’t want to miss this evening which is unlike any other.

In 2016, the Creative City Project brought nearly 1,000 performers to
the streets and public spaces of Downtown Orlando for more than 20,000
patrons. IMMERSE 2017 continued the tradition of growth and excitement
by bringing you more large scale WOW moments and unexpected, intimate creative encounters.

From Classical to Hip-Hop music, murals, dance, acrobatics,
interactive installations, artists from Orlando, around the country, and
the around the world converge on Downtown Orlando for one of the
largest showcases of innovation and creativity in the performing and
installation arts in the country.

I hosted one of the Orlando Urban Sketch Workshops during this incredible event.   With so much going on at the same time it was difficult to decide on a single subject to sketch.  I offered personalized instruction to each Urban Sketcher and then dashed off to do a quick sketch myself.  I decided to focus on performers waiting to get on the stage next.  This gave me some time to focus on them before heading off to see the twirling dancers on the stage. 

Beautiful Together

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The Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts had a sold out house for the Pulse victims concert titled “Beautiful Together“. I sat in the isle on my artist stool so I didn’t have to worry about sitting in a sold out seat. With minutes to go before the show, Mayor Buddy Dyer and his entourage sat center stage. From my vantage point, I had a great view of the sign interpreter. I couldn’t see huge chorus but I had sketched them earlier during the rehearsal.

Once again, white flower pedals fell from the rafters as names were read for the 49 victims of the terrorist attack at Pulse. The emotional response was just as heightened on the second viewing. This time more pedals fell in a constant cascading stream set to “Lord of the Dance”, by Sydney Carter . A poet named Fredy Ruiz came out, and recited a poem by Maya Angelou titled “And Still I Rise“. It was a magical moment when words written 40 years ago seemed to perfectly address the tragedy and how we all must rise up despite the loss.

The ballet was still lyrical and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus lifted every soul. The audience response completed the magic of the evening. Everyone was hungry for any message of hope and the best way to express that longing is through the arts. Orlando has an incredibly vibrant arts community and on this evening 50 plus organizations came to get to help Orlando heal.If you missed this powerful evening, it is worth seeing on You Tube.

Beautiful Together before the show.

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After the Beautiful Together rehearsal at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, all the performers were served dinner and some waited in the loading dock area. The fellow in the foreground was with the chorus that was in the upper platform on stage. The conductor gave him a compliment saying he had the most impressive facial hair.

After eating, many performers posed for photos and selfies. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra storage crates cluttered the space. Several women eating dinner were at a table near a large electronic door. A stage hand hit the button to lower the steal door and the surprised performed dodged away to avoid getting crushed. In the green room down the hall, a TV showed dance in on stage performing an improvised dance. I thought in was a recording but it was actually a live stream of Yao dancers on stage as a pre-show at the audience entered the Disney Theater.

I was sitting with Carolyn Blice, a Philharmonic French Horn player. When she saw orchestra members walking on stage on the TV, she realized she better gel on stage. I used that as my clue to go into the theater as well. I was excited to see the performance along with a full audience.

Rehearsal of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

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On January 9th, I went to a rehearsal of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra with Eric Jacobson Conducting. This was back when conductors were being consider to lead the Philharmonic into the future. of the five finalists selected in the international conductor search, this concert turned the most heads because Eric was selected as the Philharmonics new conductor.

The concert which occurred on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 8 pm was entitled SCHEHERAZADE: A FANTASY PROGRAM. Wu Man performed on the pipa which is a a four-stringed Chinese musical folk instrument, Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 26.

The program consisted of DEBUSSY  Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun, JIPING  Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra, and RIMSKY-KORSAKOV  Sheherazade. Much of the rehearsal focused on the Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra. Wu Man performed on the pipa with a graceful flair. The sound is distinct and the music felt like an exchange of cultures between East and West, a bit like dueling banjos but with much more culture, style and lyricism.

Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tuti appeared at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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Florida Opera Theater hired me to create a poster image for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s Cosi Fan Tutti. The title roughly translated means, thus do they all or more commonly, all women are like that. Two sisters are engaged to two soldiers. The soldiers meet an old philosopher in a pub and when the soldiers brag of their fiance’s faithfulness, the philosopher wagers a bet that the women aren’t as faithful as the soldiers claim.

The philosopher proclaims that the soldiers have been called away to battle. The sisters are devastated and proclaim their steadfast love.  The soldiers however return dressed as exotic Albanian bachelors and each woos the others fiance. One sister succumbs rather quickly while the other slowly falls in love. This thematic device of fiance swapping was commonly used in Mozart’s day.

This stage inside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts was surprisingly small. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra had supplied a hand full of musicians who performed in the wings at stage left. Having seen several productions as I researched the poster, I was quite familiar with the story which allowed me the freedom to ignore the subtitle translations projected above the stage. Being in a crowded audience made sketching a challenge since it would be distracting to illuminate the sketch. When I squeezed one of my water brushes, it broke and became a water cannon. It shot at Terry by mistake.

Cosi was a lighthearted comic opera that is easy to digest even for a novice opera fan.

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra has a new Musical Director

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The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s international search for a new Music Director was announced in the spring of 2013. Over 12 months, a committee comprised of orchestra musicians and community members spent over 2000+ hours to screen a slate over more than 275 candidates from around the world to choose five finalists, who each conducted a classical program during the 2014-2015 season.

The finalists were,  Alondra de la Parra, Steven Jarvi, Eric Jacobsen, Dirk Meyer, and Leslie B. Dunner. On May 4th, patrons of the Philharmonic were invited to the Plaza Live Theater for a Sneak Peek to find out who would conduct the orchestra for the next season. As at the Academy Awards, a single sealed envelope sat on a music stand at center stage. Emily Lindahl was kind enough to be sure I found a seat up front to sketch from. As we bustled through the crowd, she let slip that HE was the perfect choice as conductor. So the list was whittled down to four finalists in my head now. If Orlando wasn’t ready for a female conductor, would they be ready for an African American conductor? I didn’t get to see every conductor perform, so I am unqualified to decide who should lead the Orchestra into the future. But I was certainly impressed with Alondra and Leslie, the conductors I did get to sketch.

 After much pomp and circumstance the envelope was opened and the tympani drum roll began. Eric Jacobsen‘s name was announced and the Philharmonic brass section played regal music from the balcony. Hailed by the New York Times as “an interpretive dynamo,” conductor and cellist Eric has built a reputation for engaging audiences with innovative and
collaborative programming projects. As co-founder and Music Director of
adventurous orchestra The Knights and a founding member of genre-defying
string quartet Brooklyn Rider, he may take credit for helping to ensure
“the future of classical music in America”. (Los Angeles Times).

David Schillhammer., the Philharmonics Executive Director sat on stage opposite Eric and together they announced the upcoming season. Eric must have some loose ends to tie up because there were quite a few concerts where a guest conductor had to fill in.

Mark Your Calendars! The Music Director Debut will be on Saturday October 24, 2015 at 8:00pm at the Bob Carr Theater. Eric Jacobsen will conduct and Joyce Yang will be on piano. Music Director Eric Jacobsen and the orchestra embark on
their musical journey with two concerts featuring Van Cliburn silver
medalist Joyce Yang, and a banquet of masterpieces spanning four
centuries.

BEETHOVEN  Leonore Overture No. 3

TCHAIKOVSKY  Piano Concerto No. 1

GABRIEL KAHANE World Premiere

RAVEL  Daphnis et Chloe: Suite No. 2

 For more information about all the other concerts coming up this season, be sure to check the Orlando Philharmonic web site.

The Orlando Ballet brings the magic of Coppélia to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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On April 30th I went to the Dr. Philips Center for the Performing Arts to sketch a dress rehearsal of Coppélia. In Greek Coppélia means “young lady” and this comic ballet premiered in 1870. The performance was set to he music of Léo Delibes. Terry decided that she wanted to see this rehearsal, so she met me in front of the Center. When I opened the stage door, I was surprised to see a crowd of journalists. At Earth Day, I bumped into Jim Cundiff, the Interim Executive Director at the Orlando Ballet. He told me about an exciting collaboration between the Ballet, Orlando Philharmonic, and Central Florida Community Arts. It turned out that this rehearsal was the platform to officially announce this collaboration.

Robert Hill, the Ballet’s Artistic Director, David Shilhammer, the Executive Director of the Orlando Philharmonic and Joshua Vickery the founder and Executive Director of Central Florida Community Arts stood on stage before the rehearsal.  Since it’s inception in 1974, the Orlando Ballet has relied on recorded music for it’s performances. Starting in October of 2015, the Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in the pit to bring all future ballet performances to life. David Shilhammer explained that recorded music limits the performers from taking chances and varying their rhythm and timing, The orchestra can adapt to each performance allowing for greater flexibility. In April of 2016 the Ballet will collaborate with Central Florida Community Arts which has 800 singers in multiple choirs. This is a win win for all the organizations and audiences. As the Dr. Phillips Center was being constructed, critics assumed that local arts groups would never stand to benefit. This incredible collaboration proves that they can and will endure.

Coppélia concerns an inventor, Dr Coppelius, who has made a life-size dancing doll.
It is so lifelike that Franz, a village youth, becomes infatuated with
it and sets aside his true heart’s desire, Swanhilde. She shows him his
folly by dressing as the doll, pretending to make it come to life and
ultimately saving him. The rehearsal was playful and magical. The mechanical dance choreography was delightful. I had never seen this ballet and I am glad I finally did. I also admired the gorgeous painted backdrops which had a rich deep impressionistic use of color. I would think that the dancers might hold back a bit in a rehearsal, but everyone danced full out. Many of their athletic moves defied gravity.

Mark Your Calendars! The remaining performances of  Coppélia are today May 2nd at 11am and 8pm and May 3rd at 2pm at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts 445 South Magnolia Avenue

Orlando, FL. Tickets  starting at $38.75 are available online or at the box office. This really is an amazing production, and bring your kids, they will love it too.

Looking ahead…

October 30- November 1, 2015 Gisselle with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

December 17 – 20, 2015 Nutrcacker with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

February 5-7, 2016 the world premiere of The Firebird with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

March 18-20, 2016 Don Quixote with music by the Orlando Philharmonic.

April 29-May 1, 2016 the world premiere of Beauty and the Beast with Central Florida Community Arts.