Rehearsal two weeks before the premiere

Two weeks before the premiere Bobby Chen and I flew out to Ireland (there and back in one day, we felt like proper business people!) for our first rehearsal with the orchestra. It went really well and each run through just got better and better as everybody got used to performing the piece in its entirety (up until now there had been a lot of instruments missing in the orchestral rehearsals, let alone the fact that the piano part had been missing!). The whole day was really enjoyable and both Bobby and I were left really looking forward to the premiere!

Finished!!!!!!!!!!

I have finished the piano concerto! Wonderful feeling. Took some 10 months or so, so can't quite believe I actually managed to get to the end! However, still got the parts to do and all the inevitable proof-reading etc etc etc. Hope this will all be done by the end of the week so I can go out and properly celebrate! :)

A Well overdue update....

Deary me, it seems I've again lapsed with my blogging. It's obviously not something that comes very naturally to me!

So, I'm very nearly finished with the concerto! I think the last time I posted I was getting towards the end of the second movement: that all seems a very long time ago now! I sent the first two movements off to the orchestra on the 1st December and I know that they have had several rehearsals on it. I think it went down OK! But I really want to just keep telling people that it will sound so much better when all the instruments are there (the brass won't be at rehearsals until near the concert) and, of course, the piano part is missing! So it must sound rather skeletal at rehearsals and I'm rather glad I can hide in Cambridge for the time being!

So, in December I began the third movement, which is based on trains! It was the railway that really helped Greystones to thrive, turning a town that was very provincial into a thriving holiday destination, so, it seemed appropriate! To be honest it was also largely to do with the fact that this meant I could include lots of rhythmical material in the last movement which will be a great contrast to the slow, chordal slow movement. I've had great fun dictating various steam train rhythms, with one in particular featuring heavily in the piano part: it sounds as if one set of cogs (or whatever goes on in a train!) are moving very slightly faster than the other, creating a phasing effect. I hope Bobby won't mind the cross rhythms that I've written for him!

So, I actually have a double bar anyway. But lots and lots of gaps to fill in! But, psychologically it's incredibly reassuring to have that last bar...I thought I would never get there when I started the concerto!

General admin has started to rear its ugly head again, and soon I'm going to have to think about booking flights, B&B's and everything else needed for the rehearsals and concert. But I'll try and finish the notes first!

It's been a while....

Gemima provides a critical ear and some good company!

Hello, I'm aware that it's been absolutely ages since I last posted on this blog, so am here to remedy that now! I've been working hard on the concerto and have been making good progress: I'm hoping to finish the second movement by the end of next week (although I haven't finished the first yet!)

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to base each movement on, and have relied heavily on all the ideas that the children in all the schools Bobby and I went to gave us. So, the first movement will recreate and journey that we took in improvisation up Bray Head: first, walking along the promenade, then climbing up and seeing the panoramic views and beautiful scenery. But I'll talk more about this in another post as it's not at the forefront of my mind at the moment. I have rough sketches of most of this movement but decided to head on to the second which I'm immersed in now (I wouldn't usually do this, preferring to finish each movement before going onto the next, but, because I'm slightly nervous about writing such a long piece, I decided to try and plough through the minutes, even if they are not completely full of all the notes yet).

The second movement will be less programmatic, and is inspired by my walk across the Greystones Cliffs when I was in the area for the final round interview. At the top there was such a feeling of space and freedom and this is the mood that I want to recreate in the second movement. The cliffs are represented in a way: I'm writing chords with huge ranges for Bobby to play at the beginning which will hopefully evoke their hugeness, and much of the harmony is based on the colours in the scenery (as I may have said before, I associate certain harmonies with certain colours: blue is D for me, E is green, C is white, A is yellow. These are the colours of the sea, the cliffs, and the grasses and gorse that cover the cliffs). This movement is much less 'busy' than anything I've written for a while, which is quite nerve wracking in a way (I always worry that people will get bored!) but I think it is essential if the feeling of space is to be conveyed. Another thing I am trying to do is make chords that could be considered dissonant sound consonant: I'm aiming for a 'majory' sound that is just slightly skewiff!

Before writing the piece I did a lot of reading about everything associated with Bray Head and the Greystones cliffs. I've learnt what types of minerals they are made of, the different types of birds that live there (some rare) and about the History of Bray itself (in fact, various spellings of the town provide the musical material of the first movement). I've had quite a lot of fun hiding words in the pieces - in addition to various forms of the names of the towns, my name and Bobby's initials appear in the second movement! I also spent a while transcribing the bird calls of the species that make the cliffs their homes, and they will appear in the second section of the movement.

Anyway, today was a bit of a slow day, mainly because the hedge was being cut and the noise of the wood-chipping machine outside wasn't tremendously helpful! But I managed to write a series of six chords that I'm pleased with, and am still hopefully on track to finish the second movement by early next week at the latest. I shall endeavour to keep this a bit more up to date from now on!

Cheryl :)

Bobby's account of our week in Wicklow...

The short trip to Bray was quite an experience, together with my friend Cheryl, we were fearfully expecting a wild horde of schoolchildren throwing fruits and vegetables at us at every workshop. However, it did not turn out that way!

We started the trip by spending an evening at the Bray Arts Club, where we were entertained by some charming and heart-warming verse and poetry readings, as well as the singing of a lovely local choir. Topping that all off was a bold and engaging performance of some numbers from the Musical 'Chicago' by some local ladies, which drew enthusiastic applause from the intimate crowd! We managed to squeeze a few sentences in, introducing the project, and playing some music from our 2 CDs. We then invited members of the Club to come forward with ideas and stories which may be used in the composition. We jotted down some tales and e-mail addresses before heading back to the B&B with lightened hearts.

Over the following few days, we visited several schools, some close by, some in the neighbouring town of Wicklow. Each school has a very different character, and different sized classes. We brought along some leaflets which Cheryl had done, filled with photos of the local landscape and questions designed to stimulate the children into sharing their thoughts. After a short while talking with them, we divided them into 2 groups, with each group creating an original musical work, based on scenes or stories from Bray. At the end of the preparations, the 2 groups came together for a performance in front of each other, and one senses a little competition between them! After the applauses, the children and teachers went back to their work..

We were assisted throughout the trip by Sarah Ross, who met with us several times and was on hand to help with anything, even having her car break down at one point! She took us to meet with the people at the Mermaid Centre, one of the venues where the concerto will be performed, as well as taking us to have a meeting with a supervisor in the Council Office.

With some time to burn after the sessions, we went round exploring the surrounding countryside, taking in Glendalough, a 13th century medieval ruins, to sampling guiness in the highest pub in Ireland, Johnny Fox's Pub. We spent some time taking the car round bends and twists, always following mysteriously appearing signs pointing the way to this famous watering hole. Boasting visitors such as former President Bill Clinton, and Hollywood star Val Kilmer, Jackie Chan and Jack Nicholson, the glamour seemed not to have rubbed off the local punters, who sat there sipping their drinks with such a nonchalant air!

After the end of the last school workshop, we felt extremely relieved to have done all the things, and on the plane home, recounted all the experiences and looked at the photos we took. Phew! After such an experience in Ireland, we are looking forward very much to the premiere set for May 2009, it should be a fantastic occasion for everyone, Cheryl, I, and Wicklow County Council!

Back home in Cambridge...

So, now that the workshops have finished, the next thing to do is write the piano concerto! The week away gave me many ideas: stories that the children told us, the pieces we composed and performed, and the stories that we heard from everybody at Bray Arts. I've also got several books to read, about the history of Greystones, and the local railways which will all no doubt contain lots of interesting material which might be useful.

However, before I start the piano concerto I've got a string quartet to write for the Cheltenham Festival, and another piano work (this time solo) for Bobby Chen! I'll begin the piano concerto in about June '08, and will be regularly posting here from then onwards...

But there's plenty to be doing in the meantime! I have to book the venues and dates of the three concerts that we will do. Then I have to make sure that the piano gets there in time and is tuned, make sure the concert is recorded, and organise a competition for art work and poetry in the schools that we went to (there will hopefully be a big display at the Mermaid Arts Centre, and the winning painting will get to go on the front of the CD that will be made!). I've got to sign a million contracts making sure that everybody gets the money they need to put on the concerts (the budget is solely my responsibility). And that's about half of it! But it's all going to be totally worth it, as I think this project is going to be fabulous, and I can't wait to get started on the concerto!

Last day

On our last day in Co. Wicklow we went to St. Fergal's school in Bray for another two 45 minute workshops. We again decided to portray walking up Bray Head. The story began with us climbing up the hill (some very good tom-tom playing!), followed by seeing the flowers at the top of the hill (fantastically played by three girls on a keyboard, with a D major chord spanning some five octaves!), and amongst other things hearing the birds singing (the group doing the birds were fabulous, and were really listening and "talking" to each other on their penny whistles. By the end of the second workshop Bobby and I were totally exhausted! After a meeting at Wicklow County Council, we made our move back to the airport, and took off back to the U.K. It had been a fantastic week and we have both decided we would like to do many more workshops in the future!