Aaron Pergram, UO doctoral student in bassoon performance, put on not just your everyday degree recital, but a multimedia presentation of interdisciplinary arts entitled “Urban Arts.” The recital incorporated music, dance, film, art and media in an ingenious and memorable way. It took place in Aasen-Hull hall – our new large, instrumental rehearsal hall – with its soaring 35 ft high ceiling.
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| Aasen-Hull hall |
Here’s the layout of my evening:
Right from the start, I walk in and feel as if I’m at an art gallery opening, or a coffee shop, or at a happening jazz club. The room is filled with paintings by local artists, fresh flowers and shimmering tea lights (safely housed in glass vases – to calm our worried facilities staff). People are looking at art, laughing, mingling, listening to jazz tracks in the background – already a far different experience from the more typical silence and coldness of a classical pre-concert atmosphere. The giddiness and excitement in the air becomes palpable. Way to start off on a good note! Finally, the lights dim, the background jazz fades and Aaron walks out to briefly discuss the experience we’re about to have and the ideas behind his project. Again, a far cry from the typical silence of classical artists. Aaron is a brilliant musician AND a human being who talks to us and concocts fascinating projects. This is going to be fantastic!
The program begins with an arrangement of a piece by Leonard Bernstein from the musical West Side Story. Aaron is joined by piano, drums, bass and seven dancers from the dance department. As the piece unfolds, Sondheim lyrics are brilliantly displayed on the projection screen, accenting and complementing the music and the dancing. Then comes a world premiere of composer Jeff Parola’s Downtown Detour, in which we are treated to sizzling bassoon pyrotechnics with a backdrop of the 1982 cult film Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio. Bassoon sounds zoom by as do the cars in the time-lapse video of a Los Angeles freeway. Simply mesmerizing.
The next piece, Andy Warhol Sez by Paul Moravec, explores the high art of urban life. The seven movements present seven famous Warhol quotes. Here’s one of my favorites:
“I broke something today, and I realized I should break something once a week...to remind me how fragile life is.” – Andy Warhol
The paintings that are physically displayed throughout the room are also projected on a large screen in front, each of them complementing a quote from the King of Pop. I’m swaying to the music, reading Warhol and staring deeply into the paintings in front of me– all my senses are triggered. Later that night, we are treated to a piece for electric bassoon, a tango from Buenos Aires, a composition for bassoon and boom box, and an exploration of Urban Jazz Club and Piano Bar music – arranged by Aaron himself.
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| Aaron's Poster |
After the concert, I walk away feeling highly entertained, stimulated and excited. This was an event that I couldn’t stop talking about for days and would have happily come back to see again. Now, you’re thinking, what does this have to do with music admissions?
Choosing the right music school these days is very different from what it was 50 years ago. I feel very strongly that the kind of performance that Aaron put on is just the thing that will transform and revitalize classical music. If we are to train the 21st century musician, a music school’s general attitude and structure has to be open to these types of imaginative concerts.
Students majoring in music need to be in tune with their communities and with the ever changing landscape of live performance. They need to know the challenges of attracting an audience, as well as the rewards of presenting something extraordinary to their community. What we do is very important, so how can we make our art more approachable and present it in ever more innovative ways? In response to its current identity crisis, can classical music adapt? How can we make our performances a higher priority for the general public?
This is meat and potatoes for the next generation of performers here at the SOMD. With the support of our faculty and staff, we hope to nurture and encourage this spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that’s already rife throughout our student body.
Before writing this entry, I caught up with Aaron, hoping he could tell me more about the process that went into putting on an innovative concert like this (check out Aaron’s highly successful marketing campaign that involved these movie-like trailers of his upcoming recital).
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| Aaron Pergram, bassoon |
Click here to read my full interview with Aaron.
"In the end, everything depends on you doing something that is truly meaningful for the people who you serve." Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of New York's Carnegie Hall.
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