The
CMW Players performed Joachim Raff’s Octet in C Major at the Armory Farmers
Market on September 13, and the experience served as a microcosmic
view of the world my colleagues have created at Community MusicWorks.
When
I arrived at the Farmers Market, Sebastian was warming up on violin
and had already attracted a small herd of children around his knees. He
played children’s songs for them as he smilingly engaged them in
conversation. A
few yards away was the spot where we would perform (following
the end of a drum circle performance), so we set up our octet under a
tree at the edge of the Dexter Training Grounds.
Liz
Cox, who I’ve discovered to be a blend of superhero, comedienne, and
all-around facilitator, brought a stack of literature and our iconic red stickers from the office so that we had something tangible about CMW to offer to
the crowd. This was essential as we were going to be unable to effectively
introduce ourselves from the grassy “stage” with our audience of
shoppers in near-constant motion.
When
we had eight instruments in tune, eight binders of music settled on
eight stands, and eight pairs of eyes in contact, the ensemble launched
into the Raff. Given our new and disconcerting acoustic (Mother Nature
furnishes no reverb), the Players leaned in, watching, listening, and
focusing with the sort of attention that adrenaline and acoustic
uncertainty readily provide. Our pages flew about in the breeze and the
sun indiscriminately shone in our eyes, but we held to one another when
the musical going got tough. The Raff is a roller coaster of emotional
content, and it was a pleasure to ride it with my colleagues.
The
performance and its environment appear to me, even at this early stage
of my Fellowship Program experience, to be quintessential CMW. We offered our music to a
new audience that day, and several of the people we met were so
enthusiastic as to donate on the spot. We took on a performance that
that would stretch and challenge our understanding of the music, and we
learned volumes from the experience. We made new connections in our
neighborhood and took a step toward expanding the space that the arts
occupy in our local landscape, and I’m excited for our neighborhood arts
adventures of the year to come.
-Annalisa Boerner, Fellow
