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July 1, 2004
• Meet the composer, meet the conductor Meet the composer, meet the conductor Got your tickets for opening night at Tanglewood? Then you've got to check out the BSO Online Conservatory, where you can learn all about composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his composition, "All Rise," before the concert. If you're planning to be in the Shed when Tan Dun leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in his own composition, "The Map," a multimedia concerto for cello and orchestra with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, on Saturday, Aug. 7, then the Online Conservatory is available to help you prep for that concert as well. A collaboration between the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Northeastern University, the Web site combines text, photos, video and music to create an interactive learning experience that even the computer-challenged can navigate. Start at www.bso.org, click on education, go to the left side of the screen and select "Online Conservatory." Easy. Then choose the concert you want to learn about, check your modem speed, and you're in. 'All Rise’ Conductor Kurt Masur will lead the Boston Symphony Orchestra in "All Rise," Marsalis' 12-movement work, featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Marsalis on trumpet, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus -- on Friday, July 9. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Marsalis’ "All Rise" is an eclectic work touching on blues, jazz, gospel, and 20th-century classical music, among other styles from around the world, in what has been described as a joyous expression of human interconnectedness. The "All Rise" Online Conservatory features audio clips from the work, interviews with Marsalis and Masur, and other interactive elements designed to not only educate visitors about the music and musicians but also to give them a look inside the work -- the influences behind it, how it was created, and how it's performed. The site also offers coaching to visitors who might like to try their hands at writing their own blues composition. A specially designed timeline, focusing on jazz and blues greats from history to present day, gives online visitors a wide-ranging overview of these two classic American genres of music. The Map "The Map" Online Conservatory pairs audio clips with a video interview of Dun discussing the creative process behind his work. Visitors can interactively explore the various compositional techniques and unique instrumentation employed, while getting a glimpse of a source of Dun's inspiration -- his homeland, the Hunan province of China. Chinese-American composer-conductor Tan Dun’s The Map, Concerto for Cello, Video, and Orchestra, incorporates filmed field recordings capturing the musical life of several Chinese ethnic minorities, creating a multimedia retracing and preservation of the composer’s own musical roots. In addition, guests have an opportunity to "Compose Like John Cage” through a section devoted to the American composer whose work inspired Dun’s compositional methods. In addition to Tanglewood regulars, the BSO's Online Conservatory has brought new music to thousands of people who might not otherwise attend a concert. First unveiled in February 2003, nearly 2 million people have visited the site. The BSO’s Web site, www.bso.org, is the largest and most visited orchestra Web site in the country. A visit to www.bso.org, whether you will be in the Shed this summer or not, is a musical education not to be missed. |
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