2011 CMSA Convention

[MLT]

Hi all - I'm going to try to attach a picture of the en masse orchestra rehearsing at Kraushaar Auditorium. The sound of 150 players in that resonant hall was amazing!

Yes it was. thanks for posting the picture.

[vkioulaphides]

While memory is still fresh, I ought to give due mention and well deserved praise to all the wonderful performers who so delighted their audiences (Yours Truly first and foremost) with their excellent playing.

Of Friday night, the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, directed by Mark Davis, gave the U.S. premiere of my Sinfonia a pizzico, in a thoughtful, artful interpretation that amply showcased the maturity and sensitivity of this fine orchestra.

Saturday morning, in a workshop organized by tireless Mark Davis, there was a plethora of performances, each one excellent in its own, particular way:

Robert Margo performed my Suite for Ali with the magical air of a lutenist's fantasy; this was my first time hearing this work in a live performance. Joe Brent gave an appropriately jagged, spirited performance of De Grote Markt, accompanied by Mark Davis on guitar; while this is originally a composition for unaccompanied mandolin, Mark provided a colorful, delicately shaded harmonic accompaniment. Then Joe proceeded to play my Capricho Tropical with so much flair and character that you could feel the Caribbean breeze wafting through the room. This was an unforgettable performance for me, an all-time favorite; the spice and flavor that Joe put into that score was simply dazzling, something to smile about for years to come.

Mark and Beverly Davis gave the U.S. premiere of my Sonata Marittima; both they and I have lived most of our lives by the sea, so there was a magical, subliminal connection to the maritime character of the music. Continuing with yet more "Water Music", Mark and Beverly were joined by David Miller, another fine mandolinist (and all around great guy) in the world premiere of my Seagulls over the East River, which I wrote expressly for them this past summer. I trust that I was not alone in "seeing" the seagulls (Mark and David), gracefully air-gliding on the thermal waves above the flowing river (courtesy of Beverly and her guitar). The same trio whipped up a happy storm with my Toccata Scarlattiana, in a sort of "hybrid version" between the original mandolin duo and the Quartetto Classico score, from which Mark extrapolated a sparse yet effective guitar part.

We then all joined in a collegial reading of my Passacaglia Pizzicata, a very happy occasion for me to get close to all my friends and mando-colleagues. I don't think much of the stereotypical (but false) image of the composer, distant, aloof, lost in his reveries, detached from the actual, hands-on music-making. I'd rather be picking… ;-)

On Saturday evening, Chris Acquavella gave a spectacular performance of my Diferencias in the course of a recital that wowed and dazzled each and everyone in that huge, full-to-the-rim auditorium. Simply amazing, how well the mandolin carried: sitting in the second-from-last row, waaaaaaaaaaaaay up, hanging from the rafters as it were, I could hear every little nuance, every little shading of tone-- coming from an unaccompanied, unamplified mandolin! Food for thought, for all of us, mandolinists, composers, concert producers/presenters alike.

Finally the conference's En Masse Orchestra, expertly directed by Jim Bates, gave a truly sublime performance of my Hues of Dusk. I couldn't have been happier with Jim's sensitive, well-paced, finely honed interpretation. And, of course, the sound of 140 plucked instruments in such a sparse, less-is-more, "atmospheric" score was a sheer wonder.

I hope I am not forgetting anyone or anything… Please accept my warmest, most enthusiastic congratulations, all of you!

Three cheers for all,

Victor

[jblanchard]

CMSA 2011 en masse orchestra, with Jim Bates, takes a bow.

Attachment 77358

Sorry, I tried to attach a photo, but couldn't figure out how to do it.

[vkioulaphides]

While thanking and congratulating all performers, I must not be remiss in doing the same for all administrators, such as Jim B., without whose tireless efforts and inexhaustible kindness none of this great success would have been possible.

*another round of applause*

Cheers,

Victor

[Jim Garber]

Sorry, I tried to attach a photo, but couldn't figure out how to do it.

Jim, check out these instructions: How to Post an Image.

[MLT]

Posting for Jim B. Here is a photo of the Classical Mandolin Society of America's 2011 En Masse Orchestra, Dr. Jim Bates conducting.

[vkioulaphides]

In addition to the impressive visual documentation that has been retained of that august event, the aural effect was truly amazing. Upon coming out on the stage, Maestro Jim Bates joked with the audience about the orchestra having to take a minute-or-so to tune those 2,800 strings. There are no words by which to describe the actual sonority of those myriad plucked strings. Such a thrill!

Cheers,

Victor

[MLT]

I have posted (with Victor's permission) a video of the En Masse Orchestra's performance of "Hues of Dusk" over in this thread:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...274#post978274

[MLT]

I have posted (with Jonathan's permission) another video of the En Masse Orchestra's performance during the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert. This video is of "Swimming Down the Stars" and is posted over in this thread: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...ncerts-of-Note

[jblanchard]

A bunch of photos from the 2011 convention in Baltimore have just been posted on the CMSA website.

http://www.classicalmandolinsociety....011-photos.asp

Jim Blanchard
Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra

[margora]

Jim,
I tried to access the photos on the CSMA website and failed completely. Something is wrong with the posting.

[Jim Garber]

Bob: There are hundreds of pictures on that one page. I got the page and they take a while to load. Are you getting an error msg?

Ironically, i did not get there until Friday, so I don't think there is any proof of my being there.

[margora]

Jim (Garber),

Well, I got some of the photos to download on my Iphone, still can't get it to work on the PC, whatever.

You definitely were there. I saw you.

ram

[jblanchard]

Other people have had trouble viewing the photos too. I can't explain it, since I can view them all right. Maybe go directly to the CMSA website homepage and click on "2011 Convention Photos" ???

Jim G., a little over halfway down through the photos there's a picture of a double-thumbs-up Victor K. Next to him is proof that you were there.

Jim B.

[margora]

"Maybe go directly to the CMSA website homepage and click on "2011 Convention Photos""

Tried it, twice. Doesn't work either.

[Jim Garber]

Jim G., a little over halfway down through the photos there's a picture of a double-thumbs-up Victor K. Next to him is proof that you were there.

Phew!!!

[MLT]

Other people have had trouble viewing the photos too. I can't explain it, since I can view them all right. Maybe go directly to the CMSA website homepage and click on "2011 Convention Photos" ???

Jim G., a little over halfway down through the photos there's a picture of a double-thumbs-up Victor K. Next to him is proof that you were there.

Jim B.

Jim, what browser are you using. I am using IE 9 and I only see Red X's where images should be. I tried flipping to compatibility mode as well and this did not work either. However, they pop right up on my iPad (Safari browser).

[Jim Garber]

I use Firefox on PC and Safari on the Mac and have no problems with either.

[CMSAWebmaster]

Hi All,

Several folks have reported difficulty loading the 2011 Convention photo page.

I have broken this page up into 11 smaller pages with navigation buttons. This should hopefully solve the problem for those of you with slower internet connections, which I believe is the difficulty.

Regards

David Betts
- CMSA Webmaster

[Plamen Ivanov]

I am using IE 9 and I only see Red X's where images should be.

Same here with IE 8 :-( Will try the Firefox at home. Hope it works.

[margora]

Firefox works.

[Plamen Ivanov]

Firefox works.

Yes! Great pics! It was a fantastic event. I hope i can make it next year too.

[Tom Wright]

Hi All,

Several folks have reported difficulty loading the 2011 Convention photo page.

I have broken this page up into 11 smaller pages with navigation buttons. This should hopefully solve the problem for those of you with slower internet connections, which I believe is the difficulty.

Regards

David Betts
- CMSA Webmaster

My Firefox works, my IE 8 does not. Not sure why that is so, but I note that the pictures could probably have been compressed harder, 250Kb is big for a 640x424 pixel image.

Ideally, a gallery page posts thumbnails as links to bigger files, so the page itself is not very large. Usually stuff like 150x100, jpeg'ed to be about 25K.

Someday I'll make it to one.