Magic happened in the Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Memorial Garden at the Newark Museum on June 9.. Under a mod-shaped tent, members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), under the baton of NJSO’s new Resident Artistic Catalyst Daniel Bernard Roumain, and under some seriously brooding clouds, physically distanced devotees enjoyed a nonpareil alfresco experience. DBR, as he is known to fans, is a presence of a different timbre, who brings a folksy savoir faire to the outdoor proceedings. He greeted us like dear friends and brought us into the heart of the program he had planned, as a perfect host will. Those in attendance were casually dressed for the 85+ degree heat, and for the garden itself, an oasis in the heart of the city.
The grass was just long enough to lay down in swirls, and white folding chairs were set up for the expected guests. The space is deeper than it is wide, yet there is plenty of room for distance and, whether you are next to the tent or in the back of the “house,” you’ve got a prime spot. Nestled amongst buildings, this is a sufficiently live space and there was amplification for voice and instruments and this necessity added a piquance to the proceedings.
The concert began with a World Premiere of “Lift Every Voice And…,” and it is an intimate piece where each voice emerges as in a conversation at a cocktail party, sometimes as individual voices, sometimes in conflict and in concert--fascinating movement of sounds. Hearing this music, in a balmy garden space, we got occasional reminders of the city locale–the susurrus of traffic, the exhalation of bus air brakes, and the odd car horn here and there. These acted as reminders that harmony can coexist in, and be part of, a disjointed world.
Next up was New Jersey’s own Allison Loggins-Hull, who is a composer of renown as well as being a flutist and half of the duo Flutronix. She spoke of the genesis of her piece “Can You See,” a World Premiere as well as a commission of NJSO. Her work is grounded in ancestral futurism, envisioning a world where the values of a country, our country, actually reflect the sentiments of the national anthem, which is harmonic basis for a piece that is tangibly reflective of the conflict of the promise of those words, and how to move forward from where we have awakened and found ourselves to be. Where we are is far from the promise--how may we unpack the past to create the present is the question. The strings begin the question and the percussion provides the heartbeat of the cognitive dissonance felt at our past ignorance exposed. It was only when the piece was finished that I realized I had been holding my breath, and sitting on the edge of my seat.
Brett Deubner played a viola transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite Number Five in C Minor, BWV 1011, with deftness and power that was underscored by the not-so-distant rumble of gathering thunder, rolling in counterpoint. Anywhere you sit in the space, you can see the artists’ hands as they play and the amplification makes the sound feel like each of these artists is playing just for you. Every nuance, every dynamic virtuosity is right there. Following this work was Gabriela Lena Frank’s Kanto Kechua Number Two. for String Quartet, which, DBR shared with us, was written during a time when the composer was experiencing great pain. The contemporary classical piece represents difficult and satisfying music, as the melody, like pain, moves among the instruments, as it moves through parts of the body. There is gamboling confusion and a bendy pentatonic portion that is evocative of the elastic nature of pain that, even when resolved, leaves a lingering memory during times of joy.
Bart Feller was up next, a favorite soloist for many NJSO fans. He took the solo in the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Flute Quartet in D Major, KV 285, I. Allegro, providing us with the perfect Summer happiness, which felt like the first beach day after the long dark period we have all endured together. Then, we were treated to dancers Mika Greene and Donterreo Culp from Nimbus Dance in a piece choreographed by Nimbus Artistic Director Samuel Pott, as Feller played Paquito D’Rivera’s “Lecuonerias for Solo Flute.” This series of dances, performed by this winsome duo, under the gathering clouds and the ionic energy that was building before the storm, mixed with the scent of rain-to-come, and balmy breezes, which added even more joie de vivre to their steps, and our enjoyment. The dancers were SO close to some of the patrons and their steps so light, I doubt the grass even felt them.
The final piece of the evening found DBR conducting the entire audience, as an additional percussion instrument, in his own “Klap Ur Handz” from String Quartet Number Five, “Rosa Parks”. What a masterful way to educate and illuminate a group of disparate people whose primary intersection is love of classical music! The music, the musicians, DBR, and everyone in earshot of this piece was united–nerves twitching, awaiting the call to action to clap our hands in sync. Together. As one family. And that is NJSO’s gift of Togetherness.
Want tickets for the next installments in “NJSO & DBR: Now, New and Next?” You KNOW I do! Meet me at www.njsymphony.org for more details, tickets, and Arts in the Garden, now and throughout the Summer!