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"The Gnomes of New Hope"
"The Gnomes of New Hope"
NOTE: selections from email communications are posted below under Archive in descending order of date.
Current Status:
- we have decided to move the performance to February and take more time to prepare
- 15 musicians have taken parts and signed on to be kept informed.
- efforts are under way to gather budget funds to assist with this aspect of the production
Here's the letter presented to the musicians of the Bryn Athyn Orchestra and a brief explanation of the parts:
Hello all,
We appreciate having the opportunity to attend your last rehearsal and to get a sense of your group dynamics. Shawn expressed to me his delight in having been there and I had the feeling that our months and months of work at composing became more real with the prospect of having our music performed by people instead of a machine.
We do hope that enough of you will decide to give this song a try and help us to perform it before the community. I know that quite a few people in Bryn Athyn and other communities are anxious to hear what we have been working on and even though this song is only about four minutes long (134 measures) it is a wonderfully intriguing song. When looked at in parts- it is very simple, but when it is assembled, it collectively it is intricate and quite amazing.
As you may have seen from the booklet/playbill (request one if you did not get one), we have taken the approach that it is being performed, even though it will not be able to happen if there are not enough musicians to make it happen. All of the parts in this song are critical and there is not one that it can do without. So we need to fill out the parts.
Here is a list of the required instruments; Piccolo (has what started out to be the primary solo expression in the piece and still stands out to that effect), 1st & 2nd Second Flutes (I prefer Soprano and Alto,which is the way it started out, but we altered it to be two sopranos. There were originally two piccolos, but we also switched it around to fit into a three flute scenario), Oboe (has some very nice riffs and is very important in setting the tone of the piece as an excellent counterpoint to the flute and a bridge to the clarinet/bassoon parts), Bassoon (also used for the melody line & vocal support and has a major role in the piece), Clarinet (also has some very interesting lines of expression and provides an essential bonding element), Trumpet (provides the piece with it's clarion highlights and redirects some of the support phrases back to the melody line), French Horn (had a very smoothing effect and we discovered a few excellent expressions and tonal qualities when it was used in combination, so it is very expressionistic) Trombone (we didn't install pitch bends because it was not all that easy to do, but we wanted to in a few spots which might be appropriate to experiment with), Tuba (became very important and we gave the part a very significant presence at a few points especially when it dances with the Contrabass) Violin (we tried not to lean too heavily on the violin because the piece is really based on the woodwinds more than any other part, but we really did discover how important the strings were to support the message we were trying to convey and the pizzicato & tremolo moments are essential) Viola (we added the viola after seeing the role it played in this orchestra and thus discovered how well it works in combination) Cello (the cello plays a major part in representing the string voice, mainly because of it's tonal range) Contra-bass (was initially the sole bass line until the tuba and the percussion joined in, so there are some very intriguing expressions in the part) Percussion (gradually came into play with an array of smaller percussive parts which are very significant highlights, but the primary instrument is the tympani with a few others coming from a symphony set) Marimba (came into play early and has a very significant and important role, providing a number of trills & flourishes and a sparkle that no other instrument could provide)
Collectively, the piece is amazing. Individually the piece is surprisingly simple. The prospect of performing this live is very exciting.
Our goal is to present this piece in a concert environment. I do intend on marketing this piece to other orchestras as an instrumental as time goes on. We both feel that it is of sufficient quality to succeed at gaining an audience in this regard. Certainly whichever Orchestra is the organization to play this, then that Orchestra will be the beneficiary of that marketing effort.
The reason for attempting to perform this piece now, is to initiate higher levels of the production process based on the nature of this piece and on the expectation that the other numbers in the show (although different than this piece) will be of a similar orchestral caliber, not in terms of complexity or structure, but in terms of balance, uniqueness, and playability. We will proceed one number at a time to produce and present the music from this show.
Of course, another aspect of asking the Bryn Athyn Orchestra to perform this piece is that we want to access & support the talents that lie in our own backyard.
So this would be my appeal to you to join in our effort and I am certain that Shawn is in agreement with what I have said. If we are to present this in the upcoming fall performance, we will need a full complement of musicians who are willing to perform this number. The sooner we present it, the sooner we can make good things happen for everyone involved.
Arthur Greisiger
Archive;
Edited excepts from communications regarding this performance:
... the number of parts depends largely on the volume attainable by the instruments. I don't think one contra-bass would make much of a presence in the piece and therefore two seems more appropriate. We could get away with one if we were in a chamber setting, but on the stage in the Mitchell I think one would get lost. That is the primary factor in determining how many of each instrument, how it reads in the space. Maybe the final word in terms of number of instruments should be determined after we manage to get the piece going in a rehearsal setting. I think if we locate at least one of each instrument for each part to play it thru, then we can assess the number from there and develop how to present it in a concert.
I think if we stop in before your rehearsal, just to make a silent presence, then your folks will see we are serious and are making ourselves available to them. We could say hello and invite dialogue with you or I via the internet, offer the parts again, and ask anyone who did take a part to sign up, just so we know who has the parts. We can determine how we will proceed, when we actually have enough performers and until then keep everything on hold. I think it is enough that some of the musicians have the parts and work on learning them on their own. But we can assure them that we will be performing the piece and their work on it will not be in vain.
My thinking on the first piece is mostly to introduce ourselves and the project, and to initiate a process.
We do know that we need to finish the show before we really get moving on producing the music and such, even though we are very far ahead and no production effort could possibly catch up. We have over a dozen songs that are, for the most part, done.
We also seem to be refining our abilities to the point where we really are engaged in intricate refinement on the material, which is making it rather time consuming and slow.
Basically, I feel that if we present some of the material in an orchestral environment without initiating a production, then we can comfortably finish the work and the project as a whole will benefit from that.
Shawn & I have discussed getting a pit orchestra together for this, but that brings a whole new dimension to the project, which ultimately does need to happen. I was just hoping to have some of the material performed by an orchestra that is already assembled, as a means of testing it and feeling it out. If we do put a pit orchestra together we would need to have a performance objective clearly defined and basically that should only happen after the show is in production (which could happen if I get some funding together), unless we just do an instrumental concert presentation. So there are a few different scenarios to consider.
I think the most I want to achieve from performing the first piece, beyond the hearing of it and the publicity value, it to locate the musicians who could potentially be involved in the production when it does go up. We could conceivably just bring in hired musicians and expect then to step up to the plate, but I'd rather take it from a more personal level and gather a team of people who have a heart-felt interest in the project.
... I would like to extend the invitation to the members of the orchestra that they consider becoming our partners in this endeavor by helping us to perform this music.
We have proposed producing a record album which would feature whichever Orchestra chooses to become the principle performing organization and is willing to take that task on.
Because we have been working on this show for so long, we have decided to market a few of the songs to assist us with resources, publicity and advancing the production activities. It is also very good to train the audience to recognize the music before the show is offered, because recognition sells tickets.
... there are quite a few numbers that could be considered for performance...
... marketing the show successfully depends on presentation materials which need to be refined and include: not only support materials derived from succeeding at the smaller goals, but also locating and securing the personnel who want to be involved in the production.
Certainly my goal is to create an endeavor which will flourish and provide the economic support we all require and I want to assure you that I intend to keep this goal in the forefront of my mind. I am striving to gather people around me who can help this to be a reality.
Edited excepts from communications regarding this performance:
... the number of parts depends largely on the volume attainable by the instruments. I don't think one contra-bass would make much of a presence in the piece and therefore two seems more appropriate. We could get away with one if we were in a chamber setting, but on the stage in the Mitchell I think one would get lost. That is the primary factor in determining how many of each instrument, how it reads in the space. Maybe the final word in terms of number of instruments should be determined after we manage to get the piece going in a rehearsal setting. I think if we locate at least one of each instrument for each part to play it thru, then we can assess the number from there and develop how to present it in a concert.
I think if we stop in before your rehearsal, just to make a silent presence, then your folks will see we are serious and are making ourselves available to them. We could say hello and invite dialogue with you or I via the internet, offer the parts again, and ask anyone who did take a part to sign up, just so we know who has the parts. We can determine how we will proceed, when we actually have enough performers and until then keep everything on hold. I think it is enough that some of the musicians have the parts and work on learning them on their own. But we can assure them that we will be performing the piece and their work on it will not be in vain.
------------------------------------------
My thinking on the first piece is mostly to introduce ourselves and the project, and to initiate a process.
We do know that we need to finish the show before we really get moving on producing the music and such, even though we are very far ahead and no production effort could possibly catch up. We have over a dozen songs that are, for the most part, done.
We also seem to be refining our abilities to the point where we really are engaged in intricate refinement on the material, which is making it rather time consuming and slow.
Basically, I feel that if we present some of the material in an orchestral environment without initiating a production, then we can comfortably finish the work and the project as a whole will benefit from that.
Shawn & I have discussed getting a pit orchestra together for this, but that brings a whole new dimension to the project, which ultimately does need to happen. I was just hoping to have some of the material performed by an orchestra that is already assembled, as a means of testing it and feeling it out. If we do put a pit orchestra together we would need to have a performance objective clearly defined and basically that should only happen after the show is in production (which could happen if I get some funding together), unless we just do an instrumental concert presentation. So there are a few different scenarios to consider.
I think the most I want to achieve from performing the first piece, beyond the hearing of it and the publicity value, it to locate the musicians who could potentially be involved in the production when it does go up. We could conceivably just bring in hired musicians and expect then to step up to the plate, but I'd rather take it from a more personal level and gather a team of people who have a heart-felt interest in the project.
---------------------------------------
... I would like to extend the invitation to the members of the orchestra that they consider becoming our partners in this endeavor by helping us to perform this music.
We have proposed producing a record album which would feature whichever Orchestra chooses to become the principle performing organization and is willing to take that task on.
Because we have been working on this show for so long, we have decided to market a few of the songs to assist us with resources, publicity and advancing the production activities. It is also very good to train the audience to recognize the music before the show is offered, because recognition sells tickets.
... there are quite a few numbers that could be considered for performance...
... marketing the show successfully depends on presentation materials which need to be refined and include: not only support materials derived from succeeding at the smaller goals, but also locating and securing the personnel who want to be involved in the production.
Certainly my goal is to create an endeavor which will flourish and provide the economic support we all require and I want to assure you that I intend to keep this goal in the forefront of my mind. I am striving to gather people around me who can help this to be a reality.
