Vijay Iyer talks with students after his "Math & Music" lecture at Idyllwild Arts

By Marcia E. Gawecki

Internationally-acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer will play with the Idyllwild Arts student orchestra at the REDCAT Theater at Disney Hall on Mother’s Day this Sunday, May 9 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25, and proceeds go to Idyllwild Arts.

Iyer, who is an old college friend of Peter Askim, the music director and composer-in-residence at Idyllwild Arts, performed one of his compositions at the concert last night at the IAF Theater.

His piece, entitled “Interventions for Improvised Piano, Electronics & Orchestra,” was met with some skepticism at first.

Connor Merritt was skeptical of Vijay Iyer's composition at first

“It’s really hard to play,” said Conner, a trombone player. “It’s not the kind of music that we’re used to.”

During an interview on You Tube, Iyer discussed that same concern with his “Interventions” piece.

“Classical performers are trained in interpreting musical notes on a page,” Iyer said. “They have lots of ideas on how to do that, and it’s what they’re good at. With this piece, I hope to draw from that expertise.”

But this piece called for certain instruments to improvise, something that jazz musicians are used to, but not classical musicians who play in an orchestra.

To be ready for their performances, each of the sections had extra rehearsals–in addition to their regular orchestra rehearsals. The list was posted on the cafeteria door, and other students knew they wouldn’t be seeing much of the music students during “orchestra week.”

Well, their hard work paid off. Last night’s concert was a success, according to James Duval, a classical flute player and the former head of the Music Department at Idyllwild Arts.

At 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, the concert was over, and Duval was overseeing several students as they loaded up the truck with all of the instruments, including the bass drum. The truck is set to head down the hill Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in plenty of time for the 5 p.m. show at the REDCAT.

“There were a lot of people there tonight,” Duval said. “And they really liked Vijay Iyer’s piece.”

Charles Schlacks, Jr., a former Russian History professor at Berkeley, was among those who attended Saturday’s performance on campus. He has amassed a classical record collection in excess of 40,000, but continues to enjoy live performances.

“The student orchestra always does a nice job,” Schlacks said. “The new music was different than what I’m used to, but it was very nice.”

In another interview on You Tube, Iyer said that he’s used to comments like that about his music. As background, Iyer earned a bachelors degree in math and physics at Yale. Although he studied jazz piano in high school, it wasn’t until after he graduated from college that he became a full-time performer and composer.

“In America, they don’t always support certain arts,” he told an Indian reporter shown on You Tube. “Even if music not commercially popular, it gets out there somehow because it needs to. In the end, music is the healing force, the force of change.”

Iyer mentioned that other musicians, even popular ones, do improvisations too.

“I saw a video of the guy from the Black Eyed Peas who took a speech by (President Barak) Obama and turned it into a piece of music,” he said. “It was his concession speech in New Hampshire. And it had all the rhythms and candances associated with music.”

Iyer taught a "Music & Math" class at Idyllwild Arts Friday

Not surprisingly, much of Iyer’s compositions are based on math principles. In fact, he gave a lecture on “Math and Music” to about 75 Idyllwild Arts students and faculty on Friday, May 7. There, he explained how math is integrated into music.

“Usually, I don’t like music to be too hard, contrary to what you might believe,” Iyer said, amongst laughter from the music students.

He outlined rhythm phrases that crossed over the beat in rhythmic progression, and gave the “A, B, A, B, A” pattern variables.

“As you can see, it is taken on a linear shape,” Iyer said. ‘But this is not music.”

He said that the challenge of being a composer today is to remain fresh, and always learning something new.

“But it helps me to start with something artificial,” Iyer said. “That way, you’re not always starting from the same place each time.”

Then he played some of his improvisations from an amplifier attached to his laptop.

However, Iyer wasn’t the only one with an orchestra piece that was performed Saturday night. Askim, too, featured one of his pieces, a trombone concerto.

“His piece was hard to play too,” said Connor.

Ieseul Yoen, shown at her recital, is looking forward to playing at RedCat Sunday

Senior pianists Ieseul, Linda and Daphne “Kitty,” each got to play different pieces with the orchestra.

Ieseul said that she’s looking forward to playing at the REDCAT.

“Any chance we get to go down the hill and perform before a live audience, is a good thing,” she said.

Another good thing for the Idyllwild Arts student orchestra also happened this weekend.

“Our recording of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony came out Friday, May 7 (Tchaikovsky’s birthday),” Askim said. “It is a CD/DVD set, and I think it will be good.”

To hear that recording, visit iTunes at www.itunes.com.

For tickets and more information about the RedCat performance on Sunday, May 9, at 5 p.m., visit www.redcat.org, or call (213) 237-2800. Tickets are $25 for the general public and $10 for students with I.D.

Copyright 2010 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

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Jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer will be performing with the Idyllwild Arts student orchestra tonight, Saturday, May 8, at the IAF Theater in the Bowman Center, and then at the REDCAT Theater at Disney Hall in LA on Sunday.

Iyer and the orchestra will be performing “Interventions,” his first orchestra piece. Mostly, Iyer plays jazz improvisations with his trio, but he came to Idyllwild this week as a favor to Peter Askim, music director and composer-in-residence at Idyllwild Arts.

“We played jazz together in college,” Askim said.

A day before this concert, however, Iyer is not resting. He gave an hour-long lecture at Idyllwild Arts on math and music. He has math and physics degrees from Yale, but after graduating, he started jamming on piano at the Bird Kage in Oakland. He now performs worldwide with his band, the Vijay Iyer trio, and has won critical acclaim.

At the lecture held in the Fireside Room before about 75 music students and faculty, Iyer mixed his two loves, mathmatics with sounds from an amplifier hooked up to his laptop.

Although he described what he was saying as “nothing more than 7th grade math, he lost me at the end. However, most of the students, trained in music and notes, were following along on his whiteboard presentation, and giving him the right answers.

He described himself as coming from Indian descent, and said his music was earlier influenced by Indian classical and religious music. He looked more like a mathematician with his slight build, round glasses and cropped hair. But his large hands gave him away as also being a musician.

As a preview to his math and music lecture, Iyer sent Askim several articles from newspapers in which he describes how math has influenced architecture and music from ancient buildings to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

More to come!

Lou Bacher & Vic Sirkin practice their lines

Although Neil Simon created “The Odd Couple” 45 years ago, its messages are still prevalent today. With his incredible insight on relationships and friendships, Simon makes us laugh at ourselves.

“All of our lines are still timely and universal,” said Lou Bacher, a local antique dealer, who plays Felix Unger. “Nothing ever changes.”

It showcases the lives of two mismatched roommates, who are recently separated from their wives. Felix Unger, a news writer, is a hypochondriac and “neat freak,” while Oscar Madison, a sports writer, is a slob. “The Odd Couple” opened in 1965 on Broadway, ran 988 successful shows, and earned two Tony Awards.

It was also a popular TV sitcom, that ran from 1970-1975. It starred Tony Randall as Unger and Jack Klugman as Madison. Klugman was a natural for the show, because he replaced Matthau in the Broadway play.

In the TV series, Oscar Madison personifies a slob:

Felix: “What are you doing?”

Oscar: “Sterilizing the wound.”

Felix: “With beer?”

Oscar: “It’s got alcohol in it.”

Bacher and Vic Sirkin, a real estate agent, have the same funny camaraderie in Idyllwild’s version of “The Odd Couple,” a fundraiser for the Help Center Memorial Day Weekend.

“We hope to raise $9,000,” said Bacher, who serves on its board.

Since the recession hit, the Help Center’s caseload has nearly doubled. It now serves 650 people. Although they receive grants and donations, it’s not enough to meet the new demand.

“People who wouldn’t normally come to us are asking for help now,” Bacher said.

“When you think of a town of 3,500 people, that’s nearly 20 percent of the community that’s willing to admit that they need help,” Sirkin said.

Tickets are $30, which includes dinner and the show at Town Hall. Sysco Food Service, will donate the food for the dinner. Sirkin said they’ve raised about $2,000 so far. Posters all over town are help getting the word out.

For the past several weeks, the two friends have been practicing their 400 odd lines.

“Our wives are jealous of the time we spend rehearsing together,” Vic Sirkin said. “We want to be funny, but not make fools of ourselves.”

Sirkin and Bacher have to memorize 400 lines

Much of the practice time is spent at Cafe Aroma, where many of the actors are from. Owner/Manager Frank Ferro is a poker player, and Kathy Halkin, whose husband, Hubert, co-owns Cafe Aroma, plays one of the girls from upstairs. Conor O’Farrell,who was once a waiter at Cafe Aroma, is the director.

Other locals in the play include: Pete Capparelli, a real estate agent, Phil Drell, Jim Crandall from the Idyllwild Town Crier newspaper and Sandii Castleberry, a musician.

“None of us have had any theater experience, except for Conor,” said Sirkin. “He’s got 30 years of acting experience, and he’s stuck directing us.”

O’Farrell’s plan is to host theater productions to help benefit different community or charity groups in Idyllwild. The Help Center is the first recipient.

“The Help Center donated all of the furniture and props for the play,” Bacher added. “After the show, everything’s for sale, including the couch, lamps, phone, whatever. We just don’t want to haul it all back.”

At 71, this is Bacher's first acting gig

Bacher said that he’s not really a neat freak, like his character, Felix Unger. “Actually, Vic, who plays the slob Oscar Madison, is the neat freak, even though he doesn’t look like it.”

When Walter Matthau and Art Carney played “The Odd Couple” for years on Broadway, they would often change roles, Bacher said.

“They knew each other’s lines so well, it was easy,” he said. “It also brought new life to their roles.”

Bacher and Sirkin exchange insults, and offer a couple of impromptu lines to show they can act.

“You didn’t say the word that you were supposed to,” Sirkin said.

“Yes, I did,” said Bacher.

“Look at your script,” Sirkin said. And he was right.

“Guess we have to practice a little bit more,” Bacher said, with a sigh.

Both men talked about the camaraderie that develops when spending so much time working on the play together. However, every time they mess up a line, O’Farrell has them put money in a pot. Neither man would say how much money is in the pot so far.

“We have a bond now, you know, affection for each other,” Bacher said.

“Don’t say, ‘affection,'”Sirkin warned, “we’re men.”

Obviously, the chemistry is there.

“The Odd Couple” will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 28-30, Memorial Day Weekend at the Idyllwild Town Hall. Tickets are $30 each, which includes the show and dinner. All proceeds go to benefit the Idyllwild Help Center. Buy tickets at the Silver Pines Lodge (next to Town Hall), or call Lou Bacher at (760) 533-6692.

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Jasmine Marin, a visual arts student at Idyllwild Arts, was making batches of ginger beer last weekend.

“This batch didn’t turn out so well,” she said, disgusted. “I’ll have to try again this afternoon.”

Normally, the school probably wouldn’t allow a student, even a senior in good standing, to make beer in her room. (Actually, it was in her dorm parent’s room.) However, this project was approved by Rob Rutherford, head of the Visual Arts Department.

Marin plans on distributing her homemade ginger beer at “Visual Art III,” the next student art show held this Friday, May 7, at 6:00 p.m. at the Parks Exhibition Center.

The four other visual artists in the show, including Yoo Bin Cha, Sana Liu, Bella Oh, and Brent Terry, are planning their art around a food theme too.

“Brent Terry is going to show photos of meat,” Marin added.

Yoo Bin Cha plans on showcasing Asian food on ceramic plates that she created, and Sana Liu has miniature marshmallows attached to a sculpture, but it won’t be edible.

Marin said that the food theme wasn’t planned, but just worked out that way.

She said that she proposed this ginger beer installation because she’s questioning why art always has to be pretty.

“I just wanted to create art that can be consumed by my friends,” she said.

The ginger beer recipe came from the Food Network, and calls for a lot of fresh squeezed lemons and ginger.

“I must’ve squeezed 100 lemons last night,” Marin said. “My hands feel like they’re going to fall off, but it’s worth it.”

Besides the test tasting, the visual aspect of her ginger beer installation will feature drawings on the labels attached to the empty beer bottles suspended from the ceiling, she said.

Marin said that there probably won’t be art on the labels of the 28 ginger beer bottles that will be consumed at the art opening.

“I hope that they return the bottles,” Marin said.

At school, recycling is encouraged, with containers available everywhere. In fact, ginger ale is the only soft drink that is served in the school’s cafeteria.

“Visual Art II,” the next senior art show, is free and open to the public. It will be held at 6:00 p.m. this Friday, May 7, at the Parks Exhibition Center on the Idyllwild Arts Campus. The show runs until May 14. For more information, call (951) 659-2171 or visit www.idyllwildarts.org.

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(from L) Scesney, Barron, Hensinger & Levenson at his sr. jazz recital

For jazz lovers, there’s nothing like live jazz. It’s good for the soul. CDs are fine for listening, but with live jazz, you have experience of them playing right in front of you. You see them getting “lost” in their playing, jamming with other musicians, and sweating after the show.

Last Friday, April 23, for one glorious hour, we got to hear live, Chicago-style jazz in Idyllwild. Not from some leathery old souls in a smoke-filled bar, but teenagers in a well-lit recital hall on the Idyllwild Arts campus. Some of the jazz students were even playing their own compositions.

Two high school seniors, one on drums and the other on electric guitar, wowed the intimate crowd made up of mostly classmates and faculty. If you were to close your eyes, and not look at those eager, young faces, you’d swear you were sitting in a club in Chicago.

Nate Levenson, on drums, was first. His lineup of songs included some jazz standards, like “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard, but another was “Dip De Do,” a never-heard-before composition by his friend, Caleb Hensinger on trumpet.

With drums, it’s kind of tricky to do a solo recital. Drums are always the backbeat of a song, never the melody. So Levenson “got a little help from his friends,” including Mint Park on electric guitar, Jacob Scesney on alto sax, Anthony Leung on tenor sax, Hallie Hudson on piano, Benny Kleinerman on piano, Caleb Hensinger on trumpet, and Alejandro Barron on bass and electric guitar.

For only being 18, Levenson had a good command of his audience. He opened with, “How are you guys doing tonight?” He dedicated his first song, “Mamacita,” to his girlfriend, Caleigh Birrell, who was seated in the audience.

Scesney and Hensinger both had solos during the recital

For his second piece, Levenson took a backseat at his own recital to showcase his friend, Caleb Hensinger.

“The next piece is called ‘Dip De Do’ by my friend, Caleb,” Levenson said. “He had too many pieces to play during his recital, and couldn’t play this one. I liked it, so I asked him to play it tonight.”

Hensinger, who is only a junior, was a showman during his own piece that was upbeat, but didn’t sound like a novice created it. On certain notes, he pointed his horn high in the air. During the “moody” parts, his horn was low.

It was a risk for Levenson to turn it over to a showman, and there he was playing the backbeat during his own recital. But it takes a big man to let someone else have the spotlight, and the audience appreciated his gesture.

And for the modest jazz drummer, it took the pressure off of him for a few moments.

The next piece was the highlight of Levenson’s portion of the show. This time, he turned it over to Jacob Scesney, on alto sax. Scesney performed a rendition of “Morning Bell.” It was first performed by Radiohead, then Chris Potter, his favorite sax player, did his own rendition of it. Then Scesney played off of Potter’s version.

“I think you can still tell what it is,” Scesney had said before the show.

From the moment he played his first note, you could tell Scesney was in love with this song. It was evident on his face, in his closed eyes, the slight smile on his face, his body language, and even the curl in his hair. Everything seemed to be wired into that song.

And the audience was paying attention. They were on the edge of their seats, loving every moment. No one spoke, and all eyes were fixed on Scesney. When it was over, the audience erupted in applause. For a long moment afterwards, Scesney was still “feeling it” in his own world. Levenson had to bring him back.

“Are you OK?” Levenson asked.

“What are we playing next?” Scesney asked, trying to snap out of his trance.

It was a moment to remember. No one would think that a rendition of a rendition could be so good. But it was, it was.

'Nate played great!' said Harold Mason, his teacher

Although he had turned the spotlight over to a trumpeter and saxman, Levenson knew what he was doing during his senior show. He would steal the spotlight, and do drum solos, that would make him smile and grab the audience’s attention.

According to Harold Mason, his teacher, who came to Idyllwild all the way from Rancho Cucamonga on that snowy night, Levenson played “just great!”

Next up on the roster was Mint Park and her electric guitar. It goes without saying that in the jazz world, there are mostly male musicians. The women were the singers, such as Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. No woman musician comes to mind.

So Park is blazing her own trail. Not to be ignored, she wore a bubblegum pink blazer. Her signature cropped hair (on one side) hung in her eyes as she warmed up. No shrinking violet, she commanded the boys when she was ready to start.

Mint Park (center) played two of her own compositions

Park’s lineup included jazz standards, “Lullaby of Bird Land” by George Shearling, and “Take Five” by Paul Desmond. Her electric guitar riffs had to fight to be heard above the other instruments, but it was clear and confident.

For her third piece, Park mixed up the order of things. She played “Chocolate,” her own composition, based on an all-school party that featured chocolate. (One never knows what serves as musical inspiration).

An added bonus was when Park took the mike and started to sing. She had a decent enough voice, but it was hard to hear above the music. Next time, she need to gain confidence and get closer to the mike.

Park’s fourth piece, “View from Moscow,” by Kurt Rosenwinkel, was met by a “Yeah!” from Marietta, Russian film student, and applause from the audience.

Yet, it was Park’s last piece that everyone will remember: “Star Gazing,” which was her own composition.

“I’m mixing up the program a little bit,” she said, half apologetically. “But they always tell you that it can happen three minutes before the tune starts.”

Then she invited the audience to “star gaze” with her, and shut off the lights. During that tune that she wrote herself, you could only see the silhouettes of the jazz players in the dark. That’s when it really sounded like masters playing in a club in Chicago.

“I was a little disoriented at first when the lights went out,” said Karin Obermeier, a literature teacher at Idyllwild Arts. She attended the jazz recital with her young son, who didn’t seem to mind.

However, later, the stories came out.

“It was cool when the lights went out, but the piano player was left in the dark,” said Simone Huls, an ESL teacher at Idyllwild Arts.

Jazz pianist Hallie Hudson hadn’t memorized Park’s music, and was relying on the sheet music in front of her. When the lights went out, she couldn’t see, and had to improvise.

The audience wasn’t the wiser.

“It’s too bad that we couldn’t see the stars when Mint turned out the lights,” said one student later. “The windows were too dirty, and there were pine trees in the way. But it was a nice idea anyway.”

For those of us who love live jazz, it was a slice of heaven.

Be sure and check the Idyllwild Arts web site for the next jazz recital. Visit www.idyllwild arts.org.

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Fion Chen as Miss Soursheen in the IM production Friday & Saturday

“What Ever Happened to Limpy Glen?” a rock fairytale presented by the Interdisciplinary Arts (IM) students at Idyllwild Arts, opened on Friday, April 30, to a sold-out crowd at the Bowman Theater. With this ambitious production, the IM students have shown that they not only can create their own sets and costumes, but also sing, act, dance and play their own music. The two-run show continues tonight, Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Frykdahl and Rocuant share secrets in the IM production

The show is based on “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” a legend about the disappearance of a great many children from the German town of Hamelin. A piper, or rat catcher, was hired by the mayor to lure the rats away with his magic flute. However, when the mayor refuses to pay, the piper retaliates by luring away the children.

“Whatever Happened to Limpy Glen?” is set in Hamelin many years later. The small amount of children who are left are not allowed to play or sing music. As orphans, they’ve been turned into working droids.

Like his name implies, Limpy Glen (played by Rami Rocuant), the third-generation mayor of Hamelin, is a “wimp.” He oversees the town in his top hat and tails, receiving official notices, but isn’t really a leader or formidable force. The children do not obey because of him.

Town kids tow the line with Miss Soursheen

The real muscle is Miss Soursheen, played by Fion Chen. She is the “Cruella DaVille” that oversees the children’s chores, and reprimands them by clunking them on the head with a large chicken bone. (Actually, it looks more like a beef or ham bone because it doesn’t break).

Miss Soursheen, dressed in her Dominatrix attire, not only rules the children with a chicken bone, but the mayor too, with other knives as well. In the beginning, when she’s giving a progress report to the mayor, she’s also cooking soup for them. To emphasize her point, she points a large meat cleaver at him. Naturally, he backs away, and we know who rules. Later on in the show, Soursheen wields other weapons at the children from broomsticks to swords, and finally large spears.

IM shows Chen out of control

If they were going for dark humor, they achieved it. However, all the brutality and knife wielding was a distraction. It’s a Grimm’s Fairy Tale come to life. Let the punishment fit the crime, I say. They also didn’t explain or hint at why Miss Soursheen was so cruel. Perhaps she was tortured by a wicked witch as a lassie?

Not only does she beat her own kids, but the wild kids as well. Three wild kids, played by Caleigh Birrell, Jose Angel Diaz and Shelagh Bennett, have been wandering around the mountains for years, camping and singing songs. When they wander back into Hamelin, they don’t recognize the place at first. All the music is gone, including the record stores. There is no more fun. All the life is gone.

Bennett, Diaz and Birrell as the wild kids

Naturally, the town kids are attracted to the wild kid’s freedom, dancing and music. The town kids are played by Kumi Sweely, Luna Enriquez, Zenya Kwan, Liana Spano, Evynne Murray, Alyx Gunderson, Jahaira Anaya and Damian Hur.

As expected, three of the town kids run away to join the wild ones, including Zenya Kwan as Zelda, Luna Enriquez as Vega and Kumi Sweely as Rosa. Since they have to walk through the mountains and may encounter anything, they wield swords. To portray the denseness and confusion of the mountains, a large screen TV showed slides of large trees and video of blinding lights. Any more these days, stage plays are using video screens to help with background or scene changes.

Back in town, Mayor Wimpy Glen cannot sleep. He has several “encounters” with a vagrant, played by Nils Frykdahl, who offers him an ear, but always asks for money in the end. He’s the perfect “Beetlejuice” character with his blackened teeth, wild eyes and raspy voice. They discuss the mayor’s past, his animated turtle and finally make sense of the piper tale. (Frykdahl also doubles as bandleader, playing the electric guitar and flutes. If he is not on the IM staff yet, someone should hire him right away.)

Rocuant as mayor contemplates lifting music ban

Not only does the production’s band play all the songs, but the sound effects as well. It’s a motley crew of instruments, but fitting to the fairy tale. Led by Frykdahl, the band includes Denise Boughey, IM chair, on bass; Dawn McCarthy on electric guitar and percussion; Nate Levenson on drums; Rachel Hill on French horn; XO Liu on cello; Luna Enriquez, Caleigh BIrrell and Shelagh Bennett on guitar; Fion Chen and Liana Spano on keyboards and Rami Rocuant on banjo and guitar.

Needless to say, the production’s band is mostly made up of IM and music students. Each of the students in “Wimpy Glen” wears many hats, from playing a dramatic role, playing or singing music, building sets or illustrating the playbill.

For example, Fion Chen plays the lead as Miss Soursheen, something that would take a great deal of time. But she also helped with adapting the story, and playing keyboards in the band. Liana Spano, who plays one of the town kids, also plays keyboards, and helped to run the video throughout the show. Caleigh Birrell, who is studying painting in New York in the fall, acted, sang, danced and played guitar in the show. Luna Enriquez, who also does art, illustrated the portraits on the playbill and poster. But she also played one of the leads, sang, danced and played guitar.

Luna Enriquez played a town kid and illustrated the playbill & poster

“That is the beauty of being in the IM department,” said one of them. “We get to try many different things.”

Behind-the-scenes IM students helped out with set building, costumes, lights and sound. They included Trevor Holmes, Kaylee Greene-Spates, and Arik Dutcher. Alejandro Barron, from the jazz department, was the stage hand.

“Whatever Happened to Wimpy Glen?” continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Bowman Theater on campus. The show is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Idyllwild Arts web site at www.idyllwildarts.org.