Web posted Thursday, August 31, 2000

Crossing borders through music

The CrossSound music festival brings together an unusual mix of music from opposite sides of the globe By KRISTAN HUTCHISON THE JUNEAU EMPIRE Photos by Brian Wallace The soloist glides her bow across the two silk strings of her erhu, drawing the music of China from across the sea. Behind her, a violinist echoes the motion. A mandolin joins in. Then from center stage, a delicate woman plucks notes like Japanese haiku from a 13-stringed koto. This is truly world music, on a Southeast stage. CrossSound 2000 brings together musicians and sounds from across the water, both the Inside Passage and the sea. There will be two Juneau performances of CrossSound music festival, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Northern Light United Church, and another performance a week later featuring different music and musicians at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Chapel by the Lake. This year organizers are including performances in Sitka also.

_____________________________________________________________ UNCOMMON INSTRUMENT: Jocelyn Clark, the co-founder of the CrossSound music festival, playes the 13-stinged koto. The festival brings together instruments, musicians, and styles of musicfrom a variety of countries. BRIAN WALLACE/THE JUNEAU EMPIRE __________________________________________________________________________

It's the second year for the festival, which commissions new musical compositions for unusual combinations of musicians. "Normally you don't bring an accordion player from Italy, an erhu player from China and a composer from Germany and put them together," composer Martin Brody said.

Though the instruments and even the scales differ, the sounds blend together. When the music stops, the spoken languages are more difficult to blend. CrossSound co-producer Stefan Hakenberg lapses into German to count out measures. His wife, co-producer and fellow musician Jocelyn Clark, translates jokes and instructions into Chinese for Liu Jing and Japanese for Ishigure Masayo.

CrossSound is an exciting endeavor, partly because it is so different, said Roger Schmidt, who is coordinating the Sitka musicians.

"We're playing music that has been written by a Chinese women, who I'm sure has a very unique perspective, we're playing music by a Dutch composer, and we're going to be playing music with a koto player and an opera singer," Schmidt said.

Schmidt will play his trombone in a duet with Japanese koto player Masayo Ishigure.

"The koto to me is a very natural-sounding instrument. It involves a lot of sounds of nature to me, rain, wind," Schmidt said. "As I practice it, I'm trying to make my trombone sound extremely peaceful sounding, extremely calm and very resonant and again to try to get as much into the organic sound. I'm trying to make it like one of those horns you might hear up in the mountains." CrossSound is the first child of Jocelyn Clark and Stefan Hakenberg. Growing up in Juneau, Clark played the piano, clarinet and oboe with school groups and the Juneau Symphony. Then she spent time in Asia and learned to play the koto, a 13-stringed instrument that originated in Seventh century Japan where it was played by blind monks. "By playing that, it sort of shut me out of being able to play with anybody here," said Clark, who performed solo for a while and regularly plays with ensembles in New York. But she wanted music she could play with the musicians she knew in Southeast, and she knew they wanted new music too. Even players of more standard Western instruments sometimes can't find enough other players for standard musical ensembles in Southeast. "There's a lot of good musicians here, but the groups that they can form aren't groups that exist in the genre of classic music," Clark said. "The idea is to write for them and then to bring in some people from out of town to add to the excitement." The composers and musicians all come together for a week to work on the pieces before the performances, Schmidt said. "It's a rare and wonderful opportunity when you can actually work with the composer that wrote the music for you," Schmidt said. That also gives the composer a chance to revise the music after hearing how it actually sounds on the unusual instruments.

_________________________________________________________________ EASTERN STRINGS: Liu Jing of Nanjing, China plays the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese fiddle. BRIAN WALLACE/THE JUNEAU EMPIRE _________________________________________________________________

"The combination of non-Western instruments with Western, locals with foreigners, is challenging," said Brody, who described his piece as starting mechanical and developing into a more atmospheric, jazz-inflected sound. "In Boston I don't know anyone who plays the euphonium, so it's not like I had a friend to call and say 'How does this work?'," he said.

Now that Brody's in Juneau, euphonium player Nathan Bastuscheck pointed out a few notes in the score that are difficult to achieve on the euphonium.

"I'm sure we'll make some little adjustments," Brody said.

The pieces Brody wrote for this year's and last year's festival are building up a repertoire of music for Southeast musicians. Next, Clark and Hakenberg want to put together a Southeast tour, taking the music to Ketchikan, Haines, Skagway, and other Southeast communities.

Though the composers and guest artists come from all over the world, CrossSound is still firmly rooted in Southeast Alaska. Schmidt said the surrounding wilderness influences the musicians and music, giving it a completely different sound than if the festival were held in New York City.

"When I play the trombone, I do think of mountains and I do think of the sea a lot," Schmidt said. "It would be hard for a musician not to be affected by the scenery."

In producing the festival, Clark discovered it is unique.

"It's not even the kind of thing you'd find in Seattle and New York," she said.

Unfortunately, it's also not the kind of thing that is easy to find funding for. Most grants are designed for standard instrumentations and Clark and Hakenberg have gone into debt to bring the $40,000 CrossSound together a second year.

"Everyone's working for way under market price, and everybody's doing it because they're really excited about the idea and want to come to Alaska," said Clark, who hopes it will become an annual event. "One of the composers told us he was doing it for a fifth his normal fee."

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

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Web posted Friday, September 1, 2000

BestBets

Music and dance fill the bill this weekend in Juneau.

The CrossSound Music Festival promises to be an entertaining and culturally rich event, and musicians and composers from Douglas, Asia and Europe will participate.

You've heard the erhu before, but probably didn't realize it. Its fluid, resonant tone, surprisingly like the human voice, is a commonly featured on the soundtracks for Chinese films. This weekend is the rare opportunity to hear the erhu, a cool Chinese instrument played live.

The erhu is a two-string Chinese "fiddle", played with a bow. Virtuoso Liu Jing from Nanjing, China, performed solo Wednesday at noon in the atrium of the State Office Building and the sound was captivating. It's a very melodic instrument with a surprising range for its small size and two strings.

Other musicians include Jocelyn Clark playing the koto, a 13-string zither-like Japanese instrument, and Italian accordionist Teodoro Anzellotti. Thirteen local musicians, including the Nimbus Ensemble and members of the Juneau Symphony will also participate. Bob Banghart, best known as a swing, jazz and Cajun fiddler, will be playing mandolin in an ensemble piece composed especially for the CrossSound Festival.

Last year the music and the performances were well worth the admission price, and I have no doubt the same will be true this year. There will be two performances with completely different players and music. The first is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Northern Light United Church. The group then plays in Sitka, and returns with some Sitka musicians for a performance Sunday, Sept. 10, at Chapel by the Lake. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.

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Web posted Thursday, September 7, 2000

CrossSound Music Festival continues

The CrossSound Music Festival will offer a performance at 7 p.m. Sunday at Chapel by the Lake. A cadre of international and local musicians will perform new works composed especially for the occasion.

This is the second year for the festival, which included two performances in Sitka and includes two in Juneau. Each show features different music and musicians.

The concert Sunday will include works composed for the solo marimba, a composition for solo koto, and one for a koto and trombone duet. The koto is a type of Asian zither.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students, available at Hearthside Books and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.

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Web posted Sunday, September 10, 2000

AROUND TOWN

CrossSound International Music Festival, 7 p.m., Chapel by the Lake. Sponsored by Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, this is a celebration of musical diversity showcasing a mix of Asian and Western instruments and artists. Tickets are available at Hearthside Books or at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. Info: 586-ARTS.

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Web posted Sunday, September 17, 2000

Inside out

Opportunity knocks

This month's CrossSound 2000 concerts presented Juneau audiences with some uncommon musical combinations. Last Sunday's ensemble included baritone sax, marimba, trombone, the Japanese koto, and a soprano singing, at one point, in German. Introducing one duet, Sitka trombonist Roger Schmidt paused, then observed, "I don't get to play with a koto very often."

Inside/Out is compiled by Ed Schoenfeld. E-mail suggestions to eschoenfeld@juneauempire.com.