{"id":22115,"date":"2022-01-04T08:45:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T16:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=22115"},"modified":"2022-01-20T17:05:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T01:05:57","slug":"a-look-back-at-a-dirty-rotten-and-painful-but-also-beautiful-and-hopeful-2021-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2022\/01\/04\/a-look-back-at-a-dirty-rotten-and-painful-but-also-beautiful-and-hopeful-2021-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"A look back at a dirty, rotten, and painful, but also beautiful and hopeful 2021 – Part I."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A thumbnail sketch.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As 2021 began, I and my colleagues in the orchestra were all furloughed without pay, as were virtually all of the administrative staff. 45th Parallel Universe<\/a>, a collective musical group, created over 50 consecutive weeks of live-streamed or virtual concert content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Spring of 2021, the strings of the orchestra had begun a video project called Carlos @ 18<\/a><\/em>, celebrating outgoing Music Director Carlos Kalmar’s 18 years with the orchestra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the middle of 2021, vaccines were becoming widely available, and with that euphoric thaw in June (just before Delta reared its ugly coronal head) the possibility of there being a 2021-2022 season became not just a possibility, but a likelihood (though we had no idea what sort of concerts or audiences we might be able to produce or face). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, a favorite chamber music festival returned to live and live-streamed performances. On September 29, 2021, the Oregon Symphony returned in full force to begin rehearsals on Mahler’s mighty Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”. The concerts were glorious and emotional. The orchestra was back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the season progressed, several guest conductors were unable to travel to the US due to restrictions related to COVID-19. The year concluded with an emotional and joyful performance with Gladys Knight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the depths of lockdown, the artistic spirit was fed by forays into the music of J.S. Bach in the confines of my home studio. I was able to make a home recording of Bach, Britten, and Bunch for AllClassical.org’s Thursday’s @ Three<\/a> broadcasts. Performing with others – that itch was scratched by intense collaborations with my colleagues in 45th Parallel Universe. In particular, the several projects I did with my friends in the Pyxis Quartet<\/a> were both challenging and rewarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our concert where music was paired with animated shorts was one of the highlights of our Pyxis productions. In particular, the work of Zak Margolis was touching and heartfelt, his images paired with the quiet paths of a quartet movement by Florence Price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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