by Dr. Vincent Patterson
Whew – what happened to Sept.? We FINALLY got some true autumn weather here in DC: yesterday! Been sticky hot, hurricane edges passing by on the way NE and lots of late-summer thunder storms. Got into the ‘50’s last night; as mother used to say, “Good sleeping weather.” Right! Are you up on the MOAB, UTAH chamber music fest.? Sounz really cool: Some New York musicians saw this red rock grotto – a cave in the Canyonlands Nat’l Park – and decided it could be a hip new concert venue. Jeez, MCI could build a whole FESTIVAL around this space! For two weeks each summer a small herd of classical players puts on concerts to “explore more subtle extremes of intimacy with nature – and silence.” The Moab Music Festival motto is “music in concert with nature.” Michael Barrett, pianist, is the director. He says, “it’s more than the visual appeal that makes the dramatic landscape of Navajo sandstone so apt for chamber music. It’s the purest acoustics I’ve ever found. Part of it is that it’s so quiet. The grotto is protected: there’s no electricity, no air conditioning, no buzzing from lights, no siren four blocks away… you have the luxury of playing really quietly and being heard.” There is no Green Room; two separate sets of bushes have been designated as men’s and women’s changing areas. Once the audience arrives (from down-river boats) there can be no more warming up, in order not to break the special silence. The festival offers hikes to specially chosen locations with good acoustics and shade, where short programs are the performed. Other concerts take place in tents set up on ranches, back-country scenic spots and in Moab’s intimate Star Hall, with intermissions timed to sunset. “The grotto is our church,” said Barrett, “we’re not very religious people but we are when we are there. It’s humbling. It’s difficult to perform there but you are sharing something so pure with people you take your ego away and try and stay with the music.” Might be worth a look see and some brain-storming, eh? —————————- From the “HOW DO YOU GET TO CARNEGIE HALL” file: Fungus might help! What? Swiss researcher Francis Schwarze discovered applying two fungi (physisporinus vitreus and xylaria longipes) to wood used in making modern violin makes it sound like a Strad. Really? In a blind 2009 competition, a learned audience preferred a violin made from fungally treated wood over a Strad and untreated modern instruments. Dr. Schwarze and his colleagues are trying to make 30 more violins with fungally treated wood. Rots of luck, Doc!