This Saturday, 29 April, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City presents “Transient Glory V,” a program of music commissioned by and for the Big Apple’s unique multicultural youth choir. Composers are Thea Musgrave (pictured), Mark Adamo, Derek Bermel, John Corigliano, Bobby Previte, David Sawer, and Rufus Wainwright. Francisco J. Núñez (pictured), founder and artistic director of YPC, will conduct.
I was privileged to sit in on YPC’s rehearsal with Rufus Wainwright and to write an advance for Newsday.
What most impressed me was Maestro Núñez’s respect for the dignity and intelligence of his young musicians. I left academic publishing in large part because it was all about dumbing down. The idea that students might actually thirst for chewy, intelligent, substantial material was seen by those in charge as threatening, even offensive. The YPC’s over-the-moon success and the joy and concentration that the youngsters radiate while grappling with exacting music give the lie to such stinking lowest-common-denominator thinking.
Two outtakes from my interview with Maestro Núñez:
The children feel empowered, because here is great music being written specifically for them. This is not something that’s arranged for them, originally meant for adults. The music [the composers] write is equal to the music they would write for the New York Philharmonic.
I tell my kids that I aim [what we do] to the smartest ones—and the others have to catch up. But there are ways we can support them. The younger kids have buddies, and we tell them, “You’re allowed to speak with each other during rehearsals [so that] one can explain to the other what’s going on.” That helps the young kids to catch up and to know that, eventually, they will become the mentors. It’s a huge honor to be a buddy for someone.
You can hear excerpts from Rufus Wainwright’s spiky, gorgeous “Bloom” on WNYC’s Soundcheck. (Truth be told, the on-air performance was rough; what I heard in rehearsal was much more polished.) Walt Whitman’s “Unseen buds” and Emily Dickinson’s “Hope” are two of the insanely beautiful texts that Rufola set.
On 26 April, Mark Adamo and John Corigliano will appear on Soundcheck to talk about their contributions to “Transient Glory.” And WNYC’s John Schaefer will host the panel discussion with composers at Saturday’s concert.
I remember your original work in textbook publishing to be amongst the best that the "House of Dumbing Down" placed into print, largely due to your brilliance and tenacity in creating excellent material for students (you always went to bat for students). I also left textbook publishing for the same reason - tired of the dumbing down by fearful and fretful marketeers. Your article regarding YPC of NYC has inspired me. I feel refreshed and rewarded spiritually that there is a professional in the music world willing to ELEVATE the students. Thank heavens, free at last.
Sincerely, K
Posted by: K | 26 April 2006 at 05:02