No Risk, No Reward

No Risk, No Reward

This blog entry is not about songwriting. It is about a joint symphony/chorus concert of Mozart's Coronation Mass and Requiem Mass. It is about one of the more exciting performances that I've been a part of.as a concert percussionist. I'm sure many of my readers are a little surprised to learn that I am a percussionist. Yes, classically trained, music degree and all. At one point, I was a monster on the mallet instruments like Marimba, xylophone, bells and chimes. Back to topic, yes, this one concert was incrdible, for many chorus and symphony musicians. Read on...

The Risk
Our local symphony, the Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, performs a few times per year and always in a local school auditorium. In addition to being a percussionist with the symphony, I also have the lofty title of Operations Manager. (do what it takes to make the show happen). The local Chorus will occasionally share performances with the symphony. This spring concert was scheduled for one school auditorium on Saturday night. A chorus member and I were then asked to assess whether we could fit both the 75+ member chorus and 40+ symphony in St. John the Baptist RC Church, Pottsville. I am music director for the church and he is a member of our choir. He drew up some measurements and believed we could make it work.

I told the conductor that it would be tight. I prepped the musicians, especially the string players, that it would be tight and there would be no removal of any pews. I really didn't worry until the performance weekend. I really worried on the performance day, Sunday.

After the Masses were done, a few of us moved things around and set the stage. I had a few options to try. All were tight, all doable. This might work I thought. There were some adjustments made and it allowed me to focus on the other non-playing part... making the show work. How do we get people here and there in a church setting.

The Reward
3:00 PM, show time. A moderate size crowd is in the church. This will let the church ring. The ceilings are probably 60 feet tall and arched so even a cough sounds good.. The chorus and symphony are in a 'shell' like part of the church which has a way of filling the church. The challenge for the musicians is hearing their music reflect back later. Most musicians understand how to play through this, watch and don't listen so much.

It was a cloudy day. Our church has very tall stained-glass windows. They are really old and are considered priceless. They were brought over from Italy and made by the Pope's guy at the time, one of the windows has the Papal Seal. The sounds was amazing in church. I was able to see some people and their reactions. I saw some tearing and experiencing this event. At times, the music would swell and the sun would peek..... the church would light up with colors of the windows. You couldn't miss the light. You couldn't help smile and wonder when the light flowed in and out with the music.

At the end of the concert, as people appluaded, I smiled. This was probably one of the most exciting times I've played music where I could feel some emotions within, and where others felt it too. I imagined Mozart would have heard his music in a similar sounding place, large and airy. In the 20 years or so that I am with the symphony, this was the first time symphony played in a church. I imagined this will be the last time to play in this church. Money is tight and it is harder and harder to run the symphony. The Diocese is considering closing several churches in our 5 county area. I think ours will remain open, but one does not know. I smiled.

Had Butch and I taken the conservative side in our decision, this concert would have been canceled. It would be Saturday only, in a school auditorium. Our risk was transformed into most beautiful moment. All who came were rewarded. Few of us knew the risk. Thank God we took the risk and felt the reward.

Thanks for reading ;)
Dave

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