Jazz, Classical and Middle Eastern Music Performed in Virginia

In November, 2011, I received an email inviting me to perform in Richmond, VA with a composer/conductor who created a concerto grosso composition. His score is a variation of an old Middle Eastern folk song, and he was searching for a musician in the USA that played the kanun. Luckily, he found me!

A quick history on the instrument I play - the kanun. This 76-stringed laptop harp was first introduced back in the 5th Century. Considered the granddaddy of the piano, the instrument is performed throughout Armenia and the Middle East. (Watch a video where I demonstrated the kanun at the Ann Arbor Main District Library a few years ago.)

Back to the story. The composer that contacted me was Doug Richards, the mastermind behind putting this entire project together. I agreed to be part of the project and what followed was sheet music and audio files of a composition that didn't give me much time to learn - the concert was only a few months away. I studied and practiced, listening to the music each day like religion.

In January, I took the pilgrimage to Richmond, VA. Doug met me at the airport, and we were able to spend a few hours together getting to know each other. We immediately hit it off, and I become more excited each minute to perform this piece. As I arrived on that Sunday afternoon, rehearsing began almost immediately. Doug wasted little time getting the nonet together, consisting of the jazz artists.

What I didn't immediately realize was the powerhouse of talent which was part of this group. Each one of these jazz artists were outstanding. The group consisted of Skip Gailes (sax), Bob Hallahan (piano), Ayca Kartari (vocalist), Emre Kartari (percussion), Adam Larrabee (guitar), Jon Metzger (vibist), T. Howard Curtis (percussion), John D'Earth (trumpet) and Victor Dvoskin (bassist). All of these fine musicians have worked together throughout their careers, I was the new kid in the room. I quickly found a way (by accident of course) to break the ice!

During one of the run throughs of the piece, I was cued to take a solo. Well, I wasn't cued when to actually stop taking the solo, and I was unsure when I was to end. Thirty seconds goes by, a minute, finally two minutes into my solo I knew something was wrong and so I said out loud (embarrassed, of course) that they can stop whenever they like. Well, one of the musicians said I was only supposed to play for 30 seconds! We all had a nice laugh and I felt very much at home for the rest of the trip.

The evening of the concert is difficult to put into words. The W.E. Singleton Center for Performing Arts auditorium was sold out, and we actually had a delay in starting the program so that everyone would be seated for the concert. The stage was jammed packed with outstanding musicians, including students from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a stringed ensemble from Montreal called Ensemble Apassonata. Add the nine guest artists, there were over 80 musicians on stage.

The concerto seemed to have flown by, even though it was approximately 20-25 minutes in length. All the musicians were outstanding, all of the solos were on cue and perfect. In the end, standing ovations, but moreover, a real sense of accomplishment and pride in being part of a historical occurrence. Truly a night to remember...