“If I imagine that everyone is in their underwear, I can get through this,” Greg reassured himself as he strode warily to the front of the stage.  He flashed a confident smile as he walked, but behind the façade, he was a bundle of nerves.  As he reached the podium, he turned to face the crowd.  The lights were bright and the faces were many, he opened up his mouth to speak, and at that very moment, his legs became jelly.  Everything went black…

When he opened his eyes a minute later, a lady with a concerned look on her face was holding the back of his head, fanning him with her program.  Several people were coming toward him talking, but their voices sounded as though he was under water.  He must have fainted – what an embarrassment!  How must he look, the VP of Accounting, lying on the floor before his employees, as helpless as a little baby.

For many people, there is nothing more intimidating than speaking in public, and this certainly holds true for composers as well.  Many of us would like to ‘let the music speak for itself’ and leave any commentary for the program notes. 

But doesn’t this seem a little old fashioned?  I mean, in that sense, what’s the difference between a piece by Beethoven and a living composer – if both are performed and represented by program notes. 

Living composers don’t have many advantages over their predecessors, so we need to exploit those that we do have wherever possible, to give our audience an extra reason to come out and hear new music.  Beethoven can no longer address the audience, but we can, and in doing so, we can create a human connection between them and the piece. 

Was there a significant life event that served as inspiration for the piece?  Is the piece based on another art work that could be shown, or a text that could be shared?  Is there an analogy that could be shared that somehow unlocks the essence of the piece?  Is there an extended technique that serves as a significant part of the piece that could be demonstrated?  Can the form or some of the variation techniques be explained or demonstrated? 

Any of these methods can serve as effective tools toward breaking down some of the barriers between the audience and living composers.  And, they can also open up opportunities for a dialogue with audience members at intermission or after the show.

Many folks are intimidated by the whole classical music scene (when to clap, what to wear, when to cough, etc), the more things that we can do to break down these barriers between them and the music, the better.   If we appear approachable and down to earth when we represent our pieces, we’ll invite others to share their interpretations of our music with us.  How rewarding it is to hear ‘that reminded me of when I was a boy, playing in the sunshine at the farm’ or something as simple as ‘I really liked your piece.’  A few of those comments will provide plenty of drive towards starting a new piece and sharing it with another audience.  And to that end, we can and should use every bit of inspiration at our disposal. 

For those of you who have attended a concert in this format, what did you think of the approach?

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