acolli17 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I got to attend the preview show of the current run of Einstein on the Beach in Ann Arbor last January. From a musician's standpoint, it fundamentally changed my perception of music. I was able to sit attentively throughout the entirety of the five hour work, and by the end of it, I viewed music in general in a new light. For example, probably my favorite scene was about twenty minutes long, in which a beam of giant light lay horizontally on the stage, which was otherwise total darkness. Over the course of the twenty minutes, that beam of light rotated ever so slowly from horizontal, to vertical, and then rose up off stage. There were other scenes where I'd be entranced by a man walking back and forth across the stage, and then all of a sudden I'd look up to see a giant train on the stage. Does any of this make sense? Well you're not alone. Robert Wilson, the man who collaborated with Glass on the piece, did an interview in which he talked about sitting down during one of the performances, and happened to sit down next to Arthur Miller. Miller, not realizing that the director of the play had just sat next to him, leaned over to this so-called "stranger" and quietly whispered, "I don't get it." Wilson responded, "that's ok, neither do I." I wrote a lengthy reaction post in my blog, much longer than the synopsis above, and I can show it to someone if they're truly interested (but keep in mind, it's one 24-year old's opinion on something), but I won't bother to post it here, I doubt people are that interested. That being said, while it is an amazing production, and probably the most eventful single moment of my musical career so far, I'm slightly hesitant to warm up to the idea of it on the drum corps field. I know that Crown has wonderful arranger's. But part of the reason that it was so amazing, and I was so easily able to handle the length of the original opera was that I was drawn in to performance with all senses; the sights, sounds, smells, feelings, all of it was so unique to this work. It is for this reason that, despite the oddities and lengths of the opera, I was so unabashedly enthusiastic about it. Drum corps has a very unique experience to it as well, as we all know. Will it blend? I'm not sure. To sum up my above-average length response, I am absolutely certain that the source material, when in context, is incredible. I am also certain that Crown is an amazing group of individuals, and can accomplish a lot of seemingly unfathomable ideas. I'm honestly just worried that the two categories are too spread to converge in to one production. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 This is the photo ashevillemurphy was referring to: As difficult for me as this is, I'm going to wait for an official announcemt from Crown before I sound off on weather or not I do or don't like this uniform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphz Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I got to attend the preview show of the current run of Einstein on the Beach in Ann Arbor last January. From a musician's standpoint, it fundamentally changed my perception of music. I was able to sit attentively throughout the entirety of the five hour work, and by the end of it, I viewed music in general in a new light. For example, probably my favorite scene was about twenty minutes long, in which a beam of giant light lay horizontally on the stage, which was otherwise total darkness. Over the course of the twenty minutes, that beam of light rotated ever so slowly from horizontal, to vertical, and then rose up off stage. There were other scenes where I'd be entranced by a man walking back and forth across the stage, and then all of a sudden I'd look up to see a giant train on the stage. Does any of this make sense? Well you're not alone. Robert Wilson, the man who collaborated with Glass on the piece, did an interview in which he talked about sitting down during one of the performances, and happened to sit down next to Arthur Miller. Miller, not realizing that the director of the play had just sat next to him, leaned over to this so-called "stranger" and quietly whispered, "I don't get it." Wilson responded, "that's ok, neither do I." I wrote a lengthy reaction post in my blog, much longer than the synopsis above, and I can show it to someone if they're truly interested (but keep in mind, it's one 24-year old's opinion on something), but I won't bother to post it here, I doubt people are that interested. That being said, while it is an amazing production, and probably the most eventful single moment of my musical career so far, I'm slightly hesitant to warm up to the idea of it on the drum corps field. I know that Crown has wonderful arranger's. But part of the reason that it was so amazing, and I was so easily able to handle the length of the original opera was that I was drawn in to performance with all senses; the sights, sounds, smells, feelings, all of it was so unique to this work. It is for this reason that, despite the oddities and lengths of the opera, I was so unabashedly enthusiastic about it. Drum corps has a very unique experience to it as well, as we all know. Will it blend? I'm not sure. To sum up my above-average length response, I am absolutely certain that the source material, when in context, is incredible. I am also certain that Crown is an amazing group of individuals, and can accomplish a lot of seemingly unfathomable ideas. I'm honestly just worried that the two categories are too spread to converge in to one production. What is your blog? Out of curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 As difficult for me as this is, I'm going to wait for an official announcemt from Crown before I sound off on weather or not I do or don't like this uniform. No Plumes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) I got to attend the preview show of the current run of Einstein on the Beach in Ann Arbor last January. From a musician's standpoint, it fundamentally changed my perception of music. I was able to sit attentively throughout the entirety of the five hour work, and by the end of it, I viewed music in general in a new light. You were fortunate to be able to have 5 hours of watching and listening to fully appreciate a single show performance. Most audience goers at a DCI local show, by contrast, will have approx. 10 minutes to become engaged by a Corps show. Most in the audiences get one look and one hearing. They don't get to catch the 10 minute Corps show again like many of us here do a few times more during the season. If a Corps can't convey their theme, music quickly and efficiently to an audience member in the few moments that they have in performance, then that is most unfortunate and regrettable,imo. My hope is that Crown, like all the others this season, will find a way to reach the national audiences in a satisfactory manner this year with their chosen show themes, music, visuals. Edited May 10, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Most audience goers at a DCI local show, by contrast, will have approx. 10 minutes to become engaged by a Corps show. Most in the audiences get one look and one hearing. They don't get to catch the 10 minute Corps show again like many of us here do a few times more during the season. If a Corps can't convey their theme, music quickly and efficiently to an audience member in the few moments that they have in performance, then that is most unfortunate and regrettable,imo. My hope is that Crown, like all the others this season, will find a way to reach the national audiences in a satisfactory manner this year with their chosen show themes, music, visuals. I understand what you are saying, but from my perspective, the "feel" of the brass as it hits your face for 10 minutes, let alone a whole night's show, puts me in another dimension. I am honestly not thinking about the theme. I'll read about that when I get home. For the 10 minutes I'm there while a corps is performing, I'm really like a kid in a candy store. I'll go so far as to say, I miss things because I'm so happy to hear the performance. Edited May 10, 2013 by LincolnV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) I understand what you are saying, but from my perspective, the "feel" of the brass as it hits your face for 10 minutes, let alone a whole night's show, puts me in another dimension. I like the sound of the brass lines too. A lot. So I know exactly what you mean. But I like the sound even better when the music coming out of brass instruments is appealing to me. Carolina Crown, on the whole, has not disappointed me on this over the last decade or so. So I'm looking forward to them again this season. Edited May 10, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I hope that sketch above doesn't mean Crown's using the same 45-degree rotated collars that Colts are. Either way, I'm cool with new unis. Loved 'em in purple, loved 'em in cream, will love them in _____. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drilltech1 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) No Plumes? Disclaimer: I don't know whether the sketch above is an image of Crown's new chameleon colors for 2013 or not. I also don't know whether they are wearing plumes or not, or a space helmet on their head. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut: I do know that CC did wear a feather in the front of their shako several years back, maybe when they wore the burnt gold sleeves and a had a brown hue to their outfit; it was one of the years near then. Maybe the Crown archivist can tell us/show us. Interestingly, weren't plumes in history originally feathers and later fabric when the birds were not so plentiful or colorful? We may have to retake Cesario's costuming class at SUNY Purchase. Just saying, a feather is not foreign to the history of Crown's outfits. Edited May 10, 2013 by drilltech1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Disclaimer: I don't know whether the sketch above is an image of Crown's new chameleon colors for 2013 or not. I also don't know whether they are wearing plumes or not, or a space helmet on their head. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut: I do know that CC did wear a feather in the front of their shako several years back, maybe when they wore the burnt gold sleeves and a had a brown hue to their outfit; it was one of the years near then. Maybe the Crown archivist can tell us/show us. Interestingly, weren't plumes in history originally feathers and later fabric when the birds were not so plentiful or colorful? We may have to retake Cesario's costuming class at SUNY Purchase. Just saying, a feather is not foreign to the history of Crown's outfits. hmm...brown and gold would be 2010 (2nd Chance). but the plume did not actually go down the front of the shako. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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