"In C" was definitely the best workshop I have attended thus far and it attracted a large audience which made it that much more exciting. This minimalist piece is such a great example of twentieth century ingenuity in the realm of composition. It was written for any number of musicians, and those that were present ranged from trombones and horns, to flutes, clarinets, oboes, singers, guitarists and percussionists, even a recorder and a xaphoon. The piece consists of 53 short phrases that can be repeated over and over for an infinite amount of time. They are to be played in order but the performers can decide for how long and whether to skip any of the phrases. We varied when everyone started playing by starting on one side of the room and continuing until everyone was playing, everyone would also take turns sitting out. The whole time there are octave C’s being played as continuous eighth notes acting as a metronome for the ensemble. It is so interesting that the development of the piece depends entirely on the musicians who are performing it! We played for about 50 minutes but it could have gone on for a lot longer. Myself and Heidi made it even more interesting by switching instruments half way through. The atmosphere that was created was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and definitely think that participating in this work is so much more effective then listening or learning about the piece.
Overall the Festival seemed to be a wonderful success and I am looking forward to the next one!
-Jill
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