Sep/090
Homage to Bob Creech
This is an attempt at a homage (or an homage – pronounce it as ye will) to Bob Creech, and a poor one at that.
Not being a Classical music connoisseur, let alone a buff, I’m not privy to what Bob Creech has achieved in a lifetime of dedication to Classical Music and the education of children in Classical Music. But I know, from the lips of many internationally renowned classical musicians who have given freely of their time in successive Summer Music on the Shannon festivals, that his achievements are gargantuan. I let it to those in the know to fill in the details.
I am writing from my personal experience of Bob Creech.
When Bob asked me to take over the running of the SMS office in UCH, from his wonderful wife Nancy 5 years ago, I was both flattered and petrified. I was flattered because I couldn’t understand why Bob could have such faith in me since, to my mind, I hadn’t proven that I could manage anything, let alone the chaotic maelstrom that was Summer Music on the Shannon. I was petrified because I lacked the confidence and belief in myself that I could do it. Yet, such was my respect for Bob that I could not refuse his request, so I accepted.
That first year in UCH was utter hell for me. SMS didn’t have an office, but was situated in the open area of the ground floor in the Foundation Building between the toilets and the Emergency Exit. I think that says something about how UCH saw the programme at the time – I may rue saying this, but I’ve never been a shrinking violet when it comes to speaking my mind and I don’t intend to start being one now. All that was between the office staff and the outside world were some hastily assembled tables. I remember being constantly worried about somebody making off with our computer equipement, despite the fact that our computer equipment was so outdated as to be worthless, so nobody in their right minds would have touched it anyway. I always did make sure to take my laptop with me wherever I went, however. What was worse was having to talk to the parents of the children on the programme. I felt a mixture of terror, fright, confusion and embarrasment (not necessarily in that order) everytime somebody asked me a question. This heady mix was enhanced by a healthy dollop of worry that something would go drastically wrong, with panic waiting in the wings to make a grand entrance when it did. Eventually I got used to dealing with the public and I relaxed a bit. I think it was only after the third year that I felt I had a handle on how things worked, and more importantly, on how things didn’t work and what to do when they didn’t.
Experience is a great teacher.
[To be continued...]
Aug/090
End of week 3 almost
It’s almost the end of week 3 of Summer Music on the Shannon. Just one week to go!
Everyone is exhausted. You can see it in their eyes, in their stances as they lug their weary bodies round the Foundation Building, or prop themselves against the nearest vertical surface for a moment’s respite. The amount of work put in by everybody is phenomenal. The faculty is unstinting in their dedication to their students as they give private tuition, take groups of students for class, or sectionals (I must ask Bruce Dunn to explain what exactly that is), do rehearsals for both the student-faculty concerts and the professional concerts, stay up late at night transposing from C to b flat (or visa-versa), meet with colleagues to see how to improve things, endlessly day in day out for 2 whole weeks!
The students (especially the more dedicated serious ones) also put in long hours learning new pieces, practicing scales, honing newly acquired skills and tips, and rehearsing endlessly (so it seems) in sectionals, quartets, quintets, trios, and full orchestras.
The behind the scenes staff work tremendously hard to keep everything running smoothly as far as possible. There is the office staff who manage the accommodation allocation (always a difficult and time-consuming task), do the printing and photocopying of transposed pieces for the faculty, print off lunch and dinner vouchers, posters informing everybody of bus times, schedules, informal concerts, rehearsals, organize activities such as the daily Options period, co-ordinate the one-a-week private lessons and the master classes, sell tickets for the annual Barbeque, and generally provide a communications centre for the programme. Then there are the supervisors who ensure that curfew is observed by the under-18s in residence and make certain that they get up in time to catch the SMS shuttle bus to UCH each morning, manage the shopping for breakfast supplies including delivery to new arrivals and replenishment for those already in residence, accompany those who have chosen the swims option to the 50m swimming pool, help out with the art option, sell programmes at the nightly concerts, and generally be available as extra transport when somebody needs urgent picking up or dropping off.
And then there is the transport staff of drivers who ferry everybody from accommodation to UCH each morning, and back in the evening, as well as transporting the players to the different concerts, be they in UCH or St. Mary’s Cathedral, or the Georgian House, or in Kilmallock, Bruff, Kilrush or Kilkee, and delivering the students and parents to same. There is also the weighty matter of transport of equipment and props for the concerts.
And I haven’t even mentioned the UCH staff who provide the essential support in the background without which the programme could not run at all.
So it’s not surprising, given the amount of hectic activity, that everybody without exception is very tired this Friday night/Saturday morning. No doubt some are in bed asleep, but I can guarantee that most are still discussing what needs to be done to ensure that tomorrow’s concert is a success.
On that note, I’ll sign off and go to bed.
Jul/090
Less than 24 hours to go to registration for residents
By this time tomorrow evening Ana Marques and Patrick Stack will have completed the registration for the resident Opera faculty and students, purchased and delivered breakfast supplies to their rooms, and given them their keys. I can’t believe that it’s so close.
I’ve spent the day trying to finish one of three projects I’m working on. Although I haven’t finished it I’ve made very good progress.
The ever helpful Nancy Creech will deliver the printed sheets of badges this evening and tonight we will need to cut them out and put them in their plastic holders for the Opera faculty and students. It’s going to be a busy night.
Jul/090
Aspen Colorado Music Festival has inspired SMS
Bob Creech said I should look at what they’re doing in Aspen Colorado@ Aspen Festival Music.
It’s been going since 1949 – this is its 60th year.
(You can find a link over on the right hand side of this blog.)
“… Aspen continues to bring the brightest young musicians together with the classical music world’s foremost instructors. More than 750 students and 200 artist-faculty come each year, as the Festival and School gathers musical influences from far and wide to create a unique hub of innovation and exploration through rich instrumental and vocal programs and so much more. Join us.”
I look forward to finding out more about Aspen Music Festival, especially how young musicians work with experienced ones.
The other place Bob Creech recommended I look at is Tanglewood – but that’s another story.
Jul/093
SMS on the move: the challenge of getting this blog off the ground
How on earth will we build up a following, a readership, an audience?
That’s what I’m wondering.
On the one hand, there’s this extraordinary “event”, SMS, which already has a personality – a rich, textured, tuneful history…
Years of remarkable effort & successes.
SMS has transformed lives.
One of my wife’s friends contacted me from London to say:
“How do you know Bob Creech? My son was at SMS for 5 years. It was wonderful.”
I only began hearing stories about SMS recently. The stories grabbed my imagination & influenced me. The more I hear, the more I feel open-mouthed about what been achieved over the years.
Then there’s this blog.
A new kid on the block. Hardly anyone over 35 in Ireland knows what a blog is. (OK, I exaggerate.) But I bet almost all the kids who come to SMS this year know about Bebo… I bet they use the internet a lot.
So this format, this platform, is tuned into the world of the future.
Hopefully, if we do it well, we’ll have plenty of older people coming here because it’s going to be interesting.
There won’t be all that much stuff about SMS in traditional media (newspapers, TV, radio): there’ll be plenty here.