On July 30, Santa Cruz Shakespeare will present a staged reading of The Formula, a modern reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by playwright Kathryn Chetkovich, for one night at the Grove. Chetkovich spoke to GT about her take on the Bard’s classic.
How did the idea come to you?
KATHRYN CHETKOVICH: The play got kicked off for me in part by thinking about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and how, at the heart of the comic events of that play, there’s a character who needs a magic potion to fall back in love with the ‘right’ person for him. We live in an era in which nearly half of marriages end in divorce, and yet the myth of ‘the one’ strongly persists. With The Formula, I wanted to write a play that has sympathy for that wish, and that also questions it, gives us a glimpse of the damage it can do.
Do you think you might be robbing Shakespeare’s original of some of its enchantment by having the plot’s outrageous mix-up caused by chemistry, rather than magic?
Just to be clear: I am not going head-to-head with Shakespeare! I liked playing with the idea of taking the world we already live in, one in which we already have drugs to adjust moods and mental states, and pushing it just a little further: If you could take a drug to fall or stay in love, would you?
Is comedy especially difficult to write?
I suspect writers always think whatever they’re doing is the hardest possible thing they could have chosen. But yes, comedy is hard. It needs to look effortless, for one thing. And it’s very personal; not everybody finds the same things funny. So much has to happen in the playing—the actors have to have the gift of comic timing, and just the right touch, and they need to know how to create what’s funny without pointing to it as funny. When all those actorly things are clicking, memorably hilarious things can happen, even with a single word. I still laugh when I think of J. Todd Adams saying ‘remuneration’ as Costard in a Shakespeare Santa Cruz production almost 10 years ago.
How can actors affect the success of this play?
The words are important, obviously, but a play is a performance; everything ultimately depends on the actors. That’s especially true for comedy, I think. When the scene turns a corner and is suddenly more serious or painful, it’s the actors who can make that turn and bring us along.
A rom-com with a subtext of edgy uncertainty—is it possible to marry these two theatrical tropes, the satisfying ending and the nagging doubt?
As a title, ‘The Formula’ refers to this chemical cocktail that can create feelings of love, but it’s also a nod to the genre of romantic comedy and our expectations for what’s supposed to happen and who will end up with whom. I like a play that makes you think and feel as well as laugh, and I think for both Ellen [Maguire, the director] and me, the goal here is to find that balance—a play that’s a comic ride all the way along, but that also stays with you after it’s over.
On a scale of 1 to 10, just how excruciating is it as a playwright to sit through a staging of your own characters doing what you’ve written for them to do?
Just about every character in this play gets hurt or behaves badly at one point or another In life. I tend to avoid conflict and chaos, and my characters often start out polite and careful—and then I have to keep pushing to get underneath that surface and let them take the risk, say the awful thing, make the terrible mistake. Stories aren’t about well-adjusted characters going through pleasantly uneventful days, after all. That’s not why we go to the theater.
What we’ll see next week is a staged reading. What can audiences expect to see and experience?
A staged reading has minimal rehearsal, no props, no costumes, and very little, if any, stage direction. The actors are holding their scripts. So it’s a very stripped-down form of dramatic storytelling. But there’s also something exciting about it—the actors are creating a world out of almost nothing, and the audience becomes part of the process by helping to fill in that world with their imaginations.
‘The Formula,’ by Kathryn Chetkovich, a staged reading, 90 minutes, no intermission. Tuesday, July 30, 7:30 p.m. at The Grove in Delaveaga Park. Free. santacruzshakespeare.org
Jake Ward asks deep questions, like, “Can we throw it all away/Can we leave this shallow place/Can we leave it all behind/And be finally alive?” Those are from “Nothing Else,” the first song off his band Watch Me Breathe’s upcoming sophomore album The Strange Pull of What You Really Love. And Ward doesn’t have an answer for them.
“In a way this album is much less personal than [2018’s The Lighter Side of Darkness],” he explains. “And much more observational about society and things that don’t make sense to me.”
The lyrics are poetic and thought-provoking, all under the guise of radio-ready, alt-rock melodies—or what he calls “progressive pop-rock.”
“A lot of people use genre as an opportunity to identify with other bands,” he says. “I’m more interested in inventing a new genre that makes people go, ‘What is that? I want more.’”
Originally begun in 2017 as a solo project, Ward adopted the name Watch Me Breathe to avoid the singer-songwriter ego-stroking and let the music speak for itself. He still plays all the instruments for the recordings, but is joined by Ryan Green on bass and his brother Carl Ward on drums for live gigs.
Ward has worked with a number of local musicians, including Tess Dunn and Alex Abreu, as a producer and engineer, through his recording studio and company Jake’s Lab.
“I spend a lot of my time producing, which I love, and it pays much better than being a musician,” he says.
9 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $7. 429-6994.
Mortals rarely master the life-giving art of baking great bread. At least not quite the way the pros at Companion Bakeshop have.
But even amateurs can polish their baking skills to a high gloss by taking one of Companion’s mouth-watering classes, starting with a July 31 Summer Pie Workshop from 5-8 p.m. The very hands-on classes are kept small, 10 to 15 students at most. All are held in the kitchens of Companion’s mothership on Mission Street in Santa Cruz.
You’ll take your baking skills to another level and learn about ingredients, beautiful presentation, professional techniques, and tricks to create satisfying results. At the Sept. 1 Sourdough Basics class, for example, you’ll not only learn the basics of bread making, but students will take home their own sourdough starter and a loaf of bread as well. (There’s a Jan. 15 sourdough class, too.) The Oct. 5 class builds skills for brunch pastries—galettes, scones, quiche, oh my. November and December classes focus on holiday pies and holiday sugar cookie decorating.
Classes are offered at various times, including afternoons and evenings, so there’s no excuse to avoid becoming a better baker. Cost is $80 and includes a take-home example of the pastry created in class.
It was the opening night of Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and my friends Tom, Ellen and I needed a quick dinner before we drove up to Delaveaga Park. Oyunaa Mongolian Cuisine, with its luscious dumplings, was our choice. We walked to the door only to find that a sudden PG&E power outage had closed Oyunaa’s doors for the next few hours. So we headed for Jaguar, a few doors down Soquel Avenue, only to find that it was also closed—permanently. What is it with Midtown? Why aren’t there more dining choices, and why do the ones that take a stab often fail to succeed? (Big questions, for sure, and ones we’ll be exploring in future columns.)
We sprinted for Lillian’s and were quickly accommodated. Small table in the bar OK? Yes! Orders taken swiftly, and pasta also arrived quickly—along with those gooey, delicious arancini. Thank god for Lillian’s, always full but somehow able to squeeze in a few more. But seriously, there just aren’t enough choices in this neck of the woods.
Orin Martin Tells All
Orchard wizard Orin Martin, UCSC’s Alan Chadwick Garden guru, has a new book coming out in late August, Fruit Trees for Every Garden, from 10 Speed/Penguin Random House and written with daughter Manjula Martin. Stay tuned for more about a book celebration Sept. 15 at the UCSC Hay Barn. Orin Martin’s definitive book is available for pre-order now!
The 7th-annual Mole & Mariachi Festival gets down and spicy on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park. That meansMariachi bands including Mariachi Feminil Orgullo Mexicano, folk dancers, kids’ activities, and the main event: the Mole Tasting Competition. Mole—an unforgettable sweet and savory Mexican sauce, often containing chocolate and sensational on everything from chicken to ice cream—will be available to sample. Tasting kits will be available for purchase; six tasting tickets for $10.
Festival attendees can also purchase a wide variety of mole-inspired food items from local vendors who will be selling tamales, tacos and more at this admission-free, solar-powered, zero-waste community event.
Quién es más macho? Certainly not Casey, the hapless, sad-sack protagonist of The Art Of Self-Defense.
Casey’s self-imposed quest to overcome his fear of, well, everything is at the heart of this dark, subversive black comedy that skewers the popular notion of “manhood.”
Written and directed by Riley Stearns, the movie begins with a simple enough premise, like one of those Charles Atlas body-building ads that used to be found in comic books in the ’50s and ’60s: nerdy little guy suffers humiliation and decides to shape a new life for himself as a tough guy. Casey, played by Jesse Eisenberg in a state of all-consuming anxiety, wants to be a “real man” in the worst way, and that’s exactly how he begins to achieve his goal as his journey becomes ever more brutal and surreal. The movie is like a fever dream of Fight Club, as reimagined by Woody Allen.
Eisenberg’s Casey is an accounting drone so faceless his fellow employees don’t even know who he is; he can’t hang with the trash-talking guys in the break room at work. Even his phone answering machine disses him: “You have only one message. Nobody else left you a message.”
One night, walking home with a bag of doggy chow for his only companion—his Dachshund—he’s beset by a gang of helmeted bikers who beat the tar out of him for no reason. Determined to stop being a victim who’s afraid of everything, Casey enrolls at a karate school run by a fierce alpha male who goes only by “Sensei” (Alessandro Nivola). “I want to be what intimidates me,” Casey tells his new mentor.
He’s come to the right place. Sensei rules his dojo with an iron fist (and foot), and tolerates no perceived weakness, not even from a novice like Casey. After a few painful humiliations, Casey learns enough moves to graduate to the next level, yellow belt. But—surprise!—his newfound abilities do not automatically guarantee the respect he craves. For that, he has to engage in ever-more-draconian behavior, which eventually begins to nag at his own inner moral code. When Casey is invited to start attending Sensei’s exclusive and mysterious night classes, the question becomes how much of himself he is willing to give up to become a monster of his own creation.
Some satirical bits are predictable (although still amusing), as when Sensei schools Casey in more “masculine” lifestyle choices. But it’s silly when Casey gets real leather belts made for his classmates in their appropriate karate-level colors, and Sensei is absurdly touched by the black one he receives. You can get a black leather belt at any Kmart. A subplot about Anna (Imogen Poots), the only female at the dojo, never quite gels; she’s just there to provoke some trendy feminist ire over her ill-treatment.
But the movie scores points in many more subtle moments. A gunshop dealer explains to Casey the principle of handgun registration, saying, “You can’t just walk in off the street to buy a gun to shoot somebody. You have to wait two weeks to do that.” Even the guys in the break room roll over in obedience when Casey puts on the appearance of a bully; that’s what they respect. And in a twisted narrative full of surprises—never assume you know where this movie is going—the finale packs the most explosive punch.
THE ART OF SELF DEFENSE
(***)
With Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots. Written and directed by Riley Stearns. A Bleecker Street release. Rated R. 104 minutes.
Reggae is spiritual music, and New York artist Matisyahu explores his Judaism with the same intense emotional fervor as Jamaican Rastafarians.
Since his first record in 2004, he’s produced incredible, Grammy-winning songs that use reggae as their base, but incorporate alt-rock and hip-hop as well.
His most recent album Undercurrent is a much more personal, vulnerable record, a concept album that tells Matisyahu’s own personal story. It’s also a much more stripped-down offering than anything he’s released since he started playing music.
9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $26.50. Information: catalystclub.com.
WANT TO GO?
Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 5, to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.
Let me start by quoting Santa Cruz winery owners John Locke and Alex Krause: “You can’t be too rich, too beautiful or too birichino.” The word means “mischievous” or “naughty” in Italian, and there’s a lot to be said for that!
Locke and Krause’s Malvasia Bianca 2018 ($17) is one of the most popular wines they make at Birichino, where sales have skyrocketed. Although the Malvasia grape is planted in many parts of Italy, it’s actually of Greek origin. In the winery owners’ words, “Malvasia threaded her way through the forests of Calabria before slipping ashore in California under cover of darkness.” Look for lovely fragrances of jasmine, lime blossom and elderflower—with all the delightful floral notes, it’s like a bouquet of summer flowers in your glass. Bright and invigorating, this dry white wine pairs well with a wide array of food.
If you want to try it, along with the rest of Birichino’s wines, head to their airy tasting room in downtown Santa Cruz.
Birichino, 204 Church St., Santa Cruz. 425-4811, birichino.com.
Rio Del Rhone Sale
Rio Del Rhone Rouge is an easy-drinking red blend made by the Corralitos Wine Company, which began in 1999 when a group of friends got together at harvest to bottle the fruits of their labor.
They are now closing the company and selling off most of this Rouge—but only by the case. What was once $32 a bottle is now $100 a case, so quite a deal for such a well-made wine.
Rio Del Rhone Rouge is stored in StoreMore America, 9687 Soquel Drive, Aptos. Call 687-0123 for information.
Storrs Winery at Seascape
Seascape Sports Club’s new monthly wine tastings are open to non-members. Storrs Winery is featured at the next one from 6-7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 19. For $20, you get ample wine tastings and plenty of hors d’oeuvres, plus a fun evening of mixing, mingling and live music.
The Central Coast had a booming fishing industry until about 20 years ago, says Roger Burleigh, marketing and supply chain management for Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust.
These days, most locals aren’t aware of what fish swim in the bay’s waters. The Fisheries Trust hopes to change that with Get Hooked Restaurant Week, which launches Monday, July 29, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 4. By coordinating with local restaurants, Burleigh aims to educate curious foodies and highlight the area’s fishing operations—“A way to have a genuine Monterey Bay seafood experience,” he says.
What’s your favorite fish?
ROGER BURLEIGH: One species we’re going to highlight is lingcod, and the neat thing about that species is some of the fish are blue, and their flesh looks like it was dumped in a vat of blue dye—but when you cook it, it turns white. People get freaked out by it: “Oh my god! Is that a GMO?” Nope, completely natural. It’s part of their life history. It’s a flaky white fish. It’s delicious.
What’s life like out there for those in the industry?
It’s hard. I can’t speak for the fishermen, but they have had to endure quite a lot over the decades, and there just aren’t that many young fishermen. They’re out there. But much in the same way that the demographics for farmers in this country are getting older and older, the same thing is happening with our local fleet. It’s what they call graying of the fleet. Unlike agriculture, where there’s a known input and output and timing of everything, you’re dealing with completely wild fisheries. The fishermen are at the mercy of weather, ocean conditions. And when they do catch what they’re targeting, sometimes they’re having to compete in the marketplace for foreign imports. Really, we’re trying to get them the highest value for their fish.
This event opens the door to some fun puns—“hook up,” “get hooked on local fish,” “We’ll hook you up with great fish deals.” Have you been playing around with that?
Oh, absolutely. It’s constantly running through my mind how we can spin words, and one new feature that we didn’t hold during the Monterey event is we’re holding a closing dinner at the Food Lounge, Sunday, Aug. 4—$50, four-course meal. Internationally renowned Santa Cruz chef Diego Felix is doing the catering. I’m calling it a finale dinner, with an emphasis on the “fin” part. And our tagline is “Putting Monterey Bay’s best fish forward.”
RBG mania couldn’t have come at a better time. In an era when the national discourse can be downright depressing on a daily basis, our sudden collective obsession with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has made politics fun again. And the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is giving us a reason to get excited for the Notorious RBG all over again this summer. The festival’s much-anticipated premiere of composer Kristin Kuster’s When There Are Nine, inspired by Ginsburg’s life, was the impetus for the “My Own Words: The Law and Legacy of RBG” event, which GT did a cover story about back in May. Now the main event is finally here, as the Cabrillo Festival kicks off July 28.
But what’s most interesting about Christina Waters’ cover story on the festival this week is that she goes beyond the flashiest RBG angle to look at how the festival is doing more than just talking about gender equality (the 2019 festival was conceptualized around the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage) by actually investing in the work of women composers. And in multiple interviews with those composers, she then flips the issue around again by showing how what they’re bringing to the festival is about so much more than gender. The musical visions that will be realized this year are some of the Cabrillo Festival’s most exciting ever, and I think you’ll enjoy reading about them.
GT’s cover story “Wish You Were Here” (GT, 6/26) would be dangerous if an authentic immigrant from Mexico would be able to boast about the truth of dual citizenship (which is basically what the white “ex pat” and “author”) is blabbing about. Many of us have understood the beauty, merits, and community that exists in Mexico, but many of us have not had the white privilege to bounce from one county to another. A better and more important story would for a real journalist to travel to Watsonville to talk to people who are the real deal and who can offer real insight about what it is like to exist in two countries, who have labored day in and day out, and who are now subject to political scorn, hate and violence by this “so called” democracy. Dig a little deeper for local stories GT, we know you can do it, because stories like this are far from insightful. ¿Se Puede?
Gregorio Paz
Watsonville
Shocking Declines
Thank you for the recent article informing your readers about the impact of climate change on amphibians (GT, 7/3). While in Belgium, I was chatting with a government biologist and was astounded to learn of the decline of flying insects in Southern France. He told me there had been a 75% reduction over the past 40 years. Since then I’ve learned that nature is dying everywhere, but most of the media seems unconcerned. Please make it a habit to inform your readers of what is going on. Unfortunately, rising tides and increasing storms look like secondary issues when compared to the collapse of life’s infrastructure. Food production will come under increasing pressures. Young people need to be acutely aware of how seriously climate change will impact their futures.
Mike Duffy
Scotts Valley
Thank You, Nina
Santa Cruz and the world is a much better place because of Nina Simon (GT, 6/5). Thank you, Nina for your farm-to-table exhibit. You eloquently set up a banquet table and guided us to gold-plated plates where we stared directly into the farmers’ eyes. Thank you for the foster children’s exhibit where each child unfolded their personal belongings, opening our hearts to their daily life struggles. I could go on and on, but most importantly I wanted to let you know that your spirit and impact has truly been felt, and you will be sorely missed.
Debbie Morton
Santa Cruz
Re: Nuz on Recall
This Good Times article contains biased snark. I agree that Republicans as a group make decisions that are callous. But by pointing out that Republicans can be shitbags, it’s as if you’re saying the “opposite” is automatically laudable? That’s just stupid. Drew Glover lied about there being no drug use at the Ross camp, and five people died on the premises. I consider myself to be very far left. Glover and this article are embarrassments to the group.
— Ed
Re: Expats
Terrific article about Janet, and women moving abroad. Even better was the inverted perspective on living in the U.S. Just as the U.S. needs to widen its global vision, the rest of the world needs to stop thinking of the U.S. as the only repository for the American Dream.
— Chris Watson
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GOOD IDEA
PISTON THE NIGHT AWAY
Andy’s Auto Supply, one of the oldest businesses on Pacific Avenue, will be celebrating a big anniversary on Sunday, Aug. 4—70 years after Andy Mekis first opened the downtown shop. The Mekis family is inviting friends and longtime customers to what it’s calling “a local old school afternoon.” Maple Street will be closed down, with custom cars and sepia-toned memories on display, while classic songs like “Little Deuce Coup” and “Mustang Sally” blast on the stereo.
GOOD WORK
TEAM OF THE CROP
Last month, California State Senator Bill Monning honored “Food, What?!” with the 17th District’s Nonprofit of the Year Award, prompting the group’s staff to join Monning in Sacramento for the annual California Nonprofits Day Celebration. Watsonville-based “Food, What?!” is a youth empowerment and food justice organization that engages youth in relationships with land, food and each other. It uses organic farming, nourishing food and a caring community as vehicles to help youth grow.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If I had any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.”
Kindred Herbs—a new, woman-owned plant nursery—is hosting its first medicinal plant sale, with more than 60 herbs from around the world for sale. As herbalism grows in popularity, many wild plants are being over-harvested. Kindred Herb’s medicinal plant nursery allows farmers and gardeners to grow and harvest their own herbs locally without depleting the wild populations that are at risk. There will be Ayurvedic, Chinese, European, and North American herbs; all are grown organically and have been selected for their potency and suitability for the cool Santa Cruz climate.
INFO: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21. 2014 Ocean St. Extension, Santa Cruz. kindred-herbs.com. Free entry.
Art Seen
Tiny Winery Concert Series
NPR’sTiny Desk concert series has made a name for itself by featuring small-town artists on the big audio stage. In the same spirit of showcasing local talent, Armitage Wines is launching its Tiny Winery concert series with an intimate outdoor performance by rising country music star Jesse Daniel. Daniel grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and recently received the 2019 Ameripolitan Award for honky-tonk male performer. There will be wine, snacks and tunes. Proceeds benefit Quail Hollow Integrated Arts.
Get ready to go down the rabbit hole with Flynn Creek Circus’ all new big top production Out of Hat. The show is told from a rabbit’s perspective, and explores both the magic of physics and the physics of magic. Meet the sinister magician, the bunny revolutionaries, a two-headed girl, and more. This year’s cast features the world famous “gentlemen jugglers” Kris and Harrison Kremo from Switzerland.
INFO: Varying showtimes, check online for information. SkyPark, 361 Kings Village Rd., Scotts Valley. flynncreekcircus.com. $12 child/$27 adult/$20 seniors and students.
Tuesday 7/23-Tuesday 8/7
Santa Cruz Shakespeare ‘Pay What You Will’
Summer is for outdoor theater, and in Santa Cruz, that means Shakespeare. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the summer tradition of Santa Cruz Shakespeare, regardless of finances, which is why SCS is sharing show previews at a special, donation-based price. Guests can “pay what you will” on any seat in the house, starting at a $5 minimum for The Comedy of Errors and The Winter’s Tale.
INFO: 2 and 7:30 p.m. The Audrey Stanley Grove, 501 Upper Park Rd. in Delaveaga Park, Santa Cruz. 460-6399. santacruzshakespeare.org. $5 minimum/donation.
Thursday 7/18
‘The Search for the Loch Ness Monster’
If Nessie didn’t exist, then why would Scotland have a protocol in place for when she/he is found? Guidelines under the Scottish Natural Heritage government group stipulate that if and when Nessie is captured, a DNA sample should be taken before releasing him/her back into the lake. Join guest lecturer and adventurer David Miln Smith, the first man to swim from Africa to Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar, in a talk about his love of the Loch Ness Monster, and what it was like to search for it.
INFO: 1-3 p.m. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. 420-6177. Free.
From the opening salvo honoring Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a sustained series of premieres by women composers and performers from across the globe, this year’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music will explore the leading edge of new music, weaving words and lives through experimental musical forms.
In conceptualizing the 2019 festival, which runs July 28 – Aug. 11, Music Director Cristian Măcelaru says he wanted a special focus, a historic inflection for the festival. He discovered one in the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States. “We threw around ideas. We wanted to tell an inspiring story,” he says, “and women’s suffrage, achieved 100 years ago in 1919, looked like a great way to tell the story of equality, and of making a better society.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was “the perfect role model,” the festival’s conductor says. “Somehow the arrows all pointed toward her—and this was way before all of the recent publicity around Justice Ginsburg,” Măcelaru points out.
He met with composer Kristin Kuster, and her collaborator and librettist Megan Levad. “Then Jamie Barton came to mind,” he says. “Jamie is a close friend, and she had sung at the Supreme Court at Justice Ginsburg’s request.”
The last challenge was to find “a vocal ensemble that was the equivalent of our great orchestra.” And what came to mind was the almost-uncategorizable ensemble A Roomful of Teeth.
The end result is When There Are Nine, which Măcelaru says “will tell the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s achievements in a new way, in a way based upon her own thoughts and statements.”
In addition to the ambitious When There Are Nine, composed by Kristin Kuster for soprano soloist, vocale ensemble and orchestra, this year’s festival offers a larger-than-ever landscape of work created by women.
“There are more opportunities for women in music now,” says Măcelaru, who was recently appointed Chief Conductor of the Cologne-based WDR Sinfonieorchester. “I see a conscious effort in the music industry to find a balance of all genders.”
But he insists that festival invitees weren’t chosen simply because they were women.
“Our composers and performers were chosen because they were interesting,” says Măcelaru. “It just happens that they were women. I looked for how beautiful the music was and what statement it made. And it was all ending up to make a more balanced world.”
In order to understand the musical world that this year’s festival will build, I spoke to several of the composers about the works they will bring to the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music next week.
Nina Young
‘Agnosco Veteris’ (West Coast Premiere) Friday, Aug. 2
Young’s orchestral work was commissioned by Robert Spano and the Aspen Music Festival, and interweaves distinct but partnered memories from Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Divine Comedy.
How can the non-composing listener understand your music? How would you describe your work?
NINA YOUNG:I’m a sound composer. I’m a violinist and an engineer, so for me composing is about putting things together. I want to make immersive worlds that draw you in. People can gain traction with the work if they try to find their own story within it.
Tell us about your creative process with this piece.
Agnosco Veteris, created in 2015, is very rooted in melody and harmony. Based upon a passage in Virgil’s Aeneid about grief and memory. The Trojan hero Aeneas has rekindled something in the grieving Carthaginian queen Dido—a flame. The title means, “I recognize the traces of an ancient fire.” Dante brings this quote back into the Divine Comedy, in his spiritual quest through symbolism. My piece draws on antiquity, mythology, Eastern European mysticism—a postmodern mish-mash, all together—as if they might have composed it in antiquity. I made imaginary music from a time before, a time long ago.
How is it structured?
While episodic in construction, Agnosco Veteris is divided into three large sections. Part one, the “Music of Before,” presents the thematic source material, or sonic memories. Part two, the “Music of Ritual,” is a static reflective checkpoint during which the listener can consider the musical recollections that came before. Part three, the “Music of After” is characterized by energetic renewal and presents a reconfigured collage of the musical material.
What are you working on now?
I get bored easily [laughs]. I like writing for people I love. I have a lot of work now. Three big orchestra pieces, one for the New York Philharmonic.
Writing for orchestra takes a long time. I’m influenced by Renaissance music. I really do love Renaissance polyphony, anything with bells, probably because I come from a Russian Orthodox tradition. And spectralism. Gerard Grisey was a huge influence on me, and Kaija [Saariaho] is my superhero. I also love American minimalism, Michael Gordon and David Lang. Especially David Lang [a Pulitzer Prize-winner, and—with Gordon—co-founder of the Bang on a Can post-minimalist music collective]. There’s a famous Stravinsky quote, “Good composers borrow, great composers steal.”
Hannah Lash
‘God Music, Bug Music’(West Coast Premiere) Saturday, Aug. 10
Lash’s piece, a canonic exploration in two movements, was scored for percussion, piano, harp, and strings, and received its world premiere in 2012 by the Minnesota Orchestra.
How would you describe this work?
HANNAH LASH: There are two movements, each using the same cell of five notes, though very differently. In God Music, this cell rages in the brass before it infiltrates the rest of the ensemble, and the movement culminates in rhythmic unison for the whole orchestra. In Bug Music, the motif is expressed canonically in a chamber-like setting, slowly swarming its way into all the instruments, finally reaching full saturation: a breakdown of the canonic structure into a fully chromatic cluster.
What do you think about the abundance of women composers and soloists this year?
It’s unfortunate that people genderize—it’s terribly limiting. There really is no set of characteristics that denote “women’s music.” The fact that we’re conscious of a need for equal representation is great. But to break an art form into gender categories diminishes the work.
Do you currently perform on the harp as well as compose for it?
Yes. Being a harp soloist is half of my career. I recently completed a harp double concerto for the Seattle Symphony. I’m currently developing a chamber orchestra piece. A large part of my schedule is also performing the repertoire—Debussy, for example—as well as my own compositions.
What is your process?
I begin by using my ears. Imagining the sounds. Then I sketch by hand, and finally I move to an instrument, the piano.
What do you see in the future for New Music?
I am afraid that the idea that new music is non-melodic or difficult is an assumption, a generalization. I want to get away from linear thinking. For me, there’s just different things happening, and different time periods. No one is more evolved than the other. New Music is often thought to be rigorous and thorny, which is regrettable. That trend of thought shouldn’t be perpetuated. I just want to jump into a sea where we can enjoy everything.
What do you enjoy about the Cabrillo Festival?
It’s always fun to hear one’s music played. And in an art form that involves performance, and so it can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes well, sometimes not. This is a wonderful orchestra, so it’s great to hear the piece performed by Cabrillo.
Kirstin Kuster
‘When There are Nine’ (World Premiere, 2019 Festival Commission) Friday, Aug. 2
Kuster’s work, based upon poems by Megan Levad, features the solo work of renowned opera soprano Jamie Barton [Fricka in the last year’s Ring at the Metropolitan Opera], and the innovative sound work of vocal ensemble A Roomful of Teeth.
Did the historic significance of the title ‘When There are Nine’ inflect your compositional tone and style?
KIRSTIN KUSTER: The most significant influences on my writing for this piece were RBG as an icon, and Megan Levad’s poetry/libretto. Megan’s writing is extremely athletic and nuanced, and she has beautifully captured the significance of When There are Nine as her words unfold throughout the nine movements. Megan references Justice Ginsburg’s writings and important legal opinions, and she weaves and spins an overarching narrative of how significant RBG’s presence and lifetime of work is for our culture.
How did you begin composing for voice and chorale?
This piece is a mere pile of notes without Megan’s words. Having the sounds of both soloist Jamie Barton and Roomful of Teeth’s immense color palettes and sonic versatility was a tremendous gift. They are unspeakably great! I felt a real freedom to write sounds that are sometimes complex, while sustaining the meaning and poignancy of Megan’s words.
Did Megan send you the nine poems around the life of RBG and pivotal issues in her career? Megan and I have written a lot of pieces in collaboration. I came up with the idea for the title, and having nine poems. We exchanged articles and interviews featuring RBG. Then Megan went to work. The minute I read her words, I heard music—immediately.
What were the special pleasures—and challenges—of making this piece?
The entire process has been a pleasure. I love working with Megan. I love the sounds of Jamie and Roomful of Teeth. I love the Cabrillo Festival orchestra. My primary challenge was to keep from making this big piece even longer!
You’ve written about strong women, inspired by strong women—Marin Alsop has been a mentor and leader in opening up the musical field to more women. Many women consider RBG a superhero. Did you channel some of that same energy when you approached this world premiere festival commission?
While writing, I felt the strength of every strong person who identifies as female whom I’ve known—my mother, my sisters, my friends, my colleagues, my friends’ children, our students, artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, and athletes whose work I admire. My hope is that this piece will serve as a thank-you note to all of our women.
Anna Clyne
‘DANCE’ cello concerto, (World Premiere) Saturday, Aug. 3
Clyne’s work, jointly commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival and the Baltimore Symphony, was inspired by the poems of Rumi, for the Cabrillo Festival orchestra and cellist Inbal Segev.
How would you describe this concerto?
It was initially inspired by Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. The piece is short, involves repetition, a clear form of five lines, and a strong physicality—the five movements according to the five lines of the poem. People will find more diversity in it than Within Her Arms, which was performed at the festival four years ago. It’s more dynamic, not as tender. This concerto is a real challenge. You have to be mindful of the balance, especially with a low instrument like the cello.
You’ve been here to this festival at least three times in the past. Why does Cabrillo continue to draw you?
I love being here at the Cabrillo Festival. It’s a chance to hear the other composers, which is so very inspiring. And the orchestra! Very accurate orchestral performances. It’s a wonderful community.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on a 15-minute piece inspired by Haydn’s famously playful 60th Symphony called Sound and Fury. It’s programmed at the festival in Lyons, along with the Haydn Symphony itself, and with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra [where Clyne is the newly-appointed Associate Composer].
THE CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music runs July 28 – August 11, with all performances at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. Ticket prices for individual concerts range from $15 – $65; there is also a $375 full-subscription package. A Free Family Concert will be presented as part of the Church Street Fair on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m. For a complete schedule, go to cabrillomusic.org.
