Deubner-Fauchet Residency

The Deubner-Fauchet duo has had a wonderful two days here at Oxy, and cap off their residency tonight with a concert in Bird Studio at 7:30pm. It's been such a joy watching them work. They premiered four compositions by Oxy student-composers Thursday afternoon, providing feedback during a dynamic and engaged public workshop. I especially liked that the duo requested scores of the student works be projected as the pieces were played. This allowed for the audience to follow along, bringing them into the rehearsal process. It's always a delight when professional musicians like Brett and Caroline make their prodigious talents accessible to students, and they've done just that for the students here. 

Prior to their premiering the work at Cal State L.A., I had the chance yesterday to hear my commission from Brett, Cadenza & Aria for the first time. I'm so grateful that they've put in the time and effort to make such a challenging work sound effortless. And it was really nice to hear Caroline on piano; she plays the piece with a wonderful sensitivity that on the surface may seem to belie her strength and power as a pianist. Upon close listening however, one can't help but notice that such subtlety requires a strong and determined musical mind. 

These words, and the sentiments behind them, would be hyperbolic were it not for the many hours of time and effort musicians like Brett and Caroline put into shaping a phrase, or contextualizing that phrase within a piece; if they did not stand on stage after stage with bright and sharp lights on them and demonstrate their determination, time and again, to shape a musical experience from scratches and scraps on a page. But the fact of the matter is there were some harrowing moments that led to the good of the past two days, and I know that I'm grateful for their journey with Cadenza & Aria, and with all the works on tonight's program. Their musical journeys help affirm and shape my own.