Overture Magazine - 2015-2016 Season November-December 2015 | Page 13

to push the collaboration to something that has
more in common with a classical program than
a pop program and to create a compelling, challenging, and original experience for the audience.”
In his arrangements, he says, “I worked hard to
give the orchestra players a lot to dig into.” Brittelle
has written a new piece scheduled to premiere as
part of Pulse.
Brittelle says collaborations like the one with
the BSO “help to reframe the conversation about
classical music.” And they are part of a heartening trend, he says. “I’ve noticed a huge change in
the desire of orchestra leadership to bring in new
music. Pulse is a wonderful way to put new ideas
in the forefront.”
He says he finds it “thrilling that an orchestra
of Baltimore’s stature is putting together something like Pulse.”

JOR DAN AU GUST

JOR DAN AU GUST

contemporary composer’s Symphony No. 3,
says Hersh, “is very intimate,” evoking a similar
sense of “under-the-surface emotion” as some
of Dawes’ songs, he says. Dawes and the BSO
shared the stage on September 24.
Scott Mullins, program director and interim
general manager for the radio station WTMD, a
partner in the series, worked with Blumenthal to
winnow down the list of indie bands, ultimately
presenting Hersh with about a dozen potentials.
“We put a lot of thought into selecting just the
right bands for the series,” says Mullins, who drew
from the popular repertoire of the radio station,
which uses the tagline “radio for music people.”
Teaming up with WTMD, says Blumenthal,
puts the BSO in touch with a savvy audience. “We
looked closely at their playlists and the artists they
play a lot. The indie rock groups are open to the
possibilities of this mixing of genres,” he says.
The November 12 Pulse concert brings Wye
Oak to the Meyerhoff stage. The Baltimore band
was a natural for the series, not only for their local
roots, but because its two members, Andy Stack
and Jenn Wasner, have been experimenting with
symphonic music of late. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based
composer William Brittelle has been working on
a series of electro-acoustic orchestral art songs for
Wye Oak called Spiritual America. In March, Wye
Oak performed with the Alabama Symphony.
Brittelle’s goal with Spiritual America, he says, “is

Each Pulse concert includes a shared
set between BSO members and the
band (top), and a chance for conductor
Nicholas Hersh (above right) to chat with
musicians, here with Dawes’ lead singer
Taylor Goldsmith.

LISTENING FOR FRUITFUL PAIRINGS

How did Nicholas Hersh decide on the classical pieces to match with each indie rock band?
Overall, says the conductor for Pulse, the choices come from his gut. “Bringing these styles together,” he admits,
“is in some ways comparing apples and oranges. But they’re all fruit.”

Dawes, September 24

Wye Oak, November 12
JOHN LUTHER A DAMS,
BECOME RIVER

Dr. Dog, March 24

IGOR STRAVINSKY, SUITE FROM
L’HISTOIRE DU SOLDAT

The Lone Bellow, April 28

“Dawes evokes one basic mood in each
song. They use fairly simple repeating
harmonic structures, and their lyrics
convey a strong sense of imagery. Philip
Glass’s Third Symphony is very intimate,
it’s almost a Rorschach test—everyone
brings their own experience to it. The
band’s “A Little Bit of Everything” is a
ballad narrating the lives of three different
people and the trials of human life.”

“Luther Adams came up as a rocker
himself. He and his buddies listened to
Frank Zappa and his influences, which
included early 20th-century composers.
It’s a big circle. Wye Oak uses electronic
and acoustic textures to add fundamental
elements and Luther Adams does the
same thing. He’ll add layers to create a
sort of wash, a contourless mass of sound
that builds and builds.”

“When I listened to Dr. Dog, I heard
Stravinsky almost immediately. What
they do rhythmically is almost exactly
what Stravinsky does. Stravinsky
uses varying melodic patterns over
a consistent, looping base rhythm. In
Soldat, Stravinsky uses what’s essentially
a drum set, a smorgasbord of percussion
that creates a drum loop. Dr. Dog uses
a similar setup to create their beats.”

“This was one was the easiest. It’s the
Americana sound. The Lone Bellow
style is the same thing Copland brought
to classical music. In the same way that
Copland takes a traditional American
Shaker hymn, Simple Gifts, and creates
a classicized composition around it,
The Lone Bellow uses kernels of
traditional folk songs to create
something new and unique.”

PHILIP GLASS,
SYMPHONY NO. 3

A ARON COPLAND,
APPALACHIAN SPRING SUITE

NOVEMBER– DECEMBER 2015 |

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