I am happy to report that my poem, Spice of Life was featured in the July-August – Issue 3 of Utah Life magazine. This is a fantastic new publication that is worthy of a subscription if you like reading about Utah out-of-doors activities, and history in good essays, articles and poetry. Issue 3 is on newsstands now. Here’s the link to the magazine.
Copyright, 2018. Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat
Images used with permission from the editors at Utah Life magazine.
semi-professional*:
‘a semi-professional musician’
‘My parents were lay musicians, but Dad was more of a semi-professional.’
*Note, the above definitions, from the Oxford Dictionary, do not mention anything regarding quality, worthiness, or merit of said activities
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I make my living from a combination of university teaching, conducting part-time ensembles, and occasionally performing on viola. As a conductor of several types of ensembles, and a teaching and performing musician as well, I consider all of my activity to be “professional-based.” Yet the music industry often does not always agree, as it assigns arbitrary value based on perceived prestige of any activity. What is often deemed important is often no more than a matter of who you know, where you studied, and being in the right place at the right time. There is also the plain fact that once you get a break and do something with it, then you are on your way. (That last one is a good thing if you can maintain it).
Not so fast, you say. This sounds a bit like sour grapes. I assure you it is not. I am quite comfortable in my life and consider myself as maintaining and continuing to build a successful career. But time and again, I hear things, read reviews and see evidence that the industry often discriminates, not on artistic grounds, but on other dubious criteria. The topic du jour, then, is artistic merit based on factors that the artist has little control over; namely what is and is not considered to be a “top-tier” experience; as case-in-point, a simple word-designation: the dreaded “semi-professional label.”
In my opinion, it is high time the musical-world eliminate the practice of labeling an activity as “semi-professional.” This is particularly true as it’s assigned, whether deliberately of by inference, as a signifier of worthiness or quality. Simply put, “semi-professional” is not considered to be as worthy as “fully-professional.”
But I’ll counter that if one is paid, it is professional activity. Period. If one continues to receive pay engaged in such activity, whether from one organization or by cobbling together various opportunities, it is still professional work, and is part of one’s “professional profile.” Whether intended or not, no penalty should be assigned due to location, budget size, number of concerts/recordings of a group or individual, or perceived prestige of an organization. Work in the field is work. Work builds into more work, and if it is good, it will be sustainable. I am only one example among thousands that this is true in the arts.
Here are some interesting facts:
Some of the finest musicians I know cobble together a career consisting of various opportunities: performing in several orchestras, multiple teaching positions, freelance work, composing, writing reviews and articles, etc. I know musicians in practically every state in the U.S. and also in countries in both Europe and Asia. Most of them are engaged in professional work, regardless of their employment status with any particular organization. All of them are committed, engaged musicians. They work in the field. All work is professional work.
I’ll likely not change the English language, nor the opinion and practices of the music industry. But I will contend that all musical activity is professional, especially when the musician is paid. Anything less would be semi-genuine.
Copyright, July 5, 2018. Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat.
Definition source:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/semi-professional
The Sinfonia Salt Lake Sextet, David Price, violin, Cassie Olson, cello, Christina Castellanos, flute, Henry Caceres, clarinet, Jed Moss, piano and Henry Caceres, clarinet will perform 4 world premieres at the Utah Arts Festival, including the prize winning commission by Saad Haddad. Music director, Robert Baldwin will conduct.
The concert will feature the world premiere performance of the 2018 Utah Arts Festival Chamber Commission, Azwaj by Saad Haddad. Other music on the program is by composers, Stephen Jones, Ethan Wickman, and Chad Cannon. This FREE performance at the Arts Festival does not require Arts Festival admission. Enter through the Salt Lake City Library to access the auditorium.
Here’s a great review article on the composer and piece that won this year’s commission:
Sinfonia Salt Lake Sextet from L to R: Jed Moss, Jeremy Megginson, Christina Castellanos, Henry Caceres, Cassie Olson, David Price, Robert Baldwin.
To me, the opportunity to perform a masterwork is similar to being allowed to touch a sculpture by a great artist like Michelangelo or Rodin. To feel every texture and contour, tracing your fingers where the master artist made his/her creation; each texture, rise and fall an imprint on eternity. What’s more, if you look deeply enough, there is artistic DNA embedded there. And like a scientist, secrets will be revealed to the performing musician who studies and prepares with patience, focus and openness. Then those secrets soon begin to work their inner magic on the initiate.
A musical score that weaves through the personal landscape while still clothed in tradition, Mozart’s Requiem is one of those works that is as satisfying both to the audience as well as to the performers–intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. We will preface the massive K.626 with one of Mozart’s other final and fantastically personal choral works, also written in the last months of his life, the ever-so-poignant Ave verum corpus, K. 618. Tender and introspective, it provides a perfect scene-setter to the Requiem.
Yes, I’m excited about this weekend’s performance. I cannot assure that you will be transported to a different plane of existence, but why take the chance that you may miss out? It’s something special! I hope you can join us.
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Mozart’s Coda
Saturday May 19, 2018 7:30 pm
Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Salt Lake City
Julie Wright Costa, soprano, Kirstin Chavez, mezzo-soprano, Robert Breault, tenor, Seth Keeton, bass
Utah Voices, chorus
Mozart Ave verum corpus
Mozart Requiem
Mozart’s Requiem has long been hailed as one of the great masterpieces of western art. To listen to this music is to be transported to a different time and space. Come hear the Salt Lake Symphony, Utah Voices and U of U Faculty Voice Quartet perform this masterpiece, as we bring our season to a close with style and gravitas. It’s a fitting end to a grand season of music.
Tickets: $15.
Available from utahvoices.org, or at the door with cash, check or credit card.
Free Parking for Libby Gardner Hall: 100 South and Wolcott (1450 East)
For Immediate Release:
Sinfonia Salt Lake and Music Director Robert Baldwin are pleased to announce the 2018-2019 season. This season will feature many of the elements that Sinfonia Salt Lake has been known for since it’s founding in 2015: quality music, professional performances and an engaging musical experience. The 2018-2019 season will include favorites by Tchaikovsky, Respighi, Bach and Dvorak, as well as new works by Utah Composers.
Ticket information for all concerts, except the December program, is available at www.sinfoniasaltlake.com. For the December concert, patrons should visit: utahdiplomacy.org
An ensemble of local professional musicians, Sinfonia Salt Lake provides a refreshing face to the local Salt Lake City arts scene. Committed to offering engaging music rarely heard at traditional concerts, SSL offers an eclectic repertoire of music from the Baroque era through the present day shared in intimate concert venues. Sinfonia Salt Lake is proud to partner with Musician’s Toolkit, Utah Council for Citizen’s Diplomacy, the Utah Arts Festival and the Salty Cricket Composers Collective for the 2018-2019 season.
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Sinfonia Salt Lake Concerts for 2018-2019 Season
Monday, September 17: Late Summer Serenades, Melissa Heath, soprano
First United Methodist Church. 203 South 200 East, SLC 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 1: Vivaldi by Candlelight – “Ciao, London!”
Gerald Elias, Guest Conductor. Partnership with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy. First Presbyterian Church. 12 C Street, SLC 7:30 p.m. For tickets to this performance, please visit utahdiplomacy.org
Monday, January 7: Sinfonia Spotlight, featuring music with a Utah Connection, Celebrating Salty Cricket Composers Collective 10th Anniversary
First United Methodist Church, 203 South 200 East, SLC 7:30 p.m.
Monday, March 18: Looking Forward, Looking Bach
First United Methodist Church, 203 South 200 East, SLC 7:30 p.m.
Bonus events:
Benefit recitals featuring Sinfonia Salt Lake musicians on August 27, 2018 and May 6, 2019 where the ensemble members will partner with a local charity to raise money and awareness for their cause. First United Methodist Church, 203 South 200 East, SLC 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 2019: Utah Arts Festival Composer’s Commission Concert
Salt Lake City Library Auditorium. 4:00 p.m. Free admission.
Photo by Hannah Galli, Inner Art.
Traveling down memory lane to one of the most haunting songs I know. When I was a kid, I remember hearing ELP’s “Lucky Man” for the first time, getting wrapped up in it, and then being blown away when the last verse hit:
A bullet had found him
His blood ran as he cried
No money could save him
So he laid down and he died
Historical fact: the song was almost not recorded. (From Wikipedia): “On the last day of recording their debut album, Emerson, Lake & Palmer discovered they were short of satisfying the label’s contract requirement of 21 minutes of music per album side, and therefore needed one more song. Greg Lake began playing “Lucky Man”, a song he had written when he was 12 years old.”
12 freaking years old? Such depth….and that Moog synth – first time EVER used in a piece of popular music. And the arc and lyrics of the song. Amazing.
I am not sure there will be another creative team quite the same as Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer in popular music. Please help me understand if I am missing some creative genius on the current popular music scene. I highly doubt it. (I’m speaking of true compositional ingenuity, not a creative performer. There are plenty of those).
Much of ELP’s music is masterful, and I’ll add that “Karn Evil 9” from the album, “Brain Salad Surgery” is a true masterpiece that belongs in any discussion of the most important compositions in any genre of the second half of the 20th century. So there. And you thought I only listened to Bach.
Copyright, 2018. Robert Baldwin, Before the Downbeat.
Image from Wikipedia, courtesy Island Records.
Sinfonia Salt Lake and The American Spiritual Ensemble
Monday, February 26, 2018
7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
203 South 200 East, Salt Lake City
Tickets: $20 General Admission/$10 Seniors and Students
Tickets online and at the door
http://www.sinfoniasaltlake.com/
I am very pleased to be part of a special evening of music coming up on February 26, an evening of America’s finest music right here in Salt Lake City! Interspersed with the great American composer Morton Gould’s re-scoring of classic spirituals, Sinfonia Salt Lake will also be joined by the incredible voices of the American Spiritual Ensemble. Don’t miss this evening of some the most iconic American music ever created
About the ASE: The mission of the American Spiritual Ensemble is to keep the American Negro spiritual alive. The repertoire ranges from spirituals to classical to Broadway and dance. The American Spiritual Ensemble was founded by Everett McCorvey in 1995. Its members have sung in theaters and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain and Japan. The repertoire ranges from opera to spirituals to Broadway. The members of the American Spiritual Ensemble are soloists in their own right and the vocalists have thrilled audiences around the world with their dynamic renditions of classic spirituals, jazz and Broadway numbers highlighting the Black experience.
Don’t miss this concert celebrating a truly American music during Black History Month!
Photo of Everett McCorvey
Credit: Jonathan Palmer
Copyright 2018, Robert Baldwin. Before the Downbeat
