Super Music Tuesday

It’s primary season. I realize that this column is not about politics but for those of us living in the USA this is important, and I have a personal story to tell about one of the candidates.

About three years ago I received a call from the Chicago Symphony. They were interested in doing a concert on 11 September, 2005, in memory of that fateful day four years prior. The concert was to be held in Millennium Park on the lakeside and the centerpoint would be a performance of Mr. Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. But the real clincher – “we’re trying to get Barack Obama to narrate.”

Needless to say my ears perked up on that one. I am what people call a politics junkie. I have met Governors, Senators, Representatives, Ambassadors, Ministers, etc., from around the world. One of my fondest memories was meeting Walter Mondale at a party here in Minnesota. I promptly cornered him and we talked politics for about two hours. HUGE fun, for both of us I think. I follow national and international politics very closely. I cut my teeth on Watergate, and the political comedian Mark Russell was an important part of my childhood. So given the opportunity to meet an “up and comer” I was naturally interested. A few months after that first phone call the second one comes – “we got him.” Hooray!!! “And he doesn’t read music…..” OH $^*(%$ !!!!!!

How to Raise a Conductor’s Blood Pressure, 101: Tell him/her/it that you’re doing a piece with narrator. Hire some big name to narrate the piece. Make sure said big name doesn’t read music. Guaranteed this is going to be a freaking nightmare schlepping some hack through the most basic idea of what those funny dots on the page mean. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions to this but believe me, those are exceptions to the RULE. I start to mentally prepare myself for disaster.

Comes the big day. I’m to have a “rehearsal” with the Senator a couple of hours before the orchestra rehearsal. I find our rehearsal room and there’s this tall, handsome, and well dressed guy with a big wide smile going over the Copland with our pianist. I had heard rumor that the Senator is a very nice guy and the rumor turns out to be truth. Being the politics junkie that I am I jump in with both feet and he’s right there with me talking about policy, his fellow Senators, strategy. The expression “pig in slop” does come to mind. But now comes the moment of truth – let’s start working on the Copland.

20 minutes later I’m looking around thinking to myself “well, that was easy.” Despite the fact that the Senator doesn’t read music he’s not about to show up anywhere unprepared. He has taken the time to work up the narration, listen to several recordings, and go over it a couple of times with a pianist, all to get a serious handle on what he’s about to do. I have to admit I’m impressed. The guy knows the gig. A short while later we’re in front of the CSO. I’ve seen a lot of people walk onstage for a CSO rehearsal – frankly, some of the biggest names in the business – but I’ve never seen that most jaded of bands react like they did when Obama came onstage. You would have thought that the Beatles had gotten back together. Rehearsal is as smooth as can be. I discover that the Senator is very quick on his feet. If he’s a little ahead of me with his narration all I had to do was one very subtle gesture and he gently taps the brakes. If he was a little behind – another small gesture – and suddenly, but with great panache, he has moved ahead. After the rehearsal he’s mobbed by folks wanting a picture with him. No problem, he’s happy to oblige. The concert later that evening is the same thing – a rock star comes on stage, he pulls off something he’s never done before with aplomb, and we are left dazzled.

So what does this mean? I had the opportunity to work directly with someone who might end up being the next President of the United States. This guy had a lot of hype surrounding him, most of which I didn’t buy, so I wanted to see for myself. I came away from my encounter with him deeply impressed. He’s smart, he’s likable, he applies himself to problems that he has never faced with a vengeance. I must admit I’m sure I don’t agree with everything he thinks. Hell, I don’t agree with everything that I think. But from my short encounter with him I would trust him to approach any problem in a thoughtful and intelligent way, and he would make the best, most informed decision he possibly could. This would be such a pleasant change from the last seven years……………

So, no, this blog is not about politics. Having said that: I hereby endorse Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. Not quite the Oprah effect but hey, she’s got nicer hair than I do.