On May 16, the acclaimed Cassatt String Quartet visited Fieldston to perform works by students in Mr. Russell Currie’s Composition and Digital Music classes. The event, while rather small and informal, drew in a big audience of fellow students and faculty eager to listen to their peers’ work. Mr. Currie stood in the back of the room from start to finish, recording the whole thing on his camera with a wide smile on his face, proud of his pupils’ success.
Inviting a professional ensemble to perform student compositions has been a longstanding Fieldston tradition; however, this was our first time working with the Cassatt String Quartet. The ensemble has performed to high acclaim in concert halls around the globe, from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center. They have also made dozens of popular recordings, including three discs that were named by Alex Ross in his “Ten Best Classical Recordings” column in The New Yorker Magazine. Mr. Currie was initially introduced to the group by Fieldston Lower music teacher Blake Rowe over forty years ago, and he hopes that this year’s event will kickstart a new relationship for the Fieldston music department.
The program opened with pieces by underclassmen — and one ambitious middle school student — many of whom had never heard their music performed before, and concluded with the masterful compositions of seniors, many of whom will pursue music in college. The scores were all sight-read to perfection by the musicians, who, despite never having seen our music before, played it with such passion and color that it appeared as though they had been practicing it for months. Perhaps the best part of the experience was the feedback we were able to receive from the players; on one occasion, they paused my piece to suggest a different bowing technique than what I had written, and, as expected, the subtle change brought a whole new aura to the piece and made it sound infinitely better.
“It was wonderful to watch the thinking and responding to the music by the performers,” said Bob Montera, one of many Fieldston teachers who attended the event. “It was a wonderful lesson in composition and a real workshop with lively, smart banter, deep appreciation of the composers and alternate takes. There was a rich aesthetic to the experience as well as a kind of ‘gee whiz.’ Such amazing things have been going on in our music classes to set us up for a day like this.” A number of other Fieldston teachers and faculty also slipped into the event, including Kurt Vega, John Baglio, Cornelia Locher, Dr. Paul Church, Kathleen Hayes, Tom Christensen and others.
In the age of digital score writers such as NoteFlight and Sibelius, having music performed live is very difficult, especially for young composers. Too often we find ourselves limited to the scratchy, off-putting sounds of computer music software. Therefore, hearing students’ music performed is one of the most unique and meaningful opportunities Fieldston has to offer. “The experience, while short, is packed with creative ideas,” noted Mr. Currie. “Young composers generally don’t have these experiences, and to hear your music performed at such a young age can be transformative. I recall the first time I heard my music played by a string quartet; it changed my life. I hope this project resonates with our young composers.”
Just as Mr. Currie had hoped, the experience was transformative for my fellow composers and me, one that we will surely remember fondly for years to come. Indeed, the entire Fieldston community and I owe Mr. Currie and the Cassatt String Quartet a heartfelt “thank you” for allowing our music to come to life.
