AKT and DSO

This past week has been a much more productive one than most for me. I finally got myself into a solid practice schedule (although if a part-time ever DOES gets back to me I'll have to re-work it), I applied for a gym membership (which I hope to actually use), and I attended a couple great performances this weekend! I hear too often that there is not enough "culture" in MI and more specifically in the "downriver" area where I live and this is so far from the truth.

I will admit that sometimes you really need to look hard for it, but if you do  you will find so many little gems and a few big 'ol rubies around the area I live. One of the "little gems" is a theatre company known as the AKT Theatre Project. My very good friend Angie Kane is the Artistic Director and owner of this wonderful little company and I am always pleasantly surprised at the quality of performance that her group is able to put forth knowing that many of her productions also include or are majority made up of students from high school through college. This past Friday I attended the "Turn of the Screw" which is a one act play based off the novel of the same name and is written for only two actors. It was great! The actors bios were extensive and the performances from both backed up everything they had to say about themselves within. Angie usually directs but as she just started work with the Purple Rose theatre she brought in her friend Adriane Galea who really knew how to use the unique theatre space to get the most out of the emotional content of the play. Overall I give it 4 stars and a job well done!  ****

Read a review of Turn of the Screw

Actors Bailey Boudreau and Rachel Dalton
Turn of the Screw, 2013

Last night I went to see the Detroit Symphony Orchestra perform a huge concert. The program; Overture to the Flying Dutchman - Wagner, Benjamin Britten's first Piano Concerto (soloist Benjamin Grosvernor), Oceanides - Sibelius and ending with the great La Mer - Claude Debussy. Teddy Abrahms tried to lead the orchestra through this great music but I must admit they seemed a bit lack luster under his baton during everything but the Piano Concerto which I had never heard before. I don't know a ton of Britten but the more I hear the more I love it! The concerto's first movement is something I cannot wait to get a good recording of! Sharon Sparrow soared during the first half as Principal Flute and really blew me away during the Britten (which had some exceptionally tricky sounding passages) and David Buck (newly appointed Principal Flute) sounded immaculate during La Mer. He has some especially soft passages that were so exquisite I will be surprised if they don't tenure him (if they haven't already). Jeff Zook always makes me smile when he gets the last piccolo say and he did not disappoint in the waltz movement of the piano concerto where he had the final flourish and he soured over the orchestra in the last movement of La Mer adding perfectly to the oceanic effect the orchestra was portraying.

Teddy Abrahms with soloist Benjamin Grosvenor after his performance of Benjamin Britten's First Piano Concerto this Saturday (10-26-13)

I'm so hopeful that now my audition hell is over for a few months that I can continue to really focus on living here now and seeing more great performances. There are so many other concerts coming up that I would like to attend and hope to see! Hopefully I also get called for a gig sometime soon (fingers crossed) and as my first official concert as Piccoloist with the Lansing Symphony comes nearer I am getting more and more excited to really start my job with them! After seeing Detroit last night my thirst for a full time orchestral position is re-vitalized and I can't wait for my next audition to come around. Bring it on!

High School Orchestra as a Springboard for Musical Inspiration

I must say that as of late inspiration has been a little hard to come by and I've been in a bit of a rut. I'm going to put part of the blame on the fact that I spent the greater part of last week getting over strep throat (a torture I have now suffered twice in one year) but I realized that the other part of the blame must be put on the lack of live music in my life at the moment. Now part of this does have to do with being home in Detroit but in reality the majority of the reason for me not attending concerts is that I've been so focused on the auditions I've been taking and I am not really making enough money to shell out even $40/$50 a week to see a performance or two. In other words, it's my own fault. This past Tuesday, however, I broke it up a bit and attended my friend Matt's high school orchestra concert and let me tell you that the inspiration has been flowing this week!

Matt is the new Director of Orchestras at North Farmington High School here in grand 'ole Michigan and he had invited me to his first concert to get my opinion on how his groups sounded and just to generally support his new job appointment. Now, some musicians would think that going to a high school concert would be absolute torture but I must admit that they always excite me! I have such fond memories of my time in the band at Roosevelt High School growing up and also of my time with the Detroit Civic Youth Ensembles and seeing a group of young people on stage playing and making music together always reminds me of how much fun my friends (most of whom are not professional musicians) and I would have. Getting to school early just to hang out, gossiping about that one clarinet player who was secretly dating the last chair trombonist, spending every waking moment we could together after school and the list goes on. Seeing Matt's students building those kinds of bonds through performance on stage at his concert was wonderful and on top of it all they sounded great!

Matt and I circa 2010

Matt brought up a good point at the concert that I would like to leave you all with. The reason to fight for the continuation of music in the public school system is because the goal of these ensembles is not necessarily to produce the next Yo-Yo Ma or Emanuel Pahud but to encourage the development of well rounded and generally good hearted individuals. Too often we take for granted what these teachers and students are banding together to create within their classrooms and within each other. I encourage you to support your local public school music program. Go see a concert or help with a fundraiser. Many of those kids will thrive in a musical environment where they feel creatively able to come out of their shells and grow into stunning individuals and the idea that this could be taken away is heartbreaking to me.

P.S. After taking 5 auditions in under 2 months I decided to meet up with my friend Heather for some well needed relaxation and mimosa-filled brunching...the picture below is accurate when describing us after 10 min of having our food in front of us:

Blogging is something that, while I'm not totally new to it, I am not very seasoned at so bear with me as I learn this new interweb art!

I felt it very appropriate to start my blog off by sharing with you my exciting news...I FINALLY WON A JOB!!

This season I will be joining the Lansing Symphony Orchestra as their 3rd Flute/Piccolo player.  Having done my BM at Michigan State University (which is where the LSO performs many concerts) it feels great to be back and it is also an extreme honor for me to be sitting in a section with my former Professor, Richard Sherman (whom is the Principal Flautist of the Lansing Symphony).

If you're in the Metro-Detroit area and are interested in our concerts (there is a really great season lined up) please check out the LSO's website at: http://lansingsymphony.org/ or if you'd like more details as to the concerts that I will specifically be playing on check out my website (brandonlepage.com).  Season highlights include: both the Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty Suites, Beethoven's 8th Symphony, Mozart's Requiem, Bernstien's Symphonic Suite from West Side Story and more!!