One of my favorite TPR events of the year is our annual collaboration with SOLI Chamber Ensemble, “Open Mic Night.” Each year, we invite anyone in town who plays an instrument to join us onstage to perform a piece of contemporary classical music (written after 1970) in front of a supportive audience. After all, Open Mic Night isn’t about a perfect performance, but a shared love of music and discovery.
There’s always a surprise or two at each Open Mic Night, and for this sixth year, it was a treat to hear original music, unique ensemble combos like snare drum and voice, and the spontaneous exuberance of an audience member who decided on the spot to play something she just learned.
Open Mic Night VI was the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to feature a live audience as well as the performers.
“It’s a total treat to see everybody,” said SOLI's Artistic Director, Stephanie Key, at the show. “It’s always a treat to see who comes out, who shares their music with us, who takes the stage with great panache and shares what they’ve got to say. This is what it was about in the beginning, so it’s lovely.”
The concert was recorded on November 21, 2022 at TPR’s Malú and Carlos Alvarez Theater. The performance rundown is below. Click the audio player at the top of this page to listen to the entire program.
PROGRAM:
- Joseph Buechner plays 'Dueling Banjos' by Arthur Smith
- Thomas Fedorchik plays his own work, 'Song of the Earth'
- Norma Martinez & Nathan Cone play 'Spiegel im Spiegel' by Arvo Pärt
- Kevin Larz Phillips plays his own work, 'The Second'
- Thomas Soto sings 'Surrendered Love' by Nathan Felix
- Stephanie Key plays 'Key Sparks' by Yvonne Freckmann
- Ellen Foreman plays Nikolai Kapustin's 'Sonatina, Op. 100'
- Ricardo Lazaro plays Alexander Goedicke's 'Concert Etude'
- Gregory Messa & Georgette Lockwood perform 'A New Culture' by Michael Eagle
- David Mollenauer performs 'Serene' by Yvonne Freckmann
- Norah Lynch plays Erik Satie's 'Gnossienne No. 1'
- Anna Szalai plays 'Marigold' by Billy Mayerl
- Barry Brake, Stephanie Key, and David Mollenauer perform 'Sondidda Bosoya' by Brake
