For the second year in a row, I had the enviable opportunity of watching Bosque students perform as a part of the New Mexico Music Educators Association All-State Music Festival. Many of our young men and women were chosen to participate in two days of conferences and workshops and then join with other outstanding and dedicated young musicians to play in the concerts on the final day of the festival. I was unprepared when I attended for the first time last year for how wonderful this event would be. Although I knew this year what to expect, I was still amazed. Their musicianship was stunning, and every guest conductor commented on the students' devotion to their craft and their kindness and consideration for others.
Among the many excellent concerts I heard that day, one that stood out was the Internet Symphony No. 1 – “Eroica,” written by Tan Dun, conducted by Mr. Jung-Ho Pak, and performed by the All-State Symphonic Orchestra. When my colleague and I, sitting in the audience, saw that the instruments included four white-painted hubcaps and an automobile brake rotor, we were skeptical. Was this going to be one of those pieces of music that was supposed to be exciting and novel, but was really kitschy or an exercise in cacophony? As it turned out, the symphony, which contained segments of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, music from the Beijing Olympics, as well as other elements, was stunning. As the conductor explained, it was also the perfect piece for this concert.
When Chinese composer Tan Dun, widely known for his musical score for the movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, created the Internet Symphony No. 1 – “Eroica,” he asked musicians from around the world to play the same piece virtually on the internet. He then selected the most proficient performers and arranged them into an internet symphony orchestra for a concert on YouTube. Then, after submitting videos of their playing other selected pieces, the best musicians were invited to play at Carnegie Hall on April 15th, 2009. As conductor Jung Ho-Pak explained, this symphony combined the best of traditionally defined classical music with Chinese music by leveraging the community of the internet. This was also music that utilized a relatively new form of technology, so it was fitting that at All-State it was performed by an orchestra of fresh and exciting young musicians.
This particular symphony could serve as a metaphor for the world in which our students live. They see nothing wrong with mining different traditions and mashing them into something entirely new and audacious. There are no bounds to their bravery and creativity, and they are thoroughly unintimidated by those who say that things have to be a certain way.
During rehearsals, Jung Ho-Pak explained to the students that one of the reasons classical music is dying stems from the manner in which some people play; they do so with technical perfection but with little heart. Jung-Ho Pak wanted these young musicians to feel the music and have it come from deep inside them. Perhaps this also explains why their playing of the Internet Symphony captivated all of us. As with everything else they do, when young people pursue something they are passionate about and feel connected to, they accomplish great things!
As I sat there listening to the symphony, I had tears in my eyes as I’m sure did many others. Here was an exciting, invigorating vision of what could be our future: a world in which young men and young women take the very best of what is available around the world, use the web to bring together these ideas and voices to create something completely different and entirely new, and perform with gusto and heart. For everyone who may be pessimistic about where we are headed, that Saturday concert at the University of New Mexico provided the perfect antidote. We live in truly exciting times.
