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R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E performance 8 April 2011 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 14, No. 8 INTERVIEW WITH ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY’S Daniel Meyer A s Music Director of the Asheville Symphony and Erie Philharmonic, Daniel Meyer is recognized as one of the top young conductors of his generation. Starting his seventh season with the Asheville Symphony this September 2011, Meyer has helped to reinvigorate the orchestra, enlivening the community with innovative, collaborative programs and a dedication to create and sustain an enthusiastic audience for classical music. Rapid River Magazine: What can you tell us about the upcoming 2011-2012 season? Daniel Meyer: We are highlighting what we do in the community as educators. We are proud of opportunities we provide young people through our Music in the Schools program and Young People’s Concerts. But we are also expanding what we do for adults through Symphony Talks at UNCA, introducing a new program called “Behind the Notes,” and expanding our offerings through our website and on WCQS. In October 2011, we will perform great music that you probably first heard when you were little – Britten’s Variations on a Theme by Purcell (a.k.a. The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra) and Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Our concertmaster, Jason Posnock, will also perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. I am particularly pleased to bring pianists Simone Dinnerstein and Benjamin Hochman, as well as violinist Jennifer Koh. We have been fortunate to feature wonderful up-and-coming artists over the past few years, but Simone, Benjamin, and Jennifer are certainly already making a major impact on the music world. RRM: What goes into planning a season with a large professional symphony? DM: Planning begins roughly 3-4 years before the actual season begins. I am constantly auditioning and learning about artists, investigating repertoire that I think will resonate with our eclectic Asheville audience, and then looking for creative ways to create each concert experience with those ingredients. I also have a team made of musicians and board members who serve in an advisory capacity, gathering ideas and helping me with their collective Daniel Meyer, Music Director of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. experience and passion for the music we play. I look to create special events with each concert’s dramatic arch, yet I also keep my attention on the longer journey that those who subscribe to the entire season will experience over seven symphonic concerts. The earlier we can identify our artists and repertoire, the better chance we have of assembling a season that feels “just right.” That said, I am always amazed that there seem to be at least one or two details that “fall into place” in the last few weeks before we publish our season brochure! RRM: Regarding the Asheville Symphony, what are you most looking forward to in the near future? DM: Next season we will be performing Gustav Mahler’s epic and masterful Symphony No. 2. It’s called the “Resurrection” as it uses an enormous choir and two vocal soloists in the finale who sing the text from a Klopstock hymn “Aufersteh’n.” It’s an emotional and spiritual journey from the initial earth-cracking notes to the last glorious choral finale. I am also particularly excited about a brand new production of Igor Stravinky’s “Soldier’s Tale,” with modern dance troupe Attack Theatre, that we will mount in April 2012. It’s a fascinating take on the Faust legend, updated during World War I in Switzerland, and I think it still resonates loudly today. The dancers will also serve as actors, and this chance to experience a fully-staged production is rare. I love conducting the music – it’s classic Stravinsky with its tunefulness, biting wit, and absorption of everything from Bach’s chorales to 1920’s ragtime. RRM: There seems to be a reawakening here in Asheville over the past decade toward orchestral music. What do you feel is the genesis of this? INTERVIEWED BY DENNIS RAY DM: I believe that classical music resonates today particularly because it provides an opportunity to stop our hectic lives, sit, listen, and engage in an art form that truly needs an audience to give of itself completely. Everywhere else we can take our music with us on our iPods, control a clip we decide to watch on YouTube, play music as a backdrop as we cook, clean, or work out. The experience of listening to live classical music is one that requires us to give of ourselves, and that challenge is one, I think, people relish and find satisfying in a way that transcends instantaneous gratification. And the fact that the ASO gives deeply-felt, passionate, virtuosic performances on a consistent basis inspires people to come back for more. RRM: You are surrounded by music all the time through your work. You write music. You conduct. You play instruments. What is your favorite music to listen to when you are not working? DM: It’s seldom that I listen to music and not think of how I might interpret or program it with the ASO. I love music of the Renaissance, and if I want to listen purely without a mind to how I feel about the interpretation, I listen to a great recording of The Sixteen or Chanticleer. I find this music pure and deeply expressive, and I do not have the opportunity to conduct it much if at all. There is a peace that comes with composers like Dufay, Palestrina, Gesualdo, and Tallis that I relish. And this music sounds best in a beautiful cathedral acoustic, so that certainly adds to the special nature of the experience. RRM: To one extreme, Conductor Ernest Ansermet was famous for his argumentative rehearsals, while other conductors are known for being very laid-back. How would you describe your work style? DM: I would hope that my rehearsals are demanding and precise, marked by a collegiality and respect for the expertise that the musicians bring to the stage. We are grappling with a pursuit of perfection, whether it’s perfection in playing the right notes at the right time, or the perfection of realizing some great musical vision and bringing the emotional and spiritual core to the performance. It’s a tall order, and one that neither I nor the musicians of the ASO take lightly. RRM: What instruments do you play? DM: Violin and piano. Continued on page 9
R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E M A G A Z I N E stage preview PART 1 OF 2: INTERVIEW WITH STELLA ADLER STUDIO OF ACTING’S Richard Handy and Dusty McKeelan Richard Handy is a Core Program instructor at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Voice Instructor, Dusty McKeelan helps students through an extensive routine based on an array of vocal techniques. A course in improvisation is offered with Handy and McKeelan on Monday, April 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. Join Dusty McKeelan on Monday, April 11, for Voice Instruction from 7 to 9 p.m. Classes are $35. Call (828) 254-1320 to register. Rapid River Magazine: How did the Stella Adler Studio of Acting come to Asheville? Dusty McKeelan: When my wife and I decided to leave NYC to be closer to our families, Tom Oppenheim — the Artistic Director of the Studio and Stella’s grandson — asked me to pilot a program for smaller markets. I met Richard upon my arrival, and the two of us created the Asheville Studio. Richard Handy: I came down from NYC a few years ago for about six months and just fell in love with the city. I had the ambition to start an acting program and in that process discovered Dusty had a similar ambition. As it turns out we have very complimentary skill sets and work incredibly well together. It’s been a complete joy working with him and ACT. RRM: Where did you study and with whom? What is the approach you take to acting? DMc: I studied at the Stella Adler Studio in NYC through New York University with James Tripp, Ron Burrus, Andrew Wade, Sam Schacht, Frank Langella, Mario Biagini, and many others. My approach is an amalgamation of everything I’ve learned. Basically, I do everything I can to bridge the gap between myself and the given circumstances of the character. The preparation required varies for each role. INTERVIEWED BY DENNIS RAY RH: For my core acting technique I studied primarily with Bill Esper, Freddy Kareman and Robert X. Modica in NYC for seven years. All of them taught with Sandy Meisner for years at the famous Neighborhood Playhouse with Esper essentially carrying the torch for the method. I feel very fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to work with these, and so many other extraordinary people. RRM: When you first meet a student, can you tell right away if he/she has what it takes to be an actor? DMc: I personally choose to believe that everybody does have what it takes — and in fact has the right — to be an actor. Some have more walls than others, and some walls are more difficult to break down. But in theory, everyone can act well if they work at it. RH: You can get a sense for a person, but I never know and, even months into the process, it’s difficult to tell because everyone progresses at a different pace. Some are able to connect and break down walls quickly and for others it can take years. What we can very quickly see is their dedication and work ethic. Without that, this kind of work is extremely difficult to do well, if not impossible. To be a good actor it takes a great sense of empathy, a strong voice and vulnerable tension free body. That’s pretty much it and that’s difficult to see in an interview. RRM: What are some of the things you teach actors about the craft of acting? DMc: We approach two sides of the craft. I teach from a primarily physical perspec- tive, offering techniques and exercises to free the body (the actor’s instrument) from habitual functioning and to encourage more effective ways to breathe, speak and move. Considering the act of respiration as a constant exchange of spirit, the actor learns to invite the breath (which is the spirit) as deeply, fully and gently into the body as possible, and then to give that breath/spirit away in the form of language as vulnerably and freely yet also as strongly as possible. RH: I teach a Sandy Meisner based approach, and Meisner has always defined acting as “the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances” with Truth and Imagination being the foundation of that. Imagination is one of the greatest tools of an actor and Truth is the life blood of art. Without it, art dies and makes it virtually impossible to connect to. In a sense, we teach people to see and understand their own truth, to develop their imagination as a tool, and to rediscover who they really are underneath years of societal walls. Through this they learn how to genuinely connect with themselves, others, their Dusty McKeelan Richard Handy circumstances and the environment around them. We also teach them that there are no small moments and likewise no big moments, only that every moment is important. Once that foundation is in place we begin to teach people how to craft well, how to understand a script, how to apply their foundation to film, TV, Shakespeare, commercials, etc. This is done through voice, movement and technique training. Learn more when we run part two of this interview in our May issue! Stella Adler Studio of Acting, c/o Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. For more information phone (828) 254-1320 or visit www.stellaadler-asheville.com. ‘Daniel Meyer’ continued from page 8 RRM: What is a typical work day in your life? DM: It seems that there are no typical days, since I am balancing the artistic leadership of two orchestras and a growing guest conducting schedule. RRM: Top 5 composers? DM: How about a top five I would like to get to know better since I am intrigued by their music? Vaughan Williams, Janacek, Bartok, Schumann, and Schutz. RRM: Any composer’s work you would love to conduct/perform but for some reason or another have not? DM: The list seems to get longer rather than shorter. I would love to conduct Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Britten’s War Requiem, Bruckner’s 8th Sympony, Adams’ Harmonielehre, and a host of great operas, including Berg’s Wozzeck, Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, and Puccini’s Turandot. I am grateful that the audience in Asheville has a strong sense of discovery and an appetite for new music, and I can be creative with what I program. IF YOU GO The Asheville Symphony Orchestra presents “Behind the Notes,” Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m. at the Deerfield Retirement Community on Hendersonville Road in South Asheville. Moderated by Chip Kaufmann. For more information call (828) 254-7046. Vol. 14, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — April 2011 9
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JONAS GERARD - Rapid River Magazine

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