Don’t Touch That Dial! CYO plays TV

Contemporary Youth Orchestra @ CSU 3/13/10

For several years, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra and its founding Music Director Liza Grossman have explored the possibilities of jobs in the music industry, in addition to playing in an orchestra or other traditional classical configuration. There was Tunes for ‘Toons, in which the CYO performed sound tracks for numerous cartoons while the visual content was shown on a large screen overhead. There was movie night (which I was unable to attend due to the severe blizzard that weekend) and last year’s terrific Broadway extravaganza.

This year, however, the program was truly a Blast from the Past! Anyone, of any age, could relate to the music performed – all (or most of it) from TV—‘Don’t touch that dial!’ From it’s very beginnings, music played an important part in the TV shows we watched and loved—or hated, as the case may be. But still, we watched, didn’t we?

Dr. Daniel Goldmark of CSRU was the witty and sometimes self-deprecating emcee for our wanderings. Appropriately enough, he is considered to be the country’s leading expert on the history of Movie, TV, Commercial and Cartoon music. Indeed, with no notes, he informed and educated us all at the same time, under the guise of entertainment!

Since a goodly amount of early TV programming originated with movie studios, it’s hardly surprising to learn that early composers for the new medium came from a film background. More than a few were actually established classical composers, as well, some of them Oscar winners. However, the industry also opened doors to new and untried young composers, (no doubt cheap at twice the price!) thus giving the multi-award-winning John Williams his first start in the business. There were other genres represented, as well: Quincy Jones (jazz); Frank DeVol, Jerry Goldsmith and Earle Hagen (pop and/or Broadway.)

Selections were bunched together by type of show (Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible–all action thrillers) or composer: Andy Griffith, Make Room For Daddy, Gomer Pyle, USMC, Dick Van Dyke, That Girl, Mod Squad and I Spy (all by the super-talented Earle Hagen.) Clips from each show demonstrated the importance of the music to assist in setting the scene or perhaps building tension. From Lost in Space to Lost (for which its composer Michael Giacchino won an Oscar last week for the movie – Up.)

The segment from Monday Night Football (early John Williams) was solidly rooted in Cleveland, Bernie Kosar and the Dawg Pound taking pride of place, but there was also Wide World of Sports (part of a Charles Fox medley—along with Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Wonder Woman, amongst others.) Not surprisingly, Star Trek in various incarnations comprised one segment, featuring music by the well-known Alexander Courage, Dennis McCarthy and Jerry Goldsmith, who reworked the Courage theme into his own style.

To end the first half of the program, two trumpeters from CYO were featured in a mini duet-concerto influenced by a TV show, although not the score from it—Sunset Strip by Michael Daugherty. Lena Console and Emily Nosse-Leirer in spiffy short black dresses (rather than the traditional CYO garb of black jeans and this season’s long-sleeved tee) did themselves and their compatriots proud with the beauty of their playing, not to mention the ease with which they tossed off bunches of high notes, complicated triple tonguing and demonstrations of rapid up-and-down scales.

Four of the young men of CYO formed a sort of barbershop quartet to sing along with the clip from Family Guy, and Lost featured a too-short viola rhapsody beautifully performed by principal violist Sarah Poe. Deep Space Nine (part of the Star Trek trilogy) featured some gorgeous horn playing—both solo and section. (I’m sorry I don’t know the name of the soloist, but the performance was terrific.)

Of course, just like on commercial TV, there were commercials thrown in here and there to give the musicians a bit of breathing room. There was a LOT of very complicated music on this program, and the young musicians happily gave it their all. Ms. Grossman has convinced them they’re musically fearless, so they are. All of this music was played as if it was the original soundtrack. That means the dynamics and rhythms has to match what’s on the screen–exactly. No slowing down, doing it over (except for one teeny segment at the very beginning) or frantically playing catch-up. Some of these commercials, however, prompted loud laughter or shaking heads. If you don’t recognize some of these companies or names, ask your grandparents! They’ll know these products all too well! — Ajax, Barbie, Mountain Dew, Jell-O and Kodak.

Note: Congratulations to Music Director Liza Grossman for having been asked to conduct a concert in Florida next month featuring the group STYX performing with a local symphony orchestra.

Next up for CYO is their Rockin’ The Orchestra concert on May 24 at Severance Hall! Jon Anderson of YES. For tickets (when available) or other information, visit the web-site: http://www.cyorchestra.org.

 

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.

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