Something New
I have always been a huge fan of live performance, often going out on my own to experience in person what I have heard and enjoyed recorded.
This past week at Portland Ovations we found ourselves at the Portland Public Library, Portland High School, The Portland Museum of Art, Hannaford Hall, SPACE Gallery, 317 Main Street, Merrill Auditorium and South Portland Auditorium for terrific performances and Ovations Offstage events. To say the least it was a busy week for all of us and we hope you joined us at one of the many different venues and events we collaborated on, presented or hosted. Many of last weeks events were a new experience for me, one’s that I had not seen on TV, heard from a recording or even knew that much about prior to this season.
Having never seen American tap or Kathak performed live, I was truly amazed by the artists and performers of India Jazz Suites. Even just hearing the live Indian music for the first time brought a smile to my face and an appreciation of a new style of music that I will surely add to my playlists.
My sister used to play the cello when we were growing up but not like Matt Haimovitz who performed solo at SPACE Gallery on Thursday night and then in collaboration with pianist Christopher O’Riley Friday night at Merrill Auditorium for Shuffle.Play.Listen. The small intimate experience at SPACE and the truly unique and enthralling performance at Merrill Auditorium provided me with a new perspective on the instruments performing both classical and pop music as well as the pieces and works being performed. Who knew that Radiohead, John McLaughlin or Blonde Redhead could sound like that? This is what Mr. O’Riley and Mr. Haimovitz set out to do, gain a new audience and introduce new music to their faithful. After hearing the applause and on-going appreciation for their performance I am pretty sure they succeeded.
We ended our week with a Family Series performance by Maine native Michael Cooper who dazzled children and adults alike with his brilliant handmade masks, imagination and skilled mime techniques Saturday morning at South Portland Auditorium.
A week full of new experiences for me and one that has now impacted my life, as I will listen to classical Indian music regularly, look for dynamic dance performances coming into town, take in the classical influences when listening to today’s pop music and hopefully one day take my own children to a performance which is guaranteed to make them laugh, imagine and consider new possibilities. I encourage you to take a chance on something new or take it upon yourself to introduce a friend or family member to something new during the second half of our season.
Did you experience something new last week? We invite you to share your thoughts.
