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Have you ever heard of a DJ with a Symphony? Check us out tomorrow night at 7:30 with DJ Red Eye. Our first Opus One series concert takes place at 879 East McLemore in Soulsville, USA. It’s absolutely free! Read why in this post.
We highly recommend you get there early. We can only allow a certain number of people in the building for fire code purposes. There is limited secure parking behind the building.
Come on out tomorrow night! Here’s what you’ll hear:
Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s Opus One Featuring: DJ Red Eye
Orchestral/DJ Interludes composed by Robert Patterson
CONNER GRAY COVINGTON, conductor
| JOHN ADAMS | Son Of A Chamber Symphony – Movement 3 | ||||
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Funky Walkabout |
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Quintet A-Comin’ |
| DAVID ANDERSON | Quintet – Scherzo |
| ROBERT PATTERSON/DJ RED EYE |
Jedi-Interlude |
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Adjust Yourself |
| MICHAEL TORKE | Adjustable Wrench |
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Wrench in the Works |
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Remnant |
| SERGEI PROKOFIEV | Symphony No. 1, Op. 25 (Classical) – Finale: Molto vivace |
| ROBERT PATTERSON | Get Out! |
Interview with Robert Patterson, composer and horn player
Posted: October 8, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: composer, DJ Redeye, horn, Opus One, Robert Patterson
Robert Patterson is in the horn section of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and he is also a composer. He has written works in a wide variety of genres, including works for orchestra that the Memphis Symphony has performed. Robert has composed many pieces for the upcoming Opus One performance with DJ Redeye. Learn more about Robert Patterson here.
How long have you been writing music?
I started dabbling with writing music when I was a child, but I didn’t get serious about it until I was a sophomore in college. One day I had a notion I could write better music than any of the new music I was hearing at the time, and I started studying and writing. I have since realized that “writing better music than any of the other” is a lot harder than it seemed.
Have you ever composed music to be played along with DJ tracks before?
Never. In fact, I did not really even understand the tools that a DJ uses.
Are there any particular challenges that this presents?
Sure: we are shooting in the dark! But I one thing that interested me about the project was smashing two completely different genres together without worrying too much about where the shards land. The biggest challenge may turn out to be handing off from the orchestra to the DJ, because he will have to sync his time to the orchestra, at least initially. One of my jobs was to provide enough time in the orchestra part for this to happen.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve encountered while working on this project?
I knew that a 21st century DJ is an entirely different animal from those we listened to on AM radio when I was a kid. Getting a closeup look at his gear was really fascinating.
How do or do the pieces you wrote relate to the other pieces on the program? I see some similarities in the titles…(adjust yourself, adjustable wrench for example)
A couple of the pieces have short quotes from the other pieces on the program. I also generally incorporated a riff or a beat from a Stax song in each. But there are also a lot of classical references as well. Funky Walkabout is a Stax-flavored variation of the Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition. Remnan contains a strong whiff of Also Sprach Zarathustra. For Get Out! I was consulting scores of Stravinsky, Wagner, and Strauss. My main concern was providing contrast so that when the next piece comes it feels fresh. Sometimes that means being as different as one can be from the piece being introduced.
What’s DJ Redeye like?
DJ Redeye is very easy-going, but he can really get into the groove. I am interested to see where he goes with what I have done. He has a free hand to go pretty much anywhere he would like.
For the other composers and computer people out there, what music software do you use and why?
I use Finale for notation, mainly because I learned it before there were any viable alternatives. At times I think about switching, but Finale is the devil I know, and I can work very fast with it. For sound editing I use Protools.
When you are beginning a composition, what’s your process? Or is that a secret?
The first thing that happens is an idea. Some initial sketches go on paper, but I go pretty quickly to computer sketches. For longer pieces I find that I get better results if I make some plans about sections and key areas before starting on the final score. Creating the final score is an organic process with many revisions at every point. The computer allows my process to be similar that of a painter, and I go back and revise in the middle a great deal.
Do you play any instruments besides french horn?
As a child I studied cello and piano, both about 4 years each. I would not dare to pick up a cello now, and I play piano only in privacy.
Thanks so much, Robert!
- Interviewed by Heather Trussell, MSO musician
Hear Robert’s compositions on Thursday, October 18, 7:30 p.m. at 915 East McLemore. This Opus One performance is FREE! Please arrive early; seating is limited.
Free concerts
Posted: October 5, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: ArtPlace, free concerts, Opus One, Symphony Soul Project
You might be wondering why the Opus One series is offering free shows this year. This season, the Memphis Symphony, in partnership with Community LIFT, received a generous grant from ArtPlace to fund the Symphony Soul Project, which will offer free concerts in historic Soulsville, USA. For this reason all three of our Opus One series performances are offered free at 915 East McLemore Avenue in addition to the paid concerts. If you are interested in learning more about the free concerts the MSO will be offering throughout the 2012-2013 season, please click here.
The first Opus One show with DJ Redeye on October 18 is only offered once, and it’s free! Please note that seating is limited, so you must arrive early. View the Opus One concert schedule.
Opus One is reloading for the newest season of one of the most innovative concert series in the country. The Memphis Symphony’s Opus One series takes the orchestra and drives it head first into the Memphis club scene. For a fourth season, brilliant classic masterpieces combine with the city’s most exciting bands to bring you the definitive Memphis music experience. We have redefined classical music in our city. The rest of the world just has to catch up.
Opus One. Don’t turn off your cell phone.
2012-2013 Opus One Series
MSO’s popular Opus One series kicks off the season with Memphis’ own DJ Redeye, of Memphix Records and Tunnel Clones.
Thursday, October 18, 2012 | 7:30 p.m. | 915 E. McLemore
Tickets: FREE – get there early, seating is limited! Call 901.537.2525 for more information.
Opus One with North Mississippi Allstars
The Opus One series joins up with the North Mississippi Allstars for some Southern rock/blues.
Thursday, January 24, 2013 | 7:30 p.m. | New Daisy Theater
Tickets: $25, students $12.50 – call 901.537.2525 for more information or buy online.
Saturday, January 26, 2013 | 2:00 p.m. | 915 E. McLemore
Tickets: FREE – get there early, seating is limited! Call 901.537.2525 for more information.
Thursday, April 18, 2013 | 7:30 p.m. | Venue TBA
Tickets: $25, students $12.50 – call 901.537.2525 for more information or buy online.
Saturday, April 20, 2013 | 2:00 p.m. | 915 E. McLemore
Tickets: FREE – get there early, seating is limited! Call 901.537.2525 for more information.
For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Memphis Symphony Orchestra box office at 901-537-2525 or buy tickets online.
Tonight’s Program
Posted: May 3, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: Lucero, Memphis Symphony, Opus One, Program
Tonight MSO’s Opus One will be rocking out with Lucero at Minglewood Hall. Concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Buy your tickets online, over the phone through 901-537-2525, or at the door. Tickets are $25, Students are $12.50 with an ID.
Here’s the program:
Open up the program on issuu.com if you like. Click here to view online. Click here to view the PDF.
There are a lot of really cool compositions on this Thursday’s concert with Lucero. It will include songs from Lucero’s new release Women and Work, as well as selections from albums 1372 Overton Park, Tennessee and others — all original arrangements by Jonathan Kirkscey and Sam Shoup. You’ll even get to hear contemporary music written by the Memphis Symphony musicians!
The orchestra will perform a number of incredible works – all of which were written in the 20th and 21st centuries. Kirkscey, MSO cellist, has arranged Radiohead’s Pyramid Song for strings and percussion. If you attended the MSO Opus One concert with Al Kapone back in the fall, you’ll remember Kirkscey’s world premiere of Yaman Yar. You will also hear the world premiere of our own Marshall Fine’s Black Fantasy Overture, which is based on The Stones’ Paint It Black. Marshall is a violist in the Memphis Symphony. Kenji Bunch’s String Circle draws on bluegrass idioms, which is a natural tie-in to the Symphony’s collaboration with Lucero. David Carlisle and Adrienne Park will perform David’s composition for percussion duo, Mad Cow.
Mad Cow by David Carlisle is a percussion duet that fuses influences of North Indian tabla drumming, 1960s bebop drumming, and music from Sumatra. The instrumentation is also a fusion, using the “stuff” of multiple percussion: bebop bass drum and high hat, copper pipes, ceramic bowls, Chinese cymbals and gongs, African djembe, rototoms, octabans and an orchestral bass drum. The heads of the drums are made from stretched cowhide!
Click here to listen to a sample of Mad Cow!
In case you’re interested, our VP of Artistic Engagement, Brandon Knisley, put together a youtube playlist to prepare you for the concert. Take a listen and enjoy. You can even follow us on youtube!
Now I know you don’t want to miss this concert. So give us a call at 901-537-2525 to order tickets, or buy online here. Adults are $25 and students with an ID are $12.50. You can’t buy student tickets online, so buy them over the phone or buy them at the door on Thursday.
Remember, this Thursday at Minglewood Hall, MSO’s Opus One and Lucero are going to rock your world.
In case you can’t get enough:
MSO’s Opus One series is planning for 2012-2013 season! Future artists include the North Missippi Allstars and Hope Clayburn! Check back for more info soon. Don’t forget to check out Lucero at the Hi-Tone on Sunday, May 6! Doors open at 4 p.m., and it’s 18+ only. Learn more about their show and buy tickets here. If you’re closer to Arkansas, then you can still catch Lucero at Riverside Park in Batesville, AR on Saturday, May 12. Learn more about their show and buy tickets here.
