under the watchful eye of the camera, originally uploaded by Behold How Free.
I’m currently spending a couple weeks in Austin with my musical “home away from home,” Conspirare. I’ve talked about this group several times on my blog, and every experience manages to excite and inspire me in a different way.
These are good times for our group: we sang this summer at the World Symposium on Choral Music, we will sing at the American Choral Director Association convention next year, we have a Grammy nomination under our belt, and our latest CD entered the Billboard Classical Chart at #10. Most choirs would be happy with just one of these accolades.
All those accomplishments are good for our ego, but I can honestly say that very little has changed in the way we approach our craft. The group, under Craig Hella Johnson’s centered leadership, somehow seems to stay focused on just making good music, first and foremost. This is really inspiring to me and I am so happy to be part of it.
That said, our current project is another exciting new step for us. We are spending 2 weeks recording a full-length special to be aired nationally on PBS. It will be broadcast nationally as part of PBS’s spring pledge drive and also be released as a full-length DVD and CD.
Last weekend we performed this music for our Austin audiences and this week the cameras have begun to arrive. The camera crews continue to grow, getting footage of us rehearsing and catching some casual interviews with members of the choir. They even followed us to dinner and caught our social time on tape. (See above picture!)
It brings up a lot of questions and feelings being on recorded on video. It’s not everyday that you have camera staring at you when you speak in rehearsal or watching you eat your dinner. (I feel slightly like Anna Nicole Smith!) However, we have been instructed to carry on just as we normally would and let the producers do their work. But it’s still hard not to sit up a little straighter and choose your words more carefully. This is going to be seen by 4 million people, you know!
Tomorrow we move into our concert recording venue, Austin’s Long Center. We are recording about 2 hours of music memorized, with full staging, lighting, and a production crew of 60. This weekend is certain to be full of adventure. More inside scoop to come!
