Loose Leaf Notes

The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on June 12, 2014.

The Virginia Blue Ridge Music Festival (VBRMF) began its 2014 weekend program with a horn performance at the Floyd Community Market, adding a festive note to the downtown Jamboree street scene Friday evening.   A Family Concert, dubbed From Baroque to Billy Joel, was presented the following morning at the Floyd EcoVillage.  It brought together different centuries and different styles of music in a presentation that the Festival’s Artistic Director and Conductor, David Wiley, called “connecting the dots.”

The Family Concert’s featured quartet –Wiley on piano, Julee Hickcox on flute, John Smith on bass and Al Wojtera on drums – performed classical pieces that have resurfaced in modern music.  Giving background details on songs from film and popular culture, Wiley explained that modern composers borrowed and modified great tunes from earlier periods before copyright laws existed.

The quartet played Bach’s Air on a G String, which is recognizable in Procol Harem’s 1967 song A Whiter Shade of Pale.  Jethro Tull’s front man and flutist, Ian Anderson, incorporated Bach harmonies to make Rock and Roll music of ‘80s, explained Wiley, who also introduced his new composition called 5-Legged Table, which he referred to as “a 20^th century take on ragtime.” 

The Saturday evening Gala Concert drew an overflow crowd and included an intermission reception and an outdoor Sunset Serenade at the LakePavilion with the Blacksburg Community Band. The Gala featured Concertmaster and violinist Akemi Takayama and mandolinist Jeff Midkiff, who together showcased the blending of bluegrass and classical music.

 Midkiff, who was raised on Bluegrass music and is a professional clarinetist and one-time member of the Little River Band, has composed works commissioned by Wiley as the Music Director and Conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra (RSO).  Accompanied by the evening’s ensemble, Midkiff presented a sneak preview of a newly commissioned composition, which will premiere in November with the RSO and at the Moss Center at Virginia Tech, before it goes “on it’s way to being performed all over the world,” Wiley noted.

Midkiff also debuted an energetic piece titled Run for Your Life at Saturday’s Gala Concert. The evening’s program closed on a breathtaking high note with a memorable and passionate Tango composition by Astor Piazzolla.

“Perky, quirky, original and tongue-in-cheek” are words that Wiley used to describe The Kitchen Review, a Musical Play with Ragtime, Tango and … “everything, including the kitchen sink” that was performed at Sunday’s afternoon Art and Music in the Mountains Concert. 

In the Kitchen Review, written by Bohuslav Martinu in 1927, the escapades of a simmering pot and lid come to life through string, brass, woodwind and piano instrumentation.  Festival musicians performed a masterful rendition and Wiley narrated parts of the play, adding drama and local references that brought laughter from some in the crowd.

“It’s so much fun and Wiley’s introductions add a huge dimension to the music,” said attendee Christina Behrens. “I can’t believe this is available. I’m so inspired that I’m
going to volunteer to help next year,” added Behrens, whose grandfather came to the U.S. from Holland and founded and conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C.

Sunday’s final concert also featured the music of Mozart and Beethoven and closed with Dvorak’s Serenade for Winds and Strings, chosen by Wiley because of its expression of joy and farewell.

Before the closing number Wiley thanked everyone involved in the weekend festival,
including the Blacksburg New School students, who created art, inspired from recordings of the music presented over the weekend, which was displayed throughout
the building.

“Stay in touch as we get ready for the big 2015 season with full orchestra and academy fellows (May 27 – June 7),” Wiley encouraged the crowd.  “I’m looking forward to celebrating more possibilities of fusing classical music with music from the mountains,” he added.

Note: For more information visit virginiasblueridgemusicfestival.org or check out the festival on Facebook.  Watch a video clip of what Wiley described as
“danger, passion, intrigue and romance all wrapped up in a tango, performed at the June 7th Gala event HERE and bit of Midkiff’s bluegrass fusion HERE. Read about last year’s 11 day festival HERE.