I often have wild ideas that people think I'll just give up on or forget but they're wrong. "The Illharmonic Rockestra" is a cheesy gimmicky dream that I've had for a while and I think could be real and successful. I dream of an orchestra my non music literate friends can have fun seeing and listening to. An orchestra that plays not arrangements of "popular" music but artistic renditions, re-realizations, remixes, and originals that prominantly display the 2nd and 4th beat of 4/4 time. Maybe by adding backbeats to loved tunes or classicizing music with backbeats. I want the eurocentric orchestra to have an american groove like all the hip hop synth orchestra samples, techno remixes, jazz, and epic rock ballads I hear constantly. Henry Cowell talked about universal orchestras that encompass all styles and I think now more than ever could an orchestra achieve this dream and with monetary benefits.
The idea came from the fact that I was sick of uber intellectual music during my studies and the pretensions that went along with them, I set out to make music that snooty people would, well, snoot at. I wrote a medley composed of rap beats I heard on the radio, a classic rhythm that was created by Kraftwerk and sampled by Afrikaabumbataa who was then sampled by Common, I took Wu Tang, Outkast, Ludakris, and generally things that would anger "class--ical" officianatos. I found one musician for each part and had them play on my senior recital as my big blowout. The reaction was great filled with laughs, head bobs, and honest appraisal even from my father! This was not a perfect performance nor technically virtuostic but it didn't matter, we had fun. My professor, Robert Black, said it was the first time he had seen in a senior recital performance that the performers onstage were smiling. The principle violinist of my school's orchestra told me it was the most entertaining recital she had seen all year.
I find it funny that big orchestras often try to relate to the masses with "rock" style concerts featuring Shred Mcderkin on 80's metal guitar or electric flying-V violin and end up, instead of relating to the masses, showing how out of touch the orchestra is with "normal" people. They do it as a gimmick but not in serious consideration. The two examples of successful "cross over" attempts I've seen is Kenny Muhammed with the NY Phil. and The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssee playing their arrangements of Beethoven 3 & 6 with The Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra. There is also The Video Game orchestra that plays Final Fantasy Music and other video game sound tracks.
Maybe I'm just missing something and this is old hat. Maybe I'm onto something that resonates with a lot of people. I don't know but I just picked up Alex Ross's new book and I can't help from remembering my idea and how great I think it would be.
I don't mean to say I dislike classical music in any way but I think the concert going culture could use a shock to the system. I don't mean to make music mediocre or dumbed down but this is an honest feeling coming from a person who grew up with popular, alternative, rock, jazz, hip hop, and techno music but some how ended up studying classical. Its been a popular move through history for a "serious" composer to take inspiration from "folk" material. As Louis Armstrong said, "All music is folk music. I aint heard no horse sing a song."
If anything I hope to inspire but I also hope I can find like minded people who live in NYC (or elsewhere if that works) and can help or participate in a crazy idea. I'm wondering if any of you feel the same way I do. Let me know.
Link to the Original