The Pied Piper Of Classical Music

Robert Kapilow, of "What Makes It Great?," deconstructs "West Side Story" in Ann Arbor
Summer Festival performance.

SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News

Ann Arbor
omething's coming to Ann Arbor that will
offer new insights into the song "Something's
Coming" from Leonard Bernstein's hit musi-
cal West Side Story.
What's coming is "What Makes It Great?" — a
concert exploring musical numbers featured in the
Bernstein production that updates the story of
Romeo and Juliet.
The program, developed by conductor-composer-
commentator Robert Kapilow in a series presented
at New York's Lincoln Center, features Kapilow at a
piano and Broadway vocalists Diane Sutherland and
Michael Winther. The program begins 8 p.m.
Tuesday, June 22, at the Power Center as part of the
Ann Arbor Summer Festival.
Now in its 21st season, the festival features a line-
up of shows from June 11 July 4. There are main
stage programs, divided between the Power Center
and the Hill Auditorium, and a special classical
series at Blanche Anderson Moore Hall. Besides a
special free concert, local acts appear for free on the
Top of the Park, the Fletcher Street parking struc-
ture, where there also are free movies.
"The idea is to show what makes music that we
listen to all the time so great," explains Kapilow, 50,
who originated his concert series idea on National
Public Radio as part of the station's Performance
Today program. "We combine discussions and
demonstrations so the audience will hear the music
in a new way.
"It will be kind of an interactive experience as
well. I'll play different versions from out-of-town
tryouts of the play and ask the audience to sing dif-
ferent versions that I've composed. There's also a
question-and-answer period at the end."
Kapilow, who taught at Yale and conducted the
university symphony, has been doing this series for
10 years, covering a range of music from the classics
to his own compositions for kids. He got the idea
while moonlighting as maestro for the musical Nine
on Broadway and maintaining his assignments at
Yale.
"It was fascinating to me that everybody clearly
got the music in Nine but did not do so with clas-
sics," Kapilow recalls. "I kept feeling there was so
much I could get people to hear if only I could stop
and show them.
"When I conducted at Yale, I felt I wanted to turn
around and ask the audience if they heard this or
noticed that. I kept thinking there's all this fantastic
music if only I could get people to notice how great
it was."
Kapilow started doing programs on National
Public Radio to explain serious pieces and gradually

S

developed his approach for concert halls. He would
talk about the parts of a symphony, present demon-
strations of the points he was making and then play
the entire piece.
Although Kapilow, raised in New York State, start-
ed playing the piano at age 4, it was not out of a
passion for music. He hated hearing the way his
mother played and decided she would stop if he
spent time at the instrument. As his playing expand-
ed, so did his interests, and he moved on to violin,
flute and electric guitar, for a time appearing with
teen rock bands.

Kapilow says. "I stayed for two summers and the
year in between.
"When I came back home, I finished Yale and
went on to graduate school at the Eastman School
of Music. After working at Yale, I went out profes-
sionally and did guest conducting and composing. I
write tons and tons of pieces for orchestras all over
the world."
Although raised in a Jewish home, Kapilow feels
his closest connection to religion has been through
musical experiences. He composed a piece based on
Michael Rosen's children's novel Elijah's Angel, which
is about an African-American wood carver who
befriends an Orthodox Jewish boy, and made it part
of a December holiday show he does in Boston to
attract people of all faiths.
Kapilow, married and the father of three, likes to
do most of his performances from September to
May and leave the summer months for composing.
His optimum work routine runs 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
in his home studio, where he houses a Steinway
piano, digital keyboard and sequencer.
"When I write music, I do it the old-fashioned
way with pencil and paper," he says. "My publisher
has it all put into the computer."
The composer is looking forward to the upcom-
ing release of three recordings based on his "What
Makes It Great?" concerts. The two for adults will
involve Mozart's Jupiter symphony and Eine kleine
Nachtmusik, while the children's piece recalls a Dr.
Seuss story through his adapted Green Eggs d

Hamadeus.
Current projects include a symphony about the
Lewis and Clark expedition, a tap dance concerto
and a children's piece related to "Casey at the Bat."
"I've been very fortunate that the Bernstein estate
and the Library of Congress gave me a really
remarkable set of access to all the sketches and origi-
nal versions of West Side Story," says Kapilow, whose
programs are aimed at people with a wide range of
musical knowledge.
"The Ann Arbor concert is all about access. I
want to show the difference between listening and
hearing and provide entry into the world of music
for as many different people as I can." ❑

Robert Kapilow travels around the country enlightening
audiences about classical music.

When Kapilow entered Yale, he had no intention
of making music his profession. He tried many
fields, but his defining moment came after his sec-
ond year. While spending a summer in France
studying with Nadia Boulanger, teacher for such
musical personalities as Aaron Copland and Philip
Glass, he. received compelling encouragement.
"I moved to France to study every day with her,
and it was the greatest single experience I ever had,"

Robert Kapilow presents "What Makes
It Great?" 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, at
the Power Center, Fletcher near East Huron,
in Ann Arbor. $26-$38. Tickets for other Ann
Arbor Summer Festiyal performances range
from $20-$60. (734) 647-2278 or
vvvvw.annarborsturunerfestival.org .

For a complete festival schedule, visit

www.detroitjewishnews.corn.

6/11
2004

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