I’ve been so fortunate to have experienced many “pinch me” moments in my career so far. Recently, this came in the form of being asked to spend a week working at the Kennedy Center.
I first met Rootstock Republic in 2019 through Monique Brooks-Roberts, who I met through Daniel Bowen (see yesterday’s post). Rootstock, along with Drea D’Nur, came to Philly to provide the transcendent headlining performance to the Singing Nina Festival that I co-produced in 2019. Since then, we have built a wonderful relationship of mutual love and respect that has taken us to several places along the east coast for various performances. The trust that Rootstock Republic has given me to reinforce their sound on the stage and in the studio is a true honor and a true collaboration.
Each Kindness is the latest book by acclaimed children’s author Jacqueline Woodson. The Kennedy Center commissioned Rootstock Republic’s Juliette Jones to write a work to accompany a reading of the book. We took up residence for a week in DC to rehearse and perform the piece for audiences young and old. Juliette’s score was sophisticated without being inaccessible to the young audiences, and included great engagement and interaction with everyone in the theatre.
Now, a confession: live sound is not my favorite type of work. I find it to be stressful and often detached from the art of audio (leaning more towards the science of audio), and the music being made. You can find me happiest in the controlled studio environment. When I do accept live sound gigs, it’s for the artists I love and oftentimes are performances with special considerations. Amplifying strings properly is certainly a special consideration, and a challenge. Orchestral strings are nuanced, dynamic, and above all, not designed to be amplified! But when everything is dialed in *just* right, the results can be stunning. My goal was to fill the hall with beautiful sound, which was achieved through careful balancing between the acoustic sound from the stage and the speakers around the room. It helped to be able to mix the concert in surround, as KC is equipped with small speakers seemingly everywhere. This allowed the audience to be immersed in the music from all angles. I learned a lot during my week in DC and loved every moment of being a part of this project!
The performances gathered several positive reviews, check them out here and here.
