East Scarlets Turn “Blue” for Master Class in Music
Musicians from Blue Man Group presented a special class for band, orchestra, vocal and drama students at East High School.
Blue Man Group is conspicuous by design but you’d figure particularly so in a Scarlet crowd, right?
Actually, no – Friday afternoon a pair of music educators who also happen to be percussionists in the acclaimed show’s band brought the Blues to an eager roomful of students at East High School for a workshop that was red hot.
Jesse Nolan is BMG’s Music Director and he brought along a teammate, Anthony Riscica, to demonstrate that those who teach also do, and how!
“Life on tour gets boring,” said Nolan. “Working with students is the sort of stuff that Anthony and I love to do. We look for these opportunities in the cities we visit.”
So when the show stopped in Des Moines for eight performances this week Des Moines Performing Arts Education Manager Karoline Myers contacted the fine arts staff at East to see if there was interest in a peek behind the scenes of a mesmerizing production Nolan and Riscica described as “painting with sound.”
Was there ever! East Band Director Joe Thering, Orchestra Director Jennifer Luft, Vocal Music Director Traci Squires and Drama Director Jamaal Allan packed the band room with their protégés for a full block of role-playing, Q&A, and videos of actual BMG performances that served as prompts for live exercises.
“What happens when something goes wrong in the middle of a show?” one student wondered. “Do you guys just roll with it or what?”
“We have contingency rehearsals,” Nolan answered. “We practice ways to fill in the blanks if something unplanned happens so the audience, hopefully, won’t know the difference.”
Sort of like a football team works on a two-minute drill just in case it finds itself behind because things haven’t exactly gone according to game plan.
Riscica explained that during a show the band doesn’t have a conductor to watch. With BMG the (mute) Blues are the conductors. “We have to watch their every move because our music gives voice to their body language.”
So why is it Blue MAN Group, not Blue Men? Because the three together represent a composite being. By playing off of one another they express the range of emotions and sensations that constitute being alive. One show clip called “Drumbone” featured the use of PVC pipe like a slide trombone played with drumsticks. It was reminiscent of inner-city drum lines that use five-gallon pickle buckets to earn donations from passersby on the street or toddlers making drum sets from kettles and spoons – elevated to a polished art form.
The workshop ended when the last bell sounded. Students left for the weekend. Nolan and Riscica headed for the Civic Center, upbeat. Five more shows, then back on the road. Blue is what they do, but not how they feel.
