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I was born and raised in Minneapolis, trained at Macphail by Mark Bjork from age four. I earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Manhattan School of Music, and was off to Miami Beach, home of the New World Symphony. Three and a half years of super-intense orchestral and chamber music work, and I landed my hometown gig. (Only five of us natives belong to the Minnesota Orchestra.) I joined the Musical Offering about 1999 when the members asked me to. I had filled in as second violin the previous season. I have always thrived on chamber music (I won the chamber music award along with my bachelor's), and going pro was not something I was going to pass up. I especially love the medium of the string quartet, so I try to have at least one every season. I like it because for a string ensemble, it is concise in number, and complete at the same time. The instruments are so similar that they work like a family. They have aggressive and/or submissive roles. They argue musically, and push and pull one another, all the while speaking the same language and working together. As a group, the Offering provides imaginative programming, brief talks about each work before it's played, and high-level performances. By imaginative programming I mean we don't just do recognizable standards but unusual works that have been neglected and are seldom heard. I am really excited that this year six members of the ensemble are now Minnesotans! And this season we get to do the Beethoven Ghost trio in January. I have never played it and I can't wait. The Brahms sextet is the standard for all sextets, and you must hear it. And the same program features the sextet from Capriccio by my favorite composer, Richard Strauss. I have been waiting to perform this in public since I read it with friends in college. The audience too should feel the excitement. Our performances may be like a page-turning novel. The close physical proximity that the listeners have makes them watchers as well. It makes us excited to read how an audience reacts, especially when we are engaging more senses than they may be used to. The audience can hear us breathe, see us sweat, and watch our eyes as we interact with our colleagues. This is a one-shot business, so in order to give a good performance while being so exposed we have to use all of our senses and sensibilities to pull it off. I think people three to 25 feet away from us can pick up on that! Even if some people find classical music dull or removed in some
way, chamber music may be a better experience for them. The intimacy of a small
group can engage an audience like no other. |
Michael
Sutton — violin