Meera, our Summer Intern from UNC-Chapel Hill, continues her ongoing dispatches on New York City, EtM, the nonprofit world, and the performing arts…

Imagine a room filled with drones in different chordal structures coming from a violin and piano. As you close your eyes and listen to the music with hints of minimalism and the familiar feel of bluegrass, you find yourself in one of your most peaceful states.

Next, pretend you are taken back to your childhood days where you played with fire breathing dragons and princes and princesses to the sounds of flute, violin, cello and percussion. A choreography of modern dance in the midst of paper mache trees and erratic runs of notes from the instruments remind you of the magical stories you used to create in your mind when you were young.

 

This past weekend, EtM Con Edison Composers-in-Residence Matt McBane and Richard Carrick allowed us to travel to these musical spaces and relive fantasies of our own through their compositions.

Matt McBane, whose residency was at Brooklyn Youth Chorus, performed a series of works for violin and piano with collaborator Lorna Krier on Friday night.

 

Saturday afternoon, Richard Carrick orchestrated a music-filled children’s play,
“Adventures in the Enchanted Forest: The Dragon’s Fire,” with the help of musicians, dancers, and storytellers at Turtle Bay Music School. (Richard’s own children, Hannah and Claude, made appearances as well!)