MMA Architect Inc. and Windsor Ontario Architect, Stuart Miller hope you enjoy our blog. We take a fresh approach to business blogging, highlighting a variety of topics.
Hello Business Tribe,
It’s Music Monday at MMA.
As music enthusiasts, and a musician myself, orchestral performances are grist for the motivational mill and always inspirational. Hence, our MMA Architect Inc. team takes the time to support our local symphony orchestra by attending concerts & events, joining the symphony guild and spreading the word about our outstanding orchestra under the leadership of the talented Conductor Robert Franz.
Yesterday, we were privileged to attend the Windsor Symphony’s performance of West Side Story. This tribute to Leonard Bernstein on the year of his 100th birthday was outstanding. A tear even involuntarily rolled down my cheek during one of the many numbers done with exceptional vocal soloists, accompanying the orchestra in a dramatic and dynamic format. The audience was riveted and at the close of the performance gave a unanimous raving ovation.
The celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday in 2018 is happening worldwide, and rightfully so. Bernstein, an American musical genius, was the creator of now historic landmark compositions. “West Side Story” is one of his most popular. This musical or as I see it an ‘American operetta’ has enough ear-worms* to sink a ship. “I Feel Pretty” is my all-time favourite, but not to be eclipsed by other equally catchy and memorable tunes in the composition, …..
- “Jet Song” (Tucker Smith, Jets) – 2:06
- “Something’s Coming” (Jim Bryant) – 2:32
- “Maria” (Bryant) – 2:34
- “America” (Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Sharks & Girls) – 4:59
- “Tonight” (Jim Bryant, Marni Nixon) – 6:43
- “Gee, Officer Krupke” (Russ Tamblyn, Jets) – 4:14
- “One Hand, One Heart” (Bryant, Nixon) – 3:02
- “Tonight Quintet” (Bryant, Nixon, Moreno, Jets, Sharks. “The counterpoint section of Anita’s vocals are performed here by Nixon”) – 3:22
- “Somewhere” (Bryant, Nixon) – 2:03
- “Cool” (Tucker Smith, Jets) – 4:21
- “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love” (Betty Wand, Nixon) – 4:28
We can thank Stephen Sondheim for the lyrics.
The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music refers to the American musical as “originating in the operetta but stripped down of that form’s conventional absurdities.” The American musical as a new genre first appeared successfully on the musical scene in the 1940’s, gripping the musical world and continuing to grow in popularity with each passing decade. Although Gershwin’s ‘folk opera’ Porgy and Bess (1935) was the first to lay the groundwork for this American musical style, Bernstein helped to solidify it. Bernstein, much like Gershwin, became highly acclaimed as a composer for his lyrical expression and rhythmically propelled sounds of an urban environment. As a humanitarian, he also saw fit to allow his music to be a vehicle to address deeper cultural issues that are still relevant today.
Why does Bernstein’s musical architecture still pack a powerful social message? Because more than ever we need to understand the need for inclusion and the acceptance of the “other” in our lives. We need to hold the hands of strangers. We need to stop feeling violated and invaded by other cultures, races or sexual orientations and instead embrace the richness they can bring to North America and our global family. Lest we forget we are a continent of immigrants. We cannot expect to simply pull the ‘geographical freedom card’ when it comes to the mass migration of people currently on the move. Bernstein’s West Side Story reminds us of the need to find answers to how we can be inclusive of cultures seemingly alien to our perception of North American life and values and how they, in turn, participate in communities across the continent.
Bernstein was a “radically chic” genius and his legacy was the message of inclusivity as spread through the medium of music. To explore his compositions and read more about the man the NY Times called, “a good American success story,” hashtag #NYTimes and search Leonard Bernstein or visit the official website for this gifted composer and conductor, www.leonardbernstein.com.
~K. A. Miller
- A tune that gets stuck in your head an cause you to end up whistling it for an entire day.
MMA Architect Inc. and, Windsor Ontario Architect Stuart Miller, B. Arch., OAA enjoy working with Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Ontario businesses and homeowners to create efficiencies that promote business growth and improve lifestyles. MMA Architect Inc. looks forward to serving clients with a variety of quality services.
MMA Architect Inc. licensed professional architect, Windsor, Ontario aka @YQGArchitect, MMAarchBlog ~ ©MMA Architect Inc., September 24, 2018, Blog 28.