by Steven Blier | Aug 27, 2024 | Blier's Blog
Let’s not bury the lede: the hall was full (I feared that we’d have a sparse crowd), and the reception was rapturous. For once, that descriptor is not hyperbole. The hall in Orient is not large, and there is the palpable sense of a community coming together for a...
by Steven Blier | Aug 26, 2024 | Blier's Blog
Dress rehearsal? Well, it went smoothly enough. 95% of the lyrics were in place, a few of the numbers got their best performance yet, and everything was, as we say, at a level. Katherine, who had told us we wouldn’t be seeing the lights until the performance, managed...
by Steven Blier | Aug 24, 2024 | Blier's Blog
Today was “suck it up and run the show” day, and we got to the double-bar with no casualties. My resolution to accept the piano on its own terms got me through Act I, but it began to crumble the moment Act II started. One of my problems is that I have no time to fix...
by Steven Blier | Aug 23, 2024 | Blier's Blog
It’s probably just as well that I always forget how hard it is to put on a program like this, or I’d be tempted to present a concert of nursery rhymes. When I was planning it, I was completely focussed on the program’s musical flow and emotional arc. It’s something...
by Steven Blier | Aug 22, 2024 | Blier's Blog
Normally Wednesday is a carefree, playful day during a week-long residency. The concert seems pleasantly distant, though it’s only four days from now (forever, we think). Everything is simmering nicely, and no one is anxious about memory. There’s plenty of time to...
by Steven Blier | Aug 21, 2024 | Blier's Blog
When you have a program with a bunch of duets, and you also have a director on duty, Day 2 is going to be Stage the Duets Day. A solo song doesn’t usually need a lot of movement, and both of the guys have already done some prep work on their material before they...
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