APRIL 2020

THE ARTFUL MIND CELEBRATING 26 YEARS OF INSPIRATION AND PROMOTING OF THE ARTS THROUGHOUT THE BERKSHIRES

GILI MELAMED-LEV Photography by Tasja Keetman

Interview by Harryet Candeee Photography by Tasja Keetman

Gili, your most recent music collaborative series that you and jazz pianist, Dr. Joe Gold have created, JAZZ AND CLASSICS FOR CHANGE, wraps around a potent and meaningful theme. Timely! Tell us why you chose this theme? Both Joe and I strongly believe in the healing power of music and we care deeply about the community we live in. Through inspiring music performed by world class musicians, Jazz and Classics for Change’s mission is to bring focus and attention to social changes that we are grappling with today.

tegrity”, the next performance in this series Jazz and Classics for Change. Who will be performing at St. James Place in Great Barrington, May 16th at 7pm? Jazz pianist Armen Donelian will perform with vocalist Dominique Eade. George Schuller on the drums and David Clark on the bass. Armen chose to call this concert A Concert for Public Integrity, and in his words:

“Truth is an overriding and urgent issue of our time, perhaps of all time. We are swimming in lies. The root of lying is fear and truth. But the truth is our ally in assessing the reality of things as they are, and in charting a course for skillful future action that brings harmony and reduces suffering. Like a ship’s captain, we need to know where we are before we can map our course. Young people relate to this instantly. Disdain for the truth has put our country and the whole world is in peril. Truth is often feared because facing it leads to change, which we often resist. With any issue of significance — climate change, immigration, foreign policy, education, diversity, mental health, the mistreatment of children — the search for truth is the underlying factor that leads to productive outcomes. This concert focuses attention on the search for truth in public life — both in the artistic realm, as we play and listen to music together

Gili and Dr. Joe Gold photograph by Tasja Keetman

free from commercial influences and programmatic agenda — as well in the social realm, as we relate to others free from manipulation and exploitation.” I am wondering, how do these concerts you manage come together? What work is involved in order to get the show on the road and tickets sold? This is a complex questions and requires a long answer as many aspects are involved. Who is the concert intended to and which audience will it attract. What kind of music will they appreciate. Which configuration of musicians will work best for the particular music. Next step is approaching the musicians. All this work needs to be done about a year in advance. Once this is in place, there is endless amount of work securing the hall, getting the necessary funds, publicity, reaching out to businesses for the program guide, working closely with our graphic designer, etc. It takes a team to put a show on the road! This is without mentioning the many, many hours of learning the repertoire and rehearsing with the other musicians. What concert can you recall that you directed is most memorable to you? It is hard to pick up one concert in particular. A few that I can mention are the opening concert of Jazz and Classics for Change this past February, and, a concert to raise funds for cancer patients fund. In both, the music served as a vehicle to help others. Different elements came together as many individuals worked for the greater good and each gave as much as they could for its success. Do you find it challenging at times working with other musician on projects? Working on a new program can be challenging at times. Especially playing chamber music when in a relatively short time, in a few rehearsals, you are trying to achieve unity of sound and interpretation. This is also the beauty of all this. It offers a unique opportunity to connect. One of the hardest things, especially these days when we are afraid to open up our hearts. Gili, please tell us about your most recent piano concert in Israel. How does it feel going back to Israel where you grew up? I love to connect to the cultural life there, especially through playing. Next year I will start coaching young gifted musicians. The last concert I played in Israel at the end of February, was at the Eden-Tamir Music Center Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND APRIL 2020 • 15

Eugene Drucker, Roberta Cooper, Gili Melamed-Lev February 17, 2018

which is located in Ein Kerem, an ancient and picturesque suburb of Jerusalem. A beautiful place. Together with three fantastic musicians from the Israeli Philharmonic, we played two piano quartets. The concert was dedicated to my parents who passed away in January. So very sorry to hear that, Gili. Maybe you feel nervous before getting on stage? What methods do you personally work with relax and prepare before entering the stage? I found that breathing exercises, visualization and meditation exercise, and some yoga and QiContinued on next page... gong are very helpful. There are many reasons why one feels butterflies before going on stage and that differs from concert to concert. Each event has its own story and level of nervousness without rhyme or reason. Each time it is a threshold to cross. This new meeting with the audience. You know, you prepare at home, but once on stage, a dialogue begins with the audience and they play an important role in the dialogue and how we, the musicians are able to communicate with them. In each concert and event, my aim is to offer a meaningful and inspiring experience to the audience.

Wondering, Gili, what is your most favorite mastered piano piece that you love to play for friends and family when you have the chance? J.S. Bach’s Goldberg variations, Brahms Intermezzo in A Major Op. 118. Chopin Nocturne and Ballad No. 1. Okay, I will have to listen to those. Was there an experience you had when you were very young that opened up the love and passion for music? Growing up in a home where music was part of our daily life and frequent visitors by musicians and dancers was inspiring of itself. My mother was a pianist and worked as an editor of classical radio programs, and as the assistant to the administrator director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. My father was one of the founding members of the television station in Israel and helpe build the audio system there. As a child, I spent hours listening and attending recordings of live concerts and at home witnessing the editing process. During high school, I loved to sit at orchestra rehearsals and witness the process of a piece unfolding. Even though I started playing the piano at age six, it was only when I was sixteen that I consciously remember that there was nothing more profound and beautiful than music for me. This was greatly enhanced and materialized after I was fortunate to participate in an ongoing chamber music course for gifted musicians held by Isaac Stern. There, the greatness and beauty of chamber music touched me deeply. Gili, how do you spend an average workday? How do you spend a day of leisure? A workday starts with meditation, yoga or walking, practicing for 3 - 4 hours, working with my students, and 3 - 4 hours of office work that is related to the production and management of my new concept series, Jazz and Classics for Change, and my concert schedule. A leisure day will involve spending time with family, working in the garden or taking a walk, meeting with friends or going to a concert, a show, or a movie or a social event. You are also a piano teacher, giving master classes at colleges such as Williams, and, over the years, have acted as a judge in your students’ competitions. What do you find yourself telling your students over and over that they must have under their belt when learning music? Commitment and inner discipline are some of the important keys in learning anything. When working to master an instrument, if you don’t make it a daily activity, if you don’t show up to

the work on a daily basis, making it part of your daily life, you will not be able to bear the fruits of the great joy of making music. Do you ever use art in your music classes to explain a theory or a part of music history? All the time. It is of great help to the students to connect to music and understand it better and deeper through the visual arts, especially through colors, textures and the sense of movement. Music history can become more accessible through understanding the fashion, landscape and manner of the time and the historical period in which specific pieces were written. Who was your mentor while studying music, and has that changed now? I was very fortunate to have a few wonderful mentors. My first teacher growing up in Jerusalem was Bracha Eden and then I had a few remarkable years with Shoshana Cohen who helped me turn a corner after my army service and recommended that I continue my studies at Julliard where I studied with Sascha Gorodnitzki, Miyoko Nayaka-Lotto, and Gyorgy Sandor. Albert Lotto was also an influential and inspiring teacher after I graduated. Their teachings continue to inspire me to this day. Is it possible that piano playing becomes a different experience for you when it becomes a part of a duet, or when it accompanies voice, or, part of an orchestra? Yes, of course. This also holds true when playing with string or wind instruments. Each configuration of instrument or playing with singers or as a soloist with an orchestra requires from the piano a different role, to project differently and to support the other instruments differently. Tell us about the Lev-Evans Duo? Pianist Mark Evans and I formed The LevEvans Duo eight years ago in response to people approaching us after performances and encouraging us to perform more together. Since then we enjoy exploring the wonderful repertoire for piano 4 hands and 2 pianos. Three years ago, we recorded our CD with music by Brahms, Lasser and Dvorak. Composer Phillip Lasser arranged one of his pieces for piano 4 hands. What kind of piano do you have? A beautiful sounding Steinway grand. What qualities do you insist on your piano having in order for it to work for you? ( A piano that self-tunes would be a great idea!) A beautiful lyrical tone and an even touch. For that the piano needs to be tuned and it’s action voiced and regulated. Please tell us about The Snow Goose on CD, and who was involved in this production? The Snow Goose was created out of a collaboration with the Australian actor John McManus. It was on the road for a number of months and then recorded. It is based on the book of the Pulitzer prize winning author Paul Gallico on the regenerative power of friendship and love, set

Gili and Dr. Joe Gold outside of St. James Place, Great Barrington, MA Photograph by Tasja Keetman

against a backdrop of the horror of war. Music by Bach, Satie, Debussy, Brahms, Faure and Prokofiev was woven into the story and gave it another dimension. What are you planning for upcoming recitals? At the end of March a concert with violinist Emily Daggett-Smith and cellist Ronald Feldman with works by Beethoven, Schubert, Bach, Piazzol and Mendelsohn. In April, a concert with violinist Eugene Drucker, violinist William Frampton, cellist Roberta Cooper and bassist Timm Cobb playing works by Dvorak and Schubert, and also three concerts with violinist Ella Vaulin, Michael Slatkin on the French Horn and Liri Ronen, a student from Bar College, playing works by Brcuh, Schuller, Brahms, Bach and Piazzolla.

www.jcfc.info jazzandclassicsforchange.org Thank you Gili! I look forward to being at one of your next concerts.