2025 SYAMFA Concerto Concert Program Notes
Prelude: To Music
In his seminal book, Musicking, the late musicologist Christopher Small suggested that music functions more like a verb—a process—and less like a noun. He coined the phrase “to music,” meaning that any activity involved in the presentation of music, from the composer who may have written a work centuries ago, to the musicians performing in real time on stage, to the listening audience—even the ushers and stage hands—are all participating in the performance. Factoring in so many individuals across time and space in the process of presenting a concert enhances the depth of meaning in a musical performance. While Small’s concept never caught on beyond a handful of music scholars, his ideas help us better understand tonight’s performance of six young artists who have been selected by the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association to perform as soloists with Philharmonia Northwest. Taking into account Christopher Small’s encouragement to think of a music concert as a process as much as an event, let us consider and celebrate how Lily, Anderson, Maia, Hana, Kyle, and Miyako arrived on our stage tonight.
Practicing: Sacrifice and Discipline
The concertos we hear on tonight’s program all have something in common: they each require many hours of practice to perform well. As a clarinetist for over 40 years, and a music educator for 23 of those, I can attest to the magnitude of what practice means to a young musician who desires to reach the level of proficiency that tonight’s soloists have attained. Practicing a musical instrument can be an intensely lonely enterprise, full of sacrifice. A musician will spend many hours in a small room doing the most mundane activities—running scales and arpeggios, holding long tones to improve sound, drilling specific passages over and over—so that the minuscule muscles of the fingers, hands, and lips, can connect to the synapses of the brain, allowing the most complicated passages to seem effortless. It can be hard for the non-musician to fully appreciate that reaching performance level for the concertos we hear tonight requires not only countless hours of practice on the specific pieces, but many additional hours to maintain a level of basic conditioning to be ready to even approach these concertos. We are accustomed to this type of conditioning with professional athletes and their drive to be in excellent shape for game day, but we forget that a musician must do the same: constantly maintain their form so that complicated pieces can be within their technical reach.
Adding to the complexity is the need for this intense practice to eventually disappear into art. In the end, we do not attend a concert to hear someone play scales and arpeggios but to transmit emotions through an artform. What our soloists have achieved by bringing these six concertos to life is a rare thing: the refinement of skills to such a degree that they no longer draw attention to themselves but point to something larger. This level of discipline and sacrifice is something to celebrate.
It Takes a Village: A Celebration of Parents and Teachers
While practicing is a solitary activity, it takes a village to produce a young musician at the caliber we will hear tonight. At the heart of this are the parents and extended family members who sacrifice time and resources for the musical education of their children. This may include countless drives across town for lessons or rehearsals, expenses for the purchase and maintenance of instruments, tuition for summer festivals, camps, and competitions, not to mention the ever-present sounds of someone practicing scales in their home! Without the familial support system, high-level training as a musician is simply not possible. Working in tandem with families, and often becoming like a family member, are the teachers and mentors who guide young musicians on their path. These are complex relationships where a master musician must find ways to be simultaneously rigorous and patient, an inspiration but also a stickler for detail. In classical music, pedigree is of importance and musicians enjoy tracing the lineage of their teachers. Our six soloists each have teachers who helped bring them to the stage tonight and these young musicians, in turn, bring honor to their teachers and their teacher’s teachers. By celebrating family and teachers, we get a deeper glimpse into the process that brings us such remarkable music this evening.
Courage: A Celebration of the Individual
Rising above all of what we can say about our six soloists, is the courage it takes to willfully place yourself in a situation where you may face disappointment. Lily, Anderson, Maia, Hana, Kyle, and Miyako believe in themselves and their musical abilities enough to enter the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association Concerto Competition, knowing they may not be selected in the final round. Once selected, there is an equal amount of courage to step onto the stage to perform with Philharmonia Northwest. The special kind of courage that goes into a musical performance is a celebration of the individual and their belief in themselves. Tonight’s soloists, who range in age from 10 to 17, are each to be commended for their steadfast commitment to their craft and to their belief in what music brings to the world.
Circling back to Christopher Small’s encouragement to see music as a process involving many people across time and space, I believe tonight’s concert takes on extra meaning when we consider the many individuals that bring us to this moment. Tonight is a celebration of these six remarkable young musicians, of the families and teachers that supported them on their journey, and of the enduring partnership of two great musical organizations in Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association and Philharmonia Northwest. Our applause is for each soloist, and all that brought them to the stage.
James Falzone
Dean and Professor of Music
Cornish College of the Arts