Ridgewood Concert Band : Martha Mooke
Martha Mooke is a pioneer in the field of the electric viola/violin performance who uses her classical music training along with digital effects processing and improvisation to create a unique musical voice. She has toured internationally as a member of Barbra Streisand’s acclaimed orchestra during the North American 2006 and European 2007 tours and traveled throughout North America with “Star Wars In Concert”. In addition to being a performer and recording artist, she is an award-winning composer and a clinician who introduces students to new concepts of playing and listening.
The Ridgewood Concert Band is excited to be working with Ms. Mooke this season. She will be performing her own composition “X-ING” with the RCB at their upcoming concert in December. This piece was born out of conversations between Ms. Mooke and RCB Music Director Chris Wilhjelm, who had played in various orchestras together over the years. According to Ms. Mooke, the thought of the combination of sound worlds between the electric viola (with electronic processing) and concert band was “incredibly inspiring” and her goal in creating the piece was to make the collaboration “as organic and unique as possible.”
A string soloist and a concert band is not a traditional pairing in music. However, because she plays an electric/amplified string instrument, the usual “audibility handicap”, as Ms. Mooke said, of an acoustic string instrument is removed.
The title “X-ING” was inspired by road signs (i.e. Deer XING, Pedestrian XING). This piece is an “Electric Viola-Concert Band X-ING” with three movements that portray three different “X-ING” concepts: Pegasus (as in winged horse X-ING), X-ING Over and Double X-ING.
Martha Mooke invites the audience to experience the music – not merely listen to it. She said, “If it moves the listener, feel free to respond – a smile, applause, a sigh, a tear, a grin, or even a grimace. A performance is equal parts give and take. The performers feel the vibe of the audience as much as the audience hears the sounds of the performers.”
See Martha perform with the RCB on December 7th
7:30 pm
Prelude Performance by Emerson HS Band
8:00 pm
Ridgewood Concert Band
West Side Presbyterian Church, Ridgewood, NJ
