The Beauty of Music and Movement

Aug 27 2012
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Stephen Danyew
Stephen Danyew

Steve Danyew is a composer, saxophonist, teacher, and arts administrator based in Rochester, NY. Danyew composes works for chamber ensembles, large instrumental ensembles, choirs and more, and currently serves as Managing Editor of Polyphonic.org. His music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent. Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music.

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This magnificent video of the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra has appeared in the blog world before, but if you have not seen it, take a few minutes to enjoy it the beauty of it!  This is a live performance recording from May 4, 2012, when the UMSO performed Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun from memory, with movement choreographed by Liz Lerman.  This video brings up many questions in my mind, such as:

  • Does the addition of movement in this performance make the entire experience more engaging for the audience?
  • Did the players feel like the performance was more powerful or enjoyable for them as artists because of the movement?
  • Did the movements add challenge to the performance technique or did it help the players feel freer with their instruments?
  • How often could an orchestra realistically prepare this kind of performance given the added elements of memorization and choreography?

What do you think?

About the author

Stephen Danyew
Stephen Danyew

Steve Danyew is a composer, saxophonist, teacher, and arts administrator based in Rochester, NY. Danyew composes works for chamber ensembles, large instrumental ensembles, choirs and more, and currently serves as Managing Editor of Polyphonic.org. His music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent. Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music.

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