A Peek Behind the Curtain: A Chat with Russell Buonasera, Zilkha Hall Technical Director

Russell Buonasera

One of the key players who helps make Musiqa performances such a success when it performs at The Hobby Center is Russell Buonasera, Zilkha Hall’s warm-hearted and capable Technical Director. 


Buonasera wants to build the next generation of arts and education enthusiasts. Throughout his school years, he held an undying appreciation of the arts and arts education. When his junior high English teacher took notice of his immense appreciation for Shakespeare and theater, she sent him to speak with the school’s theater director, who opened his eyes to the beauty of the performance of Shakespeare.

The efforts his teachers took in encouraging his interest in the arts has remained with him throughout his life. “When you have these doors opened to you and realize people are paying attention to what a kid is doing meant a lot to me,” Buonasera said.

 
Buonasera began his career as an actor, but soon realized the personal reward of being part of the backstage production, instead of the focus of the production.  This interest led to various positions as a production technician, sound engineer, and carpenter. While taking a required Stagecraft class for his undergraduate theatre degree at the University of Houston-Central in the early ‘80s, Buonasera was encouraged to talk to the Scene Shop Foreman about an opening as a Scenic Carpenter for the Festivals Company. 

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

“The Festivals Company was the professional project of U of H that produced the three Children’s Theatre Festival shows at the Wortham Theatre on campus, and the two Shakespeare Festival shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre, under the direction of the late Dr. Sidney Berger,” Buonasera said.

 
He decided to take the job.  By gaining experience as Scenic Carpenter, he was able to find continuing work on the technical side of live event production, working in a wide range of venues including: Windmill Dinner Theater, Stages Repertory Theatre, The Shaw Festival at U of H/Clear Lake, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Local 51 of IATSE, the Tower Theater, Texas Opera Theatre, The Virginia Opera, and Houston Community College/Central.


In January 2003, a few months after Zilkha Hall opened, Buonasera joined the Hobby Center and learned about the Discovery Series.  The Series’ programs serve K-12 students from economically disadvantaged areas of Houston; thanks to the generosity of donors, students attend the performances at no cost.

Zilkha Hall

 
Musiqa’s award-winning educational concert, Around the World with Musiqa, has been a part of the Discovery Series since its debut.  With performances for schools every October, Around the World with Musiqa is an interactive concert experience for schoolchildren, created by the composers of Musiqa.  Presented in Zilkha Hall, the concert uses new interpretations of well-known folk songs to teach musical concepts to students in a fun and engaging musical experience.  Encouraging arts education and broadening culture through community outreach programs is vital to the Hobby Center Foundation’s mission.

 
“The programs are the best tools for engaging younger children in dissembling the art of performance and reassembling that makes it accessible to children of all ages,” Buonasera said.

 
As a technical director, Buonasera’s roles include sound design, a collection of resources and personnel that mount the production, safety, functional hardware, and securing the amount of time needed on stage to execute said duties.

 
Buonasera most closely collaborates with Musiqa Artistic Director Anthony Brandt. “I would say the biggest moderator is Anthony. He and Karol Bennett have been the constant support,” Buonasera said.


“Tony has a real sense of exploration and engagement with everything in the world,” Buonasera said.

 
Buonasera provides the primary support and framework for the performers and artistic staff. He said the biggest issue in production is time management because it’s the most finite component of any production. Buonasera stays mostly behind the scenes; however, at the end of every performance, the on-stage performers introduce the production staff as ‘the men and women behind the curtains.’


“They describe details like what the stage hand does or sound engineer functions,” Buonasera explained. “The performers deconstruct the support for production. That’s my way of engaging the kids, as well as being very hands on with the lobby traffic full of kids.”

 
“Around the World with Musiqa is so well crafted and impactful, which gives us even more dedication to keep it going,” Buonasera said of the Hobby’s Center’s commitment to presenting music education activities for children.

Musiqa’s 2013 programming during the Hobby Center’s Discovery Series offers school day performances of Around the World with Musiqa, October 22-25, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.  Musiqa’s concert for children grades 4-7, Musiqa ReMix, will take place December 10-11, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.  

Both Around the World with Musiqa and Musiqa ReMix include a pre-concert in-school workshop, a CD for every classroom, online teacher materials and the downtown performance.  Musiqa’s education programs have served close to 35,000 students in the greater Houston area, with a focus on reaching Title I Qualified schools.

To register and learn more about these exciting programs, please visit www.musiqaloveskids.org 

We hope to see you at the upcoming performance!

Aromas of Quelques Fleurs

Composer and member of Musiqa’s Artistic Board, Karim Al-Zand spoke to Musiqa about his latest composition titled Quelques Fleurs.

Does Quelques Fleurs have a special meaning to you, other than the translation? Why or why not?
The title, “a few flowers,” has two references. It refers to the various movements of the work, each one based on a particular flower. It’s also the brand name of the first mass marketed perfume, which appeared in 1912, and was purportedly formulated, with the essence of hundreds of different flowers.

How did you approach Quelques Fleurs?
I tried to convey in musical terms the character of each flower, in particular my associations with the scent of the flower.

What are your most significant inspirations, pertaining to composing music?
My inspirations are often extra-musical, as is the case in this piece. I have compositions that are inspired by art of various kinds, literature, dance and so forth. There are some purely musical inspirations as well, such as folk music, jazz and other works in the Western classical tradition.

What is the music of Quelques Fleurs inspired by?

Quelques Fleurs is inspired by the fragrance of flowers. Connections between sound and smell have long been a feature of both poetry and science. The vocabulary of the perfumer also relies on musical analogy: a fragrance is formed by a “chord” of three scents—a “top note,” a “middle (or heart) note,” and a “bass note.” The perfume reputedly combined 300 different floral and other scents in its formulation. My piece contains four: Rose, Lavender, Jasmine and Orange Blossom.

How would you describe the music of Quelques Fleurs?

To convey the immersive quality of the flowers’ aroma, each movement is a kind of musical “static study.” The first uses a reiterated rhythmic pattern (an ostinato); the second cycles through a harmonic progression (a passacaglia); the third employs an unchanging collection of notes (a mode); and the fourth maintains constant motion by repeating a few short motives (a moto perpetuo). The piece was written for the Beausejour Trio (Wesley Ferreira, clarinet; Julia MacLaine, cello; Stephen Runge, piano) who presented its premiere in July 2010.

 As previously described, Al-Zand’s inspiration for Quelques Fleurs is drawn from the scent of four specific flowers, Jasmine being the most “heady of floral scents,” he says. 

“[Jasmine] thrives in Texas: there are several jasmine shrubs and vines around the Rice University campus,” said Al-Zand. “As you pass one of the flowering plants in the spring, the smell is intoxicating, almost overpowering in strength. I think of the third movement as an atmospheric nocturne (jasmine blooms only at night), which tries to capture a gradual envelopment by the potent bouquet.”

For Al-Zand, the smell of roses is redolent. He stated that it reminds him of “confectionery, especially the Middle Eastern sweets” he enjoyed as a child. Many of them use perfumed rose water in their recipes.

Aside from the fragrance of flowers, Al-Zand’s music is inspired by Arabic poetry. The subjects of some of his pieces speak to his middle-eastern heritage as well.

“My father’s LP records of Arabic music playing in our living room,” Al-Zand said. “Though we never really knew what the words meant, my siblings and I would occasionally join in with a catchy song. I recall only tiny snippets from these tunes. I quote one memorable fragment in the first movement, “Attar of Rose.” The movement represents a kind of perfumed nostalgia, a fragrant musical trace.”

The Boston Globe has called Al-Zand’s music “strong and startlingly lovely”. His music has been successful throughout Canada, the U.S., and abroad. Al-Zand is the recipient of several national awards, including the Sackler Composition Prize and the ArtSong Prize.

Quelques Fleurs will be featured in Musiqa’s Word Play on Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Zilkha Hall. 

Thank you, Karim, for taking the time to speak to Musiqa about Quelques Fleurs.

Written by Mia. M. Smith 

The Mystery of the Sphinx, Musiqa's Latest One-Act Play

 

Anthony Brandt took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with Musiqa about his latest musical composition, which is featured in Sphinx, a play directed by Leslie Swackhamer.

Artistic Director and co-founder of Musiqa, Anthony Brandt composed the music for Sphinx, a one-act play by 2012 Blackburn prizewinner Jennifer Haley. The play is a first-time collaboration for Musiqa with Haley. 

Sphinx explores the relationship of a couple during different periods in their life. The play shows the couple's relationship evolving over time from their late teenage years to their mid 60's. The first scene displays the conflict and insecurities of the couple’s frayed bond. Joshua Estrada and Jen Lucy, who happen to be married, play the main characters.

Sphinx explores the eternal mystery between a man and a woman through the riddle of Oedipus: “What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?” In Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside of Thebes and asked this riddle of all travelers who passed by. If the traveler failed to solve the riddle, the Sphinx would kill the traveler. If the traveler answered the riddle correctly, the Sphinx would destroy herself. Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx destroyed herself.

“Sphinx was a really interesting thought experiment writing it, because theater music is often mood music,” said Brandt. Haley and Brandt wanted the music to be a character in the play. Brandt thought carefully about the story’s meaning and wanted the music to tell the story of the play as well. His concept was that overture is the sexual attraction between the main characters of the play, and it dissolves in the course of the piece, as they get older. 

“It keeps trying to put itself back together again, and it’s always there,” said Brandt. “The beginning of the music has an unusual 6-5-4 pattern. At the very end, when the characters wonder ‘are we meant to be together or not?’ the pattern reverses to 4-5-6.” This was Brandt’s way of “leaving it all hanging.” The music creates an emotional response. The couple wonders if they should stay together by denying who they are, or come together by becoming who they are meant to be. This is an active search throughout the play.

“The jazz music wants to flow, but the characters are in conflict. The music tries to sustain the tension until the end. It never cadences until the final question is answered,” Brandt said.

The world premiere of Sphinx debuts on April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Zilkha Hall.

The featured composers, artists and works include:

Rob Smith: Las Pilas

Karim Al-Zand, Quelques Fleurs

Roshanne Etezady, Mother-of-Pearl

JacobTV, Garden of Love

The featured artists include:

Tali Morgulis, piano

Johnny Salinas, saxophone

Barrett Sills, cello

Yung-Hsiang Wang, violin

Ivo van der Werff, viola

Michael Webster, clarinet.

Thank you, Anthony, for speaking with Musiqa about your latest work. 

Written by Mia M. Smith