CAIC DAYDREAMS
A screenshot of today’s workflow editing the upcoming recital
I spent much of today sitting in my friend Henry’s studio, editing the footage of what will compromise CAIC’s upcoming Winter Lieder Lounge recital which airs March 5-7. The recital features two colleagues and friends of mine, baritone Edward Nelson and pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg. We filmed their performance a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been pondering how much I enjoy producing since that session. This morning’s editing session was a really inspiring few hours, and I spent much of the rest of the afternoon floating on a bit of a high, excited at the thought of being able to share the finished video with the world in a couple of weeks.
Shannon McGinnis performs at CAIC’s 2020 Collaborative Works Festival
I remember sitting in Shannon McGinnis’ living room in Andersonville in Chicago about 12 years ago, saying to her, “we should start something here – a vocal chamber music collective or something.” Both of us have always been passionate about the art of song, and I was on a high from my first summer or two at the Marlboro Music Festival, where I had the luxury of immersing myself in vocal chamber music and song for the first time in a very long time. Because of my experiences at Marlboro, I could feel something inside me shifting artistically, and both of us were tired of constantly being told that there were not enough platforms for vocal recitals in the world.
Chicago was a particularly barren desert for song at the time (a phenomenon that has changed a lot over the past ten years, not only because of our work but also that of our colleagues at Beyond the Aria and the University of Chicago Presents), and so we daydreamed about why Chicago was an ideal place to start this thing that really was just a vague concept. Shannon’s husband Michael made us an incredible dinner that evening while we tossed around ideas of what it could be, and the more wine we drank, the larger and more fantastical our daydreams became.
Soprano Janai Brugger and pianist Myra Huang perform for CAIC’s 2020 Collaborative Works Festival
“We should start a vocal recital series!”
“We must have educational programs!”
“Master classes! Workshops!”
“Yes! And some sort of mentorship for young artists, too!”
”Let’s start a Festival!”
By the time I hopped in a cab that night, I remember feeling elated and energized. I also remember thinking to myself: these are such great ideas. But will they ever turn into a reality? Who knows?
Fast forward about 6 months later, and Shannon reached out to say that she was ready to take the leap and make our vision into a reality. She enlisted our friend, Nick Hutchinson, from our University of Michigan days to join us, filed some paperwork, and next thing we knew, CAIC was born. Amazingly, it is still here 11 years later, and most of those daydreams that seemed so fantastical at the time have become realities far more rewarding than anything we could have ever imagined.
While CAIC has been around a bit more than a decade now, this season is the tenth anniversary of our first full season of programming. Building and growing this organization has been an incredibly steep learning curve and quite the adventure. It’s allowed me not only to perform the music I want to sing, but also test the waters of teaching, concert production, fundraising, artistic administration, and artistic programming. I’ve learned a lot about myself through this roller coaster ride: I love to curate programs, fundraising is hard work, emails can consume you, teaching is actually a great thing to do while you are still actively performing…the list goes on. A wonderfully warm community has grown around CAIC, and I am so happy for the many friendships that have been borne from the work of building the organization.
Tenor Karim Sulayman performs at CAIC’s 2020 Fall Lieder Lounge
Perhaps one of the aspects I love most is watching the performances of all the artists who come through. I’m constantly inspired by their excellent work, and I learn from their processes, too. I’ve been especially grateful for the projects we’ve produced at CAIC this season, because each one has been an oasis in this vast, concert-less desert that is the present moment. I often pinch myself during filming sessions, because I feel so lucky to be one of the few people who gets to experience live music as the pandemic lockdown drags on. Seeing my friends breathe life into these songs, pouring all of their artistic being into these performances is inspiration, indeed. Getting to collaborate with them from behind the camera is just as much of a privilege as it is to perform alongside them during normal concert life. Perhaps even more so, because of the leap of faith they are taking when they make these films, trusting that everyone on the production side of things will ensure they look and sound beautiful, and that they are putting their best work forward. I am lucky to know such talented, thoughtful, and courageous artists, and I am forever thankful that they are willing to share their artistry with CAIC, helping us keep those daydreams vibrant, and pushing us to higher and loftier artistic heights.