Confession time: for a professional classical musician, I don’t have a very impressive CD collection. When fellow music nerds start discussing questions of who made the best recording of such-and-such a piece, my first impulse is to change the subject as quickly as possible: “My, a lot of weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
So what’s my excuse? Well, none really… But when pressed, I’ll say that I prefer hearing classical music live. It’s true — nothing compares to a live performance. But the real reason? Very little room in the budget. You see, chances are that when I have money to spend, I’ll spend it on clothes. Yeah, that’s right, I’m a girl! So sue me! 😉
That being the case, when I found out about an event this coming Thursday at the Boston Symphony that combined classical music and fashion design, I knew I had to be there. Stay tuned for the nerd’s-eye view!
You’ve heard of Project Runway — maybe you’ve even watched it! (But if you want to pretend you’re the kind of Serious Person who doesn’t watch TV, except for classical music performances broadcast on PBS, I won’t tell anyone! 😉 ) The name of the BSO’s Project Tchaikovsky event riffs on the name of the reality show. But It’s only one evening, not a series, so there won’t be a process of elimination spurring a lot of tearful set departures. There will be a runway show, followed by the selection of a winner by a panel of judges, including an orchestra member and the director of the Chanel boutique in Boston.
Oh, and before that, a concert of classical music performed by the Boston Symphony, by the way! The concert will, of course, feature Tchaikovsky’s music: his Symphony No. 2, Little Russian. I’m excited about the other pieces on the program, too: Concert Românesc by György Ligeti (one of my fave composers) and the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich.
The contestants are design students from Boston area schools, and the winner will get a write-up in Boston Magazine, among other goodies. Pretty cool!
You can see sketches of the competing designs here. Now, I’m not sure why you learn how to draw models as if they’re in the skinny part of a fun-house mirror when you go to design school — maybe I’ll ask when I interview the designers on Thursday. But primarily, I’ll be excited to learn how the music relates to the designs. The advance word is demure about discussing that, though I did find a mention of Tchaikovsky’s music being played at high volume during classes. As one who wants to see classical music get a wider audience, I applaud! 🙂
Now I just have to figure out what I’m gonna wear! I don’t think I’ve been this preoccupied about picking an outfit since right before the GRAMMYS®! 😉
If you’re in the Boston area, you can preview the designs and hear the concert on Tuesday, April 13 or Thursday, April 15. The runway show and announcement of the winner is April 15 only! For information and tickets, click here.
