On Friday, 4 Elements headed overseas to attend the Midem Music Conference in Cannes, France. Midem is the world’s largest music industry conference, providing a forum for industry professionals to meet one another, discuss the latest industry trends, and showcase new talent, products, and business models.
We look forward to the full report upon Rob and Henry’s return this evening.
4 Elements Composer and Librarian Henry Terepka will be touring California this coming weekend – flying out of New York just ahead of Hurricane Irene’s arrival!
Henry’s band Zula is collaborating with speed-folk artist Emperor X as well as visual artists Sophie Grant and Tony Grant on The California’s Poppy Tour, a tour and content project focused on the seemingly-endless re-creation of California’s splendor through technology, media, and controlled, selective experiences of nature and history.
Tour Dates:
08-27 Davis, CA – House Party w/ Emperor X
08-28 San Francisco, CA – Kimo’s w/ Emperor X, Leilujh, San Francesca
08-29 Oakland, CA – House Party
08-31 Santa Cruz, CA – The Blue Lagoon w/ Emperor X, And Hod, Best Friends Band
09-01 Santa Barbara, CA – KCSB Radio Performance and Interview w/ Emperor X
09-02 Silverlake, CA – Pehrspace w/ Emperor X,
09-03 Santa Monica, CA – TRiP (Zula only)
09-08 Cake Shop (Homecoming show) w/ Elsa and the awesome AWESOMES, Late Guest, Starlight Girls
More information on the project can be found on the Zula Blog.
This Friday August 19th at 7pm and 10pm, Williamstown Theater Festival presents a concert reading of a new rock musical Snowman with music by 4 Elements’ head composer and owner Robert Reale, lyrics by Willie Reale, and book by Willie Reale and Deirdre O’connor.
To reserve free seating for the event, call: 413.597.3400 
On August 6th, 4 Elements Music composers Henry Terepka and Chris Montegut, along with Yoga and Meditation Teacher Matthew Lombardo will play the Escape to Yoga Island festival. The festival on Governor’s Island is the first of its kind in NYC with free yoga classes and accompanying live music through out the day. Henry and Chris will be playing for an hour starting at 2:30pm while the yogis move through a class lead by the legendary Dharma Mittra. Even if you don’t practice yoga, you can still enjoy the music which will be an inspirational mix of ambient electronic drone, hypnotic grooves, ancient mantras, and mind altering sonic experimentation.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/go-healthy-ny/Escape-to-Yoga-Island-Day-Long-Yoga-Celebration-126111038.html
On Monday, December 13th, from 7pm-8:30pm at the Frederick Loewe Theatre @ NYU, our very own Rob Reale will be interviewing veteran Broadway composer Henry Krieger at the upcoming “Composer to Composer” event put on by the SCL (Society of Composers and Lyricists). We all had a great time at the last SCL event a year ago this week, when Rob interviewed composer Jeanine Tesori – we’re looking forward to another enlightening and entertaining evening this year with Henry Krieger! From the flyer:
“Come join the SCL and spend a very personal evening with Broadway veteran composer Henry Krieger as he is interviewed by fellow NY theater composer and SCL member Rob Reale.
Mr. Krieger’s credits include numerous musical theater scores including Dreamgirls, Side Show and The Tap Dance Kid. He is one of only three individuals ever to land a triple nomination for an Oscar in the Best Song category.
This SCL event will focus on Mr. Krieger’s own account of his journey from cabaret pianist to Broadway hitmaker as well as anecdotes from his long and successful career. Featuring live performances of several of his theater songs by Broadway stars Norm Lewis and Betsy Wolfe, as well as a surprise (and rare) performance of a Dreamgirls classic. Musical direction by Andy Einhorn.”
RSVP Details can be found on the SCL Event Flyer. We hope to see you all there!
We wanted to let you know about upcoming shows in New York featuring 4 elements music composers.
Thursday September 23rd: Zula (with 4em composer Henry Terepka). 8:30pm @ Parkside Lounge (317 E. Houston St.)
Friday October 1st: Kassini (with 4em composer Shane Koss). 9pm @ Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street) check them out at http://www.kassinimusic.com/
Come out if you can and support these hardworking creatives!
4 Elements Composer Lindsay Marcus has a few roles in a Tribeca Film Festival top prize winning feature. She produced, played, and sang on the closing song, “Hey Jo” and also got some screen time (check out the screen grab below)! The movie is called Monogomy and Tribeca named it Best New York Narrative – check out imdb for more.
Composers and 4 Elements staffers Henry and Chris will be playing their own sets at Van Gogh’s Radio Lounge in Greenpoint, Brooklyn this Saturday night.
Come by for some inspiring music! Starts at 9pm. 147 Franklin St.
In the beginning of April, 4 Elements collectively invited our team of composers to attend a dinner at the West Bank Cafe in midtown Manhattan, and the evening was a great success by all accounts. Not only did the 4 Elements staff get to catch up with the composers in a more informal setting, but also, the composers got the chance to meet and interact with their fellow artists, a rare pleasure in this world of working composers who spend most days (and nights) in the studio. We five members of the 4 elements team all spread ourselves out amongst the composers, learning a bit more about the people behind the music we hear each day at the studio. By sharing great food and swapping hilarious war stories, the dinner deepened the sense of community and personal connection that is central to how we operate at 4 Elements.
It’s been a constant pleasure working with such a diverse, talented group of composers. They come from all over the world; some composers were born in Austria, Chile, or Iceland, while some were raised in New York. Some are in their mid twenties, while others are in their fifties. At the composer’s dinner, jazz players and jam band fans shared the table with Britpop connoisseurs and folk music enthusiasts. All share a love of music and a dedication to their craft. Thanks, everyone, for a wonderful night!
by Robert Reale
Time, at last, to enter the world of blogging. First topic, finding the time to both mount a new musical and continue writing for television clients and managing the 8118 Music and 4 Elements Music libraries.
Back in my 20’s (post-music school and playing guitar 6 nights a week in jazz clubs) the last thing in the world I thought I’d find myself doing would be writing musical theater. But many years and a good number of musicals later, I find it hard to imagine anything more fun. For me it’s not only about creating the appropriate music for the moment, but also delving into the emotions of each character (and the cast as a whole) and discovering what the notes they’ll be singing should sound like.
Like everything else in art, I find it wholly about taste. Notes to leave in, take out, intensity, dynamics, tempo, color, range….you can go minimal, or you can go big and lush. Depends on the style of your show and then beyond that each song relies on what comes before or after. In the case of Johnny Baseball the score has a lot to do with time periods. The story spans the years 1919 to 2004, which many would consider tough to tackle but the way my brother Willie and Rick Dresser have written it the story is tight, and the music will help move it.
We start rehearsals in ten days and of course, there is a lot to do. My collaborators continue tweaking story and scenes, Willie and I are tweaking several of the songs and writing something completely new for the second act. One person who shares my taste is our esteemed music director, Wendy Bobbitt-Cavett who is now joining us two mornings a week. We’re working through any new songs in the score moment-to-moment, particularly the ends of each act. Flow is crucial and the blend of book and song near the end of each act, in my opinion, requires extreme scrutiny. After a read-through with the director last week (the wonderful Diane Paulus) we discovered a spot in act two where we might improve the scene, and ultimately that led us to the notion of “musicalizing” it. So we’ll write that as well over the next 10 days, just in time for the first day of rehearsal. I have long appreciated the thrill of writing new material just before or in the thick of rehearsals. There will no doubt be numerous changes through our rehearsals in New York in April and on into tech in May up in Boston at A.R.T and I look forward to the audience feedback in previews.
I should get back to writing these very songs now, rather than writing about writing. More on both this process and how it differs from the tv/film scoring process next, including the give and take within the creative team and in the music department.
Check out the A.R.T.’s Johnny Baseball press release for more details…http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/files/press-releases/Johnny%20Baseball%20Press%20Release,%202-26-2010.pdf
