Amy Ray and Emily Saliers鈥攃ollectively the Indigo Girls鈥攑erformed April 5 with Gary Lewis and the CU Symphony Orchestra for the second time in as many years.
The CU Symphony Orchestra continues to solidify itself as a go-to for crossover collaborations. After a sold-out concert with pop-folk duo the Indigo Girls in Spring 2016, this spring the College of Music鈥檚 premier ensemble again booked a gig with the Girls鈥攖his time to record a live album.
鈥淭he conversation started during last year鈥檚 concert,鈥� says conductor Gary Lewis. 鈥淎s we were standing backstage before the second half, I asked if they鈥檇 thought about recording a symphonic concert. They said, 鈥榊eah, that would be fun.鈥� And then a few months later, their management contacted us.鈥�
According to CU Presents Executive Director Joan Braun, who first booked the Indigo Girls鈥擜my Ray and Emily Saliers鈥攆or the 2015-16 Artist Series, this repeat visit was a direct result of the positive experience a year before.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just about doing a symphonic recording,鈥� Braun says. 鈥淚t would have been a lot easier to do that with an orchestra nearer to where they鈥檙e based. There was something special and magical about the situation that night, between Gary and the students and the audience. They wanted to capture everything about that experience.鈥�
It was a whirlwind on the night of April 5. Macky Auditorium was packed with Indigo Girls diehards, and after just one night of rehearsals, Lewis conducted his students in a collection of the group鈥檚 favorites.
For many of the students in the orchestra, this high-profile setting represented their first recording session. But it wasn鈥檛 Aaron Jensen鈥檚 first rodeo.
鈥淚鈥檝e recorded with the Chris Cameron blues band as an artist, and I was a recording engineer at a junior college when I lived in Utah. While I was there we recorded more than 180 sessions a year.鈥�
Jensen, a trumpet master鈥檚 student, says he learned a lot about the unique process of recording with a large ensemble.
鈥淲ith a live recording, you have to get the right take. We knew we couldn鈥檛 have huge mess-ups in this concert, so we had to start a few songs over鈥� he says. 鈥淔ortunately, the audio engineer was there recording rehearsal the night before, so he鈥檒l have some leeway with that material.鈥�
At one point, the group took a second run at a song they had already recorded earlier in the concert. Jensen says the decision taught a valuable lesson for his peers.
鈥淭hat one extra take can make the difference. You can overdub as much as you want, but sometimes you just have to do it again. That was probably fairly eye-opening for some of the students who hadn鈥檛 sat in on a recording session before.鈥�
The outcome of the recording remains to be seen; the recording won't be released until early 2018. Lewis says regardless of the final product, students can feel proud of their professionalism and talent.
鈥淚t gives our students the chance to develop a skill set that most university orchestras don鈥檛 get,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 the music director of a professional orchestra and I can tell you that being conversant with various pop, jazz and commercial styles is a skill that the 21st-century musician must have.鈥�
From Jensen鈥檚 perspective, the more experiences like these students can have on their resumes, the better.
鈥淚 used to have a director who said that professional musicians have one rehearsal for 30 gigs, and collegiate musicians have 30 rehearsals for one gig. It was good for us to have that experience with a more real-life scenario.鈥�
