Chicago Sinfonietta Hosts U.S. Premiere Of 'Mountain Top' MLK Tribute Monday Night

By Casey Moffitt in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 17, 2014 8:30PM

Since its inception in 1987, Chicago Sinfonietta has performed a tribute concert to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and this year's celebration should prove to be particularly curious as the centerpiece will feature Dr. King himself delivering one of his most famous speeches.

"Mountain Top" is a forward-thinking, multimedia presentation which includes video and audio of Dr. King delivering his "I've Been to the Mountain Top" speech in Memphis, Tenn. the day before he was assassinated. Composed by Jacob Ter Veldhuis, a.k.a. JacobTV, the speech is accompanied by an orchestra and the Roosevelt University CCA Conservatory Chorus. The Dutch "avant pop" composer has taken the speech and manipulated it by repeating certain phrases, elongating others and having the chorus sing back the words from the speech.

"MLK acts as the lead singer in the piece," JacobTV explained. "There is such a melody to the speech, and I was working with that melody as I wrote it. It's such rich melodic material and I like to say that it's actually composed by King. The melody, rhythm and groove all come from the speech. Everything revolves around it."

"The first time I saw it, it was an unbelievably emotional experience," said Jim Hirsch, Chicago Sinfonietta executive director. "It unfolded a range of emotions."
What makes "Mountain Top" so unusual is that Dr. King's image and voice play a large part of the piece, which is new for the annual tribute concert. That makes it a great complement to this year's celebration, Hirsch said, plus the emotional impact he believes many will experience.

"Some people might be offended," he said. "There are parts that are in-your-face. There are parts that are confrontational. Like any fine piece of art there's an edginess to it. I have no idea what the reaction is going to be, but I think it's important to let people experience it for themselves."

JacobTV said he tried to avoid sentimentality in the piece, rather he wanted to focus on the message of the speech.

"I can look at American culture from a distance, which is an advantage I think," he said. "Then again, I can easily make a mistake. I'm not a philosopher, or a politician, or a writer. I'm a man of sound. It's a little tricky to pick this delicate part of American history."
"Mountain Top" premiered in the Netherlands in 2008, and JacobTV said he is really excited to see how an American audience will respond to his work.

"Jim (Hirsch) told me to expect some African Americans in the audience, which is a little scary to me," he admitted. "I'm not one of them. I'm what you call a 'Sunday Child' in Dutch. That is I've lived a life of luxury, a life without struggle."

Hirsch said he's excited JacobTV is in town to be a part of the U.S. premiere of "Mountain Top," and his insight is valuable to the preparation.

"It's always helpful to have to composer there when we rehearse," he said. "When he's there he's able to give his input to the director."

JacobTV is serving more as a technical adviser, as the piece will be conducted by Mei-Ann Chen, Chicago Sinfonietta musical director. JacobTV said there are many technical aspects to the piece which can make it tricky for many traditional symphonies. It utilizes video, audio, computers and midi technology. He said when he discovered "Mountain Top" was going to be performed this weekend by his publisher, he wanted to make the trip to help with the technical aspects of the piece.

"It needs a little instruction," he said. "It's not too difficult, but when you're working with the video, it's not something many symphonies are used to."

He said a musician is dedicated to control the video and the audio aspects of the piece. This way the conductor can control the tempo of the multimedia aspects along with the music.

"When I was first working on it, I thought, 'oh my God, they're going to have to play to a click track,'" he said. "That makes it very boring for the conductor. The conductor controls two things: tempo and dynamics. The click track takes away the control of the tempo, so it's boring for the conductor and boring for the musicians. I had to figure out a way for the conductor to trigger the video. So we connect a midi keyboard to a computer, where each key controls the video and King's voice. The musician on the keyboard follows the conductor, who is now conducting the video and voice of MLK."

JacobTV said these technical aspects are a big reason many symphonies aren't interested in performing "Mountain Top."

"Many symphonies are still living in the 19th Century," he said. "Most aren't even used to working with a living composer, for instance. I never get a dressing room. I always ask for a dressing room now, because when you're playing Beethoven or Mozart, those composers are dead."

Most halls where symphonies play also aren't equipped with public address systems, which is a problem when trying to incorporate a multimedia aspect to the music. JacobTV said he has noticed a lot of the musicians aren't used to playing with a P.A. system either.

"Some will say it's distracting because it's too loud, which I guess it is," he said. "But I think that's why it's courageous for Jim and the Chicago Sinfonietta to decide to perform it."

So far, JacobTV said he is pleased as to how it is being rehearsed. He attended a dry technical run the evening before speaking with Chicagoist.

"I got the shivers," he said. "It's almost as if King was alive again."

"Mountain Top" is just one piece to be performed at the concert Monday night. Other performers include Northwestern University graduate Nicole Cash of the San Francisco Symphony who will be a guest French horn soloist. Morton Gould's Revival, a Fantasy on Six Spirituals will be performed as one piece. The evening will conclude with with uplifting gospel and spiritual music performed by the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir.

"If you haven't heard them, it's fun," Hirsch said. "You've got 200 voices with a full orchestra creating this huge sound. It's a lot of sonic power."

Hirsch said this annual tradition reminds him of things that are important. The life and legacy of Dr. King, and lessons imparted by him, resonate through all of us in some manner. It's different for everyone, but everyone understands the message.

"It's abstract. It's art. People will take from it what they think," Hirsch said of the concert. "There will be older parts of the audience who were part of the civil rights movement, and for them this a link to who we were growing up. I remember as an 11-year-old boy, my mother taking me to the West Side of Chicago two days after MLK was assassinated. People were losing everything during the riots. My mother took me to a Catholic church where we spent the day putting clothes in boxes for people. This concert reminds me of the things I cared about. It reminds me there's still more work to be done."

The Chicago Sinfonietta will host its annual concert tribute to MLK at 7:30 p.m. Monday Jan. 20 at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets range from $10 to $54.