MOLLY PEASE presents ERDE DREAMS on mental health & nature / a workshop of memories for a new audience
Summer is calling and another school year is coming to a close. As I look ahead to spending more time in nature, an opportunity presented itself to me and my colleagues at Pasadena Waldorf High School to expose our young creatives to a level of music making never experienced before, one which dabbles with open-minded improvisation and slots neatly into our collective pedagogy. It should be no surprise that the colleague I worked with to bring this field trip to fruition is Richard An, editor of the words you’re reading now, and of all the other reviews here at New Classic LA. It also helps that Ted Masur, the director of music at Waldorf, only (coincidentally?) hired instructors from CalArts to round out the program, the third being Alexander Noice. Together, we share a strong inclination to radicalize music education and free it from its shackles of longstanding elite traditions. In other words, we sought to mobilize our students to embark on a journey of off-campus excursions to engage with the new music community.
The first result was magical – a special Tuesdays @ Monk Space outing curated by Shalini Vijayan, featuring Molly Pease, M.A. Tiesenga, and Miller Wrenn, in an evocative exploration of mental health examined through essential relationships with nature. Molly proceeded to wow the audience and Waldorf visitors with an achingly gorgeous solo set in the first half. “luminescent waves” was especially vivid and giving, with the help of some clever pre-recorded vocals behind a flurry of playful ad libs. From skinny dipping with dancing plankton to innocent giggles among amorous tides, this movement truly felt like a sanctuary away from the male gaze, life reflecting off bare skin from each and every direction. Molly ended her set with “deep ocean”, creating an atmosphere of depth and tension using a variety of extended vocal techniques and abstractions. I closed my eyes and felt so strongly the distant influences of artists like Sophie, Kevin Abstract, and Pamela Z, climbing into what I could only imagine to be a new era of post-grunge / post-jazz sound, yearning to break free.
In the second half, Molly brought M.A. and Miller to the stage for a set that proves to be even more experimental, with “a leaf to stand on” being a personal favorite. Part of four “seeds” of ideas that served as loose structures for improvised opportunities, the trio showcased a blend of chemistry in sensitive moments of tutti lament, often taking turns to depart from the rest with unique expressiveness. Patterns shifted subtly, and beauty evaporated into new ideas. Miller proceeds to bury this second seed gently and lovingly with ethereal harmonics. “water mirror” is the seed that follows, and here, we are faced with an unsettling moment of suspense, a stark confrontation of the dynamic challenges within the struggles of mental health. M.A.’s contributions were significant, gracing the opening with a influx of wind sounds and overtones, possessing an uncanny ability to reify Molly’s grief while interposing new perspectives to the topic at hand. Needless to say, the crowd left the night with a renewed focus on their own mental health, as well as a deep appreciation for the physiological effects of music and nature.
A few days later, we invited the trio into our instrumental class for a demonstration, workshop, and Q&A based on “erde dreams”. Our students asked meaningful questions about open improvisation and its role in jazz, as well as questions to Molly regarding her overall aesthetic choices and themes for the concert. Miller added insight to the limitations of genre labeling, shunning industrial giants like Spotify, all the while giving a hilarious micro lecture on sibilances. Next, the trio encouraged an improvised group activity using only their voices, taken from the swaying landscape just outside our classroom window, piquing the interests of the students. And finally, Miller introduced the concept of conduction (editor’s note: “conduction” distinct from “conducting,” see Butch Morris), furthering the experience they had of a guided improvisation piece I programmed in my first semester here, “Form the Fabric” by inti figgis-vizueta. It was beyond heartwarming to see how bold and curious our students were in championing new ideas and taking musical risks in uncharted waters, responding to every breath of inspiration.
I am so grateful for Molly, M.A., and Miller – three insanely talented musicians who feel so strongly in progressing new music with innovative programing and inclusive pedagogy. I am also overjoyed to have like-minded colleagues and a community in Waldorf that show immense interest, support, and funding to provide our students with the chance to dive deeper into the music community of greater Los Angeles. This is, without a doubt, classical music and education for a new audience. This is the start of something new.
