Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Steve Reich Receives The Edward MacDowell Medal

Hidden away in the woods near Peterborough, NH, the MacDowell Colony spends most of the year providing artists of many stripes with a place to work completely uninterrupted for a few precious weeks. Meals are provided, with breakfast and dinner in a dining hall and lunch dropped off in a basket on the porch of your studio, and the rule is that nobody is allowed even to knock on the door of anybody else�s studio without a prior invitation. It is, by all accounts, a marvelous place. Once a year, since 1960 the colony awards the Edward MacDowell Medal to �an American artist for outstanding contribution to the arts,� and the town of Peterborough turns out, and most of the artists in residence open their studios to the public. Sunday, August 14, was �Medal Day� and this year the MacDowell medal was presented to Steve Reich.

The morning press conference got underway with Reich discussing how he thinks of electronic instruments as today�s folk instruments, and relating the story of the �Reich Remixed� album, on which electronic �folk musicians� such as Coldcut and DJ Spooky remixed his pieces. The conversation turned to copyright law, Reich�s use of canons and phasing, how audiences have evolved and the way music enters the repertoire. Toward the end of the press conference, someone asked what contemporary pop music Reich likes and thinks will last, and he listed, among others, the Beatles, Junior Walker, and U2 -- �I like listening to some of U2 because I think they�re ripping me off and I like the way they do it.� He concluded with the observation that �It ain�t what you do it�s how you do it, and if you really do it superbly well, then people really take note and it continues.�

The award ceremony itself began with some nice speeches by MacDowell Colony leadership, thanking sponsors, acknowledging the staff, describing the colony�s history and operations, and then introducing David Lang and Richard Serra, both of whom made beautiful speeches lauding Reich. Lang told of his first exposure to Reich�s music, and then artfully used the four short texts of Reich�s recent work �You Are (Variations)� to convey what he feels is the essence of Reich�s character. Richard Serra described the early days of the downtown scene, and then explained how to him the most important thing about Reich is that he always has something to say, whether social, political, or musical. After Serra�s speech, Steve Reich was presented the Medal. He said he was �cruising for the brevity award� and made only brief but clearly heartfelt remarks of gratitude for the honor of the award and praise for the MacDowell Colony. The ceremony concluded, and the attendees picked up picnic baskets (sold for $20) or broke out lunches that they had brought from home for the annual �Picnic Under the Pines�

The exiting young percussion group So Percussion, (which has recently released a recording of Reich�s �Drumming�) was in residence for the day as well. Between David Lang�s and Richard Serra�s speeches, two members of the group performed �Clapping Music,� and after lunch they gave a 45 minute concert of �Music for Pieces of Wood� and Part I of �Drumming.� All of the So performances were amplified, and �Music for Pieces of Wood� was, unfortunately, painfully loud, but otherwise both the performances were terrific. The members of the group each walked onstage only when their parts were about to begin, and then when their parts had a long pause they stepped away from the members who were still playing, and while they were playing they were clearly both working hard and enjoying themselves. Founded in 1999, So Percussion is based in Brooklyn, NY, and is currently the ensemble-in-residence at The Yellow Barn in Putney, VT.

It was clear from my conversations with other Medal Day attendees that most of the people who came were not there because they were Steve Reich fans, but because the colony is an important part of their lives. While the colony may keep its grounds, and especially its studios, carefully sequestered from the outside world, it also sends its residents out into the community through such programs as �MacDowell Downtown� and �MacDowell in the Schools.� The 29 open studios were doubtless another draw for the community. I had time to visit three of the four composers in residence: Sebastian Currier, Hayes Biggs, and Hubert Ho (apologies to Andrea Clearfield), all of whom had music playing and were happy to talk about their work and their time at MacDowell.

Overall, Medal Day was a great success, and the kind of success that more places should try to have. At a time when sources of support for artists are drying up, MacDowell offers more than 240 artists each year a studio and meals, free of charge, for an average of 5 weeks. At a time when arts organizations are struggling to create meaningful outreach programs, MacDowell is clearly succeeding at keeping its community engaged. And once a year, the Edward MacDowell Medal honors an artist, the lifetime-achievement style award avoids the problems Pulitzer faces in trying to award the single best piece of the year. Steve Reich joins a list of 12 other distinguished composers including Lou Harrison (2000 � the most recent composer), Leonard Bernstein (1987), Elliott Carter (1983), and Aaron Copland (1961 � the first composer).

Next year a writer will be awarded the medal. In the meantime, the MacDowell Colony goes back to solitude, support, and hundreds of the best artistic minds coming together to work and to learn from each other. You, too, can get away from it all: the rotating admissions panel accepts applications three times per year, and the only criterion for admission is �talent.� I hear the competition is a little less stiff for the winter residencies, and the application isn't due until September 15th.

posted by Galen H. Brown 8/17/2005