The Fredösphere

I took the kids to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum today -- a typical Saturday morning destination for us. We spent most of our time in the room with the bubbles and the music instruments.

The pipes of pan are big plastic tubes. When you whack a tube's end with the sole of a sandal that's provided, the tube gives you a short honk. There's a bit of technique to it. The sandal needs to fall perfectly flat on the end with sufficient force if you want the note to form loud and clear.

I always start at a middle note and work my way down to the low C. That would be the 16' pipe for you organists. The pipes of pan, along with organ and like most woodwinds, gain in power and intensity as you go down. This is as opposed to brass, strings, and the human voice, where the money notes are at the top (except for a Russian bass -- but that's more freak show than real music anyway).

Today's Hand's-On Museum experience was surreal. I glance over and ... whaaaaa? Isn't that Leslie Basset??? He's playing some angular tune on the rock xylophone. And look! Over there on the walk-on piano: it's William Bolcom and Bright Sheng, improvising some kind of jazzy duet as they dance across the keyboard. (They were so graceful, I suspect that by pursuing careers as composers, they have missed their calling.) And there on the pipes of pan, it's Michael Daugherty! I hear him play a medley of themes from his opera Jackie O,and then a bit of The Victors.

As I stumbled out of the museum, I was in a confused daze. I knew what I had seen, but I couldn't believe it. Were four University of Michigan composers all at the hand-on museum at the same time by some bizarre coincidence? Or is the museum a favorite meeting place for them?

At this point, I can't believe it really happened. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't either.