{"product_id":"montgomery-les-characters-montgomery","title":"Montgomery: L.E.S. Characters","description":"\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComposer\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003ca href=\"\/zh\/collections\/jessie-montgomery\"\u003eJessie Montgomery (1981-)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Full Score\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong class=\"original-instrumentation-title\"\u003eInstrumentation\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cspan class=\"original-instrumentation\"\u003eViola, Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWork\u003c\/strong\u003e: L.E.S. Characters\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli class=\"binding hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBinding\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli class=\"book-pages hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages\u003c\/strong\u003e: None\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- split --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"one-half columns\"\u003e \u003ch4\u003eDescription\u003c\/h4\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"feature_divider\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cp\u003e_Commissioned by the Grant Park Music Festival, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in partnership with The Knights.\n_\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePROGRAM NOTE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceived as a series of vignettes, each of the five movements of \u003cem\u003eL.E.S. Characters\u003c\/em\u003e depicts a different real-life street performance artist or character from the Lower East Side, recalled as a childhood memory shared between myself and Masumi Per Rostad, who commissioned and premiered the work. We both grew up and studied music together as children of the famed L.E.S. of the 80s and early 90s. I thought a series of character pieces would be a fun frame in which to place the viola at the center as subject and storyteller, recounting the images and memories of these artist souls and their impact on our creativity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Can Man\u003c\/em\u003e is inspired by the work of Gene Pool, an environmental activist and performance artist who used to ride around our neighborhood on a unicycle dressed in a full-body suit of aluminum cans. Imagine the spectacle! His character bookends the form of the work, and in between, a tribute to Jim Power — \u003cem\u003eThe Mosaic Man\u003c\/em\u003e — all of the poets and teachers, and the way they fashioned the gardens with sculptures made of scraps, junk, and debris to create something playful and imaginative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis piece is dedicated to the memory of Chris Pors; Mary Lou Francis, our violin teacher and Executive Director of the Third Street Music School Settlement when Masumi and I were studying there; and Robbie McCauley, my mom… all of whom we lost during the COVID pandemic of 2020-2021. The tragedy of these losses framed the creation of this piece, which, at its conception, was inspired by child-like wonder and creativity. Thank you for the gift, for setting the stage, and giving us a path to play in. Forever in our hearts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e— Jessie Montgomery\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Jessie Montgomery Music","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41321895690319,"sku":"JMM.73061","price":124.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/1828\/files\/ecff6a310461e1b3ffe8974726d272e9.png?v=1749649268","url":"https:\/\/www.ficksmusic.com\/zh\/products\/montgomery-les-characters-montgomery","provider":"Ficks Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}