Many ensembles serve excellent concerts & workshops. CutTime’s qualities cut deeper:
- Blending famous symphonic works with humor and key listening tips like counting, remembering and phrasing
- Hosting off-the-cuff or scripted, we explain the sport and games of classical music
- Robinson Americanizes romantic expression often merging familiar urban dance grooves, written jazz solos, and drums
- Offering special and holiday programs (Valentines, MLK, Halloween, Phantom Detroit, For Interesting Times)
- Creating curiosity by answering burning-but-unspoken questions (What makes music classical? Why tails? )
- Sharing effective analogies and activities for newcomers to truly listen and appreciate
- Dialing between refined vs. raw values in performance to strategically engage and inspire
- Bringing actual symphonic music into popular bars, restaurants, clubs & parties, esp. as a tie-in before major events
- Bringing our own sound reinforcement system (not too much, just 400 watts)
- Audiences participate on toy percussion such as eggshakers to symbolically help shake up classical music
- Preparing newcomers for the “theater rules” of the concert hall, explaining how they maximize impact
- Spot interviews with audience and musicians aimed at translating the value of fine art music (Why classical?)
- Giving quick overview of key classical music technologies and ideas that made this tradition seem magical (shortcuts)
- Inspiring new attitudes, methods and sheet music for musicians to design their own techniques and arrangements
- Phrasing (shaping) each musical sentence so the drama and turns are most apparent (exaggeration)
Even playing through low party noise, CutTime makes real art work to cut classical loose from some of its sacred rituals, while explaining those rituals for maximizing music’s impact, and rewarding curiosity, appetite and preparation for traditional concerts.
CutTime began sharing its music in 1998, launching CutTime Players Publishing with a sheet music catalog of ten transcriptions. That catalog has grown to 100+ items. Orchestras across America can now play hit symphonic in classrooms, churches, small halls and tents.