"Shuffle Concert"

The Redmond Community Concert series featured a quintet performing a "Shuffle Concert" this evening. The quintet was composed of: piano, oboe, violin, cello, clarinet, soprano voice.

The musicians are prepared to play any of 34 pieces from 15 categories of music from Baroque to Broadway. The audience are participants in the music selection by being given a number on the musical "menu" provided as they enter the auditorium. Before each piece is played a musician selects an number randomly and the corresponding audience member then chooses from the musical "menu". Only one piece from each of the categories is allowed to be selected play, so that a piece from all 15 categories is played by the end of the concert.

The shuffle concert concept is new to me. The musicians were really quite excellent. The pieces performed were great choices as well. Yet somehow the overall effect of the random crazy quilt of music I found to be "disconcerting".

I have to process this musical experience a bit more.