Absolutely Right

                                   Photo: Jim Zacks

Flutist Richard Sherman has found the secret recipe for improving the concert experience for modern classical music lovers. Begin with alcohol, add a dab of discussion, chose the best musicians available, avoid stuffiness and throw in a dollop of education.

Sherman’s Absolute Music Chamber Series started out giving small chamber concerts in the Absolute Art Gallery in Lansing’s Old Town. He wanted to re-create the audience friendly environment that he’s been enjoying at the Chautauqua Institution during the summers in New York State for the last 25 years.

In the beginning, in 2009, the setting was charming, but the acoustics were not perfect and the setting was cramped.

A few years later they retained the Absolute name but changed location and moved a block down the street.  They now perform at the Urban Beat Event Center – a hip looking place with exposed old brick walls, a small bar and tons of character.

Sherman has succeeded in creating an environment for music making and music listening that hits the mark, and almost every Absolute Music Chamber concert is a sellout.

At the center of everything is Rick Sherman himself.  He’s full of energy and a love of music. He plays in several of the concerts and the audience is drawn to his charisma and superb musicianship. The Absolute audiences have become a Sherman fan club.

The format for the concerts works like a charm. Here’s how a typical Absolute concert goes:

The evening begins with an open cash bar serving beer and wine.  Everyone relaxes with a drink or two and since the majority of Absolute attendees are regulars, the pre-concert experience is like a bunch of old friends having a party. 

The venue holds about 100 folding chairs which are set up in a semi-circle.  The acoustics are good and there is amplification for various announcements.

Every concert has a “Concert Guide” (WKAR’s Jamie Paisley) who provides an informative and entertaining introduction to the event’s selections.

Then the music begins.  Through the years, Sherman has cultivated performances with lots of variety and quality.  He gets his musicians mostly from the MSU College of Music – faculty and graduate students.  Chamber music is a category that only defines the size of the ensemble – small – not the style of the music. It can include piano, winds, strings, percussion, singers, or any combination that is required. 

Last year the audience was thrilled with a virtuoso marimba solo (Gwendolyn Dease) and this year Sherman featured himself along with a jazz trio in performing the pop-infused Claude Bolling “Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano”. Since Rodney Whitaker’s jazz trio was there for the Suite, they also filled up a hole in the program with three jazz standards. Anything goes!

Things are relaxed and casual and the audience sits close to the musicians so they can feel part of the performance. Also, the listeners can bring their drinks to their seats, sipping wine as they’re enjoying the music.

During intermission, everyone lines up near the bar to pile up a plate of complimentary hot appetizers (the meatballs get the best reviews).  Eating and more socializing and drinking.  What can be bad?

When the concert ends, the musicians sit in front of their adoring crowd for a lively Q and A.  Facilitated by Paisley, the mic is passed around and the classical music lovers get to ask about everything they ever wanted to know about classical music and the lives of professional musicians.

Chamber music was originally written to be performed in a large living room inside a private home, not large concert halls.  Here, Absolute comes close to that model. Audiences have an experience that is social, educational, and musical.  And it takes place in an intimate space that brings the audience closer to the music and the musicians.

For more information, check out www.absolutemusiclansing.org.