Pulling the heart strings

BMF will make the concert into a documentary and broadcast it on New York's Times Square's giant screen on Oct 21.

"I was thrilled when maestro Yu Long came to New York last year to discuss the project with me," Jamie told China Daily on Wednesday afternoon.

"My father loves New York, and he even wrote a piece, Times Square, in his musical On the Town. So it's perfect to broadcast such a concert at Times Square."

As a narrator, writer and broadcaster, Jamie has transformed a lifetime devoted to music into a career of sharing with others her knowledge and enthusiasm.

It is the second time BMF has invited her to host educational programs.

In 2000, she hosted a concert for children and lectured about Bernstein's musicals at Peking University.

"I remember the students listened to me very attentively and asked many challenging questions," she says.

"I was surprised that the Chinese students know much about my father and his music, and I felt so happy that they showed great interest in his music.

"It's great that BMF holds many educational programs every year.

"It is always important to get young audiences into concert halls; they are the audience of classic music in the future.

"I watched as my father did education work all his life, and it is what I work hard to do now, so I appreciate BMF's effort in educating new audience very much."

Jamie grew up in a home defined by music, theater and literature. Her father and mother, pianist and actress Felicia Montealegre, and their legions of friends from the world of the arts, created a spontaneous, ebullient household that shaped Jamie into a dyed-in-the-wool cultural enthusiast.

Following up on her father's lifelong drive to share and teach, Jamie has written and produced several concerts for families and young people on the music of Copland, Mozart, Bernstein and others.

The acclaimed concert series about her father The Bernstein Beat was modeled after his groundbreaking Young People's Concerts. It was presented by Carnegie Hall Family Concerts, the Caramoor Festival and orchestras across the country.

"When I was 5 years old, it was the first time I watched my father speak on TV, explaining why music is wonderful," Jamie says.

"It's my feeling that what my father did could let more and more people enjoy music. When I grew up, I decided to follow in his footsteps."

New York Philharmonic Orchestra had had Young People's Concerts before Leonard Bernstein became its music director in 1958. It was Bernstein's innovation that made the music legendary, and it became widely acclaimed after it was broadcast on TV.

"At that time, it was an amazing coincidental confluence of two powerful influences - television and Bernstein talking music," Jamie says, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"It was a major program shown on primetime, when all the family members sat down together to watch TV in the evening."

But times have changed. There are today hundreds of TV channels and thousands of programs, as well as the transformations ushered in by the popularization of the Internet. It's rare for family members to sit down together to watch TV.

"The good news is that there are many good school music programs so that kids grow up in a nice environment. But the bad news is, as soon as a school runs out of their budget, they cut art and music first," Jamie says.

This has made her goal of spreading music all the more challenging. Her response to the changing times is regularly hosting family concerts for the enjoyment of those from age 5 to those the ages of their grandparents.

"It's really hard to do something fun for every age, and I try very hard to make the program enjoyable for everyone," Jamie says.

In a concert geared to introducing Mozart to new audiences, she dressed up as the maverick musician and narrated about his life between songs.

When she hosted a children's concert about Bernstein's musical at BMF in 2000, she stood onstage with a sign that read "Mambo" - the title of a song from West Side Story - and told the children in the audience to shout the word when the orchestra played the piece.

"I did the Mambo piece in many places. Every time, we would rehearse a few times. At first, they said 'Mambo' in a very low voice," Jamie says.

"I said 'No, let's try again'. They spoke louder and louder, and finally shouted out 'Mambo!'

"The kids were so excited, because they never imagined they could be so noisy in a concert hall.

"I remember the Chinese kids shouted very loudly, louder than kids in England."

Like most legendary figures, Leonard Bernstein's legacy was one not only marked by worldwide adoration but also rumors about his personal life. But to Jamie, he was first and foremost a good father.

"At home, he was a family man - very informal, sometimes messily dressed, warm and easygoing," she recalls.

"The time we spent with him was full of love, hugs and jokes. He never compromised his love for his family.

"He left me with happy memories of the summer vacations we spent together in the countryside, and from when we often traveled with his orchestra."

(China Daily 10/10/2008 page18)