Have you ever wondered what it would be like to record a music video in a former coal mine? The PARMA production team tried their hand at it this month, and rumor has it that they struck gold. Read on for a look at their session in Důl Michal and more.
Video Productions at Důl Michal
Operating as a coal mine nearly 30 years ago, Ostrava’s Důl Michal has since become a museum honoring the location’s status as an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The PARMA production team saw it differently, however. To them, it was the perfect site to film the video component of the Benda Quartet’s upcoming visual album with Navona Records.
Bree Nichols and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Shortly after, the team traveled to Ostrava’s Vesmír Concert Hall to work with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and soprano Bree Nichols, who flew in from the United States to record several new pieces with the ensemble. Each of the pieces will be released on a vocal-centric album later this year, featuring several other works for soprano and piano duo that Nichols recorded with pianist Alexandr Starý.
Hear Nichols in action on THE GIFT OF MAGI from composer Richard E Brown, who also had music in the mix at the Ostrava sessions.
Trio Casals and Jan Järvlepp
While part of the team worked with Nichols and the JFO, other production team members were set up in the United States to record the latest chamber music from Jan Järvlepp. Recorded at West Chester University’s Madeleine Wing Adler Theater by Trio Casals, this collection of works will be released on a full chamber music album by Järvlepp.
From New York to Tokyo
After sessions concluded in Ostrava, the team traveled across the Atlantic to Mount Vernon NY, where the Sirius Quartet was gearing up to record two new works at Oktaven Audio. The ensemble was joined virtually by composer Mari Tamaki, who tuned in from Tokyo, Japan to see her music come to life.
Brno and Paris
The team wrapped up this month’s sessions with a production double feature with composer Antonio Juan-Marcos, which began in Brno with the recording of a new piece for soprano and orchestra. The piece, Paesaggi Corporei, was performed by the Brno Contemporary Orchestra and soprano Maïlys de Villoutreys, a former classmate of Juan-Marcos.
Sessions with Juan-Marcos concluded at Studio Sequenza in Paris, where the team captured Ensemble Almaviva and baritone Alejandro Gabor’s performance of the composer’s Mi Vida Con La Ola.
