Lexington Reel

Lexington Reel is an epic fiddle journey for strings. The spark is easily traced to a jam session on the final day of the National ASTA conference in Louisville, KY. Earlier in the weekend, Rachel Jayson's Lexington High School Chamber Orchestra performed Andy Reiner's Blue Sky Basin (Grand Mesa Strings) in the National Orchestra Festival. Andy was delighted to hear the performance, and to meet the kids who were now studying at the very same school he attended in his youth. (Memories from the back of the 2nd violins came flooding back.) The connections to LHS run deep: not only was Rachel now the orchestra director at his formal school, but she had student taught with Janet Haas, Andy's mentor who first encouraged him to compose for string orchestra.Fast forward to the fateful jam: Andy and Rachel were both players in a bluegrass jam alongside a wide spectrum of players and educators, friends old and new. When Rachel heard the bluegrass classic, Jerusalem Ridge, the infectious, minor melodies brilliantly woven over its 4-part form entranced Rachel and she requested the piece be arranged for her orchestra. After some thought, it was decided that the new piece should be all original, inspired by the spirit, feeling, and form of Bill Monroe's Jerusalem Ridge. The first phrase which became the A part of Lexington Reel presented itself to Andy in the muddy parking lot of Silverton Mountain in Colorado, where he had brought a carbon fiber fiddle. Andy likens composing fiddle tunes to a sculptor chipping away at the rock to reveal the form that is already there, and was delighted as the themes of Lexington Reel slowly presented themselves over the next few weeks. The process was collaborative, with Andy checking in with Rachel, whose awesome suggestion to turn the C part into 7/8 became one of LR's defining features. The collaborative process continued with the chamber orchestra, sending videos and edits back and forth until the final product was dramatic and complete.This momentous coming together of musical minds tied to shared history with Lexington, Massachusetts, revealed yet another auspicious detail: the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington was just around the corner. While the green where the "shot heard round the world," rests peacefully now as a beautiful space, echos of the chaos of the beginning of the Revolutionary War cannot be ignored. Listen for the conflict in the more dissonant elements of harmony and rhythms. Hear the moments of optimistic hope - musical references to the sacrifices unlikely heroes made standing against tyranny. This is the Lexington Reel.