PMP Presents: The Mendelssohn Project
Representing eleven countries and all 26 years of PMP, 143 students, alumni and faculty came together virtually to record an excerpt of the "Presto" movement from Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20. Watch here.
The Mendelssohn Project was directed by Merry Peckham, Associate Director of The Perlman Music Program and Chair of Chamber Music at The New England Conservatory of Music. Merry envisioned a virtual tribute to PMP’s cherished annual tradition of performing the Octet for welcoming audiences on the program’s Shelter Island campus and beyond.
Performers met on Zoom in December for a rehearsal before recording and submitting their individual parts from home. Several editing sessions followed, overseen by producers Emma Boshi, Anna Kaplan, Merry Peckham, and Eric Silberger. Violinist and alumna Mariella Haubs created video sequences compiled through the years at PMP, providing unique behind-the-scenes glimpses of an extraordinary artistic community. The audio editor was Sean Yoo at NV Factory, and the video editor was Seth Babin.
Merry Peckham commented, “These virtual projects are the greatest silver lining of all that we’ve experienced during this pandemic. For this project, we put out the call to our PMP community, and we thought we might have 50 people take part. We ended up getting an enthusiastic yes from more than 140 people, representing every year of our 26-year history, from around the world.”
Merry continued, “We’ve been hosting virtual reunions and recording projects, and we are collaborating with our students and alumni all over the world. We share glimpses of family life with each other. These moments have ultimately brought our community even closer.”
Toby Perlman, Founder and President of The Perlman Music Program, commented: “I’m not sure we knew, when we conceived of this project, how challenging it would be, but we got a terrific result. It’s amazing how connected our alumni feel to one another, and how beautifully our alumni have grown up, into wonderful people. It’s my dream come true”.