Originally published by: PARMA Recordings
Ever wondered what a session with PARMA is actually like? Guest blogger and PARMA artist Michael J. Evans is here to share his insight in this journal reflecting his experiences at his recording sessions for his upcoming album THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN. This album will be his his eighth release on Navona Records, telling a fantastical story as performed by the Janaček Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic.
“I promise you will not come back as the same person you were before you left, and that will be a good thing.”
January 5, 2020
We start recording in the Czech Republic on the 10th, but I’m preparing now; actually, I’ve been preparing for a couple of months: studying the Czech language and practicing every day, shopping for a few things, working with the PARMA team to prep for the sessions, and coordinating with friends who will meet me in Prague after the recording.
Today I’ve been all over the place emotionally. This project was written 3 years ago, and I’ve been working on it in some way or other since then. I hired a wonderful illustrator, and I am in the process of preparing to record now. I’ve felt this combination of excitement and a sort of sadness too. I’m also feeling the insecurity that I think we all experience, that feeling that leads to the inevitable question, “Is it good enough?”
Well, it’s going to be what it is, and I know the insecurity will disappear as soon as I’m in the studio with the musicians. We are all working to make something beautiful. And, I have a good feeling about this project as well. The subject is important, and I know it will connect with people.
The orchestra we are working with has an amazing reputation and I’m so honored that they are recording my work. It is a dream come true. We have a classical radio station here in DC, WETA, and this orchestra’s recordings are played a lot. I know they are phenomenal.
I think the vague sadness is not really sadness, but the feeling of space that is being created as this piece is released from my heart and into the world. It’s kind of like what parents must experience when they are prepping their kids for college. It is wonderful, necessary, and things will be different after they go. They will be grown and will face a world where they will have to stand on their own. I’m confident my child, (this work) will have a lot to offer. I’m ready for it and I’m excited too. Can’t wait!
January 8, 2020
I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Paris. This is probably the 5th time I’ve flown into that city, whether to connect to someplace else, or to stay. It is someplace I’d always dreamed of going when I was a child, but where and when I was a child, people didn’t travel like they do now.
