Steve Reich: a Limited Engagement at Pizzeria Uno

Critics are no less fawning. According to the concert program, The New York Times called Reich both "our greatest living composer" and "among the great composers of the century." So, when he agreed to a residency at NEC, it was a big deal.

But, his renown didn't keep Reich from Pizzeria Uno, where he casually took a table in the back, under the wall sconces, hung with Christmas decorations, that looked like they had been swiped from a motel room.

It was evidence of his easy relationship with the students who performed his work.

Reich had overseen the final rehearsals of each piece in the concert series and attended every performance, often manning the soundboard to control the volume levels. He is a minimalist, and his music relies on the repetition of identical passages by different instruments. If one performer plays louder than the others, it screws up the "time phasing" effects. It screws up the piece.

"His biggest concern is the balance," explained Aziz Bernard Luce, a percussionist and grad student. "If you've got performers who can play the piece, then all you have to worry about is the balance."

Bernard Luce is a tall, thin man with an unruly mane of black curly hair and thick eyebrows that angle toward the center of his face. He was being modest. The performances were demanding, and Bernard Luce had featured in three of them, including the hour long Drumming. As lead marimba for Music for 18 Musicians, he maintained a constant rhythmic pulse for forty minutes.

"It's all different tasks," he said of performing three pieces over two days. "Each piece is its own problem."

Reich's music poses a special problem for vocalists. Because the effect of the work relies on a strict balance between tones, the vocal parts must be sung without vibrato. It's what musicians call "straight tone," and it's believed to damage the vocal cords, endangering a singer's instrument.

"Classically trained singers approach straight tone like the devil," said Ramirez, holding her fingers out in the shape of a cross. Fortunately, Ramirez and her colleagues Angelina Calderon and Emily Quane arrived at Pizzeria Uno with their voices intact. They gathered together in a single booth, establishing what Ramirez called "our little opera cave."

Andy Watkins, a percussionist, sat with the percussionists. He had never played minimalism before, and the whole idea of phasing was a new concept for him. Coupled with the fact that Drumming, one of the pieces he played, is performed without a conductor, it meant that Watkins was in for a new experience.

"It helped me to really lock in with my fellow players," he said. "You really have to pay attention to them. It's [a good experience] for fitting in to an ensemble."

Despite the challenges, the NEC students were remarkable. Anthony Green, a composer and masters student, marveled at the group's rendition of Music for 18 Musicians, Reich's pulsating masterpiece.

"Steve Reich composed a human being," he said. "Every part is so simple, but when you put them together, it becomes complex. Just like a human being."

Other concertgoers had more visceral reactions.

"There was a guy dancing in the balcony," said Ashleigh Gordan, a violist and masters student. "He was grooving for like twenty minutes."

Improving their craft is not the only impact Reich's residency will have on NEC students.

"It's always a good thing to be completely absorbed in something," said Nick Tolle, percussionist. "But when we are in our seventies, people will still be performing these pieces, and Reich will be long gone. In our seventies, we will be able to say we had this experience while he was still around."

NEC professor Stephen Drury was the mastermind behind the Reich series. He's an enthusiastic teacher who is always ready with a complement for his students. Wiry with a shock of dark hair, Drury conducted last night in a loose black dress shirt and a pair of leather pants, held up by a studded belt. He explained the difference between what NEC usually does and the Reich residency.

"He's alive," Drury said. "Classical musicians are used to performing stuff that's at a historical distance, but, at one point, all those guys we perform, cats like Beethoven, Liszt, and Schubert -- especially Schubert -- were sitting in a bar, having a beer with the musicians."

As Reich left the gathering, pausing for photo ops and chatting with performers, he agreed with Drury.

"Good beer," said the minimalist.