Photo credit: Cynthia Banks
Janet Schiff
Cellist Janet Schiff and drummer Victor DeLorenzo make up the duo NINETEEN THIRTEEN. The band is named in tribute to Schiff’s cello which was made in Romania in 1913. In 107 years, the instrument has seen a lot. Here in the year that everything changed, Schiff has begun a collaboration with a sitar player in India and another with a Milwaukee multi-media artist originally from India.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
The shelter in place order gave me and NINETEEN THIRTEEN a chance to rest after 10 years of non-stop performing. It took the pandemic to slow me down! After about a week of not performing something really felt weird. Our last show was on Friday the 13th of March at The Tambourine Lounge at Holiday Music Hotel in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Victor DeLorenzo and I had a fantastic show and then all the rest of our gigs were canceled.
This was heartbreaking and confusing, so I naturally went running to music. Not just my music.
I joined a Facebook music group and have discovered several new artists that I enjoy. One is Ramprapanna Bhattachrya, a renowned sitarist in Kolkata, India. After taking in several of his concerts I asked if he would like to collaborate with me. Since then, we have developed a friendship and musical alliance. We both appreciate each other’s approach to music and record together, despite never meeting in-person or playing on the same continent.
I also turned to visual art for inspiration and comfort, like in other challenging times. I started to notice the posts of Nirmal Raja’s work with masks. Eventually the accomplished interdisciplinary artist asked me if I would collaborate by recording a sound installation for her exhibit, “Feeble Barriers” at Grove Gallery. Last year we collaborated on another project “On Belonging” at The Warehouse. The musical piece I recorded for my project with Nirmal, and with the help of Josh Schmidt, my sound designer and producer, is called “Lullaby For Rest.” I’m proud to report that the piece is composed with 57 bowed and plucked cellos.
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Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
Every day I work with my cherished 1913 Romanian cello. I performed five Facebook live and Instagram live concerts so far. I teach students (adults and children) on Zoom and Facetime but in some cases, have been able to teach in my backyard this summer, masked and distanced in COVID-prevention style.
Recording in the home studio has been fruitful. NINETEEN THIRTEEN is releasing a new set of recordings called Cello and Drums Forever which is due to be released in early 2021 or when it’s ready, whichever comes first. In these new recordings you will hear sounds that you never have heard before—the cellos are plentiful, one song has over 90 cellos playing col legno, which means playing with the stick of the bow. Two of the pieces reference the kvela, a form inspired by South African pop music from the 1950s. There are drones (not the kind that fly around), archival drum recordings direct from Victor’s vaults, recordings of my four parakeets were digitally synthesized into music, and lots of other surprises that will tickle your earbuds. I will begin recording for a film score in October—lots of new music in 2021.
Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
I’ve been offered some performance opportunities lately, solo and with NINETEEN THIRTEEN. We are working with Allison Emm from Wisconsin Music Ventures and NINETEEN THIRTEEN will be reassessing how to perform safely soon. There are new formats for performances to consider, like a rotating audience, isolative concerts, broadcasts, live streams and drive-in concerts. I’ll make an announcement as soon as we have our new schedule. Meanwhile, we appreciate the support of our fans.
To read more stories of Milwaukee musicians dealing with lockdowns, sheltering in place and more, click here.
To read more stories by Blaine Schultz, click here.
