The majority of this interview is a rebroadcast from April 19, 2013.
Cellist Bjorn Ranheim and violinist Shawn Weil are colleagues in the St. Louis Symphony. Double bassist Syd Rodway and composer/keyboardist Adam Maness are members of the Erin Bode Group. They got to know each other when Ranheim and Weil collaborated with the Erin Bode Group and also shared an interest in good food and fine beer.
After the musicians heard famed cellist Yo Yo Ma’s album, The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a collaboration with double bassist Edgar Meyer and bluegrass musicians Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile, they decided to explore the possibilities of making music together. The result was an acoustic instrumental ensemble with a unique sound which eventually was named The 442’s.
The name “442’s” was inspired by the frequency of the note a symphony orchestra tunes to, an A at 442 Hertz. Also contributing is Rodway and Bode’s address (the two are married) is 442 and Maness’ address was 442 when he lived in New York.
Maness composes all the pieces in The 442’s repertoire and also plays guitar, accordion, glockenspiel and melodica. “Every time we show up for a rehearsal, Adam comes with at least one or two new tunes that are completely different than the last two he’s written," says Weil. "And they are equally as good and better all the time. And it’s nice because although they are basically finished products when he shows up with them, he still has the flexibility, and we are able to give some input, and it is very much a work in progress."
All four musicians agree that it is beneficial to push themselves “outside the box.” For Ranheim and Weil, it gives them the opportunity to do some improvisation, something that rarely happens with classical music. For Maness who is used to writing for jazz musicians who do improvise, it forces him to pay more attention to development in his compositions. Rodway, who is basically self-taught on double-bass, gets inspiration in technique from the two classically trained string players.
On Friday, October 25, 2013, cellist Bjorn Ranheim returned to Cityscape to give an update on The 442's. The group is currently preparing to record their debut album, and are looking to crowdsourcing to help finance it. Their goal is to raise $10,000 by November 21. They will kick off their campaign with a concert at The Sheldon on Tuesday, October 29.
More information about The 442's kickstarter campaign can be found on the campaign website. More information about future performances can be found on the group's website.
Related Event
The 442's Kickstarter Concert at The Sheldon
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard
For more information, call 314-533-9900 or visit The Sheldon website.
Cityscape is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer, hosted by Steve Potter and funded in part by the the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
