Before Going to Work -- A Tiny Opera by Garry Eister, 2018

“Before Going to Work” was performed live, on-stage, at UCLA and Cal Poly Pomona in the spring of 2018, at which time Mr. Eister produced the audio recording you can hear on this video: https://vimeo.com/378063163

Mr. Eister wanted to share the performance online, so he developed an elaborate set of still images and cut them together with the audio. The result is what he calls a “tiny slideshow opera.”  The entire piece runs just over seven minutes in length, and I found to be it extremely engaging.

“Before Going to Work” is simultaneously funny and intense.  It tells the story of an associate professor in music who is faced with a dilemma: she loves her job and she’s only months away from tenure, but she’s been assigned to teach a course in Rock and Roll.  For various reasons, both professional and personal, she is repelled by the assignment.

The performers on “Before Going to Work” are mezzo soprano Alexandra Grabarchuk and ensmbleFRET, an LA trio. The members of ensembleFRET are Buzz Gravelle (mandolin), Walter Marsh (guitar), and Peter Yates (arpeggione**).

Garry Eister is a Grammy-nominated, modern classical composer.  His versatile oeuvre spans the gamut from meditative, single-line instrumental pieces to full-on operas.  He collaborates with other artists to produce unique, intelligent works that are both accessible and, frequently, fun.  

In addition to his work as a composer, Mr. Eister performs his original music on guitar and keyboards.  You can find many of his pieces on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/channels/garryeistermusic).  Several of his recordings, including his 2019 release, “Folk People,” are on Spotify.  His website is http://eistermusic.com. 

**arpeggione — bowed guitar.