Font Resize
BRATTLEBORO -- Standing atop her husband's shoulders, Serenity Forchion said she could feel every note the orchestra played of "Adagio for Strings" through her body and soul.
Near the crescendo of the piece, as Serenity and her husband, Bill Forchion, told their love story through acrobatics in rhythm with the music, Serenity placed one foot atop Bill's head and all 250 members of the audience drew a massive breath. The moment held for what seemed eternity.
And then, graceful as ever, Bill lowered his wife, with strength and beauty as the music of the 50-piece orchestra softened, in complete harmony with one another.
"It's like working in 4-D," Serenity of New England Center for Circus Arts said. "We truly felt like we were instruments. It was really special to play with them."
On Saturday, at Event in a Tent, Hugh Keelan and Mark Burke finally got to see their dreams become reality underneath the massive six-point tent. Looking out at their creation, prior to the Main Event, both knew it was a success.
"This is like the real world now, it's out of my brain waves, it's no longer just projections, it's now big physical objects that are being swarmed by people to experience it," he said.
In front of the food and beverage area provided by Nesbitt's Portside Tavern of Vernon and Hardy Foard Catering of Chesterfield, N.H., an impromptu drum session broke out as part of the workshop with drum master Bob Bloom.
Similarly, across Famolare Field a group of people learned to flap their lips so they could play the didgeridoo with their teacher, Pitz Quattrone, and join Keelan's orchestra for their piece, "Didgeridoo Hullabaloo."
And just like that, Jayson Falamino, of Hadley, Mass., along with three others became part of the show.
Falamino's friend, Kathleen Mahoney of Easthampton, Mass., had won two tickets and Falamino soon found himself with a home-made didgeridoo in his hands, pursing his lips to make a "motorboat" sound in front of hundreds of people accompanying an orchestra.
"There's a sense of wonder, halfway between magic and reality when you enter the tent," Keelan said. "There's a different world, different expectations, things just happen inside the tent."
Leading up to Saturday's event, Burke said he was nervous about the acoustics inside the tent creating a flat sound, but as the orchestra began, his fears melted away as their sound engineer, Ari Fagan, made the proper adjustments.
"It was stunning," he said. "The enhancements Ari made were incredible."
Jane Boxall certainly appreciated them. As the first musical act of the afternoon, Boxall picked up her small mallets to play a musical park bench built by Erik Newquist and Garry Jones of The Harmonic Forge.
Boxall, who had never played furniture before, said she jumped at the opportunity when Jones asked her to perform a new piece of music he created special for Event in a Tent.
"As I was writing it, the piece became an unconscious conversation between the instruments," Jones said. "I had goosebumps listening it. She's amazing. I've never heard a park bench played so passionately."
Saturday's event was merely a prototype for a much bigger set of events the duo wants to put on throughout Vermont, ideally at ski resorts, Keelan and Burke said.
"We've already exceeded our expectations," Burke said. "The music underneath the tent is amazing, the performers are mesmerizing and everyone had a great time."
Josh Stilts can be reached at jstilts@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311 ext. 273.
