Music

Posted Thursday, January 22, 2015 2:22 pm

Francisco Noya, resident conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, knows a thing or two about blend: that all-important, almost magical thing that happens when disparate instruments come together to make a beautiful, harmonious sound all the more magical than the sum of its parts. So it’s high praise he gives to the Indigo Girls, the venerable folk duo with whom the Philharmonic will be sharing the stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) this month, when he says that blending both their voices is one of their strong suits. “It’ll be great to have our orchestral accompaniment to enhance their harmonies and vocal arrangements,” says Francisco.



While all singers must consider their voices their instrument, the term seems particularly apt to describe Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, whose resonant and unmistakable instruments have been topping Billboard charts since the ’80s. When the women perform, their instruments seem to join as one. Taken on their own, though, they are noticeably in contrast (Amy’s voice scrapes the gravelly bottom of their range whereas Emily’s can reach higher, with a lighter touch). And according to PPAC’s website, the duo have been performing with orchestras across the country since 2001.



This kind of creativity is one of the reasons that Francisco says the orchestra is looking forward to joining the duo in presenting an evening of unforgettable music in an entirely new setting for the group. “It’s always great to collaborate with artists who have the artistic trajectory that the Indigo Girls have. They know what they are doing,” he says.



Though Francisco was hesitant to share what exactly would be in store for the audience the night of the performance, he did mention that he was in possession of the scores, and that the orchestra was looking forward to engaging in the sort of serendipitous creativity that can happen when it comes together with a collaborator.



For this kind of performance, one rehearsal with the artists is standard, Francisco explains – the Philharmonic and the Indigo Girls will meet earlier in the afternoon the day of the performance and shape the tempo, textures and more. But there are no exhaustive notes, no weeklong stretches of precision tweaking. In fact, Francisco says the orchestra is encouraged to indulge in bits of “little surprises and creativity” during the performance.

The Philharmonic is no stranger to collaborations that span genres and break boundaries: “We’ve collaborated before with so many artists – Art Garfunkel, The Temptations, Ben Folds, you name it,” he says. “When you consider that the mission of the Philharmonic is to bring very high caliber music making to the com- munity, this gives us another oppor- tunity to share the full scope of our music making with our audience. Our hope for the newcomers who come see us for the first time is that they will be surprised and delighted and will want to come see us again.”



The Indigo Girls with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra

February 13 Providence Performing Arts Center

220 Weybosset Street

421-2787