The Iceman cometh (to the Cedar)
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Wise musicians know they must take careful care of their instruments, but Terje Isungset (right) maybe has to take more care than most.
The Norwegian plays music on marimbas, trumpets and harps all made from ice, some of it thousands of years old carved from glaciers in his homeland.
Isungset brings his Ice Music show to the Cedar Cultural Center on Monday evening. However he will be in Minneapolis this weekend preparing his instruments. He'll be working at a local ice vendor, and possibly cutting ice from a local lake.
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However he points out It's not every piece of ice which can become part of an instrument. There is a lot of selection and tuning to be done. You can get a sense of his work from this video.
A further challenge faces the Cedar itself, which it has to be admitted can become quite warm when packed with a crowd of music heads. The Cedar's Mike Rossetto says the stage crew is looking at how it will adjust the heating in the venue, which usually includes vents which blow on stage.
There is also the question of lighting. Ice looks really pretty when it's lit properly, but the lighting guy doesn't usually run the risk of destroying a performer's instruments by making it look good.
Beautiful music mixed with the possibility of disaster: what's not to love?
(Ice trumpet image courtesy of the Cedar Cultural Center)