Composer Randy Edelman touches people mostly without touching them. He touches them with his words, with his smile, with his eyes, with his confidence, with his madness…but mostly with his music. His sensitivity and his innocence have invisible hands to touch the hearts directly… as displayed in a riveting and unusual concert at the Boston City Winery on October 1, 2023.
“There are numerous Starseeds on this planet and they are here to illuminate all the dark corners of the earth”…Michael Bassey Johnson
On an ethereal and exhilarating Autumn New England morning when the last of the warm sun slanted red, and the air was wild with the smell of maple flavor and jeweled toned leaves and the promise of ghosts and goblins and other spooky stuff loomed in the near future, the hard core fans along with the film score students and administrators from the Berkeley School of Music plus the CEO from the NEMHOF, Christopher Annino joined together to celebrate the music of the award winning composer, (who had just been inducted into The New England Music Hall of Fame in a wild frenzy the night before).
Without ceremony Randy immediately blew the entire congregation away upon engaging the piano and playing a classical piece by Robert Schumann, a German composer and pianist wildly regarded as one of the greatest composers of the romantic era. Then the romance continued as the audience remained in a state of enchantment and Randy performed songs of his many time covered ballads including: “If Love is Real” (recorded by Olivia Newton-John), “The Laughter and The Tears (recorded by Dionne Warwick), and a very emotional “You” (recorded by The Carpenters). Of course, “A Weekend In New England” (recorded by Barry Manilow) a vitally important song which shaped the musical history of New England, received a welcoming, earth shattering response from those present….
Randy rounded the corner of his wild ride of his illustrious career as he performed medleys of his over 100 soundtracks for motion pictures and TV. He began with his comedies, “My Cousin Vinny”, “Ghostbusters ll”, “The Mask”, “Billy Madison”, “ “Beethoven”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Twins”, “While You Were Sleeping”, “MacGyver“ (from the hit TV series) and more. He then switched it up to his more serious compositions including “Dragonheart”, “The Bruce Lee Story”, “Gettysburg”, and in conclusion “Last of the Mohicans” (for which he captured a Golden Globe nomination).
All the while through his music he played with an intrinsic, heartfelt, and beautifully inspiring fashion. His brilliant and intimate articulation of his behind the scenes stories facilitated a connecting with the audience forming a kinship with every one of them making each one feel that he was performing for them only. He could have easily been telling his tale in any one of their living rooms over a glass of wine. In the words of Chris Annino the President of NEMHOF “His music means a lot to me and seeing him live meant more to me than the Hall of Fame.”
However, his vast effect on the audience wasn’t even realized to the fullest extent until the concert concluded and the crowd stormed the composer as he left the stage telling him of the influence his music had throughout their lives and to this day forward. Now I’ve seen the joy in the faces of Randy’s audiences, the exuberance in their laughter, and I’ve even a seen a salty tear fall from their eyes shining with emotion but what happened next was almost unprecedented.
Out of the blue a 4th year film score student from Berkeley who had come via Hong Kong and Japan looked at the composer and attempted to relay how emotional his performance was to her. But then suddenly she burst into sobbing unrelenting tears. It was like “the rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlaying our hard hearts”…Charles Dickens….
The surprised composer comforted her and patiently shared advice that probably will change the course of her life for the better forever.
What better way for an artist to end a tour with the grand finale of touching a life forever. Randy Edelman is loved in a way artists only dream to be loved……There is a depth to life…. which only comes from our connection to other people. All existence is touched lightly as the air leaving invisible fingerprints. A life that is fulfilled doesn’t count the number of years, the awards, or the wealth, but rather the faces that smiled. The savage beauty of Randy’s music will be smiled on for all eternity…