My wife and I went to the Cerrito last night for a screening of Freeway Philharmonic, a documentary about Bay Area classical musicians who drive all over Northern California to scratch out a living playing in multiple orchestras. Filmmakers Tal Skloot and Steven Baigel profile seven such musicians, although there are many more.
The capacity audience appeared to be mostly musicians and at least one musician’s spouse. That would be me, as my wife plays viola professionally. She seemed to know half the audience, including several of the musicians profiled in the film. In fact, one of Freeway Philharmonic‘s subjects is our daughter’s bassoon teacher.
At 55 minutes, Freeway Philharmonic isn’t quite feature length, but it’s the right length for the story Skloot and Baigel have to tell. We meet the musicians, get to know their lives, their dreams, and their frustrations. Two of them get married, another two–already married–contemplate parenthood. One injures her hand and worries if that will destroy her career. And we come to understand the passion, dedication, and struggle involved in an artistic career.
Good music, too.
Filed under: First-person Report, Reviews
