Thursday, September 27, 2012
By John Benson
If you’re going to judge a band by its name, an act called Genghis Barbie could definitely elicit a few wild suggestions.
A good guess would naturally be a Swedish death-metal band or, well, any heavy-metal group. Instead, this New York City-based quartet couldn’t be further from the aforementioned.
“We’re a pop French horn quartet,” said Leelanee Sterrett (aka Cosmic Barbie), calling from the Big Apple. “The ensemble is in its second year going strong. We just kind of got our start as four friends who knew each other from the freelance musician scene in New York City. We just wanted a way to get together and play fun music together, and it’s all taken off from there. It’s a little strange.”
Featuring classically trained musicians from The Julliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Yale University, Genghis Barbie is attempting to break classical-music boundaries by showcasing the French horn performing contemporary music by Lady Gaga and Beyonce, as well as classic rock from Queen and even ’80s pop music from Madonna and A-Ha.
Genghis Barbie was formed two years ago when its members felt like they needed a challenge that was also entertaining.
“Sometimes you just need to remind yourself why you’re doing music in the first place,” Sterrett said. “So this is kind of a fun thing to do. It’s not so stuffy as the normal work that we’re doing as classical musicians.”
The foursome makes its Youngstown debut with a free concert Tuesday at Trinity Methodist Church in Youngstown.
As for the French horn, it’s safe to say the ensemble members — Sterrett, Danielle Kuhlmann (aka Velvet Barbie), Rachel Drehmann (aka Atilla the Horn) and Alana Vegter (aka Freedom Barbie) — have their goals set high to redefine the classical brass instrument as cool and hip.
“That’s right, but it actually works really well in all of this pop music because it’s a very lyrical instrument,” Sterrett said. “It’s great for vocal music. You can really sing through the horn, and it also has a really large range, so we can cover a lot of parts of pop music. Somebody can be the bass voice; somebody can be the solo line; and somebody can be playing guitar parts. It actually works really well.”
In fact, Sterrett said some classical-music folks make the mistake of judging the band not on its musical prowess but on what it’s attempting to do. And that, she said, is a mistake.
“People who haven’t ever listened and heard us are a little bit skeptical about what we’re doing,” Sterrett said. “A lot of people are inclined to think French horns playing Lady Gaga is something that serious musicians shouldn’t necessarily be doing. But for us, it’s all about loving what you do and pouring your heart into any sort of performance. We encourage people to give it a listen and have fun with the music.”