With all the recent buzz about New Music Idol...

...we thought this 2010 review deserved a post... Sybarite 5 plucks and plays Sarasota’s heartstrings (originally published May 17th, 2010 by The Scenestress for Creative Loafing Magazine) At first, the only sounds are the snaps of camera shutters. Tik-tik-tik; tak tak tak tak tak. Then Sarah Whitney, the statuesque violin player, puts bow to strings. The other four members of string quintet Sybarite 5 join in and the result is arresting. I wonder if the sound I am hearing can possibly be coming from just these five musicians — it is so overwhelming and powerful. But it is clear that they are in fact doing all the work. After the first song ends, host Joey Panek takes the stage to talk to the packed house: Tonight at the Hub Incubator, the downtown tech company and event space, New York-based string quintet Sybarite 5 have invited six New College students to compete in their “New Music Idol” competition. The contest is set up like American Idol with the winner determined by text message vote. To up the stakes, they’ve also recruited a Paula, Simon, Randy, and that other chick to play against Panek’s Ryan Seacrest: Matt Orr from the HuB, Christopher Takeda of the Sarasota Orchestra, Stephen Miles of New College, and Lena Cambis of the Sarasota Music Academy all take seats on the couch to help decide who will have his or her piece played at Sybarite 5’s gala-concert at Holley Hall the following evening. The first New College kid takes the stage to introduce his piece. He is wearing plaid shorts and an old t-shirt and Simon — I mean Chris Takeda — calls him out immediately: ”Dave, I’d like to thank you for dressing up for the occasion. Your shorts are reminding me of my jam days.” Everyone laughs and the rest of the judges offer some sincere comments on the merits of his piece, a toe-tappin’ jazz number. In the midst of the performances, the audience can also text in comments to be displayed on the ceiling by projector, another cool interactive element of the evening. For some reason everyone keeps texting about ninjas and electing Matt Orr for mayor. But there is plenty to keep us entertained on stage too — I am blown away by the non-verbal communications of the musicians as well as the emotion present in their faces while they play. They are telling a story with the instruments and it shows. To my uneducated ear, the students’ arrangements all sound like awesome movie soundtracks. My favorite piece is number four, and I’m not sure if that’s because of the adorable way the composer nervously adjusts his specs while speaking into the microphone or because of the really nice bass-line that meanders through his score. After Sybarite 5 play it, the young composer beams with pride as he looks around the room at the applauding crowd. The winner is crowned — wouldn’t ya know it, the good lookin’ kid is the champion — and Sybarite 5 take off into their version of Radiohead’s “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box,” adding to their repertoire of sound with wooden spoons and mechanical pencils. They are astonishingly able to replicate Radiohead with only these five instruments. The crowd freaks out when they hear the first strains of Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” for the finale. The range of tone the group produces is amazing — Sybarite 5 can indeed replicate if not best Jimmy page. If you didn’t see them this year, definitely catch Sybarite 5 during their next residency in SRQ. IMHO, they are making classical music and what it takes to produce it relevant and accessible to all generations.