There are plenty of benefits from working with award-winning tenor, recitalist and philosopher David Cook, but there is an obvious drawback as well.
While collaborating with the Lusby resident on a new version of the classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” accompanying pianist Jane Liang found the best way to deal with his baritone-like voice in relation to Cook’s volume and projection.
“Just turn up the volume [on other things],” said the 16-year-old California resident, who has been a member of the COSMIC Symphony Orchestra since 2022.
The duo released the song on all streaming platforms March 19.
“As long as I feel that we delivered the message or delivered what we wanted to deliver, I’m happy with that,” said Cook, who performs in the Bel Canto style made popular by Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti. “And I feel like we did that with this.”
“My first thought was probably, ‘What am I doing?’” Liang said. “But I’m just really excited that I could be a part of this at all.”
Cook, who recently moved to Lusby from St. Mary’s County, originally recorded “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” shortly after the pandemic, but wanted to record it with a piano accompaniment because he thought “it would sound better.”
Cook found his pianist when he saw Liang in her Young Artist Program concert last year. She won the competition in 2019, but because of COVID could only showcase the win last year.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, what an amazing pianist,’” Cook said. “She has such a natural God-given gift and I was just so impressed with her willingness to learn and willingness to be collaborative with me.”
Cook, Liang and 14-year-old Liam Coan of California, who is taking singing lessons from Cook, collaborated on Cook’s Christmas special “No Place Like Home For The Holidays” in December that racked up 113,000 views in the U.S. and Europe.
Cook and Liang then tackled “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which appeared in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”
“The lyrics are what really inspired me,” Cook said. “It’s a song of hope. It’s a song of perseverance. It’s a song of to hell with everything and just do what you want to do.”
“Accompanying requires a little bit of flexibility in freezing and tempo,” said Liang, who said it took her a few days to learn the arrangement, “but it requires it from both the accompanist and the singer.”
“We had to get familiar with each other, which was just one rehearsal because she has a great ability to listen,” Cook said. “We’re kind of following each other. It’s like a conductor with any production but we’re both give and take. Jane is giving where she pushes me and I go with her and then I fall back. I have worked with [much older] pianists that can’t play this music and cannot do that give and take.”
The pair also released “American Anthem,” in part because Cook “truly believes in what the song stands for.”
It has been a busy few weeks for Cook, who sang in three St. Maries Choral Arts concerts May 18 to 20, and will perform the National Anthem during the Arts Experience on June 1 at the Calvert County Fairgrounds, which will feature musicians, art demonstrations, performances and vendors.
“I’m just making it up as I go now,” Cook said of his new approach to his work. “I’m doing a lot of great work in the county, but the sprit is moving me and as it moves me I’m following. I’m really no longer bound by the restraints anymore of the classical repertoire that I used to be bound to. I feel very free and very liberated and empowered. I’m just at my ship and sailing my sail.”
To view American Anthem or “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAkAfPYhhXQ. For more information on the Arts Experience, go to www.calvertarts.org.
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