13 Sep Pizza and a Good Harvest with Lucas

On September 28, Les Délices will host our annual benefit event. This year, the event is titled All the Pleasures, and will be a celebration of all the wonderful pursuits that make our lives a little brighter. Beautiful music will accompany delicious food and fine conversation music in the lovely setting of the Shaker Heights Country Club. There will be a silent auction featuring items ranging from baseball tickets to a private meal.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this beautiful event.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS NOW!

In the weeks leading up to our f├¬te, we are going to feature each of our artists so you can get to know them. This week, we’re chatting with lutenist and theorbo player Lucas Harris!

If you were an 18th century person of leisure, of all the pleasures, how would you prefer to pass your time?

While all of the pleasures appeal greatly, I think music for me will always be king. I’d host regular house concerts (or even what were called “academias” at the time) in my palace, and try to get the best singers, instrumentalists, composers, and dancers of the day to do private performances for my neighbors and I.

As a 21st century person, how do you prefer to pass your time when you aren’t working?

I have to say that this question becomes a little more complicated when you love what you do. Playing the lute doesn’t necessarily feel like work, especially if I’m playing a small instrument by myself (holding a huge theorbo and trying to cut through a big ensemble is another thing)! Playing the lute in itself is a pleasure: I love almost nothing better than putting a facsimile book of lute tablature on my music stand and reading through a piece that’s new to me. Many people might not realize how vast the literature for solo lute is and how much fun it is to explore.

Some of my other “pleasures” might seem strange as well. This summer I attempted to repair a few broken cell phones using parts I ordered online. I realize that this is the polar opposite of what many people would call a pleasure! But I truly derive great pleasure and satisfaction from the luxury of being able to devote my mind to ONE satisfying challenge at a time without having frequent distractions. When there is a deadline and I’m multitasking, then it feels like work again. I fantasize about going to huge wooden table, and placing on it the ONE thing I want to get done that day, and working on it until it’s the very best I can do.

My #1 “guilty pleasure” is watching the Harry Potter films.

Do you enjoy cooking? What is your favorite thing to make and what do you enjoy about it?

Love it. I make homemade pizza. Kneading and smelling the rising dough is like therapy for me. I love it that every pizza comes out differently and seems to reflect my mood.

Have you ever tried any 18th century recipes? If so, what have you made and how did it go?

Send me a recipe, and I’ll gladly try it! But make it vegetarian, please!

What was your greatest kitchen success or failure?

I keep trying to bake really healthy bread, and it often comes out as a “rock.”

Do you enjoy gardening?

My wife and daughter spend the whole summer gardening, and I have ceded my real-estate to them seeing how much pleasure it gives them.

What do you enjoy about it?

I love it when I can eat a salad made completely from a garden harvest.

What are you most proud of in your garden?

My daughter’s mini butterfly sanctuary.

Do you find any connections between your practice of music and your time in the garden?

Just as you plant a seed and cultivate it over many months, preparing a performance over several months involves starting with a good “seed,” preparing the “ground,” pulling some “weeds,” and getting the right mixture of elements to ensure healthy growth and a good “harvest!”

Happy harvest, Lucas, and see you soon!

Next week it’s already time for our last artist feature, as we meet singer Elena Mullins.