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Program Notes: The Forest and the Architect; Piece of Mind; Beauty of the Fields; The Emerald Necklace; Breath of the Meadow, Heart of the Woodland; Golden Hour Walk; Olmsted Gardens
Musicians: Lu Yu, Minjin Chung, Anne Howarth, Thomas Schmidt, Wolcott Humphrey, Wei Zhao, Jesse MacDonald
Program Notes
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Christina Rusnak
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In 1901, leaders in Portland Oregon, gathered to envision their city’s future, and hired Frederick Law Olmsted’s sons to design the city’s parks. As the vision’s cornerstone, John Charles Olmsted proposed that the densely wooded hills above northwest Portland be designated by the City as “a forest park". The Olmsteds’ contribution to this city is living, breathing and enduring. I sought to convey the forest’s inherent and contrasting elements- the sounds of the tiniest members of the forest’s inhabitants; the majesty of its towering trees; John Olmsted’s voice within the pages of the 1904 plan; trepidation as “progress” undermined the vision; the rebirth of the plan, and the joy of experiencing the park today as envisioned over a century ago.
Christina Rusnak (Portland, Oregon), https://christinarusnak.com/ |
Ryan Suleiman
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Frederick Law Olmsted is considered the “father of landscape architecture” in the United States. Though a park is by definition human-made, his designs focused on local landscapes and allowed them to be themselves. In crowded, noisy, stressful city-environments, he believed we all deserved a place to stop and take in nature. Olmsted’s home and office, Fairsted (Brookline, MA), is where his firm operated, and this location – a park and creative studio – provides the inspiration for Piece of Mind, which was commissioned by Landscape Music. The piece is about stillness, contemplation, the creative process, and above all, letting sounds and silences simply be themselves.
Ryan Suleiman (Boston, Massachusetts), https://www.ryansuleiman.com/ |
Libby Meyer
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The project to turn Belle Isle, a long, narrow island of approximately 700 acres in the Detroit River into an urban park, became official in 1879. Central to Olmsted’s plan was simplicity and indigenous nature. Native plantings and a simpler infrastructure were elements of his plan furthering his vision of the park as a place for “restful contemplation of its natural scenery”. Beauty of the Fields centers on two native plants that are in abundance on Belle Isle and plants that Olmsted certainly would have valued as adding to the beauty and serenity of the park. Each section focuses on a different flower; flowers that attract and nourish bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife as well as nourishing the spirit of the visitors to the park.
Libby Meyer: (Houghton, Michigan) www.libbymeyermusic.com |
Oliver Caplan
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In 1880, Frederick Law Olmsted, widely considered the father of American landscape architecture, envisioned a ribbon of greenspaces winding through the city of Boston, Massachusetts and neighboring Brookline.The realized dream became known as the Emerald Necklace for its appearance on maps of Boston, like a string of green jewels. When I first moved to Boston in 2004, the Emerald Necklace captured my imagination. In Olmsted’s parks, I found peace, refuge and inspiration for my composing. This piece is a love letter to a dear old friend, a remembrance of myriad moments in urban nature, from misty mornings to spring blooms.
Oliver Caplan (Medford, Massachusetts), https://www.olivercaplan.com/bio.html. |
Nell Shaw Cohen
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Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted described urban parks as "the lungs of the city." These woodlands are spaces for contemplation and intimate conversation, where dense forest gives cover to an enigmatic network of footpaths. Even as I cherish these two parks, I find their present-day terrain obfuscates a complex history. Seneca Village (1825-1857) was a vibrant Black community, which New York City's government forcibly vacated in order to build Central Park. Both parks continue to occupy Lenapehoking: the unceded homeland of the Lenape. The concept of parks as "lungs" may have come from Olmsted's work in public health during the Civil War. Yet this idea feels strikingly poignant in our own time of pandemic and climate crisis, and has given inspiration and impetus to my music.
Nell Shaw Cohen (Brooklyn, New York), https://www.nellshawcohen.com/. |
Ayumi Okada
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Fort Tryon Park is located in Washington Heights by the Hudson River. I have been a resident of New York City since 2009, but it was not until 2017, when I moved to Washington Heights, that I truly began to enjoy living in the city. The immense beauty of the park designed by the Olmsted Brothers completely changed my perception of the busy city. Having daily access to the park gave me the comfort that I had been searching for for so long. I am grateful for this opportunity to show my gratitude toward the creators of this special park through my music. Depicted in the piece is one of the most memorable walks I have taken in the park: a walk during the golden hour on a day after the winter solstice.
Ayumi Okada (New York City, New York), http://ayumiokada.com/ |
Michael-Thomas Foumai
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Olmsted Gardens is in four movements, a kind of park tour of four of the seven park segments. Beginning with Springdale, pastoral music, featuring the flute, paints a scenic gateway to the Linear Park, where visitors encounters a green knoll and a mature stand of oaks. Shadyside is named for the heavily wooded section on the southern side of the western end, the music bristles with woodland creatures, with gestures of shadowy and lively activity. Virgilee, is named after Joel Hurt’s daughter; this park is her memorial. The landscape of this segment continues the pastoral scheme and the music reflects the memorial tones with a solemn horn in remembrance. Deepdene, the largest segment, forms the eastern end of the Linear Park. The final movement, a lively dance, celebrates the park in a winding stream of melodies and rhythm.
Michael-Thomas Foumai (Honolulu, Hawaii), https://www.michaelfoumai.com/ |
Musicians
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Born in China, Lu Yu began her musical studies at the age of six on violin. She started to play viola as her principal instrument at age twelve at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China. Her studies then took her to the Royal Academy of Music in London with a full scholarship where she learned under the tutelage of Matthew Souter for the Bachelor of Music degree. Ms. Yu then studied with Marcus Thompson at the New England Conservatory in Boston where she received her Master of Music degree. Among her numerous awards, she was granted “The Young Musician of 2008” in Hong Kong. Her performance career has led to being the founding violist of the Loki String Quartet which is in residence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Ms. Yu is also principal violist of the Boston Civic Symphony, performs with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, was recently co-principal viola of the Missouri Symphony and frequently performs with many of the ensembles around the Boston area.
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Minjin Chung is a cellist based in Boston who enjoys an active career as a freelance musician and is on the cello faculty of the Dedham School of Music. Praised by the Boston Music Intelligencer for her “beautiful sweeping melody played with grace” she has appeared in the top concert halls in the world such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She is an avid performer of new music and has premiered countless new works throughout her years as a student and in her professional career. As an orchestral player, she has attended the Aspen Music Festival as a New Horizon Fellow and has performed with the Sinfonia da Camera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the New World Symphony. As a soloist, she has received awards from the Richmond Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Virginia Lions Club Bland Music Competition, Virginia String Teachers Association Solo Competition, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Concerto Competition.
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Horn player Anne Howarth has a passion for small group collaborations and the opportunities they offer performers and audience members alike to forge personal connections with the music and with each other. She is deeply curious about the ways in which shared musical experiences can invite deeper dialogue and contemplation. Anne is a founding member and Outreach Director of the mixed-instrumentation chamber group Radius Ensemble and is a senior member of the wind quintet Vento Chiaro. A strong proponent of new music, Anne has commissioned works for chamber ensemble as an individual and with colleagues. As a freelance orchestral player in demand in the greater Boston area, Anne holds Principal Horn chairs with the Lexington Symphony and Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and occasionally performs with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others. Curious about the intersection between live music and movement, Anne has collaborated with Monkeyhouse and dancer/choreographer Karen Krolak at First Night Boston, the Oberon, and Tufts University.
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One of Boston’s versatile free-lance percussionists, Thomas Schmidt has performed with The Boston Philharmonic, The Portland Symphony (Maine), Rhode Island Philharmonic, New Bedford Symphony, Placido Domingo, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Indian Hill Symphony, Lexington Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, and The Brevard Music Centers Faculty Orchestra. A regular down in the pit orchestra, he has played for The 75th Anniversary Tour of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Opera Maine, The Boston Lyric Opera, various tours with the New England Opera, and the Da Capo Opera Company. Equally at home playing in a jazz big band or drum-set for a musical, Thomas has performed with the Boston Brass All Stars Big Band and has been the drum-set player for countless musicals in the New England area. He has performed with new music ensembles ALEA III and Dinosaur Annex as well as various choruses, such as Masterworks Chorale, Harvard-Radcliff Chorus, Back Bay Chorale, Boston Celia Society, Coro Allegro, Chorus ProMusica, The Brookline Chorus, and The Newburyport Chorale. Thomas is on the faculty at The Berklee College of Music where he teaches Orchestral Percussion, Marimba, Vibraphone, and Drum Set.
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Clarinetist Wolcott Humphrey, originally from western New York, earned a B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Ithaca College in 2006, and went on to earn an M.M. and a Graduate Diploma in Clarinet Performance from the New England Conservatory in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Wolcott has studied clarinet with E. Michael Richards, Richard Faria, William Wrzesien, and Craig Nordstrom. Humphrey is passionate about new music, and has performed in contemporary chamber ensembles in Ithaca, Providence (Ensemble Parallax), and Boston (Juventas and Sound Icon) as well as at the Charles E. Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music. He was also in the premiere performance of White Snake Projects’ comic opera REV. 23 in Boston. Humphrey was the principal clarinetist of the Salt Lake Symphonic Winds, performing Martin Ellerby's Clarinet Concerto with the group in 2011. While living in Providence, he was the principal clarinetist of Fall River Symphony, the co-principal clarinetist of the American Band, and a member of several woodwind chamber groups. Humphrey is the assistant principal clarinetist of the Met Winds, performing the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto with the group at the Association of Concert Bands convention in New Jersey and at the Festival of Bands in Boston.
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Chinese flutist Wei Zhao has a rich musical life. As a soloist, she has won two professional level China-wide competitions, and participated in the Prague Spring International Music Festival competition. As a chamber musician, she won many significant competitions with her woodwind quintet, and as principal flute in professional orchestras, she has played a wide repertoire. She has played with orchestras such as the National Ballet of Moscow, the China Film Philharmonic, the Peking Sinfonietta, the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, and the Juilliard Conservatory of Music Youth Orchestra, under the batons of luminaries such as Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Plácido Domingo, Lang Lang, Tan Dun, and others. In 2016, she performed with Edison Ruiz, the youngest bass player in the Berlin Philharmonic. In August of 2017, she founded the flute duo “Duo Zonda,” with a debut performance at the Charlotte New Music Festival, and since they have performed around the USA. Wei has been teaching flute for over 14 years. She is currently on the faculty of the Newton Chinese Language School since 2017, and for Discover Melody online courses. She has taught at the Kennedy Longfellow School in Cambridge, MA, and the Chinese Musicians Association, for which organization she has recorded instructional videos on the performance of important flute masterworks.
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Jesse MacDonald, 2nd violinist of the Apple Hill String Quartet and Co-Artistic director
of the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, has participated and placed in festivals and competitions in various regions of the United States. With the AHSQ, Jesse has toured and given masterclasses at Oberlin Conservatory, University of Iowa, UCLA, Ulster University (Northern Ireland), Keene State College and around the East Coast. He is also currently a core violinist of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra and Palaver Strings (Portland, ME). He has also played on the east coast with groups such as the Cape Symphony, The Dessoff Choirs (NYC)under the baton of Doctor Malcolm Merriweather and with Off-Broadway Theaters such as the Company Theatre in Norwell, MA, and the Seacoast Repertory Theater in Portsmouth, NH. He was also the lead fiddle player for the Broken String Band, a contra dance and swing band based out of Bozeman, MT, for 10 years. He has also previously performed with the Luminaria String Quartet, based in NYC, and the Emma String Quartet and the Tempest String Quartet, both based out of Boston, which has performed in NEC’s Jordan Hall, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), and the Harvard Club (NYC). |