STATION |
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The Ramble |
Featuring Kelley Hollis, Soprano; Anne Howarth, Horn; Julia Carey, Piano
Michael Donovan, Bay State Sonata (3 movements)
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Donovan writes: "The Bay State Sonata is a musical extension of my experiences living in the greater Boston area. Movement I: Boston: Liberal Thoughts, Liberal Sounds– I became immersed in the rich music culture of Boston while attending Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory’s. The progressive sounds emanating from the halls of these schools may be unmatched in America. II: Marathon Memorial–The tragedy of April 15th 2013 is deeply reflected in this movement. I walked past the 2 bomb sites everyday while attending college in Boston. III: Gloucester, MA– This "sea shanty" was inspired by a Robert Frost poem, “The Flower Boat” The poem tells the story of an abandoned dory which gets a second chance at fishing the Gloucester waves."
Michael Donovan (Massachusetts), https://www.wavefrontmusic.com/michael-donovan.html |
Mary Montgomery Koppel, Prelude No. 2: Seaside
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Koppel writes: “In 2021, Julia Carey asked me to write her a short piano piece, to be premiered over the summer in a concert on the water. Coincidentally, I had just made arrangements to spend my summer running a waterfront in midcoast Maine. I grew up in Maine and spent summers through college and graduate school working on the water, driving a launch and teaching sailing. That year it was a wonderful treat to return to the rugged coast I love, and to focus my creative energy on a piece inspired by that beautiful world. Prelude No. 2: Seaside is a simple reflection inspired by life on Linekin Bay, a place my family now returns every year.”
Mary Montgomery Koppel (Massachusetts), http://marymontgomerykoppel.com/ |
Emma Wine, Assurance
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Wine writes: “The inspiration for “Assurance” started not with the poem itself, but with a melody that came to me in a dream. After scribbling it down, I sent it to Anne Howarth and asked her to record it for me, which sounded even more beautiful than in the dream. Weeks later, I found the poem “Assurance” by Emma Lazarus. It immediately stood out because its author and I share a name, but as I read the poem over, I saw that “Assurance” was also about a dream, and the dream was about a woman. Lazarus died unmarried at age 38, and as I imagined her world, where the only place she found love was in dreams, I knew I could bring her words to life in a unique way. ”
Emma Wine (Texas), https://www.emmakentwine.com/about |
Mari Kotskyy, Winter Song
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Kotskyy writes: “This piece represents the scenery of winter season in my hometown. I grew up in the northernmost part of Japan where in winter there is a lot of snow. The scenery of plains covered by snow is incredibly beautiful, and somewhat mysterious and spiritual. Sometimes a severe snowstorm comes but after it’s gone calm and peaceful atmosphere is back as if nothing had happened. ”
Mari Kotskyy (New York), https://www.marikotskyy.com/about.html |
Nyokabi Kariũki, Questions on the Origins of Creativity
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Kariũki writes: “Questions on the Origins of Creativity was originally written for a masterclass taking place at the inaugural N.E.O. Voice Festival in Los Angeles, California, of which the week’s theme was quite literally the Origins of Creativity, and we were encouraged to explore this theme in our compositions. The one answer I nearly felt content with was ‘the human body’, which was how the idea of using body percussion in this final version was born; but even still, other possibilities continued to come to mind. So, back to the drawing board I went: what if, instead of trying to find an answer, I let the piece marinate in my restlessness, and simply ask all the questions? It felt completely liberating.”
Nyokabi Kariũki (Nairobi/New York/Maryland), https://www.nkariuki.com/bio |
Oliver Caplan, Still With Me
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Caplan writes: "Still With Me was commissioned by euphonium virtuoso Frank Meredith in memory of Sandy, his beloved Yellow Labrador. When somebody touches you, they touch you forever. Whether human or canine, family members who pass on remain with us always, living on in our hearts."
Oliver Caplan (Massachusetts), http://olivercaplan.com/bio.html |
Eric Whitacre, Goodnight Moon
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Whitacre writes: “Over the first six years of his life, I must have read Goodnight Moon to my son a thousand times, maybe more. Somewhere around reading number 500 I began hearing little musical fragments as I read, and over time those fragments began to blossom into a simple, sweet lullaby. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked my manager, Claire Long, to contact HarperCollins and see if they would allow the text to be set to music. To my surprise and delight they agreed – the first time they had ever allowed Goodnight Moon to be used in such a way.”
Eric Whitacre (California), https://ericwhitacre.com/biography |
Oliver Caplan, Connect All. We All Connect
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Caplan writes: “Connect All. We All Connect. explores the interconnectedness of people in today’s world. At times fragile and questioning, at times confident and affirming, the piece ultimately sounds a message that we are our best selves when we embrace heartfelt connection. Master Palindromist Barry Duncan’s text unfolds through a series of five letter-by-letter palindromes (e.g. Sum: It Saved. Am I made vast? I’m us.) interspersed with a longer word-by-word palindrome (e.g. Connect all. We All Connect.).”
Oliver Caplan (Massachussetts), http://olivercaplan.com/bio.html |
Andrew Porter, Scenes From an Early Autumn Day
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Porter writes: “This piece addresses the highs and lows of being both a young adult and artist. Within it is a sense of meandering, flashes of doubt, feelings of love and romance, the anger and pain of failure, the triumph of success, the bittersweetness of nostalgia, and the fear of not knowing what’s next.”
Andrew Porter (New York) is an African-American composer and multi-instrumentalist born & based in Brooklyn. Now, at 23 and a graduate of the composition program at Brooklyn College’s Conservatory of Music, Andrew aims to write music that is expressive, colorful, and tells a story. His goal is to one day write music for a Broadway stage. |
Gina Gille, To the Seasons (4 movements)
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Gille writes: "The composition was written in 2009 for a doctoral dissertation in horn performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. To the Seasons is a four-movement work for soprano, horn and piano which sets four poems by William Blake. These four poems, “To Summer,” “To Autumn,” “To Winter,” and “To Spring,” address each of the seasons in colorfully characteristic ways, expressing unique personality traits and revealing interesting glimpses into the interaction of the seasons with the people of the land."
Gina Gille (Washington), https://sites.google.com/a/plu.edu/gina-gillie---hornist-composer-vocalist/ |
STATION
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Nadeau Garden of Inspiration |
Featuring Nick Southwick, Flute; Angelina Savoia, Harp
Jocelyn Morlock, Vespertine for flute and harp (2 movements)
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Morlock writes: "Vespertine refers to night-blossoming plants, and to nocturnally active creatures, the mysterious flora and fauna that inspired my music. In Twilight, I wanted to explore the darker sounds of the harp; a sense of ritual, anticipation and nervousness at the opening gives way to a growing feeling of tension and increasing energy. At the climactic point of Twilight, I imagine seeing trails of bright sparks wheeling through the air. These are followed by a peaceful ending, in which we calmly await the morning light. Verdigris is written in the style of a postlude. It is melancholy and full of existential solitude, like a lone bird crooning to itself in the night."
Jocelyn Morlock passed away in March 2023. We dedicate this performance to her memory. Jocelyn Morlock (Canada), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jocelyn_Morlock |
Yuko Uébayashi, Sonate Flore pour flûte et harp (3 movements)
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Born in Japan, composer Yuko Uébayashi moved to Paris in 1998, where she continues to draw inspiration from her encounters with musicians and artists. Her distinct compositional style combines French impressionist music and Japanese film music -- described as “Debussy and Ravel meet in Nippon”. Uebayashi is inspired by landscapes, light, and paintings, and she only writes music for musicians to whom she feels a connection. Sonate pour flute et harp is no exception, with its fairylike figures through which the light shines.
Yuko Uébayashi (Paris), http://yukouebayashi.com/ |
STATION |
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Limonaea |
Featuring Celine Ferro, Clarinet; Mina Lavcheva, Violin; Thomas Barth, Cello; Brendon Shapiro, Piano
Stephanie Ann Boyd, Lullaby for Sophie
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Boyd writes: "When Igor Yuzefovich, Concertmaster of the BBC Symphony, asked me to write an encore for an upcoming performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Singapore Symphony, I asked him whether he preferred a fast or a slow encore. "Fast, fast!" he said. "Hold on", I replied. "I have it on good authority that your wife is about to have your first child, so you're getting a lullaby. A nice, schmaltzy, haunting lullaby." And he agreed and so it was written. Sophie was just two weeks old at the premiere, but she slept through the run-through at the dress rehearsal, so this lullaby has been successfully road-tested."
Stephanie Ann Boyd (New York), https://www.stephanieannboyd.com/biography |
Carlos Simon, be still and know
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Simon writes: “This piece was inspired by an interview with Oprah Winfrey which she quoted:'I have felt the presence of God my whole life. Even when I didn't have a name for it, I could feel the voice bigger than myself speaking to me, and all of us have that same voice. Be still and know it. You can acknowledge it or not. You can worship it or not. You can praise it, you can ignore it or you can know it. Know it. It’s always there speaking to you and waiting for you to hear it in every move, in every decision.' (Oprah Winfrey, May 25, 2011.)”
Carlos Simon (Georgia), https://www.carlossimonmusic.com/biography |
Stacy Garrop, The Solitude of Stars
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Garrop writes: “In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming. What Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards from Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet, was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie.”
Stacy Garrop (Illinois), https://www.garrop.com/About/Biography/ |
Oliver Caplan, In the Direction of Dreams (3 movements)
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Caplan writes: "In the Direction of Dreams commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the United States Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. In the Directions of Dreams unfolds in three movements inspired by one of my favorite walks alongside Walden Pond, through Adams Woods, and down to Fairhaven Bay. This sojourn traverses the historic setting of Thoreau’s Life in the Woods, a landscape of idyllic swimming holes, pine forests, stone walls, and a shimmering river. This serenely beautiful landscape has continued to be a source of inspiration and reflection for generations of community members thanks to its protected status."
Oliver Caplan (Massachussetts), http://olivercaplan.com/bio.html |
Gwyneth Walker, Craftsbury Trio, 18' (4 movements)
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Walker writes: "Craftsbury, Vermont is a place of open and stark landscape with a gentle place of life. In writing Craftsbury Trio, I have attempted to express these impressions through a direct and uncluttered musical language. In the tradition of composers over the centuries, I have taken the initial of the subject and translated it to its name key: C -- the most basic of all tonalities. To me, it relates to the requirements of simplicity and clarity in writing a musical portrait of this place.
Gwyneth Walker (Connecticut), https://www.gwynethwalker.com/ |
STATION |
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Lawn Garden |
Featuring Ryan Shannon, Violin; Grant Houston, Violin; Leanne Rabesa, Viola; Matthew Smith, Cello
Kevin Day, Variation V
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Originally written for and premiered by the Tesla Quartet, Kevin Day'sVariation V is a rapid-paced, playful jaunt based on the fifth variation of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 5, "Andante Cantabile". Day takes the outlines of this Western musical classic and strings non-Western rhythmic figures throughout, amping up the piece's excitement and adding dance-worthy flare.
Kevin Day (Ontario), https://www.kevindaymusic.com/bio |
Brian Raphael Nabors, Linstead Market
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Nabors writes: "Linstead Market is a traditional Jamaican Calypso song about a mother who goes to the Linstead Market to sell her ackee fruit, but she doesn't sell any. Meanwhile, the kids are hungry, and in the end, the mother wonders how she's going to feed them! Many of the swift, rhythmic gestures of the strings can be thought of in the way that the mother probably runs after the customers in desperation to sell her ackee fruit! It was a pleasure to compose an arrangement of this very fun, light-hearted folk song as the first piece of my 2018-19 residency with the Castle of Our Skins organization."
Brian Raphael Nabors (Alabama), https://www.briannabors.com/biography |
Jessie Montgomery, Voodoo Dolls
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Montgomery writes: "Voodoo Dolls was commissioned in 2008 and choreographed by the JUMP! Dance Company of Rhode Island, a collaborative work among their faculty and students. The choreography was a suite of dances, each one representing a different traditional children’s doll: Russian dolls, marionettes, rag dolls, Barbie, voodoo dolls… The piece is influenced by west African drumming patterns and lyrical chant motives, all of which feature highlights of improvisation within the ensemble."
Jessie Montgomery (New York), https://www.jessiemontgomery.com/about/ |
Cole Reyes, Earthshine *call for scores winner*
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Reyes writes: "Earthshine is a term explaining the phenomenon of the earth’s glow radiating onto the moon. I find that this is analogous to how our inner glows radiate into the universe. When we are content with ourselves and find our inner joy, we are able to radiate that energy back in the universe of people around us. Especially in a time of such constant turmoil, we are in need to emanate peace to those around us. This chain reaction is how we are able to enact change – allowing ourselves to be the light that others need to stir into action to solve the world's greatest struggles."
Cole Reyes (New York), https://www.colereyesmusic.com/bio |
Kian Ravaei, Family Photos (3 movements)
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Ravaei writes: "Family Photos is a musical collage of personally significant places from my childhood. The first movement, “At the Carnival,” takes inspiration from the whimsy and spectacle of my neighborhood carnival. “On the Tehran Tower,” the second movement, incorporates elements of Iranian classical music, inspired by my childhood trips to visit family in Tehran. The third and final movement, “In Arcadia,” represents not only my hometown in the suburbs of Los Angeles, but also the Arcadia of Ancient Greek mythology, a heaven on Earth."
Kian Ravaei (California), https://kianravaei.com/about/ |
STATION |
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Secret Garden |
Featuring Lu Yu, Viola; Tom Schmidt, Percussion
Tigran Mansurian, Three Medieval Taghs for Viola and Percussion (3 movements)
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In Armenian music history, the "tagh" is an ancient genre of monodic writing. These medieval melodies are characterized by their free-flowing ametric nature and lush content, both religious and secular. While monody can often be simply lyrical, Mansurian's Taghs icorporate complex rhythmic passages and haunting atmospheric techniques that reflect the beautiful music of his native home.
Tigran Mansurian (Armenia), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigran_Mansurian |
Quinn Mason, In Memory
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Mason writes: "This piece wasn't written about a specific time or person. It is meant to be a contemplation of memories past, which could be anything the listener/player desires - the viola acts as the voice that recalls these memories and reflects on them with tranquil, yet occasionally tumultuous introspection. Thus, this composition can speak to and work in any occasion."
Quinn Mason, (Texas), https://www.masonianmusic.com/about |
Allison Loggins-Hull, Changes
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"Changes by Allison Loggins-Hull for viola & percussion and written for duoJalal, was written in June 2020, during the global pandemic era of COVID-19 and a period that saw massive protests in the United States against systemic racism. The call for change, on a multitude of levels, was cried by millions all over the world. Like the birth of a child, change can be beautiful and reflect what is good about humanity, but it is also laborious, messy, uncertain, and potentially life threatening. Changes journeys through these complexities in an attempt to underscore the necessary work that many must do (MTV Iggy)."
Allison Loggins-Hull (New Jersey), https://allisonloggins.com/about/ |
John Patitucci, Scenes for Viola and Percussion (3 movements)
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Composed for the iconic musical duo, Kathryn Lockwood and Yousif Sheronick, Scenes for Viola and Percussion explores the merging of two disparate universes– that of the classical violist and the world percussionist. Patitucci's open instrumentation leaves room for deep musical conversation, in between Bach-inspired tonal writing, and the myriad of percussive techniques drawn from cultural traditions across the globe.
John Patitucci, (New York), https://www.johnpatitucci.com/bio.html |