Living Sounds
Wednesday, April 8
8 p.m., Steve & Judy Turner Recital Hall
New works by Blair’s composition majors, performed by their peers. Always an engaging and highly eclectic evening of music. Come hear the next generation of classical composition!
The April 8 program includes:
That is the Question, by Aidan W. McCarter. Performers: Margot Kenagy and Becca Chouinard, violins, Daniel Moore, viola, Blake Kitayama, violoncello
“I’ve abandoned and returned to this piece several times over the past couple years, and each time I’ve added new material, it has been with a different ear. Instead of revising older material as my style evolved, I chose to preserve it in its original conception. Also, while composing, instead of deleting passages I didn’t like, I left them in and allowed the music to fall apart before proceeding with alternative material. The result is a collage of contrasting musical ideas that, in a way, captures the compositional process and illustrates the evolution of my voice over the course of this piece’s construction.” — Aidan W. McCarter
Pavane, by Christine Hawn. Performers: Julia Morris, flute, Jonathan Hearn, oboe, Carly Weikle, clarinet, Sophia Chen, horn, Lydia Nance, bassoon
“Pavane begins with a stepwise motion in the horn, slowly building until falling back once more to just the simple, stepwise theme.” — Christine Hawn
Cheshire’s Grin, by Amy Victoria Thompson. Performers: Ramakrishnan Kumaran, flute, Andrew Glenn, oboe, Collin Lewis, clarinet, Andrew Sledge, bassoon, Garrett Law, horn
“The playful contrapuntal lines that begin Cheshire’s Grin give way to a steadier, homophonic texture evoking nostalgia. Then the original material returns, somewhat older and wiser, like Alice after her journey in Wonderland.” — Amy Victoria Thompson
Control Point, by Brian Arthur Cooper. Performers: Lucas Polson, marimba, Clark Hubbard, xylophone, Rashaad Greene, vibraphone, Collin Lewis and Brian Cooper, clarinets
“Control Point seeks to explore evolving textural stasis, which gradually yields a palette of parallel colors and timbres. But always at its center are two clarinets entangled as one entity.” — Brian Arthur Cooper
3 Snapshots for 11 Violins, by Michael Klyce
I A New Day
II As if in a dream
III The Waltz
Presented by the Violin Studio of Professor Carolyn Huebl: Michael Klyce, Matthew Lammers, Nathan Lowry, Mary Loftus, Haley Gillia, Natasha Snyder, Danielle Hoisington, Sabrina Bradford, Rebecca Chouinard, Margot Kenagy, Carolyn Huebl
Although the fig tree blossom not, by Elena Avalos-Bock. Performers: Erin Aurednik, soprano; Natalie Vlach, piano
Although the fig tree blossom not
Although the fig tree blossom not,
And all the vines of our small plot
Be barren,
And the olive fail,
The sheep grow weak and heifers frail,
We will rejoice my love,
Take our pleasures from above,
The Lord shall be our strength
And give us life, whatever length on earth he please,
And make our feet
Like mountain deer, to rise and cleat
The narrow path that rises steep
And leads to life.
— John Piper