April 19-21, 2024 Reena Esmail Weekend: One Composer, One Community

ONE COMPOSER, ONE COMMUNITY

Reena Esmail Weekend April 20-21, 2024

S E A S O N S P O N S O R S

NICHOLS CONCERT HALL 2023-2024 The Music Institute of Chicago is grateful to all its funders and partners, whose generous support helps us to entertain, inspire, and educate through live music performed by both new emerging artists and the most established artists of our time.

Special thanks to these annual institutional funders: Paul Galvin Memorial Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Irving Harris Foundation, ITW, Negaunee Foundation, John D. & Alexandra C. Nichols Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Sargent Family Foundation, and many others.

We acknowledge the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency as well as the support of the Highland Park Community Foundation and the Evanston Arts Council, a city agency supported by the City of Evanston; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Thank you to our technical sponsor

This program is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Sponsorship opportunities range from concerts and performances, to the annual Gala, special capital projects, and community engagement initiatives. For more information contact the Development Office: 847.448.8327.

ONE COMPOSER, ONE COMMUNITY In May 2020, nearly a hundred faculty and staff members gathered to reflect on how MIC could improve diversity and inclusion within our environment. A Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, facilitated by Trustees Carlos Cardenas and Barbara Sereda and comprised of a diverse representation of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and current families, formed.

As part of this process, MIC developed “One Composer, One Community.” First launched at the Music Institute in 2021, “One Composer, One Community” (OCOC) focuses on the life and work of a single, often underrepresented BIPOC composer over the course of an academic year.

WILLIAM GRANT STILL

HECTOR VILLA LOBOS

Their work is highlighted in MIC teaching studios and on stage at Nichols Concert Hall. The inaugural composer was William Grant Still in 2022. Hector Villa Lobos was the 2023 selection.

REENA ESMAIL

This year, we are pleased to highlight our first living composer, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail.

As the 2023-2024 school year has unfolded, the Music Institute has shared information about the life and music of Reena Esmail and worked with her to put together the programming you’ll experience this weekend.

THANK YOU TO ONE COMPOSER, ONE COMMUNITY MATCHING GIFT SPONSOR Barbara and Peter Sereda

One Composer, One Community Donors Jennifer McCarthy Bienemann and Robin Bienemann Erin N. Fusco Dr. Mark George and Dr. Elizabeth Calihan

Hans and Denitta Germann Renee Hoff Tami Lucas Zalman and Karen Usiskin

REENA ESMAIL, COMPOSER Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces.

Esmail’s life and music was profiled on Season 3 of PBS Great Performances series Now Hear This, as well as Frame of Mind, a podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work.

She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes

by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press.

Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.

Esmail holds degrees in composition from The Juilliard School (BM’05) and the Yale School of Music (MM’11, MMA’14, DMA’18). Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazumdar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, entitled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers.

Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West.

She currently resides in her hometown of Los Angeles, California.

More at: reenaesmail.com

FACULTY AND STUDENT SHOWCASE CONCERT Featuring the music of Reena Esmail Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 PM Sunaao (2023)* III. Behta Jaa (Flow) Jaiden and Evie Hsu, sopranos Louise Chan, piano Concerto for You (2019) I. Panem Nostram Lavie Huang, cello Louise Chan, piano Kabir Songs (2022) Dhire, Dhire Dale Griffin, trombone Louise Chan, piano Two Tones (2007) lyrics by Rainer Maria Rilke

Zalman Usiskin, tenor Bianca d’Avila do Prado, cello Louise Chan, piano Chardonnay (2001) Meret Bitticks, flute Perhaps (2005)

written with filmmaker Heather McCalden Simon Updegraff, cello Program, continued next page...

FACULTY AND STUDENT SHOWCASE CONCERT Featuring the music of Reena Esmail Program continued.

Crystal Prelude #3 (mishra vibhas melody) (2020) Elaine Felder, piano Take What You Need (2016-2019) Neena Agrawal, viola Barbara Ann Martin, mezzo-soprano Promontory Studies (2024)* II. Kanyakumari Karnik and Kashyap Prasad, piano duo

Dhire, Dhire (2022) Angela de Venuto, soprano Louise Chan, piano Hallelujah (2017) Leonard Cohen arranged by Reena Esmail

Sang Mee Lee, violin

Scan for Program Notes * composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

The Music Institute of Chicago provides high-quality teaching, performing, and service activities for thousands of Chicagoland residents each year.

Contributions of all sizes support our shared commitment to educate and inspire musicians and music lovers of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds, regardless of experience or financial means.

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! musicinst.org/giving

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS Saturday, April 20, 2024 Piano Workshop 9:00 AM Crystal Prelude #1 (oscillating figures) (2020) Eric Wang, piano Crystal Prelude #2 (mishra vibhas melody) (2020) Uma Morris, piano Crystal Prelude #4 (Bageshri) (2024)* Anika Jerath, piano Crystal Prelude #5 (Chandrakauns) (2024) * Edie Park, piano Crystal Prelude #6 (Yaman) (2024) * Joel Lauve, piano * composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

Interactive Composer Workshop 10:00 AM Reena Esmail discusses the compositional process Q&A

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS Saturday, April 20, 2024 Strings Workshop 11:00 AM Concerto for You (2019) I. Panem Nostram Lavie Huang, cello Louise Chan, piano Concerto for You (2019) I. Panem Nostram STRING ENSEMBLE Louise Chan, piano VIOLIN VIOLA Valentina Abbott Nikita Eisfeldt Anthony Donde Ilana Fischer Danica Hu Madeleine Kim Matthew Kim Rebecca Torres

Darshan “Seeing” (2018) III. Charukeshi Julia Perekhozhuk, violin

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS Saturday, April 20, 2024 Woodwind/Brass Workshop 1:00 PM Jhula, Jhule (2014) Guadalupe Ramirez, oboe Kabir Songs Dhire, Dhire (2022) Dale Griffin, trombone Chardonnay (2001) Carmen Yanguas, flute

Voice Workshop 2:00 PM Take What You Need (2016-2019) Neena Agrawal, viola Barbara Ann Martin, mezzo-soprano Kabir Songs (2022) Dhire, Dhire Aanya Santosh, soprano Two Tones (2006) Lyrics by Rainer Maria Rilke Zalman Usiskin, tenor Bianca d’Avila do Prado, cello Louise Chan, piano Sunaao III. Behta Jaa (Flow) (2023)* Jaiden and Evie Hsu, sopranos Louise Chan, piano * composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS Saturday, April 20, 2024 Academy Academy Orchestra – open rehearsal 4:00 PM Acharanga (2018) Vishwas (2014) III. Testament FIRST VIOLIN Clark Snavely Tristan Zhu Elle Cho Lauren Kim Emily Chen Nolan Chang SECOND VIOLIN Sasha Verchencko Mingshi Xia Kai Isoke Ali-Landing Annalise Song Linda Phan Ethan Chen

VIOLA Vivian Van De Sype-Cucu Neena Agrawal Lily Sullivan CELLO Amelia Zitoun Serge Kalinovsky Simon Updegraff Lucy Wu

Academy Open Solo Workshop 5:10 PM Varsha (2019) Amelia Zitoun, cello

Academy Chamber Music Workshop 5:30 PM Piano Trio (2019) III. Scherzo Callisto Piano Trio Lily Sullivan, violin • Amelia Zitoun, cello • Noah Kim, piano

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS Sunday, April 21, 2024 Suzuki Workshop 3:30 PM Twinkle Variations: Rhythm (2024)* Exploring Indian/Hindustani music through Twinkle Variations

Students of the Barston Suzuki Center VIOLIN Brennan Del Seo Esme Fillier Steele Aashman Gautam Sofia Goldin Tyler Goldin Leo Pensinger-Sok Anna Somin Teddy Thomas Benjamin Van VIOLA Tilly Martinez CELLO Emilina Abraham Elan Friedlander Henry Thomas GUITAR Armin Norton PIANO Emma Grace Packer * composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

THE MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

TRUSTEES

leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music through unparalleled teaching, exceptional performances, and valuable service initiatives that educate, inspire, and build strong, healthy communities.

Scott Verschoor, Chair Alexandra C. Nichols, Chair Emerita Timothy J. Patenode, Treasurer Barbara Sereda, Secretary Carlos R. Cardenas, CPA, Vice Chair Lee Anne Stoddart, Vice Chair Paul Brourman Hans Germann Daniel Hahn Courtney Holohan Kay Mabie Yana Nedvetsky Renée Parquette Vikram Raghavan Jim Stone Ross Updegraff Zalman Usiskin Audra Wilson David Zampa Florian Zettelmeyer Tao Zhu

LIFE TRUSTEES

John J. Berwanger Mitzi Freidheim Brooks Morgan Rachel Barton Pine Betsey L. Puth Priscilla F. Richman William N. Topaz

HONORARY BOARD Jennifer Koh Nina Kraus Deborah F. Rutter

EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES Mark George Christopher Rintz

Since its founding in 1931, the Music Institute’s commitment to innovation, access, and excellence has served as an important community resource and helps to ensure music is available to everyone.

Each year, the Music Institute provides personalized music instruction to more than 2,000 students, regardless of age, level of experience, or financial means, across seven Community Music School locations in Chicago, Downers Grove, Evanston, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, and Winnetka, as well as online.

In addition, the Music Institute brings music education, arts curriculum integration, professional development, and music performance and engagement opportunities to thousands in the Chicago area; offers scholarship opportunities to students in its Community School and its Academy, a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players; and welcomes thousands of visitors annually for performances, master classes, and special events at Nichols Concert Hall.

For more information: musicinst.org • 847.905.1500

NICHOLS CONCERT HALL PRESENTS 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston

TIME FOR THREE April 27 | 7:30 PM

Renowned for charismatic and energetic performances, the Grammy award-winning Time for Three shatters musical boundries and combines classical music with modern pop and Americana.

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! NicholsConcertHall.org • 847.448.8326