Carolina Chamber Music Festival Playbill: Feb 2015

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CAROLINA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL February 15–21, 2015 New Bern, North Carolina carolinachambermusic.org Jennifer Lucht, Director



Carolina Chamber Music Festival A Letter from the Director Welcome to CCMF’s Winter Festival week— a chance to warm up with some of the world’s most beloved chamber music classics! On center stage are enduring favorites by beloved composers Bach, Brahms, Dvorák, ˇ Mendelssohn, and Mozart—brought to life by the brilliant, fun, and gracious musicians who make New Bern their musical home–away–from–home twice a year. In addition, these artists join wonderfully talented musicians from eastern NC in taking music beyond the concert stage to young people, seniors, and students with disabilities through CCMF’s Community Outreach Programs. You, our audiences, play a pivotal role in the success of the Festival, which continues to enrich the region. Supporters can become involved personally in many ways, including joining our Volunteer Association. Since ticket sales cover only a small portion of operating costs, we thank you for considering also a tax-deductible donation and becoming one of the many people who help make Festival concerts and outreach activities possible. I appreciate your being a part of CCMF’s twelfth season of musical experiences here in historic New Bern, NC. We are excited to share our love of chamber music with you again and look forward to continued music and friendship for many seasons to come!

Jennifer Lucht, Director Carolina Chamber Music Festival February 2015


Carolina Chamber Music Festival (CCMF) February 2015 / Jennifer Lucht, Director Artists Amadi Azikiwe, viola
 Robert Burkett, oboe Melvin Chen, piano/viola Catherine French, violin
 Jennifer Lucht, cello
 John O’Brien, viola Scott Ordway, Composer-in-Residence Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violin Maria Schleuning, violin Board of Directors Olwen Jarvis, President Karen Woolston, Treasurer Marilyn Friederichs, Secretary Marsha Butler
 Ellen Chance
 Werner Friederichs
 Jon Friesen Jennifer Lucht
 Leslie Manning Nelson McDaniel
 Anna Reinersman Finley Woolston Graphic Design Jennifer Lin

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Many thanks to New Bern and to those who helped make February’s CCMF possible. JoAnn Bradley Nicole Brooks and Tryon Palace Robert Burkett Marsha Butler Jenny Carter Ellen and Ken Chance
 The Cummins Family
 Kimberly Dawn Freeman Marilyn and Werner Friederichs
 Jon and LeighAnne Friesen Katherine and John Haroldson Ed Jacobs and the ECU composition department Bill and Olwen Jarvis Jennifer Lin Marilyn Lucht Richard Lucht
 Leslie and Jay Manning
 Nelson McDaniel
 Jill McGuire and Public Radio East John O’Brien Rachel Harmatuk Pino Anna Reinersman Karen, Karl, and Lia Thurber
 Carol Tokarski and the Craven Arts Council
 Twin Rivers YMCA Finley and Karen Woolston Bob and Karen Whitmore

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Media Sponsorship provided by Public Radio East. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. This project is supported by a grant from the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, through the Craven Arts Council & Gallery, Inc. Additional foundation support provided by: 
 The Harold Bate Foundation The Thomas and Robertha Coleman Foundation North Carolina Community Foundation

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The Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents

Festive Family Concert Bach… and Beyond! Robert Burkett, oboe Jennifer Lucht, cello John O’Brien, viola Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violin Alumni* & current members of the Eastern Youth Orchestra Members of the DownEast Double Reed Woodwind Studio Members of New Bern Suzuki Strings Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 3 pm New Bern Public Library
 400 Johnson Street, New Bern, North Carolina

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Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, J.S. Bach BWV 1048 Allegro—Adagio—Allegro Violins: I. Anna Wright II. Elodie Manalo III. Belinda Hu Violas: I. Erik Wright* II. John O’Brien III. Lou Jantzen Cellos: I. Ewan Manalo II. Jennifer Lucht* III. David Wright Bass: Turner Sitton 7


Gigue from Suite No. 1 in G Major for J.S. Bach Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007 Lou Jantzen, viola Prelude from Suite No. 3 in C Major J.S. Bach for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1009 Ewan Manalo, cello Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in G Minor, W.A. Mozart K. 404a Adagio Fuga: Allegro Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violin; Erik Wright, viola; Jennifer Lucht, cello Ballo G.F. Handel Minuet from Trio (2/3) in F, BWV 820

J.S. Bach

Minuet G.F. Handel Oboes: Ericka A. King, Caitlin May, Dynasty Minor, Briana Winham Bassoons: Hannah Gerlach, Grace Viverette Minuet J.S. Bach French Folk Song Anonymous Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star: Theme and Variations

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S. Suzuki


Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents

Classical Lunch Melvin Chen, piano Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at noon Bank of the Arts
 317 Middle Street, New Bern, North Carolina

9 Sonata in D Major, L. 463 Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) Sonata in F Minor, L. 383 Sonata in F Major, L. 75 Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Johannes Brahms Op. 5 (1853) (1833–1897) Allegro maestoso Andante: Andante espressivo Scherzo: Allegro energico Intermezzo: Andante molto Finale: Allegro moderato ma rubato

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Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents

Mendelssohn After Work Amadi Azikiwe, viola Melvin Chen, piano/viola Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Maria Schleuning, violin With Host Finley Woolston of Public Radio East Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 6 pm Bank of the Arts
 317 Middle Street, New Bern, North Carolina

9 All works composed by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) Song Without Words, Op. 62, No. 1 “May Breezes” (1844), trans. Fritz Kreisler Ms. French, Mr. Chen From Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81 (1847) Tema con variazioni in E Major Scherzo in A Minor Ms. French, Ms. Schleuning, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht

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String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87 (1845) Allegro vivace Andante scherzando Adagio lento Allegro molto Ms. Schleuning, Ms. French, Mr. Azikiwe, Mr. Chen, Ms. Lucht Please join us for a reception after the performance.

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Program Notes for “Mendelssohn After Work” Notes by Finley Woolston Song Without Words, Op. 62, No. 1 “May Breezes” (1844). Transcribed and Arranged by Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) Felix Mendelssohn wrote eight volumes of Songs Without Words between 1829 and 1845. Each volume contains six “songs” that, due to their relative ease of performance, were popular with the amateur pianists in Europe. All the “songs” are essentially in an ABA pattern, with the returning A section sometimes slightly modified. Fritz Kreisler was born in Vienna and spent most of his life in Austria. He is generally accepted as one of the most outstanding violinists of his own or any time with a characteristic sound that is instantly recognizable. He was also highly regarded as a composer and often adapted other composers’ music to the violin. Mendelssohn’s Op. 62, No. 1, subtitled “May Breezes” by the composer, was written in 1844. Kreisler did his arrangement in the early 1900s and first recorded the piece in 1910 with pianist Carl Lamson. 11


Kreisler’s arrangement maintains the essentially monothematic flavor of the original. He does use some rhythmic variations based on the melody, but returns to Mendelssohn’s original theme fairly quickly. Kreisler also transposed the original down a sixth, from G major to B-flat Major. This gives the violin a rich baritone sound that almost approaches that of the viola. Kreisler also included five measures of piano introduction that sets the mood for the entrance of the violin. from Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81 (1847) Tema con variazioni in E Major Scherzo in A Minor The Four Pieces for String Quartet were originally composed at different times during Mendelssohn’s life and were eventually published together posthumously in 1849 under Opus 81. The earliest of the four, a fugue in E-flat Major, dates to 1827 and shows the promise of an already astonishingly gifted 18–year–old composer. A Capriccio in E Minor written in 1843 gives evidence of that promise fulfilled with characteristics of his writing for chamber ensembles: a balance between the instrumental voices and a tonal coloring evocative of the best of the romanticism of the era. The remaining two quartets of Opus 81 began life as movements for a planned complete string quartet. They date to 1847, just months before his death. Both are powerful and complex works that were composed under the influence of the death—also in 1847—of Mendelssohn’s beloved sister Fanny.

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The first, in the form of theme and variations, opens with a sense of reflection and sadness that evolves into a hauntingly beautiful violin solo. The established mood dissolves into a more hopeful theme with a marvelous balance between the upper voices and the cello. The mood continues to shift throughout the variations, but the original theme continues as the piece comes to a somewhat hesitant and enigmatic end. The second quartet begins as a fairly subdued scherzo. The writing is brilliant both in conception and in the need for virtuoso musicianship from all four players. The conversation is intricate and involved with each having something important and interesting to contribute. The cello, to take just one example, adds both a sense of accompaniment but also echoes the themes of the other instruments. All this is a wonderful example of Mendelssohn’s astonishing ability to write powerful and expressive music for the string quartet, that most intimate and expressive of musical genres. Quintet for Strings No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87 (1845) Felix Mendelssohn was one of the most astonishingly gifted composers in musical history. He was a child prodigy who out–prodigied (if that’s even a word) the famous Wolfgang Mozart. His compositions from even his early teenage years show a maturity not reached by Mozart until his mid-20s. Mendelssohn was also a respected historian, well–regarded poet, and accomplished watercolor artist. He composed in every style and genre of his time to great renown and success. His chamber music especially offers great pleasure and, more importantly, great insight and emotional depth. 13


Mendelssohn wrote two string quintets. The first, in A Major, Op. 18, dates to around 1825. Not much is known of the circumstances surrounding this quintet; even the date of composition isn’t certain. The second, in B-Flat Major, Op. 87 was written 20 years later in 1845, and his life was happy and festive with family and music–making. He was considering the pleasant prospects of two possible positions, one with King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, and the other with the Saxon King, Friedrich August II. In the end neither position was offered, but his high reputation as a composer was further enhanced by the interest shown by both royal courts. Mendelssohn was very familiar with the quintets of Franz Schubert and Luigi Boccherini, both of whom added an extra cello to the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. However, he chose to follow Mozart’s string quintet example by scoring his for two violas and one cello. Mendelssohn’s affinity for chamber music can be traced to his youth. In his family home, filled with musical parents, relatives and friends, he learned that music was both entertainment and a sophisticated form of interaction in a social setting. There was also a deeper, and more personal, genesis for this love. His study of the chamber music of Ludwig van Beethoven is well documented. As with his study of other composers, he went deeply into the techniques Beethoven used to craft his chamber music, especially the string quartets. This study deeply informed the aesthetic of his own quartets, and more to the point, his quintets. The first movement, Allegro vivace, opens with a wonderfully exuberant feeling that carries through the 14


entire movement. The second movement, Andante scherzando, seems to be a calming bridge between the high spirits of the first movement and the third movement in D minor, Adagio lento. This third movement presents a truly profound, almost heart-breaking beautiful sense of foreboding and melancholy. The violins especially have a deep emotional impact, while the lower strings suggest a somewhat darker comment on the violins. The final movement, Allegro molto, returns to the energetic impetus of the first movement. There have been many comparisons of this quintet to Mendelssohn’s earlier masterful String Octet, Op. 20 of 1825. Indeed this final movement shares the excitement and wonderful exuberance of the conclusion of the Octet. Mendelssohn himself can add the concluding comment on his music, and by extension this string quintet. As he said in a letter to his sister Fanny in 1830, “This is what I think art is and what I demand of it: that it pull everyone in; that it show one person another’s most intimate thoughts and feelings; that it throw open the windows of the soul. Words cannot do that as overwhelmingly as colors or music can.”

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Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents

Festival Finale Amadi Azikiwe, viola Melvin Chen, viola Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Maria Schleuning, violin Saturday, February 21, 7:30 pm 7 pm pre-concert discussion with Composer-in-Residence Scott Ordway Cullman Performance Hall NC History Center at Tryon Palace 529 South Front Street New Bern, North Carolina

9 Handshakes (2010) Scott Ordway (b. 1984) i. after Hildegaard ii. after P茅rotin iii. after DeVitry iv. after Monteverdi v. after Frescobaldi vi. after Bach vii. after Mendelssohn viii. after Bart贸k Ms. French, Ms. Schleuning, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht 16


String Quintet No. 4 in G Minor, W. A. Mozart K. 516 (1787) (1756–1791) Allegro Menuetto: Allegretto Adagio ma non troppo Adagio—Allegro Ms. Schleuning, Ms. French, Mr. Azikiwe, Mr. Chen, Ms. Lucht Intermission ˇ String Quintet in E-flat Major, Antonin Dvorák Op. 97 (1893) (1841–1904) Allegro non tanto Allegro vivo Larghetto Finale: Allegro giusto Ms. French, Ms. Schleuning, Mr. Chen, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht Please join us for a reception after the performance.

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Program Notes for “Festival Finale” Handshakes (2010) Scott Ordway (b. 1984) Notes by Scott Ordway Inspired by the wit and brevity of György Kurtág's Microludes, each of these tiny "micro-movements" is based on a fragment of material from another short piece. Each "handshake" occurs as I acknowledge the contribution of that fragment before proceeding to compose freely in my own style. Naturally, the language evolves as the contributing works advance through the centuries. String Quintet in G Minor, K. 516 (1787) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Notes by Finley Woolston With one exception (K. 174 in B-flat, 1773), all six of Mozart’s string quintets were written in the final five years of his life (1787–1791). The reasons for his return to the medium after 14 years are not completely clear. One of his biographers, Alfred Einstein, suggested that it may have been because the new King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, was an accomplished cellist. King Friedrich appointed Luigi Boccherini as his court composer of chamber music in 1786, so perhaps Mozart wanted to attract the King’s attention with the quintets. Boccherini’s quintets are scored for an extra cello, while those by Mozart add an additional viola. This leaves the single cello to carry the bass part of the quintet, thus giving King Friedrich the opportunity to stand out. Mozart’s other motive was probably to encourage the King to provide him permanent employment. That employment did not materialize, and it is not sure that the King ever heard or even knew of the 18


quintets. The Quintet in G Minor, K. 516, was composed in May 1787. Another quintet in C major (K. 515), was written in April of the same year. It’s probable that they were the first in a planned set of six quintets to be dedicated to King Friedrich. However, Mozart’s financial situation was growing worse and he was deeply in debt. In order to raise money he offered the two quintets for sale as part of a subscription series. To make the offer more attractive he included a previously composed third quintet in C minor (K.405), which was actually an arrangement of his 1782 Serenade for Wind Octet (K. 388). None of this packaging of his music had any serious effect on sales of the subscription series; he actually lost money because of the costs of producing and copying the sheet music. Comparisons of Mozart’s penultimate symphony, No. 40, K. 550, also in G minor, and the G minor string quintet show parallels between the two works. The symphony was written in 1788, just a year after the quintet, and both show what Mozart biographer Charles Rosen describes as “…a mood of somber introspection.” Although there are flashes of contrasting material, the overall mood of the quintet is indeed one of darkness and melancholy. In the first movement, Allegro, the first viola takes the bass line from the cello before moving to the melody already established by the first violin. The mood is set by the chromatic first subject and a passionate second subject. The second movement, Menuetto: Allegretto, features more chromatic phrases and rather harsh syncopated rhythms. However, the harshness disappears with typical Mozartian magic as the music flows into a wonderfully calming Trio in the key of G major. The third movement, Adagio ma non troppo, is played with mutes. There are three themes in the movement ranging from what Alfred

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Einstein calls “quiet resignation,” to “dark foreboding,” to “soaring yearningly upwards.” Tchaikovsky wrote of the third movement that “No one has ever known as well how to interpret so exquisitely in music the sense of resigned and inconsolable sorrow.” The final movement, Adagio— Allegro, returns to the home key of G minor in a dirge-like feeling and even slower tempo than the preceding movement. There comes a pregnant pause in the melancholy mood, and then a completely unexpected romp into an Allegro in the key of G Major. After the intensity of the previous movements, the cheerful contrast that ends the quintet comes as a truly startling surprise that is emblematic of much of Mozart’s music. String Quintet in Eb Major, Op. 97 “American Quintet” (1893) ˇ (1841–1904) Antonin Dvorák Notes by Finley Woolston Dvorák ˇ was born in a small Bohemian town near Prague to a family of butchers and innkeepers. His musical abilities were evident at an early age and encouraged by his father, an amateur zither player. His musical education proceeded at a fairly rapid pace and he eventually earned a living as a viola player with the Czech Provisional Theatre Orchestra under the direction of fellow Bohemian Bedrich Smetana. This may explain his choice of viola for the additional instrument in his string quintet. Although he was offered very lucrative positions ˇ preferred to stay in Prague. By the late in Vienna, Dvorák 1880s he was established as one of the major composers in Europe and was contributing greatly to the growth of a Czech national musical identity. The lure of America proved strong, and in 1891 he accepted an invitation from Jeanette Thurber to be 20


director of the newly formed National Conservatory of Music in New York. The hope was that Dvorák ˇ would provide a blueprint for American national music in the same manner has he had done for Czech music. He was indeed interested in Native American and other stereotypical aspects of “American” music, but his main contributions while in New York were his own compositions, chiefly his symphony From the New World, a string quartet and a string quintet, both titled American. ˇ composed this string quintet in the summer of Dvorák 1893 while he was living in the small town of Spillville, Iowa. He was there at the invitation of the largely Czech population that included an important artistic community. Dvorák ˇ later said that he accepted the invitation for a summer retreat mainly because he knew the town had a good Czech brewery! The first movement, Allegro non tanto, gives notice that Dvorák ˇ did not lose his Bohemian roots in America. The augmented pentatonic theme is given first to the second viola, from where it migrates to the first violin. The dotted rhythms serve to give a sense of forward motion. The second movement, Allegro vivo, opens with a rhythmic figuration that some have suggested has roots ˇ in Dvorák’s hearing of Iroquois Indian drums. True or not, the rhythms provide a nice accompaniment to the dancing melody of the first violin. There is also a wonderful contrasting theme given to the first viola. The third movement, Largetto, is a double variation form: theme and five variations. Some critics at the 1893 premiere of the quintet suggested that they could hear faint traces of an “American” influence in the first two movements. However, no such claim could be made for the third movement. 21


The rapid variations of tempos, the alternation between A Flat Minor and A Flat Major, and the shifting of the ˇ variations between the instruments all speak of Dvorák’s Bohemian roots. The fourth movement, Finale: Allegro giusto, gives a sense of summing up of the ideas covered in the first three movements and provides a very satisfying and energetic completion. Whether truly “American” or not, the “American Quintet” is a wonderful example of Dvorák’s mastery of the string quintet genre. ˇ

Save the Dates! CCMF returns to New Bern September 8–12, 2015 and February 14–20, 2016 Join the mailing list for more information! Sign up in the lobby or join online at www.carolinachambermusic.org

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About the Artists Amadi Azikiwe, violist, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the US, including an appearance at the US Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has also appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the La Jolla “Discovery” recital series, as a guest artist at the 1993 International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, he has performed in Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean. He has also collaborated with such artists as Awadagin Pratt, Mitsuko Uchida, Andras Schiff, Nobuko Imai, David Soyer, and Felix Galimir. As a concerto soloist, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared with the Virginia Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Salisbury Symphony, the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, the City Island Baroque Ensemble of New York, the National Symphony of Ecuador, and at the Costa Rica International Music Festival. He has also performed at the Marlboro, Sarasota, Tanglewood, Aspen, Norfolk, and San Juan Festivals. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and “St. Paul Sunday Morning” along with television appearances in Israel and South America. Among Mr. Azikiwe’s awards are those from the New York Philharmonic, Concert Artists Guild, the North Carolina Symphony, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and the Epstein Young Artists Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with whom he still maintains a strong artistic and mentoring association. In addition to performing extensively, Mr. Azikiwe is on the faculty of James Madison University and is the Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. After early studies with his mother, he began his formal training at the North Carolina School of the Arts as a student of Sally Peck and continued his studies at the New England Conservatory with Marcus Thompson. Mr. Azikiwe was awarded the Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, where he received his Master’s degree in 1994 as a student of Atar Arad.

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Robert Burkett, oboist, is a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and has taught oboe and bassoon in eastern North Carolina since 1995 with studios in New Bern, Greenville, and Rocky Mount. Mr. Burkett is currently the second oboe and English horn player of the Long Bay Symphony in Myrtle Beach, S.C., English horn player for the Tar River Orchestra in Rocky Mount, NC, and holds the Daisy and John L. Wiggins endowed chair of the Barton/Wilson Symphony in Wilson, NC. In NC, Mr. Burkett has performed concerti with The Fayetteville Symphony, Barton/Wilson Symphony, and Pitt County Symphony of Hope. He has also performed in the pit orchestras of the national tours of Wicked (2010/Durham) and My Fair Lady (revival 2006/ Raleigh). Mr. Burkett studied oboe with Bo Newsome at East Carolina University and Rebecca Nagel at the University of South Carolina. He has been selected as a performer/participant in master classes for Richard Killmer, Alan Vogel, and Ray Still. A native of Tennessee, pianist/violist Melvin Chen is recognized as an important artist, having received acclaim for performances throughout the US and abroad. As a soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Chen has performed at major venues, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Frick Collection, Kennedy Center, and Boston’s Jordan Hall, in addition to other appearances throughout the US, Canada, and Asia. Solo piano recordings include Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations on the Bridge label (praised as “a classic” by the American Record Guide), a recording of Joan Tower’s piano music on the Naxos label, and recordings of the Shostakovich piano sonatas and Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice. An enthusiastic chamber musician, he has collaborated with such artists as Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, David Shifrin, and Peter Wiley, and with the Shanghai, Tokyo, Miami, and Miro quartets. Dr. Chen is an alumnus of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Chamber Music Society Two, where he appeared with members of the Chamber Music Society in performance and educational programs for two seasons. He is a regular performer in numerous music festivals, including the Vail Valley Music Festival, Music Mountain, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bard Music Festival,

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and Music from Angel Fire, among others. Dr. Chen completed a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University, and also holds a double master’s degree from The Juilliard School in piano and violin. Previously, he attended Yale University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and physics. Dr. Chen is associate professor of piano and deputy dean at the Yale School of Music. Previously, he was on the piano faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he was also associate director. Canadian violinist Catherine French, a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1994, has established herself as a versatile and accomplished soloist and chamber musician in addition to her distinguished orchestral career. Ms. French garnered the grand prize at the Canadian Music Competition, the C.B.C. Radio Competition and the National Competitive Festival of Music, Canada’s three major music competitions. She has performed as soloist with many leading Canadian orchestras and given recitals throughout North America and Argentina. Ms. French was featured with the Juilliard Orchestra and James dePreist, the Boston Pops and John Williams, and at Carnegie Hall in her debut with David Gilbert. Lauded for her “superbly lyric” playing and her “amazing level of artistry” by Strad Magazine, Ms. French is a dedicated member of the Calyx Piano Trio and Collage New Music. Her avid interest in chamber music has led to performances at the Marlboro, Banff, Portland, Missouri and Carolina chamber music festivals, quartet tours of Germany and China, and annual concerts as part of the Prelude series at Tanglewood and the Curtisville Consortium. Ms. French has recorded for Albany Records and is featured in Donald Sur’s Berceuse for Violin and Piano with pianist Christopher Oldfather. Ms. French began Suzuki violin at age four then continued her studies under esteemed Canadian pedagogue Dr. Lise Elson. Ms. French graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s of Music degree and a Performer’s Certificate, then earned a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School. Her teachers were Miriam Fried, Felix Galimir, and Joel Smirnoff.

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Jennifer Lucht, cellist and CCMF Director, is a native of Greenville, NC. After musical training on violin as a student of Joanne Bath beginning at age three, she switched to cello at age eleven under the tutelage of North Carolina Symphony cellist Leonid Zilper. As a chamber musician, she has been heard in performances at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, Tanglewood, the Ravinia, Portland and Bravo! Vail Festivals, and on the Greater Philadelphia Performing Artists Series and National Public Radio’s live broadcast “Performance Today.” Praised for “superb” playing by the Boston Globe and “beautiful, finely detailed sound” by the Boston Herald, she has been concerto soloist with orchestras including the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, Vermont Symphony, and the Winston-Salem and Raleigh Symphonies. Ms. Lucht is a member of the Calyx Piano Trio with violinist Catherine French and pianist Nina Ferrigno. Performances include those on series at San Francisco State University (Morrison Artist Series), Collage New Music (Boston), Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Pamlico Music Society (NC), and Sheldon Concert Hall and Kranzberg Arts Center (St. Louis). Multi-year residencies include those at the Missouri Chamber Music Festival and Carolina Chamber Music Festival, with new trio commissions funded by the Barlow Foundation and Chamber Music America. A performer with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in concerts throughout the US, Canada, and Japan, Ms. Lucht can be heard in chamber music recordings on the New World, Albany, and Archetype record labels. She received her Bachelor and Master of music degrees with a Performer’s Certificate at Indiana University with post-graduate studies at New England Conservatory. Her former teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Laurence Lesser, Colin Carr, and Carter Brey. An active music teacher in the Boston area, she is also an Orientation and Mobility Specialist at the Carroll Center for the Blind. John O’Brien, violist, is a Professor of piano at East Carolina University, organist and choirmaster at First Presbyterian Church in Kinston, and conductor of the Eastern Youth Orchestra. At ECU, he has also been the Professor of Accompanying, Chairperson of the Department of Vocal Studies, and Director

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of the ECU Opera Theatre. Born into a musical family (both of his parents are pianists and his three brothers are all string players), Dr. O’Brien grew up studying piano, violin, flute, and harp and playing string quartets with his brothers. He was most privileged to study piano with his father from the age of five until graduating from high school, at which time he began his undergraduate studies as a double major in violin and piano performance studying violin with Robert Gerle and piano with William Masselos. He continued his college piano studies with John Perry. In 1989, Dr. O’Brien was awarded the DMA in accompanying from the University of Southern California. There he studied with Gwendolyn Koldofsy and Jean Barr. While at USC, he also studied organ with Cherry Rhodes and harpsichord with Malcolm Hamilton. Dr. O’Brien is fortunate to have played for many famous (and not so famous, yet all wonderful) musicians in churches and concert halls all over the region and country. It is, however, his work in the community and in particular with the EYO (since 1986) that he values most of all. Interestingly, the most famous musician he can claim association with today is a former EYO student—Grammy Winner and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw. It is a fact, however, that the EYO stage is always filled with wonderful young musicians who all go on to be winners and make us all so very proud. Dr. O’Brien’s home, The Music House, is a Victorian home—one of the oldest in Greenville—which has been meticulously preserved and decorated in period style. On the National Register of Historic Places it was built in 1902 by Jesse Moye. The Music House serves as a unique venue in Eastern North Carolina for approximately twenty classical concerts per year. Scott Ordway, Composer-in-Residence, is an American composer and conductor. In 2014, he joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. During the 2013–14 season, his orchestral, choral, chamber, and multimedia works were heard on 35 concerts in eleven states and in Europe. Season highlights include the recording of his Symphony No. 3 by David Hayes and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the European premiere of his tone poem Detroit at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, and the premiere of Brotherly Love, a multimedia collaboration with more than 100 Philadelphia schoolchildren funded by the American Composers Forum. His chamber music has been presented recently by the SOLI Chamber Ensemble

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(San Antonio), Boston Musica Viva, Portland Chamber Music Festival, the Michigan Recital Project, and the Momenta and Arneis String Quartets. Mr. Ordway has spent summers at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, the Accademia Chigiana in Tuscany, June in Buffalo, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Freie Universität Berlin, and as a twotime Artist-in-Residence at the Foundation House in Bel Air, California. In recent seasons, he has worked with graduates of America’s leading musical institutions, including the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music, as well as ensembles such as Fireworks, Counter)induction, So Percussion, and the Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Also active as a conductor, Mr. Ordway has held posts with the Syzygy New Music Ensemble (NYC) and Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (Oregon), and was in-residence from 2008–2009 at the Boston Conservatory as Associate Conductor of the Juventas New Music Ensemble. As an advocate for the music of our time, he has presented more than 50 new works by young and emerging composers in addition to his own three symphonies and two intercultural, choral-orchestral settings of the mass. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Mr. Ordway has published on formal aspects of Ulysses in the James Joyce Quarterly and has two recent book reviews in Make, a Chicago literary magazine. At Bates College, where he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Music from 2013–14, he gave courses on the history of symphony and on minimal music and visual culture in the 20th century. Mr. Ordway earned his Ph.D. in 2013 from the University of Pennsylvania where he was the Benjamin Franklin Doctoral Fellow and recipient of both the Hilda K. Nitzche and David Halstead Prizes in Composition. He also holds degrees from the University of Oregon (M.M., High Honors, 2008) and the University of Puget Sound (B.A., Honors, 2006) with additional studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, Freie Universität Berlin, and Accademia Chigiana. Among his mentors are composers Samuel Adler, Robert Hutchinson, Robert Kyr, James Primosch, Jay Reise, and Anna Weesner.

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Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violinist, from New Bern, NC, has taught and performed internationally and across the US for over 13 years. She is Principal 2nd Violin for the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra, Executive Director of Trent River Chamber Players, and Concertmaster of New Bern Civic Strings. She has appeared as Principal 2nd Violin in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and Opera Carolina and has performed with the Crystal Coast Choral Society, Greenville Choral Society, Carolina Chamber Music Festival, RiverTowne Repertory Players, New Bern Civic Theater, Ratio Theatre, and Cape Fear Regional Theater. She has also served as guest Principal Second Violin of the Amman Symphony Orchestra in Jordan. She books orchestras and performs for Craven Community Chorus, Carolina Coast Choral Festival, and New Bern Riverfront Convention Center. Rachel frequently appears as a teacher at the NC Suzuki Institute at East Carolina University, in classes presented by the Greenville Suzuki Association, and as adjunct professor at Craven Community College. Ms. Pino was a Suzuki Violin student from the age of 5 and studied with Andrea Thomas and Joanne Bath. She has Suzuki Certification from Teacher Trainers Joanne Bath, Joanne Martin, Enid Cleary, James Hutchins, and Vera McCoy-Sulentic, and she holds both Long–Term Certification and multiple Short–Term Suzuki Violin Certifications in Volumes 1–10. After studying at the UNC School of the Arts, winning her division of the NC Music Teachers’ National Association Competition, and graduating from New Bern High School, she studied with Lucy Chapmann at The Boston Conservatory and received Master’s degrees from East Carolina University in Suzuki Pedagogy (with Joanne Bath) and Violin Performance. In 2006, she founded New Bern Suzuki Strings, which now has nearly 80 violin students of all ages. For more about Ms. Pino, visit www.trentriverchamberplayers.com and www.newbernsuzukistrings.com.

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Maria Schleuning, violinist, has been a member of the Voices of Change Modern Music Ensemble since 1996 and Artistic Director since 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, including the legendary Witold Lutoslawski, George Crumb, Aaron Kernis, John Corigliano, Augusta Read Thomas, Sebastian Currier, Bright Sheng, Samuel Adler, Donald Erb, David Dzubay, and Bruce Adolphe. She has premiered many new works, including Dream Catcher, a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009 in Dallas, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as at numerous festivals throughout the US and Europe. From 1993–2012 she was a faculty member and performer at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine and served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in CA from 2007–2010 and the Bennington Music Festival, VT in 2012. She has recorded with Continuum modern music ensemble in NYC, as well as in Dallas with Grammy-nominated Voices of Change, and the Walden Piano Quartet. In addition, she serves as Principal Second Violin of the New York Women’s Ensemble and as a member of the Lake Tahoe Summerfest Orchestra, where she will be a guest Concertmaster next summer. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as a soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Abilene Symphony, Laredo Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinuum in Prague. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded a Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree.

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Thank you to CCMF’s Season 12 Patrons (list reflects gifts received April 1, 2014–February 1, 2015) Festival Benefactor ($1,000 and above) Olwen and Bill Jarvis Oliver Friesen Cheek, PLLC Steve Thomason Festival Sponsor ($500–$999) Jon and Leigh Anne Friesen Jeremy and Jessica Gray Robert Pohly and Julie Turaj Gerald and Dorothy Lou Walker Diamond Circle ($300–$499) Kenneth and Ellen Chance Werner and Marilyn Friederichs Richard Lucht Willard and Mary Beth Seidenfield Cynthia L. Turco Gold Circle ($200–$299) Hovey Aiken III Anonymous Jane Dagnon Jim and Kathy Emerson Alex and Robin Frelier Margaret Heberlein Ann and Lou Holzberger David and Carole McCracken Pete and Pat Rowlett Mary Jane Schmidt Patricia L. Whitaker Silver Circle (up to $199) Julie Anderson Scott and Nina Andrews Joseph Bach Marilyn Baughman Howard and Lani Beuerman Teresa M. Boykin JoAnn Bradley 31


Marsha Butler Elizabeth Clarke Thomas and Marilynn Cullison Candy Gander Mary and Mark Hittner Irving and Elga Joffee Nannette and George Kean Mark P. Lemke and Rebecca Duncan Marilyn Lucht Susan Moffat-Thomas Jacquelyn Moniak Marilyn Nevison Allen and Karen Plaster Walter and Debra Pylipiw Charles and Christyne Rhoads Herman Schiller Jennie Schwoebel Peggy Sheldon Rob and Chris Skrotsky Nancy Stone Bernard and Nancy Teubert The Epiphany School of Global Studies John and Susan Ward Jeffrey and Noriko Weller Bob and Karen Whitmore Julian and June Yates Leonid Zilper Matching Gifts IBM Corporation Donations below were generously contributed in celebration of the life and love of music of CCMF’s long-time friend John Tattersall: Tom & Patty Dalton James and Angela Dominelli Pamela Dustin Edward Klebar Frank and Judy LaVardera Edward and Kathleen Mark Maryann Sholl Amy Tattersall Tattersall Industries, LLC ~ A tribute to the commemoration of John Frederick Tattersall, sincerely from Tattersall Industries, LLC (FMP) of Schenectady, NY 32


The Music House: Spring 2015 Series 408 West 5th Street, Greenville, NC 27834 Sunday February 22, 5:00 p.m. David Brooks, solo pianist Sunday, March 15, 5:00 p.m. Beverly Biggs, Harpsichord; Christopher Mann, recorder; Christopher Nunnally, cello; Rebecca Troxler and John O’Brien, flauto traverso Sunday, April 19, 5:00 p.m. La Rosa Trobadoresca Sunday, May 17, 5:00 p.m. Edward Bailey, cello & Justin Sturz, piano Friday, June 19, 7:00 p.m. Stephen Bennett, Harp Guitar All concerts include a wine tasting. Reservations Required! Email: themusichouse@suddenlink.net Phone: (252) 367-1892 Suggested donations: $20 general/ $15 seniors/ $5 students

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Carolina Chamber Music Festival salutes our media partner

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CCMF gratefully acknowledges Festival Sponsor

north carolina newmusic initiative INITIATING NEW MUSIC & NEW IDEAS ABOUT MUSIC ED JACOBS, Director

SPRING EVENTS CIRCUIT BRIDGES, A concert of electronic music February 22, 2015, 7:30pm

FREQUENCIES, Student contemporary music ensemble March 20, 2015, 7:30pm

ECU CHAMBER WINDS March 21, 2015, 7:30pm

ECU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA March 28, 2015, 7:30pm

Greenville, North Carolina www.ecu.edu/music/newmusic 252-328-4280

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CRYSTAL COAST CHORAL SOCIETY Finley Woolston, Music Director Presents

CELEBRATE SINGING! Concerts of Great Choral Music Sacred and Secular 7:00 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2015 Trinity United Methodist Church 301 Marine Blvd (Highway 17) Jacksonville, North Carolina 3:00 p.m., Sunday, April 26, 2015 Cape Carteret Presbyterian Church 100 Yaupon Drive (Highway 24) Cape Carteret, North Carolina Free admission (Donations Cheerfully Requested and Received) www.crystalcoastchoralsociety.org 910-324-6864

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Yes! I would like to contribute to the Carolina Chamber Music Festival. Here is my tax-deductible donation. Please complete the information below and mail your check to Carolina Chamber Music Festival, P.O. Box 1591, New Bern, NC 28563. Donations can also be made online at carolinachambermusic.org.

m m m m m

Silver Circle (up to $199) Gold Circle ($200 to $299) Diamond Circle ($300 to $499) Festival Sponsor ($500 to $999) Festival Benefactor ($1,000+)

m I have enclosed a check for $ m I would like my donation to be anonymous. m I have requested that my donation be matched by my company. Company name Name Address City

State

Zip

Phone Email Name(s) to appear in playbill

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Interested in becoming more involved with CCMF? Join the Volunteer Association! Contact Olwen Jarvis at (252) 626-5419 or volunteer@carolinachambermusic.org Volunteers are always needed for help with a little or a lot!



www.ofc-law.com

Oliver Friesen Cheek, PLLC is a full-service business firm providing a wide range of legal services to clients in Eastern North Carolina. The firm’s major practice areas include bankruptcy; loan workouts; business entities and transactions; estate planning and administration; elder law; commercial real estate; tax planning and controversies, and state and federal civil litigation. Oliver Friesen Cheek. Your business partner.

405 Middle St, New Bern, NC 28560 | 252.633.1930 306 Evans St, Greenville, NC 27835 | 252.751.0259 1213 Culbreth Dr, Ste 222, Wilmington, NC 28405 | 252.633.1930 (Appointment Only)


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