CAROLINA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Season 14 September 13–17, 2016 New Bern, NC carolinachambermusic.org T 252.626.5419
Carolina Chamber Music Festival: A Letter from the Director Welcome to CCMF’s fourteenth year of musical adventures in historic New Bern! This second year of CCMF’s three-year Diversity Project features programs grounded by favorite returning artists performing on strings, piano, and wind instruments and infused by new sounds of the banjo (an instrument with African origins integral in American music) and pipa (an ancient Chinese lute). Each new instrument brings with it a master performer/composer eager to share their musical journeys and cultures with us. September’s programs highlight the familiar and the unexpected— sweeping piano sonorities from France, Bach’s best (both in his own hand and as revisited in a variety of styles through the ages), and tuneful American classics for strings and banjo. Fulfilling a major part of CCMF’s original mission, artists also take this great music beyond the concert stage to young people, seniors, and community members with disabilities in informal on-site events through CCMF’s Community and Family Outreach Programs. Each one of us plays a pivotal role in the success of the Festival— by attending concerts, sharing thoughts, volunteering time and services, and contributing generous tax-deductible donations that support both public concerts and outreach events. If you are not yet involved with CCMF in any of these ways and would like to start, let today be the day! On behalf of the wonderful artists and volunteers associated with CCMF, I thank you for being here. We look forward to sharing music and friendship with you for many seasons to come!
Jennifer Lucht, Director Carolina Chamber Music Festival, September 2016 This week's concerts are dedicated to Carroll Lucht, my uncle, with admiration and appreciation for his devotion to social change, family and friends, and music of all kinds. 3
Carolina Chamber Music Festival (CCMF) September 2016 / Jennifer Lucht, Director Artists Amadi Azikiwe, viola Michael Miles, banjo/Composer-in-residence Melvin Chen, piano/violin Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violin Board of Directors Sefton Wiggs, President Karen Woolston, Treasurer Marilyn Friederichs, Secretary Marsha Butler Ellen Chance Werner Friederichs Jon Friesen Olwen Jarvis Jennifer Lucht Anna Reinersman Finley Woolston Community Advisory Board Eileen Bress Chris Elbing Nelson McDaniel Rachel Harmatuk Pino Cynthia Turco Graphic Design Jennifer Lin
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Many thanks to New Bern and to those who helped make September’s CCMF possible. Jennifer Baer JoAnn Bradley Marsha Butler Lara Capparuccia Morag Cheesman Ellen and Ken Chance Harrison Cho The Cummins Family Patrick Edwards Marilyn and Werner Friederichs Jon and LeighAnne Friesen Fuller’s Music Katherine and John Haroldson Bill and Olwen Jarvis Kathie King Jennifer Lin Richard Lucht Jill McGuire and Public Radio East Jackie Moniak Rachel and Brad Pino Anna Reinersman Lorraine Hale Robinson Tonya Stokes and Durga Yoga Studio Karen, Karl and Lia Thurber Carol Tokarski and the Craven Arts Council Twin Rivers YMCA Bob and Karen Whitmore Sefton Wiggs and Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs Finley and Karen Woolston
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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 Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

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.
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Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents
Classical Lunch Melvin Chen, piano Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at noon Bank of the Arts 317 Middle Street New Bern, NC
9 Le Tombeau de Couperin Maurice Ravel (1914–17) (1875–1937) Prelude Fugue Forlane Rigaudon Menuet Toccata The Banjo, Op. 15 (1855) Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829–1869) Three Preludes (1926) Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Andante con moto Agitato
George Gershwin (1898–1937)
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Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents
Musical Diversity: American Banjo Michael Miles, banjo Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 6 pm New Bern-Craven County Public Library 400 Johnson Street, New Bern, NC
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About the Banjo: Clawhammer Style The style of banjo that I play is called “clawhammer,” also known as “frailing.” Those words describe not an instrument, but a right hand technique where the attack is downpicking—unlike bluegrass banjo or classical guitar which could be described as up-picking. Clawhammer is a common method of playing in North Carolina among musicians who play traditional and old-time music. I did have the exquisite pleasure of working a few times with the late, great Doc Watson, who played in this style. I have had the good fortune to play in many places—including North Africa and the Middle East where I have had the opportunity to work with musicians playing stringed instruments that date to the 12th century. A number of them employ similar, in some cases identical, techniques to clawhammer style. It was startling to discover that my right hand technique was established long before there was a USA. Not only did the banjo (a drum with strings) but also the methods of playing it arrive in the hearts and hands of musicians from Africa. —Michael Miles 8
Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents
After Work: bach revisited Amadi Azikiwe, viola Melvin Chen, piano/violin Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Michael Miles, banjo With Host Finley Woolston Thursday, September 15 at 6 pm Bank of the Arts 317 Middle Street, New Bern, NC
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Sheep May Safely Graze from Cantata No. 208, BWV 208 Arr. Egon Petri (1881–1962) Mr. Chen Andante and Allegro from Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003 Piano accompaniment by Robert Schumann (1810–1856) Ms. French, Mr. Chen
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Gavotte en Rondeau from Violin Partita in E Major, BWV 1006* Arr. Michael Miles/Margaret James Mr. Miles, Ms. Lucht Prelude and Gigue from Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007 Mr. Azikiwe Suite No. 3 in C Major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1009* Arr. Michael Miles/Margaret James Prelude Allemande Courante Sarabande BourrĂŠes I and II Gigue Mr. Miles, Ms. Lucht from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 Contrapunctus I Contrapunctus II Contrapunctus III Contrapunctus IV Ms. French, Mr. Chen, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht
*indicates world premiere as arranged Please join us for a reception after the performance.
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Program Notes for After Work: Bach Revisited Thursday, September 15, 2016 Sheep May Safely Graze Arr. Egon Petri (1881–1962) Dutch pianist Egon Petri grew up in Germany as part of a musical family. After living in Switzerland and Poland he settled in the United States, becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1955. Petri worked with the great pianist and pedagogue Ferruccio Busoni, who guided Petri’s musical focus to Bach and Liszt. Petri’s work heard tonight is one of the most treasured transcriptions of this famous melody from Bach’s Birthday Cantata, praised by performers and listeners alike for sensitively retaining the intimate and tender beauty of Bach’s original work. — Jennifer Lucht Andante and Allegro from Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. Piano accompaniment by Robert Schumann (1810–1856) Gavotte en Rondeau from Violin Partita in E Major, BWV 1006. Arr. Michael Miles/Margaret James Prelude and Gigue from Suite No. 1 in G Major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007 Bach’s works for unaccompanied strings stand as a pinnacle of the composer’s output, and of general string repertoire throughout the ages. These pieces are of such importance that composers and performers of subsequent eras have pored over them in study and
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attempted to reinterpret them in the musical fashions of their day. In 1853, Robert Schumann was inspired to write piano accompaniments under the solo violin line of the sonatas and partitas after hearing like piano accompaniments by Felix Mendelssohn just a year earlier. Schumann’s accompaniments do not realize a full-blown Romantic style, but rather outline implied chords with dalliances into Romantic chromaticism. The solo violin works, along with those for solo cello, have also found their way into the repertoire of other instruments. Guitar, mandolin, and banjo frequent these masterpieces, perhaps an homage to Bach’s own transcriptions for baroque lute. And violists, whose instrument shares the cello’s same open string pitches, have happily enveloped all six solo cello suites into their mainstream repertoire. Whether one prefers Bach’s music in “original” forms, transformed by the sonorities of different instruments, or reimagined by adventurous contemporary interpreters, Bach’s unique legacy of sparking creativity, critical thinking, and wondrous joy is undeniable. — Jennifer Lucht Suite No. 3 in C Major for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1009. Arr. Michael Miles/Margaret James In 1990 I became somewhat addicted to playing Bach. This is not the most practical thing for a banjo player, but I couldn’t help myself. I taught myself to play the banjo, and like many, my point of entry was traditional music. But my musical soul was restless and at times insatiable. To this day, I must play a variety of musical styles to achieve my own musical nutrition—original works and blues and jazz and folk and popular music are always on the menu. 12
But I observed in Bach melodies, these amazingly tuneful moments that in fact were European dance forms—the Bourrée, the Gigue etc. As such some of those phrases from dance forms sounded quite appropriate to the banjo—like folk tunes really. Pete Seeger had dabbled with Bach, and others like Bela Fleck have taken this further. But at the time I began, to the best of my knowledge no one had ever played or recorded the cello suites. I liked that. And for the next 7 years (1990–1997) Bach was my musical north star. I played other things, but always returned to him. I found further that in a time filled with challenge (as a musician’s world can be) I could close the door and experience one of the true wonders of the world by putting my heart and soul in his works. Playing Bach remains a quest for me. My orchestrator, Margaret James wrote bass lines for my first performances and recordings of the Suites I and III. Today’s performance with Jennifer Lucht is a world premiere of those accompaniment lines performed on the cello. — Michael Miles The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 Written in the last decade of Bach’s life, The Art of Fugue is a monumental work comprised of 14 fugues and four canons each employing a different variation on the main subject. It is notated in open score with each voice written on its own staff. Due to this scoring, theorists and historians speculate as to exactly what instrument/s were intended for performance—and whether performance was intended at all. Some scholars who believe it was meant for performance (rather than just an intellectual exercise) assert that keyboard is the envisioned instrument. 13
However, use of a single keyboard instrument poses challenges in voicing and execution that are at odds with Bach’s fine skills as a keyboard player. Others believe Bach may have simply meant for it to fall into the hands of whatever instruments were available. It is this approach that has inspired recordings by so many different types of ensembles including string quartet, brass quintet, woodwind quintet, recorder quartet, guitar ensemble, orchestra, and even electronic versions. The four movements featured this evening are all four-voice fugues, each differing and developing, steadfast in their compositional procedure and deeply moving in affect. — Jennifer Lucht
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Carolina Chamber Music Festival presents
Sounds of America Amadi Azikiwe, Viola Melvin Chen, piano/violin Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Michael Miles, banjo Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violin Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 7 pm 6:30 pm pre-concert discussion with Composer-in-Residence Michael Miles Cullman Hall at NC History Center 529 S. Front Street, New Bern, NC
9 Limerock Traditional Arr. Mark O’Connor/Edgar Meyer Ms. French, Ms. Lucht Yellowbird Fantasy (2003)** Mr. Miles, Ms. Pino, Mr. Chen, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht
Michael Miles (b. 1954) Arr. Margaret James
Whiskey Suite** Traditional Mr. Miles, Ms. Pino, Mr. Chen, Arr. Margaret James Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht **indicates North Carolina premiere 15
String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11 Samuel Barber (1935–1936) (1910–1981) Molto allegro e appassionato Molto adagio Molto allegro (come prima) Ms. French, Mr. Chen, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht Intermission Suite for the Americas (1997)* Michael Miles Prelude (b. 1954) Dorian Arr. Margaret James Courante Gigue Guaracha Mr. Miles, Ms. French, Ms. Pino, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht String Quartet No. 1, Op. 57, Charles Ives From the Salvation Army— (1874–1954) A Revival Service (1897–1900) Andante con moto (Chorale) Allegro (Prelude) Adagio cantabile (Offertory) Allegro marziale (Postlude) Ms. French, Mr. Chen, Mr. Azikiwe, Ms. Lucht *indicates world premiere as arranged Please join us for a reception after the performance.
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Program Notes for Sounds of America Saturday, September 17, 2016 Limerock Traditional Arr. Mark O’Connor/Edgar Meyer Limerock is an old hoedown popular within the world of American fiddling. Throughout the years it has been heard in various versions including those for solo guitar, string duo, and string orchestra. Tonight’s rollicking string duo arrangement by America’s premiere fiddler Mark O’Connor and bassist Edgar Meyer has crossed lines of musical style to become a virtuosic addition to the classical concert stage. — Jennifer Lucht Yellowbird Fantasy (2003) Michael J. Miles (b. 1954) Arr. Margaret James "I have fascination for both bird song and flight, and have used this as point of origin for a number of compositions. The Yellowbird Fantasy is the final movement to the Yellowbird Suite, which also includes a Prelude and a Waltz. I was visited, on a daily basis for a week or two, by this beautiful yellow finch knocking on the window of my home in Chicago. A bird expert told me that he was obviously a male who was fascinated with his own reflection in the glass. I was fascinated by his flight, his arrivals and departures—so exuberant with rhythms and dynamics and passion. I don’t know if it was his idea or mine, but I decided to try and tell the story of his flight in this composition. As you listen to the Fantasy, imagine this bird flying around the room." — Michael Miles
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Whiskey Suite Traditional melodies Arr. Margaret James In keeping with a common approach to the performance of fiddle tunes, this is a medley of three traditional tunes: Soldiers Joy, Wind That Shakes The Barley, and Whiskey Before Breakfast. These were some of the first traditional tunes that I learned on the banjo. By expanding tempo, form and coloration in this arrangement, orchestrator Margaret James brings the banjo and string quartet together in a way that at once embraces American folk tradition and European orchestral nuance. — Michael Miles String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11 (1935–1936) Samuel Barber (1910–1981) Samuel Barber was one of the most prolific American composers of the 20th century, writing orchestral, opera, choral, piano and chamber music. Unlike his fellow American Charles Ives, Barber’s music was well known and admired throughout his life. Like Ives, however, he was also a church organist as a teenager. He was a child prodigy who composed his first small piano piece at age 7. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 14 along with fellow student and lifelong friend Gian Carlo Menotti. Again the comparisons to Charles Ives are inescapable: like Ives Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for Music not only once, but twice.
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The String Quartet, Op. 11 was written in 1936, when Barber already had a solid reputation as a composer. There are two movements, but the entire work is in three distinct sections. The outer sections are sharply articulated, dissonant, and call for quick tempos. This makes a startling contrast to the slow, even languid, middle section, the now famous Adagio. Barber arranged the middle section for string orchestra as Adagio for Strings in 1938. Arturo Toscanini played it on an NBC Symphony Orchestra live radio broadcast and then recorded it. Barber’s music reached millions of people, most of whom identified him only with that one movement. It reached even more listeners in an arrangement for chorus under the title Agnus Dei. The popularity of the music has only grown from 1938. It was broadcast on the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945 and even used in the Viet Nam war motion picture Platoon. Taken as a whole, the String Quartet, Op. 11 has an atmosphere and flavor different from the Adagio second section. The outer sections are assertive, even aggressive, in tone in comparison to the serene, deceptively simple center section. Comparisons have been made to the late string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven where a beautifully melodic slow section seems to anchor the other movements. Most post-Beethoven composers ignored his late quartets. Eventually people like Barber, and even more avant-garde composers like Schoenberg and Bartok, took Beethoven’s music as a point of departure for their own compositions. Such is the case with the String Quartet, Op. 11. — Finley Woolston
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Suite for the Americas (1997) Michael J. Miles (b. 1954) Arr. Margaret James "37 minutes was the answer. In 1997 when I had ‘finished’ recording Bach’s Cello Suites I and III, I wanted to know how much time we had filled. That was the answer—37 minutes. At that time, a CD that had only 37 minutes of music would have been regarded as not long enough. What could I add to JS Bach’s Suites? Memorizing and recording them had been a monumental task. My engineer at the time simply said to me, “You should just write your own suite.” That suggestion, along with the indescribable experience of living with Bach as a north star, changed my world. Over time, it became clearer that learning Bach on the banjo was not the end, but rather the means to becoming both a better musician and a composer. Going through the process of learning his works both defined and opened my world. And now (and I think Bach would like this conclusion) I would be a composer with a banjo. And in fact, all of my original works, I say without hesitation, sit on the shoulders of having learned to play Bach in the first place. The Suite for the Americas was the first work—with a Prelude, a Courante and a Gigue taken from the Bach’s suite structures—as well as a Guaracha movement with rhythm from Cuba and a Dorian movement with harmony from American blues. Today’s performance is the first time that then entire suite will be performed with this orchestration." — Michael Miles
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String Quartet No. 1, From the Salvation Army— A Revival Service (1897–1900) Charles Ives (1874–1954) Charles Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut and spent his life in New England. He was a very successful insurance executive, but his avocation was music. Far from being a dilettante, Ives was a significant composer who anticipated many of innovations and developments of the 20th century, such as atonality, poly-meter and tonality, and tone clusters. He eventually was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for his Third Symphony (The Camp Meeting). His earliest musical training was from his father, a music teacher, Civil War bandmaster, and acoustic engineer. He began playing organ in his local church, and by age 14 considered himself a professional organist. One of his favorite childhood musical exercises was to play a hymn with his right hand, and a different hymn, in a different key and meter, in his left hand and make them go together. His later compositions reflected this urge to experiment and explore. It also made him stand completely outside the established musical circle of America and Europe. If he was acknowledged at all, it was as an eccentric amateur, in spite of his training at Yale with the venerable Horatio Parker. The hymn tunes that Ives played became the foundation for his String Quartet No. 1, From the Salvation Army. Composed while still under Horatio Parker’s guidance, the piece is tonal and mainly in traditional forms. However, there is a sense of the unexpected and rebelliousness
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that is typically Ives. The quartet is in four movements. The first, which Ives called the “Prelude,” is a fugue using the hymn tune Missionary Hymn (“Beulah Land") as the subject and Coronation (“All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name") as the countersubject. However, even those very familiar with the hymns will be hard pressed to recognize them. The second movement also uses a variation on “Beulah Land” and the hymn “Shining Shore.” These tunes will also appear in Movements 3 and 4. This repeated use of a theme is an example of cyclic form that unifies the entire work. Movement 3 introduces the hymn tune Nettleton (“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) and a variation on “Shining Shore.” Movement 4, which Ives called “Postlude”, has excerpts from Coronation and Webb (“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”). This movement is also one of his first published uses of polymeter: 3/4 against 4/4 time. The music of Charles Ives requires active participation both by the performer and the listener. In 1920 Ives wrote, “… beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair.” For those who will sit up and pay attention, the rewards are great. — Finley Woolston
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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, La Jolla “Discovery” series, International Viola Congress, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has performed in Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean. As a concerto soloist, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared with the Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, City Island Baroque Ensemble of New York, 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, NC Symphony, 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 the current Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra. After early studies with his mother, he began formal training at the NC 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 as a student of Atar Arad.
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A native of Tennessee, pianist/violinist 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 and is a regular performer in numerous music festivals, including the Vail Valley Music Festival, Music Mountain, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bard Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire. Mr. Chen completed a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University and 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. Mr. Chen is associate professor of piano and deputy dean at the Yale School of Music. Previously, Mr. Chen was on the piano faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he was also associate director.
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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. 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 NC Symphony cellist Leonid Zilper. As a chamber musician, she has performed at The Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, New York’s 92nd Street Y, and Tanglewood; the Ravinia, Portland (ME), and Bravo! Vail Festivals; and on the Greater Philadelphia Performing Artists Series, Prairie Home Companion, and NPR’s live broadcast “Performance
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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. Trio performances include those on series at San Francisco State University (Morrison Artist Series), Collage New Music, Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Pamlico Music Society, The Music House, Sheldon Concert Hall, and Missouri 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. Ms. Lucht is also an Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the Carroll Center for the Blind. Michael J. Miles, banjoist, is regarded as one of America's most innovative clawhammer banjo players. The Chicago Tribune's critic Howard Reich said that, "Everything Miles plays is worth savoring." Pete Seeger described his playing as "the most beautiful I've heard... this is enough to make me want to learn the banjo all over again." In addition to being a master banjoist and guitarist, Mr. Miles is a composer of chamber music, author of numerous theatrical works combining music and history, and an acclaimed music educator for students of all ages. His chamber works showcase banjo alongside other instruments ranging from those used in traditional bluegrass music to classical string quartet instrumentation. His critically acclaimed catalog of original compositions, stage performances, recordings, and music instruction books incorporate music from around the world and highlight traditional music, American blues and jazz, and reinvented works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Mr. Miles’ performance credits include the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian
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Institution, Ravinia Festival, Harris Theatre in Chicago, American University in Beirut, Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Ireland, Winnipeg and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, MIAM Graduate Conservatory of Music in Istanbul, and the Royal Opera Theatre in Marrakesh. For his work in Morocco, Lebanon, and Turkey, he has been heralded by the US State Department on three occasions for his powerful and enduring musical diplomacy. Mr. Miles is a teaching artist for Old Town School of Folk Music and the Ravinia Festival, and guest professor at West Chester University, CT State University and VanderCook College of Music. He holds a M.A. Music Performance & Pedagogy from Northeastern Illinois University, and a B.A. Oral Interpretation of Literature from University of Illinois. He is Music Director of the Global Voices Initiative which has facilitated musical and compositional collaborations with students in Chicago, Beirut, Milan, Dublin, London, & Casablanca. Rachel Harmatuk Pino, violinist, has taught and performed internationally and across the US. 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. Ms. Pino 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 studying with Andrea Thomas and Joanne Bath. After attending the UNC School of the Arts, she studied with Lucy Chapmann at Boston Conservatory and received Master’s degrees from ECU in Suzuki Pedagogy (with Joanne Bath) and Violin Performance. She has Suzuki Certification from renowned teacher trainers and, in 2006, she founded New Bern Suzuki Strings, which
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now has nearly 80 violin students of all ages. For more about Ms. Pino, visit trentriverchamberplayers.com and newbernsuzukistrings.com. A special thank you to artist Margaret James Margaret James was the resident conductor/ musical director at the Drury Lane Theatres in Chicago from 1990 to 2011. She has conducted at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Peninsula Players Theatre in Wisconsin, and numerous regional theatres. She is the recipient of three After Dark Awards and three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Best Musical Direction in Chicago. Her theatrical compositions have been performed in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Indiana. Her collaborations with Michael J. Miles include numerous original orchestral suites for banjo & chamber orchestra, as well as reinventions of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach for banjo with string accompaniment. For more information, contact Margaret James c/o Michael Miles at MilesMusic.org.
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CCMF gratefully acknowledges Festival Business Sponsor
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Carolina Chamber Music Festival salutes our media partner
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Thank you to CCMF’s Season 14 Patrons (list reflects gifts received February 21, 2016–September 1, 2016) Festival Benefactor ($1,000 and above) Donna and Team New Bern/Keller Williams Olwen and Bill Jarvis Thomas and Robertha Coleman Foundation Festival Sponsor ($500–$999) Kenneth and Ellen Chance Lorraine Hale Music Instruction Gerald and Dorothy Lou Walker Diamond Circle ($300–$499) Werner and Marilyn Friederichs Richard Lucht Willard and Mary Beth Seidenfield Cynthia Turco Sefton Wiggs and Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs Gold Circle ($200–$299) Hovey Aiken III Jane Dagnon Candy and Rick Gander J.M. Hodges Jr., DDS Bette Jo Oglesby Silver Circle (up to $199) Julie Anderson Howard and Lani Beuerman Susan Braaten JoAnn Bradley Eileen Bress Betty Clarke Catherine French Edna Harkins Margaret Heberlein Richard and Lu Hoff Ann and Lou Holtzberger Kathy Kates
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George and Nanette Keane Mark P. Lemke and Rebecca Duncan Shelley Lucht Jackie Moniak Kate and Larry Rosenstrauch Mary Jane Schmidt Nancy Shelby Rob and Chris Skrotsky Kristeen Storrs Edward Vaupel
Carolina Chamber Music Festival thanks musical partner
CCMF thanks its artist hospitality partner,
Twin Rivers YMCA 100 YMCA Lane New Bern, NC 28560
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north carolina newmusic initiative INITIATING NEW IDEAS ABOUT NEW MUSIC ED JACOBS, Director
FALL 2016 Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet September 29, 2016, 7:30pm
Opera Theater, Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts October 23, 24, 25, 2016, 7:30pm tickets: 1-800-ECU-ARTS
Julia Den Boer, piano November 3, 2016, 7:30pm Premiere Performances Student performers showcase student composers November 11, 2016, 7:30pm
Greenville, North Carolina www.ecu.edu/music/newmusic 252-328-4280
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THE MUSIC HOUSE 408 West 5th Street, Greenville NC 27834 themusichouse@suddenlink.net (252) 367-‐1892
Reservations Required! Suggested donations: $20 per concert general admission Seniors $15/Students $5 Friday September 23, 7:00 p.m. Music of the West African kora (Harp) Saturday October 8, 7:00 p.m. An Evening of O peretta Sunday October 16, 5:00 p.m. Medieval & Spanish blues, Guitar & Songs Saturday October 29, 7:00 p.m. An Evening of Schubert – voice, violin, cello Sunday November 6, 5:00 p.m. French Week Concert (piano/cello) Friday November 18, 7:00 p.m. Larry Newcomb Duo (guitar, piano/vocals)
Friday December 9, 7:00 p.m. Cinematic Guitar Poetry Hiroya Tsukamoto, acoustic guitar Saturday January 28, 7:00 pm Lopez Tabor Duo Sunday February 5, 5:00 p.m. Ars Nova String Trio Sunday February 12, 7:00 p.m. Schubert's "Winterreise" (voice/piano) Friday February 17, 7:00 p.m. Margarita Nuller, piano
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CAROLINA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL CCMF returns to New Bern! Save the dates: February 19–25, 2017 Featuring the Calyx Piano Trio with pipa artist Gao Hong carolinachambermusic.org
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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!
Photo: Gary Hollar
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