SOURCE
CODE
DECEMBER 11, 2021 AT 8:00 PM EST BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE + MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER CAMBRIDGE, MA
2021 2022
SEASON MEMORY & HOPE
SOURCE CODE
SEP 11
DEC 11
MUSIC RYAN SHANNON LUNGS OF CENTER STAGE THE CITY IN BLOOM JAN 29 juventasmusic.org
MAR 26
JUN 5 & 12
SOURCE CODE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021 AT 8:00 PM EST MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER CAMBRIDGE, MA BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE 2 Italian Folk Songs (2017) Susan Botti I. Guarda che bel serèn (rumanele - Ferrara) II. El me murus el stà de là del Sère (sequenza di Villotte - Cremona) Kelley Hollis, soprano; Ryan Shannon, violin; Sophia Szokolay, violin; Lu Ya, viola; Minjin Chung, cello Three Sean-Nos Folk Songs (2018) I. A chuisle mo chroi II. Ó sí rún mo chléibh bhí ann (Aisling Song) III. Fear a’ bháta
Rosśa Crean Traditional
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Mary Chris DeBelina, dance Promesa (2021)
J. A. J. Sedarski Text by Luis Rice
Kelley Hollis, soprano; Ryan Shannon, violin; Sophia Szokolay, violin; Lu Ya, viola; Minjin Chung, cello World Premiere Family Photos (2021) I. At the Carnival II. On the Tehran Tower III. In Arcadia
Kian Ravaei
Ryan Shannon, violin; Sophia Szokolay, violin; Lu Ya, viola; Minjin Chung, cello Source Code (2013) Jessie Montgomery Ryan Shannon, violin; Sophia Szokolay, violin; Lu Ya, viola; Minjin Chung, cello; Mary Chris DeBelina, dance
Generously supported by the Boston Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
ABOUT JUVENTAS Juventas’s 2021-22 season is generously sponsored by John A. Carey. Juventas New Music Ensemble is a contemporary chamber group with a special focus on emerging voices. Juventas shares classical music as a vibrant, living art form. We bring audiences music from a diverse array of composers that live in today’s world and respond to our time. Since its founding in 2005, Juventas has performed the music of over 200 living composers. The ensemble has earned a reputation as a curator with a keen eye for new talent. It opens doors for composers with top-notch professional performances that present their work in the best possible light. Recognition for the ensemble’s work includes the American Prize Ernst Bacon Award for Performance of American Music and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Boston Foundation. Juventas is featured on albums by Innova Recordings, Parma Records and New Dynamic Records, and has held residencies at Boston Conservatory, Harvard University, Longy School of Music, Middlebury College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Juventas has a storied history of dynamic collaboration with artists in other media, including dancers, painters, scientists, poets, puppeteers and robotics engineers. A leader in the field, Juventas also facilitates the Boston New Music Festival, a week-long showcase of Boston’s contemporary music scene.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Carey President
Cashman Kerr Prince Treasurer
Alvin B. Carter III Carson Cooman Meghan Guidry Leslie Jacobson Kaye Rachel M. Rivkind Karen Ruymann Drew Wilkins Oliver Caplan ex officio
STAFF Oliver Caplan Artistic Director
Chris Petre-Baumer Director of Design
Joseph Sedarski
Marketing Coordinator
Saskia Den Boon
Communications Coordinator
Rozime Lindsey
Arts Administration Intern
Rachel Rivkind has generously sponsored Chris Petre-Baumer’s position for the 2021-22 Season.
FUTURA PRODUCTIONS
LIVESTREAM PRODUCERS
John Weston
Production Director & Audio Engineer
Daniel Schwartz
Director of Photography & Editor
Nick Papps
Camera Operator
Travis Karpak
Assistant Engineer & Video Playback Engineer
Jacob Steingart Assistant Engineer
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Tonight, join Juventas for a multi-generational journey, spanning five continents. Source Code celebrates the diverse ancestries that make each of us unique. The composers who wrote the works on this program each engage with their musical DNA. They explore threads from the past, weaving them together with contemporary influences to create something new. This confluence of old and new, much like our beloved city of Boston, creates fertile ground for innovation. The result is exceptional. As 2021 comes to a close, all of us at Juventas want to express our deepest gratitude for your support through this challenging time. Because of you, our ensemble is not only surviving, but thriving. Through our new hybrid model, we are touching more hearts than ever, reaching both in-person audiences in Boston and livestream viewers around the world. Sincerely,
Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director Juventas New Music Ensemble
IN THE COMPOSERS’ OWN WORDS Susan Botti | 2 Italian Folk Songs (2017) These two Italian songs from Northern Italy celebrate the character of the people from this area of the world - expressed through language and music full of poetic imagery, a sly sense of humor, and a joyful sensuality. I hope that my creative deviations from the originals only enhance those qualities. Rosśa Crean | Three Sean-Nos Folk Songs (2021) Having come from an Irish family, and being raised in the UK, I have had the immense pleasure of having the Celtic sean-nos (old-style) way of singing as part of my musical training and development. It was a way for me to express myself as a painfully shy child, and the first tool to understanding how to make an audience at a noisy pub come to a complete halt to pay attention to what you are expressing. The tales of love, heartbreak, war, victory, and other realms made me realize that magic existed in ways besides what existed on the written page; it lived within the realm of sound and voice. Sean-nos singing also taught me to be brave. The vulnerability in the exposed naked voice hides nothing from the human ear, but it also held a magnetism that kept those ears glued to the sounds that were made. Hence, that state of vulnerability became a sense of power, not over others, but of self-realization. I love that I was able to discover myself as a young singer through this tradition, and thank you for sharing in that with me through this work. J. A. J. Sedarski | Promesa (2021) It is with immense joy that I present to you my new work entitled Promesa. First and foremost, this piece is about unconditional, undying love that promises your beloved the world. Inspired by my Mexican heritage, Promesa takes its main melody and poetry from a work entitled Valz Esther - a piece composed by my great-grandfather Luis Rice. A work never heard before in concert, it’s a piece written for his wife expressing his limitless love. My work explores floating spaces and open instrumentation which accumulates to a climax of voices moving and working together with musical material taken from my great-grandfather. For me, this piece is the preservation of music composed almost half a century ago, an homage to my great-grandfather and my grandfather, and is an immense reminder that true love is possible. I’d like to dedicate this performance to my grandfather Humberto Rice who passed away from Covid earlier this year. Te quiero abuelito.
Kian Ravaei | Family Photos (2021) Family Photos is a musical collage of personally significant places from my childhood. The first movement, “At the Carnival,” takes inspiration from the whimsy and spectacle of my neighborhood carnival. “On the Tehran Tower,” the second movement, incorporates elements of Iranian classical music, inspired by my childhood trips to visit family in Tehran. The third and final movement, “In Arcadia,” represents not only my hometown in the suburbs of Los Angeles, but also the Arcadia of Ancient Greek mythology, a heaven on Earth. Jessie Montgomery | Source Code (2013) The first sketches of Source Code began as transcriptions of various sources from African American artists prominent during the peak of the Civil Rights era in the United States. I experimented by re-interpreting gestures, sentences, and musical syntax (the bare bones of rhythm and inflection) by choreographer Alvin Ailey, poets Langston Hughes and Rita Dove, and the great jazz songstress Ella Fitzgerald into musical sentences and tone paintings. Ultimately, this exercise of listening, re-imagining, and transcribing led me back to the black spiritual as a common musical source across all three genres. The spiritual is a significant part of the DNA of black folk music, and subsequently most (arguably all) American pop music forms that have developed to the present day. This one-movement work is a kind of dirge, which centers on a melody based on syntax derived from black spirituals. The melody is continuous and cycles through like a gene strand with which all other textures play.
KELLEY HOLLIS JUVENTAS CORE MUSICIAN
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS 2 Italian Folk Songs Traditional Collected by Roberto Leydi’s in I Canti Popolari Italia 1. Guarda che bel serèn Guarda che bel serèn se non se nuvla che bela note de rubar le done chi ruba done non si chiaman ladri si chiaman giovinoti inamorati
Oh what a calm sky if it doesn’t get cloudy what a beautiful night to steal women those who steal shouldn’t be called thieves but should instead be called youth in love
In mez al mer a gh’è un alberèin c’ tot i ann al prodüs di già fiurèin toti el zòuvni el gàrden al colore e quisti i en i fiurèin de l’amore
In the midst of the sea grows a small tree which every year produces beautiful florets the youth stand transfixed by the color it’s these that are the flowers of love
S’a füs na rundanèna per un’ora vurìa vuler indov al mio bèin lavora gli vurìa der un bagio in dla buchèna vurìa bèin dir c’è stà la rundanèna
If I could be a little swallow for an hour I would fly towards where my love works I would want to give her a kiss on her little mouth and I would like to say that it was the little swallow
L’è pur al bel serèin se non s’anuvla o pur un bel muròus se non mi burla l’ pur al bel serèin se non si guasta o pur un bel moròus se non mi làsia
And yet, calm is the sky if it doesn’t get cloudy as beautiful is a lover if I am not deceived and yet, calm is the sky if the weather doesn’t change as beautiful is a lover if I am not deserted
2. El me murus el stà de là del Sère El me murus el stà de là del Sère l’è picinin ma ‘lghà le gambe bèle l’è picinin ma’l gh’à le alte ‘us el püs. bèl del mund l’è’l me murus ia-ra-la-lal-la....
My love comes from Serio he’s small but has beautiful legs he’s small but has a big voice he’s the most beautiful in the world and I love him
El me murus l’è bel e po l’è bèl al g’a dü rissulit sòta’al capèl al g’a dü rissulit d’una caviada se lü l’è bel e me soin emurada ia-ra-la-lal-la....
My love is beautiful and is beautiful he has curls in his hair he has curls under his cap he is beautiful and I am in love
E mi stanot g’ò fat d’un sogno matto sugnài che’l me murus al me stringeva’l braccio e me g’ò fat per daga d’un basin mi g’ò basà la fodra dal cussin ia-ra-la-lal-la....
The other night I had a crazy dream I dreamt that my love took me in his arms I went to give him a kiss but I was kissing my pillow
El me murus el m’à mandà una nus al m’à mandat a dì che lü l’è spus e me g’ò riscuntrà d’una nisóla se lü l’è spus e me g’ò già una fióla Ia-ra-la-lal-la....
My love gave me a walnut he gave it to say that he wanted to marry me I responded with a hazelnut if he is a groom, I already have a daughter
Three Sean-Nos Folk Songs Traditional Gaelic Tex A chuisle mo chroi Ar maidin indé roimh ghréin go moch, Do dhearcas an bhé ba néimhe cruth: Bhi sneachta ‘gus caor A’ caismirt ’n-a sgéimh, ‘Sa seangachorp séimh mar ghéis ar sruth ’S a chuisle mo chroi, créad ín ghruaim sin ort?
Before the sun rose yesterday morning, I met a fair maid down the lawn: The berry and snow Brought a glow to her cheeks, And her bosom was fair as the sailing swan. Then, pulse my heart, what gloom is thine?
Ba bhinne guth caomh a béil le sult Ná Orpheus do léig go faon na tuirc: Bhi a reamhar-rosg réidh Mar chriostal na mbraon Ar sheamair ghlais fhéir roimh ghréin go moch’S a chuisle mo chroi, créad ín ghruaim sin ort?
Her beautiful voice had won more hearts Than Orpheus’ ancient lyre had done. Her ripe blue eyes Were crystals of dew On the grass of the lawn before the sun. And, pulse of my heart, what gloom is thine?
Ó sí rún mo chléibh bhí ann (Aisling Song) Lá dá rabhas sa choill úd thall, Chonaic a spéirbhean claon-rosc mall, Slat ‘na láimh ‘sí cumhra seang, Ó sí rún mo chléibh bhí ann.
One day when I was in the wood, I saw and gazed at a beautiful woman, A rod in her hand, she was fragrant and slim, Oh she was my dear love.
D’in-seoinn dreach mo leann-áin duit, Dhá ghrua dhearg’ chomh dearg le fuil, Béal gan locht ag aithris scéil, Ó sí rún mo chléibh bhí ann.
I would like to describe my love to you, Two rouged cheeks as red as blood, A perfect mouth that could never lie, Oh she was my dear love.
Fol í ó hó ró, fol í ó, Hú il ó hó ró, hú il ó, Fol il é li hú il ó ró, Ó sí rún mo chléibh bhí ann.
Fol ee o ho ro fol ee oh, Hoo eel oh ho re, hoo eel oh, Fol ee eh lee hoo eel oh ro, Oh she was my dear love.
Fear a’ bháta Théid mé suas ar an chnoc is airde, Féach an bhfeic mé fear an bháta. An dtig thú anocht, nó an dtig thú amárach? Nó muna dtig thú idir is trua atá mé.
I went up to the highest hill, To see if I could find the boatman. Will you be coming tonight, or will you come tomorrow? I shall be sad if you do not come either way.
A fhir an bháta, is na hó-ró eile, Mo shoraidh slán leat gach áit a dtéid thú.
Oh boatman, and it’s hó-ró ela, My fond farewell to you every place that you go.
Tá mo chroíse briste, brúite, Is tric na deoir a rith bho mo shúilean. An dtig thú inniú nó am bidh mé dúil leat, Nó an druid mé an doras le osna thuirseach?
My heart is broken and weary, The tears run quick from my eyes, Will you be coming today, or whatever time you wish, Or will I shut the door with a tired sigh?
A fhir an bháta, is na hó-ró eile, Mo shoraidh slán leat gach áit a dtéid thú.
Oh boatman, and it’s hó-ró ela, My fond farewell to you every place that you go.
Thug mé gaol dhuit is chan fhéad mé athrú, Cha gaol bliana, is cha gaol ráithe, Acht gaol ó thoiseacht, nuair bhá mé ‘mo pháiste, ’s nach seasc a choíche mé ‘gus chloigh an bás mé.
I have had a relationship with you that I cannot change, Not one for a year, nor of prosperity, But from the beginning when I was a child, I wasn’t a barren bride, and I will be true to death.
A fhir an bháta, is na hó-ró eile, Mo shoraidh slán leat gach áit a dtéid thú.
Oh boatman, and it’s hó-ró ela, My fond farewell to you every place that you go.
Promesa Text by Luis Rice Trans. Christian Sedarski and J. A. J. Sedarski Fue desde que te vi Que conquistaste mi corazón Por eso vengo a ti. Para ofrecerte todo mi amor.
Ever since I saw you You conquered my heart That is why I come here To offer you all of my love.
Tus ojos al mirar, Traspasaron mi alma Y desde entonces todo mi ser se desvive Por conquistar los favores de tu querer
Your eyes pierced my soul And since then, all of my being lives to Conquer the favors of your love.
Quiéreme mucho mi bien Y tu también dame tu corazón Que el destino al fin Sellará esta unión.
Love me, love me my dear And give me your heart So that destiny at last would Seal this union.
Quiéreme mucho mi bien Quiéreme como te quiero yo a ti Que tu amor será El momento más dulce de mi existir
Love me, love me my dear Love me like I love you That your love will be The sweetest moment of my existence
COMPOSERS SUSAN BOTTI b. 1962 Composer/performer Susan Botti’s eclectic background and experiences are reflected in her music. Theater and the visual arts play a formative role in the aesthetic of her work. Her musical explorations incorporate traditional, improvisational and nonclassical composition and singing styles. Botti is the recipient of numerous grants, awards, and commissions. In many cases, she is the vocal soloist as well as composer of her works. Collaboration is of special interest – often, her projects evolve from artistic partnerships (including musicians from the NY Philharmonic and The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; soloists such as singer Lucy Shelton; the poet Linda Gregerson; and theater designer, Leslie Taylor). Duo della Luna is Botti’s recently formed vocal/violin duo with Airi Yoshioka, specializing in the performance of intimate contemporary music and folk song-inspired arrangements and compositions. Their debut recording, Mangetsu, was released in 2021 by New Focus Recordings. Advocating education and outreach, the duo is committed to performing in unusual and underserved venues. In development is a “theatrical motet”, River Spirits, for three voices and an ensemble of contemporary plus early music instruments – a futuristic abstract fable drawing on Italian “grammelot” and wide-ranging vocal techniques. As with most of her work, the piece strives to tap into the pulse of the human experience. In addition to performing her own vocal works, Botti specializes in the performance of contemporary music of diverse styles. She has worked directly with composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Matthias Pintscher, Paul Chihara, Toshio Hosokawa, Linda Dusman, Eliot Britton, Rahilia Hasanova, Lois V. Vierk, and Wes York. For over a decade, composer/conductor Tan Dun created several major works highlighting her vocal and theatrical talents, including the role of “Water” in his internationally renowned opera, Marco Polo, the vocal solo in his multimedia work for soprano and orchestra, Orchestral Theatre III: Red Forecast, and the vocal solo for the theme to his soundtrack for The Banquet. www.susanbottii.com
ROSŚA CREAN b. 1975 Rosśa Crean (they/them) jokingly says they “write strange music that they like to listen to when they are by themself, eating raw cookie dough in a dark closet,” but in truth, their music has been referred to as being “funny...and virtuosic” (Classic Concert Nova Scotia), having “exceptionally different, outstanding quality” (Download), and music that “stirs you deep, undertones of humanity” (Access Contemporary Music). Composing and creating music with a focus on the evocative and lyrical, they began their professional career as a Bass-Baritone, specializing in avant-garde and Contemporary Classical music, many of which were their own compositions. While pursuing their Masters at Illinois State University in Composition, they have studied with Stephen Taylor, David Feurzeig, and Nancy Van de Vate. They have trained in several vocal styles, including rock, opera, sean-nós (traditional Gaelic singing), and Indian and Middle Eastern vocal ornamentation. As a synesthete, Crean occasionally creates projects that focus on neurological responses between sound, color, and emotional states. Their chromesthesia was a creative tool in the creation of the Edward Gorey partnering art installation entitled Summerland: A Ghost Story, a collaboration with visual artist Ken Gerleve. It has most recently been featured in their opera, The Great God Pan, (2018-19 American Prize winner) where the prepared piano was notated with specific color designations for each note of a pitch class Crean saw as representing the other world that threatened the moral existence of humanity in the original story on which it was based. Their one-act opera The Times Are Nightfall, a queer sequel to Don Giovanni, premiered at Opera America in July 2018. Their most recent work, The Priestess of Morphine, a monodrama in song cycle style, was commissioned and premiered by the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago in June 2019. A prolific collaborator, Crean has received commissions from and worked with numerous artists, including The Mozart Players at Oberlin College, Opera on Tap (Chicago and New York), Loyola University Museum of Art, bassist Gahlord Dewald, The New Consort, and the Lynx Project. Their musical work has also been featured on Skope TV, Much Music, Fuse TV, and Comcast OnDemand. A staunch advocate for queer and gender equality, Rosśa founded the “Rosśa Crean Presents” performance series in Chicago, Illinois, which showcases emerging POC, LGBTQIA+, and female-identifying composers and performers. www.rossacrean.com
J.A.J. SEDARSKI b. 2000 Born and raised in southeast Minnesota, J. A. J. Sedarski is a self-taught composer, pianist, and vocalist who’s musical journey has taken him to Boston, MA where he is now based. Sedarski’s music is a dynamic mixture of innovation and tradition that finds excitement in the extraordinary and peace in simplicity. His inspirations can range from family memories to philosophical literature. As a young composer, his work has been performed by the MIVOS Quartet in various student readings, the Juventas New Music Ensemble, and in a production of The Vagina Monologues in Rochester, Minnesota. His first year of university, he was awarded the 2020 Composition Competition with Performance with Orchestra from the School of Music at Boston University for his work Variants for Orchestra. In the past year, Sedarski has self-produced more than three albums and two singles dramatically adding to the young composer’s repertoire. This semester, his work will have performances by Sound Icon under the baton of Jeffrey Means, the Boston University Symphony Orchestra, and the Juventas New Music Ensemble for a world premiere of his work Promesa. His work has also appeared in various media from the Reformed University Fellowship at Boston University. He is currently an undergraduate student at the school of music at Boston University studying Music Theory and Composition under Joshua Fineberg. Besides music, his interests include spending time with his family and friends, being active, gardening, and the films of Danny Kaye. www.sedarskimusic.com
KIAN RAVAEI b. 1999 Kian Ravaei composes music that delivers heartfelt directness, bold melodies, and visceral power. His growing body of work has often been praised for combining rigorous compositional technique with naturalness and penetrating emotion. During the pandemic, Ravaei’s daily ritual was playing a chorale by J.S. Bach at the piano and composing an original chorale. Three hundred seventy-one chorales later, Ravaei has cultivated a deeply personal harmonic language and an obsession with the art of counterpoint. Like Bach’s chorales, many of Ravaei’s works appear to be simple on the surface, but underneath they are rich and filled with unexpected nuance.
Born in 1999 of Iranian immigrants, Ravaei spent his childhood playing jazz, producing electronic dance music, and singing in a rock band when he should have been practicing piano sonatas. His diverse output has included a book of piano preludes inspired by mythical creatures, a string quartet that synthesizes Western and Persian classical music, and an orchestration for dubstep DJ and producer Wooli. Ravaei’s music has been performed by leading musicians such as interdisciplinary artist Anoush Moazzeni of the Iranian Female Composers Association, guitarist JIJI, and pianists Stefano Grecoand Jihye Chang. He has been commissioned by notable organizations and ensembles such as the Canadian Music Centre and Salastina. As of the 2021/22 season, Ravaei is a newly appointed Composer Teaching Artist Fellow with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He is an alum of the Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program, and he counts prominent composers such as Tarik O’Regan, Derrick Skye, Kay Rhie, and Juan Pablo Contreras among his past mentors. He makes his home in Los Angeles, where he studies music composition with Richard Danielpour — one of his favorite living composers — at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. When he is not composing, he likes to jog, read short stories, and collect CDs. www.kianravaei.com
JESSIE MONTGOMERY b. 1981 Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, language, and social justice, placing her squarely as one of the most relevant interpreters of 21st-century American sound and experience. Her profoundly felt works have been described as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (The Washington Post). Jessie was born and raised in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 1980s during a time when the neighborhood was at a major turning point in its history. Artists gravitated to the hotbed of artistic experimentation and community development. Her parents – her father a musician, her mother a theater artist and storyteller – were engaged in the activities of the neighborhood and regularly brought Jessie to rallies, performances, and parties where neighbors, activists, and artists gathered to celebrate and support the movements of the time. It is from this unique experience that Jessie has created a life that merges composing, performance, education, and advocacy. Since 1999, Jessie has been affiliated with The Sphinx Organization, which supports young African-American and Latinx string players. She currently serves as
composer-in-residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi, the Organization’s flagship professional touring ensemble. She was a two-time laureate of the annual Sphinx Competition and was awarded a generous MPower grant to assist in the development of her debut album, Strum: Music for Strings (Azica Records). She has received additional grants and awards from the ASCAP Foundation, Chamber Music America, American Composers Orchestra, the Joyce Foundation, and the Sorel Organization. Her growing body of work includes solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Some recent highlights include Five Slave Songs (2018) commissioned for soprano Julia Bullock by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Records from a Vanishing City (2016) for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Caught by the Wind (2016) for the Albany Symphony and the American Music Festival, and Banner (2014) – written to mark the 200th anniversary of The Star-Spangled Banner – for The Sphinx Organization and the Joyce Foundation. In the 2019-20 season, new commissioned works will be premiered by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the National Choral Society, and ASCAP Foundation. Jessie is also teaming up with composer-violinist Jannina Norpoth to reimagine Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha; it is being produced by Volcano Theatre and co-commissioned by Washington Performing Arts, Stanford University, Southbank Centre (London), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Additionally, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony will all perform Montgomery’s works this season. The New York Philharmonic has selected Jessie as one of the featured composers for their Project 19, which marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting equal voting rights in the United States to women. Other forthcoming works include a nonet inspired by the Great Migration, told from the perspective of Montgomery’s great-grandfather William McCauley and to be performed by Imani Winds and the Catalyst Quartet; a cello concerto for Thomas Mesa jointly commissioned by Carnegie Hall, New World Symphony, and The Sphinx Organization; and a new orchestral work for the National Symphony. Jessie began her violin studies, at the Third Street Music School Settlement, one of the oldest community organizations in the country. A founding member of PUBLIQuartet and currently a member of the Catalyst Quartet, she continues to maintain an active performance career as a violinist appearing regularly with her own ensembles, as well as with the Silkroad Ensemble and Sphinx Virtuosi. Jessie’s teachers and mentors include Sally Thomas, Ann Setzer, Alice Kanack, Joan Tower, Derek Bermel, Mark Suozzo, Ira Newborn, and Laura Kaminsky. She holds degrees from the Juilliard School and New York University and is currently a Graduate Fellow in Music Composition at Princeton University. www.jessiemontgomery.com
MUSICIANS PERFORMING AT MUSIC IN BLOOM TOWER HILL BOTANIC GARDEN
MUSICIANS KELLEY HOLLIS soprano
Karen and Fred Ruymann have generously sponsored Kelley Hollis for the 2021-22 concert season. Kelley Hollis is a classically trained soprano known for her interpretations of new and lesser known works. Last year Kelley was featured on the album Arnold Rosner’s Requiem (Toccata Records), recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. In 2018 she performed a concert at the Prague Castle in the Czech Republic, along with a series of recitals in cities throughout the country, as a featured artist with the Americké jaro festival. In addition to singing with Juventas, Kelley performs with and serves on the board of Opera on Tap Boston. In 2019 she sang the role of Rosalinda in MassOpera’s critically acclaimed production of Die Fledermaus, and premiered the role of Juana in the Omar Najmi’s En el ardiente oscuridad. Her other opera roles include Mimi in Puccini’s La femme boheme, Beth in Adamo’s Little Women (Metrowest Opera), Eliza in Muhly’s Dark Sisters (Third Eye Theater Ensemble); Florencia Grimaldi in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Micaela in Le Tragedie de Carmen, Harper in Eötvös’ Angels in America (BU Opera Institute) and Nina in Pasatieri’s The Seagull (Opera del West). Ms. Hollis has performed twice at Boston Symphony Hall: In 2016 she appeared as the First Orphan in The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s concert production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier alongside Renee Fleming and Susan Graham, and in 2015 she was the soprano soloist for Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, performing with the BU Symphony Orchestra. Her most recent concert repertoire includes Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Handel’s Messiah, and Faure’s Requiem. In 2014, Ms. Hollis was a finalist for Lyric Opera Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and in 2011 Kelley received an encouragement award at the district level from the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Kelley Hollis received both her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Boston University Opera Institute. Kelley is also a graduate of A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
RYAN SHANNON
violin
Paula and Bill Caplan have generously sponsored Ryan Shannon for the 2021-22 concert season. Ryan Shannon began his musical journey in the mountains of Colorado at five years old when his father, an amateur pianist, gave him his first violin. Sensing his love of music, his parents made it possible for him to attend the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Ryan continued his studies at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Lucy Chapman and Nicholas Kitchen, graduating in 2014. As a student, Ryan had the life-changing opportunity to attend the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders program at From The Top. Through this year-long partnership with the Hope Lodge, a residence for cancer patients, He learned that music can bring together those who are struggling through difficult circumstances. In recent years he has worked to bring this love to as many people as possible. He does this as an educator, as a member of Palaver Strings, and as an explorer of new music with Juventas New Music Ensemble, whose vivacious energy creates a powerful connection between music and the hearts of those who listen.
SOPHIA SZKOLAY violin (Guest Artist) Canadian violinist Sophia Anna Szokolay has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Based in Boston, she is a Doctoral Candidate at the New England Conservatory and Chamber Music Faculty at NEC’s Preparatory School. Sophia is a recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Borromeo Guest Artist Award, Fischoff, Plowman and Remember Enescu International Competitions. As a soloist, Sophia has appeared with the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonietta, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra. Sophia has most recently collaborated with Bonnie Hampton, Michael Kannen, Anthony Marwood, Roger Tapping, Donald Weilerstein and Vivian HornikWeilerstein as a chamber musician, and worked with notable composers such as Brett Dean, John Heiss, David Ludwig, James MacMillan and Jörg Widmann. She
has attended the YellowBarn, Perlman, Lake George, Taos, and Toronto Summer Music Festivals. When she isn’t performing, Sophia loves teaching and coaching chamber music. She was a Morse Teaching Fellow and Gluck Community Engagement Fellow at The Juilliard School, working with violin and music theory students at Opportunity Music Project and at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School. In 2020, Sophia performed online for ICU Covid-19 hospital patients and their families across the United States with Project: Music Heals Us. She curated an online Music and Movement class for children ages 2-5 in collaboration with the Toronto-based Art Strollers Academy, and led music appreciation workshops at Lenox Hill Women’s Shelter with the Athena Quartet. Sophia began her violin studies at the age of 3, the fourth generation of a musical family. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory with a Minor in Music Theory, and her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School. Her teachers include Catherine Cho, Miriam Fried, and Donald Weilerstein.
LU YU viola Drew Wiklins has generously sponsored Lu Yu for the 2021-22 concert season. Born in China, Lu Yu began her musical studies at the age of six on violin. She started to play viola as her principal instrument at age twelve at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China. Her studies then took her to the Royal Academy of Music in London with a full scholarship where she learned under the tutelage of Matthew Souter for the Bachelor of Music degree. Ms. Yu then studied with Marcus Thompson at the New England Conservatory in Boston where she received her Master of Music degree. Among her numerous awards, she was granted “The Young Musician of 2008” in Hong Kong. Her performance career has led to being the founding violist of the Loki String Quartet which is in residence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Ms. Yu is also principal violist of the Boston Civic Symphony, performs with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, was recently co-principal viola of the Missouri Symphony and frequently performs with many of the ensembles around the Boston area.
MINJIN CHUNG cello Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Richard Kaye have generously sponsored Minjin Chung for the 2021-22 concert season. Minjin Chung is a cellist based in Boston who enjoys an active career as a freelance musician and is on the cello faculty of the Dedham School of Music. Praised by the Boston Music Intelligencer for her “beautiful sweeping melody played with grace” she has appeared in the top concert halls in the world such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She is an avid performer of new music and has premiered countless new works throughout her years as a student and in her professional career. As an orchestral player, she has attended the Aspen Music Festival as a New Horizon Fellow and has performed with the Sinfonia da Camera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the New World Symphony. As a soloist, she has received awards from the Richmond Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Virginia Lions Club Bland Music Competition, Virginia String Teachers Association Solo Competition, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Concerto Competition. Born in South Korea, Ms. Chung moved to the U.S. at the age of 5 and grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia where she began her musical studies. Upon falling madly in love with classical music at the age of 17, she graduated from high school a year early to focus on preparing for music school auditions. She was awarded a full tuition scholarship to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a student of Dmitry Kouzov and received her master’s degree at the New England Conservatory as a student of Natasha Brofsky. In her free time, she loves to paint, go to the beach, and take long walks with her dog, Jackie.
MARY CHRIS DeBELINA dance (Principal Guest Artist) Mary Chris DeBelina is a choreographer, dancer, educator and Executive Director of the Vermont Dance Alliance. Mary Chris dances regularly with Willow Wonder and Hannah Dennison, and is a Principal Guest Artist with Boston-based Juventas New Music Ensemble. Her choreography was part of Juventas’s 2020 presentation of Shell & Wing by David Biedenbender, which won the 2020 American Prize Ernst Bacon Award for the Performance of American Music. She has also presented her choreography at Phantom Theater and The Barn. Mary Chris is a passionate educator with a focus on creative dance with children. She teaches teaches in Vermont at the Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio and Montpelier Senior Activity Center. In 2005, MC founded the Hopkins Center’s Children’s Creative Dance Program at Dartmouth and taught every class until 2012 when her family relocated to Philadelphia. As a faculty member at Dartmouth she was fortunate to perform with, and choreograph for, the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble and was a frequent guest teacher. In Philadelphia, MC met Keila Cordova and was introduced to Dance for PD. She attended the Teacher Training Workshop in Brooklyn in 2013 and taught movement for Parkinsons classes for two years in Philadelphia. Mary Chris (b. 1982) was raised in Chicago, IL. She studied Biology and Dance at Dartmouth College (B.A. 2005) and combined her two passions at Sarah Lawrence College receiving an MFA in Dance (2008). Her thesis work focused on the links between science and art. After having four children, she is excited to be finding her way back to dance again. Mary Chris can be found dancing in Montpelier, Vermont, hiking up mountains or folding mountains of laundry. She finds dance in everything and currently her biggest inspirations are her four tiniest dancers.
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MAKE A DONATION Donate to Juventas and help us touch hearts around the world. Last year, with a budget of just $100,000, we reached 1500+ people in person and 30,000+ people online in 45 US States and 49 countries. This puts Juventas’s COVID-era impact on par with organizations hundreds and thousands of times larger than ours. Three easy ways to donate: •Venmo: @JuventasMusic •Credit Card: www.juventasmusic.org/donate-now •Check: Juventas New Music Ensemble, P.O. Box 230015, Boston, MA 02123. Juventas New Music Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your fully tax-deductible contributions are essential for us to present new music.
SHOP WITH AMAZON SMILE Click through www.smile.amazon.com on your way to shop and select Juventas New Music Ensemble. The Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to Juventas New Music Ensemble. It doesn’t cost you a thing, and it helps us a lot!
ADVERTISE WITH JUVENTAS Advertise in Juventas’s 2021-22 concert season! Attract patrons from Greater Boston and beyond, while supporting arts in our community. Advertising supports the work of Juventas and creates good will by identifying your business as a patron of the arts! For more information, please contact Juventas Marketing Coordinator Joe Sedarski, joe.sedarski@juventasmusic.org
MAKE A PLANNED GIFT Bequests and planned gifts are simple, mutually beneficial ways for you to support Juventas New Music Ensemble beyond your lifetime. You can create your own legacy and keep supporting emerging composers for years to come by leaving a bequest in your will, life insurance policy, retirement plan, or other assets in your estate plan to Juventas New Music Ensemble, while at the same time reaping tax benefits for yourself and your descendents. If you would like more information about making a bequest to Juventas New Music Ensemble or if you’ve already included us in your estate plans, please contact our Artistic Director Oliver Caplan at olivercaplan@juventasmusic.org. Juventas New Music Ensemble is a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with a principal business address of: Juventas New Music Ensemble P.O. Box 230015 Boston, MA 02123 Our tax identification number is 26-2583870.
SUPPORTERS We are deeply grateful to the following individuals who made donations to Juventas between October 1, 2020 and November 1, 2021. Without their support, Juventas would not exist. Please visit www.juventasmusic.org/donate-now to learn about making a tax-deductible $5,000 and Above John A. Carey Mary Humphrey Massachusetts Cultural Council U.S. Small Business Administration $2,000–$4,999 Jonathan Aibel and Julie Rohwein Boston Cultural Council Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture Passim Iguana Fund The Ripley-Steinemann Family Fund Jon Saxton and Barbara Fox Andrew Wilkins $1,000–$1,999 Bill and Paula Luria Caplan Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan Carson Cooman Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Richard Kaye Karen and Fred Ruymann Medford Arts Council $300–$999 Alexandra Bowers and James Liu Margie Coffin Brown Eric Darling Michael Emanuel and Christie Gibson Margaret Hastings Carol McCarthy Rachel M. Rivkind Geoffrey Smith Theodor Weinberg and Eric Hyett $200–$299 Lawrence Banks Lauren Downing and Roseanne Luvisi
Ann Ferentz Moriah Freeman Patricia Henry Maureen Hollis Kenneth Krause and Maura McEnaney Nagesh Mahanthappa Reeva Meyer Linda Ng Richard Pasquarelli Mark and Jody Raider Emma Wine $100–$199 Charles Anderson Robert Beagan Lauren Bilello Lee Binnig Margaret Cain Oliver Davis Christine DiBlasi Alfreid Doig Isadel Eddy Keren Faling Michael Gandolfi Lorna Gibson Meghan Guidry Evangelia Hatzis Donald Hess Catherine Hyson Laurie Jacobs and Steven Levine Harold Lichtin Mari and Denys Kotskyy Nancy Kurtz Matthew Kusulas Douglass Lee Steven Lewis Linda Markarian May Marquebreuck Honor McClellan Diva Narayan Robert Page Dan Perkins Kathryn Ritcheske Lori K. Sanders Gordon Shannon Benjamin Smith & Sarah Boehm
Liz Smith Scott Smith Joe Sodroski and Alice Noble Liza Stearns Tina Strunk Tina Summerlin Ben Sweetser Ann Teixeira Daniel VanHassel Kristina Watts Brent Whelan Howard Wine Beverly Woodward and Paul Monsky $50–$99 Monica Barton Minda Berbeco Kenneth Bigley Anne Bilder Anne Watson Borne Elizabeth Bukey Rachel Ciprotti Charles Coe Jaclyn Dentino Andrew Elliott Lynn Eustis Shaun Eyring Geoffrey Frank Nancy Goodwin Steven and Jennifer Guthrie Mary and David Howarth Barbara Hughey Joeseph Hutcheson Beth Jacob Jim Kane and Sharon Williams Masashi Kato Victoria Korsos Jane Parkin Kullmann Ian Lai Annie MacDonald Justin Mog Herbert Motley Christopher Porter Ian Reiss Melanie Sanders Lorne Schweitzer
Mary Kathryn Smith Roger Southwick Ingrid Stolzel Imogene Stulken Sharon Daniels Sullivan Francine Trester Barbara Turen Elise Viebeck and Andrew Caplan Up to $49 Susan Altman Chandler Anderson Bozo Banovic Mary Barton Olga Bell Timothy Borchers Amy Bracewell Julianna Braun Bruce Brolsma Stefan Bucher Julia Scott Carey and Richard Mitrano Trudy Chan Minjin Chung Linda Ciesielski Carrie Cleary Theodora Colburn Brian Cron Sam D’Antonio Laura Davidson Stephen Deets Michelle Diaz Casey Elia David Feltner Anthony Ferello David and Ellen Fries Kendra Goodwin Andy Hanson-Dvoracek
Alex Hargus Kiyoshi Hayashi Cara Herbitter Kelley Hollis Wolcott Humphrey Ruth Kessler Helene Kisch Roger Klorese Abigail Krawson Aaron Larget-Caplan Anna Leahy Estelle Lee Ludmilla Leibman Melodie Linhart Shayna Liu Massachusetts Rivers Alliance Frank Meredith Donna Migdal Carrie Miller Krystal Morin Shadwa Mussad Susan Hall Mygatt Roxanna Myhrum Yayoi Narita Jason Newman Carolyn Oberting Jason Pavel & Marie Walcott Sarah Peck Rachel Pinsky Ginny Remedi-Brown Patricia Roos Jonathan Sachs Ose Schwab Dennis Shafer Chuck Sheketoff and Naseem Rakha Benjamin Sherman Kyle Simpson Marc Vilain
Elaine Walsh Joni Wardell Dalit Warshaw William Williams Laura Yoo
We are also extremely thankful to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and talents to Juventas in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 concert seasons: Sherene Aram Meg Hastings Spencer Klein Mona McKindley Sheila Murphy Evan Perry Elaine Walsh Ella Weber
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2020-21 SEASON VIVALDI THE FOUR SEASONS Oct 8 + 10 Symphony Hall
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 7 Jan 7 + 9 Symphony Hall
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 6, PASTORAL Nov 5 + 7 Symphony Hall
HAYDN + MOZART Jan 28 + 30 Symphony Hall
HANDEL MESSIAH Nov 26 + 27 + 28 Symphony Hall Presented by Ann and Graham Gund
BACH CHRISTMAS Dec 3 (Limited Seating Available) at St. Cecilia Parish Dec 5 (Sold Out) at First Church, Cambridge
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BACH + VIVALDI GLORIA Apr 1 + 3 Symphony Hall HAYDN THE CREATION Apr 29 + May 1 Symphony Hall
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PLEASE JOIN US FOR
RYAN SHANNON
CENTER STAGE JANUARY 29 at 8:00 PM EST MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
Celebrating the violin virtuoso and his five seasons with Juventas.