Kelley Hollis Center Stage | 2022-23 Season

KELLEY HOLLIS: CENTER STAGE JANUARY 21 at 8:00 PM EST MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER CAMBRIDGE, MA

+ BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE

2022 23 SEASON

STORIES OF OUR TIME UP NEXT

CLOUD ANTHEM

KELLEY HOLLIS: CENTER STAGE

CONCERT FOR PEACE

MUSIC IN BLOOM

OCT 29 & 30

JAN 21

MAR 18

JUN 11 & 25

juventasmusic.org

KELLEY HOLLIS: CENTER STAGE SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2023 AT 8:00 PM EST MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

+ BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE Kelly Hollis, soprano Julia Scott Carey, piano Depression Diary (2022) I. The Colors II. Cocoon III. Numbness

Rosśa Crean

Questions on the Origin of Creativity (2019) Then, Here and Now (2021) I. Healing II. Oppression III. Dying IV. Protest … all that is good … (2019) I. Phillis Wheatley II. Sojourner Truth More Than Our Own Caves (2022) I. II. III. IV. V. Mantra (2018)

Nyokabi Kariũki Rosephanye Powell

Anthony Green

Omar Najmi

Timothy Takach

Generously supported by

FROM THE SOLOIST I programmed this concert with the ultimate goal of feeling better; healing. To say that the last three years have been difficult would be a bit of an understatement. In March of 2020 we were abruptly forced to bid farewell to versions of our lives to which we can never fully return.

During the last three years I’ve lost a parent, lived through domestic violence, experienced career upheaval, financial instability, and crippling depression. (And oh yeah, COVID).

Juventas has always been a space to present music that responds to the times we’re living through. So when Oliver approached me with the opportunity to perform my own concert, I knew I wanted to use this program to acknowledge the anguish brought out by the past few years, but also actively move forward from it and heal.

The songs on this program spoke healing to me. They are reminders of the strength of humanity, the necessity of community, and the invigorating power of creativity and collaboration. It is my hope is that you leave feeling lighter, and hopefully inspired to emerge from your own caves.

Thank you and enjoy.

Sincerely, Kelley Hollis

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Like an all-star baseball team, each of Juventas’s ensemble members is an incredible talent in their own right.

Our annual Center Stage program features one of Juventas’s ten core ensemble members in a special solo concert.

In our typical programs, our musicians perform together in larger chamber configurations that center on collaborative chemistry. By contrast, tonight’s special program brings Soprano Kelley Hollis to the fore, showcasing her exceptional artistry.

Kelley is the ultimate collaborator, often preferring to stand amidst our instrumental musicians, rather than out front, so she can listen to each timbral subtlety and join them as an equal member of the ensemble. I’ve always been particularly thrilled by Kelley’s intellect and artistry. Yes, her voice is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve heard; and she nails high notes with ease. But with Kelley, performance is much more than that. She has a tremendous amount to say about today’s world, and curates her musical selections with curiosity and heart. Behind the scenes, Kelley is constantly researching the poetry each composer has set to music, working to interpret every text at the deepest possible level. The result: stunning performances, rich with meaning and conviction.

All of us in the Juventas family have been eagerly anticipating this concert and we are so excited to finally share it with you!

Sincerely,

Oliver Caplan, Artistic Director Juventas New Music Ensemble

JUVENTAS NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE Juventas’s 2022-23 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 300 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.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Carey President

Meghan Guidry Clerk

Carson Cooman 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 2022-23 Season.

John Carey has generously sponsored Saskia Den Boon’s and Joseph Sedarski’s positions for the 2022-23 Season.

FUTURA PRODUCTIONS

LIVESTREAM PRODUCERS

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 weeklong showcase of Boston’s contemporary music scene.

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

THOMAS BARTH Juventas’ new cellist

IN THE COMPOSER’S OWN WORDS Rosśa Crean | Depression Diary (2022) My mental health journey is like so many others. I will not put much of it here in print, but I am happy to talk about it with people in person. Let’s just say, sometimes you can be a good person who has the unfortunate luck of being surrounded by pretty abusive people. Trauma, PTSD, and acute anxiety took over my life, and I decided to get some hardcore intensive therapy and processing during the first third of 2022.

One of the things I learned during this period was: I am tired of people feeling ashamed that they need help with their mental health. I was originally one of those people, and it sparked a lot of anger and rage (yes, they are different) to the point where I decided to go public with my journey. We do not need to feel guilt or shame over things that were done TO us. We learn that the accountability of the abuse is not ours to own whatsoever, and can release the self-blame that never served us except to create more and more lies to tell us.

I noticed that so many folx in the singer community had been expressing their feelings and struggles during the pandemic, and I wanted to write something for them and myself. So, I just wrote my thoughts as poems on paper and set it to music. It is a simple explanation, yes, but a lot of us (more than we know) need to express those truths, too, and we know that doing that authentically and unfiltered is anything but simple.

However difficult it may be for you, I am here to support you, as are many others. Help is always closer than you think.

Nyokabi Kariũki | Questions on the Origin of Creativity (2019) Questions on the Origins of Creativity was originally written for a masterclass taking place at the inaugural N.E.O. Voice Festival in Los Angeles, California, of which the week’s theme was quite literally the Origins of Creativity, and we were encouraged to explore this theme in our compositions. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to do so in my piece, particularly because I felt that, with regards to the question of where our creativity comes from, the piece should perhaps explore only one possible answer. However, there were multiple answers swimming around in my mind - does our creativity come from nature? fear? Human relationships? the gods? I couldn’t decide.

The one answer I nearly felt content with was ‘the human body’, which was how the idea of using body percussion in this final version was born; but even still, other possibilities continued to come to mind. So, back to the drawing board I went: what if, instead of trying to find an answer, I let the piece marinate in my restlessness, and simply ask all the questions? It felt completely liberating. Quickly thereafter, I wrote this poem that became the text or the piece.

Rosephanye Powell | Then, Here and Now (2021) Then, Here and Now is a cycle of four art songs based on African American spirituals. Each song reflects my visceral and emotional reactions to dramatic events which transpired during 2020. As I observed the worldwide responses to the outbreak of Covid-19, the death of

George Floyd, and protests around the world, I became benumbed, emotionally exhausted.

Tears were my daily companion, expressing what could not be uttered. In time, words came-not my own–the words of the spiritual. Intuitively they came, the way my grandmother sang and hummed them as she struggled to breathe during asthmatic episodes, as a response to the death of a loved one, or just sat, Bible in hand. I hummed, sang, and wept, laden with waves of sorrow, the cycle repeating itself, seemingly without end. The words and melodies of the spiritual gave voice to my sorrow–just as they did for my grandmother and my ancestors during slavery. Thus, the title, Then, Here and Now, which refers to the spirituals’ enduring messages of hope, strength, healing, freedom, and justice.

Anthony Green | ... all that is good ... (2019) Powerful Black women have paved so many paths for the numerous Black and non-Black people that exist today. In the United States, those women who somehow forged deeply cherished personalities and careers after enduring the barbaric institution of slavery hold a special place in my heart. I cannot imagine the sheer fortitude it took not only to survive enslavement, but to thrive afterwards and live a life of giving. In ...all that is good..., I utilize private and public texts from Phillis Wheatley, Harriet Jacobs (at the time writing as Linda Brent to avoid pursuit by her previous “master”), and Sojourner Truth. These texts speak of liberty, dignity, and the fundamental nature of “wrong” and “good.” There is such wisdom in each of these excerpts – a wisdom I attempted and failed to match musically because the task is impossible. However, it is my sincere hope that the music will help convey this wisdom to a wider audience by using the powerful medium of music, harmony & melody, and the sung human voice.

Omar Najmi | More Than Our Own Caves (2022) Andrew Wilkins has generous sponsored the world premiere performance of Omar Najmi’s More Than Our Own Caves.

As a composer, collaborating with a poet is a uniquely exhilarating process. Most often when I write a song I am working with a text that already exists, a text that I have selected.

In the collaborative process, we breathe new life into work together. Words are written with intentional space for music, music is written in direct response to newborn text. I knew from the first conversations that this piece was going to be about mental health and healing. When I first read Marlanda’s poetry though, several other themes came to light: generations and our deep connections to our ancestors, a sense of paralysis in the face of a world in peril - but the thing that stuck out the most to me was the phrase “I want”. We hear it in the first stanza: “I want you. I want you. I want you to live surrounded by roots belonging to somebody’s mother.” And again in the final stanza: “I want to return to our great-grandmothers’ gardens.”

That simple phrase became the core musical thrust to the piece. Even in moments of sorrow and pain, there is a sense of reaching towards the light, and that desire - that desire to heal from the past and right what was wronged - drives the forward motion of the music. The sense of wanting and reaching is encapsulated in one musical motif that permeates the piece from the first moments of turbulence to the final exclamations of joy.

Timothy Takach | Mantra (2018) “Mantra” begins with a catalog of things we all know we should do to find a balanced, happy lifestyle. But over time we discover that whether we do or do not do these things is irrelevant, it is simply the act of loving and forgiving ourselves that matters most. And be prepared: you will be asked to sing along in this piece!

KELLEY HOLLIS soprano

TEXTS Depression Diary (2022) I. The Colors I don’t want your flowers.

They’re bursting with bright colors all around, And I’ve none to show.

The winters muted them long ago.

The starkness of a white expanse; “Our Father” finally got His quiet rest, Without a voice to sound in idle protest.

But soon the snowfall’s bound to take its bow, (Each flake a voice of its very own), And shakes the stillness of “Our Father’s” Quietude that’s gone unchallenged.

Its heavy-handed quelling chased away A dream that I’m still hunting.

Someday the snow will build and grow, And with its luminescent glow I’ll have a voice all of my own With shades of blue and green and gold.

I’ll make colors of my own.

On second thought, I think I’ll take the flowers after all.

II. Cocoon My cocoon is soft and lovely, Though at times, it does feel lonely, But I’m too afraid to be outside.

They’ll see how different that I am And notice that I don’t fit in, Or all the many chances that I tried.

The world can be a scary place.

I see it on each weathered face, Not that any of them would take time to look at me When there are more important things Than why I’m always worrying.

I wouldn’t have an answer, Even if they took the time to question me.

Questions, always questions.

Never questions asking just what help I need, Only questions.

Always questions Asking why I’m sad, or mad,

Or what the hell is wrong with me.

No answers. No answers.

My cocoon is soft and lovely, Though at times, it does feel lonely, But I’m too afraid to be outside.

III. Numbness My head is pasted on.

All hope of clarity resting on papier-mâché, And it’s bound to crack.

Sometimes I don’t feel my body, My torso a storage of blood and bone, Locked away.

It’s center, a hollow space Packed with cotton filling Til my heart falls back in place.

Until then, place my head on a pillow gently, Until the Norepinephrine sets in.

Rosśa Crean

Questions on the Origin of Creativity (2019) When the river’s run dry, And the colour’s gone from the sky Where then, will your song come from?

When your fingers lose their touch, And the clasp has lost its clutch, Where, then, will your words come from?

Search within; pray, Athena; Or find it was all in vain.

When your lover stops to sleep, Or your tongues refuse to speak, Where then, will your rhyme come from?

Or, say your body folds itself, And stores its blood upon a shelf, Where will it all come from?

So when the river’s run its course, And time stops to show remorse, Where will it all come from?

Nyokabi Kariũki

STEVEN A. BRANSON, ESQ Attorney helping people keep more for themselves for three decades.

LEARN MORE: stevenbranson.com BLOG: sab-esq.com

Then, Here and Now (2021) I. Healing There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.

There is a balm in Gilead to heal the troubled Soul II. Oppression Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land.

Tell old Pharaoh, to let my people go.

When Israel was in Egypt’s land, oppressed so hard they could not stand, God said to Moses, “Tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Yes, let my people go.”

III. Dying I want to die easy.

I want to die easy when I die.

Shout salvation as I fly.

Tell my mother not to cry.

I want to die easy.

I want to die easy when I die I want to die easy, easy.

IV. Protest Joshua fought the battle of Jericho!

The walls came tumbling down.

Joshua! He fought the battle.

Joshua! Up to the walls, he marched with spear in hand.

“Go blow the ram’s horn,” Joshua cried, “for the battle is in my hand!”

Joshua! He fought the battle.

... all that is good ... (2019) I. Phillis Wheatley, 11 March 1774, Letter to Reverend Samson Occum .... for in every human Breast, [there is] implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance; and ... I will assert, that the same Principle lives in us.

How well the Cry for Liberty, and the reverse Disposition for the exercise of oppressive Power over others agree, – I humbly think it does not require the Penetration of a Philosopher to determine.

II. Harriet Jacobs, 5 September 1862, “Life among the contrabands”, letter/report for William Lloyd Garrison published in The Liberator [p. 3], writing as Linda Brent Do not say the [former] slaves take no interest in each other. Like other people, some of them are designedly selfish, some are ignorantly selfish. With the light and instruction you give them, you will see this selfishness disappear. Trust them, make them free, and give them the responsibility of caring for themselves, and they will soon learn to help each other. Some of them have been so degraded by slavery that they do not know the usages of civilized life: they know little else than the handle of the hoe, the plough, the cotton pad, and the overseer’s lash. Have patience with them. You have helped to make them what they are; teach them civilization. You owe it to them, and you will find themas apt to learn as any other people that come to you stupid from oppression.

III. Sojourner Truth, New Year’s Day “Letter” (greeting) published in the newspaper The Chicago Inter Ocean, 26 December 1880 We talk of a beginning, but there is no beginning but the beginning of a wrong. All that has a beginning will have an ending[, ... ] and all that is good is without end.

More than Our Own Caves (2022) We’ve shared freckles with centuries-old wounds, our souls shrouded in the darkest blue, sitting in front of a mirror saying until chanting: I want you.

I want you. I want you to live surrounded by roots belonging to somebody’s mother, roots that belong to you. Generational wounds cascade over wombs like clouds lightly misting over. We’re not crazy.

We were in crisis before the virus, microcosms of fear disguised by hope. Where are we headed?, the Earth asks since we think we know the way. I can’t look away from the fires this time. I’m back now and can’t look away.

In the dream, my grandmother carved my name into a tree, muscadine vines surrounded me, and I welcomed myself into a meandering mirror. We know our world is groaning.

Who took out its chords? Who is singing our song now?

I think it’s you. I hope it’s you. Oh, how I pray for your father stuck seeing only his own face, how we’ve been destroying each other, meeting in hospital doorways. I’m trying to be perfect so I don’t die, too, or if I die should I do it perfectly?

I need to know it’s okay to see a god in my neighbor’s face.

Give me my friends to help me. I won’t judge as they appear.

I need to know it’s okay to need more than my own cave.

Lift me out of boxes. Free me from collective fears.

I want to return to our great-grandmothers’ gardens, and count the many shades of greens. Your couch is not my home. Reach out to me. I’m waiting in the midst of wildfires and floods. Reach across and feel me.

We’re more than our own caves. The DSM is a guess.

It does not know our names. The couches and hospitals are not our true home. We are each other’s true homes.

Written by Marlanda Dekine, Poet, for Kelley Hollis, Soprano

Mantra (2018) Vitamin D. Sunlight. Go outside. Get a good night of sleep. Not too good.

Not shades drawn forever good. Not like you used to.

Open the windows.

Buy more houseplants.

Breathe. Meditate. (One day, you will no longer be afraid of being alone with your thoughts.)

Exercise. Actually exercise instead of just Googling it.

Eat well. Cook for yourself.

Organize your closet, the garage. Drink plenty of water and repeat after me: I am not a problem to be solved. Repeat after me: I am worthy I am worthy I am neither mistake nor the punishment. Forget to take vitamins. Let the houseplant die.

Eat spoonfuls of peanut butter.

Shave your head. Forget this poem. It doesn’t matter.

There is no wrong way to remember the grace of your own body; no choice that can unmake itself.

There is only now, here, look: you are already forgiven.

From Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder (Andrews McKeel Publishing, 2016).

Copyright © 2016 by Sierra DeMulder. Reprinted and used with permission from Sierra DeMulder.

COMPOSERS ROSSÁ 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

ROSEPHAYNE POWELL b.1962 Rosephanye Powell has been hailed as one of America’s premier women composers of solo vocal and choral music. She has an impressive catalog of works published by some of the nation’s leading publishers, including the Hal Leonard Corporation, the Fred Bock Music Companies, Gentry Publications, Oxford University Press, Alliance Music Publications, and Shawnee Press. Dr. Powell’s works have been conducted and premiered by nationally and internationally renowned conductors and have been premiered at distinguished halls around the country, including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and Spivey Hall, to name a few. Dr. Powell’s works have been commissioned by professional choral ensembles, including Cantus and the Grammy award-winning men’s vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

Dr. Powell is commissioned yearly to compose for university choruses, professional, community and church choirs, as well as secondary school choruses. Her work has been auctioned by Chorus America and her compositions are in great demand at choral festivals around the country, frequently appearing on the regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, as well as Honor Choir festivals.

Dr. Powell’s compositions include sacred and secular works for mixed chorus, women’s chorus, men’s chorus, and children’s voices.

Dr. Powell serves as Professor of Voice at Auburn University. She holds degrees from The Florida State University (D.M. in vocal performance, University Fellow), Westminster Choir College (M.M. in vocal performance and pedagogy, with distinction), and Alabama State University (B.M.E., summa cum laude). Dr. Powell served on the faculties of Philander Smith College (AR) and Georgia Southern University prior to her arrival at Auburn University in 2001.

Dr. Powell has received numerous awards including the “Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award,” presented by Harvard University Office for the Arts in 2022. Additionally, she was honored with the “Living Legend Award” presented by California State University African Diaspora Sacred Music Festival in Los Angeles; and was a recent recipient of the Marquis Who’s Who “Lifetime Achievement Award.” She was listed in the first edition of the international publication Who Is Who in Choral Music. And, she has been included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Outstanding Young Women in America.

Dr. Powell is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). www.rosephanyepowell.com

OMAR NAJMI b.1987 Boston-based artist Omar Najmi splits his time between composition and performance, maintaining a busy schedule as an operatic tenor. Praised as “a world class voice in every respect,” Najmi recently made his international debut creating the title role in Joseph Summer’s operatic adaptation of Hamlet with Bulgaria’s State Opera Rousse. Other recent and upcoming engagements include Rodolfo in La Boheme with Opera Steamboat, Shakur in Thumbprint with Portland Opera, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet with Boston Lyric Opera, Lord Byron in the world-premiere of The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage with Guerilla Opera, and Spearmint Lodge in the world-premiere of The Artwork of the Future with Fresh-Squeezed Opera. His other operatic engagements have included Opera Colorado, Chautauqua Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Saratoga, Opera Maine, Opera Fayetteville, Opera NEO, Opera North, Odyssey Opera, American Lyric Theater, and more.

Najmi began his composition career with the production of his first opera, En la ardiente oscuridad, in 2019. After a run of sold-out performances, he was invited to serve as the first ever Emerging Composer in residence with Boston Lyric Opera, where he worked with Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla in the creation of the song cycle my name is Alondra. The piece received its live premiere on BLO’s Street Stage in 2021. In 2022, his motet The Last Invocation was premiered by Emmanuel Music. He is currently working on Jo dooba so paar - a short opera exploring the intersection of queer and Muslim identity - which will be premiered as part of White Snake Projects’ Let’s Celebrate initiative. In 2022, Najmi and his husband Brendon Shapiro co-founded Catalyst New Music - an organization dedicated to fostering, developing, and producing new works. Catalyst’s first project - presented with the support of The Boston Foundation’s Live Arts Boston grant - was a concert performance of Najmi’s new opera This Is Not That Dawn, a drama set during and after the Partition of India. www.omarnajmi.com

NYOKABI KARIŨKI b.1998 Nyokabi Kariũki (b. 1998, she/her) is a Kenyan composer, sound artist and performer based between Nairobi and the United States. Illuminated by musical sensibilities and philosophies from her African upbringing, in addition to training in Western classical contexts, Nyokabi shares a unique and affecting artistic voice with works spanning across and defying various genres — from classical contemporary and experimental-electronic music, to sound art, pop, film, and (East) African musical traditions. She performs with piano, voice, electronics, and on kalimbas and djembe.

Released in February 2022, Nyokabi’s debut EP, ‘peace places: kenyan memories’ (SA Recordings) was described as “deft” (The Quietus) and “transcendent” (The Guardian), with Bandcamp highlighting seeing her as “becoming a crucial voice in contemporary composition and experimental music.” It was marked as one of Bandcamp’s Best Albums of Winter 2022 and The Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the Month. In September 2022, Nyokabi debuted a reimagining of the EP at the 2022 Gaudeamus Festival, performing alongside the acclaimed Cello Octet Amsterdam, percussionist and electronic musician Matt Evans, and guest vocalist, Alev Lenz. She is currently working towards the release of her second record.

Her other concert works have been performed by notable ensembles such as Third Coast Percussion and Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and she has received commissions from BBC Radio 3, Arcis Saxophon Quartett, and more. Her sound art works have been experienced in audio art festivals around the world, including at the Hearsay International Audio Festival, where she received the 2021 Hearsay ‘Art’ Award. While Nyokabi continues to shape-shift and explore sound and its impact in different ways, she seeks to create meaningful and challenging art, illuminated by a commitment to the preservation and reflection on African thought, language and stories. www.nkariuki.com

ANTHONY GREEN b.1984 The creative output of Anthony R. Green (b. 1984; composer, performer, social justice artist) includes musical and visual creations, interpretations of original works or works in the repertoire, collaborations, educational outreach, and more. Behind all of his artistic endeavors are the ideals of equality and freedom, which manifest themselves in diverse ways in a composition, a performance, a collaboration, or social justice work. Green’s compositions have been presented in over 25 countries across six continents by internationally acclaimed soloists and ensembles. He has received commissions from pianists Jason Hardink and Stephen Drury, the McCormick Percussion Group, the Fromm Foundation, Celebrity Series Boston, Chamber Music Tulsa, Access Contemporary Music, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, NOISE-BRIDGE, and other soloists, ensembles, festivals, and organizations. As a performer, Green has presented projects in 11 countries across 4 continents. He is also co-founder of Castle of our Skins: celebrating Black artistry through music. www.anthonyrgreen.com

TIMOTHY TAKACH b.1978 Inspired by captivating narrative, speculative fiction and making better humans through art, the music of Timothy C. Takach has risen fast in the concert world.

Applauded for his melodic lines and rich, intriguing harmonies, Takach has received commissions and premieres from GRAMMY Award-winning ensembles Roomful of Teeth and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the St. Olaf Band, Cantus, U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus, Lorelei Ensemble, VocalEssence, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, The Rose Ensemble, and numerous other organizations. His compositions have been performed on A Prairie Home Companion, The Boston Pops holiday tour, nationwide on PBS, many All-State and festival programs and at venues such as the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center and Royal Opera House Muscat.

He is a co-creator of the theatrical production of All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914

by Peter Rothstein. The critically adored show has had over 120 performances since its premiere in 2006. He was also selected for the 2014 Nautilus Music-Theater Composer-Librettist Studio. In 2018 his oratorio We, the Unknown premiered at the Folly Theatre in Kansas City featuring the Heartland Men’s Chorus, and in 2019 “Su Rahva Koda (The House of Your Kindred)” was premiered by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. 2019

also saw the premiere of Helios, Takach’s new 65’ work for a cappella choir inspired by the solar system. In 2015 Takach placed third for The American Prize for Composition for Wind Ensemble for his piece “Frost Giant.” He was Composer-in-Residence for the Texas Boys Choir from 2019-2021, for The Singers–Minnesota Choral Artists from 2018-2023 and for True Concord Voices and Orchestra starting in 2022. Takach won the 2022 Domenic Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize with librettist Caitlin Vincent for their upcoming opera Computing Venus about astronomer Maria Mitchell.

Takach has frequent work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, conductor, clinician and lecturer for conventions, schools and organizations across the country. timothyctakach.com

ANGELINA SAVOIA harp

MUSICIANS KELLEY HOLLIS soprano Karen and Fred Ruymann have generously sponsored Kelley Hollis for the 2022-23 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.

JULIA SCOTT CAREY piano Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan have generously sponsored Julia Scott Carey for the 2022-23 concert season.

Julia Scott Carey began her music training at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she received the Lanier Prize for Most Outstanding Graduating Senior. She was one of the first students admitted to the Harvard-New England Conservatory joint degree program, through which she received a master’s degree in composition. She received a second master’s degree in collaborative piano from Boston University.

Julia is the Minister of Music at the Central Square Congregational Church in Bridgewater, where she leads the adult and children’s choirs from the keyboard. She is one of the accompanists for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir. She also serves as the accompanist for the Metropolitan Chorale of Brookline, the Dedham Choral Society, the Boston College University Chorale, and the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus. She previously served as the pianist for the Handel and Haydn Society’s Educational Vocal Quartet, the Wellesley College Chamber Singers, and the Boston Children’s Chorus. She is also a founder and core ensemble member of Juventas New Music Ensemble.

As a composer, her orchestral works have been performed by numerous orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and her works have been broadcast on national TV and radio in the United States and in Russia. She was the youngest composer ever published by the Theodore Presser Company. She was also chosen to arrange a folk song for Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Chang to play at Deval Patrick’s inaugural ball.

She has served as a music director or accompanist for over forty opera and musical theater productions. Productions for which Julia was the music director include Cy Coleman’s City of Angels with the Longwood Players and Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg with OperaHub. Reviewing a performance Julia conducted of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with the Hubbard Hall Opera Company, the Berkshire Hudson Arts Review said “the players and singers were not just led, but were energized. Schicchi is a tough score, and Julia stood the test.”

Also passionate about early music, Julia music directed a staged performance of four of Louis-Nicolas Clérambault’s Cantatas with the Harvard Early Music Society, which was taken on tour to Versailles. She also music directed a performance of John Eccles’ Semele with the same organization. Speaking of her performance as a harpsichordist in the Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, The Boston Musical Intelligencer said, “The unwavering harpsichord accompaniment of Julia Carey richly and expressively textured the recitatives.”

Julia currently works as a musicianship teacher and department coordinator at the Suzuki School in Newton. She also taught an undergraduate music theory class at Boston College, served as a keyboard harmony teaching fellow at NEC, and worked as a musical theatre teacher at the Belvoir Terrace Arts Camp and the Boston Children’s Theatre.

Julia lives in Winchester with her husband and her daughter. In addition to music, she loves cooking, running, and spending time on Cape Cod.

THANK YOU

to Wegmans for generously sponsoring this evening’s Meet the Artists Reception!

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.

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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.

YOUR GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE SEE IT IN OUR FIRST EVER ANNUAL REPORT

BENEFACTORS Juventas New Music Ensemble is deeply grateful to benefactors whose generous gifts support our artistic programs. Juventas received the following individual gifts from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. Please visit juventasmusic.org/donate-now to learn about making a tax-deductible gift. $5,000 and Above Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture John A. Carey Jon Saxton and Barbara Fox Massachusetts Cultural Council New Music USA U.S. Small Business Administration $1,000–$4,999 Bill and Paula Luria Caplan Oliver Caplan and Chris Beagan Carson Cooman Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Richard Kaye Medford Arts Council The Ripley-Steinemann Family Fund Nora Roberts Foundation Karen and Fred Ruymann Andrew Wilkins $300–$999 Jonathan Aibel and Julie Rohwein Charles Anderson Boylston Cultural Council Casey Elia Michael Emanuel and Christie Gibson Janet Giovanniello Meghan Guidry Mary Humphrey MaryBeth Manca May Marquebreuck Katherine & Bryce Remesch Rachel M. Rivkind Geoffrey Smith Theodor Weinberg and Eric Hyett $200–$299 Minda Berbeco Alexandra Bowers and James Liu Eric Darling Lauren Downing and Roseanne Luvisi Jerry and Joanne Dreher Yukiko Egozy Ann Ferentz Margaret Fuchs Moriah Freeman Myra and Roy Gordon Patricia Henry Kenneth Krause and Maura McEnaney Ian Lai Stella Lee Joshua Levit Kathryn Ritcheske Chuck Sheketoff and Naseem Rakha

Ben Sweetser Emma Wine $100–$199 Lawrence Banks Laura Basford Lee Binnig Andrew Caplan and Elise Viebeck Heidi Carell Laurence Cohen and Susan Worst Jaclyn Dentino Alfreid Doig Susan Dolan Anne Drogula Maggie Edinger Lynn Eustis Andy Foery Michael Gandolfi Maureen Hollis Beth Jacob Laurie Jacobs and Steven Levine Jim Kane and Sharon Williams Mari and Denys Kotskyy Matthew Kusulas Douglass Lee Steven Lewis Ann MacDonald Honor McClellan Reeva Meyer Christine Mortensen Susan Hall Mygatt Alice and Joe Noble Robert Page Richard Pasquarelli Andrew Reiss Jill Rapperport and Ian Reiss Randy Reiss John Resig Lindsey Rogers Harshita Sahu Lori K. Sanders Gordon and Shannon Shannon Benjamin Smith & Sarah Boehm Cathy and Jerry Smith Trisha Solio Tina Strunk Sharon Daniels Sullivan Ann Teixeira Megan Tompkins Andy Vores Murray Woolf Laura Yoo $50–$99 Simon Andrews Oscar Arce Susan Axe-Bronk Kenneth Bigley

Anne Bilder Saskia Den Boon Margaret Cain Julia Scott Carey and Richard Mitrano Lucy Chapman Szu-Chiao Chen Rachel Ciprotti Theodora Colburn Carrie Conaway Deanne McCredie Coolidge Sheri Dean Mary Chris DeBelina Doyle BJ Dunn Isadel Eddy Andrew Elliott and John Varone Jay Emperor Roy Epstein Shaun Eyring Anthony Ferello Steven Finley Geoffrey Frank Irene Hermann Jacob Hilley Anne Howarth Wolcott Humphrey Joseph Hutcheson Catherine Hyson Elizabeth Igleheart Emlyn Johnson Jerry Johnson James and Amie Jones Leonard and Terry Kahn Rebecca Krouner Jane Parkin Kullmann Ludmilla Leibman Harold Lichtin Xiomara Lorenzo and Cara Herbitter Linda Markarian Libby Meyer Donna Migdal Herbert Motley Divya Narayan William Neely Jason Newman Angela Ng Linda Ng Loretta Notareschi Ayumi Okada Sarah Peck Dan Perkins Karen Poggi Cashman Kerr Prince and Bryan Burns Stephen Quan Kathleen Quigley Beverly Rivkind Alexis Ruegger

Richard Samuels Thomas Schmidt Daron Sharps Ken Silber Kyle Simpson Deborah Smith Arlene Stevens Josh Thomas Kelsey Thompson Barbara Turen J.M. Vrtilek Elaine Walsh Dalit Warshaw Beverly Woodward and Paul Monsky Up to $49 Samuel Adams Jaime Alberts Katherine Alden Aaron Alon Tatev Amiryan Jason Atsales Kingdon Barrett Thomas Barth Gail Barry Robert Bawn Sebastian Baverstam Robert Bawn Erica Beade Lisa Beade Robert Beagan Lauren Bilello Deborah Bohn Gatean Bouchard Rosemary Bramante Julianna Braun Bruce Brolsma Elizabeth Bukey Trudy Chan Grace Chua Minjin Chung Jane Ciesielski Linda Ciesielski Jennifer Clapp Charles Coe Nell Shaw Cohen Burton Cohen Jean Collins Elizabeth Dean Ashley Dennis Abigail Dusseldorp Reggie Edmonds Sandra Eldred Rebecca Entel Corinne Espinoza Evan Fein

Ellen Feingold David Feltner Celine Ferro Mitch FitzDaniel Ellen Fries Anna Galavis Joshua Glassman Tina Goel Kendra Goodwin Nancy Goodwin Tamara Grant Alkis Hadjiosif Julianna Hall Andy Hanson-Dvoracek Amanda Harberg Hikari Hathaway Beth Hayes Rose Hegele Susanna Hoglund Kelley Hollis Scott Humes Marie Hutchings Joseph Jackson Jennifer Jean Jason Jeong Todd Johnson Dan Jost Masashi Kato Caroline Keinath Jennifer Kern-Kaminsky Caroline Kerr Rakesh Khetarpal Brian Kiernan Gareth King Phil Kohlmetz Bruce Kozuma Abigail Krawson Sasha Kuftinec Gulce Kureli Ursula Kwong-Brown Rozime Lindsey George Lockhart Zev Lowe Jiayin Lu Rachel Luria Lizzy MacDonald Carol McAdam Maggie McKee Taylor McNulty Samantha Meeker Juston Mog Jennifer Montbach Erin Nelson Yayoi Narita Carolyn Oberting Erik Oschsner Elliot Olshansky

Karen Parrott Olga Patramanskaya Jason Pavel & Marie Walcott Andrew Pease Nadya Peresleni Charisse Pickron Gretchen Pineo Christopher Porter Raymond Raad Laura Ramsey Helen Ray Phoebe Reeves Jordan Reiss Christopher Reiss Jeffrey Reiss Elie Reiss Ginny Remedi-Brown Cole Reyes Irene Riney Roberta Ritcheske Joan Rothman Jason Rubin Christina Rusnak Seulgee Ryals Aleida Sanabria-Gil Adam Sapp Maya Schiek Margot and Andrew Schmolka Kristen Schroeder Joseph Sedarski Josh Sedarski Dennis Shafer Ryan Shannon Jospehine Stein Imogene Stulken Ryan Suleiman Lisa Vaas Brent Whelan Christopher Wicks Erin Williams William Williams We are also extremely thankful to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and talents to Juventas in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 concert seasons: Sherene Aram Meg Hastings Spencer Klein Mona McKindley Sheila Murphy Evan Perry Elaine Walsh Ella Weber

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