MISSOURI CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL MO CM Program of events June 13-17, 2013 mochambermusic.org
MISSOURI CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Suite Spring: Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 5 pm First Congregational Church of Webster Groves Serenade: Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 7 pm First Congregational Church of Webster Groves The Soldier’s Tale: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 8 pm Pre-concert talk with composer-in-residence at 7:30 pm CMS Concert Hall at Webster University mochambermusic.org 314.882.0053 | facebook & twitter
Welcome to Season 3! Welcome to the exciting Third Season of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival! We are delighted to celebrate with you our love of chamber music and hope that these MOCM concerts will continue to inspire you long after the final notes ring. We have many new and wonderful musical artists to share their talents with us this season as we welcome back some familiar faces from past seasons. We know that you will enjoy our musicians’ versatility, including David Robertson, appearing without baton, as narrator and James Sommerville, masterful as both conductor and horn player. We hope that you will welcome all of these incredible musicians as new and ongoing musical friends. For our artists, this time to collaborate is rewarding and we invite you to be energized by their musical voices. MOCM is a celebration of the art of chamber music, from pen to performance, and this collaborative experience is unique to Webster Groves. Thank you all for being a part of it.
Please sit back and enjoy the music this evening. We look forward to meeting and speaking with you at the reception following the concert. We hope that you will have the opportunity to enjoy many of our Festival events—a future concert, a Pre-Concert Talk or Open Rehearsal with Composer-in-Residence Amy Beth Kirsten— and be left eagerly anticipating the fourth season of MOCM as much as we will.
Nina Ferrigno & Scott Andrews Directors, Missouri Chamber Music Festival
Photography: Brandon Krepel
This season is especially exciting for us as it marks the Festival’s first commission and world premiere. The idea of creating new music, premiering, and championing it here in Missouri is a long term dream realized this season at MOCM. Composer Amy Beth Kirsten is a thrilling composer on the rise and a Midwest native who is the perfect voice for our first “First.” Her vision of a ghost dancer works as an ideal backdrop to our season’s thread of dance, from the theoretical to the actual.
MOCM 2013 Festival Artists Scott Andrews, clarinet Thomas Drake, cornet Shannon Farrell Williams, viola Nina Ferrigno, piano Vanessa Fralick, trombone Catherine French, violin Erik Harris, double bass Hugh Hinton, piano William James, percussion Amy Beth Kirsten, composer-in-residence Jooyeon Kong, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Shawn Mouser, bassoon David Robertson, narrator Maria Schleuning, violin James Sommerville, french horn/conductor Calyx Piano Trio Dancers of the Missouri Ballet Theatre Adam Sage, Director and Choreographer Board of Directors Nina Ferrigno, President, Artistic Director Lora Reardon, Vice President Scott Andrews, Secretary, Artistic Director Melissa Brooks Winston Calvert Jennifer Lin Linda Peterson
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Advisory Council Jennifer Lucht, Director, Carolina Chamber Music Festival Anna Reinersman, Director, Carolina Chamber Music Festival David Robertson, Music Director, St. Louis Symphony Gil Rose, Music Director, Boston Modern Orchestra Project Marc Thayer, Director of Education, American Voices Festival Manager Kalen Mayo Intern Hayley Myers 2013 Volunteers Chip Darr Alan Fiddleman Dana Hotle Ryan Mayo Correne Murphy Emily Reardon Angie Smart Tina Ward George Yeh
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MO CM Missouri Chamber Music Festival Suite Spring Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 5 pm First Congregational Church of Webster Groves Nina Ferrigno, piano Hugh Hinton, piano Catherine French, violin Maria Schleuning, violin Trio Sonata in F major ‘The Golden Sonata’ 1. Allegro 2. Adagio 3. Canzona: Allegro 4. Grave; Allegro
Purcell
Suite Italienne for violin and piano 1. Introduzione 2. Serenata 3. Tarantella 4. Gavotta con due variazioni 5. Minuetto 6. Finale
Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring - version for two pianos 1. Adoration of the Earth 2. The Sacrifice
Stravinsky
Please join us for a reception after the performance.
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One of the most important influences on the composition of music in the late 1600s was the rise of the public concert. These concerts brought music out of the churches and salons to the masses and ensured the rise of popular forms of music such as the trio sonata. Public concerts were very much in vogue when Henry Purcell (1659–1695) was a young man, and it was at these that he heard the works of contemporary composers and was exposed to contemporary forms. He knew the works of such composers as Vitali, Carissimi, and Monteverdi, and it was after this instrumental style that he patterned his own trio sonatas. Purcell’s trio sonatas were published posthumously in a set of four books. The “Golden Sonata” in F major is very much in the style of the famed Italian masters in many respects. Many of the melodies are Italianate and expansive, and the string writing is full and lush.Much of the harmony is typically English, as is its contrapuntal writing and its attachment to modality. But the flavor of 17th century Italy comes through quite strongly as well. In Purcell’s time the trio sonatas would have been played with harpsichord and another continuo instrument (cello or viola da gamba) creating a duo, with the two violins treated somewhat as equal voices. The lushness and color of the piano creates a modern texture for the violins to play off in our concert tonight. The first movement features constant interplay between the treble and bass voices. It is followed by an expressively sighing Adagio, full of chromaticism. The F major Allegro that follows is fugal and its theme is reminiscent of a trumpet fanfare. The Grave again is in minor, very slow, and very somber. The final Allegro brings us back to the dance. It is in triple time and filled with running sixteenth note passages and rhythmic interplay. Ever the pragmatist, Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) had become interested, in the years after World War I, in ballets for smaller ensembles, for he realized that they could save expense and
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make possible productions in places that lacked a large symphony orchestra. L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), which will be performed at the Festival on June 17, was his first step in the direction of small, portable, and inexpensive productions. Pulcinella was next. Scored for a chamber orchestra, Stravinsky based his 1920 ballet on themes from Giovanni Pergolesi’s operas and instrumental music (though subsequent research has shown that not all these themes were written by Pergolesi). This score opened what has become known as his neo-classic period. Stravinsky made several arrangements for instrumental duos of excerpts from Pulcinella. First was a Suite for Violin and Piano based on themes from the ballet, made in 1925. Next came an arrangement of different excerpts for cello and piano, made in 1932 by the composer and Gregor Piatigorsky; this version was the first to be called Suite Italienne. The Suite Italienne we hear tonight was arranged by Stravinsky and violinist Samuel Dushkin the following year. Igor Stravinsky arranged many of his own works for different ensembles: He reworked “Ronde des princesses” and “Berceuse” from The Firebird for violin and piano, and as we’ve just heard, Pulcinella for violin (or cello) and piano. He also wrote piano arrangements of all of his ballets, from The Firebird to Agon, for the ballet master to use in planning the choreography and, subsequently, in rehearsing dancers. Stravinsky played these works-in-progress for trusted colleagues during the preparation of the orchestral score, more to publicize the work than to solicit feedback. Stravinsky played a less-than-complete piano version of The Rite of Spring as early as the spring of 1912 for the English critic Edwin Evans, as well as for Diaghilev and Ravel on separate occasions in the early part of 1913. Stravinsky played the version for two pianos with Claude Debussy for the noted French music critic Louis Laloy. But the arrangement was never intended to be a concert
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piece. There is no documentation of any public performances of the piano-duo version of The Rite until 1967. It was then that a young Michael Tilson Thomas and Ralph Grierson performed it at a concert in Los Angeles. That same duo made the first recording of the work in 1969. In the context of the duo-piano literature—much of which consists of arrangements of symphonic works—it is easy to think of this reduction of The Rite as a stripped-down version of the original orchestral work. But in fact, this is the original. It came to life all on its own and fertilized the ground for the realization of the fully orchestrated ballet. It is not a paint-bynumbers copy of the oil masterpiece; it’s the blueprint, the foundation on which the architecture was built. The orchestral scoring leaps from the pages of this piano-duo version. In fact, the piano’s homogeneity of color gives listeners an easier point of entry to the work’s complicated harmonies and polyrhythms, offering a glimpse into the mind of the composer as he crafted one of the most important works of the 20th century.
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MO CM
Missouri Chamber Music Festival Serenade Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 7 pm First Congregational Church of Webster Groves Scott Andrews, clarinet Shawn Mouser, bassoon James Sommerville, french horn Nina Ferrigno, piano Hugh Hinton, piano Maria Schleuning, violin Jooyeon Kong, violin Shannon Farrell Williams, viola Jennifer Lucht, cello Erik Harris, double bass Fantasia in F minor, D. 940 for piano, 4 hands 1. Allegro molto moderato 2. Largo 3. Allegro vivace 4. Tempo primo
Schubert
Serenata in vano Nielsen brief intermission Octet in F major, D. 803 1. Adagio; Allegro 2. Adagio 3. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 4. Andante, con variazioni 5. Menuetto: Allegretto; Trio 6. Andante molto; Allegro
Schubert
Please join us for a reception after the performance. 10
The Fantasia in F minor, D. 940 by Franz Schubert (1797–1828) for piano four-hands, is one of Schubert’s most important and influential piano works, for any number of hands. Schubert composed it in 1828, the last year of his life, and dedicated it to his pupil, Karoline Esterházy, with whom he was in unrequited love. Musicologist Christopher Gibbs has characterized the work as “among not only his greatest but his most original” compositions for piano duet. Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna. The work was completed in March of that year, and first performed two months later by the composer and Franz Lachner. Schubert died in November of that year and, as with much of his output, was published posthumously. The Fantasia is divided into four movements that are interconnected and played without pause. A typical performance is just shy of 20 minutes. The basic idea of a fantasia with four connected movements also appears in Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, and represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the essentially freeform tone poem of the burgeoning romantic period. The basic structure of the two fantasies is essentially the same: allegro, slow movement (largo), scherzo, and allegro finale with fugue. “Carl Nielsen (1865–1931), Denmark’s great son, was a born composer of symphonies, although his work embraced all forms of music,” Jean Sibelius wrote to the 1953 Nielsen Festival in Copenhagen. “Through his great intelligence he developed his genius, in order to attain the aims which were—as I see it—clear to him from the beginning. Through his strong personality he founded a school and greatly influenced composers in many countries. One speaks of head and heart; Carl Nielsen had both in the highest degree.” Nielsen developed his compositional gifts as a working orchestral musician. In 1889 he joined the orchestra of the Royal Theater as a second violinist, and even as he advanced his career as a composer, he maintained his position in the orchestra for many years. Ultimately he became the orchestra’s 11
associate conductor from 1908 to 1914. The summer after his retirement, Ludvig Hegner, the principal bass player and a good friend of Nielsen’s, asked the composer for a piece that would use some of the same instruments as Beethoven’s Septet, with which Hegner was anchoring a touring chamber music program. Since Nielsen had resigned from the orchestra in June and was now facing life as a freelancer for the first time in his career, he readily accepted and quickly completed a light-hearted programmatic quintet. It is cast in a single movement, but with three sections clearly depicting the scenes of his little serenade. “Serenata in vano is a humorous trifle,” the composer wrote. “First the gentlemen play in a somewhat chivalric and showy manner to lure the fair one out onto the balcony, but she does not appear. Then they play in a slightly languorous strain (Poco adagio), but that hasn’t any effect either. Since they have played in vain (in vano), they don’t care a straw and shuffle off home to the strains of the little final march, which they play for their own amusement.” Franz Schubert wrote to his friend Leopold Kupelwieser in 1824, “I have written very few new songs, but instead I have tried my hand at several kinds of instrumental music and composed two string quartets and an octet.” The Octet in F minor, D. 803, was commissioned by Count Ferdinand von Troyer, chief steward to the Archduke Rudolph, a dedicated Beethoven pupil. Troyer was a keen and presumably highly skilled amateur clarinetist for whom the clarinet part of the Octet was specifically written. The Octet was created in a few weeks of February and March, 1824, and first performed in April in the home of a friend of Troyer’s in Vienna. The first public performance of the Octet did not take place until 1827 and the score was not published until a quartercentury after the composer’s death, and then in a truncated version. The complete Octet did not appear in print until the 1880s—the fate of so much of the composer’s output.
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Troyer had conceived of a score that would be related to Beethoven’s famed Septet for winds and strings, which retained its popularity in its original version and in transcriptions throughout the 19th and into the 20th century (see note on Nielsen’s Serenato in vano). Schubert, without denying his own proclivities, satisfied the Count’s commission in a number of ways. The instrumentation conformed largely to Beethoven’s model—clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass, to which Schubert added a second violin. The six-movement structure, based on the 18th-century serenade, was maintained. Furthermore, the slow introductions of both outer movements, the juxtaposition of an “old-fashioned” minuet and a “modern” scherzo, and a succession of variations positioned between these two movements all revere the great master’s structure. The Octet is as long as any instrumental piece by the composer and as demanding, from the dotted themes of the first movement, to the lyrical power of the Adagio, which was tailored specifically to the expressive and technical mastery of clarinetist Troyer. The horn, tested to the max in the opening movement, is silent for the first 40 bars here. But toward the end he joins in a magical miniature, a trio with clarinet and bassoon, within the larger chamber structure. The two subsequent movements take us from the out of doors (the hunting Scherzo) to a Viennese café, in the delectable Theme and Variations, with the clarinet again center-stage. The main theme of the concluding Allegro is preceded by a few measures of unexpected seriousness, a bit of shock treatment amid all the joviality, whereupon Schubert launches into a jolly, rhythmically tricky allegro.
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MO CM Missouri Chamber Music Festival The Soldier’s Tale Monday, June 17, 2013 at 8 pm CMS Concert Hall at Webster University Pre-Concert symposium with Composer-in-Residence Amy Beth Kirsten, 7:30 pm in the Concert Hall David Robertson, narrator Scott Andrews, clarinet Shawn Mouser, bassoon Thomas Drake, cornet Vanessa Fralick, trombone Nina Ferrigno, piano William James, percussion Catherine French, violin Jennifer Lucht, cello Erik Harris, double bass James Sommerville, conductor Calyx Piano Trio
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Primavera porteña Piazzola kiss to the earth* world premiere 1. procession 2. ghost 1 (desire) 3. pas de deux 4. ghost 2 (remembrance) 5. ritual 6. ghost 3 (divination) 7. dance
Kirsten
*This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund. brief intermission L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) Stravinsky Part 1 Part 2 David Robertson, Narrator Dancers of the Missouri Ballet Theatre Adam Sage, Artistic Director and Choreographer
Please join us for a reception after the performance.
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Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992) was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1921, spent most of his youth in New York City, and returned to Argentina with his parents as a young man. From 1941–1946, while earning a living playing the bandoneón in tango clubs, he studied classical composition with famed composer Alberto Ginastera. During this period in his life, Piazzolla considered himself training for a career in classical composition. In 1954, he traveled with his wife to Paris in order to study with renowned pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Piazzolla presented himself entirely as a classically oriented composition student to Boulanger. When he finally played one of his tangos for her, it was clear to both of them where his future lay. What Piazzola would soon become known for is called Nuevo Tango, a modernization of the traditional tango for the concert hall. A traditional tango band consisted of six instruments: two violins, two bandoneóns, a piano and a double bass. Piazzolla added electric guitar, modernizing the traditional instrumentation and allowing for improvisations within its chamber music setting. Piazzolla had found his musical formula and pursued its development, forming in 1960 a quintet of bandoneón, violin, electric guitar, piano and double bass. Primavera Porteña (Buenos Aires Spring) was written for this ensemble in 1970. Gaining quickly in popularity through the performances of the Nuevo Tango Quintet, it became a sought after subject of arrangement for other types of ensembles. Piazzola said of his popularity in a 1989 interview, “My music is a popular music that comes from the tango… I can work all over the world because the public finds [in it] a different culture, a new culture.” The piano trio arrangement we hear tonight is the most popular version regularly played since Piazzola’s death. The ensemble epitomizes the intimacy of chamber music proper, yet is capable of expressing the passionately lyrical and percussive impulses that gave rise to Nuevo Tango.
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Born and raised in the Midwest, Amy Beth Kirsten has lived on the East Coast since 2004. Originally a singer-songwriter, she attained a Masters and Doctorate in composition and has since written music for orchestra, chamber ensemble, opera, and for solo instruments. Ms. Kirsten was named Missouri’s 2009–2010 Composer Laureate and, during her tenure, she became acquainted with the Directors of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival. The discussion of a world premiere performance in St. Louis of a new piece began in earnest during 2011. With the assistance of Chamber Music America, MOCM and the Calyx Piano Trio were able to commission kiss to the earth. It is the first commission and world premiere for the Missouri Chamber Music Festival. The piece has seven movements played without interruption and is about 16 minutes in length. Composer, Amy Beth Kirsten, on kiss to the earth: “kiss to the earth was commissioned in honor of the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s influential ballet, The Rite of Spring. I decided to pay homage to this great work by creating a kind of imaginary ballet for three players and a ghost, with themes (desire, remembrance, ritual, divination, and ecstasy) that rhyme with the original work. There is one musical homage in the piece as well, the harmony that forms part of the first movement ostinato belongs to Stravinsky and comes from the moment in the ballet when the Sage bends down to kiss the earth. This harmony, essentially a chord made up of a minor triad and a major triad one whole step apart, is embedded within much of this new work. As I sketched the music, I began to imagine a ghost dancer stranded on earth and his, at times frightening, desire to perform his famous solo one last time. The work is structured as a miniature ballet in which the “ghost” is a constant, and sometimes disruptive presence (portrayed by the use of vocalizations, small percussion, and prepared piano). Movements I, III, V, and VII are the principle ballet scenes. The “ghost” movements are fleeting inner monologues that portray the spiritual trajectory of the phantom dancer as he makes his way toward his final dance: transcendence.”
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“The following words are fragments of a toast given by Diaghilev at the opening of his famous ‘portraits’ exhibit in 1905. I have organized the fragments into nine lines during the ‘ghost 3 (divination)’ movement. Each line has two parts—Part 1 is whispered at a slow tempo and Part 2 is whispered as fast as possible.”
As summer was breathing its last I ended my long journey I became sure the time of reckoning had come, the end was in front of me I raise my glass to the ruined walls of beautiful palaces, and in equal measure to the new commandments of the new aesthetic and my wish is that the coming struggle will not insult the aesthetics of life and that death may be as beautiful and as radiant as the resurrection As summer was breathing its last I ended my long journey the time of reckoning had come and my wish is that the coming struggle
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Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and C. F. Ramuz (1878–1947) first met in Switzerland in the autumn of 1915 and quickly became close friends while working on translations of Russian songs and on the French version of Les Noces. The two men quickly grew to like and esteem each other. After the score for Les Noces was finished, the two wanted to work together again. The circumstances of World War I were forcing artists toward practicality—funding was hard to come by. The two friends decided to write a new work that would be as simple as possible to produce and would not need a large theater, cast, or orchestra. Stravinsky envisioned “a work that would be small enough to allow for performances on a circuit of Swiss villages, and simple enough in the outlines of its story to be easily understood.” Searching for sponsors in a time of war was not an easy task, but eventually they had the good fortune of meeting Werner Reinhart of Winterthur, who as Stravinsky put it, “entered into our plan with cordiality and sympathetic encouragement… He paid for everybody and everything, and finally even commissioned my music.” Thus, with the main elements in place, the artists set to work in the spring of 1918. At the time, Stravinsky was enamored of a cycle of Russian legends dealing with the adventures of a soldier who deserts and the Devil who comes to carry off his soul. Although the stories dealt with the cruel period of enforced recruitment for the Russo-Turkish wars in the first half of the 19th century, Stravinsky and Ramuz had the idea to transpose the period and style of the play to 1918 and to broaden and humanize its subject so as to give it an international appeal. Moreover, Stravinsky desired that the music should be independent of the text so that it would be possible for it to be performed separately as a concert suite. His choice of instruments was influenced by his discovery of American jazz through some scores brought to him from the U.S. Although he had never actually heard any jazz music performed, Stravinsky studied the scores with interest, and as he says in Expositions: “I borrowed its rhythmic style not as played, but as written… Jazz meant
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a wholly new sound in my music, and Histoire marks my final break with the Russian orchestral school in which I had been fostered.” The Histoire du soldat ensemble resembles a jazz band in that each instrumental category—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—is represented by both treble and bass components and the instruments themselves are part of the traditional jazz band, with the bassoon as a substitution for the saxophone. The music of L’Histoire displays the composer’s condensed, dry, almost burlesque style with a wide range of musical influences and references. The story unfolds as follows: Part 1 - As the work opens, Joseph, an army soldier, marches toward his hometown on leave, pack in tow. He rests by a stream and rummages through his pack. Ultimately, he finds what he’s searching for: his fiddle. He begins to play. The devil, appearing as an ordinary old man, comes up and asks him to sell him his fiddle. When Joseph refuses, he offers him a book that he says contains untold wealth. Joseph realizes the book contains events that happen in the future, and the devil convinces him that it’s worth more than his cheap fiddle, he just has to learn how to use it! The devil offers to take Joseph home for three days to teach him about the book if Joseph will teach him how to play the fiddle. After the devil describes the life of luxury he lives, Joseph accepts. After three days pass, the devil takes Joseph home, as promised. As Joseph walks the path into his hometown, everyone cowers and runs from him, even his own family. Finally, he arrives at his fiancée’s house only to see her with a husband and children. The soldier realizes that three years—not three days—have passed, and that everyone believes him to be a ghost. A dejected and depressed Joseph comes across the devil in disguise as a cattle merchant and confronts him angrily. The devil calms Joseph by reminding him of the wealth and power hidden in the book. Joseph decides to try and manipulate the information in the book to his advantage, and in short order, he amasses great wealth. Once he has all the money he could want, though, he finds it means nothing,
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and all he wants is what he had before—the things everyone else has—family, friends, and happiness. He gets agitated and starts looking through the book for the solution, yet cannot find anything. The devil arrives disguised as an old female peddler. He takes some things out to sell to Joseph, ultimately offering a fiddle. Joseph immediately perks up and tries to buy the fiddle from the devil. The devil hands Joseph the violin, but he can no longer play: the violin makes no sound. Joseph hurls the violin away and tears the book up. Part 2 - Joseph leaves his home with nothing, marches past his old hometown and arrives at an inn where he hears the news that the king’s daughter is sick, and whoever can raise her from her bed will be given her hand in marriage. When he arrives at the palace, the devil is already there in disguise, aware of Joseph’s plan. The king tells Joseph to return in the morning, and he shall get to see the princess, and try to raise her. Back at the inn, the devil appears, clutching the violin to his chest, and taunts Joseph. The narrator tells Joseph the reason the devil controls him is because Joseph still has the devil’s money, and if Joseph loses all his money to the devil in a card game, he will finally be free. The plan works: the devil falls, and Joseph is free. He takes the violin and plays. He triumphantly marches back to the palace and plays the fiddle in the princess’ chambers. The princess is miraculously resurrected by the music, and begins to dance. Joseph and the princess embrace. The devil arrives, undisguised this time. Joseph realizes that he can control and defeat the devil by playing his violin. The devil cannot resist the music and begins to contort. Exhausted, he falls to the ground. The soldier takes the princess’s hand, and together they drag the devil away, then fall into each others’ arms. Now that Joseph has won the princess and defeated the devil, the temptation to “have it all” is too much to resist. He crosses the forbidden boundary as he tries to return to his hometown, and to his mother, lost to him all these years. The devil is found waiting and Joseph turns back to, only find his bride gone.
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You must not seek to add to what you have, what you once had; you have no right to share what you are with what you were. No one can have it all. That is forbidden. You must learn to choose between. One happy thing is every happy thing; two is as if they had never been.
The Missouri Chamber Music Festival would like to thank the following people for their generous help and assistance in The Soldier’s Tale production, which made this concert possible: Peter Sargent, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, Webster University Carol Commerford and Leigh Anne Huckaby, Community Music School of Webster University Joe Clapper, Lighting/Staging/Production Support
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Artist Biographies Scott Andrews, clarinet Praised as ‘’elegant’’ in the Boston Globe and ‘’extraordinary’’ by the New York Times, Scott Andrews has been critically acclaimed in solo and chamber music performances across the country. A sought-after collaborative musician, Mr. Andrews has performed with many of today’s leading artists. An avid proponent of new music, he has performed with organizations such as Composers in Red Sneakers and the Auros Group for New Music. He has appeared with the Ying String Quartet, the Calyx Piano Trio, and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players among many other ensembles. Mr. Andrews has been Principal Clarinet of the St. Louis Symphony since 2005. Before joining the St. Louis Symphony, he had been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 11 years and has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. He has lectured and given classes throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. Mr. Andrews was for many years the Woodwind Department Chair at Boston Conservatory and a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. He continues to collaborate often with Seiji Ozawa in Japan at the Saito Kinen Festival and with the Mito Chamber Orchestra. His world premiere recording of Julian Wachner’s Clarinet Concerto with the McGill Chamber Orchestra is available on ATMA Classique Recordings. In addition to his work with the St. Louis Symphony, Mr. Andrews founded the Missouri Chamber Music Festival with his wife, pianist Nina Ferrigno, to expand upon his love of chamber music and to promote and further the art of contemporary music. Thomas Drake, cornet A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tom Drake joined the St. Louis Symphony in 1987 as Assistant Principal Trumpet. Prior to accepting a position with the St. Louis Symphony, Mr. Drake was Principal Trumpet of the North Carolina Symphony from 1985–87. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he began his professional career as fourth trumpet with the Rochester Philharmonic after winning that position as a sophomore. During the summer, Mr. Drake is one of five trumpet artist/instructors at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, the oldest such camp in the nation. Mr. Drake’s interests lie in the recording field as well, as he is producer for AAM Recordings and Arch Media. He has produced recordings for the
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St. Louis Symphony and several of its members individually including David Halen, Diana Haskell, Haruka Watanabe, and retired English hornist Marc Gordon. He also helped produce the orchestra’s NPR broadcasts from 1996–2000. He and his wife Marian, a frequent substitute cellist with the St. Louis Symphony, have a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Michael. Shannon Farrell Williams, viola A native of Wisconsin, Shannon Farrell Williams began playing the violin at the age of five. Later she began playing viola in the Dubinsky Quartet, which was awarded several prizes during its existence, including the Junior Division of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and the Coleman Competition in California. Ms. Williams won first place in Indiana University’s annual viola competition in 2000, shortly after switching her major from violin to viola performance. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana in 2001, and completed her Master’s Degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 2003. Ms. Williams performed with the viola section of the Louisville Symphony Orchestra during the 2004–05 season and began with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in September 2005. Since 2008, she has been the principal viola for the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder. Nina Ferrigno, piano Nina Ferrigno, described by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “a magnificent pianist,” is a collaborative artist at home in a multitude of diverse musical settings. Her playing is said to be, “always precise with superb accentuation and warmth of feeling.” Ms. Ferrigno is a founding member of the Boston-based Calyx Piano Trio which has excited audiences throughout the United States with expressive ensemble playing and brilliant virtuosity. She has appeared in major concert venues throughout North America. She has performed with such ensembles as the St. Louis Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), with whom she was a core member since its inception until 2007. Her festival appearances include those at Tanglewood, Banff, Norfolk, and the Skaneateles Festival. She has also appeared at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival and Missouri Chamber Music Festival where the Calyx Piano Trio holds residencies. Ms. Ferrigno is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, where she received degrees with distinction. Her principal teachers were Wha Kyung Byun
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and Randall Hodgkinson. As a long-time member of the AUROS Group for New Music and member of the Calyx Piano Trio, Ms. Ferrigno is committed to bringing classical music to new audiences and expanding the repertoire by working with organizations including the Barlow Foundation to commission and perform new works in a variety of settings. The New Music Connoisseur has said of her, “pianist Nina Ferrigno [brings] out the inherent horizontal logic... all the while imparting sonic beauty from end to end.” Her chamber music recording of Lansing McLoskey’s “Tinted” was released by Albany Records in 2008 and her 2010 recording of Elliott Schwartz’s Chamber Concerto III: Another View for the BMOP Sound label was described as “wonderfully musical” by Fanfare magazine. Along with clarinetist Scott Andrews, Ms. Ferrigno is Director of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival in St. Louis, and appears regularly with Chamber Project St. Louis. Vanessa Fralick, trombone Vanessa Fralick is currently the Acting Associate Principal Trombone of the St. Louis Symphony. She won her first orchestral position with the San Antonio Symphony in 2009 while pursuing her master’s degree at the Juilliard School with Joseph Alessi of the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Fralick completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, studying with Jeff Hall and Gord Wolfe of the Toronto Symphony and at McGill University in Montreal with James Box. She has performed with major orchestras in Montreal, Toronto, Malaysia, Utah, Jacksonville and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Pops. She played two summers in the prestigious Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, and has performed as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and a Participant at the 2012 Alessi Trombone Seminar in Italy. She is making her name as a soloist as well. She has won first prize in several major competitions, most recently the 2012 Elora Festival Competition, 2011 Montreal Symphony Concerto Competition and 2010 Susan Slaughter International Solo Brass Competition, where she also performed as a guest artist at the International Women’s Brass Conference. In 2009 she won concerto competitions both at Juilliard and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, winning the chance to perform the Grondahl Trombone Concerto in concert with both orchestras. She is an alumna of the National Youth Orchestra and National Academy Orchestra of Canada, and also occasionally plays alongside her brass-playing parents in the Niagara Symphony Orchestra in her hometown of St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
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Catherine French, violin 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 de Preist, the Boston Pops and John Williams, and at Carnegie Hall in her debut with David Gilbert. She is 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, Carolina, and Missouri 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 the 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. Erik Harris, double bass Born in New York City and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Erik Harris began his musical studies on guitar at age five and switched to double bass at age 13. Mr. Harris attended the Juilliard School on a full scholarship, where he studied with noted double bass pedagogue Homer Mensch. While at Juilliard he won the double bass concerto competition and performed as soloist with the Juilliard Symphony. He went on to receive both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard, and, in 2005, was recognized as one their 100 most notable alumni in honor of the school’s 100th anniversary. Upon graduation, Mr. Harris served as Principal Bass with the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida, during its inaugural season in 1988. The following year, at age 23, he was invited by Sir Georg Solti to join the Chicago Symphony. In 1993, Mr. Harris was appointed Principal Double Bass of the St. Louis Symphony. Since coming to St. Louis, he has performed
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in chamber music concerts at Sheldon Hall, the Innsbrook Institute, and at the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. In 2011, he performed as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Nicholas McGegan conducting. An avid teacher, Mr. Harris has taught master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, New World Symphony, and the Juilliard School, and currently serves on the faculty of Webster University. Mr. Harris is married to St. Louis Symphony Associate Concertmaster Heidi Harris, and they make their home in South St. Louis County with their two wonderful children, Asher and Eden, and their dog, Pickles. In addition to playing the double bass, he also accompanies his wife on the guitar and the two perform as a duo as part of the Symphony’s Community Partnership Program. Mr. Harris performs on a double bass made by Johannes Gagliano in 1804. Hugh Hinton, piano Pianist Hugh Hinton has performed widely as a concerto soloist, in recitals, and as a chamber musician, with a special interest in modern and contemporary music. Mr. Hinton has been a member of the imaginative and pioneering contemporary music group Core Ensemble since its founding in 1993. The group, which has performed throughout the US, Russia, Ukraine, England, and Australia, has received national recognition for their programs that meld chamber music with theatre, creating a style of presentation dubbed “chamber music theatre.” Mr. Hinton performs widely in Boston and New England, including performances at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Longy’s Pickman Hall, and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He has been heard on WGBH radio in Boston and his performances have been broadcast internationally on “Art of the States.” Mr. Hinton performed throughout the Middle East as a United States Information Agency Artistic Ambassador, performing in Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Mr. Hinton began studying piano at age six with an aunt in his native Louisiana and performed in public at age eight, soon appearing with local orchestras. He studied with Constance Knox Carroll in Louisiana and Jack Roberts and Jonathan Woods in Texas before coming to New England to study. While in high school, he studied with Wha-Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory (NEC) Prep, and performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and New Orleans Philharmonic (currently Louisiana Philharmonic). He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, majoring in music, and a Master of Music degree from NEC in piano performance, studying with Russell Sherman. Mr. Hinton graduated with a DMA degree from
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NEC in piano performance, studying piano with Lev Vlassenko and Mykola Suk. Mr. Hinton has earned awards and prizes from the Robert Casadesus (Cleveland) International Piano Competition and the Washington International Piano Competition, as well as from the Harvard Musical Association and the St. Botolph Club. A passionate teacher, Mr. Hinton has taught piano at the Longy School of Music of Bard College since 1998. Previously, he taught piano at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, music history at NEC, and figured bass at Harvard. Currently, he also serves as director of campus music activities at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA. Mr. Hinton has also developed an interest in arranging and composition, arranging many jazz and popular pieces for Core Ensemble and composing original music, such as the incidental music for Kirsten Greenidge’s play Hinges Keep a City, produced by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. His many recordings of contemporary and chamber music can be found on the Naxos, Etcetera, CRI, Newport Classics, New World, and MMC labels. William James, percussion William James is Principal Percussion of the St. Louis Symphony. He won the position at the age of 25 and is still one of the youngest principal percussionists in the country. Prior to moving to St. Louis, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. He graduated from New England Conservatory in 2006 with a Masters of Music as a student of Will Hudgins of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Northwestern University in 2004. While attending Northwestern he studied with Michael Burritt, an active soloist and clinician around the country, and James Ross, a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. James has played with many outstanding ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, and Chautauqua Festival Orchestra. In addition to his experience as an orchestral player he has performed several solo recitals across the country, as well as soloing with the St. Louis Symphony and New World Symphony. He has also continued a career as a chamber musician in St. Louis. He is a regular artist with the Pulitzer Foundation Chamber Music Series and plays in a percussion and piano duo with Peter Henderson. Mr. James is in demand as an educator as well, giving masterclasses across the country at numerous colleges and universities. He is very involved with the Percussive Arts Society, having been published in their
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magazine, presented at the International Convention in 2010, and currently serving on the Symphonic Committee. In all of these musical endeavors Mr. James proudly uses Zildjian Cymbals, Malletech Sticks and Instruments, and Grover Percussion Products. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Will James visits the Old North State often where he enjoys the outdoors and still pulls for his favorite sports teams. Amy Beth Kirsten, composer-in-residence Amy Beth Kirsten has received awards and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, Fromm Foundation, The MAP Fund, ASCAP, and from the state of Connecticut. She is currently composing a chamber opera—without singers—for the 2012 Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird. Before moving to the East Coast to attend Peabody Conservatory, she was a singer-songwriter for ten years in the Chicago area and played at many of the cities smallest, but mightiest nightclubs. Since then she has written music for orchestra, chamber ensemble, opera, and for solo instruments. Upcoming projects include a new work for the Calyx Piano Trio, a solo cello piece commissioned by Jeffrey Zeigler of Kronos Quartet, and a song cycle for the duo TwoSense. Raised in the Midwest, Ms. Kirsten received degrees from Benedictine University, the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and from Peabody Conservatory. She teaches composition privately and at the HighSCORE festival in Pavia, Italy. She has previously taught music theory at Peabody Conservatory, Towson University, Wesleyan University, and music history at the University of Connecticut. Currently a freelance composer and librettist, she lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut. Jooyeon Kong, violin Jooyeon Kong was born in Seoul, Korea where she began playing the violin at the age of seven, studying first with her aunt. She continued violin studies at the Yewon School, the Seoul High School for the Arts, and the preparatory division of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where she studied with Kathleen Winkler. Ms. Kong was the winner of the Shepherd School’s concert competition during her second year and performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the school’s orchestra. In 2005 and 2006, she received a master’s degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Peter Oundjian, formerly the first violin of the Tokyo String Quartet and currently the Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 29
Ms. Kong was awarded “The Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize” upon graduation. Ms. Kong has performed concerts throughout the United States and Europe at notable music festivals, including the Bellingham Festival of Music, Yellow Barn Festival, Banff Summer Arts Festival, and the Encuentro de Musica y Academia de Santander in Spain. As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with the world’s leading concert artists, including Boris Berman, Vivian Weilerstein, and Franz Helmerson. She has served as a Concertmaster of both the Yale Philharmonia under Sir Neville Marriner and of the New Music New Haven Orchestra alongside Andy Summers, lead guitarist of the Police, on Ingram Marshall’s guitar concerto Dark Florescence. She is a founding member of the Hindemith Ensemble at Yale and toured with them throughout Germany during the summer of 2006. She has been a member of New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and is currently a regular member of the St. Louis Symphony under the baton of David Robertson. Jennifer Lucht, cello Jennifer Lucht is a native of North Carolina. As a chamber musician, she has been heard in chamber music performances at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall, Tanglewood, the Ravinia and Bravo! Vail Festivals, on the Greater Philadelphia Performing Artists Series, NPR’s live broadcast “Performance Today.” Praised for “superb” playing by the Boston Globe and “beautiful, finely detailed sound” by the Boston Herald, she has been concert soloist with orchestras including the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and Vermont Symphony. Ms. Lucht is currently a member of the Calyx Piano Trio and performs with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in Boston and on tours throughout the US, Canada, and Japan. She is Co-Director and a founder of the Carolina Chamber Music Festival in New Bern, North Carolina and can be heard in chamber music recordings on the New World, Albany, and Archetype labels. Ms. Lucht received her Bachelor and Masters degrees with a Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University and continued her education with post-graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her major teachers include Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Laurence Lesser, Colin Carr, and Carter Brey.
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Shawn Mouser, bassoon Shawn Mouser was appointed associate principal bassoonist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2003. Prior to joining the Philharmonic, he served for 10 years as assistant principal bassoonist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. A native of Louisiana, Mr. Mouser received a bachelor of music from Louisiana State University, where he was a student of John Patterson and William Ludwig. He then continued his studies with Richard Svoboda at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he was awarded a master of music and a graduate diploma—both with Distinction in Performance. Mr. Mouser can be heard on numerous Los Angeles Philharmonic recordings as well as in regular live performances with them at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He is also an active performer on the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Series and the Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series. David Robertson, narrator A consummate musician, masterful programmer, and dynamic presence, David Robertson has established himself as one of today’s most sought-after American conductors. In Fall 2013, Mr. Robertson launches his ninth season as Music Director of the 134-year-old St. Louis Symphony. In January 2014, Mr. Robertson will assume the post of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony in Australia. In September 2012, the St. Louis Symphony and Mr. Robertson embarked on a European tour, which included appearances at London’s BBC Proms, at the Berlin and Lucerne Festivals, and culminated at Paris’s Salle Pleyel. The tour marked the Symphony’s first European engagements with music director Mr. Robertson. In March 2013, Mr. Robertson and his orchestra returned to California for their second tour of the season, which included an intensive three day residency at the University of California-Davis and performance at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to his current position with the St. Louis Symphony, Mr. Robertson is a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras and opera houses around the world. During the 2012-13 Season he appears with prestigious U.S. orchestras the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the San Francisco Symphony. In past seasons he has appeared nationally with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, and internationally with the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies, among others. A champion of young musicians, Mr. Robertson has devoted time to working with students and young artists throughout his career. In addition to creating and leading 31
many outreach programs with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Orchestre National de Lyon, Mr. Robertson also has worked with students at Carnegie Hall, the Paris Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Tanglewood, National Orchestral Institute, and Aspen Music Festival. Prior to his St. Louis Symphony and Sydney Symphony appointments, Mr. Robertson was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and was the first artist ever to hold simultaneously the posts of Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and Artistic Director of that city’s Auditorium. From 1992– 2000 he was Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. Mr. Robertson has made numerous recordings for Sony Classical, Naive, EMI/Virgin Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Atlantic/Erato, Nuema, Adès, Valois, Naxos, and Nonesuch. His download-only “Live From Powell Hall” releases recorded with the St. Louis Symphony include works by Adams, Scriabin, and Szymanowski. Born in Santa Monica, California, Mr. Robertson was educated at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he studied horn and composition before turning to orchestral conducting. He and the St. Louis Symphony are recipients of several major awards from ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras, including the 2008–09 Award for Programming of Contemporary Music and the 2005–06 Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the most prestigious honorary societies in the United States, and that same year received the Excellence in the Arts award from the St. Louis Arts and Education Council. In 2011, Mr. Robertson was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He and his wife, pianist Orli Shaham, are parents of twin boys. Mr. Robertson also has two older sons. Maria Schleuning, violin Maria Schleuning has been violinist for the Dallas-based contemporary music ensemble Voices of Change since 1996, and was appointed Artistic Director in 2009. An advocate of new music, she has worked with many of the leading composers of our day, and has premiered many new works, the most recent being “Dream Catcher,” a solo violin work written especially for her as a gift by Augusta Read Thomas. The world premiere performance was on May 3, 2009 in Dallas, TX. An active chamber musician, Ms. Schleuning has performed in venues such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as numerous festivals throughout the United States and Europe. Since 1993 she has been a faculty member at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, and has served in the same capacity at Idyllwild Arts in 32
California since 2007. She has recorded with Continuum in New York, as well as in Dallas with the grammy-nominated Voices of Change and the Walden Piano Quartet. A member of the Dallas Symphony since 1994, she has been featured as soloist with the orchestra on many occasions. Other solo highlights include appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Europe including concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Rudolfinum in Prague. She studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University, where she was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate; with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London, with a grant from the Myra Hess Foundation; and with Joel Smirnoff at the Juilliard School, where she received her Master’s Degree. James Sommerville, french horn/conductor James Sommerville is Principal Horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), a position he has held since 1998. He is also Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. The winner of the highest prizes at the Munich, Toulon, and CBC competitions, Mr. Sommerville has pursued a solo career that has spanned 25 years, and has appeared to critical acclaim with major orchestras throughout North America and Europe. Mr. Sommerville has recorded chamber music for the Deutsche Gramophon, Telarc, CBC, Summit, and Marquis labels. He is a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, with whom he tours and records regularly. Mr. Sommerville has been a member of the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and was acting solo horn of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He is heard regularly on the CBC network and has recorded all the standard solo horn repertoire for broadcast. As a guest artist and faculty member, Mr. Sommerville has performed at many chamber music festivals, throughout Canada, the U.S., Europe and Japan. Recent solo performances of note include the world premiere of Christos Hatzis’ Winter Solstice, in Yellowknife, NWT; the North American premiere of Ligeti’s Hamburg Concerto with the BSO; and the John Williams Horn Concerto. In recent seasons, Mr. Sommerville has appeared as a soloist in London (with the Academy of St. Martin’s in the Fields), and in Costa Rica, Holland, Quebec, Ottawa, and Italy. In 2007, he performed the world premiere of Elliot Carter’s Horn Concerto, commissioned for him by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Sommerville also tours as a member of Osvaldo Golijov’s Andalucian Dogs. As a conductor, Mr. Sommerville has appeared with many professional orchestras and ensembles, throughout Canada and
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the U.S. He has led the Hamilton Philharmonic to great critical acclaim in his tenure there as Music Director. Recent engagements include appearances with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Toronto, Edmonton, London (Ontario), and Québec Symphony Orchestras. Calyx Piano Trio The critically acclaimed Calyx Piano Trio features Catherine French, violin, Jennifer Lucht, cello, and Nina Ferrigno, piano. The group’s bright, accomplished musicians have earned Calyx the reputation of defying stereotypes with a repertoire that combines classical masterworks with original pieces by living composers. All seasoned chamber musicians, each member of the Calyx Piano Trio has been described as “a shining star in her own right.” Violinist Catherine French, a member of the Boston Symphony orchestra since 1994, has established herself as a versatile chamber musician with performances around the globe. Cellist Jennifer Lucht, Director of the Carolina Chamber Music Festival, has played before enthusiastic crowds at the Kennedy Center and Weill Recital Hall as well as the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Bravo! Vail Festivals. Pianist Nina Ferrigno described by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “a magnificent pianist,” has been featured at Tanglewood, The Miller Theatre, Jordan Hall, and throughout North America. The Trio has performed throughout the United States, exciting audiences with their expressive ensemble playing and brilliant virtuosity. They have been featured at the Sheldon Concert Hall and on series at the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, Pamlico Musical Society, Washington University, Newton Free Library, and James Library Center for the Arts. Their festival residencies include those at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival in 2008 and 2009 as well as the Missouri Chamber Music Festival in 2011 and 2012. Committed to illuminating the genre through juxtaposition of master works and fresh pieces by living composers, the Calyx Piano Trio champions new music. This dedication to contemporary music is reflective of the Trio’s decade long collaboration in AUROS (Boston) and adds to their considerable years of experience working with composers to present their works on stage. Their keen intelligence, expert ensemble playing, detailed sound and passionate expression bring new works to life providing deeper insight into these and the traditions of chamber music.
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Missouri Ballet Theatre, Adam Sage, artistic director/choreographer Missouri Ballet Theatre (MBT) was founded in May of 2009 by Artistic Director Adam Sage and is based in St. Peters, Missouri. Since its inception, MBT has brought first class dance to the community with performances of The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, New Beginnings, Concepts, Concepts 2, and Concepts 3. MBT has held educational performances for over 2,000 young people in the effort to continue educating young audiences about dance and the arts. In their annual production of The Nutcracker more than 300 local children have had the opportunity to perform side by side with professional dancers in this wonderful holiday classic. In recognition of the St. Louis community’s rich tradition of arts innovation and virtuosity, Missouri Ballet Theatre seeks to inspire and cultivate excellence in classical and contemporary dance. Adam Sage founded Missouri Ballet Theatre after enjoying a nearly three-decade long career of performing, teaching, coaching, and choreographing that spanned four continents. He is the Artistic Director of Missouri Ballet Theatre and has served as artistic director of Virginia School of the Arts, school director and ballet master for Nashville Ballet, and interim artistic director of the National Dance Company of Bophuthatswana in Southern Africa. He began his more than twenty years on stage at the age of seventeen with the California Ballet in his hometown of San Diego, before moving on to dance with Ballet West, Ballet Memphis, and as Guest Artist with Nashville Ballet. Internationally, he has been a principal dancer with such companies as Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Philippines, N.A.P.A.C. Dance Company, and the National Dance Company of Bophuthatswana in South Africa. Mr. Sage has performed principal roles in all the great classics, and in works by dance luminaries such as John Cranko, Kenneth McMillan, George Balanchine, Ninnette de Valois, and Frederick Ashton. He has had the honor of dancing at some of the most prestigious theaters in the world including the Opera House at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., The Hong Kong Cultural Center, and in command performances at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In demand as a master teacher, Mr. Sage has served as Adjunct Faculty at Webster University and guest teacher for Virginia School of the Arts, California Ballet School, Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts, Alabama Dance Theatre, Springfield Ballet Company, Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, Washington State Ballet, Southeast University of Missouri, South East Regional Ballet Association, and for seven years at the National and Regional High School dance festivals.
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Engaging Music , Intimate Settings Announcing our 2013-2014 season Our sixth season is an adventure through the dramatic. From turmoil to elation, experience the thrill of live chamber music with a tale to tell. Tickets on sale August 1. Just added for summer! July 26 at The Wine Press. An evening of great music, great food and great company.
chamberprojectstl.org
Missouri Chamber Music Festival Donors This list reflects gifts received June 30, 2012 through June 1, 2013. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by The Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program with generous funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund. MOCM gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation and The Arts and Education Council.
Brahms & Beyond Crofton Industries, Portsmouth, VA Associate Anonymous Patron Mr. and Mrs. Barry Beracha Ian and Joanne Cruickshank Dana and Camille Gobrecht Drs. Linda Peterson and Clark McKenzie Mr. and Mrs. Walter Shifrin Friend Mr. and Mrs. Peter Enslin Helen and Maurice Ferrigno Jennifer Lin and Tom Osborn Mr. Bill Martin Kalen and Ryan Mayo Mr. and Mrs. Robert Moody Ms. Mary Susman
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Supporter Anonymous (3) Margaret Adams Tom and Karen Baranski Michael Biggers Marilynne Bradley Dr. and Mrs. Rod Coe Pat and Sesh Cole Tracy and Don Drissell Harold A. Ellis Barbara Harris Luise Hoffman Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Katzenstein Ms. Margaret Kraeuchi Russell Lenth Mrs. Helga Lunsford Mr. and Mrs. Denny Maginn Ms. Ann Mandelstamm Mr. and Mrs. John Morrison Ms. Jennifer Nitchman Ms. Helena O’Reilly Helen Pearl Mr. and Mrs. Bob Roeder Ms. Mary Rundell Mr. and Mrs. Steve Seele Mr. Robert Sheena Ms. Angie Smart Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Smith Allen and Mary Beth Soffer Mr. and Mrs. Brent St. John Mary and Derrick Stiebler Ms. Molly Strassner Mr. and Mrs. Steve Trampe Mr. and Mrs. Jason Weber Matching Gift Monsanto
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special thanks Thank you to the Webster Groves community and to the special people that made this Festival possible: Dr. Ray Landis and the staff at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves The Fabulous Women of Chamber Project St. Louis Jennifer Lin, Marketing/Public Relations Manager Stanley and Arlene Browne of Robust Wine Bar Mr. and Mrs. Paul LaFata Madeline and Rob Longstreet Christy and Denny Maginn Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Reardon Mr. and Mrs. Bob Roeder Janice and Steve Seele The Community Music School of Webster University with special thanks to Leigh Anne Huckaby The invaluable production support of Joe Clapper George Yeh Sponsorship and playbill advertising opportunities are available for our 2014 Season. Please call 314.882.0053 or email us at feedback@mochambermusic.org for more information.
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The MOCM Festival Fund Our primary concern in developing the Missouri Chamber Music Festival is the contribution we are making to the musical life of St. Louis and the state of Missouri. Part of our mission is to present concerts in smaller venues to keep the excitement and immediacy of live performance visceral for our audiences. As a result, ticket revenue only covers a fraction of the cost of MOCM concerts, visiting artists, commissioning projects, and the MOCM Pro-Am Intensive. We depend on the Festival Fund to make up the difference. The Festival Fund is maintained by area arts councils and generous individuals like you. The MOCM Festival Fund supports program expenses including: * artists fees * visiting artist travel and housing expenses * new music commissioning fees * visiting composer residency and lecture fees * concert space rental * instrument rental * recording engineers Supporter ($50 to $249) * advance notice of special events * recognition in the MOCM Festival program Friend ($250 to $499) * the benefits above * an invitation to a MOCM dress rehearsal Patron ($500 to $749) * the benefits above * two free tickets to the Festival concert of your choosing Associate ($750 to $999) * the benefits above * invitation to donor “Coffee Conversation� with festival composer and artists The Brahms & Beyond Circle * the benefits above * specially tailored benefits Sponsor ($1,000 to $2,999) Partner ($3,000 to $4,999) Leader ($5,000 to $9,999) Angel ($10,000 and above) 41
Yes! I would like to experience more of MOCM. Here is my tax-deductible donation. Complete the information below and mail your check payable to Missouri Chamber Music, Inc. and this form to MOCM, Inc., 211 South Elm Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119. Donations can also be made at mochambermusic.org. Questions? Call 314.882.0053. m m m m m
Supporter $50 to $249 Friend $250 to $499 Patron $500 to $749 Associate $750 to $999 Brahms & Beyond Circle $1,000+
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MO CM Missouri Chamber Music Festival 211 South Elm Avenue St. Louis, MO 63119 mochambermusic.org | 314.882.0053 facebook.com/MOChamberMusic twitter @MOCMFestival