Sparks fly may 2012

Wednesday May 30, 2012 (Le) Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Street 7:30 PM

Saturday June 2, 2012 The Theater at MMAC 248 West 60th Street 8 PM

C4 Acknowledgements The activities of C4 are funded, in large part, by grants and generous contributions. We wish to thank and acknowledge: For their major support: Nan Bases Kit Smyth Basquin Michael David & Lauren Mitchell Tracy and Stanley Shopkorn Daniel and Ellen Stafford-Sigg Meet the Composer/Cary New Music Performance Fund Phoebe Abelow Mary S. Basquin Francine Belkind Nathan Berkoff Michael Biello and Dan Martin Jennifer Borum Sandra Carlson Richard and Gillian Champlain Zachary P. Cummings Hugh D. and Kathryn Klein Eddy Vincent Fitz Gerald Jonathan David Nancy and Don Derham Mary Tacciole Devine Trevor Doherty Orianne Yin Dutka Kim Erle David Harris D.B. and S.M. Hayward Linnea C. Johnson Andrew Kadel & Paula Schaap Jeffrey M. and Kuniko K. Katz

Deborah Kilmer Jeanne and Paul Klainer Pamela Klainer Linda and Leslie Libow Stanley Lieblein Patricia Marino Elizabeth Marker Rose Caiola & Edward Mermelstein Peter and Christine Metz Ruth Mueller-Maerki Jon Minikes and Sue Backstrom Ian David Moss Bernard and Rochelle Natt Susan Obel Raymond Penn Jonathan & Suzanne Rosenzweig Bruce Saylor Ann & Richard Sarnoff Pat & Larry Siegel Martha Sullivan Kenneth and Jean Telljohann

Friends of C4 (watch for details on membership and perks... coming soon!)

Byron Gibbs Vincent Fitz Gerald Ernest Hood David McCorkle Zahra Partovi Linda Schrank Anne Thulin Susan Weill

SPECIAL THANKS

We also wish to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following organizations and individuals for their support and assistance: Zahra Partovi, Dodger Theatricals, (Le) Poisson Rouge Rose Caiola and The Manhattan Movement & Arts Center

Sparks Fly! Wednesday, May 30, (Le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY Saturday, June 2, The Theater at MMAC, New York, NY

The Hounds of Spring* David Harris, Conductor Soloist: Karen Siegel

Impermanence*

Hannah Carr, Conductor

Dia | Logoi*

Hannah Carr, Conductor

Requiem*

Rachel Samet, Conductor

1. Requiem Aeternam 2. Dies Irae 3. Tuba Mirum 4. Liber Scriptus 5. Rex Tremendae 6. Recordare 7. Ingemisco 8. Confutatis 9. Lacrimosa 10. Offertorio 11. Sanctus 12. Agnus Dei 13. Lux Aeterna 14. Requiem Aeternam Soloists: Timothy Brown, Kristopher Burke, Karen Devine, Mario Gullo, Martha Sullivan, Melissa Wozniak * World premiere

Jonathan David (b. 1965)

Karen Siegel (b. 1980)

Martha Sullivan (b. 1964)

Brian Coughlin (b. 1973)

Program Notes and Texts Putting a program together around a

is the myth of the Calydonian boar hunt.

challenges,

King of Calydon, Athena has sent down a

Requiem mass has significant conceptual so

when

Brian

Coughlin

approached C4 with the idea, the other composers chose to write for the ensemble combination and leave the concert flow to

chance. What emerged, however, combines

a fascinating artistic cohesion. The general thrust of a Requiem being to remind the

living that their time is coming and to mourn

the loss of an individual or the general eventuality of death, Brian’s composition

almost becomes a celebration of death and at the least sexes up the macabre. To that

end, Jonathan’s setting of Swinburne’s

chorus from Atalanta in Calydon, a chant to springtime with lust-filled images and sparks

of renewal throughout, counterbalances the program.

Karen’s and Martha’s pieces,

in their questioning, searching textual fragmentations and recombinations offer

concept glue. Stuck in between birth and

death images, each of which cheats to the other side of the extreme if only reflexively, their ponderings on the confusion of living,

of seeking and being denied, of insanity and calm, of torment, meditation, and good clean fun, release back into the opening

and closing pieces the complexities and similarities of renewal and demise. ~David Harris

The Hounds of Spring Jonathan David Swinburne’s chorus from his tragedy,

Atalanta in Calydon, is one of the great poetic

odes to springtime. The narrative context

In response to having been ignored by the

wild boar to terrorize the city. The menfolk organize a hunt to kill the boar and, with

one exception, are dismayed to be joined in it by the virgin huntress, Atalanta. Meleager

alone, who has a thing for her, welcomes her participation. In the end it is Atalanta who

draws first blood. Meleager then delivers the fatal blow to the boar, but he offers

the skin to his crush. Things all go rather badly later on, but this chorus is a love

song, a tale of sexual pursuit told through the imagery of the hunt and of the coming

of spring. It is also a paragon of Romantic

excess, of wild fancy, strange tangents and conflation with other myths (Procne and Philomela, the Bacchanalia, etc.). My

setting turns (naturally) to the spirit of

1970’s progressive rock, of Jesus Christ

Superstar and Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick, to name just a couple examples. Theatricality, elaborate structure, stark juxtapositions,

irregular and frequently changing meters

are all hallmarks of the piece. It is rich in

melodic material, but the germ for much of it is present in the music for the iconic first

line. Similarly, wide-ranging though it may be, one should still be able to detect a more classical ABA form, with A generally louder

and faster (cue the fuzzbox), and B softer

and slower (vocalise-ing back-up singers).

An alto solo introduces an extended coda which describes, essentially, a drunken orgy, before fading into the night. ~Jonathan David

When the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces,

And time remembered is grief forgotten,

The mother of months in meadow or plain

And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,

Fills the shadows and windy places

And in green underwood and cover

With lisp of leaves and ripple of rain;

Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

And the brown bright nightingale amorous

The full streams feed on flower of rushes,

Is half assuaged for Itylus,

Ripe grasses trammel a travelling foot,

For the Thracian ships and the foreign faces,

The faint fresh flame of the young year flushes

The tongueless vigil, and all the pain.

From leaf to flower and flower to fruit;

Come with bows bent and emptying of quivers,

And fruit and leaf are as gold and fire,

Maiden most perfect, lady of light,

And the oat is heard above the lyre,

With a noise of winds and many rivers,

And the hoofed heel of a satyr crushes

With a clamour of waters, and with might;

The chestnut-husk at the chestnut-root.

Bind on thy sandals, O thou most fleet,

And Pan by noon and Bacchus by night,

Over the splendour and speed of thy feet;

Fleeter of foot than the fleet-foot kid,

For the faint east quickens, the wan west shivers,

Follows with dancing and fills with delight

Round the feet of the day and the feet of the night.

The Maenad and the Bassarid;

Where shall we find her, how shall we sing to her,

And soft as lips that laugh and hide

Fold our hands round her knees, and cling?

The laughing leaves of the trees divide,

O that man’s heart were as fire and could spring

And screen from seeing and leave in sight

to her,

The god pursuing, the maiden hid.

Fire, or the strength of the streams that spring!

The ivy falls with the Bacchanal’s hair

For the stars and the winds are unto her

Over her eyebrows hiding her eyes;

As raiment, as songs of the harp-player;

The wild vine slipping down leaves bare

For the risen stars and the fallen cling to her,

Her bright breast shortening into sighs;

And the southwest wind and the west wind sing.

The wild vine slips with the weight of its leaves,

For winter’s rains and ruins are over,

But the berried ivy catches and cleaves

And all the season of snows and sins;

To the limbs that glitter, the feet that scare

The days dividing lover and lover,

The wolf that follows, the fawn that flies.

The light that loses, the night that wins;

~Chorus from Atalanta in Calydon by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)

Impermanence Karen Siegel

of beautiful depictions of nature through the

Jonah’s prayer from inside the whale and

about these changes.

Rochelle Jewel Shapiro’s poem The fireflies

passing seasons that seem peaceful, until

the final line reveals an underlying anxiety

have barely winked their neon green involve

I have split the choir into two, with the men

and mood. Jonah recounts his near-death, a

singing Shapiro’s poem. The band is also

similar, though opposite, shifts in perspective

dark time for sure. Yet, his overall expression

is one of gratitude. Shapiro’s poem consists

singing the biblical text and the women split—the cello, electric bass and synthesizer

introduce and accompany the men; while the

piccolo, alto saxophone, violin and electric

They gradually influence each other, and

in the piano, do the same for the women.

never merge completely.

guitar, along with sympathetic vibration The alternating men’s and women’s voices inhabit very different sound-worlds at first,

singing in different textures and modes.

The fireflies have barely winked their neon green when the tiny tulips in their orange flame skirts have fallen from the arms of the yellow poplar.

eventually do come together, though they

Impermanence was a semifinalist in the 2011 Sorel competition for women composers, in its original version for chorus and organ.

The inspiration of the organ can be heard

in the different, yet consistent, colors of the instrumental part. ~Karen Siegel

You threw me into the heart of the ocean, and water swirled around me, your waves washed over me.

The rhododendron petals have fallen, too, leaving clumps of pea-like pods and brown shafts.

Not long ago, the flowering pear showered its flurry of snowy blossoms and the pink bunched crepe paper flowers of the cherry tree drifted down, exposing dark scarred bark and gnarled branches.

Just beyond the adamant white bloom of the Korean Dogwood, the pines will begin to drop their dried needles onto beds of shivering pachysandra and the impatiens, stricken by a sudden night frost, will be felled against the spotted grass.

Hold me. ~Rochelle Jewell Shapiro

I went down into the depths of the mountains, trapped forever in this underworld.

But you saved me.

I am grateful.

Waters nearly choked me to death.

The darkness encircled me, weeds tangled in my hair.

Those who cling to hollowness have lost your trust.

When my soul died within me I remembered you.

I have turned away, but I keep looking for you. —Jonah 2:4-10, translated and altered order of lines by Karen Siegel

Dia | Logoi Martha Sullivan This

piece

started

blue notes at the end). The two musical

ideas engaged in heated dialogue (hence as

an

obsessive

instrumental riff and a harmonic progression

that was clearly for voices (it quotes a gesture both from a Beethoven piano sonata and from a choral anthem by Stainer, but I added

the Greek title), but I did not find a suitable

text until February of 2012. On February 9, I read the New York Times over coffee and noticed that there were many vivid words

on the first two pages, and that each had a word next to it that could be used to glue it to another word. I made

This is | about the | grip of | the odds.

a list of the two-word cells,

People played.

was” and “the outrage”

including pairs like “discord

More than | a few | would judge.

and “the hunt” and “is

No one | was plotting.

them together into a piece

After the | volley of | grievances and | discord was | over, foundering”, and over the next couple of days strung a | few people | prayed with | the chief.

People played | the odds.

of found poetry. It reads

No longer.

post-Apocalyptic

Few people | died,

seems

In turn, | they faced | changes to | the odds.

course the words are all

almost as the narrative of a

survivor

seeking a safe haven, and to

evoke

many

because | the battle | did not | now allow | the hunt.

feelings of our own era. Of

Much about | the effort | is foundering.

culled from the news of our

The hunt | now lives.

In the finished piece, the

The final | freedom is | to halt

usually drives forward with

The final | freedom is | to gain

music,

The final | struggles to | hold off | the outrage | fell silent. time, so that makes sense.

instrumental

ensemble

The final | freedom is | to pool

mechanistic or bloodthirsty

The final | freedom is | to play

with, or interrupting the

Chaos grows.

music from each other and

chasing,

arguing

voices. The two groups steal

No one | will help.

transform it, but they do

I just | want to | slide and | carry out | the odds

voices end alone, it is not a

not reconcile. Although the

I just | want to | slide and | hold off | the hunt

triumph, but rather a plea

I just | want to | slide and | to gain | the chapel

for sanctuary.

~Martha Sullivan

~Martha Sullivan

Requiem Brian Coughlin

poetry, but though praise and pleas directed

The initial musical inspiration for the piece

meaning for a lot of people, and I did not

came from walking in the woods a few years ago right as fall was giving way to winter,

and the cold stillness of that New England forest at that time of year suddenly struck

a very strong chord for me emotionally.

Somehow the “dying” of nature seemed to be a metaphor for a sense of loss in my own

life: the loss of childhood innocence, the loss of friends and family who had died recently, the loss of a consistent connection to nature

in my life now that I spend most of my time in the city. It occurred to me that the seasons

-- all of the transitions that those woods had seen year after year -- created a kind of

endless, solemn ritual. Being there among the trees was my link to everything that had

happened before and served as a reminder

of how startlingly transitory life is, but also how reassuringly connected everything

is in the inevitable cycles of nature. There was something incredibly beautiful and

sad about it, and I felt strongly compelled to try to capture that feeling into music. It

is also about that time of year that, for some

reason, I always seem to listen to a lot of “early” music, such as Medieval chant and

early vocal polyphony, and while listening I had the idea that setting an ancient text would provide that sense of connection to

the past that I was looking for. The text of the Requiem mass, an ancient text dealing

with death and loss, seemed like a perfect fit. The prospect of setting the Requiem text

did pose some philosophical problems for

me initially. I am an atheist and the idea of setting a very religious text made me

uncomfortable. I read the text simply as

at a deity might have only metaphorical meaning for me, they have a very different

want my music to be mistakenly associated with religion. In addition, though the text

of the Requiem does have some incredibly powerful and passionate writing, it failed to

capture the whole picture of my inspiration for the piece. My solution was to take

an approach similar to the one used by Benjamin Britten for his War Requiem -- to substitute the strictly religious parts of the

text with new poetry that would provide a context and perspective for the traditional

Latin text. I brazenly decided to write my own “lyrics” for the substituted sections

using the titles of each of the Requiem texts

that I was replacing as a framework (for example, the “Recordare,” which means “Remember,” deals with impermanence and memory). Using the basic premise of the

original texts not only fixed the text problem

but also allowed me to keep the original

sequence and overall flow of the sections of the piece intact. It also turned out to be

an ideal way to bridge the musical worlds

of the choir and Fireworks. I found myself wanting to write in a somewhat archaic style for the choir, but in a more modern, rock-

oriented style for Fireworks. By setting the Latin text for the choir and the original texts

as songs for the band on its own, I was able to do both. The songs, along with the largely rock-inspired

instrumental

writing

for

Fireworks, provide a sharp contrast to the more traditional, somewhat anachronistic writing for the choir.

1. & 14. REQUIEM AETERNAM Requiem aeternam dona eis et lux perpetua luceat eis

Grant them eternal rest,

and let eternal light shine on them.

2. DIES IRAE

Dies irae, dies illa

solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus quando judex est venturus cuncta stricte discussurus.

This day, this day of wrath

will dissolve the world in ashes

as foretold by David and the sybil.

What tremors there will be when the judge comes

to weigh everything strictly.

3. TUBA MIRUM

Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepilchra regionum

coget omnes ante tronum.

Mors stupebit et natura, cum resurget creatura judicanti responsura.

The trumpet, scattering its awful sound across the graves of all the lands summons all before the throne.

Death and nature shall be stunned when all creatures arises to answer to the judge.

4. LIBER SCRIPTUS These words, innocent enough. A mere sentence. (until it is carried out.)

Out from the smoldering stacks, filled with ash and scars, spilled onto the white field, soiling one side to purge the other.

Fear, pride, envy they mean, but they say something else.

A weak translation: words become swords, lines coil like rope, their points, spear-sharp, scratch like matches ‘til they burn through— these words, words for those who cannot buy them, words for eyes too dark for them, words for those too old to believe in them.

We’re too old to believe them. ~Brian Coughlin (and subsequent offset lyrics)

4. LIBER SCRIPTUS

Liber scriptus proferetur

The written book will be brought forth

unde mundus judicetur.

by which the world shall be judged.

In quo totum continetur

in which all is contained

Judex ergo cum sedebit quidquid latet apparebit,

nil inultum remanebit.

When the judge sits

6. RECORDARE She dreams, remembering colors brighter than those she has now.

The flowers have dried, the photographs

5. REX TREMENDAE Rex tremendae majestatis,

qui salvandos salvas gratis,

salva me fons pietatis.

whatever has been

hidden will appear.

Nothing will remain unavenged.

faded.

She dreams, forgotten.

The mountain explodes; the meteor crashes.

But in the mind of a child they walk in Pompeii and hunt in Pangaea.

O Dream, where are you now?

King of tremendous majesty,

who saves those worthy of salvation,

save me, fount of pity.

Cold seeds in stony ground.

7. INGEMISCO

Ingemisco tamquam reus,

culpa rubet vultus meus.

What storm can shake these frozen towers, this pale dawn?

She dreams; the memories drift.

They play along the telephone.

I groan, like the guilty one.

Guilt reddens my face.

They say: “Life is like a candle: The faster it burns, the brighter the

8. CONFUTATIS

Confutatis maledictis Flammis acribus addictis

Voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis, Cor contritum quasi cinis,

Gere curam mei finis.

flame.”

They say: “Life is like a candle: You cannot see until it burns out.”

O Dream, O clarion sound!

Bold dreams: a thorny crown.

How can this troth be wholly ours, this stale dawn?

She dreams, remembering colors she will have been the last to see.

What fragile form will die with you?

What will die with me?

9. LACRIMOSA

Lacrimosa, dies illa

Qua resurget ex favilla

Judicandus homo reus.

When the damned are cast away

and sentenced to acrid flames,

call me among the blessed.

Bowed down I beg you, my heart as though crushed to ashes,

help me in my last hour.

In time will come a day to extinguish the last eyes to know Moloch, the last to know Christ.

O Dream, O foaming prow

On this day of tears,

from the ashes arises

guilty man to be judged.

Safe deep or shallow drowned?

11. SANCTUS

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus

What wind can stop these holy hours from avalon, this frail dawn?

Holy, holy, holy.

Terra est coelestis gloria.

Hosanna in excelsis!

The earth is full of heavenly glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

12. AGNUS DEI

10. OFFERTORIO Once upon a time the sheep grazed on the hillside Everyone sighs with relief

and were content.

when the madman Abraham lets the boy live.

One day, Fox came along. “Sheep!” he called,

Everyone, of course, except the lamb.

“Why do you graze on the bony hillside when the

The sacrifice must still be made.

grass is green across the stream?”

The thin fat men in dark suits sit in small rooms

“Yes,” said the sheep, “The grass is green,” and

and speak grave sentences.

swam across the stream.

And the lambs move down the shambles,

But the water was swift and some sank.

and the boys move down the trenches

Fox was waiting below and ate them.

as lightning flashes overhead.

Some find the grass is more green on that side of

“And the people feasted and were free…”

the stream,

Then flags arrive.

but sometimes this can only be seen from mid-

Stabat mater dolorosa…

stream.

They return to Earth

Once upon a time, the sheep grazed on the hillside

to succor her in her torment:

and were content.

of fields on fire, her choking veins and highways.

Then Fox came along. “Sheep!” he called,

“And the children played among the spoils…”

“Why do you graze on the bony hillside when the

Smoke rises through the sunset,

grass is green across the ravine?”

turning white to red on blue.

“Yes,” said the sheep, “The grass is green,” and leapt

Shadows fall in the small rooms where thin fat

across the ravine.

men in dark suits speak grave sentences.

But it was far and some fell.

Smoke rises to the sky.

Fox was waiting below and ate them.

The light falls upon the holy face of the boy,

Some fast, some feast.

as she looks

Some on grass, some on sheep.

the hand slips

Some find the grass is as green on both sides of the

and the needle pierces through

ravine.

the weary hand that sews

Sometimes this can only be seen from the bottom of

another dark suit.

the ravine.

12. AGNUS DEI

Agnus Nobis, Agnus Dei Our lamb, lamb of God,

Qui tollis peccata mundi.

you take away the sins of the world.

“Sheep! Why do you sleep when you can dream?”

“Yes! We can dream.”

But the dreams of sheep are sometimes too deep.

Some dream, some sleep. Some sink deep, some count sheep.

13. LUX AETERNA

Some may find the dream is as green as it seems.

May eternal light shine on them.

the dream.

Lux aeterna luceat eis.

Sometimes this can only be seen from the edge of Sometimes by the last light before the last sleep.

The Fireworks Ensemble Founded with the goal of creating a single,

a vast palette of styles and time periods into

the full scope of today’s musical diversity,

programs such as Dance Mix (700 years

small ensemble capable of representing

Fireworks combines the talents of eight classically-trained but musically omnivorous young virtuosi who pride themselves on being

able to play just about anything, regardless of style, time period, or instrumentation. An amplified chamber band with a repertoire that

encompasses

an

extraordinary

range of styles, including Frank Zappa’s

instrumental rock, traditional Americana,

classic cartoon music, ambient techno, and 20th-century orchestral music (to name a few), Fireworks presents a contemporary American vision of chamber music. With

its virtuosic performances, Fireworks has

led the charge to bring a fresh perspective to established audiences, and to create a

thrilling experience for new generations of

listeners beyond the concert hall. Fireworks defies convention with a jazz-like approach to repertoire that treats each piece as a canvas for a unique, personal interpretation.

Founded in 2000 by composer/bassist Brian Coughlin, Fireworks was one of New York City’s first indie-classical bands. Fireworks burst onto the music scene with Coughlin’s rock-inspired

version

of

Stravinsky’s

orchestral masterpiece, The Rite of Spring.

Called “adventurous and ahead of the curve,” “classically-trained but musically

fearless,” and “the bridge between the contemporary classical new music ensemble

and the mainstream popular audience,” Fireworks quickly drew the attention of critics and a national audience. Since then,

the ensemble has expanded its repertoire

with collections of Coughlin’s compositions and arrangements that combine music from

cohesive musical experiences. Fireworks’ of dance music from around the world), Cartoon (music and video inspired by

the golden age of animation), American Tapestry (great American folk, rock, jazz,

and classical masterpieces), and None of the Above (the virtuosic instrumental

music of Frank Zappa), have established the group as one of the country’s most vibrant

and creative young ensembles. Fireworks

tours throughout the United States each year and has appeared on many of the

country’s most prestigious stages, including Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society,

and The Chautauqua Institution. Passionate about its work with young people and dedicated to reaching new audiences of

all ages, Fireworks devotes a large part of

its time each year to educational activities.

The ensemble’s workshops, master classes, and residencies have reached thousands of students throughout the country. Fireworks has

participated

in

Chamber

Music

America’s Residency Partnership Program, Carnegie

Hall’s

Musical

Connections

program, and is currently ensemble-in-

residence at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium.

www.fireworksensemble.org

C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective Daniel Andor started playing piano at

Kristopher Burke has earned degrees in

at The Purcell School of Music, London.

and Vocal Performance from Shenandoah

four and studied composition and piano

His compositions won numerous awards,

and were featured by the Society for the Promotion of New Music during 2000–2002.

Drawn to making music with others, he took up trombone, conducting and singing.

Hayes Biggs studied with Don Freund, Mario

Davidovsky,

Fred

Lerdahl

and

Donald Erb. A 1998 Guggenheim Fellow, he has had residencies at Copland House and

the Tanglewood Music Center. His music

is published by C. F. Peters and APNM, and has been recorded on the Albany and Ravello labels. www.hayesbiggs.com

James Bilodeau grew up in the Adirondacks

music education from Shepherd University Conservatory. Kristopher has also sung as a

church soloists and on stage. He now works for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Hannah Carr took her undergraduate degree in Music and French from Trinity College Dublin, where she won first prize for her

composition portfolio, and an advanced diploma in Choral Conducting at the Kodály Institute in Hungary. She has performed in

classical music as an organist, pianist and singer, as well as in groups from Traditional Irish music to Funk and other popular styles and teaches music at the Chapin School.

and currently lives in Ossining, NY. He

New York composer Jonathan David will

and various musical theater productions.

Commissions by Central City Chorus (NY);

participated in school and church choirs

After graduating from the Hartt School with a bachelor of music degree in music

production, he moved to NYC. He is employed as a voice talent and audio producer for Sirius XM Radio.

Composer,

Singer,

Conductor

Timothy

Brown: 30 year veteran of the choral music world. A compositional fence-sitter.

Theater: Curious George national tour; songs

have eight world premieres this season:

Carroll University (WI, Italian premiere); Marble Collegiate Church Chereb Choir (NY); for baritone Daniel Neer (NY) and

for Jay Barksdale and the Sylvia Townsend Warner Foundation (NY; UK premiere);

Premiers by Cantaria (NC) and the Brooklyn

Youth Chorus’ Young Men’s Chorus (NY).

He is published by Oxford University Press. www.jonathandavidmusic.com.

showcased at BMI, Beechman Theater,

Brian Coughlin (Fireworks) Hailed by Mark

of Love.” Classical: Masters work at MSM;

as “like great Beatles standards,” Brian

Donnell Songbook, and showcase “A Trace premieres - Incidental Dance Suite at Merkin Hall; Drip Dream and In So Many Words by C4.

Greenfest of the New Music Connoisseur Coughlin’s music has been performed at

major venues throughout the United States including Carnegie Hall and the Library of

Congress by major classical, rock, and jazz

7/8 Chorus of The Collegiate School, plus

of Lincoln Center and The Eugene Opera.

www.davidharrismusic.net

groups such as The Chamber Music Society

some random other engagements.

Karen Devine completed a B.A. in Music

Magdalen Kadel sang for many years in the

conducting

Boys at Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton,

at Kenyon College, studying voice and with

Dr.

Benjamin

Locke.

Choral music remained an important part of her life in NYC as she explored various

careers that actually paid. Finally settling

into massage therapy, she has become quite

successful - perhaps, in part, because of her

strict “no bad spa music” policy. She also thinks about practicing her accordion often.

Elizabeth Derham is an avid performer of new music as both a violinist and

singer. She plays frequently with the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM. She has

Girls’ Choir and in the Choir of Men and where she served as head girl under the

direction of John Bertalot. She received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University,

where she was enrolled in the Institute for

Early Music, studying voice with Paul Elliott.

She has had singing engagements with the

New York based contemporary music group Alarm Will Sound. She enjoys living in New York City, where she is soprano section

leader at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, directed by David Hurd.

worked with artists such as David Lang,

Elizabeth Marker is a dedicated choral

Bill T. Jones, and has premiered numerous

Festival Chorus, the award winning Oregon

Magnus Lindberg, Robert Wilson, and

works by composers at Juilliard, Aspen, and Fontainebleau.

Mario Gullo has been seen in New York at

Alice Tully Hall, City Center, the Dramatist’s Guild and the Barrow Street Theater. His

favorite so far has been appearing with Barbara Cook in concert at Carnegie Hall.

Regionally, he has performed at Artpart,

singer having sung with Tanglewood

Repertory Singers, the Russian Chamber Chorus and Cantori New York. She has

performed for Robert Shaw in workshops and with the Festival Singers. Many New York churches have heard her and she is

featured on two recordings: My Heart is Ready, music of Yuri Yukechev ; Le Vin Herbé

by Frank Martin

the Theater of Youth, Tri-State Center for

Ian David Moss co-founded C4 in 2005. A

Philharmonic. He has had pieces performed

he is now Research Director at Fractured

the Performing Arts and the Hudson Valley by the New York City Master Chorale and Bridges Vocal Ensemble.

David Harris (DMA) writes, conducts and

sings with C4, The Brearley Singers and Chamber Orchestra, Columbia Glee Club,

Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the efforvescent

composer and conductor in his former life, Atlas, where he helps funders, government agencies, and others serve the arts more effectively through data. He writes regularly

for the Huffington Post, NewMusicBox, and his blog, Createquity.

Rachel Samet recently emerged from the

television, film, and theatre credits. Studied

of Choral Activities at the University of

College.

Pacific Ocean, where she was the Director Hawaii for four years.

She has worked

with Chris Theofanidis. Faculty CUNY, City

with numerous choirs from across North

Fahad Siadat is a composer/performer

conductor. She holds degrees from Oberlin,

voice that incorporate improvisation and

America as a clinician, adjudicator and guest Boston University and the University of Colorado.

Joseph N Rubinstein is a composer currently studying at Juilliard.

He would like to

thank C4 for bringing him on board for this

awesome project! www.josephnrubinstein.

specializing in theatrical works for the extended technique. He regularly writes for theater, film, and dance, and his one

act work SAHARAVA: A Ritualized DanceOpera will premier in at the NY Fringe

Festival this summer. For more info visit www.fahadsiadat.com

com

Melissa Wozniak is a teaching artist and

Composer and soprano Karen Siegel

NYC Opera. She holds a BME from SUNY

is a founding member of C4. composing

rhythmically

When not

challenging

choral music, she can be found writing a dissertation on Kaija Saariaho’s music for a

PhD program at the CUNY Graduate Center (where she studies with Tania León) and

singing lullabies to her one-year-old son.

She is a graduate of Yale (BA in psychology)

and NYU (MM in music composition, School of Education). www.KarenSiegel.com

Bettina

Sheppard’s

compositions

and

commissions include opera, Stillwaters; Emily Dickinson song cycle; TraumNovela,

Barrow Street Theatre, Barcelona; Millay settings for American Cathedral in Paris;

365 Days/365 Plays, Suzan-Lori Parks, the Public Theater; The Picture of Dorian Grey, Stageworks. Singing credits: Lincoln Center; Carnegie Hall; St Sulpice, Paris; Public

Theatre; Barrow Street. Recordings: Solus (as

Brythonwen), Satin Dolls jazz trio, musical theatre cast recordings.

Also numerous

the

School

Program Administrator

at

Fredonia and an almost MM from the

University of Southern Mississippi. Nonmusical interests include TV shows about forensics, Scottish culture, and her husband, David.

C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective Sopranos Hannah Carr Elizabeth Durham Magdalen Kadel Karen Siegel Martha Sullivan Melissa Wozniak

Altos Karen Devine Elizabeth Marker Rachel Samet Bettina Sheppard

Tenors Kris Burke Mario Gullo David Harris Joseph Rubinstein Fahad Siadat

Basses Daniel Andor Jim Bilodeau Hayes Biggs Timothy Brown Ian David Moss

C4, the world’s first Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, is a unique vocal ensemble in New York City dedicated to performing music written in the last twenty-five years. A collaborative project of its singing members, it functions not only as a presenting ensemble in its own right, with a threeprogram, six-concert season, but also as an ongoing workshop and recital chorus for the emerging composers and conductors who form the core of the group. It is, as far as we know, the first ensemble of its kind.

Please visit our website, www.c4ensemble.org.

The Fireworks Ensemble Brian Coughlin: bass, vocals James Johnston: piano, keyboards Esther Noh: violin Erin Rogers: saxophone

Elizabeth Janzen: flute David Mancuso: drums Gyan Riley: guitar Leigh Stuart: cello

Fireworks Ensemble would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their generous support.

Richard Bornstein and Rabbi Sarah Reines John and Suzanne Bourdeaux Robert Carl Laura Conwesser Renata Cuff David Del Tredici Elmore Inscoe DeMott Gwen Ellison Gene Fader Oren Fader Keator Group, LLC

Christopher and Kathleen M. Healey I. and M. Klipper Nancy Kopans Fabienne Peyrat Robert and Joanne Sohrweide Miki Takane Westergaard Donald Ziegler and Janet Atherton Linda Tarrack Margrit Valliere Sam Coughlin Kristine Steensma, MD Vivian Sorvall

Both The Fireworks Ensembles and C4 have dynamic performing schedules throughout the year. Sign up for our mailing list and stay informed about where you can hear us next! fireworksensemble.org and c4ensemble.org