Capital Trio and Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company

Performing Arts Center university at albany State University of New York

2023-24

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Cover photo: Tatiana Desardouin, Passion Fruit Dance Company | Photo by Loreto Jamlig Photo this page: UAlbany Performing Arts Center | Photo by Patrick Ferlo

The University at Albany sits at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers on the traditional lands of the Kanien’keháka and Muh-he-con-neok people, who stewarded this land for generations before the arrival of European colonists. The Kanien’keháka (People of the Flint) and Muh-he-con-neok (People of the Waters that are Never Still) are more commonly known today as the Mohawk Haudenosaunee and StockbridgeMunsee Band of Mohicans. Despite the similarity of their westernized names, the Mohawk and Mohican were culturally and linguistically distinct.

The UAlbany community recognizes that we live and work on the homelands of sovereign Indigenous nations with rich histories and cultures that continue today – both within New York and beyond.

As an institution devoted to teaching, scholarship, and service, we strive to understand and learn from our history and to affirm Indigenous rights and issues. To this end, we are committed to cultivating reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities focused on equity, social justice, and sustainability – and dismantling legacies of colonization.

Visit the UAlbany Performing Arts Center website at

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Photo: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company

for a full listing of this season’s events.

Program Boundary Behavior (premiere)

Choreography: Ellen Sinopoli and dancers Music: Eighth Duo by David Walther, Jr. Lighting Design: Patrick Ferlo Costumes: Kim Vanyo Performed by: Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company Hilary Walther Cumming, violin Duncan J. Cumming, piano

Piano Trio in G major, Op. 1 No. 2

by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Adagio - Allegro vivace Largo con espressione Scherzo: Allegro Finale: Presto Performed by Capital Trio Hilary Walther Cumming, violin Şölen Dikener, cello Duncan J. Cumming, piano

As Seen from Above

(premiere: 2018; expansion: 2024)

Choreography: Ellen Sinopoli and dancers Music: Catbird at Matins, Evensong & Saturday Night Fish Fry from “A Book of Hours” by William Matthews Lighting Design: Patrick Ferlo Costumes: Kim Vanyo Performed by: Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company Capital Trio

Program Notes The choreography of Boundary Behavior explores how boundaries control and curtail movement and yet enable it when they segment, shatter, reshape and become living malleable entities.

David Walther’s Eighth Duo was written for Duncan and Hilary Cumming in 2018. Youthfulness, reassurance through patterns and silliness define this piece in many ways. A genial, friendly movement opens the Duo — an innocent, querying, repeating motive in 7/8 time finds its way between each instrument, tossed back and forth in a playful game, as a lithe theme skips and dives over and around it. An ostinato pattern again roots the second movement in reassuring repetition; however, layered over this gentle rocking motion there is an electronic toy, which is slowly running out of batteries. In the middle section of this ABA form, the toy seems to realize that it is struggling with its own death: the piano wriggles and writhes wildly in the bass of the instrument. In the third movement, titled OCD is Disco, repetition turns into something more aligned with obsession. A frantic three-note motive seems unstoppable, careening practically out of control. Leaping, thrashing octaves make a ridiculous attempt to balance this driving motive. Playfulness is still central to the movement: if you listen carefully you might hear a quote from the Bee Gees folded into the wild texture! The piece ends with a smile and a wink of the eye.

Beethoven’s Trio Op 1 No 2 is a work written by a young Beethoven: it is hopeful, playful and earnest. The first movement is sturdy and robust, a noble introduction preceding a jolly, good-natured sonata-form movement. Lightning-fast 16th notes in the piano strike throughout the movement giving it energy and sparkle. The tender

second movement shows Beethoven’s lyrical cantabile style at its best. In Beethoven’s hands the sweetest melody imaginable turns dark and foreboding, and then somehow by the end of the movement we are back again to hope and acceptance. The third movement gives us the light sorbet needed to bring us willingly to the silly games of the last movement. Each instrument tosses a ball, filled with 16th notes, back and forth; a game of tag; hide-and-seek. We will have to wait for the angry, dark, intensely philosophical Beethoven to appear in another piece.

The first two sections of As Seen from Above were premiered in 2018 in a performance with the Capital Trio presented in honor of the 25th anniversary of UAlbany’s College of Arts and Sciences. The third section is newly created and will premiere this evening. The music is filled with avian imagery and imagination that speaks to swirls, accents, sudden stillness, unexpected energy and speed, voluminous quiet.

Bill Matthews conceived his A Book of Hours in a similar vein to the Roman Catholic medieval prayer book, which beckoned the owner of the book to prayer at certain set times of day. Different hours of the day were thus marked by different liturgical words and songs, and the illuminated manuscripts inspired different moods and sensibilities. Matthews’ marked the hours of the composer’s day as he moved through his own life in Lewiston, Maine in the early 21st Century. “Catbird at Matins” is a testament to the bird that faithfully arrived in the dense darkness of early morning to bravely announce daybreak to all. “Evensong” and “Fish Fry (Unevensong)” are a pair of opposites that work together to create a whole: “Evensong” breathes and swells, distant and otherworldly, in the twilight; “Fish Fry” celebrates the rowdy, social Friday night fish fry, a Downeast Maine tradition.

About the Ensembles The Capital Trio began as the Cecilia Piano Trio in 1997, named not only for the patron saint of music but also the cellist’s daughter, who was two years old at the time. Founding and current members Duncan Cumming, piano, and Şölen Dikener, cello were surprised to discover at their first rehearsal that their teachers, Frank Glazer and Paul Tortelier, had performed together in Paris and Boston almost 70 years earlier and the young performers immediately forged a musical bond of friendship. Violinist Hilary Cumming joined the group in 1999 and 2024 marks their 25th year together.

The Capital Trio was established as ensemble-in-residence at UAlbany in 2008 and they took on their current name to reflect their new incarnation. Since their UAlbany debut, they have toured the southern U.S., New England, and Europe in addition to their concerts in New York. Having held rigorous summer residencies in the past in Maine and in Michigan, since coming to NY they have been pleased to be rekindling this passion and commitment to the art of chamber music at UAlbany. In addition to their performing and teaching at UAlbany, through an artist exchange program they have performed, lectured, coached, and given master classes at Williams College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, SUNY Oswego, Long Island University, Clark University, and many other schools.

The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC) is a 33-year-old not-for-profit arts organization located in the Capital Region.

ESDC’s commitment to Create, Collaborate, Educate and Partner remains in the forefront as it shares its work with diverse audiences through concerts, showcases, residencies, workshops and educational & community outreach. Past commissions include new work for Bach Cello Suites Workshop, Chesterwood Museum, The Egg, Fenimore Art Museum, Hyde Collection, Olana Partnership, Opalka Gallery/Russell Sage College, Saratoga County Arts Council, Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, Schenectady Museum and St Cecelia Orchestra.

As the resident company of The Egg in Albany for 32 years, ESDC is part of its highly successful dance season that presents many NY-based, national, and international dance companies. ESDC’s performances at professional, regional, and college theaters, community centers, art galleries, public playgrounds, public schools, libraries, museums, historic sites, and storefronts include venues in MA, NYC, and throughout 17 NYS counties. Within the Capital Region, ESDC has performed at Albany’s The Egg, NYS Museum, WAMC’s The Linda, the Opalka Gallery, and Albany Institute of History and Art. ESDC was featured on WMHT’s AHA!: A House for Arts program in the Spring of 2020. Additional locations include Troy’s historic Gasholder Building, Arts Center of the Capital Region, and Troy Savings Bank Music Hall; Schenectady’s Proctors and Schenectady Museum; and Cambridge’s Hubbard Hall. ESDC has performed at many of the area’s institutes of higher education including St. Rose, FMCC, HVCC, Rensselaer, Russell Sage, Skidmore, SUNY Cobleskill, UAlbany, and Union. ESDC has been invited to perform at gubernatorial inaugurations, art center/gallery openings, senior centers, fundraising events for area school districts and other not-for-profit organizations, First Night celebrations for Albany, Saratoga and Chatham, Albany’s First Friday and Tulip Festival, and Troy’s Troy Night Out events. NYC performances include Lincoln Center, Mulberry Street Theater, St. Mark’s Church and Ryan Theater (DUMBO Festival) and Riverside Theater. In MA, ESDC has appeared at the Chesterwood Museum, Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow.

Committed to bringing dance to underserved communities and populations through Arts-in-Education, ESDC offers performances and workshops in and around NYS’s Capital Region.

Residencies, workshops, and/or performances bring the excitement of exploring the creative process to children and young adults in both urban and rural schools. Its educational programs introduce and explore modern dance in a pure performing sense and utilize dance to teach curricula and enhance understanding of the connectedness of art and everyday life. By making these early connections with an art form,

the company creates a respect for and understanding of the arts and its performing artists. This carries over into adult years and is passed down to future generations. ESDC partners with SPAC for its Classical Kids educational programs for middle school students. Specially designed educational programming includes Celtic Footprints, Choreophysics, Dance by Chance, If Books Could Dance!, Science In Motion, Undercover Playground, and From the Mind of a Single Long Vine, one hundred opening lives.

ESDC’s outreach programming continues to expand as work is brought to community centers, daycare centers, public playgrounds, libraries, art galleries, and centers for special populartions. ESDC’s outreach partnerships have included organizations like the Center for Disability Services for which ESDC taught creative movement workshops at the Smith Center (adult population) and Langan School (ages pre-school - 21) as part of the “Creative Movement” program, a one-of-a-kind collaborative community partnership with MOVE--Mobility Opportunities Via Experience. Creative movement workshops for these populations are designed to introduce the joy of dance, movement for self-expression, and creativity into their everyday lives.

ESDC has received funding from the NYS Council on the Arts for multi-year general operating support, individual artist projects, long-term AIE residencies, and three long-term residencies at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center. It has received support from Bender Family Foundation, Capital Region Living Magazine/Saratoga Living Magazine, Charles R. Wood Foundation, Charles and Cornelia Hume Charitable Trust, Capital District Physicians Health Plan, Community Foundation for the Capital Region’s Robert C. Reilly Salary Fund, Howard and Bush Foundation, the Mary Jane Dike Family, Meet the Composer, Opalka Family, NYS DanceForce, NYS Music Fund, Partners in Dance, Poets & Writers, PriceChopper’s Golub Foundation, Stewart’s Shops/Dake Family, Ed Swyer/ Stuyvesant Plaza, Inc, Troy Redevelopment Fund and the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation.

About the Artists Hannah Albin (dancer) is a performing artist from the Bay Area, CA. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Dance Choreography with a Minor in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine, where she trained under the direction of Molly Lynch and Lar Lubovitch, graduating with the Dean’s Scholarship and department honors for Excellence in Dance Choreography. In 2021, she trained with the José Limón Dance foundation under the direction of Dante Puleio performing solos in Missa Brevis and Dances for Isadora. She has been a merit scholarship recipient with the Limón Dance Company, Black Label Movement, and Backhaus Dance. She’s choreographed for dance films and on stage for UCI’s Physical Graffiti, Bare Bones Dance Theater, the St. Cecilia Conservatory of Rome, Italy, and the Experimental Media Performance Lab where she directed, ran, and choreographed her own live show entitled Prefer Not To Say for which she was awarded the Medici Circle Scholarship. Hannah joined ESDC in 2022.

Duncan J. Cumming (musician) has been teaching at the University at Albany since 2006. He has performed concertos, recitals, and chamber music concerts in North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. He has recorded three albums for the Centaur label. The first is a solo recording (CRC 3125) including music of Brahms, Debussy, Satie, and Chopin and the second is a historical instrument recording with Christopher Hogwood (CRC 3231) of the music of Carl Maria von Weber on Weber’s own 1815 Brodmann fortepiano. His most recent CD for Centaur (CRC 3834) came out in June of 2021, called From Bangkok to Bangor, and it is a story and music for children with narrator Lucy Cumming and illustrations by Hilary Cumming.

He also has three chamber music recordings with Albany Records including A Book of Hours (TROY 1239), Threads of the Heart (TROY 1428) and Distance (TROY 1864). He is the pianist of the Capital Trio, ensemble-in-residence at UAlbany,

and the trio has performed, lectured, and taught master classes in residencies at Williams College in Massachusetts and Cambridge University in England among other places. He lives in New York with his wife, the violinist Hilary Walther Cumming, and his children Lucy, Mairi, and William Bear.

Since his solo debut in 1985, cellist Şőlen Dikener (musician) appeared in the USA and Europe as a soloist and also as a chamber musician with numerous groups, and most recently with the Capital Trio, based at the University at Albany. A promoter of contemporary music, he recorded six albums featuring premiere works for solo cello and chamber music of many modern composers. Dikener’s talent was recognized early on and following his graduation from the Gifted Students’ class in Ankara he studied in France with legendary cellist Paul Tortelier. He currently teaches as a cello professor at Marshall University and is also the founder of the Dat.C.A. Summer Cello Academy. In 2022 he published a new solo album "My Beautiful Star" available worldwide through Centaur Records.

Emily Gunter (dancer) is an alumna of Skidmore College where she received her BA in Dance and Classics. She has performed works by Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Stephen Petronio, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown, as well as Skidmore faculty Denise Warner Limoli, Mary Harney, Debra J. Fernandez, and Erika Pujič. In 2019, she presented original choreography inspired by Ovid’s myth of Pygmalion at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum alongside a curated selection of sculptures from the Tang’s permanent collections.

She has presented new choreography at Engine in Biddeford, ME and most recently, at the Art Society of Kingston, taking inspiration from Greek and Roman mythological heroines. She is originally from Hartford, CT and is an avid tap dancer. She is a dance instructor for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Art in Motion Dance Academy, as well as Administrative Assistant to the Artistic Director and an Arts in Education Coordinator for ESDC. Emily joined the company in 2020.

Emily Relyea-Spivack (dancer) is a Northern New Jersey native, where she received her early dance training at Nunnbetter Dance Theatre. After completing a year in The Ailey School’s Junior Division, she went off to study Dance at The Hartt School and performed original works by Stephen Pier, Gregory Dobashian, and Loni Landon. She ultimately graduated with her BFA in Dance from UMASS Amherst where she had more opportunities to perform works by John Heginbotham, Leslie Frye-Maietta, and Jennifer Hart. Prior to moving to the Capital Region, she was based in NYC where she was a company member of Chris Ferris & Dancers and Six Degrees Dance Company. Emily is also a certified Pilates Instructor and founder of her small online business, Emily RS Pilates. Emily joined ESDC in 2021.

Kyra Pitts (dancer) grew up in the Capital Region, receiving her early dance training from various local studios. She made appearances in dance opportunities for younger artists including performing with New York City Ballet at SPAC, The Great Russian Nutcracker by Moscow Ballet at The Palace Theater, and ESDC’s Egg Kids Project. At the age of 14, she began her pre-professional training in New York City at Joffrey Ballet School. Kyra is a graduate of Joffrey’s Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program, under the direction of Angelica Stiskin and Michael Waldrop. She has trained and worked with notable artists such as Yin Yue, Yoshito Sakuraba, Billy Griffin, Jason Luks, Adrian Lee, Amélie Bénard, and Michael Peña. Kyra performed in New York Fashion Week for Marc Jacobs working with choreographer Karole Armitage. She has appeared on ESPN+ performing in the FISU World University Games Opening Ceremony in Lake Placid. Kyra joined ESDC in 2023.

Andrè Robles (dancer) is a graduate of the Joffrey Ballet School NYC. While a student at JBS he had the opportunity to perform with the Joffrey Ballet in works by noted choreographers Gerald Arpino, Peter Pucci, and Margo Sappington.

Prior to his time at JBS he studied at the Ailey School where he danced in works by Dwight Rhoden, Nacho Duato, Troy Powell, Pedro Ruiz, and Judith Jamison. He also studied at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires where he danced in works by George Balanchine and Marius Petipa. He hails from Brooklyn. He has presented his own choreography at The Arts Center of the Capital Region as part of Troy Night Out. André joined ESDC in 2009.

Sara Senecal (dancer) holds an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and a BA in Dance and minor in Education from the University at Buffalo. Along with dancing for ESDC Sara has presented her own choreography at many locations across NYS such as The Poet’s Den in Harlem, Byrdcliffe Theatre in Woodstock, The Carrier Theater in Syracuse, and The Egg PAC as the choreographer for ESDC’s Egg Kids Project. In 2018, she was the winner of Nacre’s “So You Think You Can Choreograph” Showcase in Saratoga Springs. Sara joined Russell Sage College as faculty in 2017. She is originally from Schenectady, NY where she studied at Merritt Dance Center under Mara and Marlene Merritt. Sara has been with the ESDC since 2010 and is an Arts in Education Coordinator for the company.

Ellen Sinopoli (choreographer) founded ESDC in 1991 after settling in the Capital Region from Boston and NYC. Under her direction, ESDC has become one of the premier dance companies upstate. The Company employs a steady roster of professional modern dancers to bring dance to traditional and non-traditional venues. ESDC dancers are a muse for Sinopoli’s creative process and are applauded for their consistent excellence and artistry, their movement imaginings, and deep professionalism. Sinopoli and her dancers have created over 100 new works with her many artistic collaborations and projects serving as a conduit to bring together talented artists (both regional and national) from varied genres that include visual artists, sculptors, architects, composers, musicians, poets, storytellers, videographers, photographers and physicists.

Beyond her role as Artistic Director and choreographer, Ellen is also noted for her talents as a master teacher and for her efforts to educate young people about dance. She was Coordinator of Dance Programming at Russell Sage College until her retirement in 2020. She has taught at Siena College, Skidmore College, Union College, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Saratoga City Ballet and Guilderland Ballet, among others.

Ellen and ESDC were featured in the March 2019 issue of HERLIFE MAGAZINE. In 2016, Ellen was one of thirteen women featured in the TIMES UNION’s Women@Work magazine highlighting women in the arts. Ellen has appeared on “Schenectady Today”, WAMC’s Roundtable and WMHT’s Local Artist interviews for PBS’ Fall Arts Festival and WMHT’s “Our Town Troy”. In 2002, she received the “Educator of Excellence” award from WTEN, an affiliate of ABC. She was one of the 100 “Women of Excellence” honored by the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2000 and was a recipient of the 2000 Arts Awards from the Albany/ Schenectady League of Arts in the Capital Region of NYS. Violinist Hilary Walther Cumming (musician) teaches at the University at Albany and performs as the violinist of the Capital Trio with American pianist Duncan Cumming and Turkish cellist Sölen Dikener. Before moving to NY, she served as concertmaster of the Cape Cod Sinfonietta and the Andover Chamber Orchestra; she has been heard as soloist with these ensembles as well as with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Concord Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Principal influences for her style and discipline are Joseph Silverstein, Franco Gulli and Shmuel Ashkenasi on modern violin, Stanley Ritchie on Baroque violin, and Seamus Connolly on Irish traditional fiddle. These outstanding artists continue to guide her and inspire her every moment she spends with her violin.

She has performed most extensively with the Capital Trio, ATHELAS (Denmark), Boston-based Sarasa, the Abbott Trio, and the Coleridge Ensemble. Her recordings can be found on

Albany Records, Meridien and AFKA Records. As an orchestra musician, she has played in major halls on four continents; as a chamber musician she has recently toured Denmark, France and Switzerland with the Capital Trio. Her first love and passion remains the study and performance of chamber music.

Sponsors Tonight’s performance is part of Dance in Albany, a joint series presented by the UAlbany Performing Arts Center and The Egg.

UALBANY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PAC, 266 518-442-3995 www.albany.edu/pac

THE EGG Empire State Plaza 518-473-1061 www.theegg.org

Support provided by University at Albany Foundation and University Auxiliary Services UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION University Administration Building, 226 518-437-5090 www.albany.edu/uafoundation

UNIVERSITY AUXILIARY SERVICES University Administration Building, 232 518-442-5950 www.albany.edu/uas

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Created and produced by the University Art Museum, NYS Writers Institute and UAlbany Performing Arts Center in collaboration with WAMC Northeast Public Radio, this popular series features leading figures from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation about their creative inspirations, their craft and their careers. “Roundtable” host Joe Donahue conducts live on-stage interviews followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Dance Albany 2023-24

in

See all of these performances for only $110!

Dayton Contemporary Dance Co October 20 Passion Fruit Dance Co November 4

Performing Arts Center university at albany State University of New York

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Co December 2 Photo: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company

Mark Morris Dance Group January 25 Ellen Sinopoli Dance Co with Capital Trio - January 27 * Monica Bill Barnes & Co February 3 No Gravity Theatre February 9 Savion Glover April 13 Ellen Sinopoli Dance Co May 18 Packages also available for choice of five or three at 25% or 10% discounts, respectively.

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* This show is free and does not factor into package pricing.

Packages available through The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza or by calling (518) 473-1845

Troy, Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga Springs, NY

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