Dream-Visions Program Booklet

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DREAM-VISIONS LIVE STREAMED FROM THE LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC, CAMBRIDGE CO-SPONSORED BY MASS. CULTURAL COUNCIL, CAMBRIDGE ARTS, BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS, AND LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC

SUNDAY APRIL 25, 2021 AT 3:00PM


PROGRAM Vera

HANNAH KENDALL (b. 1984)

Dearest One, Thou Art My Star

DAVID SANFORD (b. 1963)

Clarinet Quintet in F# minor, Op. 10 (1895) I. Allegro energico II. Larghetto affetuoso III. Scherzo. Allegro leggiero IV. Finale. Allegro agitato

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR (1875-1912)


PROGRAM NOTES VERA

Hannah Kendall

The melodic and harmonic material in this piece was generated through a 12-tone row. In the first instance, the ‘white notes’ (as on the piano) were removed from the series in order and the opening playful section is based on these notes only. These pitches, but in retrograde, also form the basis of the clarinet line when it first enters. The remaining notes of the prime row are introduced for the first time in the following ‘still’ section and as these pitches inflect the harmony inturn, a much heavier and darker effect is created. Each instrument is then given a solo before coming back together for a calmer replay of the opening.


PROGRAM NOTES DEAREST ONE, THOU ART MY STAR (2021)

David Sanford

Dearest One, Thou Art My Star was commissioned by Castle of Our Skins and Winsor Music as a part of the “Dream-Visions” program with Project STEP, and it takes its title from the same poem, “Over the Hills” (1913) by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The work is a quintet (oboe and bass clarinet with string trio) in two movements and takes inspiration from the expansive range, vibrant color, and wide-reaching urban expression of street murals, specifically the now-repurposed Bartlett Yard area of Roxbury which featured larger-than-life renderings of Rosa Parks, Jimi Hendrix, superheroes, poetry and a sprawling array of surreal cartoon and pop art. In spite of the work being fully notated, its quasi-approach is inspired by the high energy works of the free jazz/rock quartet Last Exit (featuring saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, electric guitarist Sonny Sharrock, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson).


PROGRAM NOTES CLARINET QUINTET

Samuel Coleridge–Taylor

If you were a Black classical music lover/player in early 20th century America, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor would not only be a familiar name, but a person that you lauded and sought to emulate. Maybe you caught him during one of his three US tours; heard about his audience with President Theodore Roosevelt; or performed one of his works as a member of the Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society in Washington D.C. His critical acclaim in England and the US could not only be encapsulated in the moniker “the African Mahler;” for here was an Afro-English man exploring and expanding the creative potential of classical music within Black musical practice. Though his life was cut short by pneumonia in 1912, Coleridge-Taylor showed the various ways English romanticism could be utilized in the development of a Black-folk concert tradition. His deep investment in Pan-Africanist aesthetics and diasporic connectivity were reflected in his repertoire (e.g. The Bamboula; 24 Negro Melodies, Violin Concerto in G minor) and his creative relationships with African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906) and Sierra Leonean poet and actress Kathleen Mary Easmon Simango (1891–1924). continued next page…


PROGRAM NOTES continued... Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in 1875 to Dr. Daniel Peter Taylor of Sierra Leone and Alice Hare Martin, a white English woman. He was named for the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) and raised by his mother and maternal grandparents upon his father’s return to West Africa. Starting violin lessons as a child, he continued his musical studies at the Royal College of Music in 1890, where his focus shifted from performance to composition. In 1899, he married his RCM colleague Jessie Walmisley. They had two children, Hiawatha and Gwendolyn Avril, who would craft her own composing career under the name Avril Coleridge–Taylor. The Clarinet Quintet in F# minor was completed in 1895 and published in 1906 by Breitkopf & Härtel. The Allegro energico features melodic layering between clarinet and members of the string quartet. Such an approach allows the polyphonic structure to remain clear and active. The Larghetto affectuoso is pastoral and expressive in a style that would become an important part of film scoring in the 1930s and 1940s. Coleridge-Taylor balances varying characters in the Scherzo. Allegro leggiero, creating a movement that is boisterous, dark, elegant, and light. In the Finale. Allegro agitato, the clarinet introduces the folk-like and harried main theme. Set in rondo form, Coleridge-Taylor uses a call and response texture when the main theme appears later, used to increase the drama and tension before returning to melodic layering. The coda is cheeky and exuberant, emerging from a moment of pastoral lyricism, bringing the work to a satisfying conclusion. — A. Kori Hill


PERFORMER BIOS CHRISTIAN CASIANO, a 17-year-old violinist, is a senior at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, MA. He has been playing the violin for 12 years and has been with Project STEP since the age of 5, joining the program through FOCUS, a rigorous training process for young children around the age of five to be selected to join STEP. Over the years of his studies, he has had the privilege of working with teachers such as Janet Packer, Sophie Vilker, Daniel Stepner, and currently studies with Lucia May, on the faculties at the Longy School of Music and The Rivers School Conservatory. A fierce champion of contemporary music, GABRIELA DÍAZ has worked closely with many composers, namely Pierre Boulez, Magnus Lindberg, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Lucier, Unsuk Chin, John Zorn, Joan Tower, Roger Reynolds, Chaya Czernowin, Steve Reich, Tania León, Brian Ferneyhough, and Helmut Lachenmann. She is a member of several Boston-area contemporary music groups, including Sound Icon, Ludovico Ensemble, BMOP, Dinosuar Annex, Boston Musica Viva, and Callithumpian Consort. She plays regularly with Winsor Music, Mistral Music, Radius Ensemble, and Emmanuel Music and frequently collaborates with Alarm Will Sound, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICEensemble), and A Far Cry. Her recording of Lou Harrison's Suite for Violin and American Gamelan was highlighted in the New York Times Article "5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Classical Music." Critics have acclaimed Gabriela as “a young violin master,” and “one of Boston’s most valuable players.” Others have remarked on her "indefatigably expressive" playing, “polished technique,” and “vivid and elegant playing.” In 2012 Gabriela joined the violin faculty of Wellesley College. Gabriela is coartistic director of the much beloved Boston-based chamber music and outreach organization Winsor Music. Please visit winsormusic.org for more information! Gabriela can be heard on New World, Centaur, BMOPSound, Mode, Naxos, and Tzadik records. Gabriela plays on a Vuillaume violin generously on loan from Mark Ptashne and a viola made by her father, Manuel Diaz. Gabriela is proud to be a core member of the team that created Boston Hope Music, bringing music to patients and frontline workers during the pandemic. More info can be found at bostonhopemusic.org.


PERFORMER BIOS Described as a “charismatic and captivating performer,” ASHLEIGH GORDON has performed with Ensemble Modern, Grammy-award winning BMOP and Grammy-nominated A Far Cry string ensemble. Comfortable on an international stage, Ashleigh has performed in the Royal Albert and Royal Festival Halls (London), Konzerthaus Berlin and Oper Frankfurt (Germany), Gare du Nord and Dampfzentrale Bern (Switzerland), and Centre Pompidou (Paris) among other venues. She is co-founder, Artistic/Executive Director and violist of Castle of our Skins. In recognition of her work, she has been featured in the International Musician magazine and Boston Globe, and was awarded the 2016 Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from the American Federation of Musicians. She is a St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award recipient, a Brother Thomas Fellow, a nominee for the "Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities,” and named one of WBUR’s “ARTery 25”, twenty-five millennials of color impacting Boston’s arts and culture scene. Haitian-American cellist FRANCESCA MCNEELEY has received critical acclaim as a collaborator and soloist, and enjoys an eclectic career in the Boston area. She has premiered dozens of works, solo and chamber music— including pieces by John Harbison, Mark Neikrug, Augusta Read Thomas, and Joseph Phibbs. Recent musical collaborations have included performing as soloist with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, and performing for the Kennedy Center as cellist with Castle of Our Skins. Frequent collaborations include appearances on the New Gallery Concert Series, the Celebrity Series of Boston, and the Archipelago Collective Chamber Music Festival in San Juan Island, WA. She has been invited to participate in various artist residencies at the Longy School of Music, Yellowbarn, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Marquette University, and Keene State College. She has performed with the Boston Symphony and Sarasota Orchestras, and can be heard on BMOP/sound with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. continued next page…


PERFORMER BIOS continued… Ms. McNeeley graduated Princeton University Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to receive scholarships to attend the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the New England Conservatory for her graduate degrees in cello performance. She has earned fellowships and prizes from the Tanglewood Music Center, where she also served as a New Fromm Player. With her Fromm colleagues she has founded the Chroma Trio, championing modern string trio repertoire. She has received fellowships to attend the Music Academy of the West, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, & Toronto Summer Music. She has been awarded multiple grants from the Sphinx Organization, and now serves on The Artist Council for the National Alliance for Audition Support. Her teachers and mentors have included Tom Kraines, Darrett Adkins, Norman Fischer, Yeesun Kim, and Astrid Schween. Francesca is dedicated to community engagement through teaching and mentoring. In addition to her private teaching studio, she serves on the faculty for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Intensive Community Program, the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division, and musiConnects’ Roslindale Community Program.


PERFORMER BIOS Clarinetist RANE MOORE is well-regarded for her thoughtful, provocative interpretations of standard and contemporary repertoire. Fiercely devoted to the new music communities of the East Coast and beyond, Moore is a founding member of the New York based Talea Ensemble which regularly gives premieres of new works at major venues and festivals around the world. Ms. Moore has recently joined the award winning wind quintet, The City of Tomorrow, and is also a member of Boston’s Callithumpian Consort and Sound Icon. Moore is also a regularly invited collaborator with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Bang on a Can All-Stars, New York New Music Ensemble, Boston Musica Viva, Emmanuel Music, A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Ballet Orchestra and is the principal clarinetist for the Boston Philharmonic and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Ms. Moore's latest festival and series performances include events at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, Wien Modern, Warsaw in Autumn, ECLAT in Stuttgart, Darmstadt International Music Festival, Resonant Bodies Festival in New York, Festival Musica Strasbourg, Luxembourg Philharmonie, Project Gruppe Neue Musik in Bremen, Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles, Ojai Music Festival, Cervantino Festival in Mexico, Time of Music in Finland, Bludenzer Tage Zeitgemäßer Musik, Transit Festival in Belgium, Time Spans in Colorado and New York, Contempuls 5 in Prague, Sacrum Profanum in Krakow, June in Buffalo, The Village Vanguard, Newport Jazz Festival, Saalfelden Jazz Festival, and Jazz à la Villette in Paris as well as local and emerging series such as Monadnock Music, Rockport Music, Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Town Hall Concerts in Seattle, and Trinity Wall Street in New York. Ms. Moore is a passionate educator and is on the faculty at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Longy School of Music of Bard College, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice at New England Conservatory, and is the co-director of the Boston Conservatory's High School Composition Intensive. Ms. Moore is the co-artistic director of Winsor Music, a much beloved chamber music series and musical outreach organization in the Boston area. She has recordings on over a dozen labels including Tzadik, Pi, Wergo, Kairos and ECM records. Critics have praised her "enthralling," "tour-de-force," and "phenomenal" performances. ranemoore.com


PERFORMER BIOS Oboist PEGGY PEARSON is a winner of the Pope Foundation Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Music. Lloyd Schwartz, who received the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, called her “my favorite living oboist.” Peggy has performed solo, chamber and orchestral music throughout the United States and abroad. She is principal oboist with the Boston Philharmonic and solo oboist with the Boston-based Emmanuel Chamber Orchestra, an organization that has performed all of the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. She is also a member of the Bach Aria Group. According to Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe, “Peggy Pearson has probably played more Bach than any other oboist of her generation; this is music she plays in a state of eloquent grace.” Ms. Pearson was the founding director of, and is oboist with, Winsor Music, Inc., and a founding member of the ensemble La Fenice. She has toured internationally and recorded extensively with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s as principal oboist, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Music from Marlboro. In addition to her freelance and chamber music activities, Peggy Pearson has been an active exponent of contemporary music. She was a fellow of the Radcliffe Institute in contemporary music, and has premiered numerous works, many of which were written specifically for her. Peggy Pearson has been on the faculties at the Bach Institute (a collaboration between Winsor Music, Emmanuel Music and Oberlin College), Songfest, the Tanglewood Music Center, Boston Conservatory, MIT, U. of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Wellesley College, the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.


COMPOSER BIOS Known for her attentive arrangements and immersive world-building, HANNAH KENDALL’s music looks beyond the boundaries of composition. Her work bridges gaps between different musical cultures, both honouring and questioning the contemporary tradition while telling new stories through it. Contrasting fine detail with limitless abandon, she has become renowned both as a composer and a storyteller, confronting our collective history with narratively-driven pieces centred on bold mission statements. Marked by striking and often polarising dynamics, her large-scale work simmers on the surface, and is upturned by the briefest moments of bombast. Ensemble pieces subvert audience expectations of ‘quiet and loud’, ‘still and moving’; scattering those musical opposites unexpectedly. The sounds are visceral, but their placement is complicated, disclosing the detail that exists beneath. While hinging on intense moments, Kendall’s music is also staggeringly intricate, manoeuvring tiny decisions that reveal themselves on further listens. Kendall’s recent work has provided a meeting point for different types of music, carrying with it the weight of connected but unharmonised histories. Recently, she’s achieved this by looking beyond the typical tools of composition, using auxiliary instruments that exist outside of the concert hall. In Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama, she integrated the spiritual Wade in the Water, transcribing its melody into a delicate music box, contrasting the fragility of the instrument against the song’s resounding place in history. Tuxedo: Hot Summer No Water (2020) for solo cello features an ACME Metropolitan whistle, placing a sonic timestamp on the piece; pointing to a year significantly defined by the police’s presence in black communities. continued next page…


COMPOSER BIOS continued… Her Tuxedo series is named after an artwork by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. His eponymous piece provides one of many graphic scores that Kendall has used as inspiration throughout her career. Rather than create ‘representations’ of these images, she uses them to spark her writing process. Building pieces from a place of intuition, her compositions are just as likely to be become abstracted, turned inside out by surprises she finds along the way, as they are to have a firm narrative. Kendall’s work has been widely celebrated. She has created pieces such as Disillusioned Dreamer (2018), which the San Francisco Chronicle praised for having a ‘rich inner life’, as well as The Knife of Dawn (2016), a chamber opera that received critical acclaim for its involving and claustrophobic representation of the incarceration of Guyanese political activist Martin Carter. Her work has been performed extensively, and across many platforms. She has worked with ensembles including London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé, Ensemble Modern, and London Sinfonietta, but you’ll also find her collaborating with choreographers, poets and art galleries; crossing over to different art-forms, and celebrating the impact these unique settings have on sound. She is currently composing an Afrofuturist opera for experimental vocalist and movement artist Elaine Mitchener. Born in London in 1984, Kendall is based in New York City as a Doctoral Fellow in composition at Columbia University. — Biography by Robin Smith


COMPOSER BIOS DAVID SANFORD credits a variety of influences with igniting his musicianship. “I started on trombone when I was about ten and liked big band music early. I wanted to be a jazz musician. Charles Mingus inspired me to be a composer later on.” Sanford was also influenced by rhythm and blues/funk groups like Parliament, the Isley Brothers, and Sly and the Family Stone and, later, by orchestral and more mainstream popular music. After completing undergraduate music studies at the University of Northern Colorado, he earned a master's degree in theory and composition from the New England Conservatory of Music and an M.F.A. and Ph.D. at Princeton University. Sanford has won many awards and honors, including a BMI Student Composer Award, a Koussevitzky Commission and a Guggenheim Fellowship, which enabled him to take a year off to focus exclusively on composing during graduate school. Recently, Sanford won the Samuel Barber Rome Prize Fellowship, allowing him to stay at the American Academy in Rome for 11 months with a group of 25 to 30 scholars in other areas of the humanities. One of the referees for his work wrote: “David Sanford is the real thing, a composer in the American tradition of brash, open-eared exploration: no material is too exalted or too debased for him to transform into his living art.” Sanford’s works have been performed by the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Chicago Symphony Chamber Players, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Harlem Festival Orchestra, cellist Matt Haimovitz, the Corvini e Iodice Roma Jazz Ensemble, the Meridian Arts Ensemble, Speculum Musicae, the Empyrean Ensemble at UC Davis, Mount Holyoke faculty members Linda Laderach, Adrianne Greenbaum, and Larry Schipull, and dozens of other groups and performers. In addition, he has conducted performances of his own works at Monadnock Music, New England Conservatory, the Knitting Factory, and the Five Colleges New Music Festival, and leads his own big band, the Pittsburgh Collective.


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