fa culty a rtis t s eri es
Benjamin Verdery composer, guitar
Yumi Kurosawa composer, koto
Elizabeth Brown composer, shakuhachi, theremin
morse recital hall February 18, 2013 • Monday at 8 pm Standing in our own light: introspective music for guitar, koto, theremin, and shakuhachi
Robert Blocker, Dean
s tand ing in our ow n li ght
Isaac Albéniz 1860–1909 Arr. John Williams
Córdoba, Op. 232, No. 4 From Chants d’ Espagne
Ezra Laderman b. 1924
On Vineyard Sound (2009) written for Benjamin Verdery a. With rhythmic drive and propulsion b. Andantino c. Brusque, Strident d. With rhythmic drive and propulsion – Coda Benjamin Verdery, guitar
Traditional Arr. Yumi Kurosawa
Takeda Lullaby
Yumi Kurosawa b. 1975
Inner Space (2003) Yumi Kurosawa, koto
Yatsuhashi Kengyo 1614–1685
Midare (‘disorder’) Elizabeth Brown, shakuhachi • Yumi Kurosawa, koto intermission
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
February 18, 2013 • Sprague Memorial Hall • Faculty Artist Series
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791 Arr. Benjamin Verdery
Adagio in B minor, K. 540
Elizabeth Brown b. 1953
Shakuhachi Solos from Isle Royale (2005) 1. Loons 2. Black-throated Blue Warbler
Benjamin Verdery, guitar
Elizabeth Brown, shakuhachi
Benjamin Verdery b. 1955
Standing In Your Own Light (2012) A Kyo-Shin-An Arts Commission written for Yumi Kurosawa Yumi Kurosawa, koto • Benjamin Verdery, guitar
Elizabeth Brown
Atlantis (2007) written for Benjamin Verdery Elizabeth Brown, theremin • Benjamin Verdery, guitar
About the Artists
benjamin verdery, guitar Described as “iconoclastic” and “inventive” by The New York Times and “one of the classical guitar world’s most foremost personalities,” by Classical Guitar Magazine, Benjamin Verdery enjoys an innovative and eclectic musical career. Since 1980 Benjamin Verdery has performed worldwide in theatres and at festivals, including Theatre Carré (Amsterdam); the International Guitar Festival (Havana, Cuba); Wigmore Hall (England); the 92nd Street Y, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera (NYC). His tours regularly take him to Canada, Europe, Asia and throughout the United States. He has recorded and performed with such diverse
artists as Andy Summers, Frederic Hand, William Coulter, Leo Kottke, Anthony Newman, Jessye Norman, Paco Peña, Hermann Prey, and John Williams. Several composers have composed music for him including Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick, Daniel Asia, John Anthony Lennon, Ingram Marshall, Anthony Newman, Roberto Sierra, Van Stiefel and Jack Vees. Of particular note was the commissioning by the Yale University Music Library of a work by Ingram Marshall for classical and electric guitars. Benjamin and Andy Summers premiered Dark Florescence at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra and at the Belfast Festival (Ireland) with the Ulster Orchestra. Benjamin has released over 15 albums, his most recent being: Happy Here with William Coulter (Mushkatweek) and Branches with works by J.S. Bach, Strauss, Jimi Hendrix, Mozart and the traditional Amazing Grace (Mushkatweek). His recording, Start Now (Mushkatweek), won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award. Other recordings of note include Some Towns & Cities which won the 1992 Guitar Player Magazine Best Classical Guitar Recording, and his collaborations with John Williams (John Williams Plays Vivaldi) and Andy Summers (First You Build A Cloud). A prolific composer, many of Benjamin Verdery’s compositions have been
Benjamin Verdery is managed by Gami Simonds. Photo credit: Mitsuko Verdery.
About the Artists
performed, recorded and published over the years. Most recently Pensacola College (FL) commissioned a work for guitar orchestra commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Guitar Program (premiere October 13, 2012), and the New York State Council on the Arts commissioned a work for koto and guitar. In 2010 the Assad Duo premiered Ben’s work, What He Said. Commissioned by the 92 St Y, the work is dedicated to the late luthier Thomas Humphrey. Other recent works include Now and Ever (for David Russell,Telarc), Peace, Love and Guitars (for John Williams and John Etheridge, SONY Classical), Capitola (John Williams, SONY Classical) and Give (for eight guitars). This last was composed specifically for Thomas Offermann and the guitar ensemble of the Hochschule for Music and Theatre (Rostock, Germany) and was dedicated to the memory of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy. Ben’s Scenes from Ellis Island, for guitar orchestra, has been extensively broadcast and performed at festivals and universities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet included it on their CD Air and Ground (Sony Classical). Doberman-Yppan (Canada) is currently publishing his solo and duo works for guitar and Workshop Arts (distributed by Alfred Music) has published the solo pieces from Some Towns & Cities as well as instructional books and video.
In addition to his performance tours and recording, since 1985, Benjamin has been chair of the guitar department at the Yale University School of Music and Artistic Director of the bi-annual Yale Guitar Extravaganza. Benjamin Verdery has also been Artistic Director of Art of the Guitar at the 92nd St Y (New York City) since 2006. He is an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the Swiss Global Foundation, and the D’Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts. Each summer Benjamin holds his Annual International Master Class on the island of Maui (Hawaii). »www.benjaminverdery.com
About the Artists
and has played this piece several times in venues such as the World Financial Center, NYC, and the Chelsea Music Festival in 2012. Kurosawa has also collaborated in cross-genre projects with various genres of artists at Apollo Sound Stage, Joe’s Pub, Highline Ballroom, and others.
yumi kurosawa, koto Born and raised in Japan, Yumi Kurosawa began to study koto when she was three. She received the first prize in the National Competition for students in 1989 and ’92 and a Scholarship from The Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan in ’98. Yumi played in the Prague Cello Ensemble Concert at Suntory Hall, Tokyo in ’96, and the NHK Broadcast TV program, GenjimonogatariWAKANA in ’00. As well as extensive performance in Japan, she has toured in Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, and United States. In 2002, she moved to New York, and performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She gave the premiere of Daron Hagen’s Koto Concerto Genji with the Orchestra of the Swan in the U.K. in 2011,
Her first original album, Beginning of a Journey, featuring her own compositions, was released in 2009. She also studied computer music while she was attending Keio University, and creates songs with computer sound as well. She has received numerous warm concert reviews from publications such as the New York Times and Washington Post. » www.yumikuro.com
About the Artists
elizabeth brown, shakuhachi, theremin Elizabeth Brown combines a successful composing career with an extremely diverse performing life, playing flute, shakuhachi, and theremin in a wide variety of musical circles. Her chamber music, shaped by this unique group of instruments and experiences, has been called luminous, dreamlike, and hallucinatory. Brown’s music has been heard in Japan, the Soviet Union, Colombia, Australia, and Vietnam as well as across Europe and the U.S. She has received grants, awards, and commissions from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Barlow Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, Music From Japan, the Cary Trust, the Greenwall Foundation, NYFA, Orpheus, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Newband, and the
Japan/U.S. Friendship Commission. Notable recent pieces include Mirage (2008) for shakuhachi and string quartet; Piranesi (2008) for theremin, string quartet, and video; Seahorse (2008), a concerto for theremin and Partch instruments; and a chamber opera, Rural Electrification (2006), for theremin, voice, and recorded sound. Brown has been a fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy and at the MacDowell Colony, and was Artist-in-Residence at the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, in the Grand Canyon, in Maine’s Acadia National Park, and in Isle Royale National Park, a U.S. Biosphere Reserve in the middle of Lake Superior. Her music has been recorded on Innova, CRI, Albany, and Music and Arts, and New World Records will release a solo CD next season. A native of Alabama, Brown received a Master’s degree in flute performance from The Juilliard School in 1977. She is currently Adjunct Professor of Composition at the Hartt School of Music.
» www.elizabethbrowncomposer.com
Upcoming Events
Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Gamak
Music of Christopher Theofanidis
february 22
february 28
Morse Recital Hall | Friday | 8 pm Ellington Jazz Series Featuring David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, guitar; Francois Moutin, bass; and Dan Weiss, drums. Mahanthapa, the cross-cultural saxophone sensation, posseses “a roving intellect and a bladelike articulation.” – New York Times Tickets $25–30, Students $10
Morse Recital Hall | Monday | 8 pm Faculty Artist Series The Henschel Quartet Munich and pianist Donald Berman perform a concert of chamber music by composer Christopher Theofanidis. Free Admission
New Music New Haven march 7
Yale Percussion Group february 24 Morse Recital Hall | Sunday | 8 pm Student Ensembles Robert Van Sice, director. Free Admission
Morse Recital Hall | Thursday | 8 pm New Music New Haven Featuring music by guest composer Michael Daugherty ’82mm, along with new music by Yale student composers. Free Admission
Concert Programs & Box Office: Krista Johnson, Carol Jackson, Julie Blindauer Communications: Dana Astmann, Monica Ong Reed, Austin Kase Operations: Tara Deming, Chris Melillo Piano Curators: Brian Daley, William Harold Recording Studio: Eugene Kimball
P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT · 203 432-4158
Robert Blocker, Dean
music.yale.edu