|
That Line of Winged Dots (2007)
—
David Eagle
The title of the work That Line of
Winged Dots
comes from a poem by Daniel David Moss that on the surface is an
observation of geese flying south through turbulent weather.
These few words evoke both the character of the piece and the nature of
the material and compositional process. The work has 14 sections that
flow/fly from one to the next: some smooth and reflective, some with
clear gestures and formations, and others unpredictable and volatile. |
|
|
|
Scenes
for Trio
Cassandra —
Quenten Doolottle
Music and sound created for a production of Euripides’ The Trojan Women
at the University of Calgary in 1985 inspired this work for piano trio.
Music for the first of the three scenes, Cassandra,
is built around two highly charged themes which describe the emotional
state of this mythological Trojan woman. She was cursed with the
burden of deep understanding and knowledge of the future but her
predictions were mocked with disbelief. Her inevitable murder occurs
with her full knowledge.
It was commissioned by the Manitoba Trio, premiered in Winnipeg and was
performed on tour in Paris and Madrid. |
|
|
|
Fantasy for Cello and Piano
(2006) —
Healther Schmidt
Fantasy for Cello and
Piano
was commissioned by the Harvard Musical Association, and premiered by
Shauna Rolston and Heather Schmidt in Boston in April 2006. This is the
third composition that Heather has composed specifically for Shauna,
the first being a Cello Concerto in 1998 and the other being another
duo for cello and piano, Icicles of Fire, written in 2003.
Fantasy represents
a departure
from the composer's previous compositional style in a number of ways,
including the widely-spaced double-stop 10ths in the cello, which open
and close the work. Other elements are consistent with the composer's
usual style, including the emotional intensity, overall harmonic
language, textures, and use of extreme range of registers in the piano.
|
|
|
|
Prelude and Groove (2009) —
Vincent Ho
For
the celebration the Rozsa Centre’s 10th Anniversary, I was given a
unique challenge: out of a list of words that embodied special meaning
to the Rozsa family, I was to compose a work using any one of them for
solfege compositional procedures. Two words in particular stimulated my
creative imagination: Lola and doodlebug.
Prelude – the
name Lola
brought up memories of a woman I once knew. As well, the phonetic
quality of the name hearkened the poetries of Arthur Rimbaud (where his
choice of words were based on their phonetic sounds to intensify the
reader’s experience).
Groove – I
initially found the
word doodlebug rather humorous being that I had never heard it before.
My immediate associations were “doodle” (or “doodling”) and the
“jitterbug” (a swing dance popular during the big band era of the
1930’s and ‘40s). When I discovered it meant a “self-propelled personal
railcar,” I could not help but imagine a cartoon railcar bopping and
singing along as it carried its passengers to their destinations." |
|
|
|
Sweetgrass
(1997) —
Allan Gordon Bell
Allan
Gordon Bell is a composer who has created works for soloists, chamber
ensembles, orchestra, opera, and electroacoustic media. He is
Professor of Music at the University of Calgary, an Associate Composer
of the Canadian Music Centre, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Canada.
Sweetgrass is a
work with
three parts woven together into five movements. The first and the
second movement each end in the middle of their trajectories; the
fourth movement completes the second and the fifth completes the
first. Combined with the third movement, the complete work has
the
form of a braid. Indigenous North Americans gather sweetgrass,
weave
it into braids, and then use it for smudging in their ceremonies, the
smoke carrying prayers to the Creator in acknowledgement that all
things, even the humblest, are sacred. |
|
|
|
Prelude
to "and the end is the beginning" (2006) — Hope Lee
Prelude serves as an introduction to and the end is the
beginning, the last piece of the elevenpiece Voices in Time
cycle (1988-2011). The past is gone, but the essence of the past is
captured and transformed into future. Musical material was extracted
from the completed works in the cycle, including a four-note motive, a
harmonic language constructed on an ancient guqin melody, rhythmic
motives and musical gestures, with a new direction projected.
Prelude is
dedicated to my grandmother. It can be listened to as an elegy. I wrote
this piece shortly after her funeral. She passed away at the age of
ninety-four while chanting Buddhist’s Sanskrit. Her peaceful death
confirms my belief that the end is the beginning.
This work is commissioned by Saint Crispin’s Chamber Ensemble and New
Works Calgary with
financial support provided by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
|
|
|
|
Guest Artists |
|
|
|
Ilana Dahl, clarinet
Ilana Dahl is a graduate from the University of Calgary and the
University of British Columbia, and has studied with artists such as
Steve Amsel, Stan Climie, and Wes Foster. She has been the Principal
Clarinettist with the Red Deer Symphony for ten years, and has played
and taught all over southern Alberta with ensembles and at venues
including the Calgary Philharmonic, the Calgary and Edmonton Ballet and
Opera, and Land's End Chamber Ensemble. |
|
|
|
Kyle Eustace, percussion
Kyle Eustace began his professional studies in music with Andrei
Malashenko at McGill University. After completing his studies, he
returned to his hometown of Calgary and has been playing with the
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for the last six years, currently in the
position of Acting Principal Timpani. Eustace has also spent time at
the Banff Centre for the Arts and was the Principal Percussionist of
the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. As a freelance musician, he has
performed with Land's End Chamber Ensemble, the Banff Centre Orchestra,
the Red Deer Symphony, Alain Trudel and the Calgary Civic Symphony. |
|
|
|
Dr. Lana Henchell, piano
Calgary native Lana Henchell completed both her undergraduate and
graduate degrees in piano performance at the University of Calgary
under the tutelage of Marilyn Engle. She recently graduated in May 2010
with her Doctoral degree in piano performance from McGill University
where she studied with Richard Raymond.
Dr. Henchell has received several awards and grants from the Calgary
Kiwanis Music Festival (Rose Bowl, 1994), the Canada Council for the
Arts (2007-08), the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Max Stern
Foundation (2006-09). She has taken prizes in competitions such as the
International Stepping Stone of the CMC, the Women’s Musical Club of
Toronto Piano Competition, the Stravinsky Awards International Piano
Competition (Champagne-Urbana, IL), the CIBC National Music Festival
(Montreal and Sackville, N.B.), the Shean Piano Competition (Edmonton,
AB), and the Austrian-Canadian Society Mozart Competition (Calgary, AB).
After winning First Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Piano
Competition in 2004 (Brandon, MB), Dr. Henchell traveled across Canada
to perform a seventeen-concert tour. This included a performance of the
Mozart C Major Piano Concerto, K. 503, with the Montreal Chamber
Orchestra. She performed Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto in D
Minor, Op. 30 in November 2008 with the McGill Symphony Orchestra, as a
result of winning the McGill University Concerto Competition.
Dr. Henchell has participated in several festivals and music programs,
including the Happening New Music Festival in Calgary, the “Barbara
Krakauer” Academy in Vaison-la-Romaine, France, and the 2005 Alberta
Scene Festival in Ottawa, which was broadcast live on CBC Radio Two.
Throughout her career, Dr. Henchell has played for international
artists such as Janina Fialkowska, Sergei Babayan, Georgy Sebok,
Nikolai Demidenko, John Perry, Anton Kuerti, Marc Durand, Dang Thai
Son, Jean-Paul Sevilla, and Stéphane Lemelin; and during the 2003
Esther Honens Competition, for Ursula Oppens, Christopher Taylor and
Emanuel Krasovsky.
Dr. Henchell currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, where she teaches
piano, technique, theory and harmony lessons. She is also a sought
after pianist for concerts and collaborations with amateur and
professional musicians in the Calgary area. Her skills in performing,
teaching, accompanying, coaching and adjudicating continue to
contribute to the success of her students and those who perform for or
with her.
|
|
|
|
Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano
Quoted by the Chronicle Herald as “A superb musician”, Swedish-born
pianist Susanne Ruberg-Gordon’s passion for chamber music is evident.
She has collaborated with artists such as Andres Cardenes, Ron Leonard,
Andras Diaz, Desmond Hoebig, Ian Swensen, Alain Trudel, Jens Lindemann,
Ning Feng, Catherine Monoukian, Ni Tao, Arnold Choi and Nikki Chooi.
Upcoming events in the 2011/2012 season include recitals with Andras
Diaz, Ning Feng, Phil Hansen and Land’s End Chamber Ensemble.
Susanne has been on faculty at the Mount Royal University Conservatory
since 1991 where she is the coordinator of Collaborative Pianists and
teaches chamber music.
She has also been a Collaborative Artist for the acclaimed Morningside
Music Bridge program in Canada, China and Poland since 2001.
|
|
|
|
Mary Sullivan, flute
Originally
from Edmonton, Alberta, Mary Sullivan is a flutist devoted to the
freelance scene based in Calgary, Alberta. Since she returned to
Alberta in 2003, she has performed with the Calgary Philharmonic, the
Red Deer Symphony, and made guest appearances with ensembles including
Land's End Chamber Ensemble, Rubbing Stone, and Rosa Selvatica. Mary
maintains an active teaching schedule at Mount Royal Conservatory, and
has also taught at the University of Calgary.
Previously, Mary has performed with ensembles including the Edmonton
Symphony, the Acadiana Symphony, and Saint Crispin's Ensemble. She has
recorded solo recitals for broadcast on CBC radio and Louisiana Public
Radio. In her University days, Mary toured the United States and Canada
with the group Saba, performing middle-eastern music on traditional
western and ethnic flutes. Mary has always been enthusiastic about
contemporary music, and enjoys many opportunities to perform music by
living composers. She has previously been on faculty at Alberta College
Conservatory in Edmonton, and taught summer music workshops at the
University of Oregon and Louisiana State University. Mary has been in
demand as an adjudicator across Alberta, Oregon and Washington.
Mary Sullivan received her Bachelor of Music in flute performance from
Indiana University where she studied with Jacques Zoon, Peter Lloyd,
and Kate Lukas. During her undergraduate degree, she spent a year of
study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
She completed a Master of Music in flute performance at Louisiana State
University where she was the teaching assistant to Dr. Katherine
Kemler. She has been fortunate to benefit from many wise teachers in
masterclass including Trevor Wye, William Bennett, Alain Marion, Leone
Buyse, Timothy Hutchins, and Renee Siebert.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
