Faculty Flexibility

When British saxophonist Jess Gillam was unable to travel to Aspen in July, it left a rather large hole in the program of the popular Baroque Evening with Nicholas McGegan. Gillam had been scheduled to perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Oboes with fellow guest artist and saxophonist Steven Banks. In a heroic programmatic “save,” Met Opera oboist and artist-faculty member Elaine Douvas stepped in. Together, Douvas, Banks, and McGegan agreed to try and make it work. In true Baroque fashion, Douvas and Banks made the concerto a highlight of the evening’s performance.

One of the biggest laughs of Verdi’s Falstaff came when Sir Bryn Terfel, in the title role, summoned a page to deliver a message. Making his operatic stage debut, artist-faculty member Jonathan Haas rushed—mallets in hand—to center stage from behind his timpani to bear Falstaff’s message off through the stage doors.

As with every summer, Faculty Chamber Music served as a showcase for not only faculty talent but also many new or unfamiliar works by composers such as Michael Frazier, guest artist and saxophonist Steven Banks, Gabriela Ortiz, Unsuk Chin, Anthony Davis, and composition artist-faculty members Stephen Hartke and Donald Crockett, among many others.