A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021
COLUMBUS
“Four Women” A Dynamic Musical Work Composed by Dr. MARK LOMAX II Performed by UCELLI: THE COLUMBUS CELLO QUARTET
COLUMBUS
OUR STORY
In 1948, the 17 year-old graduate of West High School in Columbus was preparing to enter The Ohio State University. That year the student, James N. Cain, continued his studies and founded Prestige Concerts with the goal of “The furtherance of Chamber Music.� In response to evolving civic growth and social norms, in 1982 our name was changed to Columbus Chamber Music Society and, in 2003, to Chamber Music Columbus. Our first season was a series of five performances that established us as a presentation organization. It was also auspicious beginning to his amazing long career including 12 years at the helm of, the now, Chamber Music Columbus and ultimately the Aspen Music Festival, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra among others. Our dynamic Central Ohio region enjoys a thriving and diverse cultural scene. The mission of Chamber Music Columbus is to enrich the cultural life of central Ohio through the love and celebration of chamber music. We fulfill this mission by inspiring the community through the presentation of renowned chamber music ensembles from around the world and by engaging the community through educational programming that promotes chamber music as an art form. Our concerts are presented in the world-class setting of the historic Southern Theater. The Southern’s national reputation for amenities and acoustics makes it a favored destination for artists as well as music lovers. We also seek to grow the audience for chamber music by attracting and educating the public and by directly engaging budding young musicians from diverse backgrounds through our scholarships, and educational programs with exceptional visiting artists. We are entering our 74th season and hold the distinction of being the oldest continuously operated music organization in Columbus. As you browse our website, we hope that you, like so many before, will be inspired to enjoy our concerts and support us.
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The Creation of “Four Women” In 2018, UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet, commissioned Dr. Mark Lomax II, noted prolific composer, musician, scholar and activist to compose “Four Women.” The composition “Four Women” was inspired and composed as part of “400: An Afrikan Epic.” Dr. Lomax released an astounding 12 CD’s of compositions that encompassed 400 years of Black history! The passion and generosity of Zoe and Jack Johnstone, through their Johnstone Fund For New Music provided the concept and resources for the audio and video production of “Four Women”. In 2020, the Johnstones reached out to Lomax and UCelli to videotape “Four Women” in honor of and as an educational performance video. To further enhance the visual power of the program, the Johnstone Fund commissioned prominent artist, Richard Duarte Brown, to paint original portraits of the “Four Women.” The original artwork and commentary are included in the production to connect each woman her identity with her story. The video project was created in honor of, and as an educational and inspirational set of videos, for Urban Strings Columbus. Founded in 2007, Urban Strings Columbus is a nonprofit performing youth string orchestra founded by Catherine Willis in 2007. Urban Strings performs a multicultural repertoire of great music ranging from classical, jazz and gospel, to R&B, and movie themes. Participants are provided with an opportunity to learn various types of music to which they might not otherwise be exposed. Urban Strings recruits and supports underserved minority youth in Central Ohio. a Central Ohio-based community youth orchestra of serious, young, talented musicians from Columbus city, charter, suburban, and private schools. Created by a multicultural video production crew and artists, “Four Women” is a one-hour dynamic musical work performed by four female virtuoso cellists in honor of four women and depicts a graphical portrait of each woman depicting her strength, leadership, faith, and selflessness. Each segment is narrated by Dr. Lomax. At the recording studio: Seated: Jack and Zoe Johnstone. Standing l-r: Cora Kuyvenhoven, Richard Duarte Brown, Mark Lomax, & Scott Woods 3
THE COMPOSER Dr. Mark Lomax, II, D.M.A.
is a critically acclaimed composer, recording artist, drummer, activist, and educator. In one of the timeliest and unprecedented pieces of work of our history, Lomax released 400: An Afrikan Epic in January 2019. This magnum opus consists of a 12 album cycle, a curriculum, and a documentary that ambitiously tells the story of the Afrikan diaspora. Divided into thirds, the Epic and explores thousands of years of the history that is pre-colonial Afrika, the Ma’afa (400 years between 1619 and 2019), and Afro-futurism expressing a vision of what Blacks in America will heal toward in the next 400 years. Largely self funded, the 400 was supported by a residency at The Wexner Center for the Arts. Quoted in Columbus Monthly, Lane Czaplinski, Wexner performing arts director says, “Mark is an absolute experimentalist ... and this huge, deep project will look at the legacy of jazz from the past all the way to the future.” Lomax also calls 400: An Afrikan Epic, an opportunity to celebrate the resilience, brilliance, strength, genius, and creativity of a people who continue to endure while offering a transformative view of the future. A highly sought-after lecturer, Lomax specializes in the socio-political, and spiritual aspects of AfricanAmerican art music, race, and using the arts to build community. These ideas are documented in his TED Talk Activating The Transformative Power Of Trust, and his weekly COVID-inspired youtube show, Drumversations. Lomax adamantly declares that “there has never been a time in his life that music was not a part of me.” Heavily influenced by his father, a pastor, and mother, a composer of gospel music, Lomax was introduced to gospel and jazz at an early age. He continued his study of gospel music with Dr. Raymond Wise, founder of the Center for the Gospel Arts. Lomax has toured with the Delfeayo Marsalis Sextet and worked with notable artists such as Clark Terry, Marlon Jordan, Azar Lawrence, Bennie Maupin, Billy Harper, Nicholas Payton, Ellis Marsalis, and Wessel Anderson, among others. Jazz Times says Lomax’s “forceful drumming would have made Elvin Jones proud.” He has also been a resident artist with the Cincinnati Symphony (2019), Denison University (2017), and has presented the 400 across the country at various colleges, universities, art and community organizations. Dr. Lomax holds a Doctor of Music Arts degree in composition from The Ohio State University. His myriad experiences have allowed him to create a unique blend of styles in his music. Whether he’s interpreting the Negro Spiritual through jazz, arranging gospel music for a symphony orchestra, or performing his original works, his music is relevant, probing, and inspiring. MarkLomaxii.com 4
ABOUT UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet
The violoncello is many peoples’ favorite instrument, so what could be better than one cello? Four cellos, of course! UCelli is a quartet of virtuoso cellists that has appeared to enthusiastic audiences around Columbus including performances for City Music, TV 10, Medicine and the Arts, St. John’s Concert Series, Granville’s Music 4U chamber music series, Garden Theatre and full recitals at the MAC, Newark’s Urban Art Space, Ohio Wesleyan University, The Refectory and Bexley Public Library. UCelli members Pei-An Chao, Mary Davis, Cora Kuyvenhoven, and Wendy Morton are also members of the Columbus Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestras. Each of these four artists is a cello soloist and chamber musician in her own right, bringing a strong musical philosophy and relationship to cello repertoire and pedagogy. The individual artistry and the combined chemistry of these four cellists results in an exciting, unique, and vibrant concert experience.
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THE ARTISTS Pei-An Chao
Pei-An Chao has been a full time member of the Columbus Symphony since 2000. She held the position of acting Assistant Principal Cello in the 2009-10 and 2015-16 seasons and was featured as a soloist in 2011. Prior to joining the CSO, Ms. Chao spent two years with the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a master’s degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she was the concerto competition winner and graduated with distinction. Ms. Chao grew up in Taiwan and New York City. She began playing the piano at 4, cello at 9. She studied both instruments throughout her musical training. Ms. Chao has appeared in prestigious festivals such as Tanglewood, Kent/Blossom, Sarasota, Pacific, Spoleto and Colorado. She performs chamber music regularly and coaches Columbus area youth orchestras. She held teaching positions at Otterbein College, Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio University. Ms. Chao performs on a Jean Baptiste Deshayes Salomon cello made in 1760 in Paris.
Mary Davis
Mary Davis, hailed as “an unusually fine cellist,” currently performs with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and is active as a recitalist and chamber musician. Her interests and activities have ranged from baroque performance—as principal cellist and soloist with the Columbus Bach Ensemble—to contemporary music, including premieres of many works and dedications of new pieces. Mary was featured as soloist in the Dayton Philharmonic’s recording of William Bolcom’s “Daedalus” from Inventing Flight, and her playing and arrangements can be heard on Lyrica’s disk, A Crystal Spring. She holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, the College-Conservatory of the University of Cincinnati, and The Ohio State University and has taught cello at Wright State University, Cedarville University, OSU, and currently at Ohio Wesleyan University. Mary teaches cello privately in Clintonville; two of her students have served as All State principal cello in recent years, and some of her earliest Columbus students now have their own thriving studios. She attends dog park religiously and enjoys yoga, cycling, knitting and Argentine Tango. Dr. Davis performs on a Lawrence Furse cello made in 1987 in Salt Lake City. 6
THE ARTISTS Cora Kuyvenhoven
Cora Kuyvenhoven is assistant principal cellist of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and adjunct cello professor and co-director of chamber music at Denison University. Cora has been soloist with Westerville Symphony, Kalistos, Welsh Hills Symphony, Plymouth Symphony, National Arts Chamber Orchestra, and the Windsor Symphony. The Windsor Star heralded her Haydn D Major performance as expressing a great “joie de vivre.” As a member of the Toronto Symphony (1990-1997) she recorded and broadcast extensively, and toured in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Cora obtained her A.R.C.T. licentiate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto with first class honours, studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts, and was a national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee where she performed in the Advendo String Trio, under the tutelage of the Fine Arts Quartet. Cora received a post master’s degree at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Her DMA is from the University of Iowa (2000) where she was the recipient of the Iowa Performance Fellowship, and the Peltzer Award. Cora enjoys dancing Zumba and hiking. For upcoming concerts and events please go to: http://ckuyvenhoven. blogspot.com Dr. Kuyvenhoven performs on a Lockey Hill cello made in England in 1805.
Wendy Morton
Wendy Morton, cellist, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Orlando Cole. She is currently the assistant principal cellist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Morton has worked with many notable musicians including Gerard Poulet, Nobuko Imai, Josef Gingold, and Arnold Steinhardt and David Soyer of the Guarneri String Quartet. Ms. Morton was a founding member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, which had the honor of performing with Yo Yo Ma in the Ohio Theatre in 2008. Her years playing with Carpe Diem include 3 CDs of music by the late romantic Russian composer Sergey Taneyev (1856-1915), and Quartet No. 1 of gifted American composer, Jonathon Leshnoff (b 1973) released by Naxos Records. Wendy was also a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Honolulu Symphony and she performed with the Brandenburg Ensemble including performances in Avery Fisher Hall, NYC, and Symphony Hall, Boston, MA. She currently maintains a busy private teaching studio and chamber music performance schedule including a recent performance for the Sunday at Central Chamber Music series presented at the Columbus Museum of Art in January 2016. Ms. Morton performs on a Gabbrielli cello made in Florence, Italy in 1764. 7
PROGRAM NOTES Program Notes by Mark Lomax II 1-19:30 Movement I: timing number Portrait of Nzinga, Queen of Angola (1583-1633) Queen Nzinga (1583-1633) of the Mbundu people (present-day Angola) successfully led her people in a 30year war against Portuguese colonization by showcasing her military prowess and high-stakes diplomacy. The first Queen of the Mbundu people of present day Angola, central Afrika, Queen Nzinga successfully led her people in a 30 year war against Portuguese colonization showcasing both her military prowess and high-stakes diplomacy. In 1627, after forming alliances with former rival states, she led her army against the Portuguese, initiating a thirty-year war against them. She exploited European rivalry by forging an alliance with the Dutch who had conquered Luanda in 1641. With their help, Nzinga defeated a Portuguese army in 1647. When the Dutch were in turn defeated by the Portuguese the following year and withdrew from Central Africa, Nzinga continued her struggle against the Portuguese. Now in her 60s she still personally led troops in battle. She also orchestrated guerrilla attacks on the Portuguese which would continue long after her death and inspire the ultimately successful 20th Century armed resistance against the Portuguese that resulted in independent Angola in 1975. Despite repeated attempts by the Portuguese and their allies to capture or kill Queen Nzinga, she died peacefully in her eighties on December 17, 1663. This piece starts with the celli imitating war drums which represent the military campaign led by the Ngola (King), Nzinga’s father. His death, represented by a melancholic solo melody, ushers in a time of great uncertainty under the new Ngola, Mbande, Nzinga’s half brother. His incompetence led the people to consider her council and leadership. Mbande’s eventual suicide paved the way for Nzinga to become the first female Ngola. She demanded the title of King and all the respect that was shown to her father. The period of mourning and uncertainty gives way to Nzinga’s quest to keep her people safe. She depended on the strength of women who were close to her, on the ancestors whom she often consulted, and on the people themselves from whom she drew her strength. Nzinga led her people in a 30 years war against the Portuguese. Her victories turn what was once a melancholy melody into a song of reverence and respect played by all. Being the first female head of her people, she had to balance public displays of feminine energy with displays of masculine, war-ready strength. This piece works to strike that balance with supple melodies, striking rhythms, and the war drums that provide bookends to the work. 8
PROGRAM NOTES Movement II: 19:32-36:05 Portrait of Ida B. Wells Barnett (1862-1931) Ida B. Wells Barnett (1862-1931) overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to become a force for justice by leading the anti-lynching movement and the fight for women’s rights. Ida B. Wells Barnett was a woman who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to become a force for justice. Born into slavery, she grew up to become a fearless educator, organizer, businesswoman, and reporter who used the power of the pen to expose the grave injustices happening all over the south. Long before Rosa Parks’ act of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Mrs. Wells Barnett had brought a lawsuit against a railroad for discriminatory practices after having been dragged off a train for refusing to give up her seat to white passengers. She was one of the first to do so, and she won. Mrs. Ida is also credited as the first people to write about the inhumanity of lynchings in lurid detail. Her fight for justice not only brought her renown and respect in america, but also in England. Mrs. Wells Barnett not only wrote about the disenfranchisement of Blacks in america and the general gender disparities, both of which still plague this country, she also worked to build infrastructure to bring about social change. Mrs. Wells Barnett was part of the group that organized the National Association fo the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organized several women’s clubs among Negro women, created organizations for youth in Chicago, promoted civic engagement and ran for office. Mrs. Wells Barnett was critical of both southern whites and northern white liberals, having a keen understanding that racism had no geographical limitations. She was also critical of members of her own ethnic group whom she thought weren’t doing all they could to advance the cause of justice and equality. The music in this portrait seeks to capture Mrs. Wells Barnett’s elegance and fire while acknowledging the horrors of lynching. In rondo form, the main theme is, in effect, a figure that draws from the spirituals and the blues as she was both a woman of the world and a woman who had great faith. The second and third themes are laments, each depicting a lynching from the perspective of the human being lynched. The composer imagines a horrible sense of fear matched only by a great faith in the god of Abraham that was, and is still, common in Black families. America would not know the extent to which Blacks were persecuted in the south after slavery had legally ended if it were not for the valiant research and reporting of Mrs. Ida B. Wells. Her work to create equitable standing between white and Black people, men and women, rich and poor, created a lasting legacy that should never be forgotten.
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PROGRAM NOTES Movement III: 36:07-51:49 Portrait of Angela Davis Angela Davis (1944- ) came to prominence during the civil rights movement as a symbol of Black Power. She is a scholar, activist, author, and lecturer who has fought tirelessly for human rights around the world. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on January 26, 1944, Angela Davis grew up with her parents and siblings in a middleclass Black neighborhood where houses were bombed so often by the Ku Klux Klan that it became known as “dynamite hill.” Her experiences with racism in Birmingham included watching her father and others defend themselves, families and property against the KKK, and being harassed by the police for organizing interracial study groups as a teenager. After graduate school (Ph. D, Humbolt University in East Berlin, Germany), Dr. Davis accepted a teaching position at the University of California, Los Angeles where she found herself at odds with the administration due to her association with communism. It was her association with the Soledad Brothers that placed her on center stage as an enemy of the state of California and a prominent face of the Black Power Movement when she was charged with murder. Defending herself, Dr. Davis was acquitted after having spent 18 months in solitary confinement. She then became a fulltime lecturer, author, and activist fighting for the rights of all oppressed people. Dr. Davis continues to give voice to the voiceless in her recent book Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement (2016). Portrait of Angela, composed as one of four portraits of significant women from Africa and its diaspora, is both an attempt to pay tribute to Dr. Davis’ contributions and create an aural depiction of her struggle, individually, and within the context of global human rights. Structurally, the piece has three sections. The first contains a lyrical melody played against an ominous ostinato in 5/4 time representing growing and becoming as a human being under duress as a result of america’s structural racism. The second section is comprised of layered rhythms that work together, but not in obvious ways. The foundational rhythm of 8th notes in 3/4 time is carried by cello 4 although the harmonic rhythm retains a semblance of the preceding 5/4 structure. This rhythm represents how racism is embedded in the very core of American society and is always shifting in such a way that many who would stand against it often lack the tools to adequately exorcize this virus from our society. Cello 3 plays a rhythmic figure equating to four beats against Cello 4’s three beats. 4/4 time is the standard in Western popular music and, here, represents always pushing forward toward an optimal existence. The first and second cello parts continue the dotted quarter note melodic pattern now interspersed with 16th note figures that exist beyond the rhythmic limitations of the 3rd and 4th parts. This represents the vibrancy of the human spirit that Dr. Davis represents and fights for. 10
PROGRAM NOTES Movement IV: 51:51-1:05:24 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977- ) asserts that we spend too much time teaching children genderspecific behaviors and attitudes. The Nigerian-born author, lecturer, and self-proclaimed feminist advocates non-gender-specific humane, innate abilities that enable people to enrich their communities. Nigerian born best-selling author and lecturer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a self-proclaimed feminist who argues that we spend too much time teaching girls and boys gender-specific behaviors and attitudes as opposed to focusing and encouraging their actual humanity and innate abilities that would allow them to add value to the communities they belong to regardless of gender identity. This portrait tries to capture a radical Igbo Nigerian thinker who in the West has an even more complicated, and more racialized narrative thrust upon her. As do the other women in this series of portraits, she speaks and acts within the context of the power that connects us all. The music starts with a pop-like, cosmopolitan theme representing her status as a modern Nigerian woman who stands in the face of traditional patriarchal norms. The theme is re-contextualized in a more conservative setting reflective of what many women of color who were born and socialized in a more Western context view as a feminism that may not always reflect the way race plays a part in how women of color, Black women in particular, are often ostracized within the context of Western feminist constructs. Regardless of how she is viewed and how her work is engaged, I believe that Chimamanda draws on the same ancestral wisdom and energy as all women of Afrikan descent have in order to do the work of engaging hearts and minds to think differently about ourselves and each other. This is represented in the more reflective passages. In spite of patriarchal infrastructure, misogyny, and other such barriers, Chimamanda persists, and the world is better for having her voice heard.
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COLUMBUS Dear Chamber Music Lovers, We hope that you have enjoyed the outstanding and thought-provoking works presented by our Columbus chamber community and our wonderful Black History Month partners The Afro-American Chamber Music Society of Los Angeles, and Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra of New York. We believe that, through these partnerships, we can engage in an ongoing mutual learning experience and introduce young people and a wider audience to the diverse creativity taking place in the chamber music community. We are truly honored to host these innovative, pioneering and talented organizations who have joined hands with us in presenting a truly unique celebration of Black composers and artists. To chamber music lovers in Columbus and our partner cities of Los Angeles and New York we encourage you to frequently visit and support all of us. President, Chamber Music Columbus
COLUMBUS ChamberMusicColumbus.org info@chambermusiccolumbus.org
Afro American Chamber Music Society
AACMSorchestra.org claviermuzic@gmail.com
UPChamberOrchestra.org info@upchamberorchestra.org