for Sarah
Piano Spheres celebrates our 30th anniversary by commissioning 30 composers to write new works for piano to be performed by Core Artists Nic Gerpe, Aron Kallay, Vicki Ray and Mark Robson, Guest Artist Stephen Drury, Stein Resident Artist Andres Jaramillo, and Emerging Artist
Thomas Mellan as part of their concert programs. All ‘30 for 30’ composers were chosen by our performing artists, and represent a wide field of local, national and international composers.
The composers:
Daniel Allas
Rashaan Allwood
Bill Alves
Paul Beaudoin
Taylor Brook
TJ Cole
Donald Crockett
Tom Flaherty
Michael Frazier
Jose-Luis Hurtado
Mikhail Johnson
Jihyun Kim
Peter Knell
Veronika Krausas
Paola Márquez
Colin Marston
Thomas Meadowcroft
Paul Moravec
Celka Ojakangas
Robert Pollock
Hannah Rice
Zanaida Robles
Josh Rodriguez
Brandon Rolle
Daniel Rothman
Jorge Salazar
Nate Schram
Orest Smovzh
Dale Trumbore
Marek Zebrowski
“Clearly, Piano Spheres is intent on promoting new musical piano culture, not only by a ording a handful of L.A.’s finest pianists a regular showcase, but also helping to expand and update the existing solo piano repertoire and o er needed encouragement to young composers." – Mark Swed, LA Times
October 22 | at Thayer Hall
Anniversaries
1 00 1 50 1 50
2024/25 is not only Piano Spheres’ 30th Anniversary, it’s the 100th birthday of influential French composer Pierre Boulez, and the 150th birthdays of seminal composers Charles Ives and Arnold Schoenberg. To mark these anniversaries, special guest artist Stephen Drury will present a concert of Charles Ives’ complete piano sonatas along with a ‘30 for 30’ composition based on Ives’ iconic Concord Sonata, and Emeritus Artist Mark Robson will present Schoenberg’s less performed Zwei Klavierstücke, Op. 33. Both Ives and Schoenberg were favorites of founding Artist Susan Svrček, and their music will be presented at a special concert dedicated to the memories of Susan and her late husband, composer Frederick Lesemann.
Piano Spheres’ Emerita Artist Gloria Cheng has not only performed numerous pieces by Pierre Boulez, she was given a piece dedicated to her as a wedding present by the famed composer. In a co-production with CAP UCLA, Cheng and guest pianist Ralph van Raat will present a concert of music influenced by Boulez. Talented emerging artist Thomas Mellan will also perform the complete piano sonatas of Boulez on his Emerging Artist concert.
Stephen Drury: Charles Ives at 150
October 20, 2024 marks the 150th birthday of America’s great original composer Charles Ives. Growing up in New England as the son of a bandmaster, Ives developed a uniquely American compositional voice. His music includes ragtime, gospel hymns, parade marches, and wild, visionary dissonance, all woven into a sound never before heard in classical concert music. World renowned guest artist Stephen Drury will celebrate the Ives sesquicentennial two days after Ives’ birthday with a special performance of Ives’ complete sonatas for piano, including the monumental Concord Sonata, with its musical visions of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne and the Alcott family, as well as the quirky and ironic Three Page Sonata. ‘30 for 30’ composer Paul Beaudoin composed a piece that “suggests some of the wilder, fantastical adventures into the half-childlike, half fairy-like phantasmal realm” of the Concord Sonata.
Boulez @
Ives @
Schoenberg @
Photos: Boulez, Dennis Polkow; Ives, Halley Erskine; Schoenberg, Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna
Photo, Lisa Kohler
November 9 | at Zipper Hall
Mark Robson: Spielfreude
“Spielfreude”, the joy of playing, describes the sheer physical and emotive pleasure of performing at the keyboard. Mark Robson’s recital includes pieces by a range of composers including Ligeti, Glass, Cowell, Messiaen, Aldo Clementi and Ginastera, with premieres by ‘30 for 30’ composers Peter Knell, Hannah Rice and Daniel Rothman. Also featured will be Schoenberg’s Zwei Klavierstücke, Op. 33 in honor of the composer’s 150th birth anniversary, and a concert etude by the performer.
December 9 | at Zipper Hall for Susan and Rick
Featured pianists: Gloria Cheng, Nic Gerpe, Aron Kallay, Thomas Kotche
Nelson Ojeda, Vicki Ray, Mark Robson
Founding pianist Susan Svrček was known for her elegant and insightful performances. As noted by Mark Swed in the LA Times, “Because she has probed so carefully into, and brought so many facets out of the massive repertory for the solo piano, one comes to her recitals with high expectations of new thrills, rediscovered gems, and unknown masterpieces.” Susan’s untimely passing in 2022 foreshadowed the passing of her beloved husband of 32 years, influential composer Frederick Lesemann, whose music she championed, and who wrote much of his later music for her. This concert is a love letter from Susan and Rick’s colleagues, students and friends, three of whom (Donald Crockett, Thomas Flaherty and Bill Alves) wrote pieces dedicated to them.
This concert is made possible by a generous donation from Susan and Rick’s good friends, Muriel and Allan Kotin.
Photo: George Phillips
Photos: Susan, lefterisphoto.com; Rick, Irene Fertig, USC School of Music
January 21 | at Thayer Hall
Leonard Stein Resident Artist
Andrés Jaramillo: A Journey of Immigrants
Colombian American pianist Dr. Andrés Jaramillo is Piano Spheres’ Leonard Stein Resident Artist for 2024/25. Dr. Jaramillo specializes in the performance of music by contemporary LatinX composers from Latin America and the US. Every composer on this program (including six world premieres and three ‘30 for 30’ compositions) is or was an immigrant. Dr. Jaramillo explores, through these solo piano works, the myriad emotions, perspectives, and approaches inherent in the immigrant experience, intertwining the composers’ own cultural backgrounds with those of their new homes. Dr. Jaramillo will perform new compositions by ‘30 for 30’ composers Paola Márquez, Jorge Salazar and Josh Rodriguez. Piano Spheres 2022/23 and 2023/24 Stein Resident Artists William Chapman Nyaho and Althea Waites continue to advise our organization about issues related to diversity and inclusion.
February 18 | at Thayer Hall
Core Artist
Vicki
Ray: Brook and Meadowcroft
This concert features two new large-scale works by important international composers Taylor Brook and Thomas Meadowcroft. Nox by Taylor Brook combines the composer’s unique approach to the integration of electronic and digital media as he explores the passage of time through a single night in a way that draws on unconscious states where logic becomes fuzzy and imagination goes to unusual and seemingly impossible places. Meadowcroft’s All Possible Combinations is the next installment in a series of works focused on aspects of ‘Deep Easy Listening’, which attempts to reconcile immersive modes of listening outside of commodified time. Both Brook and Meadowcroft are ‘30 for 30’ composers.
March 11 | at Thayer Hall
Core
Artist
Nic Gerpe: Islands
Islands evoke myriad vivid impressions and captivate our imaginations. As places of stunning beauty, mystery, and isolation, countless associations come with the very mention of the word. Islands conjure a range of emotions and flights of fancy, from images of wild, exotic natural wonders, to metaphorical and spiritual connections. In this program, Piano Spheres’ newest Core Artist Nic Gerpe will present a range of colorful and evocative pieces which explore the many aspects and connotations of islands, from the imaginary landscapes of Almeida Prado’s Ilhas to Thomas Osborne’s poetic and virtuosic And The Waves Sing Because They Are Moving. The program will include captivating works by Donnacha Dennehy, Salina Fisher and Christopher Cerrone, and will feature ‘30 for 30’ World Premieres by Robert Pollock, José-Luis Hurtado and Paul Moravec. This concert will feature visualizations by Miguel Galindo.
March 26 | at Thayer Hall
Emerging Artist
Thomas Mellan
Collective
Hysteria: The Three Piano Sonatas of Pierre Boulez
The name Pierre Boulez is synonymous with music of era-defining extremes, showcasing brutal violence and sensual tenderness often in the same breath. What unifies his three pieces on this program is the tremendous virtuosity they demand of the player, and their concern with revolutionizing musical form and rhetoric. As the composer said: “History as it is made by great composers is not a history of conservation but of destruction – even while cherishing what is destroyed.” Premieres of new ‘30 for 30’ piano pieces by organist/composer Rashaan Allwood, underground death metal legend Colin Marston and Ukrainian virtuoso violinist Orest Smovzh round out this rare opportunity to hear Boulez’s three piano sonatas in one sitting.
Photo: Kristina Jacinth
Photo: Richard An
April 15 | at Thayer Hall
Core Artist
Aron Kallay: Love/Dream
Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3 elicits complicated reactions from musicians and audiences alike. Is it meaningless drivel or a profound exploration of the depths of love? Are audiences driven to eyerolls or to a state of ecstasy? Having no reaction is not an option.
Liebestraum is up there with Für Elise and Claire de Lune as one of the most performed and beloved solo piano works. Aron Kallay wants a reason to perform it! Aron also thinks it’s time for an update. Composers Michael Frazier, Brandon Rolle, Zanaida Robles, Marek Zebrowski, and Daniel Allas use Liebestraum as a point of departure, creating new work on what it means to love, to dream…
May 30 | at The Leonard Nimoy Theater
Emerita Artist Gloria Cheng and Guest Artist Ralph van Raat
Celebrating Pierre Boulez
Pianists Gloria Cheng and Ralph van Raat pay homage to Pierre Boulez in his centennial year, performing his iconic Structures, Livre I, and taking solo turns along with works by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Frank Zappa, Magnus Lindberg, and Igor Stravinsky. Born on March 26, 1925, the unparalleled French composer, conductor, and visionary transformed post-war contemporary music, leaving an indelible mark on the future of music. The program celebrates Boulez’s broad musical connections, from his well-documented mutual respect with Zappa to his complex relationships with Cage and Feldman, o ering a profound reflection on his impact and the cross-pollination of musical ideas across generations.
The program opens with a tribute to the late composer/pianist Sarah Gibson of HOCKET and Piano Spheres.
Presented in association with CAP UCLA.
Photo, Louis Ng
van Raat, Heather Pinkham
July 14 | at Zipper Hall for Sarah
On July 14, 2024 the Piano Spheres family lost one of our own. Sarah Gibson was a brilliant pianist, a fierce composer, and an inspirational educator. She was half of the piano duo HOCKET who joined Piano Spheres as Core Artists in 2020, but she has been part of the Piano Spheres family for over a decade as an Emerging Artist and Guest Artist. Sarah was a dedicated friend and colleague, an inspiring teacher, and a bright light in our tightly knit new music community.
Please join the Piano Spheres family as we come together to celebrate Sarah with heartfelt performances of her music.
“Sarah was on a brilliant upward trajectory with her writing and career. She was creating powerful, personal music. We are left with a beautifully crafted and deeply felt body of work that will live on.” – Andrew Norman, composer
Become a Season Ticket Holder & Save 25% o General Admission
Season Tickets (9 concerts) $175
General Admission $25 (except Nimoy concert $35)
Seniors $20*
Students $15* (one ticket per I.D.)
*The Nimoy does not o er discounts for seniors, or students other than UCLA
Go to: www.pianospheres.org for more information
All concerts begin at 8 pm
Seating is not assigned. Programs subject to change without notice.
Venues
Zipper Concert Hall & Thayer Hall at the Colburn School 200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Leonard Nimoy Theater (May 30th concert only) 1262 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Please Support Piano Spheres
As we look ahead toward Piano Spheres’ next 30 years with brilliant artists and innovative programming, we want to thank you, our generous donors for your dedicated support. Every donation you make, of any amount, is important to the continuation of this important concert series and will aid in the commissioning of creative new works for piano.
Please go to www.pianospheres.org/donate or scan the QR code below to learn about our various levels of support and how you can reap the benefits of your generosity.
Piano Spheres is a nonprofit organization and your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. You can also send a check to:
Piano Spheres, 4209 Via Arbolada #231, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Piano Spheres’ programs are made possible, in part, by generous grants from the Amphion Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Capital Group, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural A airs, Ditson Fund, Los Angeles County Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, mediaTHE Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts.
Brandon J. Rolle