April 19-21, 2024 Reena Esmail Weekend: One Composer, One Community

ONE COMPOSER, ONE COMMUNITY

Reena Esmail Weekend

April 20-21 , 2024

NICHOLS CONCERT HALL

2023-2024

The Music Institute of Chicago is grateful to all its funders and partners, whose generous support helps us to entertain, inspire, and educate through live music performed by both new emerging artists and the most established artists of our time.

Special thanks to these annual institutional funders: Paul Galvin Memorial Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Irving Harris Foundation, ITW, Negaunee Foundation, John D. & Alexandra C. Nichols Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Sargent Family Foundation, and many others.

We acknowledge the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency as well as the support of the Highland Park Community Foundation and the Evanston Arts Council, a city agency supported by the City of Evanston; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Thank you to our technical sponsor

This program is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Sponsorship opportunities range from concerts and performances, to the annual Gala, special capital projects, and community engagement initiatives. For more information contact the Development Office: 847.448.8327.

ONE COMPOSER, ONE COMMUNITY

In May 2020, nearly a hundred faculty and staff members gathered to reflect on how MIC could improve diversity and inclusion within our environment. A Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, facilitated by Trustees Carlos Cardenas and Barbara Sereda and comprised of a diverse representation of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and current families, formed.

As part of this process, MIC developed “One Composer, One Community.” First launched at the Music Institute in 2021, “One Composer, One Community” (OCOC) focuses on the life and work of a single, often underrepresented BIPOC composer over the course of an academic year.

Their work is highlighted in MIC teaching studios and on stage at Nichols Concert Hall. The inaugural composer was William Grant Still in 2022. Hector Villa Lobos was the 2023 selection.

This year, we are pleased to highlight our first living composer, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail.

As the 2023-2024 school year has unfolded, the Music Institute has shared information about the life and music of Reena Esmail and worked with her to put together the programming you’ll experience this weekend.

Jennifer McCarthy Bienemann and Robin Bienemann

Erin N. Fusco

Dr. Mark George and Dr. Elizabeth Calihan THANK

Hans and Denitta Germann

Renee Hoff

Tami Lucas

Zalman and Karen Usiskin

REENA ESMAIL

HECTOR VILLA LOBOS

WILLIAM GRANT STILL

REENA ESMAIL, COMPOSER

Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces.

Esmail’s life and music was profiled on Season 3 of PBS Great Performances series Now Hear This, as well as Frame of Mind, a podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press.

Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.

Esmail holds degrees in composition from The Juilliard School (BM’05) and the Yale School of Music (MM’11, MMA’14, DMA’18). Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazumdar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, entitled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers.

Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West.

She currently resides in her hometown of Los Angeles, California.

More at: reenaesmail.com

FACULTY AND STUDENT SHOWCASE CONCERT

Featuring the music of Reena Esmail

Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 PM

Sunaao (2023)*

III. Behta Jaa (Flow)

Jaiden and Evie Hsu, sopranos

Louise Chan, piano

Concerto for You (2019)

I. Panem Nostram

Kabir Songs (2022) Dhire, Dhire

Lavie Huang, cello

Louise Chan, piano

Dale Griffin, trombone

Louise Chan, piano

Two Tones (2007) lyrics by Rainer Maria Rilke

Zalman Usiskin, tenor

Bianca d’Avila do Prado, cello

Louise Chan, piano

Chardonnay (2001)

Meret Bitticks, flute

Perhaps (2005) written with filmmaker Heather McCalden

Simon Updegraff, cello Program, continued next page...

FACULTY AND STUDENT SHOWCASE CONCERT

Featuring the music of Reena Esmail

Program continued.

Crystal Prelude #3 (mishra vibhas melody) (2020)

Elaine Felder, piano

Take What You Need (2016-2019)

Neena Agrawal, viola

Barbara Ann Martin, mezzo-soprano

Promontory Studies (2024)*

II. Kanyakumari

Dhire, Dhire (2022)

Karnik and Kashyap Prasad, piano duo

Angela de Venuto, soprano

Louise Chan, piano

Hallelujah (2017)

Leonard Cohen

arranged by Reena Esmail

Sang Mee Lee, violin

Scan for Program Notes

* composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

The Music Institute of Chicago provides high-quality teaching, performing, and service activities for thousands of Chicagoland residents each year.

Contributions of all sizes support our shared commitment to educate and inspire musicians and music lovers of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds, regardless of experience or financial means.

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! musicinst .org/giving

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Piano Workshop

9:00 AM

Crystal Prelude #1 (oscillating figures) (2020)

Eric Wang, piano

Crystal Prelude #2 (mishra vibhas melody) (2020)

Uma Morris, piano

Crystal Prelude #4 (Bageshri) (2024)*

Anika Jerath, piano

Crystal Prelude #5 (Chandrakauns) (2024) *

Edie Park, piano

Crystal Prelude #6 (Yaman) (2024) *

Joel Lauve, piano

* composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

Interactive Composer Workshop

10:00 AM

Reena Esmail discusses the compositional process

Q & A

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Strings Workshop

11:00 AM

Concerto for You (2019)

I. Panem Nostram

Lavie Huang, cello

Louise Chan, piano

Concerto for You (2019)

I. Panem Nostram

STRING ENSEMBLE

Louise Chan, piano

VIOLIN

VIOLA

Valentina Abbott Nikita Eisfeldt

Anthony Donde

Ilana Fischer

Danica Hu

Madeleine Kim

Matthew Kim

Rebecca Torres

Darshan “Seeing” (2018)

III. Charukeshi

Julia Perekhozhuk, violin

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Woodwind/Brass Workshop

1:00 PM

Jhula, Jhule (2014)

Guadalupe Ramirez, oboe

Kabir Songs

Dhire, Dhire (2022)

Dale Griffin, trombone

Chardonnay (2001)

Carmen Yanguas, flute

Voice Workshop

2:00 PM

Take What You Need (2016-2019)

Neena Agrawal, viola

Barbara Ann Martin, mezzo-soprano

Kabir Songs (2022)

Dhire, Dhire

Aanya Santosh, soprano

Two Tones (2006) Lyrics by Rainer Maria Rilke

Zalman Usiskin, tenor

Bianca d’Avila do Prado, cello

Louise Chan, piano Sunaao

III. Behta Jaa (Flow) (2023)*

Jaiden and Evie Hsu, sopranos

Louise Chan, piano

* composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Academy

Academy Orchestra – open rehearsal

4:00 PM

Acharanga (2018)

Vishwas (2014)

III. Testament

FIRST VIOLIN

Clark Snavely

Tristan Zhu

Elle Cho

Lauren Kim

Emily Chen

Nolan Chang

SECOND VIOLIN

Sasha Verchencko

Mingshi Xia

Kai Isoke Ali-Landing

Annalise Song

Linda Phan

Ethan Chen

VIOLA

Vivian Van De Sype-Cucu

Neena Agrawal

Lily Sullivan CELLO

Amelia Zitoun

Serge Kalinovsky

Simon Updegraff

Lucy Wu

Academy Open Solo Workshop

5:10 PM

Varsha (2019)

Amelia Zitoun, cello

Academy Chamber Music Workshop

5:30 PM

Piano Trio (2019)

III. Scherzo

Callisto Piano Trio

Lily Sullivan, violin • Amelia Zitoun, cello • Noah Kim, piano

REENA ESMAIL WORKSHOPS

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Suzuki Workshop

3:30 PM

Twinkle Variations: Rhythm (2024)*

Exploring Indian/Hindustani music through Twinkle Variations

Students of the Barston Suzuki Center

VIOLIN

Brennan Del Seo

Esme Fillier Steele

Aashman Gautam

Sofia Goldin

Tyler Goldin

Leo Pensinger-Sok

Anna Somin

Teddy Thomas

Benjamin Van

VIOLA

Tilly Martinez

CELLO

Emilina Abraham

Elan Friedlander

Henry Thomas

GUITAR

Armin Norton

PIANO

Emma Grace Packer

* composed/arranged for Music Institute of Chicago students

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

TRUSTEES

Scott Verschoor, Chair

Alexandra C. Nichols, Chair Emerita

Timothy J. Patenode, Treasurer

Barbara Sereda, Secretary

Carlos R. Cardenas, CPA, Vice Chair

Lee Anne Stoddart, Vice Chair

Paul Brourman

Hans Germann

Daniel Hahn

Courtney Holohan

Kay Mabie

Yana Nedvetsky

Renée Parquette

Vikram Raghavan

Jim Stone

Ross Updegraff

Zalman Usiskin

Audra Wilson

David Zampa

Florian Zettelmeyer

Tao Zhu

LIFE TRUSTEES

John J. Berwanger

Mitzi Freidheim

Brooks Morgan

Rachel Barton Pine

Betsey L. Puth

Priscilla F. Richman

William N. Topaz

HONORARY BOARD

Jennifer Koh

Nina Kraus

Deborah F. Rutter

EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES

Mark George

Christopher Rintz

THE MUSIC INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music through unparalleled teaching, exceptional performances, and valuable service initiatives that educate, inspire, and build strong, healthy communities.

Since its founding in 1931, the Music Institute’s commitment to innovation, access, and excellence has served as an important community resource and helps to ensure music is available to everyone. Each year, the Music Institute provides personalized music instruction to more than 2,000 students, regardless of age, level of experience, or financial means, across seven Community Music School locations in Chicago, Downers Grove, Evanston, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, and Winnetka, as well as online.

In addition, the Music Institute brings music education, arts curriculum integration, professional development, and music performance and engagement opportunities to thousands in the Chicago area; offers scholarship opportunities to students in its Community School and its Academy, a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players; and welcomes thousands of visitors annually for performances, master classes, and special events at Nichols Concert Hall.

For more information: musicinst.org • 847.905.1500