FIRSTS LAGNIAPPE TRIO

Featuring the Lagniappe Trio Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo, flute Stephanie Gustafson Amfahr, harp Christopher Lowry, viola

Tuesday, June 8, 2021, at 3 p.m. Heritage United Methodist Church Hattiesburg, MS

Terzettino PROGRAM

Theodore Dubois (1837-1924)

“Danza para dormer a un minino” Gerardo Aponte Cupido b. 1978

At Dusk Arthur Foote (1853-1937)

EtymEntom}ology: A Metamorphosis for Christopher Lowry b. 1988

Flute, Viola, and Harp, Op. 41 (2020-21) I. Prelude: Beetles (Coleoptera) II. Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthoptera) III. Mantids (Mantodea) IV. Flies (Diptera) V. Ants, Bees, and Wasps (Hymenoptera) VI. Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) VII. Finale: Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) EtymEntom}ology was commissioned by the Lagniappe Trio in 2019 and supported by a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission

Formed in 2016, The Lagniappe Trio is comprised of principal players of the Baton Rouge Symphony who have extensive experience with the orchestral and chamber music repertoire and particularly enjoy presenting new works for the flute, viola, and harp ensemble.

A resident of Hattiesburg, MS, Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo is also principal flutist of the Meridian Symphony and has performed with classical guitarist and husband Nicholas Ciraldo for more than 20 years in Duo Cintemani. She is the Development Coordinator for the Hattiesburg Concert Association and works to encourage social and economic change through supporting the cultural economy of the region. She has won several international competitions and enjoyed working with the flute studios of Louisiana State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Southeastern Louisiana University as well as private students over the years. Rachel earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree from Boston University. Hailing from Nashville, TN, Christopher Lowry is emerging as one of the leading violists and most performed composers of his generation. Lowry’s music has been recorded by the Brno Philharmonic for Ablaze Records and performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and the Ryman Auditorium by ensembles across the country and internationally in countries such as Mexico, South Africa, the U.K., Brazil, China and more. Chris is a recording and mixing engineer, and he has recorded and produced multiple CDs for release on Centaur Records. He is also the principal violist of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. Chris holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. Originally from Chicago, harpist Stephanie Gustafson now resides in Houston, where she is an active performer, educator, and writer. In addition to her position with the Baton Rouge Symphony, she is a regular guest of the Houston Symphony and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, and she has performed with orchestras on stages all over the U.S., Europe and South America. A passionate educator, Stephanie is a co-founder and co-director of the Houston Youth Harp Ensemble, a Saturday morning program that helps harp students in Houston further their musical growth and build an essential harp community. Additionally, Stephanie is on faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, a summer program in Twin Lake, Michigan, and maintains an active private teaching studio for students of all ages in Houston. Stephanie received her Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Outside of performing, Stephanie is News Editor for Harp Column magazine and is an avid reader. EtymEntom}ology From the composer “Much like my affinity for music, my interest in entomology started in early childhood; there are many pictures of me as a child examining or handling insects, which eventually led me to curating an impressive insect collection in high school, and has since grown into an amateur study and photography of them. I had even considered studying entomology in college, but decided that my mild phobia of biting and stinging creatures might be enough reason to stick with music (plus, the hundred-orso specimens that I meticulously pinned to a board in a glass display case as a teenager have long since been devoured by carpet beetle larvae in an act I can only assume to be revenge). Nevertheless, this piece is a long-overdue tribute to and intricate synthesis of these two passions. The piece is in seven movements, each of which represents a specific order of insects and attempts to depict them musically in a variety of different ways, some more abstract than others. The title refers to the similarity between the words entomology (the study of insects) and etymology (the study of words), which are quite often confused with each other; I chose to represent the etymological side of the piece by providing very basic etymologies of each order at the start of each movement. The primary motive of the whole suite is a Lydian hexachord representing Class Insecta (six notes for six-legged hexapods!). While this opens the first movement and is present in other sections, each movement is also based around a different variation of this hexachord, essentially developing and “metamorphosing” the main motive over the course of the seven movements.”