32 minute read
Chamber Music
Geoff Nuttall, The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music
Dock Street Theatre May 28, 10:00am and 2:00pm; May 29 – June 11, 11:00am and 2:00pm; June 12, 11:00am, 2:00pm, and 5:00pm; June 13, 11:00am and 2:00pm
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Artists Composer in Residence/Viola Jessica Meyer Piano Gilles Vonsattel Piano Inon Barnatan Piano/Harpsicord/Organ Pedja Muzijevic Violin Jennifer Frautschi Violin Livia Sohn Viola Hsin-Yun Huang Viola Ayane Kozasa Cello Alisa Weilerstein Cello Arlen Hlusko Cello Paul Wiancko Double Bass Anthony Manzo Oboe James Austin Smith Clarinet Todd Palmer Bassoon Monica Ellis Horn David Byrd-Marrow Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo
St. Lawrence String Quartet Violin Geoff Nuttall Violin Owen Dalby Viola Lesley Robertson Cello Christopher Costanza
Staff Chamber Music Administrator Livia Sohn Coordinator Eva Dove Assistant/Page Turner Emilio Vazquez
1 hour | Performed without an intermission
Support provided by The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation.
The St. Lawrence String Quartet is the Arthur and Holly Magill quartet in residence.
The following musicians’ participation is generously sponsored by the following individuals: Jessica Meyer, Ayane Kozasa, and Alisa Weilerstein are sponsored by Erica Pascal and Michael Hostetler; Inon Barnatan and Alisa Weilerstein are sponsored by Miriam DeAntonio, M.D.; James Austin Smith is sponsored by Bob and Dana Wilson; Inon Barnatan is sponsored by Nancye B. Starnes; Todd Palmer is sponsored by Stono Construction, in loving memory of Joseph D. Logan, III; Pedja Muzijevic is sponsored in memory of Keith S. Wellin, by his wife, Wendy C. H. Wellin.
These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
The chamber music curtain in the Dock Street Theatre was designed and painted by Christian Thee.
Program I
String Quartet, op. 76 no. 4, “Sunrise”
St. Lawrence String Quartet May 28, 10:00am* and 2:00pm; May 29, 11:00am and 2:00pm^
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Source of Joy
Jessica Meyer, viola and loop pedal
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, op. 132: III, “Heiliger Dankgesang”
St. Lawrence String Quartet Jessica Meyer (b. 1974)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
* This chamber music concert is dedicated in loving memory of Ted Stern, first chair of Spoleto Festival USA, and his wife, Alva. ^ This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Ann and Andrew Barrett.
Program II
She Sailed the Savage Seas, world premiere St. Lawrence String Quartet
Piano Quintet No. 2, op. 20
St. Lawrence String Quartet; Gilles Vonsattel, piano May 30, 11:00am and 2:00pm‡; May 31, 11:00am
Jessica Meyer
Ludwig Thuille (1861 – 1907)
‡ This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Ann and Michael Tarwater.
Program III
From our Ashes, world premiere Livia Sohn, violin
String Quintet in C major, D. 956
St. Lawrence String Quartet; Paul Wiancko, cello May 31, 2:00pm; June 1, 11:00am and 2:00pm
Jessica Meyer
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Program IV
Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, op. 105
Geoff Nuttall, violin; Pedja Muzijevic, piano June 2, 11:00am* and 2:00pm; June 3, 11:00am
Robert Schumann (1810 – 56)
But Not Until
Jessica Meyer, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello
Trio in E-flat major, K. 498, “Kegelstatt”
Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Ayane Kozasa, viola Jessica Meyer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)
* This chamber music concert is dedicated in loving memory of Mary and Marion Field.
Program V
June 3, 2:00pm; June 4, 11:00am and 2:00pm
Oboe Concerto in G minor, HWV 287
George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1759)
James Austin Smith, oboe; with Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord; Geoff Nuttall and Livia Sohn, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass
The 3 Gs
Hsin-Yun Huang, viola Kenji Bunch (b. 1973)
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, op. 75
Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Pedja Muzijevic, piano Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921)
Program VI
American Haiku
Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello June 5, 11:00am and 2:00pm^; June 6, 11:00am
Paul Wiancko (b. 1982)
Sextet in C major, op. 37
Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Todd Palmer, clarinet; David Byrd-Marrow, horn Ernö Dohnányi (1877 – 1960)
^ This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Gary and Mary Becker.
Program VII
Milonga, live premiere Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Inon Barnatan, piano June 6, 2:00pm; June 7, 11:00am and 2:00pm
Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960)
Septet in E-flat major, op. 20
Todd Palmer, clarinet; Monica Ellis, bassoon; David Byrd-Marrow, horn; Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass Ludwig van Beethoven
Program VIII
Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, op. 102 no. 1
Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Inon Barnatan, piano June 8, 11:00am and 2:00pm; June 9, 11:00am
Ludwig van Beethoven
“Pensieri, voi mi tormentate” from Agrippina
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; James Austin Smith, oboe; Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, Jennifer Frautschi, and Eva Dove, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang and Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko and Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord George Frederic Handel
Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra, op. 88 | Max Bruch (1838 – 1920), arr. Todd Palmer
Todd Palmer, clarinet; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Jennifer Frautschi, Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, and Eva Dove, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, Arlen Hlusko, and Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; James Austin Smith, oboe; Monica Ellis, bassoon; David Byrd-Marrow, horn
Program IX
June 9, 2:00pm; June 10, 11:00am and 2:00pm
“Venga pur, minacci e frema” from Mitridate
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; David Byrd-Marrow, horn; Monica Ellis, bassoon; Geoff Nuttall and Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ballade für Oboe, world premiere James Austin Smith, oboe Siegfried Thiele (b. 1934)
Nonet in F minor, op. 2
Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Jennifer Frautschi and Geoff Nuttall, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; David Byrd-Marrow, horn; Monica Ellis, bassoon Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 – 1912)
Program X
June 11, 11:00am* and 2:00pm; June 12, 11:00am
Piano Trio No. 7 in B-flat major, op. 97, “Archduke”
Inon Barnatan, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Alisa Weilerstein, cello Ludwig van Beethoven
“Pie Jesu” from Requiem in D minor
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Pedja Muzijevic, organ; Geoff Nuttall and Livia Sohn, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924)
*This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Deborah Chalsty.
Program XI
June 12, 2:00pm and 5:00pm; June 13, 11:00am and 2:00pm
Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, K. 412
David Byrd-Marrow, horn; Geoff Nuttall, Jennifer Frautschi, and Livia Sohn, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. Ben Loeb
Violin Concerto in D minor, WoO 23
Robert Schumann, arr. Benjamin Britten
Livia Sohn, Geoff Nuttall, and Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass
Fantasie in F minor for four hands, D. 940
Inon Barnatan, Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Gabriel’s Oboe
James Austin Smith, oboe; Livia Sohn, Geoff Nuttall, Jennifer Frautschi, and Eva Dove, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass Franz Schubert
Ennio Morricone (b. 1928)
Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 93), arr. Todd Palmer
Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Jennifer Frautschi and Geoff Nuttall, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Arlen Hlusko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; David Byrd-Marrow, horn
Streamable Chamber Music Offerings
Videos
Excertps from all 11 Chamber Music programs are being video-recorded. Concert highlights, with short introductions from artists, are shared on Spoleto’s YouTube page soon after the in-person events. Videos are free to view and are available through June 18, 2021.
Program I, excerpts May 29, 5:00pm Program II, excerpts May 31, 5:00pm Program III, excerpts June 1, 5:00pm Program IV, excerpts June 3, 5:00pm Program V, excerpts June 4, 5:00pm Program VI, excerpts June 6, 5:00pm Program VII, excerpts June 7, 5:00pm Program VIII, excerpts June 9, 5:00pm Program IX, excerpts June 10, 5:00pm Program X, excerpts June 12, 5:00pm Program XI, excerpts June 13, 5:00pm
Radio
Spoleto’s Chamber Music concerts are also recorded and broadcast in full on South Carolina Public Radio, weekdays at 11:00am, on the program “Sonatas and Soundscapes,” June 4 to June 18, 2021.
Podcasts
South Carolina Public Radio is again producing an 11-episode podcast, Spoleto Backstage, with installments featuring concert recordings and artist interviews with host Bradley Fuller.
Program Notes
She Sailed the Savage Seas
for the St. Lawrence String Quartet Program II – World Premiere
When I began researching what makes this town special, I discovered it was a hot spot for pirates in the 1670s. I came across the story of Anne Bonny, one of the only female pirates in history. Bonny spent her early years in Charles Towne, the site of present-day Charleston. She eventually fled for the Bahamas, where she met the infamous pirate Calico Jack Rackham and became his partner as well as a member of his crew. She dressed like a man to blend in on the ship and fought just as fiercely as one, too. However, her career in swashbuckling only lasted a few precious years. One evening, the men in Bonny’s crew were too intoxicated to fight against a group of marauders determined to capture their sloop. She defended the ship as mightily as she could, but alas, all the pirates—including Bonny—were captured and sentenced to death. According to all written accounts, Bonny disappeared before she could be hanged. How she lived out the rest of her life remains a mystery to this day.
From Our Ashes
for violinist Livia Sohn Program III – World Premiere – Jessica Meyer
Early in my compositional career, I wrote a violin quartet for the ladies in MoVE (the Modern Violin Ensemble), and Livia so happened to be one of those violinists. When I first heard she had taken a break from playing after struggling with focal dystonia, I offered to write a piece in a way that would be comfortable for her to play when she was ready to pick up her violin again. When I received the email that she would be back playing in time for Spoleto Festival USA’s 2021 season, I was overjoyed. We began the composition process together by discussing which specific actions in her fingers we should avoid, and I wrote the piece with those enabling constraints. I find many parallels between writing this piece and our pandemic experience. We have a new set of limitations, but this does not mean we cannot pivot and live well within them. It just takes a bit of ingenuity, patience, and love.
– Jessica Meyer Artists
GEOFF NUTTALL (violin/The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director for Chamber Music) began playing the violin at age eight after moving to Ontario from Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied under Lorand Fenyves. In 1989, Nuttall co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) and has played more than 2,000 concerts around the world. In 2020, the PBS-produced television show Great Performances invited Nuttall to co-present on his favorite composer, Franz Joseph Haydn, in a documentary miniseries called Now Hear This, “Haydn: King of Strings.” He is now on faculty at Stanford University, where the SLSQ has been ensemble-in-residence since 1999, and makes his home in the Bay Area with his wife, Livia Sohn, and their sons, Jack and Ellis. This is Nuttall’s 12th season as the Director of Chamber Music.
INON BARNATAN (piano), “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” (The New York Times), is celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. He began his tenure as Music Director of La Jolla Music Society Summerfest in 2019. Barnatan is a regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. He recently served for three seasons as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, Barnatan is also a sought-after recitalist and chamber musician and has toured worldwide with frequent cello partner Alisa Weilerstein.
DAVID BYRD-MARROW (horn), hailed as “stunning and assured” (The New York Times), is a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble and The Knights. Working with a wide range of performers, he has premiered works by artists from George Lewis to Chick Corea. Byrd-Marrow has performed at many festivals including the Ojai Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, Mostly Mozart Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, and as faculty at the Banff Music Centre. Formerly a member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, he has also made appearances with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, the Washington National Opera, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. On Broadway, Byrd-Marrow most recently performed in the orchestra for Carousel. He is a professor of horn at the University of Denver.
CHRISTOPHER COSTANZA (cello) enjoys a variety of interests and passions, among them are running, cooking, and passenger rail-related pursuits. He finds running a perfect opportunity to explore the unique locales he visits during his extensive travels. As a runner, he has completed several full and half marathons as well as 5K and 10K races. Costanza’s cooking interests and skills revolve around a plant-based diet and are focused on local, organic, and seasonal ingredients. He has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. Learn more about his life and career by visiting his new website.
ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO (countertenor) is a Grammy-nominated countertenor. He recently returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten. He has appeared with many of the world’s other leading opera companies including Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Glyndebourne, Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass, and Teatro Real Madrid. In concert, he has sung with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Versailles, The Kennedy Center, The Met Museum, The Armory, Madison Square Garden, and the Guggenheim. Costanzo received his bachelor’s from Princeton University and his master’s from the Manhattan School of Music.
OWEN DALBY (violin) has been praised as “dazzling” (The New York Times), “expert and versatile” (The New Yorker), and “a fearless and inquisitive violinist” (San Francisco Classical Voice). As a member of the St Lawrence String Quartet, Dalby is Artist-in-Residence at Stanford University and regularly tours all the major chamber series in North America and Europe. Dalby received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale. With his wife, violist Meena Bhasin, he is the co-artistic director of Noe Music, a concert series in San Francisco, where they make their home with their two children.
EVA DOVE (violin/chamber assistant) has been described as “dynamic and compelling” (Charleston City Paper) for her performances across America in venues from Carnegie Hall to Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Recently, she performed with the Strings Festival Orchestra in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and was invited to serve as concertmaster of San Diego’s summer opera workshop, Opera Neo. Dove has also performed with Arizona Musicfest under the direction of Robert Moody. She holds her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rice University and is currently a doctoral student at Arizona State University, where she serves as chamber music teaching assistant. She frequently performs with the Phoenix Symphony and teaches in the local community college system. Dove is a former member of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra (2018 – 19).
MONICA ELLIS (bassoon) is a founding member of the ground-breaking, Grammy-nominated wind quintet, Imani Winds. Now in their 24th season, the quintet maintains a vigorous domestic and international touring schedule. Ellis is an artistic and administrative leader for Imani Winds, their chamber music festival, and their foundation. Her influential teachers include George Sakakeeny at Oberlin Conservatory (B.M.) and Frank Morelli at The Juilliard School (M.M.) and Manhattan School of Music (P.S.), where she is on faculty. Ellis has performed and recorded with artists and organizations from Wayne Shorter to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She is a frequent commentator on critical discussions regarding race, gender and entrepreneurship in classical music and is a board member of Concert Artists Guild. In February 2021, Imani Winds released its eighth studio recording entitled Bruits.
JENNIFER FRAUTSCHI (violin) is a two-time Grammy nominee and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. She has appeared as soloist with innumerable orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. As chamber musician, she has performed with the Boston Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She has also appeared at Chamber Music Northwest; La Jolla Summerfest; Music@Menlo; Tippet Rise Art Center; Toronto Summer Music; and the Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Lake Champlain, Moab, Ojai, Santa Fe, Salt Bay,and Seattle music festivals. Her discography includes several discs for Naxos, and her most recent releases are on Albany Records. Frautschi attended the Colburn School, Harvard, New England Conservatory, and Juilliard. She currently teaches at Stony Brook University.
ARLEN HLUSKO (cello) has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician across North America, Asia, and Europe. Newly appointed cellist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Hlusko is also a laureate of numerous competitions, Grammy Award winner for her collaboration with The Crossing, and recent alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. Hlusko also regularly performs with several ensembles based on the East Coast, including Dolce Suono Ensemble and Frisson. She has recently been a featured performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, among others. Hlusko founded her own
interactive chamber music concert series, Philadelphia Performances for Autism, and is involved with several communities in Philadelphia and New York City, including Carnegie Hall’s “Musical Connections” at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
HSIN-YUN HUANG (viola) has forged a career by performing on international concert stages, commissioning and recording new works, and nurturing young musicians. Highlights of her recent seasons include performances under the batons of David Robertson, Osmo Vänskä, Xian Zhang, and Maximiano Valdés in Beijing, Taipei, and Bogota as well as appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She is the first solo violist to be presented in the National Performance Center of the Arts in Beijing and regularly appears at prominent music festivals. She first came to international attention as the gold medalist in the 1988 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. Huang is currently on the viola faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School.
AYANE KOZASA (viola), hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and her “rock solid technique” (Philadelphia Inquirer), is a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet, whose Grammy-nominated debut album Blueprinting was released on New Amsterdam Records in 2019. In September 2020, the quartet launched their interactive web series for children called “AizuriKids,” an engaging series of episodes that explores music from Beethoven to Eleanor Alberga. Her duo with composer and cellist Paul Wiancko—known as “Ayane & Paul”—actively performs and commissions new works for viola and cello and recently collaborated with Norah Jones on her album Pick Me Up Off the Floor.
ANTHONY MANZO (double bass) has a vibrantly interactive and highly communicative music-making style that has made him a ubiquitous figure in the upper echelons of classical music. He regularly performs at venues including Lincoln Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Spoleto Festival in Charleston. He also appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with unconducted chamber orchestras across the country. Manzo has also been guest principal with Camerata Salzburg during their summer residency at the Salzburg Festival. He has also performed two tours as soloist alongside bass/baritone Thomas Quasthoff. Manzo is an active performer on period instruments with groups including The Handel & Haydn Society and Philharmonia Baroque. He teaches at the University of Maryland. JESSICA MEYER (viola/composer-in-residence) is a Grammy-nominated violist and composer whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity. Her playing has been described as “fierce and lyrical” and her works “other-worldly” (The Strad) and “evocative” (The New York Times). Since embarking on her composition career seven years ago, her works have been commissioned and performed by many established ensembles including A Far Cry, the American Brass Quintet, and Roomful of Teeth. Meyer’s upcoming projects include a concerto for herself, a song cycle for the National Gallery of Art, a work for the President’s Own Marine Band, and interactive performances in Carnegie Hall as well as around the country as part of their nationwide Link Up Program.
PEDJA MUZIJEVIC (piano/harpsichord) has performed virtual solo recitals for 92Y, Spoleto Festival USA, Maverick Concerts, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s Bach Festival; chamber music for Schubert Club in St. Paul; and concertos by Chopin and Mozart with Atlanta and Billings Symphonies during this past pandemic season. As the artistic administrator at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York and artistic advisor at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, he has curated and produced film shoots for dozens of musicians at various locations in New York City and Boston. He continues to develop his cooking skills and hopes to be able to share food with friends soon.
TODD PALMER (clarinet) is a three-time Grammy nominee who has appeared as soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, educator, arranger, and presenter in a variety of musical endeavors around the world. As a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and winner of the grand prize in the Ima Hogg Young Artist Auditions, he has appeared as soloist with many symphony orchestras and as recitalist in concert halls around the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia. Palmer gave the world premieres of Orpheus and Euridice by Ricky Ian Gordon at Lincoln Center, and Crosswalk, a new work for clarinet and dance specially created for him by choreographer Mark Morris. His Broadway credits include South Pacific, The King & I, Sunset Boulevard (starring Glenn Close), and Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of My Fair Lady.
LESLEY ROBERTSON (viola)—celebrating 31 years with the internationally acclaimed St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ)—is proud to make her life at Stanford University where, along with her SLSQ colleagues, she directs the chamber music program at the department of music. At Stanford, Robertson teaches viola, coaches chamber music, and spearheads the SLSQ’s Emerging String Quartet Program and the SLSQ’s annual chamber music seminar. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, Robertson also holds a degree from the University of British Columbia. She has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and served on the juries of the Banff, Melbourne, and Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competitions.
JAMES AUSTIN SMITH (oboe) has been praised for his “virtuosic,” “dazzling,” and “brilliant” performances (The New York Times) and his “bold, keen sound” (The New Yorker). He is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and Decoda; co-principal oboist of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and artistic and executive director of Tertulia, a chamber music series that takes place in restaurants in New York and San Francisco. He is a member of the oboe and chamber music faculties of Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music.
LIVIA SOHN (violin/chamber music administrator) is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied violin with Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with Felix Galamir. She started playing violin at age five in her home state of Connecticut and gave her first public performance two years later as a guest soloist with the New Haven Symphony. Sohn began attending the Juilliard Pre-College Division at that time, and at the age of 12, won first prize in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. She has since played concerts across six continents with orchestras and festivals worldwide. Sohn can be heard on the Naxos and Eloquentia labels, as well as on iTunes performing the Dvorak and Khachaturian Concertos in a live recording with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. Sohn makes her home in the Bay Area with her husband, Geoff Nuttall, and their two sons, Jack and Ellis. GILLES VONSATTEL (piano) is a Swiss-born American pianist. He is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Symphonique de Montréal, Boston Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. He has also performed recitals and chamber music at Ravinia, Tokyo’s Musashino Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bravo! Vail Valley, Chamber Music Northwest, La Roque d’Anthéron, Music@Menlo, the Lucerne Festival, and Spoleto Festival USA. As an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Vonsattel regularly performs at Alice Tully Hall and on tour throughout the United States and internationally.
ALISA WEILERSTEIN (cello) is one of the foremost musicians of our time. Since making her professional and Carnegie Hall debuts in her early teens, she has been in high demand as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist with leading orchestras worldwide. She was recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011. An authority on Bach’s music for unaccompanied cello, Weilerstein recently released a best-selling recording of his solo suites on the Pentatone label, streamed them in her innovative #36DaysOfBach project, and deconstructed his beloved G-major prelude in a Vox.com video, which has been viewed almost 1.5 million times. Her discography also includes chart-topping albums and the winner of BBC Music’s “Recording of the Year” award. Career milestones include a performance at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama.
PAUL WIANCKO (cello/composer) has led an exceptionally multifaceted musical life, collaborating closely with artists such as Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Chick Corea, Mitsuko Uchida, Max Richter, Norah Jones, and members of the Guarneri, Takács, JACK, Parker, St. Lawrence, and Juilliard quartets. Chosen as one of Kronos Quartet’s 50 for the Future, Wiancko’s own compositions have been described as “dazzling” and “compelling” (Star Tribune) and as “vital pieces that avoid the predictable’’ (Allan Kozinn). The New York Times featured Wiancko’s piece LIFT in the article “5 Minutes to Make You Love the String Quartet,” stating more recently that it “teems with understanding of and affection for the string-quartet tradition.” LIFT can be heard on the Aizuri Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album Blueprinting, one of NPR’s top 10 classical albums of 2018.
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA
Each year, the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra takes on a dynamic new identity. This season, 17 past ensemble members share video profiles of themselves and bite-size solo performances every day of the Festival. Musicians will also present the digital premiere of Arden on Saturday, June 5, a new site-specific work composed by Resident Festival Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy. Videos will premiere on the Festival's YouTube channel throughout the season and remain available until June 18, 2021.
Digital Performance
Artists Composer John Kennedy Mezzo Soprano Naomi Louisa O'Connell Piano Renate Rolhfing Violin Giancarlo Latta Viola Celia Daggy Cello Suebin Jin
Saturday, June 5, at 5:00pm
Arden, digital premiere John Kennedy (b 1959)
Video Profiles
Najette Abouelhadi, cello Omri Barak, trumpet Viola Chan, flute Andrew François, viola Clifton Joey Guidry, bassoon Israel Gutierrez, trombone Sidney Hopson, percussion Kayla Howell, horn Edward Kass, double bass Abby Kent, harp Austin Lewellen, double bass Jarrett McCourt, tuba Francesca McNeeley, cello Aurora Mendez, violin Alfonso Noriega, viola Renate Rohlfing, piano Priscilla Rinehart, horn Michelle Sung, flute Tamara Winston, oboe JOHN KENNEDY (conductor), Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities, is known for his long engagement of adventurous and multi-disciplinary programming across genres and musical eras. Kennedy has conducted over 300 premieres, working closely with composers from John Cage to Kaija Saariaho. In recent seasons at the Festival, he has led a succession of new international operas by leading composers of our time, including Dusapin, Francesconi, Glass, Hosokawa, Lachenmann, Liza Lim, Huang Ruo, and others. Kennedy is a prolific composer whose wide-ranging music has been commissioned and played worldwide, including at the Santa Fe and Sarasota Operas.
CHOIR
Joe Miller, Director of Choral Activities
Choir concerts have long been a staple of Spoleto Festival USA, with Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller leading world-renowned singers in versatile and powerful performances. This season, get a front row seat to the Festival choir's heaven-sent sounds with two digital performances plus five video profiles introducing master choristers. Videos will premiere on the Festival's YouTube channel throughout the season and remain available until June 18, 2021.
Digital Performances
Artists Soprano Jisoo Bae Kristine Caswelch Ashley Ross
Alto Molly Getsinger Corbin DeSpain
Tenor Gregory Miller Shane Thomas
Bass Claude Cassion Stephen Hanna Matthew Lee
Organ Shiloh Roby
Flute Carley M. Barnes
Oboe Leonardo De La Cruz
Saturday, May 29, at 5:00pm
"Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis" (Gloucester) Herbet Howells (1892 – 1983)
Friday, June 4, at 5:00pm
"My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" Mack Wilberg (b 1955)
Video Profiles
Jennah Delp, conductor Kyle VanSchoonhoven, singer Andrew Cooper, singer/conductor Madeline Healey, singer Vinroy Brown, conductor JOE MILLER (conductor) is the director of choral studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is also artistic director for choral activities for the Spoleto Festival USA and director of the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir. D.C. Theatre Scene has hailed Joe Miller as “a fearless artist.” His performances with the Westminster Choir have been praised by The New York Times for their “precision, unanimity and power.” Upcoming projects include collaborations with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Jaxpa Vitola Latvijas Muzikas adademija in Riga, Latvia; and the American Choral Directors Association.
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
With Special Guest Shannon Powell
College of Charleston Cistern Yard May 28 at 9:00pm
Artists Bass/Tuba Ben Jaffe Drums Walter Harris Trombone Ronnell Johnson Trumpet Brandon Lewis Vocals/Saxophone Clint Maedgen Piano Kyle Roussel Drums/Percussion Shannon Powell
1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Artists
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND (PHJB) has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, keeping alive the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. PHJB serves as a reminder that the music history it was founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history. The band’s most recent album, So It Is, redefines what New Orleans music means today by tapping into a sonic continuum that stretches back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots through its common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane. PHJB has shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport with legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and the Grateful Dead as well as modern giants like My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, and The Black Keys.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo.
Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans.
Piano by Steinway & Sons.
A NEW ORLEANS JAZZ CELEBRATION
A Tribute to the Life and Music of Danny Barker
College of Charleston Cistern Yard May 29 at 9:00pm
Artists Musical Director/Clarinet Dr. Michael White Featured Vocalist Catherine Russell Bass/Tuba Kerry Lewis Trombone Jeffery Miller Drums/Tambourine Shannon Powell Trumpet/Vocals Gregg Stafford Piano David Torkanowsy Banjo/Vocals Don Vappie
1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About Danny Barker Artists
Danny Barker was born in New Orleans in 1909. He started out playing clarinet and drums before switching to banjo and adding guitar. In 1930, he moved to New York City, where he played and recorded with a wider range of jazz legends than any other musician before or since. Barker returned to New Orleans in 1965. There he was asked by his church pastor to recruit young musicians from the community to form a band. The result was a group called the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band. Graduates of the Fairview included many musicians who have made lasting contributions to New Orleans music, including Dr. Michael White, Shannon Powell, Gregory Stafford, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and the members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Barker was largely responsible for the revitalization of this fundamental part of New Orleans music and culture.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo.
Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans.
Piano by Steinway & Sons.
KERRY LEWIS (bass/tuba) has proven his dedication to his craft from the streets of New Orleans to five continents. He has performed at The Palm Court Jazz Café at Preservation Hall and with Banu Gibson and her New Orleans Hot Jazz group, Leroy Jones Quintet, as well as Dr. Michael White and his Original Liberty Jazz band. His contribution to blues, country, rock, jazz, and roots music can be found on countless recordings from the last twenty years. One of Lewis’s standout projects was Abstract, the musical group he cofounded with Gerald French, Joel Hamilton, Paul Longstreth, and Marc Adams. His record label, 11th Commandment, was a natural outgrowth from this ensemble.
JEFFERY MILLER (trombone) first performed at Carnegie Hall as a guest with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at age 15. Now 25, the three-time Grammy-nominated artist has continued to perform on prestigious stages and in venues including the Apollo Theater, The New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, and Madison Square Garden. He has recorded, performed, and collaborated with artists including
Solange, Yasiin Bey, Jon Batiste, Wynton Marsalis, Trombone Shorty, and John Legend. Miller received his BM and MM from The Juilliard School in 2018 and 2020. He currently leads his own band, with which he blends modern R&B, pop vocals, and the New Orleans aesthetic into which he was born.
SHANNON POWELL (drums/ tambourine) has performed all over the world with notables in jazz. In his early career, Powell toured extensively with Harry Connick, Jr. and released two platinum albums with him, including We Are in Love and Blue Light, Red Light. During subsequent years, Powell has toured with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Marcus Roberts, Diana Krall, Dr. John, Earl King, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and John Scofield. Powell has also recorded with Ellis and Jason Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison, Irvin Mayfield, Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Currently, Powell is a bandleader and has recorded his own CD, Powell’s Place. Considered a living legend in New Orleans music, Powell is heralded as “The King of Tremé,” the neighborhood in New Orleans where he was raised.
CATHERINE RUSSELL (vocals) is a graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has toured the world with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, The Holmes Brothers, Wynton Marsalis, and Rosanne Cash. Since the release of her debut album Cat (2006), she has had six acclaimed and chart-topping albums including Strictly Romancin’ (2012 Prix du Jazz Vocal for Vocal Album of The Year) and Bring It Back (2014). Russell was a featured artist on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Her sixth album, Harlem On My Mind (2016), received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Russell has appeared on PBS and on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR. Russell’s seventh album as a leader, Alone Together (2019), received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
GREGG STAFFORD (trumpet/vocals) was born on July 6, 1953, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Performing traditional New Orleans jazz, he has become one of New Orleans’ most recognized and highly respected musicians. He is the leader of two groups in the city of New Orleans: The Young Tuxedo Brass Band and Gregg Stafford’s Jazz Hounds. He has worked with many legendary New Orleans musicians such as Danny Barker, Willie Humphrey, Jeanette Kimble, Narvin Kimble, George “Kid Sheik” Colar, Emanuel Sayles, Chester Zardis, Teddy Riley, and many others. He currently performs as a member of Dr. Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band, the Palm Court Jazz Band, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Stafford has recorded and performed at festivals and venues all over the world.
DAVID TORKANOWSKY (piano) was born in New Orleans, where he was nurtured by numerous legends, including Danny Barker. As a pianist, keyboardist, and/or musical director, Torkanowsky has performed and recorded with Jarreau, Allen Toussaint, Ani DiFranco, Boz Scaggs, Chuck Berry, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. John, Etta James, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Taj Mahal. Torkanowsy has won Grammy Awards for his work on Irma Thomas’s After the Rain, Boney James’s Ride, and Bobby Rush’s Porcupine Meat. He has been the composer and/ or contributed music for The Big Easy (USA Network), Crime Story (NBC), Treme (HBO), Bosch (Amazon), Sons of Guns (Discovery), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), and the award-winning documentaries The Big Uneasy (directed by Harry Shearer), and The Experiment.
DON VAPPIE (banjo/vocals) has several overlapping careers as a guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger/composer, educator, lecturer, record, and event producer. He is an expert not only about New Orleans jazz but its place and importance in the contemporary music scene. With eight albums as a leader, Vappie has also recorded and/or performed with numerous artists including Peggy Lee, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Eric Clapton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Michael White, Bela Fleck, and many more. His latest release, The Bluebook of Storyville, is a tribute to Creole jazz—the melding of cultures containing the influences of the Caribbean in New Orleans jazz. In the words of Howard Reich of The Chicago Tribune, “Vappie brings Crescent City traditions to practically everything he touches.”
DR. MICHAEL WHITE (clarinet) is a composer, educator, writer, producer, and jazz historian. A New Orleans native, he currently teaches African American music at Xavier University and holds the Rosa and Charles Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities there. He also played with over three-dozen New Orleans jazz legends born between the late 1890s and 1910, including Danny Barker, and was a member of The Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band. White has recorded 15 recordings under his name and many others with artists like Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Taj Mahal, and Eric Clapton. He has received the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Louisiana Humanist of the Year award, and the French Chevalier of Arts and Letters award. White regularly performs with his Original Liberty Jazz Band and Dr. Michael White Quartet.
SARAH JAROSZ
College of Charleston Cistern Yard May 30 and 31 at 9:00pm
Artists Guitar John Leventhal Guitar Mike Robinson
Bass Dave Speranza Drums John Fatum
1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Artists
SARAH JAROSZ—with her captivating voice, richly detailed songwriting, and enchanting multi-instrumentalism—has emerged as one of the most compelling musicians of her generation. The Texas native and four-time Grammy Award-winner last appeared at Spoleto Festival USA in 2019 as part of the folk trio I’m With Her. She returns in 2021 for two magical evenings illuminated by her ethereal, sparkling vocals and tender storytelling.
Sponsored by First Citizens Bank.
Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans.
Piano by Steinway & Sons.
These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
