SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Under One Sky Alexandra Jones, Artistic Director August 28-29, 2021 Virtual Event Sponsored by
Presented by
UC SANTA BARBARA
UC SANTA BARBARA
Summer Sessions
Department of Music
Schedule Saturday, August 28 University Carillonist Wesley Arai 1 pm PDT | UCSB Storke Tower (live stream) Page 4 Daniel Ohara and Shashank Aswathanarayana 3 pm PDT | Virtual Event Page 7 CRUSH Duo (Chenoa Orme-Stone and Katrina Agate) with dancer Ahna Lipchik 5 pm PDT | Virtual Event Page 8
Sunday, August 29 Duo con Fuoco: Petra Peršolja and Adam Gravelle 1 pm PDT | Virtual Event Page 10 Professor Scott Marcus and Shashank Aswathanarayana 3 pm PDT | Virtual Event Page 11 Gamelan Sinar Surya 5 pm PDT | Virtual Event Page 12
Alexandra Jones, Artistic Director Alexandra Jones is a contemporary, classical composer from Evergreen, Colorado. She began learning piano at the age of four and had started violin soon after. Performance has always been a key interest, and she has participated in numerous orchestras, choirs, and other ensembles since a very young age. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2013, she has worked as a studio musician and vocalist. She had also started studying under David Koplin as part of Santa Monica College’s Applied Music Program. Alexandra received her Bachelor’s degree in music composition at California State University, Northridge in 2020. She had the privilege of working under both A.J. McCaffrey and Thomas Kotcheff during this time; she has also been able to have multiple pieces performed by renowned ensembles such as Hocket, The Brightwork New Music Ensemble, and Argus. Currently, she is working towards her Master’s in Music Composition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Musically, she is looking forward to blending the art of composition and performance even more.
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Saturday, August 28 University Carillonist Wesley Arai | 1 pm PDT Program 1. Spanish Folk Dances Marizapalos Villano Canario
arr. Ronald Barnes
2. Classical Transcriptions Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 2 Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) arr. John Courter Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinen Herzen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) (from The Magic Flute) arr. Wesley Arai 3. Songs of the Beatles Blackbird John Lennon (1940-1980) and Paul McCartney (b. 1942) While My Guitar Gently Weeps George Harrison (1943-2001) 4. Original Carillon Compositions Golden Sounds Waltz 5. Early American Pop Music Medley of Gershwin Songs Somebody Loves Me Oh, Lady Be Good The Man I Love Fascinating Rhythm
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927) Ronald Barnes (1927-1997) John Courter (1941-2010)
Magnetic Rag Scott Joplin (1868-1917) arr. Wesley Arai *** Each section will be announced by the striking of one or more bells
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Program Notes Marizapalos, Villano, and Canario are three anonymous Spanish songs, most likely composed in the 16th and 17th centuries. All three songs are probably most often heard today in renditions for guitar. Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 2 is from a set of 16 pieces originally written for piano four hands and later rewritten for orchestra. The Slavonic Dances reflect stylistic elements commonly found in Bohemian folk music. Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinen Herzen (“Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart”), commonly known as the Queen of the Night Aria, is from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. Sung by a coloratura soprano in the opera, this aria is technically demanding, requiring the singer to cover an extraordinarily wide range. In a fit of rage, the Queen of the Night places a knife in her daughter’s hand and tells her to assassinate her nemesis; otherwise she will be disowned. Golden Sounds was commissioned for the 50th anniversary of UCSB’s Storke Tower carillon in 2019. The piece incorporates three themes associated with UCSB: the university motto, Fiat Lux (“Let There Be Light”), now used as the hour chime; the university hymn St. Anne (“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”); and an excerpt from the university alma mater “Hail to California.” These musical references are mixed in with carillonistic gestures and flourishes that include percussive chords, a “fan-shaped” glissando-like motive (scale passages beginning on one pitch and gradually widening), a “feathering” in which there is a gradual accelerando or ritardando, repetitive patterns utilizing the various registers and dynamics of the instrument, and canonic treatment of the motives. Waltz was written by Ronald Barnes, who played a major role in developing an American style of carillon composition. Barnes wrote countless original works, arrangements, and folk song settings for the carillon, which have become standards in the repertoire of carillonneurs in America and abroad. Blackbird and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are from the Beatles’ White Album, which was released in 1968. The original version of Blackbird features Paul McCartney singing and playing the guitar, as a solo. The song’s guitar accompaniment is said to have been inspired by one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suites for Lute (BWV 996). John Courter’s Medley of Gershwin Songs features four songs written by George Gershwin in 1924. These songs have been covered by countless artists over the years, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, The Carpenters, Meat Loaf, and Jacob Collier. Magnetic Rag (1914) by Scott Joplin is the last rag that was published during Joplin’s lifetime. It breaks from the traditional ragtime form and was considered progressive in its time. For example, the opening melody returns at the end of the piece, which is rare among Joplin’s rags. The song covers a wide range of moods, including melancholy and dark ones, perhaps reflecting the struggles Joplin was experiencing at the end of his life due to his declining health. However, this rag also has plenty of joyous and lighthearted moments throughout.
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About the Artist Wesley Arai was appointed Lecturer and University Carillonist at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2018. He plays the 61-bell Storke Tower carillon regularly and teaches carillon to UCSB students. Arai studied carillon with Jeff Davis as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received BA degrees in Mathematics and Statistics. While earning an MA degree in Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, he continued to play the carillon and subsequently passed the Carillonneur examination of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. Arai then served as Associate Carillonist at the University of California, Berkeley. An active recitalist, Arai has performed extensively across the United States and abroad. Most recently, he has performed in Australia, gave the dedicatory recital for the carillon at the University of Washington, and performed at the Eighth Berkeley Carillon Festival, the 76th Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, and the Springfield International Carillon Festival. Arai is also an annual recitalist at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Washington. In addition to the carillon, Arai has studied piano, trombone, and voice, and has performed in a number of different concert bands, marching bands, jazz bands, orchestras, and choral groups. He enjoys arranging music and occasionally performs some of his own arrangements on the carillon.
Welcome to Storke Tower and its Carillon! A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cup-shaped bells, arranged in chromatic series and played from a keyboard that allows variation of expression (louds and softs). Performers depress wooden keys with the sides of their fists and play the lowest notes with their feet. They are able to play louder or softer by striking the keys harder or less hard, much like a piano. As a key or pedal is depressed, a wire attached to the key pulls a clapper to the side of the bell, causing it to ring. The 61-bell UCSB carillon was dedicated in 1969. It was a gift of Thomas Storke, then publisher of the Santa Barbara News-Press. The instrument, with bells cast by the Dutch bell foundry Petit & Fritsen, is one of the finest carillons in the world with regard to bell tuning and sound quality, number of bells, and location (not near a busy street and near the ocean). The bells range in weight from about 13 pounds to 2.5 tons. Our instrument is one of six carillons in California, with the others being at UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, Stanford University, Christ Cathedral (formerly the Crystal Cathedral) in Garden Grove, and Trinity Cathedral in San Jose. There are over 650 carillons in the world and over 180 in North America. The carillon art is a growing one, for new instruments are installed every year. The instrument originated in the Low Countries of Europe in the 16th century, at first with just a few bells to tell time. A limited number of students with a strong musical background study carillon during the school year with University Carillonist Wesley Arai. 6
Daniel Ohara and Shashank Aswathanarayana | 3 pm PDT Program Description A performance of North Indian Classical music with Daniel Ohara on sitar and Shashank Aswathanarayana on tabla presenting Raga Malkauns. The performance will feature an alap (a solo section on the sitar without rhythmic accompaniment), followed by gat-s (small traditional compositions which serve as a foundation for ongoing improvisations) in slow and fast tempo set to a 16-beat rhythmic cycle called teental.
About the Artists Daniel Ohara has been learning North Indian classical music for a bit less than three years, and Middle Eastern music for a year longer, both from Professor Scott Marcus. After graduating from UCSB in the spring, he now researches cyclic behavior in the climate and economy. He loves music, and is very excited to hear everyone perform! Shashank Aswathanarayana is a music technologist, percussionist, and researcher from Bengaluru, India. As a musician he primarily plays the North Indian drums known as the tabla. He began learning the tabla under Sri Ajay Hangal at the age of 10. He quickly progressed to learning tabla under the tutelage of Pt. Sheshagiri Hangal (Sri Ajay Hangal’s father). In 2011, he began expanding his repertoire by learning to play tabla for semi-classical music, under Sri Praveen D Rao, and since 2016 he has been pursuing his tabla education under Sri Gurumurthy Vaidya. Over the years, Shashank performed at various music festivals in India, Germany, and the USA. In 2016, he joined the Middle East Ensemble at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), playing a variety of percussion instruments from the Middle East under the guidance of Sue Rudnicki and Professor Scott Marcus. Shashank is currently pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Technology at UCSB.
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CRUSH Duo with dancer Ahna Lipchik | 5 pm PDT Program The Swan from Carnival of the Animals*
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone
Otoño en Buenos Aires
José Elizondo (b. 1972)
Träumerei
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone
Valse Sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone
Duet for 2 Cellos Elgerico Commondo Leggiero Andantino Con moto
Reinhold Glière (1875-1956)
Elégie, Op. 3, No. 1 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone 33 Duos Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Matchmaking song arr. Árpád Pejtsik Walachian song Ruthian Song Mosquito Dance Farewell to the Bride Dance from Maramaros Ruthenian kolomeika Pizzicato “Meditation” from Thaïs
Jules Massenet (1842-1912) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone
Libertango*
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) arr. Chenoa Orme-Stone
*with Ahna Lipchik, dancer *** 8
About the Artists CRUSH is a cello duo consisting of Chenoa Orme-Stone and Katrina Agate. Chenoa grew up in Seattle, Washington and fell in love with the cello at age four. She earned her Bachelor of Music at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and her Master of Music from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark. She recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara and enjoys an active career as a performer and music educator. Katrina Agate completed a double major in music and electrical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and went on to receive a Master of Science in electrical engineering from the University of California, San Diego. She has continued a dual career as an engineer and musician, having recently performed at the KotorArt International Music Festival in Montenegro and recorded on Coldplay’s most recent album, Coldplay: Reimagined. Chenoa and Katrina play on “sister cellos” made by the Collin-Mezin family, one of the leading French instrument makers of the 19th century. Learn more at crushcelloduo.com. Ahna Lipchik was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received her formal training at the Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has enjoyed performing leading roles in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, Marius Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty, and August Bournonville’s Napoli, among others. During her time in school, Ahna frequently collaborated with UNCSA’s schools of Film, Music, Design and Production, and Drama. She also competed at both the Youth America Grand Prix and the World Ballet Competition, earning high marks, an award for best choreography at both, and an invitation to perform in the final gala alongside principal dancers from around the world. Ahna is currently a leading dancer with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, California.
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Sunday, August 29 Duo con Fuoco: Petra Peršolja and Adam Gravelle | 1 pm PDT Program The Barber of Seville Overture for piano four hands (1816)
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) arr. Arnold Schoenberg
Dr. Petra Peršolja and Adam Gravelle Impromptu Op. 90 Nr. 2 (1827) 3 Concert Etudes, Nr. 3 “Un Sospiro” (1849)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Dr. Petra Peršolja Five-minute intermission Romanian Folk Dances (1915)
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Dr. Petra Peršolja Rhapsody in Blue for piano four hands (1945)
George Gershwin (1898-1937) arr. Henry Levine
Dr. Petra Peršolja and Adam Gravelle ***
About the Artists Slovenian born pianist Petra Peršolja was awarded the Doctor of Music in Piano Performance by the University of California Santa Barbara last year. She holds a Master of Music from the University of Hawaii and two Bachelor degrees from Rowan University in New Jersey, and the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. While a student of Professor Paul Berkowitz at UCSB she was awarded the Graduate Division Fellowship, the second prize at the International Liszt Competition in LA, the Young Artists Fellowship by the Manchester Music Festival, was the winner of the Chamber Music Competition, etc. While a student of Dr. Jonathan Korth in Hawaii she was the winner of the Concerto competition, John Young Award in the Arts, Dai Ho Chun Scholarship, Outstanding Upper Division Student Scholarship, Merit Achievement in Piano Performance, and others. Dr. Peršolja has taken masterclasses with Richard Goode, Gilbert Kalish, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Sara Davis Buechner, and others. 10
Canadian pianist Adam Gravelle has concertized throughout the United States, Canada, Germany, Vienna, Prague, Scotland, and Slovenia. Born in North Bay Ontario, he began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at an early age. He holds an advanced diploma in piano performance from Cambrian College, a BM degree from Memorial University and a MM degree from Rowan University in New Jersey. His primary teachers include Dr. Charlene Biggs, Timothy Steeves, and Veda Zuponcic. Adam’s active participation in both chamber music festivals and piano masterclasses has lead him to working with some of the finest musicians of today such as Louis Lortie, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Larissa Dedova, Richard Raymond, Robert Silverman, and Gilbert Kalish. Mr. Gravelle currently has a teaching studio in Orange County, where he has produced many award winning students, and has recently had students successfully audition into the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA).
Scott Marcus and Shashank Aswathanarayana | 3 pm PDT Program Description A performance of North Indian Classical Music with Scott Marcus on sitar and Shashank Aswathanarayana on tabla presenting Raga Yaman. The performance will feature an alap (a solo section on the sitar without rhythmic accompaniment), followed by gat-s (small traditional compositions which serve as a foundation for ongoing improvisations) in slow, medium and fast tempo set to a 16-beat rhythmic cycle called teental.
About the Artists UC Santa Barbara Professor of Music (ethnomusicology), Scott Marcus started learning the sitar as a freshman at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1970-1971, studying with Wesleyan Visiting Artist Ram Das Chakravarty and his student Krishna Sanyal. Later, on a 1973-74 University of Wisconsin year-abroad program, he began daily lessons with Ram’s teacher, Amiya Das (Amiya Babu) Bhattacharya, in Benares, India. Scott remained in Benares for 2 additional years at the end of his “year-abroad,” continuing his lessons with Amiya Babu and adding on lessons with Ram and Krishna when they returned home to Benares after ending their teaching duties at Wesleyan University. Back in the U.S., he began studies in 1977 with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar on the surbahar (a bass version of the sitar). As a doctoral student at UCLA, from 1977, Scott was given the duties of teacher of sitar under the auspices of his professor, Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy. In 1989, Scott came to UCSB where he founded the Music of India Ensemble, a sitar ensemble that continues to the present day. Scott takes new students each Winter quarter. Beginning classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 10:50 am, followed by advanced classes for continuing students. Everyone is especially encouraged to consider joining the next beginning class, starting this coming year on Tuesday, January 4th, 2022. See page 7 for Shashank Aswathanarayana’s biography 11
Gamelan Sinar Surya | 5 pm PDT Program Description This dynamic group of local musicians will perform a variety of styles of traditional Indonesian Gamelan music, ranging from spiritual and lyrical to lively and dynamic. The performance will include an exciting ancient Topeng mask dance, performed by Noah Malik.
Gamelan Sinar Surya Members Chaye Alexander, Kemanak Lex Benes, Saron and Kendang Felicia Danon North, lead Saron Ed Dorsey, Gambang Donn Howell (UCSB Gamelan founder), Gong Kailee Lencioni, Kenong Noah Malik, dancer and Bonang Richard North, Kendang and Gambang (director) Kendra Oviedo, Titil and Gong Lucia Torres, Brong Special guest artist: Endang Rukandi, Suling
About the Artists Gamelan is the enchanting orchestra of gongs, xylophones, drums and bamboo flutes from Indonesia. It will be performed by Gamelan Sinar Surya, a community ensemble based in Santa Barbara since 2002, and dedicated to the preservation, teaching and performance of traditional Indonesian music and dance. The group specializes in rare music from the ancient kingdom of Cirebon, West Java. They are led by Richard North, who has also been directing the UC Santa Barbara Gamelan Ensemble since 2015.
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