NEWMUSIC NEWHAVEN hannah lash & christopher theofanidis 路 artistic directors
featuring music by
BRYCE DESSNER and music by Yale graduate composers
with featured artists
SANDBOX PERCUSSION Morse Recital Hall 路 March 5, 2015
Robert Blocker, Dean
Hannah Lash & Christopher Theofanidis, Artistic Directors
Michael Laurello b. 1981
Short Movement Written During a Snowstorm
Natalie Dietterich b. 1992
Dig
Tiange Zhou b. 1990
Beginning of Origin brief intermission
Brian Heim b. 1993
Cymbal Quartet
Krists Auznieks b. 1992
Passing Pieces
Ian Gottlieb b. 1990
Percussion Quartet Sandbox Percussion Jonathan Allen, Victor Cassese, Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney, percussion brief intermission
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence all electronic devices. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
Bryce Dessner b. 1976
Tenebre (2011) Adelya Nartadjieva, violin Bora Kim, violin Yuan Qi, viola Jiwon Kang, cello
Dessner
Seven Short Movements in the Style of the Murder Ballade (2013) I. Omie Wise II. Young Emily III. Dark Holler IV. Wave the Sea V. Brushy Fork VI. Pretty Polly VII. Tears for Sister Polly Jacob Joyce, violin Sohyang Yoo, cello Andrew Robson, flute, alto flute David Perry, clarinet, bass clarinet Georgi Videnov, percussion Sean Kennard, piano Special thanks to eighth blackbird (www.eighthblackbird.com) for granting special permission for the performance and live streaming of this work.
PROGRAM NOTES biography Michael Laurello Michael Laurello is an American composer and pianist. He has written for ensembles and soloists such as Sō Percussion (Brooklyn, NY), the Yale Percussion Group, the Yale Philharmonia, Sound Icon (Boston, Mass.), the 15.19ensemble (Pavia, Italy), NotaRiotous/The Boston Microtonal Society, guitarist Flavio Virzì, soprano Sarah Pelletier, pianist/composer John McDonald, and clarinetist and linguist/ music theorist Ray Jackendoff. Laurello is an Artist Diploma candidate in composition at the Yale School of Music, where he received the Jacob Druckman Scholarship and the Rena Greenwald Memorial Scholarship for 2014–2015. His primary composition teachers at Yale are Martin Bresnick, David Lang and Christopher Theofanidis. He holds an M.A. in composition from Tufts University, where he studied under John McDonald, and a B.Mus. in music synthesis (electronic production and design) from the Berklee College of Music. Recent honors include a commission from the American Composers Forum (ACF) and an Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation (Boston). He has attended composition festivals at highSCORE (Pavia, Italy) and Etchings (Auvillar, France). program note Short Movement Written During a Snowstorm I’ve been writing a lot of music lately. And somewhere amidst the deadlines, the second (through one thousandth) guesses, and the weighing of artistic choices, composing started to become more work than fun. So I decided that the process of com-
posing this piece would be an antidote to that. I waited for a blizzard in early February, gave myself 24 hours, and wrote it. The result is a brief musical statement that seems to pose musical questions without really attempting to answer them. It leaves things unaccounted for, and also leaves open the possibility of being expanded into something more substantial one day. For now, I am content to offer it in its present form, with love and gratitude, to the incredible musicians of Sandbox Percussion. biography Natalie Dietterich Natalie Dietterich is an American composer from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Her music has been performed at the highscore Festival (Pavia, Italy), the Charlotte New Music Festival (North Carolina), Spectrum (New York), and was recently featured on Q2 Music (WQXR, New York). She is a winner of two Philadelphia Composers’ Ink competitions: Airs of Other Planets (2014) and Songs of Metamorphosis (2014). Natalie is currently a M.M. candidate at the Yale School of Music, studying with Christopher Theofanidis. She holds a dual degree in violin performance and composition from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where she ran the NOW Music Society new music concert series; coordinated Danza Symbiotica, a dance and composer collaboration; and was a member of the West Chester Laptop Ensemble. Her previous composition teachers include Robert Maggio, Larry Nelson, Mark Rimple, Adam Silverman, and Van Stiefel.
PROGRAM NOTES biography Tiange Zhou
to the footprints of our ancestors back to the time of slash and burn.
Born in China in 1990, Tiange Zhou is a composer, playwright, and improv dancer. Her music is performed across Asia, Europe, and North America, and has been programmed at the highscore Music Festival (Pavia, Italy) and the Ostrava New Music Days. Zhou has collaborated with musicians from Mivos Quartet, ICE, S.E.M Ensemble, and Philip Glass Ensemble. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, including one year of study at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, Germany. Currently, she is pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music, studying with Hannah Lash. She has previously studied with Reiko Fueting, Nils Vigeland, Caspar Johannes Walter, and Marco Stroppa. Ms. Zhou focuses on dramatic music writing and collaborative creation with visual art, theater, and dance.
biography Brian Heim
program note Beginning of Origin Whether in Western or Eastern civilization, human beings have never stopped questioning the origin of the world and what prime elements life consists of. In classical thought, the elements earth, water, air and fire frequently occur. On the other hand, Wuxing (五行) in Eastern philosophy points out metal, wood, water, fire and earth as five prime interreactive elements. From my point of view, art is another expression of science, just as divinity is another name of nature. This percussion quartet, The Beginning of Origin, is a thinking process through music notes, density, timbre, and dynamics, which becomes a retrospective
Brian Heim (b. 1993) is a composer, programmer, and pianist whose work revolves around the intersection of art, technology, and philosophy. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Dan Welcher and Yevgeniy Sharlat, and is a first-year master’s student at the Yale School of Music, where he has studied with Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, and Hannah Lash, his present teacher. Brian’s music has been performed by the UT-Austin New Music Ensemble, by the Minneapolis-based Zeitgeist ensemble, and on the Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concerts series. His music was recently heard at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. Upcoming collaborations include a work for large ensemble with laptop for Yale’s New Music New Haven series and an orchestral work which will receive its premiere by the Yale Philharmonia in the fall. » www.brianlheim.com » www.soundcloud.com/brian-heim program note Cymbal Quartet My Cymbal Quartet is an open-ended investigation into expressive possibilities of the cymbal. I approached this work from a certain view of musical instruments — especially percussion instruments — as holistic “landscapes” of potential sound-worlds,
PROGRAM NOTES unpredictable in their terrain, astonishing in their unpredictability. The cymbal is, perhaps, one of the most multi-dimensional of these kinds of landscapes: I could never hope to catalog such a vast space of possibilities — nor do I wish to! Rather than begin my exploration as a scientist who classifies, I instead became a cartographer, so I could draw a crude map of the landscape of this instrument and create a piece that comes directly from my own physical experience. Using this map for navigation, I have attempted to break open the instrument, to draw it out of its ordinary prison of “something which can be either struck or bowed,” and release it into a newfound landscape — a much more natural habitat. biography Krists Auznieks Born in Riga, Latvia, composer Krists Auznieks grew up touring Europe with the Riga Dome Boys Choir and studying classical piano, later on venturing into jazz. He received his bachelor’s degree in composition from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under teachers Peter Adriaansz and Guus Janssen, also studying extensively at The Hague Institute of Sonology. Currently, he is pursuing his M.M. degree at the Yale School of Music with Hannah Lash and David Lang. He has written for the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, David Kweksilber Big Band, Claron McFadden, the recorder orchestra Praetorius, Brendan Faegre Edge Ensemble, Modelo62, Slagwerk Den Haag, the vocal groups Anima Solla and Framest, and a chamber opera for Riga’s European Capital of Culture 2014 festival. He received a recommendation in the 2014 UNESCO Rostrum of Composers for his work I Exist As I Am, which was broadcast on classical
music radio stations worldwide in 2014. His works have been performed at the Beijing National Arts Centre, the Shanghai City Theatre, the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Ereprijs YCM 2014 (both in The (Netherlands), Riga A Capella Festival (Latvia), Druskomanija (Lithuania), and Casa del Jazz (Italy). » www.auznieks.com program note Passing Pieces Time. River. I believe you already know the rest. biography Ian Gottlieb Ian Gottlieb (b. 1990) grew up in Los Angeles, California, where he studied classical and jazz cello at the Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences. He graduated in 2012 from Boston University as a student of the late Marc Johnson, receiving his bachelor’s degree in music composition and cello performance, magna cum laude. His music has been performed by various ensembles throughout North America, notably Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Ensemble dal Niente, Triple Helix, and Palaver Strings. As a cellist, Ian has participated in several reputable masterclasses, most notably with Pieter Wispelwey and Marco Pereira. Ian has also performed with numerous pop artists, including tours with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Air Traffic Controller at major venues such as the House of Blues (Los Angeles), the Coliseum (Hampton, VA), Mohegan Sun (CT), and the Verizon Arena (NH). Ian recently toured with a piano trio throughout
PROGRAM NOTES China, performing a program showcasing his own works alongside standard repertoire. He currently attends the Yale School of Music in pursuit of a master’s degree in composition, studying with Martin Bresnick, David Lang, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Hannah Lash. biography Sandbox Percussion Brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. Through compelling collaborations with composers and performers, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum and Terry Sweeney (all alumni of the Yale School of Music) seek to engage a wider audience for classical music. Sandbox made their New York debut in 2012 on the Concerts on the Slope series in Brooklyn. Following that performance, they accepted an invitation to become artistsin-residence of the series and have returned in each subsequent season. Later that year, Sandbox worked closely with composer James Wood on his masterpiece Village Burial with Fire at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. While at Norfolk, Sandbox played alongside the great Hungarian percussion quartet Amadinda. Aurél Holló, a member of Amadinda, later said about Sandbox: “With an array of skills, talent, and freshness, these young artists seem to be pushing their limits up to the skies, as I realized listening to them at the Yale New Music Workshop. Sandbox Percussion is the promising group of the near future, battering right on your door.”
Last season, Sandbox gave a TEDx talk in Brooklyn with the composer collective Blind Ear Music that showcased a computer program that enables a composer to compose music for live performers in real time. Through a collaboration with the Yale School of Drama, Sandbox premiered composer/ sound designer Palmer Hefferan’s effervescent multimedia piece, Forming the Year’s First Sky — a multimovement work that combines intricate movement and lighting with music in a live concert setting. This season, Sandbox will premiere works by Alex Weiser and Thomas Kotcheff as well as perform the powerful second movement of David Lang’s the so-called laws of nature at the DiMenna Center in Manhattan. Sandbox will also travel to South Carolina to perform one of György Ligeti’s final works, Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel, with mezzo-soprano Elspeth Davis. Other highlights include performances and clinics at New Haven’s Festival of Arts and Ideas, the Curtis Institute of Music, Cornell University, the Peabody Institute, the Yale School of Music, and a return to Brooklyn’s Concerts on the Slope series, where Sandbox will premiere a new work by Robert Sirota. Sandbox Percussion endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets. » www.sandboxpercussion.com
PROGRAM NOTES biography Bryce Dessner
program note Tenebre
Bryce Dessner is a Brooklyn-based composer, guitarist, and curator who is also a member of the Grammy Award-nominated band The National. In addition to his work with The National, Dessner has made a name for himself as an acclaimed composer, working with some of the world’s most creative and respected musicians. Dessner’s recent commissions include pieces for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet and the new music ensemble eighth blackbird, among others. This May the Barbican Centre in London will present a marathon weekend of music curated by Dessner, that includes the world premiere of Wave Movements featuring a film by acclaimed artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. Recordings of Dessner’s compositions, performed by the Kronos Quartet, were released in 2013 by the label Anti- on the album Aheym. In 2014 Deutsche Grammophon released St. Carolyn by the Sea, which features three of Dessner’s orchestral works performed by the Copenhagen Philharmonic and conducted by Andre de Ridder. Dessner is also the founder and artistic director of the annual MusicNOW Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, which will present its tenth season March 13–15, 2015. In addition, Bryce and his brother Aaron produced the Red Hot Organization’s extensive AIDS charity compilation, Dark was the Night, which has raised over two million dollars for AIDS charities. Dessner is a composer-in-residence at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven.
Tenebre began as a conversation with Kronos Quartet about writing a piece as a gift for Laurence Neff, Kronos’ longtime lighting designer, celebrating his 25th year with Kronos and his 50th birthday. The piece was also commissioned by the Barbican in London for a celebration of Steve Reich’s 75th birthday. As I thought about how to approach the piece, I spent a lot of time investigating the relationship between music and light, which led me to the Holy Week service called Tenebre. Tenebre is a mass service before Easter that many Renaissance and Baroque composers, and even some modern composers, have written music for. The significance of the Tenebre service for me is its relationship to light. There are 15 candles extinguished through the service, the final darkness symbolizing the death of Christ. I looked at Tenebre not in the context of religion but for its use of light, and how composers have scored that descent into darkness. I used the writing of the piece as an opportunity to study some of my favorite Renaissance vocal music, and I chose to reference Tenebre settings by Tallis, Gesualdo, and Palestrina, as well as an incredible Tenebre service by Couperin. These small quotes are woven together in an abstract way, and my Tenebre inverts the form of the service: rather than going from light into darkness, we go from darkness to light, to symbolize Larry’s illumination of Kronos Quartet’s music. Since Tenebre is built and inspired by vocal music, I wanted to include vocals at the end of the piece. In the finale of my Tenebre, the texture expands to three quartets play-
PROGRAM NOTES ing (all recorded by Kronos), and an octet of voices sung by my friend Sufjan Stevens. He sings a layered amoeba-like melody of Hebrew letters (which are sung as part of the traditional Tenebre service), and then the first line of the Tenebre reading, “Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae,” which translates to “Here begins the Lamentation of Jeremiah the Prophet.” So the piece ends where it should begin. program note Seven Short Movements in the Style of the Murder Ballade When eighth blackbird asked me for a piece, I immediately knew what to do: let great American folk music inspire a great American new music ensemble. The “murder ballad” has its roots in a European tradition, in which grisly details of bloody homicides are recounted through song. When this tradition came to America, it developed its own vernacular, with stories and songs being told and re-told over the generations. In Murder Ballades I re-examine several of these old songs, allowing them to inspire my own music. Omie Wise, Young Emily, and Pretty Polly are classic murder ballads, tales of romantically-charged killings that are based on real events. Dark Holler, my own composition, is loosely modeled on the clawhammer banjo style which would have accompanied many of these early folk songs. Brushy Fork is a Civil War-era murder ballad/fiddle tune, and Wave the Sea and Tears for Sister Polly are original compositions woven out of the depths of the many months I spent inhabiting the seductive music and violent stories of these murder ballads.
NEW MUSIC NEW HAVEN
Artistic Directors Hannah Lash Christopher Theofanidis Manager Andrew W. Parker Assistant Manager Roberta Senatore Office Assistant Timothy Gocklin Heejung Park Conducting Fellows Heejung Kim Louis Lohraseb
Stage Crew Samuel Bobinski John Caughman Patrick Durbin Batmyagmar Erdenebat Yifei Fu Julia Fu Julia Ghica Matthew Keown John Kossler Fiona Last Thomas Park Elisabeth Shafer Terrence Sweeney Georgi Videnov Johnathan Weisgerber
Music Librarians Nicholas DiBerardino Allan Hon Natasha Huang Matthew Keown Fiona Last Michael Laurello Richard Liverano David Mason Marie Oka Yefim Romanov
UPCOMING EVENTS The American Jazz Century
Letters from Argentina
march 6 Morse Recital Hall | Friday | 7:30 pm Ellington Jazz Series Willie Ruff, narrator. Featuring Aaron Diehl, piano; Paul Sikivie, bass, and Lawrence Leathers, drums. Amanda Kemp and Michael Jamanis perform The Chaconne Emancipated Tickets start at $12 • Students $6
march 31 Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Oneppo Chamber Music Series Violinist Cho-Liang Lin performs with clarinetist David Shifrin and leading Argentinian tango musicians. Featuring Lalo Schifrin’s Letters from Argentina and more Tickets start at $26 • Students $13
Handel: La Resurrezione
Vijay Iyer, guest composer
march 24 Battell Chapel | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Faculty Artist Series James Taylor, tenor; Robert Mealy, violin; Avi Stein, harpsichord; and others Co-sponsored by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Helicon Foundation Free Admission
april 2 Morse Recital Hall | Thursday | 7:30 pm New Music New Haven Yale alum Vijay Iyer plays his piece Time, Place, Action with the Brentano String Quartet. The concert also includes works by graduate students in composition Tickets $10–$15 • Students $5
Hung-Kuan Chen, piano
The Yale Cellos
march 25 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Horowitz Piano Series Haydn: Sonata No. 13 in G major, Hob. XVI:6; Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958; Chopin: 24 Preludes for piano, Op. 28 Tickets start at $13 • Students $7
april 15 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm YSM Student Ensembles A variety of music for solo cello and for cello ensemble. Aldo Parisot, director Tickets $10–$20 • Students $5
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Robert Blocker, Dean