Connecting
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Our Board President, Leigh Deusinger, takes a moment to reflect on building a community through building connections.
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Season Six has a Theme!
/From the get go, we've enjoyed pulling together our concerts with a theme. We could just plop together any old music we like, but where's the challenge in that? This season we've taken it to the next level, and have a theme uniting our entire concert series.
Each of our five programs this year connects in some way to theater. This idea originated when we discovered the newly discovered original score to a work by the famous Aaron Copland and built a program around it. From there we kept building our season and bit by bit realized that with we could work out a theme for our entire series! We're really excited to present our first concert in just two weeks. Rehearsals began this past weekend, and were a blast.
Our first concert is titled DANCE, and includes the "new" work by Copland, as well as 4 tangos in some form or another! Here's a little bit about this concert.
Copland wrote some incidental music to a play in 1940. Quiet City was a flop as a play, so Mr. Copland took his score for quartet and arranged it for string orchestra, trumpet and English horn. You can read more about how the original scoring was recently published here in last weeks blog post.
We built this program around Quiet City, which has the unique instrumentation of trumpet, saxophone, clarinets and piano. We added a few instruments to that ensemble to build out the program.
The concert begins with a short piece titled "Breakdown Tango" by American composer John Mackey which was composed to be danced to, although not as a traditional tango! It's a wild and raunchy affair that will spice up the kick off to our sixth season!
We finish the program with another ballet score by an early 20th Century composer, Martinu. (He's Czech, but the music is all French.) La Revue de Cuisine is about a love triangle between kitchen utensils. Yes, you read that right, kitchen utensils. Want to read more about how "Dishcloth makes eyes at Lid but is challenge to a duel by Broom?" (click here) As you might imagine the music is delightful, playful and full of dance numbers. there's a Tango, a Charleston and a March for seven instruments. We're excited to have Dawn Weber playing trumpet with us on this piece and the Copland! Check out her website, she's got about one million cool things going on.
At this point in the program development process, we figured we'd better add a few more dance numbers to the program to keep the theme going. Pulling in the suite of dances from Stravinsky's trio arrangement of his famous L'historie du Soldat was an easy fit (or not so easy for Kyle who has to play maybe the most difficult Tango ever written for violin), and we get to Dance with the Devil for a minute or so, which should be fun. We also threw in a slow tango by the tango master, Piazzolla, and wham, we've got a program all about theater and dance!
So put your dancin' shoes on and join us on Sept. 6 at The Chapel for a great time! Tickets are on sale here.
Program details are available here >
Copland's Quiet City
/This post is written by Adrianne, saxophonist and Artistic Director of Chamber Project St. Louis
We’re always searching for interesting works to program on Chamber Project St. Louis concerts. Sometimes we have favorites in mind, or classic works of the chamber repertoire, but sometimes we want to find something new and unique to perform. A piece by Copland would surely fall into the category of a classic or well-known work, but not in this case!
<--Copland
wrote for saxophone?!
You can imagine our surprise when, about two years ago, we heard about a newly discovered version of Copland’s relatively well-known orchestral piece Quiet City. It turns out that the original version of the work, which was written for a play by Irwin Shaw, was for clarinets, alto saxophone, trumpet and piano. How perfect for Chamber Project! Copland did not write much chamber music repertoire, so this is a very exciting discovery.
It turns out that we have Christopher Brellochs to thank. He was pursuing a Doctorate in saxophone at Rutgers University when his professor approached him with what turned out to be the long lost Copland score. National Public Radio featured his story about unearthing and adapting the original work, which is how we came to know about it.
Find out more about Copland’s Quiet City—check out the NPR interview and recordings here!
What an exciting way to start the season! Dana and I look forward to performing with Dawn Weber on trumpet and Peter Henderson on piano for this upcoming concert. This will be Dawn’s first performance with Chamber Project St. Louis! Come and hear the St. Louis premiere of this new classic on September 6 at the Chapel.
Chamber Project St. Louis presents DANCE
September 6, 8:00 PM
The Chapel Venue
MACKEY Breakdown Tango
COPLAND Quiet City
STRAVINSKY Four Dances from The Soldier’s Tale for Trio
PIAZZOLLA Tango No. 4
MARTINU La Revue de Cuisine
Purchase tickets here
Meet Laura
/On Saturday we present our Fourth Annual Audience Choice Concert. Laura, founding member and Artistic Director of Chamber Project, shares her choices in this blog post about her path in music.
I did not grow up in a musical household, but my parents wanted me to try a variety of activities, so I did. I took years of dance classes, figure skating lessons, and even played team sports. It was all fun. However, when I began playing the viola in 4th grade, at James Madison Elementary in Colorado Springs, I was hooked. My parents provided me with many opportunities, and music was the obvious choice for me to focus on.
Posing for a picture before my tap recital. This was one of my favorite costumes.
With Ms. Johnson and some of the members of "Strings 'R Us". That's me on the right with the rolled jeans.
I had an incredible elementary strings teacher, Ms. Linda Johnson. Her class was delightful, learning was never laborious. She gave me extra lesson time and additional music to work on so that I would continue to be challenged. Ms. Johnson kept it light and funny. She named the string program “Strings ‘R Us”. One of our concerts was entitled “An Anesthetic Experience”. If you must know, 50 beginners playing a variety of string instruments is not what most would label as soothing, but our parents appreciated the sarcasm.
Me, holding my brother Matt with my sister Mandy. "Lessons" would begin soon...
I would spend hours practicing my orchestra part, perfecting it passage by passage. I encouraged my younger siblings to play string instruments and then as I was clearly the “expert”, I gave them private lessons. This, of course, did not go well. Tears were shed and lessons ended abruptly. I just wanted them to have as much fun as I did playing music! I choose to continue with music, they, in spite of their “lessons” with me, did not.
I entered The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) thinking I would love to be a professional chamber musician. I was really into chamber music and had just finished a great summer at The Olympic Music Festival playing string quartets. However, CIM is known for its orchestral training and affiliation with The Cleveland Orchestra, so after my four years there, I was convinced that I wanted a job in the viola section of an orchestra.
I went to graduate school and started taking orchestra auditions. While in grad school, I met this great guy who was also taking orchestra auditions. He won a trombone position in the St. Louis Symphony. We got married, moved to St. Louis, and he started his new job. I started playing as a substitute with the St. Louis Symphony, my desire to play with an orchestra was partially fulfilled.
Performing a Dvorak string quartet at Olympic Music Festival.
It was at the end of my first year in St. Louis that two things occurred. I met Dana, Jen, and Adrianne, and we started talking about how much we missed playing chamber music. Chamber Project Saint Louis was in its infancy. I made the choice to re-focus my energy on my first love of chamber music.
That year I also got a job at City Academy teaching elementary students to play the violin. I never thought that I would be in a classroom setting, it wasn’t one of the choices I had originally seen for myself, but I have grown to love it and am now thrilled that this option came my way. The kids are awesome. City Academy gives them opportunities that they would most likely never have and this makes me proud to be a part of this.
Every May, when the 6th grade class leaves their violins at school to leave for middle school, I get nostalgic. I wonder if any of them will ever play a note again, even though they promise me that they will.
I hope that I have planted a seed and that when they grow into brilliant young professionals, that they will love and support the arts. My own life was changed by Ms. Johnson’s dedication to her students and to music, and this inspires me to pass it on.
Ensemble in Residence at The Community Music School of Webster University
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We are excited to be the Ensemble in Residence at The Community Music School of Webster University this summer for the 2014 Summer Composition Intensive!
During this unique two week camp, students learn basic composition skills, or hone the skills they already have as they compose a piece for clarinet, viola and piano. They will have the opportunity to work with the musicians throughout the camp as their work develops. The camp culminates with Chamber Project Saint Louis performing all of the works for family, friends and anyone else who wants to come!
Chamber Project clarinetist Dana Hotle has been an instructor at the camp since it began over 10 years ago. She says, "The CMS Composition Intensive is always the most inspiring part of the year for me. To watch these young students enthusiastically create music is always a thrill, and affirms my belief that Classical Music is alive and well and has a very bright future. Hearing their works performed on the last day is something I look forward to year after year. It's amazing what these kids do! I'm really excited that Chamber Project is the Ensemble in Residence this year. It is a natural fit for what we do. I'm really looking forward to being able to perform the pieces that I've helped them compose!"
The camp is a truly unique opportunity for young musicians, and draws students from all over the country. Have a young musician in your life who might enjoy this? Learn more at the CMS website HERE.
Meet Elizabeth, and her family.
/We have enjoyed having Elizabeth Ramos (violin) perform with us so much this season! When we asked her to play this upcoming concert with us, she was giddy with delight. It turns out that one of the pieces on the program holds a special place in her heart, and this is her first opportunity to actually play it. She has graciously shared this story with us today. Elizabeth comes from a family of musicians. Both of her parents play in the St. Louis Symphony. Her mom is a cellist and her dad is a violinist. Both of her siblings are also musicians. What is it like to grow up in a house full of string players? She gives us a little glimpse in her story.
Elizabeth Ramos, violin
In my parents house, my mother has a studio that is cluttered with dusty cassettes, decaying volumes of music, and every type of random artifact you could imagine, ranging from decade old used strings to broken splintering cello chairs. It is here that I would come in my adolescent years to rummage through old bins of recordings and thumb through yellowed, flaking pages of chamber music. Mixed into the hodgepodge of musical paraphernalia I would frequently come across live recordings of my parent's performances, some from only a few months prior, and others extending as far back as their conservatory days in the 70's. Perhaps early on I had a deep seated sense of parental pride, or more likely it was just an inquisitive child's curiosity, but more often than not I would find myself specifically combing through the familial stacks of long forgotten cassette tapes labeled "Carmen Fantasy, 1987," or "Brahms Double, 1993."
Elizabeth on the far left, with her sibling playing together.
Every find would be a secret bonanza, to be confiscated and listened to over and over again while doing the dishes. (The kitchen had the most easily accesible stereo.) It was during one of these "snooping" sessions that I came across a cassette tape of the Schumann Piano Quintet with my father playing first violin. To a child's ears, it was magnetic. During the after dinner dishes that evening, I dragged my little brother into the kitchen and forced him to sword fight with a spatula and a wooden spoon to the Scherzo, and play acted a long, drawn out melodramatic death accompanying the slow movement. For the next year it was the only recording that played during our dish washing listening sessions. Eventually we memorized our own made up lyrics, usually consisting of comedic insults and ridiculous dialogue, frequently interrupted by bouts of giggles and laughter. Throughout the years I've held this chamber work in the highest regard, not only for it's masterful brilliance, but also for the nostalgic quality it inspires. This will be my first time performing the Schumann Piano Quintet.
Come hear Elizabeth play the Schumann Piano Quintet next Friday! Maybe she'll swing a wooden spoon at you during the Scherzo.
ACE April 12, 8:00pm The Chapel Venue buy tickets>
SCHUBERT String Trio in B flat Major CRESTON Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano SCHUMANNPiano Quintet in E flat Major
Hannah Frey, violin Elizabeth Ramos, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Stephanie Hunt, cello Adrianne Honnold, saxophone Peter Henderson, piano
Where in the world...
/Our upcoming concert is called "Voyage" and explores music that expresses some kind of journey. We asked our musicians about their musical Voyages! Cellist Valentina Takova previously shared her story, which envovles an intense journey of leaving her homeland and moving to America with her cello. You can read that here. But this time she shares something a little lighter. And sandier.
"I have traveled quite a bit because of my cello but I think my favorite work related voyage is going to Hawaii! Yes, you read this right! I play with the Honolulu Symphony from time to time and there is nothing better than dropping off your cello after rehearsal and going to the beach or to swim with turtles! Every day is sunny and beautiful. Girls wear flowers in their hair and people say Aloha when you walk in to Walgreen's. And at the end of the week...you get payed...Yes, you read that right too! Of course there are always dangers like getting your ears full with sand from a big wave, falling off of a cliff while hiking or being bitten by a giant bug...but I'll take it! Thank you Honolulu Symphony! Definitely my favorite musical voyage!"
Artistic Director and flutist, Jennifer Gartley shares her story of going to a festival in Canada where she fell in love....sort of. She's also been to Mexico, but that story is for later.
A few summers ago, well more than a few now, I spent a couple weeks up in Canada, north of Quebec at a music festival called Domaine Forget. The sole reason I went was to learn from my flute boyfriend: Emmanuel Pahud. To be clear, he is unfortunately not my boyfriend, but I can promise you if you ask any of my college students about my flute boyfriend, they will know exactly who you are talking about. Now, I did not just love him because he is beautiful and French - but that didn't hurt. I loved him mostly because he was the most amazing flute player I had ever heard. My
friend Anne and I drove up from Portland, Maine in an old ford taurus that had seen better days. We arrived and the views were breathtaking and there were a ton of flutists. Flutists sometimes get a bad rep for being ul
tra competitive and dare we say not very friendly, but that was not my experience. I made a ton of new flute friends from all over the globe and I got to practice my French a little bit. Emmanuel Pahud turned out to be not only an amazing player, but also an empathetic, daring, and inspiring teacher. On our free days, we walked through the streets of Quebec and I bought a really great pair of earrings from this fancy Canadian store, that turned out to be an American chain retailer - but I felt very fancy for a moment. The lessons I learned about being open to other musicians, making intentional artistic decisions, and hearing J.S. Bach in an entirely new way are lessons I have carried with me ever since.
Vince Varvel, guitar enjoyed performing all over Europe. Vince is performing with Chamber Project for the first time on Voyage.
I think my favorite musical "voyage" up to now has been the first time I went to Europe to play. The excitement of being in Europe combined with the experience of playing for the wonderful audiences over there was a life-changing experience for me. While it was wonderful performing in a big city like Paris, my favorite concerts were the ones played in the smaller towns in the countryside where we were welcomed and treated like family (and fed pretty well, to boot!)
FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets. **THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT**
MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.
Full Program PIAZZOLLA L’histoire du Tango BERMEL Soul Garden SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night
Meet Eliana
/Our upcoming concert is titled "VOYAGE" because all of the pieces start somewhere and end up somewhere different. We thought it would be fun to learn about Voyages our musicians have taken so we asked them to share. Eliana Haig (viola) will be making her debut with Chamber Project next week. She's new to Saint Louis so take a moment and get to know her and her story! We'll have a few more stories coming soon. Hi! My name is Eliana and I am very excited to be playing viola on the Voyage concerts for Chamber Project! I am a Saint Louis newbie, having just moved here with my fiance, Alex, in August. I currently teach about 22 private students (and growing) and freelance throughout the region.
I decided on the viola in 3rd grade string orchestra through a process of elimination. I decided that 1) the violin was too high-pitched and annoying (upon working with many great violinists I have since changed my view) and 2) the cello was going to be a pain to carry around. The viola and I have been inseparable ever since. I love playing the middle voice and being in the center of the action.
I’ve been lucky that my viola playing has allowed me to enjoy many different parts of the world as well as many different musical experiences. I just moved to Saint Louis from Rochester, New York: I got my Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, then lived “downstate” (NYC area) for two years, then went back to Rochester, and now here. I grew up in Kentucky, but did my Bachelor’s degree in Wisconsin, so I’ve sort of lived a little bit of everywhere! My most interesting musical voyage, however, was the year I spent studying abroad in Austria.
Like many American students, I did a study abroad program for a semester, and chose Vienna as my destination. To non-musicians this may seem a bit random. Why not London or Paris or Berlin? But Vienna is actually a musician’s dream destination. Most of the composers we know best lived there, including Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann. Arnold Schoenberg, the composer of Verklärte Nacht [which is on the upcoming concert], was born in Vienna and lived and worked there before being forced to emigrate when the Nazi party rose to power. {click here to watch a short video about Schoenberg in Vienna} I got to visit Beethoven’s apartment, explore an entire museum devoted to Mahler, and see a Bruckner Symphony with the same orchestra and the same hall where it was premiered. During my semester in Vienna, I also took lessons with a fantastic viola teacher, from whom I learned so much that I decided to stay the rest of the year.
This teacher actually taught full-time at a school in Graz, a small city in the southern part of Austria, so I enrolled there. I learned conversational German, though much of it I have forgotten. I played a lot of concerts, and met many people from all over the world. Being far away from home with only a passable command of the language was exciting, fascinating, confusing, and lonely, often all in the same day! Since I often think in musical terms, the best way I can think to describing my experience is that it was like learning a completely new piece of music for the first time.
Beginning to rehearse a new piece, while fun and exciting, is often disorienting. Even if I have listened to the piece with the score, hearing my part combined with the others for the first time feels like information overload. Especially when I’m preparing to perform piece of contemporary music, it takes a while to try to understand the “musical language” of the composer. Why do they want it to get louder there? What emotional or coloristic effect is he or she going for? Sometimes a new piece seems so “foreign” that I’m not even sure if certain markings in the score are clerical errors or intentional musical instructions. But much like the thrill of travelling, I love playing new music because it stretches me intellectually and forces me to try new ways of doing things - all in real time and while responding to the other musicians. That’s why live music is so much fun!
Much like a composer’s notes in the score, symbolic instructions can get lost in translation. This ambiguous sign, which I saw outside of public transit station in Graz, Austria, says “uneven surfaces”.
Be sure to say hi to Eliana at one of our upcoming concerts!
FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets.
MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.
Full Program PIAZZOLLA L’histoire du Tango BERMEL Soul Garden SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night
Transfigured Night Illuminated
/this post written by Dana Our next concert, Voyage, features a very famous piece by the famous composer Arnold Schoenberg. Verklärte Nacht, or, Transfigured Night. Written for string sextet (2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos) the piece is based on a poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel.
The poem is quite intimate and powerful, and had a big effect on Schoenberg. So big, it inspired him to write one of his most famous works. After writing the haunting, passionate and beautiful Transfigured Night, Schoenberg turned his music, and the world of music, on its head by writing some really crazy stuff, notably Pierrot Lunaire, which is being performed this Wednesday by members of The Saint Louis Symphony at The Pulitzer if you're interested.
But back to Transfigured Night. As you might know, we've been creating art posters for each of our concerts this year, and I felt that this poem had such rich imagery I really wanted an artist to do something with it, and luckily, I had just recently met a wonderful artist - Holly Gollwitzer-Gregg. I pitched it to her and she said yes! Here is the result!
It might seem rather mysterious if you haven't read the poem - which is what we were looking for. This poem has really stuck to me. It has everything- the just slightly taboo subject, the fear, the courage, the love and acceptance. Holly captures THE MOMENT of the poem so beautifully. You can see more of her work (she's also an incredible Decorative Painter) on her site: www.lefthanddecorative.com
Here is the poem, courtesy of Wikipedia, where you can learn more about the music too if you'd like. There are also some fantastic YouTube videos of it. This one gives a moment by moment description of how the music and the text fit together.
| Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain; der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein. Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen; kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht, in das die schwarzen Zacken reichen. Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht: | Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood; the moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze. The moon moves along above tall oak trees, there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiance to which the black, jagged tips reach up. A woman’s voice speaks: | |
| „Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir, ich geh in Sünde neben Dir. Ich hab mich schwer an mir vergangen. Ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Glück und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen nach Lebensinhalt, nach Mutterglück | “I am carrying a child, and not by you. I am walking here with you in a state of sin. I have offended grievously against myself. I despaired of happiness, and yet I still felt a grievous longing for life’s fullness, for a mother’s joys | |
| und Pflicht; da hab ich mich erfrecht, da ließ ich schaudernd mein Geschlecht von einem fremden Mann umfangen, und hab mich noch dafür gesegnet. Nun hat das Leben sich gerächt: nun bin ich Dir, o Dir, begegnet.“ | and duties; and so I sinned, and so I yielded, shuddering, my sex to the embrace of a stranger, and even thought myself blessed. Now life has taken its revenge, and I have met you, met you.” | |
| Sie geht mit ungelenkem Schritt. Sie schaut empor; der Mond läuft mit. Ihr dunkler Blick ertrinkt in Licht. Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht: | She walks on, stumbling. She looks up; the moon keeps pace. Her dark gaze drowns in light. A man’s voice speaks: | |
| „Das Kind, das Du empfangen hast, sei Deiner Seele keine Last, o sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert! Es ist ein Glanz um alles her; Du treibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer, doch eine eigne Wärme flimmert von Dir in mich, von mir in Dich. | “Do not let the child you have conceived be a burden on your soul. Look, how brightly the universe shines! Splendour falls on everything around, you are voyaging with me on a cold sea, but there is the glow of an inner warmth from you in me, from me in you. | |
| Die wird das fremde Kind verklären, Du wirst es mir, von mir gebären; Du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht, Du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht.“ Er faßt sie um die starken Hüften. Ihr Atem küßt sich in den Lüften. Zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nacht. | That warmth will transfigure the stranger’s child, and you bear it me, begot by me. You have transfused me with splendour, you have made a child of me.” He puts an arm about her strong hips. Their breath embraces in the air. Two people walk on through the high, bright night. |
(English translation by Mary Whittall)
Performances
FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets.
MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.
Full Program PIAZZOLLA L’histoire du Tango BERMEL Soul Garden SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night
Stay tuned, we're going to have Voyage stories from our musicians in the next post!
Building Together
/Today we launch our "Countdown to 2013" donation drive! We love bringing music to our community - and we need your help to keep it coming! Help us establish ourselves as a permanent fixture in the music scene here in Saint Louis by making a donation. We call it, "Becoming Part of the Project" because when you donate to us, you really are an integral part of what we do and you join the circle of people who have come together to make our concerts a part of their lives.
So, this thing called music costs money. Quite a bit of money. Our focus is to present the best musicians our town has to offer in intimate, casual settings where you can get to know the musicians, as well as the music. We go out of our way to use locally owned businesses for the services we need as much as we can. (All of our printing is done by locally owned printers - The Ink Spot on Hampton and Paperkeet on Morganford).
We put together this little flyer to send out with our snail mail campaign - scroll down to see our "contribution menu".
The first advice we got from an adviser who helped us set up our non-profit status was that our financial foundation would come from lots and lots of small to medium donations. Not from grants or big flashy donations. And she was right. We have received some very generous donations, for which we are incredibly grateful. We've received our first grant, and look forward to more in the future, but what we really seek is for the community to chip in what they can to help make music happen in their community!
Take a moment and visit our PayPal link and become a Part of the Project!
or send a check to:
4159 Wyoming Street St. Louis, MO 63116
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Meet Megan
/Meet Megan, her sisters and her dog, and hear her play this Wednesday at The Schlafly Tap Room! (concert details at the end) My name is Megan Stout. I have loved the harp for as long as I can remember. I moved to St Louis a few years ago and have been so fortunate that Chamber Project has asked me to play with them. It is such a rewarding musical experience with marvelous musicians and people.
People ask me why I chose the harp. I, honestly have no idea. I was always taken with the idea. When I was a little girl (about 5) we lived in a house with a pool. The hollow metal pool railing was shaped like a harp and I would hit it until it would ring then pretend to play. It combined two of my favorite things, water and the harp!
I FINALLY got lessons when I was 9 years old. When my mom told me that my teacher accepted me and that I was going to start lessons I fell to the floor crying. I was an ecstatic little girl. :)
As we all know, the harp is heavy and awkward to carry. It took me a little time to be able to get a harp dolly but luckily, I had the older neighbor boy, Jake, to help me and my mom get it into the old family suburban. When I got my harp dolly I named it Jake after that patient and strong boy. Jake (the cart) and I have been together for 20 years and it currently resides at Powell Symphony Hall!
I have two sisters who are also musicians. My older sister is a pianist and my younger sister is an oboist. We are very close and love to play duets and trios together. These are pictures of me and my sisters after a few recitals we played together.
My older sister and I did our undergraduate studies together at IU [Indiana University] and then my younger sister and I overlapped at IU for our Master's degrees. We confused a lot of teachers as we all look so much alike.
I loved my time at IU. It is such a big school! The harp department usually had about 23 harpists in it each semester and I learned so much from my fellow harpies. This is a picture from my freshman year recital.
After IU I spent some time in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. I have to say that I was thrilled to move here to St Louis to play 2nd harp for The St. Louis Symphony. I love St. Louis and feel like my friends and colleagues give me such a full and rich life. This year I am playing as the Acting Principal Harpist of The St. Louis Symphony, which has been such a fun and rewarding experience. This year brings to fruition everything that I dreamed of as a little girl.
I couldn't talk about myself without also mentioning my practice buddy, Oliver! He is an adorable terrier schnauzer mix whom I rescued 2 years ago. There was a period of time where I was working particularly hard for an upcoming concert and practicing long hours. Oliver likes being in the room with me when I practice (I have to push him off of my feet pretty often as he blocks me from using my pedals!). At one point he got up, went to the other room, grabbed his doggy bed, and pulled it into the harp room to lay it directly on the legs of my music stand. He curled up and looked at me like, "OK, I'm comfy! Go ahead!"
My time in St Louis has been the happiest of my life. With great people, a great job, and great musicians, (and great dog!) how could it not be?
Megan is featured in our concert this Wednesday at The Schlafly Tap Room! Sit back and enjoy the amazing sounds of the harp with your favorite local brew. Come early and enjoy dinner in downstairs.
NOV 14, 7:00 pm The Schlafly Tap Room -upstairs in The Club Room, doors at 6:30 2100 Locust Street, (@21st) 63103 MAP IT $10 cash/check/card - in advance online click here
program ROCHESTER YOUNG Song of the Lark MOZART Duo in B-flat Major K.424 DONIZETTI Harp Solo from Lucia di Lammermoor JOLIVET Petite Suite
musicians Jennifer Gartley, flute Hannah Frey, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Megan Stout, harp
Dana Hotle, remarks
Creating a MOSAIC
/Our concert this week is called "MOSAIC". Every piece on the program is by an American, and each piece truly unique. We're really excited about the blend of old and new on this program and the breathtaking variety of style. From traditional classical, modernist mastery, jazz, blues and folk - it's all in here! Learn a little more about the music from the musicians themselves in this post. October 19, 8:00 pm The Chapel Venue - tickets include 2 drinks. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Online ticket purchase click here.
October 24, 7:30pm Chamber Music Series Danforth University Center, Washington University - in the Goldberg Formal Lounge free
MUSICIANS Jennifer Gartley, flute Dana Hotle, clarinet Adrianne Honnold, saxophone Elizabeth Ramos, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Stephanie Hunt, cello Christopher Haughey, bass
JOAN TOWER Petroushskates (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)
Dana "I about fell out of my chair the first time I heard Petroushskates I loved it so much. It is so colorful and vibrant. Joan achieves these bright, shimmering, brilliant colors with just these 5 instruments, almost exactly the same colors the composer Stravinsky gets with a full orchestra. Stravinsky's famous ballet, Petroushka, is one of her sources of inspiration for this unique piece. The other source, figure skating, seems completely at odds with her first source: an iconic ballet by a Russian master, but somehow, she makes it work! I love the tension that these two seemingly unrelated ideas create in this short piece. I'm excited to finally play music by Joan Tower, one of the great American composers of the 20th Century, and one of the first female composers to really "make it". She was the Conductor in Residence at the St. Louis Symphony in the '80s, so she has this great St. Louis connection as well."
Jennifer "The Tower never lets up, I can never stop counting even for a second. In practicing this work, the rhythmic element is just so challenging, but the effect should be a mix of the ultra complicated coupled with a feeling of effortlessness... which doesn't completely make sense until you hear it."
AARON COPLAND Piano Variations (solo piano)
This is not your everyday piece of music. This is not your everyday composer. One of the most popular American composers of all time, you get to hear a side of Copland you may not have heard before in his Piano Variations (1930). This piece put him on the map as a very serious artist. This music is "ART" in the highest sense of the word. It falls into the category of "Modernism", which basically means a style of music in which a composer is trying to break out of the traditional ways of using melody, harmony and rhythm, often times failing to create anything lasting. But not Aaron, he succeeds brilliantly. This music is bracing and angular, representing the incredible changes in society in the early to mid 20th century. Think machines, technology, urbanism - expressed in a very elegant and concise vocabulary. We've rented a brand spanking new Yamaha Concert Grand piano for this concert, and Nina is going to show you everything it can do with the Copland!
MASON BATES Life of Birds (flute, clarinet, violin, cello)
Jennifer "I have been intrigued by Mason Bates for a few years and I first heard about him in his role with the New World Symphony in creating these really cool electronica/classical crossover concerts that were held in clubs late night. After a little bit of research, I found that he also composed acoustic works and this work just seemed to fit perfectly with our programming. I like his approach to narrative within a work, and even though flute players sometimes get a little tired of being compared to birds, this new approach by Bates really caught my interest. I can't wait to play this, it has been on my wish list for a couple of years."
Dana "Life of Birds is amazing. It's playful, jazzy, modern and soulful all at the same time. we had a blast rehearsing it at a Very Open Rehearsal at STLCC last week!"
Mason is on Facebook and Twitter (follow links to connect with him)
~intermission~
EVAN CHAMBERS Come Down Heavy (violin, saxophone, piano)
Adrianne "Evan Chambers, the composer of Come Down Heavy, is a contemporary American composer and a traditional Irish fiddler. As you might imagine, he often unites the contemporary and the traditional in his music, and Come Down Heavy is no exception. The piece starts out with a blues-styled line in the saxophone part but quickly evolves into a more avant-garde imagining of the melody utilizing the extended range of the saxophone and rhythmic complexity in the ensemble as a whole. At one point the instruction to the performers in the score says "Cataclysmic", which I've never seen in a piece of music!
Throughout the first movement, the piece goes back and forth between these bluesy folk tune melodies and a more modern representation of those melodies. The second and third movements of the piece are more traditional, with the second movement featuring a beautiful melody performed by the fiddle and the third movement featuring the saxophone. Finally, the fourth movement, "Drill Ye Tarriers" employs different types of dance forms and ends with a frenzied flourish in the form of a tarantella. [a tarantella is an old Italian dance form that has to do with spiders, you can read about it here] Throughout the piece Chambers uses traditional Irish, Scottish and even Italian folk ideas, a nod to both his own heritage and to the varied heritage of America. This piece can get pretty wild, but just keep listening! You're never far from another folk tune. "
GEORGE GERSHWIN "Someone to Watch Over Me" (saxophone, string quintet) An American Classic, sweetly arranged for sax and strings. Check out this beautiful rendition by the incredible Ella Fitzgerald. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEeAOTIQ2c&feature=related]
This program is presented in partnership with The American Arts Experience, and partially funded by The Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
STLCC Students ROCK!
/by Dana - be sure to scroll down! The St. Louis Community College has invited us to present a Very Open Rehearsal on their Meramec Campus on Friday Oct. 12. We are thrilled to be involved with this young energetic community. Dr. Jerry Myers, Director of Choral Actives/Assistance Professor of Music at STLCC says,
It is a goal of the STLCC Meramec Music Department to expose our students to quality musical experiences, whether in the classroom, rehearsal, or through guest artists. While it is important for our students to see performances by professional musicians, our focus is on teaching students the process of learning music. The Very Open Rehearsal allows us to exposes our students to professional musicians, but also gives the students the opportunity to witness a professional-level rehearsal. Further, our students will be able to interact with these musicians and discuss the rehearsal process with the guest artists. I cannot think of a better music education experience!
We can't either, and we're excited about being on campus on Oct. 12th at noon! This event is free and open to everyone. It's in Humanities West, Room 102, which is across the hall from the Theater. Please join us!
As part of this project, we asked Micheal Swoboda's STLCC Graphic Design class to create posters for this event in a unique cross-discipline collaboration. We are thrilled with the results! Do you have a favorite? We could pick one so we printed a few of each!
One-Week Design Challenge
Chamber Project event Posters
24˝ x 36˝ ; typeface: Gil Sans
Working in groups of three and using the supplied text—
research the mission of the organization, listen to the style
of music to be performed, and conceptualize multiple ideas
to create one or more dynamic posters that will entice the
community to attend the event.
Graphic Design 1 and II, Monday / Wednesday 6:00 pm to 8:50 pm
Class Participants
John Chihak
Karrie Columbus
Chris Conant
Blake Estes
Emily Feldewerth
David Harris
Adam Scott
Carly Troxell
Willa Allen
Merrick Felder
Brian Grass
Irfan Mirza
Steven Nash
Ashley Schepers
Peggy Triska
Michael Swoboda, instructor
October by the Interval
/It's October, it's fall, it's a great time of year. The weather has been fantastic, and the arts are in full swing here in the 'Lou. Here at Chamber Project, we're really excited about our biggest month of the season! Our kick off concert in September was fantastic. We had a packed house and a great performance. We're keeping the energy up with three events in October! We are really excited about our October program, called "MOSAIC", for many reasons.
First of all, the music is fantastic. This is an all American program, and truly brings together the past and the future of music in America. More on the Music in a post coming soon.
Second, WE GOT OUR FIRST GRANT to help fund these events! Thank you to the Missouri Arts Council (a state agency) for the funding! (Yes, I'm supposed to say "a state agency" in conjunction with "Missouri Arts Council", those are the rules.) It's a small Project Grant to help cover costs and aid in some marketing for all three events (2 concerts, one VOR) in October. It's awesome to get our first grant, hopefully the first of many!
Third, we are participating in The American Arts Experience with our October 19 concert (at The Chapel) along with some of the best arts organizations in town. Our September concert at The Chapel almost sold out - so get your tickets early! (click here)
Fourth, The St. Louis Community College has invited us to present a Very Open Rehearsal at their Meramec Campus on at noon on Friday October 12. We are really excited about engaging with this vibrant student population. One of the STLCC design classes is working on poster(s) for the VOR - we'll share them here when we get them! It is open to the public, and free - so come on out.
Fifth, Our MOSAIC program features Adrianne Honnold, (saxophone). She teaches at Washington University and they've asked her to bring us back to the DUC Chamber Music Series on Wednesday October 24.
Sixth, We've got this awesome poster we're putting up around town - look for it.
Seventh. Well, I just wanted to get to seven so I could introduce this cool website where you can listen to the Musical Intervals, which are labled as 'seconds', 'thirds', 'fourths' and on up to 'sevenths'. Intervals are the distance (low to high) between notes. As I made this list, I was thinking about the intervals. Most people don't know about intervals in music, but now you do. Some intervals get along, they're "consonant", others disagree, they're "dissonant". Which ones are which? Can you tell? Our MOSAIC program uses some very interesting combinations. Goof off for a moment and enjoy this site! http://www.musicalintervalstutor.info/listenpg.html
We'll have more about our MOSAIC program, and each of the events coming up in October soon!
There's a BEAR on STAGE!
/
A short photo essay by Dana. We kicked off our season this past Friday to a packed house at The Chapel!
We began the day with rehearsal at 10:00am. We hadn't seen each other since our marathon weekend of rehearsing Labor Day weekend. Two weeks without rehearsal is an eternity to musicians, but that's the way it worked out this time. We came into The Chapel to rehearse and found this:
Why was there a giant bear playing the piano Jerry Lee Lewis style on stage? We have no idea, but we took it as a good omen.
We moved the bear to a more comfortable listening position, and commenced rehearsal.
We had a few visitors stop by during rehearsal - one took some shots for us.
After rehearsal we got the chairs arranged for the concert. One of my favorite things is being in a venue when it's empty and know how transformed the space will be in just a few hours time.
We had record online ticket sales - and many more who braved the crazy traffic (we heard they closed Hampton it got so busy!) to make it to the concert.
The concert gets underway!
The audience loved it - we got an enthusiastic "Standing O".
Did you notice the bear during the concert? We think he enjoyed it too.
Thanks to everyone at The Chapel for volunteering their time to make this event happen! It was a spectacular way to kick off our season!
Youth
/We kick off our 2012-2013 season this Friday with a program we're calling "Youth". Here's a little post about the music and the musicians, and what the musicians think about the music. MEET THE PROGRAM:
R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel - Einmal Anders! TANN Duo NIELSEN Serenata-Invano BEETHOVEN Septet Op. 20
Till Eulenspiegel is one of Richard Strauss' most famous works for full orchestra. It musically tells the story of Till Eulenspiegel - The Merry Prankster of German folklore which dates back to the Middle Ages. Till stirs up trouble in a market, harasses the monks, flirts with the ladies and mocks the academics - until he gets caught. This clever arrangement (Einmal Anders means, 'Another Way") for quintet (violin, clarinet, horn, bassoon and double bass) captures the very essence of Stauss' original composition.
Laura and Adrianne will be performing Hilary Tann's Duo which directly contrasts the playful boisterous Till with smooth long lines weaving between the viola and the haunting sound of the soprano saxophone. The "youngest" piece on the program provides an intimate encounter with these two instruments.
Carl Nielsen's Serenata-Invano (Serenade in Vain) tells the story of youthful love. A young man hires a band to serenade his love - I won't give away the end by telling you what happens.
After intermission (time to grab another beverage!) we bring seven musicians to the stage to play the amazing Septet by perhaps the most famous of all composers, Beethoven. Beethoven was bursting onto the scene as a young man (19!) when he wrote this joyful, energetic music. Featuring the violin, the Septet is rounded out by 3 more stings; viola, cello and bass, and contrasted with clarinet, bassoon and horn. It sounds like a small orchestra!
MEET OUR MUSICIANS
When asked what his favorite piece on the program was, Kyle said "So, if I had to say my favorite piece, it'd be the Strauss...because it gives our listener a taste of what his coloring for full orchestra was like, without the 90 piece ensemble. Music which provides entertaining characters that the audience can easily recognize is just purely more enjoyable for both performer and listener alike."
We've given Kyle about 10,000 notes to learn for this program, and every one sounds brilliant. Kyle is from Kansas City, and has lived on this side of the state for quite some time.
Dana says this about Youth, "I am really excited about this program! The combination of pieces is just fantastic. They're all really fun to play, and I know the audience is going to love it. The Beethoven just sparkles with positive energy. The Nielsen is new to me, and the first time I heard it I couldn't believe how beautiful the combination of clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass were. There is a moment in the middle where it slows down, and it's just gorgeous."
Dana is a co-Artistic Director for Chamber Project and is a hometown girl. If you're lucky you'll meet most of her family at this concert.
Tricia is playing with us for the first time. She's a recent transplant to St. Louis - so be sure to welcome her! She says this, "I'm particularly excited to play Till Eulenspiegel-Einmal Anders. It's pretty incredible that five instruments, through shear force of personality, can carry a piece originally written for a huge orchestra. This is a wonderful ensemble of players and we've had a lot of fun putting this concert together."
What she doesn't tell you is that Till Eulenspiegel begins with one of the most famous horn melodies ever written - she basically kicks off the concert and sets the stage for the musically hilarity that follows.
Adrianne Honnold, recently back from touring Europe with the St. Louis Symphony, has this to say about the Hilary Tann Duo, "This piece has three different moods that make for an interesting journey; plaintive, aggressive and hopeful."
Adrianne performed at the World Saxophone Conference this summer in Scotland - she had quite an amazing trip! (Take a close look at her hands during her performance, there's something new on one of them...)
Melissa Mackey returns to perform with us for a second season. Melissa suggested we play the Beethoven Septet, it's one of her favorite pieces to play. Melissa is the Associate Professor of Bassoon and Music History at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She wrote a short blog post about the Beethoven Septet on her own blog - check it out!
The bassoon is featured quite a bit in this program. It's a great chance to check out this very unusual, and very cool instrument. Melissa's bassoon is over 100 years old!
Antonio Innaimo is joining us for the first time, but if you've been to the MUNY , you've heard him play - he's the Principal Cellist of the MUNY Orchestra! When not sweltering his summers away here in St. Louis, he lives in Florida. Tony says, "It's such a joy to work with such consummate chamber musicians, performing such fine works!"
Laura Reycraft, co - Artistic Director of Chamber Project is back with us after a little time off last spring to be a new mom! We're thrilled for her and happy to have her back. Here's what she has to say about this program -
"I love playing the Beethoven-it is so fun! The viola part alternates between accompaniment and melodic material, acting sometimes as a second violin and occasionally as a bass instrument. The fresh energy and enthusiasm is palpable throughout the 6 movements, although I think my favorite is the last movement with its extremely serious opening and then light fast section.
The Tann has grown on me as I have learned it through listening to a recording and practicing. The dissonance created between the two instrumental lines is complex and interesting and more melodic that I first thought."
Christopher Haughey is joining us for the first time. He grew up here in the St. Louis area, and has recently returned to join the United States Air Force Band of Mid American located at Scott Air Force Base. They keep him busy performing in three ensembles! We're glad he had the time to work some chamber music into his busy concert schedule!
Come to the concert and meet all of these great musicians!
DETAILS:
September 14, 8:00 pm at The Chapel Venue Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door (cash/check only) $4 students. Tickets include two drinks: beer/wine/soda. purchase tickets online here