Composers On The Program

Mark Carlson, Reena Esmail, Svante Henryson, Matthew Hindson, Aaron Minsky, Oscar Novarro, & Georgina Sánchez Torres.

Jhula Jhule

Reena Esmail’s Jhula Jhule is a beautiful tribute to her Indian heritage and to loved ones who have passed on.  The piece incorporates the folksong “Ankhon vina andharon re” and the lullaby “Jhula Jhule.”  The work springs from memories of her grandparents. Ms. Esmail grew up hearing stories of her maternal grandfather sharing his love for music while gathering his family in the evenings to listen to various recordings.  She never met her grandfather but often listened to a recording of his singing this folk song, a recording which was made some time before she was born.  Memory, sometimes ethereal, hidden, fleeting, brought back the lullaby Jhula Jhule to Ms. Esmail as she crafted her work based on the previous folk song.  She says, “It has been years since I have thought about this melody, but while working on this project, it suddenly popped back into my mind.”  Her earliest musical memories revolve around the lullaby which her paternal grandmother sang to the young Reena.  The lyrics Jhula Jhule, Jhula Jhule / Reena Rani Jhula Jhule translate to  “Back and forth, back and forth / Reena the Queen swings back and forth.”  With sometimes calm, sometimes more lively references to “Ankhon vina andharon re,” Jhula Jhule gradually and so delicately, dreamily concludes with intermittent, lyrical utterances of the previously forgotten, and no less loved lullaby.

Off Pist

Svante Henryson’s Off Pist, while having a catchy title, has nothing whatsoever to do with the emotional states of anger or annoyance. It is a totally happy, thoughtful, adventurous piece.  The work was written for and premiered by soprano saxophonist Anders Paulsson and Mr. Henryson on ‘cello. The title, also seen as “off piste”, refers to skiing off the prepared trails in untracked locations, a favorite activity for Paulsson and Henryson.  As much as he loves alpine skiing, the composer adds that he and Paulsson thrive on music which takes their “instruments to places they have never been, by extending range, playing techniques, and even genres, involving an exhilarating degree of risk. We like to cross the black-and-yellow tape and go off pist.”  One might also consider “off pist” as a metaphor for an approach to life.

Cloister of San Isidore and Reminiscences of Verbena

These two pieces by the Spanish cellist Georgina Sanchez Torres paint sonic pictures of ancient ruins and a joyful festival. The first is about an ancient Roman church, both in its current form and how it may have been when it was new. In the second, the composer remembers attending an outdoor festival held every July in the small village where she grew up.

Love Serenade

Love Serenade for Cello and Piano is beautifully lyric, despite the turmoil just below the surface. Originally written for bassoon and piano, Australian composer Matthew Hindson says of his Love Serenade, “the title does not refer to anyone in particular, but rather, to the overall lyrical content of the work.” The piece is a synthesis of minimalistic writing and romantic melody with a hint of turmoil beneath the surface.

From Tim Mount: I met Matthew Hindson before the premier of his concerto for Didgeridoo and Orchestra with the Sydney Symphony. I asked him if he wrote anything for cello, and he recommended this piece. From the title page, it was originally written for Bassoon and piano, because according to the composer, its expressive character “is not enough exploited.”

Lenny

Originally written for a small ensemble, Lenny was  written to celebrate the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth (1918-2018). The title comes from the term of endearment with which his closest relatives and close friends addressed the maestro.  The main characteristic of this work is the use of rhythmic measures strongly influenced by jazz, the main characteristic of Leonard Bernstein’s music repertoire, which accompanied him throughout his creative life.

This fantasy is centered on two predominant rhythmic patterns, which alternate through each of the instruments of the ensemble, with the piano as the central axis of the whole work.

Divided into two clearly contrasting sections, “Lenny” goes beyond the rhythms that the instrument itself can perform, including passages in which the performers themselves become percussion instruments produced by the voice, plus a few instances of body percussion.

Five minutes of frenetic, daring and suggestive music dedicated to one of the greatest icons of classical music of the 20th century.

Haunted

The first movement of Mark Carlson’s Quartet brings the ensemble together. The composer describes the music as “full of rather mocking whimsy…agitated and practically in perpetual motion, suggesting a feeling of being pursued by something at once inviting and troubling.”  Carlson is a professor at UCLA and founder/director of the ensemble, Pacific Serenades.

The Hipster

The Hipster, from “Pop Goes the Cello” by American “rock cellist” and Yamaha Artist, Aaron Minsky, is an example of what he calls “celtar” style, which combines traditional cello technique with guitar writing. It makes use of unusual chords and driving rhythms, rather than typical long and lyrical bowed phrases. Much like the hipster himself, ‘Everything about [this piece] is exactingly constructed to give off the vibe that [it] just doesn’t care.’

Timothy Mount, pianist, singer, and choral conductor, is Professor Emeritus of conducting at Stony Brook University, one of the leading graduate music programs in the country.  He conducted 9 commercial CD’s with professional choirs and orchestras in New York City and Moscow and 2 with the Stony Brook Camerata Singers.  Tim guest conducted many choirs and for over 10 years was conductor of the professional chorus and orchestra at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival.  He published 5 articles concerning choral music and a video, Refine Your Conducting Technique, available from Santa Barbara Music. In winter 2018, his article, Preparing for the First Rehearsal: A Guide for Choral Conductors, appeared in the online journal, Chorteach.

A bass-baritone, Tim sang with virtually every professional choir in New York City.  He now plays piano chamber music in the Adirondacks and others when he isn’t captaining tour boats on Lake Champlain or caretaking remote island lighthouses around the world.

Brian Donat is a full time freelance cellist who moved to Rochester after ~10 years of living and working in the Adirondack region of NY. An alum of Houghton College and the Meadowmount School, he keeps busy by teaching privately and performing with anybody who will have him – orchestras, musicals, weddings, ballets, chamber concerts, choirs, churches, etc. When he’s not playing cello, he can usually be found playing outside – hiking, running, xc skiing, or biking. He lives in Webster with his wife, Jolene, and their two four-legged “children.”

Janine Scherline is the principal clarinetist with the Adirondack Wind Ensemble and teaches applied lessons at SUNY Plattsburgh. Especially fond of performing in chamber settings, she loves playing regularly with the Trillium Ensemble, in unique musical settings and as a guest soloist and performer around the Adirondack Region. In her role as Director of Donor Engagement at Adirondack Foundation, Janine enjoys working with generous people who are making a positive difference through philanthropy. She also enjoys spending time outdoors – especially on snowshoes in the winter – with her husband Todd whom she met at Ithaca College while completing her masters in clarinet performance, and with their feline companions Ginsu and Peeka.

Janice Kyle, oboist, received her Bachelor of Music degree at California State University in Sacramento.  She studied with Ben Glovinsky and Neil Tatman.  She followed up her B.M. with graduate studies in oboe performance at Indiana University with Jerry Sirucek.  She has taught elementary music at Westport Central School and oboe performance at Plattsburgh State University.  She has performed in various solo and ensemble venues in the Adirondacks with the Adirondack Wind Ensemble, Champlain Valley Voices Orchestra, Trillium Ensemble, and the Key Winds Trio.  She enjoys cold, snowy winters skijoring (sometimes off piste) with her dogs.  Janice and her husband, Hans, (and the dogs) live in New Russia, New York.