Attar of Rose played by Ensemble Connect
- On May 23, 2021
- By alzand@rice.edu
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On May 19, 2021, Ensemble Connect presented American Mosaic, a fascinating fusion of visual art and chamber music. American Mosaic showcased the many identities, cultures, and styles that 20th- and 21st-century composers in America bring to their music. The online presentation called attention to the ever-expanding boundaries of what it means to be an artist and musician in the diverse cultural mosaic that is the United States while also celebrating one’s own personal identity. American Mosaic features renowned visual artist Kevork Mourad, who brought the program to life in a stunning visual display. The concert featured a performance of Attar of Rose from Quelques Fleurs.
Ensemble Connect
Amir Farsi, Flute
Yasmina Spiegelberg, Clarinet
Tamara Winston, Oboe (Alum)
Nik Hooks, Bassoon
Cort Roberts, Horn
Joanne Kang, Piano
Rubén Rengel, Violin
Stephanie Zyzak, Violin
Halam Kim, Viola
Laura Andrade, Cello
Kevork Mourad, Artistic Partner
Luctus Profugis performed by WDR Symphony Orchestra
- On March 16, 2021
- By alzand@rice.edu
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The WDR Symphony Orchestra, under music director Cristian Măcelaru, performed Luctus Profugis live at the Kölner Philharmonie on November 21, 2020. This filmed performance of the work was premiered online on March 5, 2021. Luctus Profugis is a lament for string orchestra and percussion that reflects on the 2015–2019 European refugee crisis. The title translates roughly from the Latin as “Grief for the Displaced.” The word “profugus” has a connection to the opening lines of Virgil’s “Aeneid,” which describes one of the earliest refugees: Aeneas fleeing the Trojan war to the shores of Italy. In Luctus Profugis, the percussionist at the heart of the ensemble plays a simple three-note motive that repeats for the duration of the piece. Its persistence symbolizes for me the refugees’ journey, their tenacity, courage and resilience.
Dance Interlude premiered by ROCO
- On December 29, 2020
- By alzand@rice.edu
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ROCO recently premiered Dance Interlude at their online concert “Love Notes,” performed at Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art, Houston, Texas, October 17, 2020. The short celebratory work was commissioned at part of ROCO’s FIFteen Project—delayed from last season by COVID-19. The project, curated by Houston-based composer, Mark Buller, is a commissioned set of fifteen Fanfares, Interludes, and Finales, (FIF) written by a diverse set of composers and sprinkled throughout ROCO’s 15th (and 16th!) season. The performance featured oboists Alecia Lawyer, Erin Tsai and Spring Hill (on English horn).
The Leader premiere with Musiqa and Opera in the Heights
- On April 16, 2020
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In Musiqa, News
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On February 23 & 29 my one-act chamber opera The Leader received its premiere on a double-bill with Anthony Brandt’s Kassandra. Presented at Lambert Hall as a co-production of Musiqa and Opera in the Heights, the work was conducted by Eiki Isomura and stage directed by Cara Consilvio. Many thanks to the terrific cast of Mark Diamond (Announcer), Lindsay Russell Bowden (Female Lover), Zachary Averyt (Male Lover), Megan Berti (Female Admirer) and Jason Zacher (Male Admirer).
The Leader is a chamber opera based on Eugène Ionesco’s Le Maître, a one-act political satire from 1953. Scored for 5 voices and large ensemble, the work is both an absurdist comedy and a timely allegory on the casual rise of despots.
The production featured unique reversible sets specially designed by Jesús Vassallo. (below)
SYNOPSIS
The Announcer and two Admirers are chasing the Leader. Apparently he is nearby but the trio always seems to arrive a moment too late. Though he eludes them, they yearn to be in his presence. They fervently worship him from afar, following his every action with rapt attention. Meanwhile, two Lovers court each other and profess their mutual affection. Finally, the Leader approaches, the anticipation builds and the Lovers are swept up in the frenzy. The Leader is coming: his imminent arrival is hailed with increasing zeal.
Mark Diamond, Megan Berti, Jason Zacher
On its surface, The Leader is a comedy. Its situations are farcical, its action is madcap, and its cast is full of outrageous caricatures worthy of opera buffa. The Announcer and Admirers, in their adulation, repeat the same words over and over again: platitudes and banalities echoed by mindless followers. Their behavior is preposterous, yet their unquestioning fervor seems all too familiar…
Lindsay Russell Bowden, Zach Averyt
As is common in the so-called “theater of the absurd,” The Leader achieves its effect not through plot machination or character development, but through parody, a kind of exaggeration that forces us to reckon with our own sense of the world and its predicaments. It was published in 1953, six years before the playwright’s best known work, Rhinoceros, but shares with the later work its satirical tone, allegorical character and underlying political critique. Together the plays are often read as a commentary on the rise of fascism in the lead-up to World War II, and a mockery of its dangerously charismatic leaders.
Eugène Ionesco
The Chestnut Street Singers on WRTI
- On April 11, 2020
- By alzand@rice.edu
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The Chestnut Street Singers, Philadelphia’s cooperative chorus, performed my a cappella arrangement of My Romance by Rogers & Hart in a March 5th, 2020 live appearance on WRTI 90.1 Radio, in preparation for their season program “Always Singing.”
The Chestnut Street Singers
