Student Composer Featured at Contemporary Music Concert

4/1/2018

Rivers’ sophomore Apsara Balamurugan will be the only student represented as a composer in the upcoming 40^th Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young from April 6-8, 2018 at Bradley Hall. More than a dozen compositions will be premiered during the 3-day seminar which highlights music from the past 25 years, and has become a model for similar programs across the country and the world. “The Singing Wells” will be performed by Rivers’ Upper School Orchestra with Mr. Dan Shaud conducting during Sunday’s final concert at 5:00 p.m.

Also featured in the finale will be this year’s commissioned work, “The Bell” written by Robert Paterson for members of the Conservatory program who are forming a special ensemble to perform the piece. Ensemble members include Yasmin Myers and Ashley Burgarella, violins; MacKenzie Larkin, viola; Daniel Weitz, cello; Lindy Billhardt, bass; Simonida Spasojevic, flute; Emily Shen, clarinet; Emilia DeJesus, piano; Mike Manasseh, percussion; and Joe Nedder, narrator. This is a setting of Hans Christian Anderson’s story “The Bell.”

In the program notes for her composition, entitled “The Singing Wells,” Apsi writes: The Singing Wells is inspired by a trip I took to Kenya with my family. I had the opportunity to interact with the Samburu, a tribe that is indigenous to Northern Kenya. During the dry season, they hand dig wells in the dry riverbeds to provide water for their cattle. They sing as they work. Each family uses a particular song to lure their cattle to their well. The timpani and snare drums that open the piece represent the constant beat and complex polyrhythms of the songs. The C and G pentatonic scales are the same scales the warriors use. Flutes shape the entire piece: sixteenth notes are traded off, representing exquisite East African birds at the Sarara riverbed. The composition carries a variety of rhythms, instruments, and melodies. All these things embody the diversity and complexity of people, animals, emotions, and stories at the “Singing Wells”. As you listen to this piece, I hope you will find that man, beast, and nature can truly coexist in this perfect chaotic harmony.

Commissioned composer Robert Paterson's music is loved for its elegance, wit, structural integrity, and sense of color. Paterson was named The Composer of the Year from the Classical Recording Foundation with a performance and celebration at Carnegie's Weill Hall in 2011. His music has been on the Grammy® ballot yearly, and his works have been selected on National Public Radio’s Best Music of 2012 to the present.

In the program notes for “The Bell,” Paterson says: My father is a bronze sculptor, and in addition to being a composer, I am also a percussionist, so perhaps it is inevitable that many of my works—including this one—incorporate bells or bell-like sounds. The text for The Bell is adapted from a short story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. His story masterfully weaves together humor, suspense, and even a little horror through a tale of a mysterious bell. Two characters are central to the story, a rich boy and a poor boy. They could be viewed as two sides of Andersen himself, since he grew up in relative poverty and ultimately believed that he descended from royalty. In my adaption, Anderson’s story is retold in a way that emphasizes certain themes, such as the joy of having a youthful curiosity, the ultimate equality of human beings whether rich or poor, and being one with Mother Nature.

Other highlights of the weekend include a Saturday workshop of poetry and compositions where the student composers will receive comments and suggestions on their music, as well as concerts featuring many of Rivers’ music faculty and student musicians. On Sunday there will be a special performance at 1:00 p.m. of “Phantom of the Opera Reinvented,” a multi-media extravaganza composed by Kurt Coble, featuring solo pianist, Vytas Baksys, an ensemble of robotic musicians, and the 1925 Silent Era Classic. Special note will be made of Leonard Bernstein’s 100^th birthday with a performance of music from “Thirteen Anniversaries.”

In the weekend’s program, special recognition is given to David Tierney’s tenure as Director of The Rivers School Conservatory which will end in June when he becomes Head of School at Cambridge Friends School. “He instituted the unique program for small commissions, which encourages growth and vision. Faculty members invite composers to write music for specific students, who often receive coachings on their performances. Mr. Tierney's energy and enthusiasm have given great spark to audiences attending Seminar concerts since 1995. We shall miss him!”

Students are admitted free to the weekend's programs. Click here for a complete schedule and to purchase tickets.

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