Thoughts on Programming
Programming is close to my heart. Pieces and themes are chosen with thought to reflect composers that may be directly or indirectly interwoven, issues that we are confronting in our daily lives, themes connected to humanities oddities and beauty, and meaningful causes that inspire me to create.
Example - ‘Light’ - Program for String Quartet
Walker - String Quartet No 2 - Lyric
Daniel Roumain - String Quartet No. 4 ‘Maya Angelou’
Haydn Op. 77 No. 2- Theme & Variations
Purcell -Fantasie 1
Bridge- Three Pieces for Qtet (Idylls)
Benshoof - Reflections on Swing Low
This program is inspired by light. Its quiet power to reflect, illuminate and to endure. The music chosen travels from Purcell to Daniel Bernard Roumain. As we sit in today’s climate of uncertainty, we are reinvestigating the past for deeper understanding and timeless truths.
Purcell’s music serves as source material for Frank Bridge as well as a window inside the luminous resonance of the Baroque Era.
Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2 was the last quartet he composed, closing a remarkable catalogue exploring the genre. Its title “Wait Till the Clouds Roll By,” based on a popular song of the 1800s, feels all too fitting.
The music of George Walker and Ken Benshoof share an inherent lyricism. Walker’s voice is draped in the emotional landscape of Romanticism while Benshoof drew his inspiration from the spiritual, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
Lastly, Daniel Roumain turns to Maya Angelou with his String Quartet No. 4. Her words continue to carry wisdom and hope : “Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.”