The opening weekend of November fills Pomona College’s Bridges Hall of Music with two chamber concerts sharing stories of human struggle and triumph. At 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, Pomona College Music Department performing faculty, members of Brightwork newmusic and guest artists will present “Music Unites!” At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, soprano Ursula Kleinecke offers “Becoming the Fire: Women’s Stories” with 10 acclaimed Southern California musicians. Both concerts will be held in Bridges Hall of Music (150 E. Fourth St., Claremont) and are free and open to the public.
“Music Unites!” brings together performers from the acclaimed contemporary classical music ensemble Brightwork newmusic, founded by pianist Aron Kallay; performers from the College’s Department of Music; and special guest performers in a program of works by living composers Steve Reich, Meredith Monk and Louis Andriessen. The first half includes Reich’s double sextet with Brightwork members in one sextet and faculty and friends in the other. The second half features Louis Andriessen’s “Workers Union,” which is scored for “any loud-sounding group of instruments,” and sprinkled between are two piano works by Meredith Monk for two pianists. When asked how this program came about, Genevieve Feiwen Lee, Everett S. Olive Professor of Music said, “Brightwork’s Aron Kallay asked if we would be interested in collaborating on the piece by Reich and we were excited to do so. I’ve always wanted to perform the Andriessen, and we seemed to have the right forces to do it now. The Andriessen is kind of minimalistic, so then I looked for some other kind of minimal piece that would be quieter in character, and Monk’s pieces seemed perfect for that.” Performers include many familiar names in the Los Angeles contemporary music arena, including: Rachel Rudich and Sarah Wass, flute; Gary Bovyer and Phil O’Connor, clarinet; Shalini Vijayan and Zachary Paul, violin; Eric Lindholm and Maggie Parkins, cello; Joti Rockwell, electric guitar; Kallay and Lee, piano; Dustin Donahue and Yuri Inoo, percussion; with Ashley Walters, cello and conductor.
“Becoming the Fire: Women’s Stories” as envisioned by soprano Ursula Kleinecke, is “a joyful exploration of women’s stories through their words and music, at times poignant, defiant, reverent, romantic and witty.” The program is anchored by John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs, a setting of six poems of 16th century Indian mystic poet Mirabai. Kleinecke shares that “at age 27, Mirabai was expected to kill herself in her husband’s funeral pyre. Instead, she ran away, danced and wrote poetry… and became the fire herself,” creating such strong poetry. The program offers a blend of styles from the late 19th through the 20th century with works also by Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, Gwyneth Walker and others. Joining Kleinecke are Rachel Rudich (flute), Kathryn Nevin (clarinet), Theresa Dimond (percussion), Alison Bjorkedal (harp), Sarah Thornblade (violin), Kira Blumberg (viola), Maggie Parkins (cello), Connie Deeter (bass) and Eric Lindholm (conductor). Kleinecke was born and raised in Mexico, and as the daughter of a pianist and arranger, she was surrounded by music from an early age. Kleinecke has performed in Scandinavia, Europe, Mexico and the U.S. Her recordings can be found on Albany Records and Clear Note.
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Music Unites!
Meredith Monk.................Folkdance (1996)
Steve Reich.......................Double Sextet (2007)
Monk................................Parlour Games (1988)
Louis Andriessen.............Workers Union (1975)
Becoming the Fire: Women’s Stories
Chris DeBlasio........................Sonnet (1928)
Bruce Babcock........................Wisdom
Babcock...................................Give Me Your Stars
Gwyneth Walker......................The Laughter of Women
Leonard Bernstein....................A Julia de Burgos from Songfest
John Harbison...........................Mirabai Songs
Amy Beach...............................Chanson d’amour from Three Songs, Op. 21
Beach........................................Ecstasy from Three Songs, Op. 19
Lee Hoiby..................................The Shining Place
All programs and artists subject to change.
Additional Free Concerts @ www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/music/concert-calendar