The Good Musician

Celebrating Women Composers concert review

by csnowden on April 4th, 2008

The first annual Celebrating Women Composers concert at Texas State University delighted the audience with seldom-heard chamber pieces, and the premiere of new works by a trio of up-and-coming Texas women composers. The brainchild of Stephanie Britten Phillips, and supported by the Composition Division of the School of Music, the program honored Diversity Month and Women’s History Month with a bouquet of chamber works in unusual configurations.

New works included Call up a Storm, with composer Jenn McLachlan on flute and John Dye augmenting on a laptop computer. McLachlan used contemporary flute techniques such as bending tones, flutter-tongueing, over-blowing to produce harmonics, and humming while playing to extraordinary effect. At no time did the techniques or electronic augmentation overwhelm the integrity of the composition. The subtle interplay between the natural and digital media illustrated McLachlan’s sense of place, suggesting loons calling over water in vast, lonely landscapes.

Based on a poem written by her father, Stephanie Phillips envisioned My Gratitude as an improvisational collaboration with Nowhere But Here, a trio of dancers directed by Pat Stone. Phillips on viola, Ria Hodgson on violin, and McLachlan on flute formed a triangle within which the dancers flowed, maintaining constant contact in a style reminiscent of Pilobolus. Nowhere But Here is Matt Cumbie, Darryl Pilate, and Nicola Helwig.

The poetry of Yehuda Amichai inspired Katherine E. Shupe to create near the wall of a house as part of an ongoing song cycle. Soprano Elizabeth Schwab-Fike and pianist Rebecca Royer performed the piece with ease and sophistication.

Composer and soprano Flicka Rahn was in attendance to hear mezzo Ashley L. Stone and pianist Jody Bagley perform Rahn’s settings of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets From the Portuguese VI, XXIX, XLIII. Look for more of Rahn’s work in an upcoming compact disc–Art Songs by American Women Composers, with pianist and author Ruth Friedberg.

Internationally recognized Latin American singer/songwriter Juanita Martin Ulloa enthralled the audience with her Cuando canto (When I Sing), a joyous paean to music. Ulloa was backed by a typical mariachi band, which includes the guitarrón—a large, deep-bodied, 6-string acoustical bass.

Lamenting on the dearth of women Latin American composers, Ulloa performed the poignant Verdad Amarga (Bitter Truth) by Consuelo Velázquez as an exemplar of the impassioned style.

Dr. Mary Thornton performed Look Low Little Heavens for solo trumpet by Hilary Tann, which premiered at one of the first International Women’s Brass Conferences in the mid-90’s.

In an evening filled with outstanding works and performances, the White Oak Trio, comprised of Meryl Ettelson (piano), Martha Lisle (cello), and Steven McMillan (violin) served up a special treat—the Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello by Rebecca Clarke. Passionate and powerful, Clarke’s writing calls to mind the chamber works of Debussy, Shostakovich, and Respighi, spanning a wide range of styles–from Impressionism to Neo-Classical. The three movement piece was underscored by a rhythmic insistence, richly textured with soaring solo and unison lines, bold harmonies layered in double stops, pizzicato strings dancing above piano arpeggios, demonstrating the composer’s intimate knowledge of each instrument.

The exquisitely balanced White Oak Trio interpreted each nuance of the remarkable work with elegance and sensitivity. Watch for more on these performers and composers.

Yay ’cause cool chamber music! And ’cause groovy links!

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