ALIAS’ opening concert features music by four living American composers, including three women:
Pulitzer Prize winners Caroline Shaw (2013) and Jennifer Higdon (2010); and Guggenheim Fellow
Margaret Brouwer. Artistic Director Zeneba Bowers says that it was not by design that these three
appear on one concert: “The musicians select what they want to play each season, then I assemble their
requests into three cohesive concerts. It’s coincidence that there are works by three women on one show,
and maybe that’s a sign that the distinction isn’t as remarkable as it once was.”
The Premiere work by Caroline Shaw, “Cantico delle creature” is a re-working of an earlier piece of
hers called “Pedestrial Light”. Bowers heard a recording of the earlier work that included a baroque
cello; she contacted Shaw personally to ask if that version was available. Instead, Shaw decided to revise
her piece considerably for ALIAS, dropping one section and adding the cello part. “Since we’d have a
Baroque cello on this concert already,” Bowers explains, “I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose
that instrument on an ancient piece and then on a modern work. Luckily, Caroline agreed.” The resulting
work will feature mezzo-soprano Lea Maitlen, one of the directors of the Nashville-based Portara Vocal
Ensemble.
The one “old” piece on the program (from 1660 or so) is a violin sonata by Baroque master Giovanni
Antonio Pandolfi. Bowers, who has presented Pandolfi’s unusual works on ALIAS concerts before, will
perform this one again on a period instrument, accompanied by Matt Walker on Baroque cello and
Roger Wiesmeyer on harpsichord.
The concert also features violist Chris Farrell presenting Kenji Bunch’s Suite for viola and piano, which
Nashville Ballet audiences heard last May as part of the Ballet’s presentation of Macbeth. “I love
Kenji’s Suite, but it’s one of the most challenging pieces I’ve ever played,” Farrell explains. “After so
much work, I wanted another chance to perform it in a straight concert setting.”
ALIAS’ Fall Concert takes place Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at Turner Hall at Vanderbilt University’s
Blair School of Music, where ALIAS is a resident ensemble. All proceeds from this concert benefit
Better Decisions, a local nonprofit service organization that helps women transition from life in prison to
the outside world.
ALIAS concert tickets $15, $5 for students with ID, free for Blair students
For more info, visit: www.aliasmusic.org
ALIAS’ Fall Concert: Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Turner Hall, Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music
•
Kenji Bunch Suite for viola and piano(1998)
•
Caroline Shaw “Cantico delle creature” (2013, World Premiere)
•
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli Sonatas for violin and continuo(1660)
•
Jennifer Higdon“An Exaltation o fLarks” for string quartet(2005)
•
Margaret Brouwer “Demeter Prelude” for string quartet (1997)
Nonprofit Partner: Better Decisions