that of the novel's protagonist, author Virginia Woolf. As a writer, she BAY CHAMBER CONCERTS developed the theme of beauty as an experience rooted in the present moment, rather than in relationship to the past or the future. Glass captures beauty in continuity, without beginning, climax or end. As

Cunningham points out, “Glass can find in 3 repeated notes something of the strange rapture of sameness that Woolf discovered in a woman named Clarissa Dalloway doing errands on a summer morning.” Moved by the aesthetic of “present beauty”, has arranged several movements of Glass’ score, presenting them in suite form.

JULIA WOLFE Early that summer

In Julia's words: I wrote Early that summer while I was living in Amsterdam for a year. At the same time that I was working on the piece Present Beauty I was reading a book about American political history. In this book, all Saturday, February 2, 7:00pm of the political crises began with some small occurrence, with a phrase like "early that summer....”. That small occurrence would, over time, Camden Opera House snowball into something large and explosive. Partway through the book and the piece, I realized that the music was about that sense of To Whom It May Concern: Thank You Mark Stewart anticipation. The Lark Quartet commissioned Early that summer with funds from the Meet the 's Commissioning Program. Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector wed

In David's words: My piece wed is dedicated to the memory of Kate Suite from The Hours Philip Glass, arr. ETHEL Ericson, a young conceptual artist and a close friend of my wife. In her hospital bed, just before she died, Kate was married to her boyfriend The Poet Acts and longtime collaborator, Mel Ziegler. A wedding is usually a joyful Morning Passages event, full of hope and optimism, but this wedding of course had something much darker hovering around the joyfulness. In my piece Escape the four independent lines of the are made of small The Hours changes – a half step up, a whole step down, and each line by itself is not that interesting. Put together, however, they allow the music to rock Early that summer oddly back and forth between major and minor, consonance and dissonance, hope and despair. wed was written for the . wed David Lang HUANG RUO String Quartet No. 2: The Flag Project In Huang Ruo's words: String Quartet No. 2: The Flag Project is about String Quartet No. 2: The Flag Project Huang Ruo the Buddhism Prayer Flags and written for string quartet with four pairs of Tibetan Finger Cymbals. A prayer flag is a colorful panel or I rectangular cloth often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks II in the Himalayas to bless the surrounding land and creatures. III Unknown in other branches of Buddhism, prayer flags are believed to have originated with Bön, which predated Buddhism in Tibet. The Flag Project has 3 movements; each is about a different motion of the flags. ETHEL’S BIOGRAPHY Tema Watstein () is an active soloist, chamber musician, and Acclaimed as “one of the most exciting quartets around” (Strad Mag), the educator. Hailed for her “sweeping and bristling” sound by the New string quartet ETHEL has been a post-classical pioneer since it was York Times, she has performed with the Metropolis Ensemble, Mark founded in 1998. With an eye on tradition and an ear to the future, Morris Dance Group, Argento Ensemble, Tanglewood’s New Fromm Quartet, to name a few. She served most recently as the violinist in ETHEL is a leading force in concert music's reengagement with musical Gabriel Kahane's February House at the Public Theater. An alumna of vernaculars, fusing diverse traditions into a vibrant sound that resonates Rice University and graduate of MSM's Contemporary Performance with audiences the world over. The -based quartet comprises (), Dorothy Lawson (), Kip Jones Program, Tema is equally home whether playing Ligeti in concert or (violin) and Tema Watstein (violin). Over the past three years, ETHEL improvising in a field. th- st has premiered over 50 new works by 20 and 21 -century , NOTES ON THIS PROGRAM including pieces that were commissioned or composed by the quartet. ETHEL has initiated innovative collaborations with an extraordinary About "Present Beauty": The concept of literature as a muse for community of international artists and has appeared as a guest artist on composers is hardly a new phenomenon. Passages of sacred text have a dozen music labels. For more information, please visit always inspired musical treatment. The art of the song cycle evolved http://www.ethelcentral.org. largely from literary and poetic sources, and there are certainly many popular songwriters following this model today. Opera, Ballet, Theater INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES and Film are all media where music and literature meet and mingle.

A founding member of ETHEL, Ralph Farris (Artistic Director, Viola) is MARK STEWART To Whom It May Concern: Thank You a Grammy-nominated arranger, an original Broadway orchestra member In Mark’s words: To Whom It May Concern: Thank You is the final of The Lion King and former musical director for The Who’s Roger movement of Origin of the Species, a piece commissioned for ETHEL by Daltrey. He has worked with , Martin Scorsese, The Jerome Foundation. The first movements of the larger piece are Depeche Mode, Natalie Merchant, Harry Connick Jr., Allen Ginsberg, performed on daxophones which I custom designed for the group. Yo-Yo Ma and Gorillaz. A graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts, These movements tell fantastical tales of the earth’s creation, and the Ralph earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from The Juilliard coming to be of all of the planet’s living things. This final movement, School. inspired by my mother’s agnostic dinner prayer, brings the stories to a A founding member of ETHEL, Dorothy Lawson (Artistic Director, gentle, loving rest. Cello) has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the White Oak Dance Project, Philharmonia Virtuosi, the American Symphony TERRY RILEY Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and numerous new music In ETHEL’s words: Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector is one of ensembles. Canadian-born, she completed degrees at the University of the seminal masterworks of the minimalist movement. 24 modules Toronto, the Vienna Academy and The Juilliard School. She teaches in make up the structure of the piece; the performers are charged to “co- the Preparatory Division of Mannes College at the New School in New compose” the work by determining the ultimate module order, and York City. duration of the performance. ETHEL is particularly stimulated by the Kip Jones (Violin) is known for his ebullient and innovative solo exercise of presenting this piece; each presentation we offer opens up performances in a style he describes as “experimental folk”. A modern new fields of possibility as we mix, match, and jump from moment to musical troubadour, he’s performed in a range of eclectic venues that moment in this vibrant work. include a veranda packed with Bangladeshi migrant laborers in Kolkata, PHILIP GLASS, arranged by ETHEL Suite from The Hours Aerostich’s Very Boring Motorcycle Rally, Tirana’s Jordan Nisja School In ETHEL’s words: Stephen Daldry’s 2002 film realization of Michael of Music, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. A native of Minnesota, Cunningham's novel The Hours drew a hauntingly beautiful score from Kip earned his degree in Violin Performance from the Berklee College of Philip Glass. There is a powerful affinity between Glass’ aesthetic and Music.