Winter 2008 of the Viola

CUBE Coming Soon! Viola Fantasy The Viola Fantasy concert, on Friday, March 28, features four virtuoso viola CUBE’s The Latest Buzz from CUBE players in chamber music that high- Spring Season Contemporary Chamber Ensemble lights the beautiful, dark silken voice in a Nutshell Winter 2008 of the viola. The program includes world premieres by New York composer n Sounding the Sacred IV Eleanor Cory; Sam Cole, former composi- Sunday, February 3, 4pm CUBE’s 2008 Spring Season tion student of Patricia Morehead, now Augustana Chapel studying at Oberlin; and Hungarian Lutheran School of Theology Sounding the Sacred IV composer Gyula Fekete, professor of 1100 E. 55th St., Chicago Sounding the Sacred IV, on Sunday, February 3rd, features 20th century sacred composition at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. The program also features n Commonwealth and secular music for violin, flute, oboe, trumpet, piano, and voice. works for viola and piano by Lawrence Connections: Daniel Schwandt, featured guest artist and organist with the Lutheran Axelrod and Sebastian Huydts. CUBE Live on WFMT, 98.7FM School of Theology, will perform three chorale preludes by Helmut Walcha. Guest violists are Frank Babbitt of Monday, February 4, 8pm Canadian mezzo-soprano Chantelle Grant will sing Hugo Distler’s Geistliche Kon- the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra; n Viola Fantasy zerte, op. 17 for voice and organ and “A Jazz Song” by Bongani Ndodana Breen Daniel Golden formerly of the Lon- Friday, March 28, 7:30pm from his opera Orange Clouds . Ms. Grant is a graduate of the Glenn Gould don, Ontario Symphony; and Claudia Gottlieb Hall, School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, a student of Roxolana Lasareff-Mironoff, member of Pinotage Merit School of Music Roslak. Oboist Patricia Morehead is featured in Flor Peeters’s Arioso for Oboe and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. 38 S. Peoria St., Chicago and Organ, op. 74b and Daniel Pinkham’s Variations for Oboe and Organ. Guest n Chicago Connections trumpeter Jon Weber is featured in the Harald Genzmer Sonata for Trumpet and Chicago Thursday, April 3, Noon Organ and Jan Bender’s Wedding Sonata, Op 49, no. 2. The concert also includes Music Center Concert Hall Connections Le Merle Noir by Olivier Messiaen performed by flutist Janice Misurell-Mitchell In this free noon-time concert on April Columbia College and Larry Axelrod, piano, and Hermann Schroeder’s Concertino for oboe, violin 3rd CUBE performs Two Poems for solo 1014 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago and organ. flute/alto flute by Rick Baitz, Gymel for n Groovin’ High, two oboes by Robert Ceely, Found on the Groovin’ Low Commonwealth Connections Street for clarinet and piano by Sebas- Sunday, May 11, 8pm Our WFMT program on Monday, February 4th, will feature Canadian mezzo- tian Huydts, Slipstream for solo flute Ganz Hall soprano Chantelle Grant as guest vocal soloist. She will perform works by and electronics by Kotoka Suzuki and a Roosevelt University, world premiere for oboe, percussion and Canadian composers — Pierre Mercure Dissidence, John Beckwith “Mrs. 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago piano by Marybeth Bradfish. Brown’s soliloquy” from Night Blooming Cereus, Jack Behrens “Looking Back”, (see pg. 3 for description) Performers are CUBists Caroline and Patricia Morehead It’s Dangerous to Read Newspapers — and an aria Pittman, Christie Miller, and Patricia from South African composer Bongani Ndodana Breen’s Orange Clouds. Morehead, with guest artists Sebastian CUBE’s Caroline Pittman performs Two poems for solo flute/alto flute by Huydts, piano, and Alicia Cordoba Tait, Rick Baitz, who lived for a time in South Africa, and Canadian composer oboe. A round table discussion with Mary Gardiner’s A Resonane in Time for flute, clarinet and piano with Rose the composers moderated by Rick Baitz Sperrazza, clarinet and Larry Axelrod, piano. The Avalon String Quartet will will follow the concert. perform Apologia at Umzimvubu by Bongani Ndodana Breen and Ladders of (continued on p. 3) Anxiety by Patricia Morehead. Larry Axelrod will perform a solo piano work by New Zealand composer Jack Body. Chantelle Grant as Winnie Mandela in an opera project by Bongani Ndodana-Breen CUBE Circuits • Winter 2008 1 It truly is Cuba Sí amazing… Music for social activism by Lawrence Axelrod by Janice Misurell-Mitchell sions would encourage dialog about our Initially there had been some As many of my friends in and around I traveled to Cuba for six days this past two cultures and also that I would learn reticence among the students—only CUBE know, I adore travel. In my travels, September with several colleagues as more about classical music in Cuba. a few spoke at the first session, but by when possible, I try to find composers part of a conference on “Useful Art”, or With the aid of a translator, I spoke the second they felt more comfortable, or performance opportunities to link art that includes aspects of social activ- about how music may reinforce, particularly when I found myself sans my love of travel with my love of music. ism. Sponsored by Cáthedra de Arte illuminate or undermine particular translator (he had to leave to translate In thinking about when I would have Conducta, an arts program hosted by political concepts. We discussed vari- for the rest of our team) and several stu- time for a more lengthy trip this year, the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, ous aspects of national anthems, and dents helped out, creating a real dialog. I decided that South Africa would be the project was conceived by Cuban how a particular performance may be At the third session, which was mostly a very interesting place to visit. I also visual artist and University of Chicago a flash point for political discussion. about contemporary flute music and know some musicians now residing in faculty member Tania Bruguera. My They loved watching a DVD of Jimi extended techniques, I was pleased to the U.S. who are from there, and have colleagues were Chicagoans Tom Mitch- Hendrix performing the Star Spangled see that their repertoire included recent heard about various aspects of music life ell, Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers; our Banner at Woodstock, and they eagerly works by Takemitsu, and that they were in the country. group, “Team Havana” thus included a gave many interpretations of his very open to new sounds and improvisa- And here is where the internet scholar, two political activists and an guitar-playing in relation to the war in tory works that used them. becomes an incredible tool and bless- artist. Our work was to present lectures Vietnam; we also had a detailed dis- The US embargo of Cuba prevents ing: I did a search for music schools in and informal sessions, films and videos, cussion (and many points of view) of us from sending written or recorded various cities in South Africa and tried and performances. “Nuestro Himno” (our national anthem music via mail; several of the students to find email addresses of the most While Tom, Bernadine and Bill met in Spanish), which had caused so much have friends in Canada and Europe who likely person to respond to a “blind” with visual art students at the offices controversy in 2006. send them materials (I donated a lot request from me. So I wrote a nice of the journal Criterio, I presented Other sessions involved text and of music to their library), and some of generic letter saying who I was and three sessions to music students at the music, and how a particular way of the more advanced students travel to what I might like to do and hit the Instituto Superior de Arte. Founded in writing may be understood as politi- Europe and the UK to study with major “send” button about seven times. 1976, the Instituto has curricula at the cal within a given genre; examples performers. I assumed I would get one or university level in music, visual arts, included Pierrot Lunaire (which they It was interesting to speak with maybe two people who would ask me theatre arts, dance and audiovisual were completely familiar with) and some of the women composition stu- to send further information and a CD. communication. My sessions involved Ruth Crawford Seeger’s “Chinaman, dents; there were a substantial number Instead, I got an invitation from the the interrelations of music and politics, Laundryman” (which presented of them, but they said that they didn’t National School of the Arts in Johan- particularly how they intersect in the Sprechstimme in a political text). Other get as many performances as the male nesburg (similar to the Music Institute US; it was also my hope that the ses- connections were with social and polit- students did. We talked about how of Chicago in Evanston) to come and ical movements in the US: “When the to improve the situation, and I gave play on a festival in May! I was happily Revolution Comes” by the Last Poets, them information on the International stunned! I then was able to write back CUBE and an excerpt including Abbey Lincoln’s Alliance for Women in Music (although to some of the other people and tell musical scream from the Freedom Now them that I would definitely be there. The Latest Buzz from CUBE since most of the members are in the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble Winter 2008 Suite, by Max Roach and Oscar Brown, US, contact beyond email is still a Subsequently, I got a second invitation Published two times a year by Jr. (shown in Ken Burns’ documentary, problem). to play on a series of lunchtime con- CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble 600 S.

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