Nick Carozza Oboe

October 25th, 2020, 2:00 p.m. Love Recital Hall

PROGRAM Evocations ………………………….…………………….……..…………Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) ​ II. Nigérienne III. Cambodgienne (Asparas) IV. Écossaise

Oboe …………………….………………….……………….…………..……… Roger Vogel (b. 1947) ​ Rebekah Nadel, voice

Concerto for Oboe: The Clearing………………………….………...…..Lucas Richman (b. 1964) ​ Susan Ellinger, piano The Elements: Four Nature Scenes……………….…………………….Kathy Henkel (b. 1958) ​ II. Dancing Creek (Water) III. Temple of the Four Winds (Air) IV. Forest Fire (Fire)

PROGRAM NOTES Evocations Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) was a French composer. His compositions are known for their tonal exploration, as well as their inherent lyrical nature. Born on the Mediterranean coast of France, Tomasi studied composition in his hometown and eventually made his way to Paris. These studies led to multiple awards at the 1927 Prix de Rome. Evocations was composed in 1969. The work ​consists of four movements. Each ​ ​ movement portrays characteristics of foreign lands. Mvt. I begins with Tomasi’s depictions of Peruvian drums in the distance. Then the movement comes to life with a fortissimo melody. Mvt. II begins with a theme that resembles a bird call. The movement includes various time signature changes and slurred passages across the registers of the instrument. In Mvt. III, Tomasi replicates the percussive Cambodian xylophones. The work ends with Mvt. IV. Ecossaise is a traditional Scottish dance, and after a short introduction the work becomes an energetic dance.

Oboe Roger Craig Vogel was born in Cincinnati Ohio. He studied theory and composition at Ohio State University, eventually earning his doctorate in 1975. His vast catalogue of compositions includes many works for band, choir, and chamber ensembles. He has written a chamber opera, a horn concerto, and a work for full orchestra. He has also composed a large amount of work for unaccompanied solo instruments including pieces for solo sopranino saxophone to solo bass trombone. The piece O​ boe is the setting of a Lawrence McKinney poem. The comedic piece has ​ many nonverbal instructions in addition to the written music. The piece was written for Dwight Manning, a professor of music at University of Georgia. The piece was composed in 1996. In the work, the oboist and vocalist express the various sentiments within the poem. These sentiments include condescension (cultured folk, intellectual hoboe), presaging gloom, anguish, fear, and many others.

Oboe by Laurence McKinney ​ Hard to pronounce and play, the OBOE-- (With cultured folk it rhymes with "doughboy" Though many an intellectual hoboe Insists that we should call it oboe) However, be that as it may, Whene'er the oboe sounds its A All of the other start their tuning And there is fiddling and bassooning. Its plaintive note presaging gloom Brings anguish to the concert room, Even the players holds his breath And scares the audience to death For fear he may get off the key,

Which happens not infrequently. This makes the saying understood: "It's an ill wood wind no one blows good."

Concerto for Oboe: The Clearing Lucas Richman is an Grammy© winning conductor and composer, currently the music director of the Bangor Symphony in Maine. Richman got his MA in conducting at University of Southern California, and took multiple masterclasses with Leonard Bernstein. Richman was music director of Knoxville Symphony from 2003-2015 and began his work with Bangor Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Richman’s compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and over 200 orchestras around the world. The Clearing was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for their ​ principal oboist Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida. The piece details a spiritual journey, beginning in medias res with a thinker in stages of contemplation, contrasted with the explosiveness of enlightenment. In the work, the composer has set Psalm 23 in Hebrew in the oboe melody.

The Elements: Four Nature Scenes Kathy Henkel is an American composer. She resides in Los Angeles, California. She writes chamber music for many instruments and ensembles including brass, woodwind, strings, guitar, piano, and vocal. Her career has included script writing and producing for classical radio station KUSC-FM (300 broadcast radio scripts), music research for Paramount Pictures, and working for the administrative staff of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Elements: Four Nature Scenes depicts the forms of matter in the natural world. In ​ Mvt. II Henkel uses running with notes and syncopation to depict the moving current of the creek. The music begins in A minor but begins to move around different key areas, mimicking water moving around various obstacles. There are no dynamic indications in the movement besides two echoes at the end of the piece. In Mvt. III Henkel uses rhythm to simulate different levels of wind. The movement begins with a gentle breeze that picks up speed in shorter gusts of notes. The conclusion of the movement resembles a calm dusk as the sun sets and the wind quiets down. In Mvt. IV Henkel depicts the flames and heat of fire using quick rhythms and using rising passages to illustrate the fire growing in the forest. Loud calls of animals or birds signaling danger can be heard in the middle section of the piece. As the work concludes, the raging fire is calmed by a rainstorm and the forest returns to its natural state.