42nd ANNUAL SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FOR THE YOUNG April 9 – 11, 2021 Keeril Makan, Commissioned Composer THE RIVERS SCHOOL CONSERVATORY Gabriella Sanna, Director Lindsey Robb, Assistant Director Ethel Farny, Seminar Chair A. Ramón Rivera, Director Emeritus 333 WINTER STREET, WESTON, MA 02493 WWW.RIVERSSCHOOLCONSERVATORY.ORG | 781-235-6840 i T became clear t H at i should stay in E urope not kill M yself by going back and forth across the ocean b U t I couldn't get out of that engagement in we S ton Massachusetts "three hundred ch I ldren devoted to modern musi C " I couldn't believe it S o instead of going from rome to C ologne i H ad t O cr O ss the ocean two extra times and here I am seventy years o L d but I don't regret it the children pl A yed beau T ifully and the pa R ents were w I de awake the day remains V ividly in my mind the school n E eds suppo R t here' S hoping they get it! John Cage Seminar Guest 1983 THE RIVERS SCHOOL CONSERVATORY The 42nd Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young April 9, 10, & 11, 2021 Gabriella Sanna, Director, The Rivers School Conservatory Chair, Rivers Performing Arts Department A. Ramón Rivera, Director Emeritus Lindsey Robb, Assistant Director Ethel Farny, Seminar Chair The Rivers School Conservatory 333 Winter Street, Weston, Massachusetts 781-235-6840 www.riversschoolconservatory.org THE SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FOR THE YOUNG This year Seminar concerts will be presented in two forms: live-streamed and virtual. Friday, April 9, 2021 7:30 p.m. FACULTY RECITAL IN RIVERA HALL: Works of Lera Auerbach, Howard Frazin, Zachary Kaye, James Lee III, Allison Loggins- Hull, Keeril Makan, Andrew York, and Ellen Taafe Zwilich. Saturday, April 10, 2021 11:00 a.m. STUDENT COMPOSITION SHOWCASE IN RIVERA HALL: Krista Buckland Reiser, Rohan Gregory, Peter Sulski, and David Russell, members of the Worcester Chamber Music Society, will per- form student works for string quartet. The student composers receive comments and suggestions on their music. 1:00 p.m. CONCERT IN RIVERA HALL: Music includes works by Jerry Liu, Dan Loschen, Wynne-Anne Rossi, and Paul Sullivan. 2:15 p.m. VIRTUAL CONCERT VIA ZOOM: Music by such composers as Matthew Aucoin, Philip Glass, Stefanie Lubkowski, and LI Qui. 3:30 p.m. CONCERT IN RIVERA HALL: Performances include music of Samuel Adler, Henry Fraser, Stephen Halloran, and Konstantin Petrossian. Sunday, April 11, 2021 1:00 p.m. CONCERT IN RIVERA HALL: Music includes works of Xavier Dubois Foley, Helen Grime, Gordon Stout, and Adam Tan. 2:00 p.m. VIRTUAL CONCERT VIA ZOOM: Performances include works by Fraser Andras, Monique Gabus, Patrick Greene, and Dan Shore. 3:00 p.m. CONCERT IN RIVERA HALL: Music of composers Whitman Brown, Christa Duggan, Amy Reich, Chloe DeSteno, and Sarah Tenney. 5:00 p.m. FINALE IN KRAFT DINING HALL: Works by John McDonald, Michael Monroe, Andre Myers, Daniel Schnyder, and the world premiere of the 2021 commissioned work Abandon Fear: Part I by Keeril Makan. Music for this year's Seminar is chosen from a body of work published within the last twenty-five years. Program notes for works by commissioned composers have been included within the program book. They are listed in the order of performance throughout the weekend. Information and program notes for most repertoire performed is found in the biographical index. Commissioned Pieces since 1983 1983 Sonority Forms for Piano Otto Luening 1984 After Glass Sorrel Hays 1985 Trio Fantasia Ivan Tcherepnin 1986 Piano Sonata, Op. 25 Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee 1987 Rivers Robert Strizich 1988 Ivesiana T.J. Anderson 1989 Seven Poems of Juan Ramón Jiménez John McDonald 1990 Rivers Daniel Pinkham 1991 Son et Lumière James Yannatos 1992 Arrows to the Sun Peter Child 1993 Variations for String Quartet John Harbison Inventions for Piano John Harbison Inventions for a Young Percussionist John Harbison O Magnum Mysterium John Harbison 1994 Concerto for Cello and Chamber Ensemble Marti Epstein 1995 Prelude for Piano Donald Sur 1996 East, West of the Sun Arlene Zallman 1997 Rhinestones, Pinecones, and Telephones Andy Vores 1998 Riversonata Marjorie Merryman 1999 Fantastical Colloquy for Trumpet and Bass Gunther Schuller 2000 Rivers of Wood Gordon Stout 2001 Fantasy for Two Pianos and Orchestra Jonathan McPhee 2002 In Memory... Sir John Tavener 2003 Music for Three for violin, marimba, and piano Lukas Foss 2004 Concerto #3 for Piano and String Orchestra Samuel Adler 2005 Four Rivers David Rakowski 2006 Daydream and Nightmare, Op. 94 Lowell Liebermann 2007 Serenade for Guitar Trio, Op. 84 Larry Bell 2008 Slate River Scott Wheeler 2009 The Mountain Echo Eric Sawyer 2010 Jigsaw Patterns Michael Gandolfi 2011 Matryoshka Variations: Nesting Etudes for piano quintet Robert Sirota 2012 On Simple Songs Brett Abigaña Prelude Brett Abigaña ...and as these wings expand... Justin Casinghino Sweet Suite Justin Casinghino A Warm Breeze in April Heather Gilligan New Beginnings Heather Gilligan Fleeting Moments for Solo Viola Jeremy Van Buskirk Set of 3 a Double Bass Duet Jeremy Van Buskirk Legerdemain Andrew Smith Soothing Meditation Andrew Smith Becoming a Snowman PoChun Wang Brubeck's Daily Schedule PoChun Wang 2013 Elegy Howard Frazin Head Motive: Howard Frazin Five Views of Jaume Plensa's Humming, Op. 510 John McDonald Portrait Benjamin Pesetsky Hummingaire Tom Schnauber Piano Trio Adam Jacob Simon Humming Matthew Woodard 2014 Matinée: The Fantom of the Fair Libby Larsen 2015 Hypermelodia Lisa Bielawa 2016 Variations Julian Wachner 2017 Finery Forge for Two Pianos Matthew Aucoin 2018 The Bell for Narrator and Chamber Ensemble Robert Paterson 2019 White Dwarf Concerto for Flute, Violin, Cello, and Piano Stephen Halloran The Rivers School Conservatory Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young was founded to address the need of young performers to hear, play, and learn the music of their time. Since 1978 the seminar has presented 3,185 pieces, represent- ing more than 1,884 composers, and 699 premieres including 217 commissioned pieces. Each seminar's programming is unique; pieces are performed only once, so that repertoire, composed within the last 25 years, is constantly being explored. The idea of young performers, composers, and audiences interacting with one another in an artistic and creative way has sparked the imagination of educators. Our seminar has become the model for many such events throughout the United States and the world. VERY SPECIAL THANKS FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE SEMINAR: Marissa Birne, design and technical assistance Rosamond Hooper-Hamersley, editorial assistance Robert Lasher, stage manager Lindsey Robb, Seminar coordinator James Stewardson, recording engineer Seminar Guests since 1979 Mariann Abrahám Tod Machover Matthew Aucoin Dave MacNeil Vytas Baksys Donald Martino Julia Balter John McCabe Jeanne Bamberger John McDonald Paul Barringer Mark McSweeney Meade Bernard Sheldon Mirowitz Seymour Bernstein Lynn Freeman Olson Lisa Bielawa Nick Page Joy Blanchard Carter Pann William Bolcom Lisa Parker Allen Bonde Robert Paterson Boston Composers' Coalition Danilo Perez Boston Musica Viva Benjamin Pesetsky Bruce Brubaker Konstantin Petrossian John Cage Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee Alice Canaday Vic Rawlings Nancy Cirillo Rhonda Rider Kurt Coble Daniel Riley Robert Cogan A. Ramón Rivera Michael Colgrass Richard Robbins Peter Maxwell Davies Wendy Rolfe Pamela Dellal Marc Ryser Nicole DeMaio Tom Schnauber Marti Epstein Peggy Senter Ross Lee Finney Anne Dhu Shapiro Harold Fortuin Lois Shapiro Howard Frazin Adam Jacob Simon Judith Gerratt Spectrum Percussion Trio Philip Glass Lewis Spratlan Judith Gordon Jean Stackhouse Leon Gruenbaum Charles Tarver Randall Hodgkinson Vivian Taylor Loren Hollander Sarah Tenney Roberta Humez Bruce Torff Meeyoung Im Roman Totenberg Reid Jorgensen Joan Tower Minuetta Kessler Louise Vosgerchian Bayla Keyes Newton Wayland Earl Kim Matthew Woodard Oliver Knussen Alyssa Voth Marguerite Ladd Cesar Villalobos John Langstaff Julian Wachner Libby Larsen Thomas Wolf Sue-Young Lee Yehudi Wyner Peter Lieberson Stefanie Lubkowski Robert J. Lurtsema Commissioned Composer for 2021 The Rivers School Conservatory has invited Keeril Makan to write the commissioned work, Abandon Fear: Part One for the 2021 Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young. Described by The New Yorker as“empowered by modern technology but haunted by a spirit of immemorial darkness,” and by The New York Times as “consistently stimulating,” The Boston Globe portrays Keeril Makan as a composer“wh ose music deserves to be more widely heard.” Makan, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Luciano Berio Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, has also received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Foundation, Meet the Composer, the Aaron Copland House, the Utah Arts Festival, the Fulbright Program, and ASCAP. Makan’s work has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, American Composers Orchestra, Harvard Musical Association, and Carnegie Hall, among others. His CDs, In Sound (Tzadik), Target (Starkland), and Afterglow (Mode) include performances by the Kronos Quartet, Either/Or, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Persona, his opera, commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and National Sawdust, is an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s classic film, with a libretto by Jay Scheib. Makan’s works include orchestral music, wind ensemble, an opera, chamber music, and solo music for piano, strings, saxophone, and percussion. Schott is publishing his compositions. Makan was raised in New Jersey by parents of South African Indian and Russian Jewish descent. After training as a violinist, he received degrees in composition and religion from Oberlin and completed his PhD in composition at the University of California–Berkeley, with additional studies in Helsinki and Paris. Makan lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is Associate Professor of Music at MIT. Faculty Recital in Rivera Recital Hall 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 9, 2021 Click Here for Link to Livestream.