Category Archives: Contemporary music

Sunday, February 7th, 2016. 3PM

Tufts Sunday Concert Series: Tufts’ “All-Star” Performance Faculty.

The outstanding performance faculty of the music department joins select student musicians in a concert of wide-ranging repertoire of instrumental and vocal chamber music, works for chamber orchestra, world music, and jazz.

The world music part will include the shakuhachi and other world instruments in a premiere composition by our Hindustani singer, Warren Senders.

Distler Hall. Free; no tickets required

Advertisement

Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 7:30 PM. UMass Bowker Auditorium, Amherst, MA

Motoko, story-teller, and Masayo Ishigure, koto

Motoko, story-teller, and Masayo Ishigure, koto

I joined Masayo Ishigure of the Sawai school on koto (the Japanese zither in lower left of poster) playing E mu (Dreamscape) by Hideaki Kuribayashi. E mu is made up of shakuhachi and koto solos interspersed with closely metered western style ensemble parts, which speed up at the end. As in most of the early modern pieces influenced by western music, it is sweet and lyrical.

Sunday, April 26, 2015. 4 PM. Flutistry, 801A Tremont St., Boston. Ascend: Elizabeth Erenberg’s CD Launch Concert

elizabetherenberg2

I will be playing a duet with Elizabeth Erenberg on flute written  by Jeannette Chechile called “Spring Flute Duet”. To find out more about the album this concert celebrates, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67T2j19SCi4

All are welcome and wine and cake will be served afterwards. See you there!

For more information, go to Flutistry.

Closest T stops are Mass Ave on the Orange Line, and Symphony on the Green Line E train.

Friday, April 24th 2015, 12:00 PM. Tufts’ Distler Hall. New at Noon: Resiliant Ruminations — Ants in the Kitchen

4-24-15 New at Noon #4 Poster

This is the last concert of the year for Tufts composers, and I will play a new piece called “A Tale” by Cagdas Donmezer. The first part of the piece looks promising, and I’m waiting to see the rest on Thursday (tomorrow)!

For more information, follow the link above.

As usual, free and open to the public.

After the concert

Left to right: John McDonld, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Elizaneth, Martin Max Schreiner, Jeannette Chechile, Jeffery Shivers. Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan

Left to right: John McDonld, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Elizaneth, Martin Max Schreiner, Jeannette Chechile, Jeffery Shivers. Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan

Taken after the March 10th concert in Distler Hall, Tufts Uiversity, with fellow performer Aaron Larget-Capllan, and composers John McDonald, Martin Max Schreiner, Jeannette Chechile, and Jeffery Shivers.

Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan

Photo: Catherine Larget-Caplan

Elizabeth plays Koku (The Sky) during the concert at Distler Hall.

Monday, November 3, 2014 8PM. What’s New in Bamboo

What's New in Bamboo

What’s New in Bamboo

For this concert Elizabeth Reian will play premieres by Martin Shcreiner of Harvard; Tufts’ grad composers Wei Yang and Cagdas Donmezer; as well as a duet for two shakuhachis by John McDonald; and  a traditional piece. Composer and shakuhachi player Chris Molina also will appear with New York shakuhachi artist Marco Lienhard in pieces he has created.

The pieces we’ll be playing span traditional, to modern and contemporary. So expect to hear cranes, see birds of paradise, and hear new ideas and imagination at work. You’ll also hear three shakuhachi players from different genealogies, with different playing styles, a unique experience at Tufts.

Distler Hall, Granoff Music Center, 20 Talbot Ave., Somerville.  Info: (617) 627-3679

http://as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter/visit/directions.htm

Free and open to the public

Sunday, April 13, 2014. 10:30AM. Requiem, by Karl Jenkins.

Karl Jenkins, Composer

Karl Jenkins, Composer

First Church of Belmont UU, MA. Directed by Alfa Joy Radford, Minister of Music and Organist

This piece by Karl Jenkins, a contemporary Welsh composer, features a chorus which sings in Latin and Japanese, and juxtaposes and overlaps psalms with haiku; the chords and overtones are eerie, unexpected and exquisite. The shakuhachi plays over and through the lyrics and orchestration.

The Poems:

 Gozan: “The snow of yesterday that fell like cherry blossoms is water once again”

Issho: “From deep in my heart how beautiful are the snow clouds in the west”‘

Hokusai: “Now as a spirit I shall roam the summer fields”

Kaga no Chiyo: “Having seen the moon even I take leave of this life with a blessing”

Banzan: “Farewell, I pass as all things do like dew on the grass”

Check out this video with the composer:

Requiem: http://www.karljenkins.com/video/view/karl-jenkins-requiem-interview-1

404 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA 02478, Tel: (617) 484-1054 Ext. 206; http://uubelmont.org/

Saturday, April 12, 2014, 3PM An Afternoon of Japanese Flute

takagi solo 2002

The Varis Performing Arts Series, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Grafton, MA

To be held in the Kohnstamm Conference Room of the Jean Mayer Administration Building
201 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536
http://campusmaps.tufts.edu/grafton/

Elizabeth Reian will describe the early history of the shakuhachi, and include a selection of pieces that will range from early to contemporary, including an instrumental piece, Song of the Moon, and City of Lights, by John McDonald; with time for questions at the end.

Fans, come with your cameras and send me some pics! Signed CDs available at the venue.

Elizabeth’s performance to appear in new Erenberg CD

Elizabeth’s performance of  Breeze/Seeds/Sun/Growth, by Jeannette Chechile, composing at Tufts University, will be featured in a duo with flutist Elizabeth Erenberg  as a part of Erenberg’s new CD. Erenberg plans to release her CD in spring of 2014. It features new music by contemporary composers for flute in combination with different instruments.

Upcoming concert on September 15

Three Dimensions: a reunion concert of composers

Sunday, September 15, 2013, 8 PM
Distler Hall, Tufts University. Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center, 20 Talbot Avenue, Medford, MA 02155
Directions, PDFs & more: http://campusmaps.tufts.edu/medford/
Information: 617.627.3679

9-15-13 3D poster

The program includes music for medieval flute and shakuhachi, the Japanese traditional flute; Baroque flute, piano and voice; a Baroque flute solo which is not quite a solo; some aleatoric music influenced by ancient Canadian and Japanese traditions; a piece for two pianos; songs for two sopranos and piano, and more songs to texts by Pablo Neruda, accompanied by percussion and Baroque flute – a varied program that brings together sonorities from around the world.

I will play a premiere by John McDonald for medieval flute (Na’ama Lion) and shakuhachi, called “Tuk”, as in missi-tuk, the Mystic River, which flows near us here. The other composers are Jorge Ibanez, Atsushi Yoshinaka and David Claman.