Composers’ Recital Series

PRANAV YAGNARAMAN (B.M. '24): “Landscapes”
I. Arctic Below the Northern Lights
II. Prairie Grasslands

Ben Laham (B.M. '25), piano

JACKSON ALFREY (B.M. '25): “What the Falling Leaves Sing”

Mason Davis (B.M. '25), clarinet
Matthew Williams II (B.M. '26), cello
Sanjana Bellapu (B.M. '25), piano

THEODORE Q. DUONG (B.M. '25): “you, who i love most”

Theo Duong, piano

HANLEY CHAN (B.M. '23): “Waterboy”

Hanley Chan, piano

JULIAN DÜRR (B.M. '25): “december is four years away”

Anna Fisher-Roberts (M.M. '23), flute
Taylor Childress (B.M. '24), oboe
Alainna Pack (B.M. '25), clarinet
Cameron McCarty (B.M. '25), French horn
Lizzie Sylves (B.M. '25), bassoon 1
Jae Demers, (B.M. '25), bassoon 2

PRANAV YAGNARAMAN (B.M. '24): “Landscapes”
The piece is based on works of art by Alfred Sisley and Fritz Thaulow. Alfred Sisley’s work is called “The Meadow” and Thaulow’s work is called “Mountain Stream River.” Both works are considered to be impressionist works of particular landscapes and I saw that as inspiration for my work.

JACKSON ALFREY (B.M. '25): “What the Falling Leaves Sing”
I've always found it curious that the modern idea of autumn is romanticized to such an extent that it's the only season prescribed a smell. What's amazing despite that, however, is my exhilaration and awe that these sights will still occasionally give me. In an effort to transcribe that, I tried to say what the actual differences are between the romanticism and the reality of autumn. If you were to talk to the leaves, what you think they are saying to you and what they are actually saying are two different things entirely. In the short time this piece was conceived, I attempted to find beauty in both. For now, I'd like to let the leaves thank the performers for their efforts, and ask you to enjoy their song.

THEODORE Q. DUONG (B.M. '25): you, who i love most
I first conceived of this piece last year during my first week at Boston Conservatory. It’s improvisatory in nature, and is meant to depict a particular experience I’ve had with heartbreak/loss. The opening section is meant to convey painful sorrow and the intrusive and numbing effect it has. The contrasting section that follows is brighter and expresses nostalgic longing for what has just been lost. But ultimately, any beauty found in such memories only makes the pain worse, and that is the image “you, who i love most” hopes to achieve.

HANLEY CHAN (B.M. '23): “Waterboy”
Water takes up 60 percent of our body. That's…quite a lot!

JULIAN DÜRR (B.M. '25): “december is four years away”
I began writing this piece in mid-September when I was assigned to the first Composers’ Recital Series. I aimed to reflect my current feelings of tumult: those of both overwhelmed excitement, and of being adrift with disorientation.

The piece seeks resolve using a small motif that builds, but is interrupted by a lost descending chromatic fragment that digs deeper as it falls—marked in the score as “weeping.” The motif returns, but develops into longer phrase ideas, never really finding its way back to what it was.

The piece begins in B-flat Major, a key that, to me, feels almost silly—like laughing with friends at home—but wanders away into E-flat, making it feel as though the ending has reached a new place, but is still “floating” and has somewhere to go…"

Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Composers’ Recital Series is a year-round program of concerts featuring new works by Boston Conservatory composition students. These concerts serve as a laboratory in which student composers have the opportunity to experiment with ideas and material. Students coordinate their own performances, collaborating with performers and organizing and leading rehearsals. Boston Conservatory’s Composers’ Recital Series present a unique opportunity to hear new ideas that represent the multifaceted nature of Boston Conservatory’s top-ranking Composition Department. View upcoming events in the series.

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