Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s contemporary music ensemble, contraBAND, presents their final chamber concert of the year with works by Carolyn Chen, Lei Liang, Andy Akiho, Gabriella Smith, and Boston Conservatory Composition faculty Bahar Royaee. This eclectic program of music explores the idea of gesture through humor, groove, memory, physical motion, and watery environments. Presented in a collage-style event, this concert will be an hour in duration.
Program Information Please hold your applause to the end of the show, enjoy the sonic journey!
Repertoire
CAROLYN CHEN: we are small and wee and we eat the house down (2011)
Clara Mazo (M.M. '25), violin
Rowan Gemma (B.M. '24), violin
Jayna Leach (M.M. '25), viola
Olivia Katz (M.M. '24), cello
Mikayla Frank-Martin (M.M. '25), trombone
BAHAR ROYAEE: Memories of a Stone Skipping the Skin of the Water on the Lake (2021)
Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (P.S.C. '24), alto flute
Johnny Azpuru (M.M. '25), clarinet
Olivia Katz (M.M. '24), cello
Leo Martinez (B.M. '25), bass
Yuseok Seol (M.M. '25), piano
GABRIELLA SMITH: Anthozoa (2018)
Clara Mazo (M.M. '25), violin
Olivia Katz (M.M. '24), cello
Yuseok Seol (M.M. '25), piano
Ryan Chao (M.M. '24), percussion
LEI LIANG: Lake (2000/2013)
Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (P.S.C. '24), flute
Keaton Shaw (M.M. '25), alto saxophone
ANDY AKIHO: to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem (2008)
Hannah Elizabeth Tobias (P.S.C. '24), flute
Keaton Shaw (M.M. '25), alto saxophone
Clara Mazo (M.M. '25), violin
Olivia Katz (M.M. '24), cello
Yuseok Seol (M.M. '25), piano
Ryan Chao (M.M. '24), drumset
Michael Avanessian (M.M. '25), vibraphone
Program Notes
CAROLYN CHEN: we are small and wee and we eat the house down (2011)
In a recent survey, three out of three people told me gesture is over. But perhaps it isn’t over so much as embarrassing—which would make it the way forward, embarrassment being the royal road. How to recuperate the gesture? Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” might be a house. Termites feed mostly on dead plant material. They build with what they chew. This is reconstruction.
—Carolyn Chen, July 201, Grass Valley/San Jose/La Jolla
BAHAR ROYAEE: Memories of a Stone Skipping the Skin of the Water on the Lake
“Memories of a Stone Skipping the Skin of the Water on the Lake” is about the repetition of a still image that moves in the memories of mind. There are five versions of this musical single memory, each one being different from the other, and the difference is the result of repetition, because transformation appears through repetition. This piece intends to experiment with internal and aural perception of time, the idea of being in sync, and trying to be in sync, aurally and internally. Therefore, the piece does not have a score, rather it has individual parts.
—Bahar Royaee
GABRIELLA SMITH: Anthozoa (2018)
“Anthozoa,” written for Ensemble Connect, is a further expression of Smith’s musico-environmental activism. The work takes its title from a class of marine organisms that includes corals and sea anemones, a rich and ecologically important form of life that is increasingly imperiled by both climate change and human activity. Smith’s score calls for violin, cello, piano, and an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink array of pots, pans, and other makeshift percussion instruments. A statement she made recently in a different context seems to apply here: “With this project, I hope to both create a beautiful work of art inspired by structures in the natural world, as well as engage the public by encouraging them to confront our collective impact and legacy.”
—Ensemble Connect program note by Harry Haskell
LEI LIANG: Lake (2000/2013)
“Lake” was composed after I spent some time in a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York in the early spring of 1999. In an evening while walking alone by the side of the lake, I caught the sight of a “V” shape floating and extending on the surface of the water. It was a beaver taking a swim under the moon. I wished then to write a piece of music that served as the silent surface of water on which performers could inscribe their signatures in sounds. “Lake” was commissioned by flutists Orlando Cela and Masumi Yoneyama, who gave its premiere on January 18, 2000 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The version for flute and alto saxophone was arranged for the Awea Duo (Jennifer Brimson Cooper and Masahito Sugihara) in 2013.
—Lei Liang
Ensemble
FLUTE
Hannah Elizabeth Tobias, P.S.C. '24
CLARINET
Johnny Azpuru, M.M. '25
SAX
Keaton Shaw, M.M. '25
TROMBONE
Mikayla Frank-Martin, M.M. '25
VIOLIN
Clara Mazo, M.M. '25
Rowan Gemma, B.M. '24
VIOLA
Jayna Leach, M.M. '25
CELLO
Olivia Katz, M.M. '24
BASS
Leo Martinez, B.M. '25
PIANO
Yuseok Seoul, M.M. '25
PERCUSSION
Ryan Chao, M.M. '24
Michael Avanessian, M.M. '25
Concert Services Staff
Senior Manager of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Coordinator, Concert Services – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov
Special Thanks
Thanks to Professor Bahar Royaee for spending time with us and sharing your beautiful music.
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 200 sheets of paper, 21 gallons of water, and 18 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.
