Boston Conservatory Composers' Performance Ensemble

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Sunday / December 4, 2022 / 8:00 p.m.

Studio 106

132 Ipswich Street (Richard Ortner Studio Building), Floor 1—Studio 106

Boston

02115

United States

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Boston Conservatory Composers' Performance Ensemble presents an evening of chamber music performed by student composers. Repertoire includes music by Anthony R. Green, Molly Joyce, Martin Frewer, and the members of the ensemble.

Program Information

Repertoire

MOLLY JOYCE: “Less is More” (2017)

Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), percussion
Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), piano

MARTIN FREWER: Revelation (2015)
II. Deception

Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), flute
Graciela Hernandez (B.M. '26), viola
Ruth Hertzman-Miller (M.M. '24), piano

ANTHONY R. GREEN: “A Series of Harmonies” (2018)

Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), flute
Graciela Hernandez (B.M. '26), viola
Ruth Hertzman-Miller (M.M. '24), piano
Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), piano
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), percussion

RUTH HERTZMAN-MILLER: “This is a Spoon” (2022) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), flute
Graciela Hernandez (B.M. '26), viola
Ruth Hertzman-Miller (M.M. '24), piano
Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), piano
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), percussion

GABRIEL GARZA: “Refejó” (2022) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), flute
Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), piano
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), percussion

GRACIELA HERNANDEZ: “Streets” (2022) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Graciela Hernandez (B.M. '26), piano
Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), clapping
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), clapping

GRIG BALASANYAN: “Falling” (2022) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), piano/voice
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), vibraphone

LAUREN GREENBERG: “Questions” (2022) *WORLD PREMIERE*

Grig Balasanyan (B.M. '26), voice/body percussion
Gabriel Garza (B.M. '26), voice/body percussion
Lauren Greenberg (B.M. '23), voice/body percussion
Graciela Hernandez (B.M. '26), voice/body percussion
Ruth Hertzman-Miller (M.M. '24), voice/body percussion

Program Notes

MOLLY JOYCE: “Less is More” (2017)

“Less is More” was written in the spring of 2017 for the Passepartout Duo for the inaugural Eighth Blackbird Creative Laboratory, with commissioning support from Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting. The work was written in New Haven, Connecticut, and premiered in June 2017 at Besant Hill School in Ojai, California. With this work, I wanted to engage in perhaps two artistic “guilty” pleasures of mine: pulse and light, and thus I also composed a lighting part for the piece which I aimed to have equal importance to that of the live performers. I wanted to observe what would happen musically, visually, and overall aesthetically if I lay my two guilty pleasures out in the open, with minimal tactile material yet perhaps maximal capacity for interaction and synergy. I therefore hope that through exploring such a minimal yet boundless interaction, I am able to truly uncover what is less and what is more.

—Molly Joyce, composer

ANTHONY R. GREEN: “A Series of Harmonies” (2018)

Having been asked to compose an open ensemble piece that can be assembled in various ways, but has a melodic (ideally accessible) element, I immediately thought about the harmonic series. Not wanting to create a piece similar to the many harmonic-series-based drone-controlled improvisations that already exist, this work includes modulations to the foundational pitch, as well as modulating time signatures associated with different pitches. The sonic environment of harmonic-series-based pieces is usually psychedelic, which enhances the free technical elements of this piece. The myriad of journey possibilities of this piece is almost endless, all of which can plunge listeners into an ocean of “natural music” based on one of the fundamental physical principles of sound. This work was commissioned through a consortium produced by Nathan Matthews of To be Sure.

—Anthony R. Green, composer

RUTH HERTZMAN-MILLER: “This is a Spoon” (2022)

This piece is based on a combination of two party games. The first is the game of Telephone, in which a phrase is whispered from person to person (and often accidentally distorted). The last person then shares the phrase they heard, and the first person shares their original starting phrase. The second game is This is a Spoon, which involves passing objects around a circle and communicating with both your right-hand and left-hand partners about the objects. In this piece, the objects being passed are tunes.

—Ruth Hertzman-Miller, composer

Ensemble

FLUTE/MELODICA
Lauren Greenberg, B.M. '23

PIANO
Ruth Hertzman-Miller, M.M. '24
Grig Balasanyan, B.M. '26

PERCUSSION
Gabriel Garza, B.M. '26

VIOLA
Graciela Hernandez, B.M. '26

Concert Services Staff

Senior Manager of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Concert Production Coordinator – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Senior Manager of Performance Technology – Wes Fowler
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov

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.