Hotel ElefantSeason I | RemembranceInaugural Concert featuring composer David. T. Little

Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 8pmThe DiMenna Center for Classical MusicNorman S. Benzaquen Hall

SEASON I | REMEMBRANCEINAUGURAL CONCERT

Mary KouyoumdjianDzov Yerku Kooynov [Sea of Two Colors] (2011) (world premiere)i. Behind the Treesii. House in Ruins

Nicole Camacho, fluteIsabel Kim, clarinetAndie Springer, violinRose Bellini, celloDavid Friend, piano

Leaha Maria VillarrealThe Warmth of Other Suns (2011) (world premiere)

Andie Springer, violin and electronics

David T. Littledescanso (after omega) (2004)

Jonathan Russell, clarinetsNick Gleason, percussionKirsten Volness, pianoHannis Brown, Peter Bussigel, Shawn Lovato, Leaha Maria Villarreal, Lindsey Warford, and Jonathan Zalben, crystal glass

Peter Bussigeltransmongolia (2008, rev. 2012)

Peter Bussigel, trumpet and video

Intermission

Interview with David T. LittleModerated by James Holt

David T. Littledescanso (waiting) (2005)

Nicole Camacho, flute and percussionJonathan Russell, clarinets and percussionNick Gleason, percussionAndie Springer, violin and percussionRose Bellini, cello and percussion

Chinary Ung. . . still life after death (1995)

Caitlin McKechney, mezzo-sopranoDomenica Fossati, flutesIsabel Kim, clarinetAndie Springer, violinRose Bellini, celloDavid Friend, pianoNick Gleason, percussionMeg Zervoulis, conductor

Norman S. Benzaquen HallThursday, March 15 at 8pm

Running time for the concert is approximately 70 minutes, including one 10 minute intermission.

Hotel Elefant is a contemporary music ensemble dedicated to the works of innovative, living composers.

Formed in 2011 by composers Leaha Maria Villarreal and Mary Kouyoumdjian, Hotel Elefant ambitiously presents new music through commissions, performances, and moderated discussions between composers, performers, and audiences. Committed to modern sounds and sonic explorations, this vibrant ensemble brings a keen awareness of today’s music to the general public and highlights those living composers who are blurring lines, pushing boundaries, and fostering creativity.

With a flexible instrumentation of over fifteen musicians, members of this progressive group have performed across the nation and around the world. Their music has taken them to destinations in Poland, Israel, and the U.K. and to such cities as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and Montreal. Each artist brings a unique perspective and passion to their field, working with such luminaries as the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Imani Winds, and the Chicago Opera Vanguard, among others. Valuing the development and expression of new music, these engaging performers come together under the auspices of Hotel Elefant.

For more information visit hotelelefant.org.

Notes on the Program

Mary KouyoumdjianDzov Yerku Kooynov [Sea of Two Colors]

A portrait of Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet, who survived the Armenian Genocide. Upon release, Komitas spent 20 years suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and the remainder of his life in various psychiatric hospitals.

A portrait of the deterioration of his mind. A portrait of the deterioration of his culture.

“I have seen a black sea, and all around was white. The waves crashed, but the two did not mix. Who has ever seen a sea of two colors?” – Komitas, Andouni (Homeless)

Dzov Yerku Kooynov [Sea of Two Colors] was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation

Leaha Maria VillarrealThe Warmth of Other Suns Taking its title from the book by Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns revolves around issues of migration and nostalgia. The soloist performs over a bed of pre-recorded tracks, immersing the listener in a personal voyage through musical fragments both remembered and unexplored.

This piece is dedicated to fellow West Coast transplant Andie Springer.

David T. Littledescanso (after omega)

The use of descansos is a tradition that comes from Spanish culture. Traditionally, descansos were used to mark the place where weary pallbearers would set a coffin down in a funeral procession traveling on foot to the cemetery. Often a stone marker, flowers, or a cross, this marker was known as a descanso. In the United States, this was inherited and used as a way to mark of deaths of settlers moving west, in which case, future settlers would often stop there to reflect and pray. This tradition continues in modern times in the form of roadside crosses, marking the sites of fatal automobile accidents.

This for me struck a personal note as I have lost friends to such accidents, the descansos for whom I drive past whenever I am back in my hometown. In the years following their deaths, I had wanted to make some sort of an offering to their memory. Not wanting to write some large overblown emotional work, however, I have chosen to write a series of works based upon the idea of the descanso, a sonic space for reflection. This is the first of those works, based on a melodic fragment from the slow movement (entitled omega) of a 2000 work for string quartet. Peter Bussigel

transmongolia

transmongolia (2013)…………|pb=================>ransmongolia (2012)…………/pb========>ansmongolia (2011)………../pb==============>nsmongolia (2010)………./pb=====>smongolia (2009)………/pb=========>mongolia (2008)……../oo====>ongolia (2007)……./ooo========>ngolia (2006)……/oooo=============>golia (2005)…../ooooo=======>olia (2004)…./oooooo===>lia (2003).../oooooooo=========>ia (2002)../ooooooooo=====>a (2001).|oooooooooo_____ia (2002)..\oooooooooo_____lia (2003)…\ooooooooo______olia (2004)….\oooooooo_______golia (2005)…..\ooooooo________ngolia (2006)……\oooooo_________ongolia (2007)…….\oooo____________mongolia (2008)……..\ooo_____________smongolia (2009)………\oo______________nsmongolia (2010)……….\o_______________ansmongolia (2011)………..\_________________ransmongolia (2012)…………\_________________transmongolia (2013)…………|___________________ransmongolia (2012)…………/_____________________ansmongolia (2011)………../______________________nsmongolia (2010)………./______________________smongolia (2009)………/1______________________||mongolia (2008)……../-01_____________________|||||ongolia (2007)……./0-0123___________________|||||||||ngolia (2006)……/10-012345_________________||||||||||||golia (2005)…../210-0123456________________||||||||||||||||olia (2004)…./3210-01234567_______________||||||||||||||||||lia (2003).../43210-0123456789_____________|||||||||||||||||ia (2002)../543210-01234567890___________:||||||||||||||||a (2001).|6543210-0123456789___________:::||||||||||||||ia (2002)..\543210-012345678____________::::||||||||||||lia (2003)…\43210-01234567____________::::::||||||||||=>olia (2004)….\3210-0123456____________::::::::||||||||==>golia (2005)…..\210-012345____________:::::::::|||||||=>ngolia (2006)……\10-01234___________::::::::::::||||||=====>ongolia (2007)…….\0-01231_________::::::::::::::::||||=========>mongolia (2008)……..\-01231_______:::::::::::::::::::|||==>smongolia (2009)………\01231_____::::::::::::::::::::::||=====>nsmongolia (2010)……….\1231___::::::::::::::::::::::::::|===>ansmongolia (2011)………..\123__::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|========>ransmongolia (2012)…………\1__::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|=====>transmongolia (2013)…………|_:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|============>David T. Little

descanso (waiting)

This companion piece continues my series of works based upon the idea of the descanso, a sonic space for reflection. Although descanso (after omega) was specifically related to the loss of friends, the current work—descanso (waiting)—is more specifically about waiting to hear news of a loved one’s fate.

In December of 2004, as most are aware, a Tsunami hit central Asia. A friend of mine was visiting her family in Sri Lanka at the time, and for quite a while many of us—her friends in the U.S.—had no way of contacting her. Although she turned out to be fine, the situation made me very aware of the potential for great loss. That feeling of waiting when you don’t know exactly what has happened to a loved one, and, specifically, the moment where you realize that they may, in fact, be gone.

Chinary Ung . . . still life after death

. . . still life after death is a theatrical work inspired by an ancient Cambodian ritual, traditionally taking place on someone’s deathbed. In this take on Buddhist funeral rites, the female protagonist whispers, stutters, and sings her way through English and Cambodian syllables, culminating in a final benediction and passage to the afterlife.

About the Artists

Peter Bussigel, composerPeter Bussigel is a composer and intermedia artist who creates sound and image pieces for both concert and installation contexts. He is interested in creating and finding experiences both grand and subtle that push at the limits of our institutionally structured reality and refigure how we relate to the world. Active communication and the collapse of hierarchical models of creation/reception are important elements in his work. Bussigel regularly performs on brass instruments, synthesizers, and found objects, often processing them through custom software. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments at Brown University. Bussigel has a B.M. in Composition from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Video Art from New York University.

Mary Kouyoumdjian, executive director/composerMary Kouyoumdjian is dedicated to composing music that pushes the boundaries of expectation and musical tradition. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic pallet that draws on her heritage, interest in folk music, and background in experimental composition to progressively blend the old with the new.

With compositions ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores, Kouyoumdjian has received commissions from the American Composers Forum/JFund for her piece Dzov Yerku Kooynov [Sea of Two Colors], REDSHIFT for their “Arctic Sounds” series, the Los Angeles New Music Ensemble, and violinist Andie Springer for her work Dandelion [for Andie Springer]. Her chamber and multimedia pieces have been recorded by such performers as internationally acclaimed cellist Charles Curtis and flautist John Fonville and have been presented by the Boston New Music Initiative and Ear Heart Music. Currently based in New York, Kouyoumdjian also actively promotes the growth of new music in her native state of California and has frequently collaborated with the Los Angeles New Music Ensemble.

Holding a B.A. in Music Composition from the University of California, San Diego and an M.A. in Scoring for Film & Multimedia from New York University, Kouyoumdjian has studied contemporary composition with Chaya Czernowin, Steven Kazuo Takasugi, and Chinary Ung; new music performance with percussionist Steve Schick; and modern jazz with composer/pianist Anthony Davis.

David T. Little, featured composerThe music of American composer David T. Little has been described as “dramatically wild…rustling, raunchy, and eclectic,” showing “real imagination” by New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini, and his work “completely gripped,” New Yorker critic Alex Ross: “every bad-ass new-music ensemble in the city will want to play him.” Little’s highly theatrical, often political work draws upon his experience as a rock drummer, and fuses classical and popular idioms to dramatic effect.

His music has been performed throughout the world—including in Dresden, London, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, Montreal, and at Tanglewood, Aspen, MATA, and Cabrillo Festivals—by such performers as the London Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, eighth blackbird, Sō Percussion, ensemble courage, Dither, NOW Ensemble, PRISM Quartet, New World Symphony, American Opera Projects, New York City Opera, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. He has received awards and recognition from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Meet The Composer, the American Music Center, Harvey Gaul Competition, BMI, and ASCAP, and has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, Baltimore Symphony, Albany Symphony, New World Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, University of Michigan, and Dawn Upshaw’s Vocal Arts program at the Bard Conservatory.

Recent and upcoming projects include the opera Dog Days (Robert Woodruff, director; Royce Vavrek, librettist), Haunt of Last Nightfall for Third Coast Percussion; RADIANT CHiLD for the New World Symphony, Conspiracy Theory for Darcy James Argue’e Secret Society–a new music big band, CHARM for the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop, and Am I Born for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and soprano Mellissa Hughes, under Alan Pierson. His and the sky was still there was recently released Todd Reynold’s Outerborough, on Innova records.

In 2004, Little founded the amplified octet Newspeak, for which he is also the drummer and artistic director. Hailed as “potent” (TheRestIsNoise.com), “innovative” (New York Magazine), and “fierce” (Time Out New York), Newspeak explores the relationship of music and politics, while confronting head-on the boundaries between the classical and the rock traditions. A New Amsterdam Records artist, Newspeak released its first CD of commissioned works in November 2010, to critical acclaim. “You could call this punk classical,” one critic proclaimed, noting that the disc is “fearlessly aware, insightfully political (and) resolutely defiant.”

Little holds degrees from Susquehanna University (2001), University of Michigan (2002), and Princeton University (Ph.D., 2011), and his primary teachers have included Osvaldo Golijov, Paul Lansky, Steven Mackey, William Bolcom, and Michael Daugherty. He has taught music in New York City through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, served as the inaugural Digital Composer-in-Residence for the UK-based DilettanteMusic.com, and is currently the Executive Director of New York’s MATA Festival. His music is published by Project Schott New York.

Chinary Ung, composerChinary Ung’s illustrious career has been a study in cross-cultural synthesis, weaving timbres and tonalities of music from his native Cambodia into a Western style of classical writing.

He was the first American composer to win the highly coveted and international Grawemeyer Award for his 1986 choral work, Inner Voices. Numerous accolades and awards have since followed from the Asian Cultural Council, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Kennedy Center (Friedheim award), among others. Commissions from prestigious organizations include Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, Meet the Composer, and the Santa Fe Summer Music Festivals.

Born in Takeo, Cambodia in 1942, Ung came to the United States in 1964 on an Asia Foundation scholarship to study clarinet at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He received his doctorate in composition from Columbia University, graduating with distinction in 1974. Ung took an extended hiatus from composing following the completion of his degree, as the Communist Khmer Rouge dictatorship had come to power in his homeland. Ung sought to undermine the Khmer Rouge’s suppression of Cambodian arts by recording native instrumentalists, smuggling records out of the country, connecting with refugees schooled in traditional Cambodian music, and learning to play the roneat-ek, a Cambodian xylophone. Now a U.S. citizen, he returned to Cambodia in 2002 and remains committed to the cause of Cambodian music and culture.

Ung frequently lectures and performs in Asia and is the principal curator for the 2013 Season of Cambodia festival in New York. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University in Tempe, Khmer Studies Institute, Northern Illinois University, and is currently Professor of Composition at the University of California, San Diego.

Leaha Maria Villarreal, artistic director/composerLeaha Maria Villarreal explores classical and contemporary trends to compose unique works of art. Inspired by visual artists and literary figures, her pieces are described as introspective with attention to space, resonance, and silence.Villarreal’s music has premiered on both coasts featuring violinist Andie Springer, rising soprano Laura Mitchell, and members of the percussion ensemble red fish blue fish. Her work has been sought out by the Composers’ Voice concert series, the Boston New Music Initiative, and the PUBLIQuartet. Past composition teachers include Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Reynolds, Steven Kazuo Takasugi, Chinary Ung, and Tania Leon. She holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and is pursuing her M.M. at New York University with Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon.

In addition to her work as a composer, Villarreal is an avid supporter of the performing arts. She has lent her services to such preeminent organizations as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Wordless Music Series, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, MATA, the Unsound Festival, and the FIGMENT Arts Festival on Governor’s Island. Originally from Los Angeles, Villarreal currently lives and works in New York City.

James Holt, hostJames Holt is a composer, podcaster, and arts administrator. His music has been performed across the country and internationally, including recent performances in New York, Boston, St. Paul, and San Francisco. His bi-weekly podcast, My Ears Are Open, is dedicated to contemporary composers and performers. This ever-growing library of interviews features contemporary music’s most important advocates from around the world. Holt is originally from Seattle and now lives and works in New York City.

Rose Bellini, celloRose Bellini is an avid performer of a wide variety of music including classical, amplified, improvisational, crossover, and experimental. She regularly performs with contemporary music ensembles, modern dance companies, bands, and chamber and orchestral groups around New York City and across North America.

Hannis Brown, guitarHannis Brown has performed under the direction of notable musicians including former Tonight Show bassist Joel DiBartolo, jazz composers Maria Schneider and Ed Neumeister, legendary guitarist John Abercrombie, trumpet great Bobby Shew, and Quincy Troupe, poet and Miles Davis biographer. His résumé includes extensive tours of the Western United States with the noise-funk outfit LOBE as well as performances in New York City, the POP Montreal Festival 2011, and a tour of Poland as bandleader of the Hannis Brown Ensemble.

Nicole Camacho, flutesNicole Camano has taken her classical upbringing and turned it upside down in performing new music with such ensembles as Cochlea Freedom Ensemble and Hotel Elefant. Pulling the sister art form of music into her work, she has collaborated with Hallo Hallo Dance Company and has had her composition Tiki Tiki for percussive alto flute choreographed by Megan Shaw. Camacho has also embraced folk/rock forms in joining The Kjersti Kveli Group.

Domenica Fossati, flutesDomenica Fossati earned her M.F.A. at New York University with Robert Dick, where she also served as adjunct faculty. An advocate of fusing contemporary techniques with pop and non-western music, she performs with some of today’s leading artists, ensembles, and composers, blurring genre lines to allow for a unique and eclectic sound. She is a founding member of Concert Black and is the front-woman of the multicultural ensemble Underground System, one of the only afrobeat bands to exclusively feature a female at front.

David Friend, pianoDavid Friend is dedicated to ensuring the continued relevance of the art of the piano in contemporary culture. As a champion of new and experimental music, he has performed at top venues including Carnegie Hall, Royal Festival Hall (London), and the Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid). As a soloist, he presents programs that seek to revitalize the experience of a piano recital for the 21st century.

Nick Gleason, percussionNick Gleason is a devoted advocate for contemporary music. He actively works with composers including Salvatore Macchia, Francesco Hoch, Margaret Schedel, and Charles Bestor, among others. Gleason is co-founder of the Sinopia Quartet and has performed with the Boston New Music Initiative, Mantra Percussion Ensemble, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, and Winged Harmony Ensemble.

Alisa Horn, celloAlisa Horn, an active freelance cellist in New York City, enjoys performing, recording, and teaching a wide variety of musical genres from classical to jazz to rock and beyond. Horn performed in the Broadway musical Next to Normal (2009 Tony Award-Winning Musical; 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and is a member of the Inventions Trio with jazz greats Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays.

Isabel Kim, clarinetIsabel Kim has performed with the Arabesque Winds, Nouveau Classical Project, Rochester City Ballet, Chesapeake Orchestra, New York Chamber Virtuosi, and Eastman BroadBand, appearing at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, (le) poisson rouge, and Galapagos Art Space. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she has recorded for Bridge Records and ArkivMusic. Additional engagements include the Wooster Chamber Music Series, Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Series, and the Sanibel Music Festival.

Shawn Lovato, bassShawn Lovato works as a freelance jazz bassist performing in New York City’s finest venues. Lovato tours the country regularly, performing with jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, Celtic groups, independent contemporary composers, and dance choreographers. Lovato is a dedicated music educator, teaching jazz and classical bass throughout the New York Area. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Jazz at Hofstra University.

Caitlin McKechney, mezzo-sopranoCaitlin McKechney is a vocalist from Lake Bluff, Illinois. Operatic credits include Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly with Opera New Jersey, The Wife/Mother in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek and Inez in No Exit with Chicago Opera Vanguard, and Carmen in an outreach production with Opera Santa Barbara. McKechney apprenticed with Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. McKechney also loves to draw and paint and maintains a private voice studio.

Kelli Rudick, guitarKelli Rudick is an American-born composer and instrumentalist. Her distinctive style is marked by her passionate curiosity and imagination as she plays guitar with original tunings and chords, percussive rhythms, and looped beats. Exploring new territories and mixing genres, she is passionate about scoring film. Beyond the studio and with a full fleet of instruments and players, Rudick has toured the U.S. and has played internationally in the U.K. and Israel.

Jonathan Russell, clarinet/bass clarinetJonathan Russell writes for ensembles ranging from orchestra to choir to klezmer band. Especially known for his innovative bass clarinet compositions and performances, he is a member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet, the Sqwonk bass clarinet duo, and co-director of the Switchboard Music Festival. He is currently a Ph.D. Composition student at Princeton University.

Andie Springer, violin/viola/ukuleleAndie Springer, a native of Fairbanks, Alaska, specializes in contemporary music and is also a founder and co-director of new music ensembles TRANSIT and REDSHIFT. Springer has premiered and commissioned solo works by Mary Kouyoumdjian, Leaha Maria Villarreal, Rich Shemaria, Bryan Jacobs, and Robert Ashley. Recent highlights include the premiere and European tour of Richard Maxwell’s Neutral Hero, and the premiere of Redshift’s large-scale commissioning project “Arctic Sounds.”

Kirsten Volness, pianoKirsten Volness is a composer, pianist, and educator. Volness enjoys collaborating with a myriad of contemporary ensembles, writing music for others to play (Colorado Quartet, NOW Ensemble, and REDSHIFT) and performing with groups like Hotel Elefant, Erik Ehn’s Tenderloin Opera Co., and Awesome Collective. She resides and teaches privately in Providence and works with the non-profit Boston New Music Initiative.

Lindsey Warford, harpLindsey Warford has been entertaining hundreds of audiences, both public and private, for over a decade across the eastern seaboard performing in notable venues such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Jacksonville Symphony’s Jacoby Hall. Hailing from Florida, Warford holds degrees in Harp Performance and Arts Administration, maintains a full roster of performances throughout the NYC metro area, and enjoys sharing her passion of music through teaching private lessons.

Jonathan Zalben, electronics/violinJonathan Zalben received an M.A. in Music Composition and Multimedia from New York University, a B.A. in Music from Yale University, and studied violin and music composition at Juilliard Pre-College. His multimedia work has been presented Boston Cyberarts, Art Without, Knitting Factory, PS122, HERE Art Center, Ontological Theater, and Galapagos Art Space. He was a research fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory and has been in residence at the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (STEIM) in Amsterdam.

Meg Zervoulis, music directorMeg Zervoulis is a musical director and pianist, collaborating in the realms of Broadway and chamber music alike. Zervoulis’ current residencies include Paper Mill Playhouse (M.D./Arranger/Accompanist) and Montclair State University (Adjunct Professor, Mainstage M.D., Accompanist). Her Off-Broadway credits include Chuckleball at the Snapple Theatre (M.D./Arranger/Stage Pianist) and Rated P…for Parenthood (M.D.). Zervoulis received a B.F.A. with honors in Piano Performance from Carnegie Mellon University.

Hotel Elefant gratefully acknowledges the generous support of these sponsors:

Hotel Elefant relies on financial contributions from individuals, the community, foundations, and corporations in order to commission composers, perform, and present the music of our time. When you contribute, you will support our commissioning fund for new works; provide stipends to our artists who devote their time and talents to performing contemporary music; and will help cover the basic costs of renting rehearsal/performance spaces, instruments, equipment, travel, and recording. For more information about supporting Hotel Elefant visit hotelelefant.org/support.html.

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Artwork by: Peter Bussigel