NOVA Chamber Music Series

Episode 23 - April 25, 2022

Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of Migration, NOVA’s May 1 concert

Music discussed includes:

Viktor Kosenko: Three Pieces, op. 9Arlene Sierra: Butterflies Remember a Mountain
Kareem Roustom: TesseraeAntonín Dvořák: String Quintet, op. 97

Songs of Migration will be presented on May 1, 2022 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

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Episode 22 - April 4, 2022

Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of the Americas, NOVA’s April 10 concert

Music discussed includes:

Gabriela Lena Frank: Four Folk SongsCharles Ives: Selected Songs
Anthony R. Green: The Gettysburg AddressJessie Montgomery: Loisaida, My LoveClarice Assad: Canções da America (Songs of America)

Songs of the Americas will be presented on April 10, 2022 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

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Episode 21 - March 13, 2022

Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of Play, NOVA’s March 13 concert

Music discussed includes:

Sergei Prokofiev: Quintet
Stephanie Boyd: Pearl (world premiere)
Luke Dahn: Counterplay (world premiere)
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Quintet, op. 10

Songs of Play will be presented on March 13, 2022 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

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Episode 20 - January 10, 2022

Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of Perseverance, NOVA’s January 16 concert

Music discussed includes:

Gideon Klein: String TrioWang Lu: Rates of ExtinctionClara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, op. 17

Songs of Perseverance will be presented on January 16, 2022 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

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Episode 19 - November 8, 2021

Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of Life, NOVA’s November 14 concert

Music discussed includes:

Heitor Villa-Lobos: Assobio a Játo (Jet Whistle)Gabriela Lena Frank: Milagros (Miracles)Devin Maxwell: Git Along Little DogiesNeil Thornock: BlurAlfred Schnittke: Serenade
Maurice Ravel: Introduction and Allegro

Songs of Life will be presented on November 14, 2021 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

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Jeff Counts discusses the music performed on Songs of Gratitude, the first concert in NOVA’s 2021/22 Season.

Music discussed includes:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Heiliger Dankgesang (Holy Song of Thanksgiving), op. 132
Brittany J. Green: ...to experience life
Clarice Assad: Metamorfose
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G major, op. 36

Songs of Gratitude will be presented on October 10, 2021 at 3pm in Salt Lake City’s Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For more information, visit https://www.novaslc.org.

Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

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The music of Nikolai Medtner is often forgotten in the shadow of his colleague and friend, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Pianist Cahill Smith joins us to talk about his love for the music of this early 20th-century composer.

You can hear Cahill Smith and other NOVA artists on our next concert, available beginning Friday, May 21, at https://www.novaslc.org/concerts/2021/5/21/spring21concert3.

Anne Francis Bayless | host
Cahill Smith | pianist

produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

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This concert is also available in a video version at https://youtu.be/BHby05dKf9k

Jeff Counts hosts a full-length concert of music by your favorite NOVA musicians. Jason Hardink and Caitlyn Valovick Moore perform works by three great American composers. Then six violists and cellists each take on a movement of Bach’s famous Third Suite for Solo Cello.

CONCERT PROGRAM
Welcome and Okpebholo Introduction (00:16)
Jeff Counts | host

SHAWN OKPEBHOLO: ψαλμοὶ καὶ ὕμνοι καὶ ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί (psalmoi kai ymnoi kai odai pnevmatikai / psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs)
I. Ede Ede (Nigeria): an ostinato (01:00)
II. Bringing in the Sheaves (USA): a variation (05:35)
III. Jisasi Fukemino (Papua New Guinea): an impromptu (12:54)
Jason Hardink | piano

Loggins-Hull and Hailstork Introduction (19:11)

ALLISON LOGGINS-HULL: Homeland (19:50)
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK: Flute Set (25:13)
I. Moderato con anima
II. Vivo
III. Lento e teneramente
IV. Allegretto
Caitlyn Valovick Moore | flute

Bach Introduction (30:17)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 3 in C Major for Solo Cello, BWV 1009
I. Prelude - Matt Johnson | cello (31:01)
II. Allemande - Bradley Ottesen | viola (34:31)
III. Courante - Pegsoon Whang | cello (37:57)
IV. Sarabande - Julie Edwards | viola (40:21)
V. Bourrée I / II - Anne Lee | cello (44:10)
VI. Gigue - Whittney Thomas | viola (48:21)

recorded by Michael Palmer and Wesley Morrison at Utah State University’s Caine Wanlass Performance Hall in Logan, Utah
recording mastered by Michael Carnes
produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

NOVA Chamber Music Series would like to thank the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University for their generosity in providing recording facilities and staff on the Logan campus.

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast014

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When Jason Hardink discovered Shawn Okpebholo’s music on Facebook, he knew he had to perform something by this incredible composer. But as he began learning ψαλμοὶ καὶ ὕμνοι καὶ ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί ("psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs"), he struggled with whether it was appropriate for him, as a white pianist, to be performing a piece rooted deeply in the musical and religious traditions of Nigeria, African American culture, and Papua New Guinea.

Jeff Counts speaks with Jason about the responsibility performers have to examine their own repertoire choices and present works from diverse voices in a way which respects their origins while bringing them to new audiences.

This episode is also available in a video version at https://youtu.be/X0FScqdCYBA.

Jason mentions the following articles, pieces, and performances in this conversation:

Anthony R. Green: “What the Optics of Music Say to Black Composers”, in NewMusic USA
https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/what-the-optics-of-new-music-say-to-black-composers/

“O Freedom” (arr. Okpebholo) — Wayne Arthur Paul, baritone | Javier Arrebola, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7zGZTeXikk

Two Black Churches — Will Liverman, baritone | Paul Sanchez, piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHehlg94NQc

Jeff Counts | host
Jason Hardink | pianist

recording mastered by Michael Carnes
produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast013

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Enjoy a full-length concert of chamber music performances by NOVA musicians. This concert features an early work by Iannis Xenakis, three works by living American composers, and one of Beethoven’s final piano sonatas. Jeff Counts is your host.

This concert is also available in a video version at https://youtu.be/JFMwqUivgq4

CONCERT PROGRAM

Welcome and Xenakis Introduction (00:16)
Jeff Counts | host

IANNIS XENAKIS: Διπλή Ζυγία (Dhipli zyia: Double Symmetry) (01:04)
Claude Halter | violin
Anne Lee | cello

Puts Introduction (05:16)

KEVIN PUTS: Arches (05:46)
Madeline Adkins | violin

Tower and Brouwer Introduction (18:14)

JOAN TOWER: Wings (18:50)
MARGARET BROUWER: No Rotary Phone (29:26)
Erin Svoboda | clarinet

Beethoven Introduction (34:03)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata in E Major, op. 109
I. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo (34:33)
II. Prestissimo (39:22)
III. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (42:10)

Frank Weinstock | piano

hosted by Jeff Counts
recorded by Michael Palmer and Wesley Morrison at Utah State University’s Caine Wanlass Performance Hall in Logan, Utah
recording mastered by Michael Carnes
produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

NOVA Chamber Music Series would like to thank the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University for their generosity in providing recording facilities and staff on the Logan campus.

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast012

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Jeff Counts catches up with composer Joan Tower to discuss her love for chamber music, her approach to mentoring young composers, and what new pieces she has in store.

Joan Tower’s Wings will be performed by clarinetist Erin Svoboda on our next concert, streaming for free beginning Friday, March 26. You can experience this and other concerts from NOVA Chamber Music series at https://www.novaslc.org.

Joan Tower | composer
Jeff Counts | host

produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast011

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Ed Bland’s music defies classification. His early music training was as a jazz saxophonist in his native Chicago, but he found the predictability of jazz rhythms to be too limiting for the kind of music he wanted to create, as he later explained:

“My world changed when I heard a recording of Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring.’ Not only was the music alive, it swung!… I felt that if I could uncover the secret of why Stravinsky’s music swung, and combine that knowledge with what I knew about swinging from my jazz background, I might be on a fruitful mission.”

This mission led him to draw on all the musical experiences he encountered in life. He eventually dubbed the unique blend of styles “urban classical funk.”

Bland’s work has been sampled by Beyoncé (“Creole”) and featured in movies (“A Soldier’s Tale”) and video games (“Test Drive Unlimited”). His groundbreaking documentary film, “The Cry of Jazz”, is included in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry as “a historic and fascinating film that comments on racism and the appropriation of jazz by those who fail to understand its artistic and cultural origins.”

Learn more about Ed Bland at https://www.edblandmusic.com/

Ed Bland: For Bassoon

Lori Wike | bassoon

hosted by Jeff Counts
recording mastered by Michael Carnes
produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast010

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Jason Hardink just sent us a surprise—a full solo recital!—and asked if we’d share it with NOVA’s fans. Who can turn down an offer like that?

A video version of this episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrsMs5ei6W8.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is one of the most monumental works in the piano repertoire. The work’s nickname came from its title page, which indicated that it was written for the more modern “hammer keyboard” piano, rather than the harpsichord or other contemporary instruments. The “Hammerklavier” certainly makes full use of the piano’s dynamic range and expressive power.

Brittany Green is a composer from North Carolina whose works often explore the relationship between sound, movement, and text. “Portraits” is a suite of character sketches based on poems by Bessie Irene. These movements “depict people we all know,” says the composer, ranging from “Le garçon qui passe”, who is “trying to hold onto something that cannot last” to “La fille dans les nuages”, a woman facing “the complexity of struggling between who you are and who the world thinks you should be.”

You can hear more music by Brittany Green at https://www.brittanyjgreen.com.

Brittany Green: Portraits
I. La femme complexe (Complicated Woman, based on “I am You”) (01:25)
II. Le garçon qui passe (Boy Passing By, based on “Fleeting”) (05:52)
III. La mère dans le marché (Mother in the Market, based on “Mother in City Market”) (06:37)
IV. L’homme durci (Hardened Man, based on “Confinement”) (10:00)
V. La fille dans les nuages (Girl in the Clouds, based on “Beyond the Clouds”) (12:24)

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major “Hammerklavier”, op. 106
I. Allegro (15:49)
II. Scherzo (26:38)
III. Adagio sostenuto (29:25)
IV. Introduction & Fugue (46:31)

Jason Hardink | piano

recorded December 10 and 14, 2020, Caine Wanlass Performance Hall, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
recorded by Michael Palmer and Wesley Morrison
recording mastered by Michael Carnes

hosted and produced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast009

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Beethoven’s Drei Equale were composed in honor of All Souls’ Day, but they would find their real place in history after the composer’s death, when they were performed at his funeral and the dedication of his tombstone.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Drei Equale

I. Andante (begins at 01:19)
II. Poco adagio (begins at 03:27)
III. Poco sostenuto (begins at 05:08)

Sam Eliot, Will Kimball, Mark Davidson, Graeme Mutchler | trombones

recorded January 20, 2019, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah
recording remastered by Michael Carnes

hosted and produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast008

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Alone in a foreign land and grieving the loss of his mother, the 22-year-old Mozart put pen to paper and produced some of the most poignant music he would ever create.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Sonata in E minor, K. 304

I. Allegro (begins at 02:16)
II. Tempo di Menuetto (begins at 08:54)

Madeline Adkins | violin
Andrew Staupe | piano

recorded October 14, 2018, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah
recording remastered by Michael Carnes

hosted and produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast007

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We speak with two artists who are using their work to explore humanity's interaction with the environment. Composer Gabriela Lena Frank and playwright Chantal Bilodeau discuss how the arts bring discussions of climate change and sustainability center stage.

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

View Rising Tide for free at novaslc.org/crossroads

Hosts:
Rebecca McFaul, Fry Street Quartet violinist
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)

Guests:
Gabriela Lena Frank, composer (glfcam.com)
Chantal Bilodeau, playwright (thearcticcycle.org)

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast006

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Photographer Garth Lenz and systems scientist Dr. Elizabeth Sawin help us take the details of the past four episodes, process them together, and see the big picture—both through Lenz's aerial photography and Sawin's "multisolving" approach to systemic change.

Learn more about "Rising Tide" and stream the movie at www.novaslc.org/crossroads.

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

Learn more about Climate Interactive at climateinteractive.org, and Dr. Sawin’s TED Talk at youtube.com/watch?v=prF8trTallQ

View Garth Lenz’s photographer at garthlenz.com. His TED Talk on the tar sands can be viewed at ted.com/talks/garth_lenz_the_true_cost_of_oil

Hosts:
Anne Francis Bayless, Fry Street Quartet cellist
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)

Guests:
Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, Systems Scientist and Co-Founder/Co-Director of Climate Interactive (Twitter @bethsawin)
Garth Lenz, Photojournalist and Fine Art Photographer (Instagram @Garth.Lenz)

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast005

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We’ve talked about water. We’ve talked about life. Now it’s time to talk about dinner. The menu includes agro-ecology and sustainable food, prepared by farmer Chris Smaje.

Learn more about Rising Tide and stream the movie at novaslc.org/crossroads.

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

Hosts:
Rebecca McFaul, Fry Street Quartet violinist (Twitter @RebeccaMcFaul)
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)

Guest:
Chris Smaje, farmer and social scientist (Twitter @CSMaje)

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast004

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Ecologist John Shivik has spent his life studying predator-prey relationships. He and visual artist Rebecca Allan bond over their mutual love of gardening (and discuss how her art for “Rising Tide” explores humanity’s place in the intricate web of life on our planet).

Learn more about “Rising Tide” and stream the movie at novaslc.org/crossroads

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

Hosts:
Bradley Ottesen, Fry Street Quartet violist
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)

Guests:
Rebecca Allan, visual artist (rebeccaallan.com)
John Shivik, author and applied ecologist

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast003

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Robert Waters and Dr. Rob Davies discuss the creation of "H2O", the second movement in Laura Kaminsky's string quartet “Rising Tide”, which is featured in the new film from The Crossroads Project. They are joined by the composer and Dr. Ben Abbott, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Biology at BYU.

Learn more about “Rising Tide” and stream the movie at novaslc.org/crossroads.

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

Hosts:
Robert Waters, Fry Street Quartet violinist
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)
Guests:
Laura Kaminsky, composer (laurakaminsky.com)
Dr. Ben Abbott, BYU Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Biology (Twitter @thermokarst)

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast002

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On October 25, NOVA Chamber Music Series presented the world premiere of “Rising Tide”, a new film from The Crossroads Project. After the screening, some of the film's creators joined host Jeff Counts to discuss how their personal encounters with climate change and sustainability led to the birth of this project.

Learn more about “Rising Tide” and stream the movie at novaslc.org/crossroads.

Transcript available at novaslc.org/podcast

Host:
Jeff Counts

Guests:
Dr. Rob Davies, Utah State University Dept of Physics (Twitter @robsMast)
Robert Waters, Fry Street Quartet violinist
Rebecca McFaul, Fry Street Quartet violinist
Bradley Ottesen, Fry Street Quartet violist
Anne Francis Bayless, Fry Street Quartet cellist

produced by Chris Myers (argylearts.com)

Transcript available at https://www.novaslc.org/novapodcast/novapodcast001

NOVA Chamber Music Series: Recent Episodes

NOVA Chamber Music Series