Last updated: May 15, 2023
Program
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK Yuhwa (The Goddess of the Willow Trees) for solo flute
JOCELYN MORLOCK Blue Sun for violin and viola
SEAN RICE New work for bass clarinet
KATHERINE HOOVER Kokopeli for solo flute
ELEANOR ALBERGA Succubus Moon for oboe and string quartet
Repertoire
Yuhwa (The Goddess of the Willow Trees) for solo flute
American composer Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941) has a long-established reputation for works that masterfully blend eclectic elements from European, Euro-American, and African American music traditions, often emphasizing melody. A native of upstate New York, he earned degrees in composition from Howard University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Michigan State University. In 1963, Hailstork attended a course at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, taught by notable composer and pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. He currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is professor emeritus of composition at Old Dominion University.
Hailstork composed Yuhwa (The Goddess of the Willow Trees) for solo flute in 2020, and it was given its world premiere online during the Covid pandemic by flutist Mimi Stillman in August of the same year. According to the piece’s accompanying description, it was inspired by the legend of the goddess Yuhwa in Korean mythology. “The daughter of a River God, Yuhwa was tricked into marrying the Sun God. She escaped back to her homeland and gave birth to a son who became the founder and monarch of Korea’s northern kingdom. The symbolic willow tree is considered a source of healing in Korean folklore and elsewhere around the world.”
Hailstork’s elegant piece highlights the lyrical and expressive possibilities of the flute, as it plays catchy melodic motifs that alternate with florid arpeggios and cascading notes.
Blue Sun for violin and viola
Musicians have found that many of Morlock’s compositions allow them a certain expressive autonomy that makes them satisfying to play. Her piece Blue Sun for violin and viola, composed in 1998, is written in a way that encourages interpretative freedom between its two players, thereby creating a special kind of intimacy in its performance. As she instructed in the score:
This piece is in seven short sections, which are to be played without pause. Both players read from the score. At times proportional notation is used; sometimes one player has notated rhythms while the other plays more freely. Do not be too concerned about exactly where to play the proportionally notated music, just fit it in vertically between the other player’s notes.
As to the subject of the piece, Morlock says,
The name “Blue Sun” is a reference to the lingering image or ghost sun that persists in your field of vision after looking at the real one. These pieces were written after I’d encountered some folk music that wouldn’t let me be; although they are not based on folk music, the moods of that music permeate them nonetheless, lingering like the after-image of the sun.
New work for bass clarinet
WolfGANG host and NACO Second Clarinet Sean Rice performs a new work for bass clarinet, which he created especially for this concert. He will introduce the piece from the stage.
Kokopeli for solo flute
American flutist Katherine Hoover (1937–2018) had a multifaceted career, active as a performer, composer, and a conductor in New York City. Following studies at the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music (where she later taught), she began writing music in the early 1970s, at a time when few women attained success in the male-dominated world of contemporary classical composition. Her output ranges from solo and vocal pieces, chamber music, and orchestral works, in which she considered herself a storyteller—to evoke imagery, and stimulate listeners’ emotions and senses through her music. The flutist Zara Lawler has said Hoover’s music, “is challenging and satisfying for musicians to play, and yet at the same time beautiful and meaningful for audiences to hear. Her music leaves you lots of room to express yourself, and yet any performance of her music is indelibly hers.”
Several of Hoover’s works are inspired by the landscapes and the indigenous American cultures of the southwestern part of the United States, such as Arizona and New Mexico, having been drawn, she’s said, to the area’s “quiet spirituality, the colours of the sky, and the unusual topography.” Kokopeli for solo flute is one such piece; it’s probably her best-known work, and a contemporary classic of the flute repertoire since its composition in 1990.
In Hoover’s words,
Kokopeli, the flute player, was a great mahu, or legendary hero of the Hopi, and of other Native Americans living in the Southwestern area of the United States. He is said to have led the migrations through the mountains and deserts, the sound of his flute echoing through the great canyons and cliffs. In this piece I have tried to capture some of this sense of spaciousness, and of the Hopi's deep kinship with this land. This piece has also been influenced by Native American flute songs and sounds.
The soloist is given substantial freedom to shape the performance of Kokopeli, which has an open, improvisatory quality about it. This is fostered, in part, by the lack of barline divisions in the score. In a 2002 interview with Flute Talk, Hoover noted that “I wanted long flowing phrases to be performed freely without the walls that barlines create. With freedom from barlines musicians respond to the sounds of the piece, as well as the acoustics of the hall, which should influence the tempo, interpretation, and length of rests and fermatas [pauses].”
Succubus Moon for oboe and string quartet
Born 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica, Eleanor Alberga is a highly regarded mainstream British composer with commissions from the BBC Proms and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. With a substantial output ranging from solo instrumental works to full-scale symphonic works and operas, her music is performed all over the world. She studied piano and singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a budding career as a solo pianist was soon augmented by composition with her arrival at the London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1978, where she later became the company’s Musical Director—conducting, composing, and playing on LCDT’s many tours. After leaving LCDT, Alberga fully embarked on her calling as a composer, and since then, interest in her music across all genres has accelerated. In 2015 her commissioned work ARISE, ATHENA! for the opening of the Last Night of the BBC Proms cemented her reputation as a composer of significant originality and consummate skill. Alberga was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2020, and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 for services to British music.
Succubus Moon for oboe and string quartet was commissioned by the City of London Festival and was premiered there in 2007 by Alexei Ogrintchouk and the Psophos Quartet. In an interview on Sound Currents on 91.9 Classical Kansas City, Alberga said she was inspired to write the piece to help her overcome her childhood fears of the dark, which had resurfaced when she and her husband violinist Thomas Bowes had moved from London to a place in the English countryside. “It’s about the allure and beauty of night and the beauty of the moon, but also the fears, I think, that a lot of children and adults have about the dark and not knowing what’s out there.”
Here’s her description about Succubus Moon:
The romantic and the demonic lie side by side in this work. Over centuries, man has interpreted his fear of the dark and unknown as caused by beings and superstitions outside himself; one of these interpretations became Incubi and Succubi, evil presences doing harm to humans. The piece juxtaposes the ethereal, tranquil, and reflective moon against the impenetrable darkness of the night where the demonic and seductive Succubus reigns. The oboe is the main protagonist, leading the mood or taking over what the strings have set up. The strings have their own episodes, and sometimes join with the oboe in main material.
The music goes from sparse to more driven rhythmic sections, to dreamy moonstruck moments, and finally drifts away. Towards the end there is, unusually, a C major chord—a ray of hope as the moon shines out amidst the primal terror.
Program notes compiled and edited by Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD
Artists
Paul Casey was born and raised in Ottawa and is an avid orchestral, chamber, and solo musician and pedagogue.
Paul is one of the newest additions to the National Arts Centre Orchestra viola section; as a soloist, Paul has performed with NACO as part of FanFair, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and has given recitals in Canada and the United States. He was the 2011 recipient of the NACO Bursary Competition’s Harold Crabtree Foundation Award.
Paul obtained a MMus and BMus from Indiana University and the University of Ottawa, respectively, and most recently studied at McGill University.
Paul is on faculty at the Leading Note Foundation’s OrKidstra Program and was string coach for the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the Silflay String Quartet with his wife, cellist Karen Kang, and violinists Leah Roseman and Mark Friedman.
Praised by critics for the beauty, clarity, and fluidity of her sound, impeccable phrasing, and consummate musicality, Joanna G’froerer enjoys an exciting career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, and educator. Principal Flute of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1992, she was appointed to that position at the age of 20, one of the youngest musicians ever to be hired by the NAC Orchestra.
A native of Vancouver, Joanna G’froerer comes from a family of professional musicians. She performs regularly as a soloist with the NAC Orchestra, having appeared as soloist in over 30 different programs since joining the orchestra. She has also performed concertos with many of Canada’s other fine ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Victoria, and Quebec City. Joanna G’froerer is a past first-prize winner of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition.
Among her acclaimed recordings are a CBC disc of Mozart’s Flute Quartets with Pinchas Zukerman, Martin Beaver, and Amanda Forsyth, named Best Canadian Chamber Music Recording of 2002 by Opus Magazine. A recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, with Jens Lindemann, James Ehnes, Jon Kimura Parker, and Charles Hamann, was nominated for a Juno Award in 2021.
Joanna G’froerer has been featured in the chamber music festivals of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa, Halifax’s Scotia Festival, the Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil, and the Affinis Festival in Japan. As an educator, she has taught flute at the NAC Summer Music Institute, at Domaine Forget, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She is presently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and at McGill University in Montreal.
Joanna G’froerer is a Wm. S. Haynes Artist, playing a custom 19.5 K gold Haynes flute with lightweight silver mechanism and headjoints in 19.5K and 14K gold.
Anna Petersen joined the NAC Orchestra as Second Oboe and English Horn in 2013. She has performed orchestral and chamber concerts throughout Canada and the United States, and internationally in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and throughout Europe.
Prior to joining the NAC Orchestra, she held positions as Principal Oboe of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She has enjoyed guest appearances as Principal Oboe with the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Vancouver, and Wichita Symphony Orchestras, The Florida Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. She has also recently performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition to her orchestral career, Anna is an active soloist and chamber musician. She has been a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California. Anna has been a featured performer at Ottawa Chamberfest, a fellow at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, a participant at the Masterclass Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and a performer at the Skaneateles and Bravo! Vail Valley Music festivals.
Also an experienced teacher, Anna is currently on faculty at the University of Ottawa and previously was the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music and SUNY Geneseo. She was a guest member of the Prairie Winds at Madeline Island Chamber Music in 2018, and during the summers of 2012 and 2015 she was a coach at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference in Bennington, Vermont.
Anna earned her Bachelor of Music Degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her primary teachers include Richard Killmer and Suzanne Geoffrey.
In addition to her musical life, Anna is also an internationally certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, having completed 300 hours of training in Bali, Indonesia.
Violinist Marjolaine Lambert, a native of Joliette but self-proclaimed Montrealer, started her music studies at the age of four years old, following the footsteps of her brother, violist Frédéric Lambert. At a young age, her natural talent led her to join the studio of Johanne Arel and Raymond Dessaints at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, which she graduated from in 2005. With a passion for learning and broadening her general knowledge, she went to McGill University in the class of Denise Lupien. Studying the rudiments of mandarin as a minor, it led her to tour through China as Principal Second violin of the Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne.
Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree with honour, she went to Yale University for her Master’s degree to study with Ani Kavafian. There, she thrived as the concertmaster of the Yale Philharmonia and winner of the Woolsey Concerto Competition. Establishing strong collaborations with contemporary composers, maestro Julian Wachner and herself created Novus NYC, an orchestra devoted to new music, of which she acted as concertmaster. She had the opportunity to premiere works by David Lang, Bernard Rands and Christopher Theofanidis.
Her passion for new music led her to pursue a Doctorate of Music at McGill University, with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which focused on the hyper-violin created by Pierre Boulez in his Anthèmes. Her work with live electronics has brought her interesting and different kinds of projects, including the world premiere of Les Gestes, a creation of dance choreographer Isabelle Van Grimde.
Marjolaine has performed as a soloist under many conductors such as Yuli Turovsky, Peter Oundjian, and Shinik Hahm. As a chambrist, she's been invited to perform often with Les Violons du Roy, I Musici, and Arcos Chamber Orchestra.
In her rare spare time, Marjolaine enjoys watching an impressive amount of TV shows, discovering the depths of performance practice on her Baroque violin, or rocking out stadiums with Céline Dion.
She is thrilled to be a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as of September 2016.
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Mintje van Lier (1982) is Principal Second violin with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.
At the age of five, Mintje started studying the violin under Anneke Schilt-Plate and continued with Hans Scheepers, Joyce Tan, Mimi Zweig, Chris Duindam and Lex Korff de Gidts. In 2006 she received her Bachelor of Music at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She continued her studies in the class of Ilan Gronich at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, receiving the Diplom in 2009.
From 2004-2006, Mintje performed as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra under the direction of Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Paavo Järvi and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
In 2007, Mintje studied in the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, after which, she was awarded a scholarship from the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent. In 2008, Mintje won the position as assistent principal 2nd Violin with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Filharmonic. In the five years leading up to the closing of this orchestra, Mintje enjoyed playing under the frequent guest conductor’s Philippe Herreweghe and Frans Brüggen. Mintje freelances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. From 2014—2021 Mintje was the assistant principal 2nd violin of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a member of the Jenufa String Quartet.
She has taken part in the Zermatt Festival with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In Berlin, Mintje played with Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop.
Mintje plays a Theo Marks violin (2018).
Zhengdong Liang (Zane) is currently serving as rotating concertmaster at the New World Symphony. Most recently, he served as the concertmaster of The Orchestra Now at Bard College prior to the NWS. He was a member of the New York String Seminar Orchestra, an apprentice in the Institute of Orchestral Studies at NAC, and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He holds Master and Bachelor degrees from Mannes School of Music and University of Ottawa, where he studied with Shumel Ashkenasi, Yehonatan Berick and Yosuke Kawasaki.
Leah Wyber is a native of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Her introduction to the cello began in a school strings program at the age of eight. She received her advanced musical training at the University of British Columbia and the Banff Centre. Eric Wilson, Paula Kiffner, and George Kiraly are among her most influential teachers.
Leah is a former member of La Pieta of Montreal, Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, the Atlantic String Quartet, and Joe Trio of Vancouver. She was also principal cello of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra for several years. Some of the many festivals and programs she participated in include the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Scotia Festival, the Whistler Mozart Festival, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra.
Leah has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1993. In addition to performing alongside the wonderful cellists in the orchestra, she enjoys playing chamber music and teaching. Other interests include gardening, hiking, cross-country skiing, and curling.
Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Sean Rice has performed extensively throughout North America and around the world. His broadcasts include recitals with CBC National Radio, performances for Swiss Radio DRS, and Lucerne Festival live streams for the 2016 New York Philharmonic Biennial and 2019 Lucerne Festival Alumni Orchestra.
Recognized as an exciting interpreter of contemporary music, The New York Times has described Sean as a “technically precise, exuberant protagonist” in performance. Sean has performed at festivals such as Lucerne Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art Summergarden Series, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Banff Music Festival. In addition to numerous New York Times reviews, Sean’s performances have received high praise from the Ottawa Citizen, Musical Toronto, and Artsfile. For a recent performance of Golijov’s Ayre at Ottawa Chamberfest, Musical Toronto wrote: “The performers were strong, especially NACO clarinetist Sean Rice, who unloaded a wailing solo that rivalled even the best Klezmer effort by Giora Feidman.”
At an early age, Rice was invited to perform a concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra during their 2002 Atlantic Tour and subsequently, he has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Axiom, The New Juilliard Ensemble, and Symphony Nova Scotia. The recipient of numerous awards, Sean received first prize at the 2006 Canadian Concerto Competition hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Following his 2007 Montréal debut at Jeunesses Musicales, La Presse wrote: “…clarinettiste canadien Sean Rice y révéla une technique impeccable, une authentique musicalité, une sonorité tour à tour éclatante et chaleureuse, et un vrai talent de chambriste.” Continuing the 2007–2008 season, Sean performed his first national tour with pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre for Jeunesses Musicales’ touring series. Since then, he has toured frequently throughout major cities across the United States, Europe, Malaysia, Brazil, and Japan.
As an educator, Rice has served as Visiting Professor at Memorial University (2017–2018) and Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa (2012–2017). He has been invited to give masterclasses at institutions such as the Royal College of Music, Beijing Central Conservatory, University of British Columbia, and the University of West England. Additionally, Sean has adjudicated numerous competitions, including the National Music Festival Competition held by the Canadian Association of Music Festivals. In the fall of 2021, Rice joined the clarinet faculty at the University of Ottawa.
As a conductor, Rice made his debut in 2012 as the Director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the University of Ottawa. In 2017, he led an ensemble of musicians from the National Arts Centre Orchestra and made his international conducting debut at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Vancouver. Recently, Sean conducted the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra for their 2021–2022 season opener—their first performance since the pandemic.
Outside the concert hall, Rice has developed a significant profile as a classical music podcaster and host. Under his tenure, the National Arts Centre NACOcast has enjoyed great success and international recognition, with Classic FM continuing to list his podcasts among the Top 10 in the world for classical music. Sean also hosts the NAC Wolfgang Sessions—a contemporary music series that he helped design and curate for the National Arts Centre.
Sean Rice is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he received his Bachelor of Music while studying with Paul Bendzsa. Continuing his studies under the tutelage of Charles Neidich, Rice graduated with both a Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School. Currently residing in Ottawa, audiences can hear him perform regularly as a recitalist and chamber musician and as Second Clarinet / Bass Clarinet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.