October 13, 2021
7:30pm MST
Peter Claver Recital Hall, Regis University
Tickets are FREE - REGISTER HERE
Per current requirements at Regis University, masks are required at all indoor events regardless of vaccination status.
The Playground Ensemble with guest performer Steven Beck presents works both intimate and grand. The concert will feature the world premieres of Loretta Notareschi’s Gnomic Concerto for Piano and Chamber Ensemble alongside Michael Frank’s Pulsations for large ensemble, as well as a selection of Notareschi’s works for piano.
This concert was originally slated for spring 2020, and is sponsored by the University Research and Scholarship Council of Regis University.
Ticket sales from this concert (and any additional donations) will go to support residents in Colorado Village Collaborative’s Safe Outdoor Spaces tent encampment on Regis University campus. Learn more about the community here: https://www.coloradovillagecollaborative.org/safe-outdoor-space-regis
THE PROGRAM
Ten Shape Preludes by Loretta Notareschi
Featuring:
Steven Beck, Piano
The Ten Shape Preludes are so named because each prelude explores a pleasing shape in the hand or hands on the piano. I sat at the instrument with my hands on the keys to conceive each one, and I let my imagination be guided by the shapes that my hands, as a pianist, are naturally drawn to make. In this way, I hope the works are both idiomatic and graceful. While I wrote them with the powerful artistry of the dedicatee, Steve Beck, in mind, I wanted them to also be approachable for everyday playing—a combination of virtuosity and ease that brings to mind the Italian word sprezzatura (a studied nonchalance).
Pulsations – Michael Frank
Featuring:
Sonya Yeager-Meeks, Flute
Deborah Marshall, Clarinet
Miriam Kapner, Oboe
David Artley, Trumpet
Susan McCullough, Horn
David Byrd Marrow, Horn
Jeff Craig, Trombone
Sarah Whitnah, Violin
Robyn Julyan, Violin
Byron Hitchcock, Violin
Ben Tomkins, Violin
Andrew Giordano, VIolin
Sofia Basile, Viola
Matt Diekman, Viola
David Short, Cello
Erin Patterson, Cello
Justin Doute, Percussion
Luke Wachter, Percussion
Pulsations is a large ensemble piece that launches the listener on a "roller-coaster" ride of changing rhythms and emotions. It is an exercise for rhythmic development that incorporates the textures available with a limited orchestral ensemble. It strives to leave you breathless... then allows just enough time to inhale before another set of gyrations. While it has calmer and more lyrical moments, especially the vibraphone interlude, the attempt is to briefly seduce the listener through a collage of moods before dropping the baton.
Gnomic Concerto – Loretta Notareschi (World Premiere)
Featuring:
Steven Beck, Piano
Sonya Yeager-Meeks, Flute
Deborah Marshall, Clarinet
Susan McCullough, Horn
Sarah Whitnah, Violin
Robyn Julyan, Violin
Sofia Basile, Viola
David Short, Cello
Justin Doute, Percussion
Love and Deceit
My Heart to Ake
Joy and Mirth
In the final work on the program, New York Philharmonic pianist Steven Beck will join the Playground in premiering Notareschi's Gnomic Concerto for Piano and Chamber Ensemble, directed by Charles Lee. Each of the three movements of this pianistic showpiece is based on a different gnomic (pithy) poem by William Blake, the 18th century English poet and engraver. The first movement, "Love and Deceit," is a study in compositional contrasts. The second movement, "My Heart to Ake," is a lament. The third movement, "Joy and Mirth," expresses a combination of happiness and laughter, with each instrument contributing to a giggling and bubbling musical texture. Together, the three movements create an emotional landscape that transitions from darkness to light.