Tonight's livestream will feature a piece that is new to me, my first ever performance of Theme and Variations on "Draw the Sacred Circle Closer" by Adolphus Hailstork. Dr. Hailstork is Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He has a long and storied career, but don't be fooled; he is still writing important works for orchestras (and more) across the country. I was familiar with his name, but not really with his music. I think that is at least partly due to the fact that for many years I was immersed in the "Uptown" modernist styles of composition. Dr. Hailstork has his own distinctive compositional voice, and it inhabits a stylistic range that is comfortable with traditional tonality. He has been ahead of his time in that way.

I found on this piece by happy accident, after stumbling onto a YouTube video by cellist Timothy Holley. Thank you to him for the introduction and to Dr. Hailstork for writing this delightful piece!

I urge you to learn more about this important American composer: https://www.adolphushailstork.com/bio of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Last month, a new string quartet was born. While following strict COVID-19 safety protocols, Inés Voglar Belgique, Ruby Chen, Jennifer Arnold and I gathered with composer Damien Geter to rehearse and record his String Quartet No. 1 "Neo-Soul."  The station has been operating under carefully constructed safety rules since last March, and was nearly empty, since most employees are working from home on any given day. An air purifier had been running noisily before our arrival, and as you can see from the picture, we were quite spread out. I'm not gonna lie...it took time to get used to being so far apart, and I'm not sure we ever felt 100% adapted to it. It's so much harder to hear each other, and of course, masks don't make it any easier to communicate. You know chamber musicians use eye contact to communicate while they're playing, but this experience helped me see how much we also use facial expressions. Still, we all felt fortunate to have the opportunity to play together!

The four of us have in fact all played together a great deal over the years, both in the Oregon Symphony and in various chamber music groupings. Jen came to Portland especially for this occasion, from her new home in Richmond, VA, and it was such a treat to see her in person and play with her! I really hated not being able to give her a big hug after not seeing her in over a year, something I know you all can relate to. Damien is one of many composers to have long-awaited premieres derailed by the pandemic. The Oregon Symphony was to have presented his new African American Requiem last May, one of the cancellations I most regretted last Spring. When we are able to perform live again in the hall with large forces, Damien's Requiem will be rescheduled as soon as possible, so that's something to look forward to. 

We were able to rehearse this three movement quartet very efficiently, which was important for COVID safety and necessary for scheduling reasons. Jen was working remotely in her position as Director of Artistic Planning and Orchestral Operations of the Richmond Symphony and the rest of us had a variety of online teaching obligations to schedule around. Right away during the first reading, it was evident that we had all played together a lot. Things come together so easily when you have a huge foundation of shared musical experiences to draw from! Equally important to this ease is that Damien writes wonderfully idiomatically, meaning that things really work on the instruments. His parts were clear and accurate to the nth degree and the music was so compelling, it swept us along. It was great to have him there for much of the rehearsal time to answer questions, but future performers of this wonderful piece -- and there will be many! -- will not need that. This is what you want in a score and parts, needless to say. (I am being so cut and dried. To be clear, we had fun!) Also, Damien's presence was kind, calm and positive, adding another welcome dimension to his contribution to the sessions. What a consummate professional he is! I look forward eagerly to more collaborations with him in the future.

The recording we made -- the best of two full takes of each movement in live performance style, engineered by Daniel Hornbeck -- will be broadcast tonight, 11-19-20, and again this Sunday, and will also be available in the Audio Archive for two weeks after the broadcast.. I can't recommend this any more highly! Damien's quartet is delightfully engaging and satisfying to play and will be equally so to listen to. It's tuneful and full of great grooves and lots of soulful beauty (as you might expect from the title) and I'm honored to be part of launching it into the repertoire. Also on the program is a new poem by S Renee Mitchell, also commissioned by All Classical Portland. I have seen her perform readings of her poetry and she is absolutely captivating,  

On AllClassical.org, Thursday November 19, 7pm PT; Rebroadcast Sunday November 22, 4pm PT