Program
Julia Wolfe
Retrieve
Allison Loggins-Hull
Homeland
Caroline Shaw
Limestone & Felt
Kirsten Volness
Sin, Sin, Sin
Julia Wolfe
Retrieve (2016)
Born on December 19, 1958 in Philadelphia, PA, Julia Wolfe is one of the most influential composers of the last several decades. Wolfe’s music is inspired by not only the classical giants who came before her, but also by folk and rock music, and as a result creates a musical world that bridges multiple genres together. Wolfe started her musical career on piano; however she did not study music seriously until she attended the University of Michigan, where she received a double degree in music and theatre. Wolfe also holds a master’s from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. Currently she serves as Professor of Music Composition at NYU’s Steinhardt School. In 1987 she teamed up with composers David Lang and Michael Gordon and founded one the world's most innovative and prestigious music collectives: Bang on a Can. In 1993 the three composers founded their own publishing company, Red Poppy Music, and in 2001, their own record label, Cantaloupe Music. Wolfe has been awarded numerous awards and grants for her work, including a MacArthur Genius Grant, the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and a Fulbright Scholarship, among others.
The major body of Wolfe’s output is written for strings, including Retrieve, which she wrote for cello and double bass in 2016. It was commissioned by the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) and Alexei Lubimov through BAC’s John Cage and Merce Cunningham Fellowship. The work was premiered on September 15, 2016 at Cornell University as part of the Technologies of Memory Festival with cellist Jonathan Haines-Eitzen and bassist Tomoya Aomori. Retrieve showcases both the virtuosity of the lowest members of the string family and Wolfe’s incredibly skilled manipulation of texture.
Allison Loggins-Hull
Homeland (2018)
Allison Loggins-Hull is a composer, flutist, and producer who is actively performing and creating music across multiple genres. In 2009 Loggins-Hull co-founded the duo Flutronix with Nathalie Joachim, and in doing so has been able “to redefine the instrument” (The Wall Street Journal). Additionally, she has performed with and her music has been recorded by many leading ensembles, including the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the National Sawdust Ensemble, the Imani Winds, and Lizzo, and she can be heard playing in the 2019 Disney remake of the Lion King. Her music has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Musical of Art, Alarm Will Sound, and The Library of Congress, among others, and she has been awarded multiple grants from New Music USA.
Loggins-Hull wrote Homeland, in 2018. It was commissioned by the Texas Flute Society for their annual Myrna Brown Competition. According to Loggins-Hull the piece questions the meaning of “home” during times of political turmoil, natural disaster, and human disaster. It is truly hauntingly beautiful and showcases the emotional range of the flute.
Caroline Shaw
Limestone & Felt (2012)
Born in 1982 in Greenville, NC, Caroline Shaw has been recognized internationally for her immense prowess as a composer, violinist, vocalist, and producer. She actively performs in solo and collaborative projects all over the world. In 2013 she became the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Partita for 8 Voices, written for the Grammy-winning Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member. Shaw started playing the violin at the age of two on a 64th size violin, and “fell in love with classical music watching Amadeus over and over again.” (The Atlantic). She holds degrees from Rice University, Yale University, and Princeton University, and currently teaches at New York University.
Most recently she has written new works for Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, the LA Philharmonic, the NY Philharmonic, Brooklyn Ryder, and Boston’s A Far Cry, among others. She received a 2020 best contemporary classical composition Grammy nomination for “Orange,” an album of her music recorded by the Attaca Quartet, an album which went onto win the Grammy for best chamber music/small ensemble performance.
Shaw wrote Limestone & Felt in 2012. It is a duet for viola and cello and as the title suggests, presents a duality: two kinds of surfaces, hard and soft. Shaw mirrors this duality with two juxtaposing compositional techniques, a variety of texture, and two different instruments. The sound world she creates is quintessentially her own, and you can imagine the textures echoing and colliding in the eaves of a gothic chapel or a cave. According to Shaw, “ultimately, felt and limestone may represent two opposing ways we experience history and design our own present.”
Kirsten Volness
Sin Sin Sin (2017)
American composer, pianist, and educator Kirsten Volness has been internationally recognized for the sound worlds she creates. Her music is particularly well-known for its use of electronics and for the layering of modern compositional techniques with jazz and pop influences. Volness is often inspired by nature, myth, and spirituality, as well as environmental and sociopolitical issues to create mesmerizing soundscapes that transport her audiences. She holds degrees from the University of Minnesota (B.A.) and the University of Michigan (M.M. and D.M.A.). Volness teaches at Reed College and previously has taught at the University of Rhode Island, and guest lectured at Brown University, the University of Michigan and the Interlochen Arts Academy. Her music has been performed throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. As an active performer and promoter of multimedia projects, she has curated numerous festivals and series that feature the work of interdisciplinary artists.
Volness wrote Sin Sin Sin in 2017 for a concert at the American University Museum to accompany an exhibition of painter William Woodward’s “The Seven Deadly Sins.” The three movements correspond to three of Woodward’s oil paintings, “Wrath,” “Pride,” and “Gluttony.” Each of these paintings features humans, apes, and other animals engaging in debauchery in a circus world. Volness’s work features violin, double bass, oboe, bassoon, and horn and celebrates the humorous side of damnation. In it, she utilizes extended techniques and sound manipulation to create her own version of the striking triptych of paintings.
Credits
Musicians
Violins: Zenas Hsu and Jean Huang
Viola: Zhanbo Zheng
Cello: Annie Jacobs-Perkins
Double Bass: Pete Walsh
Flute: Allison Parramore
Oboe: Andrew van der Paardt
Bassoon: Christina Dioguardi
Horn: Nicholas Auer
Thank Yous
Host: Chris Voss
Principal Videographer: Chris DeSanty
Assistant Videographer: Ryan Kavanagh
Recording Engineers: Antonio Oliart Ros and Stephanie Rodgers
Video Editors: Scott Quade and Michael Schondek
Musicologist: Christina Dioguardi
Executive Director: Matt Szymanski
Recording venue: The Artists for Humanity EpiCenter
Bibliography
Loggins-Hull, Allison. “About.” Accessed 20 May 2021. https://allisonloggins.com/about/.
Shaw, Caroline. “Bio.” Accessed 20 May 2021. https://carolineshaw.com/bio/.
Shaw, Caroline. “Program Notes for Limestone & Felt.” Accessed 20 May, 2021. https://caroline-shaw-editions.myshopify.com/products/limestone-and-felt.
Volness, Kirsten. “Biography.” Accessed 20 May 2021. https://www.kirstenvolness.com/bio.htm.
Wolfe, Julia. “Biography.” Accessed 20 May 2021. https://juliawolfemusic.com/about/.