ýƵUniversity’s Conservatory of Music will present its Major Worksconcert April 21, an annualshowcase of orchestral andchoraltalent from across multiple ensembles.
Theperformanceisset for 8 p.m. in Memorial Chapel, featuring three significant pieces—Lili Boulanger’sorchestral nod to spring,D’un matin deprintemps(Of a Spring Morning),JakeܲԱٲ’smuch-laudedA Silence Haunts Me,andReenaEsmail’s musical embrace of connections between Indian and Western music and cultures,This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity.
Mark Dupere, director of orchestral studies, will lead the ýƵ Symphony Orchestra in the Boulanger opener.Phillip A. Swan, co-director of choral studies, will then conduct as the choirs join forA Silence Haunts MeandThis Love Between Us.
More than200students willperform inthe Major Worksconcert, one of the showcase events on the Conservatory calendar each spring.The choirshave been working on the performance for six weeks; the orchestra for four weeks. It includes, among other musical challenges, singing in unfamiliar languages.
“It’s a great opportunity to share our musical talents in the Conservatory,” Swan said. “It’s a project where we get to collaborate interdepartmentally, the orchestra and the choirs working together. … It’s an important part of what we doand it’s a celebration of whatourstudents can do musically.”
The piecesto be performedcome with powerful back stories.
A Silence Haunts Mespeaks toBeethoven's agony at losing his hearing, expressed in a heartbreaking letter to his brothers.Runestad, a Minneapolis composer, and Todd Boss, a Minneapolis poet, debuted the choral piece in 2019 to wide acclaim.
This Love Between Us,meanwhile,is about unity, working between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music.
“Its seven movements juxtapose the words of seven major religious traditions of India (Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Jainism,and Islam), and specifically how each of these traditions approaches the topic of unity, of brotherhood, of being kind to one another,”Esmailwriteson her website.
Sutanu Sur,ontabla, andShreekantShah,onsitar, willjoin the ýƵ students as guest artistsonThis Love Between Us.
Sur, who grew up in India andnowlivesin Appleton, performed last year with the Fox Valley Symphony. For many in the audience, it was their first introduction to thetabla,twin hand drums most familiar in the music of India.
“The audience was surprised to learn all the nuances of thetabla,” Sur told globalindian.com. “The only way to promote something is to get people to learn about it.”
Four student soloists will be featured onThis Love Between Us—juniorTanviThatai, soprano; seniorHolly Beemer, alto; juniorMatthew Carlson, tenor; and first-year Billy Greene, bass.They’re exploring singing in an unfamiliar musical style.
“It’s a great educational opportunity for them to learn, grow, and create,” Swan said.
OnA Silence Haunts Me,seniorAmiHatoriwill be featured on piano.
If you’re on campus, there is nothing like a live performance; the energy is just palpable. For those who are unable to attend in person, we do offer a livestream and recordings of most Conservatory programs.
Swan calledA Silence Haunts Mea “creative force” and said Esmail’sThisLove Between Usis a complex, gorgeous, and sonically exciting musical adventure.Those two works and the Boulanger orchestral piece bring with them aconnecting thread—love.
“I like to find a theme,” Swan said of planning for the Major Worksconcert. “The connection for this one comes from the title of the Reena Esmail piece,This Love Between Us. It’s love for different things. The first piece embraces a love for spring. TheRunestadpieceexpresses a love for music; Beethoven’s desire and passion to write music and to explore musical sounds. And Esmail’s piece is searching for love between different people, the common bonds we share.”
If you go
What:Major Works Performance
When:8 p.m. April 21
Where:ýƵ Memorial Chapel
Cost:Free
Ed Berthiaume
Ed Berthiaume is director of public information at ýƵ.