Dreams and Journeys
Sat Mar 23, 2024 8:00 PM - 9:15 PM
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, 11201
Description
An evening of compositions based on the immigrant experience in New York
EMILIA TAMBURRI "The New York Suite" (2022) World Premiere
Selections performed by KOE: Eva Ding, flute and Emma Kato, cello
LEI LIANG "Gobi Canticle" (2003)
COREY CHANG "Something to Say" (2023)
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK The New World Symphony, Mvmt. 2 and 4
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
"The New York Suite" is a musical tribute to New York's rich history. The composer's intention is to celebrate New York City by retelling the stories of important events through detailed programmatic writing, with themes of fearlessness, rebirth, perseverance, absurdity, and heroism. The events include: Lou Gehrig's farewell speech, Philip Petit's tightrope walk on the World Trade Center, elephants marching on the Brooklyn Bridge to test its durability, the Stonewall riots, and the preservation of Grand Central Station. The programmatic work is melodic and thematic; each movement uses leitmotifs to represent key people, places, or ideas. The piece is intended to be relatable to the audience and is an opportunity to focus on joy, humor, and hope.
Gobi Canticle by Lei Liang: Gobi Canticle belongs to a series of compositions that grew out of Lei Liang's admiration for Mongolian music. Its melodic material is based on the theme of Gobi Polyphony – a work commissioned and premiered by the erhu player Xu Ke at the Musica Nova Festival in Helsinki in 2003. In this composition, the melody is played against its own inversion; it then alludes to various genres of Mongolian music that include the long-chant, as well as the music of dance and shaman rituals. It concludes with a rendering of a folk song that Liang learnt during my visit to the Nei Monggol region in 1996.
Something to Say by Corey Chang: This work was written by composer Corey Chang for KOE and premiered as part of a series of works by Asian and Asian-American composers, with a uniting theme of dedication towards Eastern parents who have immigrated to the United States. When Chang was originally commissioned to write this work, he was quite torn with how to direct this new piece, especially having been an American-born Asian himself.
Chang is the son of a Taiwanese parent who arrived in the United States in the 80s. She did not speak a word of English, though eventually with years of unimaginably hard work, rough living conditions and a job that paid a dollar per hour, she not only became fluent, but was also given a full scholarship to Yale’s nursing program. She now works as a nurse practitioner at the Veterans’ Association Hospital in New Haven, CT, and remains one of their hardest workers to this day.
“Something To Say” is a statement of empowerment, not only to those from foreign backgrounds, but to anyone who feels misunderstood or left out amongst our society at large today. Chang would like to dedicate this piece to his own parents, who have been his biggest supporters and inspirers throughout his life and career. With all his love, he would not be where he is today without them!
Location
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, 11201