Chamber

CHAI Collaborative Ensemble (CCE) concludes their 2023-24 Season with works that offer brief windows into diverse musical perspectives of four distinctive composers of classical music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Jenni Brandon's Sea Quartet is a colorful tribute to the beauty of the ocean and all the creatures and ecosystems that dwell within it. It was commissioned by the L.A. Musical Salon as part of my composer residency with the Vientos Trio from 2008-2009, and was inspired by her living near the Pacific Ocean. Heitor Villa-Lobos' Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon offers a fusion between various forms of traditional Brazilian rhythms and music and the classical wind trio. Villa-Lobos gravitated towards the raw sounds of wind instruments, and indulged in a variety harmonic clashes, rhythmic dexterity, and dynamic extremes in this work. Gernot Wolfgang's Windows is a pensive yet flowing piece for clarinet, bassoon and piano. In the composer's words, "the main theme of this 12 minute composition in one movement is presented in a variety of musical environments throughout the piece. In an allegorical sense, it is as if the listener was walking down a hallway lined with windows, periodically catching a view of the exterior. The outside world always stays the same, but the perspective of the viewer/listener changes from window to window... a chain of parallax views." Valerie Coleman's Trio Toccata was written in the summer of 2014, and equally showcases the virtuosity of the oboe, bassoon, and piano. In Coleman's words, it is "a lyrical, high paced romp that is heavily jazz influenced."

Featuring:
Andrew Marlin, bassoon
Marianne Parker, piano
Laura Perkett, oboe
Daniel Williams, clarinet

Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can, and are $10-50.

CCE's 2023-24 Season is sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Illinois Creative Recovery Grant Program (B2B Arts). The ensemble also gratefully acknowledges the support from their wonderful community of generous individual donors over the years.

A night of transportive neoclassical soundscapes by two visionary composers.

Gregory Allison creates with a single violin a sound that travels across great landscapes. He has toured the world with violin in hand and is endlessly inspired by the instrument’s journey around the globe, especially it’s use in South Indian Classical music. His live performance blends the Indian Classical melodic improvisation with his classical sensibility as a film composer, offering the listener a sonic journey through time and space.

He will be performing his 2021 debut album Portal in its entirety, along with new compositions for amplified violin and string quartet.

Gregory recently moved back to Portland after 5 years living in LA, where he started the record label and recording studio Holy Volcano. He has released four albums on the label: one solo, two with collaborator Tristan de Liege, and as producer for the debut album from songwriter Ella Luna. He is currently collaborating with electronic composers to create ReWorked versions of the music from his debut solo record Portal.

Slow Meadow is Houston multi-instrumentalist Matt Kidd. Kidd's releases as Slow Meadow have been celebrated by the New York Observer, NPR's Stephen Thompson, Echoes' John Diliberto, and who sampled Lachrymosia for the platinum-selling song on his debut album, FREE 6LACK. In 2022, Kidd provided the original soundtrack to the film, "My Mind & Me".

Two years following 2017’s Costero, Slow Meadow returned with its third full-length album Happy Occident, a collection of textured ambient melodies. Fueled by the anxiety derivative of modern life and the frenetic and often uncertain state of these ever-changing times, Happy Occident provides music for reflection. A soundtrack to life’s contemplative moments, and an experience akin to mindfulness meditation.

In 2021, Slow Meadow is back with Upstream Dream, its first wholly new music since 2020’s By the Ash Tree, which bookends a period of creative output that introduced Kidd’s vision of calming and meditative ambient music.

With a foundation of piano, string orchestration, and an ever-evolving electronic palette, Slow Meadow has traversed the borders of neoclassical and minimalist electronics with Upstream Dream, delivering a deeply personal and transportive experience that speaks directly to the ebbs and flows and mundanity and marvels of life. With sublime patience, understated

elegance, and surreal atmosphere, Slow Meadow savors the present, remembers the past, and imagines what could be.

The Fulton Chamber Players is a classical music ensemble uniting world-class artists to present exceptional programs. Our members are passionate about bringing the highest quality performances to all audiences as well as inspiring the next generation of musicians. The Fulton Chamber Players operates under the aegis of the Fulton Music Society, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming what music means in the 21st century by nurturing thoughtful, well-rounded students through dedicated music study. We are working to connect the dots between student life and the professional world by emphasizing skills and experiences that translate beyond their instruments. Through Fulton’s programs, young musicians will be ready to lead their generation in any field they choose.

About the performers: 

Violinist Addison Teng is a sought-after performer and teacher. He has given solo and chamber music performances across North America, Europe, and Asia and has performed as soloist with the Oberlin College Orchestra, Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra, Sinfonia Academy Orchestra in the Philippines, the University of Macedonia Symphony Orchestra, University of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Irvine. He is the recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Alumni Award at Oberlin College and Conservatory, which recognizes young alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers and their service to humanity. He has also been named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Meadowmount School of Music.

A rising pedagogue of his generation, Teng was previously on the faculty at DePaul University School of Music, the Music Institute of Chicago, and the Montecito International Music Festival. He is president and founder of the nonprofit Fulton Music Society, and is the director of the Fulton Summer Music Academy and the Fulton In Residence touring program. He began his teaching career as a teaching assistant at the Meadowmount School of Music and Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, assisting Sally Thomas, Amy Barlowe, and Roland and Almita Vamos. He has given masterclasses and coachings at Lawrence University, University of Hawaii, Maranatha Baptist University, Cornell College, University of Macedonia, Eastman Pre-College, Istituto Musicale Sammarinese in San Marino, Conservatorio Bruno Maderna in Cesena, Italy, Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno, Italy, Taipei American School, and Conservatório Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro. Prior to founding Fulton, he

took students on tours to the Philippines, Greece, Italy, and San Marino, where he gave masterclasses and performed with his students.

Teng's students have recently placed at competitions both locally and nationally, including Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, DePaul Concerto Competition, Hellam Young Artists Competition, Chicago Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, Denver Young Artists National Violin Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition, Walgreens National Competition, Indiana School of Music Concerto Competition, Charleston International Music Competition, Confucius Music Festival Competition, and Sejong Music Competition. Many of his students have been admitted to top universities and conservatories, including Oberlin Conservatory, Juilliard School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes New School of Music, and Berklee College of Music, and have been awarded Fulbright and Wells scholarships. His students have gone on to win jobs at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival, Evansville Philharmonic, Louisville Philharmonic, and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Teng’s students have soloed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, Denver Young Artist Orchestra, and Montecito Festival Orchestra, and have been guest concertmaster of Fort Wayne Symphony. In 2015, the Addison C. Teng Merit Scholarship was established at the Music Institute of Chicago for his studio.

Teng graduated with a Master of Music in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy from Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers and mentors have included Joey Corpus, Sally Thomas, Roland and Almita Vamos, Peter Takács, Amy Barlowe, and Karen Ritscher.

A rising talent of her generation, Aitong Zhang has been a prize winner at the Hong Kong International Piano Invitation Competition and the IAC International Piano Competition, and has been awarded first prize at the 2021 SAE National Youth Competition and the 2017 Franz Schubert International Piano Competition. She began her piano journey at the age of five and soon after joined the studio of Professor Li Qi. Zhang later earned admission to the prestigious High School attached to Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music. There, she continued to study piano under the guidance of Professor Zhu Qing. Zhang currently studies with Professor Peter Takács at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She has attended the San Francisco International Piano Festival, North Coast Piano Festival, Montecito International Music Festival and Fulton Summer Music Academy. Zhang has given performances across the United States, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, and China, and has recently joined the roster of the Fulton Chamber Players.

Violinist Paul Hauer joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2016. Solo concerts have brought Mr. Hauer to the countries of Germany, Greece, France, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines. Chamber music and orchestral concerts have brought him to Italy, San Marino, Singapore, Mexico, and China. Before moving to Milwaukee, he was Principal

Second Violin of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and performed regularly with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra.

Mr. Hauer traveled to Athens in May of 2015 to participate in the 4th Leonidas Kavakos International Masterclass. One month earlier, he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Other honors include winning the Indianapolis Matinée Musicale Collegiate Competition in 2013, which resulted in a performance at the Indiana Landmarks Center with pianist David Keep. In the summer of 2011, he toured Europe with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra as the soloist for the Barber Violin Concerto. While serving as teaching assistant to Addison Teng, he performed and taught lessons with the Teng Studio on their international tours. He is a founding member of the Fulton Chamber Players, a classical music ensemble uniting world-class artists to present exceptional programs.

Mr. Hauer’s first violin lessons were with Gloria Schroeder and Ferenc Fenyő, and studied afterwards with Stéphane Tran Ngoc, Carol Leybourn, and Catherine Walby through the Lawrence Academy of Music. Hauer received his degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and his principal teachers include Addison Teng and Alex Kerr. As a teacher, Mr. Hauer is on faculty at the Fulton Summer Music Academy, and coaches strings at the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Maranatha Baptist University. Mr. Hauer is a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and performs with the Peninsula Music Festival each summer.

Amy Hess is a member of the viola sections of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Grant Park Orchestra, and is on the faculty of the Fulton Summer Music Academy. She was formerly principal viola of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, and she has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, and Music of the Baroque. Ms. Hess has been heard on the Dame Myra Hess and Rush Hour concert series in Chicago and regularly performs as a member of the Fulton Chamber Players and the Chicago Ensemble. She has recently been a soloist with Sinfonietta DuPage and collaborated in concert with bassist Edgar Meyer as part of the Aspen Salida concert series in Colorado. She also was part of the Chicago premiere of Joel Puckett’s string quartet concerto Short Stories with the Northwestern Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and performed the solo viola role in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote with cellist Joseph Johnson and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Hess received her Master of Music in viola from Northwestern University and is a Phi Beta Kappa alumna of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, where she earned degrees in French and violin. While at Oberlin, she spent a semester in Paris, studying violin with David Rivière of the CNSM and musicology at the Sorbonne. Her interest in French music continued with a collaboration with Ravel scholar Sigrun Heinzelmann on a presentation at the Music Theory Midwest conference and several lectures at Oberlin. Ms. Hess’ principal teachers and mentors have included Karen Ritscher, Roland Vamos, David Bowlin, and Addison Teng, but it all began thanks to her mother, a Suzuki violin teacher in Lancaster, PA.

From the tango of the Rio de la Plata to the string quartets of Silvestre Revueltas, the KAIA String Quartet is an ensemble devoted to promoting the rich and colorful music of Latin America. Active performers in both the US and abroad, highlights of the most recent season include a collaboration with Jazz singer Paul Marinaro and performances at Chicago area venues including the Studebaker Theatre, the Epiphany Center for the Arts, the Morton Arboretum, the Mozart Immersive Experience, and the Kenilworth Assembly Hall. The quartet's most recent tour of Uruguay and Argentina included a performance at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

The Quartet plays an active role in Chicago's music scene and has performed at the Chicago Latino Music Festival, the Ear Taxi Festival, and Chamber Music on the Fox. In 2017, KAIA was the first ensemble in residence at Chicago's classical radio station, WFMT. During this residency they explored the world of Latin classical music with audiences through daily radio segments, performances and broadcasts around the city and the production of KAIA Kids, a series of children's education videos.

Celebrated by Downbeat magazine for its ability to "beautifully blur the lines between jazz, classical, Latin and world music" KAIA’s album collaboration with Fareed Haque was chosen by Chicago Tribune’s Howard Reich as one of the top ten classical recordings of 2018. Their album, Sureño, explores the music and relationship of Argentinian composers Astor Piazzolla and José Bragato. The latest recording project released in 2020 includes a collaboration with jazz pianist Ryan Cohan in his work Originations. KAIA together with Cohan and his chamber ensemble were featured performing this piece at 2019 Chicago's Jazz Fest main stage. 

KAIA is deeply devoted to music education. They are teaching artists for Ravinia's Reach*Teach*Play program and for Classical Music Chicago's Young Peoples' Concerts program. KAIA founded DePaul University's Community Music Division chamber program where they inspire the next generation of performers. During the 2023-24 season, the KAIA String Quartet was invited to teach and perform at Michigan State University and Carthage College as artists-in-residence. In the summer of 2023, KAIA was on the New England Music Camp's Chamber Music Intensive faculty as the resident quartet and will be returning in the summer of 2024. Since 2018, KAIA has been the ensemble-in-residence for the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra's Summer Chamber Music Camp. The quartet traveled to Tijuana, Mexico to present and perform in schools through the sponsorship of the Mainly Mozart Festival annually between 2013 and 2017.