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.