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| Kevin George & Rebecca Gillan |
Recital Hall Governor's 139
ArtsFest 2010: Created to Highlight Original Works
Baton Rouge Community College
Paul Christopher, MM, Cello
Elena Kuroda, Piano
A Program of New Music for Cello and Piano by Louisiana Composers
Ballade for the Hellenic Land for solo cello (1996) .... Dinos Constantinides (1929-
Time Will Tell for Violincello and Piano (1998) .... Rebecca Gillan
Gently Weep for Cello with Digital Audio Delay (2005/2009) .... Thomas Hundemer (1954-
Dialogue for Cello and Piano (2010) .... Kevin George
Reoccurrence for cello solo (1990) .... Al Benner (1955-
Biographies
Paul Christopher is Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Low Strings at Northwestern State University. Prior to this appointment he served for the fifteen years as Principal Cello of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Shreveport Opera and as a member of the Premier String Quartet. A graduate of the New England Conservatory and the University of Memphis, Mr. Christopher is currently Principal Cello of the Longview Symphony Orchestra. In the summers he serves as Assistant Principal Cello of the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. He also serves as String Chair for the Louisiana Music Teachers Association. His articles have been published in American String Teacher, Strings and the Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter. Mr. Christopher is currently involved in recording the cello duos of Jacques Offenbach on the Human Metronome label with fellow cellist Ruth Drummond with four CDs available at www.cdbaby.com. In addition, he has appeared on numerous recordings with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, George Strait and Faith Hill as a member of the Nashville String Machine. Mr. Christopher has appeared as guest artist and clinician in Arkansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and throughout Louisiana.
Elena Kuroda, originally from Czech Republic, started her piano studies at the age of 8, performing actively in Bratislava, Slovakia. At the age of 13, she received “The Best Performance of Slovak Piece Award” at Slovak National Competition for Young Pianist in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. In 1991-1993 she studied with internationally acclaimed Japanese pianist Masami Kometani in Kanazawa, Japan. In 1999, she performed Saint-Saense’s “Carnival of the Animals” with the Austrian Youth Orchestra for the audience of over 2000 in the Slovak Radio Hall, as one of the featured piano soloists. Mrs. Kuroda was admitted to Centenary College of Louisiana in 2001; in 2002 she continued her studies at Northwestern State University of Louisiana where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music in 2005, and her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance in December 2007. In June 2004, she was featured in Slovak Public Radio’s “ Ars Musica” live interview and performance show. Elena Kuroda serves as a collaborative pianist and teaches piano classes at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
Program Notes:
The music of Dinos Constantinides has been performed throughout the world. He is the recipient of many awards, including first prize in the Brooklyn College International Chamber Opera Competition, the First Midwest Chamber Opera Conference, and the Delius Composition Contest. He also received the American New Music Consortium Distinguished Service Award, the Glen Award of l’Ensemble of New York, several Meet the Composer grants and a Distinguished Teacher White House Commission. Dr. Constantinides is a Boyd Professor, head of the LSU Music Composition area, and Music Director of the Louisiana Sinfonietta. Ballade for the Hellenic Land (1990) for solo cello includes two contrasting sections:the first one reflects the style of an Athenian serenade (kandatha) which was characterized by lyrical song-like tunes sung by voice and accompanied by guitar or mandolin employing fast repeated notes (tremolo);the second one is a dance-like section that is rhythmic and fast. Both materials are vivid in the memory of the composer from his teen aged years in his native city Athens, Greece.
Rebecca Gillan has a Master’s in Composition and Music Theory (Southeastern Louisiana University), Bachelor’s degrees in Piano Performance and Vocal Music from Hope College, Holland, Michigan, and a Diploma in Jazz Piano from Grove School of Music, Studio City, California. She is a member of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, as a composer and publisher (Rozier Press) and a member of Amer. Federation of Musicians Union. She has composed and produced two piano solo albums, written a musical, “Miracles: A Message of Hope”, music for instruments, voice and choir. Her CD “Watercolors” (2008), is a collection of freely composed piano solos. Commissioned by the 2009 Louisiana Abraham Lincoln Bicenntennial Commission, she premiered a work “The Gettysburg: Adagio” for baritone,snare and piano, which was featured in the closing ceremonies of the Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicenntenial Commission (2009). Recognized in Who’s Who in the World (2010), Who’s Who in America (2009), Who’s Who in American Women (2008) and Who’s Who in American Educators (2007), she is an Assistant Professor of Music at BRCC and has enjoyed a long teaching career in public, private schools and universities in Oklahoma, California and Louisiana.
Thomas Hundemer, principal horn of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra since 1983, is Instructor of Horn at Centenary College in Shreveport and the 1997 recipient of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Artist Fellowship in Music. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in composition from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Arts degree in horn performance from the University of Iowa. As a composer and arranger, he has had numerous performances of his works for chamber ensembles and choir, including his orchestral pieces Spring Rain (1992), and On Highways & Byways(2003) commissioned for the Shreveport Symphony's commemoration of the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase.Gently Weep was commissioned in 2005 by Kristine Coreil, who was looking for a new work for the natural horn, the valveless horn that Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven used in their works. The piece utilizes a constant echo effect by using a digital audio delay device. This version for cello was prepared forPaul Christopher, transcribed to suit the characteristics of the cello. While the work is slightly melancholy in mood, the title is derived from a brief, hidden quote of the song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by George Harrison. The use of natural 7th and 11th harmonics adds to the contemplative nature of the music.
The music of Al Benner has been performed frequently throughout the US and Canada. He has received numerous commissions such as the Louisiana Association of Symphony Orchestras and the Louisiana Sinfonietta. His awards include ASCAP Standard Awards, two Composers Commissioning Awards from the Louisiana Music Teacher’s Association, and the Audience Choice Award from the Louisiana Sinfonietta, among others. He is the founder of the Louisiana Composers Consortium, the Commissioning Chair for LMTA, the editor and National Board member of ComposerUSA, and on the Advisory Board of the Louisiana Sinfonietta. He has three degrees from Tulane University and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from LSU. Benner is on the music faculty of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches. Reoccurrence (1990) mixes unmeasured sections, played as cadenzas, with specific rhythmic areas. The title refers to the constant "re-occurrence" of material. Spanning a range of over four octaves, the work explores various advanced cello techniques.
Kevin George is a native of New Orleans, LA. He received a B.A. and M.A. in Composition from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He also received a B.S. in Computer Information Technology from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He studied composition with Dr. Dinos Constantinides and Dr. Roger Dickerson Sr. Currently he is on the music faculty at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, LA.
Mr. Christopher will also give a masterclass at 1:30 pm