Monday, April 29, 2013

                       UBC Wind Ensemble

Two Band for the Price of None 

 The visiting University of British Columbia Wind Ensemble and the HSU Symphonic Band share a concert on Monday April 29, and the admission is free.

 “It’s exciting for us to have the UBC Wind Ensemble play here on their West Coast tour for many reasons,” said HSU Symphonic Band director Paul Cummings, “but especially because the director, Rob Taylor, is an HSU Music Department alum. Much of our faculty knew him as a student.” 

 The concert begins with the HSU Symphonic Band, playing “The Creation of the World” by Darius Milhaud, a jazz-influenced work of the 1920s. The Humboldt Symphony played a portion of it in March but this time the full work will be performed. “It’s a fascinating piece and an important work that doesn’t get performed very often,” Cummings said, “first of all because it calls for an odd combination of instruments for either a symphonic band or orchestra. We’ve grabbed personnel from both for this concert.”

 The University of British Columbia Wind Ensemble and the Humboldt Symphonic Band perform on Monday April 29 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. There is no admission charge. Tickets: 826-3928 or at the door.  UBC Wind Ensemble is directed by Rob Taylor, HSU Symphonic Band by Paul Cummings. Concert produced by HSU Music Department.

Friday, April 26, 2013


All the Things You Are with the AM Jazz Band 

 The AM Jazz Band plays jazz, rock and bossa nova ensemble standards in concert at the Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday April 26. 

 “All the Things You Are” by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern was heard in a couple of musicals in the 1930s and 40s but became a popular tune when recorded by the big bands of Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw.

 “My Foolish Heart,” with music by Victor Young and lyrics by Ned Washington, was popular in the 1950s. It became a standard recorded by artists as various as Tony Bennett, jazz pianist Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, and rock and rollers Dion and the Belmonts, and Jan and Dean.

 “Pick Up the Pieces” was a 1974 hit for the Average White Band. “Aqua De Beber” (“Water to Drink”) is a bossa nova tune recorded by Astrud Gilberto, but also by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others.

 The AM Jazz Band from HSU performs on Friday April 26 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $7/3/free to HSU students with ID, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Paul Cummings, produced by the HSU Music Department.

Sunday, April 21, 2013


Comic Voyage to Heaven and Hell With the HSU Opera Workshop

 The road to heaven goes through hell—at least if you’re a soprano. Your first name doesn’t even have to be Tony. 

 That’s the premise of Too Many Sopranos, a popular comic opera performed by the HSU Opera Workshop Thursday through Sunday, April 18-21. 

 The trials of four sopranos trying to get into heaven (they’re the singing and not the criminal kind) lead to musical spoofs on famous singers and other historical figures, as well as a trip to hell to recruit a few tenors and basses (otherwise known as men) for the soprano-heavy heavenly choir.

 Too Many Sopranos by American composer and teacher Edwin Penhorwood, has been widely performed at universities as well as by professional companies such as the Baltimore Opera, Portland Opera and Virginia Concert and Opera Theatre. 

“Though the opera doesn’t take itself seriously,” said Opera Workshop director and HSU Music professor Elisabeth Harrington, “it does include some glorious music, both for soloists and in several impressive ensembles.” 

The satirical characters are based on singers and other notables from different historical eras, including Madame de Pompadour (“Madame Pompous,”) Enrico Caruso (“Enrico Carouser,”) Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy.

 St. Peter is played by HSU alum Steve Nobles, who has appeared in several recent North Coast musicals, and the angel Gabriel is sung by HSU alum Dylan Karl. Local singer Luke Sikora is Enrico Carouser, Rigel Schmitt is the Unnamed Bass and Elisabeth Harrington appears as Dame Doleful, singing with her students.

 The HSU student singers creating the merriment are Ana Cruz, Steve Eitzen, Jacqui Hernandez, Jo Kuzelka, Sandy Lindop and Miah Lodes. Carol Escobar directs the action and Paul Cummings conducts a chamber orchestra. Sets are by Siena Nelson, costumes by Catherine Brown. 

 The Opera Workshop performs Too Many Sopranos Thursday through Saturday April 18-20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday April 21 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, Theatre Arts Building at HSU. Tickets $10/$5 students and seniors from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. First 30 HSU students admitted free for each performance. Opera Workshop is directed by Elisabeth Harrington, produced by HSU Music Department. 

Media: Tri-City WeeklyHumboldt State Now, Arcata Eye

Friday, April 19, 2013


Guitars For Gamers with HSU Guitar Ensemble

 How do you survey 20th century music and leave out spaghetti westerns, African rhythms and video games? If you’re the HSU Guitar Ensemble in their April 19 concert, you don’t. 

 Video games have reached well over a billion people, HSU Music professor and Guitar Ensemble director Nicholas Lambson points out, and many use original music as part of the experience. “People who have grown up with these games remember the music and sound effects well, and arrangements are frequently performed by professionals and amateurs today,” he said. “We decided to dedicate part of our own concert on April 19 to video game music.”

 “Our students have done much of the arranging themselves,” he added. In addition to selections from the classics (Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda) the Ensemble explores music from the cult game Chrono Trigger. 

 The first half of the concert features Toru Takemitsu’s “Bad Boy,” inspired by music for spaghetti westerns, and William Kanengiser’s “Mbira,” which alters the guitar to sound like this African instrument.

 The Ensemble plays famed 20th century composer Paul Hindemith’s only composition for guitar, a style-spanning dance suite by John Duarte, and a crowd-pleaser by Czech guitarist and composer Štěpán Rak, who Classical Guitar Magazine called “one of the great geniuses of our time.”

 Members of the Guitar Ensemble are Jason Hall, Jerry Olofsson, Kris Lang, Dan Fair, Charlie Sleep, Justin Santos, Greg Willis, Tyler Vaughan, Rory Urquhart, Jake Masterson and Nigel Gunn. 

 The HSU Guitar Ensemble performs on Friday April 19 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $7/$3/ students and seniors from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. HSU students admitted free.  Directed by Nicholas Lambson, produced by the HSU Music Department. 

Media: Humboldt State Now, Tri-City Weekly, Arcata Eye
HSU Guitar Ensemble: Concert Program 

 Mbira by William Kanengiser
 Jason Hall, Jerry Olofsson, Kris Lang, and Dan Fair

 Bad Boy by Toru Takemitsu
 Jason Hall, Charlie Sleep, Justin Santos

 Rondo by Paul Hindemith
 Justin Santos, Jason Hall, Dan Fair

 Little Suite by John Duarte
 Anglaise
Sarabande
 Bourree
 Gigue
 Jerry Olofsson, Greg Willis, Tyler Vaughan, Rory Urquhart

 Rumba by Štěpán Rak
 Jerry Olofsson, Dan Fair, Kris Lang, Charlie Sleep

 Zelda Lullaby (1986) by Koji Kondo
 Arranged by Kris Lang
 Kris Lang, Rory Urquhart, Jake Masterson, Nigel Gunn

 Zelda Theme
 Arranged by Justin Santos
 Justin Santos, Rory Urquhart, Greg Willis, Jake Masterson

 Guitarno – Based on Music from Chrono Trigger by Yasunori Mitsuda
Arranged by Joe Kitzerow
 Dan Fair, Kris Lang, Charlie Sleep

 Mario (1985) by Koji Kondo
Arranged by Charlie Sleep
 Jason Hall, Jerry Olofsson, Charlie Sleep, Kris Lang


Director's Notes by Nicholas Lambson

 This year, the HSU Guitar Ensemble has been focusing on 20th century music. I have always been fascinated with the 20th century for its incredible diversity; works can range from experimental and atonal to folk music, and in many cases be eclectic mixes of many genres within a single work.

 Advances in technology play a particularly big role is shaping music of the 20th, with film music and electronic music being clear examples. Video game music also stems from a new medium made possible by technology, with a need to accompany and enhance the action of the game (similar to film scoring) utilizing electronic sounds. That music has reached well over a billion people since then. A look at the sheer volume of sales of these games reveals the magnitude of its impact: Super Mario Brothers sold over 40 million copies; The Legend of Zelda sold even more at 52 million; and the Halo series has sold over 50 million as well.

 The increasing use of smartphones and tablets has opened up a new avenue for video games as well, with Tetris being downloaded 100 million times, and the Angry Birds franchise surpassing one billion on its own. Admittedly, not every video game score is going to be great, but can that be said of any medium? Arguably, the bulk of games may be made quickly and cheaply, and the music may well reflect that fact. However, the best of them add depth, immersion, humor, and emotion to the action, and as these experiences reach billions of people, it becomes hard to ignore video game music as the major facet of our global culture that it is.

Though the demographic is expanding, the fact that the majority of the players (and listeners) are young is substantial on its own, as countless hours of video game music shape their young musical minds. People who have grown up with these games remember the music and sound effects well, and arrangements are frequently performed by professionals and amateurs today. For example, the Final Fantasy score by Nobuo Uematsu is regarded as some of the very finest video game music, and has been performed many times. Its next major performance will be in May by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The HSU Guitar Ensemble decided to dedicate part of our own concert to video game music, and the students have done much of the arranging themselves. The staples, Mario and Zelda, will be in attendance. Music from Chrono Trigger will be featured as well, which is a somewhat lesser-known title many gamers revere. The genre has certainly evolved a great deal since the first games of 50 years ago, and if art is a reflection of culture, then the music that has reached over a billion people is art - even if it is fun.

 The first half features pieces written specifically for guitar ensemble, with the composers coming from various parts of the 20th century and two of them are still living, composing, performing, and teaching.

 Toru Takemitsu was highly individual composer, philosopher, and author, and his music ranges from atonal to folk music of both the East and West. His works employ a vast array of timbres including all Western instruments, Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi and biwa, and electronic music. He frequently combines elements from the West and the East, and composed in a variety of styles from serious art music to arrangements of popular music songs, of which his Beatles arrangements are notable. In addition to his extensive catalog of varied compositions, he was fanatical about film and composed music for over 100 of them.

 In his last days, while bed-ridden and fighting cancer, his regret was that he had not seen a single film that whole time. Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu originally composed Bad Boy for a film of the same name. The music draws on old “Spaghetti Westerns” and the compositional style of Ennio Morricone, who is the composer famous for such films as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This piece is essentially a tonal composition that contrasts sharply with so many works in the rest of his catalog. However, Takemitsu blends that style with a few dissonances, cross rhythms, and meter changes to make things a bit more interesting.

 Paul Hindemith is one of the very finest composers of the 20th century, and arguably of all time. Unfortunately, many famous composers do not write for the guitar, so its repertoire generally comes from guitarists who are writing for the instrument who are not necessarily well known outside of the guitar world. The guitar ends up with a very insular community so it is a rare treat to have someone of Hindemith’s stature compose for the guitar.

 Hindemith was concerned with bridging the gap between 20th century intellectual art music, which had become atonal (or at least extremely dissonant) and had alienated many listeners, and a more accessible style based in tonality and other familiar musical elements. There are notable composers on both sides, and Hindemith falls somewhere in the middle. A key to understanding Hindemith’s approach is in his concept of gebrauchsmusik or "music for use."

 Rondo is the only piece Hindemith wrote for the guitar, and it is somewhat unusual to write for guitar trio-most works are guitar quartets or duets. The title refers to a Classical era form where the opening musical idea recurs throughout the piece, interspersed with new ideas. If the first section of music is labeled “A” and the other sections are labeled with their own letters, the typical form is labeled ABACA. This piece is a good example of the way Hindemith balances modern and familiar elements. The title certainly recalls familiar classical elements, and there are several very tonal sections. There are also very dissonant moments throughout the piece, it very quickly modulates through different tonal areas, there are some interesting syncopations that subvert the meter, and there are several places where he employs quartal harmonies. He treads a fine line in Rondo, using the two styles for tension and resolution. It is an extremely dense piece that goes by quickly, but it is a memorable and substantial contribution to our repertoire.

 Štěpán Rak is a unique guitarist and living composer. He was born in 1945 at the end of World War II. He was discovered as a baby by Russian soldiers in the Ukraine and taken to Prague where he was adopted and brought up as a member of the Rak family. He studied graphic art and painting at the Fine Arts School in Prague but music exerted a much greater pull on him. At the age of eighteen, he started playing guitar and double bass in various Jazz and Rock bands, and he soon developed an interest in Classical music, which led him to study guitar and composition at the Prague Conservatoire.

 In 1981, Štěpán Rak established formal Classical Guitar Studies at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts where he has been teaching ever since and in 2000, President Vaclav Havel appointed him the first university professor of guitar studies in the Czech Republic. Rak has toured and given master classes internationally, extensively published and recorded his works, and his works are regularly performed. Classical Guitar Magazine said that “there can be little doubt that future generations of guitarists will look upon Štěpán Rak as one of the great geniuses of our time." And English composer, John Duarte (who is also on this program) has said "Beethoven described the guitar as a 'miniature orchestra'; no one has done more than Stepán Rak to make this believable " and that "Rak is alone in entrusting to the guitar even the most violent and disturbing emotions and in the extraordinary array of sounds he extracts from the instrument."

 Štěpán Rak is well known for the use of extended techniques and special effects in his compositions and he frequently includes the use of his pinky on his right hand to pluck with all five fingers as opposed to the usual four. Neither of these elements are completely unique to him, but he tends to use these techniques more frequently than most.

  Rumba is a fun piece that uses its recurring rhythm (3+3+2), which is introduced by one guitarist playing percussion on their guitar before the whole group takes it on in this fast and energetic piece. Typical of Rak’s compositions, it is extremely accessible and is definitely a "crowd-pleaser," but there are also some very interesting chromatic passages scales used throughout the piece.

 John Duarte is an interesting figure in the guitar world. While he did not have a traditional musical education, he studied Jazz guitar, studied on his own, and was proficient on other instruments as well. Playing bass, he sat in with Jazz greats Coleman Hawkins and Django Reinhardt. He was also well connected with other such guitar luminaries as Ida Presti and Andres Segovia, who was the most highly esteemed guitarist of the time. Segovia was so influential that any other composers and musicians that he associated with and respected were in turn respected by the international community.

 John Duarte was a gifted composer and musician, but he was also an academic and a socialite. He has written countless articles for all of the top guitar publications, wrote liner notes for major artists, and contributed to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He frequently hosted gatherings which brought together various other important composers and performers in the guitar world. These meetings culminated in various collaborations and allowed for a free exchange of ideas. Segovia was certainly present at of many of those meetings, and met the number of other composers that he would go on to work with, creating new repertoire for the guitar.  Segovia and Duarte became friends as well as professional collaborators. Duarte composed the music for Segovia's wedding.

Duarte’s style is essentially a mixture of the traditional and the decidedly modern. The nature of his Little Suite is an excellent example of this. The dance suite was a fixture of instrumental music in the Baroque era, though the dances themselves came from individual nations in Europe during the Renaissance. By using the form of the suite, Duarte draws upon historical and somewhat familiar music, and indeed two movements we will be performing, the Anglaise and the Gigue, very clearly recall dances that are hundreds of years old.

However, Duarte frequently plays with the listener’s expectations by incorporating very modern elements. For example, in the Anglaise, Duarte alters what would otherwise be a very traditional musical device used in the Renaissance and Baroque. There is a short melody that is passed around the group, which normally would be repeated exactly by each member using the same notes but staggered by a measure or two, or it would be repeated up or down a perfect fourth/fifth. Instead, Duarte has each member repeat the same melody only a note apart. After all the members enter, a cluster of notes is formed which was a very modern practice and indeed. Often the effect is one of surprise, where dissonance is introduced suddenly in an otherwise traditional passage. Other times, Duarte walks us gently into a modern idiom, which blurs the distinction between the two.

A final interesting note on this work – the first movement has the interior voices harmonizing in 2nds! This, along with the clusters, definitely makes the work sound very modern and very tense. This clash is resolved later in a more traditional way in the Gigue, which is another iteration of the mix of traditional and modern in this work.

William Kanengiser's Mbira is a very special work in many ways. There are few works like it for any instrumentation, mostly because of the style and the prepared guitar techniques used.  Mbira was composed by a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, William Kanengiser, which they recorded. While I was earning my undergraduate degrees, my guitar quartet decided to write and ask for a copy of the score since it had not been published. They graciously sent us the score and performing that piece was a highlight of my studies.

An mbira is an African thumb piano, also sometimes called a kalimba. A small wooden box is held in both hands, and the thumbs press on small metal tines that are similar to piano keys to make sound. Not only does this work employ some African musical devices, it requires the performers to alter the sound of the guitar to mimic the mbira. A strong representation of African music is achieved through the use of syncopation, cross-rhythms, and rhythmic layering. To achieve the mbira effect, the players “prepare” the guitar strings by crimping staples around pairs of strings. Most players crimp one staple around the first two strings, placed close to the bridge, though one guitar adds another staple to the third and fourth strings.

 American experimental composer John Cage is famous for his prepared piano works (among other things), where various objects are placed directly on the strings of the piano to achieve new timbres. There are a number of prepared guitar works out there as well which can use alligator clips, bottle caps, and fishing line sinkers to name a few. I think this prepared guitar piece definitely achieves the desired effect of making the guitar sound like an mbira!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Ryan Woempner, Aaron Katz, Jake Skrbina and Nicholas Durant of “Twice Around the Thing.”

All That Jazz in Two Shows at HSU

 Offering everything from mainstream standards to funk and postmodern blends, five HSU Jazz Combos perform two shows of small group jazz at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday April 12. 

 The shows begin at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., with three bands in one show and two bands in the other.

 Twice Around The Thing plays mainstream standards (including “All of Me”) and an original tune, with Nick Durant on tenor sax, Jake Skrbina on guitar, Ryan Woempner on bass and Aaron Katz on drums.

 La Musique Diabolique performs Gypsy jazz in the Django Reinhardt tradition. This quintet is Drew McGowan (violin,) Dan Fair and Kris Lang (guitars) and Steve Workman on bass.

 Operation: Rhythmic Tornado is the largest group, blending jazz, rock and funk with Justin Bertolini (trumpet), Josh Foster (trombone), Aaron Laughlin (guitar), Alex Espe (piano), Ian Taylor (bass) and Thatcher Holvick-Norton (drums.) 

 Matt Engleman’s Musical Man Family Friendly Gang Band mixes jazz tradition with postmodern deconstruction. Matt Engleman (bass,) Nev Mattison (vibes and tenor pan,) Jason Hall (guitar) and Tyler Burkhart (drums) are the players. 

  The No-Chordtet of Lauren Strella (baritone sax,) Ari Davie (trumpet,) Craig Hall (trombone,) Steven Workman (bass) and Kevin Amos (drums) plays acoustic jazz. Their name comes from their uniquely open sound, since they do without a “chording” instrument such as guitar or piano.

 These HSU Jazz Combos perform on Friday April 12 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $7/$3/free to HSU students with i.d. from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Dan Aldag, produced by the HSU Music Department. 

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, North Coast Journal
Jazz Combos: Director's Notes by Dan Aldag

There will be two concerts on April 12: one at 7 p.m., the other at 9 p.m. Three bands will play in one concert, two in another, the order yet to be determined.  The bands and their music are:

Operation: Rhythmic Tornado

 Justin Bertolini, trumpet; Josh Foster, trombone; Aaron Laughlin, guitar; Alex Espe, piano; Ian Taylor, bass; Thatcher Holvick-Norton, drums.
 This groups blends jazz, rock and funk.

Strasbourg St. Denis—Roy Hargrove
JuJu—Wayne Shorter
Sprint and Strut—Justin Bertolini
 Black Narcissus— by Joe Henderson

 Matt Engleman's Musical Man Family Friendly Gang Band 
Nev Mattinson, vibes and tenor pan; Jason Hall, guitar; Matt Engleman, bass; Tyler Burkhart, drums.
 Equal parts post-modern deconstructionists and proponents of the jazz tradition.

 Good Morning Anya —Jaco Pastorius
 Watermelon Man—Herbie Hancock
 Maiysha—Miles Davis
 Song to the Chiricahua—Clifford Alexis

 The No-Chordtet

 Lauren Strella, bari sax; Ari Davie, trumpet; Craig Hull, trombone; Steven Workman, bass; Kevin Amos, drums.
Acoustic jazz without a chording instrument such as piano or guitar gives an open sound to this band with an eclectic repertoire.

Rejazz—Regina Spektor
 Beppos to Ballard—The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet
 Sabbath Prayer—Music by Jerry Bock from Fiddler On The Roof, but our version is based on Cannonball Adderley's arrangement.

 La Musique Diabolique

 Drew McGowan, violin; Dan Fair and Kris Lang, guitar; Steven Workman, bass.
  Gypsy jazz a la Django Reinhardt with tunes that span the gamut from the traditional to the contemporary.

 Musette—composer unknown
 Bazodee—Ray Holman
 Metal Hurlant—Olivier Kikteff

 Twice Around The Thing 

Nick Durant, tenor sax; Jake Skrbina, guitar; Ryan Woempner, bass; Aaron Katz, drums.
 Mainstream jazz, mostly standards with one original tune.

 Delilah—Victor Young
 Jibber Jabber—Ryan Woempner
 If I Were a Bell—Frank Loesser
 Blues by Five—Red Garland
All of Me— Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

                  Ying Wang, cellist for the Beijing Chamber Ensemble
         
Beijing Chamber Ensemble Haunts HSU

 An All-Star lineup of musicians from China brings two haunting works to HSU when the Beijing Chamber Ensemble performs pieces by Beethoven and Brahms at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Tuesday April 9. 

 The Ensemble is led by the internationally renowned violinist Frank Ge-Fang Yang, former first violinist with San Francisco’s Alexander Quartet. 

 The Ensemble also includes Ying Wang, a prize-winning cellist who studied with many prominent cellists including Yo-Yo Ma.  A winner of the National Solo Viola Competition in China, Yue Qi was invited by the U.S Embassy in Beijing to perform for ambassadors from 30 countries. Pianist Fang Zhang, an award-winner in teaching as well as performing, appeared at HSU as a solo performer in 2011.

 All four performers are current faculty members with the prestigious School of the Arts at Remnin University in Beijing, China.

 At HSU they will play Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D, one of the best-known works of its kind. Called the “Ghost” trio, it may have been inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Scholar Lewis Lockwood wrote that this work "raises the genre to a level from which the later piano trio literature could move forward."

 The other work on the program is the Piano Quartet in C minor by Johannes Brahms, which incorporates music he composed at 23 years old with the final version he wrote 20 years later.  Sometimes called the "Werther Quartet" for Brahms' reference to Goethe's novel of unrequited love, The Sorrows of Young Werther, its effect according to one commentator is of a "dark, troubled urgency...that stays to haunt the memory."

 The Beijing Chamber Ensemble performs in a Guest Artists Concert on Tuesday April 9 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $8/$3 from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, Tri-City Weekly, North Coast Journal.
Beijing Chamber Ensemble: Program 


 Piano Trio in D major "Ghost" Op 70, No. 1 ---L.V Beethoven
 1.Allegro vivace e con brio
 2.Largo assai ed espressivo
3.Presto

Intermission

 Quartet for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello in c minor, Op.60 ---Johannes Brahms
1. Allegro non tropo
2. Scherzo: Allegro
3. Andante
4. Finale: Allegro Comodo

The Beijing Chamber Ensemble: Biographies

The Beijing Chamber Ensemble was formed in 2008. In the 2010-2011 concert seasons the Ensemble performed at some of the most prestigious venues in China before embarking on a national tour of music schools.

 Its current members are:


 Frank Ge-Fang Yang, Violinist

 Former first violinist for the Alexander String Quartet in San Francisco, he was a member of the San Francisco State University faculty and in 1992 became a director of the Morrison Chamber Music Center in San Francisco.

 He has performed in some of the worlds’ most prestigious concert halls in the UK, Europe and the U.S. He has performed complete cycles of quartets b Beethoven, Mozart, Bartok, Brahms and Schostokovich. He produced and recorded the complete Beethoven string quartets for the Arte Nova label in Germany, which received rave reviews worldwide. He has also recorded for the labels Foghorn, CRI and Inova USA.

 He was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree twice, once by Allegheny College of Pennsylvania in 1995, and once by St. Lawrence University of New York in 1998 for his outstanding achievements in music performance and education.

 Since 2002, Mr. Yang has been teaching master classes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan in China as visiting scholar. In 2009, he joined the faculty of Renmin University, one of the most prestigious institutions in China, as professor in chamber music and violin, and Chair of Music Department since 2012. Mr. Yang obtained his BA degree from Wuhan Conservatory in China and his Artist Diploma from College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, USA.

Yue Qi, Viola

 Mr. Qi has been on the Music Department faculty of Renmin University of China since 2006. He has served as a Director of the Chinese Viola Society, Executive Director of the Beijing Viola Ensemble, and Executive Director of the Eastern Strings Festival, one of the best summer programs in China. In the 2010-2011 academic year, Mr. Qi was a Visiting Fellow at the Yale School of Music.

 Mr. Qi won the China National Solo Viola Competition in 2001, and received a fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival in 2004. He lectured and performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, Forbidden City Concert Hall and other famous halls in China. He was invited as guest artist by the U.S. Ambassador for the New Year Concert at the United States Embassy in Beijing for more than 30 ambassadors from different countries in 2005.

He has performed widely in the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Spain and China. Qi Yue holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied with Prof. Wing Ho. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Marketing Management of School of Business, RUC. Qi Yue also teaches Arts Management course at RUC.

 Ying Wang, Cellist

 Ying Wang started studying cello at age of six. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.  In 2005, she was granted a full scholarship by Royal Northern College of Music in the UK and graduated with a Masters degree.

 She has studied with well-known cellists, including GuangQuan Hu, MingQing Yu, Hannan Roberts and Ralph Kirshbaum. She also studied with Master Cellist Bernard Greenhouse, who described her as “a young artist born with the understanding of music and the power to control it. There is unlimited passion for music in her performance." From 2003-2005 she was tutored by world famous cellists including Yo-yo Ma, Li-wei Qin, Rodin and others.

  Ying Wang has won many prizes including the First String Quartet Competition of Central Conservatory of Music and the Fifth China National Cello Competition. She performed in Germany with the China Youth Symphony. She toured Switzerland and recorded a CD there. She returned to Remnin University in 2008 to teach cello, and was invited to join the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra in 2010.


Fang Zhang, Pianist

 Born in Shenyang, China, Mr. Zhang began piano lessons at the age of four, and won his first piano competition at age seven. Mr. Zhang received his BM degree in piano at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and was awarded a scholarship to enter MM degree program at the Eastman School of Music. He received the Eastman Performer’s Certificate, the school’s highest award for achievement in performance.

 Fang Zhang was a finalist and prize winner in the 2006 Vladimir Viardo International Piano Competition, where he was awarded the Rachmaninoff Society Special Prize. In 2007 he was awarded First Prize in collaborative pinao in the Jessie Kniesel Lieder Competition at Eastman. In the 2010 season, he appeared with the Xiamen and Shenzhen Symphony orchestras, and released a live concert CD.

 A frequent guest as soloist with orchestra, Mr. Zhang has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in China and the United States. , Mr. Zhang has been on the School of the Arts faculty at Renmin University since 2001, and Director of Piano Studies. He was awarded the 2010 Annual Excellence Teacher Award at Renmin University.

Friday, April 05, 2013


Venetians and Volcanoes with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band presents Venetians and Volcanoes as its annual HSU concert on Friday April 5 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

 Five brass quintets will honor the Venetians of the late Renaissance with the seldom heard multi-choral sounds of Giovanni Gabrieli, the foremost practitioner of the 16th century Venetian School. 

Volcano by contemporary composer Robert Simpson highlights the second half of the concert. Director Gil Cline describes it as “ very substantial and very difficult. At times it’s very transparent, with thin and clear ethereal chord voicings, and at other times very thick in terms of stacked chords and flurries of running 16th notes. Beautiful in sort of a scary way, and scary in a beautiful way!” 

 Among other selections are Cline's original composition, Tower Bells in the Firmament, and a return to Venice for music from Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto. 

 Humboldt Bay Brass Band performs its spring concert on Friday April 5 at 8 p.m. in the in Fulkerson Recital Hall. Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Free to HSU students with ID. Directed by Gilbert Cline, produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Humboldt State Now, Arcata Eye, KHSU Artwaves.