Spectra
SOLI Chamber Ensemble’s next season concert at the San Antonio Botanical Garden is Spectra on January 31. Works by Canadians Jocelyn Morlock and Malcolm Forsyth, Americans Carlos Simon and Brian Bondari, and Mexicans Arturo Marquez and Gabriela Ortiz shape this concert that considers the spectra of music and culture of our continent. From auroral and ethereal to lighthearted to earthy, every voice - no matter their position or heritage or point of origin - is an equally integral part of the experience for the listener. Spectra features the world premiere of Planetscape by San Antonio composer Brian Bondari.
The audience is invited to explore Carlos Simon’s transcendent reimagination of Be Still and Know, the simmering vitality of Arturo Marquez’s Zarabandeo, and motivic patterns reminiscent of the vast frontier plains in both the western United States and northern Mexico in Trifolium by Gabriela Ortiz. At once delicate and majestic, The Jack Pine by Jocelyn Morlock captures the rejuvenation of life clinging to a rocky hillside from the absolute destruction and stillness of a forest fire. And Malcolm Forsyth’s Eclogue is an eloquent dialogue of the dazzling varieties inherent in the sonorous and radiant registers of the solo cello.
Audience members acquainted with epic and classic video games will find Brian Bondari’s commission for SOLI, Planetscape, reminiscent of familiar melodies. Drawing on memories of The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Runescape, World of Warcraft, and others, Bondari’s new work is a fresh and original approach to the soundtrack of this distinctly American pastime and is both approachable, and unapologetically melodic.
‘Planetscape’ by Brian Bondari has been made possible with support from the Individual Artists Project Grant Program of the San Antonio Arts Commission.
SOLI Chamber Ensemble is honored to partner with the San Antonio Botanical Garden to produce its 2021 – 2022 season live in an outdoor, safe, natural setting. Concerts are staged from the Betty Kelso Center as the audience engages in SOLI's exciting and imaginative program from the comfort and safety of the Greehey Lawn.
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PROGRAM
The Jack Pine (2010) ................................................................................. Jocelyn Morlock (b. 1969)
solo piano
Eclogue (1998) ................................................................................. Malcolm Forsyth (1936 - 2011)
solo cello
Planetscape (2021)....................................................................................... Brian Bondari (b. 1979)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano ~ World Premiere ~
Zarabandeo (1995)................................................................................... Arturo Marquez (b. 1950)
solo clarinet
Be Still and Know (2015) ............................................................................... Carlos Simon (b. 1986)
violin, cello, and piano
Trifolium (2005)............................................................................................ Gabriela Ortiz (b. 1964)
violin, cello, and piano
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SOLI Chamber Ensemble has been giving voice to 20th- and 21st-century contemporary chamber music since 1994, mesmerizing audiences for nearly three decades with their engaging performances, ensuring the future of new music through educational initiatives, and continually renewing their commitment to the works of living composers through performances and commissions. Winner of the 2013 Chamber Music America and ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award and a 2020 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, SOLI continues to champion new works, new contexts, and new audiences for the music of our time.
SOLI IS...
An avid performer of contemporary music, STEPHANIE KEY is the founding and current Artistic Director of SOLI Chamber Ensemble. She received her BM with Distinction in Performance from New England Conservatory, and she has performed with many orchestras and ensembles across the country and internationally. She is the Interim Second/Utility Clarinetist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. She is currently on leave as Associate Principal and Eb Clarinetist with the San Antonio Symphony and the music faculty at Trinity University. Ms. Key is a Performing Artist/Clinician with Buffet Crampon Music Group.
Turkish-American violinist ERTAN TORGUL balances a full calendar of national and international recital engagements, chamber music concerts, and solo appearances. He has been SOLI Chamber Ensemble's violinist since 1996, served as Artistic Director from 2012 to 2019, and was the group's Managing Director from 2011 to 2020. Mr. Torgul is also a member of the SUONO Duo/Trio, Quartet ES, and Quinteto Quilombo. He serves as Lecturer of violin & chamber music at U.C. Santa Barbara and as Affiliate Artist in violin at the University of Houston.
Cellist DAVID MOLLENAUER received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School with Harvey Shapiro and continued his studies with Lynn Harrell at USC. He has performed across the U.S., Central America, Europe, and Asia. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Mollenauer is a founding member of SOLI, Assistant Principal Cello of the San Antonio Symphony, a member of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, and teaches cello at Trinity University.
An inaugural member of the Steinway Music Teacher Hall of Fame, prize-winning pianist CAROLYN TRUE is Professor of Music at Trinity University and a core member of SOLI Chamber Ensemble since 1996. She walks the delicate balance between teaching and actively performing solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire on the national and international stage. Ms. True holds the prestigious Performers' Certificate and a DMA from the Eastman School of Music.
FEATURED COMPOSER
Brian Bondari was born in Mason City, Iowa in 1979. He holds both a DMA and a M.Mus in Composition from The University of Kansas, as well as Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Music Composition from Valdosta State University. He is an Associate Professor of Music at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he he teaches Music Theory, Composition, and Electronic Music. Brian has written for orchestra, chorus, wind ensemble, chamber and percussion ensembles, theatre, and the electronic medium. His works have been performed across the US, Europe, and Asia, and he has thrice served as a guest composer at the Oiniades Theatre Festival in Greece. His recent works include Symphony No. 2 - Trinity, which was premiered in 2019 by the Trinity Symphony Orchestra to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Trinity University. Other works include a piece for flute and piano, which was premiered in Carnegie Hall and followed by numerous performances in Italy.
