Tableau in Frida Kahlo’s Oasis
SOLI Chamber Ensemble opens its new season at the San Antonio Botanical Garden with Tableau in Frida Kahlo's Oasis. The Garden's current exhibit, Frida Kahlo Oasis, is the inspiration for a vibrant evening filled with fusions of dance rhythms and contemporary expressions in the music of Aaron Prado, Arturo Marquez, and Robert Xavier Rodriguez. SOLI welcomes guest artist Jacquelyn Matava, mezzo-soprano, to the stage. Tableau includes San Antonio composer Aaron Prado's recent adaptation for SOLI of his Ofrenda, written in 2015 as a tribute to Frida Kahlo, and Arturo Marquez's sinuous and joyous celebration of the danzon: Zarabandeo. San Antonio native Robert Xavier Rodriguez's music is the centerpiece of the evening as SOLI will present his Concert Suite from the opera "Frida" with Jacquelyn Matava and Musica por un tiempo, commissioned and premiered by SOLI in 2008.
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. Please review SOLI's health and safety protocols for additional information.
PROGRAM
Ofrenda (2015/2021) ..................................................................................... Aaron Prado (b. 1979) clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Concert Suite from the opera 'Frida' (1991) ............................... Robert Xavier Rodriguez (b. 1946) mezzo-soprano and piano Book: Hilary Blecher; Lyrics and Monologues: Midgalia Cruz
Zarabandeo (1995) ................................................................................... Arturo Marquez (b. 1950) clarinet and piano
Musica, por un tiempo (2008) .......................................................................... Robert X. Rodriguez clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
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.
GUEST ARTIST
Winner of The American Prize (2021) for women in opera, mezzo-soprano JACQUELYN MATAVA has been praised for her "warm sound" and "soothing legato line." Operatic credits include the title roles in Cendrillon and Dido and Aeneas, Charlotte (Werther), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and Nancy (Albert Herring). She won 3rd prize in the 2020 National Opera Association Carolyn Bailey and Dominick Argento Vocal Competition and was a Regional Finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Matava holds a DM and MM from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and
a BA from Vassar College and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Trinity University.
