Join Voci as we present Voices in Peace VII: Winter Stillness, celebrating the quiet beauty of the season. Concerts will feature Vincent Persichetti`s spare and stunning Winter Cantata, based on Japanese Haiku, along with works by Debussy, Elgar, Nelson, Szymko, Weir and others.
Throughout the program, Voci will be accompanied on marimba by well-known Bay Area percussionist William Winant, and Amelia Archer on flute. In addition to the Persichetti, other accompanied works include Judith Weir`s "Little Tree," a delicate musical meditation for the season based on poetry by e.e.cummings; and two selections from Joan Szymko`s "This Wonderful Feeling," featuring uplifting musical ruminations on quiet and darkness, drawn from poetry written by elementary school children. Selections from Ron Nelson`s "Three Settings of the Moon," based on poems by Thomas E. Ahlburn, will offer shimmering musical reflections on the moon in winter.
Other program highlights include Edward Elgar`s "The Snow," Gustav Holst`s "In the Bleak Midwinter," and Paula Foley Tillen`s cheerful "December." Finally, two works by Claude Debussy, including the rarely-heard impressionist "Les Angelus," along with works by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein and a new arrangement of "Avinu Malkeinu" by Voci`s own Judy Margulis, round out the performance. This concert is the seventh in Voci`s annual Voices in Peace concert series, which seeks to provide inspiration on a path to peace, in the spirit and harmony of the holiday season.
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More about the artists:
William Winant (marimba, percussion) is principal percussionist with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the John Zorn Chamber Ensemble. ..."One of the best avant-garde percussionists working today" according to music critic Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal), William Winant has performed with some of the most innovative and creative musicians of our time. Since 1995 he has been the percussionist with the avant-rock band Mr. Bungle, and has made two recordings and toured with the group throughout the world. In March of 1997 he participated in the world premiere of Lou Harrison`s quintet "Rhymes with Silver" featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and has toured the piece throughout the United States and Great Britain. In the fall of 2003, he co-created music for a series of eight special "Events" staged in London by Merce Cunningham and Dancers, in celebration of the dance company`s 50th anniversary. Mr. Winant has made over 130 recordings, covering a wide variety of genres, including music by Earle Brown, John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, Luc Ferrari, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Danny Elfman ("Batman Returns"), Souxie and the Banshees, The Ex, Han Bennink, White Out with Jim O`Rourke, Thurston Moore, and Mike Patton. Many composers have also written works for him. Mr. Winant is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and teaches at Mills College and the University of California at Berkeley. He was Artist-in-Residence at Mills College for eight years with the critically acclaimed Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio. Read more at Mr. Winant`s website: http://williamwinant.com/
Amelia Archer (flute) plays with the Mission Chamber Orchestra in San Jose, enjoys working with composers in the area--most recently performing at the Headlands Center for the Arts with Hubert Ho, presenting his piece for flute and piano: Tremble, and teaches at her home in Menlo Park. Her flute teachers include Angela Koregelos, Sheridan Stokes, and Keith Underwood. She received her BA from University of California at Berkeley and MA from CUNY Queens College.
