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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Bowdoin Music Festival
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DTSTART:20260308T070000
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T150000
DTSTAMP:20260906T012129
CREATED:20260527T025101Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T170801Z
UID:24404-1783519200-1783522800@www.bowdoinfestival.org
SUMMARY:Meet the Composer: Chinary Ung
DESCRIPTION:MEET THE COMPOSER: Chinary Ung \nDuring this talk\, composer Chinary Ung will discuss his work and creative process. You can hear his piece Spiral VI performed by Festival Fellows during our Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music on Saturday\, July 11. \nThis event is via a Zoom Webinar; we hope you will join the conversation online! \n  \nAbout Chinary Ung \nChinary Ung is often associated with that group of Asian-born composers whose music incorporates aspects of eastern musical characteristics into a western classical music setting. Aside from specific cultural and generational distinctions\, the principal difference between Ung’s work and theirs is that for many years he was prevented from engaging directly with the source of his cultural heritage as his native country was being torn apart by the scourge of the Khmer Rouge. Indeed\, as the people and culture of Cambodia were being systematically destroyed\, Ung took it upon himself to rescue some facet of the traditional music he had known as a child\, reconstituting Cambodian musical traditions through his performances on the roneat-ek — the Cambodian xylophone. This project reflects the qualities of responsibility and of hopefulness that are so strongly a part of Ung’s personality. \nUng’s Cambodian roots are woven into the fabric of his identity\, but the musical aspects are\, as a result of his peculiar circumstance\, keenly related to memory. For many years — through the late 1980’s — Ung’s music had a plaintive character in its modally-inflected\, melodic behaviors\, as if he were reaching back to another time uncorrupted by political tumult. Ung’s work of this period established him as a major figure in American music\, winning citations from virtually every major musical arts institution in his adopted country. He was the first American composer to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award\, for Inner Voices. That work\, along with the Spirals series indicates a self-referential artistic project where one seeks spiritual strength and inspiration through meditation and quiet contemplation\, traits of Buddhist spiritual exercises. The Spirals series in particular shows an affinity for the connection between pieces. \nThe creative impetus draws from many sources — such as dreams — and there is a distinct pictorial and spiritual basis to Ung’s music. Aura\, a large work for two sopranos and chamber ensemble written in 2005\, refers to the multicolored aura surrounding the Buddha’s head. The work’s extensive amplification draws the listener into the performance space\, as if invited into the healing light of the Buddha. Rain of Tears\, a concerto for chamber orchestra composed in 2006\, commemorates the victims of natural disasters in Bandeh Aceh and New Orleans. Its many variants on rising and falling figures present a staggering interpretation of wave imagery. In this work\, Ung invokes the Buddhist concept of Shunyata\, which he describes as spiritual openness\, in order to inspire four distinct statements of compassion. \nUng’s extensive orchestral catalog has been commissioned and performed by major orchestras throughout the United States and abroad\, including those in Philadelphia\, Louisville\, Pittsburgh\, Tokyo\, Sydney\, Basel\, as well as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra\, and the American Composers Orchestra. Boston Modern Orchestra Project released a recording of Ung’s orchestral music in 2015. Ung’s work has been commissioned by the Meet the Composer/Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program\, the National Endowment for the Arts\, and the Ford\, Koussevitsky\, Joyce\, and Barlow Foundations. In 2014 he was given the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award by the New York-based Asian Cultural Council. \nUng recently participated in the Pacific Rim Festival at University of California Santa Cruz\, where his work entitled Singing Inside Aura III\, for Amplified Singing Violist and Korean Traditional Orchestra\, received performances at both UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. This piece\, commissioned by the Gugak Center\, is projected to receive another performance in Seoul\, Korea\, December 2017. Additionally\, the National Endowment of the Arts has extended support for the forthcoming Therigatha Inside Aura\, dedicated to the peacemakers of tomorrow. This spring\, Chapman University will present a Chinary Ung Portrait Concert at the new Musco Center for the Arts\, and he begins his residence at Scripps College in March 2018\, where Therigatha Inside Aura will be performed and recorded. \nBy any measure\, Chinary Ung is an astonishingly prolific composer\, yet his focus is rarely turned inward. Indeed\, one notes in his activities as a cultural leader and educator a profound sense of responsibility to a broader cultural and societal context. In the years since the holocaust Ung has worked with numerous institutions and individuals who share his dedication toward preserving Cambodian culture and forging cultural exchanges between Asia and the West\, such as The Asian Cultural Council. He was President of the Khmer Studies Institute in the U.S.A. between 1980-1985\, and was an advisor for the Killing Fields Memorial and Cambodian Heritage Museum of Chicago and a member of the Cambodian-Thai cultural committee. \nAs an educator\, Ung has taught courses in Southeast Asian music and he has instructed generations of young composers at several institutions in the United States\, and now\, through a series of residencies\, in Asia as well. In this regard he follows the example of his mentor\, Chou Wen-chung. He holds appointments at University of California\, San Diego\, where he is Distinguished Professor of Music\, and at Chapman University\, where he is a Presidential Fellow and Senior Composer in Residence. For the 2017-2018 academic year he is the Karel Husa Visiting Professor in Composition at Ithaca College. He and his wife Susan direct the Nirmita Composers Institute each summer\, with the goal of providing compositional direction and opportunity to musicians from Southeast Asia. \nHis music is featured on recordings released on Bridge\, CAMBRIA\, CRI\, New World\, Argo\, and oodiscs\, among others. Chinary Ung’s compositions are published exclusively by C.F. Peters Corporation and they are registered under BMI.
URL:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/meet-the-composer-chinary-ung/
LOCATION:Online from Brunswick\, 12 Campus Rd S\, Brunswick\, ME\, 04011
CATEGORIES:Free Events,Meet the Composer,New Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/contents/media/2026/05/MTC-Ung.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T150000
DTSTAMP:20260906T012129
CREATED:20260605T155547Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260717T182601Z
UID:24533-1783519200-1783522800@www.bowdoinfestival.org
SUMMARY:All Saints Chapel Community Concert
DESCRIPTION:All Saints Chapel Community Concert \nJoin us in at All Saints Chapel on Orr’s Island for a wonderful afternoon of music featuring talented Festival Young Artists. Community concerts typically feature a variety of classical repertoire and last 45 minutes to 1 hour. \nFree | Tickets Not Required \n\n— PROGRAM — \nJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)\nCello Suite No. 3 in C Major\, BWV 1009 \nI. Prelude\nII. Allemande \nAlexandra Dillulio\, cello \nJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)\nViolin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor\, BWV 1003 \nIII. Andante \nElliot Anderson\, violin \nJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)\nViolin Partita No. 3 in E Major\, BWV 1006 \nI. Preludio\nIII. Gavotte en Rondeau \nAlice Yang\, violin \nBRANDEE YOUNGER (b. 1983)\nUnrest: I \nZora Evangeline\, harp \nALICE COLTRANE (1937–2007)\nWisdom Eye \nZora Evangeline\, harp \nERROLL GARNER (1921–1977)\nMisty \nZora Evangeline\, harp \nJACQUES IBERT (1890–1962)\nTrio for Violin\, Cello\, and Harp \nI. Allegro tranquillo\nII. Andante sostenuto \nYun Zhuang\, violin • Haley Rasmussen\, cello • Zora Evangeline\, harp\nYun is sponsored by Jim & Janice Feather\, and Haley is sponsored by George & Christine\nBachrach.
URL:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/all-saints-concert-2026/
LOCATION:All Saints Chapel\, 9 Cooper Ln\, Orr's Island\, ME\, 04066
CATEGORIES:Concert,Community Concerts,Free Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/contents/media/2025/06/All-Saints.png
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T210000
DTSTAMP:20260906T012129
CREATED:20260130T023407Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T111334Z
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SUMMARY:Ludwig\, Penderecki\, Mahler\, & Franck
DESCRIPTION:Ludwig\, Penderecki\, Mahler\, & Franck  \nDAVID LUDWIG (b. 1974)\nCanzoniere \nLinda Chesis\, flute • Robin Scott\, Janet Ying\, violin • Phillip Ying\, viola • David Ying\, cello \nKRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI (1933–2020)\nDuo Concertante for Violin and Bass \nAyano Ninomiya\, violin • Anthony Manzo\, bass \nGUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911)\nPiano Quartet in A Minor  \nRenée Jolles\, violin • Melissa Reardon\, viola • Ahrim Kim\, cello • Tao Lin\, piano\n \nCÉSAR FRANCK (1822–1890)\nSonata for Violin and Piano in A Major\nRobin Scott\, violin • Ran Dank\, piano  \n  \nProgram Notes \nDAVID LUDWIG (b. 1974)\nCanzoniere (2010)    \nThe inspiration for the music is a madrigal from Monteverdi’s wonderful setting of the Petrarchan sonnet Or che ‘l ciel e la terra. \nLike in so much of Petrarch’s poetry\, Or che ‘l ciel e la terra is full of description of love and longing\, all set in a  dream-like world balanced between nature and the man-made. Monteverdi saw the opportunity in this text to create a vivid and varied work inspired by Petrarch’s words. I was inspired by both the words and the music\, and so set out to write my own piece reflecting on the works of these two authors. \nThe first movement is a direct quote from Monteverdi that one might not notice on the surface. I used his harmonies (all of them!) but stretched chords to the extreme ends of the range. The second movement draws less directly from the composer’s work\, and more from the text: “War is my state of being\, of both anger and pain / And only thinking of her brings some peace.” The third movement begins with another quote–the opening of this part takes directly from Monteverdi’s\, and the text plays a definite role in the music. The final movement alternates between my own close canon of flute and piano and Monteverdi’s last chords–the ending to his madrigal is one of the most beautiful passages in music that I know. I was so haunted by these notes that I was sure I had to include them in my own piece. \nPetrarch’s entire collection of sonnets is called the “Canzoniere\,” which means simply “Songbook.” The piece was commissioned through the Anthony P. Checchia Composers Project of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and was funded by a grant from William M. Hollis and Andrea Baldeck\, M.D. The original Canzoniere for Flute and Piano was written for Marina Piccinnini and was premiered with pianist Benjamin Hochman in November 2010 at the American Philosophical Society. This arrangement\, for flutist Linda Chesis and the Ensō Quartet\, was completed in 2014. \nPetrarch’s poem below: \nOr che ‘l ciel e la terra e ‘l vento tace\nE le fere e gli augelli il sonno affrena\,\nNotte ‘l carro stellato in giro mena\,\nE nel suo letto il mar senz’ onda giace\, \nVeggio\, penso\, ardo\, piango; e chi mi sface\nSempre m’è in anzi per mia dolce pena:\nGuerra e il mio stato d’ira e di duol piena;\nE sol di lei pensando ho qualche pace. \nCosì sol d’una chiara fonte viva\nMove ‘l dolce l’amaro ond’ io mi pasco;\nUna man sola mi risana e punge.\nPerchè ‘l mio martir non giunge a riva\nMille volt’il dì moro e mille nasco;\nTanto da la salute mia son lunge. \nNow\, while the heavens and earth and wind are still\nAnd beats and birds are locked in sleep\,\nNight’s chariot of stars makes its circles\nAnd within its bed\, the ocean lies without waves\,\nI watch\, I ponder\, I burn\, I weep; and she who causes this\nIs always present to my sweet pain:\nWar is my state of being\, of both anger and pain;\nAnd only thinking of her brings some peace. \nAnd so\, from a single pure fountain\nFlows the sweetness and bitterness of my passion;\nA single hand restores me and wounds me.\nSince my suffering knows no end\nA thousand times a day I die\, a thousand times am born;\nSo great is the distance to my salvation. \nProgram Note and Translation by David Ludwig \n   \nKRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI (1933–2020)\nDuo Concertante for Violin and Bass (2010)                    \nIn the mid-1970s\, the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki developed a highly consistent\, sonorous\, tonally idiosyncratic musical language. He saturated his melodies with lamenting chains of descending half-steps and vertiginous leaps up the dissonant interval of a tritone. He tended to harmonize these tunes with diminished and augmented chords—highly symmetrical and flexible stacks of notes in which\, unlike in major or minor chords\, all the constituent intervals have the same basic size and sound. He laid his themes out in capricious\, scherzo-like structures punctuated by rhythmically loose cadenzas. Penderecki used this style of writing in string quartets\, symphonies\, operas\, and everything in between. But it comes through particularly clearly in his works for one or two string instruments like his Cadenza for Viola (1984)\, his Solo Cello Suite (1994–2013)\, and his Duo Concertante for the rare combination of violin and double bass. \nPenderecki wrote the Duo Concertante in 2010 on a commission from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Mutter gave its premiere in March of the following year together with one of the foundation’s grant recipients\, bassist Roman Patkoló. At the start of the piece\, one musician holds a fixed pitch while the other presents an expressive\, meterless soliloquy\, and then they switch functions a few times. The extreme range difference between the instruments makes these changes in role particularly satisfying\, because though the violin and bass play similar themes\, there is a remarkable difference in effect between a melody that is belted from below a celestial drone and one that is sung and scraped out above a gravelly\, low pedal point. Eventually\, Penderecki introduces his characteristic fluttering\, scherzando textures and the Duo Concertante quickly becomes a showpiece\, with the two players scampering around\, using noisy instrumental special effects\, and dancing a virtuosic and intermittently macabre jig.                                                       \nGUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911)\nPiano Quartet in A Minor (1878)                                \nWhen he was at the Vienna Conservatory in the 1870s\, Gustav Mahler jumped from piece to piece\, struggling to get complete compositions down on paper. His close friend Natalie Bauer-Lechner recalled him admitting to her years later that “in those days\, I couldn’t be bothered with all that — my mind was too restless and unstable. I skipped from one draft to another and finished most of them merely in my head. But I knew every note of them\, and could play them whenever they were wanted — until\, one day\, I found I’d forgotten them.”  \nHe was very critical of his own work when he was a student\, especially of music that found success with teachers and competition juries. Still\, he held one youthful piece in particularly high esteem: a piano quartet\, which he said “proved a great success.” Mahler came to believe this quartet was lost\, but in fact the manuscript of the first movement and a snippet of the second survived. As his only extant piece of instrumental chamber music\, it provides a small-scale window into the early style of a man who would go on to create unprecedentedly massive symphonies and song cycles.  \nIn the quartet’s ominous opening\, slow triplets in the right hand of the piano create a hazy atmosphere while the left hand of the piano presents the piece’s principal motif: a figure that rises a minor sixth and then falls back down a half-step. We hear this gesture many times over the course of the movement\, and Mahler fixates on it to the point of madness and obsession in the broad development section. For contrast\, he writes a striking\, dramatic bit of counterpoint in which the strings and keyboard play against one another in an off-Baroque fashion that anticipates the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. \nProgram Notes by Nicky Swett \n— Intermission — \nCÉSAR FRANCK (1822–1890)\nSonata for Violin and Piano in A Major (1886)                \nWalloon-born César Franck was a late-blooming composer\, having first made his name as a piano prodigy and virtuosic improviser\, then as titular organist at the Parisian basilica of Sainte Clotilde\, and finally as a renowned pedagogue at the Paris Conservatoire. The Sonata for Violin and Piano\, which Franck composed at the age of 63\, forms — along with the Piano Quintet\, the String Quartet\, the Symphony in D\, and the symphonic poem Psyché — a compositional outpouring that occupied the final dozen years of his life. This string of works is notable for combining a feverish emotive intensity with progressive approaches to form and development. \nIn the Sonata for Violin and Piano\, Franck’s predilection for harmonic complexity is on full display; the satisfaction is less that of a scenic detour\, and more that of working out a challenging puzzle\, forging a path through a chromatic labyrinth while generating energy from the frictions caused along the way. His unceasing\, sometimes tortuous modulations give the impression of a music always in transition\, its trajectory often unpredictable\, thereby accruing a frankly erotic harmonic tension in a manner reminiscent of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde — which made a profound impression on him when he heard it in 1874. Amid such wilderness\, it becomes all the more important to cling to the melodic themes\, which are introduced in one movement and recycled in subsequent movements. For example\, the opening melodic contour of the first movement returns with poignance at the start of the Recitativo-Fantasia (and again\, even more exquisitely\, toward the end of that movement). Franck learned this strategy from Franz Liszt but made it fully his own\, inspiring subsequent generations of composers (including Maurice Ravel and Vincent d’Indy) to experiment with such so-called “cyclical” themes in their own compositions.  \nThe Sonata is also noteworthy for its exceptional difficulty for violinist and pianist alike. Franck\, who was perfectly up to the pianistic challenges himself\, presented the work as a wedding present to Belgian virtuoso violinist Eugène Ysaÿe\, then age 28\, who performed it at the ceremony\, having learnt it that very morning. Since then\, the Sonata has lived additional afterlives in the form of arrangements for cello (most famously)\, viola\, and even flute. \nProgram Note by Peter Asimov
URL:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/07-08-2026/
LOCATION:Studzinski Recital Hall\, 12 Campus Road S\, Brunswick\, ME\, 04011
CATEGORIES:Concert,Ticketed Events,Wednesdays,Livestream
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/contents/media/2026/01/July-8-2026.jpg
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