BRIGHTMUSIC TURNS IN
"BRIGHT PIANO"
CONCERT AT
ALL SOULS'

By Nancy Condit

Brightmusic plays Beethoven's
Piano Trio No. 1 in E-Flat Major. op. 1, no. 1
Photo c. by Nancy Condit

Joy overpowered everything in the concert presented by Brightmusic chamber music last night at All Souls' Episcopal Church. This was particularly true in the pieces by Beethoven and 20th century composer Reynaldo Hahn. The pieces were played extremely well, and well chosen.

"I liked the stimulation of hearing something new. I enjoyed the interplay of the instruments," said one of the concert goers at All Souls' Episcopal Church in the second of three performances of Brightmusic's "Bright Strings" last night. The last performance will be at 7:30 pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral this evening. Tickets are $10 at the door.

The most pleasing surprise of the Brightmusic chamber music concert last night at All Souls' Episcopal Church was the piano. The nine foot concert grand was clear, pianist and artistic co-director Amy I-Lin Cheng's word, pulled its weight with the other instruments. With works by Beethoven, Hahn and Brahms, this was wonderful. Both pianos at All Souls' and St. Paul's are Baldwins, but this writer has never been able to hear the piano at St. Paul's as more than a suggestion.

While the Beethoven Piano Trio No. 1 in E-Flat Major, op. 1, no. 1 was outstanding, the Reynaldo Hahn piece, Piano Quintet in F-Sharp Minor, stood out as the star of the concert. It was appropriately referred to in the program notes as a piece that "prolongs the Belle Epoque, nourished by classicism" [Benoit Duteurtre]. As one of the concert-goers at All Souls' said, "I liked the interplay of the instruments (piano, violin and cello). I liked the stimulation of hearing something new."

Performing exceptionally well were Katrin Stamatis, violin; Royce McLarry, viola. They were ably assisted by Hal Brossman, violin; and Tomasz Zieba, cello.

Genticorum, Quebec’s Famous Traditional Trio,
To Play Series of Concerts
at Metro Libraries

The Metropolitan Library System’s annual Our World concert series has brought to central Oklahoma the music of South America, Asia, and the Louisiana bayous, but this year’s performances are something special.  Prepare for the music of the Great White North.
Genticorum, a trio specializing in traditional music with a unique twist, will appear at 10 MLS locations between November 4-9. They are known for their intricate fiddle and flute work, beautiful vocal harmonies, and energetic foot percussions. "The trio is the premier interpreteter of quebecois tunes and folk songs," source, MLS flyer.
“But calling them a trio is a little misleading,” said MLS Director of Outreach Services Dana Morrow.  “Genticorum may be just three musicians but, as one reviewer said of them, they ‘make a glorious noise, both instrumentally and vocally.”
The group is made up of Pascal Gemme, Alexandre de Grosbois-Garland, and Yann Falquet.  Together they sing as well as play fiddle and flute, energetic foot percussion, guitar and bass.  Just listening to them, you’d swear it was a larger ensemble.
“Genticorum is from Quebec,” Morrow said, “and they play traditional, or ‘trad,’ music, but their overall sound is a surprising blend of the ancient and the modern.   The word ‘genticorum’ has no real meaning.  It’s something Pascal Gemme remembers his grandfather used to say.”
Since they first got together in 2000, Genticorum has released four CDs and has presented live–concerts in 15 countries, including Australia, Egypt, England and Malaysia.  Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/genticorum.
All Genticorum’s MLS appearances are free and open to the public.  They are co-sponsored by Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

• Sunday, November 4 at 2:00 p.m.: Downtown Library, 300 Park Avenue
• Monday, November 5 at 1:00 p.m.: Warr Acres Library, 5901 N.W. 63rd Street
• Monday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m.: Midwest City Library, 8143 E. Reno
• Tuesday, November 6 at 1:00 p.m.: Edmond Library, 10 S. Boulevard
• Tuesday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m.: Bethany Library, 3510 N. Mueller
• Wednesday, November 7 at 10:00 a.m.: Choctaw Library, 2525 Muzzy Street
• Thursday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m.: Northwest Library, 5600 N.W. 122nd Street
• Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m.: Belle Isle Library, 5501 N. Villa
• Friday, November 9 at 10:00 a.m.: The Village Library, 10307 N. Pennsylvania Avenue
• Friday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m.: Del City Library, 4509 S.E 15th Street

For more information about this or any Metropolitan Library System program, visit the MLS website, www.metrolibrary.org.

From the press release

BRIGHTMUSIC CONCERTS “BRIGHT MUSIC”
BEGIN SUNDAY


Artistic Directors Chad Burrow (clarinet) and Amy I-Ling Cheng (piano). Photo provided

 3:00 pm, Sunday afternoon, November 4
at First Christian Church of Norman,
220 S. Webster, Norman 73069

7:30 pm, Monday night, November 5
at All Souls’ Episcopal Church
6400 N. Pennsylvania Ave. (at 63^rd Street)                    

7:30 pm, Tuesday night, November 6
at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral
127 NW 7th Street (at Robinson)

This Sunday afternoon, Monday evening and Tuesday evening, five members of the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble will play the second concert of Brightmusic’s 10^th Anniversary Season – “Bright Strings.”  For the first time, we will give three performances of this concert.  The ensemble will perform on Sunday afternoon at the First Christian Church in Norman; on Monday evening at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Nichols Hills; and on Tuesday evening at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral downtown.

The works on the program are:  (1) Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, op. 1., no. 1 for piano, violin and cello; (2) 20^th Century French composer Reynaldo Hahn’s luscious French Romantic Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor for piano, two violins, viola and cello, which will transport audiences back to La Belle Époque; and (3) Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor, op. 101 for piano, violin and cello.   

The Brightmusic musicians who will perform this concert are

Violin: Hal Grossman, concertmaster of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in Chicago and assistant professor of violin at the University of Oklahoma.

Violin: Katrin Stamatis, violinist with the OKC Philharmonic Orchestra and Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the University of Oklahoma. 

Viola:  Royce McLarry, principal violist of the OKC Philharmonic Orchestra and associate faculty member for violin and viola at Oklahoma Christian University.

Cello: Tomasz Zieba, Associate Principal Cellist of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and Instructor of Cello at Oklahoma City University. 
Piano:  Dr. Amy I-Lin Cheng, concert pianist, Lecturer of Piano at the University of Michigan and faculty member at the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts. 

Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano), Hal Grossman and Katrin Stamatis (violins), Royce McLarry (viola) and Tomasz Zieba (cello).         
This concert is made possible by all of our wonderful individual and institutional donors, including our Tenth Anniversary Season sponsors, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Ad Astra Foundation.

Program notes are posted on Brightmusic’s website, http://www.brightmusic.org/concert/bright-strings/program-notes.  Admission is $10 for adults, free for students with ID.

From the press release