Our 2024 Spring Chamber Music Series will explore some of the most beautiful repertoire in the intimate sanctuary of Greeley's First United Methodist Church.
We are excited to invite current students from the University of Northern Colorado to conclude our chamber music series with an exciting program of nineteenth and twentieth century works by leading French, Russian, and Czech composers.
Sunday, May 5, 2024 | 2:00 PM | First United Methodist Church Greeley
PROGRAM
Darius Milhaud (1892–1974)
Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, op. 157b (1936)
Román Carranza violin
Conor Sprunger clarinet
Reginald Winters piano
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, String Quartet, and Piano, op. 34 (1919)
Conor Sprunger clarinet
Grace Johnston violin
Colette Burch violin
Ivory Masching viola
Jaidan Ursich cello
Hanguang Wang piano
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, op. 81 (1887)
Dr. Jubal Fulks violin
Natascha Bastian violin
Ivory Masching viola
Daniel Vasquez cello
Ko-Ching Tai piano
Conor Sprunger is a clarinetist and music educator based in Greeley, Colorado. Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Conor is currently pursuing his Doctor of Arts in Clarinet Performance from University of Northern Colorado. Previously he ran a successful private clarinet studio for 7 years while attaining his bachelor and masters from Western Michigan University.
In addition to his teaching experience, Conor has performed extensively on clarinet and bass clarinet with a myriad of groups including the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, Holland (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra, Larimer Chorale, Grand Rapids Symphonic Band, and the Birds on a Wire: Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
Román Carranza is a native of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He started his musical training early and continued his studies at the renowned school for young talented musicians Victoriano Lopez Conservatory in Honduras. During his early years as a young player, Mr. Carranza participated in several music festivals and workshops around Central America, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States of America.
Furthermore, he became one of the youngest members of the late San Pedro Sula Chamber Orchestra – Awarded as the top string group in Central America under the baton of maestro Jose Iglesias Carnot (Cuba) – and later on, became a member of the Honduras' Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mr. Carranza holds a Bachelor's and Master's in Music Performance from Northwestern State University of Louisiana. He is the two-time winner of the Concerto Competition at NSULA in 2013, and 2015. He is pursuing a Doctoral degree in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado.
Additionally, Mr. Carranza's musical journey throughout the years of music making has been actively working as a music educator, strings teacher, and orchestra musician. He has worked as a teacher of youth string orchestras in the US and Honduras. He was a member of several symphony orchestras in the ARK-LA-TEX area and is now an active violinist with the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, and Steamboat Opera.
Mr. Carranza enjoys spending his free time exploring the culinary arts and long walks with his beloved and beautiful wife Wendy.
Reginald ("Reggie") Winters is an active pianist, harpsichordist, educator, and arts administrator based out of Greeley, Colorado. As a performer, Reggie has become a highly sought after collaborator. He currently serves as a Collaborative Piano Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Colorado where he assists with courses in the Voice Area. He has previously served as an orchestral pianist for the Texas Tech University Symphony Orchestra and for the chamber orchestra Ensemble Bravura.
As a harpsichordist, Reggie serves as the basso continuo for the URSA Early Music Consort at the University of Northern Colorado. His most recent concert engagement includes a performance of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050, in collaboration with violinist Dr. Jubal Fulks and flutist Dr. James Hall. He is currently in the harpsichord studio of Professor Debra Throgmorton at the University of Northern Colorado.
As an active arts administrator, Reggie currently serves as the the Artistic Co-Director and Director of Chamber Music of Beethoven in the Rockies: Concert Series, the Executive Director of the Colorado International Piano Academy & Festival, Executive Administrator and Social Media Coordinator of the annual Orvieto Musica Summer Music Festival (Orvieto, Italy), and is on the team of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra. He served as the Production Assistant on the album “Finding Home” (SONY) produced by Grammy-winning Producer Michael Fine and featuring Maestro Philip Mann with Ensemble Bravura. While completing his studies at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, Reggie served as a full-time teacher and administrative assistant at The Music Studio Lubbock where he maintained a large piano studio. He is currently a Graduate Assistant in the UNC College of Performing and Visual Arts Admissions Office.
Reggie completed the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Texas Tech University. He is currently completing the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Northern Colorado. His principal teachers include Drs. Tatiana Roitman Mann and Lei Weng.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Grace Johnston currently teaches in her studio the Northern Colorado area and has worked with a very diverse group of students for over the last decade. Her teaching philosophy seeks to initiate and maintain lifelong habits, thinking, and love for music in her students.
Grace studied with Dr. Jubal Fulks at the University of Northern Colorado and has also studied with Helen Kim, various members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
She has appeared in concert as an orchestral musician under the batons of Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, Joann Falletta, Dr. Michael Alexander, and Dr. Russell Guyver.
Ms. Johnston has been the concertmaster for UNC’s Symphony Orchestra and actively participates in the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras in the Northern Colorado area as a substitute musician.
Grace received her Bachelor of Music from Kennesaw State University in Georgia, her Master of Music from the University of Northern Colorado and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Arts in Violin Performance at the University of Northern Colorado.
Colette Burch is a senior at UNC and will be graduating with the Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance on May 4th. She is an active musician in the Greeley area, from being featured as a soloist and scholarship winner to performing for the Greeley Philharmonic. She also received the Outstanding Student Award for the String area in the Spring of 2023.
She enjoys teaching violin lessons and has been building her private studio in Northern Colorado and Denver areas. When not performing or teaching, she enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, and a good book with a cup of tea.
Ivory Masching is a violist that received her undergraduate degree in viola performance from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020 where she studied with Christopher Luther, Anne Lanzilotti, and Vijay Chalasani. She has performed in UNC’s Open Space Festival, as well as with the GPO and with the Larimer and Greeley Chorales, and Spectrum, UNC’s jazz orchestra. She is currently pursuing the Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from UNC and teaches strings at Flourish Music Academy.
Jaidan Ursich is a passionate and devoted cellist from Northern Colorado. She has experience performing in ensembles such as the Loveland Opera Theatre, Greeley Chamber Orchestra, the Longmont Symphony, and the Brevard Summer Orchestral Institute and Festival Orchestra. Her solo and chamber experience includes performances with the University of Northern Colorado Early Music Ensemble, UNC solo and chamber recitals, and local church recitals. She will receive her undergraduate degree in cello performance this year from the University of Northern Colorado under the mentorship of Dr. Sally Murphy, where she will graduate with honors after completing her musicological research thesis on Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel. She looks forward to continuing this research while pursuing a master's degree in cello performance.
Hanguang Wang is a highly sought after pianist, harpsichordist, and collaborator in Greeley, Colorado. Born and raised in China, she began her piano studies at the age of six. She has performed in the United States, Italy, Slovenia, and China, and has been an active piano teacher since 2011. Her most recent orchestral appearance was in 2023 performing W. A. Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat Major, K. 365, as part of the Beethoven in the Rockies Concert Series with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra.
Ms. Wang completed the Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance at Shandong Normal University in Shandong, China. She continued her studies with Dr. Adam Żukiewicz at the University of Northern Colorado where she completed the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and the Performance Certificate in Piano. She is currently pursuing the Doctor of Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Northern Colorado with a secondary emphasis in Harpsichord. She has served as both a Collaborative Piano Graduate Assistant and a class piano Teaching Assistant.
Jubal Fulks is an award-winning and critically acclaimed artist and teacher who performs music from every historical era through the works of today.
As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras across the United States and has been heard on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today.” As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has appeared at numerous summer festivals and concert series in the United States and has toured extensively in Europe and Asia. Fulks is violinist of the Colorado Piano Trio, which has performed across the United States including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. Orchestral experience includes GRAMMY-nominated performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in the San Francisco Bay Area and, in New York City, at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Alice Tully Hall, in the Jazz at Lincoln Center series, and the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He is a leader of Sacramento-based baroque chamber orchestra Sinfonia Spirituosa, and performs regularly with Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado.
Dr. Fulks has taught at the University of Alabama, Luther College (Iowa), State University of New York-Stony Brook and Michigan Technological University, and he continues to conduct master classes at universities throughout the country. During the summer months he teaches and performs in Burlington, Vermont at Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and has been on the summer faculties at Kinhaven Music School, Montecito International Music Festival, and at Lutheran Summer Music Festival in Iowa. He is a leader of the Sacramento-based baroque chamber orchestra “Sinfonia Spirituosa,” and violinist of the Colorado Piano Trio, both of which groups maintain an active recording and national recital schedule.
Dr. Fulks is currently Professor of Violin at the University of Northern Colorado, where he was named the 2022 College of Performing and Visual Arts Scholar of the Year. He lives in Greeley, Colorado with his wife, hornist Lauren Varley, and their children Patrick, Finnian, Oliver, and Flannery.
Natascha Bastian grew up in the Denver suburbs of Colorado where she started playing violin at the age of 6. She took Suzuki lessons with Sarah Delevoryas up until the end of high school. She currently attends the University of Northern Colorado as a Violin performance major, studying under Dr. Jubal Fulks. As a musician, Natascha has attended various summer music festivals and currently plays as section violinist with the Cheyenne Symphony.
Daniel Vazquez is a cellist studying at the University of Northern Colorado as an undergraduate. He currently studies with Dr. Sally Murphy. His previous teachers include Dr. Gal Faganel, and Dr. Katarina M. Pliego. He was the principal of the University Symphony from the Spring 2023 semester to the start of the Spring 2024 semester.
Apart from large ensembles, he is also actively a part of various smaller chamber groups, including the Ursa String Quartet, and the Early Music Ensemble. He has also worked collaboratively with other programs, such as the Chamber Opera’s production of Cabildo, which features a piano trio. He has worked with various symphonies around eastern Colorado as a section cellist.
Ko-Ching Tai began her studies at the age of five in her home country of Taiwan. Since her arrival in the United States in 2022, Ms. Tai was awarded second prize at the 2022 Colorado MTNA Young Artist competition and first prize at the University of Northern Colorado's 2023 Concerto Competition. She will make her Colorado debut with orchestra in a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26, in March of 2024.
Ms. Tai has been fortunate to participated in masterclasses for such eminent pianists and teachers as Petar Klasan, Alexei Volodin, Ilja Scheps, Boris Slutsky, and Dina Yoffe. She completed the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Kaohsiung Normal University where she also obtained a teaching certificate through their education program. She is currently completing the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Northern Colorado. Her most influential teachers include Drs. Chao-Yin Chen, Joanna Ting, and Lei Weng.
PROGRAM NOTES
by
Hanguang Wang
Darius Milhaud (1892–1974)
Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, op. 157b (1936)
Darius Milhaud was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. In 1909, he entered the Paris Conservatory, studying under teachers such as Vincent d’Indy and Charles Widor. Later, he served as secretary to the eminent poet and dramatist, Paul Claudel at the French embassy in Rio de Janeiro during World War I. Upon returning to Paris, he became a member of “Les Six,” a group that included Francis Poulenc and Arthur Honegger.
Widely regarded as one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, Milhaud’s musical style bore the profound influence of jazz and the neoclassical tendencies embraced by the members of “Les Six.” Among his notable works is the jazz-inspired ballet “Le Bœuf sur le toit” (The Ox on the Roof). Milhaud staunchly advocated for French neoclassicism, leaving an impressive legacy of 441 works, including 12 operas. He displayed both classical sensibilities and a talent for eclectic influences, experimenting with jazz, polytonality (simultaneously using more than one key), and even incorporating elements of chance. Renowned as an influential teacher, Milhaud mentored numerous future jazz and classical composers, counting Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis among his notable students.
The Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano comprises four movements derived from Incidental Music composed by Milhaud in 1936 for Jean Anouilh’s play The Traveler without Luggage. The play revolves around Gaston, a World War I veteran suffering from amnesia, symbolizing the lost baggage mentioned in the title. Following the advice of an asylum psychiatrist, Gaston embarks on a quest to uncover his past, spending 24 hours with a family who mistakenly believe him to be their missing son. As he unravels his history, Gaston confronts his past as a seducer, wife-stealer, and overall vile character. Choosing to abandon his old self, he adopts a new personality and embraces a new family.
This acclaimed theatrical work is enriched by Milhaud’s skillful incorporation of Brazilian folk elements. The Ouverture, marked by a lively rumba rhythm, immediately plunges the audience into the world of entertainment. The Divertissement, features simple, folk-inspired melodies. The scherzo-like third movement, performed solely by the violin and clarinet, lively rhythms and accents transform the theatrical atmosphere into a dance-like sensation. The Introduction et final, showcases Milhaud’s favorite bitonality in a joyful Farandole dance, concluding the composition with an easy-going dance after a short-lived serious introduction.
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Overture on Hebrew Themes, op. 34 (1919)
After the outbreak of the Communist Revolution in Russia, Prokofiev took refuge in New York in 1918. The following year, the Zimro (“singing,” in Hebrew) Ensemble, founded by Prokofiev’s former classmate, clarinetist Simeon Bellison, arrived in the United States and embarked on a mission to raise funds for the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music, focusing their performances on mesmerizing Jewish music played on different combinations of instruments. Prokofiev was so impressed by the ensemble’s repertoire that, by chance, the ensemble invited him to compose a new work for the entire sextet.
Although Prokofiev was unfamiliar with Jewish folk songs, he accepted the challenge when the group offered him a collection of traditional Jewish melodies. He drew inspiration from two Jewish melodies in the ensemble’s repertoire: a freilakhs, a joyous instrumental dance tune played by klezmorim in Europe, and a Yiddish wedding song, “Zayt gezunterheyt” (May you stay healthy!) — he embarked on creating a composition that captures the poignant moments of a bride bidding farewell to her parents as she enters a new chapter in her life with her husband.
The Overture premiered in 1920 at the New York “Bohemian Club,” where Prokofiev served as the guest pianist. The composition seamlessly blends two distinct themes – a lively, almost whimsical dance led by the clarinet and a poignant lament introduced by the cello. Prokofiev’s keen sense of humor and innovative use of tone colors enrich the piece, creating a dynamic narrative that pays homage to traditional Jewish ensembles while showcasing his exceptional compositional skill. Although later reworked for larger ensembles, the original sextet instrumentation of the Overture became a model for Jewish-related arrangements and new works, embodying a distinctive “Jewish instrumentation” praised for its coloristic possibilities and timbre variety, both artistically expressive and eminently practical.
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, op. 81 (1887)
Antonín Dvořák, the Czech composer, followed in the nationalist footsteps of Bedřich Smetana, frequently incorporating elements, especially rhythms, from the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia into his compositions. His musical style has been described as “the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them.” Apart from his renowned Ninth Symphony, his extensive repertoire spans concertos, chamber music, and operas, highlighting his unparalleled versatility. Navigating through various musical genres, Dvořák transitioned from the Lisztian symphonic poem to Brahmsian chamber music, effectively bridging the aesthetic divides of his era.
This A major Piano Quintet possesses all the elements that have made Dvořák renowned worldwide: enchanting melodies, colorful harmonies, and a well-balanced sense of drama. The first two movements are considerably longer than the latter two, with the Dumka in the second movement serving as the focal point. The initial movement follows a sonata form, showcasing sustained lyricism, breadth of expression, and the melancholy play between major and minor tonalities reminiscent of earlier Viennese master. The second movement, a “Dumka,” is a Ukrainian folk narrative ballad with an inherently deep and melancholic character. In Dvořák’s hands, this Slavic feature takes on various forms, but here, a consistent melody is maintained, preserving the narrative essence. The outer sections are slow and mournful, while the middle section is quite lively and exciting. The captivating and narrative main melody, initially introduced by the viola, undergoes ingenious variations upon each subsequent restatement. Contrasting sections alternate between tenderness and vigor.
The third movement, titled “Furiant,” is a lively and energetic Bohemian dance featuring alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time. Dvořák frequently drew inspiration from this dance, employing it in lieu of the traditional scherzo. This movement, a light ternary composition, is notably shorter than the preceding two. The Finale of the Quintet is also relatively brief, presenting a concise sonata form with two lively themes and a skillfully crafted fugal development section. Particularly captivating are the moments of unexpected, purity and solemnity that emerge in the closing pages of the movement, creating a sense of suspended time and concluding the work on an introspective note.