The Port Townsend Chamber Music Series is performing “The Breath and the Bow” on Saturday, October 3 at 2 pm at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 45 Redeemer Way, Chimacum. The concert is free to attend and donations are gratefully accepted at the door to benefit the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra. No tickets or reservations are required and there will be a short reception after the concert.
Artistic directors for the chamber music series are Michael Carroll, Sung-Ling Hsu and Pamela Roberts.
Carroll shared, “The Breath and the Bow” program features the warm, organic resonance of wind instruments with the rich textures of string masterworks, creating an afternoon of contrasting music between air and friction. Audiences will experience a cross-section of chamber repertoire, opening with the Tango Etude by Astor Piazzolla—which highlights the soaring capacity of the solo clarinet —before shifting to string-driven pieces like the Sonata for Solo Cello in B minor by Zoltán Kodaly that puts the expressive qualities of the bow front and center.”
Clarinetist Joel Wallgren added, “What makes this program so thrilling is how it spotlights the friction between our two worlds. As a clarinetist, my instrument relies entirely on air and a single reed to sing, whereas the strings use tension and friction to pull music from their instruments. ‘The breath’ and ‘the bows’ create an exciting, contrasting sound experience.”
Featured performers are Joel Wallgren, clarinet; Tamara Rotz, flute; Michael Carroll, piano; Sung-Ling Hsu, viola; Bennett Clark and Pamela Roberts, cello.
Cellist Bennett Clark attended the University of Washington and graduated from Indiana University School of Music. He studied cello with Janos Starker, Leonard Rose and Eva Heinitz. He then lived abroad working as principal cellist, assistant principal and member of professional symphony orchestras in four countries overseas. Later returning to his native Washington State, he had a 30-year career in IT business computing. Bennett continues as principal cellist in Seattle’s Philharmonia Northwest chamber orchestra, and plays with Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra. Now retired, he recently moved from Seattle to Sequim.
Pianist Michael Carroll studied with Robert Van Meter at Clarion State College, among others. He moved to Seattle in 1990 where he has played numerous recitals, chamber music performances and concertos. As an experienced choral and vocal accompanist, he performed with many Seattle ensembles and soloists. Carroll was staff pianist/program annotator for 10 years for Seattle’s Thalia Symphony. He lives in Port Ludlow and is Co-Artistic Director of the Port Townsend Chamber Music Series.
Pianist and violist Sung-Ling Hsu is from Taiwan and immigrated to the United States in 2014. She started learning the piano at the age of 6 and viola at the age of 8. Sung-Ling majored in composition while studying at university. After graduating from university, she worked in scoring and sound effects design. At present she is devoted to chamber music. Sung-Ling is pianist at the Port Ludlow Community Church and for the Choral Belles. She is Associate Director of the Port Townsend Chamber Music Series.
Cellist Pamela Roberts graduated from the UW, studying with Eva Heinitz and Toby Saks. She was faculty cellist at the University of Puget Sound, principal cellist of the Tacoma Symphony, solo cellist in Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre Orchestra and a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival where she studied with Alan Harris. An educational administrator for 30 years, Roberts returned to cello when she retired. She is principal cellist in the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra and Co-Artistic Director of the Port Townsend Chamber Music Series.
Flautist Dr. Tamara Rotz specializes in historical performance on flute, violin and viola. Principal flutist with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, she has soloed with the Dallas Bach Society and Port Angeles Symphony, among others. As a violinist/violist she has performed with many regional symphonies. Dr. Rotz holds a Master of Music Performance degree from Indiana University’s Early Music Institute and a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas. She works at Peninsula College as the eLearning Administrator and is a coach for the Kitsap Philharmonic Youth Symphony.
Clarinetist Joel Wallgren, a Poulsbo native, began studying clarinet with Julie Werth in 1998 and continued his studies with Laura Deluca in 2001. He went on to study clarinet with Russell Dagon, Steven Cohen, and J. Lawrie Bloom at Northwestern University. He is Executive Director of the Poulsbo Community Orchestra where he works to keep classical music alive in our community.
PROGRAM
~ Tango Etude for solo clarinet by Astor Piazzolla
~ Miniatures for flute, clarinet and piano by William Grant Still
~ Three pieces for Cello and Piano: Piece en forme de Habanera by Maurice Ravel, Prayer from Jewish Life by Ernest Bloch and Cantique by Nadia Boulanger
~ Sonata for Solo Cello in B minor, Mov. I by Zoltán Kodaly
~ Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (Kegelstatt), K. 498 by W.A. Mozart
~ “Miss Celie’s Blues” for solo clarinet by Quincy Jones