The Concert Series at Wellesley College
Announces Winter/Spring 2009 Programming

Acclaimed Cypress Quartet premieres a new work by Boston composer
Elena Ruehr inspired by Ann Patchett's best-selling novel “ Bel Canto”

Ensemble-in-Residence Triple Helix Piano Trio presents two programs on
“ From Roots to Blossoms: The Flowering of Modernity Nourished by
The Romantic Spirit” — featuring a World Premiere by
Longy composer Howard Frazin

WELLESLEY, Mass.— With concerts ranging from early music to jazz, The Concert Series at Wellesley College brings a diverse array of world-class performers to campus, featuring both visiting artists and members of the performing faculty. Unless otherwise noted, all concerts are free and open to the public.

The Cercie Miller Quartet
Wednesday, February 10 / 12:30 PM Jewett Auditorium
Formed in 1986, the Cercie Miller Quartet features four outstanding Boston-based jazz musicians: Wellesley College faculty/saxophonist Cercie Miller, pianist Tim Ray, bassist David Clark, and drummer Bob Savine. Trumpet master Tiger Okoshi will join the quartet in a program featuring an eclectic repertoire, including original compositions such as the salsa-flavored “The Night I Met Eddie Palmieri,” a second-line tribute to the Crescent City “New O,” and popular jazz standards by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and others.

Triple Helix Piano Trio Lecture–Recital: New Artistic Perspectives on Space and Time: 1915–1923, with John Rhodes, Art Department
Wednesday, February 17 / 12:30 PM Jewett Auditorium

Triple Helix Piano Trio Concert
Saturday, February 20 / 8:00 PM Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
In a “pairing” of a Wednesday afternoon discussion-recital and Saturday evening concert, ensemble-in-residence Triple Helix Piano Trio will explore music written in the shadow of the First World War, from the period between 1915 and 1923. The great variety and richness of the work that blossomed during these years was fertilized by an increasing nationalistic fervor, the anguishing horrors of war, and new ways of perceiving space and time. Program to include: Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano , Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, Janácek’s Violin Sonata, Janácek’s Fairy Tale (Pohadka) for Cello and Piano, and Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio. Violinist Gabriela Diaz will be joining Triple Helix for both February events.

The Triple Helix Piano Trio was formed in 1995 by three award-winning chamber musicians and soloists: Bayla Keyes, founding violinist of the Naumburg and Evian award-winning Muir String Quartet; Rhonda Rider, founding cellist of the Naumburg award-winning Lydian String Quartet; and pianist Lois Shapiro, winner of the New York Concert Artists Guild Award. The Boston Globe described the results of their union as “the livest live music in town.” In its residency at Wellesley College, Triple Helix enlightens the community with sophisticated and challenging programming, virtuosic performances, and innovative lecture-recitals. www.triplehelixpianotrio.org

The Music Department Honors Concert
Sunday, February 28 / 7:00 PM Jewett Auditorium
The music department at Wellesley College fosters an environment in which students can combine serious musical study with the depth and richness of a traditional liberal arts curriculum. An important component of the music department, the Performance Program gives students the opportunity to take instrumental/vocal private instruction with faculty and prepare for professional careers in music. This concert will showcase seven students who have exhibited exceptional promise as performing musicians.

S’Wonderful: Jazz Interpretations of the Music of Broadway
Saturday, March 06 / 8:00 PM Jewett Auditorium
A beloved annual tradition returns! The Jazz and World Music Performing Faculty at Wellesley College unite on one stage for one evening. This year, they will explore the afterlife of musical theatre melodies as jazz standards, a concept inspired by English professor Lawrence Rosenwold’s popular course. Performers include Kris Adams, vocals; Glorianne Collver- Jacobson, guitar; Mark Henry, bass; Greg Hopkins, trumpet; Doug Johnson, piano; Steve Langone, drums; Lance Martin, flute; Cercie Miller, saxophone; Kera Washington, percussion and vocals; Paula Zeitlin, violin; and special guest Patrice Williamson, vocals.

 The Carey Concert: Celebrating the Music of Chopin
Charles Fisk, piano with David Russell, cello
Saturday, March 13 / 8:00 PM Jewett Auditorium
Pianist Charles Fisk, Wellesley College Professor of Music and a current fellow at the Newhouse Center for the Humanities, is writing a “Chopin memoir” that will explore analyses of selected Chopin works within the context of his personal experiences of the music. He will be performing an all-Chopin program featuring cellist David Russell, that will include Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor, Ballade in A Flat, Op. 47, Sonata in G minor for cello and piano, Op. 65, Fantasy in F minor/A Flat Major, Op. 49, Polonaise- Fantasy in A Flat, Op. 61, and Polonaise in A Flat, Op. 53.

A faculty member at Wellesley since 1973, and currently the Phyllis Henderson Carey Professor of Music, Charles Fisk was the highest-ranking American in the 1980 J.S. Bach International Competition in Washington, D.C.

The Cypress Quartet with Soprano Andrea Matthews
Wednesday, March 17 / 8:00 PM Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
Known for their elegant performances, the Cypress Quartet’s sound has been called "beautifully proportioned and powerful" and the ensemble has been singled out as "a Generation X ensemble to watch." Their Wellesley College concert features a new work by noted Boston composer Elena Ruehr inspired by Ann Patchett's best-selling novel Bel Canto, paired on a program with Schubert’s beloved Death and the Maiden. Andrea Matthews, soprano and Wellesley faculty member, will join the Cypress Quartet for a special presentation of songs from which Ruehr drew her inspiration while composing the new work.  

The Cypress Quartet is a San Francisco-based ensemble that combines the talents of violinists Cecily Ward and Tom Stone, violist Ethan Filner, and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel. Known for innovative programming, passionate performances, and technical precision, their active performing schedule has included such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Library of Congress, and the Ravinia Festival. www.cypressquartet.com

Triple Helix Piano Trio Lecture–Recital: Yankee ingenuity: Daring to do Strange and Bold Things, with English Professor Lawrence Rosenwold
Wednesday, April 7 / 12:30 PM Jewett Auditorium

Triple Helix Piano Trio: Concert with alumna Sarah Pelletier, Soprano
Saturday April 10 / 8:00 PM Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
To close their season, Triple Helix will look at the ways in which the seeds of European Romanticism took root in America, manifesting itself in Yankee Ingenuity. The musicians will revel in music by composers who sprang from American soil and who were keen on giving voice to the American ethos in music, distilling the heartbeat and essence of a vigorous young land of mystery, beauty, and rugged individualism. Program will include: William Bolcom’s Violin Sonata No. 2, Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, Charles Ives’ Piano Trio, and a World Premiere by Cambridge composer Howard Frazin. 

The Golden Age of the Organ From Venice to North Europe
Francesco Cera, organ
Saturday, April 17 / 8:00 PM Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
Italian Organist Francesco Cera presents a program featuring music by Gabrieli, Segni, Merulo, Sweelinck, Scheidemann, and Schilt on Wellesley’s magnificent meantone organ. Cera resides in Rome, and is one of Italy’s leading early music specialists. He is particularly well known for his performances of 17th century harpsichord and organ music. He frequently performs with the ensemble I Barocchisti, directed by Diego Fasolis, with whom he has recorded four concertos for harpsichord by J.S. Bach (issued by Amadeus). Wellesley’s organ, built by Charles Brenton Fisk, is considered one of the three most important historic organs in America, and was designed specifically for performing 17 th century north German organ music. www.francescocera.it 

Musicians of the Old Post Road
Conversations Galantes: Music of the French Baroque
Saturday April 24 / 8:00 PM Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
Musicians of the Old Post Road specializes in period instrument performance of music from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods. Ensemble members Suzanne Stumpf (Wellesley College faculty), traverso; Sarah Darling, violin; Marcia Cassidy, viola; Daniel Ryan, cello; and Michael Bahmann, harpsichord, will be joined by Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba (Wellesley College faculty), and baritone Aaron Engebreth to present a program featuring Rameau’s Pieces de clavecin en concerts, quartets by Telemann and Guillemain, and a French cantata.

Tickets are $20 general admission and free of charge for members of the Wellesley College community and all students. To purchase tickets, please call MOPR at 781.466.6694. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. www.oldpostroad.org

THE CONCERT SERIES AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE  

Orchestrated by the Department of Music, the Concert Series at Wellesley College brings a diverse array of world-class performers to campus, complementing the department’s academic offerings and augmenting the cultural life of the College and surrounding community.  

For further information about The Concert Series at Wellesley College, call Jennifer Ritvo Hughes, Director of Publicity and Coordinator of the Arts, at 781.283.2028 or visit the Music Department website at www.wellesley.edu/Music/home.html.  

Unless otherwise noted, concerts are free and open to general public.  

For directions to the Wellesley College campus, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA, call 781.283.2736.

ABOUT WELLESLEY COLLEGE & THE ARTS

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.

The Wellesley College arts curriculum and the highly acclaimed Davis Museum and Cultural Center are integral components of the College’s liberal arts education. For decades, various departments and programs from across the campus have enlivened the community with world-class programming — classical and popular music, visual arts, theatre, dance, author readings, symposia, and lectures by some of today’s leading artists and creative thinkers — most of which is free and open to the general public.

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