Independent Arts News Reporting Concordia Chamber Players Presents 'Thirty Thousand Days'
Reported on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt will perform on the viola. Photo Credit: Contributed.
This April, Concordia Chamber Players concert weekend will include the tradition of a Free Open Rehearsal event on Saturday, April 6, followed by the official “Thirty Thousand Days” concert on Sunday, April 7, 2024
NEWSROOM POST: SOLEBURY, PENNSYLVANIA
Solebury, PA – Concordia Chamber Players will close their season on April 7, 2024 at 3 PM with a thrilling program for somewhat larger forces than usual at Trinity Church in Solebury, PA. The program opens with the Phantasy Quartet by English composer Imogen Holst, the daughter of Gustav Holst. This composition, pastoral in nature, was awarded the Cobbett Prize in 1928. The program is named after the next offering: Thirty Thousand Days for clarinet and string quartet by the young American composer, Chris Rogerson. Chris, whose father was a statistician, explains his father’s desire to measure life’s progress by 10,000 day increments. In Chris’ words, “When my sister and I reached our 10,000th days soon after turning 27, he excitedly called to make sure we knew the milestone we had reached. With a sharp memory he recounted stories of his own 10,000th and 20,000th days. While we were amused by his enthusiasm for this seemingly random day, I came to realize the value of looking at life from a broader perspective. Thirty Thousand Days explores this idea of life’s three stages. In the first movement, I try to evoke the joy, innocence, and sweetness of youth. The second movement depicts struggle, coldness, and fury. Finally, the last movement imagines acceptance, resignation, loss, and love. “The concert closes with the ravishingly beautiful and singular String Quartet in G minor, Opus 27 by Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg.
Concordia will also present a Free Open Rehearsal on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 3:30PM at The Historic Phillips’ Mill (2619 River Rd, New Hope, PA), where the community can enjoy meeting the performers and watching and listening as they prepare for the concert. Seating is limited, so be sure to arrive early.
Concordia, under the direction of Michelle Djokic, has been bringing professional musicians of the highest caliber to our area for over 25 years.
Program:
Phantasy Quartet (for string quartet) – Imogen Holst
Thirty Thousand Days (for clarinet and string quartet) – Chris Rogerson
String Quartet, Opus 27 – Edvard Grieg
Composers:
Imogen Clare Holst was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and festival administrator. She was the only child of the composer Gustav Holst, and is particularly known for her educational work at Dartington Hall in the 1940s, and for her 20 years as joint artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival. In addition to composing music, she wrote composer biographies, much educational material, and several books on the life and works of her father.
Chris Rogerson is a composer whose work has been performed by orchestras across the United States, including the San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as esteemed artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Ida Kavafian, Anne-Marie McDermott, and David Shifrin.
Edvard Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers. His use of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to fame, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius did in Finland and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia.
Performers:
Siwoo Kim – violin
Gabriel Campos Zamora – clarinet
Anna Lee – violin
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt – viola
Michelle Djokic – cello
Violinist, Anna Lee. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Delighting her listeners with “her warm, humane musicianship” and “sweet spot of grace”, Anna Lee is an active concert violinist, chamber musician, and teacher. She began violin studies at the age of four. She spent a large part of her childhood in Japan and Singapore even though she was born in South Korea, and at the age of six moved to New York after being accepted to the Juilliard School Pre-College Division under the tutelage of Masao Kawasaki.
Clarinetist, Gabriel Campos Zamora. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Gabriel Campos Zamora, a native of San José, Costa Rica was appointed principal clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra in June 2016. Before joining the ensemble, Campos was the associate principal clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony and has appeared as guest principal clarinet with the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle and Houston Symphonies in addition to serving as the Virginia Symphony’s principal clarinet.
Siwoo Kim is described as an “incisive” and “compelling” violinist (Zachary Woolfe, New York Times) who plays with “stylistic sensitivity and generous tonal nuance” (John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune). Siwoo performs as a soloist and a chamber musician and is also a founding, co-artistic director of VIVO Music Festival in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
Praised by Strad magazine as having “lyricism that stood out…a silky tone and beautiful, supple lines,” Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt has established herself as one of the most sought-after violists of her generation. In addition to appearances as soloist with the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, and Symphony in C.
Grammy-nominated cellist Michelle Djokic founded Concordia Chamber Players based in New Hope, PA in 1997, and remains the artistic director.
To learn more about the upcoming “Thirty Thousand Days” concert or to purchase tickets, visit Concordiaplayers.org
