Towards the Flame: American Luminaries

Jayce Ogren conducting Orchestra 2001, photo by Bill DiCecca, 2018

PROGRAM:

Lei LIANG – Aural Hypothesis

Sean SHEPHERD – Lumens

Lee HYLA – Ciao, Manhattan

Shawn ALLISON – Towards the Flame

Andy AKIHO – Erase

Jayce Ogren, conducting

Towards the Flame: American Luminaries is a collection of pieces that represents the incredible diversity and vitality of contemporary classical music today. With one piece dating from the 1990s and four from the 21st Century, all of these works are scored for versions of the Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, plus percussion), first used by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912, but still the most commonly used instrumentation in modern music.

From the Caribbean steel drum inspired textures of Andy Akiho’s Erase to the kaleidoscopic, Chinese influenced flourishes of Lei Liang’s Aural Hypothesis, wide-ranging cultural influences run deep throughout this program conducted by Jayce Ogren. Shawn Allison’s Towards the Flame and Sean Shepherd’s Lumens are exciting contributions by two of the most talented young composers today, and finally, we pay tribute to Lee Hyla – who passed away in 2014 – with his wry and meditative Ciao, Manhattan.

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