CHAMBER MUSIC RECITAL TO FEATURE NEW SHEPHERD SCHOOL PROFESSORS

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Ellen Chang
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A chamber music recital Nov. 21 will feature performances by Shepherd School faculty members Robert Atherholt, Benjamin Kamins and William Ver Meulen, all of whom began teaching full time at the music school this fall.

The jazz-oriented classical music concert will include four pieces: William O. Smith's "Jazz Set for Violin and Wind Quintet," Paul Schoenfield's "Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano," Jon Kimura Parker's "Pan Dreams" and Francis Poulenc's "Sextet." The free concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Duncan Recital Hall, Alice Pratt Brown Hall. "The jazz influence is very strong," said Michael Webster, associate professor of clarinet and ensembles. "The whole program is built around Smith's piece. It's a very fascinating combination of jazz and modernism."

Atherholt, professor of oboe; Kamins, professor of bassoon; and Ver Meulen, associate professor of horn, will perform in their first woodwind quintet with Leone Buyse, professor of flute and chamber music, and Webster. The quintet will be joined by Parker, professor of piano, and Aloysia Friedmann, guest violin performer.

Smith's piece is a jazz set for a violin and woodwind quintet. It was written for and premiered by Friedmann. This four-movement work combines standard jazz and modernism in a unique way, said Webster. Smith, a classical and jazz clarinetist, is a professor emeritus of composition at the University of Washington-Seattle and a former member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Schoenfield's piece, a trio for violin, clarinet and piano, is "a virtuoso elaboration of the Jewish folk-song style known as Klezmer, with its distinctive combination of pitch-bending, soulful melodies and super-fast rhythmic dances," Webster said.

Parker's composition was written for flute and piano and is a virtuoso romp with jazzy and impressionistic overtones.

A French composer, Poulenc wrote his piece for piano and winds. "It's a standard work that has Poulenc's typical combination of ebullience and slightly sad romantic ballad melodies," Webster said.

Atherholt and Kamins were associate professors at the Shepherd School previously.