CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

I.    Szitakötő

II.   Sakura

III. Balkanski Mish-Mash

IV.  Granada

After studying the work of Bela Bartok as child, Danish-born composer Lars Floee (b. 1968) found himself composing "Szitakötő," the first movement of Elkido Suite. "Szitakötő" is inspired by Hungarian music and means “dragonfly“ – and over 60 species of dragonfly can be found across Hungary. The second movement, "Sakura," was inspired by the traditional Japanese song about cherry blossoms. This song stems from the Edo‐era (1603–1868) and was written for children who learned the Koto (a Japanese musical instrument, similar to a zither). The theme of the Japanese Sakura can be found in the slow middle section of this movement and is written in the pentatonic Miyakobushi‐Onkai.

The third movement, "Balkanski Mish‐Mash," is characterized by Bulgarian music with its typical Balkan rhythms and makes use of the alto flute. Balkanski Mish‐Mash is also a Bulgarian dish that is eaten preferably in the summer, and it consists of many different ingredients – exactly like this movement! The musical inspiration of the fourth movement, "Granada," was the composer's stay in Andalusia in the southern part of Spain, which had been occupied by the Moors for 700 years. The Moorish influence can still be felt in the culture and the music of Andalusia. Granada is one of the most widely visited cities in all of Spain, and its name might either derive from “granada,” the Spanish word for pomegranate, or from the Moorish word “Karnattah,” meaning “hill of strangers.”  

Program notes by Felix Andreas Dorigo, publisher, with Connessa Collective

Nina Shekhar (b. 1995) is a composer and multimedia artist who explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works. Described as “tart and compelling” (New York Times), “vivid” (Washington Post), an “orchestral supernova” (LA Times), and a "rare composer who opens our ears a little wider each time" (Chicago Tribune), her music has been commissioned and performed by leading artists including the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Albany Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and many more.

The word “tikka” refers to an Indian dish in which meat or vegetables are marinated in a spice mixture. The process of marinating requires time, allowing flavors to develop over the course of several hours. This piece, Tikka for woodwind quintet, uses a similar concept in which musical motives unfold very slowly and grow throughout the course of the entire piece. Exploring the sound of breath, the piece begins with drone-like air tones in which a seed of the initial raag is planted, eventually blossoming into an expressive, dense texture. Harmonic content and musical gestures “marinate,” taking their time to develop so that each instrument’s “flavor” can fully bloom by the end of the piece. 

Program notes by Nina Shekhar, composer

https://www.ninashekhar.com/

 I.  Prelude: Helen Keller

II.  Danse Africaine 

III. Le Grand Duc Mambo

IV.  Silver Rain

 V. Parisian Cabaret

VI. Harlem's Summer Night  

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed to an individual who has made a significant contribution to classical music as a performer, composer or educator. Her works have garnered awards such as the MAPFund, ASCAP Honors Award, Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program, Herb Alpert Ragdale Residency Award, and nominations from The American Academy of Arts and Letters and United States Artists. Umoja, Anthem for Unity was chosen by Chamber Music America as one of the “Top 101 Great American Ensemble Works” and is now a staple of woodwind literature.

In the composer's own words on Portraits of Langston: 

"The early 1900s was a new era for African-Americans. For the first time in American history, the disciplines of visual art, music, and literature simultaneously took a turn to celebrate African-American culture. As a result, the "Harlem Renaissance" was born. Langston Hughes was in the center of that cultural explosion, and like many African-American artists who lived in Harlem, Hughes had dreams of living in Europe – living a life unfettered from segregation.

'Portraits of Langston' is a suite in six short movements, and is my take on Hughes' poetic memories of Harlem and Europe (mainly Paris). These movements can be performed separately or in its entirety. I chose Langston not because of who he is in literature, but because he was in fact, an 'eye-witness' to legends born. His poems are so descriptive of the era, with references to particular settings and individuals that influenced him: Josephine Baker, Helen Keller, the nightlife/music of Harlem jazz clubs and Parisian cabarets. The imagery that Hughes provides gives me quite a historical palette that inspires me to illustrate a work truly unique to duo repertoire. Stylistically, this work incorporates many different elements that are translated into woodwind technique: the stride piano technique, big band swing, cabaret music, Mambo, African drumming, and even traditional spirituals. Each movement is a musical sketch of selected (and lesser known) poems from Langston Hughes' vast library. "Le Grand Duc Mambo" is the only exception. It is a musical sketch of the Jazz Club in the scandalous red light district of Montmartre, where Langston worked as a busboy for 25 cents a night."

Program notes by Valerie Coleman, composer

https://www.valeriecoleman.com

I. Scarlet Oak

II. Sugar Maple

III. Linden

IV. Black Ash

V. Cherry

VI. River Birch

VII. Weeping Willow

VIII. Red Pine

The unique musical style of Mark Mellits (b. 1966) is an eclectic combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism, and colorful orchestrations that all combine to communicate directly with the listener.  Mellits' music is often described as being visceral, making a deep connection with the audience.  “This was music as sensual as it was intelligent; I saw audience members swaying, nodding, making little motions with their hands” (New York Press).  He started composing very early, and was writing piano music long before he started formal piano lessons at age 6.  He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood.  Mellits often is a miniaturist, composing works that are comprised of short, contrasting movements or sections. 

This work, consisting of eight short movements, each named for a kind of tree, was written for the Splinter Reeds, a mixed woodwind quintet based on the West Coast of the United States. 

Program notes by Mark Mellits, composer

https://www.marcmellits.com/

Dr. Kevin Day (b. 1996) is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary composer, jazz pianist and conductor based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s leading musical voices, Dr. Day’s work is known as a vibrant exploration of diverse musical traditions from contemporary classical, jazz, R&B, Soul and more. A unique voice in the world of classical music, Dr. Day takes inspiration from a broad range of sources, including romanticism, late 20th century music, jazz fusion and gospel. Across all areas, his work explores the complex interplay of rhythm, texture and melody across genres. His lushly written Riversong is a chamber work that depicts the beauty of interweaving streams of moving water, working together in harmony and celebration. There is an emphasis on soft, lyrical playing that contrasts with more technical playing, highlighting the steady and rigid waves of these waters. 

Program notes by Kevin Day, composer, with Eve Callahan

https://www.kevindaymusic.com

I.    Afro

II.   Vocalise

III.  Danza

Composed in 2006 by the prolific Valerie Coleman (see Portraits of Langston above), Afro-Cuban Concerto  is a work that focuses on Afro-Cuban rhythms, the feel of Santeria worship, and the virtuosity of wind instruments (Santeria worship has its origins in the Caribbean and is based on the Bantu and Yoruba beliefs of Western Africa combined with elements of Roman Catholicism). Often mistaken for a 'neo-classic' work due to its harmonic structure, the essence within the Concerto is purely African and Cuban. All African-derived music has a basic structure from which all music from every genre (including classical) has benefitted. It is the feel of spirituality, passion, and rhythmic precisions that brings the essence of Afro-Cuban music to life in this piece.

As with virtually all of the composer's works, performers are encouraged to improvise when they have solos (within the Afro-Cuban vernacular for this work), and embellish when the mood hits.

For the first movement, "Afro," the introduction represents the collective voice of worshippers within the Santeria religion. The introduction (played by the oboe and hom) is a call to worship, followed by the traditional 6/8 clave (meaning "key," it is the fundamental set of rhythms in Afro-Cuban music). The clave is the root of this movement and continues throughout the entire piece. At different times, each member within the ensemble takes a short solo that demonstrates a sense of improvisation over the constant clave.

The "Vocalise" beings as a prayer with the bassoon and horn blending a unison melody into a unique and soothing color. The habanera is marked through a little three-note motif that sustains the entire movement. The horn melody at the end of the work is a soaring melody that turns the prayer into a hot summer day in Havana.

A powerful and brief tutti begins the "Danza," with the flute solo promising a percussive and wild feeling throughout the piece. We hear the rhumba in its many variations under improvised sounding solos that give each wind instrument a chance to really cut loose, especially the bassoon. The last movement presents the biggest challenge for wind quintet, due to the quickness of the rhumba, and its demand for stability within layers upon layers of percussive rhythms. When stability is achieved, the repetitive rhythm takes on a life of its own, creating a sassy dance.

Program notes by Valerie Coleman, composer

https://www.valeriecoleman.com

Composed by Michio Miyagi (1894-1956) for the New Year’s Imperial Poetry Competition in 1929, Haru no Umi describes a springtime boat trip: one hears the gentle waves, the cry of seagulls, and the sound of fishing boats. The piece is a standard and well-known work for the Japanese bamboo flute, or “shakuhachi,” and the “koto,” a traditional stringed instrument. This adaptation uses the alto flute to imitate the shakuhachi in the opening and ending sections. The “seagull effect” in the first flute part is achieved by rapidly (and softly!) playing a downward note sequence without the thumb key and occasionally overblowing. This fabulous arrangement for two flutes and alto flute was first published in 2001 as created by Sandra Howard, an active teacher and performer originally from Ohio and currently residing in France. 

I.  Aymoray (Song of Harvest)

I.   Aymoray (Song of Harvest)

III. Haylli (Song of Triumph)

Born and raised in Lima to a Peruvian father and American mother, the music of Daniel Cueto reflects his deep roots in both Western Classical and Latin American traditions. His works, performed in over 20 countries and in 27 U.S. states, have been described as “cleverly melding rich traditional Peruvian melodic and rhythmic elements with a contemporary flair, creating a personal style that is both pleasing and accessible to the listener and performer.” A committed and passionate educator, he has held teaching posts at two German universities (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Hochschule für Musik Detmold) and currently serves as Adjunct Instructor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, IN. 

In the composer's own words on Música para un antiguo gobernante:

“I was commissioned to write this music by the PanAmerican Trio, a fabulous group of flutists that come from three different countries – Peru, the U.S., and Canada. This is the second work that I’ve had the honor of writing for this group. In 2018, I composed “Escamas,” which is inspired by the iconography of the Moche culture, a pre-Columbian culture based on the north coast of current day Peru. For this piece, I decided to seek inspiration from the Incan civilization, the great empire in South America before the arrival of Europeans. You will see this in the titles of the movements. The first movement is called “Aymoray,” which is the name of an ancient Incan musical genre: a song of harvest. The second movement is named “Harawi,” a song of love. The third is titled “Haylli,” the name of an ancient form of triumphal song.

These titles are reminiscent of ancient Incan culture, but we have to consider that we really don’t know how Incan music might have sounded – we don’t have any kind of sounding reference of pre-Hispanic culture. This poses a contrast to the visual arts and architecture, where we do have very fine examples of pre-Hispanic and even pre-Incan art. As Peruvian musicians, we always have the question of what the music that was made prior to the arrival of Europeans might have sounded like. We have access to ancient Peruvian musical instruments, but we don’t have any reliable idea of how the songs may have sounded, although we have the names of some of the musical genres. For me as a composer, this is a gap in Peruvian musical history which I’m interested in exploring – not through musicological investigation, which is the work of other colleagues and a very important work – but for me, purely with the imagination trying to create a connection, a conversation between our musical language as contemporary Peruvian composers and the creative idea of lost ancient Peruvian musical languages. So in this work, I don’t try to imitate an Incan style based in musicological research but try to establish a creative dialogue from a contemporary Peruvian perspective with this “imperial idea,” with the imagined sounds of a great civilization which we will never really hear but can relate to by the use of pure imagination.”

 I. Cardumen (Shoal of Fish)

II. Navegando (At Sea)

III. Oráculo (Oracle)

IV.  Carreteros (Ghost Crabs.

Written by Daniel Cueto (see above) for the Pan-American Flute Trio, Escamas is Spanish for "fish scales." The work is inspired by the iconography of the Moche and Chimú civilizations, which dominated the northern coast of present-day Peru from the second to the ninth centuries. Specifically, Cueto was inspired by depictions of sea creatures, both real and mythical, as well as depictions of maritime activities such as sailing and fishing. These depictions are mostly found on pottery, as well as on walls in archeological sites of the mentioned civilizations. 

In Nuraghi Warriors Dance (Ples Bojevnikov Nuraghi), Slovenian-born Anže Rozman paints an image of ancient violence and drama – a frenzied ritual of war. Rozman extends the reach of the flute trio by using a piccolo, C flute, and alto flute to deepen and heighten driving rhythms and violent outbursts. Complex changing time signatures allow the rhythmic drive of the piece to flex and elongate, with mad hints of Stravinsky appearing and disappearing.

The Nuragic civilization was an ancient culture that flourished on the island of Sardinia from the Bronze Age (around 1800 BCE) until the Roman conquest in 238 BCE. It is best known for its distinctive stone towers, or nuraghe, of which over 7,000 remain, and elaborate bronze artifacts, including statues and tools. The Nuragic people were skilled metalworkers, farmers, sailors, and traders, whose culture left a lasting influence on the island, with its influence reaching across the Mediterranean.  

I.    Szitakötő

II.   Sakura

III. Balkanski Mish-Mash

IV.  Granada

After studying the work of Bela Bartok as child, Danish-born composer Lars Floee found himself composing "Szitakötő," the first movement of Elkido Suite. "Szitakötő" is inspired by Hungarian music and means “dragonfly“ – and over 60 species of dragonfly can be found across Hungary. The second movement, "Sakura," was inspired by the traditional Japanese song about cherry blossoms. This song stems from the Edo‐era (1603–1868) and was written for children who learned the Koto (a Japanese musical instrument, similar to a zither). The theme of the Japanese Sakura can be found in the slow middle section of this movement and is written in the pentatonic Miyakobushi‐Onkai. The third movement, "Balkanski Mish‐Mash," is characterized by Bulgarian music with its typical Balkan rhythms and makes use of the alto flute. Balkanski Mish‐Mash is also a Bulgarian dish that is eaten preferably in the summer, and it consists of many different ingredients – exactly like this movement! The musical inspiration of the fourth movement, "Granada," was the composer's stay in Andalusia in the southern part of Spain, which had been occupied by the Moors for 700 years. The Moorish influence can still be felt in the culture and the music of Andalusia. Granada is one of the most widely visited cities in all of Spain, and its name might either derive from “granada,” the Spanish word for pomegranate, or from the Moorish word “Karnattah,” meaning “hill of strangers.” 

Raimundo Piñeda (b. 1967, he/him) is a composer, flutist, educator, and conductor from Venezuela. Beyond his incredible depth of experience in the famous El Sistema program of Venezuela and having toured the world with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Piñeda is a creative and innovative composer, expertly weaving his Venezuelan heritage into his music with remarkable ease. His following comments describe his thought process behind the vibrant, jazzy piece Síncope.

“Síncope was the first original work that I wrote. In those days of 1995, I was a member of a wonderful quartet called Miquirebo Flute Quartet of Venezuela, and the three of us were experimenting with arrangements and compositions for the group. After a few years, I made this version and I put it at everyone's disposal. It is a short and joyful piece, with rhythms taken from jazz and ragtime. The writing is not properly made in the style of jazz — the rhythms are written as they are, as would be read by a symphonic or conservatory musician, regardless of some of the characteristics of jazz notation. In this work, I use various effects and extended techniques.”

Ahora que el invierno 

se prende de las hojas 

ahora que amanecen 

charquitos en el patio 

ahora que los caños 

rebosan de agua clara 

mirá el conuco verde 

oí los turupiales

Vaya paisano 

dígale que canto sólo 

que ya rompí 

con el silencio del verano

Ahora que el invierno 

se prende de las hojas 

ahora que amanecen 

charquitos en el patio 

ahora que los caños 

rebosan de agua clara 

mirá el conuco verde 

oí los turupiales

Pineda arranged the famous tune Ahora for flute quartet in 2016. He comments: “The maestro Otilio Galindez (1935-2009, he/him) was a Venezuelan poet and composer with an extreme sensibility for transmitting the deepest feelings of our people across his music. In many of his songs, his lyrics, his melodies, Otilio shows the landscape of our land with the most faithful scenes that speaks for it alone. As an homage to his life and his music, I did this arrangement of one of his more emblematic works, filled with ingenuity and deep poetry. A large part of his body of work has been arranged for choral ensembles, crossing the entire world and achieving universal recognition.”

It's the middle of the night, and you — a band of travelers — are stargazing in the woods. Taking turns, you lead the way down an enchanted path, passing around a melismatic cadenza and spilling the stories you've never shared before. At daybreak, you stumble upon a glendi and dance a tsamiko.

Chrysanthe Tan (b. 1991, they/them) is a Cambodian-Greek-American composer, violinist, and poet named by Arts Boston as 1 of 10 Contemporary LGBTQ Composers You Should Know in 2018. Their work incorporates spoken word, looping pedals, sleepy voice memos, hints of Greek folk music, nostalgic Cambodian pop, cat cameos, electronic sampling, sensory soothing, and a healthy dose of oversharing.

Stumbling upon a glendi in the woods draws from Greek folk music and dance traditions but is not meant to be an exact invocation. It contains two movements to be performed without pause. "Skaros" is a roaming, improvisatory movement loosely inspired by the skaros, a nomadic shepherd's song from Epirus, which is played in the middle of the night to lead sheep to graze. This movement contains a plethora of ornaments and virtuosic runs to be taken at the pace of the players. "Tsamiko" is a popular Greek dance in 3/4 time. It follows a long-short step pattern, or 2+1 beat pattern. If played at a steady tempo, this movement works as an actual tsamiko; if any Greek dancers in the audience are inspired to get out of their seats, they can rest assured that the meter and form will carry through until the end.  A “glendi” is a party, a celebration, a jamboree. At a glendi, dancing is a given. The tsamiko is a mainstay at glendis across the Greek diaspora.

Mike Mower’s (b. 1958, he/him) playing and writing careers have always run side by side. As a self-taught composer and arranger, he has written for orchestras, big bands, saxophone quartets, string quartets, and wind bands to solo recital works. Mike also arranges music for the pop industry, TV and radio and through his wide practical knowledge of the disciplines of jazz, pop and classical genres, is in demand writing commissioned works for a variety of artists and ensembles.

“Fictions, as the name suggests, are four descriptive pieces for flute quartet. The first movement, entitled “Whirlpool,” evokes a swirling maelstrom with the four voices interacting canonically and with chromatically slipping harmonies. The second movement, “Drought,” is a slow, harmonically stark piece which builds from independent lines to block movement whilst keeping an arid feel throughout. As a contrast, “Home Side” depicts nothing more than a boorish crowd of football supporters cheering their team on to defeat and then collapsing into bed in a drunken stupor. “Flat Out” is just that — a headlong sprint to the finishing line using the underlying vehicle of a blues to burst through the jazz speckled finishing tape…”

Daniela Mars (b. 1991, she/her),  a Trevor James Flutes Artist, is a Brazilian flautist raised in Japan, South Korea, Brazil and England. She is an inspiring soloist, composer, educator,  and social media persona, enjoying a rich artistic life driven by a love of nature and travel. From the deepest caves of Vietnam to the mountains and waterfalls of her homeland in Brazil, Daniela loves to make music with her flutes and be immersed and connected with the natural world.

Daniela has a particular interest in extended flute techniques and specialises in performances with the low flutes. As such, she is passionate about working with living composers to create and bring to life new repertoire for these beautiful instruments.

Cliffs I and Cliffs II, written for contrabasss and bass flutes, are part of Daniela’s most recent project Reverence for the Moment, an album she conceived and created for the low flutes. The album includes new recordings, commissions and collaborations by composers including Robert Patterson, Paul Smith, Rainer Berger and Ola Gjeilo. This music sits alongside her own compositions, which are released on record for the first time. She comments this way on her thought process for Cliffs.

“Cliffs I: Lost at Sea is all about that feeling of being lost, helpless and far from safety. I wrote it in October 2022 when I felt like I was at rock bottom. It was also a moment where I had no fixed house/home, and it really wasn't a good time to not have a haven. All my feelings are really present in the music, so writing it was quite a cathartic experience. In Cliffs II: The Lighthouse, you are still at sea, but no longer lost or afraid. Cliffs II is a direct continuation of Cliffs I. It's about seeing a path, but not being sure that it's the one you want to take — wondering if that really is the direction you want to go.”

Journey Chalan was composed in 2023 as a project spearheaded by Connessa’s very own Leilani Gjellstad (b. 1976, she/her) and Valerie McElroy (b. 1986, she/her). The piece is inspired by an improvisational performance of Raga Madhuvanti by two bansuri flutes, tanpura, and tabla on Pandit (Master) Hariprasad Charausia’s 2009 album, The Last Word in Flute. The middle section of Journey Chalan directly quotes from Pandit Chaurasia’s performance, while the opening and closing sections feature earnest deconstructions of complex Hindustani forms simplified by the limitations of Western ears and instruments.

The word “chalan” means “flow” or “drift,” and the piece is meant to celebrate the flow of the ascending and descending pitch patterns of the charming Raga Madhuvanti, which takes its name from the Hindi word for honey. This raga is associated with romantic love and likely has roots in Carnatic traditions. It became popular in the 1940s and is meant to be played in the late afternoon or early evening during the summer season. The use of keyless bansuri flutes in Hindustani classical music allows for expressive slides between pitches, while tanpura and tabla accompaniment add a rich tonal spectrum and dynamically driving rhythms. Journey Chalan ultimately seeks to aurally depict the evolutionary experience of a sincere Western music-fluent listener attempting to honor and appreciate the complex Hindustani classical music tradition.

Eduardo Ángulo (b. 1954, he/him) is from Puebla, Mexico and currently resides in Cuernavaca. He began his musical training at the age of seven at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City, where he studied violin with Maestro Vladimir Vulfman and graduated with Honorable Mention in 1973 In 1975, he graduated with a Prize of Excellence at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, Holland. Since his return to Mexico, he has dedicated himself almost entirely to composition; his body of award-winning works is substantial and includes compositions for a variety of instrumentation.

Ángulo’s Eólica suite was commissioned and premiered by Miguel Ángel Villanueva in 2003. In Spanish, the word "eólica" means "related to wind." This piece is meant to evoke scenes of magical realism, and the titles of its three movements loosely translate to "between greenery and free men," "detectors in semi-darkness," and "luck is carried by the wind."

Anže Rozman (b. 1989) was born in Kranj, Slovenia — not far from the capital city of Ljubljana. In 2024, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the score for the Netflix documentary Beckham. The Two Rivers was written in 2012, and, in the composer’s own words, is ”very flowing in nature and talks about two entities joining into one, but the story line is open to interpretation. For me, the melody lines that evolve throughout the music suggest the introspective thoughts of each of the two rivers, the two souls, and join up in the end into one uniform entity.” We’d like to imagine that perhaps the composer was inspired by the confluence of the Sava and Ljubljanica rivers, which join together about six miles outside of the city center. But since Slovenia is an alpine country full of rivers, any one of them could be a character in the story. 

https://www.archestralmusic.com/ 

Črt Sojar Voglar (b. 1976) wrote Mala Barvita Fantzija for Slovenian flutist Matej Grahek and American flutist Nina Assimakopoulos in 2014. It premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for a concert in cooperation with the Slovenian embassy. Sojar Voglar describes the piece as one of contrasting ideas — "simple versus complex, sharp versus soft, and rhythmic liveliness versus nervous dispersion." The piece opens and ends with independent fluid lines that play off one another, while the middle section is more rhythmic and aggressive. "The work is seasoned with diverse, iridescent tonal coloration."

http://home.amis.net/sojarvo/bio-eng.html

Entre cordilleras y viñedos, por los senderos frutales

barriendo el polvo del tiempo y cubriendo a toda Mendoza, siguiendo el camino del vino, que al mundo entero enamora, cantando cueca y tonada,

¡Ha llegado el viento Zonda!

“Between the mountain ranges and vineyards, along fruit trails

sweeping away the dust of time and covering all of Mendoza, following the path of wine, which the whole world loves, singing cueca and tonada, 

the Zonda wind has arrived!” 

When composing Vientos de Plata (“Silver Winds”), Noelia Escalzo (b. 1979) was inspired by the natural phenomenon known in the Mendoza region of Argentina as el viento zonda. Similar to the seasonal Santa Ana winds of southern California, the viento zonda is a dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs on the lee (downwind side) of the eastern Andes mountain range and affects the surrounding areas that lie in a rain shadow. This swirling wind often carries dust particles, which makes the wind appear grey or silver, and can bring temperature changes of up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in just an afternoon. The beautiful melodies, swirling rhythmic patterns and hemiola syncopation of this piece incorporate elements from the chacarera, an Argentine folk music genre and dance form that is considered the rural counterpart to the more cosmopolitan tango. 

https://noeliaescalzo.com/ 

This piece was also written by Noelia Escalzo, a prolific composer born in Córdoba, Argentina. Her body of work includes several compositions for low brass and woodwinds. Originally written for oboe, bassoon and piano, Escalzo arranged Retorno for two flutes and piano last year in a gracious effort to continue to expand the Latin American flute catalogue.  "Retorno" is one of three Spanish words meaning 'to return'; however, "retorno" usually refers to a regular returning or going back with a sense of finality or after a long time, denoting a recurrence in cyclical phenomena. Within the piece, you will hear two main themes being repeated, modulated and shared between both flutes and the piano. The piece's overall sound is characterized by a style that is distinctly Escalzo's own unique storytelling perspective.

https://noeliaescalzo.com/ 

Cynthia Folio (b. 1954) was commissioned in 2008 by flute duo Zawa (Claudia Anderson and Jill Felber) and specifically designed with these two flutists’ talents and personalities in mind. Folio states, “The first movement, "Zephyr," is virtuosic and is inspired by the sound and power of the wind. The second movement, "Zenith," highlights the duo’s lyricism; it is introspective and builds slowly to a single ‘zenith.’ The third movement, "ZAWA!," reflects the playful side of the duo; it is based on salsa rhythms, at times combined polyrhythmically, and ends with a typical montuno (the final up-tempo part of a Cuban song).”  Folio's musical perspective is informed by time in her formative years spent studying  at the Panama Music Conservatory with Eduardo Charpentier, principal flutist of the Panama Symphony.

https://www.cynthiafolio.com/

Vaja Azarashvili (1936-2024) was one of the most beloved musicians in the history of the eastern European country of Georgia. Like all nocturnes, this piece evokes a sense of lullaby-like calm and is full of expressive dynamics, lush harmonies and recurring themes and motifs. Azarashvili wrote Nocturne in 2017, and that its melody is so nostalgic and relatable perfectly aligns with the fact that it was written by a composer with roots in folk music – which is often lyrical and simple-sounding on the surface, yet rich in substance underneath. Typically performed on cello or two violins and piano, Connessa performs this work on two piccolos and piano. 

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.579030https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.579030

Jewish-Mexican composer Samuel Zyman (b. 1956) was born in Mexico City. Zyman's musical perspective and voice are influenced by his early music lessons on accordion and piano by prominent Mexican musicians. He was encouraged to explore multiple genres and later studied in the United States. While most of Zyman's works reflect his broad range of influences,  Fantasía Mexicana leans heavily on son jarocho rhythms from Veracruz. Son jarocho is a traditional musical style that blends Spanish, Indigenous and West African influences. The piece seamlessly incorporates lively rhythms, energetic melodies and flowing lyrical lines. Premiered in Mexico City in 2004 for two flutes and orchestra,  Fantasía Mexicana quickly became a favorite within the flute community.

https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/zyman-samuel

I.    Gathering

II.   In the Wood

III.  In the Air

Flutist-composer-pianist Gary Schocker (b. 1959; he/him) is an accomplished musician of outstanding versatility. In addition to being the most published living composer for flute, Gary Schocker has composed sonatas and chamber music for most instruments of the orchestra, written several musicals and children's musicals and performed flute internationally with some of most critically acclaimed orchestras.

 In three movements, Nymphs is a beautifully picturesque piece that alternates in mood between dreamy and spritely, pensive and flirtatious. In Greek mythology, nymphs were usually associated with fertile, growing things, such as trees, or with water. They were not immortal but were extremely long-lived, and they were distinguished according to the sphere of nature with which they were connected. For example, the Oreads (oros, “mountain”) were nymphs of mountains and grottoes; the Napaeae (nape, “dell”) and the Alseids (alsos, “grove”) were nymphs of glens and groves; the Dryads r Hamadryads presided over forests and trees. 

I.    Flutes pastorales

II.   Flutes joyeuses
III.  Flutes rêveuses
IV.  Flutes légères 

Born in Paris, Jacques Castérède (1926-2014; he/him) studied composition at the renowned Paris Conservatory and won the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome in 1953. A prolific composer, his works include ballets, concertos, symphonies, ensemble and chamber music. Castérède's music is essentially melodic, often using modal scales on top of rich and varied structures, and his compositional style was heavily influenced by the expressionism of Ravel and Debussy and the jazz devices used by Milhaud. 

Flûtes en vacances features four movements, and the title of each evokes unique imagery of flutists on a holiday. The first movement, which translates to “pastoral flutes,” is quintessentially of the French style and paints an impressionistic picture of frolicking in the grand outdoors. The second movement, which translates to “joyful flutes,” bounces and dances merrily throughout. A theme from Castérède’s ‘Twelve Studies’ etude book serves as a clear inspiration for Movement III, which translates to “dreamy flutes." As a final exclamation point, the fourth movement, which translates to “light flutes,” has a feather-light melody that soars to the piece's conclusion.

Tokyo-born Momo Sakura (b. 1971; she/her) is an international kimono flautist, composer and sound healer based in Perth, Western Australia who has written over 400 solo, chamber and orchestral works. For her, music is more than an art form—it’s a universal force for healing and connection. To share this incredible magic with the world, Momo has spent the past four decades composing, teaching, and performing traditional Japanese flute music, often alongside renowned artists. In 2021, Momo combined her love for storytelling and music to launch a live-streamed worldwide concert that was developed for Japanese literature and performed with narration.  Today, she travels the world delivering healing musical performances as The Kimono Flautist. Momo’s performances are inspired by the sounds of Ryuichi Sakamoto and the many audience members who are visibly moved by her work.

Under the Sakura Trees paints an expressive picture of a bewitching and magical world peered at from beneath the branches of the celebrated cherry blossom tree. In the short but sweet piece, each flute's voice contributes to an ethereally flowing soundscape.

Christopher Caliendo (b. 1976; he/him) has composed and performed in multiple areas of the music industry over the last 20 years.  Winner Henry Mancini Film Scholarship, Caliendo is the first composer in Vatican history to be twice commissioned by the Vatican under John Paul II and the first composer in Hollywood history to rescore an existing film for SONY Pictures. Christopher Caliendo's unusual blending of musical style and instrumentation while respecting popular and serious musical culture has generated a personal catalog of over 500 works that include sacred music, opera, folk, gypsy, tango, classical, jazz to popular music - and he continues to enjoy arranging and composing music for a 21st century audience whose musical needs are as varied as his own. 

In the words of the composer, Por siempre, para siempre ("forever and ever") is “a tango adagio, filled with memory, longing and pathos. A way of saying, 'I’m sorry.' In this piece, the two flute parts play off each other and pass the melody and countermelodies, embodying the feeling of apology and forgiveness.

La Milonga is inspired by the bright, up-tempo Argentine peasant dance of the same name. The milonga is one of the ancestral dance forms that helped shape the Argentine tango during the early part of the 20th century. It is a lively, often humorous dance which was heavily influenced by the African candombe, as African workers settled into Buenos Aires during its economic boom in the late 19th century. As Argentine peasants and soldiers, commonly called compadritos, watched African workers dance the candombe, some of its elements were incorporated into the milonga over time.

It is critical to note that African workers in Buenos Aires at this time were liberated enslaved peoples. As is often the case, the candombe was performed as a form of resistance against harsh injustice, and the dance form was even banned within the city of Montevideo for some time. Despite this, its rhythms and steps were deeply impactful on the tango we know from Argentina and all of South America. This piece captures the traditional spirit of one of Argentina's great cultural traditions while incorporating American popular harmonies and jazz influences.

One of the most important South American composers of the 20th century, Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992, he/him) was an Argentine musician, composer and virtuoso on the bandoneón (a square-built button accordion). He left traditional Latin American tango bands in 1955 to create a new tango that blended elements of jazz and classical music.

Libertango is a portmanteau word created by Piazzolla himself. It combines libertad (meaning liberty in Spanish) and tango. Because Piazzolla was not in favor of the politics in Argentina in the early 1970s and wanted to have a fresh start as a musician, he went to Italy and composed this piece in Milan in 1974. The widespread popularity of Libertango contributed to Piazzolla’s flourishing musical career in Europe. Percussive foot stomps, seductive melodic lines and signature rhythmic patterns can all be heard in this well-beloved piece.

Daniel Dorff (b. 1956; he/him), a  prodigious composer and dear friend, studied composition at Cornell and University of Pennsylvania. While he learned the craft of composition at university, his voice and aesthetics are influenced by American popular music, which in turn is an outgrowth of French impressionism. 

Year of the Rabbit was written soon after Dorff returned from a trip to Taiwan, where he visited the Palace Museum and saw thousands of renderings of the Chinese Zodiac in every type of style and media of 2D and 3D art. In January 1999, during the Year of the Rabbit celebration, Dorff received a commission request and chose to honor his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law -- who were all born during a Year of the Rabbit. This piece sounds decidedly French, using chords in parallel motion that don't remain within one key. The melody and harmony are connected through this motion, with contrasting jazzy solos sprinkled throughout the piece. 

III. Preservation Hall

Rolling with the punches, Nicole Chamberlain (b. 1977; she/her) has been flexible in carving out her own path in both her life and career. Her initial plan was to become an animator who composed original soundtracks, but the original plan that 18-year-old Chamberlain set for herself did not turn out to be the dream she wanted after all. At the age of 32, she left a career in web and graphic design to pursue a financially insecure life as a full-time composer and flutist. More than 10 years later, she plows ahead realizing this is the adventure she really craved.

French Quarter was composed for Perimeter Flutes to premiere at the 2013 National Flute Association Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. The piece is split into quarters and explores different areas of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans. The first movement opens the piece with its crowded Bourbon street. The second movement is the whirling powdered sugar that dances in the air on a windy day from tourists eating the beignets. The third movement echoes the music heard from the jazz institution known as Preservation Hall. Finally, we exit the French Quarter being carried out by a jazz funeral to and from the St. Louis Cemetery, where many a jazz legend is laid to rest. The piece makes use of some extended flute techniques, like beat boxing, to replicate percussion, double bass sounds, and sometimes even wind to capture the atmosphere of the French Quarter.

I.    Rós Bothan (Rose Cottage)

II.   Céile Teagamhach (The Doubtful Wife: A Reel)
III.  Loch Solas (Lake Solace: Air Mo Mathair)
IV.  Gearr Riomball (Describe a Circle: A Jig)

Catherine McMichael (b. 1954; she/her) is an American pianist, arranger, composer and publisher who is a trained pianist with a BA in piano performance and an MA in chamber music from the University of Michigan. Two of her works for flute have won the Best Newly Published Music award from the National Flute Association (Floris and La Lune et les Etoiles). Her composition projects in the past three years include commissions from such diverse groups as the Saginaw Bay Orchestra (full orchestra), Ithaca Talent Education (for string orchestra), The Canadian Brass (brass quintet), and University of Massachusetts at Amherst (chorus, saxophone, piano; and tenor, saxophone, piano).

A Gaelic Offering includes four pieces in the traditional style: rowdy, raw, rambunctious when fast; achingly personal when slow. Movements are entitled Rose Cottage, The Doubtful Wife, Lake Solace, and Describe a Circle (A Jig). This music is meant to be enjoyed like country cooking - with gusto!