By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
On Monday, April 22, the Sunderman Wind Quintet performed a recital called “Eclectic Collaborations” to showcase recent pieces in their repertoire. The recital took place in Paul Recital Hall at 7 p.m. and featured Adjunct Assistant Professors Sarah McIver on flute, Noelle Drewes on oboe, Aaron Scott on clarinet, Ken Bell on French horn and Lynn Moncilovich on the bassoon. The first two pieces also included Scott Crowne on the piano alongside the quintet. All of the musicians are a part of the faculty of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music as adjunct professors of their respective instruments as well as each having many professional performing and leadership accolades all around the world.
The program began with a piece entitled “A Jagged Path for Wind Quintet and Piano” by Garth Baxter. The Conservatory was fortunate enough to have Baxter present at the recital as his work was performed, and he addressed the audience about the contents and meaning of the piece. The style of the piece was very contemporary and had a lot of tempo changes and dissonant moments, conveying the title of the piece.
Next on the program was Francis Poulenc’s “Sextet,” with three movements titled “I. Allegro vivace,” “II. Divertissement” and “III. Finale.” This piece was meant to capture a circus-like style of music, as introduced by Crowne.
“It features all of the instruments really beautifully I think, and collaboratively,” Crowne stated in regards to the piece’s style.
“Variations for Woodwind Quintet” by Hollis Thoms was another piece with its composer in the audience, who explained how a theme in his recently written opera inspired him to create a chamber piece with many variations of that theme for a chamber ensemble. Thoms was also in the audience to listen to his piece performed and offer some background information about his thought process while composing the work.
Director of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music James Day took to the stage to acknowledge Drewes and Bell, who will be departing from Gettysburg College after this semester. Then, Drewes introduced the final piece on the program, “Five Frogs for Woodwind Quintet” by contemporary composer Jenni Brandon.
“We’re happy to play pieces by local composers and we’ve also made it one of our missions to always be playing pieces by underrepresented composers, so the next piece is by a living female composer,” she said in regards to how the Quintet chooses their broad repertoire of music.
The title of the work gives a clue to the imagery evoked in the piece, with movements called “I. Leaping,” “II. On The Lily Pad,” “III. Swimming,” “IV. Bullfrog” and “V. Catching Bugs,” which created distinct settings and moods that are tied together. Each instrument was featured on one of the movements, giving the unique qualities and musicianship of the members a moment to really show their talents. The final movement, “VI. Epilogue,” concluded the piece succinctly and with a satisfying harmony between all five instruments.
The Sunderman Wind Quintet’s performances generate excitement as an opportunity to see faculty in recitals that feature a variety of work from composers of all backgrounds and genres. They perform regularly in various venues to share music with the college and greater community.
