This concert includes music from RAM composers including a short concert prelude for clarinet, cello, and piano from Masatora Goya to open the concert, a duo for cello and piano from Seth Boustead, a trio for clarinet, cello, and piano from Gilbert Galindo, and a world premiere for clarinet, cello, and piano from RAM's newest member, Beata Moon.

Guest composers' music includes world premieres from British composer Jake Adams with his pieces skillfully combining Western classical instruments with Japanese heritage instruments, and quintets from Tania Leon and Ed Bland - two virtuosic quintets from the same year (1992) inhabiting exciting sound worlds quite different from each other.
 

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RAM Players
Lish Lindsey, ryuteki  |  Thomas Piercy, clarinet/hichiriki
Masayo Ishigure, koto  |  Daniel Hass, cello  |  Tengku Irfan, piano
 

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NO STREET SHOES ALLOWED ON THE FLOOR
Sandals, sneakers, slippers, socks are OK

More info  ram.nyc.info@gmail.com
 

PROGRAM NOTES

 

COMPOSERS

 

 

 

 

 

Jake Adams "Ångström" for ryuteki and hichiriki (2021) (Live concert Premiere)

"An angstrom is the unit of measurement used primarily to measure the wavelengths of light and the atomic spacing between bonded atoms. After over a year of lockdown and social distancing, getting used to the removal of physical distance between people will be a

challenge for many people. Angstrom explores the themes of distance, both through the growing pitch separation of the instruments and the physical placement of the performers on stage. The overall simplicity of the instrumental lines allows the growing harmonic space to take centre stage within the performance. The separation of the performers creates a stereo effect, where each instrument is on its own but relies on the other for cues and support."

This piece was composed for and is dedicated to Thomas Piercy and Lish Lindsey.
https://jakeadamscomposer.wixsite.com/jakeadamscomposer/home

 

Jake Adams “Confetti for the Outcasts” for ryuteki, hichiriki, koto, cello, and piano (2022) (World Premiere)

“ In 2021, the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ finalists consisted of Rose Aisling-Ellis (a deaf woman), John Whaite (an openly gay man) and AJ Odudu (a working class, black woman). Acknowledging the significance of one of the UK’s biggest television events of the year featuring such a diverse group, Whaite posted a photo himself and his dance partner Johannes Radebe in their show dance, surrounded by confetti, stating that ‘What started life as an entertainment show has this year provided solace for so many outcasts.’. This image and statement inspired me to compose a new work that explored and celebrated the beauty of difference and diversity in our world.

 

Confetti for the Outcasts is a synthesis of ideas from my own training as a western classical music and Javanese gamelan player with instruments and elements from the Japanese gagaku tradition. Each of the instruments in the ensemble have a unique method of sound production, leading to distinct voices and timbral colours in the piece. The musical material of the piece is based around four small motifs that each of the instruments explore through melodic and/or harmonic expressions. Elaboration on the melodic materials found in the ryuteki, hichiriki and cello is key to these expressions, helping to develop the motifs organically through each performer’s unique voice. Microtonal inflections around particular pitch classes are used to expand the harmonic language of the music. Of particular interest to me whilst composing this piece was the microtonal embellishments used between the ryuteki and hichiriki in gagaku music, where the hichiriki will slide to its pitch an octave lower than the stable ryuteki note, resulting in the first harmonic of the hichiriki beating against the fundamental of the ryuteki. This effect is key to Confetti for the Outcasts, being seen frequently between the ryuteki, hichiriki and cello.

This piece was composed for Thomas Piercy, Lish Lindsey, Masayo Ishiguri, Daniel Hass and Tengku Irfan.

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Ed Bland “Clarinet Trio” for clarinet, cello, and piano (1992, rev. 2003-4)
The "Clarinet Trio" was commissioned by Los Angeles Philharmonic principal clarinetist Michele Zukovsky and premiered by her in 1992.  Thomas Piercy gave the New York premiere in 1994 on an all-Ed Bland concert.
http://www.edblandmusic.com/






 

 

Seth Boustead “Whitespace” for cello and piano (2020)
"White space, or negative space, is that part of a painting or art work that the artist intentionally leaves blank.  It is a vital part of the overall composition of the art work.  We have a similar concept in music in terms of where we place events and how we surround them.  Whitespace is a sonic exploration of this concept of spatial placement."
http://sethboustead.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gilbert Galindo “Three Episodes” for clarinet, cello, and piano (2006)
"Sustenance. Why not enjoy the things we like sustained? Why not relish in what is liked timelessly to be left in a wonderful bliss? ... to take the favorite moment and suspend it ... with all its beauty and mystery experiencing its thrill ... its excitement ... sustained ... exploring it as if it is unknown giving us a sense of danger ... risk ... that is happiness.
https://www.gilbertgalindo.com/

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Masatora Goya “Floating Above the Clouds” for clarinet, cello, and piano (2013)
"My childhood dream was to become a Gandalf-like wizard. However, instead of fighting against the dark enemies, what I wanted was to nap all day in the clouds. On busy days I often wonder what went wrong with my life, and all I can do is to let the fantasy escape in music."
"Floating Above the Clouds" was composed for Thomas Piercy and premiered in 2013.
https://www.masatoragoya.com/

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Tania Leon “Arenas d'un tiempo” for clarinet, cello, and piano (1992)
“Arenas d'un tiempo (Sands of a Time), composed in 1992, was inspired by the beaches I could see from my hotel room during a stay in Rio de Janeiro. The motions and gestures of the piece were suggested by the striking change in the appearance of a beach’s sand when the wind disturbs its tranquility and reforms the sand into a pattern of ripples. This influence of nature may be heard, for example, in how the unison attacks between the three instruments diverge into contrasting lines evocative of the constantly reforming patterns of sand.”

https://www.tanialeon.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beata Moon “Trio” for clarinet, cello, and piano (2022) (World Premiere)
"This trio was written as I found myself navigating through the many emotions that have bubbled up during and after the pandemic - feelings of loss, pain, anger, hope, uncertainty… I usually give the title after I finish writing the music, and “Wandering” seemed to fit the journey of my questioning of accepted beliefs from a previous world view to a different one." Composed for Thomas Piercy, Daniel Hass, and Tengku Irfan.
https://beatamoon.com/

 

PLAYERS

 

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Lish Lindsey, ryuteki
https://www.lishlindsey.com/

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Thomas Piercy, clarinet/hichiriki
http://www.thomaspiercy.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masayo Ishigure, koto
https://masayoishigure.com/

 

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Daniel Hass, cello
http://danielhass.ca/

 

 

 

 

 

Tengku Irfan, piano
https://www.tengkuirfan.com/

 

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