[ Golden Gater Online - December 16, 1997 ]
Jason L. Ables
Staff writer
First there were nervous smiles meeting a virgin audience, then there were smiles of relief meeting rounds of hearty applause, but mostly there was music.
The sounds of cellos and violins, pianos and singing, filled Knuth Hall last week as six original pieces of music debuted during a Tuesday afternoon recital.
While most recitals in the past have the musicians performing known works that are often familiar to the audience, all the music at the event was being played for an audience for the first time. Each piece was written by a member of the SF State composer's workshop, and from gracious melody to stirring ensemble work, the music reflected the diversity the school is known for.
Opening with pianist Jennifer Peringer, and cellist Lyn Fulkerson negotiating the intricate voicing of Robert Polniak's powerful and rhythmic "Exhume," the recital quickly established that SF State's music department is not wanting for talent -- the proof of which could be found in the loud clapping of the over 80 people in attendance.
After Polniak's piece and in a wonderful counterpoint to it, the recital switched gears as Angela Cadelago, accompanied by Stephen Damonte on piano, graced listeners with a tender and beautiful rendition of Charles Zullinger's "Three Songs for Soprano and Piano."
Besides Polniak and Zullinger, four other students, including Christopher Merifield, Eric Carlson, Lawrence Wayte and Suki Russak debuted works -- all were treated to big ovations.
Of the six, only Wayte performed his piece himself. His duet for piano and voice was something of a family affair as he was accompanied by his wife, Laura Decher. Wayte called her his "ringer" because she is a member of the San Francisco Opera.
Leading up to the applause was a semester of hard work under the eyes of Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, assistant professor of music. Besides eliciting a good reaction from an audience, Sanchez-Gutierrez said one of the goals of the composer's workshop was to teach the student composers how to interact with the musicians who would ultimately play their pieces.
Within the music department, there are two different branches of study, one concerned with the performing aspect of music, and one with the writing of it. Sanchez-Gutierrez said the workshop is one of the areas where those two branches intertwine.
Carlson's "Quartet" serves an apt example of how the process works. Musicians in the chamber music symposia were asked if they would be willing to learn and later perform Carlson's music. For double-bassist Andrew Salisbury, it meant a chance for him to perform a work where the bass was actually out in front for much of the piece instead of being in the background, as is usual in chamber music.
Salisbury said the piece went through a number of similar forms while Carlson worked with the musicians, listening to the piece as it was being practiced and then making revisions. That process repeated itself several times before the piece was finally finished.
"It is a nice piece," Salisbury said, adding that he was glad to play a part in seeing it come alive. "I do not claim to be a composer. I think it is great that people are actually writing music, composing, and getting it performed."
Missing from the recital's printed program, but not its stage, was Christopher Merifield, who wrote for strings and piano. His "Intrigue" came after two months of writing and revising and perhaps got the loudest applause of the day. At the very least, it garnered the thumbs up of his mom and grandmother who were in attendance.
Merifield said he chose to study composing because the music that is written today will always be here for posterity.
"In a hundred years, you could still play that (Intrigue), and those people will be dead," he said pointing to the people who had gathered in Knuth Hall.
[ Golden Gater - December 16, 1997 ]