2021 - 2022 Season Recap
Soli's Album DEBUT - APr. '22
The Clearing and the Forest
Reflecting on SOLI’s latest album and its relevance today, Artistic Director Stephanie Key noted, “In a world where we live with the comfort of both time and safety, The Clearing and the Forest immediately resonated with us. We often forget that we are fluid, ever-changing, and not in charge of our future. It took a pandemic to bring that starkly home for us. The album has captured the essence of movement, of change, of loss and separation, of new hope and becoming — all in a single piece.”
Listen to The Clearing and the Forest on all streaming platforms, including the ones linked above!
2021 - 2022 Concerts and Events
Tableau in Frida Kahlo’s Oasis: The Frida Kahlo Oasis at the San Antonio Botanical Garden was the inspiration for a vibrant evening filled with fusions of dance rhythms, jazz, and contemporary expressions. The Zarabandeo of Arturo Marquez accompanied the music of Robert Xavier Rodriguez, including the Concert Suite from Rodriguez’s opera, Frida, with guest artist Jacquelyn Matava, mezzo-soprano.
Program
Marquez, Arturo | Zarabandeo (1995)
clarinet and piano
Freckmann, Yvonne | Postcard Miniatures (2020) World Premiere
Deep True – for solo piano
Serene – for solo cello
Rodriguez, Robert Xavier | Concert Suite from ‘Frida’ (1991)
mezzo-soprano and piano
Jacquelyn Matava, guest artist
Rodriguez, Robert Xavier | Lull-a-Bear (1990)
transcribed from Ursa for cello and piano
Prado, Aaron | Ofrenda (2015/2021)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Original concert program available here
Fractals: This concert was an exploration of infinite color, shape, and voice – as composers weaved new sounds and combinations into the ever-evolving kaleidoscope of music. It featured works by Xi Wang, Quinn Mason, San Antonio-native Aaron Prado, and the world premiere of a new work by internationally acclaimed Syrian-American composer Kinan Azmeh.
Program
Prado, Aaron | Suite for the Between Time (2021)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Say, Fazil | Cleopatra (2010)
solo violin
Wang, Xi | Rhapsody (2005)
solo cello
Mason, Quinn | Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo (2020)
solo clarinet
Ortiz, Gabriela | Estudios entre preludio (2007)
solo piano
Azmeh, Kinan | Four Essays on Solitude and Other Ambiguous Emotions World Premiere
clarinet, violin, cello, piano
Original concert program available here
Reflection on 100 Years of Tango: A concert and special event in support of SOLI, this concert celebrated Astor Piazzolla’s 100th birthday with the colors of movement as heard through music. Piazzolla’s genius is reflected in the infinite ways he stretched the genre of the Tango, inspiring many to capture their heritage on the creative canvas. Arrangements by Clarice Assad and Ofrenda by San Antonio composer Aaron Prado complement an evening highlighting the Tango’s many hues.
Program
Piazzolla, Astor | Tango-Etude No. 1 (1987)
solo clarinet
Piazzolla, Astor | Bordel, 1900 from ‘Histoire du Tango’ (1986)
violin and piano
Piazzolla, Astor | Oblivion (1982)
violin, cello, and piano
Prado, Aaron | Ofrenda (2021)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Piazzolla, Astor | Grand Tango (1982)
cello and piano
Piazzolla, Astor; arr. Clarice Assad | Yo Soy Maria from the opera ‘Maria de Buenos Aires’
violin, clarinet, cello, and piano
Piazzolla, Astor; arr. Clarice Assad | Los Pajaros Perdido
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Piazzolla, Astor | Milonga en re (1967)
violin and piano
Piazzolla, Astor | Libertango (1974)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Original concert program available here
Open Mic V: SOLI’s fifth-annual community event in partnership with Texas Public Radio highlighted San Antonio’s closet crooners and avid weekend-warrior performers who presented their favorite classical works written after 1970. This year’s live microphone was staged at TPR’s new Malú and Carlos Alvarez Theatre and recorded for rebroadcast on KPAC’s Performance Saturday.
Spectra: Works by Canadians Jocelyn Morlock and Malcolm Forsyth, Americans Carlos Simon and Brian Bondari, and Mexicans Arturo Marquez and Gabriela Ortiz shaped this concert that considered the spectra of music and culture of our continent. From auroral and ethereal to lighthearted to earthy, every voice – no matter their position or heritage or point of origin – was an equally integral part of the experience for the listener. Spectra featured the world premiere of Planetscape by San Antonio composer Brian Bondari.
Program
Morlock, Jocelyn | The Jack Pine (2010)
solo piano
Forsyth, Malcolm | Eclogue (1998)
solo cello
Bondari, Brian | Planetscape (2021) World Premier
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Marquez, Arturo | Zarabandeo (1995)
clarinet and piano
Simon, Carlos | Be Still and Know (2015)
violin, cello, and piano
Ortiz, Gabriela | Trifolium (2005)
violin, cello, and piano
Original concert program available here
Prisms: SOLI’s season was an invitation to look into the core of music, see its infinite array of colors and patterns, and hear the complete aural spectrum. April’s concert was no exception and brought the audience into the eye of the prism – to the point at which change happens. The concert featured the world premiere of Holbein Dances by Cuban-American composer Armando Bayolo and works by Jessie Montgomery and Edna Alejandra Longoria with a special memorial presentation of works by Louis Andriessen (1939 – 2021) and George Crumb (1929 – 2022) with guest artist Jacquelyn Matava, mezzo-soprano.
Program
Frolyak, Bohdana | “Melody” from Three Miniatures in C (2009)
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Longoria, Edna Alejandra | Caos y resistencia (2020) San Antonio Premiere
solo piano
Crumb, George | Apparition (1979)
soprano and amplified piano
Montgomery, Jessie | Peace (2020)
violin and piano
Andriessen, Louis | Selections from “The Memory of Roses”
soprano and piano
Bayolo, Armando | Holbein Dances (2021) World Premiere
clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Original concert program available here