Rooted: SOLI presents works that fuse together nature, arts, and ideas, inspired by the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s current exhibit, Rooted (large-scale sculpture by Steve Tobin). Angélica Negrón mirrors electricity’s element of surprise in nature through her use of electronics; Christopher Vu reflects on the degree of disorder and randomness in the universe; and Kati Agócs captures the present-day idea of “alone together.” The concert’s centerpiece is I Remember You by emerging African-American composer Benjamin Horne, winner of the first Cross-Country Chamber Consortium award, of which SOLI is a founding member.

Program

Open Mic Night VI:

Woven: The repertoire for SOLI’s second concert of the season features composers who weave the sounds and spirit of their cultural heritages into contemporary classical works. Latin Grammy-award-winning composer Gabriela Frank’s Hilos “…alludes to the beauty of Peruvian textiles, both in their construction and in their pictorial content of everyday life” and creates sonorities evocative of indigenous music. African-American composer Shawn Okpebholo’s compositions have been described as “devastatingly beautiful” and “fresh and new and fearless,” and his ethnomusicological fieldwork in both East and West Africa often finds its way into his music. SOLI will give the world premiere of CONFLUX by San Antonio native Niccolo Athens, known for blending the Western tonalities and heritage of his youth with the Eastern modes and harmonic palate of his adopted home Tianjin, China. Watch his interview here.

Program

Athens, Niccolo | CONFLUX – World Premiere (2022) | clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Frank, Gabriela Lena | Hilos (2010) | clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Frolyak, Bohdana | Three Miniatures (2009) | violin, cello, piano

Okpebholo, Shawn | ‘Take It Easy, But Take It’ (2021) | violin, piano

Voiced: Giving voice to our cultures and traditions is at the heart of SOLI’s final concert of the season, presented with guest artists EnsembleNEWSRQ. The Afro-Dutch traditions of the colonial period and the contributions of Africans to the formation of New York and the country are deftly illuminated in Trevor Weston’s Pinkster Kings, scored for SOLI’s instrumentation plus percussion and narrator. See the interview with the composer here. Originally written in 2001 and just as applicable in today’s climate, Kevin Puts’ And Legions Will Rise affirms the power in all of us to transcend during times of tragedy and personal crisis. Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s Shawi’ Imanompa’ (Raccoon Talk)”, based on an ancient Chickasaw Raccoon Song, includes a unique opportunity for the audience to exercise their voice in the performance – creating textures of sounds evocative of the animals’ chattery troublemaking nature.

Program

electric guitar, cello, and piano