Nebula are clouds of gas and heat occupying space between stars and acting as a nursery for new stars. SOLI presents four past commissions to open the season, honoring its lengthy history of giving life to new works for 30 years. Ethan Wickman’s Ballads of the Borderland Suite weaves the sweeping texts of John Phillip Santos and Carmen Tafolla with personal accounts from those migrating across south Texas into a narrative of “cultural history that is at once panoramic and intimate.” Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s Piñata para los amantes – based on the overture to the composer’s opera Frida – blends samba rhythms and Mexican folk songs, as well as American Jazz techniques. Alexandra Gardner explores life in the deserts of the Southwest in Crows, an illumination of Muscogee (Creek) Nation poet Joy Harjo’s beautiful texts. Steve Mackey’s Prelude to the End is influenced by Messiaen’s iconic Quartet for the End of Time in its themes of mortality, restless textures, and dense harmonic paths. Nebula invites the listener into SOLI’s musical ‘living room’ to reflect on the themes of love, commitment, and reflection, and on how past relationships have formed who we are today. Click to view the program here.

Open Mic Night VII:

Galaxies takes the listener on a journey through a brilliant array of musical textures, colors, and ideas – each held together by a distinct compositional voice much as gravitational attraction binds billions of stars together with gas and dust into visually stunning galaxies. Jennifer Hidgon’s Pale Yellow leads the listener through vibrant and colorful soundscapes. Carl Schimmel’s Three Paintings of Marvin Cone evokes the duality of naturalistic impressionism against abstraction as inspired by the paintings of Marvin Cone. A new commission by Kyle Rivera, winner of this year’s Cross-Country Chamber Consortium award, of which SOLI is a founding member, is at the center of this concert. Anaglyph – A Repository of Imaginary Languages explores the nuance of language – phonetics, morphology, constituency, and syntax – through the lens of a musical language as deciphered by the performers. Jennifer Bellor’s A Grey Dream takes a step back into the moody and gentle atmosphere of a quaint rainy evening. The concert ramps back up to a powerful close with a past SOLI commission. Overland Dream by Peter Lieuwen was commissioned by the Texas Music Teachers Association for SOLI Chamber Ensemble and first premiered by SOLI on October 15, 2011 at the TEDx San Antonio conference. The work plays with vital rhythms and creates a lively interplay between instruments. Click to view the program here.

Program

Jennifer Higdon | Piano Trio (2023) |  violin, cello, piano

Carl Schimmel | Three Paintings of Marvin Cone (2020) | piano

Kyle Rivera | Anaglyph – A Repository of Imaginary Languages (2023) | clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Jennifer Bellor | A Grey Dream (2023) | violin, piano

Peter Lieuwen | Overland Dream (2011)* | clarinet, violin, cello, piano

* SOLI Commission

Macrocosm is SOLI’s final concert of the season and occurs on the 30th anniversary of its first concert in 1994. The program opens with Book of Questions by Daniel De Togni, winner of this year’s Alba Alumni Competition.  SOLI recently concluded a call for scores for 30x30x30 – a new music initiative supporting early-career composers. To celebrate the success of the 30x30x30 Project, the ensemble presents the first three of the thirty selected works. The concert ends with the world premiere of Elliott Miles McKinley’s Symphony No. 2 for Four Players, op. 79. Three decades, over a hundred commissions, premieres, and performances, eight albums, and countless awards later, Macrocosm celebrates how SOLI has championed new voices and become a creative force in the landscape of contemporary music in this country. Click to view the program here.

Program

Daniel De Togni | Book of Questions (2024) | violin, cello, piano
World Premiere 

Brittney Benton | Piano Trio No. 1 (2024) | violin, cello, piano
Texas Premiere 

Alex Barsom | Wail On (2023) | cello
Texas Premiere 

Alexa Canales | Through Your Eyes, Movement I (2020) | violin, cello, piano
World Premiere

Elliott Miles McKinley | Symphony No. 2 for Four Players, op. 79 (2023)* | clarinet, violin, cello, piano
World Premiere 

* SOLI Commission

30x30x30 is a new music initiative in honor of SOLI Chamber Ensemble’s 30th anniversary, supporting early-career composers. Thirty new or recently-composed compositions have been selected from nearly 300 submissions and will be presented in a series of performances beginning in May 2024. SOLI has convened a Project Team of artists to facilitate 30x30x30, and a consortium of Project Partners will curate and present these new works in performances across Texas and the country during the 2024-2025 season. Be sure to tune in next year to hear these fantastic works!