SOLI Chamber Ensemble opens its 32nd season with the third and final installment of its visionary 30x30x30 Project. Once again, the Ensemble invites audiences to gather with composers, performers, and fellow music lovers for an immersive, intimate weekend of music-making and creative exchange.
Showcase features seven of the 30 remarkable chamber works selected through the 30x30x30 project, and offers an inside look at the creative process behind each piece. From open rehearsals to recording sessions and culminating performances, audiences are invited to experience the music as it comes to life.
Throughout the weekend, guest composers will be present for interactive sessions, in-depth conversations, and casual gatherings, creating a rare opportunity to engage directly with the artists behind the music.
Asuka Kakitani | Fractured (2023) | clarinet, violin, cello, electronics, and piano
From the composer: “Fractured was written for the wonderful Unheard-of//Ensemble in 2023. I broke my right hand for the first time soon after I started working on the piece. Wearing a cast for six weeks on my dominant hand and not being able to use it displayed the world differently, which gave me new perspectives and appreciation. This piece tries to express my struggle through the experience, wonder at the incredible human body, and gratitude for the health I take for granted too often.“
Yuxuan Lin | Three Miniatures (2023) | violin, viola, and cello
From the composer: “It has come to my attention that there’s not many string trio repertoires as that for string quartet. The absence of a 2nd violin makes the ensemble much smaller, not the most comfortable to do four-part harmony anymore. With three melodic instruments, what textures and sounds would I be able to create? Through the string trio, I hope to explore the sonic possibility. As someone deeply fascinated by the essence of lights, I aim to create both individuality and unity of lights in the work through limiting one dominating performance technique in individual movements. The work is of importance to me as a composer for the reason that it contains interesting textures that depicts specific types of lights: a significant source of my inspiration.“
Edna Longoria | El bailongo (2023) | flute, violin, cello, and piano
From the composer: “El bailongo was written as a result of a commission by LunArt Festival. They were looking for a piece that was rhythmic and lyrical. The “Bailongo” is usually a very casual party that goes on in the neighborhood streets and is full of music, dance, and food. When writing this piece, I was imagining people dancing, talking to each other, and having fun.“
Seare Farhat | Muzzahaimat (2023) | clarinet, violin, cello, piano
From the composer: “Muzzahaimat falls into a set of recent projects surrounding my investigation, deconstruction, and reclamation of my cultural background. Muzzahaimat, and its partner term in dari, Ikhtalal (annoyance), are to some extent untranslatable, or perhaps resist translation to English. The word muzzahaimat could mean disturbance, or obtrusion. Yet it does not point to a specific instance of disturbance — rather the total concept of being disturbed, having a belated reaction to distress, a fright not prepared by anxiety. Muzzahaimat is the cascading repetition of an event. The piece revolves around belated development, inverted responses, and shocking events only later contextualized resulting in a form that resists a linear reading. The instruments is at once a unified musical gesture, yet in the same moment fracturing infinitely.”
Jiaqi Liu | “The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name” (2024) | voice, piano
From the composer: “The title of this piece comes from the last sentence of Two Loves, a poem written by the English poet Lord Alfred Douglas. It’s widely assumed that Bosie wrote this poem given to his lover, the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde. Soon after, the continuous gossip that resulted from the love affair reached Douglas’s father – the Marquis of Queensberry. This poem was deemed to be the testimony of their scandalous relationship that led Wilde to the trial where he was convicted of sodomy and gross indecency in 1895.
I chose this poem to set the music because how beautiful and elegant this poem is, and I believe the implicit message in this poem is still meaningful in today’s society.“
Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (سبزقبایی رضا دانیال) | Residues I. Ostinato (2021) | clarinet, violin, cello, piano
From the composer: “I am interested in exploring the ways that sounds and practices influences each other, not simply as mimicry, but as things that exist as things themselves, related to their sources, but not attempting to be those separate constituent parts.
The voice of 20th–century vocalist Delkash takes the central role—explored through the guise of the vocality of the clarinet. The classic song Ātash-e Kārevān “Caravan Fire,” by violinist and composer Ali Tajvidi acts as the canvas—an ostinato from the original tune becomes the anchor point.
I remember my father listening to this tape Sunday mornings, in all of its noisy and rich imperfection—the piano echoing this memory in a warm bed of noise, a resonant din of tinny bass.“
Sarah McMahill | Generations (2023) | clarinet, violin, cello
From the composer: “I originally wrote this for 2 clarinets and bass clarinet in December 2023 as a Christmas gift for my nephew. I wanted to give him a piece of music that represents our family’s connection to music. My grandpa played the clarinet and tenor sax in a jazz band, I play the clarinet, and now my nephew is playing the bass clarinet. I was inspired to change out the instruments to reflect what other family members play; grandma played the cello and sister-in-love on violin. I’ve been pushing myself to share more of my music outside of my family, which is why I’m submitting this.“