New York Classical Players to Perform U.S. Premiere Of Vivian Fung's Concerto For Two Violins

New York Classical Players will present two performances of Hommage à J.S. Bach, featuring the U.S. premiere of Vivian Fung's Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra, as well as Eric Nathan's Dancing with J. S. Bach No. 1, both of which draw inspiration from Bach's musical innovations. To be held on Friday, May 6, 2022 at 7:30pm at the W83 Auditorium and Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 2:30pm at the Flushing Town Hall, the program also includes J.S. Bach's beloved Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Concerto for Two Violins in D minor. NYCP Music Director Dongmin Kim conducts the concerts, which feature violinists Kristin Lee, Harriet Langley, and Brian Hong.

Vivian Fung's Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra (2018) had its world premiere in 2019 with violinists Karl Stobbe and Rachel Kristenson, and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, which commissioned the piece. At 15-minutes, the concerto concentrates its attention on the interaction between the two solo violinists. "Very often, the two violins play off each other and form interlocking patterns, so that the two composite patterns form a unified whole," says Fung. This idea of interlocking patterns is a concept that she absorbed when she was part of a Balinese gamelan, and that concept resonated with her when composing the concerto. "The work starts ruminatively," Fung explains, "with Baroque-like suspensions between the violins, but steadily builds into fast-paced virtuosic music that dances and moves at a fast clip. Throughout, the two violins trade material with each other, and interlocking rhythms form a big part of the material. A neo-Baroque-like melodic line provides some contrast to the rhythmic activity and, at the crux of the piece, builds into a cathartic chorale and climax. Material from the melodic line is then transformed into a final chaconne and builds into a tragic, full apotheosis. The piece ends with all strings sliding upward, and the music ends softly as it began, disappearing into the ether."

Dr. Michael Sporn approached Eric Nathan in the spring of 2012 with the vision for Dancing with J. S. Bach No. 1 (2012), as he wished to create a new dance suite assembled from favorite Bach movements. He provided Nathan with the selections he had in mind, and together they worked to choose the specific movements and set the order of the suite. "I worked to imbue these orchestrations with a similar vibrancy that a pianist might bring to a solo performance of this repertoire," Nathan writes. He adds, "these suites celebrate Bach's keyboard music from an orchestral vantage point and illuminate connections between movements Bach composed years apart. I have tried to honor Bach's music while also realizing my own interpretations of his works. You may hear my own compositional voice come through subtly at times. You might think of it as a tip of the hat to Bach, from whom I have learned so much as a composer." Dancing with J. S. Bach No. 1 was commissioned by Michael Sporn in memory of his wife, Kitte Sporn, and premiered by the Boston-based string orchestra A Far Cry.

Concert Information

Hommage à J. S. Bach
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 7:30pm
W83 Auditorium | 150 W 83rd St | New York, NY
Tickets: Free with RSVP
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hommage-a-j-s-bach-may-6-tickets-311606592707

Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 2:30pm
Flushing Town Hall | 137-35 Northern Blvd | Queens, NY
Tickets: Free with RSVP
Link: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/nycp-bach

J.S. BACH: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
VIVIAN FUNG: Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra [U.S. Premiere]
ERIC NATHAN: Dancing with J. S. Bach No. 1
J.S. BACH: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043

Dongmin Kim, conductor
Kristin Lee, violin
Harriet Langley, violin
Brian Hong, violin
New York Classical Players

About Vivian Fung

JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung has a unique talent for combining idiosyncratic textures and styles into large-scale works, reflecting her multicultural background. NPR calls her "one of today's most eclectic composers."

Highlights of upcoming performances include the digital world premiere of two operatic scenes based on Fung's oral family history in Cambodia with librettist Royce Vavrek, part of Edmonton Opera's The Wild Rose Opera Project; a United Kingdom tour of a new work with the Tangram Collective; the premiere of Fung's fifth String Quartet by Canada's Lafayette String Quartet; the French premiere of Earworms by the Orchestre de Paris; and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's UK premiere of String Sinfonietta. Mary Elizabeth Bowden tours her Trumpet Concerto and records it with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras for future release on Çedille Records. Fung is currently at work on a new project about identity with soprano Andrea Nunez and Royce Vavrek, an expanded version of her Flute Concerto, and upcoming percussion works for Katie Rife and also for Ensemble for These Times.

Recent season highlights include the world premiere of new flute concerto, Storm Within, by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and principal flutist Christie Reside; the UK premiere of Birdsong, performed by violinist Midori at Kings Place in London; the world premiere of a new trumpet concerto with trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden and the Erie Philharmonic; and the world premiere of String Quartet No. 4 "Insects and Machines," performed by the American String Quartet. In July 2020, the CBC and Toronto Symphony's Virtual Orchestra gave the world premiere of Fung's Prayer, a unique work recorded in isolation for an online performance led by conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a deep interest in exploring different cultures, Fung traveled to Cambodia in 2019 to connect with her roots and collect research for a new opera. She traveled to Southwest China in 2012 to study minority music and cultures, and has also explored North Vietnam, Spain, and Bali.

Fung has received numerous awards and grants, including the 2015 Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award for achievement in new music from SOCAN, a Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, the New York Foundation for the Arts' Gregory Millard Fellowship, and grants from ASCAP, BMI, American Music Center, MAP Fund, American Symphony Orchestra League, American Composers Forum, and the Canada Council for the Arts. She is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and currently serves on the board of the American Composers Forum.

Passionate about fostering the talent of the next generation, Vivian Fung has mentored young composers in programs at the London Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Forum, San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players, San José Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

In 2012, Naxos Canadian Classics released a recording of Fung's Violin Concerto [No.1], Piano Concerto "Dreamscapes," and Glimpses. The Violin Concerto, commissioned by the Metropolis Ensemble, earned Fung the 2013 JUNO Award for "Classical Composition of the Year." Several of Fung's other works have also been released commercially on the Telarc, Çedille, Innova, and Signpost labels.

Born in Edmonton, Canada, Fung received her doctorate from The Juilliard School. She currently lives in California with her husband Charles Boudreau and their son Julian and is on the faculty of Santa Clara University. Learn more at www.vivianfung.ca.

About Eric Nathan

Eric Nathan's (b. 1983) music has been called "as diverse as it is arresting" with a "constant vein of ingenuity and expressive depth" (San Francisco Chronicle), "thoughtful and inventive" (The New Yorker), and as "a marvel of musical logic" (Boston Classical Review).

A 2013 Rome Prize Fellow and 2014 Guggenheim Fellow, Nathan has been commissioned by leading ensembles and institutions including the New York Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Boston Musica Viva, Collage New Music, The New York Virtuoso Singers, Fromm Music Foundation, Barlow Endowment and University of Chicago's Grossman Ensemble. The Boston Symphony Orchestra has commissioned three works, including a chamber work, "Why Old Places Matter" (2014) for the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, and two orchestral works, "the space of a door" (2016), that Andris Nelsons and the BSO premiered in November 2016 and commercially released on the Naxos label in 2019, and "Concerto for Orchestra" which Nelsons premiered on the 2019-20 season-opening concerts, and was scheduled to repeat at Tanglewood in summer 2020.

Nathan's works have also been presented nationally and internationally at the New York Philharmonic's 2014 and 2016 Biennials, Louvre Museum, Library of Congress, the 2012 and 2013 World Music Days, Emily Dickinson Museum, Nasher Sculpture Center and at the festivals of Aldeburgh, Aspen, Cabrillo, Domaine Forget, MATA, Ravinia Steans Institute, and Tanglewood. In 2019, Yellow Barn featured Nathan's 50-minute dramatic song cycle, "Some Favored Nook," created in collaboration with librettist Mark Campbell, on opening night of its 50th anniversary season. Composer portrait concerts of Nathan's music have been presented by the Berlin Philharmonic's Scharoun Ensemble Berlin at the American Academy in Rome, by the Hudson Valley Music Club, and at the Tenri Cultural Institute (New York). In April 2020, the Longy School of Music was scheduled to present a portrait concert featuring the premiere of Nathan's evening-length work, "Missing Words" (postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic).

Nathan's orchestral music has additionally been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and orchestras of Charleston, Charlotte, Daejeon, Louisville, Milwaukee, Omaha, Portland as well as A Far Cry, Aspen Music Festival and New York Classical Players. Chamber ensembles have performed Nathan's work, such as International Contemporary Ensemble, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Ensemble Dal Niente, JACK Quartet, and American Brass Quintet. In addition, Nathan's music has been performed by sopranos Tony Arnold, Jessica Rivera, Lucy Shelton and Dawn Upshaw; violinists Jennifer Koh and Stefan Jackiw; baritone William Sharp; and pianists Gloria Cheng, Gilbert Kalish and Molly Morkoski.

Nathan began a four-year appointment as Composer-in-Residence with the New England Philharmonic in the 2019-20 season. He has previously served as Composer-in-Residence at the Chelsea Music Festival (New York) and Chamber Music Campania (Italy). Nathan has completed artist residencies at Yellow Barn, Copland House and the American Academy in Rome, and will be a fellow at Civitella Ranieri Foundation in 2022. Nathan has been honored with awards including ASCAP's Rudolf Nissim Prize, four ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, BMI's William Schuman Prize, Aspen Music Festival's Jacob Druckman Prize, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Leonard Bernstein Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center.

In 2015, Albany Records released a debut album of Nathan's solo and chamber music, "Multitude, Solitude: Eric Nathan," produced by Grammy-winning producer Judith Sherman, featuring the Momenta Quartet, trombonist Joseph Alessi, violist Samuel Rhodes, oboist Peggy Pearson, pianist Mei Rui, and trumpeter Hugo Moreno. (Le) Poisson Rouge presented a CD release concert of Nathan's music in October 2015. In 2019, Chelsea Music Festival Records released "Eric Nathan: Dancing with J.S. Bach," featuring conductor Ken-David Masur in Nathan's two suites of orchestrations of Bach keyboard works. In May 2020, Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project released a portrait album of Nathan's orchestral and large ensemble music on the BMOP Sound label. Nathan's music has additionally been released on Bridge Records.

Nathan is also a passionate educator and advocate for contemporary composers. He serves as Associate Professor of Music in composition and theory at Brown University's Department of Music. At Brown, he teaches a variety of subjects from composition to popular music history that engage students with and without backgrounds in music. In 2018, he was awarded Brown University's most prestigious award for junior faculty, the Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship, that recognizes excellence in teaching. He has additionally served as David S. Josephson Assistant Professor at Brown, Visiting Assistant Professor at Williams College and has taught composition at the New York Philharmonic's Composer's Bridge program and at Yellow Barn's Young Artists Program.

Nathan completed his doctorate studying at Cornell with Steven Stucky, Roberto Sierra and Kevin Ernste, his masters from Indiana University studying with Claude Baker and Sven-David Sandström, his B.A. from Yale College where he studied with Kathryn Alexander, John Halle, Matthew Suttor and trumpeter Allan Dean, and a diploma from the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School where he studied composition with Ira Taxin. Nathan additionally was a composition fellow at Tanglewood, Aspen, Aldeburgh and the Composers Conference.

For more information, visit www.ericnathanmusic.com.

About New York Classical Players

New York Classical Players (NYCP) is an ensemble dedicated to the highest standards of artistry, collaboration, and virtuosity. Inspired by the belief that access to musical excellence is an essential human right, NYCP presents all concerts free of charge. To learn more about New York Classical Players, visit www.nycpmusic.org.

Photo Credit: Vivian Fung by Geneviève Caron; Eric Nathan by Luyuan Nathan