Watch

newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble

Season 2020 | 2021

Voices
May 28, 2021 8PM

A Virtual Concert

Perpetuum (2020), 6:30 min…………………………………………………..Christopher S. Prosser

Christina Webster, flute, Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Charles Dickinson, piano, 

Zsolt Eder, violin, Boris Vayner, viola, Sascha Groschang, cello

Lore (2015), 13 min……………………………………………………………………………..Ben Stevenson

Christina Webster, flute, Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Charles Dickinson, piano, 

Zsolt Eder, violin, Sascha Groschang, cello

Enough, to Unfold (2018), 7 min………….……………………………………..Akshaya Avril Tucker

Christina Webster, flute, Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Kevin Clarke, percussion, 

Charles Dickinson, piano, Zsolt Eder, violin, Sascha Groschang, cello

Despondency in Silence (2021), 8:30 min………….……………………………..Andrew Schnake

Christina Webster, flute, Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Kevin Clarke, percussion, 

Charles Dickinson, piano, Zsolt Eder, violin, Sascha Groschang, cello

Broken Momentum (2020), 9 min…………………………………………………………….Cole Reyes 

Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Charles Dickinson, piano, Zsolt Eder, violin, 

Sascha Groschang, cello

Checkered Shade (2015), 14 min……………………………………………………………..Timo Andres

Christina Webster, flute, Sharra Wagner, clarinet, Kevin Clarke, percussion, 

Charles Dickinson, piano, Zsolt Eder, violin, Sascha Groschang, cello

About the Works

Perpetuum, Christopher S. Prosser

From the composer:

Perpetuum is the Latin word for perpetual, which means never ending or changing. Another definition is occurring repeatedly; so frequent as to seem endless or uninterrupted. This is one of the adjectives used by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the fifth century Greek theologian and philosopher, to describe the Seraphim in his work "Celestial Hierarchies," which is a description of the ordering of the angels, the Seraphim being the highest order, closest to God. My piece does not try to mimic what the Seraphim might actually sound like, but draws inspiration from the author's description of a heavenly body suspended in eternal perpetual motion.

Lore, Ben Stevenson

From the composer:

Lore follows trends that have been increasingly present in my music, namely a tendency for outbursts to occur over tense, but placid material, and a formal design that pays attention to narrative structure, while not being overtly programmatic. The piece is in a large arch form, with the vast majority of the primary musical ideas presented in the opening, and subsequently recalled and varied during the remainder of the work.

Enough, to Unfold, Akshaya Avril Tucker

From the composer: 

"Enough, to Unfold'' explores specific colors inspired by Raag Madhuwanti (an evening Raag) in Hindustani music. I tried to capture the kinds of phrases one perceives while watching a Hindustani singer perform; their hands frequently move in small, graceful gestures, visually amplifying the musical phrases they are singing. The title refers to my personal challenge in music - and in life. I want to choose just enough detail, to allow the phrases to unfold naturally. The words are rather like a mantra, a focusing tool to help make this happen.

Despondency in Silence, Andrew Schnake

From the composer: 

Despondency in Silence explores the emotions felt by being a bystander to politics in the current time. So much of what happens appears to be driven by selfish desires more so than attempting to solve any problem at hand. Afterwards, nothing is accomplished, and everyone must pay the price of lost time. Again and again, the cycle continues, and differing ideas create divisions between people until nearly all hope appears to be lost. 

Broken Momentum, Cole Reyes

Broken momentum, written for “end of time” instrumentation, lives in the space between shimmering motion and crystalline sustained resonances. Exquisite timbral envelopes evolve moment to moment. The piece gives itself space to breathe and to savor each sound. Amidst the stop and go of the two textures, a lovely tune emerges in the clarinet and violin. 

Checkered Shade, Timo Andres

From the composer:

The patterned pen-and-ink abstractions of Astrid Bowlby—and by association, the work of Edward Gorey—inspired the textures of Checkered Shade. The piece is structured as a gradual zoom outward; tiny fragments of repeated material resolve into larger patterns, which, at the urging of the violin, eventually coalesce into an expressive chorale.

Performer Biographies

Kevin Clarke

A native of Kansas City, Lees Summit North High School Graduate, Kevin Clarke made his solo debut with the Kansas City Symphony in 1999. He studied percussion at the Peabody Conservatory, whereupon graduation found work as Principal Timpanist in Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra (South Korea). Kevin was a highly sought after performer for solo recitals, concerto performances, and new music concerts in Japan and Korea and also served as Percussion Faculty for the Kyoung-Hee University (Seoul, Korea) School of Music.

Finding a love of teaching while in Korea and a desire to push Kansas City’s appreciation of percussion to a new level, he decided to return home and currently runs the nonprofit “Kansas City Youth Percussion Ensemble” (www.KCYPE.org). Additionally, Kevin runs the percussion program at Blue Valley SW High School and you can also occasionally find him performing with the KC Symphony, a once childhood dream come true.

Charles Dickinson

Charles Dickinson is originally from Houston, where he studied piano as a pre-college student at Rice University. From there, Charles earned a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from Adams State University in Colorado, a Master of Arts from the University of New Mexico, and most recently, an Artist's Certificate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. His primary teachers have included Dariusz Pawlas, William Lipke, Falko Steinbach, and Karen Kushner, and he has participated in masterclasses with Leon Fleisher, Anthony de Mare, and Eugene Pridonoff. 

As a soloist, he has performed recitals across the United States and Germany. Having a particular focus on contemporary music, Charles has been honored to work with prominent composers like John Corigliano, Martin Scherzinger, and Konrad Boehmer. 

Zsolt Eder

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zsolt has established himself as an international soloist and chamber musician. Zsolt is in his seventh season as Concertmaster of the Topeka Symphony and is currently professor of violin and viola at Washburn University. He is also a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Academy and performs regularly in the Kansas City Symphony. His new concert series "Zsolt Eder and Friends" launched in 2018. Zsolt's interest in different musical cultures and traditions led him to establish folk music group Ensemble Amarcord in 2014. He has a particular passion for educational outreach, having worked for City Music Cleveland and Harmony Project Kansas City. He now works for the Musical Bridges Program at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, providing free one-on-one lessons for inner-city children. Zsolt enjoys collaborating with Kansas City groups like Ensemble Iberica, the Kansas City Baroque Consortium and Spire Chamber Ensemble. He is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Sascha Groschang

Sascha Groschang is an active recitalist and chamber musician, having performed across the United States and Asia. She has appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and gave her solo debut cello recital at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 2009. She has shared the stage with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Sarah Mclachlan and has extensive recording experience, including sessions for NBC, Atlantic, and Rhino Records. As a freelance musician in and around Kansas City, Sascha is an avid performer and composer of new music, improv, non-classical styles and baroque cello. She frequently collaborates with groups such as the KC Chorale, Spire Chamber Ensemble, the New Theatre, Owen/Cox Dance Group, the Coterie Theatre, Quixotic Fusion, and Bach Aria Soloists. She is co-founder, co-composer and cellist of the string duo, “The Wires” which explores unorthodox styles through original compositions (www.thewires.info). 

Sharra Wagner

Sharra Wagner's passion for collaboration and new music has coalesced into a diverse career. While earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the UMKC Conservatory, she was a performing fellow at The Cortona Sessions for New Music in Cortona, Italy. She is currently serving as board member and clarinetist for newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Sharra is also the Foundation Director for Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation, whose mission is to serve the community by creating and supporting public service or educational programs which promote the administration of justice, delivery of legal services, professional development or respect for the law.

Christina Webster

Flutist Christina Webster maintains an active and varied career as orchestral musician, recital soloist, chamber player, and teacher, and has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe.  She earned her D.M.A. in Flute Performance at the Conservatory of Music and Dance of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Winner of a Fulbright Award, she earned a Postgraduate Performance Diploma with Merit at the Royal Academy of Music (London).  Ms. Webster earned a Master of Music in Flute Performance at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, and a Bachelor of Music in Flute and Piano Performance, summa cum laude, at the University of Kansas.  She is Principal Flute with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and holds the permanent position of Second Flute with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Webster has taught at King’s College, London (on behalf of the Royal Academy of Music) and at Kansas State University as Visiting Assistant Professor of Flute.  She is currently Lecturer in Flute at Pittsburg State University.

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