STILL LIFE WITH AVALANCHE

Electrifying American ensemble works

 FEATURING guest composer & electric guitar virtuoso D.J. Sparr.
Works by Mazzoli, Snider, Lanman, Pärt, & Sparr.  

The spirit of punk rock, heavy metal, and classical chamber music combine to explosive effect on Aperio’s next program, Still Life With Avalanche, featuring recent works by American composers D.J. Sparr, Missy Mazzoli, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Anthony Joseph Lanman.

Described as a “guitar whiz with the chops to bang his sounds out to all fields across the entire music spectrum,” D.J. Sparr appears as a guest performer and composer with Aperio’s ensemble in three works, including the World Premiere of his new piece The World Within. This Zappa-esque showpiece juxtaposes rock-funk wah-wah guitars, snare-cadence drums, Austin-style bass, and a wall of guitar amps with a classical chamber ensemble. Similarly, Sparr’s Vim Hocket, Calm for violin and electric guitar showcases a dazzling array of both compositional and technical virtuosity in a duo for amplified violin and electric guitar.

Aperio’s ensemble will also perform Sarah Kirkland Snider’s You Are Free coupled with Aarvo Pärt’s arresting Spiegel im spiegel. Snider’s work pays homage to the venerated Estonian composer, electronically blending his recorded speaking voice with the ensemble as he discusses music’s subtle power over humanity in an interview with the experimental Icelandic pop diva Björk. 

The program is rounded out by additional works for varied ensembles. Anthony Joseph Lanman’s Hammer and Nail for electric guitar and piano, and il dolce stile nuovo, written for classical piano trio, draw inspiration from a broad swath of worldly influences. Missy Mazzoli’s Still Life With Avalanche sketches a strange and evocative sonic landscape reveling in sounds that are by turns mournful, shocking, and exuberant.

PROGRAM

LANMAN       il dolce stile nuovo (2001) for violin, cello, and piano
                        Hammer and Nail (2016) for electric guitar and piano

MAZZOLI       Still Life With Avalanche (2008) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano &
                        percussion

PÄRT             Spiegel im spiegel (1978) for violin and chamber ensemble

SNIDER         You Are Free (2015) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano & percussion

SPARR          The World Within (World Premiere) for varied ensemble
                      Vim-Hocket; Calm (1997) for violin and electric guitar

PERFORMERS
Sergio Pallottelli, flute | Julian Hernandez, clarinet
Mary Grace Johnson, violin | Chloé Trevor, violin
Bree Ahern, cello | Daniel Saenz, cello
Craig Hauschildt, percussion | Andreea Mut, piano
Michael Zuraw, piano & artistic director

TICKETS
$35 General Admission; $25 Senior; $15 Student with valid ID