Peregrine Rose Trio
Program Notes
Woodwind Trio
Hymns for Late Summer
The Marvelous....Madame Yucca
----intermission----
Get it!
Hudson River Views
Woodwind Trio
by Mary D. Watkins
Trained in classical music at Howard University, Mary D. Watkins has composed three operas and has written for symphony orchestras, chamber and jazz ensembles, film, theatre, dance, and choral groups, in addition to being a popular recording artist for Olivia records in the 1970s.
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Watkins’ recent recordings include Prayer for Peace, a meditational CD, and Recorded Music of the African Diaspora (Albany Records, 2010: Center For Black Music Research; department of Columbia College in Chicago, IL). Her opera, "Emmet Till - The Opera opened in March 2022.
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Ms. Watkins feels there is a lot that can be done with the sounds of woodwind instruments. She was inspired to write Woodwind Trio in 1998 after attending a concert with a friend. The four movements are indicative of the different parts of the week, portraying the mood of each part:
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1. Midweek Tedium - Daydreaming
2. TGIF
3. Gray Sabbath
4. Monday Morning.
Hymns for Late Summer
by Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda
Hymns of Late Summer, written for flute, clarinet and bassoon, is a four movement work that is
indicative of calm and pleasant Summer evenings.
1. Eclogue
2. Ballata
3. Aubade
4. Pastorale
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Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda attended George Mason University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and was awarded the Music Department’s Most Outstanding Musician award for 1998. While at GMU, Alexandra played first flute in all major ensembles and was an active participant in chamber groups. She has studied with such notable flutists as Wendell Dobbs, Beverley Rajnes, Judith Lapple, and Sharyn Byer. Since graduation, Alexandra has performed extensively in many different professional ensembles, and at such prestigious venues as the White House, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, The Helen Hayes Gallery, The Corcoran Museum of Art, Fairfax’s Old Town Hall, and the Cosmos Club of DC. She maintains a private studio in Reston, Virginia and teaches sectionals and flute choir for several local schools.
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The Marvelous.....Madam Yucca
by Kari Medina
"A graceful athelete with the might and power of Sampson......."
Madam Yucca (a.k.a. Mary Anna Carson) appeared with the Barnum and Bailey and Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers circuses in the late 1800's. Heralded as "The Female Sampson" and "The Female Hercules" she could lift a 1,200lb horse with the aid of a harness, a 170lb man sitting in a chair, or a 300lb anvil with her teeth.
Madam Yucca is still depicted today in posters depicting her performing remarkable feats of strength, including "Record breaking trials with heavy weights and ponderous cannon balls, carrying many men aloft at one time and even lifting giant live horses from the ground."
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This piece written by Ms. Medina captures the quirky character of circus life and the excitement of watching Madam Yucca's feats of strength in the ring.
Get it!
by Gene Koshinski
Get It! was written for and premiered by bassoonist Dr. Jefferson Campbell. The piece itself is the product of a request made by Campbell to create a challenging concert piece for bassoon that stemmed from the popular music medium. Simply put, Get It! is designed to unleash the bassoonist's inner "rock start!"
Hudson River Views
by Janet Grise
Janet Grice is a bassoonist who plays jazz, classical, and new music, and has performed internationally with Karl Berger, Butch Morris, the STX Ensemble Xenakis, the Mingus Orchestra, and her groups. She
leads Vento Trio, plays in the Chappaqua Orchestra, and freelances in New York City. Her recordings include four CDs of Brazilian jazz and chamber music, Music Minus One Solos for Bassoon, and works by
composers such as Eve Beglarian, Leroy Jenkins, John Lurie, and Bernie Worell, among others. In 2009 she received a Surdna Artist Teacher grant in Brazil, where she taught and performed at the Festival de Música de Londrina and the Instituto Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008 she was awarded a grant from the Westchester Arts Council to composeHudsonVicws. Previous awards include a Fulbright
Fellowship in Brazil and grants from Arts International, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Meet the Composer. Academic degrees include a DMA in bassoon from Rutgers University, a MM in composition from New York University, and a BM from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her teachers included Stephen Maxym, Brian Kershner, Matthew Ruggiero, and David Green. Janet is the band director at Fordham High School for the Arts in the Bronx and bassoon professor at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. She also taught at Rutgers University, St. Joseph's College of NY, and the
Lincoln Center Institute, and presented workshops at IDRS conferences and schools in France and Brazil.
"Hudson Views" represents places near the Hudson River in Westchester County, NY, where Janet lives. It is inspired in part by two composers who lived and worked in the community: Aaron Copland and jazz artist Bob James. The performance calls for a jazz interpretation of articulations and rhythms and optional improvisation.
"River Groove" captures the rhythm of swimmer's strokes, kayake's paddles, lapping of waves on the shore, bobbing of white caps, and flow of the current. Gazing down the majestic Hudson, one can see
the Manhattan skyline shimmering in the distance while enjoying the sounds of the river interrupted by passing barges and honks of geese.
The second movement, Croton Gorge, was inspired by the awesome view of the Croton Dam cascading over its spillway, depicting the act of approaching, viewing and retreating from the dam. The sound of
the Croton River is heard in bassoon and clarinet tremolos, and the waterfall cascade in rapid melodic passages in the flute and clarinet. The initial theme expresses the wonder of the surroundings, returning
in the form of a fugue.
The third movement, "Aqueduct Trail", portrays the rhythm of walking along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway. The 2/4 samba groove in the key of F major - a bright, easy-to-play tonality - represents a
feeling of well-being on a beautiful day in the woods.
"Pocantico" portrays the timeless landscape of the Rockefeller Preserve, where the scenic landscape is dotted by wooded areas, creeks and water falls, running deer, open fields, stone barns and grazing livestock, looking much like it might have 200 years ago.
"A quote by Copland aptly reflects [my] experience creating this work, 'Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness. I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.' "