Santa Barbara Music Club Free Concert

As part of its 55 Year Anniversary year, the Music Club celebrates the accomplishments of women composers of the 19th-21st centuries. The program begins with Exigencies for cello and piano by Music Club president Leslie Hogan, performed by Virginia Kron, cello, with the composer at the piano. This is followed by violinist Nicole McKenzie and pianist Erin Bonski performing works by Lili Boulanger, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Cécile Chaminade, and Grażyna Bacewicz.

Premiered at the Ojai Art Center concert series on September 15, 2024, Hogan’s Exigencies, a five movement suite, reflects the composer’s subjective experience of the eighteen months beginning in January 2023 and ending in August 2024, when the work was finished.  The movement titles, including “Elegy,” “Atmospheric Rivers,” and “The Year of Broken Bones” give hints to the inspirations behind the work.  In turn playful and intense, it represents the latest of many collaborations between cellist Virginia Kron and the composer.

The remainder of the program features violinist Nicole McKenzie and pianist Erin Bonski performing a selection of works dating from 1890 to 1949.

French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) came from a family of composers and performers.  Her talent was such that she received musical training beginning in early childhood.  In 1913, she became the first woman to win the coveted Prix de Rome for music. At this concert will be “Nocturne” from her Two Pieces for violin and piano, composed between 1911 and 1914.  “Nocturne” begins simply, with a lyrical melody over a C pedal point, growing to an expansive arrival on C major.  There are hints of Debussy in her harmonies.

The first woman to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in composition, Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) was a multi-faceted musician: a composer, pianist, folk music transcriber and arranger, and educator.  Sonata for violin and piano (1926) comes from the period when she was studying with Adolf Weidig at the American Conservatory in Chicago.  Musicologist Judith Tick has described her works from her years in Chicago as being marked by strident dissonance, irregular rhythms, and evocations of spirituality.  The movements of Sonata for violin and piano are by turns dramatic, lyrical, playful, lush, and rhythmically driving.

French composer-pianist Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) enjoyed tremendous success during her lifetime, even in the face of the social and personal difficulties facing a woman composer.  She is notable in that nearly all of her approximately 400 compositions were published; in fact, many seem to have been written expressly for publication. Her music is tuneful and accessible, with memorable melodies, clear textures and mildly chromatic harmonies.  Capriccio, Op. 18 (1890) epitomizes all of those traits.

The work of Polish composer, violinist and pianist Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) is marked by clarity, wit, and brevity and sometimes incorporates folk materials.  Her compositions can be broadly classified as neoclassical, though she was unafraid of innovation and by the mid-1950s her music had moved far beyond the usual ideas of neoclassicism.  The individuality of her voice gives her an important spot in Polish post-war music.  Oberek No. 1 (1949) is quick and cheerful, highlighting Bacewicz’s use of folk materials in her music, since an oberek is a Polish folk dance known for its quick pace, lively moves, and spinning motions.

Erin Bonski, pianist, began her musical journey in Pennsylvania, where she studied with Dr. Tim Shafer at Penn State University while in high school, and became the youngest participant in the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts. She went on to earn her B.M. and M.M. degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and pursued doctoral studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  A versatile artist, Bonski has served as Staff Continuo player at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, collaborative pianist at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and as Chorusmaster and Repetiteur for Toledo Opera.  Since moving to Santa Barbara, she has collaborated regularly with local arts organizations, including the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, and Ensemble Theatre Company, and has performed internationally, including appearances with the Grammy-winning ensemble Forever Tango.  Her academic career includes positions at Santa Barbara City College, the University of California, Santa Barbara, Westmont College and Bowling Green State University, where she has taught piano pedagogy, opera coaching, and piano literature.  Currently, she serves as adjunct faculty and collaborative pianist at Westmont College while maintaining a private piano studio and consulting with arts organizations across Southern California.

Leslie A. Hogan, composer/pianist, received her principal training at the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan. Her music often manifests her longtime fascination with other art forms and with the potential of music to reflect or respond to visual stimuli from the natural world. As a pianist, she has performed with UC Santa Barbara’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music and was a co-founder and frequent performer for the Current Sounds concert series in Santa Barbara. She was on the board of the Chamber Music Society of Santa Barbara for over a decade. She has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Charles Ives Fellowship, 2002; Charles Ives Scholarship, 1993), the Rapido Composition Contest, the American Music Center, ASCAP, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among others.  Dr. Hogan has taught composition in the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 1995.

Virginia Kron, cellist, was hailed in the Los Angeles Times: “Accomplished cellist … has done her best to keep alive the music of our time” and by the Ventura County Reporter: “Virginia evoked a rich, dark tone from her 300 year-old instrument.” From her extensive career, of special note is her premiere of John Biggs’ Cello Concerto with the New West Symphony and subsequent recording with the Czech National Symphony, and most recently, her premiere of Jimmy Calire’s Jazzical Cello Sonata. Her original album, The Crystal Harp, evoked this tribute from the American Library Association Booklist Review: “This original humorous fantasy, written and performed by Virginia Kron, features clear, well-paced narration and delightful music.” She earned a B.M. degree from the University of Wisconsin and an M.M. degree from the University of Southern California, and has long been a pillar of the cello at California’s Cabrillo Festival. A frequent collaborator with UCSB’s Ensemble for Contemporary Music with featured festival performances and recordings, her mastery of the music of our time is matched by recordings and concerts with noted Celtic harpist Kim Robertson.

Nicole McKenzie, violinist, has performed widely as soloist and chamber musician. The Santa Barbara Independent declared, “McKenzie made a splash… she performed with gorgeous musicality.” Winner of the Sutton Chamber Music Award, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, earned a BM degree from Oberlin Conservatory, an MM degree from Florida State University, and studied with Gary Kosloski at the Music Academy of the West. She has studied improvisation with Christian Howes. Ms. McKenzie is concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra, and performs in the accordion/violin duo Continental Cafe. She played electric violin in M.O.B. Jazz Ensemble, and regularly concertized with renowned pianist, Betty Oberacker. She has taught music to students of all ages, and is currently the elementary music teacher for the Carpinteria School District. She has worked at UC Santa Barbara as a lecturer and as a music director and music performer in the Theater and Dance Department. She has created a collaborative dance and music improvisation group and has performed in various music styles including classical, jazz, folk, klezmer, and musical theater. She performs on a violin created for her by Michel Eggimann of Rome, Italy.

This and all concerts offered by the Santa Barbara Music Club are open to the public with free admission.

For more information about this concert as well as future and past concerts, see our website www.SBMusicClub.org

The mission of the Santa Barbara Music Club is to contribute to the musical life of our community through the following:

1.  Presentation of an annual series of concerts, free to the public, featuring outstanding performances by Performing Members and invited guests;

2.  Presentation of community outreach activities, including

bringing great music to residents of area retirement homes;

3.  Aiding and encouraging musical education by the

disbursement of scholarships to talented music students

whose permanent address is in Santa Barbara County.

 

For more information about programs, to join, or to donate,

please visit our website,  http://sbmusicclub.org.