NEW@NIGHT: Many Angles
Up-close and extremely intimate, in this NEW@NIGHT you’ll get a sneak peek of the dynamic flute/viola/harp trio umama womama. You’ll encounter solo works by Han Lash, Valerie Coleman, and Nokuthula Ngwenyama, as well as Zhou Long’s Wild Grass for solo cello, and R. Murray Schafer’s string trio.
Alberta Rose Theatre
Wednesday, 7/5 • 8:00 pm PT
Program
Click on any piece of music below to learn more about it.
- HAN LASH “Three Shades Without Angles” (2013)
HAN LASH (b. 1981)
Three Shades Without Angles (2013) (8’)Three Shades Without Angles is a piece that plays with the idea of transformation of musical shapes. All material in the piece is derived from a single idea or motive whose shape changes as the piece unfolds. This motive is tightly coiled in the beginning of the piece, disposed in closely related and concentrated iterations in the three instruments. At the midpoint of the piece, the material relaxes and is disposed melodically in the flute and viola, while the harp lays a harmonic groundwork that has also been informed by the intervallic shapes of the horizontal motive pervading the entire piece. Although the texture that began the piece returns, the unfurling that happened at the piece’s center never retracts, but rather we hear spaciousness, melodiousness within a busy musical texture. The harp’s figuration slows at the end of the piece, and the harp and viola sustain their final pitches, an A-flat and a G.
When writing this piece, I was inspired by Rodin’s sculpture The Three Shades, a detail sitting atop the sculptor’s work The Gates of Hell, depicting a scene from Dante’s The Inferno. Although my music is not representative or depictive of Dante or an image of hell, I was deeply drawn to the sinewy character of Rodin’s work, its intensity, muscularity, consistency, and the way in which movement and energy is represented in his shapes.
- Han Lash
- ZHOU LONG “Wild Grass” (2002)
- R. MURRAY SCHAFER String Trio (2011)
R. MURRAY SCHAFER String Trio (2011)
R. Murray Schafer, widely regarded as Canada’s foremost living composer until his death two years ago, was a groundbreaking, eclectic, and prolific creative voice. Schafer wrote in numerous genres, including his many works for chamber string ensembles.
In 2006, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music commissioned Schafer to write a String Trio. In his own program notes, Schafer wrote, “While a trio may seem to be a more balanced ensemble than the top-heavy string quartet, it has never proved to be as popular. In fact, there is something unsettling about a trio, like a marriage plus one—a triad of tensions—or at least that is the way I found myself thinking about it when I began to write the piece.
“Everything moves smoothly at the beginning…but after a few bars the mood becomes more agitated. It is this mood, aside from a few quiet intervals, that is sustained through most of this single movement work. The climax is reached with a powerful descending scale in the cello…followed by a surprising modulation into a Gustav Mahler adagio. This leads back to the gentle opening theme to bring the work to a peaceful close.”
—© Elizabeth Schwartz
- VALERIE COLEMAN “Maombi Asante” (2006)
Valerie Coleman refers to Maombi Asante as A Prayer of Thanksgiving. It was commissioned by Blackledge Music, Inc.
- NOKUTHULA NGWENYAMA “Rising” (2018)
Artists
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umama womama
Wind & String Ensemble
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Nokuthula Ngwenyama, viola
Han Lash, harp
Valerie Coleman, fluteFlutist Valerie Coleman, Violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama and Harpist Han Lash joined forces in 2019 to create an all-star ensemble whose mission is to celebrate motherhood and champion the performer-composer hybrid artist model, while expanding the Debussy trio combination of flute, viola, and harp through the creativity of its members. The name umama womama is a rhythmic play of the word ‘mother’ in Zulu, said in the singular and plural. It speaks to the complex responsibilities of its members, whose artistry as performers and composers is informed by their related experiences. Delayed by pandemic for two years, this ensemble makes its anticipated debut with the Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Clarion Concerts, and Chamber Music Northwest in the 2022 spring and 2023 summer seasons.
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Jessica Lee
2025 YAI Faculty, Violin
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Violinist Jessica Lee has built a multi-faceted career as soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue, former Assistant Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, and now as Associate Concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony. She was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and has been hailed as “a soloist which one should make a special effort to hear, wherever she plays.”
Her international appearances include solo performances with the Plzen Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony, Malaysia Festival Orchestra, and at the Rudolfinum in Prague. At home, she has appeared with orchestras such as the Houston, Grand Rapids, and Spokane symphonies. Jessica has performed in recital at venues including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Ravinia “Rising Stars”, the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., and the Kennedy Center.
A long-time member of the Johannes Quartet as well as of The Bowers Program (formerly the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two), Jessica has also toured frequently with ‘Musicians from Marlboro’, including appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston’s Gardner Museum, and with the Guarneri Quartet in their farewell season.
Her chamber music festival appearances include Chamber Music Northwest, Bridgehampton, Santa Fe, Seoul Spring, Caramoor, Olympic, and Music@Menlo. She also put together a six-video chamber music series during the pandemic which was a collaboration between the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Clinic to bring chamber music from iconic spaces in Cleveland to the greater Cleveland community.
Jessica has always had a passion for teaching and has served on the faculties of Vassar College, Oberlin College, and as Head of the Violin Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen following studies with Weigang Li, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree under Robert Mann and Ida Kavafian. She completed her studies for a master’s degree at the Juilliard School.
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Edward Arron
2025 YAI Faculty, cello
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A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, cellist Edward Arron made his New York recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time, he has appeared in recital, as a soloist with major orchestras, and as a chamber musician throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
The 2024-25 season marks Mr. Arron’s 12th season as the co-artistic director with his wife, Jeewon Park, of the Performing Artists in Residence series at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Mr. Arron tours and records as a member of the renowned Ehnes String Quartet and he is a regular performer at the Boston and Seattle Chamber Music Societies, the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, Caramoor, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, Seoul Spring Festival in Korea, Music in the Vineyards Festival, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, and the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland. Other festival appearances include Salzburg, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Mostly Mozart, PyeongChang, Bridgehampton, Spoleto USA, Santa Fe, Evian, La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Chesapeake Chamber Music, and the Bard Music Festival. Mr. Arron’s performances are frequently broadcast on American Public Media’s Performance Today.
In 2021, Mr. Arron’s recording, Beethoven Complete Works for Cello and Piano with pianist Jeewon Park, was released on the Aeolian Classics Record Label. The recording received the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artists Award from the Classical Recording Foundation. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Arron currently serves on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Hanna Lee
2023 YAI Faculty, viola
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Violist Hanna Lee has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, Jordan Hall, Suntory Hall, and Seoul Arts Center. Ms. Lee has appeared as a soloist with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony, Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Jungen Symphony Orchestra, and the Sungnam City Orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, she was invited to perform at Ravinia, Verbier, Kronberg, and Marlboro Festivals. As a member of the Kallaci String Quartet, she has performed complete string quartet works by Shostakovich and Beethoven and has toured in Korea and abroad. As a recitalist, she has appeared at Kumho Cultural Foundation and Seoul Arts Center Series. A recipient of many honors and prizes, Ms. Lee’s awards include major prizes at the International Young Artist Competition (USA) and the Osaka International Competition (Japan). She is a graduate of Korean National University of Arts, Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, and Kronberg Academy. She has been invited to festivals worldwide, such as Music Alp Festival, Seoul Spring Festival, Pyeongchang Music Festival, and Seoul International Music Festival. Also, she is a member of Kallaci String Quartet, Kumho Soloists, Ensemble Opus, and is guest principal violist at Australian Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Lee is currently on faculty at Korean National University of Arts, Yonsei University, and Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts.
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Valerie Coleman
Flute & Composer
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Valerie Coleman is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her own unique path as a composer, Grammy-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year and her works have garnered many awards.
Coleman’s commissions include works for The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Library of Congress, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and many others. Coleman has also been named to the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater New Works dual commissioning program. Her work, Umoja, was chosen by Chamber Music America as one of the “Top 101 Great American Ensemble Works.”
As a performer, Coleman has appeared at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center and with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Bravo! Vail. Valerie has appeared in a host of multi-disciplinary residencies, including Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Chamber Music Northwest, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, and University of Michigan. As a chamber musician, Coleman has performed alongside the Dover Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, Ani and Ida Kavafian, and Anne-Marie McDermott, along with jazz legends Paquito D’Rivera, Stefon Harris, Jason Moran, René Marie, and Wayne Shorter. She also recently co-founded and currently performs as flutist of the performer-composer trio, umama womama.
Former flutist of the Imani Winds, Coleman is the creator and founder of this acclaimed ensemble whose 25-year legacy is documented and featured in a dedicated exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Coleman is currently on the Mannes School of Music Flute and Composition faculty and will also join the Manhattan School of Music faculty in 2023-24.
Coleman’s compositions are published by Theodore Presser and her own company, VColeman Music. -
Han Lash
Harp & Composer
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Han Lash’s music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, the Times Center in Manhattan, the Chicago Art Institute, Tanglewood Music Center, and The Aspen Music Festival & School, among others. In 2016, Lash was honored with a Composer Portrait Concert at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, which included commissioned works for pianist Lisa Moore and loadbang. In the 2017-2018 season, Lash’s Piano Concerto No. 1 “In Pursuit of Flying” was premiered by Jeremy Denk and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra debuted Facets of Motion for orchestra, and Music for Nine, Ringing was performed at the Music Academy of the West School and Festival. Paul Appleby and Natalia Katyukova premiered Songs of Imagined Love, a song cycle commissioned by Carnegie Hall, in 2018, and in 2019, Lash’s chamber opera, Desire, premiered at Miller Theatre to great acclaim. Lash’s Double Concerto for piano and harp was premiered by the Naples Philharmonic, and Forestallings, a musical response to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, was premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Lash’s double harp concerto, The Peril of Dreams, was premiered by the Seattle Symphony in November 2021, with the composer as one of the featured soloists. Han Lash’s music is published exclusively by Schott Music Corporation (New York).