2018 Performances
New York Women Composers at the Chapel
Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Seattle, Washington
In the Chapel Performance Space on the fourth floor of the Good Shepherd Center.
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.
Seattle WA, 98103
(SW corner of 50th & Sunnyside in Wallingford, Nearest Metro stops: 16, 44, 26)
Email: gscchapel@gmail.com
$5 – 15 donation at the door
Karen Bentley Pollick, violin & viola
Heather Bentley, viola
Karen Bentley Pollick returns to the Wayward Music Series for an acoustic violin & viola recital of repertoire by New York Women Composers, selected from a call for scores and supported by a Seed Money Grant from NYWC awarded in November 2017. Seattle violist Heather Bentley will join for the Washington premiere of Victoria Bond’s Woven for violin and viola. Also a world premiere of a new solo work by Karen Bentley Pollick, composed recently in Mexico. In addition, Stanford composer Jonathan Berger and his mentor, renowned Israeli composer Mark Kopytman, will be represented as a preview of a future concert at Stanford University’s CCRMA on May 26, 2018.
Repertoire from New York Women Composers call for scores
Faye-Ellen Silverman: Memories for solo viola (1974)
Marga Richter: Darkening of the Light for solo viola (1962)
Adrienne Elisha: Inner Voices for solo viola (2008)
Rain Worthington: Mixed Times of Yearning for solo viola (2014)
Victoria Bond: Woven for violin and viola (2008) with violist Heather Bentley
Mark Kopytman: Cantus IV: Dedication for violin solo (1986)
Jonathan Berger: Sink or Swim for solo violin (2006)
Karen Bentley Pollick: World premiere of new piece for solo violin (2018)
Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 2:00 pm
1000 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium
Recital with pianist Oana Rusu Tomai
Claude Debussy: Sonata for Violin & Piano in G minor
Georges Enescu: Third Sonata for Violin & Piano
World class virtuosi, violinist Karen Bentley Pollick and pianist Oana Rusu Tomai will perform a brilliant recital with finesse, originality and total dedication. At the core of the recital is Sonata no.3 George Enescu for Violin and Piano” ‘in Romanian folk character’, one of the most phenomenal masterpieces of the 20th century, a piece that inspires great enthusiasm in audiences across the globe. The program includes the spirited, sparkly, moods hopping Debussy “Sonata for Violin and Piano” which famously includes the French take on the Blues!
The recital will end with a surprise… we will give you a hint! Would you like to hear fiery Romanian folk songs in the style of lautari (or Romanian folk fiddlers) arranged for violin and piano? These folk pieces might just as well become your new favorites.
To celebrate the two instruments played in this concert, Leszek Chudzinski, our guest poet, will read two of his «musical» poems, Mr. Piano and Ms. Violin.
Great music, great musicians, great entertainment!
This concert is a collaborative effort of The Seattle Public Library and ROCCA, Seattle-based Romanian-American Chamber Concerts and Arts, Oana Rusu Tomai, Artistic Director.
Space is limited at library events. Please come early to make sure you get a seat. Due to the fire code, we can’t exceed the maximum capacity for our rooms.
For more information: Leszek Chudzinski 206-684-0849 Leszek.Chudzinski@spl.org
Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Redwood City, California
Karen Bentley Pollick, violin
Eric Kujawsky, Conductor
US premiere of David A. Jaffe’s 2016 Violin Concerto “How Did It Get So Late So Soon?”
The title comes from the poem by that name by political cartoonist and beloved children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel (“Dr Seuss”). It refers to the overlay of memory upon itself, time fading, and associations extending in all directions. Triggered by perhaps nothing more than a smell, thought or feeling, these connections reverberate across generations and continents.
The piece is an homage to Geisel, whose satirical creations included the megalomaniacal tyrant Yertle the Turtle, the inflexible narcissistic Zax pair, the status-craving xenophobic Sneetches and the corrupt opportunist who preys on their fears. Its three movements recall folk songs from the Great Depression of the 1930s, songs of struggle with striking relevance to the contemporary world.
Much of the material in the work is derived from Appalachian fiddle and religious tunes. African-American blues and religious hymns figure prominently as well. There is also frequent use of American bluegrass fiddle idioms. In addition to the folk material, there is a strong influence of Charles Ives, who forged an approach to composition that combined European traditions with quite different approaches to development and structure, use of diverse material, a broad spectrum of harmonic and contrapuntal techniques, etc. – DAJ
Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 7:00 pm
House Concert chez Harry Bernstein in Berkeley, California
Seating is very limited!
RSVP to David Jaffe: davidajaffe@gmail.com
With David A. Jaffe, mandolin & Jonathan Salzedo, harpsichord
David A. Jaffe: Cluck Old Hen Variations for solo violin (2004)
Impossible Animals for violin and computer generated voices (1989)
Ellis Island Sonata for mandolin (1985)
American Miniatures for computer-processed voices, violins, mandolins, guitars, banjos and drums (1992)
Three Musicians (after the Picasso painting) (1981)
World Premiere of new arrangement for violin and harpsichord (2017)
Alex Shapiro: Slip for violin and harpsichord (2001)
Sheli Nan: Absinthe avec mes amis for violin and harpsichord (2008)
Live concert video
Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30 pm
MahlerFest XXXI
7:30pm – Chamber Concert – Dairy Center for the Arts
- Click HERE for detailed information and the bios of the musicians
- Richard Strauss – Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85
- John McCabe – “Pilgrim” for String Sextet
- Johannes Brahms – Clarinet Quintet in b, Op. 115
- Daniel Silver (Clarinet)
- Jorja Fleezanis & Karen Bentley Pollick (Violin)
- Erika Eckert & Lauren Spaulding (Viola)
- Parry Karp (Violoncello)
- Andrew Brown (Violoncello II in the Strauss)
- Kenneth Woods (Violoncello II in the McCabe)
- Reserved Seat Tickets are $24 (adult), $18 (senior) and $10 (student) and are available from the Dairy Box Office. Click HERE to order.
May 18 – Friday at 2:00pm
Chamber Concert II – The Academy Chapel 970 Aurora Avenue
- Click HERE for the bios of the musicians
- George Enescu – Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 25
- Jesse Jones – Phantasma for Solo Cello (2011)
- Alexander Zemlinsky – Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
- Johannes Brahms – Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 99
- Karen Bentley Pollick (Violin)
- Parry Karp (Violoncello)
- Jennifer Hayghe (Piano)
- This is a free event
Saturday, May 19, 2019 6:30pm – Pre-concert Lecture
7:30pm – Orchestral Concert – Macky Auditorium, CU Campus
and
Sunday, May 20, 2019 2:30pm – Pre-concert Lecture
3:30pm – Orchestral Concert – Macky Auditorium, CU Campus
- The Stan Ruttenberg Memorial Concert
- Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 105
- Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
- Stacey Rishoi – Mezzo-soprano, Brennen Guillory – Tenor
- Kenneth Woods conducting the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra
Concert Review in Boulder Daily Camera
Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Stanford, California
Stanford University CCRMA Stage
Celebrating current CCRMA faculty and graduate student composers and their mentors with new compositions for violin, electronics and video by Mark Kopytman, Jonathan Berger, Ayal Adler, Christopher Jette, Constantin Basica, and Chris Lortie, with Nina C. Young of New York Women Composers, recipient of the 2015 Rome Prize and in residence at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga in June 2018. Jonathan Berger studied with the renowned Israeli composer Mark Kopytman.
Mark Kopytman: Cantus IV: Dedication for violin solo (1986)
Jonathan Berger: Sink or Swim for solo violin (2006)
Christopher Jette: Simetra for violin and electronics (2018) World Premiere
Chris Lortie: Jouska for violin and electronics (2017)
Constantin Basica: new work for violin and video TBA (2018) World Premiere
Nina C. Young: Sun Propeller for scordatura violin and electronics (2012)
Sunday, June 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm
SPECTRUM Female Composers Festival
70 Flushing Avenue, Garage A
Brooklyn, New York 11205
Karen Bentley Pollick returns to SPECTRUM to reprise an acoustic violin & viola recital debuted at Wayward Music Series in Seattle on February 1, 2018 including repertoire by New York Women Composers, selected from a call for scores and supported by a Seed Money Grant from NYWC awarded in November 2017. Multi generations of composers are represented from nonagenarian Marga Richter, whose exquisitely chiseled solo viola piece composed for Walter Trampler forms a contrast to the aesthetic of younger composers Milica Paranosic and Melanie Mitrano, evoking Serbian folk singing and vocal trance electronic dance mix. A poignant viola and vocal piece by Pollick’s Indiana University classmate Adrienne Elisha is offered in memory of her grace and eloquence as a violist and composer. Veteran New York composers Faye-Ellen Silverman, Rain Worthington, and Victoria Bond contribute an array of moods evoking lyricism, anger, Oriental, Icelandic and Far Eastern harmonies and melodies. Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s ethereal ‘Serenity Diptychs’ was recorded at Lithuanian Radio & Television Studios and is included on her recent CD ‘Horizons’, released by the Lithuanian Music Information Center in 2017. A virtuoso violin piece composed recently in Mexico by Pollick as an homage to her Dutch artist friend Helena Hillinga completes the program.
Repertoire from New York Women Composers call for scores
Videos from Wayward Music Series performance in Seattle on February 1, 2018
Faye-Ellen Silverman: Memories for solo viola (1974)
Marga Richter: Darkening of the Light for solo viola (1962)
Adrienne Elisha: Inner Voices for solo viola (2008)
Rain Worthington: Mixed Times of Yearning for solo viola (2014)
After Thought & Frost Vapors for solo violin (2013)
Victoria Bond: Jasmine Flower (Moli Hua) for solo violin (2011)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: Serenity Diptychs for violin, electronic voices and video (2015)
Karen Bentley Pollick: Für HELEN{G}A for solo violin (2018)
Milica Paranosic: Al’Airi Lepo Sviri for violin, electronics and video (2005)
Melanie Mitrano: Remember Who You Are for violin and tape (2015)
The New Yorker: Goings on About Town
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Strada Tudor Arghezi 3B, Sector 2
Bucharest, Romania
Intrare Libera
Presenting an array of electronic music with violin performed recently at Stanford University’s CCRMA
David A. Jaffe: Impossible Animals for violin and computer generated voices (1989)
Constantin Basica: The Making of “The Making of a Violin” (2018)
concept, text, soundtrack and video by Constantin Basica
recorded and live music improvisations by Karen Bentley Pollick
Nina C. Young: Sun Propeller for scordatura violin and electronics (2012)
Christopher Jette: Simetra for violin and electronics (2018)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: Serenity Diptychs for violin, electronic voices and video (2015)
Chris Lortie: Jouska for violin and electronics (2017)
Friday, July 6, 2018 at 6:00 pm
The Music Salon
Bucharest, Romania
Muzeul Național George Enescu / Salonul de Muzică
Calea Victoriei 141, București
Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata and Fugue in A minor BWV 565 (1703 – 1707)
transcribed by Jaap Schroeder in 1989
George Enescu: Sarabanda (1915)
Impressions en style roumain le 5 septembre 1925
Andante – Tempo di Hora – Allegretto piacevole – Allegro
discovered and reconstructed by Sherban Lupu
Bjarne Brustad: Eventyrsuite (Fairy Tale Suite) (1932)
I. Natur og hulder (Fantasia)
II. Veslefrikk (The Fiddler)
III. Sull (Lullaby)
IV. Trollkvenna (Troll’s Water Mill)
David Aaron Jaffe: Cluck Old Hen Variations (2004)
Victoria Bond: Jasmine Flower (Moli Hua) (2011)
Karen Bentley Pollick: Für HELEN{G}A (2018)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ciaccona from Partita #2 in D minor BWV 1004 (1718 – 1720)
Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 8:00 pm
Chapel of Good Shepherd Center Wayward Music Series
Seattle, Washington
Karen Bentley Pollick, violin
$5 – 15 sliding scale
Presenting an array of electro-acoustic music for violin and electronics with video performed recently at Stanford University’s CCRMA, SPECTRUM Female Composers Festival in Brooklyn, and CINETic in Bucharest, plus the US premiere of MAQA Violin by Israeli composer Yitzhak Yedid. Synthesized bird song transformed into a human voice; magical realism film about a 100 year old fig tree in the jungle of Nayarit, Mexico; Arabic folk songs and dance; ethereal scordatura violin with MaxMSP; canine barking altered into a tribute to Artemis; Mari Kimura’s motion sensor MUGIC glove triggering gestures; Serbian folk songs with evocative visuals; vocal trance EDM and more stimuli for all the senses will be featured on the diverse program.
David A. Jaffe: Impossible Animals for violin and computer generated voices (1989)
Constantin Basica: The Making of “The Making of a Violin” (2018)
concept, text, soundtrack and video by Constantin Basica
recorded and live music improvisations by Karen Bentley Pollick
Yitzhak Yedid: Maqa Violin (2018) US Premiere
Nina C. Young: Sun Propeller for scordatura violin and electronics (2012)
Christopher Jette: Simetra for violin and electronics (2018)
Chris Lortie: Jouska for violin and electronics (2017)
Milica Paranosic: Al’Airi Lepo Sviri for violin, electronics and video (2005)
Melanie Mitrano: Remember Who You Are for violin and tape (2015)
Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 2:00 pm
1000 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium
Johann Sebastian Bach & George Enescu solo violin works
Toccata and Fugue in A minor, BWV 565 arranged for solo violin by Jaap Schroeder
George Enescu: Airs en style roumain
Moderato – Allegro giusto – Andante: Tempo di Hora – Allegro giocoso
Sarabanda (1915)
Impressions en style roumain le 5 septembre 1925
Andante – Tempo di Hora – Allegretto piacevole – Allegro
discovered and reconstructed by Sherban Lupu
Partita #2 in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004
Ciaccona Video by Stuart Diamond (2017)
Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Karen Bentley Pollick
Violin & Piano @ SPECTRUM
with special guest Stuart Diamond on EWI
70 Flushing Avenue, Garage A
Brooklyn, New York 11205
$15 adults/ $10 students & seniors
George Enescu: Airs en style roumain
Sarabanda (1915)
Impressions en style roumain le 5 septembre 1925
discovered and reconstructed by Sherban Lupu
Mark Kopytman: Cantus IV: Dedication for violin solo (1986)
Yitzhak Yedid: MAQA Violin (2018) New York premiere
Hsueh-Yung Shen: Fantasy Piece for solo violin (2014) New York premiere
Selim Göncü: Miniatures for solo violin (2018) World premiere
Ivan Sokolov: Andante for contrabassoon and piano (2015) New York premiere
Stuart Diamond, Electric Wind Instrument
Dan Tepfer: Solo Blues for violin and piano (2008)
Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 5:30 pm
Electric Diamond at St. Francis X Cabrini Shrine
701 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY
Stuart Diamond, Electronic Wind Instrument
Don Slepian, Keyboards
Karen Bentley Pollick, Violin
Ruth Cunningham, Voice
Electric Diamond, the pioneering electro-acoustic music ensemble, will be performing at The Shrine of Mother Cabrini- the Patron Saint of Immigration. Celestial music at the top of Manhattan. An inexpensive and romantic date. Easy journeys to other planets in a safe and comfortable setting. Admission by donation. Please arrive early.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
6:45 pm
San Pancho, Nayarit MEXICO
Plaza del Sol
Karen Bentley Pollick, violin
David A. Jaffe: Impossible Animals for violin and computer generated voices (1989)
Constantin Basica: The Making of “The Making of a Violin” (2018)
concept, text, soundtrack and video by Constantin Basica
recorded and live music improvisations by Karen Bentley Pollick
filmed on location at Lo de Perla Orchid Garden, San Pancho Pueblo y Playa, & Stanford University’s CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics) in January and May 2018
Ole Saxe: Užupis Constitution Song (2015)
filmed on location in Vilnius, Lithuania on the banks of the Vilnele River and in Republic of Užupis
Melanie Mitrano: Remember Who You Are for violin and tape (2015)