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She Told Me This. . .

Presented by Musiqa and Dance of Asian America at Hobby Center - Zilkha Hall

October 16, 2010

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Contemporary music group Musiqa launches its 9th season with an artistic experience that will take audience members on a musical journey that ranges from the folk music of Asia to the miniscule world of nanotechnology. The performance, titled She Told Me This, features a world premiere chamber piece by composer Stewart Wallace, a world premiere dance performance by Dance of Asia America, and works by Lei Liang, Lou Harrison, Anthony Brandt, and Todd Frazier. She Told Me This will take place on Saturday, October 16th, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. in Zilkha Hall of The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

The title takes its name from the new work by Stewart Wallace, She Told Me This, which was commissioned by Musiqa. Inspired by Amy Tan's novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter, the chamber piece features mezzo-soprano soloist Zheng Cao (pictured) with a libretto by Amy Tan. Sara Jobin, Assistant Conductor of the San Francisco Opera, will conduct.

"We're very excited about Musiqa's first commission, Stewart Wallace's She Told Me This," says Musiqa's Artistic Director Anthony Brandt. "Stewart's music is colorful and dramatic and he captures Amy Tan's text with great authority and passion."

A native Houstonian, Wallace is best known for his opera Harvey Milk, which premiered in Houston in 1995 and is considered a modern classic that has been performed around the world. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including fellowships and commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Opera America, and Meet the Composer, and has served as composer in residence at various organizations throughout the country.

"She Told Me This reimagines musical ideas and themes from The Bonesetter's Daughter, my opera with Amy Tan, but focuses more overtly on the nature of stories and storytelling," says Wallace. "It is an impressionistic look at three generations of women. Ruth, the American born daughter of a Chinese mother with many secrets, channels the voices of her mother, the ghost of her grandmother, and the unmistakable presence of the family's Chinese past. Like most Americans, this past mythic homeland shapes the narrative of the family's present in America."

Earlier in the program, the audience will be introduced to China in Lei Liang's Gobi Gloria. Liang, hailed as "one of the important Chinese composers of the new generation" by Contemporary Music Review, merges traditional Chinese and Mongolian folk music with the Western tradition of chamber music to create an auditory experience that Chamber Music (UK) states "suggest[s] intriguing possibilities for the future of the string quartet."

The program also features a world premiere ballet performed by Dance of Asia America, danced to Lou Harrison's Varied Trio. Mr. Harrison's works fuse Asian and Western music styles to create energetic pieces that combine classical sounds, such as violins, with unexpected instruments, such as bells made out of bowls.

Taking the audience on a musical experience in a nanoscale environment, the evening will include two pieces commissioned for the recent anniversary of Rice University's Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Anthony Brandt's Nano Symphony and Todd Frazier's Save the World. Todd Frazier's work will be narrated by Malcolm Gillis, the former President of Rice University and a close friend of Dr. Smalley.

Ensemble performers include Tianna Bonser, Lisa Burrell, Leone Buyse, Jeewon Lee, Barrett Sills, Gina Stevens, Valeria Vidal, Sean Wang, Michael Webster, Ivo-Jan van der Werff, and Blake Wilkins.

The concert is presented in partnership with the Asia Society and the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.

Founded in 2002, Musiqa (www.musiqahouston.org ) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. Led by five composers, Musiqa aims to enrich and inspire the community through programs that integrate contemporary music with other modern art-forms. Musiqa celebrates modern creative arts through inter-disciplinary concerts that highlight modern music and its connections to literature, film, dance, art, and more. With its innovative collaborations and educational programming, Musiqa strives to make modern repertoire accessible and vital to audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds. Musiqa is funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.