Save the date, part 1: Linking Legacies concert is rescheduled for May 14th
Be sure to join us in the UUCC Sanctuary at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 14th for Linking Legacies, a free concert celebrating the music of Black composers and performers with a connection to Northeast Ohio. Click here for more information about this very special musical event!
Save the date, part 2: Good Company’s spring concert is next Sunday in Lakewood
Next Sunday, April 23rd, you’re invited to join Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble for Lost in the Stars, a concert of music about the transcendent beauty and wonder of the night sky. The concert will be Sunday, April 23rd at 4 p.m. at Lakewood Presbyterian Church (14502 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood). Lost in the Stars will feature music of Johannes Brahms, Morten Lauridsen, Kate Rusby, Kurt Weill, Franz Schubert, and others, including the premiere of “Past the Moon”, a new composition by Jena Root. Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble is directed by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney and many UUCC members and friends sing in the ensemble, including Barbara Bradley, Amy Collins, Leon Michaud, Anne and Steve Sanford, Pam Schenk, and Holly Walker.
Music Notes – Sunday, April 16th:
This week’s musicians are The Erie Waters Flute Ensemble and UUCC Music Director Mike Carney
We are very happy to have The Erie Waters Flute Ensemble with us as special guest musicians this Sunday, April 16th. They will be playing a number of selections during the service, but they will also perform Les Lunes de Cuzco (The Moons of Cuzco) by Kumiko Tanaka as pre-service music, beginning at approximately 10:10 a.m. Don’t miss this special musical treat before the service on Sunday!
The Greater Cleveland Flute Society’s Erie Waters Flute Ensemble is:
Rebecca Chen
Ann Droste
Sara Lambert
Emily Matz
Linda Miller
Martha Somach
Bonnie Svetlik
Rae Yeager
The Greater Cleveland Flute Society (GCFS) sponsors recitals, masterclasses, student festivals, and lectures throughout the year to promote flute education and instruction in the community at all levels. GCFS provides outreach activities to enhance awareness of music and the flute through performance and is actively involved in regional and national organizations. Its members include students, adults, teachers, amateur and professional flutists and corporate sponsors. GCFS’s annual Cleveland Composers’ Connection Concert will be here at UUCC at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 30th, and the event is free and open to the public.
When a group of area flutists performed new flute music on a water theme by Cleveland composers at the Chicago Flute Festival in 2009, The Erie Waters Flute Ensemble was born! Comprised of members from the Greater Cleveland Flute Society, the unique sound of Erie Waters comes from bringing together the entire flute family from bass flute up through alto, C flutes, piccolo, and Native American flutes.
Pre-service Music: Les Lunes de Cuzco (The Moons of Cuzco) – Tanaka
Japanese composer Kumiko Tanaka (b. 1959) specializes primarily in music for wind instruments and instrumental ensembles. She holds composition degrees from the Municipal University of Fine Arts and Music in Kyoto, and currently teaches fugue, counterpoint and composition at the Osaka University of Fine Arts and Music. Tanaka wrote Les Lunes de Cuzco in 2010 for flute quartet/ensemble.
Opening Hymn: #134 Our World Is One World – Taylor
#134 in Singing the Living Tradition, “Our World Is One World” was written by British author, poet and hymnist Cecily Taylor (b. 1930), who is most famously known for Contact, her 1972 collection of poetry.
Centering Music: Prayer and Fugue – Swanson
Prayer and Fugue is a composition by Stefan Swanson, an award-winning American composer for film, media, and concert, with over a decade of film scoring experience and over fifty scoring credits. He has also enjoyed tremendous success composing for the concert hall with over sixty compositions ranging from solo instruments to full orchestra, including River Thoughts, his first symphony. His music has been heard all over the world including Lincoln Center, Cannes, Aspen, along with broadcasts on HBO, Cinemax, NBC, and BET. In addition to his work as a composer, Swanson is in demand as a conductor and teaches at New York University (includes material from stefanswanson.com).
Offertory Music: Shakespeare’s Garden – Horsley
“Shakespeare’s Garden” was written in 2022 by British composer and pianist Grant Horsley. A graduate of London’s prestigious Royal College of Music, Horsley has worked as a performer, music educator, conductor, arranger, and composer.
Closing Hymn: #1017 Building a New Way – Sandefer
Martha Sandefer (b. 1952) is an American vocalist and composer who is currently involved with the Work o’ the Weavers project. She wrote “Building a New Way” in 1986 and her song was later arranged by Jim Scott (b. 1946) and included as #1017 in our Singing the Journey hymnbook. This Sunday, we’ll sing a revised version of “Building a New Way” that includes new lyrics by UUCC Music Director Mike Carney.
Postlude: When in Doubt – Kennard)
Northeast Ohio-based composer and flutist Dr. Bryan Kennard specializes in music for jazz ensembles and other instrumental groups. His music has been performed widely, including at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, the National Flute Association Convention, the International Double Reed Society Convention, and the Texas Music Educators Association Convention. Kennard was awarded the 2016 Stribling Award for Excellence in Jazz Studies while attending the University of Texas at Austin, he was a Young Composer Showcase selectee at the 2019 Jazz Educators Network Conference, and received multiple Downbeat Student Music Awards for performance, composition, arranging, and engineering while a graduate student at the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami (FL). “When in Doubt” is an original composition by Kennard for flute choir that is inspired by gospel and jazz.
-Mike Carney, UUCC Music Director