We had our first of two Spring Semester Ensemble concerts this week. The students have prepared numerous mixed chamber works—so many it will take two concerts to stage them all. This is a musical endeavor that brings me great joy and which leads to no small amount of pride as my students show their mettle with Conservatory students from the various other studios, be they voice, strings, woodwinds or even percussion. This program had only four works: one for guitar and piano, one for guitar and flute, one for guitar and tenor and one for guitar and marimba. It was a delight to listen and watch. Here are some photos and comments about each piece; the full program is reproduced at the end of the post.

Suvan Agarwal led off with the first movement of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata. In a break from the familiar, instead of playing an arrangement of the piano part on the guitar with a melody instrument, he played the melody part, and left the piano to play its part as written. This works so well, it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done more in the past. He was assisted by Yuhki Ueda at the piano. The performance was highly polished and delightfully stylistic. (It had already seen the stage in their joint Junior Recital). They will play the rest of the Sonata for our second concert, next month.

Suvan Agarwal and Yuhki Ueda take a bow.

Next up was Damian Goggins, in his presentation of Ibert’s Entr’Acte. The flutist was Kailah Robbins. Kailah got a gorgeous flute sound and the sympathy between the players was impressive. Damian’s solo in the middle of the piece came off beautifully, as he demonstrated some awareness of the flamenco “duende” hinted at in the guitar writing. The audience went crazy.

Damian Goggins and Kailah Robbins enjoy some applause.

Rio Manzanares and tenor Quinn Albinus followed, with a set of three of Federico Morretti’s Doce Canciones. These charming 18th century Spanish songs are truly redolent of another era. The duo captured some of the delicate nuances in the music; it made for a delightful contrast to the furious Ibert which preceded it.

Rio Manzanares and Quinn Albinus take a bow.

Our concert concluded with a performance by Nik Divall, guitar and Cendan Dillon at the marimba. They presented Di Primavera, a recent piece by Australian composer, Maria Grenfell. Grenfell, a prolific and much lauded composer, was in residence in Oberlin during the 2019-20 season. Her husband, classical guitar professor David Malone (and their two children) joined her that year and we became fast friends. This piece was written for and initially recorded by him. It was a great pleasure to see it on stage this season. Nik and Cendan captured the moods of the piece beautifully and handled the many complicated rhythms and sonorities with ease. The magical sound of marimba and guitar together filled Kulas Hall in a delightful and memorable way. The audience was warmly appreciative!