Morgan Hunter ’25
Contributing Writer
There are few greater joys at The College of Wooster than engaging with the Music Department’s events; lucky for the campus community, the faculty and students always have something new up their sleeves! This past Friday Sept. 27, the Wooster Contemporary Chamber Ensemble — a brand-new organization — performed its debut concert entitled “Dreams and Memorials,” which featured the student group performances of seven contemporary music pieces. Each piece highlighted not only the limitless bounds of contemporary composers but also the incredible talent of the College’s own musicians.
Embracing the title of “Dreams and Memories,” the Wooster Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (WCCE) performed a variety of pieces that explored what once was and what might be, all aimed to redefine typical audience expectations. Pieces such as “A Day in the Forest of Dreams” (Billy Childs) and “bubblegum grass / peppermint field” (Angélica Negrón) represented dreamlike and wistful tones, whereas “Songs of the Sky” (John Taverner), “Portrait of Tracy” (Jaco Pastorious) and “How Graceful Some Things Are, Falling Apart” (Sarah Kirkland Snider) captured raw and somber moods of loss.
Pieces ranged from uptempo melodies reminiscent of times past to tonal phrases weaving amid each other, each piece filling the room with something new altogether. The chamber performance model serves WCCE well, helping students to play alongside new instrumentalists and even work with modern music technology. “Playing in sometimes unorthodox groups of instruments has been an enriching experience,” shared guitarist Colin Schrein ’25, while reflecting on his performance of “Perpetuum mobile” (Leo Brouwer) with clarinetist Gracelyn Jack ’25. “There aren’t many performance opportunities for a clarinet/guitar duet, and the fact that this group specifically provides a platform for pieces like that is super cool,” they explained.
One of the pieces in particular, “says the almanac,” a piece written for a string quartet, was composed by the Music Department’s own professor Cara Haxo. Inspired by the poem “Sestina” by Elizabeth Bishop, Haxo crafted the piece to reflect both its themes and poetic structure. Due to Haxo being accessible to the students, musicians had the invaluable opportunity of rehearsing a piece with input from the composer who wrote it. As a group, they discussed the poetic inspirations and practiced specific techniques to capture her artistic vision.
“We focused especially on dynamics and balance of the quartet so that all the pizzicato notes and main melodies came out clearly,” shared Haxo. “I was very impressed by the level of preparation the performers demonstrated.” Violinist Katrina Palmer ’25, a student from the quartet, explained that she was honored to have played such a piece, reflecting that it was especially “helpful knowing that if we had any questions about the piece, we could just email the composer and ask.”
It is no secret that forming a new ensemble can be quite a dynamic undertaking. From organizational difficulties to assembling the repertoire, professor Dylan Findley certainly had his work cut out for him, especially to meet the September concert deadline. Findley shared that, despite setbacks, he feels “privileged to work with such extraordinary musicians on technically and expressively challenging music.” His dedicated musicians feel the same way about their involvement, with many describing how this experience has pushed them outside of their comfort zone in a positive way. Pianist Sitara True ’25 explained how it was challenging but said “[I am] glad I was pushed to these limits because I was very proud of my group’s performance and feel like I’ve improved as a pianist.”
Oboist Stuart Franklin ’26 also added, “Contemporary composers love pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in music … Overall, I found it about equal parts frustrating and rewarding.”
For those who missed out on the Chamber Ensemble’s first showcase, be on the lookout for their next performance on Nov. 22 and also a special concert to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the revolutionary work “In C.” With interest and questions contact ensemble director Dylan Findley at dfindley@wooster.edu.