Feminist Theory and Music Conference UNC Greensboro: Concert 1 Music Review

Concert I at the Feminist Theory and Music Conference 2009, hosted by the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, had an eclectic mix of poignant new music from living female composers. This concert, as well as others following throughout the week in both lecture settings and concert halls, gave the opportunity for many talented contemporary composers to have their musical voices heard, sometimes a rare opportunity in today's tumultuous social and economic times.

The conference's opening concert began with Pui-Shan Cheung's piano work, Three Chinese Paintings, beautifully performed by talented pianist Agnes Wan. Separated in to three movements, "Lotus Pond", "Cloudy Mountains", and "Wildflowers", the work exhibited an array of virtuosic musical flourishes which Wan executed energetically.

Three Chinese Paintings was followed by the ensemble work, Art-Poem-Music: Body and Soul, Volume 2. Just as fascinating as the musical work was the collaborative efforts made by poet Elizabeth Kirschner, talented visual artist Sirarpi Haghinian Walzer, and composer Pamela Marshall, whose ongoing interdisciplinary projects have given birth to many unique performances in Massachusetts. The music seemed to vacillate between emphasizing the text and actively engaging with the words in an exciting musical fashion. Soprano Jodi Hitzhusen gave a hearfelt performance of Art-Poem-Music, imbuing life into Kirschner's text and Marshall's intricate music. As an added artistic bonus, the atrium outside of the concert hall had a small exhibit of Walzer's mixed media works, a colorful array of works displaying the abstract feminine form and seeming to embody the idea of Body and Soul within Walzer's visionary palette.

Concert I seemed to stray from its contemporary roots as it delved backwards in time with performances of Barbara Strozzi, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Henry Purcell, and Georg Frederick Handel. Though the Baroque works were masterfully performed by soprano Nancy Walker and Vivian Montgomery, on harpsichord, these compositions could have easily been programmed as a separate recital. Only La Guerre's Judith, seemed to fit appropriately within the scope of the concert's twenty-first century programming.

Following the Baroque interlude was Kelly Natasha Foreman's ever-cycling work, Treadmill, meant to musically symbolize the struggles of balancing music, work, and motherhood as today's superwoman. The lively composition, scored for violins and cellos, was quite enjoyable as melodic motifs danced dizzyingly between the strings. Judith Shatin's Penelope's Song, for soprano saxophone, video, and electronics, was a fitting follow-up to Forman's composition. Penelope's Song pulsated with the video. Dancing lines within the visuals complimented melodic lines and motifs, undulating between a dreamlike intensity and solicitude in a constant sonic tunnel.

The final highlight of the program was the premier of legendary composer Alice Shield's operatic work, Criseyde, which the composer describes as a feminist reconstruction of Chaucer's tale, Troilis and Criseyde. The opera Criseyde is truly a masterful work demonstrating the musical maturity of the composer through its intricacies and depth. Orchestrated by for small vocal ensemble, piano, and cello, Criseyde involves the vocalists in a moving dance with the cello, performed beautifully by the performers.

Overall the FTM 10 Concert I was an enjoyable demonstration of the talented music presented today by living female composers, and wonderful prelude to the other works and performances to follow.

SOURCES:
Feminist Theory and Music 10: Improvising and Galvanizing, Conference Program, FTM10.
Feminist Theory and Music 10: Improvising and Galvanizing, Concert I, FTM10.
Elizabeth Keathley, FTM 10: Improvising and Galvanizing, http://www.uncg.edu/mus/FTM10/ .