The Beckwith Recital Series inaugural recital: celebrating outstanding instrumental and vocal guest artists and faculty performing in solo and chamber music settings.
F-PLUS Trio
About the Ensemble
F-PLUS is a violin, clarinet, and percussion trio committed to collaborating with today's most exciting composers to establish a diverse repertoire for their unique instrumentation. Formed in 2016 at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the ensemble has performed across the country, from Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in New York to the Art Institute of Chicago and the New Music Gathering in Boston. F-PLUS has commissioned more than 20 new works, and has been the recipient of commissioning grants from Chamber Music America and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition. F-PLUS is committed to working with the next generation of composers, and has held residencies at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Texas-Austin, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Stony Brook, Duke, and Illinois State Universities.
To learn more about F-PLUS, please visit their website.
Program
Christopher Stark: Borrowed Chords (2010, rev. 2017)
Liza Sobel Crane: Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Percussion (2018)
I. again, again, again
II. quiver
(attacca)
III. iron lung minuet
IV. strut
Jessie Montgomery: Trio (2020)
Jessie Montgomery’s Trio was has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Matthew Barnson: Sempre Dolce (2019)
Kevin Puts: And Legions Will Rise (2001)
Personnel
Luke Lentini, violin
Lucas Gianini, clarinets
Josh Graham. [ercussion
Program notes
While composing for F-Plus’s unusual instrumentation, my piece organically evolved into a “traditional” symphonic structure of movements: fast, slow, fast minuet in the third movement, and a fast final fourth movement. In addition, an overarching concept throughout the piece is creating unity between three such distinct musical timbres. As the first movement’s title suggests, “again, again, again,” sounds as if the ensemble is trying and failing to achieve a musical goal. However, the beauty is in the failure. In the second movement, “quiver,” the first movement’s opening motive of an alternating half step is completely transformed through a dramatically slower tempo and hushed stillness quality. While composing the third movement, I crystallized the concept of mapping a symphonic structure onto a trio. I play with the traditional minuet and trio form by beginning the minuet with hushed breath sounds. Pitch is gradually introduced throughout the minuet, but ultimately the movement unravels as the tempo reaches a breakneck speed. The fourth movement “strut” is a play on a march. The percussion and violin play a steady groove over which the clarinet plays with a sinewy and somewhat sinister chromatic descent. Several motives from previous movements are also restated and altered.”
– Liza Sobel Crane
Sempre dolce is a term musicians sometimes encounter in classical music scores. It means “always sweetly.” In my new work, given the sometimes bitter harmonies, it is more of an instruction than a descriptive title. In composing this work for F-Plus, I wanted to channel the pastoral calm tinged with melancholy that I love in so many slow movement of the late classical period where the music seems to smile through worries or remembered sadness.
– Matthew Barnson
Composed in the summer of 2001, And Legions Will Rise is about the power in all of us to transcend during times of tragedy and personal crisis. While I was writing it, I kept imagining one of those war scenes in blockbuster films, with masses of troops made ready before a great battle. I think we have forces like this inside of us, ready to do battle when we are at our lowest moments. The piece was written at the request of Makoto Nakura and commissioned by the Kobe Shinbun. It was premiered in October 2001 at Matsukata Hall, Kobe, Japan by Nakura, Yayoi Toda (violin), and Todd Palmer (clarinet).
– Kevin Puts
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Tickets and ticket prices, please visit:
You may also call the UNCW Box Office at 910.962.3500.
Box Office is open Monday-Friday 12 - 4 p.m.
Any remaining tickets will be available one hour prior to performance at the Cultural Arts Building.
UNCW students may obtain tickets in advance by going to the UNCW Box Office (located in Kenan Auditorium) Monday-Friday 12 - 4 p.m.
Present your UNCW ID at time of purchase.
Don't forget! The box office closes 15 minutes after the start of a Department of Music event.
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For more information or to join our email list, contact us
or call 910-962-3415 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)
Directions to Beckwith Recital Hall:
Search for Beckwith Recital Hall or look under Arts and select Beckwith Recital Hall
Plenty of free parking, in front of the Cultural Arts Building and across the street.
Parking for patrons is free at the
Cultural Arts Building in front of the building and across the street:
• weekdays after 5:00 pm
• anytime on weekends and holidays.
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DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC CONCERT GUIDELINES FOR UNCW STUDENTS
Arrive on time
• Arrive at the concert venue at least 10 minutes before the posted concert time. If you need to get a ticket at the box office, have your UNCW student ID ready and arrive at least another 5 sooner.
• The box office will only be open for ticket sales and distribution to students up until 15 minutes after the performance begins.
• Students arriving 5 minutes after the start time of the event will not be admitted free with their UNCW ID card, and must purchase tickets in order to be admitted. If the box office has closed, students will not be admitted into the venue.
Concert attendance and program stamping
Programs for students registered in Department of Music classes are stamped by the ushers at the end of the performance.
• If you leave before the concert ends, your program will not be stamped.
• If ushers should run out of programs, ask them to stamp your ticket stub at the end of the concert. Let your teacher know what happened.
Use of electronic devices during performances
• use of computers, tablets, phones is not allowed during performances. Anyone using an electronic device will be asked to put it away. Noncompliance may result in being asked to leave the event.