New Music, New Friends

Philip Glass: Mishima/Closing

Thursday night, our ad hoc piano quintet performed a piece by Gene Knific, son of professors Tom and Renata Knific of WMU. This has been an especially fun project because I was able to work with some colleagues that I hadn’t formerly collaborated with. We were also lucky to snag a couple coachings with Prof. Renata Knific this semester. The performance was a success and the piece was very well received. Also, Saturday morning, WMU New Music Ensemble Birds on a Wire performed two pieces on a concert for the Society of Composers Inc. conference being held at WMU. We met and received comments from Robert Patterson on his piece Riffs and Echoes. 

Both of these concerts were, in a way, bittersweet because many of our ensemble members are either graduating or moving on to new jobs and experiences at the end of this semester. For our ad hoc quintet, it was our first and last performance. For Birds, it was our last (though, ironically, we played first two pieces that we learned together). In the grand scheme of our individual careers, our rehearsals and performances are just a single frame in the film of our lives. Yet I am profoundly moved by how, in such a short time, we are able to understand and appreciate each other  in a unique ways. Making music together helps develop “fast friends” that endure for a long time to come.

Best wishes to everyone. I am sure that we will be able to work together again in the future.

Left to right: Gene Knific, Melissa Taddie, Chas Helge, Amanda Smith, Ariele Macadangdang, Cassandra Kaczor.

Left to right: Dr. David Colson, Ahmed Anzaldua, Liang Dong, Chas Helge, Skye Hookham, Andrew Maxbauer, Maria Vallejo, Danny Mui, Brett Armstrong.