Last month, CMW resident musician Adrienne Taylor gave a deeply moving performance of Samuel Barber’s Cello Sonata at a CMW concert at Bell Street Chapel. Walking down the long aisle after taking her bows, she stopped mid-stride, broke out in a grin, and leaned into a pew to give a young audience member a warm hug.

That audience member was U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Ian Rosales. Ian, who was a cello student at Community MusicWorks from 2006 to 2014, had recently returned to Providence to visit his mom and attend a concert featuring his former cello teacher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ian Rosales

After the concert, we had a chance to catch up with Ian. “It was so welcoming to be back,” he said. “Community MusicWorks is one of the most influential programs in the state of RI.”

And CMW was definitely a personal influence for the former cello student. Ian shared that he often finds himself drawing on his time at CMW for guidance and support. Throughout his many years at CMW, Ian was asked to do hard things. Whether the task was musical (creating a clear tone on his instrument) or intellectual (working through difficult discussions in weekly Phase II meetings) CMW taught him to never shy away from facing a challenge or asking a difficult question.

“Talking about the hard things at CMW,” he said, was an experience that prepared him for having difficult conversations as a Marine. “The lessons we learned at CMW carry with you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian (left rear) at an early Performance Party with teacher Adrienne Taylor (left).

Ian with fellow student Ruby (left) and at CMW’s summer camp (right).

In ensemble rehearsals at CMW, Ian learned that performing with a group demands that you bring your whole self to the present moment—if you hold yourself back, the group is deprived of the very thing that makes it unique. That same thinking applies to how we interact with people in our day-to-day lives. If you aren’t fully present, you never allow people to truly know you. “If you aren’t fully present in music, you kind of rob people of what is unique to you,” he said.

For Ian, reconnecting with music meant recapturing a fundamental part of what it means to be human. Ian had been on his base in Virginia for a few months and had a nagging sense that something was missing from his life. He walked by an instrument shop, saw a cello in the window, and instantly understood that he needed to start playing music again. The instrument’s price tag was steep for him, so he decided to start saving up bit by bit. After several months, he returned for the cello.

Access to that instrument allowed him to feel like himself again. “I needed it,” he said, meaning not just the cello itself, but the presence of music in his life, and the restoration of his identity as a musician. He’s since taken that same cello across the world (not an easy feat!) and it’s helped him open the door to relationships he might never have found without it.

Among his many CMW memories, Ian (center, right) recalls a 2010 trip to Washington, D.C. with a group of students and teachers to perform in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Music continues to be a way for Ian to unlock relationships in unexpected ways, to build and deepen his community. While stationed in Japan, word got around that Ian was a cellist. One of his superiors asked him for help restringing his instrument, and a rabbi asked Ian to perform for services. Ian’s cello allowed him to know sides of people he might not otherwise have known. “You never know where people are gonna need music,” he said.

Along with access to community support systems such as friends, mentors, teaching opportunities and the development of his identity as a lifelong-student, Ian says this of the community in Community MusicWorks: “It’s just good people doing good stuff for good people.”

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Photos by Jori Ketten and Bobbie Hunger
Photo of Sgt. Rosales courtesy of Ian Rosales

Check our calendar and join us at our next event!

 

Enjoy this presentation of the Sonata Series Event #2 Live Stream, now with enhanced audio!

This event brings together compositional voices from opposite sides of the globe. CMW Resident Musicians Kimberly Fang (violin) and Adrienne Taylor (cello) are joined by guest pianist Andrei Baumann for this special evening of music featuring Chinese composers Sicong Ma and Yau-Tai Hwang and Samuel Barber, one of the most celebrated American composers of the 20th century.

Check our calendar for upcoming events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top photo: Dayana, Djibril, Natasha, and Alexis at Apple Hill in 2022.
Bottom photo: Andrew, Jaxine, Natasha, and Alexis at Apple Hill in 2022.

Saturday’s concert at Bell Street supports CMW student scholarships to summer session at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. Over the many years CMW has been in partnership with Apple Hill, the ten-day summer session experience has made a profound positive impact for all participants, and several CMW students have gone on to work as Apple Hill Camp Directors and Counselors, such as CMW Alumni Fellow / violist AlexisMarie Nelson and Development Associate / cellist Natasha Rosario Dechambeau.

Here’s what some CMW students and alums have to say about Apple Hill summer session:

Dayana:

The last few days at Apple Hill have been amazing. I’ve already made so many memories. My favorite memory was singing campfire songs and making s’mores at the campfire. I hope I can continue to come here and have more fun and musical experiences at Apple Hill.

Djibril:

Apple Hill has been an amazing experience so far, I’ve made an abundance of friends and more importantly I’ve learned new skills from very skilled players and mentors. My favorite memory here at Apple Hill so far was the dance, I feel as though after that day I became a lot closer with the people here.

AlexisMarie:
Apple Hill hooked me from my very first summer! I felt (and still feel!)  so inspired by and in awe of the wonderful musicians of all ages who gather there every summer. It feels like home away from home!

Natasha:
Applehill has always been a welcoming place to learn, make friends, and especially to have fun. I especially love that it’s a place for all ages. I can always go back!

Make a donation to the Fred Kelley Scholarship Fund and send CMW students to Apple Hill!

 

 

“There’s a lot of longing in this piece.”

With cited inspiration ranging from Schubert to the drum-fill stylings of Ringo Starr, composer Jeff Louie talks through the construction of Saturday’s world premiere “String Quintet” with violist and longtime pal Jesse Holstein. Super Bowl / crossword puzzle analogies abound.

Enjoy the conversation, then reserve your seat for an all-star lineup as the MusicWorks Collective is joined by CMW students for an afternoon performance to benefit scholarships to Apple Hill!

The Annual Fred Kelley Scholarship Concert features the world premiere of Jeff Louie’s String Quintet. CMW concertgoers will recognize Jeff’s name as a frequent pianist collaborator (and sometimes violinist and violist!). This event includes a collaborative “side-by-side” chamber music performance between MusicWorks Collective musicians and CMW students with works by Antonín Dvořák, Dmitri Shostakovich, and David Stone.

Join us for a wonderful afternoon of music!

The Annual Fred Kelley Scholarship Concert
Saturday, February 25, 4 pm
Bell Street Chapel
Admission is free*
Seating is limited; make your reservation here. 

 

Composer Sicong Ma, violin, with wife, pianist Muli Wang.

Join us for the Sonata Series Event #2, Thursday, February 9 at 7 pm at Bell Street Chapel or through live stream to hear violinist Kimberly Fang perform two pieces by composers Sicong Ma and Yau-Tai Hwang. Here, Kimberly recounts the divergent stories of two composers with early-life similarities, and her search for inspiration during a difficult time.

What I thought would be a very quick phase in my life has now turned into a full-blown obsession: how many pieces of art can I consume or come into contact with that originate from people of Asian or Asian-American descent?

This journey began in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020. At the time, I was feeling trapped, and I had no real way of fighting the racism I was seeing happening around the world. Instead, I searched for a means to make myself stronger on the inside, and what better way to know myself than to learn about what others who look like me have gone through? Reading books by Asian American authors, listening to music by Asian singers and composers, and watching TV shows about the Asian American experience, these things wrapped me up in a sense of security similar to what I felt when I was living in Taiwan. I was relieved to have found a way to cope with the myriad of feelings that bubbled up within me during the past few years.

The main piece that I will be playing for the Sonata Series concert came to me as if by fate. I had merely Googled “Taiwanese classical composers violin” as one would do, and as expected, not many names came up, especially for an English-language search query. I clicked the YouTube link for Violin Sonata No. 3 by Sicong Ma, and it was love at first listen.

Through a very complicated process, I was able to get my hands on the score to this sonata, but at one point, I thought I would not be able to play it because I could not find this in publication anywhere. However, I did eventually get my hands on the score, and as I dove into the details of the composer’s life, I quickly realized the process I went through to get my hands on a physical copy of this music was well worth the struggle.

Ma’s life truly seems like source material for a movie. Born in 1912 in the Guangdong province, Ma had nine brothers and sisters, many of whom also became famous musicians. This was in part due to the fact that his father was a Chinese government employee, and his family could afford things like sending their children off to study abroad. In fact, Ma first traveled to Paris to study violin at age eleven and later became the first student of Chinese descent admitted to the Conservatory of Paris, where he studied violin performance and composition. (Another interesting fact, though not related to Sicong’s musical life: his mother was a scholar, which was rarely seen during this time in China.)

Once he returned to China, Ma enjoyed a successful career as an educator, performer, composer, and even founded and became the dean at many music schools throughout China. He also met his wife, Muli Wang, soon after returning to China. As a pianist, she accompanied him throughout their lives during his concerts. When the Communist party first came to power in 1949, Ma was offered a position as Dean of the Central Conservatory in Beijing. It was said that his salary was nearly as high as Chairman Mao’s, and he had his pick of any fine mansion in Beijing to reside in. The government friend that offered him this position wanted Ma to be at the helm of shaping the future of music in China.

At the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 however, Ma’s fortune came crashing down. He was taken to a reeducation camp where he and about 500 other scholars were forced to read government-mandated materials, criticize their past deeds, and expose colleagues and family members who may have also indulged in incorrect ways of thinking. After several months of this, he was carted back to his school where his own students physically and mentally beat him down as he was paraded through the hallways as a traitor to his home country.

In all the years of my life, I had never really thought about persecution happening to artists in this way. I had seen movies about the Cultural Revolution, but for some reason, it didn’t really click for me until I heard about it in this context. I often think about how there aren’t many ways in which I have been challenged to stand up for what I believe in, even in religious or political contexts, and even if I were to meet these kinds of torments in my life, could I be unwavering for the things that I love?

This story has a bittersweet ending. Ma’s wife and children and already fled to Hong Kong when this all started to happen, but his youngest daughter disguised herself and braved the journey to China to convince her father to come back with her to Hong Kong. It seemed that Ma was not easily broken, believing that he could withstand this torture and continue living in his homeland once everything had calmed down. She eventually convinced him to make a run for it, and he and his family were able to make it to Hong Kong and then to Philadelphia, where he would settle down with a low profile for the rest of his life. This came with grave consequences though: once the government learned of his escape, all those that were involved were jailed, and many of the remaining family members in China were jailed or eventually died due to mistreatment.

Sicong Ma’s Violin Sonata No. 3 was composed in 1984, three years before his death. He never forgot about his love for his homeland, where he accomplished so many great things and did so much to champion Western classical music for a new generation of musicians. This sonata is very short, just two movements, but Ma conveys his homesickness for China through it.

Ma would continue to compose and perform in America, Europe, and other Chinese-speaking countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong, but he would never set foot on Chinese soil again. After he was repatriated in 1985, Ma had plans to return in 1987, but died due to complications from surgery and never got to see his home in the end. His ashes were returned to his hometown in 2007.

Although I can’t be sure of all the factors, I think that one reason why it’s been so difficult to find published copies of his music is due to the erasure that he had to endure during the Cultural Revolution. Recently, there has been a small resurgence in playing his music and learning more about his story in China, and he is even hailed as “The King of Violinists” there. It’s hard not to think about what could have happened with his artistic output and life if things had been different.

And in another twist of fate, it seems that we can sort of see what Ma’s life could have been like in an alternate universe through Yau-Tai Hwang’s life, the composer of the second piece I will be playing. I had no knowledge of the composers’ histories when choosing their pieces, but the mirror similarities are uncanny.

Composer Yau-Tai Hwang (left) was, like Sicong Ma, born in 1912 in the Guangdong province, and had parents that valued his arts education. He was a huge advocate of Western classical music and loved to perform the classics, but found that his audiences preferred to hear his own arrangements of folk songs or pieces he had written that were inspired by his native musical language.

When the Communist party won in 1949, Hwang fled to Hong Kong immediately, where he luckily escaped the persecution of the Cultural Revolution. In 1987, he settled down in Taiwan, where he would continue to teach and compose until the age of 98. Hwang would also draw from his homesickness for inspiration when composing, for he would also never return to China. His life played out very differently due to a few key decisions, and he was able to find a safe haven in the midst of all the war and change happening in China.

The last red string of fate I will add to the mix is this: the only recording that I could find of Ma’s Violin Sonata was played by a musician who had actually heard Sicong Ma in concert as a child. Hsiaomei Ku recalls that she was even able to play for him as a conservatory student. She also suffered through reeducation camp and had her violin locked away during those tumultuous years alongside Ma. I can’t even imagine how it must feel to one day be able to proudly reclaim the music that was composed by someone you looked up to. Perhaps that has undone some of the injustice done to Ma in his lifetime.

Kimberly Fang performing in 2020.

Maybe grand gestures of defiance won’t come to the majority of us in our lifetime, a blessing for sure. But in the midst of the past couple of years, or even in the midst of this new year in which two Lunar New Year shootings occurred in California, I continue to think about the ways in which I can stand up for what I love. Even as an adult, hearing an elementary student say “ching chong” to my face elicits the exact same feelings of shame and embarrassment that it did for me 25 years ago. And maybe even a little anger that the same old stereotypes continue to be taught to children. I hope that whatever I end up accomplishing with my art, someone in the future who might be just like me won’t have to hear those words ever again.

— Kimberly Fang, violinist

If you are interested in listening to Sicong Ma perform his most famous composition, Nostalgia, with his wife, Muli Wang, click here.

Join us at Bell Street Chapel Thursday, February 9 at 7 pm for the Sonata Series Event #2. Click for more information and reservations, and to join us online for the live stream, click here for the CMW YouTube channel. 

 

Composer Samuel Barber at the piano, 1940.

CMW Resident Musician and cellist Adrienne Taylor writes about the piece she’ll be performing with guest pianist Andrei Baumann at the Sonata Series concert on Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 pm. Learn more about event here.

As an elementary student I found myself playing in an orchestra at West Chester University alongside musicians who were a lot older and more experienced than I was. At our first rehearsal one of the pieces on the stand was composer Samuel Barber’s famous Adagio for Strings. I had never heard the piece before, but I was taken in right away by the long build in intensity and the use of the full range of the string instruments. There were notes so high that I hadn’t yet learned how to play them. When I got home that night, I practiced and practiced my part for the rehearsal and concert the next day. That’s how I learned the higher positions on the cello for the first time – I was motivated by Barber’s music.

At the time, I didn’t even know that the composer whose piece I was falling in love with was from my hometown of West Chester, PA.

Samuel Barber’s childhood home in West Chester, PA.
As an adult I came to learn other, less well-known works by Samuel Barber, including his Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 6, which we’ll perform at Thursday’s Sonata event. Barber, who shunned (and was shunned by) the avant-garde, was considered old-fashioned for his romanticism. Barber famously said, “I write what I feel. I believe that takes a certain courage.”

Andrei Baumann and Adrienne Taylor performing in 2021.

This is a feeling sonata. It is full of passion, excitement and tenderness – words I hesitate to use because now we’ve found ourselves in another era that looks down on expressiveness, where words like “precious and sentimental” are meant to condemn. When pianist Andrei Baumann and I talked about what we’d like to work on together, this sonata inspired us – we are both in a feeling time in our lives, and we wanted to be able to explore that in an unrestrained way. We’re appreciating playing a piece that allows us to do that, and perhaps listeners can allow themselves to unabashedly feel with us, too.

— Adrienne Taylor, cellist

Join us for Sonata Series Event #2 on Thursday, February 9 at 7 PM at Bell Street Chapel in Providence. This event is presented in person and through live stream.
Make reservations and get more information here. 

Learn more about Samuel Barber here. 

 

 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Daily Orchestra Program!

We hope you’ll enjoy this video of a recent Daily Orchestra Program concert, which features 3 generations of DOP students in performance, from our youngest musicians, who’ll graduate to receive real instruments in this presentation, to an ensemble whose student members all started their musical journey in the Daily Orchestra Program.

For the past ten years, the Daily Orchestra Program has been a space where students can find strength in their differences and potential in their alliances. It has been a space where students have fun, where they feel strong and safe, and where their voices are always heard with respect. And it is our deep hope that, when our students leave CMW, they will seek out opportunities to create those spaces for others.

This year, we have the opportunity to expand the Daily Orchestra Program experience to 30 additional Providence elementary school students. Please help ensure that this next generation has the opportunity to grow with CMW through their high school years, like their peers before them.

Thank you for considering an end-of-year gift to Community MusicWorks. With your support, we can create the space for these students to find strength in their community and joy in one another’s voices, each and every day.

Make your gift to Community MusicWorks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellows (re)United!

(Back, left to right) Ashley Frith, Luke Fatora, Zan Berry, Holly Dyer, AlexisMarie Nelson, Kamyron Williams, Jake Pietroniro, Rachel Panitch, Adrienne Taylor, and Fellowship Program Director Minna Choi; (Front, left to right) Chloë Kline, Kate Outterbridge, Hannah Ross, and Jason Amos.

In June, Community MusicWorks reconnected with many members of our community in a spectacular 25th Season Reunion Concert at Dexter Park. As part of this joyous occasion, 15 alums from our Fellowship Program joined in the performance and reconnected with former students and colleagues. To cap the weekend-long celebration, fellows, staff, and friends gathered for an afternoon brunch on the back patio at our Westminster Street headquarters to hear the Fellows share updates on life and work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship Program Director Minna Choi introduces the event.

It was memorable and wonderful to have a gathering of Fellows from 2006 to the present day and reflect on how each of their contributions has impacted the making of our community over the past sixteen years of the Fellowship Program. We caught snapshots of the alums’  expanding their families, landing in new cities, exploring new hobbies, and changing directions in creative and professional lives, all while retaining music as part of their lives.

Some highlights and updates from the CMW Fellows share include:

Luke Fatora (2019) (above) shared photos and video of life in rural Maine fishing, playing and teaching music, and making multi-media films.

Holly Dyer (2020) recently left the Community MusicCenter of Boston as their Community Engagement Manager and is now working at the Longy School of Music as an Assistant Director of Student Services.

Zan Berry (2018) works in Providence around homeless advocacy and creating opportunities for artists to connect, creating the PVD Cello Fest and performing with local ensemble Verdant Vibes.

Hannah Ross (2016), also based in Providence, manages the RI Philharmonic Music School Community Partnerships program. Hannah was recently selected as a member of the second cohort of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative and looks forward to this incredible opportunity to learn from and collaborate with other BIPOC leaders across the state of Rhode Island.

Jason Amos (2010), lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts, and balances careers in music and real estate.

Rachel Panitch (2009) (above) also based in the Boston area, spends her time with her two young kids, teaching (at musiConnects) performing, and composing music.

 

 

 

Kate Outterbridge (2017) (above) has hopped across the country to Los Angeles where she spends her time free-lancing, performing in a violin duo, and thinking up material for a recent exploration in stand-up comedy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adrienne Taylor (2010), Ashley Frith (2018) (above), and Chloë Kline (2008) have continued to work at CMW since their Fellowship, continually expanding and deepening their ideas and practice in their roles as Resident Musician and founder of the Daily Orchestra Program (Adrienne), Director of Racial Equity and Belonging (Ashley), and Education Director (Chloë).

Our most recent graduates Kamyron Williams and Jake Pietroniro (above) reflected on their experience these past two years during the pandemic and the unexpected silver linings. Jake is currently pursuing a doctorate in Viola Performance at the University of Alabama and Kamyron has joined the CMW staff as a Resident Musician.

Liam Hopkins and Alexis Nelson, in the midst of their second year of their Alumni Fellowship, are involved with many different aspects of the organization, while sharing perspectives and experiences from their days as students at Community MusicWorks.

Ashley, Kate, and Jake share laughs and latte at the brunch.

But there’s more! Many Fellowship Program graduates were not able to join us in June but are out there doing amazing things every day. We look forward to launching a Fellows Feature throughout this year, with an up-close look at what Fellowship alums are doing. Stay tuned for the first feature in our series coming soon!

—Minna Choi, Fellowship Program Director

Photos by Liz Cox and Minna Choi.

 

Community MusicWorks is keeping it green! In a ceremony at Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, Community MusicWorks was one of several local entities honored with an award to fund the creation of a green landscaping project for the Community MusicWorks Center (now under construction!).

The funding is from the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) a regional initiative funded by Congress and managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, working to preserve and restore coastal waters by providing grants and technical assistance to communities, local organizations and partnerships in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

This grant will support the creation of an exterior natural landscape with a self-contained rainwater recycling and irrigation system. The outdoor spaces are intended to expand the footprint of the building and invite pedestrians and the CMW community to enjoy much needed green space, a parklet, and woodland garden. The outdoor spaces act as green infrastructure recapturing roof rainwater for irrigation and bio-retention areas to capture stormwater.

Speakers included US Sen. Jack Reed, Congs. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, and EPA Regional Administrator David Cash.

Learn more about the Community MusicWorks Center here.