Cactus Pear Music Festival Program #2. Out of the Blue

Sunday July 14, 2024 | 3pm

University of the Incarnate Word, Diane Bennack Hall

David Baker (1931-2016) • Roots II for piano trio (1992)
— Kim, Kostov, Cuellar

Paul Wiancko (b. 1983) • American Haiku for viola & cello — Sorgi, Kostov

Aaron Copland (1900-1990) • Sextet for clarinet, piano
& string quartet (1937)
— Shterenberg, Sykes, Underhill, Kim, Sorgi, Kostov

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) • Rapsodie nègre for flute, clarinet, string quartet, piano, and baritone (1917)
— Jutt, Shterenberg, Underhill, Kim, Sorgi, Kostov, Sykes, Jones

George Gershwin (1898-1937) • Rhapsody in Blue for piano four-hands (1924) — Sykes, Cuellar

“Out of the Blue” features chamber music inspired by jazz and the blues. It begins with Black composer David Baker’s New Orleans-inflected piano trio Roots II, a high-spirited romp. Paul Wiancko, the recently appointed cellist for the storied Kronos Quartet, wrote his American Haiku for viola and cello in 2014 inspired by Appalachian fiddling and blues percussion. Aaron Copland’s great Sextet for clarinet, piano, and string quartet is a joyous celebration of the syncopated rhythms of jazz. Francis Poulenc’s Rapsodie nègre was written in the early twentieth century when jazz and the blues first came to Europe. And George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue—an iconic work celebrating its 100th birthday—will be given a one-of-a-kind performance in its piano four-hand version by pianists Scott Cuellar and Jeffrey Sykes. What a great way to end our first week! But buckle your seat belts for this one—there will be lots of surprises in store for you!