Concert Recap: NDSU Chamber Music Festival

Last week, on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and Thursday, Aug. 27, the Challey School of Music hosted its first batch of recitals with the arrival of the twelfth Chamber Music Festival. The festival, consisting of three separate concerts and two venues, is more than just a showcase of the professional music staff found at NDSU, but also the highly regarded Fargo-Moorhead area musicians and those across the greater Midwest and beyond. This year’s festival featured members of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and guest artists from the University of North Dakota, Concordia College and Arizona State University. I was able to attend two of the three concerts during the festival, both of which I enjoyed thoroughly.

“Chant de Linos,” a piano and flute piece, served as the series’ opening act. Featuring Laura Kellogg (flute) and Garret Kniffin (piano). The piece was one that had much depth to it, with multiple shifts between rich, lyrical laments and frantic, technical dance segments. The piece, penned by Andre Jolivet and inspired by Greek mythology, had an archaic edge to it, with minimal instrumentation, making for a distinct and engaging opener.

“And Legions Will Rise,” by composer Kevin Puts and performed by Rolf Haas (violin), Cassie Keogh (clarinet) and Mark DeMull (marimba), was fascinating because of its interlacing parts. The piece was built on swift, rippling sensations that blend and lead the three instruments upwards and into each other, showing unification and triumph. The piece still took its time, with slower, contemplative and downward-leading segments as well, which read to me as a sort of doubt or unsureness. The two sides of the piece made for what I would describe as a cinematic experience.

The third and final concert of the series opened with Derek Bourgeois’ “Trio for Trumpet, Trombone, and Piano, Op. 285.” Performed by Jeremy Brekke (trumpet), William Sutton (trombone) and Ling Lo (piano), this piece spanned three movements. Of the three sections, the second was my favorite. This “Andante espressivo” — slower and expressive — stood out to me because of the warmness and melancholy that exist simultaneously, and as the movement continued, I loved the building of tension, like a storm brewing, with the ending taking place in a darker, more melodramatic light.

Finally, the piece “Ludlow and Teme,” by Ivor Gurney, was adapted from the written works of English poet A. E. Housman. This piece, unlike the others in this series, featured a choral element alongside instrumentals. Performed by Cody Pepitone (tenor), Rolf Haas (violin), Sonja Bosca-Harasim (violin), Daniel Orsen (viola), William Comita (cello) and Yao Liu (piano), the piece, at least when looking at it through a literary angle, is a romantic one, with its depiction of youth, loss and focus on a return to the English countryside. The music returns to melancholy often, but there are bright bursts of cheer interspersed.

Chamber music is a category of music that many take interest in because of its more personal, intimate nature. The limited instrumentation means that every included part is considered essential to the listening experience, and the smaller ensembles allow for fun interplay while leaving room for individual stand-out moments. Some of these masterclass musical conversations can be found to stream at https://archives.ndsuperformingarts.org.