Partita No. 1 in B minor BWV 1002
Johann Sebastian Bach | 1685-1750
VI. Bourrée
Blaze Benavides, marimba
This partita is formed in the traditional way that consists of an allemande, a courante, sarabande and gigue in the baroque style, except that this work substitutes a bourrée for the more typical gigue.
A Game of Cat and Mouse (2025)
Ahmad Duncan | B. 2003
*Premiere
Dylan Mantione, vibraphone
Nick Coppola & Elaijah Stachelrodt, percussion
Gavin Lee, piano
Rex Delgado-Hernandez, double bass
Ahmad Duncan is an Atlanta-based composer and bassoonist. His catalog includes works for solo, chamber, and large ensemble. Duncan’s works have been performed on numerous Society of Composers Inc. (SCI) Concerts and student recitals. Ahmad currently looks forward to his piece “Persistence” for piano and drum set being performed by Smol ensemble and “Onward” for concert band to be performed by the Flat Rock Middle School Band at Midfest hosted by the University of Georgia. Ahmad is currently pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition at Georgia State University studying under Dr. Nickitas Demos.
Svegliatevi nel core
from Giulio Cesare
George Frideric Handel | 1685-1759
Madison Chambers, mezzo-soprano
Liuba Shrivistava, piano
"Svegliatevi nel core" ("Awaken in my heart") is an aria taken from act 1, scene 4 of the opera seria, Giulio Cesare. The aria is written for the role of Sesto, son of Cornelia and Pompeo, where he swears to take revenge for his father's death.
Esmeralda
Camilo Ayala | B.1992
*Premiere
Camilo Andrés Ayala Merchán , euphonium
Liuba Shrivistava, piano
Camilo Andrés Ayala Merchán (’26, MM Euphonium Performance)
Camilo Andrés Ayala Merchán is a euphonium performer and educator from Colombia. He was the winner of the 2024 Brumby Concerto Competition and has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Bogotá Youth Philharmonic Band. With over four years of experience as a university instructor, he also contributed as one of the editors of Colombia’s Euphonium Beginner’s Guide, published by the Ministry of Culture in 2025. Combining his academic background with his creative work, he is passionate about arranging and creating Latin American music for the euphonium and expanding the instrument’s expressive possibilities.
Kuusi (The Spruce), Op. 75 no. 5
Jean Sibelius | 1865-1957
arr. Eriko Daimo
Dylan Mantione, marimba
Kuusi is the fifth of a set of songs nicknamed The Trees, written for piano. This song was revised in 1919 and published in 1922. It is marked Stretto – Lento – Risoluto – Lento.
Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity when the country was struggling from several attempts at Russification in the late 19th century. The core of his work is his set of seven symphonies, but his other best-known compositions are Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto, the choral symphony Kullervo, and The Swan of Tuonela (from the Lemminkäinen Suite).
Trois Pièces Brèves
Jacques Ibert | 1890-1962
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Assez lent
Emily Gabbitas, flute
Michael Tijerina, oboe
Rachel Odendahl, clarinet
Kevin Roach, bassoon
Terri Ingram, horn
Jacques Ibert was born in Paris in 1890. Although his father showed little interest in music, his mother was an accomplished pianist who studied with professors at the Paris Conservatory. Ibert learned to play the violin at an early age and also took piano lessons. When Ibert decided to devote himself to composition, he found that he had to earn a living by giving lessons, writing program notes, and becoming a cinema pianist. He attended the Paris Conservatory from 1911 to 1919; here he studied under Gabriel Faure. Ibert won the Prix de Rome with his cantata Le Poete et la Fee in 1919. During his career he held posts as Director of the Academie de France in Rome, Assistant Director of the Paris opera, and Director of the combined management of the Paris Opera and the Opera-Comique.
“Ibert’s music combines the Impressionist techniques of Debussy and Ravel, with the Neo-classicism of Stravinsky and Le Six, producing works marked by clarity grace and wit.” [Joseph Way, Sierra Chamber Society]
Scored for the classical wind quintet, Trois Pièces Brèves (Three Short Pieces) is just that. The first movement, Allegro, has a lively skipping feel which contrasts between light and delicate sections and a heavier feel. The second movement, Andante, is a slow and beautiful duet between the flute and the clarinet with only a short statement made at the end by the other three instruments. The third movement begins with a slow motive that hints towards a brass fanfare with the melodic interjections of the horn and bassoon. The movement then changes mood when the clarinet takes over with a lively melody. The piece ends with a somewhat raucous cadence and surprising cadence that completes the intentions of three short yet sparkling pieces.
Ocho por Radio (Eight People by Radio)
Silvestre Revueltas | 1899-1940
Adam Moore & Donghee Shin, violin
Rae Baker, cello
Rex Delgado-Hernandez, double bass
Rodrigo Borges González, trumpet
Rachel Odendahl, clarinet
Kevin Roach, bassoon
Austin Mellen, percussion
Garrett Clay, conductor
Eight by Radio , also written 8 x Radio , is a composition by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas for eight instrumentalists, intended for radio broadcast; hence the name. Revueltas had worked in 1933 as a radio theater composer. That year he was commissioned to compose a piece for the SEP Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Guillermo Orta. The group only had eight members, so he called the work 8 x radio . The work premiered on October 13, 1933, by the Conservatory Orchestra at the Hidalgo Theater.