Once again, the Volti choir, under the direction of founder and Artistic Director Robert Geary, is preparing a program of premieres for its next recital. Most important is the world premiere of the latest Volti commission by the Seattle composer John Muehleisen entitled … is knowing …. This is a setting of four poems by Gertrude Stein: “If You had Three Husbands,” “A Waist,” “A Portrait of One,” and “Susie Asado.” In the spirit of Stein’s unique approach to writing, Geary has entitled the entire recital Songs With(out) Words: Is There There There?
The program will also include the West Coast premiere of “White Key” by the young Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. This is a setting of the poem written by Carol Muske-Dukes on the occasion of the unexpected death of her husband, the actor David Dukes. This composition was completed in October of 2009 in New Haven while Esmail was finishing work on her Masters degree in Composition at Yale University.
The Volti 2010 commission composition will receive an encore performance. This is “Paghahandog” by the Philippine composer Robin Estrada, currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of California in Berkeley. This is a setting of a short Tagalog text of joyful dedication in which the voices supplement the words by imitating the sounds of Philippine indigenous instruments.
San Francisco composer David Conte will be represented by a work he wrote on commission from Chanticleer. Entitled “The Homecoming,” the piece was composed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King. The text is by the late poet John Stirling Walker.
The final work on the program is another reflection on the overall title. “Without Words” is a setting of a minimal text by Li Hou-Zhu (the last emperor of the Tang dynasty) by the Asian-American composer Huang Ruo. The words evoke Li’s mourning for the loss of his country and his people.
The San Francisco performance of Songs With(out) Words will begin at 4 PM on Friday, March 2, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (1111 O’Farrell Street). Tickets may be purchased at the door for $30 with special rates of $25 for seniors and $10 for students. There is a $5 discount for both general admission and seniors if the tickets are purchased in advance through the tickets page of the Volti Web site.
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