Kennedy Center Performance Available Online

Students from the Cleveland Institute of Music performed on Thursday, February 20, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as part of their Conservatory Project. The concert was streamed live online and is now available for viewing on the Kennedy Center website.

Thursday, February 20 at 6pm ET

Kennedy Center: Conservatory Project

2700 F Street N.W., Washington D.C.

Streamed Live on kennedy-center.org [video archive available]

CIM’s program of performers included three original compositions by the performers appearing.

• COLIN LAURSEN Invocation (2013)

  Colin Laursen, violin

  Rubén Rengel, violin

• ALICE HONG Phoenix (2011)

  Alice Hong, violin

• R STRAUSS Befreit (Freed) & Cäcilie (Cecily)

  Laurel Weir, soprano

  Andrew Rosenblum, piano

• CHOPIN Andante Spianato and

  Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22

  Dong-Wan Ha, piano

• FEDOR AMOZOV Lullaby (2014) and

  Folk Fantasy (2011)

  Fedor Amozov, cello

Following are the program notes for the original compositions by current CIM students, who performed their own works.

Invocation (2013) | Colin Laursen

Invocation, for two violins, was written last April for the Cleveland Institute of Music’s annual Legacy Luncheon - an event that hosts some of CIM’s most generous donors and patrons, to whom I am greatly indebted. This composition takes on a highly improvisatory character, and is loosely structured around the Adhan, or the Islamic Call to Prayer. At the heart of the work there are twelve phrases, which generally become increasingly melismatic, in line with the tradition of the Adhan; the result is a kind of reverent quality that lends itself to the title of Invocation. As somebody who has spent a great deal of time in the Middle East, I am fascinated by the musical heritage of the region - both secular and nonsecular - and am intrigued by the great musical potential in reconciling my musical training with unfamiliar sources of inspiration.

Phoenix (2011) | Alice Hong

Phoenix was written the summer after my freshmen year at the Cleveland Institute of Music, during a time when both reflection as well as the desire for a fresh start was at the forefront of my mind. I turned to composing, an outlet I hadn’t had time to explore in awhile. The piece depicts the life of the mythical bird phoenix, from its birth, death as it bursts into flames, and finally its rebirth as it cracks open its shell and enters new life.

Lullaby (2014) and Folk Fantasy (2011) | Fedor Amosov

Lullaby and The Folk Fantasy are devoted to the folk style of music. Cello is one of the rare instruments which is relatively close to the human voice and at the same time can wonderfully represent qualities of many world`s famous instruments such as european luth, japanese semisen or even armenian duduk. My goal as composer was to represent not a concrete quality of any of these given instruments, but a feeling of the endless world of people living as they lived for centuries, living by the law of nature, living in harmony with each other and enjoying the simple beauty of our world.

UPDATE: This article was updated on Feb. 21 to include video archive link for concert performances.