NEC Saxophone Ensemble: Ma, Yee-Paulson, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Holst

Huihuai Huang (arr. Lingbo Ma) | Horse Racing 赛马 (2023)

Zeyi Tian, soprano
Xinyi Liao, alto
Zhikang Chen, tenor
Cheng Wang, baritone

Program note

Horse Racing《赛马》was originally a piece for Erhu solo, composed by Chinese composer and Erhu player Haihuai Huang in 1959. The music depicts a lively and thrilling horse racing scene and remains a timeless Erhu classic and one of the most well-known tunes in China. Pentatonic scales and variations of Mongolian folk melodies are used throughout. Huang uses Erhu articulations and techniques to imitate the galloping horses and their skillful riders. In my arrangement for saxophone quartet, the original melody is preserved and re-harmonized. I referred to several existent arrangements for Erhu and orchestra and expanded the piece with an introduction, a modulation and a section that briefly diverges from the pentatonic-dominating area. The four instruments each represents a horse and toward the end, one horse (portrayed by the soprano sax) neighs to suggest that it wins out and leads the group to a triumphant ending.
- Lingbo Ma

Lingbo Ma is a Chinese-born, US-based composer and pianist whose work has been performed in the USA, China, and Europe. She strives for unique ways of reaching the ultimate simplicity and clarity while unfolding diverse narratives in her music. Her recent projects include one act opera MARThA (libretto by John de los Santos), premiered by Lowbrow Opera Collective in Seattle in 2022; The Pile, commissioned and premiered by National Sawdust in New York; and Elusive Wish, commissioned and premiered by Collage New Music in 2023. She has been commissioned by the Dutch National Opera twice in 2020 and 2022. In the past 2022-23 season, she was a Blueprint Fellow at National Sawdust and a Collage Fellow at Collage New Music. In addition to composing, Lingbo enjoys arranging music of all genres and performs frequently as a collaborative pianist. Lingbo obtained a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and is now pursuing a doctorate degree at New England Conservatory.

Ben Yee-Paulson | Colorful Spirits (2018)

In a Lively State
In Deep Thought
In Exuberance

Xinyi Liao, soprano
Juchen Wang, alto
Zhikang Chen, tenor
Ethan Shen, baritone

Program note

Colorful Spirits is a three-movement work that is very much a love letter to the saxophone itself. The title eludes to the wild harmonies of the composition, as well as the excited nature of the piece. While Colorful Spirits carries a lyricism found in all of my pieces, especially in the second movement, the focus of the piece is on the quick-changing and often chromatic harmonies that make it so colorful. The piece is also partly inspired by some famous jazz composers and harmonies. While I would not consider myself a jazz composer, I did rediscover the music of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis during my master’s degree. 
- Ben Yee-Paulson

Ben Yee-Paulson is an award-winning American composer and a native of Boston, Massachusetts. His music has been performed across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, and Taiwan. He was a composer-in-residence at the Lake George Music Festival, Choral Arts Initiative, Zodiac Music Festival, and DePaul University. His music is premiered in venues like Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, and the world opening of Microsoft’s flagship store in New York City. Yee-Paulson’s music received honors from the Costello Competition, Tribeca New Music Festival, ASCAP, Future Blend Competition, and the Tampa Bay Symphony’s Competition. He has also collaborated with Grammy-Award winning company PARMA Recordings. Yee-Paulson’s music is played by ensembles like the American Modern Ensemble, Ensemble Del Niente, Choral Arts Initiative, NEC Contemporary Ensemble, IU Concert Orchestra, and the New York Youth Symphony. His music is performed by artists like Grammy-nominated cellist Thomas Mesa. Other performances occurred at the Celebrity Series of Boston, European American Musical Alliance, Atlantic Music Festival, Mostly Modern Festival, the International Horn Symposium, and the Charlotte New Music Festival. Yee-Paulson is a Doctor of Music candidate at Indiana University and has a Master of Music degree from NEC and a Bachelor of Music degree from New York University.
 

Igor Stravinsky (arr. J. Tennessen) | Pulcinella Suite (1947 rev.)

Sinfonia
Serenata
Scherzo – Allegretto – Andantino
Tarantella
Toccata
Gavotta
Vivo
Minuetto: Finale

Zeyi Tian, soprano
Xinyi Liao, Daihua Song, Guanlong Shen, alto
Zhikang Chen, Ethan Shen, tenor
Cheng Wang, baritone

Kenneth Radnofsky, conductor

INTERMISSION

Leonard Bernstein (arr. José Oliver Riojas) | Overture to Candide

Juchen Wang (concertmaster), soprano 1
Xinyi Liao, soprano 2
Erik Elmgren*, Elise Hill‡, Margaret Nalen,
Guanlong Shen, Daihua Song, Zeyi Tian, Huyan Zhang‡, alto
Zhikang Chen, Cheng Wang, Yingjie Hong, tenor
Vladyslav Dovhan, baritone
Ethan Shen, bass

Rachel Brake ’24 MM, conductor

*NEC administration               
‡Longy School of Music

Rachel Brake

Rachel Brake is a second-year graduate instrumental conducting student at the New England Conservatory. She received a B.S. in music education from Roberts Wesleyan University in 2022 with a double concentration in piano and French horn. She was the 2021 concerto competition winner on horn with the Roberts Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor for the RWSO and the University’s Wind Ensemble under the direction of Paul Shewan. At NEC, Brake has worked with Charles Peltz and currently studies with Bill Drury. In addition to the saxophone ensemble, she has guest conducted NEC’s Symphonic Winds, percussion ensemble, and serves on the faculty of the Preparatory School as a substitute conductor of large ensembles. Additional information on her current and upcoming work can be found at rachelbrake.com.
 

Gustav Holst | Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity - from The Planets

arr. Mi-Bérnol Saxophone Ensemble

Juchen Wang (concertmaster), soprano 1
Zeyi Tian, soprano 2
Erik Elmgren*, Xinyi Liao, Margaret Nalen, Guanlong Shen, Daihua Song, alto
Zhikang Chen, Yingjie Hong, tenor
Vladyslav Dovhan, Cheng Wang, baritone
Ethan Shen, bass

Joseph Bozich, guest conductor

*NEC administration               
 

Joseph Bozich

Conductor and composer Joseph Bozich seeks to build shared musical experiences connecting audiences to the vast inner universe of western classical music. In 2023, Bozich debuted with the Tonkünstler-Orchester conducting his own composition at Grafenegg Festival Ink Still Wet Workshop. He has been assistant conductor to the Hungarian State Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, and Opera Neo (San Diego), and was a conducting fellow at Aspen Music Festival in 2023. He made his Boston Symphony Hall debut in 2022 when he stepped in last-minute to lead a full production of La traviata with professional soloists and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.