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Trio Mezzklarno Debuts World Premiere

Published Wednesday, October 13th, 2021

Trio Mezzklarno
From left to right: Drs. Sarah Farr, Karl Kolbeck, and Angela Miller-Niles

Update as of 10/25: This event has been postponed until Spring 2022.

Poignant expressions of humanity intertwine throughout the Trio Mezzklarno concert Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Ley Theatre at Wayne State College. The performance is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. The program is accessible by selecting the event from the Music Events list at www.wsc.edu/music.

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Trio Mezzklarno is a faculty chamber ensemble in residence at WSC. Members include mezzo-soprano Dr. Sarah Farr, Dr. Karl Kolbeck on clarinet, and Dr. Angela Miller-Niles on piano. The musicians are equal partners in the musical landscape, creating tight conversations among the three instruments. Concert repertoire embraces works by living Midwestern composers, with three compositions expressly written for the Trio and one world premiere.

The premiere selection, Songs of the Open Road by Evan Fein, was commissioned through a grant provided by WSC. This work was composed from late Fall 2020 into Spring 2021, in the heart of the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m very happy with how this work turned out,” explains Fein. “It’s full of hope and optimism yet acknowledging something distressing in the recent past. I know Trio Mezzklarno will breathe life into it!” Fein, originally from Ohio, works at The Julliard School in New York City.

A Red, Red Rose, composed by WSC associate professor Matthew Haakenson, was written specifically for the Trio. This gentle, lyrical piece celebrates a pure love as depicted in the 1794 Robert Burns poem by the same name.

What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why, by Kurt Knecht of Kansas City, Mo., was commissioned through a WSC grant explicitly for the Trio. Reflecting the 1920 poem by Edna St. Vincent Milay, this composition examines the process of aging, looking at what was and what never will be again. It is sometimes harsh and jarring, and sometimes tender and lyrical.

Along the River, by composer and professor Rick Sowash of Ohio, draws on poetry from James Joyce’s Chamber Music, first published in 1907. This lush, lyrical piece exploits the distinct timbres of each instrument in charming, and often unexpected, combination.

For more information, contact the WSC Department of Music at 402-375-7359.