Scenes from Lake Chautauqua
for oboe, horn and piano
Several years, I got an unexpected email from Cynthia DeAlmeida, principal oboe of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She had come across some of my music (my “Apologia” Symphony, thanks to Ian Woodworth) and asked me to write a piece she could give her then-fiancé—William Caballero, Pittsburgh Symphony’s principal horn player—as a wedding gift. To be honest, I seldom turn down commissions, so even if this had been an invitation to write a piece for two people I had never heard of, I probably would have accepted the offer. But to write for members of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and principal players at that…
Maybe it’s worth providing a little bit of context. I just did a quick search for a list of the top orchestras in America, and according to Nelson L. Anthony, writing in 2023, Pittsburgh’s comes in #9. Unlike some of the other orchestras on the list, this number has been rising over the last decade or so. I think this really started happening when the PSO did an international tour a decade or so ago, getting rave reviews. In many reviews, the winds and brass sections, particularly the horns and their principal, William Caballero, were singled out as being especially good. In other words, these are players at the absolute top of their game, and the invitation to write for them would have made any composer excited. For me, where I was (and still am) in my career, it felt too good to be true.
And, in some ways, it was. While I gladly accepted the offer, we couldn’t have known that we were just months away from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Masking and social distancing became the norm, businesses shuttered, and live music became a pipedream. And as for me, what had been a steady stream of commissions slowed to little more than a drip, and it was replaced with writer’s block. Simply stated, I had no idea what to write. So I did what many composers have done throughout history, and what composers will continue to do: I stole, I mean borrowed... from myself. I drew on music that I had already written, particularly from my undergrad years, and used it as a springboard for new ideas. I centered the new music around images from Lake Chautauqua, where Bill has a farm house, and where they were planning on getting married before the lockdown. What started as a single-movement work that was premiered outside during the lockdown turned into a four-movement work that received its virtual premiere at Carnegie Mellon University here. (The audio from this performance is available here.)
From early on, Cindy told me that, in addition to performing the piece, she wanted to record it for her next album. I had the joy of attending both the in-person premiere of the work and the first recording session. Having occasionally worked in a studio setting, I understand something of the pressures of recording, and it was remarkable to see the dedication and precision with which Cindy, Bill, and pianist Rodrigo Ojeda approached this project. I’m thrilled to say that the CD is now available: It can be ordered directly from Crystal Records and will (eventually) be available on Amazon.
Scenes from Lake Chautauqua was composed for Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, William Caballero, and Rodrigo Ojeda.
Duration: 17 minutes
Maybe it’s worth providing a little bit of context. I just did a quick search for a list of the top orchestras in America, and according to Nelson L. Anthony, writing in 2023, Pittsburgh’s comes in #9. Unlike some of the other orchestras on the list, this number has been rising over the last decade or so. I think this really started happening when the PSO did an international tour a decade or so ago, getting rave reviews. In many reviews, the winds and brass sections, particularly the horns and their principal, William Caballero, were singled out as being especially good. In other words, these are players at the absolute top of their game, and the invitation to write for them would have made any composer excited. For me, where I was (and still am) in my career, it felt too good to be true.
And, in some ways, it was. While I gladly accepted the offer, we couldn’t have known that we were just months away from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Masking and social distancing became the norm, businesses shuttered, and live music became a pipedream. And as for me, what had been a steady stream of commissions slowed to little more than a drip, and it was replaced with writer’s block. Simply stated, I had no idea what to write. So I did what many composers have done throughout history, and what composers will continue to do: I stole, I mean borrowed... from myself. I drew on music that I had already written, particularly from my undergrad years, and used it as a springboard for new ideas. I centered the new music around images from Lake Chautauqua, where Bill has a farm house, and where they were planning on getting married before the lockdown. What started as a single-movement work that was premiered outside during the lockdown turned into a four-movement work that received its virtual premiere at Carnegie Mellon University here. (The audio from this performance is available here.)
From early on, Cindy told me that, in addition to performing the piece, she wanted to record it for her next album. I had the joy of attending both the in-person premiere of the work and the first recording session. Having occasionally worked in a studio setting, I understand something of the pressures of recording, and it was remarkable to see the dedication and precision with which Cindy, Bill, and pianist Rodrigo Ojeda approached this project. I’m thrilled to say that the CD is now available: It can be ordered directly from Crystal Records and will (eventually) be available on Amazon.
Scenes from Lake Chautauqua was composed for Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida, William Caballero, and Rodrigo Ojeda.
Duration: 17 minutes
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