Young American composer Chris Rogerson’s “Thirty Thousand Days” will be the centerpiece of the Concordia Chamber Players’ season finale concert on April 7.
Hailed as a “confident new musical voice” by The New York Times, “a big discovery” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and a “fully-grown composing talent,” by The Washington Post, Rogerson, 35, has written works for world-renowned soloists and orchestras. Currently, he is on the Musical Studies Faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he lives full-time.
The title derives from the outlook of Rogerson’s father, a statistician. “When my sister and I reached our 10,000th days soon after turning 27, he excitedly called to make sure we knew the milestone we had reached,” recalls Rogerson.
“With a sharp memory he recounted stories of his own 10,000th and 20,000th days. While we were amused by his enthusiasm for this seemingly random day, I came to realize the value of looking at life from a broader perspective. ‘Thirty Thousand Days’ explores this idea of life’s three stages.”
First premiered and recorded by clarinetist David Shifrin and the Dover Quartet, “Thirty Thousand Days” will feature Gabriel Campos Zamora, principal clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra, and violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, a founding member of the Dover Quartet and the Curtis Institute of Music faculty.
When Concordia cellist Michelle Djokic saw the piece’s title, she thought of Malcolm Gladwell’s rule of 10,000 hours [to achieve expertise]. “It struck me that Chris is so young, to be able to see the other third, he’s not even in it yet, or to capture the essence of it, is quite indicative of his maturity…He’s pushing the boundaries and [has] definitely taught the story in what he’s conveying in ‘Thirty Thousand Days.’”
The Concordia concert will open with the “Phantasy Quartet” by Imogen Holst, daughter of British composer Gustav Holst. She was also a musical assistant to Benjamin Britten, who appointed her joint artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival. Djokic is eager “to shed light on Imogen Holst and her work.”
“I do believe there are many unsung female composers that are still out there. I’m interested in bringing to light the talent and presence of women in a time when there were so few female composers.”
The “Phantasy Quartet” will be almost as new to its performers as it will be to the audience. “I’m sure none of my colleagues have ever played this piece,” says Djokic. “It’s fun to discover a new work together and discover a new voice. In a way it’s a mission: I’ve always loved finding these pieces that nobody really knows that are so lovely, have such personality.” As its title implies, this one-movement work is meant “to be intriguing, not a massive undertaking.”
In contrast, Edvard Grieg’s monumental “String Quartet, Op. 27,” harnesses the energy of the four-string ensemble to create a rich symphonic sound. “It is…not planned to be meat for small minds!” wrote the composer to a friend during the summer of 1878. “It aims at breadth, vigor, flight of imagination, and, above all else, fullness of tone for the instruments for which it is written.”
“The quartet’s main theme originates in Grieg’s own song, ‘Spillemaend’ (Minstrels, or Fiddlers). The poem that Grieg set in 1876 as the first of six Ibsen songs is about the Hulder, a water spirit who offers minstrels great musical gifts in exchange for their happiness, and the choice of this song here suggests an allusive and elusive personal program,” according to Hollywood Bowl program notes by John Henken, director of publications for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Especially in the second movement, the Romanze, Djokic hears “something that speaks to nature, similar to Sibelius. I see the surroundings of where he lived when I listen to it … It’s something so pure and innocent, even though it’s a very complicated piece. It’s something our audience will enjoy, and we’ll enjoy [playing it].”
Tickets for the 3 p.m. April 7 concert can be purchased at concordiaplayers.org or at the door at Trinity Church in Solebury. A free open rehearsal will occur at 3:30 p.m. April 6 at the Historic Phillips’ Mill, 2619 River Road, in New Hope.
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