Vigenettes - UCLA Winter Undergraduate Composers' Concert
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Tuesday February 13, 2024
Lani Hall
8:00pm
Performers
Sydney Wang
See BioSydney Wang is a Los-Angeles based composer and pianist. Her work draws inspiration from stories – real and imaginative – found in the world around her. She has written for acclaimed artists including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pasadena Symphony, percussionist Lisa Pegher, and Sandbox Percussion, among others. Sydney is the recipient of accolades including the 2017 BMI Student Composer Award and the 2020 Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award. In June 2023, her work for orchestra, titled Guard Me from the Night, was performed by Orchestra Senzaspine under the direction of Maestro Matteo Parmeggiani in Siena, Italy.
Sydney is passionate about recording, performing, and producing new music. As a pianist, she has won top prizes in local and regional competitions including the CAPMT Contemporary Music Competition and the Kathryn Gawartin Chopin Piano Competition. Sydney has participated in masterclasses with such renowned artists as Jeffrey Kahane, Robert Levin, and Ya-Fei Chuang. Since 2022, Sydney has been a part of Through the Staff, a nonprofit organization that provides free music education to communities in need.
Sydney currently studies composition with Professor Ian Krouse and piano with Professor William Kinderman at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she is also a staff pianist.
Mia Ruhman
See BioMia Ruhman is a 20 year old Los Angeles based composer, soprano, and actress, and she is currently a third year studying music composition at UCLA. Ruhman has been honored to have her compositions conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and Grant Gershon, and performed by ensembles such as the LA Phil, the National Children’s Chorus, and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. With passions for songwriting and performing, Ruhman loves all things theatrical- and she is endlessly grateful to the composition faculty as well as her peers for their endless support.
Yoni Fogelman
See BioYoni Fogelman’s upbringing as a choral singer developed a love for melodies that could not be fully satisfied until he crafted his own. What started as a passion for vocal writing gradually branched out to include instrumental music, and now Yoni actively composes for various instruments and genres. His most significant accomplishment in the classical field to date is the release of his debut album “One By One,” a collection of music for string instruments. This collaboration was between Yoni, Silent Zoo Studios (where Yoni worked as a studio runner and assistant engineer), and an ensemble of professional string players in Los Angeles. At 21 years old, Yoni is learning and writing constantly so that when someone asks him for new music, he can deliver it, regardless of the instrumentation or genre. For Yoni, composition is an opportunity to learn more about himself and nurture a relationship with fellow artists and performers, and he is excited to continue on this journey for the rest of his life.
Celina Anna Kintscher
See BioCelina Anna Kintscher is a German-Austrian composer whose artistry is shaped by her life on three continents, having lived in Germany, South African, and the U.S. Her music merges African rhythms and figures with western classical harmony. Kintscher’s time in the United States has inspired unrestrained freedom and integrated global references in her works. Her compositions have been performed by Orchestra Senzaspine, Salastina, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Quatuor Diotima, Aperture Duo, soprano singers Hila Plitmann and Tony Arnold, as well as percussionists Lisa Pegher and Christian Benning. She is a 2022 and 2023 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award Finalist and was a Division Winner at the World Championships of Performing Arts in 2015, representing South Africa.
Harrison Garff
See BioHarrison Garff is a fourth-year undergraduate composition and clarinet performance student. He currently studies with Ian Krouse and has studied with Kay Rhie and David Lefkowitz. He is a Los Angeles native and enjoys surfing and hiking when he isn’t playing or writing music.
Repertoire
Sydney Wang (b. 2002)
The Traveler’s Tale
Katie Lang, flute
Erica Hou, vibraphone
Mia Ruhman (b. 2003)
Delusion
Mia Ruhman, vocals
Chelsea Trotti, director
Dylan Price, piano
David Hernandez, classical guitar
Carli Wright, guitar
Greg Niemi, drums
Laura Agudelo Cuartas, audio engineer and production
Yoni Fogelman (b. 2002)
The Absent King
Anther
“The King’s Choir and String Orchestra”
Joung-A Monica Yum, conductor
Yoni Fogelman
Celina Anna Kintscher (b. 1998)
The Weight of Tears
Harrison Garff, clarinet
Sydney Wang, piano
Harrison Garff (b. 1999)
soul awakens
Yekaterina Lynch, soprano
Rebecca Beerstein, violin
Alaina Stark, harp
Donor Acknowledgement
This performance is in part made possible by the David and Irmgard Dobrow Fund. Classical music was a passion of the Dobrows, who established a generous endowment at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to make programs like this possible. We are proud to celebrate this program as part of the 2023-2024 Dobrow Series.
Program Notes
In The Traveler’s Tale, a wise, arcane traveler recounts the various sights and adventures he has experienced throughout his wanderings. With whole tone and octatonic harmonies woven throughout, the music combines the glittery, bell-like sound of the vibraphone with the lyrical, melodious sound of the flute to create an atmosphere of magic and mystique.
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Please enjoy this pre-screening of my first ever – to be released- single, “Delusion”! Directed by my best friend Chelsea Trotti, this project was a labor of love, please stream it on major listening platforms and watch the music video once it’s released tomorrow- February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Delusion by Mia Ruhman
You are not holy, just a man in a suit.
Deep blue eyes call me, your siren song hurts my ears,
But I’ll listen, I’ll dictate it just for you.
You make me cry every time that you sit by my side-
Like the air, ever present but intangible,
I Breathe you in, but you’re gone in the blink of an eye.
Like a windy day,
A storm that is coming to blow all I’ve worked for away.
Do you want to destroy me?
To bind me in place to the bow of the ship that you made.
You callous handed sailor,
My personal jailor, my sorrow, my joy and my end.
But never my lover.
I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone, old friend.
You’re not my God, you’re a delusion
Fading in the smog, you control me with your breaking waves
And leave my body to surface on the rocks.
And all will gather but only some will mourn,
That’s what she gets for playing in a storm.
No one will know just how much I was torn,
How I tried to resist your tidal force.
Let the elements lay their claim
To a corpse that would still rise at your name.
On your mark, I’m set, I go.
You’re my favorite album, my guilty pleasure comfort show.
You call I obey,
One word from you nourishes one second of silence decays.
I maladaptive daydream away
That I’ll be in danger and you’ll come to save the day,
But YOU FUCKING EXHAUST ME!
You toss me on your sea and don’t provide a lifeline.
You know everything about me,
I bet you know I love you so,
I tell you all the time with my eyes.
You engulf my heart like a fire in a park,
Where the schoolgirls pick petals and cross their hearts.
Too busy singing to notice the fire,
They mistake the heat for the beautiful summer.
Heads low, they labor over love potions,
So unaware of the danger in motion.
The girls cannot see past the smoke that is forming,
There’s heat in the air and there’s ash in their eyes.
They wish for an ocean where they may find refuge,
A break from the waves, a merciful tide.
But I know it’s hopeless, I understand now.
There’s no way to bridge the gap of twenty years time.
I’ll leave you alone, I’ll leave no trace.
But I remember your hand on my face.
You’re absolute, you’re my absolution.
–
The Absent King
Hello (x9)
Hello (x9)
I’m looking (x2) For the king
Hello (x9)
Can you help me?
Will you help me?
Will you help me find the king?
Your subjects (x2)
Your subjects are dying Hello
Advisors say he’ll be right there Cynics say he never cared Skeptics say he disappeared Your subjects are just asking for some help
Your scepter and your crown Won’t compel us to bow down If you want to be our king
Just listen to the suffering of
Your subjects (your subjects) (x2) The Absent King
Hello (x9) Hello (x9) I’m looking
I’m speaking To the king
Hello (x9)
Can you help me?
Will you help me?
Will you help, your majesty?
Your subjects (x2)
Your subjects are dying
Advisors say he’ll be right there Cynics say he never cared Skeptics say he disappeared Your subjects are just asking for some help
Your scepter and your crown Won’t compel us to bow down If you want to be our king
Just listen to our suffering
Your subjects (your subjects) (x2) The Absent King
The king (x—)
The king is (x—)
The king is hiding (x—)
The king is hiding from his subjects (x—)
Hello? (x—)
I’m looking (x—)
(All cont. throughout bridge)
Hear the voices of your subjects (subjects, subjects, subjects) Plead for your return (return, return, return, return)
While you’re lost in a palace of mazes (mazes, mazes, mazes) We watch your kingdom burn (burn, burn, burn, burn)
You’re lost in a palace of mazes (lost in a palace of mazes) (x4)
You’re lost in a palace of mazes (lost in a palace of mazes, your subjects) (x8)
Your subjects are dying The Absent King
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The Weight of Tears
The heaviest, darkest, and most potent of human emotions are embodied by tiny droplets of water — tears. Each tear that escapes the eye is unique in its composition, weight, emotional range, like a kaleidoscope snapshot of one’s spirit. Tears of sorrow are dense, possessing a gravity that pulls at the heart. And as the weight of a single silent tear serves as comfort and company in times of profound emotional pain, the tear’s gravity truly can anchor the soul.
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soul awakens
As the sun ascends,
My soul awakens.
As the light of the day conquers darkness,
The world is at peace.
As heaven and earth meet in orange hues,
I thank God for sending something,
So perfect, so precious, for me.