In two upcoming concerts celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Boulder Chorale will perform a piece composed by College of Music student Trevor Villwock. Photo courtesy Boulder Chorale.
As a Boulder musical institution celebrates a milestone, it鈥檒l be getting some help from a College of Music composition student.
This year, the Boulder Chorale marks its 50th听anniversary. In addition to the 鈥溾�� initiative and an April听gala, the group will perform two concerts on March 11 and 13 to celebrate its connection to the community. One of the pieces on the program was written by undergraduate composition student Trevor Villwock.
鈥淪till barely out of his teens, Trevor is already a professional colleague and accomplished composer,鈥� says Artistic Director Vicki Burrichter.
Villwock鈥檚 鈥淩iver of Entangled Voices鈥� is written for chorus, piano, viola and horn; the chorus sings poetry written by CU-Boulder students Rushi Vyas and Marcus Williams. Villwock says he was inspired by the idea in the text of many becoming one鈥攊n this case, a snowflake becoming part of a river.
鈥淚n many ways a river is like a choir鈥攁n entity composed of many small molecules moving together as one body, its individual parts mostly indistinguishable from one another,鈥� he writes in the program notes.
"There's also the element of a journey that I wanted to convey,鈥� Villwock adds. 鈥淢oving from the more content, free-floating (sound)world of the clouds to the forward-moving river and back again, but somehow on a more elevated level the second time. I think that's quite a nice metaphor for the chorale's journey over the past 50 years."
鈥淲hat makes Trevor's composition special is that Marcus and Rushi's poetry combines the complex beauty of Boulder and its ever-changing landscape with the idea of a choir of voices 鈥榚ntangled.鈥� It's a deeply moving concept,鈥� says Burrichter.
Susan Olenwine鈥攁 College of Music alumna, member of the Music Advisory Board and pianist for the chorale鈥攆irst brought Villwock鈥檚 name up to Burrichter.
鈥淪usan performed three pieces of mine for voice and piano my freshman year, and we've been keeping in touch ever since,鈥� says Villwock.
Burrichter says it鈥檚 been a stylistic match made in heaven. 鈥淭he parts for the pianist, horn and viola are extraordinarily well written for someone so young and bring other sonorities to the piece that give it a unique voice.
鈥淭he chorus has grown to love the piece,鈥� she adds.
Chorale Executive Director Ethan Hecht, who is a 2002 violin and viola master鈥檚 graduate from the college, relishes the chance to work with a fellow Music Buff.
鈥淎s an alum, it鈥檚 really exciting to see this come together,鈥� he says. 鈥淚'm enjoying working with a different type of musician and am proud to see the quality of composition student the college is able to attract.鈥�
The collaboration also affords Hecht the chance to perform. 鈥淚'm excited to have a viola part included in the piece. This will be the first time I'll appear on stage at a Boulder Chorale concert,鈥� Hecht says.
For Villwock, it鈥檚 been a learning experience. 鈥淚 learned so much about communicating effectively in a collaborative situation,鈥� he says. 鈥淩ushi, Marcus and I were graciously given a lot of artistic freedom, and so it was a challenge for us initially to get a handle on exactly how we would approach the piece. With some guidance from Dr. Burrichter though, I think we ended up with a piece that satisfied all of us artistically as well as a piece that will serve as a fitting celebration of the chorale's 50th year."听
In her first year as artistic director of the chorale, Burrichter has been working to build a relationship with the College of Music. She says having the opportunity to work with Villwock has been a great start.
鈥淢y work has always been about collaboration, supporting new music, presenting innovative styles of choral performances and bringing diverse repertoire and theatrical styles of performance to the projects I produce,鈥� Burrichter says. 鈥淕ratitude must be paid to the College of Music theory and composition faculty for training such a skilled young musician.鈥�
Adds Villwock, 鈥淎s a young composer, it's always such a rare and special opportunity to have your work performed by a large ensemble, and working with Vicki and the Boulder Chorale in particular was a real treat.鈥�
Villwock won鈥檛 be able to attend the concert; he鈥檚 studying abroad this semester in Manchester, England. 鈥淏ut we hope the CU community will come and support his efforts,鈥� Burrichter says.
The Boulder Chorale鈥檚 two performances of 鈥淩iver of Entangled Voices鈥� are Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 at 4 p.m. Both performances are at First United Methodist Church in Boulder.
