Ravinia 2019, Issue 1, Week 1

6:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2019 BENNETT GORDON HALL RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE SECOND ANNUAL BRIDGES COMPOSITION COMPETITION WINNERS CONCERT AVALON STRING QUARTET BLAISE MAGNIÈRE, violin ANTHONY DEVROYE, viola MARIE WANG, violin CHENG-HOU LEE, cello GREG WARD, saxophone GLENN ZALESKI, piano DAN CHMIELINSKI, bass ROBERT BOONE JR., drums 2019 Winner MICHAEL ORENSTEIN Staircase Avalon String Quartet; Greg Ward; Glenn Zaleski; Dan Chmielinski; Robert Boone Jr. 2018 Winners SAM BLAKESLEE Slow Growth/New Growth Avalon String Quartet; Glenn Zaleski; Dan Chmielinski; Robert Boone Jr. ZACH BORNHEIMER Haunted Lullaby of the Forgotten Avalon String Quartet; Glenn Zaleski; Dan Chmielinski; Robert Boone Jr. GENE KNIFIC Septet Avalon String Quartet; Glenn Zaleski; Dan Chmielinski; Robert Boone Jr. From the RSMI Jazz Faculty RUFUS REID Pangea Marie Wang; Greg Ward; Glenn Zaleski; Dan Chmielinski YOU’RE INVITED! All audience members are invited to stay for a free post-concert reception and toast with the composers. BRIDGES WINNERS Staircase began as a piece for a jazz piano trio. However, when I rehearsed it with a bassist and a drummer, I immediately realized it called for something more. I had never written for strings before, so I put that idea aside and tried writing horn parts. This resulted in a product that felt too cluttered—the texture of the brass was too abrasive for this piece. Eventually I decided to try my hand at writing for strings. I started by giving the strings voices I might play on piano, and from there I tweaked the string parts to create inner voice movement and counterpoint. My perception of the piece was suddenly turned on its head. I decided a soprano sax would be helpful to bring out various string melodies and, in some instances, provide a melodic voice of its own. In composing this piece, I was thinking of each section as a step of a staircase. In some instances, earlier sections are recalled but with extra elements added for enrichment. One can sometimes feel like he or she has regressed or has fallen back into old habits. However, even if we feel that we have taken a step back in life, we always take that step back with more wisdom. – Michael Orenstein A native of Berke- ley, CA, Michael Orenstein began playing piano at age 10 and quick- ly developed an affinity for jazz, traversing such programs as the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars and the Jazzschool (California Jazz Conservatory) on his way to the Oberlin Conservatory, where he earned a BM in jazz piano as well as a BA in economics. Through his studies with Dan Wall, Sullivan Fortner, and Robin Eubanks at Oberlin, he also earned the conservatory’s Wendell and Bettye Logan Award in Jazz Studies for outstanding performance and compositional achievement. Orenstein also had oppotunities to play alongside such fig- ures as Terrence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Wycliffe Gordon, Eddie Henderson, and Billy Childs from an early age, and in 2015 he was se- lected to be a fellow at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, where he performed original works alongside Ingrid Jen- sen and Zakir Hussain. He has also earned three composition awards from DownBeat and an ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award. Oren- stein recently toured South Africa leading uni- versity workshops, performing with a American and South African combo, and recording a full album of South African jazz standards. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | MAY 31 – JUNE 9, 2019 96