There is a burgeoning contemporary music scene in the Cleveland area, and its not restricted to the confines of Oberlin and its storied Conservatory of Music. One stronghold, about 15 miles up the road from Oberlin to downtown Cleveland is the music department at Lorain County Community College (LCCC). In addition to its broad music course offerings, catering to students from high-school-age to mid-life learners, they present an intriguing Signature Series of concerts each year. The opening concert of the 2013-14 season featured No Exit New Music Ensemble, an up-and-coming Cleveland-based chamber group. They presented a program of five pieces, all by composers connected to the college — Jeffrey Mumford, Distinguished Professor of Music, Gerald Evans, Professor of Music, Robert Beckstrom, Dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities, and Xenia Beckstrom, his daughter and a student of Mumford.
Composer Jeffrey Mumford, Distinguished Professor of Music at LCCC (photo credit: Ronald Jantz)
No Exit was formed in 2008 by composer and artistic director Timothy Beyer with the objective to commission and perform contemporary avant-garde concert music with emphasis on the work of Cleveland area composers. The ensemble has a flexible roster, the core of which performed this evening — violinist Cara Tweed, violist James Rhodes, cellist Nicholas Diodore, and pianist Nicholas Underhill.
Mumford’s undiluted days, written in 2000, is a five part piano trio which provided a ready canvas for No Exit to display their spirited and decisive playing. Opening with assertive, foreboding strikes in the lowest register, the piano was the dominant force through most of the piece. The violin entered with a dissonant melodic line, supported by the cello, while the piano kicked into a doubled tempo in contrast. The piece evolved through quick jumps in tempo from intensely fast to determinedly slow. The mood shifted from anxiety to sadness, then joy. And the soundscape ranged from dreamy to screechy. Despite the dominance of the piano, especially in the opening and closing, the violin and cello provided essential textural elements throughout.
Cara Tweed and Nicholas Underhill of No Exit New Music Ensemble (photo credit: Larry Dunn)
Mumford’s other piece on the program, still air (2013) was commissioned by the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum. This piano quartet explored the physical nature of strings, comparing and contrasting how they are used to make sounds in all four instruments. Bowing, plucking, and striking methods were played off and against each other. The string trio played a fairly continuos melodic line with intermittent pizzicato runs. Underhill’s piano part was freer and often unmoored from the string line, joining, then drifting away. At points he muted strings with one hand, emphasizing the percussive nature of the piano, despite being made of strings. At other points he reached in and plucked strings in an exaggerated pizzicato. The piece came to a suddenly calm ending with a few sweet solo bowings of the violin and a fade to silence.
Urban Excursions (1995) for solo piano by Evans was in three parts — I. West Side Market, II. The Shelter, and III. The Flats — each representing aspects of Cleveland’s transition out of its heavy industrial past. West Side Market opened at a very quick pace, depicting the daily morning hubub of the city’s major meat and produce center. The Shelter moved at a slower pace with the left hand playing a repeating staccato note figure that slowly evolved while the right hand danced about in sprightly melody. The Flats movement began with a tight overlap of hands then quickly separating into contrasting roles — left carrying the melody, right playing the stark background, then overlapping again and reversing roles. The tempo steadily increased to a nearly a frenetic pace, ending with a charming melodic phrase.
Nicholas Diodore and James Rhodes of No Exit New Music Ensemble (photo credit: Larry Dunn)
The evening ended with the world premiere of Robert Beckstrom’s La Salida por atrás (2013) for piano quartet. The piece was commissioned by No Exit and the title is a take-off on their name. In an unexpected twist, the lower register strings, viola and cello, played the lead roles in this piece. The viola opening sounded almost like a penny-whistle sliding up and down the scale and segued into beautiful viola solo. The violin and cello joined in a harmonic exploration of the viola theme as the piano provided a minimalist undercurrent, repeating a slowly changing six notes figure. The strings then repeated these same six notes, and shifted in to a cello-led section. The string trio shifted through sections of fast-paced dissonant lines, to a light, airy melody evoking a starry night sky, and then ghostly, ethereal sounds. All the while, the piano continued its evolving six-note line, gradually transforming it back to its starting sequence.
Xenia Beckstrom’s Pachelbel’s Canon (2013) was an imaginative reworking of the original, removing its signature grounded bass line, giving it an airier and distinctly jazz feel. Unfortunately, we had to listen to it through the closed auditorium doors, as we arrived two minutes late. Apparently contemporary music concerts start at the announced time in Cleveland. Who knew?
The LCCC Signature Series, which is curated by Mumford, is in its fourth season and will present four more concerts in 2013-14. Mumford’s goals for the series each year are “to present a major international performer, at least one African American composer and/or performer, at least one local ensemble, and as much new music as possible.” The remaining concerts of this season feature the Linden Quartet (October 7, 2013), pianist Andre Watts (October 17, 2013), violinist/violist Miranda Cuckson (March 31, 2014), and the Omni Quartet (April 7, 2014). No Exit New Music Ensemble has just begun a continuing residency at LCCC which will include annual appearances in the Signature Series, Master Classes, and providing read-performances of student compositions.
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Arlene and Larry Dunn are pure amateurs of contemporary music based in Oberlin, Ohio. Visit their blog at Acornometrics and follow them on Twitter: @ICEfansArleneLD.
