By Annie Liu
Annie is a PhD student in musicology at Princeton University. She received her MA in Musicology, MM in Bassoon Performance and a Certificate in New Media and Culture from the University of Oregon in 2024. She received her BS in General Science and BMA in Bassoon Performance from Penn State University as a Schreyer Honors Scholar in 2021. As a 2022-23 inaugural Cykler Song Scholar, she created a public musicology resource about popular music in Shanghai in the 1930s and 40s (shanghaisong.org). Outside of academics, Annie enjoys playing the bassoon, training for triathlons, and hanging out with her cat, Mouse.
David Bruce (b. 1970)
Steampunk (2010)
David Bruce’s Steampunk features a mixed wind and string octet of oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, violin, viola, cello, and bass, with the woodwind players doubling on English horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon, respectively. This five-movement work received inspiration from Bruce’s introduction to steampunk lights and clocks creatively constructed using scrap materials. As Bruce familiarized himself with the steampunk subculture, including science fiction, design, fashion, and alternative history, he reimagined this world through sound and instruments. In this work, the instruments themselves act as steampunk creations; in fact, Bruce considers “classical music itself as a kind of steampunk music” via its non-electronic, body-powered, live, and unamplified sound production.
Carnegie Hall originally commissioned David Bruce to write Steampunk for the Ensemble ACJW, a collective of young professional musicians who teach music in New York City’s Public Schools and perform a variety of music between classical and contemporary. Bruce, no stranger to this fluid boundary between the old and the new, writes primarily for opera, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. His music finds inspiration in a variety of sources, ranging from subcultures like steampunk to neoclassicism to global dance and folk traditions. Bruce shares his compositional journey and musical knowledge on his popular YouTube channel (his most watched video, with over 1.5 million views, features Bruce analyzing rapper Kendrick Lamar’s music) and the widely used sheet music website 8notes.com.
The piece begins with a busy wash of sound, the clarinetist summoning the audience to join the group in this alternative historical adventure. Bruce displays his exquisite control over texture and groove, incorporating bluegrass elements within the opening fanfare, which concludes with a stopped horn call and a tutti flourish. The second movement presents a darker, melancholy mood reinforced by the brooding bassoon solo over the mechanical accompaniment. Where the first movement was angular and insistent, this passacaglia movement winds and flows, featuring the individual instruments’ plaintive timbres and delicate control in extreme ranges. A mournful and high bass solo opens the third movement, then is imitated by the violin. Here, Bruce was inspired by the “armillary sphere,” a model of the celestial sphere common to steampunk designs, and he aims to capture its rotating celestial motion with mysterious lyrical lines over a rocking triplet pulse. The fourth movement opens with ripped pizzicatis in the strings and hocketed strings of triplets bouncing back and forth within the octet, creating the sensation of being inside a relentless and humorous steampunk clock. The horn and the bassoon, instruments Bruce considers emblematic of the steampunk world, introduce the final movement, with the bassoon quietly echoing the horn’s desolate statements. Amidst the somber and sinuous lines, Bruce introduces quicker rhythms and a prolonged ensemble accelerando that simulates a steam engine starting up. The octet continues to build speed and tension, striving ceaselessly toward the ending, which dissipates enigmatically (much like steam itself).
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Serenade, Op. 11 (1898)
German composer Johannes Brahms remains one of the most influential figures of mid-to-late nineteenth-century classical music, perhaps best known today for his iconic posthumous role as “Raisin’ Brahms.” Brahms spent his early years in Hamburg and displayed an aptitude for music and literature from a young age, including a fervent interest in folklore. This interest, coupled with exposure to European folk music traditions, led Brahms to incorporate folklike tunes in his compositions (for example, his well-known Hungarian Dance No. 5). In 1853, Brahms made a connection that would prove deeply impactful for the rest of his career: he met Robert and Clara Schumann in Düsseldorf and played them his compositions. The Schumanns heartily endorsed the young Brahms and invested deeply in his career, though by the following year, Robert became deeply ill and subsequently passed in 1856. Throughout Robert’s absence, Brahms remained close to Clara Schumann, and the nature of their relationship has been oft-debated within classical music history.
Critics, contemporaries, and audiences continually compared Brahms to Beethoven during and after his career, insinuating that while Beethoven could write vast works like symphonies, Brahms’s style was better suited to chamber music. This uncomfortable pressure possibly caused the lengthy gestation of Brahms’s first symphony, which he worked on for nearly two decades before its premiere in 1876, when Brahms was 43. His Serenade No. 1 in D Major, composed in 1857–58 and first premiered in Hanover in 1860, strongly resembles a classical symphony in its forms and orchestration. Brahms originally scored the Serenade for a wind and string octet, subsequently expanding the work for chamber orchestra; this was perhaps an opportunity for him to try his hand at symphonic writing without the immense strain of producing an official “symphony.” During this period, Brahms had withdrawn from most public music activities outside of teaching and conducting as he grieved Robert Schumann’s passing, reflected on his failed romantic affiliations, and reestablished his compositional direction.
The Serenade bears witness to Brahms’s training in polyphony and counterpoint with his mentor Joseph Joachim in Detmold during the late 1850s, as well as his interest in similarly scored works by Mozart, Beethoven, Hummel, Haydn, and Schubert. The first movement immediately evokes pastoral themes with a playful horn call, paying homage to Haydn’s London Symphony No. 104, also written in D major. Throughout, Brahms demonstrates his skillful command of orchestral texture and thematic development within sonata form. The second movement sets a scherzo in D minor; the low-register bassoon paired with strings creates a murky and mysterious sound that gradually ascends and lightens. The trio, in B flat major, provides a delightful contrast in color and mood, generating a moment of comparative levity. Brahms once again employs sonata form for the “Adagio non troppo,” a warm and stirring third movement set in B flat major. The development shines with lyrical wind melodies and sparse yet intricate chamber textures before returning to an elegant recapitulation. The following movement contains two minuets, first in G major, then in G minor, contrasting between a woodwind-led playful jaunt and a wistful, string-heavy excursion. Yet another scherzo, the fifth movement in D major alludes to Beethoven’s pastoral symphony and is peppered with jubilant horn calls. Brahms completes his foray into symphonic writing with an infectiously jovial final movement in rondo form. This dizzyingly rich and expressive work exemplifies a young Brahms in transition: gesturing to his compositional predecessors, experiencing both the joys and tragedies of adult life, and searching for his distinctive symphonic voice.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Founded during the Princeton University Concerts 1994–1995 centennial season, the Richardson Chamber Players is our resident ensemble comprised of performance faculty, distinguished guest artists, and supremely talented students. The performance faculty share the artistic direction and seek to present repertoire of works for singular combinations of instruments and voices, which would otherwise remain unheard. Today’s program was conceived and organized by bassonist Robert Wagner.
MELODY CHOI bio forthcoming
YOUSUN CHUNG, oboist, has performed worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Based in New York, she has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, and Sejong Soloists. Ms. Chung is on the oboe faculty at Princeton University, Juilliard Pre-College, Mannes Prep, and Brooklyn College Conservatory. She has also taught at the Hartt School and Columbia University and served as a guest faculty/artist for Carnegie Hall’s NYO2, Vianden International Music Festival, and Great Mountains Music Festival. A Juilliard and Mannes alumna, Ms. Chung studied with Elaine Douvas, Eugene Izotov, John Mack, and others. She has organized numerous recitals and fundraising concerts with her students and colleagues throughout New York.
Since moving from Massachusetts to New Jersey, JACK HILL has served as principal bass for the Edison Symphony Orchestra, the American Repertory Ballet’s annual productions of The Nutcracker, and performs with the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey. He has appeared at Princeton University with the Richardson Chamber Players and in two solo recitals. He has also played in the Delaware Valley Philharmonic and the Bay Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. In New England he was principal bass with the Boston Philharmonic and has also performed with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Triptych Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Civic Symphony. In 2000 he was an Artist in Residence at the American Academy in Rome where he presented two solo recitals. While in Rome he performed with I Virtuosi di Roma and was solo bass with Opera Passione. Hill received his BM from New England Conservatory and has studied with Gary Karr and Henry Portnoi. Mr. Hill is a private instructor of double bass at Princeton University and maintains a teaching studio at home. He also works as a luthier and bow maker.
DONGKON (DK) LEE is an accomplished classical clarinetist with over 12 years of experience. He has studied under renowned instructor Jo-Ann Sternberg since his time in the Manhattan School of Music Pre-college Division. As a founding member of the clarinet quintet Traumerei through the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, Lee has achieved notable recognition, including Second Place at the CAI Music Competition and a Silver Medal in the Junior Wind Division at the prestigious International Fischoff Competition. His exceptional talent earned him finalist status in NPR’s acclaimed “From the Top” music podcast, where he performed at the Berkeley Power recording studio in New York City. Lee continues his musical studies with Sternberg while serving as Principal Clarinetist in the Princeton University Orchestra.
Cellist CLANCY NEWMAN has enjoyed an extraordinarily wide-ranging career, not only as a cellist, but also as a composer, producer, writer, and educator. First prize winner of the Naumburg International Competition and recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, he has performed as soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. He has been a featured composer on series by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and his “Pop-Unpopped” project has expanded cello technique in ways heretofore unimagined. Currently teaching at Princeton University, Mr. Newman is a graduate of the five-year exchange program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School.
ERIC REED is the horn player of the American Brass Quintet, and co-principal horn of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School, New York University and The Mannes School of Music at The New School. Also a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Eric performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and is a former member of the Canadian Brass, Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect and the New Jersey, Oregon, New World, and Harrisburg symphonies. Mr. Reed’s festival appearances include Aspen, Bridgehampton, Emerald City, North Shore, Crescent City, Cape Cod, Steamboat Springs, and Mostly Mozart. Eric holds degrees from Rice University and The Juilliard School. He resides in The Bronx with his wife, violinist Sarah Zun, and their sons Oliver and Elliot. www.ericreedhorn.com
Dr. SARAH SHIN is the Lecturer of Flute at Princeton University, a member of the Richardson Chamber Players, and a featured artist on tonebase Flute. Sarah can be heard on all streaming platforms with her Mozart Flute Concertos CD under Sony Classical with Conductor Christian Schulz and the Savaria Symphony Orchestra. Sarah has performed in some of the largest concert halls all over the world such as Carnegie Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York City; Gewandhaus Theatre in Leipzig, Germany; Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, South Korea, Konzerthaus Klagenfurt in Klagenfurt, Austria; Stiftung Mozarteum: Großer Saal in Salzburg, Austria; Golden Hall at Musikverein and Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; and Smetana Hall in Prague, Czech Republic. Sarah attended high school at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and then received her BFA at Carnegie Mellon University, her MM from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and her DMA from Rutgers University. Sarah is grateful to her teachers Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza, Bart Feller, Thomas Robertello, and Judy Grant. Sarah is a William S. Haynes Artist performing on a custom 14k white gold flute. www.sarahshinflute.com
Clarinetist JO-ANN STERNBERG leads a diverse musical life in the New York area as a chamber musician, orchestral player, music educator, and interpreter of new music. Jo-Ann is a member of Borealis, Richardson Chamber Players, Wind Soloists of NY, Sherman Chamber Players, and Riverside Symphony; principal clarinet of Oratorio Society of NY, NY Choral Society, and St. John the Divine; and she has regularly performed with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, ACO, Mark Morris Dance, American Symphony, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Musicians from Marlboro, and many Broadway musicals. Following her undergraduate years in the combined Tufts/NEC dual degree program (BA English/BM Clarinet Performance) where she was mentored by Peter Hadcock, Ms. Sternberg continued her studies at Yale with David Shifrin and at Juilliard with Charles Neidich where she was awarded the William Kapell Memorial Award. Currently, Ms. Sternberg serves on the faculties of Princeton, Rutgers and Juilliard MAP. In the summer, Ms. Sternberg lives in Maine where she is Founder/Director of The Maine Chamber Music Seminar at Snow Pond. From September through May, she resides in NYC with her family. As a first generation American, she feels a deep connection, pride and commitment to the ‘melting pot’ that is NYC. Ms. Sternberg is a Selmer Artist.
Violist JESSICA THOMPSON is a passionate chamber musician and educator who performs regularly throughout the United States and abroad as a member of the Daedalus Quartet. The quartet, in residence at the University of Pennsylvania, has premiered works by such composers as Fred Lerdahl, Joan Tower, Richard Wernick, and Vivian Fung. Ms. Thompson has appeared in recital in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Princeton, NJ, and has performed at numerous festivals, including Portland (ME), Charlottesville, Mimir, Halcyon,
Bard Summerscapes, and Skaneateles. She performs regularly as a member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra and the String Orchestra of NYC and teaches at Princeton and Columbia Universities, as well as at the Maine Chamber Music Seminar. Ms. Thompson performs on an instrument made in 1818 in Milan by Giacomo Rivolta.
ROBERT WAGNER is Principal Bassoonist of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a member of the New York Chamber Soloists. He began his studies with Simon Kovar and Norman Herzberg in Los Angeles and graduated from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Stephen Maxym. He has been a featured performer at the Salzburg Mozarteum and soloist in Richard Wilson’s Concerto for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra on the CRI label. In April, gave the east coast premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Bassoon Concerto with the NJSO. With the Boehm Quintette, Mr. Wagner can be heard on the New World and Premiere labels, with Orpheus on Deutsche Grammophon, and with the New Jersey Symphony on Delos and New World. He is currently on the Board of League of American Orchestras and the NJ Intergenerational Orchestra.
Violinist ERIC WYRICK has been Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 1998. He is an established leader/member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and is currently an Artistic Director with that international ensemble. In addition to annual New Jersey Symphony solo appearances, Wyrick has appeared as a soloist with Danish Radio Orchestra, the Orchestre de Toulouse and solo television appearances in the Dance in America presentation of Chausson’s Poème for American Ballet Theater on PBS, and as a featured soloist in the BBC’s “Great Composers” series playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. He has collaborated as soloist with Neeme Jaarvi, Jacques Lacombe, Zdenic Macal, Michel Plasson, Gunther Schuller and with Andrew Constantine. An active chamber musician, Wyrick can be heard frequently with the NJSO Chamber Players and, as he comes from a large family of musicians, performs regularly with the Wyrick Chamber Players. Mr. Wyrick is a lecturer regularly at Richardson Auditorium as Concertmaster of the NJSO and has collaborated with the Richardson Chamber Players.
