Germination
Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston
Friday, December 1, 2023
Doors 7:00pm/Event 7:30pm
with composers Nicky Sohn and Viet Cuong
How does a musical seed blossom into a living work for wind quintet? WindSync and composers Viet Cuong and Nicky Sohn will share insights into the creative process between writers and performers of music.
In addition to the Houston premieres of wind quintet movements by Cuong and Sohn, audiences will hear live demos of score excerpts in context, with influences as wide ranging as minimalism, electric guitar pedals, and jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Conversation between the artists to follow, moderated by Houston Public Media's Joshua Zinn.
PROGRAM
ACT I: Nicky Sohn's Yardbird Suite
ACT II: Viet Cuong's Flora
ACT III: Panel Discussion moderated by Joshua Zinn
Tickets are $35 General Admission, $20 Patreon Members (limit 5), and $10 Students, $75 VIP Member (includes preferred seating and new WindSync Signature Tote Bag).
Audiences will be treated to an open beer and wine bar, as well as light bites, to celebrate WindSync's 15th Anniversary Season.
In addition to the Houston premieres of wind quintet movements by Cuong and Sohn, audiences will hear live demos of score excerpts in context, with influences as wide ranging as minimalism, electric guitar pedals, and jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Conversation between the artists to follow, moderated by Houston Public Media's Joshua Zinn.
PROGRAM
ACT I: Nicky Sohn's Yardbird Suite
ACT II: Viet Cuong's Flora
ACT III: Panel Discussion moderated by Joshua Zinn
Tickets are $35 General Admission, $20 Patreon Members (limit 5), and $10 Students, $75 VIP Member (includes preferred seating and new WindSync Signature Tote Bag).
Audiences will be treated to an open beer and wine bar, as well as light bites, to celebrate WindSync's 15th Anniversary Season.
Location
MATCH - Midtown Arts Theater Center Houston
3400 Main Street, Houston TX 77002 Garage parking and street parking available. MATCH is also accessible by METRO. Visit Location and Parking Information at MATCH for more information. |
Featured on this program
Nicky Sohn, composer
Selected as one of the "Cool 100" by Houston CityBook Magazine, alongside icons like Simone Biles and Megan Thee Stallion, composer Nicky Sohn stands as a versatile and sought-after talent across the United States, Europe, and Asia. With a distinctive style characterized by jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn's compositions have earned high praise, being compared to "John Adams' 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine' on steroids" (YourObserver), described as "dynamic and full of vitality" (The Korea Defense Daily), and celebrated for her "elegant wonder" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Recent highlights include performances by the St. Louis Symphony, National Orchestra Institute and Festival with Marin Alsop, Minnesota Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, National Theater of Korea, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra. Sohn has received fellowships from The DACAMERA Young Artist Program, MUSIQA, UCross Foundation, Hambidge Center, and Banff Centre. Nicky Sohn is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music.
Viet Cuong, composer
Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the music of American composer Viet Cuong has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, So Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, and Atlanta Symphony, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundreds of performances worldwide. Passionate about bringing these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his recent projects include a concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. Cuong also enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His works thus include a snare drum solo, percussion quartet concerto, and double oboe concerto. He is currently the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence, the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence, and serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cuong holds degrees from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (AD), and Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM).
WindSync, wind quintet
Versatile and vibrant, the musicians of WindSync “play many idioms authoritatively, elegantly, with adroit technique, and with great fun” (All About the Arts), showing off the uniquely wide-ranging sonorities of the wind quintet. The group’s charismatic and personal performance style, combined with a three-pronged mission of artistry, education, and community-building, lends WindSync its reputation as ”a group of virtuosos who are also wonderful people, too" (Alison Young, Classical MPR).
WindSync launched an international touring career after winning the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. WindSync has appeared in concert at Ravinia, the Met Museum, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Library of Congress, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Building a new repertoire driven by purpose and growing from close collaboration, WindSync’s recent premieres include works by Marc Mellits, Ivan Trevino, Mason Bynes, Nathalie Joachim, and Pulitzer finalist Michael Gilbertson.
In demand for their ability to embed in communities, WindSync has served in residencies with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Lied Center. Winner of the 2022 Fischoff Ann Divine Educator Award, the ensemble regularly coaches at training programs nationwide, collaborates with youth orchestras, and performs for thousands of young people each year.
On the heels of “All Worlds, All Times,” WindSync’s Billboard chart-topping 2022 release that “will make you want to get up and dance” (The Whole Note), the quintet’s second commercial album, recorded with composer Miguel del Aguila at Abbey Road Studios, releases in 2024.
Selected as one of the "Cool 100" by Houston CityBook Magazine, alongside icons like Simone Biles and Megan Thee Stallion, composer Nicky Sohn stands as a versatile and sought-after talent across the United States, Europe, and Asia. With a distinctive style characterized by jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn's compositions have earned high praise, being compared to "John Adams' 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine' on steroids" (YourObserver), described as "dynamic and full of vitality" (The Korea Defense Daily), and celebrated for her "elegant wonder" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Recent highlights include performances by the St. Louis Symphony, National Orchestra Institute and Festival with Marin Alsop, Minnesota Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, National Theater of Korea, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra. Sohn has received fellowships from The DACAMERA Young Artist Program, MUSIQA, UCross Foundation, Hambidge Center, and Banff Centre. Nicky Sohn is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music.
Viet Cuong, composer
Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the music of American composer Viet Cuong has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, So Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, and Atlanta Symphony, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundreds of performances worldwide. Passionate about bringing these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his recent projects include a concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. Cuong also enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His works thus include a snare drum solo, percussion quartet concerto, and double oboe concerto. He is currently the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence, the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence, and serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cuong holds degrees from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (AD), and Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM).
WindSync, wind quintet
Versatile and vibrant, the musicians of WindSync “play many idioms authoritatively, elegantly, with adroit technique, and with great fun” (All About the Arts), showing off the uniquely wide-ranging sonorities of the wind quintet. The group’s charismatic and personal performance style, combined with a three-pronged mission of artistry, education, and community-building, lends WindSync its reputation as ”a group of virtuosos who are also wonderful people, too" (Alison Young, Classical MPR).
WindSync launched an international touring career after winning the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. WindSync has appeared in concert at Ravinia, the Met Museum, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Library of Congress, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Building a new repertoire driven by purpose and growing from close collaboration, WindSync’s recent premieres include works by Marc Mellits, Ivan Trevino, Mason Bynes, Nathalie Joachim, and Pulitzer finalist Michael Gilbertson.
In demand for their ability to embed in communities, WindSync has served in residencies with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Lied Center. Winner of the 2022 Fischoff Ann Divine Educator Award, the ensemble regularly coaches at training programs nationwide, collaborates with youth orchestras, and performs for thousands of young people each year.
On the heels of “All Worlds, All Times,” WindSync’s Billboard chart-topping 2022 release that “will make you want to get up and dance” (The Whole Note), the quintet’s second commercial album, recorded with composer Miguel del Aguila at Abbey Road Studios, releases in 2024.