The Palest Rose (2012)

Kristen Halay, flute “Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp”

Ms. Halay is currently acting principal flute of the Eugene Symphony, principal flute of the Oregon Mozart Players, and principal flute of the Eugene Opera. Ms. Halay has also played with the Oregon Symphony, Corvallis Symphony and the Springfield Mass. Symphony. Ms. Halay attended the University of Massachusetts and the University of Oregon and graduated in 1997. She was the 1994 winner of the Lillian and Paul Petri competition. Ms. Halay attended the Aspen Music School as a full-scholarship recipient, where she studied with Dave Shostae and Nadine Asin. While at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Oregon, Ms. Halay was the recipient of a full scholarship. Ms. Halay also plays with the Oregon Bach Festival and Oregon’s Festival of American Music.

David Burham, viola “Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp” (An Autobiography of a Traveler) (Dew Drop Dares To Play With The Light of The Sun)

David Burham is a multi-talented multi-instrumentalist. He has been a member of the Eugene Symphony for thirteen years, in addition to performing with the Eugene Opera and the Oregon Mozart Players. He plays violin (acoustic and his custom-made electric), viola, mandolin and piano. Mr. Burham has been a member of various bands for the last twenty years. He is the music director of the group “Fiddle Magic.” He is fluent in classical, jazz, blues, country, rock and world music styles. Mr. Burham has also done voice work for radio and television, and is currently building his first violin. His teaching studio is in Eugene, Oregon where he has taught for twelve years.

Martha Griffeths, harp “Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp” (An Autobiography of a Traveler) (Dew Drop Dares To Play With The Light of The Sun)

Martha Griffith has played harp since the age of five. A third generation harpist, Martha studied music with her mother and grandmother, both professors of harp at the University of Oregon. From an early age, she had many performances with chamber ensembles and orchestras, often featured as a soloist. While attending the School of Music at the University of Oregon she received the prestigious Ruth Lorraine Close Award for excellence in harp performance for three consecutive years. Graduating with degrees in music and romance languages, she continued classical harp lessons in France with Bertile Fournier. After her studies in Europe she began exploring the possibilities of performing popular music on the harp and pursued this interest with some of the most famous artists in the field. Martha combined her musical talents with a love of travel, and began her career on cruise ships in 1989. Since then, she has made frequent appearances at sea performing a wide variety of music that includes classical favorites, American standards, Broadway hits and popular ballads. At home in the Pacific Northwest, Martha performs with several classical ensembles and as a soloist.

The Pacific Rim Gamelan, “Mariposa Tulip” The Pacific Rim Gamelan is an Indonesian orchestra, comprised of metal xylophones, drums, and gongs, which plays a rhythmic and colorful music of bell-like textures and deep gong resonances. Western audiences have flocked to hear gamelan music and have found it to be entrancing and captivating in its dynamic rhythmic energy. The ensemble, directed by University of Oregon Professor Robert Kyr, is an orchestra comprised of twenty musicians who perform on the beautifully crafted instruments of this Balinese gamelan, formally named “Gamelan Suranadi Indra Putra,” which is literally translated as “Gamelan Holy Springs: Ascent of The God of Rain.” Each member of the Pacific Rim Gamelan is both a composer and performer–hence, the repertoire of the ensemble is composed and performed by its members. In the Pacific Rim Gamelan, the musical cultures of Indonesia and North America are joined in the creation of a new music, which is cross-cultural and is composed by the community, which performs it.

Sandy Holder, piano “Elizabeth” “Fantasy For Piano #1” “Fantasy For Piano #2”

Sandy Holder is a pianist, piano instructor and a singer/songwriter. Sandy Holder earned her B.M. in piano from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and her M.M. from the University of Oregon School of Music. Sandy Holder has worked for many years as accompanist for The Eugene Symphony, The Eugene Opera, The Oregon Festival of American Music, The University of Oregon School of Music and the Oregon Symphony in Portland, Oregon. She is an avid supporter of “contemporary art music” and has premiered many works by living composers.

Nuju Laras Gamelan Music Ensemble, “In Expression” Gamelan broadly describes musical ensembles from Southeast Asia usually comprised of percussion instruments dominated by magnificent bronze gongs and metallophones mounted on intricately carved wooden frames. Nuju Laras plays traditional music from the royal courts and villages of Central Java and also new compositions by both Indonesian and international composers. Nuju Laras’ gamelan instruments include a forged bronze set from Central Java. Nuju Laras is a group of thirteen players learning both traditional and contemporary international gamelan music from Daniel W. Schmidt, an instructor of Central Javanese gamelan music and founder of the Berkeley Gamelan in California. Nuju Laras is a community gamelan players group and a performing arts ensemble of Eugene Chamber Theatre. Founded in 1990 and directed by Catherine Vandertuin, her emphasis is to offer unusual opportunities for participants to study and perform music and theatre influenced by Asian forms.

Oregon Women’s Choral Society “In Expression” Organized in 1934, the Women’s Choral Society (WCS) was chartered by the University of Oregon’s Mu Phi Epsilon alumnae. It was Eugene’s first all-women’s choir.

For the past sixty-two years, WCS has performed for many pageants, conventions, and community events including several concerts with the Eugene Gleemen, the Eugene Symphony, and during the opening celebrations of the Hult Center.

Early in our history the family of Maude Densmore, charter president and first accompanist, established an endowment in her memory for scholarships to U of O music students. Through the generosity and support of community patrons, a second annual scholarship program has also been established. We are always proud to present our award winners at one of our concerts each year. Many of our recipients have gone on to peforming arts competitions, and most recently, to the Miss America Pageant. It is our pleasure, with the assistance of those who continue to support our programs, to be a part of these students’ education and successes.

Since its beginning, WCS has continued to make three important contributions to the musical life of the local communities: