Last Updated October 6, 2011

Call for New and Returning Members.

It's never too early to assess interest in the NVFO for our 2012 summer concerts. We are looking for players who are adventurous, adaptable, inquisitive, and adept at taking on new instruments. Players should be reliable and able to honor their commitment to the group. We all depend on one another, so check your calendar closely before committing.

Purpose of the Ensemble.

The NVFO is an all-volunteer organization now in its fifth season. The purpose of the ensemble is to promote the New Violin Family through public performance and educational outreach, to provide players with experience performing in a unique orchestral string ensemble, and to foster a sense of community by performing benefit concerts for worthy organizations in Central New York. We also don't mind having a lot of fun in the process!

Open Seats for 2012.

At present, our needs are represented by the word "open" in the orchestra roster on the right side of this page. These positions are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Acceptance is based on recommendation of orchestra members in good standing or by invitation. There is no charge for the use of an instrument.

Requirements for Participation.

We will lend you a New Family instrument for the summer. We ask that you take good care of it, learn your music, and attend all rehearsals. You will become a de facto spokesperson for the New Violin Family, so we ask that you familiarize yourself with the history and goals of the organization. Much of this can be done simply by browsing this web site.

We will also ask you to sign a release for the use of your likeness and performance in the audio and video recordings we make each summer. This release is for non-commercial use only, such as advertising and promotion of the New Violin Family Orchestra (like the video clip on our home page).

Page last updated: February 9, 2012
Program notes are incomplete.

Suite No. 1 for unaccompanied cello, BWV 1007

The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach were most likely composed during his Coethen period (1717–1723). The suites enjoy great popularity today, and have been arranged for any number of different instruments, but, like so many of Bach's works, the cello suites languished in obscurity for years after his death. The attention of the musical world was again attracted to these masterpieces when Pablo Casals rediscovered and recorded them in the mid-1920s. The compositions are essentially dance suites, each starting with a Prelude followed by various courtly dances like Allemandes, Courantes, and Sarabandes. In the fifth movement, the dances always come in pairs (Menuetts in the 1st Suite), leading to some confusion as the whether the suites have six movements or seven.

There is a school of thought that the suites might not have been written for the cello at all, but for a smaller variation called a violoncello piccolo or an even smaller instrument called a violoncello da spalla. With the advent of contrabasses tuned in fifths exactly one ocatve below the cello, the possibility arises of playing the suites on larger instruments not usually thought of as solo instruments. As in Bach's time, we are again experiencing a surge of interest in alternative instruments both old and new with performances enough to delight any musical taste.

Oblivion

Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992), a composer of Argentinian descent, elevated the tango into a new form that incorporated elements of jazz with classical elements such as dissonance and counterpoint. His teachers included Alberto Ginastera and the legendary French pedagog, Nadia Boulanger, who advised Piazzolla to put more of himself into his music and not imitate Stravinsky or Ravel.

Oblivion was composed in 1982 as the main theme of Marco Bellochio’s film "Henry IV, the Mad King", starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. Since then, Oblivion has become one of Piazzollas most popular compositions, its haunting melody supported by an accompaniment of rich string writing. While musicologists might argue whether the work is actually a tango or not, or whether it has been influenced by jazz and rock and roll or not, it emphasizes the composer's great talent for meldody and classical chamber settings. On the movie soundtrack, the main theme is heard in the Bandoneon, Piazzolla's own instrument, but it has been arranged to feature any number of different instruments. The solo part is often played by a bowed string instrument, but certainly none like the one you will hear tonight.

Concerto for Contrabass in F# minor, Opus 3

Dances from the Aladdin Suite, FS 89

First performed on February 5, 1919, Aladdin was originally written to accompany a production of Oehlenschläger's fairy tale of the same name. It was Nielsen's 11th work of incidental music, commissioned by the Royal Copenhagen Ballet Theater where Nielsen played in the second violin section. The premiere of the work was drastically shortened, with many of the 31 musical numbers deleted, their order changed, and the orchestra moved from the pit to a location on the stage under a large staircase. Nielsen was so incensed he insisted that his name be withdrawn as the composer of the works; consequently, he never witnessed his music performed according to his conceptions.

The complete score, lasting over 80 minutes, is Nielsen's longest orchestral work, but it is now the much shorter suite, arranged and published in 1940 after the composer's death, that is most often performed. The movements are dances attributed to the Chinese, Hindus, Africans, and other individuals or groups of people in exotic places or circumstances. As far as we know, Nielsen never set foot in Africa or Asia, but his pieces are wonderfully evocative and create a sense of appropriateness that is rather amazing.

Intermezzo for String Nonet, opus 8

Fuga y Misterio

The Fuga y Misterio is an intriguing combination of intense fugal writing over the rhythmic frame of a tango, followed by a lyrical "mystery" theme. The music comes from fifth scene of Piazzolla's 1968 chamber opera, María de Buenos Aires, which finds the heroine wandering alone at night through the heart of that Argentine city. This excerpt is often programmed alone, and frequently ends with a coda added by the arranger. Over 100 different versions of this piece for almost any ensemble imaginable can be found on YouTube alone. This is something the composer might have enjoyed, for in his score, he calls upon some of the players to improvise over the harmonic structure. The piece has become a favorite of NVFO audiences as a concert-closer, and in keeping with the composer's wishes for improvised portions, tonight's reprise offers not one, but two special delights.

Last Updated: May 3, 2012

Please note changes in the last two rehearsals.

Final 2012 Rehearsal and Concert Schedule

Unless otherwise noted, all rehearsals will be downstairs in the Fellowship Room of St. Luke Lutheran Church, 109 Oak Avenue, Ithaca.

Tuesday, June 12, 2011; 8:00 p.m. . . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Tuesday, June 19, 2011; 8:00 p.m. . . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Tuesday, June 26, 2011; 8:00 p.m. . . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Tuesday, July 3, 2011; 8:00 p.m. .. . . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Tuesday, July 10, 2011; 8:00 p.m. .. . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Tuesday, July 17, 2011; 8:00 p.m. .. . . . . Fellowship Room, St. Luke
Wednesday, July 25, 2011; 8:00 p.m.. . . CSMA Third Floor Hall
Thursday, July 26, 2011; 8:00 p.m . . . . . CSMA Third Floor Hall

Concert Date and Location.

Saturday, July 28, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Benefit Concert for the Community School of Music and Arts
CSMA Third Floor Performance Hall
330 East State Street/Martin Luther King Street
Ithaca, NY 14850