http://whyy.org/cms/onstageatcurtis/music-by-students-in-the-curtis-institutes-composition-department/

A recital of music by students at the Curtis Institute's Composition Department.

The program:

Tim Woos: Sextet
Alexandra von der Embse, oboe; Stanislav Chernyshev, clarinet
Zoe Martin-Doike, violin; Jessica T. Chang, viola
Rex Surany, double bass; Tim Woos, electronics
Tim Woos hails from New Haven, Vt. He is a student of Richard Danielpour and entered Curtis in 2010. Tim himself is at the keyboard for this part-acoustic, part-electronic work.

Thomas Oltarzewski: Three Spheres I
Stanislav Chernyshev, clarinet; Choha Kim & Yu-Ting Chen, violins
Hyeri Shin, viola; Tessa Seymour, cello
Thomas Oltarzewski, from Toms River, N.J., is a student of David Ludwig and entered Curtis in 2011. This work is based on an M.C. Escher print of the same title.

Daniel Temkin: Myths and Legends (selections)
Luosha Fang & Rebecca Anderson, violins
Ayane Kozasa & Jessica T. Chang, violas
Nathan Vickery & Gabriel Cabezas, cellos
Xavier Foley, double bass; Vinay Parameswaran, conductor
Daniel Temkin, from East Brunswick, N.J., is a student of Jennifer Higdon and entered Curtis in 2011. "Myths and Legends" was commissioned by and dedicated to Music from Angel Fire.

Mohammed Fairouz: Tahwidah
Alize Rozsnyai, soprano; Samuel Boutris, clarinet
Mohammed Fairouz hails from Watertown, Mass. and is a student of Richard Danielpour. He entered Curtis in 2011. Mohammed has this to say about his music:

"Tahwidah is the Arabic word for "Lullaby". The first idea for this little song came from discussions I had with Mahmoud Darwish about setting some fragments from his epic poem, A State of Siege, to music. This never materialized and Tahwidah, written in late 2008 was my first reaction to the poet's death that year. The lullaby is scored for soprano and clarinet and represents a nocturnal image of a woman singing to her love. The poem seems unusual for Darwish in that it is metered and resembles the 6th century form of ghazal. It is not until the last lines of the poem that Darwish breaks out of the meter and reveals that the woman has been singing to her son at his funeral."

Katerina Kramarchuk: Tides of Solitude
Julia Harguindey, bassoon; Anastasia Agapova, violin
Nathan Vickery, cello; Katerina Kramarchuk, piano
Katerina Kramarchuk, from Kishinev, Moldova, is a student of David Ludwig and entered Curtis in 2010. From Katerina's program notes: "Tides of Solitude" was written as a ballet piece for The Rock School for Dance Education. The music tries to convey some of the emotions one experiences as life's waves come and go.

Musical Word of the Week: Harmony
As you might imagine, this word has numerous applications; in music, it's defined thus:
a. any simultaneous combination of tones.
b. the simultaneous combination of tones, especially when blended into chords pleasing
to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
c. the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.