Finding Our Connection

Born in Florence in 1587, Francesca Caccini was an Italian composer, singer, and teacher — one of only a handful of women in 17th-century Europe whose compositions were published. The most significant of her work was produced during her long employment at the Medici court in Florence, where she was regarded as one of the finest musicians of her generation. Her collection Il primo libro delle musiche (1618), from which tonight's piece is drawn, stands as a landmark publication: the first solo music book published by a woman composer. Caccini's music is intimate, expressive, and richly ornamented — a direct window into the vocal world of early Baroque Italy.

Dame Elizabeth Maconchy was born in Hertfordshire to Irish parents and grew up in rural Ireland, composing from the age of six. She studied at the Royal College of Music under Ralph Vaughan Williams, who called her one of the most gifted students he had taught — yet she was denied the prestigious Mendelssohn Scholarship on the grounds that she would "only get married and never write another note." She went on to complete her studies in Prague, where she encountered the modernism of Bartók, whose influence on her contrapuntal language proved lasting. A composer of remarkable productivity and independence, Maconchy wrote over 200 works in a nearly sixty-year career, and was appointed Dame of the British Empire in 1987. Three Bagatelles was composed in 1972 — deep in this prolific middle period — and written as a personal tribute to the great British oboist Evelyn Rothwell. The three compact miniatures — Allegro, Poco lento, and Vivo — are a study in compression and expressivity, with a particularly searching slow movement at the centre.

Born in Montréal and now based in Berlin, Samy Moussa is one of the most celebrated Canadian composers of his generation. He studied at the Université de Montréal and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, with further study under Matthias Pintscher, Pascal Dusapin, and Pierre Boulez. His works have been premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and many of the world's leading ensembles. He has served as Composer-in-Residence with the Helsinki Philharmonic and Artist-in-Residence at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and his awards include the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize (2013), the Hindemith Prize (2017), and a Villa Massimo Fellowship (2018). Jocelyn Morlock in memoriam was written as a tribute to the Vancouver composer Jocelyn Morlock, who passed away in 2023 — a colleague for whom Moussa had deep admiration.

Jean Coulthard, OC, OBC, was a pioneering Canadian composer and the first from Canada's West Coast to receive wide international recognition. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she produced more than 350 compositions remarkable for their integrity, expressive purity, and deeply emotional language — music that is often impressionistic and deeply rooted in the landscapes of British Columbia. She studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and taught at the University of British Columbia for twenty-six years, shaping generations of Canadian musicians. Shizen: Three Nature Sketches from Japan, composed in 1979, evokes wind, stillness, and celebration through the oboe's lyrical voice.

Alyssa Morris is an American composer and oboist whose music is performed extensively around the world. Described by Fanfare as bringing "wit, a true melodic gift, an ability to evoke a range of moods, and a strong imagination," her chamber music has been presented at the International Double Reed Society Convention, the Japan Double Reed Society Convention, the National Flute Association Convention, and many others. She serves as Associate Professor of Oboe and Music Theory at Kansas State University and is principal oboist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra. A recipient of the International Barlow Composition Commission, she was Composer-in-Residence for the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra's 2020–21 season. The Chrysalis Sonata — originally titled Chrysalis — was commissioned by Carolyn Hove, principal English horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.