
She is an original member of Summit Brass and a founding member of Chicago Chamber Musicians, whose recording of all-Mozart works, including the Horn Quintet, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006. He has performed as principal clarinet at the Brevard Music Center each summer since 1979 and gives solo recitals and master classes throughout the world.Īn alumna of Northwestern, Gail Williams has served on the Bienen School faculty since 1989. Prior to joining the Bienen School faculty in 2005, Steven Cohen served as principal clarinet and frequent soloist with the New Orleans Symphony, later known as the Louisiana Philharmonic.
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The recital also will be presented as a free live stream. Tickets to the May 10 concert are $8 for the general public and $5 for full-time students with valid ID and may be purchased from the Bienen School Ticket Office by visiting or calling 84. I am thankful to be their musical colleague, and also their friend.” The music is at various times thoughtful and subdued, while other times virtuosic and celebratory. “Both of them have been incredibly supportive of my music, and I chose to recognize that relationship by quoting several of those collaborative pieces in, while also writing music that reflected upon their combined contributions to the Northwestern students and community. “I am extremely honored to be able to be a part of Gail and Steve’s joint retirement recital from Northwestern,” he said. “It's exciting and yet bittersweet to share the stage one last time with some of my favorite performers, composers and dear, dear friends,” Cohen said of his final performance as a faculty member.Ĭomposer James Stephenson similarly reflected on his relationship with the musicians. Ukrainian-Australian composer Catherine Likhuta’s emotive “Lesions” characterizes her mother’s journey with multiple sclerosis and meditates upon the stages of grappling with incurable illness and the overture from Johann Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus” for clarinet quintet adapts the operetta’s famous waltz for five wind instruments. Carl Nielsen’s “Humoresque Bagatelles” comprises a collection of six spirited movements thought to have been written with the composer’s children in mind. In addition to the premieres, the recital will feature other works for winds, percussion and piano.

“Gail’s magnificent sound and generous spirit have always been an inspiration to me.”

It is a “slow, somewhat mournful piece, perhaps to reflect these difficult times,” he said. In a similar fashion, Wilson wrote “Amid the sadness…” to honor his friendship with Williams. But his roots as the son of a fantastic saxophonist/clarinetist/educator who was steeped in jazz, combined with the time he spent as clarinet professor at Loyola University in New Orleans and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, qualifies him to demonstrate the depth of the blues in his soul.” “His work as a virtuosic clarinetist in the world of classical music is obvious to all. “Gonna Take That Train Home” intends to capture “the vibrant spirit of Steve and some of the musical experiences he has been exposed to during his musical career and life,” said Goines.

Ryan Center for the Musical Arts at 70 Arts Circle Drive on Northwestern’s Evanston campus.Ĭohen and Williams’s program notably features three world premieres: Victor Goines’s “Gonna Take That Train Home,” commissioned by Steven Cohen, a former teacher of Goines James Stephenson’s “RE:NU” trio for clarinet, horn and percussion and “Amid the sadness…” a work for horn and strings by Dana Wilson. at Galvin Recital Hall, located in the Patrick G. The performance will take place on Tuesday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. Their colleagues and students join them in concert, with Director of Jazz Studies Victor Goines, Daniel Rosman, Jackson Brown and Samantha Winkler on clarinet, She-e Wu on percussion and Kay Kim on piano. Williams taught 33 years and Cohen 17 years at the Bienen School. Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music faculty clarinetist Steven Cohen and hornist Gail Williams will perform a final recital together in May before they retire from Northwestern University, culminating a combined 50 years of service.
