Concert Review: 'Woodwind Motion'

Concert Review:
Composers Concordance
'Woodwind Motion'
Greenwich House Music School
November 5, 2021


The success of mashing up two very different forces is usually a crapshoot.  But, at Composers Concordance’s “Woodwind Motion” concert, featuring the prestigious ‘Sylvan Winds’ woodwind quintet merging with Max Pollak and his ingenious tap/modern dance group, everything clicked. The two ensembles worked together in distinctive synchronicity, as if they’ve done it multiple times before (this was their first collaboration).  The opening works, Dan Cooper’s “I and I” and Stanley Babin’s “Overture”, were an upbeat exemplar in showing this effective alliance.

One of the more unprecedented pieces on the program was Gene Pritsker’s lively and hypnotic “Serendipity” in which the choreography is scored out for the dancers to use with music stands.  Not your everyday way of doing it, but with the tapping and overall body percussion effects, the piece was successfully effective and engaging.

Three, more tranquil works on the program included Carolyn Steinberg’s wistful “The Wind”, Faye-Ellen Silverman’s insouciant “The Story of Trees” and David Shohl’s brisk and scattering “Aeolus”.  All three were graced with a more abstract and flowing choreography from the dancers that fit the music very well.

“Song for An Unconquerable Soul” by Anthony Branker is a touching dedication to a friend who, despite her challenging health issues, in the composer’s words “Nothing will ever defeat her.”  Both the music and choreography effectively show this uneasiness of struggle which slowly evolves to a mood of welcome respite.

The concert’s big finale was Carlton Holmes’ buoyant “Allusions of Pop Culture”, in which all five dancers got to strut their stuff through effective solo dance spots and impeccable unisons as the ’Sylvan Winds’ egged them along, ending surprisingly with more of a ‘query’ rather than the stereotypical ‘bang’.

Once again, Composers Concordance did good in the promoting of new music in this distinctive concert.  And long may they go on!



Featuring:

Sylvan Winds
Svjetlana Kabalin - flute
Kathy Halvorson, oboe
Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet
Gina Cuffari, bassoon
Zohar Schondorf, horn

Dancers/Choreographers
Max Pollak
Sydney Burtis
Tommy Wasiuta
Tatum Buford
Dario Natarelli


- The Off Kilter Critic

 

 

Photo by Peter Fokas

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