Faculty Artist Concert Series
7:30PM Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023
UCO Jazz Lab
Beyond Borders
Eclipse Chamber Ensemble
Natalie Syring, flute
Gerald Warlick, oboe
Jenny Rucker, clarinet
Miho Fisher, piano
PROGRAM
Trio pour Flûte, Hautbois, et Clarinette avec accompagnement de Piano (1892)
Louis-Adolphe Mayeur (1837-1894)
Morning Dew (2022)
(World premiere–commissioned by Eclipse)
Dillan Francis (b. 1990)
Suite dans le style ancient, Op. 127 (1928)
Mel Bonis (1858-1937)
- Prélude
- Fuguette
- Choral
- Divertissement
INTERMISSION
Na Berdyczów (2012)
Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska (b. 1989)
Relative Theory (2019)
Robert Patterson (b. 1970)
- Pascal’s Triangle
- Noether’s Theorem
- Einstein’s Daydream
- The Hammers of Pythagoras
ABOUT ECLIPSE

left to right: Miho Fisher, piano; Natalie Syring, flute; Gerald Warlick, oboe; Jenny Rucker, clarinet
Eclipse is a unique chamber ensemble consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, and piano. The members of Eclipse are Natalie Syring, flute; Gerald Warlick, oboe; Jenny Rucker, clarinet; and Miho Fisher, piano. Eclipse has been together as an ensemble for about 9 years. Our ensemble began at Oklahoma Christian University, where we are all faculty members. We are also members of the Oklahoma Community Orchestra, and we also have connections to the University of Central Oklahoma—either degrees or as faculty members. It would be safe to say that this is the only long-term ensemble of this instrumentation in Oklahoma, and most likely in a multi-state region—even possibly in the US. Needless to say, there is not a lot of music written for our combination of instruments. We have played the standard pieces that exist—mostly from the late Romantic or early 20th century—so part of our journey is always the exploration and search for new repertoire. We have enjoyed practicing and preparing this brand-new program for you, which includes many premieres and first-time performances. We hope you enjoy listening!
Gerald Warlick performs regularly as principal oboist with the Enid Symphony Orchestra, the Oklahoma Community Orchestra and chamber music groups Cimarron Wind Quintet and Eclipse. He is also an adjunct professor of oboe at Oklahoma Christian University. Formerly, Mr. Warlick played oboe with the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra, the Lawton Philharmonic and Lyric Theatre. Mr. Warlick retired as a public-school music educator and taught oboe at the University of Central Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene University. His oboe instructors include Francine Schutzman, Helen Baumgartner and Richard Killmer.
Miho Fisher is a collaborative pianist from Japan, serving as a staff accompanist at Oklahoma Christian University. She studied at the University of North Texas and the University of Central Oklahoma under Steven Harlos and Valery Kuleshov, and completed BM/MM in Piano Performance. She was a prize winner of the 2004 Van Cliburn IPCOA competition and appeared in UCO’s FACS, CollabFest at UNT, among others. She is a pianist for the Oklahoma Community Orchestra, a member of the woodwind/piano quartet Eclipse, and serves as a company pianist at Oklahoma City Ballet. Most recently, Miho was awarded as the Third Place Winner of the 2022 PRCCP Virtual International Collaborative Piano Competition.
Jennifer “Jenny” Rucker has been the principal clarinetist with the Oklahoma Community Orchestra since its inception in 1982. She is a frequent substitute for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra, playing clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone. In addition, Jennifer has competed in the International Clarinet Association’s “Clarinetfest” Orchestral Excerpt Competitions, where in 2006-2008, and 2010, was chosen as a semifinalist, and in 2007, won second place in Vancouver, B.C. Jenny earned both her Bachelor’s and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of the Eclipse Quartet, the Cimarron Wind Quintet, The Lyric Theatre Orchestra, and the Oklahoma Chamber Symphony. She is currently an adjunct clarinet instructor at Oklahoma Christian University and the University of Central Oklahoma and has a highly successful private clarinet studio at her home in Edmond. Jenny was recently chosen by audition, to perform the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, K.622, with the Oklahoma Chamber Symphony, on May 6, 7:30 pm at the First Church of OKC on 5th and Broadway, in downtown OKC.
Natalie Syring is on the faculty of the University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Christian University, and Herbert Armstrong College, where she teaches both flute and piano. Ms. Syring performs professionally with the chamber group Eclipse and is a member of the Oklahoma Community Orchestra. She is also a baroque flutist with the Brisch Center for Historical Performance. She is the founder and conductor of the Oklahoma Flute Society Honor Flute Choirs for youth in grades 7-12, and has been leading these ensembles for 19 years. Ms. Syring is a member of the Oklahoma Flute Society, the OKC Pianists’ Club, the Music Teacher National Association, and the National Flute Association—playing at national conferences in Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Kansas City. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree (University of S.D.) and a Master of Flute Performance degree (Sam Houston State University).
PROGRAM NOTES
About the Music and the Composers
Trio pour Flûte, Hautbois, et Clarinette avec accompagnement de Piano (1892)
Louis-Adolphe Mayeur (1837-1894)
Little has been written about Belgian-born Louis Mayeur. He studied clarinet at the Paris Conservatoire with Klosé and was in Adolphe Sax’s first saxophone studio, once it opened in 1860. He went on to become one of the most brilliant saxophone performers of his era and is probably best known today for the repertoire he wrote for that instrument. Few of his pieces have been recorded and fewer appear to be in print.
As a performer, he appeared with both the Brussels Opera and the Paris Opera (1871), and spent many years in the French military bands. In 1879 he is listed as a member of Taffanel’s illustrious quintet as a clarinetist.
This Trio is sometimes known by an alternate name of “Quartet for Piano and Winds.” It is scored for the three upper wind voices, which in itself is somewhat unique. The piano part is more of an accompaniment that supports the solo lines of the wind instruments but is still an integral part of the composition. The composition makes no innovative musical statement but rather is a trifle of a showcase that reminds one of the popular parlor music of the late 19th century.
Morning Dew (commissioned by Eclipse in 2022)
Dillan Francis (b. 1990)
Dillan Francis (b. 1990) is an Oklahoma-based musician specializing in composition, conducting, and woodwind performance. As a composer, his works often focus on combining the sounds of popular music with the form and development of classical music. Dillan’s concerto for bass clarinet, The Traveling Bass Clarinetist, will premiere with the Oklahoma City University Wind Ensemble in late January 2023 with Dillan as the soloist.
Morning Dew explores the peaceful serenity and joyfulness of watching the dew form on the grass in the early hours of the morning. The piece begins before the sun rises in the cool of the morning with the listener gazing out and reflecting on the dew drops with a cup of coffee or tea in hand. As the sun rises, color begins to fill the drops and blades of grass, bringing warmth to the morning. As the sun completes its ascent, the dew on the grass begins to sparkle and dance in the light of the morning.
Suite dans le style ancient (1928)
Mel Bonis (1858-1937)
The life of Mélanie Bonis could be compared to a modern-day soap opera. She was born into a middle-class Parisian family with no particular musical background or connections to the music world. Mélanie taught herself the piano and started to compose, but she was 12 before her parents finally consented to music lessons. At age 16, she studied with César Franck. He showed interest in her compositions and convinced her parents to send her to the Conservatoire, although at this time period, musical composition could not be a profession for a woman, as it was believed that a woman could not compose anything of value. Mélanie gave herself the pseudonym Mel Bonis to avoid any feminine connotation in her name.
At the Conservatoire, Mélanie met and fell in love with Amédée Landély Hettich, a 22-year-old student, poet, and journalist. This relationship was strongly opposed by Mélanie’s parents, who forced her to leave the Conservatoire. Her family arranged a marriage to Albert Domange, a successful and materialistic businessman, twice widowed, father of five boys and 25 years her senior. For many years, Mélanie devoted her life to her family duties, including bearing three children, managing a large family and a staff of 12 people, traveling and entertaining. Mélanie had little time for music and her husband and family had no interest in it.
At some point in her marriage, Mélanie happened to meet Hettich again. He encouraged her to return to music and composition and introduced her to Alphonse Leduc, her future publisher. She began to have some success with her music and also began collaborating with Hettich, setting his poems to music. Although they resisted for some time, the passion they had for each other was still present and they eventually gave into the temptation and Mel became pregnant. Because of the accepted societal rules of the time, this illegitimate daughter was born in secrecy and Mel was not able to legally recognize her. The ordeal took a great toll on Mélanie, who turned to prayers and musical creation to try to overcome her depression.
The Suite dans le style ancient (Suite in the Old Style), exists in at least three versions, scored for different instrumentations and also with different movements and/or movement titles. The piece is not really a suite of dances, as the title suggests. The movements nod to forms of the “old style” (the Fugette), but also portray the lush and emotional phrasing that is notable in the music of Mel Bonis.
Na Berdyczów (2012)
Ewa Fabiańska -Jelińska (b. 1989)
Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska (b. 1989) began studying composition at an early age in Torun, Poland. She graduated with Honors from the Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, Poland, where she also earned a Ph.D. in Composition (2016) after postgraduate composition study at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (2014).
The artist has won numerous national and international competitions for composers, as well as scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the Minister of Science and Higher Education. Her compositions are performed very often in Poland and have been featured at numerous international festivals and concerts around the world. (See her full bio for a complete list of honors and awards).
In 2017/2018 Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska was Composer-in-Residence of the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Society and two-time winner of Program Music of Our Time organized by The Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music. The artist is the President of the Poznań Branch of the Polish Composers Union and a member of the Polish Society of Contemporary Music. She works at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music (Poznań, Poland) as an assistant professor.
About Na Berdyczów: “The piece “Na Berdyczów” for flute, oboe, clarinet, and piano was written in 2012 when I was a student in the composition class. The composition consists of three movements inspired by Ukrainian dances (hopak, dumka, kozak), which are built on the principle of contrast – from the presence of cantilena to motor and virtuoso elements, as well as the use of references to Ukrainian folk music.”
Relative Theory (2019)
Robert Patterson (b. 1970)
Robert Paterson is described by the press as “a modern-day master” and his music is often described as “the highlight of the program” (The New York Times). Paterson’s music is well-known for his reverence for nature, his puckish sense of humor, as well as consistent praise that comes from audiences and artists alike. Named Composer of The Year by The Classical Recording Foundation, his music is often found on playlists on National Public Radio as well as NPR’s Performance Today. Paterson’s music has been performed by orchestras, operas and choirs throughout the world. Recent & upcoming performances include the Oratorio Society of New York’s Carnegie Hall debut of Whitman’s America, the New York Choral Consortium’s “Big Sing” premiere of Look to the Sky, the Ember Choral Arts premiere of Listen, and the New Amsterdam Singers premiere of I Go Among Trees. Paterson’s awards include the A.I. duPont Composer’s Award from the Delaware Symphony, a three-year Music Alive grant from the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA. His favorite residencies include Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and the Aaron Copland House. Robert is the artistic director of the Mostly Modern Festival in the USA and in The Netherlands. For more information, visit robertpaterson.com.
Relative Theory is a four-movement, ca. 12-minute work for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling English horn), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), and piano. Each movement is inspired by a mathematician or theoretical physicist. I was inspired by a story that the commissioning ensemble, the Exponential Ensemble, told me about how much they enjoy performing programs for children that relate math to music. In a fun, yet hopefully meaningful way, the movements of my piece are designed to draw parallels between these two distinct, but interrelated worlds.
The title Relative Theory is a play on words: it loosely refers to Albert Einstein’s famous Special Theory of Relativity, but also to musical theories and theoretical principles that are used between each of the movements. All of these movements are inspired by mathematicians or theoretical physicists, and their theorems and theories inspire the music itself.
In Pascal’s Triangle, triads and intervallic content are structured so as to use binomial coefficients in musical ways. In Noether’s Theorem, the music mirrors her theorem, which states that every differentiable symmetry of the action of a physical system has a corresponding conservation law. Einstein’s Daydream, perhaps the most fanciful movement, quotes a few themes from Beethoven, J.S. Bach and Mozart, three composers whose music Einstein loved to play on his violin. The work ends with a movement entitled The Hammers of Pythagoras, inspired by a legendary, apocryphal but nevertheless playful tale of Pythagoras passing by a blacksmith at work one day, and discovering that musical notes could be translated into mathematical equations.
There are some fascinating programmatic relations that dictate how thematic materials are used in various movements. Albert Einstein thought very highly of Emmy Noether, a mathematician who never achieved the fame she deserved because she was female. In fact, some of her theories inspired Einstein. Therefore, some of the themes in the second movement are used in the third. Einstein and Pythagoras both figure prominently in music history, albeit for different reasons, so themes from each of these movements permeate back and forth.
Relative Theory was commissioned by the Exponential Ensemble, with funding from the New York State Council on The Arts (NYSCA).
Tonight’s FACS performance is sponsored by Larry and Leah Westmoreland.
The UCO School of Music’s Faculty Artist Concert Series (FACS) showcases faculty musicians while also raising scholarship funds for UCO students. Proceeds from every performance generate scholarship funds to support UCO School of Music students in financial need.
To make an additional tax-deductible donation to the School of Music, visit centralconnection.org/facs and scroll to the bottom of the page.
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