Voices from the Other Side
Margi Griebling-Haigh composer
Arvo Pärt composer
Heitor Villa-Lobos composer
Gabrielle Haigh soprano
Erie Coast Cellists | Steven Smith conductor
VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE is a collection of evocative chamber works performed by cello octet — several with soprano soloist Gabrielle Haigh. Included are Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli-style Fratres as well as his L’abbé Agathon, inspired by the remains of a 12th-century leper hospital near Beauvais, France; as well as the beloved Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Two works by American composer Margi Griebling-Haigh are featured: the title piece is a setting of three otherworldly poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and a single-movement work called Cantilena allows the cellists to shine individually as well as together. Griebling-Haigh’s music has been praised for memorable melodies and strong rhythms; her colorful scoring and harmonic language have been compared to Barber, Ravel, and Poulenc.
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Track Listing & Credits
# | Title | Composer | Performer | |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Voices from the Other Side: Some Things Are Dark | Margi Griebling-Haigh | Edna St. Vincent Millay, lyrics; Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | Khari Joyner, David Ellis, Gabriel Ramos, Robert Nicholson, Julie Myers King, Jeffrey Singler, Ralph Curry, Richard Weiss | 5:47 |
02 | Voices from the Other Side: Prayer to Persephone | Margi Griebling-Haigh | Edna St. Vincent Millay, lyrics; Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | Khari Joyner, David Ellis, Gabriel Ramos, Robert Nicholson, Julie Myers King, Jeffrey Singler, Ralph Curry, Richard Weiss | 3:33 |
03 | Voices from the Other Side: The Curse | Margi Griebling-Haigh | Edna St. Vincent Millay, lyrics; Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | Khari Joyner, David Ellis, Gabriel Ramos, Robert Nicholson, Julie Myers King, Jeffrey Singler, Ralph Curry, Richard Weiss | 8:14 |
04 | Fratres | Arvo Pärt | Steven Smith, conductor; Erie Coast Cellists | Robert Nicholson, Jeffrey Singler, Julie Myers King, Gabriel Ramos, Khari Joyner, Richard Weiss, David Ellis, Ralph Curry | 10:10 |
05 | Cantilena | Margi Griebling-Haigh | Steven Smith, conductor; Erie Coast Cellists | Ralph Curry, Khari Joyner, Jeffrey Singler, Richard Weiss, David Ellis, Gabriel Ramos, Julie Myers King, Robert Nicholson | 13:20 |
06 | L’Abbé Agathon | Arvo Pärt | Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | David Ellis, Gabriel Ramos, Robert Nicholson, Jeffrey Singler, Ralph Curry, Julie Myers King, Richard Weiss, Khari Joyner | 15:37 |
07 | Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5: I. Aria (Cantilena) | Heitor Villa-Lobos | Ruth V. Corrêa, lyrics; Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | Richard Weiss, Ralph Curry, Khari Joyner, Julie Myers King, Jeffrey Singler, Robert Nicholson, Gabriel Ramos, David Ellis | 6:27 |
08 | Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5: II. Dansa (Martelo) | Heitor Villa-Lobos | Manuel Bandeira, lyrics; Steven Smith, conductor; Gabrielle Haigh, soprano; Erie Coast Cellists | Richard Weiss, Ralph Curry, Khari Joyner, Julie Myers King, Jeffrey Singler, Robert Nicholson, Gabriel Ramos, David Ellis | 5:13 |
Recorded August 15-17, 2023 at Federated Church in Chagrin Falls OH
Session Producer & Engineer David v. R. Bowles, Swineshead Productions
Editing, Mixing & Mastering David v. R. Bowles, Swineshead Productions
Executive Producer Bob Lord
VP of A&R Brandon MacNeil
A&R Chris Robinson
VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Kacie Brown
Digital Marketing Manager Brett Iannucci
Artist Information
![](https://www.navonarecords.com/nv/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Margi-Griebling-Haigh-300x300.jpg)
Margi Griebling-Haigh
Margi Griebling-Haigh is an American composer based in Cleveland OH. Her compositions are driven by memorable melodies and strong rhythms, bound together by a cohesive formal structure. Her impressionistic use of musical color and harmonic language have inspired comparisons to Barber, Ravel, and Poulenc. Her music has been praised for its “rich and haunting personality” and “sinuous and impassioned conversations” (Gramophone Magazine) as well as for “zesty rhythmic shapes and exotic harmonic language” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Her catalog includes numerous art songs and chamber music compositions, orchestral works, narrated dramatic works, and opera.
![Steven-Smith](https://www.navonarecords.com/nv/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Steven-Smith.jpg)
Steven Smith
Steven Smith has served as music director of the GRAMMY® Award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony since 2004, and since 2014 also as artistic director of NEOSonicFest, an annual festival of contemporary music and dance performances organized by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Smith concluded his acclaimed tenure as music director of Virginia’s Richmond Symphony in June 2019. Under his nine year artistic leadership, the Richmond Symphony enjoyed critical success, marked new records in both subscription and single-ticket sales, greatly expanded community engagement activities, important collaborations with universities, cultural institutions, and governmental bodies from the City of Richmond to the Virginia legislature. In 2013, he completed a 14-year tenure as music director of the Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus, a period recognized for its artistic growth, financial stability, and enthusiastic community support.
![Gabrielle-Haigh](https://www.navonarecords.com/nv/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Gabrielle-Haigh.jpg)
Gabrielle Haigh
Soprano Gabrielle Haigh enjoys a multifaceted career in art song, vocal chamber music, opera, and concert work. Her background in chamber music, in particular, has given her a passion for the collaborative process. Haigh’s extra-musical interests include the study of languages, classical history and philosophy, and lyric poetry. She holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, where she read Classics and served as a soloist and choral scholar in the renowned Choir of Clare College, and from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Ralph Curry
Before coming to the Cleveland Orchestra, Ralph Curry cut short his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music to accept a one-year substitute cello position with the New York Philharmonic. He held the principal cello chair of the Colorado Philharmonic and performed as a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra before joining the Cleveland Orchestra in 1978. Curry has appeared as a soloist with the Colorado Philharmonic and with the symphony orchestras of Detroit and Pittsburgh.
David Ellis
A conductor, cellist, and viola da gambist, David B. Ellis has performed repertoire ranging from Renaissance to Contemporary. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello performance, a Master of Music degree in Historical Performance, and a Master of Music degree in Orchestra Conducting — all from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music — where he studied with Raphael Jimenez, Tim Weiss, and Catharina Meints, and assembled and directed the Oberlin Baroque Orchestra. As a viola da gambist and baroque cellist, Ellis has performed in many ensembles in Ohio and throughout the United States, including The Newberry Consort, Catacoustic, Les Délices, Three Notch’d Road, Apollo’s Fire, Burning River Baroque, and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. As a modern cellist, Ellis has played in ensembles featuring a wide range of genres, including but not limited to the Akron Symphony and Cleveland Chamber Symphony. As a conductor, Ellis has served as director of the CWRU Case Camerata Chamber Orchestra and executive and artistic director for Earth and Air: String Orchestra. Ellis is a passionate teacher, and in addition to maintaining a small private studio of cellists and viola da gambists, he has taught classes on numerous topics and served as a faculty member at the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s annual Conclave. Ellis is a native of Solon OH, and currently resides in Cleveland.
Khari Joyner
Described by the New York Times as “eloquently plangent, making a powerful impact,” Khari Joyner has a following as a versatile concert cellist, chamber musician, and artistic ambassador. His guest appearances have included performances of the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in A Minor and Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, earning rave reviews.
Julie Myers King
Julie Myers King is a member of the Akron Symphony, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, the Blossom Festival Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Athena String Quartet. She holds degrees in cello performance from Indiana University and Louisiana State University. She is an active freelancer in the Northeast Ohio area, and spent 13 winters as the assistant principal cellist of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. In addition, she performs frequently at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. She has been on the faculty of The Music Settlement since 1993. She resides in Cleveland Heights with her husband, Richard, their children Charlie and Amelia and miniature poodle, Ernie.
Robert Nicholson
Cleveland-based cellist Robert Nicholson has performed and taught around the globe. As a chamber musician, he has performed in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including as a founding member of both original and traditional ensembles, from historical performance practice to new commissions and chamber improvisation. A member of the Erie Philharmonic, he is in frequent demand as section member and principal by orchestras across the region.
Gabriel Ramos
California native Gabriel Ramos is a member of the Louisville Orchestra and has also performed as a member of the Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras, as well as the North Carolina and Charlotte Symphonies and New World Symphony in Florida. He has participated in the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Sitka International Cello Seminar.
Jeff Singler
Cellist Jeff Singler regularly appears with the Columbus Symphony and the Erie Philharmonic, and as principal cellist of Ashland Symphony and Warren Philharmonic. He also performs regularly with the West Virginia Symphony, Akron Symphony, and Youngstown Symphony.
Singler is an avid chamber musician, performing as a member of the Lake Effect Piano Trio, Ashland Symphony Quartet, Obsidian Quartet, with Prism Jazz Ensemble, and on the She Scores! Festival. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has taught at both Youngstown State University and Ohio University. He maintains a private cello studio and teaches throughout northeast Ohio, as well as at The Music Settlement in Cleveland.
Richard Weiss
Richard Weiss is first assistant principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. While in high school, he was first prize winner of the Music Teachers National Association competition and was concerto soloist at the Tanglewood Festival. Admitted to the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester on full merit scholarship, he was chosen to perform in the cello section of the Rochester Philharmonic while attending school. He won an audition to join the Cleveland Orchestra during his senior year at Eastman. Weiss is a founding member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio. He has performed many times as concerto soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra and several other orchestras.