music for

woodwinds

 

scott pender

 

 

OVERVIEW

 

Navona Records proudly presents MUSIC FOR WOODWINDS from composer Scott Pender, his fourth appearance on the label. On this album, Pender showcases his chamber works for woodwinds from the last thirty years in ensemble combinations both common and unfamiliar.

 

The Washington Post has praised Pender’s “good ear for melody and keen sense for the dramatic.” The music on this album is no different: lyricism abounds throughout. In the lighthearted Kimchi Dreams for two clarinets and bassoon, Pender conjures gentle, dreamy imagery, balancing two lyrical pieces with two quirky, rhythmically charged ones. The cinematic Variations for Oboe & Piano uses the classic theme-and-variations form to paint a broad canvas which dissolves into a veiled memory at the end. The dramatic Suite for Woodwind Quintet features bubbling, energetic outer movements surrounding a contemplative Adagio. The lower registers are used to great effect in rich, open chordal writing. The most candid and emotional work on the album, Lyric Set for bassoon and piano, fully exploits the wide range of the bassoon. The movements carry descriptive titles: from the flowing opening of “In the Tide of Times,” followed by the reflective simplicity of “Every Day Is Saturday” – then the stubborn humor of “Lord Berners’ Giraffe,” and ending with the sad grandeur of “Hopeful about the Past.” The remaining pieces—Toccatina for flute quartet and Five Dances for bassoon quartet—add an extra element of rhythmic excitement. Toccatina draws a bright, crisp portrait using the flutes’ upper register contrasting with an emerging melody in the bass flute. In Five Dances the contrabassoon adds depth and drive to the strikingly rich sound of the bassoon chorus.

 

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HIGHLIGHTS

 

Scott Pender’s work—ranging from orchestral to choral to music for theater & film—has been performed to critical acclaim throughout the United States and Europe. His music is featured on the Navona Records albums IN THE KEY OF C-SPAN (NV5945) and LOCK & KEY (NV5881), as well as 88+12 (NV5968), a full album of his chamber music.

 

Pender began his musical journey listening to his parents’ extensive record collection as a child and teaching himself to play piano. He went on to study music composition at Peabody Conservatory, as well as philosophy at Georgetown University.

 

Pender has been granted a Fulbright Fellowship and a MacDowell Colony residency. He has received honors and grants from numerous organizations including ASCAP, BMI, Meet the Composer, The Southeastern Composers’ League, The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the American Music Center, and the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

 

Pender has received commissions from the North Georgia Chamber Symphony, the Annapolis Brass Quintet, Morgan State University, Avalanche Theater Company, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Jesuit Music Project, Yvar Mikhashoff, and the Powell Quartet, whose commission Toccatina can be heard on this album.

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CREDITS

 

 

This album includes music for woodwinds that I have written over a 30-year period. I owe special thanks to Phil Kolker, who worked with me on many of these pieces, and without whose enthusiasm for my work, this recording would not have happened!

—Scott Pender

 

Kimchi Dreams recorded June 4, 2015 at Griswold Hall, Peabody Conservatory

in Baltimore MD

Recording & Mixing Engineer Edwin Huet

Editor Joel Nygren

 

Variations for Oboe & Piano recorded May 25, 2015 at Futura Productions

in Roslindale MA

Recording Engineer John Weston

Editor Joel Nygren

Mixing Engineer Edwin Huet

 

Toccatina recorded February, 1992 at Christ Church & Holy Family in Brooklyn NY

Producer & Engineer Christopher Greenleaf

Editor Allan Tucker & the Powell Quartet

 

Lyric Set recorded October 22, 2016 at Griswold Hall, Peabody Conservatory

in Baltimore MD

Recording & Mixing Engineer Edwin Huet

Editor Teng Chen

 

Suite for Woodwind Quintet recorded May 4, 2015 at Griswold Hall, Peabody

Conservatory in Baltimore MD

Recording Engineer & Editor Joel Nygren

Mixing Engineer Edwin Huet

 

Five Dances recorded March 9, 2015 at Griswold Hall, Peabody Conservatory

in Baltimore MD

Recording Engineer, Editor, Mixing Engineer Joel Nygren

 

Album Producer Scott Pender

Album Co-producer Joel Nygren

 

All works composed & copyright by Scott Pender, published by Petworth Music (BMI)

 

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw

A&R Brandon MacNeil

Audio Director Jeff LeRoy

Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette

Mastering Shaun Michaud

Design & Marketing Director Brett Picknell

Design Jordan Taylor-Hayward, Ryan Harrison

Release Date: November 10, 2017

Catalog #: NV6127

 

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TRACK INFO

 

Kimchi Dreams for 2 clarinets & bassoon (2013)

Weily Shay & Brian Tracey clarinets    Alex Carlucci bassoon

01 I. Fast  1:36

02 II. Slow & smooth, with resignation  2:16

03 III. Ben ritmico  1:53

04 IV. Slow lament  2:14

 

05  Variations for Oboe & Piano (2010)  10:15

Margaret Herlehy oboe    Rob Haskins piano

 

06  Toccatina for 4 flutes (1989)  3:10

The Powell Quartet | Barbara Brown & Sato Moughalian flutes 

Steven Belenko alto flute    James Schlefer bass flute

 

Lyric Set for bassoon & piano (2014)

Phillip Kolker bassoon    Scott Pender piano

07 I. In the Tide of Times  2:39

08 II. Every Day Is Saturday  2:20

09 III. Lord Berners’ Giraffe  3:27

10 IV. Hopeful about the Past  3:52

 

Suite for Woodwind Quintet (1989, rev. 2013)

Nicholas Fitton flute    Niall Casey oboe    Brian Tracey clarinet

Jenny Smoak horn    Hanul Park bassoon

11 Introduction + I. Moderato  4:32

12 II. Adagio cantabile  3:59

13 Introduction + III. Con brio  4:59

 

Five Dances for 3 bassoons & contrabassoon (2011)

Dillon Meacham, Jonathan Nitz & Hanul Park bassoons 

Alex Carlucci contrabassoon

14 I. Canon  2:02

15 II. Country Dance  2:48

16 III. Stamp  2:15

17 IV. Steps of Two  2:58

18 V. Backbeat  1:57

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ALSO ON NAVONA RECORDS

 

88+12 (NV5968)

Scott pender