PROGRAM
Geli Li — Sleeping Light
Sofia Ouyang — Burst (with soloist Oriana Hawley, viola)
Janáček — Mladi
Hildegard von Bingen — Rex Noster Promptus Est
Saariaho — Terra Memoria
Bursting Voices: Ancient and Contemporary juxtaposes historical and contemporary works with a focus on the metaphorical vocality of female composers – their distinct voices and expression – across different eras, allowing all pieces to resonate in the present. The Bursting Voices program features orchestral works by Geli Li (winner of WCP’s 2024–25 Call for Scores Competition) and Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, alongside a reimagined arrangement of a work by medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen. Also on the program is Music Director Sofia Ouyang’s “Burst,” a viola concerto premiered in early 2024, and Leoš Janáček’s “Mládí” (“Youth”), a woodwind sextet written in a flurry of inspiration after Janáček attended a French contemporary music festival in 1923.
Founded in 2022, the Westside Chamber Players is a student-led chamber orchestra that shares high-level, accessible performances of classical and contemporary music to the New York Metropolitan area. In just two seasons, WCP has become a staple ensemble for students, with members representing institutions such as Columbia University, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music and New York University.
Live at St. Paul’s Chapel — or, watch on YouTube.
If you don’t have a current Columbia ID, you MUST register by clicking the blue "register" button below. (Please do not use the same email address to register multiple people; this will confuse the system.) Registration will close at 11am sharp the day before the concert.