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I was so happy when Robbie wrote me to let me know that he had programmed Lilac on a spring concert of his alongside a gorgeous collection of other works, including his own music. We spent some time on a cold February afternoon going over his interpretation of Lilac, zooming from our living rooms, and I enjoyed every moment of it. And I think you’ll really enjoy this concert. Thank you so much, Robbie, for reaching out and for making Lilac your own!
-Steph
PROGRAM.
Pierrette, Op. 41 —Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
From the Southland —Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949)
Through Moanin’ Pines
The Frolic
In De Col’ Moonlight
A Jubilee
On Bended Knees
A New Hidin’-Place
Augmented Reality —Robbie Padilla (b. 1992)
Bells in the Wind
Little Demon Prelude
Selma —Giuseppe Lupis (b. 1968)
Lilac from Flower Catalog —Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990)
Children’s Song No. 3 —Chick Corea (1941-2021)
Children’s Song No. 14
Children’s Song No. 19
Irish Tune from County Derry—Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882-1961)
program note.
Lilac | PIANO, Op. 39
commissioned by Jenny Lin
Lilacs are my favorite flower, this probably arising from a childhood spent running around in the back yard of my home that was graced by two gigantic lilac bushes whose blooms appeared for two weeks every May. It made sense to have lovely things in twos: after all, the back yard was a secret garden playspace only inhabited by two little Boyd girls as their childhood together ran its span. My little sister and I would take cuttings of the fragrant purple fronds and make small bouquets for our bedroom dresser but try as we might, our bouquets would always wilt and die within mere hours. Nonetheless, we kept making those tiny bouquets, year after year. In the next chapter of my life, I made prom corsages out of cuttings from those same bushes. In college, I would time my trips home from Chicago for the end of May so that I could be present for their period of blooming.
Now that I live in Manhattan, I visit the bodega on the corner about once a week in May and June and spend too much money on bouquets of lilacs that hang on for a few days, pumping my apartment full of purple perfume and the memories that are now intrinsically bonded with it.
I'm so pleased that Jenny Lin asked for small etudes from us ICEBERG composers; a work that was to be an amuse bouche but still have depth and character. I'm grateful to her for championing these works and for summoning in particular these memories of mine and this music out of the ether and on to ink and paper.
In 2020, Lilac was joined by 11 other preludes—a collection entitled Flower Catalog—commissioned by Lise de la Salle, Marianne Parker, Eunbi Kim, Holly Roadfeldt, Diane Katzenberg Braun, Lucille Chung, Marta Aznavoorian, Sarah Bob, Susie Maddocks, and Adrienne Park.
Robbie Padilla
As an accomplished pianist, Robbie Padilla’s work spans the Central New York region and beyond. Padilla has been involved in a wide range of musical experiences from classical recitals to musical theatre productions as both a pit musician and music director. He regularly gives solo piano recitals and has ventured into giving online recitals to reach a larger audience. He collaborates with both experienced and upcoming vocalists and instrumentalists in both recitals and competitions.
Recent performances since 2019 have included serving as music director for Annie Get Your Gun and Urinetown, playing piano in several pit orchestras, numerous instrumental and vocal recitals, and solo piano recitals featuring music chronologically ranging from the Baroque period through the present day. In addition to these professional concerts and productions, Padilla has served as a collaborative pianist in the Civic Morning Musicals Competition for Singers, NYSSMA instrumental and vocal auditions, Syracuse Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, and a keyboardist for Symphoria.
Padilla is passionate and determined to both spread music to the next generation and keep classical music alive. He remains active as a board member in Syracuse-area music associations Central New York Association of Music Teachers and Civic Morning Musicals, a non-profit organization that has promoted Syracuse-area classical musicians for over 130 years. Padilla believes that, to keep classical music thriving, we must promote, in our students’ and our own performances, new music and works from composers representing the broad diversity of our society.
Robbie Padilla earned his Master of Music (2016) at Syracuse University's Setnor School of Music where he studied Piano Performance with Ida Tili-Trebicka. His undergraduate studies were in Music Education (2013) at SUNY Fredonia where he studied piano with Dr. Anne Kissel. Padilla also holds a Level II certification (2018) in Orff Schulwerk pedagogy from the Eastman School of Music.
Padilla has taught band, chorus, and general music at the public elementary and secondary levels. He currently teaches piano, horn, and guitar/ukulele lessons to students of all ages via in-person and remote instruction and organizes seasonal recitals to highlight the accomplishments of his dedicated students.
STEPHANIE ANN BOYD, COMPOSER
Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette, Ashley Bouder, NYCB soloist Peter Walker, and XAOC Contemporary Ballet’s Eryn Renee Young. Eero, a ballet commissioned by Access Contemporary Music and Open House New York, was written for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Her music has been praised as “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP), and “wide ranging, imaginative” (Portland Press Herald).
Boyd’s music has been commissioned and performed by concertmasters of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, the Faroe Islands Symphony, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal players in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been commissioned and/or played by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the New England Conservatory Philharmonic, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, the New York Jazzharmonic, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Roosevelt University Orchestra, the Eureka Ensemble, the JVL Festival Orchestra, the Texas State University Symphony, the Cremona International Academy Orchestra, the UW La Crosse Symphony, the Detroit Civic Orchestra, and the El Paso Youth Symphony. Her work has been presented by the Thalia and her Sisters concert series, the Moirae Ensemble, and Sandcastle New Music in New York City; Æpex Contemporary Music in Michigan; Juventas New Music, Collage New Music, and the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston; Cincinnati Soundbox, and others. Stephanie has worked with conductors such as Andrew Litton, Lina Gonzales, Earl Lee, Nathan Aspinall, Cliff Colnot, Gill Rose, Julian Benichou, Kristo Kondakci, and Kevin Fitzgerald.
The 2020/2021 season includes commissions from the Wyoming Symphony, Astral Artists with cellist Tommy Mesa, violinist Megan Healy, pianists Lara Downes, Lise de la Salle, Marta Aznavoorian, Lucille Chung, Susie Maddocks, Adrienne Park, Diane Kaztenburg Braun and Music Street, Sarah Bob and the New Gallery Concert Series, Holly Roadfeldt, Marianne Parker, Eunbi Kim, the Kurganov-Finehouse Duo, and others. This season also includes performances by the Lincoln Trio, Juventas New Music, Jennifer Reason, Lisa Pegher, Shouthouse, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, including concerts at the Kaufman Center, the Boston New Music Festival, the Festival of New American Music, Pianoforte in Chicago, live on Chicago’s WFMT radio station, and elsewhere.
Stephanie holds degrees from Roosevelt University and New England Conservatory, and she was one of the last violin students of renowned pedagogue John Kendall.