Memories of Childhood Program Notes and Artist Bios

Variations on “Ah, vous darai-je Maman”, K. 265 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)  
          Olivia Connors    ​
At age 25, Wolgang Amadeus Mozart composed twelve variations for the piano on the tune known to us as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” This familiar melody originated from a French folk song decades earlier. In his piano composition, Mozart employed the form of “theme and variations,” which includes a simple statement of a chosen melody, followed by a series of elaborations on that melody. Mozart’s uncommon breadth of imagination demonstrates itself in his use of tools like color, counterpoint, texture, and articulation.
​Olivia Connors is a senior music and English double major at Grove City College. After studying piano for almost sixteen years, she has developed an interest in collaborative piano that she hopes to pursue in the future. In her spare time, Olivia enjoys reading, writing, singing, and spending time with friends.
​Kinderscenen by Robert Schumann(1810-1856)
   Von fremden Ländern und Menschen - Of Foreign Lands and Peoples         Hasche-Mann - Blind Man’s Bluff
            Joshua Tracey
​Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) was a composer and a very influential music critic in the Romantic era.  His whole childhood was full of music.  He began composing and taking lessons by the age of seven.  Schumann followed a path towards a performing pianist until he injured his finger.  He then switched his focus to composing.  Kinderszenen or Scenes from Childhood were written during a very troubled time.  While Schumann was composing this, he was in the middle of courting his soon to be wife which took a total of five years!  He wrote these works to take him back to his childhood with less cares and problems than the real world offers.  He described them as being “more cheerful, gentler, more melodic” than his earlier works. The selected movements show the contrasting styles of Schumann’s playfulness in his composition. 
​Joshua Tracey is a senior at Grove City College. He has been a pianist for 14 years, and enjoys playing various types of repertoire. In high school, he studied under retired ragtime pianist Glenn Jenks from Camden, ME and studied extensively in jazz theory. Joshua is the official pianist for the Grove City College Alumni Center, and performs for alumni events several times a month. He has been an accompanist for the Grove City College Music Department since his freshman year. Joshua also plays the violin and was a student at the Bay Chamber School of Music in Camden, ME. He is a current student of Dr. Becky Billock.
 
Musical Toys by Sofia Gubaidulina  (b. 1931)
   Magic Roundabout                                        
   The Drummer
           Becky Billock
​Sofia Gubaidulina was born in Chistopol in the Tatar Republic of the Soviet Union in 1931. After instruction in piano and composition at the Kazan Conservatory, she studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory. Until 1992, she lived in Moscow. Since then, she has made her primary residence in Germany, outside Hamburg.  Gubaidulina wrote the Musical Toys in 1968 for her daughter.  The set includes 14 whimsically named movements such as Song of the Fisherman and Sleigh with Little Bells, creating the framework for imaginative story-telling. The two lively movements on today’s program contrast with other more introspective ones.
​Hailed as a "persuasive and capable" musician (BBC Music Magazine) and an "unforgettable listening experience" (The Whole Note), recording artist and recitalist Dr. Becky Billock has found her niche promoting the works of contemporary women.  She has appeared as soloist with regional orchestras in the US, Mexico, and South Africa.  In addition to solo and chamber recitals on three continents, she has had appearances on the Seattle radio station Classical KING FM 98.1, the Pittsburgh radio station WQED 98.3FM, and American Public Media’s Performance Today, as well as on public TV broadcast in Mozambique. 
Dr. Billock serves on the faculty at Grove City College, as well as maintaining a thriving private studio in Pittsburgh, PA where she lives with her family.  In her spare time she enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and learning foreign languages.  
Some Southpaw Pitching by Charles Ives  (1874-1954)
               Josiah Talampas              
Some Southpaw Pitching is an etude for piano by Charles Ives written around 1909. It is the 21st study in a set of twenty-seven “take-offs” on Chopin’s studies. “Southpaw” in baseball nomenclature refers to the left hand and is primarily fitting as the study places much technical focus on the left hand. The left hand often provides a bi-tonal accompaniment to the right hand that plays very tonal melodies, including a phrase from Stephen Foster’s song “Massa’s in de Cold Ground”  that appears several times throughout the piece. Fragments of “Joy to the world” and “All Saints New” appear as well. Like most of Ives’ works, the piece is autobiographical, as Ives was an avid baseball player.
​Josiah Talampas is a pianist with a focus on works from the 20th century. Last fall Talampas won the Grove City College Concerto Competition. Talampas also plays the bassoon and is a member of the orchestra at Grove City College. He is a sophomore electrical engineering major with a concentration in computer engineering, and he studies piano with Dr. Becky Billock. When not studying music, he enjoys kayaking, cooking, and reading. In the future, Talampas plans to pursue biomedical engineering.
Kinderscenen by Robert Schumann   (1810-1856)
   Träumerie – Dreaming                               
   Wichtige Begebenheit - An Important Event
                   Caleb Hixon
​Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) was a composer and a very influential music critic in the Romantic era.  His whole childhood was full of music.  He began composing and taking lessons by the age of seven.  Schumann followed a path towards a performing pianist until he injured his finger.  He then switched his focus to composing.  Kinderszenen or Scenes from Childhood were written during a very troubled time.  While Schumann was composing this, he was in the middle of courting his soon to be wife which took a total of five years!  He wrote these works to take him back to his childhood with less cares and problems than the real world offers.  He described them as being “more cheerful, gentler, more melodic” than his earlier works. The selected movements show the contrasting styles of Schumann’s playfulness in his composition. 
​Caleb Hixon is a pianist working on his music education degree.  Including working on college repertoire Caleb is active in playing for his local church.  In 9th grade he was awarded 2nd place in the Word of Life Teens Involved competition.  Caleb is in the GCC Touring Choir, Chapel Choir, and Chamber Singers.  He also performs in the percussion section of the Concert Band.  He is a freshman at GCC, studying piano with Dr. Becky Billock.
Jeux d’enfants – Children’s Games, Op. 22 by Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
   Les Chevaux de Bois – Merry-Go-Round    
   Colin-Maillard – Blind Man’s Bluff
   Le Bal – The Ball
                       Evelyn Munson
                       Anna Shoenthal
The three duet movements we have selected come from a larger set of twelve, written by Bizet to capture and narrate the simple games and interests of young children. Like many of Bizet’s piano pieces, this set executes tunefulness and energy. “Les Chevaux de bois” (The Merry-Go- Round), uses the theme of a gallop to capture the idea of horses gallivanting around the room. In “Colin-maillard” (Blind Man’s Bluff), the slower, lilting rhythms suggest a game of hide and seek. The final movement, “Le Bal” (The Ball), charges to the end with a rapid and animated finale.
​Evelyn Munson is a junior music major at Grove City College, where she studies piano with Dr. Becky Billock, plays violin in the orchestra, and sings in and accompanies the GCC Touring Choir.  Last fall she was a finalist in the GCC Concerto Competition, and she also enjoys working as an accompanist and teaching her private studio of piano students.  She looks forward to performing a junior recital this semester and traveling to Weimar, Germany to study at the Franz Liszt Musikhochschule with a DAAD scholarship this summer.  
 
Anna Shoenthal is currently a junior piano major at Grove City College, studying with Dr. Becky Billock. Along with piano, she minors in voice and is involved in multiple ensembles, including Touring Choir, Chapel Choir, Orchestra, and Concert Band. She also accompanies several private voice and instrumental students. Throughout Anna’s elementary and high school years, she participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Festival Program. Her senior year, she was honored to receive the Federation’s highest honor, The President’s Cup. Anna has continued to enjoy making music, using her talents to witness to others and glorify God.
Toccata by Emma Lou Diemer  (b. 1927)
                      Becky Billock    
The Toccata for piano was written in 1979 for the senior recital of UCSB piano student Nozomi Takahashi. Emma Lou writes:  “The piece has an emphasis on timbre, an outgrowth of my work in electronic music at the time. I decided to mix on-the-strings playing with traditional on-the-keys playing as a gradual process in repeated patterns rather than the "plink here, pluck there" effects that are foreign to me. The "listening" to overtones in the middle section provides a respite from the generally rhythmic, active ideas. ….Finally, the initial impetus was joy in the anticipation of a loved one returning from an extended trip, perhaps expressed in the rapid repeated notes at the beginning.”
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​Hailed as a "persuasive and capable" musician (BBC Music Magazine) and an "unforgettable listening experience" (The Whole Note), recording artist and recitalist Dr. Becky Billock has found her niche promoting the works of contemporary women.  She has appeared as soloist with regional orchestras in the US, Mexico, and South Africa.  In addition to solo and chamber recitals on three continents, she has had appearances on the Seattle radio station Classical KING FM 98.1, the Pittsburgh radio station WQED 98.3FM, and American Public Media’s Performance Today, as well as on public TV broadcast in Mozambique. 
  She serves on the faculty at Grove City College, as well as maintaining a thriving private studio in Pittsburgh, PA where she lives with her family.  In her spare time she enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and learning foreign languages.  
L’Isle joyeuse, L. 109 by Claude Debussy  (1862-1918)
               Daniel Herbener               
​Composed in 1904, L’isle Joyeuse (the Joyful Island) is thought to have been inspired by the painting “The Embarkation to Cythera” by Watteau. A markedly transitional piece between Debussy’s late Romantic and his later Impressionistic styles, it makes use of a variety of pianistic colors and textures to evoke sensations of nature, such as the sea, the wind, the sun, etc. - while at the same time demonstrating a fairly narrative structure albeit with minimal motivic development. That Debussy had just met the one who would later become his second wife helps to explain the expression of joy, apotheosis, and ecstasy in this piece.
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​Daniel Herbener is a senior piano major at Grove City college with a minor in Chinese. He particularly enjoys accompanying other artists, music theory, composition, and music history, as well as a variety of other non-music academic subjects. Herbener has participated in several music festivals throughout high school and college, including the University of Florida International Piano Festival, Credo Oberlin, and Brevard Music Festival. During these festivals, Herbener was privileged to study with such renowned artists as Natalya Antonova, Xiaofeng Zhang, Craig Nies, James Howsmon, and the Arianna Quartet. Herbener’s goal after graduation from Grove City College is to attend a music conservatory and further pursue his studies in chamber music and accompanying.
Graceful Ghost Rag by William Bolcom  (b.1938)
               Sophia Dittmar               
Born May 26, 1938, William Bolcom is an American composer and performer having been awarded the National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy Award. A virtuoso pianist, Bolcom played a key role in the revival of ragtime music in the 1970’s. Though well known for his wide range of keyboard compositions, Bolcom also continues to produce a diverse selection of repertoire for chamber, opera, vocal, choral and symphonic orchestra.

One of three “Ghost Rags” composed by William Bolcom, the “Graceful Ghost” was written in 1970 in memory of his father. Bolcom fuses Joplin-inspired elements with his own exploration of old time rag resulting in a delightfully haunting piece. Bolcom showcases his musical genius in the combination of rich intertwining harmonies with a bass reminiscent of the lively ragtime of Scott Joplin. In contrast to its companions, “Poltergeist” and “Dream Shadows,” the ghost of this piece is elegant and mesmerizing, though not without a touch of mischief.
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​Sophia Dittmar is a freshman Music Performance Major with a concentration in piano. She started piano lessons at the age of 10, and violin lessons a year later. While studying under Patricia Blanchard and Jennifer Lyons in Patuxent River, Maryland for 7 years, she participated in various festivals and competitions including MSMTA Spring Festival and Sonata and Sonatina Festival. Sophia also performed in the annual Sanford Concert Series “Sounds of Tomorrow” program in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. In addition to playing weekly for her church, Sophia performed for several years with St. Mary’s County Orchestra on violin and one year with the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra in Annapolis Maryland. She now participates in Grove City’s Symphonic Orchestra as well as the chapel choir. Sophia hopes to continue in music performance and to explore music composition. 
Excursion, Op. 20, No. 4 by Samuel Barber   (1910-1981)
                 Olivia Connors               
​Samuel Barber wrote four short pieces for the piano that he described as “Excursions” into American folk styles. Opus 20, movement 4 is reminiscent of a barn dance: joyful, spirited, and drivingly rhythmic. Through the keyboard’s melodic and chordal capabilities, Barber creates the impression of a fiddler supported by a harmonica or accordion.
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​Olivia Connors is a senior music and English double major at Grove City College. After studying piano for almost sixteen years, she has developed an interest in collaborative piano that she hopes to pursue in the future. In her spare time, Olivia enjoys reading, writing, singing, and spending time with friends.
A próle do bébé – A Baby’s Family by Hector Villa-Lobos  (1887-1959)
   Branquinha -  The Porcelain Doll                
   Caboclinha - The Clay Doll
   O Polichinelo - The Punch Doll
                  Kaitlyn Butts
​Heitor Villa-Lobos has been described as the best-known South American composer of his time. He composed vocal, orchestral, and solo piano repertoire during the first decades of the 20thcentury. A Prole do Bebe (The Baby’s Family) is a prime example of the Brazilian influences he infused his music with. Villa-Lobos created 8 character pieces for the first series of A Prole do Bebe. Each character piece captures a type of doll, including wooden, cloth, and rubber dolls. The series was first performed in 1922 by Arthur Rubinstein. Due to the political tumult surrounding the performance, the collection has been referenced as a first example of “Brazilian modernism.”
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​Kaitlyn Butts is a pianist pursuing both solo and collaborative work. As a freshman at Grove City College, she is currently pursuing majors in music and philosophy and studies with Dr. Becky Billock. She maintained a private piano studio with 14 students from 2012-2017 and has received superior ratings in multiple music festivals. Kaitlyn enjoys serving local churches with sacred music, providing music for special events, and singing in the GCC chapel choir. This past fall, she accompanied four concertos for GCC’s Concerto Competition, including its ultimate winner. Kaitlyn looks forward to expanding her solo repertoire and growing in proficiency as an accompanist.