The Victoria Bach Festival is pleased to welcome harpist Emily Klein and tenor trombonist Dillon MacIntyre to Victoria as the 2017 Emerging Artists.
Pianist and Emerging Artist Coordinator Faith DeBow has been working with the Emily and Dillon on their program for Tuesday, June 6. Faith notes, “This year, our Emerging Artists play trombone and harp–the first time we’ve featured either of those instruments! You’ll get to hear Bach as you’ve likely never heard it before. We always like to say that J.S. Bach’s music is so versatile that it can be played on any instrument, and this program proves that!”
“I’m excited to be back for the 2017 Festival to make music with friends from around the country whom I mostly don’t see the rest of the year. And the hospitality of Victoria is second to none–we are welcomed so warmly!”
The Emerging Artists perform a FREE noon concert on Tuesday, June 6, at First United Methodist Church, 407 N. Bridge Street. They will also perform on Thursday, June 8 at the Victoria Public Library at 10:30 am and at the Children’s Discovery Museum at 1:30 pm.
We asked Emily and Dillon a few questions about their concert and their thoughts on performing at the 2017 Victoria Bach Festival.
VBF: What drew you to your instrument?
EMILY: I began playing the harp at the age of 10 after hearing a harpist and flutist perform at my older sister’s middle school winter concert. They performed Jacques Ibert’s fast-paced Entr’acte, and in that moment, I thought that the harp must sound beautiful all the time and immediately asked my mom if I could take lessons. She indulged my request, and 18 years later I’m still playing!
DILLON: Going into 6th grade, I joined the school band. At a demonstration of instruments, the trombone stuck out to me and created a lasting impression. Honestly, what first drew me in was the slide. With such a unique quality, it was by far my favorite instrument!
VBF: Tell us a little bit about the program you’ve prepared.
EMILY: Claude Debussy’s Danses Sacrée et Profane is one of my absolute favorite concerti. Debussy was commissioned by the Pleyel instrument company to write this piece in 1904 to showcase the new harp the company had designed. I’m playing the virtuosic show piece Impromptu by Hugo Reinhold, which was originally written for keyboard, as was Bach’s Piece en Sol. Bach’s music is intricate on the harp and requires fine attention to detail.
DILLON: One of my pieces, Eugene Booze’s Ballade, shifts quickly through many well-known excerpts from trombone orchestral literature, and is a good overall representation of the trombone’s technical and lyrical abilities. The program I selected covers a wide and diverse range of styles, moving from staple literature through contemporary music for the trombone. Each piece will bring new and exciting ideas, and there will be something for everyone to enjoy!
VBF: What do you hope the audience walks away with after your performance?
EMILY: I hope the audience garners a new appreciation for the harp and its repertoire. I imagine that Dillon’s trombone playing alongside the timbre of the harp will make for an interesting combination of color and instrumentation.
DILLON: I hope to change what the audience thinks of the trombone! The trombone tends to be underrated and misunderstood by the average listener of classical music; it’s largely represented as a loud instrument with a slide that can make crazy, aggressive noises. However, the trombone can represent many other styles, including sweet and lyrical melodies. I hope to show this versatility and flexibility so the audience can see beyond the instrument’s common stereotypes and enjoy the trombone’s virtuosity.
VBF: What are you looking forward to about the festival?
EMILY: I am very much looking forward to sharing music with the community of Victoria, Texas. I enjoy bringing the harp to a wide variety of audiences and am grateful for the opportunity to do just that!
DILLON: In addition to my performances with Faith and Emily, I am very much looking forward to hearing the other artists at the festival. The “Light Moving” concert on June 7th is appealing to me. I’ve only heard recordings of Steve Reich’s Cello Counterpoint, an incredibly difficult cello and electronics piece, so it will be very interesting to hear it live.
VBF: What CD is playing in your car stereo lately?
EMILY: I am a big fan of the band Florence and the Machine (they have a harpist!) so I keep a few of their CDs in my car in addition to listening to a mix of music on the radio.
DILLON: The album that I have currently had on repeat in my car is A Beautiful Noise, the Columbus State University Trombone Choir’s album featuring world-renowned soloists Joseph Alessi, George Curran, James Markey, Paul Pollard, Ko-ichiro Yamamoto, Bill Thomas, and Charles Vernon. If you want to know the musical depth of which a trombone is capable, I highly recommend this CD!
View the entire 2017 Festival schedule, including FREE noon concerts, at victoriabachfestival.org.
Season tickets and individual concert tickets are available at victoriabachfestival.org or 361-570-5788. VBF offices: 202 N. Main, second floor.
