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Kaleidoscope

Craig Madden Morris composer

Release Date: February 3, 2023
Catalog #: NV6494
Format: Digital
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Orchestra
Piano
String Quartet

Life can sometimes seem like an infinity mirror of colors reflecting off of themselves, each tint deeply distinct in its own right, yet profoundly beautiful when viewed as a whole. This sentiment is thoughtfully expressed in KALEIDOSCOPE from composer Craig Morris and Navona Records. Morris’s compositional strengths are far-reaching and dynamic, and aptly showcased here with orchestral and chamber works written in a variety of orchestrations. Sentiments of gentle reflections, care and acceptance, and love are echoed throughout this release, a cohesive collection of works written from powerful emotions that tie into the kaleidoscope that is the human experience.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Elegy Craig Madden Morris Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 11:13
02 Kaleidoscope: Andante con passione Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, Mann-Wen Lo - violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 6:04
03 Kaleidoscope: Adagio con rubato Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, Mann-Wen Lo - violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 7:45
04 Kaleidoscope: Allegro con brio Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, Mann-Wen Lo - violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 4:16
05 Reflections: T’filah Craig Madden Morris Jun Cho, piano 5:17
06 Reflections: Peace Craig Madden Morris Jun Cho, piano 4:06
07 Reflections: Serenity Craig Madden Morris Jun Cho, piano 4:12
08 Longing Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Jun Cho, piano 4:00
09 Love through The Years: I Had No Time To Hate Craig Madden Morris; Text by Emily Dickinson The Composer’s Choir | Daniel Shaw, music director 2:39
10 Love through The Years: How Sweet Your Love Craig Madden Morris The Composer’s Choir | Daniel Shaw, music director 4:50
11 Love through The Years: Two Are Better Than One Craig Madden Morris The Composer’s Choir | Daniel Shaw, music director 6:46
12 The Gentle Path Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Jun Cho, piano 6:26
13 Romance for Clarinet and Orchestra Craig Madden Morris Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor; Libor Suchý, clarinet 7:42

Elegy, Romance for Clarinet and Piano
Recorded March 30-31, 2022 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava CZ
Producer Jan Košulič
Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Editing & Mixing Melanie Montgomery

Kaleidoscope, Reflections, Longing, The Gentle Path
Recorded June 7-8, 2022 at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria NY
Recording Engineer Shao-Ting Sun

Three Choral Pieces
Recorded 2010-2021 at 849 Ridge Road in Hamden CT

Copyist Jered Albertus

I Had No Time To Hate
Text by Emily Dickinson

How Sweet Your Love
Verses from the Song of Songs

Two Are Better Than One
Verses from Ecclesiastes

Mastering Melanie Montgomery

Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Production Director Levi Brown
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Production Assistant Martina Watzková

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming, Morgan Hauber
Publicity Patrick Niland

Artist Information

Craig Madden Morris

Composer

Craig Morris has been composing music since the age of 11. He studied composition with Shirley Bloom, Kevin Scott, and Joelle Wallach and also studied violin, piano, and voice. He played violin with the Bronx Symphony Orchestra for many years and presently plays with the Ridgewood Symphony. He has sung professionally as a cantor for over 40 years. His music has been performed by the Ridgewood Symphony, the Bronx Symphony Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fifth International Music Festival of Buenos Aires, and the Chamber Music Society of Formosa. His compositions include piano sonatas, orchestral suites, violin, cello and clarinet concerti, a concert duet for soprano and tenor, choral compositions, and a sacred service for the Sabbath. Arise My Love and The Rubaiyat were chosen as finalists in the 2010 Meistersingers Choral Competition.

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Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava

Orchestra

The Janáček Philharmonic is a world-class symphony orchestra based in Ostrava, Czech Republic and an emerging figure on the international performance scene. With over 100 top-level musicians, the orchestra aims to introduce unique, quality repertoire while showcasing their own recognizable sound.

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Stanislav Vavřínek

Conductor

Stanislav Vavřínek is one of the most prominent Czech conductors and has been Chief Conductor of the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice since 2018. Having graduated from the Conservatory in Brno where he studied flute and conducting, he continued his education at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Subsequently, he also took master classes with Roberto Benzi in Switzerland, culminating with a concert in which he conducted the Biel Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Eric Silberger

violin

From prestigious concert halls around the world to an Icelandic volcano, virtuoso violinist Eric Silberger’s performances have been described by critics as “spine- tingling…astonishing” (The Guardian), “dazzling virtuoso playing” (The Washington Post), “impeccable level of playing, a wonderful musician” (The Strad); “ ….he has got everything in his favour, technique, composure and personality.” (El Pais, Spain).

He is a prize winner of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2011. Silberger has collaborated as soloist with the Mariinsky Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonia, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Danish National Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Orquesta Sinfónica de México, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Silberger has worked with noted conductors including Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Dimitri Kitajenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Donald Runnicles, Robin Ticciati, and others.

He has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Louvre in Paris, the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, The Moscow International House of Music in Russia, Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, Royal Festival Hall in London, Seoul Arts Center in Korea, the National Arts Centre in Canada, and more. Among numerous television and radio appearances in the United States, Asia, and Europe, he was featured on Radio France, STV in China, KBS in Korea, and WQXR, WFYI, FOX 59, WISH-TV, and NPR, among others.

Silberger received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. His mentors have included Glenn Dicterow, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and the late Maestro Lorin Maazel.

Silberger plays on a rare J.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1757 on generous loan from Classically Connected Inc. and the Sau-Wing Lam collection. He is a co-founder of the Hawaii International Music Festival and Executive Director of Strings at Classical Bridge International Music Festival of New York City. He co-founded the Castleton Chamber Players with cellist Daniel Lelchuk at the Castleton Festival. He also is Head of Violin at tonebase, a company democratizing access to music education.

Mann-Wen Lo

violin

Violinist Dr. Mann-Wen Lo performs extensively throughout the world in some of the most prestigious venues as a soloist and chamber musician. Lo has been a recurring artist in performances at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Walt Disney Hall, among others. Featured on radio and television broadcasts in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and France, Lo has gained recognition at numerous competitions and awards. Most recently, her recording with the Mana Music Quartet featuring music of Queen Liliʻuokalani was awarded Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2021 Na Hoku Hanohano Award.

Chamber music is at the core of Lo’s musical passion. She has collaborated in concerts with members of world-renowned string quartets such as the Juilliard String Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet, Quatuor Ysaÿe, and the Takacs Quartet, among others. In addition, she has performed with artists such as Glenn Dicterow, Peter Frankl, Roger Tapping, David Shifrin, Margaret Betjer, and Andrew Shulman. Lo has been invited as a guest artist to concert series such as Camera Lucida in San Diego, Sunset MusicFest, Le Salon de Musiques, the Castleton Chamber Players, and the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles. Her festival appearances include Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Saito Kinen Festival (now Seiji Ozawa Festival), ANA Music Week, Hawaii International Music Festival, Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, and Rencontres Franco Américaines de Musique Chambre.

Aside from performing, Lo is also a violin professor at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.

Jun Cho

piano

Pianist Jun Cho is a versatile artist who enjoys a multidimensional career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He has performed in many of the major venues throughout the United States, South Korea, and Europe.

An avid collaborator, he frequently performs with musicians including Itzhak Perlman, Philippe Quint, Stefan Jackiw, Randall Goosby, JP Jofre, and the members of New York Philharmonic. Additionally, he is a regularly featured pianist of Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, the latest recipient of the Latin Grammy Award, performing an array of Tango music in some of New York’s popular clubs such as the Iridium and Barbès.

In the past, Cho has appeared in various summer music festivals including Aspen, Sejong, Bowdoin, Music Academy of the West, and served on the piano faculty at the Heifetz Institute. He is currently an artist-faculty member at the Perlman Music Program, and the studio pianist of violinist Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School. He is also an assistant to the Juilliard’s piano faculty Julian Martin. Cho’s students and mentees have gained both local and widespread recognition, from winning regional competitions to being admitted to various undergraduate and graduate programs and enjoying international careers.

Cho is also a founding member of New York in Chuncheon, a music festival based in Chuncheon, South Korea. The festival, composed of various musicians of New York City, such as the members of Brooklyn Rider, Attaca Quartet, and Sybarite 5, has produced yearly chamber music concerts since 2012. Furthermore, the festival’s outreach program, which includes masterclasses and various mentorship activities, helps to nurture the city’s aspiring musicians.

Cho received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School, and a doctoral degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His teachers include Julian Martin, Jon Kimura Parker, and Seymour Bernstein.

“Absolutely Brilliant” – PBS Chicago
“Superb pianist, experienced collaborator, careful listener and equally at home in all and any repertory” – ConcertoNet New York

Graeme Steele Johnson

clarinet

Praised for his “elegant and rounded sound” and “gentle lyricism” (Albany Times-Union), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility. Winner of the Hellam Young Artists’ Competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition, he has established a multifaceted career as a clarinetist, writer, and arranger. His diverse artistic endeavors range from a TEDx talk comparing Mozart and Seinfeld, to his reconstruction of a forgotten 125-year-old work by Charles Martin Loeffler, to his performances of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto on a rare elongated clarinet that he commissioned.

He has appeared in recital at The Kennedy Center and Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess series, and as a chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Festival, Phoenix Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, and Yellow Barn. Johnson’s concerto appearances include the Vienna International Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Caroga Lake and Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestras, and the CME Chamber Orchestra, as well as an upcoming performance and recording with the Lviv Philharmonic in Ukraine.

Johnson has authored numerous chamber arrangements and performed them around the country with such artists as Valerie Coleman, the Miró Quartet, and Hannah Lash; abroad, his arrangements have been featured on concert programs of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Conservatory. He holds graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music, where he was twice awarded the school’s Alumni Association Prize; other recent accolades include the Saint Botolph Club Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award and the inaugural Lee Memorial Scholarship from the Center for Musical Excellence. His major teachers include David Shifrin, Nathan Williams, and Ricardo Morales, and he is now a doctoral candidate at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York under the mentorship of Charles Neidich.

Andy Lin

viola

Taiwanese born violist and erhuist (Chinese violin) Dr. Andy Lin is recognized as one of the only active performers who specializes in both western and eastern instruments. Praised by The Strad: “The great Molto adagio… elicited some of the night’s most sensitive work, especially from Andy Lin on viola” and The New York Times: “Taiwanese-born violist Andy Lin… is also a virtuoso on the erhu, and he gave a brilliant performance.” Lin is the artistic director and co-founder of the New Asia Chamber Music Society.

He holds his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and received his doctorate in Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook. He has won numerous competitions including Taiwan National Viola Competition and First Prize in the 2008 Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition. He has also appeared as soloist with orchestras such as Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra, Orford Academy Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic, and New York Classical Players. He is also a member of the Musicians of Lenox Hill and serves as principal violist of the New York Classical Players and the Solisti Ensemble. He has been invited to perform chamber music with Itzhak Perlman when The New York Times described “Mr. Perlman, playing first violin… answered in kind by the violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin.”

As a world recognized erhu player, he has recently world-premiered an erhu concerto by Kevin Lau with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston and an erhu concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra in 2019. He has also performed at the United States premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s Kommilitonen! with the Juilliard Opera Production, as well as the world premiere of Jeeyoung Kim’s Engraft with Solisti Ensemble. He also premiered Winnie Lan-In Yang’s Fantasy for Erhu and Strings with the New York Classical Players. He has been invited by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra to play the solo erhu part in Iris dévoilée by Chen Qi-Gang. He has appeared as an erhu solo in the United States premiere of Yeow-Kwon Chung’s Red Cliff with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and performed a haegeum concerto on the erhu with Busan Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra. He has been invited by the Metropolitan Museum to give recitals at their Gallery Concert Series and Patrons Lounge Concert, as well as a recital at the Caramoor Center for the Music and the Arts. Lin plays on a viola made by one of his best friends, Jacob Ho. (www.andylinviola.com)

Nan-Cheng Chen

cello

Cellist Nan-Cheng Chen’s performance has been described as “personable and smile-inducing” and “fine playing” by Washington Post and praised for his “beautiful tone” by New York Concert Reviews; Chen is passionate about sharing music with music lovers.

As an active chamber musician, Chen currently serves as the executive director of the New Asia Chamber Music Society (NACMS), which he co-founded in 2009; he is also the principal cellist of the Solisti Ensemble and was a member of award-winning trios Sonic Escape and Neptune Trio. As an active soloist, Chen has collaborated in cello concertos with renowned orchestras such as Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Vienna International Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Metro-West Symphony, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Quincy Symphony, and Symphony Pro Musica; the latter performance received a review stating: “It was the kind of performance one might hear live only once a decade,” from Worcester Telegram and Gazette. A resident of New York City, Chen has taught at CUNY Queens College and currently holds adjunct professorships at Feitian College in Middletown and Mahanaim School in Long Island. He is a CME Artist under the Center for Musical Excellence roster.

Among Chen’s many honors and awards is first prize in the 2010 Queens Symphony Concerto Competition, 2009 Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition, 2006 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, 2005 Quincy Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, 2004 Hsin-Tian Temple National Cello Competition in Taiwan, and 2003 Metro-West Concerto Competitions. He also won prizes in the 2010 Long Island Conservatory Young Artist Competition, 2006 Fischoff National Chamber Competition, and 1999 Taiwan National Competition for both piano and cello categories. Chen was also featured on NPR’s From The Top national radio broadcast in 2006, performing with its host, pianist Christopher O’Riley.

Chen has been invited to music festivals such as Canada’s Banff Centre, Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, Encore School for Strings, and Kneisel Hall. He was a guest-performing artist at Chautauqua Summer Music Festival and a Kaplan Fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. He served as a guest artist at the Annual Music Festival of Walnut Hill. As an educator, Chen has given masterclasses to music students at Penn State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Calgary, and internationally at university music departments in North America, South America, and Taiwan.

A Native of Taiwan, Chen earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, studying with Joel Krosnick, renowned former cellist of The Juilliard String Quartet and current cello departmental chair. He came to the United States at twelve and attended Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, studying under Eleonore Schoenfeld. He then entered the New England Conservatory Preparatory Program to study with Mark Churchill before attending the Juilliard School. He is currently a doctoral candidate at CUNY Graduate Center under the guidance of cellist Marcy Rosen while developing a full-time international musical career.

Chen’s 2021-22 musical season highlights include a collaboration with Vienna International Orchestra performing Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto, RV401, an appearance at New York’s Madison Square Garden performing the United States National Anthem at a New York Knicks game, a recording release of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, and an album release with the New Asia Chamber Music Society featuring works by Mozart and a commissioned work by composer Shih-Hui Chen, which received two nominations from Taiwan’s prestigious Golden Melody Award in 2022.

Notes

Elegy
The Ridgewood Symphony commissioned me to compose a piece several years ago. The result is this elegy for a young man, a talented violinist in the Ridgewood Symphony, who tragically took his own life. The music not only expresses the pain of his loss, but is also a tribute to his life.

Kaleidoscope
This music was composed to express a love for the string quartet, in its richness of melody, its counterpoint, and the beautiful interplay of all the instruments in an intimate setting.

Reflections
These three short pieces utilize the sweetness and range of the piano to explore the depth of gentle reflections of our inner thoughts and hopes to find ourselves at peace with ourselves and with the world around us.

Longing
The melody of this music for clarinet, piano, and strings expresses the feeling of seeking a bond that never quite materializes, despite the strong desire to do so.

Three Choral Pieces
Three wonderful expressions of how love shapes our lives in profoundly different ways that occur over a lifetime, as written by Emily Dickinson and the unknown authors of The Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.

The Gentle Path
In this age of such animosity, polarization, and demonizing others in our society, this music expresses the hope that we can find a way to walk together and listen to each other with care and acceptance.

Romance for Clarinet and Orchestra
Based on a melody I composed years ago, this piece was expanded to exhibit the beauty, musical expertise, and range of the clarinet in a small orchestral setting.

– Craig Madden Morris

Texts

How Sweet Your Love
Verses from the Song of Songs

How sweet your love, my bride, my own
sweeter than wine
A lily among thorns is my beloved
An apple tree in the forest is my darling
How sweet your love, my bride,
My own love

Where has your beloved gone, fairest of women?
Where has your darling wandered?
My beloved has gone down to his bed of spices
Browsing in the garden and gathering lilies
How sweet your love, my bride,
My own love

Let us sleep among the blossoms of henna
And go to the vineyards early
See if the vine has ripened and the blossoms have opened.
There I will give my love to you
How sweet your love, my bride,
My own love

I Had No Time To Hate
Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)

Emily Dickinson led a secluded and quiet life in contrast to her spontaneous and communicative poetry. Her work is not easily categorized as her approach was unconventional in its time but is renowned for its depth and thought-provoking themes. I Had No Time To Hate suggests that the relative brevity of our life means that it is too precious to be filled with hatred.

I had no time to Hate – Because
The Grave would hinder me – And life was not so
Ample I
Could finish – Enmity
Nor had I time to Love – But since
Some Industry must be – The little Toil of Love –
I thought
Be large enough for me.

Two Are Better Than One
Verses from Ecclesiastes

Generations come and go
But the earth remains the same forever
All streams flow to the sea
But the sea is never full
The race is not to the swift
Nor the battle to the strong
Bread is not won by the wise
Nor wealth by the clever
Time and chance befall them all
Still, two are better than one
Should they fall, one can lift the other
Enjoy life with the one you love
All your fleeting days
Granted to you under the sun
How sweet is the light
How lovely to behold the sun