SFCM New Music Ensemble: Armer and Milhaud

Elinor Armer began teaching composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) in 1975, which means that next year will mark her 50th anniversary in that capacity, when she is scheduled to retire. Last night the SFCM New Music Ensemble, led by Artistic Director Nicole Paiement, began its program with three of the movements in Armer’s A Book of Songs with mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya accompanied at the piano by Sam Zefreh. This was all one heard of her music over the course of the evening; but it was compensated by considerable attention to one of her memorable composition teachers, Darius Milhaud.

Much of the evening was devoted to the first three of six compositions Milhaud entitled Symphonie de chambre: Opus 43, given the subtitle, “Le printemps” (the spring), Opus 49, “Pastorale,” and Opus 71, “Sérénade.” Each of these involved a one-to-a-part ensemble of moderate size, making for a thoroughly engaging experience of diverse sonorities. One might say that this made the evening “worth the price of admission;” but this was a free event, which I experienced through a livestream! In that latter capacity it is worth noting that, for the most part, the camera placement enhanced the ability of the viewer to appreciate Milhaud’s approaches to mixing sonorities.

Nicole Paiement conducting Elizabeth Gaitan, Sam Zefreh, Alina Kwon, Katie Rusalov, Zoe King, Kian Forgey, and Kyle Ko in the SFCM performance of David Garner’s “Viñetas Flamencas” (screen shot from the video of last night’s performance)

The other SFCM faculty member represented on the program was Armer’s colleague in the Composition Department, David Garner. The final selection was his “Viñetas Flamencas,” a six-movement suite for wind quintet, soprano, and piano. Zefreh was again the pianist, performing with the wind quintet of Alina Kwon (flute), Katie Rusalov (oboe), Zoe King (clarinet), Ian Forgey (bassoon), and Kyle Ko (horn). The soprano was Elizabeth Gaitan. This was as engaging as the chamber symphonies, and the only other work on the program that was particularly memorable.

The other selections on the program were also vocal. These were “Cosmic Love III” by Alexsandra Vrebalov and “It Disappears” from Dâryuš Makâni’s The Disappearance of Ava Morgan. Both of them are SFCM alumni who presumably had encountered Armer as a teacher. Sadly, neither of their offerings were particularly memorable.