Faythe Vollrath, harpsichord and UC Davis lecturer in music
Left abandoned and untouched for centuries, the rediscovery of
the harpsichord in the early 20th century not only led to
new views on Baroque music, but inspired contemporary composers
to write for this revitalized, but old instrument. The
following pieces are some of the most important works of this
early contemporary literature.
Program
Manuel
de Falla: Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe,
Clarinet, Violin and Cello (1926)
Wendy Richman has been celebrated
internationally for her compelling sound and imaginative
interpretations in a wide range of genres. Her debut solo album,
vox/viola (New Focus Recordings, 2020), features
nine commissioned works for singing violist by leading
contemporary composers. She is a founding member of the
International Contemporary Ensemble, with whom she performs
regularly in New York City and around the world, and she has
performed regularly with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the period
instrument ensemble Tesserae. Dr. Richman is a faculty member at
both UCLA and California State University-Northridge (CSUN),
where she teaches a variety of academic music courses and applied
viola, and she is a sought-after clinician at universities and
conservatories across the country.
Leading Carnatic musician and youth ambassador Sikkil
Gurucharan presents this concert as an artist in
residence at the Davis Humanities Institute (DHI) at
UC Davis. Drawing upon both contemporary and classical
texts, he will explore the DHI’s
“Cultivation” initiative using music. This initiative seeks
to broadly create dialogue between the humanities and the
sciences, the arts and agriculture, the university and its
larger communities.
One cannot cultivate what once started as a seed. Or can they?
Free
a Shinkoskey Noon Concert
Sikkil C. Gurucharan is a leading musician
and a youth ambassador of Carnatic Music. A prime-time
artist during the Chennai music season, and a recipient of
numerous awards—including the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan
Yuva Puraskar Award, Kalaimamani, and Tchaikovsky Award for the
best musician of the year among others—Gurucharan has not only
made a mark in the traditional concert paddhati style
but also worked to broaden audience appeal by creating
collaborative projects with world renowned musicians while
retaining the spirit of the art form. In 2015, Gurucharan
received a Nehru-Fulbright Excellence Award and was in residence
at UC Davis.
Gurucharan was featured on the compilation album
Miles from India (a celebration of the music of Miles
Davis), which was nominated for the Best Contemporary Jazz Album
at the 51st Grammy Awards. The magazine India Today featured him
among 35 Game Changers under the age of 35 in India. The Tamil
Nadu Government conferred its highest honor of Kalaimamani on
Gurucharan in 2020. He has also acted in two Tamil
movies: Sarvam
Thala Mayam and Putham
Pudhu Kaalai.
Joy S. Shinkoskey was the mother of Deborah Pinkerton and
mother-in-law to Bret Hewitt. They established an endowment to
support noon concerts and musical performances in the UC Davis
Department of Music.
Joy S. Shinkoskey (Pinkerton)
1923–1999
Mother of four children, including Deborah Pinkerton, Joy
Shinkoskey was in her younger years a model and played the
piano which is where she developed her love of music, playing
Beethoven piano works in the Spokane Music Festival, 1940, and
throughout her life.
