Originally formed at Florida State University in 2007, enhakē has been praised for its “frighteningly good” (Tallahassee Democrat) and “invigorating” (WFSQ Nuances) performances. In less than two years since its inception, the group has collected an impressive array of recognitions, including the Grand Prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition (2009), Gold Medal at the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition (2008), Judges’ Special Recognition Award at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition (2008), and the James and Lola Faust Chamber Music Scholarship (2009). enhakē has also received American Composers Forum’s Encore grant and Co-op Press Recording/Commission Assistance Grant. Following its acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut at the 2008 ICMEC Winner’s Concert (Weill Recital Hall), enhakē has quickly established itself by concertizing throughout the United States and Costa Rica. The "air", at the start of the roughly four-minute Air and Simple Gifts (2009), strikes a sober note, as if to recall the many challenges facing the United States of America. The soft, slow, rather bittersweet theme, begun by the violin and soon picked up cello and piano, gives way to another, very familiar melody from the clarinet -- the gently uplifting Shaker hymn, "Simple Gifts," which was used so indelibly by Aaron Copland in his 1944 ballet score Appalachian Spring. Williams quotes that passage almost verbatim, and goes on to put the hymn tune through a very Coplandesque treatment before bringing the mood back down to earth with the opening material. John Towner Williams (born 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven Spielberg's feature films including the Indiana Jones series, Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Jaws. Williams has composed theme music for four Olympic Games, the NBC Nightly News, the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, and numerous television series and concert pieces. He served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993, and is now the orchestra's laureate conductor. Peter Schickele’s Quartet for clarinet (in A), violin, violoncello, and piano (1982) was premiered July 17, 1982 at the Oregon Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon. The first movement is largely built on gestural melodies that deceptively give the essence of diminished triads. This melancholy mood is further enhanced by multiple pedal points and hemiola-like figures throughout. In addition, staggered entrances serve to build rhythmic and harmonic tension peaking with eventual unisons near its conclusion. The second movement guides the listener from jazz-inspired licks to dance-like turns that harken the sounds of a typical music box before a sudden coda presents itself with minimalistic, recurring figures that deconstruct, in a way, earlier motives in an almost broken-record-fashion. The third movement offers a still, almost static, atmosphere derivative of French impressionism. The transition then from the second “jazz” movement to this might at first seem jarring if not for the Impressionists’ admiration for that uniquely American genre and their use of certain aspects of its harmonic language. The finale movement opens with a raw, dance-like feel with alternating 6/8 to 5/8 meter with an occasional 2/4, 3/16 + 2/8, or 7/8 thrown in for good measure. The movement’s middle section settles into clear 3/4 meter. The “Rum Runners” depicted here appear to be “sampling the goods” as the repeated melody becomes interrupted by increasingly incoherent entrances. The work’s rousing conclusion returns to the finale’s original and unbalanced 6/8 and/or 5/8 feel with everyone dashing to the end with running sixteenths. Composer, musician, author, satirist, Peter Schickele (born 1937) is internationally recognized as one of the most versatile artists in the field of music. His works, now well in excess of 100 for symphony orchestras, choral groups, chamber ensembles, voice, movies and television, have given him “a leading role in the ever-more-prominent school of American composers who unselfconsciously blend all levels of American music.” (John Rockwell, The New York Times) This is the same composer, who through his P.D.Q. Bach alter ego, wrote works such as Fanfare for the Common Cold, The Short-Tempered Clavier, and “Safe” Sextet. Although born in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1921, Astor Piazzolla largely grew up in the Greenwich Village area of New York. His early musical influences came from many directions. He was well versed in early tango through his father’s records but also lived next to a Jewish synagogue whose ceremonial offerings made their mark on the impressionable boy. He received lessons in solfége, violin, and mandolin with a local Italian musician and he frequented Harlem where he was able to hear Cab Calloway’s Orchestra in person—jazz music, obviously, being another one of his influences. Some years later, as a young adult in Buenos Aires, Astor had the privilege of joining Aníbal Troilo’s orchestra as a bandoneónist and arranger. It was here that he first unveiled Prepárense which, loosely translated, means: “Get ready, something is coming!” Despite his supreme confidence in his own abilities, not even Astor could have known how fortuitous this title was. Thanks to the Fabien Sevitzky Award he won with his Buenos Aires Symphony, Piazzolla moved to Paris to study with the great French teacher Nadia Boulanger. With Boulanger’s guidance, Piazzolla set about to single-handedly revolutionize tango. His immodest task was to liberate it from its current status as mere accompaniment to dancing or singing by composing works that could stand alone on the concert stage. After a number of years experimenting with jazz/tango fusions Piazzolla formed the Conjunto Electronico. The group was essentially a tango/jazz/rock-fusion ensemble with Piazzolla and his instrument serving as lead. It was for this group that Astor wrote the infinitely catchy work Libertango. Oblivion that was written for the 1984 movie Enrico IV (Henry IV) directed by Marco Bellocchio. Breakdown Tango, completed in May 2000, was commissioned by the Parsons Dance Company, The Joyce Theater, New York, NY with funding provided by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust's Live Music for Dance program and the Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program of the American Music Center. Premiered June 13-18, 2000 with choreography by Robert Battle, the work was written in collaboration with the Elm City Ensemble (now Antares.) and dedicated to Garrick Zoeter of said group. The piece is in a basic A-B-A form, with the outer, virtuosic, driving sections serving to bookend a somewhat sleazy, Klezmer-flavored tango. An orchestrated version of the work, "Redline Tango," was commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic and premiered in 2002, and subsequently performed by the Symphony under the direction of Andrew Litton. A version of the work for wind ensemble was commissioned in 2003, and has received performances throughout the country. John Mackey (born 1973) holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Corigliano and Donald Erb, respectively. Mr. Mackey particularly enjoys writing music for dance and for symphonic winds, and he has focused on those mediums for the past few years. His works have been performed at the Sydney Opera House; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Carnegie Hall; the Kennedy Center; Weill Recital Hall; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; Italy's Spoleto Festival; Alice Tully Hall; the Joyce Theater; Dance Theater Workshop; and throughout Italy, Chile, Japan, Colombia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Legacy is a three-movement composition that makes social commentary on the issue of global warming. It was commission by the Washington Sinfonietta, and transcribed and adapted for enhaké by the composer. The first movement, Conflicts, begins with a "cry" from native cultures admonishing our neglect of the environment. The cry is interspersed with "debate" regarding the seriousness of global warming. The debate grows stronger as the cries grow weaker. The debate is quieted by a measure of repeated chords that could be the words, "stop it! stop it now!” A weak cry in the clarinet brings the introduction to a close. An Allegro section follows with a rhythmic and primitive sounding section representing the underdeveloped nations that are destroying the rain forests for economic gain. This material evolves into a more harmonic and contrapuntal section representing industrialized nations reluctant to change, also for economic reasons. Things quiet down as the music takes the listener to another part of the globe, East Asia. Conflict is again present in this section. The music returns to a varied restatement of the industrialized nations music before traveling to India for a section influenced by Raga. This section builds in dissonance until we hear the repeated "stop it now" chords from the introduction. A brief reprise of the cries brings the movement to a close. The second movement, Consequences, evokes a somber mood that is reflective of living in a climate of extremes. The movement is in arch form as it begins and ends with open harmony reflective of barren lands that once were fertile. The middle section serves as a climax expressing the harshness of the climate. Colleen McCullough's book, "A Creed for the Third Millennium" was a source of inspiration for this movement. The last movement, Sacrifice and Compromise, begins with a strong section that suggests progress. A quieter, yet intense section that alternates lyrical lines over a staccato ostinato creating a sense of urgency follows it. The opening section returns and is followed by a development of the ostinato section. This section is symbolic of how ideas need to be adapted in order for progress to be made. The opening section returns once more before leading into the concluding section where there is coming together of the instruments on a long lyrical line representing more and more people working together for change. The movement ends with a sense of triumph over adversity. Dr. Sy Brandon holds the rank of professor emeritus of music from Millersville University, Millersville, PA. First prize awards include WITF-FM's 25th Anniversary Composition Contest, Franklin and Marshall College’s Wind Ensemble Composition Contest, and the New England String Ensemble Composition Competition. The Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Bulgarica, and the Kiev Philharmonic have recorded his music. Featured performances include the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force Bands, and NPR’s Performance Today. He was recently commissioned by the Arizona Commission on the Arts to compose a band composition to celebrate Arizona’s 100th anniversary of statehood.