Notes on The Arts

BoCoCelli, a cello octet of graduate students at Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music led by Rhonda Rider, and students and friends of Nikki Patton’s Chappaquoit Cello Studio in West Falmouth, will premiere a new work by Brazilian composer Dimitri Cervo on Saturday, November 16, at 7 PM at Woods Hole Community Hall.

An award-winning composer, pianist, and conductor, Cervo has dedicated “Paisagens Brasileiras” (“Brazilian Landscapes”) to Rider, Patton, and their students. Cervo’s works, which include “Toro-Lobiana” (a work for cello octet, which was premiered in Boston by BoCoCelli in 2016), “Canauê,” “Pattapiana,” and “Abertura Brasil 2012,” have been widely performed in Brazil and around the world. He has released two CDs and his works are included on many CDs by other artists. He is currently an associate professor at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

“Brazilian Landscapes” combines lyrical pastoral melodies and the lively clave rhythmic patterns of Afro-Brazilian music. “We are thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful music to Falmouth thanks to the generosity of the Woods Hole Foundation, which provided a grant to commission this work,” said Patton.

BoCoCelli and 19 of Patton’s students and alumni will perform “Brazilian Landscapes.” Eight other students, as young as 5 years old, will join them for a 36-cello performance of early Suzuki pieces.

Also on the program are works by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, Finnish composer Kiaja Saariaho, Australian composer Kate Moore, and another work by Dimitri Cervo.

This concert marks the 16^th anniversary of the collaboration between Rider and Patton. “This has been a joy for me,” said Patton. “Rhonda and her students bring such inspiration to me and my students. There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of a cello, except two, three, or 36 cellos.”

Rhonda Rider is professor of cello and coordinator of chamber music at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She was a founding member of the Naumburg Award-winning Lydian String Quartet and a current member of the Triple Helix Piano Trio. Her chamber music and solo recordings have been nominated for Grammy Awards and cited as critics’ choice in both the New York Times and the Boston Globe.

She has won numerous awards for her solo and chamber music work. Dedicated to the performance of new music, Rider has premiered and recorded works by such renowned composers as John Harbison, Lee Hyla, Yu-Hui Chang, and Elliott Carter.

BoCoCelli members are Núria Comorera Nosàs, Gramm Drennen, Fenwick, Zachary Foster, Linda Hwang,Nicholas Johnson, Nathaniel Taylor, and Ms. Rider. Javier Caballero, a former member of the group, will join BocoCelli for this performance.

Núria Comorera Nosàs, from Barcelona, began playing cello when she was 3. She has studied at Manhattan School of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee under Cristoforo Pestalozzi, Philippe Muller, and Rhonda Rider. She was a featured soloist with the National Orchestra of Catalunya.

Gramm Drennen is a Boston-based cellist dedicated to contemporary music. He has collaborated with many performers, including Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond and has premiered works with the JACK quartet. Drennen is currently pursuing a masters in contemporary classical performance.

David Fenwick started cello at 4 and piano at 7. He holds a B.M. in cello performance and composition from Ithaca College and a masters in cello performance from Boston University. Fenwick is a composer and performer of new music and is studying contemporary classical music.

Zachary Foster is studying for a masters in cello performance. He is a string department assistant and participates in various ensembles on both cello and bass. He was an opera fellow at the Miami Classical Music Festival, performing operas in baroque through contemporary styles. He has degrees in music business and cello performance from Drake University.

Linda Hwang is from Brisbane, Queensland. She received a B.M. from Queensland Conservatorium and studied under American cellist Meta Weiss.

Nicholas Johnson was awarded first prize in the Senior Division of the MA-ASTA Solo Competition, was a member of the Boston Conservatory Honors Chamber Ensemble, and regularly records with Berklee’s Scoring Sessions Program. He is pursuing a masters in cello performance and is a student of Andrew Mark.

Nathaniel Taylor is an artist diploma candidate. He has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Tanglewood with artists such as Andris Nelsons, Herbert Blomstedt, John Williams, Kian Soltani, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Javier Caballero was born in Puerto Rico. He has performed in China, Palestine, and Israel as part of the Al Kamandjati Music School and was the artistic director of Project STEP at Symphony Hall, a string education program for students from underrepresented communities. He is currently the scholarship and recruitment manager at From the Top, the NPR show that celebrates young classically trained musicians.

Nikki Patton is director and head teacher of the Chappaquoit Cello Studio. She feels fortunate to have studied with Alexander Bellow, Judith Smith, Karen Buranskas, Fritz Magg, Luis Garcia-Renart, Nancy Hair, Rhonda Rider, Zuill Bailey, and Baroque cellist Phoebe Carrai. She has been teaching cello for over 40 years, 25 of them on Cape Cod.

Chappaquoit Cellists participating in the concert are Ellen Adamson, Annabel Battin, Marilyn Brice, Meredith Cutler, Angela Diana, Luke DiNicola, Sara Fisichella, Ursula Junker, Josie Leveque, Beatrice Mattison, Alexia Morton, Shu-ton Murray, Nicolas Oggier, Paul Oggier, Avery Okon, Stephen Raposo and his daughter Genevieve, Olivia Rauss, Kaden Rogers, Marilyn Rowland, Kurran Singh, Rada Sokolov, Courcelle Stark, Alex Tang, Ava Warner, Taylor Willman, and Patton.

Tickets are $15 (cash only) at the door. For more information, contact Nikki Patton at 508-457-4564.