October 15, 7:30 PM     
October 16, 6:00 PM
First Pres Santa Monica

Nico Muhly
  Clear Music(2003)
Philip Glass
  String Quartet No. 5 (1991)
  Another Look at Harmony IV (1975) West Coast Premiere          

Cécilia Tsan, cello
Maria Casale, harp
Aron Kallay, celesta
Lyris Quartet
Mark Alan Hilt, organ
Jacaranda Chamber Singers
Scott Dunn, conductor

In Nico Muhly — his longstanding assistant — Philip Glass finds “a curious ear, a restless listening, and a maker of works. He’s doing his own thing.” With a Metropolitan Opera commission underway, at Muhly's current pace he may someday rival the success of his mentor. Clear Music, an aptly named work by the 22-year old Muhly introduces a pair of Glass's lesser-known works: the concise but emotionally compelling Fifth String Quartet, and the composer's most spellbinding choral work Another Look at Harmony, Part IV. Glass's landmark opera Einstein on the Beach absorbed Parts I-III leaving behind a distinctive aural tapestry. The organ and chorus weave harmony with rhythm into a rich exalted design as powerful as a psychedelic.