ITHACA COLLEGE CONTEMPORARY CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Ho-Yin Kwok, director
Chris Coletti, director
Seven Pillars by Andy Akiho explores the free spaces created within an organized structure. This evening-length work, comprising seven quartets and four solos, began with its central movement, Pillar IV. Originally commissioned as a stand-alone work, this piece contained a rigorous structure and motivic content that Akiho felt compelled to expand beyond its 10-minute capsule. Pillar IV became the nucleus for Seven Pillars, containing the DNA from which the other six quartets are built.
The macro-structure of Seven Pillars is made up of two simultaneous processes. The first is an additive process where each movement introduces a new instrument that is then incorporated into the subsequent pillars. To balance this expansion, there is a symmetrical structure on either side of the central movement, Pillar IV.
Pillar III is characterized by its firm rhythmic underpinning. Interlocking figures dance around each other and then snap into unison. We are treated to Akiho’s version of a backbeat—in 13 beats rather than in 4. Layers of variations culminate into a fire-alarm of sound that collapses into a sedated coda. The second solo, Spiel, snaps us out of this trans and introduces the glockenspiel. Kicking down the door with dazzling speed and agility, eventually it disappears into thin air as if nothing had happened.
- Program note by Jonny Allen
Recovering is about gradually coming back to how things were, and in the process becoming something new. When wounds heal, new skin grows back in its place.
In Recovering I selected a brief moment from L’Histoire du Soldat’s “Pastorale” and froze it. This gesture is first played by a sustained vibraphone, coated in delicate a haze of breath sounds arranged to surround the audience—as in recovery, breathing is the most basic element. Stravinsky’s gesture gradually thaws and gains direction, joined by evolving sounds in the strings. In time, tiny alterations to the gesture—a displaced octave, a new pitch, different harmonies, and finally a regular pulse—recontextualize it completely from its origins in L’Histoire. Only at this point does the music reach a state of repose and stability, if only temporarily.
Recovering is dedicated to my teacher and friend Nils Vigeland, who first introduced me to the wonders of Stravinsky, particularly L’Histoire.
Recovering was commissioned by The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The World Premiere was given by Ensemble ACJW at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Zankel Music Center, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY on February 10, 2012 and repeated at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York City on February 14, 2012. Recovering was also funded in part by the Composer Assistance Program of New Music USA.
- Program note by the composer
The inspiration of Shimmer! comes from a fascination with the natural behaviors of light. Physicists have observed the nature of light to function as a particle and a wave for hundreds of years. This wave-particle duality of light allows for some spectacular displays in nature, from the stars painted atop our night sky to the gradient wonders we receive before dawn. I chose to capture these breathtaking moments using the spectrum of sound colors from four cellos.
Shimmer! reflects my optimism that has continuously been a beacon of light during trying times. Shimmer! reminds me that positivity can be a light in our life in the most natural form. I hope that this work will offer listeners a moment of reflection to consider what truly makes them shimmer!
- Program note by the composer
I started writing ’Til it was dark in the summer of 2010. While searching for ideas, I began recalling past summers, summers I enjoyed with friends when I was a kid.’Til it was dark is what emerged from those memories. The work is in three movements: Break, “Three more minutes!”, and Important Things. Break depicts the beginning of summer when school lets out—and the utter joy my friends and I felt when the last bell of the year rang. “Three more minutes!” is a more specific memory. When I was playing outside with the other kids on my block, my dad would often come to announce, “Three more minutes!” or “Three-minute warning!” Then he would walk away. With a minute left, he would come back, and look at his watch until time was up. He was the only parent who did this. Finally, Important Things recalls quieter moments shared with friends, when you wanted to say something that was on your mind...but of course, never did.
This piece is dedicated to Ian Murray.
- Program note by the composer
A unique opportunity to write for 5 (V) cellos brought to mind Gabrieli’s antiphonal choirs (Left, Center, Right) and stereo tape delay units. My thoughts first drifted to Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days” from the album Meddle. A foundational element of that song, is bass with a delay effect. When I mentioned my idea about antiphonal choirs to Prof. Coletti, he suggested I listen to the album “Gabrieli- A Venitian Coronation, 1595.” The bombastic bass sackbut was the inspiration for the end of the piece.
When talking about the composition with my friend Matt Donello, I mentioned the antiphonal idea and the five cellos. The riffing moved to affixing the roman numeral V (for five) to the front of Antiphonal to create Vantiphonal. Further extrapolation led to the Greek word for antiphonal— Antiphõnos.
- Program note by the composer
Hailed as “a technical superstar and household name” by Maestro Paul Haas and “one of the most remarkable double (music) threats… a brilliant trumpeter and imaginative arranger” by David Srebnik (Sirius XM), internationally acclaimed trumpeter Chris Coletti is recognized for his work as a soloist, principal trumpet with top orchestras, arranger, and as a former member of the legendary Canadian Brass, with whom he toured internationally for over a decade and appears on more than a dozen acclaimed recordings.
He is Principal Trumpet of ROCO (Houston) and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and frequently performs and records as guest principal with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. As a conductor, Coletti directs the Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble and has also led the IC Gamer Symphony, Trumpet Ensemble, and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.
He has performed and/or recorded with artists and ensembles such as Jon Batiste, Kanye West, Quincy Jones, the Metropolitan Opera Brass, New York Philharmonic Brass, and conductors Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Kurt Masur. He also appears in the Netflix documentary American Symphony and is a member of the all-star brass octet Brassology .
Most importantly, Coletti’s students have won positions in professional military bands and orchestras, been accepted into elite graduate programssuch as The Juilliard School, Yale, New England Conservatory (NEC), andManhattan School of Music (MSM), completed PhDs at top institutions including Florida State University and the University of Connecticut, and are now professors at schools across the USA.
Described by Classical Voice of North Carolina (CVNC) as an “impressive conductor…outstanding in his attention to detail and his command of the big picture”, Hong Kong-born conductor Ho-Yin Kwok is a three-time winner of The American Prize, 2021, winner of 2017-2018 Vincent C. LaGuardia, Jr. Conducting Competition and 2021 International Conductors Workshop and Competition. Recently concluded an 8-year tenure as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Kwok is the Director of Orchestras at Ithaca College, New York. He also serves as Music Director of Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra in Duluth, Minnesota.
Having established a nationwide reputation, Ho-Yin Kwok’s recent guest conducting engagements include the New World Symphony, the Syracuse Orchestra, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Arapahoe Philharmonic, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Eastern Festival Orchestra, and Collegium Musicum Hong Kong.
He also has been invited to serve as cover conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Kansas City Symphony. In the 2025-2026 season, he will make his debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Tucson Symphony Orchestra as well as conducting the season opener for Syracuse Orchestra at the Masterworks Series.
An avid music educator, Ho-Yin Kwok directs the Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta, and Contemporary Chamber Ensemble at Ithaca College. He has previously served as the Director of the Duluth Superior Youth Symphony and in the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University and University of Minnesota Duluth. His recent educational guest conducting engagements include All-State Orchestras, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, University of Wisconsin-Madison Summer Music Clinic, and Foster Music Camp. He was invited as adjudicator for concerto competitions such as those of Minnesota Orchestra Young People's Symphony Concert Association, University of Minnesota, University of Kentucky, and Cornell University. In the 2025-2026 season, he will conduct the All-state Orchestras of California and Maine.
Ho-Yin Kwok is a first prize winner of The American Prize in opera conducting. He had served as Music Director of the Opera Theatre at University of Minnesota Twin-Cities. He enjoys conducting operas of a wide range of periods and styles, including those by Mozart, Puccini, Britten and Menotti. He was the instigating artistic force behind the formation of opera orchestra at Eastern Kentucky University and has collaborated professionally with Arbeit Opera Theatre and Lyric Opera of the North. In the 2021-22 season, Kwok gave one of the first performances of Laura Kaminsky’s new opera, Hometown to the World. He is looking forward to conducting Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard's Castle in the spring of 2026.
Known for his passion in diversifying the orchestral concert repertoire, Ho-Yin Kwok has been involved in multiple initiatives and special projects. With the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, he created the annual Foreground Composers Series, a year-round celebration and in-depth research on an underrepresented composer. This ongoing project has led to numerous US premieres of works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Ruth Gipps, Ina Boyle, and Bao Yuankai, along with many other neglected composers. Kwok is also a panel member of …And we were heard, a national initiative to promote contemporary music and composers of underrepresented backgrounds.
Ho-Yin Kwok studied conducting at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities and the University of Iowa. His principal teachers are Mark Russell Smith and William LaRue Jones. His other important mentors are Gerard Schwarz, Kevin Noe, Cristian Măcelaru, Giancarlo Guerrero, the Ensō String Quartet, Brentano Quartet, Joel Krosnick, David Shifrin, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Grant Cooper. He is a Marquis Who’s Who biographical listee.
VIOLIN
Naveen Tomlinson
VIOLA
Elijah Shenk
Andrei Popovici
CELLO
Tom Bowstead
Ian Croker
Emily Donohue
Eli Jort
Peter Morales
DOUBLE BASS
Garrett Jorgensen
PIANO
Joshua Davey
Jamie Decker
FLUTE AND PICCOLO
Mad Andrus
Gianna Gassira
CLARINET
Christian Laughlin
BASSOON
Griffin Harrel
HORN
Kate Martin
TRUMPET
Nathan Felch
Thomas Papke
TROMBONE
Estelle Kamrass