Chandler Music Hall
Celebrates its Centennial

By Sara Nelson 

A performance of piano music by a renowned young composer with local roots will close Chandler Music Hall's season opener this Saturday.

"101 Premieres: Albert's Big Bash" will celebrate the history of Chandler with a seven-hour multimedia marathon of excerpts from works of art, music, dance, poetry and film that were premiered between 1907 and 2007.

It's an outrageously ambitious show that will depend on hundreds of local performers.

Organizer Tony Keller said that most of the excerpts come from internationally famous works of art that don't necessarily have a local connection.

However, Nico Muhly's closing piece, which will be performed "sometime between 11:00 and midnight," occupies the intersection of the local and the world-renowned.

The 26-year-old composer, who was born at Gifford Medical Center, has been embraced by the upper echelons of the music scene. His music, which draws on both minimalism and early choral music, has been performed at Carnegie Hall and the Whitney Museum, and his work has been commissioned and played by orchestras all over the world. Muhly has even conducted the Opera de Paris and worked with pop stars like Bjork.

One of Muhly's most highly-publicized compositions was a song cycle based on Strunk and White's classic writing handbook, "The Elements of Style." The music premiered at the New York Library and was reviewed in the New York Times, which described Muhly as "talented and audacious."

Muhly graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English Literature in 2003, and received his Masters in music from the Juilliard School in 2004. He is now based in New York, where, in addition to his own projects, he works on film and stage scores with legendary minimalist composer Philip Glass.

However, Muhly says that his work is influenced by a childhood spent in large part in central Vermont. Muhly lived in Randolph until age five, then moved to Providence, R.I., but spent weekends and summers at the Tunbridge house where his parents, Frank Muhly and Bunny Harvey, still live part time.

In fact, Muhly's music education began with piano lessons from the extraordinary Randolph piano teacher Florence Cushman when she was over 100 years old.

"He also did all the kid stuff like swimming lessons at the pool, and rode at the Brickyard Farm in South Randolph," his mom recalled. Harvey's family has had a house in Randolph since 1949.

The Vermont summers haven't failed to leave an impression on the composer.

"Randolph has had an enormous influence- both obvious and subtle- in everything I do," Muhly said.

"Since I've lived in New York, going up [to Vermont] is a treat, and I'm able to write best there."

Muhly said the high concentration of talented people in New York is both intimidating and comfortable.

"It's hard to distinguish yourself in a town filled with people who are doing amazing things. But for the most part everybody I meet is 'up to' something, so, it feels like family," he said.

Unfortunately, upcoming deadlines for three new commissions will keep Muhly from performing his piece at Chandler this weekend. Instead, Muhly has promised to send an introduction to the four-minute-long piano piece, entitled "A Hudson Cycle."

Cynthia Huard, a music professor and the director of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, has been drafted to perform it.

Huard said she agreed to the "middle-of-the-night" performance because she values Chandler and wants to support it.

"It's such an important part of the community."

The last time Huard performed at Chandler was at the 2006 Mud Season Talent Show, when she accompanied her daughter. She has also performed with national and international ensembles and is frequently an accompanist for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Huard described Muhly's piece as having "very subtle harmonic and rhythmic changes."

"It reminds you of life- the normal development of life when you're feeling most peaceful with it. It swells and comes back again."

Muhly said "A Hudson Cycle," which is on his recently-released debut CD, was written for a friend's wedding.

"When she got married, she moved from New York, so I wanted to write something that would remind her of the city," Muhly said.

Keller pointed out that the theme of remembering roots is fitting for the occasion.

"Nico Muhly is a home boy who's made good," he said.

"His piece is a very nice way to complete the series of artists represented in the show. Talk about local inspiration for the next 100 years!"

Tickets for all, half, or year-by-year increments of "101 Premieres" can be purchased from the Chandler box office, 728-6464, or at the door.