Episode 4: The Clarinet Presents Rhapsody in Blue with Jennifer Daniels

Listen in to ECHO’s principal clarinet, Jennifer Dennison Daniels, as she chats with Kelli Soika about the role the instrument plays in Gershwin’s iconic work.

A native Houstonian, clarinetist Jennifer Dennison Daniels is well-integrated into the rich culture of the Houston Arts scene, regularly performing with many local music and arts organizations including The Houston Heights Orchestra and Scirocco Winds. Though she has spent the bulk of her career in her hometown, she did manage to break away briefly from the Lone Star State, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio in 2005. An avid Francophile, she then began a Master of Music degree from McGill University in Montréal, Québec. Though Canada was a welcoming and surprisingly hospitable territory, she eventually heeded the beckoning call of The Republic of Texas, and answered its cry for her to return with four resounding claps of her hand, as truly the stars at night ARE big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. Back in her hometown, she then earned her Master of Music degree at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music in 2009. Also an active teacher and clinician, Mrs. Daniels has a flourishing private studio and is faculty at Lone Star College-Montgomery in The Woodlands, TX.

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Episode 3: The Historian Presents Rhapsody in Blue with Charles Tittsworth

Listen in as ECHO’s Kelli Soika chats with Charles Tittsworth, the orchestra’s in-house music historian. He is the person ECHO thanks for program notes and some interesting perspective on the music in our programs.

A graduate of the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University, Charles Tittsworth has been a musician and music educator for 48 years. In addition to teaching all levels from elementary age to college, Mr.Tittsworth has conducted three community orchestras as well as several church choirs. He has also served as President of Texas Orchestra Directors Association and Orchestra Vice President of Texas Music Educators Association.

In this episode, they talk about Gershwin and the form of a rhapsody. They also work out how the major composers of our program connect with one another.

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Episode 2: The Soloist Presents Rhapsody in Blue with Andrew Sta

Listen in as ECHO’s Kelli Soika chats with Andrew Staupe, a composer based in Houston who writes music that blends rich lyricism with bold gestures and striking rhythms.

Pianist Andrew Staupe is emerging as one of the distinctive voices of a new generation of pianists. Andrew has appeared as soloist with many of the top orchestras throughout the United States and in Europe, including the Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, the George Enescu Philharmonic in Romania, and many others. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors Osmo Vänskä, Cristian Macelaru, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, Andrew Litton, Lucas Richman, Josep-Caballe Domenech, and Philip Mann. Andrew has performed recitals across the United States and extensively in Europe, appearing in distinguished concert venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, the Schumann Haus in Leipzig, and the Salle Cortot in Paris.

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Episode 1: The Creator Presents Rhapsody in Blue with Mark Buller

Listen in as ECHO’s Kelli Soika chats with Mark Buller, a composer based in Houston who writes music that blends rich lyricism with bold gestures and striking rhythms.

In this episode, they talk about how a composer finds inspiration for a new piece and how it fits win with the other music on the program. Mark shares his view on the “characters” in the music and how he writes their stories.

Mark has written a wide variety of pieces, from tiny miniatures for solo instruments to operas and works for large orchestra. His music has been heard in venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall and the Moscow Conservatory to offbeat locations such as the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney. He has been privileged to write for a number of world-class ensembles and organizations, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Chamber Choir and he is currently ECHO’s Composer-in-Residence.

His flexibility as a composer has led to some unique projects and commissions: four operas for Houston Grand Opera -- including a pastiche opera -- with libretti by Charles Anthony Silvestri and Euan Tait (together totaling over 180 performances since 2015); a series of poignant art songs and a major choral work also for HGO, setting words by veterans and by Leah Lax; and eighty very short pieces for various forces, entitled Quarantine Miniatures, written during the COVID-19 lockdown.

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