With one hour a week of rehearsal available and a combined 13 weeks of preparation, Peoria Lunaire set out to astound its audience with its first performance of the year in Dingledine Hall Dec. 3.
Peoria Lunaire was started two years ago. The ensemble consists of five members, all professors in the music department at Bradley.
Members include Timothy Archbold on the cello, Kyle Dzapo on the flute, Stephen Heinemann on the clarinet, Marcia Henry Liebenow on the violin and John Orfe on the piano.
The group played arrangements that were composed in the 20th Century.
“This type of ensemble didn’t exist before that,” Heinemann said. “There was maybe only one piece written for this group of instruments. Since then, over the last 100 years or so, a lot of really good composers have been writing really great pieces for a group like this one.”
Heinemann said in order to make use of the one hour allotted per week, individual practice must occur for each member prior to rehearsals.
“One of the big differences between a professional group and an amateur group is that you don’t use rehearsal time to practice your part,” Heinemann said. “When you come into rehearsal, you know your part. What you don’t know is how your part works with all the other parts.”
Rehearsal time is used to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The compositions are then fine tuned while the ensemble rehearses as a group.
The concert consisted of six compositions. The first four were a combination of two duets and two solo performances.
Orfe is an acclaimed pianist according to the New York Times, Boston Globe, LA Weekly and San Francisco Chronicle. He has earned numerous awards, including the Twelve Standards Awards, Morton Gould Award and Tanglewood Fellowship. Orfe earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from the Yale University School of Music.
“There is so much possibility for color…for narrative,” Orfe said. “There is a lot of stories to be told with this instrument. I love it; it’s my natural means of expression as a performer. And there is more great literature for this instrument than is possible to play in a lifetime.”
After intermission, the ensemble played the remaining two compositions. The premiere of “Fractal” by 2010 Bradley graduate Joseph Scardetta was one of the two compositions played.
Peoria Lunaire’s next performance will be April 22, 2015. Heinemann said he hopes to increase rehearsal time in order to expand the content of future concerts.
“We were able to put together this program with one hour a week,” Heinemann said. “Imagine what we could do if we had maybe three hours.”
