duo vela |vl|

plural form of VELUM: of Latin origin, meaning sails

With a ship and the stars to guide, let Duo Vela transport you
across the ocean to other lands. Experience new sounds and
indulge your senses in the colours and picturesque scenes
painted by the flute and guitar.
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Hello! Welcome to our concert! We are Daniel

and Marla- one recent graduate and one still
attending the Eastman School of Music located in
Rochester, NY. Daniel is a long way from his
hometown of Melbourne, Australia, and Marla is
not quite as far away from her beloved Chesapeake,
VA. Recently engaged in Prague, we are setting out
in life as a chamber ensemble and newlyweds!
Daniel is an excellent Italian chef and makes the
most delicious pizzas. Marla enjoys eating Daniels
pizzas and has a rambunctious cat that she has
trained to sit, turn in a circle, and sometimes
retrieve.
Now that you know a little about us, please come introduce yourself during
intermission or at the end of the show!
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**As you may have already guessed, this is not the traditional, run-of-the-mill
classical music concert program. Duo Velas primary goal is to engage you, the
audience member, as much as possible and bring you a little bit closer to our art
and craft. In this program, you will get to read about the composers, detailed
information on each piece, fun facts, and learn about various musical techniques.
It is our hope that this selected repertoire will captivate, inspire, and leave a lasting
impression.

From the dreaming by Phillip Houghton

Phillip Houghton is an Australian composer and guitarist, born
1954 in Melbourne, Australia. Like many other Australian
composers, Houghtons music vividly portrays Australian
landscapes, particularly those of the outback. Houghton
was
originally trained as a visual artist and this visual element can be
experienced in his music by the colourful sonic landscapes he
produces.

I. Cave Painting

Cave Painting was inspired by

ancient aboriginal rock art, rock
formations, mystery and powerfields.
The guitar in this movement tries to
imitate the didjeridu.

II. Wildflower
Wildflower is the song of a single
flower in an ever changing
panorama and climate of storms,
drought, heat and isolation --isolation and endless space.

III. Gecko
Gecko is basically the life
and times of a small gecko
lizard in scherzo form!

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Suite Buenos Aires (2001)

Mximo Diego Pujol

I. Pompeya
II. Palermo
III. San Telmo
Daniel: I had the pleasure of meeting Mximo a couple years ago in his hometown of Buenos Aires. He
was very warm and friendly and treated me to some Asado, which is a traditional barbeque of Argentina.
Last year, Mximo and his group performed in Adeliade, Australia and I got to listen to some of the finest
tango music Id ever heard performed.
Pujol is a guitarist himself and is perhaps one of the most popular living composers for the instrument. He
studied with influential pedagogue Abel Carlevaro, whose technique books I use everyday! Pujol also
studied the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos and Leo Brouwer, two of the most influential composers of the
mid-late 20th century for guitar.
Pujols music is very tuneful, accessible and draws heavily on the tango style of Astor Piazzolla, who well
learn more about next. Like Piazzola, Pujol strives for a fusion of traditional Argentine Tango concepts
with formal academic concepts.
Suite Buenos Aires is a clear example of this fusion, introducing very melodic, simple and memorable
themes but developing them in fairly complex ways, modulating through many keys and varying the
textures in crafty ways.
Each movement represents a different region of Buenos Aires.

~ Intermission ~

Sonatina, Op. 205 by Mario CastlenuovoTedesco (1895-1968)

I. Allegretto grazioso
II. Tempo di Siciliana
III. Scherzo. Rondo

Background

Italian born Mario Castlenuovo-Tedesco is most well known today as a composer of guitar
music, however Tedesco wrote for a large array of genres including opera, ballet, oratorio,
cantata, and song. From 1940 to 1956 Tedesco worked in Hollywood as a film composer,
eventually becoming one of the most sought after film score teachers, with pupils including
Andre Previn, Henry Mancini and John Williams!
Tedescos output also includes String Quartets and Violin Concertos, most notably his 2nd
Violin Concerto i profeti written for Jascha Heifetz, a work that expressed Tedescos concern
for Italian Jewry and was a means of taking a stand, saying that I felt proud of belonging to a
race so unjustly persecuted.... The rising antisemitism forced Tedesco and his family to move to
the USA in 1939.
For Tedesco, anything could be translated into musical expression, including the landscapes I
saw, the books I read, the pictures and statues I admired. Three themes were central for
Tedescos inspiration - his place of birth, the Bible and Shakespeare. His output numbers over
200, however many of these works, including Sonatina, are not widely performed today.

Sonatina displays Tedescos craft as a composer, introducing simple, memorable themes and
developing them, changing their character and mood dramatically. One could almost imagine
these themes as central characters in a movie or novel.

The first movement, Allegretto grazioso, has two main contrasting themes.
Theme 1 -

Theme 2 -

Themes together

The Siciliana, which developed as a genre in the Baroque period, is the basis for the second
movement. Characterized by a 6/8 pulse, the siciliana has a melancholic quality.
Sicilana theme -

The final movement is an exciting finale, with fast, lively figures pervading throughout.

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Histoire Du Tango
by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
I Bordel-1900
II Cafe-1930
III Night Club-1960

Bordello, 1900: The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and
flute. Arrangements then came to include the piano, and later, the concertina. This music is full
of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good natured chatter of the French, Italian, and
Spanish women who peopled those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and
riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.
Cafe, 1930: This is another age of the tango. People stopped dancing it as they did in 1900,
preferring instead simply to listen to it. It became more musical, and more romantic. This tango
has undergone total transformation: the movements are slower, with new and often melancholy
harmonies. Tango orchestras come to consist of two violins, two concertinas, a piano, and a bass.
The tango is sometimes sung as well.
Night Club, 1960: This is a time of rapidly expanding international exchange, and the tango
evolves again as Brazil and Argentina come together in Buenos Aires. The bossa nova and the
new tango are moving to the same beat. Audiences rush to the night clubs to listen earnestly to
the new tango. This marks a revolution and a profound alteration in some of the original tango
forms.

About the Performers

Marla Smith, MM 15 Flute Performance, Eastman School of Music; BM 13 Flute
Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University. While attending ESM, Marla was
teaching assistant to professor Bonita Boyd, taught the Flute Methods course, and
maintained a studio of private students.
Passionate for soloing, Marla has placed first in many competitions, including the
Richmond Flute Fest (2012 & 2010) and the South Carolina Flute Societys Young Artist
Competition (2011). In the summer of 2012, she had the privilege of attending the Aspen
Music Festival and School. Most recently, Marla was chosen as the Principal Flutist for
the month long festival, Prague Summer Nights where she performed Don Giovanni in
the Estates Theatre where it was first premiered under Mozarts baton.
Marla has performed for renowned flutists including Aaron Goldman, Mimi Stillman,
Ransom Wilson, Brooks de Wetter-Smith, and Carol Wincenc. Former teachers include
Dr. Tabatha Easley and Patti R. Watters.

Daniel Nistico has been a prizewinner of the Lions Global Youth Music Competition
held in Seattle, and the Great Lakes Guitar Society Competition held in Buffalo. In 2013,
Daniel won 2nd prize in The World Competition, an open instrument competition run
entirely online. Daniel has performed around the globe including Serbia, Chile, Australia,
New Zealand and the USA. Also in 2013, Daniel recorded his debut album Un Viaje
Mistico A Mystical Journey. He is presently undertaking his Doctor of Musical Arts
at Eastman, under both Nicholas Goluses and Paul Odette, and was the first guitarist in
the history of the school to be nominated for an Artist Certificate, a prestigious prize
awarded to performers of the highest level.