Searching for a last-minute romantic activity to share with your partner? Want to treat yourself to a nice evening even without a date? N.C. State’s Arts NOW program has you covered on all fronts on this, the anniversary of Oregon’s statehood.
The Fire Pink Trio—a flute/harp/viola ensemble—will be holding a concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy-McIlwee Studio center in Thompson Hall. According to the University, the Trio boasts a bevy of honors including top prizes in international competitions, concerto performances and critically-acclaimed recordings.
The Trio consists of Jacquelyn Bartlett (harpist), Sheila Browne (violist) and Debra Reuter-Pivetta (flutist) – all three faculty members from the N.C. School of the Arts. The group is named after the “Fire Pink” flower that grows in the mountains where they are in residence as musicians.
The Trio is a recently-formed group, having just started in 2008. According to Jonathan Kramer, a teaching professor of music and arts studies, the Fire Pink Trio found themselves through the performance of Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. Kramer says the Sonata was Debussy’s effort to write for unusual ensembles and tone colors.
“Why would Debussy write a piece for such an odd ensemble?” Kramer said. “Well, the sound is very particular and Debussy found the combination fascinating.”
Since Debussy’s Sonata, there have been more contributions to the Flute-Viola-Harp repertoire, and the Fire Pink Trio has given a unique voice to many of them.
According to the Fire Pink Trio’s website, the ensemble plays music from all eras, from Romantic period composers such Beethoven, Berlioz and Chopin to Contemporary, and play a wide variety of styles including Latin and Jazz. Kramer was unable to comment on the specific details of tonight’s program, though he did hint at what might be performed.
“They’re going to play the Sonata of course, but everything else was written in the last few years,” Kramer said.
Kramer added that N.C. State’s own J. Mark Scearce, the director of the music program, wrote a piece that will be performed by the Trio tonight.
The Arts NOW program heard about the Fire Pink Trio through Kramer himself. Kramer is a long-time friend of the Trio’s harpist Jacquelyn Bartlett as well as a former colleague of flutist Debra Reuter-Pivetta when they both performed with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (Kramer played the cello). Kramer also recommended the Cello/Bass duo Low and Lower, who held a concert in the fall, for the Arts NOW series.
Kramer said that while he has never personally heard the Trio perform, from what he’s heard of the individual artists he knows concert-goers are in for a treat at tonight’s performance.
