Decoda and PRISM Quartet: A musical extravaganza at UNCSA this January

UNCSA will present two renowned and innovative guest music ensembles in concert in January. Decoda, an artist-led collective of performers and advocates for music in communities around the world, will present an octet from its collective of 30-plus players on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The PRISM Quartet, composed of saxophonists, will perform an expansive range of music — from a beloved masterwork of the Western canon to exhilarating commissions — on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m.

The concerts will take place in Watson Hall on the UNCSA campus, 1533 S. Main St. Tickets for both events, at $25 for adults and $20 for students with ID for each concert, are available by calling the box office at 336-721-1945 or by visiting www.uncsa.edu/performances.

Decoda

Decoda, the Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, is an artist-driven group of virtuoso chamber musicians. Hailed by The New York Times as “refreshing in the extreme,” the New York City-based chamber music collective will present a program for mixed octet called “Belonging” at UNCSA.

Flowing in time and space, selections will explore connection, closeness and the sense of belonging, granted through the act of making and sharing music together. The program also shines a spotlight on Decoda’s celebrated creative work with vulnerable communities, including incarcerated persons. Since 2014, Decoda has conducted a residency at the Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security facility in South Carolina. The program “Music for Transformation” aims to assist with the rehabilitation and anti-recidivism of prisoners. Decoda will perform three original works written by incarcerated musicians. Brad Balliett, a founding member, composer and bassoonist, performs with Decoda and has composed and arranged music for its repertoire.

“My goal was to expand our work in prison and take the music from those projects into the concert hall more often,” he said. “Some incarcerated people are total musical beginners and some are writing completely notated music.”

Balliett said that his wife, Laura Weiner, who is also in Decoda, was so inspired by their prison work that she decided to go to law school.

“The goal of the music programs in prison is not to solve anything,” he said. “It’s not to teach music. It’s about creating communities, fostering collaboration and providing temporary relief from prison conditions.

“I wanted to have music by an incarcerated person on every program and that is part of the music that we are bringing to UNCSA.”

The program will include Evan Premo’s “Belonging” (2017) for cello and bass; Hildegard von Bingen’s “Karitas Habundat” (arr. Balliett); Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “O Sweet and Beloved Mother” (2022) for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, bass and piano; Valerie Coleman’s “Revelry” (2019) for flute, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and piano; Chick Corea’s “Selections from Children’s Songs for piano” (1984) (arr. by Decoda, 2021); and many more.

“The strength of Decoda is that it is flexible,” Balliett said. “We can form any combination of strings and wind instruments. It is able to perform the standard repertoire, such as a string quartet, as well as new music.”

In addition to performing a public concert while in Winston-Salem, Decoda’s musicians will spend time with students during a residency.

“The performance part is important,” said Claire Bryant, Decoda’s co-artistic director and co-founder. “But the other aspect of our time is the residency. Our work with the students is really exciting.” As part of the residency, Decoda will play works by composition students and hold a community engagement workshop. The group will also present a “Professional Pathways” seminar that provides an overview of a career in music including business elements.

“The realities of that side of being an artist are sometimes not addressed,” Bryant continued. “We’re hoping to engage students in other departments and we’ll be working with members of ArtistCorps.”

A cellist, teacher and activist, Bryant is also the director of “Music for Transformation” and was invited twice to share Decoda’s work with the Obama administration in The White House.

The theme for the residency and concert is “Belonging,” Bryant said. “And the idea behind that is the idea of how music brings us together and creates a sense of belonging.”

“We believe that chamber music is for everyone, that everyone is creative,” Balliett added. “I think that comes through in our concerts, as we try to create not only music but also an experience for the audience.” 

PRISM Quartet

The PRISM Quartet will perform the following Saturday, Jan. 27.

Hailed as “a bold ensemble that set the standard for contemporary-classical saxophone quartets” by The New York Times, PRISM seeks to place the saxophone in unexpected contexts; chart fresh musical territory; and challenge, inspire and move audiences.

The ensemble for the performance is composed of Timothy McAllister, Matt Koester, UNCSA faculty member Robert Young and Taimur Sullivan, who was a UNCSA School of Music faculty member from 2005 to 2016.

“Most of our work in PRISM is the classical and contemporary sides of the saxophone,” Sullivan said. “But we’ve also been very active in commissioning a body of work from great jazz saxophonists. We call the project Heritage Evolution.”

PRISM has two recordings out under Heritage Evolution and a third coming out this year.

“We’ve invited some of the world’s great jazz saxophonists to compose works for us that feature them,” he said. “When we travel and tour, we like to pull a piece of repertoire from that project and use it with the saxophonists at the institutions we are traveling to.”

Additionally, Steve Alford from UNCSA faculty will be performing with PRISM. “We have played and recorded with Robert for years,” Sullivan said.

Works on the program include “Schumann Bouquet,” a suite of six movements drawn from Robert Schumann's piano pieces for young people, selected and transcribed by William Bolcom for saxophone quartet; “Second Threnody Movement for Peace,” by Chicago Modern Orchestra Project founder Renee Baker; Marcos Balter’s “Yarn”; and Melissa Aldana’s “Reflections.” 

“Melissa Aldana is one of the most important saxophone soloists on the scene,” Sullivan said. Alford will solo on that piece. “It will be a program that crosses many genres.”

As with Decoda, part of PRISM’s time in Winston-Salem will be spent working and playing with students.

“They will keep us busy,” Sullivan said. “In addition to open rehearsals, there are a number of master classes. The mission of the PRISM Quartet in large part is to generate new repertoire.

“When we travel, we really enjoy working with young composers at universities,” Sullivan said. “The student composers at UNCSA have been writing pieces, and we will workshop them, give the students feedback and recordings of their work.

“Sometimes we come across some really amazing works that actually enter our repertoire.”

Three composition students will present works for PRISM: Peien Ai’s “Embers,” Andrew McFarland’s “Wayfinding,” and Jacob McCoy’s “Laughter Therapy.”

About Decoda

Decoda was founded in 2012 by musicians who first collaborated as members of Ensemble Connect, a two-year fellowship program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. Its work as an ensemble has grown out of this collective training, which focused on developing skills as exemplary performers, dedicated teachers and passionate advocates for music in communities around the world. Decoda’s mission is to create a more compassionate and connected world through music – thoughtfully curating outstanding performances of live chamber music, facilitating creative community projects and training the next generation of musical artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. 

About PRISM Quartet

PRISM has been presented by Carnegie Hall; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and in Latin America, China and Russia under the auspices of the U.S. Information Agency and USArtists International. They've also appeared as soloists with the Detroit Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra and conducted residencies at leading conservatories. A two-time recipient of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, PRISM has commissioned over 300 works by eminent composers. In 2016, the University of Michigan awarded PRISM the Christopher Kendall Award for its work in collaboration, entrepreneurship and community engagement. The PRISM Quartet performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones.

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