PROGRAM

Moonlight Concerto (2017–18) -
Kevin Puts
flute & piano version
I. Moonlight

Written in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, Moonlight Concerto reflects a period of uncertainty and reflection for composer Kevin Puts. Inspiration came from the film Moonlight,
whose quiet humanity remained with him after a chance encounter during a
cross-country flight.

A Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award–winning composer, Puts is known for music that combines lyricism with emotional immediacy. This performance features the first movement of the concerto,
originally for oboe, in a version for
flute and piano.

Listen for the piano’s opening triplet figures, the flute’s use of harmonics, and the shifting balance between fragility and strength.

with Jacob Ertl, piano

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Original poetry by Kitty Jospe’: Even So

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Let Your Heart Break (So Your Spirit Doesn’t) (2026) - Laura Lentz
for alto flute/flute, flute, bass clarinet, and piano

This work takes inspiration from the words of poet and activist Andrea Gibson (1975–2025), whose writing explored identity, justice, love, mortality, and social change. The first movement is a conversation between alto flute and bass clarinet. The second movement expands that dialogue to the full ensemble. Energy accumulates before arriving at six beats of silence.
The music returns, ending with a unison that quiets and slowly gathers dissonance.
Nothing is resolved. Instead, the ending offers a space to notice what remains.

with Olivia Fietkiewicz, flute
Marcy Bacon, bass clarinet
Jacob Ertl, piano

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Greensleeves - Traditional, arr.
by Laura Lentz

This arrangement of the familiar English folk song brings together current
and former students of Laura’s.
with Elise, Joanne, Liv, Madison, Mary, Olivia, Paula, Raeha, Ryder, Tarp, Tori

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BRIEF INTERMISSION

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Magic with Everyday Objects (2007/2015) - Missy Mazzoli
flute, cello, & piano version

Commissioned by Laura from the original quintet of flute, clarinet, piano, electric guitar, and double bass, Magic with Everyday Objects transforms familiar musical materials into something unexpected. Chords slide out of tune, repetitive melodies become entangled, and a lyrical piano line persists through constantly shifting textures.

As Mazzoli writes, the piece explores “finding beauty and rapture in the midst of chaos and acknowledging
the chaos that lies just beneath the surface of beauty.”

with Svetlana Garitselova, cello
Jacob Ertl, piano

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Original poetry by Kitty Jospe’: DoubleDip

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Serendipity No. 2 (2024) - JacobTV
for alto flute, string quartet, & tabla

Following their earlier collaboration on Pale Moon in a Very Blue Sky and Loudly & Clearly, JacobTV invited Laura to explore his catalogue for future projects. Serendipity, originally written for Indian violin, tabla, and string quartet,
inspired this 2024 version for alto flute, string quartet, and tabla.

Serendipity means a “fortunate happenstance” or “pleasant surprise”. It was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754.
In a letter he wrote to a friend Walpole explained an unexpected discovery he had made by reference to a Persian fairy tale,
The Three Princes of Serendip. The princes, he told his correspondent, were
“always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”.

with Kurt Munstedt, violin
AnChi Lin, violin
Grant Rieke, viola
Svetlana Garitselova, cello
Tom Nanni, tabla

Reception to follow.
Many thanks to Payton Violins for hosting tonight’s performance and to all the musicians, friends, students, and colleagues who made this evening special.