Chamber Project St. Louis Performs "Clarinet Quintet" of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Kyle Lombard, violin, will be featured on the “Clarinet Quintet” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and is a core member of Chamber Project St. Louis.

Photo courtesy of World Chess Hall of Fame

The St. Louis American

Chamber Project St. Louis diversifies the voices of classical music, Nov. 16 concert features work by a woman, black and Hispanic composers
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Nov 8, 2018

Chamber Project St. Louis’ next program is themed “Rediscovery,” though most local listeners will be making their first discovery of work by this diverse, under-programmed group of composers performed live.

On the program: “Clarinet Quintet” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), whose mother was English and father of [African] heritage; “Nonet in Eb major” by Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), a French woman composer propelled to fame by this work who fell back into obscurity after her death; and the world premiere of “Redescubrimiento: A Dominican in St. Louis” by Darwin Aquino, who is – you guessed it – a Hispanic composer from the Dominican Republic living in St. Louis.

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“We focus on the diversity of voices in classical music,” Hotle said. “Usually, classical music is music by dead white guys. We focus on diversifying the voices of who wrote the music and who is performing the music.”

One of the violinists on the “Rediscovery” program, Kyle Lombard, is African-American. Hotle will play clarinet, including the featured role on Coleridge-Taylor’s quintet. Hotle’s two cofounders who remain with the project, Jennifer Gartley (flute) and Laura Reycraft (viola), will perform. The other players are Xiomara Mass (oboe), Ellen Conners (bassoon), Trica Jostlein (horn), Jane Price (violin), Valentina Takova (cello) and Mary Reed (bass).