Embracing Music & Poetry: Missouri Chamber Music Festival's 16th Season

Arnold00:00:00

Where can you hear a world premiere performance from renowned international performers at a new venue? Well, you can hear that at the Missouri Chamber Music festival in its 16th annual season. More on St. Louis in tune.Welcome to St. Louis in tune and thank you for joining us for fresh perspective on issues and events with experts, community leaders and everyday people who make a difference in shaping our society and world. I'm Arnold Stricker along with co host Mark Langston who is on assignment. We're glad that you joined us today.We want to thank our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage for their support of the show. You can listen to previous shows@stlintune.com where you can follow us and even leave a review. Our thought to ponder today.Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.I've found that in my own life, whenever I'm going through something or I'm just kind of cruising along in life or even when I'm playing an instrument, that it really expresses things that I cannot verbally get out of my mouth. And that quote was by Victor Hugo. And what relates to Victor Hugo? And that particular quote is our guest this morning.Nina Ferrigno is the executive director of Missouri Chamber Chamber Music and the Festival.She's also a pianist, the founding member of the Boston based Calyx Piano Trio, and she's here to talk to us about the 16th season for the Missouri Chamber Music Festival. Welcome back, Dina.

Nina00:01:47

Hi Arnold. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

Arnold00:01:50

It's great to have you back again because I was really intrigued by this deep connection between poetry and music because the theme is Hope is the Thing with Music. Where did you come up with that and why this year?

Nina00:02:02

Well, that's a hard question in terms of why this year. But I've always been just very drawn to and moved by the poetry of Emily Dickinson.And in kind of, of course, that Hope is the Thing with Music is a is a play on one of her poems, which I believe Hope is the Thing with Wings. And she's fascinating to me as a woman, as a person and an artist. She was writing all these poems and never thought to publish them.They were very private. We only know of her poetry.I believe it was a family member, a sister after she passed away who found literally hundreds, if not thousands of poems of her poems. And her poetry really illuminates themes of nature, immortality, inner life.And we see this with musicians, with composers that were also in a different art form, trying to explore those themes as well. So this year was just a kind of a coming together of that connection between poetry and music.And of course we see that in our songs that we hear pop songs, there's always the lyric and the line intertwining. And here it's just a little more, I don't know, shining a spotlight on a very specific corner of it.

Arnold00:03:40

Sounds great. And we're going to get into that connection between what you said about Emily Dickinson and the, the selection of music.But first, the question I have for you is you said this in an interview that for me this season marks a real turning point. In what way?

Nina00:03:58

Well, in a couple of ways. I actually have a new title for myself with the organization, which is Artistic director because.

Arnold00:04:08

Congratulations.

Nina00:04:08

Thank you very much. The festival was very, very lucky to have found through national job search a new managing. She began in February.Her name is Aviva Hakonoglou and she's a wonderful violinist in the Euclid String Quartet.And she's really helping with our day to day operations and getting behind what we do and shoring up the infrastructure so that I can be looking forward to, to more years ahead with our artistic vision and our development as an organization here in St. Louis. So that feels like a turning point for me. But the other thing is the partnership with the Sheldon, which is new for us this year.We will also be there next year.

Arnold00:05:04

Congratulations on both of those. But you know, the first one, which I want to delve into a little bit more, but the second one is great. That venue there at the Sheldon is.

Nina00:05:13

Wonderful and it's, it's been really exciting this year just knowing that we have a home for all the concerts and so the flow of the performances from one to the next, kind of having that foundation of one place and of course that place because it's just one of the premier performing halls here that we have in St. Louis. So I'm very excited about that Now.

Arnold00:05:40

I can't imagine, you know, you're, you've been, gosh, how long have you been playing piano? Since you were three or four?

Nina00:05:46

Not that long, but probably six, nine. I had formal lessons at nine, but I came from a musical family so.

Arnold00:05:56

I was playing around and you, you, your degree is in music, you've been performing.So then you have to manage some aspects of a festival which are the nitty gritty details which takes you back, takes you away from the artistic aspect of kind of why you went, what you're doing anyway. And it, I I can really see that it's going to free you.So future concerts like the 25th anniversary of MOCM is going to be like outstanding because you'll have all this time to really devote in the future. So when that was going to happen, you know, were you like, like this great weight relieved off your shoulders?And it's like finally I can really feel focus in on the artistic aspects and really delve into them. And it's not like you haven't been drawing world class artists in any way, but still, you know.

Nina00:06:52

Well, it's, it's very much like for me, hope is the thing with music, because it's, I'm not, we're not there 100% yet because everything in the festival is right up between my ears here. You know, it's, I carry a lot of that.And so these last, you know, it's really just been a matter of weeks and that Aviva and I have been kind of working together and I'm able to show her what it is we've done, what it is we want to do and then let her run with it, run with it.And then of course, it's so exciting to have just a musician who's so intimately attuned to chamber music and knows exactly what, for lack of a better word, our product is and knows how to communicate all the excitement behind the concerts and the vision and the performers and everything.And that's the thing that I'm most looking forward to, is through this new, you know, walking through this new door, being able to let more and more people know about the festival and try and find more creative ways to get people to come experience this, not only great music, but these wonderful performers. There's just an energy, visceral feeling of live performance of any genre that you just can't recreate.

Arnold00:08:21

So yeah, folks, you can't miss these. I want to give out the website. The website is mochambermusic.org mochambermusic.org and we'll talk more about where you can get tickets.Nina, unpack the concert a little bit, or the festival, I should say, because it does run, folks, from June 10th through the 21st. And again, as Nina mentions, it's at the Shelter and Concert Hall.There are four specific concerts and the first one we've had Benedetta in studio also previously. Let's unpack each concert a little bit so people can understand because they can do a whole series, they can do all four, or they can do individuals.If they can't make one or two of those Exactly.

Nina00:09:05

Yes. So all manner of tickets. You know, our festival pass is on. We're selling those online at our website, www.missourichambermusic. Mochambermusic.org.And it's. That's a wonderful deal.I actually have to say, even if you can't come to all four concerts, if you buy the festival pass and give your tickets to friends who can come when you can't come, it's. It's really a very good deal.And single tickets are also on sale on the website or through a link from the the Sheldon if you happen to go there each concert. So the first concert is a morning concert on it's June 10th at 10:30. And we're calling it Upon Enchanted Ground.And basically it's weaving poetic introspection, vivid musical storytelling and sweeping lyricism through the pieces that are our program. So we're doing with Benedetta Orsi selections From Aaron Copland's 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson, which are really fascinating pieces.They're not the Copeland of Appalachian Spring or Rodeo, but they're just as special and pure and beautiful and it's very exciting. And we're programming a couple pieces on the festival this season by Italian cellist named Giovanni Solima. And he.I had the great good fortune of playing one of these pieces a bunch of years ago. And on the first concert is his Sonnets and Rondo for String quartet.And the pieces are so interesting to me because he almost writes in this neo baroque kind of way for strings, yet it's incredibly modern and it's super lyrical and you just. It's very exciting.And rounding out that program is the Foray Piano Quartet in C Minor, Opus 15, which is just one of the cornerstone pieces of chamber music in our Western classical literature. And it's. It's glorious in every way. And I'm very excited to collaborate with Hannah G. And Nathan Lowery on violin, violins, Sixto Franco on viola.And as we mentioned, Benedetta will be singing the Copeland. Our second concert, June 15th at 7pm is we're titling Musicians Wrestle Everywhere.And this is a direct quote from Emily Dickinson poem, Musicians wrestle everywhere all day among the crowded air. And it's also the title of a piece by Judith Weir for 10, 10 musicians.And in this piece, she was really inspired by her, like, noisy London neighborhood and realizing that the struggle that we hear of everyday life, the noise can become music to us.You know, that's very exciting that we're doing a piece so large when we get above a certain number of musicians on Stage, we are helped by a conductor. And so I'm so excited to be able to welcome back to Boston James Somerville, who will be conducting.And many people may know Jamie as he was the former principal horn player for many, many years of the Boston Symphony and has also been building a career as a conductor. And so it's. It's super exciting to have someone who is so intimately attuned to chamber music himself than as our. Our conductor.

Arnold00:13:29

So a question I can. I can hear our listeners asking is, when is the difference between chamber music to, like, a small quote, unquote orchestra? What do you know when.What is like the. Is it a number? Is it the.

Nina00:13:43

It's typically like, we think of chamber music as two to 10 players. There are exceptions to that. But. And really, anything, any larger number can be chamber music.It's just you need to really live and breathe and rehearse a lot together. So having. Having one central music director for.For something like this, it helps us streamline, but it's also very collaborative because when we're getting, you know, it's. It's not. He's not conducting 100 people where nobody has a say.So this is the fun part too, that we're able to say, hey, I'd like to take more time there. What do you think about that? And can. Can we make that happen? Or can we try it and see what we all think about that?

Arnold00:14:36

The conductor actually becomes another quote, unquote musician in the ensemble.

Nina00:14:40

Absolutely, absolutely. So it's like.

Arnold00:14:44

Sorry to interrupt there.

Nina00:14:45

Oh, no, that's fine. And also on that concert, we'll be. We're featuring some just beautiful English works.So Vaughn Williams, Six Studies in English Folk Songs for Cello and piano. Rebecca Clark, Prelude, Allegro and Pastoral for clarinet and viola. Another piece by Giovanni Salima.This is the one that I had the benefit of performing, although I'm not playing it this year, which is called Short Trio Stories. And that's for flute, cello and piano. And then the Judith Weir musicians wrestle everywhere for 10 players. And I'm excited to.In the Weir, we get to branch out into some brass instruments. So we have trombone and horn and percussion. And performing on that concert will be Nadine, her flute, Yelena, Dirk's oboe, Robert Walker, clarinet.Tsuyin Huang, bass clarinet Sixto Franco, viola, Davin Rubitz, cello. Brendan Fitzgerald, bass, Shen Wen, piano. Kevin Rittenhauer, percussion. Julie Thayer, horn, and Amanda Stewart, trombone.

Arnold00:16:04

Okay, this is Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston of St. Louis in Tune.We're talking to Nina Ferrigno, the artistic director of the Missouri chamber music festival, mochambermusic.org and we're talking about the 16th season. We've already delved into these first two concerts. That second concert, folks, is Monday, June 15th at 7pm at the Sheldon.The first concert is an afternoon, excuse me, a morning concert, June 10th at 10:30. So here we go to concert number three, which is a well known string quartet in the St. Louis metropolitan area.It will be Wednesday, June 17th at 7pm there. There is a theme here, folks, and I'll let Nina take it away.

Nina00:16:48

Sure. So the last two concerts on, on the 17th at 7 and 21 June at 7 are both highlighting long standing partnerships.So thrilled to be able to bring the Ariana String Quartet into the Missouri Chamber Music Festival umbrella under the umbrella there and feature them in this third concert. We're doing Augusta Reed Thomas's Upon Wings of Words, which is definitely directly taken from Emily Dickinson poetry.So we're celebrating that long standing artistry with the Ariannas. They'll also be performing the String Quartet Number one in D major by Tchaikovsky.

Arnold00:17:41

They've been on your venue before.

Nina00:17:44

Not as a quartet, really.

Arnold00:17:46

Okay, individuals.

Nina00:17:47

Individuals, yes. Okay, so we've, we've broken them up, but Conquer, divide. Yes, exactly.But the other exciting thing is that during that week of the festival, the Arianas are themselves hosting a festival for young string quartets. So it's.And what we will be offering is at 6 o' clock on the 17th, a chance to hear some of those featured string quartets from the Ariana String Quartet Seminar that they, that they.

Arnold00:18:26

So these will be young artists who will be performing?

Nina00:18:28

Yes, yes. And I think they're high school going into first few years of college. And so it's really exciting to be able to have.See what, what young quartets are doing and, and celebrate the work that they're doing here in St. Louis with the Ariannas during this, this special week. So we're excited about that.

Arnold00:18:53

Now I did mention that Ariana String Quartet is well known in the St. Louis metropolitan area, but they are internationally known.

Nina00:18:59

Yes, they are.

Arnold00:19:00

This isn't just like, oh, you know, four people getting together from University of Missouri St. Louis and gigging out here.

Nina00:19:06

Exactly.

Arnold00:19:07

No, they are, they are well known internationally.

Nina00:19:10

Absolutely. And so we're so excited to be able to.

Arnold00:19:15

Yeah, that's cool. That's cool.

Nina00:19:17

And the last concert of our season 16 of Mokum is There's a Certain Slant of Light. And this concert features the Calyx Piano Trio of which I'm the pianist of.So my colleagues, Catherine French, violin, and Jennifer Luck, cello, will be coming from Boston. And on this concert, we will be premiering a Missouri Chamber Music Festival commissioned work by composer David Werfelman. And it's called Memoria.And we.I think of this concert as really closing the season with brilliance in the sense of the Beethoven Piano Trio in G major, opus 1:2, which is just this lovely, I don't know, spicy little ditty. And Elena.

Arnold00:20:17

Those are musical terms.

Nina00:20:18

Yes. And the Elena Katz Czernon piece called Calliope Dreaming.

Arnold00:20:24

That sounds interesting.

Nina00:20:25

It's really, really great.And so one of the things that David has shared with me about the piece, which, of course, I'm actually going to be leaving next week to go to Boston so we can begin working on it. And it's a beautiful, beautiful piece.But what he has said to me when he sent me the score, he said, this piece has turned into something very special to me. It's got a lot of personal sentiment that I'm eager to share with you in the ensemble.And a more formal description that he's provided is Memoria is a piano trio in five movements, each exploring a different side of what it means to remember. Memory can be fragmentary, contradictory, sometimes vivid, and sometimes just out of reach.This complexity informs the piece, giving each movement its own character and emotional arc. And I'm grateful to be writing for the Calyx Trio.

Arnold00:21:30

Wow, that's.It's very interesting and I would say rare that a composer will open up like that and it's kind of pull the curtain back and reveal their feelings, if I would say that. Or their. The inspiration behind why they're writing. You know, I think back to. Okay, let's.Let's go back to Beethoven, the Piano Trio, what was going on in his mind when he was writing this particular piece. And it's something we can delve into later. But I interrupted. Keep going. About David Werfelman.

Nina00:22:06

Oh, well, what's so exciting for me with. With what David has shared is like this. I've often thought, you know, memory is very emotional. Right.And so then becomes untrustworthy, I think, you know, the further away you get from it. And. And I just. I love this idea of, you know, being able to, through music, express that. Right. So thinking, you know, what. What is real?What is it that we remember from situations.

Arnold00:22:49

Yeah. There was a quote that I wanted to use at our thought to ponder, which was by.Often attributed to Leopold Stokowski, which is a painter, paints pictures on canvas but musicians paint their pictures on silence. And like you were talking about memories. Many. And we always. We don't want to remember the bad memories.We kind of put those out and maybe we elevate ourselves in the good memories a little bit more than we should. But memories are memories, however they come out. And how long has he been working on this piece? When did you ask him to commission this?And did you give him the Emily Dickinson background? Or. Sometimes all it takes is new perspective to offer hope and light.

Nina00:23:35

Well, it was. Yes. I mean, we've been talking about this for more than a year. Okay. So we. The commission was set down probably February of 25, where we just.

Arnold00:23:50

So people understand these are things that people pull out of their back pocket, and then a composer writes it up, you know, in a couple weeks and it's ready to go. I just want to clarify that with our listeners.

Nina00:24:01

You're kidding, right? But David is a colleague, and so I had the good fortune of being able to have some. Let's go for coffee and talk about things and being able to.When I'm commissioning composers and commissioning them for the festival, I don't want to influence in the sense that I don't really say, like, can you write a piano trio? I'll say, you know, we can make these things happen up to, you know, this point. Yeah, like up to 10 players or something like that.Although this was much more contained. And so David, I was thrilled when he wanted to write for the trio and felt inspired to do so. And.And it's exciting too, because, you know, the trio didn't set its program until we knew what David's piece was going like, the length of it, and, and maybe some of the. The tone of it. So.

Arnold00:25:12

And your colleagues have seen the score?

Nina00:25:14

Oh, yes, we've. We've shared all that.

Arnold00:25:15

Have you played together on it?

Nina00:25:17

Not yet. We're next Tuesday.

Arnold00:25:19

Okay. Okay.

Nina00:25:20

So when I fly out, will we have rehearsal that night? And we have four rehearsals in a like five day span and then come back.

Arnold00:25:29

Now, these are professionals, folks. You know, they can do that. They can hone that. That well. And has David been at the festival before?

Nina00:25:41

No, David, he's. He was the composition professor at Webster University.

Arnold00:25:49

Okay.

Nina00:25:49

He's been pursuing other things, so he's. He's left that position. But he, he has been commissioned by other groups in the area. Chamber Project St. Louis. And.And he just writes incredibly beautiful music. He's really wonderful.

Arnold00:26:09

Okay. Wow. So, folks, we've got the Missouri Chamber Music Festival's 16th annual season here, 16th annual festival. And it's June 10th through the 21st.And it's in partnership with the Sheldon. You can get season tickets from the website, which is mochambermusic.org those tickets come through Eventbrite.And as Nina was saying, even if you can't do all the season, it's probably a great bargain to buy the season ticket rather than buy the individual tickets, which also can be purchased through the website. So we're talking June 10th through the 21st at the Sheldon, which is 3848 Washington Avenue. And hope is the thing, the thing with music.That is the theme. Hope is the thing with music. And the Single tickets are $30. The four concert festival pass is $100. So there you go, folks.Student tickets, $10 with an ID. How do you come about getting all the musicians with the festival?

Nina00:27:16

Well, that's interesting question. It is very synthesized for me. So a lot of my programming is imagining certain voices playing. So I. Yeah, it's.It's rare when I'm putting something together and then I think and I need a trombone and I need a such and such, you know, so it's. It's more that, you know, even this year I will share with some of.With our musicians, like what I'm thinking about for next year and see, you know, if they would like to. To play and.

Arnold00:27:55

Yeah, okay. All right.

Nina00:27:56

But I have a lot of people just who really most. Most of the musicians I know are very committed to. They're very committed to exploring. Right.Exploring beyond, you know, exploring the depth of what a piece has to offer and exploring process in terms of working with new composers or working with new types of sounds.You know, we've done some pieces that have had electronics and pieces that have required us to play other instruments than our own while we're playing. And I just think, you know, to have these.This group of musicians that are all curious in the same manner that I am, but also have such a high standard of excellence in their own playing and their integrity is amazing. So it's really. I feel so fortunate.

Arnold00:29:06

I can imagine some of the symphony performers also like, hey, I'd like to get into some chamber music too, because it's a different whole. Other vibe from the whole orchestra.

Nina00:29:17

Well, yes, and I mean the symphony musicians are incredible and they're wonderful to. And they do. They seek out chamber music experiences.I think of course they're featured through their organization, but it's a different thing when they can add so much. I think it's almost like they're.Last year, you might remember that Kevin Rittenhauer, the percussionist, really programmed the Mokum concert and featured the pieces with flower pots and all these just amazing creative works for percussion. And that was just, I think, I don't want to speak for him, but I think that was an exciting thing to be able to be like, this is your concert.

Arnold00:30:08

Yeah. That gets him excited.

Nina00:30:09

Yeah. And, and to be really able to display himself, like, perform the way he wants to be heard. So that's, that's another, another part of it.

Arnold00:30:24

And there's different times when musicians are exploring different aspects of music, too.So maybe when I'm coming to focus on the standard literature, the classics, or I'm going to focus on some new literature, and they, they really go to that direction and that's where they are. And.

Nina00:30:41

Right.

Arnold00:30:42

Some kind of weave back and forth.

Nina00:30:43

Right. And we always strive, I always strive to have that blend of, of old and new because I'm super interested in connection.You know, if we, if we didn't have the early Beethoven piano trio, we wouldn't have the Elena Katzchernen Calliope Dreaming, you know, which is just, it's. They're all, you know, they're all linked together. Yeah, we, you have to know your history to appreciate where you are now.

Arnold00:31:13

So we're going to take a brief break because I want to talk to Nina about her history of music and reveal some things, maybe folks that you don't even know. This is Arnold Schwicker with Mark Langston of St. Louis in Tune. Don't go away. Everyone in St. Louis promises a better mortgage rate.But what you really need to turn that perfect house into your dream home is a better mortgage. At better rate mortgage, we open the door to so much more.Whether you're purchasing your first home or taking cash out to make your dream home even dreamier, our door is open. Come on in and get started today. We'll show you how.Call Sean directly at 314-375-3293 or online@betterratemortgage.com Remember, at Better Rate Mortgage, a better rate is just the beginning. Betterratemortgage.com and mls.id 2401335 an equal housing lender. Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker with Langston.We're talking to Nina Ferrigno. She is the artistic director of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival and a pianist and founding member of the Boston Bass Calyx Piano Trio.So, Nina, like, who did you listen to when you were growing up, where. What music were you into?

Nina00:32:36

Oh,.

Arnold00:32:39

Like, sometimes people think, well, she's a concert pianist. She plays in this famous trio. She was probably never listening to rock or, you know, Frank Sinatra or anything like that.

Nina00:32:50

Well, actually, my. My dad was a jazz pianist.

Arnold00:32:54

Really?

Nina00:32:54

Yes. But also a classical, classically trained composer, and my mother was a flutist.And so we were, like, predominantly listening to shows, show tunes and jazz in the house, but also Bartok string quartets. Yeah, it was very eclectic, like, from. Yeah. And then when I started to get into really being excited and serious about the piano, I was.I think I listened one summer every day to the Tchaikovsky piano concerto. Just, you know, as this is, like, sort of ritual for pianists that I was listening to.I was always listening to Rubenstein and Horowitz and my sort of local inspirations in Boston. And when I got into high school, I was never. That. I was never. I had good girlfriends who would, like, say, listen to this.

Arnold00:34:17

Right.

Nina00:34:17

You know, so this was the 80s, and my first rock concert was the Cure.

Arnold00:34:23

Okay.

Nina00:34:24

So I was into more alternative.

Arnold00:34:27

Okay.

Nina00:34:28

Yeah.

Arnold00:34:28

But now you mentioned listening to certain individuals playing the piano, which gets back to, you know, there's lots of people who are probably playing certain pieces, but you wanted to hone in on those specific artists that you would glean what from.

Nina00:34:48

Well, for Alicia de la Rocca, it was Mozart. You know, these were people that you just sort of linked with these different.

Arnold00:34:59

Composers, Specialized with the composer.

Nina00:35:02

Yeah. And now that I'm an adult, I don't know how fair that that was. And of course, I listened to Alicia de la Rocca for.For a lot of things with Rubenstein, Schumann and Chopin and Gould for Bach, Andra Schiff for Bach. You know, just a lot of kind of studying of what. What were they doing with baroque ornamentation and what. What were the freedoms that.You know, So a lot of listening there with Bach, especially Wanda Landowska and the harpsichord, just really. Yeah, those were kind of the years of studying, though. You know, that's one thing I should say.You know, I. I think in our modern age, and I talk a lot with other musicians who are my age or older, that we see students not really listening in the same way. I mean, we. We had a listening library at my school that you just. You were there. You were.

Arnold00:36:11

Put the headphones.

Nina00:36:13

Yeah. And you were studying. You knew who you were studying.I think, you know, probably young people would argue with me that they're like, hey, we're listening. We're watching on YouTube. But not. It's not always the discernment. You know, it's like, oh, I want to study that piece. I want to hear how it sounds.And they'll just pull up anybody playing it. And. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But, you know, if you can, I would encourage.Then let's compare and contrast three performances of that piece. Then, you know, you take somebody's, you know, undergrad recital that's on YouTube, but also.

Arnold00:36:50

Right.

Nina00:36:51

Compare it to somebody else.

Arnold00:36:53

You know, can be done with orchestras also.

Nina00:36:55

Absolutely.

Arnold00:36:56

You know.

Nina00:36:57

Yeah. I used to get to. I was at the point where, in my undergrad, I could identify the Cleveland orchestra from the 50s by just hearing the recordings.I knew especially they're like Stravinsky.

Arnold00:37:11

Right.

Nina00:37:11

Would be like, oh, that's. Yeah.

Arnold00:37:13

Because only a lot of times certain orchestras played certain composers, they were kind of locked into them, I think, a little bit more.

Nina00:37:21

But it was just such a distinctive sound, too, and made probably distinctive in the recording production, too.

Arnold00:37:28

So when did you say, yeah, I want to make a living playing piano?

Nina00:37:34

I would say, I have an older sister who's a violinist.And when Lisa went off to school and it was a decision for her, you know, like, she was very academically brilliant and thinking, you know, do I want to go to a conservatory or do I want to go to university? I think even for Lisa, it wasn't about not studying music, but just in one environment.And she ended up going to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. And I think, you know, being the younger kid that I was, I just was like, oh, that's. That's what we do.

Arnold00:38:18

You know, we go.

Nina00:38:19

We go to conservatory. So that's what I did. But.

Arnold00:38:23

And you went to Boston.

Nina00:38:24

Yeah, I went to New England Conservatory of Music for both my bachelor's and master's.

Arnold00:38:28

Okay.

Nina00:38:29

And. Yeah. And once you're there and you realize that you can spend all day studying music, I mean, I loved it all. I loved my medieval music history class.I loved my sights and singing, and I always loved chamber music. That was just a thing. I had been doing that in high school and entering competitions with. With other colleagues and speak a little.

Arnold00:38:56

Bit to what goes on in a chamber music performance. Like, when you're performing either with the trio or with, you know, maybe there's a string quartet. It's a.It's a, you know, a quintet, obviously, then. But, you know, if you've ever observed these things, you know, there's considerable eye contact.There's usually someone who kind of takes the lead on entrances or something like that.Discuss a little bit about what goes into that in practices and what you all talk about, because I want listeners to understand that, yeah, I'm going to go to these concerts June 10th through the 21st, and I'm going to hear that sounds great, but there's so much more that goes on in the background that people may not be aware of.

Nina00:39:40

Yeah, well, when you're.When you're preparing to play chamber music with people, I think, you know, you're perfecting your part so that when you get together, you're listening, you're able to listen if you. So that. That's one thing already to expect is that each person individually on their part is incredibly polished.So that when you're seeing it on the stage together, it's really not that I'm like, listening to myself and glorifying in what I'm doing, but I'm actually listening to what my colleagues are doing. When you're. I remember this from, you know, I probably played in my first chamber group when I was about 12 or something.And, you know, different instructors would say, when you have the theme, stand up, you know, and so that.And that was a way with young people to guide, like, oh, you may think, you know, because you're doing something hard or you're doing something, you know, interesting to you, that it's the thematic material, but it's not right. So. So that's what the joy is of.Of coming together is that you get to enjoy your colleagues, artistry right next to you and support that, especially playing the piano. There are long periods where I'm very accompanimental and I need to be flexible to the individual voices around me.So what you were saying about, you know, there's a lot of eye contact and sometimes we have to decide who's. Who's giving what. Who's leading, who's giving the cue. Right. And that's. That's all dictated by the music, really. So what is the music asking of us?

Arnold00:41:35

Who.

Nina00:41:36

Who is playing the transitional material? That's then going to require the. The next shift in. In mood or. Or tempo. And so that becomes, you know, so in a way, it becomes a little seamless.It's not like we say, all right, draw who's. Whoever gets the short stick has to give the upbeat, you know, so, you know, it becomes right. But it's.It's just that, you know, and I've probably said this before, playing. Playing your instrument, like studying the piano where you're alone for so long.And as a kid, even though I loved it, I always craved just that camaraderie of being part of a group, big group, small group.You know, I did a great bit of my career as an ensemble pianist for Boston Modern Orchestra project, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Chicago Symphony. So, you know, being the pianist in a large group like that is so exciting. Not because anything you're doing is like so particularly exciting.There's a lot of counting measures on your, on your hand of rest. But just to be in the middle of. Of that is incredible.

Arnold00:43:04

Yeah, that's an experience.

Nina00:43:05

It's incredible. And to see what people are doing, what they have to do, you know, like where the piano typically is in the orchestra, you know, it's.You're kind of like next to the horns and, and percussion and it's, it's just a thrill. It was always a thrill.

Arnold00:43:24

Yeah, that's cool. We've been talking to Nina Ferrigno.She is the artistic director of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival and founding member of the Boston based Calyx Piano Trio. Folks, you can check them all out at the Missouri Chamber Music Festival, 16th season, June 10th through the 21st.That's in partnership with the Sheldon. Go to mochambermusic.org mochambermusic.org and you can get information on tickets. Nina, thanks for coming in today. It's been great talking to you.

Nina00:43:55

Thank you so much, Arnold. I really appreciate having me in and letting me talk about the festival.

Arnold00:44:00

We're great to have you here and it's always fun to talk music here on St. Louis in Tune. Folks, we're glad that you have listened to us and that's great. All for this hour.If you've enjoyed this episode, you can listen to additional shows@stlintune.com where you can follow us and even leave a review.Want to thank Bob Berthicel for our theme music, our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage, our guest Nina Ferrigno and co host Mark Langston, who is on assignment. And we thank you for being a part of our community of curious minds. St. Louis in tune is a production of Motif Media Group and the US Radio Network.Remember to keep seeking, keep learning, walk worthy and let your light shine. For St. Louis in tune, I'm Arnold Stricker.

Nina00:45:02

Sam.