For the last concert of this year’s Printempo series, saxophonist and Harriet Hale Woolley scholar Michael Chapa has put together a surprise program with some of his friends. The program will include works by Bach, Piazzolla, Garrett and Tran.
“À demain !”
Living in confinement for over a year has been an unexpected challenge for all of us. As most of the world is returning to some sense of normalcy, I’ve been reflecting on how this strange period of time has affected me and how I will decide to move forward from it. One thing I struggled with in particular was my lack of interaction between friends and family. Spending time with these individuals and meeting new people has always brought me the most joy. I learn and grow as a person from these interactions, so to have this aspect of my life taken away was difficult for me to accept.
Growing up, I was told many times to “appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had“. To this day, I always understood this sentiment, but these words spoke more to me than anything else this past year. As the future is looking brighter than ever, I want to take the time to meet more people and learn more from the relationships I make. This entirely collaborative recital celebrates the end of confinement in Paris and features some outstanding musicians and great friends that I’ve met here.
~Michael Chapa
Practical Information
Date: June 29 | Time: 7:30pm | Facebook event
Entry: visitors should arrive through the garden [access map].
COVID: Mask required, please use the hand sanitizer made available at the entrance. Please respect physical distancing.
The Program
Trần Đại Phước (n.1956)
Thổi Lộng, Gió! (Blowing Hard, the Winds!) (2020)
Keaton Garrett (n.1995)
Novel Encounters (2020)
-Overcorrection
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Inventions and Sinfonias (1723)
– Invention in C major, BWV 772
– Invention in C minor, BWV 773
– Invention in D minor, BWV 775
– Invention in A major, BWV 783
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) arr. Hirotake Kitakara
Violin Partita No. 3 BWV 1006 (1720)
– Gavotte en Rondeau
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Oblivion (1982)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Escualo (1984)
About the Artists
Michael Chapa, a native of Dallas, Texas, is a passionate performer and an avid music educator. He recently completed an Artist Diploma at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the tutelage of Debra Richtmeyer while serving as an Athletic Bands Teaching Assistant for the Illinois Bands. Previous degrees include a Master of Music Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois (2019) and a Bachelor of Music Education at Stephen F. Austin State University (2017).
Michael has performed as a soloist with the University of Illinois Wind Symphony and SFASU Orchestra of the Pines. As a chamber musician, he has performed with University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Illinois Wesleyan Symphonic Winds. As a member of the award-winning Khroma Quartet, Michael has traveled to numerous venues across the Midwest to perform a diverse range of music to demonstrate the varied capabilities of the saxophone and promote the array of colors the saxophone quartet can contribute in many genres.
Recent accomplishments include the first prize at the 2020 American Prize Chamber Music Competition, winner of the 2020 North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, second place at the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, winner of the 2017 Music Teacher National Association Young Artist Chamber Illinois State Competition, and winner of the 2015 Stephen F. Austin State University Concerto Competition. Newly awarded the 2020-2021 Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship, Michael will be living at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, France while studying with Jean-Michel Goury at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional Boulogne-Billancourt.
Paris based flutist Thomaz Tavares regularly performs, records, and tours with the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Europe under the baton of Nicolas Krauze and isco-founder of Ensemble Imago. He has been praised by the Virginia Gazette as a “polished performer, with a pure, direct sound…embracing the work’s lyrical and virtuoso demands”. Tavares was a recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship for the 2019-2020 year during which he explored the French Belle Époque repertoire under the guidance of Jean Ferrandis and the flute music of the composer Yuko Uebayashi under the composer herself. In 2019, Tavares obtained his Diplôme Supérieur de de Execution from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with unanimous distinction from the jury and in 2020 he obtained his Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste, the highest degree offered by the institution. He’s most recently been a guest performer with the Fontainebleau Association, Ensemble Calliopée, and the Open Chamber Orchestra of Paris.
Originally from the south-west of France, Léo Lapèze started playing the saxophone at the Conservatoire de Tarbes. At the same time, he was part of the 2009/2013 promotion of the Atelier d’Initiation à la Musique de Jazz at the Collège de Marciac; then he obtained his saxophone prize in 2018 at the CRR of Boulogne-Billancourt. He is currently pursuing a double degree DNSPM at the Pôle Supérieur de Paris-Boulogne-Billancourt and Diplôme d’Etat at the Paris IV Sorbonne University. His various musical discoveries make him a versatile musician between classical and contemporary music, contemporary music and jazz.
Born in Paris in 1999, Damien Pumain began playing the saxophone in a center of animation in the 10th district before joining the Hector Berlioz conservatory, where he is currently studying for a DEM. He is also following a CPES course at the CRR of Boulogne-Billancourt. He is interested in exploring various repertoires ranging from classical to contemporary, including jazz and contemporary music.
Paul Janvier began to play the saxophone at the age of 6, at the conservatory of Amiens where he was the student of Serge Bertocchi. After a classical training, he got interested by Jazz, current musics and contemporary music. He obtained his diploma of musical studies in 2010. He is also a saxophone teacher at the music school of Conty and he goes on tours in France with several groups (Big Funk, Brass, Arythmythique). He is registered since 2017 in a class with professional orientation at the conservatory of Boulogne with Jean-Michel Goury. At the same time, he is an intern in medicine specialty within the hospitals of Paris.