Avant-garde TURNmusic settles into its new home & expanded purpose

January 12, 2024  |  By Jim Lowe  |  Times Argus staff writer 

"TURNmusic plays Kyle Saulnier," Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 13-14 at The Phoenix Art Gallery and Music Hall on Stowe Street featuring TURNmusic's string quartet (pictured) -- violinists Mary Rowell, Brooke Quiggins, violist Elizabeth Reid, cellist John Dunlop -- along with (not pictured) flutist Hilary Goldblatt, clarinetist Dan Liptak. Courtesy photo

For nearly a decade now, TURNmusic has been Vermont’s contemporary classical chamber music ensemble sharpening the state’s cutting edge. And while that important role will continue, TURNmusic is making a turn.

“I’ve had to change the language: TURNmusic now performs and presents,” explains Anne Decker, founder and artistic director. 

“TURNmusic for me is a mindset,” she said. “It certainly is a celebration of new music, not old classical music. But TURNmusic has always been a mindset for me and my programming.”

TURNmusic has now found a permanent home at The Phoenix Art Gallery and Music Hall in downtown Waterbury. That not only provides a venue for TURNmusic’s own performances but allows the presentation of other listening experiences, thanks to a 50- to 60-seat capacity and its own Steinway B (baby grand) piano.

“The plan is to continue to be a champion of new music and contemporary classical music, and broadening that to not be only my music projects,” Decker said. 

In fact, next weekend’s program begins that change. 

The Phoenix Art Gallery and Music Hall will present “TURNmusic plays Kyle Saulnier” and other contemporary chamber music, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14.

Embracing new influences

For the first time in TURNmusic’s history, Decker did not plan the program. Rather, it was curated — or programmed — by TURNmusic violinist Brooke Quiggins.

“Anne surprised me,” Quiggins said. “I’ve never been asked to curate anything before; I’ve never curated anything before. But I never back down from a challenge — and here we are.”

Quiggins is a longtime violinist in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, a member of the VSO Jukebox Quartet, and a veteran of the Vermont chamber music scene. Joining Quiggins will be violinist Mary Rowell, violist Elizabeth Reid, cellist John Dunlop, flutist Hilary Goldblatt and clarinetist Dan Liptak, all TURNmusic regulars. 

The centerpiece of Quggins’ program is composed by Kyle Saulnier, Quiggins’ husband, and commissioned by TURNmusic. 

“‘How we talk to each other’ is about interaction” Saulnier said. “With Brooke curating a program based on the individual voices of the ensemble, my thoughts turned to the way those unique voices interact with each other, and in turn, how we as humans interact with each other. Moving through the world, I can be so dismayed at the way we talk to one another in one moment, and so uplifted by it the next — framing the piece around human interaction and individuality feels very natural.

“Musically, like most of what I do, how we talk to each other is centered around momentum and pocket,” Saulnier said. “It’s essentially a loose rondo, but each section is carried in a different way by a different voice. Everyone has a chance to speak — sometimes with passion, sometimes with aggression, sometimes with sadness — we choose not only what we say, but how we say it.” 

“In my research, I wanted to find pieces that I didn’t necessarily know, but also that I could understand, by listening, the reason why the piece was composed,” Quiggins said. “So I tried to find works that either spoke to me personally and had a similar vibe or meaning behind why a composer either became a composer or wrote a specific work, and how it parallels how I became a musician today. And I also left it open for the performers to pick works that were meaningful to them.” 

Quiggins plans for all the musicians, including herself, to interact with the audience. 

“What I really want to do in the moment of the performance is to hear in their words why they picked what they did, what it means to them, what they’re going to do with it,” she said. “I think it changes the way the audience listens to the pieces — so it brings people into the why.” 

Quiggins purposely chose Evan Ziporyn’s “Be-In,” for string quartet and B-flat clarinet, as the opener. 

“The concept behind ‘Be-In’ is he combines a lot of different gestures, a lot of different musical ideas from a variety of genres, combining them in a way — according to him — that feels like if any one of those was missing (the piece) wouldn’t be complete or whole. 

“That’s how I feel as a musician,” Quiggins said. “I obviously was classically trained from the time I was 5 years old all the way through music conservatory, and at the very tail end, I started to dip my toe into other genres of music, new music, the pop-rock scene, singer-songwriter or jazz. At this point in my life, I don’t feel completely whole without all of these different elements. It’s part of who I am. I think being exposed to all these different genres helps me play Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms better.

“‘Be-In’ kind of encapsulates all of what I’ve experienced and am experiencing currently,” Quiggins said. “I thought it was important to open with a piece that would invite everyone in.”

Quiggins took a hands-off approach to the solo works, encouraging the musicians to choose music that represented them as a player. Reid is performing her own “The Blue Hour” for solo viola and electronic loop pedal. Goldblatt is playing “Homeland” by flutist Allison Loggins-Hull. Dunlop chose Phillip Glass’ “Songs and Poems: Song II.” 

“It’s so John — it’s kind of a gentle rumble of Glass,” Quiggins said. “John’s not going to play something where it’s fortissimo rock and breaking bow hairs. It’s so him, I don’t know how to describe it.” 

Rowell will be heard in “Maxwell’s Demon” for solo violin by Richard Einhorn. 

That’s so very Mary,” Quiggins said. “This is one that she played many, many years ago with a solo dancer. I listened to it once, and I thought it’s so Mary. Opposite of John, it’s raw, visceral, in-your-face. It’s rock ’n’ roll — it’s just Mary.

“It’s a ‘hold-onto-your-seats’ kind of piece!” Quiggins said. 

Nico Muhly, the Randolph native who made it big in the concert and opera worlds, is represented by his “I Know Where Everything Is.” 

“Written for flute, clarinet, violin and cello, each musician is kind on their own, playing their own concept, and it morphs into falling together,” explained Quiggins, who will be playing. “It’s a really cool piece, and I think it highlights the strengths of how we play.” 

Finally, Iman Habibi’s “Relics,” a duo for viola and cello, is pieces of memories of folk songs, memories of growing up. These snippets of music are from his young years and reflect why he is a composer. 

“If people feel they got a genuine experience I’ll feel like I’ve done my job well,” Quiggins said. “We’re able to play composers new to people in the community, and I’m thrilled by that. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Blame it on COVID 

Coming out of the COVID pandemic, Decker said she felt she needed to regroup, to choose a new direction. 

“Last spring, an opportunity presented itself — an opportunity came up, right in my town,” Decker said. (She lives in Waterbury Center.) 

“I’d been doing this Alley Summer Series for many years right next to The Phoenix, which is admittedly much more popular and for a broader audience.” 

The Phoenix is an art gallery and music hall, so Decker and co-owner Joseph Pensak decided to develop a partnership. After receiving another Steinway from her grandmother, Decker loaned her Steinway Model M (baby grand) piano to the space. And TURNmusic finally became its own 501c3.

“For the last nine years, it’s been under the fiscal umbrella of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival,” Decker said. “I decided if I’m going to be presenting in a venue on a much more regular basis, then I need to grow up and become my own nonprofit. So, I created a board. That’s new and still developing.” 

Before her agreement with The Phoenix, Decker had asked Quiggins to curate the current concerts. 

“I thought one of the ways to get band members involved was to give them leadership roles,” Decker said. “And I will ask others. I’ve already asked Mary Rowell about a program for next fall.” 

TURNmusic will continue to focus on contemporary chamber music.

“What I’m hoping for is a diverse set of experiences,” Decker said. “For my winter and spring season, I’m hoping for a couple of events a month. Of course, this is not a money-making venture.” 

On Jan. 26, “TURNmusic Presents Ebb & Flow” will feature composer Katie Semro who uses a computer program called Ableton. She will be joined in the electronic music and movement experience by composer Matthew Evan Taylor and dancer Laurel Jenkins.

“The next day Katie’s conducting an Ableton workshop in partnership with Music-Comp,” Vermont’s youth composition program,” Decker said. “Another program I’m really excited about is, I’m getting Adam Tendler to play in The Phoenix.” 

The New York avant-garde pianist, a Barre native, will play an all-Muhly program in advance of performing the premiere of Muhly’s piano concerto with the VSO on May 4. 

“I’m super-excited about that,” Decker said. 

After years of struggling to find appropriate and affordable venues, it appears that TURNmusic has found a home that can be relied upon. “The way I look at it is, once I get my rent paid, then I can offer people a space to present their art,” Decker said. “That’s TURNmusic presents.”

This story was originally published by the Times Argus on Jan. 6, 2024.