University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s 12th Annual Midwest ClariFest

A review by Renee Pflughaupt

The 12th annual Midwest ClariFest, hosted by Diane Barger (Professor of Clarinet), took place on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus on Friday, March 28, 2008. Nathan Williams, critically acclaimed clarinet soloist and Instructor of Clarinet at the Interlochen Arts Academy, served as the guest artist and clinician. More than 60 participants were involved in the event including high school and college students along with teachers and guests.

The day began with a host recital performed by Dr. Barger, opening with Louis Cahuzac’s Pastorale Cévenole and closing with Jack Delano’s aggressive Sonata en La Menor. Of particular interest, however, was Mozart’s Adagio movement from Concerto for Clarinet, KV 622. Christopher Marks, Assistant Professor of Organ at UNL, arranged and performed the accompaniment for organ, treating the audience to a fresh perspective on this well-known solo.

Nathan Williams led two master classes with performers ranging from 8th grade students to seniors in college. Besides emphasizing the fundamentals of embouchure, posture, and reed care, other topics included dancing to internalize rhythm, playing between the notes and efficient practice habits. Dr. Williams even taught a student how to perform glissando on the clarinet – in only 2 minutes.

While working with 10th grade clarinetist Joe Weber on the Weber Concerto No. 1, Dr. Williams stressed the importance of knowing how the music sounds before playing a single note. This is why listening to music recordings is so crucial to musicians – it helps us answer the question “What exactly is musical?” as stated by Dr. Williams. This also teaches performers to listen to and improve their own sound. Overall, Dr. Williams held the audience’s attention with witty anecdotes and consistent interaction.

A recital featuring the New Horizons clarinet quartet, a performing group from the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band, immediately followed the final master class. The recital repertoire ranged from Gershwin’s Three Preludes to Sousa’s infamous King Cotton. The Clarinet Polka, arranged by Spaniola, was definitely a crowd favorite. With boundless energy and flawless accuracy, New Horizons had the entire audience clapping to the beat before the recital’s close.

Additional ClariFest activities included a clarinet choir reading session conducted by UNL graduate student Kristi Michael and an afternoon potpourri recital. UNL students, alumni, and other guests provided entertainment while performing works from Copland, Brahms, Ròsza, Weber, Osborne, Riseling, Király, Mozart, Bassett, and Kókai.

The day ended with a stunning and energetic concert performed by Nathan Williams. As evident in his performance of Bucolique by Eugène Bozza, and even more so in For Clarinet by Marius Constant, Dr. William possesses a technical finesse surpassed only by his intuition for musical concept and shape. Dr. Williams’ performance of Brahms’ Sonata in E-flat Major, especially, revealed this intuition and exceptional control of expression. This intensity rose to a whole new level as he performed Debussy’s Première Rhapsody by memory. In Kenji Bunch’s Cookbook, a humorous side of Dr. Williams arose as he treated the audience to images of food, the most vivid being a dazzling reproduction of a Flamenco Band in a dining club. With a spirited melody and lively “piano” percussion, La ultima noche en la casa del Flamenco is certainly a piece to be remembered. Concluding the concert was Mendelssohn’s Concert Piece No. 1 in F minor with Dr. Barger and Dr. Williams performing an inspiring, if not humorous, duet. Overall, Dr. Williams’ infinite attention to detail and technical mastery of the clarinet made this performance a dazzling display of both his own talents and the diverse range of music the clarinet has to offer.

Midwest ClariFest will be held again next year on Friday, March 27, 2009, with guest artist Dr. John Masserini, Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Northern Arizona University. For further information, please contact Diane Barger at <dbarger1@unl.edu>.

Nathan Williams--hailed by critics as "outstanding for his musicality, breath control, robust and brilliant tone, and flawless technique" (El Nuevo Dia Domingo, San Juan), "a highly effective soloist" (The New York Times), and "a stellar musician, capable of the most exquisite and expressive playing" (The Winston-Salem Journal)–-has appeared as concerto soloist and given recitals and chamber music performances at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and Kaufmann Hall at the 92nd St. Y, as well as throughout the United States, and in Austria, Canada, China, Israel, Hungary, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.

Dr. Williams has been heard in concert broadcasts on National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Austrian Radio Network, NCRV (Dutch Radio), and WNCN-New York. He has taken part in world-premiere recordings and performances of both solo and chamber music for the New York Guild of Composers, the Austrian Composers Foundation, the Focus! Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center, and San Francisco’s Composers, Inc. He has received critical acclaim for his compact disc recordings for Albany, Composers Recordings, Inc., Naxos, New Dynamic Records, and Arizona University Recordings. He is also a featured soloist on "Music from the I.C.A.", distributed by the International Clarinet Association. In 1999, Strata–-a trio he founded with violinist James Stern and pianist Audrey Andrist--recorded works by Aram Khachaturian, Max Bruch, Martin Rokeach, Igor Stravinsky, and Don Freund for AUR. A duo CD with Andrist, Spontaneous Lines (Albany Records, TROY 311), features works by American composers Leslie Bassett, Sebastian Currier, Robert Maggio, Robert Muczynski, and Martin Rokeach.

Dr. Williams earned the Artist Diploma with highest honors from the Academy of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria, as well as graduate degrees from the Eastman and Juilliard schools, where he studied with Stanley Hasty. A former clarinetist with the Continuum ensemble in New York, he was the principal clarinetist of the Winston-Salem Symphony from 1996 to 2003, and from 1990 to 2001 he was on the faculty of the East Carolina University School of Music in Greenville, N. C.

Since 2001 Williams has been the Instructor of Clarinet at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He is on the Artist Roster of Lois Scott Management, Inc. in New York and is an Artist/Clinician for Buffet Crampon. He also recently joined the artist faculty of the Amalfi Coast Chamber Music Institute in Vietri-sul-Mare/Naples, Italy. Upcoming engagements during the 2007-2008 season include performances in Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Iowa, Arizona, Texas, New York, Florida, Nebraska, Italy and China.

Click on the form below to download a PDF file of the 2008 Midwest ClariFest flier and registration form!