Xiomara Mass, oboe with Peter Henderson, piano, Faculty Recital
Free and open to the public.
Program:
Eugene Bozza Fantaisie Pastorale, Op. 37
Roberto Milano Duo para oboe y piano
I. Preludio
II. Stornello
III. Scherzetto
IV. Tarantella
Antonio Pasculli Concerto sopra motivi dell' opera La Favorita di Donizetti
*****Intermission******
Ch. M. Loeffler Two Rhapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano
I. L'Étang
II. La Cornemuse
Michael Casimir, Viola
Camille Saint-Saens Oboe Sonata, Op. 166
I. Andatino
II. Ad libitum- Allegretto- Ad libitum
III. Molto allegro
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Xiomara Mass began her musical training at the age of four and made her solo debut with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra when she was thirteen. Two years later Ms. Mass was accepted into the “Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico” where she studied with David Bourns, former Principal Oboe of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and Pedro Díaz, solo English Horn of the Metropolitan Opera. Xiomara has also worked with such renowned oboists as Elaine Douvas, Humbert Lucarelli, Hansjörg Schellenberger, and Scott Hostetler.
Ms. Mass has been invited to participate in many prestigious music festivals, including the John Mack Oboe Camp, “Tercer Festival de Dobles Cañas” in Panama, The Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Domaine Forget, St. Barth's Music Festival, The Sunflower Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland and The New Hampshire Music Festival. She was selected to participate in the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra during its residency at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, which included a live Internet simulcast to over 30 million viewers worldwide.
In 2014, Ms. Mass won The Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship award at the Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago. She is also the first prizewinner of the Tuesday Musical State Scholarship Competition in Akron, Ohio, and the first Chamber Music Competition at the “Conservatorio de Música” as a member of her woodwind quintet.
Ms. Mass is a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and was a featured soloist with the Civic Orchestra in J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin. During her years in Chicago she was an active freelancer in the the area and often performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Winds as a substitute oboist as well as with many orchestras in the area, among them Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra and Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She also played frequently as a substitute with the San Francisco Symphony and has performed with them as assistant principal.
In addition to working as a performer, Ms. Mass taught as an adjunct professor at the DePaul University School of Music along with maintaining a small private studio, and she will be acting in the same capacity at Washington University in St. Louis starting this fall.
She holds a BM in Oboe Performance and an Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory, where she graduated with highest honors under the tutelage of Alex Klein and Robert Walters. After relocating to Chicago, she studied privately with Eugene Izotov, principal oboe of the San Francisco Symphony.
Currently, Ms. Mass holds the position of acting second oboe with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
A versatile pianist, Peter Henderson is active as a performer in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. Henderson is Artist-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Music at Maryville University, where he has taught since 2005. He performs frequently as an ensemble keyboardist with the St. Louis Symphony, and made his debut as a soloist with the orchestra in January 2008.
During January and February 2016, Henderson was the piano soloist in the St. Louis Symphony's subscription concert and California tour performances of Oliver Messiaen's Des Canyons aux étoiles…. Critics described him as a “powerhouse soloist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and an “excellent pianist” (Los Angeles Times), and praised his Messiaen playing for its “intense focus and thrilling vibrancy” (San Jose Mercury News). In addition to his regular work as a keyboard performer with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, he delivers several pre-concert lectures each season, introducing programs from the Powell Hall stage. Henderson has also served as Principal Keyboardist of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony since 2015, and he has performed occasionally with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since December 2016.
Henderson is an advocate of new music, having given several premieres of solo piano and chamber works. He has also programmed solo recitals featuring focused repertoire: during the 2011-12 season, he performed the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven; in November and December 2012, he presented the complete piano works of Debussy; and in November 2013, he played Chopin’s 27 Études in a single concert. Henderson’s discography includes collaborations with violinist David Halen, flutist Mark Sparks, violist Jonathan Vinocour, bass trombonist Gerry Pagano, soprano Marlissa Hudson, and The 442s, a St. Louis based crossover group. He appears on CDs published by AAM Recordings, AMP Records, and other labels, and is the piano soloist on an album released during 2015 that features Fred Onovwerosuoke's 24 Studies in African Rhythms. His most recent solo CD (AMP AGCD 2706, released 2017) is A Celebration of African Composers for Piano. Henderson has increasingly sought performance opportunities outside the traditional sphere of classical music, joining a quintet exploring the tango music of Astor Piazzolla, and embarking on solo and collaborative free improvisations.
Henderson holds the degree Doctor of Music from Indiana University, Bloomington, where his main piano instructor was Dr. Karen Shaw. While at Indiana, he also studied harpsichord and continuo realization with Elisabeth Wright, and fortepiano with Edmund Battersby. Prior to attending Indiana University, he studied piano with Dr. Jay Mauchley at the University of Idaho, Moscow. In addition to his performing activities, Henderson also composes music and works as a recording producer. He and his wife Kristin Ahlstrom, a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra violinist, live in St. Louis with their lively, sweet beagle/terrier-mix Zinni.