Resounding Women: Music of Chaminade, Clarke, and Shaw

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra (SCCO) will perform two piano trios and a solo cello work by monumental maestras of composition. Cécile Chaminade was an internationally renowned pianist and composer who received numerous awards and was popular in the UK and US. Her piano trio is a vibrant work of romantic charm with lyrical brilliance. The four-movement work shows wonderful dialogue between all three instruments with lush melodies, playful rhythms and rich harmonies which showcases the immense talent of the first female composer awarded the Légion d’Honneur. In the not-too-distant future, Rebecca Clarke composed a masterpiece of the 20th century Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio is a compelling example of early 20th-century chamber music, blending Impressionistic textures with modernist clarity and emotional depth. Composed in 1921, the trio explores bold harmonies, dynamic contrasts, and a dramatic interplay of voices, reflecting Clarke’s innovative approach to form and color. By balancing moments of lyrical introspection with vibrant intensity, the work captures a unique and forward-looking musical vision, solidifying Clarke’s place as a trailblazer in the chamber music repertoire. Sandwiched in between these two extroverted masterpieces will be Caroline Shaw’s In manus tuas. This is a meditative solo cello work inspired by Thomas Tallis’s motet. Blending fragments of the original melody with Shaw’s modern harmonic language, the piece explores the cello’s expressive depth, creating a timeless and introspective soundscape.