James Stephenson
James Stephenson
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Stephenson conducts premiere of "NEXT-Calibur" at ITG 2008
Review
Tonight’s big concert started with the world premičre of James Stephenson’s NEXTCalibur. Now I love new music and I love premičres and I love Jim Stephenson’s work, so this was never an assignment I was going to argue with.
NEXT-Calibur was written for the new project Next, a Nik Eklund/Paul Merkelo/Rex Richardson collaboration. With Eklund unavailable, Nathaniel Mayfield heroically stepped in at two weeks’ notice, taking the Baroque trumpet part in this unusual work alongside Merkelo on classical trumpet and Richardson providing the jazz element. Stephenson himself conducted.
This was a work which surpassed my highest expectations. When they started with a unison/octave tune on trumpet, natural trumpet and flugel the searing, plangent beauty of the three blended tones was simply breathtaking. The work progressed with good things at every turn and Stephenson constantly messing with our assumptions about who does what and how it sounds, the interplay of timbres always stunning, and the ITG Chamber Ensemble’s orchestral contribution just superb. If you didn’t hear this work tonight you need to soon, believe me.