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My composition Concordia for cello sextet was recently performed in St. Paul by a wonderful group of cellists (pictured above from left to right): Tony Ross, principal cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra, Eugena Chang, Tanya Remenikova, Sally Dorer, Arek Tesarczyk, and Marcia Peck. The concert was part of The Bakken Trio Concert Series in the very attractive Huss Music Room of the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul.

An Exhuberance of Cellos (the title of the Bakken Trio concert) was the dream of cellist Mina Fisher of The Bakken Trio and the Minnesota Orchestra. About this concert Mina wrote: "When I fell in love with the cello, I fell in love first with the sound of a mass of cellos, imbibing the sound floating up to me where I was lying in the hayloft of a barn at music camp. No one who's not a cellist gets to experience close-up the richly vital sound of groups of cellos, so I wanted to share that luxuriant sound, and the sheer fun of this repertoire, with all of you."

My first live experience of a cello choir was when my sister Sally (Dorer) performed in the Georgia Academy Cello Choir as a high school student. I was, like Mina, completely enthralled with the sonic possibilities and the amazing range of the cello, which can cover the range of all "voices" from soprano to bass. I decided to write a piece for cello choir and was fortunate in receiving a grant from the University of Maryland Graduate School for the commission and in having the support of Martha Gerschefski, director of the Georgia Academy Cello Choir. The piece was premiered by this group on August 4, 1983, with the composer as conductor, and with my sister as part of the ensemble of 18 cellos who presented the premiere (three on a part).

The performance in St. Paul by this exceptional group of cellists was with my original conception of a sextet, and the transparency and fluency of this intimate and impeccable St. Paul ensemble was a composer's dream. I am grateful to Tony, Eugena, Tanya, Sally, Arek and Marcia for their beautiful performance and to Mina for including my piece on this outstanding concert. The live performance on February 15, 2009 can be heard here (scroll down to the concert info).