Guitarist Peter Yates and vocalist Alexandra Grabarchuk perform with Pomona College faculty members Cynthia Fogg, viola, and Tom Flaherty, cello, in the faculty recital “Cellîola and Friends” at Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College on Saturday. Fogg and Flaherty concluded the concert by performing pieces like “Metamorphosis” and “Now I See” with Yates and Grabarchuck. / photo by Mariela Patron
Erum Jaffrey
Assistant Editor
Classical chords resonated in harmony at Pomona College’s Bridges Hall of Music on Sunday, presenting “Cellîola and Friends.”
Audience members walked in to a 600-seat cathedral-like concert hall, built in 1915 with precious wood, while facing the Hill Memorial Organ, a gift of John and Eugene Hill.
A series of original instrumental pieces composed by Pomona College students, alumni and faculty were performed with a variety of classical instruments.
The concert was held in honor of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
It is an annual event presented by cellist, composer and Pomona College professor of music Tom Flaherty and his wife, violist and Cellîola partner Cynthia Fogg.
Cellîola was started by Flaherty and Fogg for their interest in chamber music. It was developed as a platform to perform duets with viola and cello.
“Everyone who is performing right now, at some point, didn’t know anything about music and they just come to learn it over time,” said Eric Lindholm, chairman of the Pomona College music department and professor of music. “You appreciate (classical music) more as you get to know it more, as your knowledge of music evolves over time,” he said.
“Cellîola and Friends” included Fogg on viola, Flaherty on cello, Mark Winges on organ, Alexandra Grabarchuk singing soprano and Peter Yates singing baritone, playing guitar and percussion.
Seven pieces were performed, two of which were named “Meditation” and “One through Twelve.”
Composed by recent Pomona College graduate William Appleton, “One through Twelve” included three groups of songs performed by Fogg and Flaherty.
“I wanted to write something that explored rhythmic values that expanded incrementally in order, so you had a linear progression through a piece,” Appleton said. “(Fogg and Flaherty) asked me to write the piece for them, so the instrumentation was set select specifically,” he said.
All pieces were instrumental except for the grouping of songs titled “Stuck In Your Head,” composed in 2013 by Yates and sung by Grabarchuk and Yates.
During the performance of “Under the Weather” composed by Flaherty, he asked the audience to create the atmosphere of lighting and thunder by using the flash on their phones.
The song started with sounds of raindrops echoing the concert hall, then the grand organ later picked up a momentum, creating an eerie twilight zone-like tone.
“I like to have the audience participate because it brings more excitement to the piece,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty teaches music history and theory, music composition and electronic music studio at Pomona College.
“Cellîola and Friends” is part of the Concerts at Pomona College series, which provides free concerts to the public throughout the year.
“We have 70 public events per year and most of (the performers) are associated with the college, but we do bring some from outside,” Lindholm said.
About 75 people attended Sunday’s concert and were invited to the reception after the performance, in the Thatcher Music Building.
“This being my first concert, I thought it was really interesting,” Karen Iai, a freshman undecided major at Pomona College, said. “I liked how it gives people to the opportunity to check out this music for free,” she said.
Upcoming performers include the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Mojave Trio and Music for a New B’ak’tun.
For more information on concerts at Pomona College, visit www.pomona.edu.
Erum Jaffrey can be reached at erum.jaffrey@laverne.edu.
