Digital Program

Home Grown

Saturday, September 12, 2026, 7:00pm

Jones Chapel, Meredith College

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Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, Inc. is supported by the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County as well as the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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Meredith College Department of Music | Ruggero Piano | Cultural Voice of North Carolina | Raleigh Music Collective

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Concert Program: Home Grown

Cyber Kitty MK-5 |Alexander Potous

Julia Malone, cello

Lamentation of One Redeemed | Cheryl Cleveland-Kannianen

Irene Burke, flute; Ann Emery, violin; Julia Malone, cello

Four of a Kind, “Lena” | Patricia Smith

 Irene Burke, flute; Jim Williams, clarinet; Erin Howard, violin; Julia Malone, cello

String Quartet #1 “Österreich” | Chase Barnette

Ann Emery, violin; Erin Howard, violin; Jean Bynum, viola; Julia Malone, cello

Piano Sonata No. 1 | James Pulley

Eric Luke, piano

Water’s Rising | Grace Falls

Ann Emery, violin; Erin Howard, violin; Jean Bynum, viola; Julia Malone

Place-Memory | Chris Williams

Jean Bynum, violin; Julia Malone, cello; Eric Luke, piano

Scattered Reflections | Ashton Latimer

  John Gallis, horn; Brenda Balazs-Reylek, bassoon; Eric Luke, piano 

 Quintet #1 - “Oxymorons” | Benjamin Brody

I. Adagio, Frantically

II. Twelve Tone-Poem

III. Heavy Scherzo

Irene Burke, flute; Janet Shurtleff, oboe; Jim Williams, clarinet; Brenda Balaz-Reylek, bassoon; John Gallis, horn

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Program Notes & Composer Bios

In program order

Cyber Kitty MK-5 is Alexander Poutous’s first work for solo cello. It was initially composed for Craig Hultgren to perform as part of a cello workshop at UNCC in January 2023. The piece incorporates contrasting tempi and time signatures, and it utilizes a unique modal scale in some parts and total dodecaphony in others. It took roughly 5 weeks to write.

Alexander Poutous is a second degree seeking student at University of North Carolina at Charlotte pursuing a major in Music Composition. With a catalogue of works stretching back to 2006, he has recorded and self-produced multiple studio albums of original music that each combine digital keyboard technology and computer software with his own multi-instrumental and vocal abilities. His most recent endeavors at UNCC include an accordion solo and a trio for flute, clarinet, and cello. He is also a proud member of the University Chorale as well as the UNCC Jazz Ensemble and Combo.

Lamentation of One Redeemed is an original trio for flute, violin and cello composed primarily as a traditional counterpoint ground. The title reflects that one can have Redemption and Hope in the Lord even in the midst of worldly sorrow (Lamentations 3:58). The title is also a strong nod to England’s Queen Catherine Parr and her ground-breaking work of 1547 Lamentation of a Sinner. Just as Parr’s treatise moves through several emotions, this musical work moves through emotional expressions of sorrow, contemplation, bittersweetness, “almost joy” and lament. And hope flickers in and out of this lament via the use of mixed mode major chords. Lamentation of One Redeemed is a fresh interpretation of Henry Purcell’s famous descending chromatic line in Dido's Lament; the cello repeats Purcell’s descent seven times, but then that line is reworked by first a diminution of the rhymical values and then the line is inverted to rise in hope before returning to the slower rhythmic descent towards the end.

Dr. Cheryl Cleveland-Kannianen is a retired scientist who recently completed a Music Degree at Meredith College in

Raleigh. While at Meredith, Cheryl focused on arranging and composition under the direction of Dr. Sabrina Clarke. Cheryl also plays flute and has been a participant in various flute choirs within the Raleigh Area Flute Association (RAFA) for over a decade.  Upon graduation, Cheryl recently moved to Greer, SC, where she resides with her husband and son. Cheryl is a new member of both the Upstate Senior Concert Band and the Foothills Flutes. Cheryl's website contains information regarding her other arrangements and compositions; see cckannianen.com.

Four of A Kind is a study of four characters experiencing the same events but processing them in vastly different ways. “Lena” is the most dangerous of these four. She is calculated, meticulous, and threateningly intelligent. Everything she does has a rational plan and a purpose, all veered towards revenge, hence the drive of the first section; every voice is straightforward, but when they combine, they turn into something heavily clashing. The second section is brimming with resolve, but also a sort of sadness. The third section comes when her teammates are finally placed in a danger they can’t get themselves out of, and Lena realizes she cannot leave them behind. Her unshakable individuality crumbles for the first time, the melodies derail, and when they return, they are warmer and less hurried, and Lena has lost her sense of self; luckily, her teammates are more than willing to support her.

Patricia Smith is a young composer that recently graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in music composition, and is now pursuing her master's in music composition at Carnegie Mellon University. She specializes in using sound to create landscapes and express the voices of different characters, but she has a fascination for just about everything in the musical process from music history to mixing and mastering tracks. She spends her free time drawing, writing, playing video games, and doing anything else she can find that involves the art of storytelling.

String Quartet No. 1 marks Chase Barnette’s first attempt at writing for string instruments and was completed in late January 2026. The subtitle, Österreich (the German name for Austria), references Barnette’s time there and his broader travels throughout Europe this past summer, serving as this work’s main inspiration and conceptual backdrop. The quartet encapsulates the experience of mono no aware—an empathetic awareness of the bittersweet impermanence of things; the cherishing of a passing moment—acknowledging beauty and/or joy when and where it will not last.

Raised in Wilmington, NC, Chase Barnette (2006-) is currently an undergrad student at East Carolina University, where he studies both Music Education and Music Composition. An avid composer, writer, instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist, Barnette is a member of the internationally acclaimed ECUChamber Singers, a Choral Scholar at First Presbyterian Church in Rocky Mount, and a staff member with the ECU Marching Pirates. While Barnette has only recently begun his formal studies in composition, he has written well over one-hundred songs/pieces across a variety of styles, ranging from chamber music to contemporary RnB. Instagram: chase_barnette.music

Piano Sonata No. 1 This piano sonata is my first one, and hopefully not my last. It is a short exploration of various styles, particularly of Chopin, ending with a short theme & variations.

James Pulley is a pianist, percussionist, and composer. He is currently attending Campbell University, learning music composition and playing in the wind and jazz ensembles. Website: niconiconii.neocities.org

Water’s Rising explores the emotional experience of becoming overwhelmed and draws a parallel between rising water and moments in life that feel consuming, like drowning under tremendous pressure, grief, uncertainty, and fear. The piece begins in stillness, evoking a sense of calm before disruption. Gradually, the texture shifts and expands, and layers and tension grow. What begins as something subtle often grows and grows, mirroring how emotional weight can rise slowly, surrounding everything. Rather than receding, the water reaches a point of stillness. The music returns to calm, yet it is changed, mirroring how often what has been endured is held quietly beneath the surface.

Grace Falls is a composer and student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studies Music Composition and Social Work. Her work focuses on emotion and storytelling, drawing on diverse cultural influences. She has written for ensembles including the Pathfinder Wind Trio and the Red Clay Saxophone Ensemble, with works such as Joyful Beginnings and Whispers in the Currents. Her music has been premiered at festivals including the Zodiac Music Festival in France and the International Women Composers Conference. Grace loves exploring emotion and narrative through sound, striving to create music that helps listeners feel seen and connected. Instagram: it’s_gracie_falls

The idea of ‘Place Memory’ comes to us from late nineteenth century spiritualism and parapsychology. Amongst its advocates were the polymath Charles Babbage and musical aesthete Edmund Gurney. Simply stated the idea is that a place - like a mind - can record a memory, and then - under certain circumstances - replay that memory, at a later time. Putting aside the notion of its literal existence as pseudoscience, I find the idea poetically rich and deeply human, recognising place as existing in more than just physical reality. A place is also a potent liminal space, an amalgam of all the prior time and human experience in it. I think music can operate in much the same way.

Australian composer Chris Williams’ music for the stage and concert hall has been heard and commissioned around the world, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall. He has been commissioned by the Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, was twice featured at the Gaudeamus Muzeikweek and was an invited composer at the Takefu International Music Festival. Amongst numerous awards, he was one of two honourable mentions in the MACRO composition competition this year, was awarded ‘Best Orchestration’ prize by the Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Italy), ranked first in the Musica Per Archi competition (Ukraine), and won the composition prize of the Australian International Chopin Competition. Chris studied composition at the University of Oxford, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and is completing his PhD at Duke University. Website: chriswilliamscomposer.com

Scattered Reflections began as a reimagined version of my solo piano piece, Broken, Not Shattered, which I wrote earlier this year for my mom. That piece was born from a lingering sense of homesickness, as I had never been away from home for three months before, let alone in another country. In Scattered Reflections, I not only revisit those past feelings but also reflect on how I’m coping with them today. The opening of the trio closely mirrors the solo piano work, but soon the focus shifts, with the bassoon and horn acting as a melodic and textural focus for the piece. This opening repeated gesture soon comes back in an orchestrated context and morphs into an underlying ostinato that continues until the ending.

Ashton Latimer (b. 2006) is a Canadian composer from Vancouver, British Columbia, inspired by the textures and sound worlds of acoustic instruments. His work has earned recognition through awards, competitions, and performances across Canada and the United States. In 2026, Ashton was selected for the Michael Nesbitt Composer Institute with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, where his orchestral work Overflow  received its world premiere during the Winnipeg New Music Festival. During the festival, he received a 2025 SOCAN Young Composer Award and was named Runner-up in the Emerging Canadian Music Centre Prairie Region Composer Competition. He was also a finalist in the 4th Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers. His orchestral work Purification received a 2024 SOCAN Young Composer Award and was selected for the Hugh Davidson Composer Readings with the Victoria Symphony. Ashton studied two of composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with Jared Miller.

Quintet No. 1 “Oxymorons” was written for the Nova Woodwind Quintet in Boone, North Carolina. When writing the first movement, I was writing a piece that I wanted to be played frantically, almost with nerves, while slow in tempo. How could that be possible, as frantically and slow tend to be opposites? Thus, I settled on the idea of oxymorons as the basis of this piece. The second movement, starting with a twelve tone row presented by the clarinet, also is a tone poem, exploring different sounds and extended techniques, specifically in the flute and clarinet. The third movement, “Heavy Scherzo,” is a reworking of the second movement of my two clarinet and piano piece Modern Times. I thought the movement would adapt well for woodwind quintet and would explore the original ideas with new orchestrations.

Benjamin N. Brody is a nationally performed composer, pursuing his masters degree in music composition at Appalachian State University. Brody has collaborated with ensembles including the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Heartland Marimba Ensemble, Southwestern Oklahoma State University Wind Symphony, the University of Akron Wind Symphony and Symphony Band, and The Ohio State University Middle School Concert Band Academy. Brody’s music has been performed at numerous Ohio Music Education Association Conferences and the Mid-West Regional Tuba and Euphonium Conference. Brody is also a two-time finalist for The American Prize. Brody has studied composition with Robert Brownlow, James Wilding and Roger Zare. Website: bnb-publications.com

Special thanks to Dr. Steve Landis and Janet Shurtleff for their work in moderating entries and facilitating this concert!

RSO Personnel

Violin I: Sara Maria Blanton (concertmaster), Jean Bynum (assoc. concertmaster), Alisyn Rogerson, Brian Jensen, Erin Howard, Keunjae Song, Jeongseon Hong, Ann Emery

Violin II: Suzanne Bolt, Emily Phaneuf, Christina Wohlford, Jody Crafford, Ardene Shafer, Francine Hunter, Hannah Vestal, Anna Tschiegg Baker

Viola: Ken Rogerson (Fei-Mei and Tsong-Wen Chou Memorial Chair), Kevin Yen, Ri-Shea Schlitter, Patrice Barley, Bailey Clemmons, Gabriela Potter Peoples, Catherine Morrison

Cello: Maria Fernanda Rodriguez Hurtado, Robert Nosow, Cheryl Schlitter, Jeremy Smith, Jeffrey Rossman, Sarah Page, Victor Cediel Gómez

Bass: Dave Prodoehl, Steve Landis, John Gerken, Athena Ward, Adam Burke

Flute: Irene Burke (piccolo), Emma Morris

Oboe: Kaitlyn Michalak, Janet Shurtleff

Clarinet: Jim Williams, Brent Smith

Bassoon: Amy Braun, Brenda Balasz-Reylek

Trumpet: Michael Mole, John Morrison

Horn: Caresse Virnig, John Gallis

Percussion: Andrew Munger, Jo Donald

Timpani: Jaylan Glenn