This week’s program explores a century of American musical innovation, from the minimalist patterns of a former New York taxi driver to the "experiment in modern music" that defined the jazz era. Our guests this week are WindSync, a Houston-based ensemble that performed for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society on March 1, 2026, with special guest, pianist Daniel Anastasio.
Kara LaMoure, bassoonist with the group, noted from the stage, “when we think about the legacy of American music. We have to think about where everybody came from, the music that was already here, of course, and that ended up speaking through the classical music that was written in the last century and a half, and then the music that came from other continents and that we ended up adopting and making our own.”
By way of example, LaMoure explained how several of the composers on the program all interacted or studied with the Parisian teacher, Nadia Boulanger.
“So this Parisian instructor actually influenced pretty much any living American classical musician you can think of today.”
The highlight for many in the audience at this concert was a unique arrangement by Reinhard Gutschy of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” for sextet.
Pianist Daniel Anastasio explained that he got to play even more than during a normal rundown of the now century-old piece.
“I've played 'Rhapsody in Blue,' but I don't usually play the orchestra parts, so that's a really nice thing. I get to infuse their sound with some thickness from the piano,” Anastasio said before the group launched into the now century-old piece with its famous clarinet glissando, slinkily played by Graeme Steele Johnson.
Hear the full set using the audio player at the link above.
PROGRAM:
- Philip Glass: Etude No. 17
- Elliott Carter: Quintet
- Kenji Bunch: Summer Hours
- George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
