July 2012 23 PHOTO BY TJ MORRISSEY
one of the great free treats on YouTube. In the Barenboim tradition of multifaceted musicianship, <strong>Nansi</strong> <strong>Carroll</strong> is a quadruple-threat, adept at piano, composing, singing, and conducting. She is also artistic co-director of Jubilus, an annual classical-music concert series, and during its Spring Gala at the Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center in May, she and fl autist Christine Alicot collaborated on two pieces by Debussy. Later in the program she returned to the piano as bassoonist Javier Rodriguez’s partner in Villa-Lobos’s “Ciranda das Sete Notas.” “I’ve known Javier since he was 13,” she later said, adding that it “was amazing to see him develop over the years. I wrote for his senior recital for his bachelor’s for unaccompanied bassoon. Then he requested other pieces for his recitals. “The bassoon used to be called ‘the clown of the orchestra,’ but it has extraordinary pitch, agility and range. It has a lot of depth.” Puerto-Rico born and Gainesvillereared, Rodriguez’s doctoral dissertation concerns <strong>Carroll</strong> as a composer, and he also commissioned her to write “Mr. Mitty,” a piece based on a James Thurber story. “I learned a lot about my piece listening to Javier’s lectures at recital,” she reminisced with a smile. In 2009 Rodriguez and saxophonist Sean Fredenberg, who holds a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina, launched the Post-Haste Reed Duo, and in order to expand their repertoire commissioned <strong>Carroll</strong> to work on “The Servant Girl at Emmaus,” a composition for soprano saxophone, bassoon, contralto, and three sopranos. “Javier and Sean wrote the contralto solo with me,” she said, and explained that she drew on a Denise Levertov poem about the dinner the resurrected Christ ate with the two disciples he met on the road to Emmaus. “A Velasquez painting inspired Levertov’s poem. The main fi gure is the servant girl. She recognizes Jesus before the disciples do.” The divine presence is only suggested through Velasquez’s use of light. In May, <strong>Carroll</strong> had just completed a rush job celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. John Phillips, formerly of Gainesville’s St. Augustine Catholic Church and more recently of Holy Faith. As for future compositions, she said she is “collecting ideas for a piece for the Post-Haste Duo. Javier and I will be applying for a composing grant.” Shedding light on how she goes about 24 July 2012 seniortimesmagazine.com
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