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The 6821 Quintet

  • The 6821 Quintet

    The 6821 Quintet

  • The 6821 Quintet

    Free afternoon performance at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2019)

  • The 6821 Quintet

    Intense rehearsing at Evermay under the guidance of Dr. Ryuji Ueno (2017)

  • The 6821 Quintet

    Evening performance at Evermay, with musicians' acknowledgments to the composer (2018)

  • The 6821 Quintet

    Onstage rehearsal and soundcheck for the Opening Ceremony at the Warner Theater (2018)

  • The 6821 Quintet

    Post-concert casual photo with Dr. Ryuji Ueno, Mr. Kunihiko Murai, and some of the musicians at the National Gallery of Art (2018)

  • About The 6821 Quintet
  • About The Recording Artists
  • About The Compositions
  • About The Composers
  • Previous 6821 Members
  • Videos

ABOUT THE 6821 QUINTET

Cleverly named to reflect the distance in miles between Tokyo and Washington DC, The 6821 Quintet consists of international artists coming together to fulfill the understanding that music brings disparate cultures together. The group was originally conceived as a joint effort between the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and the National Cherry Blossom Festival to bring a more prominent classical music presence to the spring festivities in Washington DC. The 6821 Quintet not only assembled every spring to perform music at a variety of venues around DC, but were also tasked with premiering a new work commissioned and composed for the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, four compositions in total between 2016 and 2019.

The idea of commissioning contemporary composers to create a new work for the National Cherry Blossom Festival was an especially creative idea conceived by Founder and Executive Producer Dr. Ryuji Ueno. Just as the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the blossoms as a symbol of peace and harmony between Japan and the United States, Dr. Ueno envisioned a synthesis and harmony of Western classical music with Japanese aesthetics in the new compositions. The criteria for the new works consisted of simply 1) composing a piece of music for a traditional piano quintet setting, and 2) the famous folk song "Sakura, Sakura" must be incorporated into the musical narrative. Everything else was left to the creative inspiration of each composer. The outcome of this project has been extraordinary, as you will hear in the recordings. We hope you enjoy this triumph of cultural connection and collaboration through the art of music.

ABOUT THE RECORDING ARTISTS

team-member

Eric Silberger

Violin
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Shizuka Inoue

Violin
team-member

Andrew Gonzalez

Viola
team-member

Clancy Newman

Cello
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Ryo Yanagitani

Piano

ABOUT THE COMPOSITIONS


Michael Djupstrom: Songs of Spring (2016)
Songs of Spring was written on a request from the National Cherry Blossom Festival for a celebratory work to be included among the music performed at the 2016 festival’s opening ceremony. I first intended the work to be a kind of fantasy upon the well-known Japanese folk song “Sakura, Sakura,” which invites the listener to observe the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom each spring and which are the festival’s namesake. In researching the melody, however, I was delighted to discover the great richness of Japan’s folk song heritage, and as a result, I decided to weave a number of traditional melodies into my piece, creating a lively, varied musical tapestry. At its center, however, still stands the elegant "Sakura, Sakura," which receives the most elaborate treatment of any of the songs.

Mamiko Hirai: Portraits of Sakura - Our Memories of Bloom (2017)
Portraits of Sakura - Our Memories of Bloom was composed with a visualization of the ebb and flow of the changing weather during the start of spring; it is an illustration of the complex changes that occur from one season to the next. With consideration of the vast history of the cherry blossom tree and its international influence, the tree’s beauty in its surrounding environment is portrayed. The melody and notes are the palette of the tree’s budding, peak bloom, and falling petals, along with the many memories that are formed from viewers of its temporary and breathtaking display. The motif and main melody of the traditional Japanese folk song "Sakura, Sakura" was incorporated to develop a tone that reflects the common recollection of experiences we all hold dear.

Kunihiko Murai: Sakura on the Potomac (2018), Arr. by Christian Jacob
Many people may not realize this, but cold weather is necessary for the flowering of beautiful cherry blossoms in spring. In fact, it is the very coldness of winter that prepares the cherry trees to bloom. Flowering is delayed when winter is too warm.

In this piece, the harsh winter cold is expressed in a minor melody, while the major melody gives voice to the joy of flowering. But, it is important to remember that this joy is actually contained in the severe winter cold, which is why the main melody of this song is in the minor key. From the middle of the song, you will hear the traditional Japanese melody, “Sakura, Sakura”, from afar. Sakura is the song for cherry blossoms. The minor theme is then intertwined and played at the same time as this traditional melody, until the song concludes with the major melody, to rejoice in the flowering season.

Translated to English by Peter Levitt.

Clancy Newman: Cherry Blossom Fantasy (2019)
When I first heard the folk song "Sakura, Sakura", I was struck by the tension between the words and melody. Take away the melody, and the words are full of joy; take away the words, and the melody sounds full of sorrow. Why is this? Perhaps it is a reflection of the fleeting nature of life, as represented by the cherry blossoms: inexpressibly beautiful, but all-too-short.

Of course, in writing for a piano quintet, I could not use words. So the task before me was to convey the full range of emotion inspired by the sakura - from joy to sorrow and everything in between - through melody alone.


ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

team-member

Michael Djupstrom

2016
team-member

Mamiko Hirai

2017
team-member

Kunihiko Murai

2018
team-member

Christian Jacob (arranger)

2018
team-member

Clancy Newman

2019

PREVIOUS 6821 MEMBERS

The 6821 Quintet
2019 Members:
  • Eric Silberger (violin)
  • Shizuka Inoue (violin)
  • Andrew Gonzalez (viola)
  • Clancy Newman (cello)
  • Ryo Yanagitani (piano)
Performance Locations:
  • 2019 National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony
  • Renwick Gallery
  • Evermay

The 6821 Quintet
2018 Members:
  • Mayu Kishima (violin)
  • Eric Silberger (violin)
  • Meng Wang (viola)
  • Clancy Newman (cello)
  • Jason Solounias (piano)
Performance Locations:
  • 2018 National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony
  • National Gallery of Art
  • Evermay

The 6821 Quintet
2017 Members:
  • Mayu Kishima (violin)
  • Eric Silberger (violin)
  • Meng Wang (viola)
  • Clancy Newman (cello)
  • Michael Djupstrom (piano)
  • Mamiko Hirai (piano)
Performance Locations:
  • 2017 National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony
  • Union Station
  • Evermay

The 6821 Quintet
2016 Quintet Members:
  • Mayu Kishima (violin)
  • Andrew Kwon (violin)
  • Meng Wang (viola)
  • Tim Park (cello)
  • Mayumi Sakamoto (piano)
Performance Locations:
  • 2016 National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony
  • Union Station
  • Reagan National Airport
  • CityCenterDC

VIDEOS


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Ryuji Ueno Foundation

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    • THE 6821 QUINTET
  • Delta Method
  • Venues
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