Broadcast: Mekhi Gladden, oboe

  • Graduation Recital
  • May 11, 2022 @ 7:00 P.M.

Mekhi’s livestream will be available on Curtis’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Mekhi’s graduation recital follows a thematic arc: Pain, learning to sing, catharsis, reflection, celebration, nostalgia.

“Wounds In So Many Places” is a reflection on the ongoing trauma that black people face in the United States of America.

“Jhula Jhule” creates a space for composer Reena Esmail to have resonance with her heritage in the US where she has struggled to do so.

“X” gives the performer a chance at catharsis with every performance. Its fantastical nature creates an experience that moves beyond performer and audience but instead taps into a feeling of omnipresence.

“The Door of No Return” tells the story of the middle passage, the horrors of slavery, and the importance of plantation profits in the development of Britain. The final movement is for the Year of Return in Ghana in 2019.

“Suite” showcases the beauty and versatility of the oboe and English horn. It occupies a special place in my heart because it was written by a friend who inspired me my first year at Curtis.

“Semelíami” is a word for dance music used by the Raramuri Native Peoples. This piece is composed as a passacaglia and is based on the image of meditation, dance, and return to meditation – this image being a metaphor for life.

Program

CHE BUFORD Wounds in So Many Places

Mekhi Gladden, oboe

REENA ESMAIL Jhula Jhule

Mekhi Gladden, oboe
Daniel Benedict, harp

SARRAH BUSHARA X

Mehki Gladden, oboe
Jamison Hillian, oboe

ALTHEA TALBOT-HOWARD The Door of No Return

Mehki Gladden, oboe
Yoni Levyatov, piano

VIET CUONG Suite

Little Tango
Gymnopedie
Triple Cadenza
Toccata

Mekhi Gladden, oboe
Christopher Correa, oboe
Cameron Slaton, English horn

ALEJANDRA ODGERS Semeliami

Mekhi Gladden, oboe

About the Performers

Mekhi Gladden, from Atlanta, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2017 and studies oboe with Katherine Needleman, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Philippe Tondre, and Robert Walters. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Gladden is the Gie and Lisa Liem Annual Fellow.

Mr. Gladden has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony in C and is a first-prize winner in the Eric Varner Young Artist Competition. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Brevard Music Festival, and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, performing at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Gladden began studying oboe at age twelve and entered the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program at age fifteen. He previously studied with Emily Brebach, english horn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

During his time at Curtis, Mr. Gladden has worked to further diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music through his performance and advocacy.

Daniel Benedict, from Oak Park, Ill., is a student of Elizabeth Hainen and entered Curtis in 2020.

Christopher Correa, from Long Beach, Calif., is a student of is a student of Katherine Needleman, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Philippe Tondre, and Robert Walters, and entered Curtis in 2020.

Jamison Hillian, from Chesterfield, S.C., is a student of Katherine Needleman, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Philippe Tondre, and Robert Walters, and entered Curtis in 2018.

Cameron Slaton, from Franklin, Ohio, is a student of Katherine Needleman, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Philippe Tondre, and Robert Walters, and entered Curtis in 2020.

Yoni Levyatov, staff pianist

Special Thanks

The Edith L. and Robert Prostkoff Memorial Concert Series. The Curtis Institute of Music receives funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.

    • Date May 11, 2022
    • Time 7:00 P.M.