Associate Professor of oboe at the Schulich School of Music, Jacqueline Leclair specializes in the study and performance of new music. Beyond our classrooms, she can frequently be heard as a soloist and performing with ensembles internationally. Her world premiere recording of Roger Reynolds’ Journey (a concerto dedicated to Dr. Leclair herself!) was released on April 19 as part of Wind Concertos, an upcoming album celebrating the trailblazing work of the illustrious composer. And there is more! Earlier this year, she also premiered Trains of Thought (2012) by Viet Cuong, a trio for oboe, bassoon and piano in which she is joined by pianist Pamela Reimer, a frequent collaborative pianist at the Schulich School of Music, and bassoonist Christian Whitacre (Mannes School of Music).
Prof. Leclair tells us more about the creative process behind this delightful piece, that she describes herself as “super-fun, groovy, crowd-pleaser […], very accessible and high-energy,” and the story of how the project came to be.
“In spring 2023, my colleagues and I were preparing for the Maine Chamber Music Seminar in June, choosing repertoire to include. The Director asked me to find a new piece for oboe, bassoon, and piano because we needed one more. I went to the website of the ensemble The Poulenc Trio and looked at their repertoire since they specialize in that combination of instruments. I noticed the piece “Trains of Thought” by Viet Cuong (b. 1990) and listened to some of their recording of the piece. Their ensemble had commissioned the piece in 2012 when Mr. Cuong was graduating from his undergraduate degree at the Peabody Institute. This trio was his first professional commission. The trio sounded interesting and fun, so I recommended it to the seminar director, and I ordered the score and parts.
When I read through the score, I noticed right away that the recording on The Poulenc Trio’s CD omitted quite a few of the score’s indications such as most of the microtones, which I found curious. But one always has to figure out one’s own interpretation of a new score, especially with a newer and somewhat unusual piece such as “Trains of Thought.” So two students and I started learning the score in preparation for rehearsing and performing the trio in June. (I both played in and coached the ensemble.) During the two-week seminar, we rehearsed the trio almost every day, so we really had time to explore it extensively and find the tempo, effects, gestures, and colours that we felt worked.
As the seminar finished, I knew that the bassoonist, Christian Whitacre, would be in a diploma program at the Mannes School in NYC. (He had just finished his master’s degree at the University of Maryland College Park.) So, I proposed to him that I bring him up to Montreal in the winter and we rehearse and record “Trains of Thought” with Pam Reimer who is a fantastic pianist. We had done enough work on the trio for me to know that, with some additional practicing and a few rehearsals with Pam, we could make a really strong recording, one that demonstrated our own interpretation of the trio, that we feel is an exciting and faithful representation of what the score contains, and what we believe were Viet Cuong’s intentions.
Luckily, things fell into place and Christian came up to Montreal for a few days in December. He, Pam, and I rehearsed at the Conservatoire where I was able to rent space. And we recorded the trio on December 18th at a great recording studio in Westmount, MixArt Studio.
We are very happy with the recording, and we are thrilled to offer it to everyone to listen to and enjoy.”
Have a listen to Dr. Leclair’s wonderful work, now available on YouTube.
