6Degrees Composers present a FREE concert, “Celebrating Women’s Heritage Month,” Friday, March 14, 7:30 pm, Sherwood Auditorium, Columbia College Chicago, 1312 South Michigan. The concert honors achievements and contributions women of all backgrounds have made throughout history. Featuring music of Chicago women, the concert also includes music of guest composer, Camila Cortina Bello, whose Cuban roots are found in her jazz-inspired works.

Regina Harris Baiocchi’s haiku and senryū are reflected in wind haiku, a musical translation of her poetry, for oboe, oboe d’amore, English horn, or most wind instruments. wind haiku was commissioned by and for Patricia Morehead on oboes. Journey to the North, for solo viola, composed by Patricia Morehead, presents a musical portrait of a drive through Ontario, Canada, seeing the beauty of fall colors and landscapes. The poetry of Allen Ginsberg is celebrated in Janice Misurell-Mitchell’s Profaning the Sacred III, for voice/flute/alto flute and bass clarinet. The poet decries our society in its failure to protect its citizens from poverty and discrimination, referencing the Biblical idol, Moloch.

Commissioned by pianist Kuang-Hao Huang, Not(h)ing, by Kyong Mee Choi, was inspired by sages Lao Tzu, Siddhartha Gautama, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj who understood that “nothingness” governs everything before all concepts the mind creates through consciousness. Share the Love  by Ester Hanviriyapunt, for voice, cello and piano, has a gospel feel. Also by Hanviriyapunt are Cello Music for Michael Allen, performed by Brian Hoffman, and  Moments of Marchness, for solo piano, celebrating the month.

In her piano étude #3, tightrope, Regina Harris Baiocchi uses altered chords, tremolos, chromaticism, and high-energy acrobatics to simulate walking a musical highwire. Written in homage to her family and audiences, Baiocchi’s Sketches for Viola & Piano is a three-movement exploration of sweet melodies, 9th chords, and pentatonic scales.

Guest composer Camila Cortina Bello was commissioned by Samantha Ege to write Bravura, a piece demanding extensive technical skill. It was inspired by the spirituals, Wade In The Water and Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass.

Featured performers include Barbara Landis and Felicia Patton, mezzo-sopranos, Ester “Hana” Hanviriyapunt, voice; Janice Misurell-Mitchell, voice and flutes, Patricia Morehead, oboe, oboe d’amore, and English horn, Katherine Jimoh, bass clarinet; Michael Hall, viola, Brian Hoffman, cello; Kuang-Hao Huang and Marianne Parker, piano

In 2010 Regina Harris Baiocchi founded 6Degrees Composers to promote music by womxn of different traditions. Please donate securely via this hyperlink: Donate to 6 Degrees Composers Please visit: http://www.6DegreesComposers.com