Rita Sloan

ABOUT THE EVENT

Michael Votta, Jr., music director

Rita Sloan, piano

Rita Sloan is acknowledged internationally as a leading teacher of piano, collaborative piano and chamber music. She has performed with orchestra, in recital and chamber music internationally, and has been a guest in numerous chamber music venues, leading to performances with many of today’s foremost musicians. Sloan joins UMWO for their final performance of 2023, featuring Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exotiques.

No other composer was ever so dedicated to the painstaking transcription, study and musical application of birdsong than Olivier Messiaen. Inspired by the words of his mentor, Paul Dukas, Messiaen drew inspiration from all kinds of birds, and his Oiseaux Exotiques was no exception.

Oiseaux Exotiques is described by Messiaen as, “almost a piano concerto,” with the piano playing a more prominent role than in his previous works in his style oiseaux (bird style). This piece showcases the songs of 18 species from India, China, Malaysia and the Americas–a menagerie of sound that could never exist in the natural world.

This event will be in-person and livestream.