UCM Division of Music Presents ‘Quartet for the End of Time,’ Featuring Grammy-Winning Associate Professor

The University of Central Missouri (UCM) Division of Music will present a performance of Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” on Monday, Feb. 9, featuring faculty members and recent Grammy winners from Alarm Will Sound.

Elisabeth Stimpert (clarinet), DMA, associate professor of Music, will be joined by Mia Kim (piano), DMA, professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy; Michael Bersin (cello), DMA, professor of Cello and Bass; and her long-time Alarm Will Sound colleague, Courtney Orlando (violin), DMA.

The performance will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 in Hart Recital Hall in the Utt Building. Admission is free. Thanks to members of UCM’s Music Technology program, the concert will also be livestreamed on the UCM Music YouTube channel.

 

At 4 p.m. Feb. 9, Orlando will present a public masterclass for members of UCM's string studios.

 

"Quartet for the End of Time" was written by French composer Olivier Messiaen during his confinement in the Stalag VIII-A prisoner of war camp after the invasion of France during World War II. Thanks to the sympathetic nature of one of the German guards, Messiaen was allowed the time and resources to continue his work as a composer, resulting in this piece that was first performed in 1941 in Stalag VII-A by himself on piano. Henri Akoka (clarinet), Jean Le Boulaire (violin) and Etienne Pasquier (cello) joined in the premiere for an audience of fellow prisoners of war in the camp.

Stimpert and Orlando are founding members of Alarm Will Sound, which is celebrating its 25th season. During the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 1, the 20-member touring ensemble won in the Best Chamber/Small Ensemble Performance category for its recent album release, "Land of Winter.” The album, which resulted from a long-term collaboration with composer Donnacha Dennehy, was also up for consideration in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category.

An accomplished performer and educator, Orlando specializes in contemporary and crossover music. She is also a member of Ensemble Signal, a collective of musicians under the direction of conductor Brad Lubman. 

In addition, she has performed and/or recorded with Björk, the Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend, Yoko Ono, Sigur Rós’s Jónsi and Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry. She has worked with jazz and experimental musicians Theo Bleckmann; Uri Cain; Michael Formanek; Medeski, Martin and Wood; and Joshua Redman. 

She was an assistant professor of ear training and sight reading and ran the new music ensemble at the Peabody Conservatory from 2003 to 2023. She maintains a private violin studio in Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, Donnacha Dennehy, and their three children.

This event is supported in part by the Missouri Arts Council.