Re:Ensemble presents ‘French Connections’

Works by Mel Bonis, Camille Saint-Saens and Gabriel Fauré

Kate Maloney, violin

Christoph Vandory, viola

Jonathan Roozeman, cello

Mona Asuka, piano

“I never imagined a woman could write such music!”

 exclaimed Camille Saint-Saens  after hearing the Piano Quartet of Mel Bonis for

the first time.

He really hit the nail on the head - managing in one sentence to sum up the struggle of

this highly underrated composer and pianist of the 1900’s. To be a female composer

meant having to fight for recognition at every turn. To battle the expectations of

domestic life with the desire and ambition of a career.

Mélanie Hélène Bonis even went under the pen name Mel Bonis in an attempt to be

taken more seriously and not have her music be automatically judged because of her

sex.

Re:Ensemble is a young, energetic group dedicated to performing works by

marginalized and living composers. In this concert, they perform as a piano quartet,

juxtaposing the works of French composers Camille Saint-Saens, his student Gabriel

Fauré and their lesser known contemporary, Mel Bonis.