A musician who played with the Kennedy Center's Opera Orchestra for more than three decades will delight North Shore audiences with a world premiere this week.
Stephen Bates, who now lives in Manchester, plays clarinet with Music at Eden's Edge, a North Shore chamber music ensemble that will usher in its 30th anniversary season with concerts tonight and Saturday.
The program will feature the debut of composer Stephen Kleiman's Sonatine No. 2, "Inner Dance," which was written for — and will be performed by — Bates, who described it as a joyful and lyrical piece of music.
Bates and Kleiman have been friends since they met in college at the Mannes College of Music in New York, and Kleiman's composition is a tribute to Bates and his performance style.
"It's kind of a tribute to me and our friendship," Bates said, "and it also cites a lot of pieces I've played, like Copland, and bits from Carl Nielsen and other 20th-century composers."
In fact, Bates inspired Kleiman to compose "Inner Dance" when he sent his longtime friend one of his paintings by that name.
"I sent Stephen one of my paintings as a gift," recalled Bates, whose artistic talents are manifested in music and art.
"It's like someone skipping or jogging or running," Bates said of the composition. "It also has some jazz features in it ... and it still has a lot of the complexity of classical music and a traditional feel to it."
During the premiere of "Inner Dance," Bates will be accompanied by Naoko Sugiyama on piano.
Kleiman, who teaches music history, will travel to the North Shore and speak at both concerts.
From Bolshoi Ballet to Eden's Edge
Bates' career with the Opera Orchestra of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., began in 1973, and he established his reputation as a bass clarinet player, he said, and went back and forth between clarinet and bass clarinet during his tenure.
The orchestra played for operas and ballet, and Bates had the pleasure of playing for all the major ballet companies in the world including the extraordinary dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet — including Mikhail Baryshnikov — amid the tensions of the Cold War.
"There was that atmosphere of the Cold War, and the mystique of the great, great ballet dancers was very strong," Bates recalled. "The audiences went crazy, and flowers were flying over our heads."
In Bates' 36 years with the orchestra, he also played 70 different operas.
"I just was very fortunate to get to play in the repertoire of both ballet and opera," Bates said.
Bates retired from the Opera Orchestra in 2009, and he and his wife moved to Manchester, where her family owned property.
As soon as Bates learned about the North Shore's Music at Eden's Edge group, "I called (artistic director) Maria (Benotti) the next day," he said.
The upcoming concerts will be held tonight in Hamilton and Saturday in Danvers. Bates will perform on clarinet; with Sugiyama on piano; and Benotti will play violin and viola.
In addition to the debut of "Inner Dance," the other pieces on the concert program are:
Charles Ives' Largo for Violin, Clarinet and Piano
Mozart's Kegelstatt Trio, featuring the unusual combination of clarinet, viola and piano
Dvoré°k's Four Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 75
"There is a nice variety," Bates said. "A very large scope is covered in this concert."
Lifestyles Editor Amanda McGregor can be reached at 978-338-2665, amcgregor@salemnews.com and on Twitter @sn_ashorething and @AmandaSalemNews.
Music at Eden's Edge concerts
Today: 7:30 p.m., Community House of Hamilton & Wenham, 284 Bay Road, Hamilton
Saturday: 8 p.m., 10 North St., Danvers (John Archer's home)
Tickets: $20/general, $18/seniors, $15/students and $55/family
More information: Call 978-270-4463 or order tickets online at www.edensedge.org
