GABRIEL FAURÉ
Impromptu, Op. 86

CHELSEA KOMSCHLIES
Brain Storms*

CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Nocturne pour Piano (1892)
(arr. Albertson)

PAUL HINDEMITH
Sonata for Harp
I. Mäßig schnell
II. Lebhaft
III. Lied. Sehr langsam

J.S. BACH
“Fugue” in D Minor from Violin Sonata No. 1, BWV 539
(arr. Marcel Grandjany)

GABRIEL FAURÉ
Une Châtelaine en sa Tour, Op. 110

MANUEL DE FALLA
Spanish Dance No. 1 from La Vida Breve
(arr. Marcel Grandjany)

Ben Albertson has performed for over seventeen years throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Ben’s recent accomplishments include his appointment as the principal harpist of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and his distinction of being the 2023 Grand Prize Winner of the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs’ Emerging Soloists Competition. Ben was one of five Americans selected to represent the nation at the 2022 edition of the USA International Harp Competition, the world’s largest.

Other recent accomplishments include being a winner of the Corcoran Concerto Competition; being the youngest finalist in the American Harp Society’s National Competition in the Young Professional Division; his solo debut on WQXR, New York’s classical radio station; and his solo debut with the Eleva Chamber Players in Vermont. Ben is also an active chamber musician, recently recording on an album with Mayumi Seiler, a violinist on faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto; making his Ohio debut at the Cathedral Concert Series; and winning third prize in the Royal Conservatory’s chamber music competition.

Ben is currently in his second year as the principal harpist of the Tucson Symphony, the 2024/25 season. Ben also plays regularly with the Phoenix Symphony, and he has performed with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. In March 2025, Ben will make his soloist debut with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs in Colorado. Ben has previously performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Canada and the Olympia Symphony in Washington State.

Ben received his education at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on the full tuition merit-based Marylin and Charles E. Baillie Family Scholarship. Ben has also attended summer music festivals on full scholarships, such as the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. Ben was also a fellow at the Orchestra of the Americas. Ben has studied with many of the world’s greatest harpists, such as Judy Loman. Ben is honored to play the historic original Salzedo model harp that the great harpist Carlos Salzedo himself designed and played.

benalbertsonharp.com

*Regarding Brain Storms by Chelsea Komschlies:
Brain Storms was inspired by a fascination with the brain—its intricate workings as well as its malfunctions. Despite being in the twenty-first century, our understanding of the brain remains almost medieval compared to the vastness of what we have yet to discover. The harp, with its luminous timbre and subtle complexities, seemed the perfect instrument to evoke the brain as a great and mysterious machine—a network of neurons poised to fire with patterns of electricity.

The piece is also a personal reflection on a year marked by neurological turbulence. At several points, the music veers off course, careening wildly before finding its way back—settling into insistent, eccentric, and repetitive patterns. One of these patterns took on a life of its own in my mind over the following months, eventually transforming into the carefree, romantic melody that closes the piece.

Composing it became a journey of acceptance—of learning to find beauty and even blessing in the unusual ways my own brain works, complications and all. On a broader level, the piece is a celebration of the richness and complexity of minds shaped by neurological and mental illness.

With heartfelt thanks to Héloïse Carlean-Jones, whose collaboration was essential to the creation of this piece, and to Ben Albertson, whose artistry brings it to life in this premiere performance.