The Magnolia Trio, a woodwind chamber ensemble comprised of UW students, has a special language of their own when they perform. Communicating through raised eyebrows and encouraging eye contact, the trio relishes in the feeling of performing as one.
“Something just clicks and there’s a moment of appreciation for who we are as musicians and who we are as a group,” says Lucas Glander, a junior studying music performance at UW and the flute player of the trio. “We’re all working together for a common goal. It hits you at different points that you don’t realize, and those points are incredibly rewarding.”
This feeling was something that the trio wanted to inspire in other young musicians. Without ever meeting in person due to COVID19 restrictions, the trio applied for funding and support for a community engagement project through the Public Humanities Exchange for Undergraduates, or HEX-U.
HEX-U, a program run through the Center for Humanities, supports humanities-based projects that address a current need in the Madison community through training in community partnership, mentorship and funding. Program coordinator Danielle Weindling explains that the program encourages students to think beyond the traditional definitions and understandings of humanities.
“We want to see students not be afraid to break down disciplinary norms or boundaries,” says Weindling. “We encourage students to think outside the box and really consider what the humanities means on a grand scale. What people don't always consider is that the humanities can encompass more socially engaged resources that students can create.”
Last year, HEX-U supported student projects such as the production of a magazine for the Odyssey Writing Group, a supportive weekly writing community for alumni of the UW-Odyssey Project, and a project from the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health that gave individuals the opportunity to handwrite postcards to young Wisconsin women to encourage and help their vote and voice be counted. Among the esteemed list of HEX-U projects was the Magnolia Trio.
Despite their non-traditional chamber ensemble experience—the trio rehearsed and recorded their music virtually via GarageBand for months before ever meeting in person—the Magnolia Trio was enthusiastic about their chamber involvement and wanted to share it with other young musicians. With support from HEX-U, the trio had a musical piece commissioned for them by Professor Hong-Da Chin of Western Illinois University.
“It's very uncommon for chamber groups that are our age to have a piece commissioned,” says Hanna Noughani, a senior studying neurobiology and oboe performance.
Professor Chin incorporates his culture into his compositions, often inspired by Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures. The piece he commissioned for the Magnolia Trio incorporated Gamelan, an Indonesian, five-note percussive drumming style. Noughani says that the piece was contemporary, and unlike the pieces the trio had ever played in larger ensembles.
Along with creating a cinematic recording of the commissioned piece, called "When Stolen Time Becomes Fixed Time,” the trio ventured out into local high schools to share the culturally enriching music and inspire young musicians to explore the opportunities of chamber ensembles.
“In high school, the closest thing to chamber music is usually jazz band,” says Amanda Stezenski, a senior studying clarinet performance and business. “But we were able to kind of introduce the classical chamber music idea, and that you can get together with a few friends and just play whatever pieces you like.”
Their outreach, however, took on more meaning after learning about the state of high school music programs post-pandemic.
“I didn't realize how big of a hit music programs took during the pandemic,” says Noughani. “So many kids stopped playing their instruments. The band classes just seemed much smaller, almost less exciting. I've been playing the oboe since I was in fifth grade, so I can relate to students' struggles with the instrument. We just tried to make the masterclasses fun; tried to get them excited again.”
The trio worked in small groups with students and presented on different careers within the music industry. For those who didn’t see a future in music, the trio encouraged students to find ways to keep music in their lives.
“We really tried to reinforce that you can keep music in your life no matter what you decide to do,” says Glander.
Now in their third year performing together, The Magnolia Trio continues to inspire young musicians with their passion for music. Although their semester-long project through the HEX-U program is complete, the trio says the experience opened their eyes to new ways they can use their music to influence future generations of musicians.
“I think that it gave our trio more meaning,” says Stezenski. “Our [chamber ensemble] was required for a class, but then this project was like, 'How can we make this go beyond the classroom and go beyond just learning the notes?’”
It’s projects like these, explains Weindling, that embody the Wisconsin Idea and the HEX-U mission.