The Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble presented “Thomas Piercy and Friends,” 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem.

”I am quite excited about this program to present world-renowned clarinetist and ohichiriki player Thomas Piercy for two reasons,” says Kyle Wernke, Director of the Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble (LUVME).

“Given his travel and performance schedule, not only is Piercy surprisingly available for this concert, but from a personal perspective, he is also performing a piece by my own teacher, Michael Schelle,” Wernke says.

The concert opened with “Reimei-Dawn,” a 2023 contemporary classical and world music composition by Japanese composer, pianist and educator Miho Sasaki. The work features Piercy on ohichiriki, a larger variant of the standard double-reed hichiriki that is pitched a fourth lower.

He was accompanied by cellist Aaron Wolff and pianist Marina Iwao.

Judith Shatin’s electroacoustic composition “Cherry Blossom and a Wrapped Thing: After Hokusai,” with Piercy on clarinet and electronics, was inspired by the “Hokusai Print” by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.

The cherry blossom in the print symbolizes the beauty and short length of life and life’s mystery and depth.

Piercy continued on clarinet in Dai Fujikura’s solo work “Sandpiper.”

The concert’s first-half concluded with a world premiere performance of Kyle Wernke’s “Evocations” for clarinet, cello and piano (2026).

Says Wernke, “It occurred to me that each of the instruments in this trio are instruments of wood and I thought it would be fun to design a piece around different tree spirits from cultures around the world using scales found in each culture’s folk music.

“The first [movement], ‘Leshachikha,’ focuses on the clarinet; the second ‘Spriggan,’ on the cello, and the finale, ‘Kukunochi,’ on the piano.”

After intermission, the concert continued with Ippo Tsuboi’s “Raining, 3:50 a.m.” for clarinet and piano, a work composed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece represents the isolated feeling that can occur during a rainfall.

Next was “Lights in the Distance” for full ensemble by Lehigh University music professor Darin Lewis.

“When Kyle invited me to write something for this concert, I immediately went back to a piece I had started to sketch about eight months ago and reworked the ideas for this ensemble,” says Lewis.

The piece is “additive,” in that it starts with one instrument and eventually all three instruments are played together.

The concert concluded with Michael Schelle’s “Kingfish Levinsky,” a tribute to the American heavyweight boxer who fought during the 1930s.

“LUVME programs provide the opportunity to perform 20th and 21st century repertoire,” says Wernke.

Thomas Piercy, based in New York City and Tokyo, is a critically-acclaimed musician with concerto, recital and chamber music appearances throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Piercy has premiered more than 300 compositions written for him. He has won a Grammy Award, Latin Grammy Award, Takemitsu Prize and Pulitzer Prize.

Aaron Wolff won the 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition, is cellist of the four-time Grammy-award winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird and has performed in concert venues in the U.S. and abroad.

Marina Iwao is a Japanese-born pianist who is staff pianist at Kaufman Music Center and a chamber music instructor at the School for Strings, New York City.

“Thomas Piercy and Friends,” Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Avenue, Bethlehem. Tickets: at box office; 610-758-2787, ext. 0; https://zoellner.cas.lehigh.edu/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com