Narragansett Miniatures is scored for flute and double bass and this first published edition includes a score and three parts - one double bass part and two flute parts (for both solo and orchestral double bass tunings).
The composer writes: 'Many people enjoy taking photographs when vacationing but as a composer, I often take musical "snapshots" of places and occasions meaningful to me. Narragansett Miniatures captures impressions of the Rhode Island coastline where my family congregates at a vacation home.
The first movement, 'i.c.ale' celebrates the role music plays at family gatherings. The second movement, 'Living Room Talk', represents a lively discussion, with the participants often interrupting each other in their exuberance. "'Evening at the Beach' depicts the motion of the waves and the tranquility of the beach, especially after the crowds have left in the evening. The final movement was inspired by a visit to Touro Synagogue in Newport, the oldest continually-used synagogue in North America. The Rabbi leading our tour was lively and animated in his discussion of the history and architecture of the beautiful old building served as the inspired this movement.'
"Narragansett Miniatures is a charming work in four short movements, each a "musical snapshot" of the Rhode Island coastline where composer Mark Elliot Bergman and his family gathered for vacation...Particularly suitable as a lighter recital piece, Narrangansett Miniatures will be satisfying for both performers and a variety of audiences. The music lies well on both flute and the bass, making the work approachable to musicians with modest to advanced abilities. Although there are multiple movements with mixed meter and composite rhythms, the ensemble fits together nicely, and big beats remain clearly defined to aid the performers. The names of each movement describe a distinct landmark, some personal to the composer and some more public. The first movement (i.c.ale) is a quick ABA form with mixed meter and a middle section defined by chromatic wandering and a teasing hemiola. Movement two (Living Room Talk) and movement four (Touro Synagogue) are also fast, and they musically capture the energy of people as much as of places. The remaining movement (Evening at the Beach) is particularly lovely. A gently rocking harmonic ostinato in the bass part creates a nocturnal atmosphere for the flute to play a lyrical, if somewhat haunting, melodic line." [ISB Bass World / Philip Alejo]
Dr. Mark Elliot Bergman is the Director of Strings at Sheridan College where he teaches double bass, composition, music history, and directs the Sheridan College Symphony Orchestra and Sheridan College Viol Consort. He formerly served as a Professor of Music History and Ensemble Director at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Mark has an active background as an orchestral double bassist. He held positions as the Principal Double Bassist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and the Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra in Cuiabá, Brazil. During the summer, he performs with Assisi Performing Arts in Assisi, Italy, and the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon.
In 2006, Mark founded Virginia Virtuosi, a string trio dedicated to innovative chamber music programs and arts education. The ensemble maintains a very active performing schedule and won the first Yale University Alumni Ventures Award in 2008. Fairfax Connections recently cited them for “turning classical music cool.” The ensemble receives support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to tour state-wide and has performed regionally at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, George Mason University, Montgomery College, Arts Club of Washington, and other venues. Mark also has extensive experience performing klezmer music throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He appeared as an on-stage character in Theater J’s 2014 musical adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy.” His performance on CD companion to Mel Bay’s Easy Klezmer Tunes has been described as “world class.” Mark's has appeared as a baroque double bassist with the Washington Bach Consort, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and other ensembles.
Recital Music in the United Kingdom publishes Mark's compositions. His orchestral works have been performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Mato Grosso Chamber Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. He received the 2011 William Strauss Fellowship from the Arts Council of Fairfax County supporting the creation of Shenandoah Suite, a string trio commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Shenandoah National Park. He was a winner in the second British International Bass Forum Composition Contest (2002) and the Kappa Gamma Psi composition (1990).
Dr. Bergman completed the Doctor of Arts degree from George Mason University in 2015.Cognella Academic Press published his book In The Groove: Form and Function in Popular Music in 2012. Mark lives in Sheridan, Wyoming with his wife Rachel and their children Avi and Zachary.
