Senior Recital

Dutilleux: Sonatine for Flute and Piano ---- Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)

Dr. Tomoko Kashiwagi, Piano

I. Allegretto

II. Andante

III. Animé
 

Sonata No. 6 in E Major, BMW 1035 ---- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Dr. Tomoko Kashiwagi, Piano

I. Adagio ma non tanto

II. Allegro 
 

Spring for Flute and Piano ---- Herman Beeftink (b. 1953)

            Jennifer Russell, Piano
 

Zoom Tube ---- Ian Clarke (b.1964)

 

Intermission

 

Sonata for Flute and Piano Op. 94 in D Major ---- Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Dr. Tomoko Kashiwagi, Piano

I. Andantino

II. Scherzo

III. Andante

VI. Allegro con brio
 

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Program Notes

The Sonatine for Flute and Piano by Henri Dutilleux is a one-movement work, divided into sections with cadenza-like passages for the flute. The opening section, in 7/8 time is followed by slow, lyric passages which, in turn are followed by the closing section. It was premiered January 17, 1944 by Gaston Courelle, flute and the composer at the piano. He was 28. The flute Sonatine was commissioned as a “test piece” for the Paris Conservatory. They play a recital that includes the test piece in which they receive a month before the performance. If they are rewarded a first prize, they graduate.

 

The Sonata in E major for Flute and Basso Continuo by Johann Sabastian Bach was composed in 1741 just prior to a trip the elder Bach made to Potsdam to visit his son Carl Philipp Emanuel who had taken the position of harpsichordist to the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia, also a flutist and later Frederick the Great. Like the E minor and C major sonatas before it, it is written with a basso continuo accompaniment in place of an obbligato keyboard part.  Typically, the basso continuo is performed by a harpsichord and another instrument capable of sustaining the bass line, in most cases a string instrument such as a cello or viola da gamba, but a bassoon is not uncommon. The sonata is constructed in the Baroque sonata di chiesa (“church sonata”) format, that is, a slow-fast-slow-fast order of movements. The opening Adagio is surprisingly brief, occupying a mere twenty measures. The ornate melodic line of the flute lends to the movement the character of a prelude, with the purpose of introducing the other movements. An Allegro movement in duple meter follows. Beginning with a sprightly melody, the flute persists throughout the movement in almost constant sixteenth-note figurations. 

 

Herman Beeftink is a Dutch-American composer, born in the Netherlands in 1953 and is now living in Los Angeles. Spring was composed in 2019 and is dedicated to his daughter, Fay Aiyana. Inspired by nature, Beeftink’s Seasons is four movements that connect as one, but they function equally well as individual standalone compositions. Each season begins and ends with a unique harmonic "signature”. Reflecting the seasons' coming and going, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter feature an interplay between flute and piano building to a climax, followed by a gradual descent. Spring begins with slow, open-voiced piano chords as we come out of a stark winter landscape. The flute awakens with a sense of wonder, welcoming spring with a tender melody. As the piano picks up the rhythm, we feel that spring has arrived. With flowers blossoming, we pass through a jubilant climax to a renewal of the slow, opening chords. These chords have now taken on a new meaning: the golden light of a spring afternoon. 

 

 

Zoom Tube by Ian Clarke is a rhythmic blues influenced piece employing a variety of extended techniques to achieve its aims. Since coming into print in 2001, Zoom Tube has regularly been programmed in professional and final year conservatoire recital performances. 

 

Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by Levon Atovmyan, an officer of the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and Prokofiev’s personal and creative assistant, to write a sonata sometime in 1942. Prokofiev found pleasure in writing for the flute, which he thought to be “an undeservedly neglected” instrument, and the Flute Sonata in D major was created. It premiered on December 7th, 1943 by flutist Nikolay Ivanovich Kharkovsky and pianist Svyatoslav Richter. The Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major is Prokofiev’s only work for solo flute. The sonata is a conventional four-movement structure, with the first movement in sonata form, the second a minuet and scherzo, the third a slow movement in ternary form, and the fourth a rondo. Prokofiev’s desire to “write a sonata in delicate, fluid classical style” results in a piece with beautifully simple, tender melodic lines that contrast with intense driving rhythms, reminiscent of classical style and strict in classical form. 

 

Biography of Performers

Jillian Russell is a senior flutist at the University of Arkansas, where she studies under Dr. Cristina Ballatori. She will graduate in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education. Jillian began her undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri–Columbia, studying with Professor Alice K. Dade. During her three semesters there, she was a member of the Wind Ensemble directed by Dr. Brian A. Silvey, serving as principal flute for two semesters. While at Mizzou, she won the 2022–23 Missouri MTNA Young Artist Performance Competition and was named First Alternate at the West Central Division MTNA Young Artist Competition.

 

After transferring to the University of Arkansas, Jillian continued to distinguish herself. She was a finalist winner in the 2023 Music Honors Recital, and in 2024, won first prize in the same competition along with the accompanying scholarship. That same year, she earned Honorable Mention in the University of Arkansas Concerto Competition, and was named First Alternate in the 2024 Arkansas MTNA Young Artist Competition. In 2025, Jillian was a selected performer at several prestigious festivals and events, including the Collegiate Honors Recital for the Mid-South Flute Society, The Consummate Flutist at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Aria International Summer Academy. She was also selected as a winner of the National Flute Association’s  Collegiate Flute Choir joining collegiate flutists from across the country for a performance at the NFA Convention in Atlanta this past August.

 

Jillian is an active member of the University of Arkansas Department of Music, where she participates in the student NAfME, MTNA, and FSA chapters. She serves as Secretary of NAfME and as Vice President of the newly established Flute Student Association. She is also a member of the National Flute Association and the Arkansas Flute Society. As a chamber musician, Jillian has performed in several flute ensembles and is a founding member of the woodwind quintet Cinquefolia, which has performed on campus and in local schools. The group toured in Arkansas in May 2025. Jillian is a member of the University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Christopher Knighten. Most recently, she was selected and served as an Ambassador for the 2025 National Flute Association Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

Pianist Tomoko Kashiwagi finds great joy in playing diverse repertoire she encounters as a performer and as an educator. Kashiwagi loves being inspired by the dynamic, creative people in this world. She completed her bachelor of music and master of music degrees as well as the performer diploma in piano performance at Indiana University where she studied with Professors Shigeo and Reiko Neriki. It did not take long for Kashiwagi to realize the importance of chamber music and ensemble playing as a musician and that she truly enjoys interacting with other musicians. She is the first recipient of the doctor of musical arts degree in collaborative piano from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied with Prof. Anne Epperson.

 

Kashiwagi has performed in such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Central Conservatory in Beijing, Guildhall School in London, among others. In past summers she was a pianist for both the Meadowmount School of Music and Interlochen Intensive Institute. She is frequently invited to be the official pianist for conferences, competitions, and festivals throughout the United States, including Menuhin International Violin Competition in 2014 and International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in 2019. Kashiwagi joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2012. Currently she is the associate professor of piano and collaborative piano and holder of the Emily J. McAllister Endowed Chair. She keeps a busy schedule balancing her teaching at the university as well as a small private studio, performing, and serving various music organizations including the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association where she was the state president from 2020-22. In 2021, Kashiwagi launched a new classical music series, Chamber Music on the Mountain (CMM), in collaboration with the Mount Sequoyah Center in Fayetteville. As the artistic director of CMM, Kashiwagi looks forward to bringing imaginative concert programming that instigates a cross-fertilization of music with various art forms to residents of Northwest Arkansas. 

 

Jennifer Russell is a pianist and dedicated music educator who has maintained a private piano studio for ten years. A loving mother, she has shared her passion for music with her children- Tyler, Jillian, Oliver, and Andrew. They have all embraced music in their own way. Outside her teaching, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family, exploring nature through travel, and attending Broadway shows during summer vacations. She finds fulfillment in the creative process—whether through music, sewing, or the kitchen—particularly through sourdough baking. Jennifer also thrives on creating a warm, welcoming home where family and friends naturally gather for seasonal celebrations and special occasions, and she treasures following her children’s musical journeys to band competitions and concerts, especially when they share their musicianship on stage. In addition to teaching piano, Jennifer has generously volunteered her time and skills to support the Bentonville High School Marching Band, helping sew, hem, and alter marching uniforms for three seasons, as well as the occasional general effect show piece or color guard flag. This coming summer, she looks forward to contributing her talents to the sewing team at the Blue Devils’ camp in Wyoming.