Vignettes and Parables

PROGRAM
Glière: Selections from 8 Pieces, Op. 39 (1909)
Meretzky: New Commission for Doubles Duo
Ikebe: Strata IV
Coleman: American Vein

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE
Doubles Duo fosters a curiosity in the wide-ranging abilities of their unique instrument combination through commissions, composer workshops, and performances that champion the work of living composers.

Oboist, Jillian Honn and Bassist, Zack Merkovsky began collaborating while serving as administrators for versicolor, a student-led new music ensemble at the Yale School of Music. In the spring of 2021, within the liminal space of electronically-wired rooms during their pandemic-era studies, Doubles Duo began. What started off as a project in unusual circumstances led to a musical partnership that prioritizes sensitive, creative, and forward thinking musical performances.

As a duo, Jillian and Zack have performed in a variety of locations that range from concert venues, coffee shops, and even to Lucerne, Switzerland as fellows of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Both Duo members are very active in new music and the classical music world, and prioritize music education and partnerships with a diverse spectrum of composers and artists.

Jillian Honn is a freelance oboist and educator based in New York City. She holds principal positions with the Cape Symphony, Pegasus: the Orchestra, and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. In addition to her previous role as Principal Oboe of the Syracuse Orchestra, Jillian has been a guest performer with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others.

Jillian is an avid soloist and chamber musician with a passion for new music. As a member of Doubles Duo, she strives to broaden the repertoire of oboe and bass music and foster a curiosity in the wide-ranging abilities of the unique instrument combination. She is the Operations Manager for Contemporaneous, a New York based contemporary ensemble, and was formerly a co-founder and president of versicolor, a student-run contemporary ensemble at the Yale School of Music.

In addition to maintaining a private oboe studio and teaching at the Wharton School of the Arts in Berkeley Heights, NJ, Jillian was formerly a Visiting Lecturer in Music at Ithaca College and was on faculty at LeMoyne and Hamilton Colleges. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM, PC, ALP), where she studied with Richard Killmer, Jillian also holds an MM-MMA from Yale University where she studied with Stephen Taylor.

Zachary Merkovsky maintains an active freelance and teaching career in and around the NYC metro area. He is a member of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the York Symphony Orchestra, and often plays with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, The Syracuse Orchestra, Pegasus: The Orchestra, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Classical Players, among others. In addition to symphonic literature, Zachary is also devoted to contemporary and chamber music. He is one half of Doubles Duo, where he and Jillian Honn work to broaden the chamber repertoire for oboe and double bass. Zachary has also spent three summers with the Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra, and four at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as a guest artist. He holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Montclair State University, where he studied with Donald Palma, Orin O’Brien, and Linda McKnight, respectively.

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