Newly appointed chamber music director Wiancko prepares for his debut

Paul Wiancko, an acclaimed composer who also serves as cellist in the Kronos Quartet, is making his Spoleto Festival USA debut as the new director of the historic Bank of America Chamber Music series. He was appointed to the position last year after the 2022 death of longtime director Geoff Nuttall.

Wiancko isn’t focused on impacting the series with his own aesthetic signature. “There’s really no way of knowing how to or being able to purposefully leave my mark,” he said. “At least that’s not how I’m approaching it.”

Rather, he said, “my approach is to be as honest and as true to myself as possible, and to simply focus on the best way to share my love of music with the audiences in Charleston.”

Wiancko, an acclaimed composer who also serves as cellist in the Kronos Quartet, holds the distinction of being Spoleto’s first chamber music director who both performs and composes. He hopes to use these diverse skills to connect audiences with the music he cherishes.

“Coming into this role as a curator, cellist and composer affords me a unique vantage point on the kind of music out there that you might not necessarily stumble upon without somebody directly placing it in your path,” he said.

For this year, he has curated what he describes as 11 intimate, engaging programs ranging from a 12th-century chant to the world premiere of a Reena Esmail string quartet, with everyone from Mozart and Beethoven to Viet Cuong and Leonard Bernstein in between.

“When I’m putting the programs together,” Wiancko said, “I’m really using that composer side of my brain and basically composing the programs in a way that I think will provide the most emotionally satisfying experience for an audience.”

As much as he enjoys the music he plays, he said, “what I love more than anything is to introduce people to something new that I think they might enjoy.” Wiancko himself, who has been a member of the Spoleto chamber troupe the last several years, will perform in all but three of the 11 programs.

Compared with orchestral or choral compositions, chamber music creates a space for a small group of musicians to stage intimate performances. Esmail, who will also present two earlier works as this year’s composer-in-residence, describes it as a highly collaborative art form.

“The thing that marks chamber music is everyone is one on a part, everyone’s playing their own part, everyone’s responsible for their own voice and singularly responsible for that voice,” she said. “And yet they don’t have complete artistic control over how something goes. They have to be in constant dialogue with their partners and collaborators in order to create something that’s really beautiful.”

Although chamber music allows musicians to display their individual talents, they must also communicate with one another to craft a collective sound without a conductor’s direction.

“In chamber music, there’s really never that constant leader that everyone defers to,” Esmail said. “To me, that’s where a lot of the most exciting music happens because there are so many cooks in the kitchen, and you can do so much if it’s the right cooks with the right ingredients.”

To make this synergy happen, Wiancko said he made sure to assemble a group of eager, talented musicians with great personalities.

“The nature of chamber music is that the best people make the best music,” he said. “It’s basically like throwing a party. You want the most fun, kind, hilarious, thoughtful people that you can find.”

The series will feature many veteran Spoleto performers, including Nuttall’s widow, Livia Sohn, and the three surviving members of his St. Lawrence String Quartet, which recently announced it will disband after its Spoleto performances. Wiancko is also bringing some newcomers to the series, including Esmail and renowned pianist Amy Yang.

Yang said she looks forward to supporting Wiancko as he commences his directorial journey. “To celebrate Paul in his first year as artistic director, and to look at these programs as works of art that mirror his artistry and his vision, is just spectacular,” said Yang, who will perform works by Schumann, Heinrich Biber and Christopher Cerrone as well as Esmail.

“If I weren’t playing in this festival, I would try to go,” she said. “These programs, I think, will be a reflection of life experiences in a way.”

Esmail, who has 25 years of experience composing chamber music, expressed delight at working with Wiancko, with whom she has crossed paths throughout their careers.

“We’ve known of each other and circled one another, and have really enjoyed watching one another’s musical practices from afar,” Esmail said. “I was really touched when he called me up, when he first got word that he would take over this festival.”

As he prepares for the upcoming festival, Wiancko said he is excited to be involved with Spoleto’s historic series.

“It’s an absolute honor to be the director of the chamber music series,” he said. “Spoleto is an incredible platform for all of us musicians, composers and concertgoers to get to be a part of. And for me, it’s exciting to begin to think about how that platform can be used to amplify the artists and the arts that need it.”

The Bank of America Chamber Music series will play at the Dock Street Theatre from Friday, May 24, to Sunday, June 9. Each of the 11 programs will have three consecutive performances before the next is presented.

Ethan Stinson is an arts journalism and communications graduate student at Syracuse University.