Into the Green Wesley Ferreira

• Alexey Gorokholinsky: Into the Green:
• 1 Gorokholinsky: Into the Green 07:26
• Donald Steven (b. 1945): Sapphire Song:
• 2 Steven: Sapphire Song 15:27
• Nikola Resanovic (b. 1955): Alt.Music.Ballistix:
• 3 Resanovic: Alt.Music.Ballistix: I. A Matter of Fax 02:36
• 4 Resanovic: Alt.Music.Ballistix: II. A Soliloquy 04:15
• 5 Resanovic: Alt.Music.Ballistix: III. A Balkan Dance 02:06
• 6 Resanovic: Alt.Music.Ballistix: IV. Convolution@uakron.edu 03:57
• Derek Bermel (b. 1967): Thracian Sketches:
• 7 Bermel: Thracian Sketches 06:58
• Gergely Vajda (b. 1973): Lightshadows, Trembling:
• 8 Vajda: Lightshadows, Trembling 06:00
• Fredrik Högberg (b. 1971): Invisible Duet:
• 9 Högberg: Invisible Duet 07:11
• Șerban Nichifor (b. 1954): Carnyx:
• 10 Nichifor: Carnyx 04:10
• Total Runtime 01:00:06

Info for Into the Green

On INTO THE GREEN, clarinetist Wesley Ferreira takes listeners on an aural journey through a world of musical possibilities where digital and analog become one. Works for solo clarinet place it in the midst of sprawling electronic soundscapes, providing ethereal backdrops for its earthy timbre. With technical flair and blistering speeds, Ferreira perfectly blends the instrument with industrial beats, atmospheric arpeggios, and reverberating effects, creating a seamless juxtaposition of computer-based composition and classical, folk, and world music. In doing so, Ferreira and the composers create a sense of old meeting the new, where the lushness and abundance of nature live in harmony with the exciting possibilities of technology.

INTO THE GREEN is a tour de force solo album of works by a variety of composers for clarinet with electronics and clarinet alone. From its soothing and “earthy” natural acoustics to a seeming amalgamation with computer-generated sound, we hear the full range of the clarinet’s capabilities. From rhapsodic lyricism to the technically virtuosic, Wesley Ferreira takes the listener on a journey of juxtapositions through music that leans heavily on folk and world music influences.

As an album developed and recorded during 2020, quite appropriately, pieces which evoke nature and isolated solitude contrast with the wildly bombastic. We hear the past, a world of innocence, once vibrant and colorful, contrasting with a turbulent yet exciting future where technology permeates life and sound.

The album’s message is one of hope for a more harmonious future, where lessons learned during an unprecedented global pandemic are carried forward:

We must never lose sight of what it means to be a human being of healthy mind and body.

We must strive to live in better harmony with one another and with nature.

It is Ferreira’s hope that we “appreciate and celebrate our differences” and venture “into the green” to ensure a viable future on a healthy planet earth.

Wesley Ferreira, clarinet

Wesley Ferreira
With a charismatic blend of technical flair, polish, and grace, Portuguese-Canadian clarinetist Wesley Ferreira draws in audiences with his unabashed joy and passion for storytelling through music. Unafraid to display his uniqueness and originality, Wesley is widely considered a gifted expressionist whose engaging personality connects with people in an authentic and meaningful way. Equally at ease performing the masterworks as well as contemporary repertoire, he has been praised by critics for his “beautiful tone” and “technical prowess” (The Clarinet Journal) as well as his “remarkable sensitivity” (CAML Review). Fanfare Magazine notes, Ferreira is “clearly a major talent."

As a recital clarinetist, his performances continually engage, prompting the Artistic Director of one recent concert series to remark that Ferreira “showcased a potent synthesis of serious musicianship, technical ferocity, and bravery of programming that was effectively tempered by a dynamic flair for showmanship. With this performance, Ferreira proved not only is he an artist of some consequence, but also a consummate showman capable of presenting even the most challenging works with the ease and fluency of a world-class player.”

Wesley leads an active and diverse career performing worldwide as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and as an engaging adjudicator, and clinician. Recent performances have taken him to Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Spain. Additionally, he has been broadcast nationally on RTP television in Portugal and on radio with the CBC in Canada and ABC in Australia. Currently based in the United States, he is part of the renowned faculty of Colorado State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance where he maintains a thriving clarinet studio. Additionally, he is co-founder and artistic director of the Lift Clarinet Academy, a summer music festival and training institute which attracts students from around the world.

Wesley aims to live a life inspired by artistic and personal growth and to positively influence those around him. It comes as no surprise, then, his earned reputation as a skilled, dedicated, and imaginative educator. Certainly, his innovative teaching methods and outreach are acclaimed, including the development of the breath support training program for musicians, Air Revelation. Through knowledgeable instruction that integrates pedagogy, psychology, and philosophy, Wesley develops self-confidence in his students, empowering and mentoring them towards the achievement of career goals and unlocking their potential to become expressive, committed, and fearless performers in their own right. His teaching philosophy focuses on the whole human being, working to integrate musician - human - artist.

Wesley continues to be deeply impacted by his heritage and unique upbringing. In fact, he credits much of his confidence, perseverance, and independent streak to the collective spirit of his immediate ancestors, all of whom hail from the Açores, a set of archipelago islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Born in Canada, Wesley grew up in an immigrant family within a tightly-knit Portuguese community, participating fully in the musical and traditional customs of the diaspora. A third-culture kid (TCK), his entry into music was through the Portuguese bandas filarmónicas tradition. From these humble beginnings Wesley has risen to impressive heights, paying homage to his past along the way. He has released three Portuguese-themed recordings including the 2019 solo album Arrival (on Centaur Records) which features works from prominent Portuguese composers. This advances his doctoral research of curating works for clarinet which included Portuguese folk elements. Indeed, as a means of artistic growth and furthering scholarship, Wesley demonstrates avid support for new music by frequently commissioning and premiering works, and he continues to champion Portuguese music in North America.

As a recording artist, with nine albums to his credit including the 2013 East Coast Music Awards winner - Classical Recording of the Year, and 2015 International Portuguese Music Awards winner in the Instrumental Category, he continues what he describes as his "fruitful exploration of the recording art form." Wesley has two forthcoming albums currently in production including one featuring solo works for clarinet and electronics and the debut album of his clarinet and guitar duo Jâca. Through this uncommon pairing of instruments, Jâca combines classical and world music to bring an adventurous, passionate, and completely original musical style to the stage. However, it is not only through these avenues that we see Wesley’s exploration of increasingly stimulating projects and challenges. Of note, he has accepted the role of Artistic Director of the ClarinetFest® 2023 conference, a major event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the International Clarinet Association. Undoubtedly, Wesley’s commitment to collaboration and advancing his field is further demonstrated when he was tapped by Selmer Paris in 2017 to be a lead consultant and team-developer on a new line of clarinets. In October 2021, the Muse professional clarinet was released to critical acclaim, and Wesley could not be more proud.

Wesley received his advanced musical training at the University of Western Ontario (B.M) and Arizona State University (M.M. and D.M.A) studying with Robert Riseling and Robert Spring, respectively. His industry endorsements include positions on the performing artist rosters of Selmer Paris and Vandoren. Wesley performs exclusively on Selmer Muse clarinets, and Vandoren BD4 mouthpiece, V21 reeds, and gold M/O ligature.

This album contains no booklet.