Journey Together
Corporate Season Sponsor:
Journey Together 2021 –2022 S E ASO N Welcome back to live symphonic music. I am so excited to have a full orchestra on stage again and an audience with whom to share this beautiful music. The past two years have brought challenges I never could have imagined. We found ways to continue to make musical connections with small group performances, online presentations, and outdoor concerts; though each of these presented their own challenges for musicians and patrons alike, the biggest issue was not being together. I look forward to standing at the back of the hall during the shows and hearing the audience applaud the incredible talents of these professionals. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to clap, cheer and sing with friends and strangers, knowing we are experiencing something together that is truly and wonderfully unique. Christmas in Tulsa is first-up and I know you will not be disappointed. Longtime Signature Symphony friend and Broadway artist Scott Coulter has put together an incredible show featuring past finalists from our Tulsa Sings! competitions. These artists all have Tulsa ties and will set the mood for the upcoming holidays. This concert always marks the start of the Christmas season for me and is made even better by sharing it with friends, both new and old.
In the spring, we will switch our focus to hiring our new Artistic Director and Conductor for Signature Symphony at TCC. More than two years ago, we had our first interviews with the top ten applicants for this unique position. The three finalists have been preparing to share their talents and vision for a long time; and it will finally happen in January, February, and early April when Scott Seaton, Alejandro Gómez Guillén and Robert Franz join us for a busy week of making music and getting to know Tulsa. I hope you will join us not only for the concerts, but also for the free rehearsals, pre-concert talks, and chats in the lobby to get to know these accomplished music directors. And yes, there will be a quiz at the end. We will be asking each patron for their feedback and impressions of the performances to better help us select the next (and only the third in 40+ years) Artistic Director for your orchestra. What I have learned over the past two years is to have a Plan B (and even a Plan C, D, E and F) because things will change. This experience has taught me to be patient and flexible; but mostly it has renewed my passion for the arts and live music. We will continue to monitor the latest health trends and find ways to safely come together. I will never take for granted another opportunity to hear a musician perform live. It is a special gift and I am humbled and overjoyed you are here with us tonight to celebrate. With deepest gratitude, Kelly Clark Dean of Visual and Performing Arts
Signature Symphony at TCC Signature Symphony at TCC is a professional orchestra operating as part of Tulsa Community College. In addition to performance, music education and community engagement are priorities for Signature Symphony and the Signature Symphony musicians. The orchestra includes 70 professional musicians who not only perform with the orchestra but also teach and coach music students at TCC, other colleges and universities, and various public and private schools and studios in the Tulsa area.
Christmas in Tulsa
Featuring Scott Coulter and Tulsa Sings! Finalists DEC. 11 • 7:30 P.M. We are kicking off the holiday season with Signature Symphony’s annual Christmas in Tulsa concert as our full orchestra returns to the PACE stage! This year’s concert features holiday favorites performed by our past Tulsa Sings! competition finalists led by Broadway star Scott Coulter. Embrace the sights and sounds of Christmas as the Signature Symphony long-standing tradition of welcoming the holidays with delightful music continues.
Tulsa Sings! One of the creators of Tulsa Sings! is Scott Coulter, a New York City based vocalist and concert producer. With former Signature Symphony Music Director Andrés Franco, he helped develop the vocal competition, now in its third year, and is instrumental in selecting and mentoring the finalists through the vocal competition. We are pleased to welcome Scott and finalists from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Tulsa Sings! competitions to the Signature stage this year for Christmas in Tulsa.
Scott Coulter Scott Coulter is one of New York’s most honored vocalists having received five MAC Awards, five Bistro Awards and two Nightlife Awards for Outstanding Vocalist. He’s performed at most of NYC’s top rooms including Feinstein’s at The Regency where he spent a record-setting eight months performing the revue 11 O’CLOCK NUMBERS AT 11 O’CLOCK which he also cocreated, directed and musically arranged. His self-titled debut CD won the 2003 MAC Award for Outstanding Recording and was chosen as the best recording of the year by TheatreMania and Cabaret Scenes magazines. Scott was director and star of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE SYMPHONIC CONCERT in its world premiere with the Baltimore Symphony and reprised his performance in the Emmy-nominated PBS production. He is an Emmy nominee himself for his performance in American Song at NJPAC. Scott regularly performs in concert both as a solo artist and with a variety of legendary performers including Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz, Tony-winner Ben Vereen and Grammy-winner Sheena Easton, and has performed with symphonies all over the world. Schwartz has said, “One of the greatest things that can happen to a composer is to have his music interpreted by Scott Coulter.”
Scott is creator, arranger and director of several touring shows for symphonies and performing arts centers and a regular producer/director of Michael Feinstein’s STANDARD TIME at Carnegie Hall. He recently wrote the book for the new musical GOT TO BE THERE which celebrates the life and music of songwriter Elliot Willensky. Scott is founder/owner of SpotOn Entertainment and Spot-On Arts Academy. He’s the artistic director of the Pocono Mountains Music Festival and a resident director of programming at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC. He is a proud graduate of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music which honored him with the CCM Young Alumni Award in 2010 and CCM’s Distinguished Service Award in 2020. “The holidays are filled with memories of family so it’s a real treat to get to share this holiday season with the Tulsa Sings! family. It’s been exciting to find Christmas songs that perfectly suit each member of our cast. It’s a bit like finding the perfect present and wrapping it up with a big red bow. The range of talent involved means that the musical gifts in the concert will cover a wide array of genres and styles. In true Tulsa Sings! fashion there’s something for everyone.”
LOVE AND OBSESSION:
The Beatles to Berlioz Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Scott Seaton JAN. 22 • 7:30 P.M. What do the Beatles and Hector Berlioz have in common? Both wrote passionately about love; the Beatles did it so well that they amassed millions of obsessed fans over five decades. Hector’s inspiration for his monumental Symphonie Fantastique was the love for... err, the obsession over the actress Harriet Smithson. The result was a powerful masterpiece that gained the love of music-lovers for nearly two-hundred years. No concert about love would be complete without the power of dance, in this case the Tango por una cabeza made famous in Scent of a Woman. The performance opens with one of Leonard Bernstein’s most famous works, his Overture to Candide. This spirited overture represents an operetta based on a tale of love intertwined with an abundance of misadventures.
Scott Seaton Scott Seaton has garnered acclaim for his dynamic performances, innovative programming, and community and youth outreach and is in his seventh season as music director of the North State Symphony in Northern California. He has also been the principal conductor of the Veridian Symphony Orchestra. Since his international debut in 2007 with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Seaton has conducted orchestras spanning North America, South America, and Europe. Seaton won the 2011 INTERAKTION competition and was given the opportunity to conduct an orchestra composed of all of Germany’s top orchestras. Seaton is an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music conducting numerous premieres in recent years along with curating programs and championing music by living composers. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Université de Montréal, a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University. He has also studied at Tanglewood and the National Conducting Institute sponsored by the National Symphony Orchestra.
“Who could resist programming music by the Beatles? These timeless musicians really knew how to connect with everyone and most of their early songs were about love. They wrote for all the right reasons and created a message that resonated with millions of people around the world. To isolate someone who wrote a piece for all the wrong reasons, Hector Berlioz had an obsession and used this self-destructive passion to write about a woman who would never reciprocate the feelings he had. The result is a massive symphony that takes us deep inside a tormented artist, complete with vivid dreams, tantrums, moments of tenderness, dancing witches, ecstasy and gut-wrenching despair. In this program, I wanted to highlight the incredible musicians of the Signature Symphony in a variety of works complete with a tango and music from one of the greatest American composers who exuded love and obsession, Leonard Bernstein.”
FANTASTICAL:
Firebird Meets Harry Potter Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Alejandro Gómez Guillén FEB. 26 • 7:30 P.M. Experience a symphonic journey of myth, magic, and folklore! Featuring music by the Brazilian-American powerhouse Clarice Assad, Argentina’s versatile Osvaldo Golijov, paired with John William’s iconic score and Stravinsky’s timeless masterpiece.
Alejandro Gómez Guillén An accomplished baroque and modern player, Alejandro Gómez Guillén leads Mozart and Haydn concertos from the violin. He may be familiar to Signature Symphony at TCC patrons after appearing in Nov. 2019 as conductor/guest artist for Mozart’s Prague Symphony. He is entering his sixth season as artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, artistic director of Sphere Ensemble and acting concertmaster/principal second violin of Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale. He previously served as Associate Conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Guillén has served as Assistant Professor at Colorado Mesa University, Music Director of Colorado Youth Philharmonia, and led performances with Off Broadway School of Fine Arts, Javeriana University Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Youth Symphony, and University of Colorado Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Colorado at Boulder and two Master of Music degrees in conducting and violin performance from the same school as well as a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Texas Christian University.
“I am excited about a program that represents just some of my passions in music and programming: giving voice to underrepresented composers and soloists, highlighting facets of diverse music in the Americas, and featuring masterpieces new and old, all while curating an entertaining experience that uplifts and educates. Once we knew that due to the challenges posed by the pandemic we had to essentially combine the two full orchestra concerts originally scheduled into one, I welcomed the challenge capturing the spirit of my original programming ideas in a way that made sense as a musical journey. I am very much looking forward to sharing with our Signature Symphony musicians and audiences awesome music that comes from different cultures and traditions while exploring contrasting aspects of the human experience. This is a concert that will combine great aspects of classics and pops shows into a family-friendly experience overall.”
Trailblazers in American Music
Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Robert Franz APRIL 9 • 7:30 P.M. When it comes to trailblazers, Florence Price steps right up to the front of the line. She was the first African American woman to have an orchestral piece played by a major U.S. orchestra. The Chicago Symphony first performed her First Symphony in 1933 at the World’s Fair in Chicago. George Gershwin is THE iconic American composer. Not only was he a commercial success on Broadway, but his requirement that his opera, Porgy and Bess, was to always be performed by African American singers was revolutionary in 1935 when it was first performed. This concert allows us to celebrate in our own small way the successes of these musical giants.
Robert Franz Robert Franz is described as “an outstanding musician with profound intelligence.” He serves as music director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, associate conductor of the Houston Symphony, and artistic advisor of the Boise Baroque Orchestra. His appeal as a first-rate conductor and enthusiastic award-winning educator is acclaimed by critics, composers and audiences of all ages. Honored with awards for his visionary leadership to the arts, he has achieved success by focusing on high artistic standards, building bridges in his communities, and dedication to music education. Franz is in increasing demand as a guest conductor, appearing with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Italy’s Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, North Carolina Symphony, Opera Idaho, Phoenix Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and St. Louis Symphony. Franz holds a Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts.
“The music of Florence Price represents an important addition to the orchestral canon artistically. In addition, her voice is important as she overcame so much prejudice and hatred to do what she did. George Gershwin took a big risk in bringing African-Americans to the stage in Porgy and Bess. This program is full of amazing musical contributions that made a difference on so many levels.”
Education and Community Engagement Since its formation in 1979, the Signature Symphony at TCC has been committed to providing rich musical experiences through its performances and valuable musical instruction to support music education, aspiring musicians and engagement in our community. Seedling Symphony is a program developed by Signature Quartet musicians to raise the level of music exposure for early childhood by introducing young children six and under to complex and intricate music using string instruments. Seedling Symphony works with children in early learning centers throughout the Tulsa area, in addition to performances with hands on activities open to the public twice a year. Helpful Harmonies for Wellness is a concert series focusing on sensory friendly performances, helping to bring communities and families closer and stimulating the pleasure sensors of the brain for people of all ages to promote good health and a positive outlook. Helpful Harmonies for Wellness venues include nursing homes, cancer treatment centers and Alzheimer’s centers in addition to activities open to the public at the VanTrease PACE. Tulsa Sings! vocal competition was launched by Signature Symphony in 2017 as part of a year-long season exploring Tulsa’s music connections and highlighting talented vocalists from the Tulsa community. Each Tulsa Sings! competition provides the opportunity for finalists to work with and learn from experienced vocalists and have the opportunity to perform on the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education stage with Signature Symphony’s professional musicians and Broadway star Scott Coulter who helped develop the Tulsa Sings! competition and is instrumental in selecting and mentoring the finalists. Free Open Rehearsals is Signature Symphony’s most exciting music education engagement program. These events allow the audience to experience actual professional orchestra rehearsals and get to know our conductor, musicians and guest artists as they prepare for upcoming concerts. This spring music lovers of all ages will enjoy a lively and educational interactive experience with each of our Artistic Director Finalists from 6:30 to 7:00 pm, followed by an opportunity to observe the orchestra on stage during the first part of the evening’s rehearsal from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Thursday, January 20, 2022 Love & Obsession: The Beatles to Berlioz Artistic Director Finalist: Scott Seaton Thursday, February 24, 2022 Fantastical: Firebird Meets Harry Potter Artistic Director Finalist: Alejandro Gómez Guillén Thursday, April 7, 2022 Trailblazers in American Music Artistic Director Finalist: Robert Franz
Free Open Rehearsals are sponsored by The Oxley Foundation.
Journey Together 2021 –2022 S E ASO N
Christmas in Tulsa
LOV E A N D O B S E S S I O N :
The Beatles to Berlioz
DECEMBER 11
JANUARY 22
Featuring Scott Coulter and Tulsa Sings! Finalists
Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Scott Seaton
Firebird Meets Harry Potter
Trailblazers in American Music
FEBRUARY 26
APRIL 9
Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Alejandro Gómez Guillén
Featuring Artistic Director Finalist Robert Franz
FA N TA S T I C A L :
— A L L CO N C E R T S S TA R T AT 7: 3 0 P. M . — Don’t miss a beat. Call 918-595-7777 or email signature@tulsacc.edu for ticket info. signaturesymphony.org Corporate Season Sponsor:
“TTCU IS THE PERFECT PARTNER FOR OUR MONEY.” – Seth and Ashley, TTCU members
Fantastical: Firebird Meets Harry Potter Saturday, February 26, 2022 Alejandro Gómez Guillén, Artistic Director Finalist Clarice Assad
Bonecos de Olinda Mariel
Susie Yang, cello
Firebird Introduction: The Firebird and the Dance of the Firebird Variation of the Firebird The Princesses’ Round: Khorovid Dance of King Kashchei Berceuse and Finale
Osvaldo Golijov Igor Stravinsky
INTERMISSION Harry Potter Highlights
Prologue & Hedwig’s Theme (Sorcerer’s Stone) Hogwarts’ March* (Goblet of Fire) Fireworks* (Order of the Phoenix) Buckbeak’s Flight (Prisoner of Azkaban) Fawkes the Phoenix* (Chamber of Secrets) A Bridge to the Past (Prisoner of Azkaban) Lily’s Theme* (Deathly Hallows: Part II) Courtyard Apocalypse* (Deathly Hallows Part II)
John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper & Alexander Desplat
Hogwarts’ Hymn* (Goblet of Fire) Mischief Managed (Prisoner of Azkaban) Harry’s Wondrous World (Sorcerer’s Stone) *Selections from the Harry Potter Symphonic Suite, adapted by Gary Fry
Harry Potter Symphonic Suite Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets I – Fawkes the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban IV – A Bridge to the Past
The use of cameras and recording devices is strictly prohibited. As a courtesy to others around you, please turn off cellular phones.
SIGNATURE SYMPHONY
VIOLIN 1
CELLO
HORN
Maureen O’Boyle,
Monty Lawson1
Joseph Falvey1,3
Erica Parker2,3
Marsha Wilson
Gordon Robson
Marci Falvey
Concertmaster Josiah Baker Alicia Ranne
Ashley Allison
Val Hinkle Esther Fellows
Gulya Hollopeter
SIGNATURE SYMPHONY
Ben Korzelius
STAFF Orchestra Manager Joseph Falvey Development Officer Isaac Sheets
TRUMPET
Event Coordinator Susan Martin
Elena Gavrilov
BASS
Ben Hay1
James Ruggles
Robin Smith1
Kade Goforth
Greg Spears
Jacob Rylko
Librarian Ed Morse
TROMBONE
Personnel Ashley Allison
Alex O’Boyle-Ince Kiersten Moser Laura Duncan
Jesus Villareal
VIOLIN 2 Corbin Bodley
1,2
Amanda Hamm Nancy Rath Sarah Richardson Nicholas Bashforth Sarah Bryant Elizabeth Obal Amanda Wheaton
VIOLA Jeff Smith1,2 Paul Roberts Terry Pollak Missy Townsend Sarah Bailey1 Micah Neely
Colin Healey
FLUTE Dana Higbee1 Izzy Potts Knowlan Randza
OBOE Lisa Wagner1 Sarah Evans Lauren White
CLARINET Christy Foster1 Anne Watson Ed Morse
BASSOON Jim Fellows1 Andrew Davis KC Chai
1
Principal Member of the Signature String Quartet 3 TCC Adjunct Music Instructor 2
Rich Fisher1 Brian Haapanen
BASS TROMBONE L. Dale Barnett
Dean of Visual & Performing Arts Kelly Clark Administrative Assistant Michelle Dixon
TUBA Brett Nichols1
Interim Lighting Director Stephanie Stone
TIMPANI 1
James Clanton
PERCUSSION Russell Grant1 Tim Brandt Becky Tupper Chris Harris
HARP Lorelei Barton1
PIANO Rob Muraoka 1,3
Signature Symphony 2021-2022 Corporate Season Sponsor
VANTREASE PACE STAFF
Sound Designer Jon Kreilaus Operations Manager Ginelle Gordon Accounting Assistant Jessica Gray House Assistants Atlantis Frank
Daniel Hernandez Lisa Leake Zander Majors Patti Pineda Chase Posey
FIRST CHAIR SOCIETY The First Chair Society is a premier package for Signature Symphony at TCC patrons who support the outstanding musical performances and education engagement programs provided by Signature Symphony. Members enjoy special events with visiting guest artists and members of the orchestra throughout the season. We greatly appreciate the members of this special donor group who help make our work possible. For information about joining the First Chair Society, call 918-595-8147 or email signature@tulsacc.edu. MAESTRO
FIRST CHAIR PLUS
John and Mary Ann Bumgarner
Shelby Beil
Dean and Vesta VanTrease
Linda Booker
Stinnett and Associates
Tim and Carol Lyons
David and Rachel Wagner
Joe and Carol McGraw Carol Messer
Marcia and Dan Brueggenjohann
FIRST CHAIR
Thomas Michael
CONCERTMASTER
Tim Caldwell
Loren Arnoff
David Morse
Kelly and Phil Fonkalsrud
Jim Cameron
Howard and Billie Barnett
Eleanor and Larry Payne
Terence Golla
Steve and Ruthie Duenner
Terry Bevins
Michael and Mary Ann Pierce
Jim and Julie Higgins
Janice Fonkalsrud
Dan and Becky Bloom
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Jim Langdon and Julie Roffers
Susan and Jim Harris
Eric and Jan Bohne
Kate Robertson
Geordie and Kristine Robinson
Ron and Susie Looney
Montie and Betty Box
Isaac Sheets and Scott Gove
Richard and JoAnn Smith
Philip and Leslie Maltby
Jim and Marilyn Brill
Kari and Matt Shults
Mollie Williford
Delia Pierson
Lauren and Robert Brookey
Jeffrey and Robin Smith
Roy and Rebekah Wood
Jane and Henry Primeaux
Joe and Marci Falvey
Michael Tate and Aubrey Cain
Andrew and Hannah Ralston
Irving and Dixie Frank
Steve and Nancy Wells
Richard and Alicia Ranne
Leigh and Mark Goodson
Victor Whiteside
Hannah and Joe Robson
Jim and Ginelle Gordon
Jacqueline Wilson
Dawne and Robert Stafford
David and Katie Johnson
Signature Symphony truly appreciates the generous planned giving donation from the estate of Carolyn Grove, a long-time patron of the orchestra. Her gift will help Signature Symphony continue to provide rich musical experiences in Tulsa through live performances and music education and community engagement programs Signature Symphony also wishes to thank The Gerald H. Westby, Jr. Foundation for supporting the Artistic Director finalist concerts this season.
SIGNATURE SYMPHONY ADVISORY BOARD The Signature Symphony Advisory Board supports the mission of the Signature Symphony at TCC and promotes the growth of the orchestra through fundraising, advocacy, and education. The commitment and dedication of these community leaders to the Signature Symphony through membership on our board are greatly appreciated. Dawne Stafford, Chair
Shelby Beil, Vice Chair
Leslie Brier, Secretary
Jaime Smith, Treasurer
Marcia Brueggenjohann Cathy Campbell Laura Cowan Dr. Noam Faingold Dr. Kim Falcon Susan Harris
Carole Huff Hicks Julie Higgins Dr. John Jenkins Katie Johnson Ron Looney
Julie Mills Erica Parker Dr. Eleanor Payne Delia Pierson Jane Primeaux
Andrew Ralston Kate Robertson Geordie Robinson Dr. Dean VanTrease David Wagner
TCC Staff Representatives Kelly Clark Dr. Joseph Falvey
Dr. Leigh Goodson Ginelle Gordon
Susan Martin Isaac Sheets
Kari Shults Dr. Greg Stone
GUEST ARTIST
Susie Yang made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11. The performance was broadcast on PBS in Chicago and the classical radio station, 98.7 FM. She has appeared as a soloist with many other orchestras in the greater Chicago area as well, such as the Midwest Young Artists Orchestra, Highland Park Strings, Fox Valley Symphony, and the Skokie Valley Symphony.
As an avid chamber musician, she won a top prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has participated in the Juilliard Quartet Seminar and the Beethoven Intensive Quartet Seminar at the New England Conservatory of Music. She has collaborated with many of the top chamber musicians in the world, such as Donald Weilerstein, Roger Tapping, the Borromeo Quartet, and the Peabody Trio. Susie was also a fellow of the New World Symphony and was a rotating principal under music director, Michael Tilson Thomas. After winning the concerto competition, she performed the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the New World Symphony in 2007. Susie has performed as a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician at many music festivals, including Artosphere Music Festival, Crested Butte Festival, Sarasota, Schleswig-Holstein, Music Academy of the West, Spoleto Italy and USA, Taos, Yellow Barn, Britt Festival, and Festival Mozaic. Originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Susie holds degrees and numerous scholarship awards from The Juilliard School and New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Andre Emelianoff and Laurence Lesser. This past August, Susie performed Beethoven Triple Concerto with violinist, Chee-Yun and pianist, Henry Kramer. In April 2016, she performed as soloist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for their classical subscription concerts. Susie moved to Kansas City in the Spring of 2010 to join the Kansas City Symphony as Associate Principal Cello. She has a private studio of cello students that she loves to teach and enjoys playing chamber music around the community.
PROGRAM NOTES
The following program notes are copyright © Susan Halpern, 2022.
Bonecos de Olinda (2019) Clarice Assad (Born February 9, 1978 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Multiple Grammy award nominee, Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad is a pianist, vocalist, and composer in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres. She is well known for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. As an innovator, her award-winning Voxploration Series on music creation, songwriting, and improvisation has been presented throughout the United States, Brazil, Europe, and the Middle East. Assad holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Roosevelt University in Chicago and a Master of Music degree from The University of Michigan School of Music. With over seventy works in her oeuvre, Assad has received commissions for works for Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo, Chicago Sinfonietta, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Youth Orchestra, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Queen Reef Music Festival, and the La Jolla Music Festival, to name a few. Her compositions have been recorded by prominent musicians, including percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and oboist Liang Wang. Assad’s music has been performed by internationally acclaimed orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony, and the Queensland Symphony. Assad has served as a composer-in-residence for the Albany Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, New Century Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. As a performer, she has shared the stage with such artists as Bobby McFerrin, Anat Cohen, Nadia Sirota, Paquito D’Rivera, Tom Harrell, Marilyn Mazur, and Mike Marshall, among other outstanding musicians, and performed at internationally renowned venues and festivals including The Netherlands’ Concertgebouw, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Belgium’s Le Palais des Beaux-Arts, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Le Casino de Paris, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Caramoor International Jazz Festival. A passionate educator, Assad founded VOXploration, an award-winning, innovative program which presents a creative, fun, and accessible approach to music education through meaningful, interactive experiences. Carefully curated to work with participants of any age who have little music education or those having musical backgrounds, VOXploration has received grants and awards from Brazilian foundations such as CAIXA CULTURAL and SESC, as well as American grants from New Music USA and the McKnight Foundation. Assad has given masterclasses and participated in residencies and workshops throughout the United States, Europe and Middle East. Assad has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including an Aaron Copland Award and several ASCAP awards in composition. In 2019, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra commissioned Assad to write a work for the orchestra’s upcoming tour to Brazil. The work was premiered during 2019. The composer wrote her own program note for this sunny, danceable piece, which features percussion with distinctive Brazilian frevo and maracatu beats.
Bonecos de Olinda are giant hollow figures made of fabric, aluminum, paper, wood and fiberglass. They originated in medieval Europe and were used in processions in the form of Catholic saints. During colonial Brazil, they found their way into the country eventually becoming popularized as a staple of the carnival of Olinda, in the Northeast state of Pernambuco. During carnival, these picturesque dolls often assume the identity of well-known historical figures and celebrities.
PROGRAM NOTES
In Pernambuco, the music played and danced during carnival derives from rhythms such as frevo and maracatu; they are performed by a parade of street musicians alongside dancers and party goers in an endless procession of euphoric madness. This piece was inspired by the carnival of Olinda, its rhythms and sounds; the relentless energy of that music often puts people in a trance-like state when time seems to stand still. Bonecos is scored for two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, three clarinets, three bassoons, four
horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, whip, bass drum, tamtam, drumset, toms, snare drum, djemb, congas, cymbals, woodblocks, suspended cymbals, tambourine, xylophone, castanets), and strings. This is Signature Symphony’s first performance of the piece, and the first performance in Oklahoma.
Mariel (1999/2008)
Osvaldo Golijov (Born on December 5, 1960, in La Plata, Argentina)
The New York Times described Osvaldo Golijov as “a musical alchemist (who) conjures up new worlds” as he
weaves gestures and sounds of his background into his works of music. Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, the Argentinean provincial capital, surrounded by classical chamber, Jewish liturgical, and klezmer music. He studied with Gerardo Gandini, a student of Alberto Ginastera (1916-1981) who established the Argentinean nationalist classical music idiom. Golijov also absorbed other Argentinean music, including the tangos of Astor Piazzolla. Golijov eagerly explores his many cultural heritages and has said that he “modulates cultures like other composers modulate keys.” He blends Argentinean music, traditional Jewish idioms, and modern sounds into a distinctive style. Golijov was introduced to music by his mother, who taught him Bach and Beethoven as well as Stravinsky and Bartok. His parents took him to a concert to hear Astor Piazzolla, the great nuevo tango composer, when he was ten. This was a seminal experience for him. He said, “I could see not only life being distilled into music, but also how Bach and Bartok could be transmuted into something that was vital to Argentina at that moment, and into my life at that moment.” In Israel, he studied with Mark Kopytman, an experimenter in graphic notation and chance elements. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with George Crumb. He eventually moved permanently from Argentina to Israel in the early 1980’s and then to the United States in 1986. It was after his move to the U.S. that his career took off. As a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he studied with Lukas Foss, and there received the Fromm Commission for Yiddushbbuk, which the St. Lawrence String Quartet premiered during Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music in July 1992. His klezmer-influenced clarinet quintet The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind (1994) first brought him to international attention, and other works have received considerable acclaim, particularly La Pasión según San Marcos, commissioned by the Stuttgart International Bach Academy in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the death of Bach.
PROGRAM NOTES
Golijov received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003, was Musical America’s composer of the year in 2006, and won the 2007 Best Classical Contemporary Composition Grammy for his opera Ainadamar.
Mariel for solo cello and marimba was commissioned by Meet the Composer and premiered at Merkin Hall, in New York, in 1999 by Maya Beiser and Steve Schick. Sid R. Bass commissioned its arrangement for cello and orchestra for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. The orchestral version premiered at Carnegie Hall, New York in January 2008, with cellist Alban Gerhardt.
Golijov created his own program note: “I wrote this piece in memory of my friend Mariel Stubrin. I attempted to capture that short instant before grief, in which one learns of the sudden death of a friend who was full of life: a single moment frozen forever in one's memory, and which reverberates through the piece, among the waves and echoes of the Brazilian music that Mariel loved.” In one extended movement, the work begins with a sforzando jolt with the bass trombone, harp, cellos, and double basses, following Golijov’s expressive direction, “Like an asteroid.” The rest of the work seems to echo the beginning, floating in gently lyrical, melodic descents. It features intricate phrases of Brazilian themes as well as some lush writing. Unquestionably, the music of his homeland, Argentina, continues to be an important part of Golijov’s music.
Mariel is scored for three flutes and alto flute, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, four French horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, chimes, crotales, marimbas, tam-tam, triangle, vibraphone, celesta, harp, timpani, and strings.
This is Signature Symphony’s first performance of the piece, and the first performance in Oklahoma.
Firebird (1919) Igor Stravinsky (Born June 17, 1882, in Oranienbaum, Russia; died April 6, 1971, in New York) When the great impresario Sergei Diaghilev was planning a ballet on the Russian legend of the Firebird for his 1910 Paris season, he commissioned a score from the composer Anatoly Liadov (1855-1914). Three months later, when Liadov was asked how the work was progressing, he replied, “Marvelously! I've already bought the music paper.” Impatient at the unexpected delay, Diaghilev withdrew the commission and, late in the summer of 1909, decided to give it instead to Igor Stravinsky. The year before, Diaghilev had heard two of Stravinsky’s early orchestral works and had given him some orchestration assignments and liked what he had done. Diaghilev was quite certain that the young composer could handle the responsibility of writing an original score for a new ballet. Stravinsky was a bit nervous about the commission because the music had to be ready quickly. The composer immediately set to work and completed the score in May, in time for the première at the Paris Opera on June 25, 1910. Tamara Karsavina danced the title role and Michel Fokine, the choreographer, was the leading male dancer. Thus began the Stravinsky-Diaghilev association that led later to the creation of Petrushka, the Rite of Spring, Le Rossignol, and Pulcinella.
PROGRAM NOTES
The scenario of The Firebird, also by Fokine, tells the story of a good fairy, the title character who, with Prince Ivan’s help, struggles against the immortal, evil magician, Kashchei. Interestingly enough, many consider the composition that the twenty-seven-year-old Stravinsky wrote to be musically so interesting that it has generally been acknowledged that it can be better appreciated in concert performance, without the distraction of the complicated events that take place on the stage when the work is danced. The following is the sequence of scenes of the suite: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Introduction: The Firebird and the Dance of the Firebird Variation of the Firebird The Princesses’ Round: Khorovid Dance of King Kashchei Berceuse and Finale
In the first movement the sudden trembling of the string section announces the arrival of the Firebird. Stravinsky orchestrated her dance lavishly with extravagant fantasy punctuated by the high woodwinds. When, in the Berceuse of the last movement, the Firebird lulls the monsters to sleep, the bassoon and the soft, diminishing string tremolos create the effect. Finally, a harp glissando follows a horn solo, and, after it, the brass join with the whole orchestra to exult together in a song of deliverance that concludes this brilliantly orchestrated fantasy. The conductor Pierre Boulez traces all the music that Stravinsky composed during his long and fruitful career back to Firebird: “Stravinsky’s harmonic style appears unmistakably personal from the very first page, not only Russian but very Stravinskyan. The composer’s rhythmic energy and the very individual construction of his phrases are the first fruits of future development, which was to renew the music of the twentieth century. So we appreciate the vivacity with which a creative mind undertook its initial work.” In the 1960's, Stravinsky recollected, “Like all ‘story’ ballets, [The Firebird] demanded ‘descriptive’ music of a kind I did not want to write. Some years later, I asked [Debussy] what he really thought of The Firebird. He said, ‘What difference does it make? You had to begin with something.’ Honest but not flattering. The Parisian audience wanted a taste of avant-garde, Ravel said, and The Firebird was, according to Ravel, just that. To this I would add that while it is more vigorous than most of the ‘composed’ folk music of the period, it is also not too original -- good conditions for a success. I was more proud of some of the orchestration than of the music itself. The Firebird has been a mainstay in my life as a conductor. I made my debut with it in 1915 in Paris, and since then I have performed it nearly a thousand times, though ten thousand would not erase the memory of the terror I suffered that first time.” Diaghilev's lush 1910 production of The Firebird allowed Stravinsky to score the ballet for a huge orchestra, giving the young composer a rich palette of musical colors with which to paint his pictures. In 1911, the composer drew a suite of excerpts from the ballet, but later, fearing that the expense of engaging so many musicians was preventing the piece from being performed, he prepared a shorter suite of excerpts for a smaller orchestra. The shorter version is the popular 1919 Suite. This work was last performed by Signature Symphony in October 2006, conducted by Dr. Barry Epperley.
PROGRAM NOTES
Harry Potter Highlights John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat John Williams is a pre-eminent American film composer and conductor, the son of a film studio musician. He attended UCLA and Los Angeles City College, and studied composition with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After service in the Air Force, he returned to New York to attend Juilliard, where he studied piano with Rosina Lhevinne. While in New York, Williams worked as a jazz pianist, both in clubs and on recordings. He began his career in the film industry in Los Angeles, writing music for many television programs and winning four Emmy awards for his work. Williams has created a remarkable legacy of film music since he began writing for movies in 1958. He has received five Academy Awards (and a record 45 nominations), plus 21 Grammy Awards, as well as three British Academy awards; Williams was also a 2004 recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors award for lifetime achievement in the arts. He has commented, “It’s still baffling to me. I sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and do my best...The remarkable thing is that my music is heard by billions of people.” Williams has appeared as guest conductor with a number of major orchestras, among which are the London Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Music for films can create moods, set the scene for action to follow, or simply entertain, but it must create an effect synchronized to the specific action of the moment. Before writing music for three of the Harry Potter films, Williams helped to give film composition viability and visibility with a voluminous and varied output, ranging from the music to Goodbye, Mr. Chips to that for Valley of the Dolls, Jurassic Park, Jaws and ET. Williams composed the music for the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, during 2001. The music for Chamber of Secrets followed only one year later. Williams wrote in the score, “The success of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has been a heartwarming phenomenon to all those who love books. The worldwide reception that these works have received added greatly to the sense of privilege that I felt when I was given the honor of composing the music for the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The story’s imaginative array of wizards flying on broomsticks and mail- delivering owls, all occupying wondrous works of magic, offered a unique canvas for music, and the prospect of sharing it with some part of the great army of readers who love these books is a great joy to me.” The brilliant orchestration, memorable melodies, and neo-romantic harmonies have resulted in this score being viewed as one of his best. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Williams creates the sense of childhood magic with the scintillating fantasy of the music, not only matching the whimsy of the plot line, but also evoking its sense of yearning. The Harry Potter Symphonic Suite consists of four movements from the film: “Hedwig’s Theme,” “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Nimbus 2000,” and “Harry’s Wondrous World.” The distinctive “Hedwig’s Theme” is woven throughout all eight movies. Named for Harry’s pet owl, who magically and mysteriously delivers mail to Harry at Hogwarts School, “Hedwig’s Theme” broadly represents Harry’s magical world.
PROGRAM NOTES
Williams referred to the Hedwig theme as a “darkly alluring orchestral waltz.” It dominates the score, and is first introduced as a dreamy celesta waltz before it becomes embellished through many incarnations and moods. Williams recalled, “Hedwig needed some music that was gossamer and light, so I thought of the celesta, which is like a mini piano but each note is like a bell…if you put the pedal down you get this beautiful little blur that’s kind of like a bird feather that would just float.” In the last five movies, Williams’ themes were reused. A reason for this is the technique he used in his scores for the Harry Potter films, the leitmotif. Leitmotifs, famously used by Wagner in his operas, are short musical themes associated with a person, thing, or idea. Leitmotifs can be transformed to convey different emotional states, or combined with other leitmotifs in ways that traditional storytelling cannot replicate. Throughout the Harry Potter films several themes reappear. Another important theme, featured in the Harry Potter Symphonic Suite is “Nimbus 2000,” played by the woodwinds. In classical mythology, a nimbus is described as a shining cloud or halo-effect created by a heavenly light. In Harry Potter’s world, Nimbus 2000 is Harry’s personal broomstick. To musically portray this ingenious mode of transportation, the instruments make extraordinary leaps with astonishing agility. The final selection in the suite, “Harry’s Wondrous World” captures youthful imagination and exuberance. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second film and book, the music turns darker than in the first and is more suspenseful as well as very notable for its thematic brilliance. The sweeping “Fawkes, the Phoenix” section introduces a new theme for Professor Dumbledore’s fiery feathered friend, Fawkes, epic in nature with a sense of nobility and pride. For it, Williams uses strings to create heroic optimism. From the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Williams’ quiet music of “A Bridge to the Past” occurs in a scene where Harry’s family background is revealed. Soaring music represents Harry’s flight aboard “Buckbeak,” a magical winged hippogriff. Some resolution is heard in “Mischief Managed.” The Scottish composer Patrick Doyle composed the music for the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Doyle has collaborated frequently with actor-director Kenneth Branagh and composed for such films as Gosford Park, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Thor, Cinderella, and Murder on the Orient Express. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards and has received the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award for "outstanding achievements and contributions to the world of film and television music." This movie, which is darker than the first three, witnesses the characters as they have matured. Included in tonight’s Harry Potter medley are two selections which display a bit of the style of the particular British character of Doyle’s music. “Hogwart’s Hymn” displays a touch of the operatic within its overall somber character; “Hogwart’s March” emphasizes the strength of the brass. Nicholas Timothy Hooper, who created the music for the next Harry Potter film, the fifth in the series, is a British film and television composer and guitarist, whose scores have received major accolades including the British BAFTA awards. Hooper developed a reputation for producing music that is original, inspiring, and always colorful.
PROGRAM NOTES
“Fireworks” is the first selection in the soundtrack from this film; “Flight of the Order of the Phoenix” appears almost at the end. The Order of the Phoenix has a grimmer tone than the movies before it, and Hooper’s music conveys this darkness.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth Harry Potter film, is the second film score for the series written and composed by Nicholas Hooper. For it, Hooper was nominated for a Grammy. The selection representing this film is “Harry & Hermione.”
Alexandre Desplat composed the scores for the last two Harry Potter films. He also scored other recent movies in which music plays a central role. These include: The Tree of Life and The King's Speech, the latter of which won a BAFTA for Best Film Music. Other recent Desplat films scores include those for Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Queen. "My training in music has been very eclectic," Desplat says, "as a flute player from classical chamber music to jazz, Greek, Brazilian and African music to contemporary concert music." For the two final films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, he evokes many feelings of the emotions surrounding Harry Potter's harrowing emergence into adulthood. “Obliviate” comes from Part 1, while “Lily’s Theme” is drawn from Part 2.
SPRING 2022 UPDATES
Signature Symphony’s “Love and Obsession: The Beatles to Berlioz” concert featuring Artistic Director Finalist Scott Seaton, originally planned for January 22 has been rescheduled for April 23, 2022. All tickets purchased for the original January 22nd date are valid for this rescheduled performance. No action is needed by patrons. If you did not have seats and wish to attend the April 23 performance please go to: https://pacetickets.tulsacc.edu/20498/20504. The April 9, 2022 concert, originally to be curated and conducted by Robert Franz who has withdrawn his name from consideration as Signature Symphony’s third Artistic Director, will be replaced by a full orchestra concert conducted by Ryan Shirar who was with us for Christmas in Tulsa this past December. Program details are still being finalized and we will have an announcement very soon. For more information, please call 918-595-7777 or email signature@tulsacc.edu.
Join us for food, fun, and festivities as we celebrate the exciting future of Signature Symphony! SPRING 2022 UPDATES
Reception 6:00 p.m. Dinner and Program 7:00 p.m. Funds raised at our annual Overture event help us continue to provide music education engagement, community enrichment opportunities and premier concerts to the greater Tulsa Area For sponsorship and ticket information go to:
www.signaturesymphony.org/overture Call 918-595-8147 or email overture@tulsacc.edu