Sadly, live performances are on hiatus due to the risks of COVID-19.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Friday, July 3, 2015
June 12, 2016
JPL Program Calendar
* SARASATE: Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22, No. 1
* LEIN: Nocturne
* PIAZZOLLA: Libertango
* POPPER: Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68
* BRAHMS: Piano Trio No.1 in B Major Op.8
Korean violinist Ji Won Hwang earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, Korea, where she also taught, in addition to conducting the Soongsil Boy's Orchestra. After moving to the United States she became a teaching assistant at The Florida State University while working on her Doctor of Music degree under the guidance of violinist Eliot Chapo. She has performed as a solo artist and with a variety of ensembles in the Big Bend area, including as violinist with the Eppes String Quartet under the sponsorship of Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Ellen Taafe Zwilich. Winner of the top prize of the Korea Germany Brahms Association Competition in 2004, Dr. Hwang has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and recently gave a concert entitled "Russia in New York" at Carnegie Hall. In addition to her solo engagements, she plays for symphony orchestras in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
Award-winning Bulgarian cellist Boyan Bonev teaches cello and double bass at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and previously taught in Georgia at Albany State University and Darton College. Dr. Bonev is on the faculty of the Florida State University Summer Music Camps, and performs with the Tallahassee, Pensacola, Mobile, Florida Lakes, and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras. Active as a solo and chamber musician, Boyan Bonev has appeared in concert and educational programs for Bulgarian National Television and Radio, in performance at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), and as soloist with orchestras in the United States and Europe. Dr. Bonev holds Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Florida State University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the National Music Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Mimi Noda was a collaborative pianist with the Japanese Choral Association before relocating to the United States in 1998 to pursue graduate studies. While earning degrees at the University of Georgia (MM) and Florida State University (DM), she was awarded a number of prizes and scholarships in piano performance, and also taught Japanese in FSU’s Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Now an Associate Professor of Music at Georgia's Albany State University, in addition to annual faculty recitals, other recent solo engagements have included a recital in Tokyo, Japan. Apart from responsibilities in the Music Dept., Dr. Noda has established a course in Japanese at ASU, and will be teaching Japanese through the Study Abroad Program for the University System of Georgia. Her volunteer activities include performing at Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and giving piano lessons to children at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee.
PROGRAM NOTES
Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) was a popular virtuoso whose light touch and flawless tone inspired several of the Romantic period's enduring showpieces, including Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, Saint-Saens' Introduction & Rondo Capriccio and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, not to mention concertos by these and other composers. As an eight-year old Sarasate already was giving concerts, and after winning the Paris Conservatory's top performance prize at age 17, he began an international solo career that continued unabated for four decades--his star shone so brightly that even Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went to hear him play! Composed in 1879, Romanza Andaluza (op. 22, no. 1) is the third of Sarasate's eight "Spanish Dances" for violin and piano. Paying obvious tribute to the music of his homeland, Sarasate capitalizes on the violin's low register while introducing his folk-like original tunes, then harmonizes them with persistent double-stops that enhance the music's dancing lyricism with virtuosic flair.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
Florida native Edward Lein (b. 1955) holds master's degrees in Music and Library Science from Florida State University. Early in his career he appeared throughout his home state as tenor soloist in recitals, oratorios and dramatic works, and most of his early compositions feature voices. Following performances by the Jacksonville Symphony of his Meditation for cello, oboe and orchestra (premiered June 2006) and In the Bleak Midwinter (premiered December 2007), his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players for new pieces. The Nocturne is the second movement from his Sonatina (2007). It presents a languid tune that alternates with a hymn-like chorale, perhaps suggesting a quiet boat ride down the St. John's River at dusk.
SCORE (pdf)[Beginning at p.8]
Hear it on Instant Encore
With an estimated catalog of over 3,000 compositions, Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) pretty much single-handedly reinvented the tango. Born in Argentina, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood in New York, where he developed a fondness for jazz and classical music. His father taught him to play the bandoneón, a concertina common to Argentine tango ensembles, and when he returned to Buenos Aires in 1937 he played with some of the leading bands. He also began composition studies with Alberto Ginastera and won a grant in 1953 to study in Paris with legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Returning to Argentina in 1955, Piazzolla infused the traditional national dance with characteristics of jazz and formal elements from his classical studies. Although this nuevo tango ("new tango") style was met with resistance in his homeland, it captivated Europeans and North Americans and his international career blossomed. Libertango reflects his "liberation of the tango," and has been recorded over 500 times since originally recorded and published in 1974.
Hear it on YouTube
Called "the Rostropovich of the 19th century," David Popper (1843-1913) was born in the Jewish ghetto of Prague and became one of Europe's most celebrated cellists. In addition to holding prestigious orchestral positions, Popper was well-known as both solo virtuoso and chamber musician, partnering with a number of high-profile pianists, including his wife Sophie Menter (whom Liszt cited as the world's greatest woman pianist), Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Also a highly respected teacher, Popper joined the faculty of the Budapest royal conservatory in 1896, and his influence continues to this day through the High School of Cello Playing, Op. 78 (1901-05), something of a bible for advanced cello students. A gifted melodist, most of Popper's compositions showcase the expressive and technical capabilities of his instrument, amply demonstrated in the Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68 (1894), likely his best-known work.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
At a time when it was fashionable to write programmatic music that illustrated specific scenes, poems, or stories, the great German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was recognized by his admirers as “Beethoven’s true heir” (Grove Concise Dictionary of Music) by demonstrating that established abstract formal procedures could be used to organize musical discourse without sacrificing the passion and deeply individualistic expression that defines 19th-Century Romantic music. Thus, Brahms joined Bach and Beethoven as one of the great “Three B’s” of classical music. Originally composed in 1854, Brahms revised his Piano Trio No. 1, op. 8 in 1889, but, remarkably, he allowed both versions to remain in print (although, not surprisingly, it's the revision that's almost always performed). Another remarkable thing about the Trio is that it's one of very few multi-movement instrumental works composed during the 400 or so years comprising the Baroque through Romantic periods that begin in a major key and end in a minor one.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
SELECTED RELATED LIBRARY RESOURCES
JiWon Hwang, violin
Boyan Bonev, cello
Mimi Noda, piano
* SARASATE: Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22, No. 1
* LEIN: Nocturne
* PIAZZOLLA: Libertango
* POPPER: Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68
* BRAHMS: Piano Trio No.1 in B Major Op.8
- Allegro con brio
- Scherzo - Allegro molto
- Adagio
- Allegro
Korean violinist Ji Won Hwang earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, Korea, where she also taught, in addition to conducting the Soongsil Boy's Orchestra. After moving to the United States she became a teaching assistant at The Florida State University while working on her Doctor of Music degree under the guidance of violinist Eliot Chapo. She has performed as a solo artist and with a variety of ensembles in the Big Bend area, including as violinist with the Eppes String Quartet under the sponsorship of Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Ellen Taafe Zwilich. Winner of the top prize of the Korea Germany Brahms Association Competition in 2004, Dr. Hwang has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and recently gave a concert entitled "Russia in New York" at Carnegie Hall. In addition to her solo engagements, she plays for symphony orchestras in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
PROGRAM NOTES
Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) was a popular virtuoso whose light touch and flawless tone inspired several of the Romantic period's enduring showpieces, including Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, Saint-Saens' Introduction & Rondo Capriccio and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, not to mention concertos by these and other composers. As an eight-year old Sarasate already was giving concerts, and after winning the Paris Conservatory's top performance prize at age 17, he began an international solo career that continued unabated for four decades--his star shone so brightly that even Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went to hear him play! Composed in 1879, Romanza Andaluza (op. 22, no. 1) is the third of Sarasate's eight "Spanish Dances" for violin and piano. Paying obvious tribute to the music of his homeland, Sarasate capitalizes on the violin's low register while introducing his folk-like original tunes, then harmonizes them with persistent double-stops that enhance the music's dancing lyricism with virtuosic flair.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
Florida native Edward Lein (b. 1955) holds master's degrees in Music and Library Science from Florida State University. Early in his career he appeared throughout his home state as tenor soloist in recitals, oratorios and dramatic works, and most of his early compositions feature voices. Following performances by the Jacksonville Symphony of his Meditation for cello, oboe and orchestra (premiered June 2006) and In the Bleak Midwinter (premiered December 2007), his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players for new pieces. The Nocturne is the second movement from his Sonatina (2007). It presents a languid tune that alternates with a hymn-like chorale, perhaps suggesting a quiet boat ride down the St. John's River at dusk.
SCORE (pdf)[Beginning at p.8]
Hear it on Instant Encore
With an estimated catalog of over 3,000 compositions, Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) pretty much single-handedly reinvented the tango. Born in Argentina, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood in New York, where he developed a fondness for jazz and classical music. His father taught him to play the bandoneón, a concertina common to Argentine tango ensembles, and when he returned to Buenos Aires in 1937 he played with some of the leading bands. He also began composition studies with Alberto Ginastera and won a grant in 1953 to study in Paris with legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Returning to Argentina in 1955, Piazzolla infused the traditional national dance with characteristics of jazz and formal elements from his classical studies. Although this nuevo tango ("new tango") style was met with resistance in his homeland, it captivated Europeans and North Americans and his international career blossomed. Libertango reflects his "liberation of the tango," and has been recorded over 500 times since originally recorded and published in 1974.
Hear it on YouTube
Called "the Rostropovich of the 19th century," David Popper (1843-1913) was born in the Jewish ghetto of Prague and became one of Europe's most celebrated cellists. In addition to holding prestigious orchestral positions, Popper was well-known as both solo virtuoso and chamber musician, partnering with a number of high-profile pianists, including his wife Sophie Menter (whom Liszt cited as the world's greatest woman pianist), Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Also a highly respected teacher, Popper joined the faculty of the Budapest royal conservatory in 1896, and his influence continues to this day through the High School of Cello Playing, Op. 78 (1901-05), something of a bible for advanced cello students. A gifted melodist, most of Popper's compositions showcase the expressive and technical capabilities of his instrument, amply demonstrated in the Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68 (1894), likely his best-known work.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
At a time when it was fashionable to write programmatic music that illustrated specific scenes, poems, or stories, the great German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was recognized by his admirers as “Beethoven’s true heir” (Grove Concise Dictionary of Music) by demonstrating that established abstract formal procedures could be used to organize musical discourse without sacrificing the passion and deeply individualistic expression that defines 19th-Century Romantic music. Thus, Brahms joined Bach and Beethoven as one of the great “Three B’s” of classical music. Originally composed in 1854, Brahms revised his Piano Trio No. 1, op. 8 in 1889, but, remarkably, he allowed both versions to remain in print (although, not surprisingly, it's the revision that's almost always performed). Another remarkable thing about the Trio is that it's one of very few multi-movement instrumental works composed during the 400 or so years comprising the Baroque through Romantic periods that begin in a major key and end in a minor one.
SCORE (pdf)
Hear it on YouTube
SELECTED RELATED LIBRARY RESOURCES
- CD VIOLIN S525 R758 DG
Romances [sound recording] / Gil Shaham, violin (featuring Sarasate : Romanza andaluza). - CD P584 I59se SONY
Soul of the tango [sound recording] : the music of Astor Piazzolla. - 780.92 P584Az, 2000
Le grand tango : the life and music of Astor Piazzolla / by María Susana Azzi. - CD STRING P831 I59se NAXOS
Romantic cello showpieces [sound recording] / David Popper. - 780.92 NEUNZIG
Brahms / by Hans A. Neunzig. - CD B813 T834 TELDEC
The piano trios [sound recording] / Brahms (Trio Fontenay).
May 8, 2016
JPL Program Calendar
Lyapunov - Transcendental Etude Op. 11 No. 1 "Berceuse"
Chopin - Nocturne Op. 15 No. 1 in F minor
Chopin - Scherzo Op.31 No. 2 in B flat minor
Brahms - Rhapsody Op. 79 No. 2 in G minor
Liszt - Au bord d'une source
Ravel - Jeux d'eau
Schumann - Kinderszenen Op.15
CLICK HERE for the Program Guide (pdf)
Among the winners of the 2013 American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music, pianist Joshua Ross recently made his Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall in February 2014. He holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Georgia, where he studied with Dr. Martha Thomas, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from The Florida State University, where he studied with Dr. Heidi Louise Williams. He also studied with Dr. James Nalley, performed and studied at the 2008 Schlern Music Festival, in Vols am Schlern, Italy, and has played in master classes for renowned pianists Angela Cheng, Natsuki Fukasawa, David Northington, and Richard Cionco, among others.
Among recent engagements, Mr. Ross performed for the Steinway Piano Society of Bonita Springs in their Past Winners Recital Series, as well as the 2013 American Bandmasters Association conference in Tampa, Florida as featured pianist with the internationally-acclaimed University of Georgia Wind Ensemble. Recent competition performances include the 2012 Georgia Music Teachers Association National Competition as well as the UGA concerto competition.
Pursuing his passion for teaching, Joshua was on the faculty of the UGA Community Music School, where a gave private and group piano lessons to both children and adults. He currently teaches at the Steinway Piano Gallery of Bonita Springs, Florida. Originally from Naples, Florida, Joshua is a devoted alumni of the FSU Marching Chiefs, in which he played the saxophone, enjoying many high-profile engagements including the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, and the 2011 Inauguration of Governor Rick Scott.
PROGRAM NOTES by Edward Lein, Music Librarian
Russian composer and concert pianist Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924) was also a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, among other teaching positions. His Douze études d'exécution transcendente ("12 Transcendental Etudes," Op. 12) contain his best-known pieces, including the Berceuse ("Lullaby," Op. 11, no. 1). Lyapunov intended his set as a continuation of Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, which Liszt had planned as a cycle of 24 etudes in all the major and minor keys but did not live to complete.
The Polish-born pianist Frédéric Chopin was the first composer to make full use of the expressive qualities of the piano when it was a still-developing keyboard instrument, and he rightly has been called the "Poet of the Piano." Much of all piano music by subsequent composers shows his influence, and his revolutionary use of chromatic harmonies and unusual key relationships profoundly influenced composers of symphonic music and operas as well, such as Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner--thus Chopin's importance in the development of the "Romantic" style in general can not be overestimated.
Among his best-loved works are the 21 Nocturnes ("Night Pieces"). Published in 1834, Nocturne Op. 15, no. 1 opens and closes with lyrical sections in F major, flanking a "fiery" middle section in F minor.
Among his many other achievements, Chopin was the first to "liberate" the scherzo from its previously subsidiary role as an interior movement in multi-movement works. With Chopin the scherzo becomes an independent piece that retains the lively tempo and 3/4 time of its precedents, but which often dispenses with the jocularity implied by the title ("scherzo" is the Italian word for "joke"), and which rather expansively elaborates on the traditional "ABA" formal design. First published in 1837, in his 3-part Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 the beginning and concluding "A" sections share characteristics of sonata-allegro design, but are interrupted by the central, episodic "B" section.
At a time when it was fashionable to write programmatic music that illustrated specific scenes, poems, or stories, the great German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was recognized by his admirers as “Beethoven’s true heir” (Grove Concise Dictionary of Music) by demonstrating that established abstract formal procedures could be used to organize musical discourse without sacrificing the passion and deeply individualistic expression that defines 19th-Century Romantic music. Thus, Brahms joined Bach and Beethoven as one of the great “Three B’s” of classical music. As a youth, Brahms earned a living as a pianist, but after he became established as a composer he limited his public performances to playing only his own works. His Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 2 in G minor is from a pair of like-titled works dating from 1879.
Hungarian-born Franz Liszt (1811-1886) is widely regarded as the greatest pianist of all time, and his performances excited an hysteria that today is reserved for only the most popular of rock stars. Despite great fame following a sometimes impoverished youth, Liszt remained unspoiled and donated great sums of his concert earnings to a wide variety of charitable causes, and in later life he even took orders in the church. An innovative composer, Liszt is credited with creating the symphonic tone poem as a form, developing the technique of thematic transformation, and anticipating some of the harmonic devices of Impressionist composers. Au bord d'une source ("Beside a Spring") is the 4th piece in his suite, Années de Pèlerinage,Première année: Suisse (Years of Pilgrimage, 1st Year: Switzerland), which he captioned “In the whispering coolness begins young nature’s play” (quoting poet Friedrich Schiller).
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) was a great French composer and master orchestrator who maintains a place among the most performed and recorded composers of all time. He is often identified with Debussy as a chief proponent of musical Impressionism, but Ravel melded exotic harmonies with classical formal structures to create a personal, refined style that transcends a single label. About his famous piece inspired by Liszt and with a title translated as "Water Games," Ravel provided the following commentary: "Jeux d'eau, appearing in 1901, is at the origin of the pianistic novelties which one would notice in my work. This piece, inspired by the noise of water and by the musical sounds which make one hear the sprays water, the cascades, and the brooks, is based on two motives in the manner of the movement of a sonata—without, however, subjecting itself to the classical tonal plan."
The hopes of the great German Romantic composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) to become a concert pianist were dashed in his early twenties when he permanently damaged his hand, so he redirected his energies to both composing and music criticism. From childhood he was torn between literature and music, but he managed to combine these two loves even in some of his purely instrumental music by using poetry and dramatic narrative to color and direct the musical discourse. Composed in 1838, the 13 pieces that comprise Schumann's Kinderszenen ("Childhood Scenes," Op. 15) are not really intended specifically for children, as one might suppose at first glance. Rather, they are nostalgic remembrances of youth filtered through the experience of adulthood.
Joshua Ross, piano
Lyapunov - Transcendental Etude Op. 11 No. 1 "Berceuse"
Chopin - Nocturne Op. 15 No. 1 in F minor
Chopin - Scherzo Op.31 No. 2 in B flat minor
Brahms - Rhapsody Op. 79 No. 2 in G minor
Liszt - Au bord d'une source
Ravel - Jeux d'eau
Schumann - Kinderszenen Op.15
CLICK HERE for the Program Guide (pdf)
Among the winners of the 2013 American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music, pianist Joshua Ross recently made his Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall in February 2014. He holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Georgia, where he studied with Dr. Martha Thomas, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from The Florida State University, where he studied with Dr. Heidi Louise Williams. He also studied with Dr. James Nalley, performed and studied at the 2008 Schlern Music Festival, in Vols am Schlern, Italy, and has played in master classes for renowned pianists Angela Cheng, Natsuki Fukasawa, David Northington, and Richard Cionco, among others.
Among recent engagements, Mr. Ross performed for the Steinway Piano Society of Bonita Springs in their Past Winners Recital Series, as well as the 2013 American Bandmasters Association conference in Tampa, Florida as featured pianist with the internationally-acclaimed University of Georgia Wind Ensemble. Recent competition performances include the 2012 Georgia Music Teachers Association National Competition as well as the UGA concerto competition.
Pursuing his passion for teaching, Joshua was on the faculty of the UGA Community Music School, where a gave private and group piano lessons to both children and adults. He currently teaches at the Steinway Piano Gallery of Bonita Springs, Florida. Originally from Naples, Florida, Joshua is a devoted alumni of the FSU Marching Chiefs, in which he played the saxophone, enjoying many high-profile engagements including the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, and the 2011 Inauguration of Governor Rick Scott.
PROGRAM NOTES by Edward Lein, Music Librarian
Russian composer and concert pianist Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924) was also a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, among other teaching positions. His Douze études d'exécution transcendente ("12 Transcendental Etudes," Op. 12) contain his best-known pieces, including the Berceuse ("Lullaby," Op. 11, no. 1). Lyapunov intended his set as a continuation of Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, which Liszt had planned as a cycle of 24 etudes in all the major and minor keys but did not live to complete.
The Polish-born pianist Frédéric Chopin was the first composer to make full use of the expressive qualities of the piano when it was a still-developing keyboard instrument, and he rightly has been called the "Poet of the Piano." Much of all piano music by subsequent composers shows his influence, and his revolutionary use of chromatic harmonies and unusual key relationships profoundly influenced composers of symphonic music and operas as well, such as Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner--thus Chopin's importance in the development of the "Romantic" style in general can not be overestimated.
Among his best-loved works are the 21 Nocturnes ("Night Pieces"). Published in 1834, Nocturne Op. 15, no. 1 opens and closes with lyrical sections in F major, flanking a "fiery" middle section in F minor.
Among his many other achievements, Chopin was the first to "liberate" the scherzo from its previously subsidiary role as an interior movement in multi-movement works. With Chopin the scherzo becomes an independent piece that retains the lively tempo and 3/4 time of its precedents, but which often dispenses with the jocularity implied by the title ("scherzo" is the Italian word for "joke"), and which rather expansively elaborates on the traditional "ABA" formal design. First published in 1837, in his 3-part Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 the beginning and concluding "A" sections share characteristics of sonata-allegro design, but are interrupted by the central, episodic "B" section.
At a time when it was fashionable to write programmatic music that illustrated specific scenes, poems, or stories, the great German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was recognized by his admirers as “Beethoven’s true heir” (Grove Concise Dictionary of Music) by demonstrating that established abstract formal procedures could be used to organize musical discourse without sacrificing the passion and deeply individualistic expression that defines 19th-Century Romantic music. Thus, Brahms joined Bach and Beethoven as one of the great “Three B’s” of classical music. As a youth, Brahms earned a living as a pianist, but after he became established as a composer he limited his public performances to playing only his own works. His Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 2 in G minor is from a pair of like-titled works dating from 1879.
Hungarian-born Franz Liszt (1811-1886) is widely regarded as the greatest pianist of all time, and his performances excited an hysteria that today is reserved for only the most popular of rock stars. Despite great fame following a sometimes impoverished youth, Liszt remained unspoiled and donated great sums of his concert earnings to a wide variety of charitable causes, and in later life he even took orders in the church. An innovative composer, Liszt is credited with creating the symphonic tone poem as a form, developing the technique of thematic transformation, and anticipating some of the harmonic devices of Impressionist composers. Au bord d'une source ("Beside a Spring") is the 4th piece in his suite, Années de Pèlerinage,Première année: Suisse (Years of Pilgrimage, 1st Year: Switzerland), which he captioned “In the whispering coolness begins young nature’s play” (quoting poet Friedrich Schiller).
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) was a great French composer and master orchestrator who maintains a place among the most performed and recorded composers of all time. He is often identified with Debussy as a chief proponent of musical Impressionism, but Ravel melded exotic harmonies with classical formal structures to create a personal, refined style that transcends a single label. About his famous piece inspired by Liszt and with a title translated as "Water Games," Ravel provided the following commentary: "Jeux d'eau, appearing in 1901, is at the origin of the pianistic novelties which one would notice in my work. This piece, inspired by the noise of water and by the musical sounds which make one hear the sprays water, the cascades, and the brooks, is based on two motives in the manner of the movement of a sonata—without, however, subjecting itself to the classical tonal plan."
The hopes of the great German Romantic composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) to become a concert pianist were dashed in his early twenties when he permanently damaged his hand, so he redirected his energies to both composing and music criticism. From childhood he was torn between literature and music, but he managed to combine these two loves even in some of his purely instrumental music by using poetry and dramatic narrative to color and direct the musical discourse. Composed in 1838, the 13 pieces that comprise Schumann's Kinderszenen ("Childhood Scenes," Op. 15) are not really intended specifically for children, as one might suppose at first glance. Rather, they are nostalgic remembrances of youth filtered through the experience of adulthood.
April 10, 2016 @ 3 p.m.
JPL Program Calendar
Linda A. Cionitti, clarinet
Georgia Southern University Faculty Artist
Maila Gutierrez Springfield, piano
Valdosta State University Faculty Artist
Elliot Del Borgo (1938-2013)
Elegy
Victor Babin (1908-1972)
Hillandale Waltzes [Hear it on Youtube]
Thème – Valse elegante – Valse passionée
Valse sombre –Valse volante – Valse triste
Valse de bonne humeur –Valse brillante et joyeuse
Valse oubilée
Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
Tonada y Cueca [Hear it on Youtube]
Louis Cahuzac (1880-1960)
Cantilène [Hear it on Youtube]
Maurice Saylor (b. 1957)
Romanza (from Comic Symphony)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
II. Lebhaft [Hear it on Youtube]
IV. Kleines Rondo, gemächlich [Hear it on Youtube]
James M. David (b. 1978)
Historias y Danzas [Hear a demo on Soundcloud]
II. En forma de Habañera
IV. En Forma de Tango (y Mambo)
Maila Gutierrez Springfield is an instructor at Valdosta State University and a member of the Maharlika Trio, a group dedicated to commissioning and performing new works for saxophone, trombone and piano. She can be heard on saxophonist Joren Cain’s CD Voices of Dissent and on clarinetist Linda Cionitti’s CD Jag & Jersey. MusicWeb International selected Jag & Jersey as the recording of the month for February 2010 and noted that Maila “is superb in the taxing piano part with its striding bass lines and disjointed rhythms”. For Voices of Dissent, the American Record Guide describes Maila as “an excellent pianist, exhibiting solid technique and fine touch and pedal work." Twice-honored with the Excellence in Accompanying Award at Eastman School of Music, Maila has been staff accompanist for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, Georgia Southern University, the Buffet Crampon Summer Clarinet Academy and the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she had the privilege of working with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She has collaborated with members of major symphony orchestras, including those in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Jacksonville. She was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree from Syracuse University, and a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
Linda A. Cionitti, an active international performer, presents recitals at significant events such as the International ClarinetFest, the Music Teachers National Association Conference, the College Music Society Convention, and the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. In May 2009, she released Jag & Jersey, a CD featuring premiere recordings of works by Libby Larsen and James David, both of whom were considered for a Grammy Award. The American Record Guide states: “Cionitti is a wonderfully expressive player who pours her soul into all her performances; her phrasing is very natural, and she is never afraid to push boundaries with dynamics and tempo.” MusicWeb International selected Jag & Jersey as the February 2010 Record of the Month and said, “I cannot praise the playing of Linda Cionitti too highly. This is extraordinarily fine clarinet playing. Technically beyond reproach what I particularly admire is the way she varies her tone, vibrato (so very subtly applied), attack and whole musical personality to suit the period and style of each piece.” Dr. Cionitti began studying clarinet with her father, Nick Cionitti, followed by lessons with Valentine Anzalone and Michael Webster. She received her B.M. degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, studying with Alan Woy. Her M.M. and D.M.A. degrees are from Michigan State University, where she studied with Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr.
PROGRAM NOTES [CLICK HERE for Program Notes (pdf)]
Including music for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, American composer Elliot Del Borgo (1938-2013) published over 600 compositions, which he described as reflecting "the aesthetics of 20th-century musical ideals through its eclectic nature and vigorous harmonic and rhythmic style." He taught instrumental music in the Philadelphia public schools and was professor of music at the Crane School of Music, and also was known internationally as a conductor.
In 1961, Russian-born Victor Babin (1908-1972) became Director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, but he first gained international fame performing with wife Vitya Vronsky as the husband half of Vronsky & Babin, which Newsweek called "the most brilliant two-piano team of our generation." Presenting variations on a theme by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), Babin’s Hillandale Waltzes were written in 1947 for Anne Archbold, an arts patron in Washington, D.C., whose estate was called “Hillandale.”
With music described as "lushly romantic," Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) was able to earn a living solely from the royalties and performance rights for his music. Among his 600+ works, Guastavino is best-known for his songs, some of which have been performed by international luminaries including Teresa Berganza, José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa; his complete works for piano, as well as samples of his guitar and chamber works also have been recorded. Composed in 1965, Guastavino's Tonada y Cueca ("Love Song and Cueca Dance") retains a favored place in the clarinetists' repertoire, amply demonstrated by the many performances available on Youtube!
Louis Cahuzac (1880-1960) was one of few 20th-century clarinetists who performed primarily as a soloist rather than as orchestral/ensemble player, and career highlights included making the firstever recording of Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, and (at age 76) recording Paul Hindemith's Clarinet Concerto with the composer conducting. As one might expect, Cahuzac wrote mostly for his own instrument. According to the notes for his complete works recording, Cahuzac’s birthregion of Southern France provided his inspiration, reflected in his Cantilène by its “radiant Mediterranean light," while its "echo-type effects suggest open, mountainous spaces."
Based in Washington, D.C., Maurice Saylor (b. 1957) describes his work as "tuneful and quirky scores" that "blur the boundaries of style and genre." The Romanza is a movement from his Comic Symphony for clarinet and piano, based on tunes from an abandoned 1991 musical on Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid). First recast as a symphonic work, for the final duo version Saylor elaborated and expanded the tunes to take advantage of the solo talents of clarinetist Ben Redwine. Retaining "symphony" in the title for the 2012 publication, Saylor explains that "it's the nature of the music that makes it a symphony and not the scoring."
Along with Stravinsky, Bartók and Schoenberg, German composer, violist, teacher, and music theorist Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) is often cited by musicologists as a central figure in music of the first half of the 20th Century. Although performances of his music have become relatively rare, his Clarinet Sonata (1939) provides an ever-popular exception. A staple on recitals and recordings, it easily qualifies as one of Hindemith's "greatest hits."
James M. David (b. 1978) is associate professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University. He has won multiple awards for his music, which has been performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and recorded for the Naxos, Albany, Summit, Luminescence and MSR Classics labels. David describes his 4-movement Historias y Danzas (2014) as "incorporating elements of Afro-Latin dance music, along with contemporary techniques and virtuosity." He adds that "En forma de Habeñera is based on the beautiful vocalise by Ravel and features a particularly melismatic clarinet part against an uncharacteristically wavering ostinato," while "En Forma de Tango (y Mambo) was meant to be an unfiltered homage to the great tradition of tango, but my love of mambo rhythms could not be entirely suppressed!"
Linda A. Cionitti, clarinet
Maila Gutierrez Springfield, piano
Valdosta State University Faculty Artist
Elliot Del Borgo (1938-2013)
Elegy
Victor Babin (1908-1972)
Hillandale Waltzes [Hear it on Youtube]
Thème – Valse elegante – Valse passionée
Valse sombre –Valse volante – Valse triste
Valse de bonne humeur –Valse brillante et joyeuse
Valse oubilée
Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
Tonada y Cueca [Hear it on Youtube]
Louis Cahuzac (1880-1960)
Cantilène [Hear it on Youtube]
Maurice Saylor (b. 1957)
Romanza (from Comic Symphony)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
II. Lebhaft [Hear it on Youtube]
IV. Kleines Rondo, gemächlich [Hear it on Youtube]
James M. David (b. 1978)
Historias y Danzas [Hear a demo on Soundcloud]
II. En forma de Habañera
IV. En Forma de Tango (y Mambo)
PROGRAM NOTES [CLICK HERE for Program Notes (pdf)]
Including music for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, American composer Elliot Del Borgo (1938-2013) published over 600 compositions, which he described as reflecting "the aesthetics of 20th-century musical ideals through its eclectic nature and vigorous harmonic and rhythmic style." He taught instrumental music in the Philadelphia public schools and was professor of music at the Crane School of Music, and also was known internationally as a conductor.
In 1961, Russian-born Victor Babin (1908-1972) became Director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, but he first gained international fame performing with wife Vitya Vronsky as the husband half of Vronsky & Babin, which Newsweek called "the most brilliant two-piano team of our generation." Presenting variations on a theme by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), Babin’s Hillandale Waltzes were written in 1947 for Anne Archbold, an arts patron in Washington, D.C., whose estate was called “Hillandale.”
With music described as "lushly romantic," Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) was able to earn a living solely from the royalties and performance rights for his music. Among his 600+ works, Guastavino is best-known for his songs, some of which have been performed by international luminaries including Teresa Berganza, José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa; his complete works for piano, as well as samples of his guitar and chamber works also have been recorded. Composed in 1965, Guastavino's Tonada y Cueca ("Love Song and Cueca Dance") retains a favored place in the clarinetists' repertoire, amply demonstrated by the many performances available on Youtube!
Louis Cahuzac (1880-1960) was one of few 20th-century clarinetists who performed primarily as a soloist rather than as orchestral/ensemble player, and career highlights included making the firstever recording of Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, and (at age 76) recording Paul Hindemith's Clarinet Concerto with the composer conducting. As one might expect, Cahuzac wrote mostly for his own instrument. According to the notes for his complete works recording, Cahuzac’s birthregion of Southern France provided his inspiration, reflected in his Cantilène by its “radiant Mediterranean light," while its "echo-type effects suggest open, mountainous spaces."
Based in Washington, D.C., Maurice Saylor (b. 1957) describes his work as "tuneful and quirky scores" that "blur the boundaries of style and genre." The Romanza is a movement from his Comic Symphony for clarinet and piano, based on tunes from an abandoned 1991 musical on Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid). First recast as a symphonic work, for the final duo version Saylor elaborated and expanded the tunes to take advantage of the solo talents of clarinetist Ben Redwine. Retaining "symphony" in the title for the 2012 publication, Saylor explains that "it's the nature of the music that makes it a symphony and not the scoring."
Along with Stravinsky, Bartók and Schoenberg, German composer, violist, teacher, and music theorist Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) is often cited by musicologists as a central figure in music of the first half of the 20th Century. Although performances of his music have become relatively rare, his Clarinet Sonata (1939) provides an ever-popular exception. A staple on recitals and recordings, it easily qualifies as one of Hindemith's "greatest hits."
James M. David (b. 1978) is associate professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University. He has won multiple awards for his music, which has been performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and recorded for the Naxos, Albany, Summit, Luminescence and MSR Classics labels. David describes his 4-movement Historias y Danzas (2014) as "incorporating elements of Afro-Latin dance music, along with contemporary techniques and virtuosity." He adds that "En forma de Habeñera is based on the beautiful vocalise by Ravel and features a particularly melismatic clarinet part against an uncharacteristically wavering ostinato," while "En Forma de Tango (y Mambo) was meant to be an unfiltered homage to the great tradition of tango, but my love of mambo rhythms could not be entirely suppressed!"
March 13, 2016 @ 3 p.m.
JPL Program Calendar
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Vera Watson, Faculty Coordinator
PROGRAM NOTES (PDF)
Janine Albrecht
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1
I. Allegro
Shoshana Howard
KUHLAU: Sonatina in C Major, Op. 55 No. 3
I.Allegro con spirito
Kara Straight
HAYDN: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 10
I. Moderato
Bethany Roberts
MOZART: Sonata in B-flat, K.333.
I. Allegro
Andrew Urso
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in G, Op. 14 No. 2
I. Allegro
Gabrielle McGrath
LINN: Nocturne d’Esprit
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts is a Duval County Public School for students grades 9 through 12 with a desire for intensive study in the arts. Established as an arts school in 1985, the school attracts students from all parts of North Florida and South Georgia who have talent in dance, instrumental or vocal music, performance or technical theater, film and video production, creative writing, and visual arts. A high academic standard, coupled with broad arts curriculum, offers students an opportunity to excel in a chosen discipline while preparing them for post-secondary education.
Douglas Anderson's Piano Program
In 2000 DA’s Piano program was recognized as the best music program in Northeast Florida and was awarded the Jacksonville Symphony Association’s Harmony Grant. The Piano Department offers serious young pianists a unique opportunity to be in an intensive and varied program and to work with internationally acclaimed guest artists.
Vera Watson has been Chair of the Piano Department at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts since 1999. She holds National Certification in piano from the Music Teachers National Association and a Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate. Under her leadership the DA piano program was recognized as the best music program in Northeast Florida by the Jacksonville Symphony Guild in 2001, for which Douglas Anderson received the Harmony Grant. In 2003, Ms. Watson received the Surdna Foundation Grant in New York City, in recognition of her achievements among the best arts teachers in the United States. In 2010, Friday Musicale presented Vera Watson with the Carolyn Day Pfohl Music Educator Award for Outstanding Achievements. She is especially proud of her many students who have been accepted into prestigious music conservatories, and have become successful artists.
PROGRAM NOTES Under Construction
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1 ; Sonata in G, Op. 14 No. 2
The Transcendent German-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) began his compositional career essentially imitating the styles and forms he inherited from Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and W.A Mozart (1756-1791), but during his "middle" period (ca. 1803-1815) Beethoven expanded and personalized this inheritance, creating works that have come to represent the culmination of the Classical style in much the same way that the works of J.S. Bach (1685-1750) represent the culmination of the Baroque. During Beethoven's "late" period (ca. 1815-1827), he discovered new paths toward still more personal, even intimate, musical expression, and, despite the gradual and eventually total degeneration of his hearing, he forged the way beyond the Classical tradition into the Romantic.
KUHLAU: Sonatina in C Major, Op. 55 No. 3
German-born Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832) was known primarily as a concert pianist and composer of Danish opera, but he wrote music in virtually every genre. His compositional catalog includes almost 200 published works - impressive in itself, but who knows how many more works were lost when his house burned down?
HAYDN: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 10
Genial Austrian composer (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is the musician most credited with establishing the “Classical” style that his two younger contemporaries Mozart and Beethoven built upon, and by the time of his death "Papa" Haydn had become the most widely celebrated composer in Europe. Haydn started out as a choirboy and never developed into a keyboard virtuoso, so his 52-62 keyboard sonatas (depending on who's counting) were mostly composed in the early part of his career for the instruction and amusement of his noble patrons.
MOZART: Sonata in B-flat, K.333.
Austrian-born Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), unquestionably one of the greatest composers in history, began his career touring Europe as a 6-year-old piano prodigy, and he absorbed and mastered all the contemporary musical trends he was exposed to along the way. Mozart wrote 22 operas, including, The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790), and The Magic Flute (1791), as well as 40 symphonies (“No. 37” is by Michael Haydn, but with a new introduction by Mozart), 27 concertos, chamber music, sonatas, and choral pieces, numbering over 600 works all together.
LINN: Nocturne d’Esprit
American composer, pianist and educator Jennifer Linn is also very active in music publishing, with concurrent positions at Hal Leonard Corporation and G.W. Schirmer. Ms. Linn has taught for more than 25 years, including as visiting lecturer in piano pedagogy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has presented recitals, workshops and master classes throughout the United States and Canada. Many of her compositions have been selected for the National Federation of Music Clubs festival list and the London College of Music repertoire list and are frequently recommended in reviews by Clavier and American Music Teacher magazines.
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Piano Students
PROGRAM NOTES (PDF)
Janine Albrecht
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1
I. Allegro
Shoshana Howard
KUHLAU: Sonatina in C Major, Op. 55 No. 3
I.Allegro con spirito
Kara Straight
HAYDN: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 10
I. Moderato
Bethany Roberts
MOZART: Sonata in B-flat, K.333.
I. Allegro
Andrew Urso
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in G, Op. 14 No. 2
I. Allegro
Gabrielle McGrath
LINN: Nocturne d’Esprit
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts is a Duval County Public School for students grades 9 through 12 with a desire for intensive study in the arts. Established as an arts school in 1985, the school attracts students from all parts of North Florida and South Georgia who have talent in dance, instrumental or vocal music, performance or technical theater, film and video production, creative writing, and visual arts. A high academic standard, coupled with broad arts curriculum, offers students an opportunity to excel in a chosen discipline while preparing them for post-secondary education.
Douglas Anderson's Piano Program
In 2000 DA’s Piano program was recognized as the best music program in Northeast Florida and was awarded the Jacksonville Symphony Association’s Harmony Grant. The Piano Department offers serious young pianists a unique opportunity to be in an intensive and varied program and to work with internationally acclaimed guest artists.
Vera Watson has been Chair of the Piano Department at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts since 1999. She holds National Certification in piano from the Music Teachers National Association and a Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate. Under her leadership the DA piano program was recognized as the best music program in Northeast Florida by the Jacksonville Symphony Guild in 2001, for which Douglas Anderson received the Harmony Grant. In 2003, Ms. Watson received the Surdna Foundation Grant in New York City, in recognition of her achievements among the best arts teachers in the United States. In 2010, Friday Musicale presented Vera Watson with the Carolyn Day Pfohl Music Educator Award for Outstanding Achievements. She is especially proud of her many students who have been accepted into prestigious music conservatories, and have become successful artists.
PROGRAM NOTES Under Construction
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1 ; Sonata in G, Op. 14 No. 2
The Transcendent German-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) began his compositional career essentially imitating the styles and forms he inherited from Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and W.A Mozart (1756-1791), but during his "middle" period (ca. 1803-1815) Beethoven expanded and personalized this inheritance, creating works that have come to represent the culmination of the Classical style in much the same way that the works of J.S. Bach (1685-1750) represent the culmination of the Baroque. During Beethoven's "late" period (ca. 1815-1827), he discovered new paths toward still more personal, even intimate, musical expression, and, despite the gradual and eventually total degeneration of his hearing, he forged the way beyond the Classical tradition into the Romantic.
KUHLAU: Sonatina in C Major, Op. 55 No. 3
German-born Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832) was known primarily as a concert pianist and composer of Danish opera, but he wrote music in virtually every genre. His compositional catalog includes almost 200 published works - impressive in itself, but who knows how many more works were lost when his house burned down?
HAYDN: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 10
Genial Austrian composer (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is the musician most credited with establishing the “Classical” style that his two younger contemporaries Mozart and Beethoven built upon, and by the time of his death "Papa" Haydn had become the most widely celebrated composer in Europe. Haydn started out as a choirboy and never developed into a keyboard virtuoso, so his 52-62 keyboard sonatas (depending on who's counting) were mostly composed in the early part of his career for the instruction and amusement of his noble patrons.
MOZART: Sonata in B-flat, K.333.
Austrian-born Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), unquestionably one of the greatest composers in history, began his career touring Europe as a 6-year-old piano prodigy, and he absorbed and mastered all the contemporary musical trends he was exposed to along the way. Mozart wrote 22 operas, including, The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790), and The Magic Flute (1791), as well as 40 symphonies (“No. 37” is by Michael Haydn, but with a new introduction by Mozart), 27 concertos, chamber music, sonatas, and choral pieces, numbering over 600 works all together.
LINN: Nocturne d’Esprit
American composer, pianist and educator Jennifer Linn is also very active in music publishing, with concurrent positions at Hal Leonard Corporation and G.W. Schirmer. Ms. Linn has taught for more than 25 years, including as visiting lecturer in piano pedagogy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has presented recitals, workshops and master classes throughout the United States and Canada. Many of her compositions have been selected for the National Federation of Music Clubs festival list and the London College of Music repertoire list and are frequently recommended in reviews by Clavier and American Music Teacher magazines.
February 14, 2016
JPL Program Calendar
With Dr. Bill Prince, Bob Gauger, Bonita Wyke, Dennis Hunsicker, Glynda Newton and Pat Brown
Although Cliff Newton retired from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra after 32 years as Principal Trumpet, in addition to teaching he maintains a busy and varied performance schedule that out-paces what most college freshmen could handle. Formerly a member of the NORAD Band in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he currently is Acting Principal Trumpet for the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and performs as soloist with the Belle Fleur String Quartet and the Palm Court Society Orchestra. He also is co-founder and an active member and of the Ancient City Brass Band, as well as of The One Step Ahead of the Law Brass Band (Edelweiss Piraten), a polka/oompah ensemble. A native of Central Florida, Cliff began studying trumpet at age 12 and received Bachelor degrees in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of South Florida. He later earned a Master's degree in Trumpet Performance with an emphasis on college-level teaching from the University of Northern Colorado. Mr. Newton has been an instructor of trumpet at the Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada, as well as at Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida, and currently teaches through the North Florida Conservatory. An aficionado of early jazz, Argentine tango and American Civil War era brass band music in addition to classical, Cliff and his wife, J-Sym violinist Glynda Newton, have provided live music for both private and public functions since 1978 through their company, Newton Musical.
Dr. Bill Prince, professor emeritus from the University of North Florida, has been able to maintain two career paths, one as a performer and the other as a teacher. As a performer he has recorded on over 70 albums and has worked with a wide range of luminaries from the big bands of Buddy Rich, Harry James and Les Brown, vocalists Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, jazz legends Dave Brubeck and Billy Taylor to the orchestral sounds of Henry Mancini, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw National Philharmonic. On the teaching side Bill has taught at five universities in three countries and has guest lectured on over 70 campuses. Music has taken Bill to all 50 states and to 81 countries.
Bob Gauger started playing trombone when he was ten years old, and has since performed in numerous professional orchestras and bands. He is a founding member of the Ancient City Brass, and when not performing is the chaplain at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Bonita Sonsini Wyke has been an active part of the Jacksonville music community since 1985, and in working with many of the First Coast's leading vocalists, instrumentalists and musical ensembles has earned the reputation as a musician of unsurpassed sensitivity, technical skill and artistry. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she has performed for over four decades as a collaborative pianist and harpsichordist with singers, choral groups, instrumental soloists, and orchestral and instrumental ensembles, and especially enjoys four-hand piano literature. She has been the music director for a wide variety of stage productions, including opera, musical theater and ballet. In addition to coaching seasoned performers, Ms. Sonsini Wyke has helped student musicians hone their craft at a number of area universities and music schools. While maintaining a busy recital schedule, Bonita also currently serves as Staff Choral Accompanist at Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Dennis Hunsicker began his musical career studying concert accordion at the Neupauer Conservatory of Music in Philadelphia. During this time he was a member of the PAO Orchestra in Philadelphia as well as a featured performer with the Allentown and Lancaster symphonies. After graduation he joined the US Navy CINCLANT (NATO) band where he toured the Eastern US, Spain, Italy, Greece and France. Dennis continues his eclectic musical interests and performs with a wide variety of musical groups including the River City Continentals, the renaissance band La Dolce Vita, the Palm Court Society Orchestra, One Step Ahead of the Law Brass Band and Bella Voce Cabaret. He also teaches, and has performed several seasons with the Amelia Island Music Festival, the “Georgia Artists in the Schools" program, and the Madison Georgia Chamber Music Festival.
It seems only natural that Glynda Newton took up the violin, as she explains: “My mother and grandmother were violinists. Grandmother Glynda, my namesake, was a soloist with radio orchestras & social orchestras in the 20’s and 30’s from New York to Miami.” Glynda has been a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1978, the same year she co-founded Newton Musical with her husband, Cliff. She also performs with the Palm Court Society Orchestra, which she and Cliff founded in 2000, as well as with the Belle Fleur String Quartet.
Percussionist Thomas P. "Pat" Brown is an Instructor at Edward Waters College, and previously has taught at Mississippi Valley State University, Prairie View A&M University, Bethune-Cookman University, Paul Quinn College and Florida State College-Jacksonville. In addition to directing middle and high school bands in Florida and Illinois, Mr. Brown was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Daytona Beach Seaside Theatre, Daytona Beach Children’s Music Theatre and the Clay County Community Band, and has been a guest performer with the Jacksonville University Orchestra.
PROGRAM NOTES (under construction)
Along with Stravinsky, Bartók and Schoenberg, German composer, violist, teacher, and music theorist Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) is often cited by musicologists as a central figure in music of the first half of the 20th Century. Although some of his first works approached the expressionistic atonality of early Schoenberg, Hindemith’s mature style, while still highly chromatic, is decidedly tonal, and builds on the Teutonic musical heritage that runs from the Bach family through Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Reger. Mit Kraft ("With Strength) is the first movement of Sonata in B-flat for Trumpet and Piano, Hindemith's favorite among several duo sonatas he composed in 1939, which he referred to as "maybe the best thing I have succeeded in doing in recent times."
In 2002, the Russian journal Музыкальное Обозрение ("Musical Review") named Mikhail Bronner (b. 1952) it's composer of the year, by which time Bronner had already served as Secretary of the Russian Union of Composers for two years. His impressive catalog includes over 200 works ranging from intimate songs and chamber music to large-scale choral and orchestral works, with six operas and three ballets in the mix. Bronner's preference for theatrical works colors much of his concert music, reflected in the changing moods of And tomorrow will be better than yesterday... . The popular trio for trumpet, alto saxophone and piano dates from 2003, and is sometimes performed with chamber orchestra accompaniment.
A native of Pennsylvania and longtime resident of Lakeland, Florida, Howard J. Buss (b.1951) has over 160 published compositions. Works by the multi-award-winning composer have been performed in over four dozen countries, and include instrumental solos and chamber music, as well as symphonic, choral and band works. Composed in 2001, Evening Shadows is the first of two movements for trumpet, trombone and piano comprising Contrasts in Blue, and demonstrates an affinity with the evocative music of French Impressionism colored by the soulful longing of American blues.
Among his over 500 works, American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) is best known for the early pieces that reflect his Armenian heritage, but his evolving, highly original style eventually incorporated influences from a wide variety of ethnic music from around the world, especially from India and the Far East. He was among the first composers to include aleatoric or “chance” passages in some of his works, and he has been credited with anticipating both the minimalist techniques of composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and the mysticism of John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, and Henryk Gorécki. Composed in 1948, Haroutiun ("Resurrection," op. 71) is an aria and fugue originally for trumpet and string orchestra.
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is one of few composers of the former Soviet Union to sustain a large following in the West, and he remains among the most frequently performed and recorded of 20th-Century composers. But during his lifetime his music was periodically banned by Stalinist authorities for being intellectually elite, while also denigrated by the West’s musical avant-garde, ironically for not being cerebral enough. Shostakovich wrote music for more than 30 films, including The Gadfly (1955). The movie details the exploits of a 19th-century Russian swashbuckler living in Italy, so to reinforce the period setting Shostakovich abandoned his "modern" style in favor of mimicking Romantic composers. Originally for violin and orchestra, the ever-popular Romance is described as "unashamedly inspired by French composer Jules Massenet’s soulful Méditation from the opera Thaïs."
On the heels of a brief stint with the French embassy in Brazil from 1917-1919, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) rose to fame as one of Les Six young Parisian composers grouped together ostensibly against the "excesses" of French Impressionism and late German Romanticism, even though, as Milhaud himself observed, their "temperaments and personalities weren't at all the same." Roughly translated as "Longing for Brazil," Saudades do Brasil, Op. 67 was composed in 1920, shortly after Milhaud's return to France. His original version includes twelve tangos and sambas for solo piano bearing the names of various neighborhoods around Rio de Janeiro. It remains one of his most popular works and provides an early example of polytonality, in which multiple keys are sounded simultaneously. Milhaud added the brief Overture when he transcribed the suite for orchestra.
With a career spanning more than five decades, the charismatic Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong (1901-1971) is a central figure in the history of American music. Rising above the poverty of his early childhood in the streets of the New Orleans "Storyville" district, a 13-year-old Armstrong already was a band leader and had begun to attract attention for his artistry on the cornet. Moving between Chicago and New York during the 1920s, he inspired many of eras leading jazz musicians with his ground-breaking trumpet and vocal improvisations. His unique style helped define "The Jazz Age" and has influenced successive generations of jazz, pop and rock musicians. Armstrong ventured to Hollywood in 1930, appearing in his first movie the following year, and later became a favorite guest in American households via numerous television appearances. In 1964, his Grammy-winning recording of Hello Dolly! knocked The Beatles off the top of the pop chart, making Armstrong the oldest musician (at 62) to reach the "No. 1" spot. Armstrong reported that his 1947 ballad, Someday (You’ll Be Sorry), came to him in a dream while he and his fourth (and final) wife Lucille were "... in North Dakota or South Dakota, or somewhere. It was cold and this thing kept runnin’ ‘cross my mind, like dreamin’ a musical comedy. And this Someday was the theme of this show." (He also mentioned that it was about his third wife, Alpha!)
Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) pretty much single-handedly reinvented the tango. Born in Argentina, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood in New York, where he developed a fondness for jazz and classical music. His father taught him to play the bandoneón, a concertina common to Argentine tango ensembles, and when he returned to Buenos Aires in 1937 he played with some of the leading bands. He also began composition studies with Alberto Ginastera, and won a grant to study in Paris with legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger in 1953. Upon hearing music Piazzolla wrote for his cabaret band, Boulanger convinced him to concentrate on his unique style instead of writing second-hand Bartok, Stravinsky and Ravel. Returning to Argentina in 1955, Piazzolla infused the traditional national dance with characteristics of jazz and formal elements from his classical studies. Although his nuevo tango style was met with resistance in his homeland, it captivated Europeans and North Americans and his international career blossomed. It is estimated that he composed over 3,000 pieces, and recorded about 500 of them himself! First published in 1960, the moody Buenos Aires hora cero (literally "Buenos Aires Zero Hour") must have been among the composer's personal favorites. Piazzolla referenced it for the title of his 1986 album, Tango: Zero Hour--cited by the composer as his best recording--even though the the early piece wasn't even on it.
Cliff Newton, trumpet & Friends
- PROGRAM SELECTIONS
- Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Trumpet & Piano. I. Mit Kraft ("With Strength)
- Mikhail Bronner: “And tomorrow will be better than yesterday..." [on YouTube]
- Howard J. Buss: Evening Shadows (from Contrasts in Blue)
- Alan Hovhaness: Haroutiun ("Resurrection"), op. 71
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Romance (from The Gadfly)
- Darius Milhaud: Saudades do Brazil, op. 67
- Overture
- Sorocaba
- Leme
- Copacabana
- Sumare
- Corcovado
- Louis Armstrong: Someday (You’ll Be Sorry)
- Astor Piazzolla: Buenos Aires Hora Cero ("Buenos Aires at Midnight")
Although Cliff Newton retired from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra after 32 years as Principal Trumpet, in addition to teaching he maintains a busy and varied performance schedule that out-paces what most college freshmen could handle. Formerly a member of the NORAD Band in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he currently is Acting Principal Trumpet for the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and performs as soloist with the Belle Fleur String Quartet and the Palm Court Society Orchestra. He also is co-founder and an active member and of the Ancient City Brass Band, as well as of The One Step Ahead of the Law Brass Band (Edelweiss Piraten), a polka/oompah ensemble. A native of Central Florida, Cliff began studying trumpet at age 12 and received Bachelor degrees in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of South Florida. He later earned a Master's degree in Trumpet Performance with an emphasis on college-level teaching from the University of Northern Colorado. Mr. Newton has been an instructor of trumpet at the Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada, as well as at Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida, and currently teaches through the North Florida Conservatory. An aficionado of early jazz, Argentine tango and American Civil War era brass band music in addition to classical, Cliff and his wife, J-Sym violinist Glynda Newton, have provided live music for both private and public functions since 1978 through their company, Newton Musical.
Dr. Bill Prince, professor emeritus from the University of North Florida, has been able to maintain two career paths, one as a performer and the other as a teacher. As a performer he has recorded on over 70 albums and has worked with a wide range of luminaries from the big bands of Buddy Rich, Harry James and Les Brown, vocalists Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, jazz legends Dave Brubeck and Billy Taylor to the orchestral sounds of Henry Mancini, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw National Philharmonic. On the teaching side Bill has taught at five universities in three countries and has guest lectured on over 70 campuses. Music has taken Bill to all 50 states and to 81 countries.
Bob Gauger started playing trombone when he was ten years old, and has since performed in numerous professional orchestras and bands. He is a founding member of the Ancient City Brass, and when not performing is the chaplain at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Bonita Sonsini Wyke has been an active part of the Jacksonville music community since 1985, and in working with many of the First Coast's leading vocalists, instrumentalists and musical ensembles has earned the reputation as a musician of unsurpassed sensitivity, technical skill and artistry. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she has performed for over four decades as a collaborative pianist and harpsichordist with singers, choral groups, instrumental soloists, and orchestral and instrumental ensembles, and especially enjoys four-hand piano literature. She has been the music director for a wide variety of stage productions, including opera, musical theater and ballet. In addition to coaching seasoned performers, Ms. Sonsini Wyke has helped student musicians hone their craft at a number of area universities and music schools. While maintaining a busy recital schedule, Bonita also currently serves as Staff Choral Accompanist at Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Dennis Hunsicker began his musical career studying concert accordion at the Neupauer Conservatory of Music in Philadelphia. During this time he was a member of the PAO Orchestra in Philadelphia as well as a featured performer with the Allentown and Lancaster symphonies. After graduation he joined the US Navy CINCLANT (NATO) band where he toured the Eastern US, Spain, Italy, Greece and France. Dennis continues his eclectic musical interests and performs with a wide variety of musical groups including the River City Continentals, the renaissance band La Dolce Vita, the Palm Court Society Orchestra, One Step Ahead of the Law Brass Band and Bella Voce Cabaret. He also teaches, and has performed several seasons with the Amelia Island Music Festival, the “Georgia Artists in the Schools" program, and the Madison Georgia Chamber Music Festival.
It seems only natural that Glynda Newton took up the violin, as she explains: “My mother and grandmother were violinists. Grandmother Glynda, my namesake, was a soloist with radio orchestras & social orchestras in the 20’s and 30’s from New York to Miami.” Glynda has been a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1978, the same year she co-founded Newton Musical with her husband, Cliff. She also performs with the Palm Court Society Orchestra, which she and Cliff founded in 2000, as well as with the Belle Fleur String Quartet.
Percussionist Thomas P. "Pat" Brown is an Instructor at Edward Waters College, and previously has taught at Mississippi Valley State University, Prairie View A&M University, Bethune-Cookman University, Paul Quinn College and Florida State College-Jacksonville. In addition to directing middle and high school bands in Florida and Illinois, Mr. Brown was a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Daytona Beach Seaside Theatre, Daytona Beach Children’s Music Theatre and the Clay County Community Band, and has been a guest performer with the Jacksonville University Orchestra.
PROGRAM NOTES (under construction)
Along with Stravinsky, Bartók and Schoenberg, German composer, violist, teacher, and music theorist Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) is often cited by musicologists as a central figure in music of the first half of the 20th Century. Although some of his first works approached the expressionistic atonality of early Schoenberg, Hindemith’s mature style, while still highly chromatic, is decidedly tonal, and builds on the Teutonic musical heritage that runs from the Bach family through Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Reger. Mit Kraft ("With Strength) is the first movement of Sonata in B-flat for Trumpet and Piano, Hindemith's favorite among several duo sonatas he composed in 1939, which he referred to as "maybe the best thing I have succeeded in doing in recent times."
In 2002, the Russian journal Музыкальное Обозрение ("Musical Review") named Mikhail Bronner (b. 1952) it's composer of the year, by which time Bronner had already served as Secretary of the Russian Union of Composers for two years. His impressive catalog includes over 200 works ranging from intimate songs and chamber music to large-scale choral and orchestral works, with six operas and three ballets in the mix. Bronner's preference for theatrical works colors much of his concert music, reflected in the changing moods of And tomorrow will be better than yesterday... . The popular trio for trumpet, alto saxophone and piano dates from 2003, and is sometimes performed with chamber orchestra accompaniment.
A native of Pennsylvania and longtime resident of Lakeland, Florida, Howard J. Buss (b.1951) has over 160 published compositions. Works by the multi-award-winning composer have been performed in over four dozen countries, and include instrumental solos and chamber music, as well as symphonic, choral and band works. Composed in 2001, Evening Shadows is the first of two movements for trumpet, trombone and piano comprising Contrasts in Blue, and demonstrates an affinity with the evocative music of French Impressionism colored by the soulful longing of American blues.
Among his over 500 works, American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) is best known for the early pieces that reflect his Armenian heritage, but his evolving, highly original style eventually incorporated influences from a wide variety of ethnic music from around the world, especially from India and the Far East. He was among the first composers to include aleatoric or “chance” passages in some of his works, and he has been credited with anticipating both the minimalist techniques of composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and the mysticism of John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, and Henryk Gorécki. Composed in 1948, Haroutiun ("Resurrection," op. 71) is an aria and fugue originally for trumpet and string orchestra.
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is one of few composers of the former Soviet Union to sustain a large following in the West, and he remains among the most frequently performed and recorded of 20th-Century composers. But during his lifetime his music was periodically banned by Stalinist authorities for being intellectually elite, while also denigrated by the West’s musical avant-garde, ironically for not being cerebral enough. Shostakovich wrote music for more than 30 films, including The Gadfly (1955). The movie details the exploits of a 19th-century Russian swashbuckler living in Italy, so to reinforce the period setting Shostakovich abandoned his "modern" style in favor of mimicking Romantic composers. Originally for violin and orchestra, the ever-popular Romance is described as "unashamedly inspired by French composer Jules Massenet’s soulful Méditation from the opera Thaïs."
On the heels of a brief stint with the French embassy in Brazil from 1917-1919, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) rose to fame as one of Les Six young Parisian composers grouped together ostensibly against the "excesses" of French Impressionism and late German Romanticism, even though, as Milhaud himself observed, their "temperaments and personalities weren't at all the same." Roughly translated as "Longing for Brazil," Saudades do Brasil, Op. 67 was composed in 1920, shortly after Milhaud's return to France. His original version includes twelve tangos and sambas for solo piano bearing the names of various neighborhoods around Rio de Janeiro. It remains one of his most popular works and provides an early example of polytonality, in which multiple keys are sounded simultaneously. Milhaud added the brief Overture when he transcribed the suite for orchestra.
With a career spanning more than five decades, the charismatic Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong (1901-1971) is a central figure in the history of American music. Rising above the poverty of his early childhood in the streets of the New Orleans "Storyville" district, a 13-year-old Armstrong already was a band leader and had begun to attract attention for his artistry on the cornet. Moving between Chicago and New York during the 1920s, he inspired many of eras leading jazz musicians with his ground-breaking trumpet and vocal improvisations. His unique style helped define "The Jazz Age" and has influenced successive generations of jazz, pop and rock musicians. Armstrong ventured to Hollywood in 1930, appearing in his first movie the following year, and later became a favorite guest in American households via numerous television appearances. In 1964, his Grammy-winning recording of Hello Dolly! knocked The Beatles off the top of the pop chart, making Armstrong the oldest musician (at 62) to reach the "No. 1" spot. Armstrong reported that his 1947 ballad, Someday (You’ll Be Sorry), came to him in a dream while he and his fourth (and final) wife Lucille were "... in North Dakota or South Dakota, or somewhere. It was cold and this thing kept runnin’ ‘cross my mind, like dreamin’ a musical comedy. And this Someday was the theme of this show." (He also mentioned that it was about his third wife, Alpha!)
Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992) pretty much single-handedly reinvented the tango. Born in Argentina, Piazzolla spent most of his childhood in New York, where he developed a fondness for jazz and classical music. His father taught him to play the bandoneón, a concertina common to Argentine tango ensembles, and when he returned to Buenos Aires in 1937 he played with some of the leading bands. He also began composition studies with Alberto Ginastera, and won a grant to study in Paris with legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger in 1953. Upon hearing music Piazzolla wrote for his cabaret band, Boulanger convinced him to concentrate on his unique style instead of writing second-hand Bartok, Stravinsky and Ravel. Returning to Argentina in 1955, Piazzolla infused the traditional national dance with characteristics of jazz and formal elements from his classical studies. Although his nuevo tango style was met with resistance in his homeland, it captivated Europeans and North Americans and his international career blossomed. It is estimated that he composed over 3,000 pieces, and recorded about 500 of them himself! First published in 1960, the moody Buenos Aires hora cero (literally "Buenos Aires Zero Hour") must have been among the composer's personal favorites. Piazzolla referenced it for the title of his 1986 album, Tango: Zero Hour--cited by the composer as his best recording--even though the the early piece wasn't even on it.
January 10, 2016
JPL Program Calendar
The Vivace Trio
Carolyn Snyder-Menke, soprano & flute
Gia Sastre, flute
Denise Wright, piano
PROGRAM GUIDE (PDF cover)
PROGRAM NOTES (PDF insert)
An accomplished flutist and singer, Carolyn Snyder Menke has an A.A. in Music from College of Marin in Kentfield, California and a B.M.E. with a concentration in flute from Indiana University; she later studied privately with Peter Lloyd, principal flute with the London Symphony Orchestra. Among her voice teachers and coaches, Ms. Snyder Menke sang in a masterclass in Oberlin’s Italy program taught by internationally-renowned soprano Elly Ameling, who called Carolyn's performance “perfection!” Among her opera roles, Carolyn has appeared with Atlanta’s Harrower Summer Opera Workshop as "Susannah" (Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro), "The Foreign Woman" (Menotti's The Consul), and "Irma" (Charpentier’s Louise). She won the Thomas Scott Award in Marin County, 2nd place in the NATS competition, and was a quarter-finalist in Savannah Georgia’s American Traditions Competition for Singers. In addition to the Vivace Trio, Carolyn has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Arabesque flute trio, the Marin County Woodwind Quintet and the Arioso Flute Quartet. She has performed for Body and Soul, the Art of Healing since 2001, and also does freelance work.
Acclaimed flutist Gia Sastre hails from Miami, Fla. and holds an M.M from DePaul University in Chicago, a B.M. from FSU, and pursued a resident course of study in Great Britain with Paul Edmund-Davies, principal flutist of the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to numerous solo engagements, Ms. Sastre performed with a variety of ensembles in Chicago, and received the Farwell Award from the Musicians Club of Women. In 2009, Ms. Sastre returned to Florida where local performances have included Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for Jacksonville Public Library, and solo and chamber concerts with the Chamber Music Society of Good Shepherd, Riverside Fine Arts Series, Friday Musicale, Music @ Main, Riverside Presbyterian's Wednesday Happenings and the Advent Series of the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville; she also has performed with the Coastal Symphony of Georgia and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Gia works with dedicated and talented students of all ages, serves as member and adjudicator for the Florida Flute Association, and is a founding member of Jax Flutes. Beginning this fall she is teaching applied secondary flute at the University of North Florida, and previously served as flute faculty for the DePaul University Community Music Program in Chicago. Her debut recording, Abellimento, is a collection of flute and harp classics available on Pandora Radio and through online retailers.
Among the First Coast's most sought-after collaborative pianists, Jacksonville native Denise Wright received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama) and her Master of Music in Piano Performance from Indiana University (Bloomington). She performed many times as a soloist with the orchestras at both universities, as well as in numerous solo and collaborative concerts with a variety of instrumental and vocal soloists and ensembles, including a tour of Europe with Samford's Baptist Festival Singers. She was a Professor of Piano at Bethel College (Mishawaka, Indiana), and was a collaborative pianist at both Indiana University and at St. Mary’s College (Notre Dame, Indiana). Returning to Jacksonville in 1991, Ms. Wright assumed the position of pianist at First Baptist Church, and has served as collaborative pianist at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts since 2004. She joined the staff of the University of North Florida in 2007, working with several voice studios as well as with the UNF Opera Ensemble. In the summers of 2010-2012, Denise had the opportunity to perform with the Opera Ensemble as part of the European Music Academy in the Czech Republic, and in the historical Mozart Estates Theater in Prague.
The music of British flutist and composer Ian Clarke (b.1964) has been performed across five continents and is a favorite of both professional and student musicians. As a soloist and teacher Clarke has appeared at major conventions and events in Canada, Italy, Brazil, France, Iceland, Slovenia, Hungary, Netherlands and numerous times for the British Flute Society and for the National Flute Association in the USA. He completed Maya in 2000, basing the work for two flutes and piano on an earlier piece called Passage (1986). The composer says the title "maya" is a reference to the Sanskrit word for "illusion" rather than to the Mesoamerican civilization.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a quintessentially French composer, pianist and music critic. His own revolutionary music ushered in many of the stylistic changes of the 20th Century, starting with his most famous orchestral work, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894). A decade earlier Debussy had won the Paris Conservatory's top composition award, the Grand Prix de Rome. He didn't enjoy much about his three-year stay in Italy, except for the folk music. Inspired by the southern Italian tarantella, Debussy's lively Danse was originally titled Tarentelle styrienne when first published in 1891, but he renamed it when he issued this slightly revised version in 1903.
French composer Léo Delibes (1836-1891) began his professional life at the Théâtre Lyrique before moving up to the more prestigious Paris Opéra, and he enjoyed a long string of successes at first composing light-hearted operettas. Delibes wrote over two dozen works for the stage, the best-known of which are the ballet Coppelia (1870) and the opera Lakmé (1883), from which Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs (the Flower Duet) is universally known, thanks to British Airways using it in commercials since 1989.
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was a composer, organist, pianist and teacher, and he is widely regarded as the foremost French composer of his generation. Although Fauré greatly admired Wagner he remained relatively free of Wagner’s highly-colored influence, and instead led his own harmonic revolution by treating chords with added 7ths and 9ths as consonant and by introducing modal inflections into an essentially diatonic framework; in the process he successfully bridged the styles of Saint-Saëns (his teacher) and Ravel (his student). Berceuse ("Lullaby") is the first of six pieces in Fauré's Dolly Suite, op. 56 (1893-96), written for his daughter. Originally for piano four-hands, the popular Berceuse has been arranged for orchestra and several chamber music combinations.
In 1919 at age forty, the French flutist, conductor and composer Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941) became one of the most prominent musicians in France by earning three important appointments almost simultaneously: Professor of Flute at the Conservatoire de Paris, and Principal Conductor of both the Paris Opéra and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Gaubert composed a wide variety of instrumental, orchestral and vocal music, plus two operas. As one might expect, many of his most effective compositions feature his own instrument, including Divertissement grec for 2 flutes and harp or piano, first published in 1908.
Early in his career Florida native Edward Lein appeared throughout his home state as tenor soloist, and the majority of his early compositions are vocal and choral works. Following a performance of Meditation (2006) by the Jacksonville Symphony, his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players, who also performed In the Bleak Midwinter (2007) in an orchestral version arranged from the original song setting of Christina Rossetti's poem featured today. Representing spring in the four Calendar Songs, I Meant to do My Work Today (2013) provides music for Richard Le Gallienne's famous children's poem; this is its first-ever performance!
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is recognized as Denmark's greatest composer, but his international reputation wasn't secured until the 1960s when recordings of his orchestral music became widely available. Although a violinist himself, his music for wind instruments is among his most popular, including a wind quintet, a concerto for flute, and one for clarinet. The Fog Is Lifting is from Nielsen's incidental music for Moderen ("The Mother"), Op. 41; the allegorical play by Helge Rode celebrates the reunification of Southern Jutland with Denmark. Originally for flute and harp, the movement depicts a mother taking leave of her son, observed by the King through the rising mist.
The music of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) is among the most-frequently performed and recorded of any composer. The Frenchman wrote his magically evocative Shéhérazade in 1903, setting three poems by his friend Tristan Klingsor (pseudonym of Léon Leclère, 1874-1966), first for high voice and piano, with an orchestral version soon following. The cycle's second song, La flûte enchantée, is a straightforward depiction of romantic yearning as it relates how lovers, separated by constraints of servitude, discover that they can still form an immediate connection through music.
By the age of three, the French composer and keyboard virtuoso Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) could read and write and had penned his first piano piece; by seven he had mastered Latin; and by ten he could perform from memory all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas upon request. An expert mathematician and a successful playwright, he published poetry, scholarly works in acoustics and philosophy, and popular travelogues. Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was perhaps Saint-Saëns' favorite poet, and the composer wrote two settings of the pastoral Viens! une flûte invisible, the first in 1855 as a duet for soprano and baritone with piano. The featured second version for voice, flute and piano dates from 1885, the year the poet died.
The Vivace Trio
Carolyn Snyder-Menke, soprano & flute
Gia Sastre, flute
Denise Wright, piano
PROGRAM GUIDE (PDF cover)
PROGRAM NOTES (PDF insert)
- PROGRAM SECTIONS
- Ian Clarke: Maya (2 flutes & piano)
- Claude Debussy: Danse (piano solo)
- Leo Delibes: Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs (Flower Duet) from Lakme (2 flutes & piano)
- Gabriel Faure: Berceuse from The Dolly Suite (2 flutes & piano)
- Phillipe Gaubert: Divertissement Grec (2 flutes & piano)
- Edward Lein: 2 Calendar songs (soprano & piano)
- Carl Nielsen: The Fog is Lifting (flute & piano)
- Maurice Ravel: La Flute Enchantee (from Sheherazade, soprano, flute, piano)
- Camille Saint-Saens: Une flûte invisible (soprano, flute, piano)
An accomplished flutist and singer, Carolyn Snyder Menke has an A.A. in Music from College of Marin in Kentfield, California and a B.M.E. with a concentration in flute from Indiana University; she later studied privately with Peter Lloyd, principal flute with the London Symphony Orchestra. Among her voice teachers and coaches, Ms. Snyder Menke sang in a masterclass in Oberlin’s Italy program taught by internationally-renowned soprano Elly Ameling, who called Carolyn's performance “perfection!” Among her opera roles, Carolyn has appeared with Atlanta’s Harrower Summer Opera Workshop as "Susannah" (Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro), "The Foreign Woman" (Menotti's The Consul), and "Irma" (Charpentier’s Louise). She won the Thomas Scott Award in Marin County, 2nd place in the NATS competition, and was a quarter-finalist in Savannah Georgia’s American Traditions Competition for Singers. In addition to the Vivace Trio, Carolyn has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Arabesque flute trio, the Marin County Woodwind Quintet and the Arioso Flute Quartet. She has performed for Body and Soul, the Art of Healing since 2001, and also does freelance work. The music of British flutist and composer Ian Clarke (b.1964) has been performed across five continents and is a favorite of both professional and student musicians. As a soloist and teacher Clarke has appeared at major conventions and events in Canada, Italy, Brazil, France, Iceland, Slovenia, Hungary, Netherlands and numerous times for the British Flute Society and for the National Flute Association in the USA. He completed Maya in 2000, basing the work for two flutes and piano on an earlier piece called Passage (1986). The composer says the title "maya" is a reference to the Sanskrit word for "illusion" rather than to the Mesoamerican civilization.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a quintessentially French composer, pianist and music critic. His own revolutionary music ushered in many of the stylistic changes of the 20th Century, starting with his most famous orchestral work, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894). A decade earlier Debussy had won the Paris Conservatory's top composition award, the Grand Prix de Rome. He didn't enjoy much about his three-year stay in Italy, except for the folk music. Inspired by the southern Italian tarantella, Debussy's lively Danse was originally titled Tarentelle styrienne when first published in 1891, but he renamed it when he issued this slightly revised version in 1903.
French composer Léo Delibes (1836-1891) began his professional life at the Théâtre Lyrique before moving up to the more prestigious Paris Opéra, and he enjoyed a long string of successes at first composing light-hearted operettas. Delibes wrote over two dozen works for the stage, the best-known of which are the ballet Coppelia (1870) and the opera Lakmé (1883), from which Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs (the Flower Duet) is universally known, thanks to British Airways using it in commercials since 1989.
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was a composer, organist, pianist and teacher, and he is widely regarded as the foremost French composer of his generation. Although Fauré greatly admired Wagner he remained relatively free of Wagner’s highly-colored influence, and instead led his own harmonic revolution by treating chords with added 7ths and 9ths as consonant and by introducing modal inflections into an essentially diatonic framework; in the process he successfully bridged the styles of Saint-Saëns (his teacher) and Ravel (his student). Berceuse ("Lullaby") is the first of six pieces in Fauré's Dolly Suite, op. 56 (1893-96), written for his daughter. Originally for piano four-hands, the popular Berceuse has been arranged for orchestra and several chamber music combinations.
In 1919 at age forty, the French flutist, conductor and composer Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941) became one of the most prominent musicians in France by earning three important appointments almost simultaneously: Professor of Flute at the Conservatoire de Paris, and Principal Conductor of both the Paris Opéra and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Gaubert composed a wide variety of instrumental, orchestral and vocal music, plus two operas. As one might expect, many of his most effective compositions feature his own instrument, including Divertissement grec for 2 flutes and harp or piano, first published in 1908.
Early in his career Florida native Edward Lein appeared throughout his home state as tenor soloist, and the majority of his early compositions are vocal and choral works. Following a performance of Meditation (2006) by the Jacksonville Symphony, his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players, who also performed In the Bleak Midwinter (2007) in an orchestral version arranged from the original song setting of Christina Rossetti's poem featured today. Representing spring in the four Calendar Songs, I Meant to do My Work Today (2013) provides music for Richard Le Gallienne's famous children's poem; this is its first-ever performance!
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is recognized as Denmark's greatest composer, but his international reputation wasn't secured until the 1960s when recordings of his orchestral music became widely available. Although a violinist himself, his music for wind instruments is among his most popular, including a wind quintet, a concerto for flute, and one for clarinet. The Fog Is Lifting is from Nielsen's incidental music for Moderen ("The Mother"), Op. 41; the allegorical play by Helge Rode celebrates the reunification of Southern Jutland with Denmark. Originally for flute and harp, the movement depicts a mother taking leave of her son, observed by the King through the rising mist.
The music of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) is among the most-frequently performed and recorded of any composer. The Frenchman wrote his magically evocative Shéhérazade in 1903, setting three poems by his friend Tristan Klingsor (pseudonym of Léon Leclère, 1874-1966), first for high voice and piano, with an orchestral version soon following. The cycle's second song, La flûte enchantée, is a straightforward depiction of romantic yearning as it relates how lovers, separated by constraints of servitude, discover that they can still form an immediate connection through music.
By the age of three, the French composer and keyboard virtuoso Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) could read and write and had penned his first piano piece; by seven he had mastered Latin; and by ten he could perform from memory all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas upon request. An expert mathematician and a successful playwright, he published poetry, scholarly works in acoustics and philosophy, and popular travelogues. Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was perhaps Saint-Saëns' favorite poet, and the composer wrote two settings of the pastoral Viens! une flûte invisible, the first in 1855 as a duet for soprano and baritone with piano. The featured second version for voice, flute and piano dates from 1885, the year the poet died.
| Une flûte invisible, text by Victor Hugo | English translation, by E. Lein, ©2015-16 |
| Viens! - une flûte invisible Soupire dans les vergers. - La chanson la plus paisible Est la chanson des bergers. Le vent ride, sous l'yeuse, Le sombre miroir des eaux. - La chanson la plus joyeuse Est la chanson des oiseaux. Que nul soin ne te tourmente. Aimons-nous! aimons toujours! - La chanson la plus charmante Est la chanson des amours. | Come! An invisible flute Sighs through the woods. The most peaceful song Is the song of shepherds. Beneath the holly-oak a breeze ripples across the water's dark mirror. The happiest song Is the song of birds. Let not a care torment you. Let us love! forever love! The most enchanting song Is the song of love. |
December 13, 2015
JPL Program Calendar
Members
Dr. Bill Prince, professor emeritus at the University of North Florida has been able to maintain two career paths, one as a performer and the other as a teacher. As a performer he has recorded on over 70 albums and has worked with a wide range of luminaries from the big bands of Buddy Rich, Harry James and Les Brown, vocalists Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, jazz legends Dave Brubeck and Billy Taylor to the orchestral sounds of Henry Mancini, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw National Philharmonic. On the teaching side Bill has taught at five universities in three countries and has guest lectured on over 70 campuses. Music has taken Bill to all 50 states and to 81 countries.
William McNeiland was Principal Bass and Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony from 1970-1995, and Professor of Music at Jacksonville University, where he directed the orchestra. He was also orchestra director at Lee University in Tennessee for three years. He is currently Music Director of the St. Augustine Orchestra.
Jeff Keller currently serves as Tuba Instrumentalist and Low Brass Section Leader with the United States Navy Band Southeast in Jacksonville, FL. He has toured nationally as a soloist and clinician while maintaining a very active private lesson studio. He has also been associated with the Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Lexington Brass Band, Saxton’s Cornet Band, Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, and is a founding member of The Blue Ribbon Tuba Quartet. He and his wife Liz currently reside in St. Johns, FL with their two children, Maddie and Charley.
Susan McGee has been playing the French horn professionally for 34 years. For the past 19 years, she has been a member of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Brevard Symphony Brass Quintet. Susan was a member of the Southwest Florida Symphony and the Sarasota Symphony and has performed with numerous other groups throughout Florida. She is also the handbell choir director at Memorial Presbyterian Church of St. Augustine.
Bob Gauger started playing trombone at the age of ten, and since then has played in numerous professional orchestras and bands. He is a founding member of the Ancient City Brass, and is the chaplain at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Cliff Newton is probably the greatest professional musician to come from St. Cloud, Florida. In fact, he is probably the only professional musician to come from St. Cloud, Florida. Like many professional musicians, Cliff began his musical study in a public school band. Growing up in tiny St. Cloud, where few people could aspire toward a musical career, his early motivation was simply the enjoyment of music and the participation in a musical group.
The Florida Brass Ensemble
The Florida Brass Ensemble is a collection of like-minded brass players who enjoy brass ensemble music. We believe that no matter whether it is secular or sacred, swing or “legit,” it deserves our best effort.Members
Dr. Bill Prince, professor emeritus at the University of North Florida has been able to maintain two career paths, one as a performer and the other as a teacher. As a performer he has recorded on over 70 albums and has worked with a wide range of luminaries from the big bands of Buddy Rich, Harry James and Les Brown, vocalists Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney, jazz legends Dave Brubeck and Billy Taylor to the orchestral sounds of Henry Mancini, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw National Philharmonic. On the teaching side Bill has taught at five universities in three countries and has guest lectured on over 70 campuses. Music has taken Bill to all 50 states and to 81 countries.
William McNeiland was Principal Bass and Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony from 1970-1995, and Professor of Music at Jacksonville University, where he directed the orchestra. He was also orchestra director at Lee University in Tennessee for three years. He is currently Music Director of the St. Augustine Orchestra.
Jeff Keller currently serves as Tuba Instrumentalist and Low Brass Section Leader with the United States Navy Band Southeast in Jacksonville, FL. He has toured nationally as a soloist and clinician while maintaining a very active private lesson studio. He has also been associated with the Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Lexington Brass Band, Saxton’s Cornet Band, Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, and is a founding member of The Blue Ribbon Tuba Quartet. He and his wife Liz currently reside in St. Johns, FL with their two children, Maddie and Charley.
Susan McGee has been playing the French horn professionally for 34 years. For the past 19 years, she has been a member of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Brevard Symphony Brass Quintet. Susan was a member of the Southwest Florida Symphony and the Sarasota Symphony and has performed with numerous other groups throughout Florida. She is also the handbell choir director at Memorial Presbyterian Church of St. Augustine.
Bob Gauger started playing trombone at the age of ten, and since then has played in numerous professional orchestras and bands. He is a founding member of the Ancient City Brass, and is the chaplain at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Cliff Newton is probably the greatest professional musician to come from St. Cloud, Florida. In fact, he is probably the only professional musician to come from St. Cloud, Florida. Like many professional musicians, Cliff began his musical study in a public school band. Growing up in tiny St. Cloud, where few people could aspire toward a musical career, his early motivation was simply the enjoyment of music and the participation in a musical group.
November 8, 2015
JPL Program Calendar
JU Piano Trio (faculty artists)
Dr. Shannon Lockwood, Cello
Dr. Scott Watkins, Piano
PROGRAM SELECTIONS
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio No. 2 in G Major, Op. 1, No. 2
LEIN: Sad Minuet in Olden Style
MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
CLICK HERE to view the PROGRAM GUIDE (PDF)
A member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1990, violinist Marguerite Richardson began her violin studies at the age of four. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of South Carolina, and the Doctor of Music degree from The Florida State University. Dr. Richardson has performed symphonic and chamber music throughout the United States, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Costa Rica, El Salvador and China. She has appeared as soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in performances of Barber’s Violin Concerto, Vivaldi’s Summer Concerto from The Four Seasons, and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins. Dr. Richardson has appeared frequently as recitalist and chamber musician locally, including with the St. Augustine Music Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Good Shepherd, and Friday Musicale. In addition to her extensive performance schedule, Dr. Richardson began and developed the string program at the University of North Florida (1995-2003), has taught with the Prelude Chamber Music Camp, and has appeared as an Associate Conductor with the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2007, Dr. Richardson joined the faculty of Jacksonville University where she is Associate Professor of Strings and serves as Music Director of the Jacksonville University Orchestra. In the summers of 2012 and 2014, Dr. Richardson was a Visiting Foreign Scholar at Beifang University (Yin Chuan, Ningxia Province, China) and Visiting Professor at Ningxia Teachers University (Guyuan, Ningxia Province, China), where she presented recitals, taught master classes and gave private lessons in both violin and viola.
PROGRAM NOTES by Edward Lein, Music Librarian
Transcendent German-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) would come to represent the culmination of the Classical period and forge the way into the Romantic, but he began his career as a composer essentially imitating the styles and forms he inherited from both Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and W.A. Mozart (1756-1791). Beethoven's indebtedness to the older masters is apparent in his Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, Op. 1, No. 2, which he likely completed in 1793, the year after he moved to Vienna and began studies with Haydn. Taking Haydn’s G Major “Gypsy” Trio as a model, Beethoven uses the distantly related key of E major for his slow movement, and like Mozart he treats all the players as equal partners rather than having the piano dominate. But Beethoven’s individuality is already in play, too. With the addition of the Scherzo, Trio No. 2 became the first piano trio with four movements rather than three. And the striking originality of Trio No. 3 was such that Haydn unsuccessfully tried convincing Beethoven to exclude it from his “Opus 1,” fearing the work would be incomprehensible to most. Though not actually Beethoven’s first works to appear in print, they were the first he deemed worthy of an “official” opus number. And despite Haydn’s warning, the 1895 first edition was so successful with the public the publisher even mentioned the trios in advertisements for Beethoven’s later works.
Florida native Edward Lein (b. 1955) holds master's degrees in Music and Library Science from The Florida State University. Early in his career he appeared as tenor soloist in recitals, oratorios and dramatic productions, and drawing on this performance experience the majority of his early compositions are vocal and choral works. Following performances of pieces by the Jacksonville Symphony (Meditation for cello, oboe and orchestra in June 2006; In the Bleak Midwinter in December 2007), his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players. His song translations are frequently published in music program guides in North America and Great Britain, ranging from student recitals to concerts by major orchestras, including Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Utah Symphony. He also contributes articles to Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's Encore magazine. Sad Minuet in Olden Style (2014) is adapted from a 2011 orchestral work in memory of Edward Koehler (1948-2011), who volunteered catering services for receptions that followed Library concerts for several seasons. During the 1970s Mr. Koehler was principal flute with the Navy Band in Washington, D.C., and among his favorite performance pieces was Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, which inspired the Sad Minuet.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was a composer, pianist, organist and conductor whose prodigious musical talents rivaled those of Mozart, and who, like Mozart, did not live to see his 40th birthday. But young Felix came from a well-to-do German family, and he, his brother and two sisters were raised in an intellectually stimulating and stable environment, protected from the childhood exploitation Mozart had endured. Mendelssohn benefited from an impressively well-rounded education, and in addition to studying the piano, the violin and composition he developed skills as a visual artist, evidenced in over 300 surviving paintings and drawings of remarkable quality. At sixteen, Mendelssohn produced his first masterwork, the Octet for Strings, Op. 20, and the following year saw the completion of the brilliant A Midsummer Night’s Dream concert overture (Op. 21). Thus, in terms of achieving his musical "maturity" Mendelssohn surpassed even Mozart. Published in 1840, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 is among his best and most popular chamber works. The demanding piano part shows the “Romantic” influence of Robert Schumann (1810-1856), who in reviewing the trio dubbed Mendelssohn "the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians."
October 11, 2015
Boyan Bonev, cello
Mimi Noda, piano
CANCELED!
Luigi Boccherini
Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major G. 4
Adagio - Allegro
Franz Schubert
Sonata "Arpeggione" for Cello and Piano, D. 821 in A Minor
Allegro moderato - Adagio - Allegretto
Pancho Vladigerov
Song from Bulgarian Suite, Op. 21
David Popper
Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68
Luigi Boccherini
Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major G. 4
Adagio - Allegro
Franz Schubert
Sonata "Arpeggione" for Cello and Piano, D. 821 in A Minor
Allegro moderato - Adagio - Allegretto
Pancho Vladigerov
Song from Bulgarian Suite, Op. 21
David Popper
Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68
Bonev is an active performer of solo and chamber music, was featured as a soloist of the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra and the Stara Zagora Symphony Orchestra, and performed at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall. He is a prize winner from the Bulgarian National Competition for Singers and Instrumentalists, and the International Competition "Music and Earth."
Bonev performs with the Tallahassee, Pensacola, Albany, Florida Lakes, Sinfonia Gulf Coast and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestras. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of West Florida, he taught cello and double bass at the Albany State University and Darton College. Bonev is on the faculty of the Florida State University Summer Music Camps and taught cello and chamber music as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Florida State University.
Dr. Mimi Noda was a collaborative pianist with the Japanese Choral Association before relocating to the United States in 1998 to pursue graduate studies. While earning degrees at the University of Georgia (MM) and Florida State University (DM), she was awarded a number of prizes and scholarships in piano performance, and she also has taught Japanese in FSU’s Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics. In addition to her responsibilities as Assistant Professor at Albany State University, Dr. Noda is a keyboardist with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and she regularly volunteers keyboard performances at Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. She also enjoys singing as a member of the Albany Chorale.September 13, 2015 @ 3 p.m.
Peter Dutilly, viola
Galen Dean Peiskee, piano
Edward Lein (b.1955)
Calendar Songs
-September
-In the Bleak Midwinter
-Summer Wind (World Premiere)
Peter Dutilly (b. 1988)
Three Character Pieces for Viola and Piano
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Selected Songs
Intermission
Peter Dutilly
Five Pieces for Unaccompanied Viola
1. Song
2. Angry Etude
3. Ardor and Celtic Pastorale
4. Rumination
5. Rhapsody
He Jianjun (b. 1958)
2 Pieces for Viola and Piano
Joshua Burel (b. 1985)
Sonata for Viola and Piano (World Premiere)
I. Flowing
II. Somber and Ominous
III. Bombastic and Lively
At JU, Peter was awarded departmental honors for orchestral and solo performance, was a two-time recipient of the Delius Award for Composition, was principal viola of the University Orchestra, and was violist in the full-scholarship Honors String Quartet. At FSU, Peter was in the principal rotation of the University Symphony Orchestra, violist in the full-assistantship Eppes String Quartet, and a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society. Additionally, Peter has been asked back by both universities to perform with faculty ensembles and give guest master-classes.
Active primarily as an orchestral violist, Peter has recently performed with the Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Augusta, Ocala, Northwest Florida, and Pensacola symphony orchestras, as well as the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, Coastal Symphony of Georgia, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. As a composer, Peter’s works have been performed by the JU Orchestra and Chorus, JU faculty, FSU students and faculty, the clarinet duo Pitches in Stilettos, the Warwick (RI) Symphony Orchestra, Westwood High School orchestra, chorus, and theater department in Columbia, SC, and the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus.
Also active in music education, Peter has a small studio of private students, teaches at the summer camp and conducts the Symphonette of the Golden Isles Youth Orchestra, teaches at Prelude Chamber Music Camp, and coordinates the chamber music program for the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra.
As a pianist he has performed in Poland, Italy, Austria, Greece, and he has toured various parts of the United States with the Singing Girls of Texas, a group that he accompanied for five years. He received the first ever Judith Solomon Award for Vocal Accompanying from Texas Christian University. He has performed as a soloist with the Brazos Chamber Orchestra multiple times, and is part of the Emerald Trio.
Florida native Edward Lein holds master's degrees in Music and Library Science from Florida State University. Early in his career he appeared throughout his home state as tenor soloist in recitals, oratorios and dramatic works, and drawing on this performance experience the majority of his early compositions are vocal and choral works. Following performances of pieces by the Jacksonville Symphony, including Meditation for cello, oboe and orchestra (premiered June 2006) and In the Bleak Midwinter (premiered December 2007), his instrumental catalog has grown largely due to requests from Symphony players for new pieces. His translations of songs and song cycles are frequently published in music program guides in North America and Great Britain, ranging from student recitals to concerts by major orchestras, including Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Utah Symphony; he also contributes articles to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's Encore magazine. After 28 years as the Music Librarian for the City of Jacksonville, Ed retired from full-time employment in July 2014, but continued to produce Jacksonville Public Library's popular Music @ Main concert series through September 2015.
Samuel Barber is a two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer who ranks with Bernstein, Copland and Gershwin as the Americans whose concert music is most frequently performed. Barber's art songs are among the finest written by any American composer. These include Hermit Songs, a cycle on texts translated by W.H. Auden (1907-1973) from anonymous verses discovered in the margins of Medieval illuminated manuscripts, and the luminous Sure on this Shining Night on a poem from Permit Me Voyage by James Agee (1909-1955), which likely has had more performances than any other American art song.
Jianjun He, a native of China, received his B.A. in violin performance from Northwestern National University, M.A. in music theory from The Arts Academy of China, and D.M.A. in composition from West Virginia University where he studied composition with John Beall. His compositions, numbering over sixty for a wide variety of media, are enjoying growing success in Asia and the United States. They have been featured at numerous new music related festivals and conferences, including several performances at the SCI (Society of Composers, Inc.) and CMS (College Music Society) national conferences. Recent commissions include works for Wyoming Music Teachers Association, pianist Jeffrey Jacob, and Ningxia University Choir. CD recordings are available on ERM, VMM, Mark Masters, and Da Di (China) label. In addition to his musical creation, he has published books and research papers dealing with music theory, compositional techniques, ethnomusicology, and music education. Dr. He is currently on the faculty of Jacksonville University (FL) teaching Composition, Advanced Music Theory, Counterpoint, and Analysis. He was a former faculty member at Ningxia University (Yinchuan, China), Slippery Rock University (PA), Stephen F Austin State University (TX), and Casper College (WY). Since 2002 he has been an honorary professor at Hunan Normal University (Changsha, China) where he teaches composition to HNU graduate students in summer. Teaching related awards include “Young Teacher’s Award for Excellence at Ningxia University (1991),” “Excellent Teacher of Ningxia (1993),” and “Rosenthal Outstanding Educator Award (Casper College, 2008).”
Joshua Burel is the recipient of several awards including the Theodore Presser Music Award for his project Czech Composers and the Holocaust: Engaging History through Composition and Performance, a Downbeat Music Award for his orchestral performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan,” and a Goodwill Ambassador Award from the city of Holland, MI as a member of the International Holland String Quartet. An accomplished violinist, Joshua has performed in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. He recorded Ernst von Dohnanyi’s Symphony No. 2under the Naxos Music Label with the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra and has performed at Carnegie Hall as a member of the new music ensemble What Is Noise.
As a composer Joshua’s music has been performed throughout the United States having had his work Roanokeperformed at Carnegie Hall. His work Andooni was commissioned by Anastasia Christofakis for the Armenian Music Symposium to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. He was also recently commissioned by violist Peter Dutilly to compose his Sonata for viola and piano. Joshua’s Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano “Subharmonics” was commissioned by violinist Naomi Droge to explore an extended violin technique allowing players to produce notes below the G-string and his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was written as part of a research grant through the Theodore Presser Foundation.
Joshua completed his Doctor of Music degree in Music Theory and Composition at Florida State University and graduated with honors from Western Michigan University where he received his Master of Music degree in Composition and his Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance and Music Education. Joshua has studied composition with Ladislav Kubik, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, C. Curtis-Smith, and Richard Adams and violin with Benjamin Sung, Renata Artman Knific, Amanda Walvoord Dykhouse, and Ellen Rizner. He currently serves on faculty at Webster University in St. Louis, MO.
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