2022 Spoleto Festival USA program book

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Features

Music

06 From the Chair of the Board 08 From the General Director 10 Event Calendar 11 Venue Guide 13 Board of Directors 14 What’s in a name? 17 Always a Creator 60 Dusk by Fletcher Williams 68 Tell Your Story: An Orchestra Project 72 Sounds Like Transcendence 104 A Community Engaged 106 Music Texts

20 Omar 28 La bohème 34 Unholy Wars

61 69 70 75 76 77 80 81 82 83 85 88 89 91 93 96 99 100 101

Dance

Artist Talks

40 Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group ¤ 44 Ballet Encore ¤ 48 Malpaso Dance Company ¤

102 Conversations With

Opera

Bank of America Chamber Music Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi + Music in Time Youssou NDOUR: Mbalax Unplugged ^ Nduduzo Makhathini Lift Every Voice Allison Russell + Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan ^ The War and Treaty + Spoleto Festival USA Chorus Rhapsodic Overture Ravi Coltrane: Universal Consciousness ^ Tyshawn Sorey/Aaron Diehl/Matt Brewer ^ Music in Time: Tyshawn Sorey, For Orchestra Music in Time: The Street Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway + Cécile McLorin Salvant ^ Wells Fargo Festival Finale featuring Shakey Graves

103 Jazz Talks

Personnel and Special Thanks Theater 52 The Approach 54 Until the Flood 56 Storm Large

116 118 119 120 123 125 126

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Spoleto Festival USA Chorus Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus Administration and Apprentices Committees and Volunteers Institutional Contributors Contributors

Physical Theater 58 Machine de Cirque

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FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD Alicia M. Gregory

Welcome to the 46th season of Spoleto Festival USA! I would like to thank you for being here to witness the transformative power of art at full capacity for the first time in two years. Also, thank you to the board and transition committee who sustained this Festival amidst adversity. It was through their guidance and unwavering support that we have emerged in financial health and on the other side of a major leadership transition. I am proud of my commitment as chairwoman of the board, especially at this time in the Festival’s life. My dedication to Spoleto is firmly grounded on the premise that to create and exchange art is our universal birthright that transcends culture, political systems, and governments. Like many of you, I am inspired by the United Nation’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its explicit acknowledgement that art and cultural exchange is a fundamental human right. I love Spoleto because it is predicated upon these principles. The essence of human agency, freedom of thought, and shared humanity is the Festival’s common currency.

You will catch a stirring glimpse of his vision over the next 17 days with a program influenced by his extraordinary musical background, including an extensive knowledge of opera and a deep understanding of all genres of performing arts. I hope you will find this year’s program to be cohesive, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining.

It is an investment of my time to help build a healthy, vibrant Spoleto that is committed to these humanistic values. The Festival promises to boldly propel itself to a future with clear-eyed commitment to evolve and expand its presence and relevance.

I’m strongly motivated by the opportunity to support and foster healthy civil discourse, another virtue that demands constant vigilance, attention, practice, and above all, grace. It is my hope that this year’s program and those proceeding will initiate civil and honest conversations surrounding our individual experiences with art. If we can have tough yet necessary conversations about humanity, to my mind, we are creating an opportunity to exercise our most essential human right to happiness.

Almost a year ago now, the transition committee and the board were unanimous in appointing Mena Mark Hanna as Spoleto Festival USA’s next general director. We were drawn to him because of his central belief that art bridges differences and deepens and broadens our understanding of our existence. We are confident that Mena will continue to expand upon the artistic excellence, innovation, and risk-taking that the Festival is known for. He will continue to build strong ties to the Charleston community and support up-and-coming artists and future generations of arts lovers, while also bringing world-renowned artists to our hometown. I am honored to take on my tenure as chairwoman of the board to drive Mena’s vision for Spoleto.

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FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR Mena Mark Hanna

“We sailed in the big Sea for a month and a half until we came to a place called Charleston.” These words, written in Maghrebi Arabic, are the words of an African who survived the Middle Passage through the Atlantic. They are the words of a man sold into bondage here in Charleston. They are the words of a scholar who spent a quarter century in west Africa studying Islam, mathematics, and astronomy before his enslavement. They are the words of Omar Ibn Said. This year, Spoleto Festival USA premieres Omar, an opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels based on Omar Ibn Said’s autobiography. Omar’s account is the only existing example of an autobiography written in Arabic by an enslaved person in North America, and his words carry meaning far beyond the Carolinas. When Omar was asked to write “his Life” by his owners in 1831, it was meant to capture a “curiosity”: the curiosity that an enslaved man could write, the curiosity of a strange language, the curiosity of a heathen religion. Through the blanks on these scant pages, the gaps in his account, and the veiling of personal faith in Christian imagery, Omar preserved himself: linguistically, spiritually, and psychologically. Two hundred years later, that curiosity is stripped away, and the words of this enslaved man are brought to life through the emancipatory power of music, less than a mile away from Gadsden’s Wharf, where he and 100,000 other enslaved Africans were forcibly landed in the United States. That is momentous. Omar was commissioned by my predecessor, Nigel Redden, to be premiered for the 2020 Festival. Over the past two convulsive years, calls for justice rang throughout our communities; the opera was twice delayed by the pandemic and is now reimagined by director Kaneza Schaal. Omar in 2022 is different than Omar in 2020. That is true of all performing arts.

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Though it is hard to see through the dim cloud of an ongoing pandemic and a continual struggle for equality, we are living in a cultural renaissance. Artists are demonstrating how the past bleeds into our present while imagining a better future. Artists are embracing the multiplicity of human expression. Artists are reframing the canon through their perspective. Artists are unwavering in the belief that their practice—now more than ever—can bridge differences. The 2022 Festival is at the forefront of this renaissance. Omar is an opera by African American artists, told, in Michael Abels’s words, from a “Black perspective, telling the story of Black people in the United States.” In Unholy Wars, Karim Sulayman recasts the medieval crusades from the vantage of an Arab American through Italian baroque opera. Choreographer Reggie Wilson and his Fist and Heel Performance Group delve into the obscure history of 19th-century Black Shaker communities in POWER. The Festival Orchestra presents a premiere restoration of Rhapsodic Overture by Edmund Thornton Jenkins, a Charleston-born Black composer who died in Paris at age 32 in 1926, virtually unknown in his homeland. We express the indomitability of the human spirit in Lift Every Voice and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; witness tragic love told backwards in La bohème; and dance with every primeval fiber of our being to Youssou NDOUR, The War and Treaty, and Shakey Graves. Like Dael Orlandersmith in Until the Flood, art has the ca-


pacity to tell one story, eight different ways. Charleston embraces this counterpoint by threading Africa, Europe, and North America into a tapestry that is both of the United States and for the greater world. It is this quality—ineffable and enigmatic—that drew Gian Carlo Menotti (with the help of Mayor Joseph Riley and Ted Stern) to found an international festival here. Of course, as Menotti rightly points out, Charleston is beautiful: he wrote of “the magic of its streets, the noble charm of its buildings” in the Festival’s first program book. But beneath beauty, lies an everyday reality. This is a city of contradictions: an outpost of the northern Caribbean, a Southern city of antebellum charm, and a sometimes painful melting pot of the past and present. Charleston is all these things. When I think of this Festival—and what it means to this city—I think of it as an engine of progress; a place where we can share our humanity, for better or worse; and a multidisciplinary celebration of skill, perseverance, and joy. In opening the first Festival in 1977, Mayor Riley wrote: For in the arts we find our most important values: the truth, the beauty, and the commitment to excellence we see in the conductor’s style, in the dancer’s grace, in the artist’s colors, in the musician’s and composer’s creation, and in all of the achievements of the performers of such a comprehensive arts festival. The arts, then, in this way, can serve as an example and inspiration to a community or an entire society in its search for values—in its search for justice, equality, humanity, and excellence. Therein lies Charleston’s greatest pride: that our graceful, historic, and lovely City can serve as the home of such an important cultural event. To that I say: welcome, Omar.

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EVENT CALENDAR 26 MAY: THURSDAY

31 MAY: TUESDAY

7:00pm Festival Feast 8:00pm The Approach (preview) DST 9:00pm Storm Large FVH

11:00am 1:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 9:00pm

Chamber Music III DST Chamber Music III DST The Approach DST La bohème CGC Storm Large FVH

7:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

La bohème CGC Ballet Encore SOT Until the Flood FVH Tyshawn Sorey/Aaron Diehl/Matt Brewer CIS

10 JUNE: FRIDAY 5 JUNE: SUNDAY

27 MAY: FRIDAY 1 JUNE: WEDNESDAY 12:00pm 1:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

Opening Ceremonies Chamber Music I DST Omar SOT The Approach DST Storm Large FVH

28 MAY: SATURDAY 11:00am Chamber Music I DST 1:00pm Chamber Music I DST 2:00pm Conversations With | Omar CGC 3:30pm The Approach DST 5:00pm Jazz Talk | Youssou NDOUR CIS 6:00pm Storm Large FVH 7:00pm Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel SOT 7:30pm La bohème CGC 9:00pm Storm Large FVH 9:00pm Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi CIS

11:00am 1:00pm 6:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 9:00pm

Chamber Music IV DST Chamber Music IV DST Storm Large FVH Unholy Wars DST Lift Every Voice CGC Ballet Encore SOT Storm Large FVH Allison Russell CIS

8:00pm Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony CGC 9:00pm Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway CIS

11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 5:00pm

Chamber Music VI DST Chamber Music VII DST Until the Flood FVH Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan FVH 5:00pm Omar SOT 5:00pm Conversations With | Dael Orlandersmith CIS 7:00pm Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan FVH 8:00pm The Approach DST

11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 7:30pm

Chamber Music X DST Chamber Music X DST Machine de Cirque FVH Cécile McLorin Salvant CGC 7:30pm Malpaso Dance Company SOT 8:00pm The Approach DST 11 JUNE: SATURDAY

11:00am Chamber Music IV DST 1:00pm Chamber Music V DST 5:00pm Jazz Talk | Tyshawn Sorey CIS 7:00pm Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan FVH 8:00pm The Approach DST 8:00pm Omar SOT 9:00pm The War and Treaty CIS

11:00am Chamber Music X DST 1:00pm Chamber Music XI DST 6 JUNE: MONDAY 2:00pm Malpaso Dance Company SOT 11:00am Chamber Music VII DST 3:00pm Machine de Cirque FVH 1:00pm Chamber Music VII DST 5:00pm Spoleto Festival USA 5:00pm Linda May Han Oh and Chorus Concert STM Fabian Almazan FVH 7:00pm Machine de Cirque FVH 7:00pm Until the Flood FVH 7:30pm Malpaso Dance Company 7:00pm Music in Time: Tyshawn SOT Sorey, For Orchestra SOT 8:00pm La bohème CGC 8:00pm Unholy Wars DST 8:00pm The Approach DST

3 JUNE: FRIDAY

7 JUNE: TUESDAY

12 JUNE: SUNDAY

11:00am Chamber Music V DST 1:00pm Chamber Music V DST 5:00pm Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan FVH 5:00pm Spoleto Festival USA Chorus Concert STM 7:30pm Rhapsodic Overture CGC 7:30pm Ballet Encore SOT 8:00pm Unholy Wars DST 8:00pm Until the Flood FVH 9:00pm Ravi Coltrane CIS

11:00am Chamber Music VIII DST 1:00pm Chamber Music VIII DST 3:00pm Conversations With | Mena Mark Hanna DST 5:00pm Music in Time: The Street STM 7:30pm The Approach DST 7:30pm La bohème CGC

11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 5:00pm

2 JUNE: THURSDAY

29 MAY: SUNDAY 11:00am Chamber Music II DST 1:00pm Chamber Music II DST 2:00pm Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel SOT 5:00pm Music in Time FVH 7:30pm Unholy Wars DST 8:00pm Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel SOT 9:00pm Storm Large FVH 9:00pm Youssou NDOUR CIS 30 MAY: MONDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

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Chamber Music II DST Chamber Music III DST Conv | The Approach DST Omar SOT The Approach DST Nduduzo Makhathini CIS

4 JUNE: SATURDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm

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Chamber Music VI DST Chamber Music VI DST Until the Flood FVH Ballet Encore SOT The Approach DST Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan FVH

Chamber Music XI DST Chamber Music XI DST Machine de Cirque FVH The Approach DST Omar SOT Finale ft. Shakey Graves FFD

8 JUNE: WEDNESDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm

Chamber Music VIII DST Chamber Music IX DST Machine de Cirque FVH The Approach DST Omar SOT

9 JUNE: THURSDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 6:00pm 7:30pm

Chamber Music IX DST Chamber Music IX DST Machine de Cirque FVH The Approach DST

Bold: opening performance


VENUE GUIDE

FVH | Festival Hall, 56 Beaufain St.

STM | St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 405 King St.

DST | Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St.

SOT | College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.

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OPN | Opening Ceremonies, City Hall, 80 Broad St.

CIS | College of Charleston Cistern Yard, 66 George St.

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Not on map: FFD | Firefly Distillery, 4201 Spruill Ave., North Charleston TDA | TD Arena (rain site), 301 Meeting St.

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CGC | Charleston Gaillard Center Spoleto Festival USA Box Office, 95 Calhoun St.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair

Directors

Chairs Emeriti

Mrs. Alicia Mullen Gregory

Mr. Richard J. Almeida Mr. Dean Porter Andrews Mr. Larry Antonatos Mrs. Katharine I. Bachmann Ms. Susan L. Baker Ms. Judith N. Batty Mrs. Claire Holding Bristow Mr. Derick S. Close Mr. Gary T. DiCamillo Mr. Harry H. Frampton III Mrs. Barbara G.S. Hagerty Mrs. Lou Rena Hammond Dr. Courtney L. Tollison Hartness Ms. M. Russell Holliday, Jr. President Andrew T. Hsu Dr. Eddie L. Irions, Jr. Mrs. Deborah Kennedy Kennard Dr. George H. Khoury Mrs. Elizabeth P. MacLeod Mrs. Susanne H. McGuire Ms. Martha Rhodes McLendon Mr. Mark Munn Mrs. Anne Bullock Perper Mr. Walter G. Seinsheimer, Jr. Mrs. Cynthia Anne Solomon Mr. Sheldon I. Stein Mrs. Elizabeth H. Sullivan Mrs. Hellena Huntley Tidwell Mr. C. Douglas Warner Ms. Palmer Weiss

Mr. Carlos E. Evans Mr. William B. Hewitt Mrs. Martha Rivers Ingram Mr. William G. Medich Mr. M. Edward Sellers Mr. Joel A. Smith, III Mr. Charles S. Way, Jr.

President Mr. Phillip D. Smith

Treasurer Mr. Andrew T. Barrett

Vice Presidents Mr. Richard W. Chisholm Ms. Rebecca W. Darwin Mrs. Jennie L. DeScherer Dr. Elizabeth A. Fleming Ms. Margie Ann Morse Mr. Michael C. Tarwater Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Mr. Loren R. Ziff

General Counsel and Secretary Mr. John B. Hagerty

Directors Emeriti Circle Mrs. Nancy M. Folger Dr. John M. Palms Mrs. Susan W. Ravenel Mr. David L. Rawle Mrs. Kathleen Rivers Carroll Mrs. Joan G. Sarnoff Mr. W. Lucas Simons

Honorary Mrs. Janice S. McNair Mr. Charles Wadsworth

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What’s in a name? At this year’s Festival, composers push the boundaries of genre By Vanessa Ague

Francesco Turrisi and Rhiannon Giddens; photo by Ebru Yildiz

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Imagine walking into a Barnes & Noble or Charleston’s own Monster Music & Movies. You scan the aisles, searching for the umbrella category that fits your musical appetite best—perhaps classical, jazz, or pop. You think back to Jon Batiste’s performance at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard during Spoleto’s 2018 season and head for the jazz section. But wait, you think: Wasn’t he nominated for a classical music Grammy Award this year? Don’t forget to look in the R&B corner as well as the American Roots sections while you’re at it—Batiste’s 11 nominations weren’t pegged to one genre, sparking joy, outcry, and everything in between.

This season, sounds, disciplines, and influences collide across the program. Rhiannon Giddens, a two-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, composer, and banjoist—who is also the artistic director of Silkroad Ensemble— will perform. Together with Francesco Turrisi, Giddens plays selections from their albums They’re Calling Me Home and there is no Other—songs that illuminate the universality of music and, as NPR describes, “blend Arabic, European, and African American influences, showing the ease with which the boundaries of genre and nationality can be broken through music.” Giddens’s work will also enliven Spoleto’s mainstage opera. Omar, the world premiere by Giddens and Michael Abels, bridges her studies of Black vernacular music and opera to narrate the life of Omar Ibn Said, a Muslim scholar enslaved in the Carolinas. This piece, however, doesn’t tell a story through expected operatic instrumentation. Instead, it aims to expand the form by bridging techniques from different musical traditions, proving that opera’s boundaries can be shifted.

If we can change the imperfect molds that divide musical systems, perhaps we can then begin to find new moments of connection and understanding.

The issue of genre is multifaceted: At its best, placing music into categories has the potential to help us discover similar music we like and other fans of it. At its worst, genre siphons artists into categories that might not fit the sound or meaning of their work. Those boxes— perpetuated by record labels to market and sell music—are often assumed based on nonmusical factors like race, which can erase an artist’s intent. The question is: Do these categories explain what the music sounds like or why an artist chose to make it? Batiste is just one example of artists who are choosing to break boundaries, eschewing the limitations of genre to create something new. Yet conversations about the pros and cons of musical genre have buzzed for decades. Mid-20th-century artists like Philip Glass and Julius Eastman were among the first composers to blend genres: Glass’s music often infuses Indian classical with western composition, while Eastman mixed disco and free improvisation in his pieces. At Spoleto, an open-minded look at genre has been part of programming since its inception. In 2000, Spoleto’s current Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy, wrote an essay about post-classical music, examining the Festival’s practice of bringing together music from many different schools of thought. More than 20 years later, the idea of genre blending at the Festival has continued to progress.

On June 6, MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey leads the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra for a performance of his Autoschediasms, a spontaneous composition created in real-time using gesture and improvisation. Yet Sorey’s orchestral concert comes two nights after he, Aaron Diehl, and Matt Brewer take the Cistern Yard stage to perform as a new jazz collective. Another composer, Nico Muhly, has found success creating music for film, ballets, and major opera, while the US premiere of his work, The Street, during Spoleto on June 7, illuminates text with delicate, reflective phrases that draw from sacred music. Both Sorey and Muhly’s compositions are presented as part of the Music in Time series—Kennedy’s curated programs designed to showcase new sounds in music that know no bounds. For composer-cellist Paul Wiancko, whose string quintet Tiny Doors to Big Worlds will be performed during the Bank of America Chamber Music series, genre isn’t on his mind as he writes. Instead, his compositions often stem from improvisations and ideas that come to him without specific references: “You create whatever is speaking to whatever is

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in your heart,” he says. He’s drawn to the more metaphorical ideas behind the music that influences him—the way the artists create musical phrases or the way they write lyrics. Genre isn’t a strict set of rules. “I feel that these boundaries of genre are fun to have so that people can push against them and expand them and make them moot,” he says. “There’s some satisfaction to be had in purposefully breaking those things and making something even more beautiful out of it.” Instruments themselves have also fallen prey to categorization. Take, for instance, the pipe organ, an instrument often built into the architecture of a church. During jazz singer Cécile McLorin Savant’s performance at the Festival, one can hear the pipe organ’s vast, colorful palette that extends beyond sacred music: Looping rhythms, vibrant harmonies, and fast-paced syncopations accompany her. Each moment of the music leans into the instrument’s characteristic resonance while also exploring new territories. Bassoonist Joy Guidry is interested in garnering every sound the bassoon can make and, in the process, shedding its classical associations. “This is just an instrument, but through white supremacy and white washing…we are taking a group of instruments—flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon—and have made it to where they can only exist in this realm of orchestra. Really though, the bassoon is so versatile,” Guidry says. Improvisation has been a way for Guidry to explore music outside of the western classical mold associated with their instrument. By improvising, they’re able to explore the bassoon’s broad sonic possibilities. Venturing from frenetic improvisation to drifting electronics, their new work, Radical Acceptance, which centers the bassoon, pushes instrumental conventions through explosive noise and haunted sound. On May 29, four movements of the piece will be performed by Guidry and composer-percussionist Jessie Cox, whose own work, Alongside a Chorus of Voices (heard on that same program), uses a double meaning of a bell as both an oppressive and emancipating sound.

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Joy Guidry; photo provided

As we embark on a season once again filled with new and exciting works unencumbered by categorization, it’s crucial for us to listen and reconsider the ways we’ve come to understand genre. Instead of attempting to fit artists into our preconceptions fueled by arbitrary words, let’s consider what artists want to convey and want us to hear. Let’s strive to think about the deeper meaning behind their sounds and reflect on how it makes us feel. If we can change the imperfect molds that divide musical systems, perhaps we can then begin to find new moments of connection and understanding.

Vanessa Ague is a violinist and writer who runs the experimental music blog, The Road to Sound, and writes for Bandcamp Daily, The Wire, Pitchfork, and the Quietus, among others. She is a recent graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.


Always a Creator Multihyphenate artist Ebony Williams choreographs her first opera Written by Jenny Ouellette and Anna Brooks

Photo by Nikita Alba

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In 2014, Ebony Williams made her Spoleto debut with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Audiences may remember her dancing: powerful yet precise with liquid-like limbs flowing this way and that—a radiant, fearless, and inimitable mover. Outside of the contemporary ballet realm, Williams was renowned, too. At home in socks, pointe shoes, and high heels, the Boston native was conquering both the concert dance and the commercial dance worlds with performances alongside Beyoncé, Rihanna, Fergie, and Ciara. Fast forward to 2022, and Williams’s search for new challenges has only intensified. She claims her role as dancemaker, creating stage performances for Aicia Keys and Doja Cat and serving as an associate choreographer for the film In the Heights and for Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill. This season, Williams returns to Spoleto for more boundary breaking: choreographing a baroque-meets-contemporary opera. Following a winter workshop for Karim Sulayman’s Unholy Wars, Williams shared her first operatic experiences and divulged how creating work set to Monteverdi and Alicia Keys is wildly different in one sense yet, at its core, all the same.

What was your first reaction when you were asked to choreograph Unholy Wars? I was surprised, because typically one might see an opera and no dance is involved. So, my first question was: Am I allowed to have a dancer? After talking to Karim and Kevin [Newbury, director], and getting an understanding of what their expectations were for me as choreographer, I was really excited because of the possibility of pairing such intricate movement with incredible, amazing voices. The dancer, Coral Dolphin, has a similar classicalmeets-commercial resumé. What draws you to her? I’ve known Coral for a long time. At Cedar Lake I used to host girls’ nights—invite a group of women into the dance studio as a way to build camaraderie and share creativity. Before that, we’d done a commercial job together for Jennifer Hudson. At the time, Coral was working with Ronald K. Brown. I loved her versatility. And when it came to Unholy Wars, I knew she was the right person. She exhibits strength and grace at the same time, which completely inspires me. Plus, she understands my vocabulary, so I felt safe in working with her in this capacity. What was the process when setting movement for Coral? The first day of the workshop was the absolute first day that Coral and I started to work on the material. It was pretty go-with-the-flow, which I thrive in. The process, however, was a combination of the collaborative and improvisational. I am familiar with Coral’s movement quality—which was one of the reasons I selected her. She’s also skilled in capoeira, which allows for a moment of fight choreography. So, while I knew a few things I wanted to incorporate, I didn’t have specific movement planned. I’m a huge collaborator, so also learning Karim’s vision of the work was hugely important and helped to lay a lot of the groundwork. In watching Unholy Wars, there’s a seamlessness between Coral and the singers’ movements. How is that achieved? What is it like to set movement on non-dancing singers? While these singers didn’t have strong dance backgrounds, they are all great natural movers. That was such a boon, because you never know what to expect at the start of a new project. I tend to use visual imagery to help singers get to a place that allows them to be comfortable in their skin to move.

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Choreographers must be chameleons, always.

Karim is a natural mover. He’s tall with a strong presence—it was easy to capitalize on that. Plus, he knows the material so well because it is his, which helped create movement to convey a story. That allows for that seamlessness. Raha Mirzadegan had a background in fighting. Its crucial to find those moments in nondancers’ everyday lives that may feel like dance. Using their strengths as much as possible can make it feel fluid. I was also more at ease knowing that I had the support of Coral, who took on a role of associate choreographer and could help coach the other performers. You’ve owned the titles dancer, choreographer, and director. Do you see others following in your footsteps? I think the role of creator has been in the depths of most dancers for a long time. I know I considered myself a creator long before I was credited for it. But now, especially in going through the pandemic, dancers have found the courage to be OK with not staying in one box. Artists want to make sure their voices are heard. Artists have always been a huge part of the awakening after trying times, and art can help move the needle and bring a lot out of the dark. Now we are moving forward in a space where we won’t just be quiet, especially when it comes to our own work. Artists don’t want to wait for someone else to create a job. They want to be the person who’s driving the ship—not just jumping on board.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Is your approach to choreography different when you’re creating movement for a world tour versus a concert dance piece—or even this opera? For me, music drives everything and all the elements. So that’s a similarity of where creation starts. Still, it depends on the artists I’m working with, because everyone has different backgrounds and needs. Alicia Keys is very different from Beyoncé. Even for one artist, choreographing for a live show is different from TV. Movement for a show in an arena that holds hundreds of thousands of people is different than work for 20,000 people or even 5,000 people. Choreographers must be chameleons, always. Is there anything that you might take from this experience and apply to your other projects? I want to continue to push artists who I work with and let them know it’s OK to step outside of your box. It’s so evident that the Unholy Wars team really wants to do that. I do feel like this process has made me stronger as an artist. And because I am diving into several different genres, often all at once, it’s reaffirming to know that it’s possible, especially for my personal growth as a choreographer, director, and creator. I am moving towards that trust in myself.

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WORLD PREMIERE

OMAR Music by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels Libretto by Rhiannon Giddens PRESENTED BY WELLS FARGO

Artistic Team

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE

Conductor John Kennedy Director Kaneza Schaal Production Designer Christopher Myers Set Designer Amy Rubin Costume Designer April Hickman Costume Designer Micheline Russell-Brown Lighting Designer Lucrecia Briceno Lighting Co-Designer Alejandro Fajardo Video Designer Joshua Higgason Assistant Directors Ian Andrew Askew, Kiara Benn

Cast

Omar Omar’s Mother, Fatima Omar’s Brother, Abdul/Man to be Sold, Abe

Julie Auctioneer/Taylor Katie Ellen/The Caller Johnson/Owen Owen’s Daughter, Eliza Amadou/Renty Olufemi Suleiman/Ben/John Slaveship Crewman 1/Man in Crowd Slaveship Crewman 2 Slaver Sally Billy Mary Farah Tess Dancers

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Jamez McCorkle Cheryse McLeod Lewis Michael Redding Laquita Mitchell Adam Klein Catherine Anne Daniel Malcolm MacKenzie Rebecca Jo Loeb George Johnson Joshua John Daniel Rich Andrew Stack Aaron McKone David Drettwan Crystal Glenn To be cast Kaswanna Kanyinda Savannah Gordon Samantha Burke Brian Polite, choreographic lead Ebony Nichols, choreographic contributor Savannah Imani Wade, choreographic contributor Scott Wiley, choreographic contributor

May 27 at 7:00pm; May 30 at 5:00pm; June 2 at 8:00pm; June 5 at 5:00pm; June 8 at 7:30pm; June 12 at 3:30pm 2 hours, 15 minutes Performed with an intermission Sung in English with English supertitles


Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

Michael Adams, soprano Chantal Braziel, soprano Samantha Burke, soprano Crystal Glenn, soprano Luciana Piovan, soprano Emily Tiberi, soprano Tanisha Anderson, alto LaDejia Bittle, alto Allison Deady, alto Savannah Gordon, alto Kaswanna Kanyinda, alto Kaitlyn Tierney, alto Lonnie Reed, tenor Johnnie Felder, tenor Gabriel Hernandez, tenor Joshua John, tenor George Johnson, tenor Aaron McKone, tenor Claude Cassion, bass Matthew Dexter, bass David Drettwan, bass Isiah Maxey, bass Daniel Rich, bass Andrew Stack, bass

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra

Assistant Conductor Chorus Conductor Musical Preparation Vocal Coach Production Stage Manager

Kellen Gray Vinroy David Brown, Jr. Renate Rohlfing Diane Richardson Betsy Ayer

Generous support provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation; Ford Foundation; Robyn and Tony Coles/TRATE Productions; Deborah Kennedy Kennard and William E. Kennard; OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation; New York Community Trust; The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust; Post and Courier Foundation; Leslie K. Williams and James A. Attwood, Jr.; Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. DeScherer; Ms. Susan L. Baker and Mr. Michael R. Lynch; and Jan Serr and John Shannon. Omar is co-commissioned and co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Carolina Performing Arts at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carolina Performing Arts’ participation in this project is made possible through the support of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional co-commissioners include LA Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Opera is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magil Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The opera is inspired by Dr. Ala Alryyes’s translation of Omar Ibn Said’s autobiography in his book, A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said. Reprinted by permission of the University of Wisconsin Press. © 2011 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels at 2:00pm on Saturday, May 28, at the Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St.

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Director’s Note Over the last years, we have been in the bones of the country. The bones of our own psyches. And we have been in the bones of our industry, of opera, of what it means to gather and share breath. The opera we share with you touches all these bones: the story of Omar Ibn Said, a Fulani man, forced to the United States and enslaved, literate before stolen from his home in West Africa, and author of an autobiography. The West has a fantasy of its singularity, it imagines itself as consistent and fixed. Opera lost itself to that lie. Tonight, we return the opera to itself. A form built on hundreds of years of cultural exchange, sonic exchange, formal and aesthetic encounters with “others.” A form dependent on many different kinds of artists teaming up. A form built of hybridity. Perhaps one of the only places big enough for Said’s journey, the contradiction, the violence, the holiness, the omissions, the terror, and the triumph. Slavery, of course, existed before people were torn from their homes in West Africa at gunpoint and enslaved in the United States. The institution of American Slavery wrought new violences as an institution of language. American Slavery created and named a permanent condition attached to your body.

This Omar is merely one of a thousand different possible interpretations of his writings and what we know of his life. Nevertheless, I heard an echo of his voice reaching out to me over the centuries—I felt the spirits rise in me with every word written and every note composed. I felt the connection to a time that I cannot easily imagine; a time that tested the ancestors, gave no quarter, and took an unfathomable strength of spirit to survive. I hope this is merely the beginning of the artistic renderings of this remarkable man—let this be not the last operatic word on Omar, but merely the first. And I am honored it is so.

— Rhiannon Giddens Omar is the story of one man’s physical and spiritual journey, as told from veiled references in his own autobiography and interpreted through Rhiannon Giddens’s moving libretto. Musically, the piece shows as many influences as the many cultures it flows through, from the music of Senegal and the broader Muslim diaspora to the earliest melody transcribed from enslaved people in North America, to spirituals, bluegrass, Protestant hymns, Gershwin, and even a touch of Wagner. The chorus plays a prominent, active role in the work, as a way to center it in a Black community that is multifaceted and real. These diverse elements are unified via the use of a traditional orchestral palette and immensely singable vocal lines.

— Michael Abels

The ferocious clarity in American Slavery on the power of language, was such that one of the most sacrosanct laws was that you could not teach enslaved people to read. Or write. And here, we have a text! From Omar Ibn Said. Written by Omar. An Islamic scholar who was literate before mercenaries enslaved him. His autobiography is the prayer from which the music and words you hear tonight were created. The glory and triumph that his words exist, even if generated under duress, is holy. We gather to tell you Said’s story through the contest of languages in his life, spiritual languages, cultural languages, spoken and written languages, the language of materials like wood and fabric. And ultimately, his holding of all these languages simultaneously brims with resistance, omission, refusal, and reincarnation.

Synopsis ACT 1, SCENE 1: 1806, Futa Toro. Omar’s mother, Fatima, leads the community in prayer. Omar’s brother, Abdul, enters and he discuss with Omar the need to organize protection from newcomers to their village. Omar insists that their fate is in Allah’s hands. Abdul exits and Fatima cautions Omar in his confidence. Abdul returns to warn them that the very men who had been negotiating protection have betrayed the village—raiders overrun the compound and begin taking villagers as prisoners. Omar and his mother are separated in the chaos, and before Omar is dragged away, he sees her death at the hands of a raider.

Listening to the story of Omar Ibn Said tonight, together, let us begin resetting the bones.

— Kaneza Schaal

Composers’ Notes Omar is at once a story of one man and of many. He is himself, trying to understand the shape his life has taken; he is the enslaved Muslim (of which there were so many more than we will ever know) seeking his community in any way he can; he is the eternal outsider. The fractured yet steadfast nature of the culture that formed around the members of the African diaspora struggling for survival in the Americas wraps around his journey, as I have envisioned it; the anonymous voices of the countless Black musical creators from my musical lineage are shot through a score that is nevertheless firmly situated at a crossroads of the folk and western classical traditions. Who was Omar? We will never really know.

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ACT 1, SCENE 2: The Middle Passage. ACT 1, SCENE 3: Julie, an enslaved woman, is dragged to the Charleston Slave Market by a kidnapper. Near the auctioneer’s podium, Julie notices Omar who is standing nearby. Though Omar cannot understand Julie’s words, he listens as Julie and other enslaved people warn him of what’s to come. She attempts to tell Omar of the Owens’ plantation in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she plans to return if she can flee her trafficker. As the auction begins, Omar watches a family torn apart. He notices that Julie has managed to escape her bonds and, to distract the crowd, he falls to his knees in prayer. Julie seizes the moment to run, and Omar is sold to a man named Johnson. ACT 1, SCENE 4: Enslaved laborers are working on a plantation as Johnson, the plantation owner, enters. He strikes a man before


noticing Omar. He curses at Omar and sends him to pick cotton in the fields. ACT 1, SCENE 5: Months later, the spirit of Omar’s mother watches over Omar as he sleeps. Johnson’s voice can be heard offstage, and as Omar begins to stir, he hears both Johnson and his mother’s voice urging him to run to Fayetteville. A rage-filled Johnson approaches Omar; Omar flees. Intermission ACT 2, SCENE 1: Omar has been captured and held as a runaway in the Fayetteville County Jail. As he prays, he writes in Arabic on the walls of his jail cell, which catches the attention of the townspeople. Owen, a local plantation owner, enters with his friend, Taylor, who is visiting from the North. Owen’s daughter urges Owen to purchase Omar, insisting that God has led Omar to them. Owen, a devout Christian, brings Omar to his plantation. ACT 2, SCENE 2: On Owen’s plantation, the enslaved are nearly done for the day. Katie Ellen speaks with Julie, who has recently found her way back to the plantation following her kidnapping. As they talk about Owen’s visitor, music and dance begin. Owen and Taylor enter with Omar and introduce Omar. Julie is surprised to see Omar again. When Omar asks Julie why she helped Omar, she tells him that Omar reminded her of her father. ACT 2, SCENE 3: In the study, Owen and Taylor talk about the prospect of converting Omar to Christianity and how that could be used for personal gain. Owen presents Omar a Christian bible, written in Arabic. Taylor asks Omar to write “The Lord is my Shepherd” in his language. ACT 2, SCENE 4: Later that day, Omar reads the bible and reflects on his path to this moment. Julie enters and encourages Omar to write his story. ACT 2, SCENE 5: The spirit of Omar’s mother joins Julie in urging Omar to write about his experiences and faith. Omar begins to pray.

Artistic Team RHIANNON GIDDENS (composer and librettist) uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and she has been nominated for eight Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. She was nominated for her collaboration with

multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other (2019). Giddens’s latest Grammy-winning album, They’re Calling Me Home, is a 12-track album, recorded with Turrisi in Ireland during the recent lockdown; it speaks of the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical “call home” of death, which has been a tragic reality for so many during the COVID-19 crisis. MICHAEL ABELS (composer) is known for his genre-defying scores for the Jordan Peele films Get Out and Us, for which Abels won a World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, a Critics Choice nomination, and multiple critics’ awards. Other recent media projects include the films Bad Education, Nightbooks, Chevalier, and the docu-series Allen v. Farrow. Abels’s concert commissions include At War With Ourselves for the Kronos Quartet and chorus, workshopped in 2021 at University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. His orchestral works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and many others. Abels is co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective, an advocacy group to increase visibility for composers of color in film, gaming, and streaming media. JOHN KENNEDY (Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities) has been a change-maker in music for over 30 years, leading acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. In recent seasons at the Festival, Kennedy has conducted operas by leading composers of our time including Francesconi, Glass, Lachenmann, Lim, Huang Ruo, Saariaho, and others. Kennedy is a prolific composer whose works have been performed worldwide; his family opera The Language of Birds will have a new production by Canadian Children’s Opera Company in Toronto in June. This summer, he will lead West Edge Opera in the US premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera Coraline. KANEZA SCHAAL (director) works in theater, opera, and film, and is based in New York City. Schaal’s work has shown in divergent contexts from courtyards in Vietnam, to East African amphitheaters, to European opera houses, to US public housing, to rural auditoriums in the UAE. By creating performances that speak many formal, cultural, historical, aesthetic, and experiential languages, she seeks expansive audiences. Domestically her work has shown at LA Philharmonic, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, Detroit Opera, The Shed, Walker Arts Center, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and The New Victory Theater. Schaal is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Herb Alpert Award in Theatre, United States Artists Fellowship, SOROS Art Migration and Public Space Fellowship, Ford Foundation Art For Justice Bearing Witness Award, and Creative Capital Award.

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CHRISTOPHER MYERS (production designer) is an artist and writer who lives in New York. While he is widely acclaimed for his work with literature for young people, he is also an accomplished fine artist who has lectured and exhibited internationally. He is interested in the aesthetic bridges that have been built organically across cultures, classes, and geographies, and has been creating work in those in-between spaces for years. Myers has curated shows in Vietnam; worked with traditional shadow puppet makers in Jogjakarta, young musicians in New Orleans, and weavers in Luxor; designed theater that has travelled from PS122 in New York City to the Genocide Memorial Theater in Kigali, Rwanda; and collaborated with Hank Willis Thomas on a short film Am I Going Too Fast which premiered at Sundance. He participated in the Whitney Independent Studio Program and has written essays that have been published by The New York Times. Currently, he is working on a book comparing global censorship methodologies. AMY RUBIN (set designer) is a designer of environments for theater, opera, and dance. Recent credits include Aging Magician (San Diego Opera); Snowy Day (Houston Grand Opera); Blue (Michigan Opera Theatre); Octet (Signature Theater/Berkeley Rep); Cyrano (The New Group); and Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Signature Theater). Her designs have been featured at American Repertory Theater, McCarter Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Walker Arts Center, MassMoCA, Z Space, The Kimmel Center, and numerous TED Talks. APRIL HICKMAN (costume designer) is a Connecticut based costume designer, stylist, and costume illustrator for stage and film, originally from Denver, Colorado. Her most recent design credits include How to Catch Creation at Geva Theater Center; Stick Fly at St. Louis Repertory; Nine Night at Round House Theater; The Mountain Top at Weston Playhouse; Blue at Detroit Opera; and Capricorn 29 at The Tank. April also currently holds a position at Wesleyan University as an Assistant Professor in the Practice of Costume Design. She received an MFA in Costume Design from Yale School of Drama and a BFA in Costume Design and Technology from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. MICHELINE RUSSELL-BROWN (costume designer) Trained as a modern dancer and choreographer, Micheline Russell-Brown’s real love has always been as a costume and design professional. Russell-Brown began her wardrobe career at the Roundabout Theater and then the Metropolitan Opera after a recommendation from her mentor at Bard College. From the Met, she moved on to Broadway, working backstage for several years at Rent. After making a career in theater, she shifted to film and television. Always missing the pulse of live theater, she is thrilled to be returning to the wings of the stage. She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and two children, forever dreaming up ways to better dress her family.

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LUCRECIA BRICENO (lighting designer) is a Peruvian artist currently based in Brooklyn. Much of her work has been in association with artists developing innovative and original pieces. Her work includes theatre, opera, puppetry, and dance, as well as collaborations in several non-performance projects. Her designs have been presented at such venues as Oxford Playhouse (UK), The Public Theater, Arena Stage, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dallas Theatre Center, BAM (Fisher), Kennedy Center, Atlas Performing Arts, Berlind Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, among many others. Internationally her work has been seen in Caracas, Peru, Turkey, Scotland, Seoul, Bogota, Norway, and England. Her design work for Crime and Punishment was part of the Venezuelan delegation for the 2015 Prague Quadrennial. She is an associate artist with The Civilians, a Core Member of Anonymous Ensemble, a resident designer with Pregones Theatre/PRTT and La Micro; she has also been a guest artist/lecturer at NYU, Princeton University, Hunter College, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. JOSHUA HIGGASON (video designer) is a video, scenic, lighting, and interactive designer, creating experiences for theater, concerts, opera, and events. Recent video designs include Cosi Fan Tutte and Falstaff for Opera di Firenze; Die Ägyptische Helena and Hansel und Gretel for La Scala; Blue for Detroit Opera; Purcell’s King Arthur for Staatsoper Berlin and Theater An Der Wien; Mackie Messer-Eine Salzburger Dreigroschenoper for Salzburger Festspiele; and Sufjan Stevens’s Carrie and Lowell Tour. His work has been seen at Carnegie Hall, Salzburg Festspiele, Bayreuth Festival, BAM, TED, The Public, MoMA, Panorama Festival NYC, Beacon Theatre, and many others. He is an instructor of performance design at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ALEJANDRO FAJARDO (lighting co-designer) is a Colombian lighting designer based in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn. His recent credits include The Hombres (Two River Theatre Co.); Gem of the Ocean (Trinity Rep); NYC Free, a month long performance festival at Little Island Park; Murmur (Kafka Collective); The Bengson’s Broken Ear Setlist: Songs from OHIO (St. Ann’s Warehouse); / wē/ and fôr (Michiyaya Dance); and Sacha Yanow’s Cherie Dre (Danspace Projects). Alejandro designed two escape rooms at Big Sky Resort in Montana, as well as a series of theatrical immersive games at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center (Big Sky, MT). Alejandro has designed the site lighting for music festivals (Electric Forest, Okeechobee Music, and Arts Festival, Life is Beautiful) and many New York Fashion Week shows with Rob Ross Design and IMCD Lighting; he is one of the associate Lighting Directors for Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center. IAN ANDREW ASKEW (assistant director) is an artist working in music and performance. Their project SLAMDANCE began in 2019 and continued at The Performing Garage in 2021. SLAMDANCE TV, a video component, was premiered by The Kitchen online in 2021. As a sound artist collaborating with Camila Ortiz, they have created


scores for projects by Christopher Myers, Kaneza Schaal, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Joie Lee. As an assistant director alongside Zack Winokur, Askew has shown work at American Repertory Theater and The Metropolitan Museum. As an associate director and sound designer with Kaneza Schaal, they have presented work with Detroit Opera and Performance Space New York. KIARA BENN (assistant director) is an artist and producer pursuing a career in the realm of creative direction. Benn attended Wesleyan University where she received Wesleyan’s DanceLink Fellowship 2019 – 2020 and was awarded a grant to intern with Whitney Biennial Artist Brendan Fernandes. Benn assisted with his movement-based installations at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and at Wesleyan’s Zilkha Gallery. She danced with Brooklyn youth company, Dancewave, where she performed the works of Kyle Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Andrea Miller of Gallim Dance, and others. Additionally, she danced these works at renowned venues like The Pocantico Center and Jacob’s Pillow. Benn has produced three choreographic pieces, Will You Reminisce For Me?, tempo take me…, and excuse me while I take up space. Kiara’s artistry often asks: How does music serve as a portal to privately experienced memories and trigger our bodies to move in ways that reference the past?

Cast JAMEZ MCCORKLE (Omar) is an innate musician and trained pianist. McCorkle is gathering acclaim as a hugely exciting talent. Following his time at the Zürich International Opera Studio in 2019, McCorkle was a finalist in the much-coveted Neue Stimmen competition and has since made anticipated debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Detroit Opera, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Bayerische Staatsoper. Highlights of the 2021—22 season include his house and role debut as Telemaco in a new production of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Theatre Basel; and Leonard Woolfe in Kevin Puts’ new opera The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra. CATHERINE ANN DANIEL (Katie Ellen/ The Caller) made her Opera Tampa debut in Carmen singing the title role in 2020. Daniel studied voice with Coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl at the University of Manitoba. She was a member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and later became a member of the Opera Studio Nederlands in Amsterdam. Her career highlights include singing Emelda Griffiths in Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion with l’Opéra de Montréal, debuting Klytemnestra in Edmonton Opera’s production of Elektra, singing Elisabetta in Knoxville Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and debuting at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Haydyn’s Mass in Time of War.

ADAM KLEIN (Auctioneer/Taylor) has enjoyed a long career which includes Yniold (Pellas et Mélisande), Count Elemer (Arabella), Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Števa (Jenůfa), Chekalinsky (The Queen of Spades), and Yaryshkin (The Nose). Klein’s appearances at Spoleto Festival USA include Georg (Der Fliegende Holländer), Bacchus (Ariadne Auf Naxos), Sly (Faustus, the Last Night), and Leonardo (The Little Match Girl). Other roles include Don José, Cavaradossi, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Chekalinsky, Canio, and Duca di Mantova, in cities from Chihuahua to Toronto and Portland East to Portland West. He also makes and plays many folk instruments including banjo, dulcimer, and autoharp. CHERYSE MCLEOD LEWIS (Omar’s Mother, Fatima) enjoys a diverse career in opera, musical theater, commercial, print, and voiceover. Lewis makes her Spoleto Festival USA debut this season as Omar’s Mother in the world premiere opera Omar. Recent highlights include Bess Understudy/ Ensemble Swing in the 1st National Broadway Tour of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Girlfriend 3/Congregant 3 in Blue (Seattle Opera), and Cinderella’s Stepmother in Into the Woods (Village Theatre). Lewis’s recent commercial, print, and voiceover credits include national ads for Amazon, Microsoft, Costco, T-Mobile, and Zillow. REBECCA JO LOEB (Owen’s Daughter, Eliza) returns this season to the Metropolitan Opera in Boris Godunov, reopens the New York Festival of Song concert series, returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin in Parsifal, and debuts with the Albany Symphony. Loeb recently sang at Theatro Municipal de Sao Paolo reprising her role as Lumee in the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera prism, which was also released on Decca Gold. Other notable performances include Flora in La traviata at The Metropolitan Opera, prism at Los Angeles Opera, Pierrot Lunaire with Donald Runnicles, Written on Skin at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Love Life at Theater Freiburg, and as an ensemble member of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin. Loeb has also performed at Alice Tully Hall, Ravinia Festival, Tanglewood, Oper Köln, Dutch National Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, the Kurt Weill Festival, Gimmerglass Opera, and as a regular with New York Festival of Song. MALCOLM MACKENZIE (Johnson/Owen) has appeared with prestigious opera houses throughout the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera (Bastille), Finland’s Savonlinna Festival, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera, in roles including Simon Boccanegra, Iago, Tonio, Baron Scarpia, Don Giovanni, Count di Luna, Renato, Jack Rance, Marcello, Germont, and Count Almaviva. His 2021-2022 season featured his return to the Metropolitan Opera for Don Carlos, Germont in La traviata at Toledo Opera, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Colorado, and Gianni Schicchi at Piedmont Opera. O M A R | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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LAQUITA MITCHELL (Julie) consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide. Mitchell performed as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. She appeared in New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon concerts and the Kauffmann Music Center’s Musical Storefront as part of New York City’s Pop-Up Arts Revival, as well as in Bard Music Festival’s concert performances of Nadia Boulanger and Her World. She has performed with San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, The Tanglewood Festival, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and many more. MICHAEL REDDING (Omar’s Brother, Abdul/Man to be Sold, Abe) has been thrilling audiences in the United States and in Europe with his vocalism and theatrical presence in work ranging from Mozart to classic American Music Theatre. His recent performances include Uncle Paul in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones with Opera Theatre of St Louis, Carl Magnus’s A Little Night Music with Piedmont Opera, Escamillo’s Carmen with Opera on the James, Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Madison Symphony, concert performances of Porgy and Bess with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, La Verdi Orchestra, Milan, and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Music Staff DIANE RICHARDSON (vocal coach) received degrees in music from Oberlin College, Columbia University, and also trained professionally at The Juilliard School, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and L’Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Skilled in operatic and lieder repertoire, Richardson has toured extensively with leading artists throughout the United States and Europe. She taught at the Yale School of Music, served as assistant conductor with New York City Opera and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has been associated with Spoleto Festival USA since its first season. Richardson holds concurrent faculty appointments at The Juilliard School and Binghamton University. RENATE ROHLFING (musical preparation) is winner of the Sonderpreis Klavier (Special Pianists’ Prize) at the 2016 Internationaler WettbewerbStuttgart. Rohlfing is an active pianist and music therapist. Described as “pianistic perfection” (Niedersächsische Allgemeine), her recent and upcoming highlights include engagements at the National

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Gallery of Art, Wigmore Hall, Schloss Elmau, the Isabella Gardner Museum, Beethovenhaus Bonn, and Musikfest Bremen. Rohlfing is passionate about integrating music and public health and is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music. She is focused on researching the impact of music on neurodiverse populations and communities deeply affected by grief and trauma. Rohlfing is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, and a graduate of The Juilliard School. VINROY D. BROWN, JR. (chorus conductor) holds credits in conducting, sacred music, and music education. He is a member of the conducting, organ, and sacred music faculty at Westminster Choir College, where he conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers and teaches African American Choral Literature. A church musician, he is director of music and worship arts at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church. Maintaining an active conducting schedule, he is founder and artistic director of Elmwood Concert Singers and is artistic director and conductor of Capital Singers of Trenton. He holds the Master of Arts in Practical Theology degree from Regent University and Bachelor of Music degrees in Sacred Music and Music Education from Westminster Choir College. KELLEN GRAY (assistant conductor) has earned a reputation as a versatile and imaginative conductor through his enthusiasm for traditional, experimental, and multimedia projects. He serves as assistant conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and associate conductor of the Charleston Symphony (USA). Prior to his present appointments, Gray was a Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow, and later, Assistant Conductor at Chicago Sinfonietta. From 2014 – 2016, Gray was Assistant Conductor at the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and conducting fellow at Eastern Music Festival. His recent and upcoming conducting endeavors include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, English National Opera, Virginia Symphony, Boston Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony, among others. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival’s programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.


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LA BOHÈME Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

Artistic Team Conductor Director Associate Director Set Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer

Kensho Watanabe Yuval Sharon James Blaszko John Conklin Jessica Jahn John Torres

Cast Rodolfo Mimì Marcello Musetta Colline Alcindoro Schaunard Parpignol Sergeant Customs Officer The Wanderer

CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall May 28 at 7:30pm; May 31 at 7:30pm; June 4 at 7:30pm; June 7 at 7:30pm; June 11 at 8:00pm 1 hours, 45 minutes Performed without an intermission Sung in Italian with English supertitles

Matthew White Lauren Michelle Troy Cook Brandie Sutton Calvin Griffin John Allen Nelson Benjamin Taylor Shane Thomas, Jr. Matthew Marinelli James C. Harris George Shirley

Assistant Conductor Children’s Choir Coordinator Children’s Choir Assistant Harmonia Children’s Chorus Vocal Coach Musical Preparation Production Stage Manager Associate Costume Designer

Kamna Gupta Suzanne Fleming-Atwood Catherine Hicks Colin Baldwin; Maeve Baldwin; Sean Baldwin; Maddalena Buzzelli; Caroline Buzzelli; Jane Jordan; Maggie Jordan; Caroline Jordan; Keagan Lynch; Deaglan Lynch; Aisling Lynch; Lili Maino; Kate Ridenour; Tommy Romano; Vivian Santos; Jack Santos Diane Richardson Keun-A Lee Becca Eddins Sophie Schneider

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

Scenery constructed at TTS Studios Costumes constructed at Detroit Opera Costume Shop

A Co-Production of Spoleto Festival USA, Detroit Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. Opera Programming is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magil Foundation. Sponsored by BMW Group Plant Spartanburg

These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Spoleto Festival USA is proud to present these performances with the support of the Charleston Gaillard Center.

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Synopsis La bohème tells the story of three couples: the romantic poet Rodolfo and the serene, self-possessed flowergirl Mimì; the temperamental painter Marcello and the fiercely independent singer Musetta; the lovably pedantic musician Schaunard and the taciturn philosopher Colline. DEATH ⁄ In their cramped, spare apartment, lovesickness blocks Rodolfo and Marcello from creating. Schaunard and Colline try making the best of their impoverishment by pretending their meager meal is a grand ball. Musetta bursts in with the gravely ill Mimì; Schaunard recognizes that she has little time left. Marcello and Musetta reconcile and search for a doctor and any last comfort they can offer Mimì; Colline offers to sell the beloved coat that Schaunard bought for him to pay for the doctor. Briefly alone, Mimì and Rodolfo recall the first time they met. The friends come back with medicine, money, and a muff for Mimì’s cold hands. They await the doctor’s arrival, but it’s too late: Mimì’s life slips through their fingers. BARRIÈRE ⁄ Three months earlier. At a border crossing at dawn, Mimì desperately seeks Marcello. He has been living with Musetta as boarders in a shabby tavern, where he paints and she offers singing lessons. Mimì confesses that Rodolfo has been erratic and cruel to her and wants to end their relationship. Rodolfo has slept at the tavern, and as he confides to Marcello, Mimì eavesdrops on the conversation. At first, Rodolfo lies about the reason for their break-up: he’s bored with her, and she’s a terrible flirt. But he lets down his guard and reveals the truth: he knows that Mimì is very sick and feels powerless to help her. With the secret of her sickness revealed, Mimì holds back her emotions and ends their relationship. But as the two of them recount the many things they will miss—and with Marcello and Musetta’s latest turbulent breakup unfolding in the background—Rodolfo and Mimì decide to stay together only through the winter. MOMUS ⁄ Two months earlier—Christmas Eve. The streets of Paris are ablaze with life and a carnivalesque anarchy. Amid shouts of street hawkers, Rodolfo buys Mimì a bonnet near the Café Momus before introducing her to his friends. Musetta enters ostentatiously on the arm of the wealthy Alcindoro. Trying to regain the painter’s attention, she sings a waltz about her irresistible beauty. Marcello successfully ignores her, but when Musetta pretends to suffer from a pinched foot, he falls into a passionate frenzy. As the couple reunites, a rousing march fills the streets. LOVE ⁄ Earlier that night. Marcello and Rodolfo try to keep warm by burning pages from Rodolfo’s drama. Colline enters in time to catch the last of the dying flames. Schaunard, newly employed as a music tutor, surprises them all with a bounty of food, wine, cigars, and wood for the stove. He urges the friends to save the provisions—in case of a gloomy future—and eat a celebratory meal at Café Momus instead. Rodolfo stays behind to write, but he’s not inspired—until a knock at the door signals the arrival of Mimì, his new neighbor, whose candle has gone out on the drafty stairs. Out of breath, she faints to the floor, but a cool splash of water revives her. Rodolfo ignites her candle, but when the two search for Mimì’s dropped key, both candles are blown out. In the moonlight, the poet takes the girl’s cold hand and offers to warm it for her. He introduces himself as a poet who lives with hope in his heart. She

tells him about her quiet life and the poems she reads in the flowers. Overwhelmed with love, they go out into the night, their cries of love echoing into eternity.

— Yuval Sharon

Director’s Note “How do you begin telling the story of a great love when you know it ended in disaster?” Sandro Veronesi’s line from his book Il colibrì (The Hummingbird) accompanies a story that hops back and forth in time, narrating a tender romance that ended in heartbreak. Veronesi’s goal is to “demolish the tyranny of chronology” and to place more emphasis on how things happen, rather than what happens. Along the way, the reader is confronted with the unruly and indirect nature of memory, and she may come to understand what the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard summarized so perfectly: “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” Veronesi’s recent novel is a fitting point of departure for this production of La bohème, which begins at the end and works in reverse order, back to the first moment Mimì and Rodolfo met. The kind of narrative experiment undertaken in Veronesi’s novel seems hard to imagine in an art form like opera, where the “tyranny of chronology” seems fixed in the rigid architecture of the music. Most operas would not sustain this kind of approach, with arrow-like stories that move in only one direction. But Bohème tells its story in a highly unconventional manner: Puccini described the work as a piece in quattro quadri, or “four pictures.” Henri Murger’s original work, Scenes from the Bohemian Life, was published in serial form from 1845 to 1848, resulting in an episodic, impressionistic snapshot of a revolutionary underbelly of society. Atmosphere and color are more important than the narrative arcs we find in great novels of the time, and the resulting work resembles the nascent art of photography more than classic literature. If Murger’s writing was photographic, Puccini’s opera— written as the “moving image” was born—is powerfully cinematic. Simultaneous action, interspersed scenes, overlapping events—all of this creates a new and very modern sense of time that is barely contained by the musical meter. There are few, if any, moments in opera that capture falling in love—with its anarchic rush of impressions and the psychedelic dissolution of time—as effectively as Act II. Bohème may be the most popular opera in the repertoire, but its radical qualities are paradoxically undervalued. (Is the opera too popular to claim it for the avant-garde?) One of the remarkable discoveries we’ve made in preparing this production is how lightning-fast the entire opera plays out. Performed without intermission and with one discrete cut in the first act, Bohème clocks in at just over 90 minutes. This comes as a shock to most opera patrons, who think of Bohème as nearly three-hour affairs. Cumbersome scene changes—taking the notion of “four pictures” literally—usually necessitate at least one, if not two, intermissions. The pressure to “over-do” Bohème also creates uneasy contradictions: the starving artists describe their garret as “squalid,” “drafty,” and “cramped,” but most productions have them living in what looks like the most enviable penthouse in Paris.

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I wanted to create a production that emphasized the swiftness of the music and the brevity of these lives; all the myriad details that make up a typical Bohème—the stereotypes and clichés, as well as the pictorial expectations—have been sifted away in search of the work’s true gold. We are after the essence of this work, which I think of as the perfectly preserved energy of being young, full of hope, and in love with life. There are big questions invoked when we perform a classic like La bohème in a non-traditional way, such as: how and why do we perform masterpieces in the here and now? What is to be gained by disrupting conventional listening? Is it possible to treat operatic masterpieces with the same interpretive flexibility that, say, Shakespeare’s plays demand? While those provocations offer a background to the work we’ve done with this opera, they are also, fittingly, not our endgame, but our point of departure. Likewise, I hope it offers you a point of departure to listen and experience the opera as if it is a world premiere. More importantly, I hope it invites you to explore a personal meditation on life and love. To return to Veronesi: how do you tell your great love story? Do you start from the beginning, or do you chart a meandering path? Disaster, death, and loss will inevitably befall even the happiest lives and loves— but is that really the end of the story?

— Yuval Sharon

Artistic Team KENSHO WATANABE (conductor) is fast emerging onto the international stage as one of the most exciting and versatile young conductors to come out of the United States. Recently recognized as a recipient of a Career Assistance Award by the Solti Foundation US, Watanabe held the position of Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2016 to 2019. Watanabe has previously been an inaugural conducting fellow of the Curtis Institute of Music from 2013 to 2015. Recent highlights include debuts with the London Philharmonic and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestras, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Rhode Island Philharmonic, as well as his Finnish debut with the Jyväskylä Sinfonia. YUVAL SHARON (director) has amassed an unconventional body of work that expands the operatic form. He is founder and co-Artistic Director of The Industry in Los Angeles and the Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director of Detroit Opera. Sharon made his debut with Detroit Opera in 2020 with Twilight: Gods, an innovative adaptation of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. The first American ever invited to direct at Bayreuth, Sharon distinguished himself with a boldly progressive Lohengrin in 2018, using subtle dramatic direction to completely overhaul the opera into a critique of entrenched power structures. He is the recipient of the 2014 Götz Friedrich Prize in Germany for his production of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic. In 2017, Sharon was honored with a MacArthur Fellowship and a Foundation for Contemporary Art grant for theater.

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JAMES BLASZKO (associate director) is a queer first-generation American director and creative producer. Before the pandemic, Blaszko staged Puccini’s Il Trittico in South Korea, the opening ceremony of the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe, and Britten’s Les Illuminations with selections of Debussy and Patti Smith in Maine. He returned to live performance in 2021 by devising and staging Puccini and Verdi Play Ball with Tulsa Opera on their city’s baseball stadium. He is currently the tour producer of The Peculiar Patriot by Liza Jessie Peterson, last performed and recorded live at Angola State Prison in January 2020. JOHN CONKLIN (set designer) has designed for the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, and the opera companies of Houston, Seattle, Dallas, Washington, and Minneapolis, among others. Abroad he has worked at the English National Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and The Australian Opera. In addition, he served as Director of Production for New York City Opera, Associate Director of Glimmerglass Opera, and is currently Artistic Advisor to Boston Lyric Opera. He recently retired from teaching at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. JESSICA JAHN (costume designer) has worked on off-Broadway productions including Coal Country (The Public Theatre); Gloria: A Life (Daryl Roth Theatre); Die Mommie Die! (New World Stages); and Monodramas (New York City Opera). Regionally, she has designed for American Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. Her international repertoire includes The Gran Teatre de Liceu, Wexford Opera, and soon she will work on Orfeo ed Euridice (San Francisco Opera). Jahn is currently a member of the steering committees of Opera America’s Women’s Opera Network (WON) and Racial Justice Opera Network (RJON), as well as Opera America Board’s Membership Committee. JOHN TORRES (lighting designer) is a New York-based lighting designer working in theater, dance, motion, and print. Recent opera projects include Turandot (Opera Bastille, Paris); Tristan und Isolde (La Monnaie, Brussels); ATLAS, directed by Yuval Sharon (Disney Hall, LA Philharmonic); Eden with Joyce DiDonato (Bozar, Brussels); Der Messias with Robert Wilson (Salzburg Festival). Theatrical work includes Twelfth Night; A Bright Room Called Day (The Public, NYC); The Black Clown (A.R.T. Cambridge); Only an Octave Apart and Hamlet (St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn); and Assembly (Park Avenue Armory). His designs for television include Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live! and Joni 75 (PBS). Torres has worked with many of today’s prominent musicians including Taylor Mac (A 24 Decade..., St. Ann’s Warehouse),


Solange Knowles, Florence and the Machine, and Usher: The Vegas Residency. Dance productions include Available Light, Lucinda Childs (Théâtre de La Ville, Paris) and Lost Mountain, Bobbi Jene Smith (La Mama, NYC).

Cast TROY COOK (Marcello) has been praised for his “technically flawless performance” by Opera News and heralded throughout his career for his vocal suaveness and vibrant stage presence. His many and varied performances include appearances with the Metropolitan Opera; Washington National Opera; Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Teatro San Carlo, Napoli; The Dallas Opera; and Opera Pacific, among others. An acclaimed interpreter of new works, he created the role of John Cree in Elizabeth Cree, as well as Father Palmer in Silent Night. CALVIN GRIFFIN (Colline) began his 2021/2022 season with a return to the Metropolitan Opera and a Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Robert in Fire Shut Up In My Bones. He also sang the role of Tommy in Fellow Travelers with Opera Columbus and is very excited to make his Spoleto Festival USA debut as Colline in La bohème. Recently, Griffin has sung the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with both Florentine Opera and Florida Grand Opera, Eddie in The Fix with Minnesota Opera, as well as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Wolf Trap Opera. JAMES C. HARRIS (Customs Officer) is a versatile artist who enjoys performance experience encompassing opera, musical theater, and straight theater. Previous Spoleto appearances include Path of Miracles (2019). Recent opera credits include Le nozze di Figaro (Count Almaviva) and Orpheus in the Underworld (Jupiter) at Manhattan School of Music. Recent theater credits include Songs for a New World (Limelight Theatre Company) and Will Wilson Saves the World (New York City premiere reading). Concert work includes Oedipus Rex (Opera Philadelphia) and L’enfant et les sortilèges (Philadelphia Orchestra). He received a BM in Voice Performance from Westminster Choir College and first-year MM at Manhattan School of Music. MATTHEW MARINELLI (Sergeant), baritone, last performed with Spoleto Festival USA in 2019 (Path of Miracles) and in 2018 as the boisterous marionette, Geronimo, in Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company’s Il Matrimonio Segreto. Outside of Spoleto, you can find Marinelli regularly performing in New York and Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir—most recently premiering The Hours with Yannick Nézet-Séguin—or performing with several other choral, barbershop, and opera groups in the surrounding areas.

LAUREN MICHELLE (Mimì) is a native of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of UCLA and The Juilliard School. She was a prize winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and is an internationally recognized opera star. Some of her notable international roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La bohème, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She has performed at Covent Garden as Jessica in The Merchant of Venice and completed a season as a house soprano with Vienna State Opera. She sang in concert under the baton of Plácido Domingo at LA Opera and made her debut with Washington National Opera to critical acclaim alongside Eric Owens. She was awarded First Place in both the Lotte Lenya Competition and the Marcello Giordani International Vocal Competition. JOHN ALLEN NELSON (Alcindoro) is an Irish American baritone and recently debuted as Count Almaviva in Opera Ithaca’s Le Nozze di Figaro and as Guglielmo in Bar Harbor Music Festival’s Così fan tutte. He has appeared with New York City Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Opera, and Minnesota Opera, among others. He is an active performer of new works, including Angels in America, Hamlet, The Grapes of Wrath, and Stonewall, in which he originated the role of Giordano. He holds degrees from Boston University’s Opera Institute, UMKC Conservatory of Music, and St. John’s University. He will make his Spoleto debut as Alcindoro in La bohème. GEORGE SHIRLEY (The Wanderer) is one of America’s most versatile tenors and enlightened musicians. During a 57-year career performing more than 80 operatic roles, he received international acclaim for his performances with the Metropolitan Opera and with major opera houses and festivals worldwide. Shirley received a Grammy Award in 1968 for his role (Ferrando) in the prize-winning RCA recording of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Shirley was the first Black tenor and second African American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for 11 years as leading artist. He was the first Black high school vocal music teacher in the Detroit Public Schools and the first Black member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C. In 2015, he received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. George Shirley is The Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. BRANDIE SUTTON (Musetta) made a very successful debut in Vienna in the autumn of 2020 as Clara in Porgy and Bess at Theatre an der Wien. This was also the role of her Metropolitan Opera debut in February, 2020, where she returned this past December as La Fee in Cendrillon. She has also sung with New York City Opera and at the opera houses of Seattle, Geneva, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Bari, and Mexico (Palacio de las Bellas Artes). A versatile concert artist, Ms. Sutton has sung with the Mostly L A B O H È M E | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Mozart Festival, National Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center, South Florida Symphony, Royal Danish Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and this season, Carnegie Hall. During the pandemic, she has appeared in a wide range of virtual events. BENJAMIN TAYLOR (Schaunard) recently made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Chester in Fire Shut Up in My Bones and at the Detroit Opera. Mr. Taylor will make his Spoleto debut as Schaunard in La bohème. Upcoming debuts include Cincinnati Opera for the world premiere of Castor and Patience as West, North Carolina Opera for Sanctuary Road as William Still, and a return to Pittsburgh Opera for The Magic Flute as Papageno. Taylor is an alum of Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program, Boston University (Master of Music), BU Opera Institute (Performer’s Certificate), and Morgan State University (Bachelor of Arts). He was an Apprentice Artist at The Santa Fe Opera, Gerdine Young Artist, and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. SHANE THOMAS, JR. (Parpignol) serves as the Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He has performed as a soloist and a chorister for choral ensembles throughout the United States, including BWV: Cleveland’s Bach Choir, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Coro Volante, Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, and the Festival Singers of Florida. Thomas holds a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, MM from Westminster Choir College, and BME from Stetson University. Past Spoleto Festival USA appearances include the 2013 and 2014 Festivals with the Westminster Choir. MATTHEW WHITE (Rodolfo) is a recent graduate of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts. In the past year, Matthew has sung Faust in Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène with the Houston Symphony and Bard Music Festival, made a house and role debut as Don José in Carmen with Arizona Opera, returned to Cincinnati Opera for Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and took the role of Rodolfo in the premiere of Yuval Sharon’s new production of La bohème (Detroit Opera). In the upcoming year, Matthew will sing the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with Opera Colorado and Utah Opera and will continue to sing Rodolfo with Boston Lyric Opera.

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Music Staff SUZANNE FLEMING-ATWOOD (children’s choir coordinator) has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music in Voice from the Catholic University of America. Fleming-Atwood studied opera as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Milan, Italy. In demand as a performer, music educator, and voice teacher, she works at Christ Our King-Stella Maris School, where she directs choirs, teaches general music, and directs numerous musical performances during the year. Her children’s choir, Harmonia, will be making its Spoleto Festival USA debut in La bohème. Harmonia has performed for Piccolo Spoleto and with the College of Charleston Concert Choir as well as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. KEUN-A LEE (musical preparation) started piano studies at age four. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Piano Performance at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Korea, where she won the silver medal of Samik Piano Competition. She then earned both a master’s degree and Artist Diploma in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School. She holds a Professional Studies Certificate in Vocal Accompanying from the Manhattan School of Music. Also, she has finished her term with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. She has been on the music staffs of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Colorado, Detroit Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, The Juilliard School of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, among others. DIANE RICHARDSON (vocal coach) received degrees in music from Oberlin College and Columbia University. Additionally, she trained professionally at The Juilliard School, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and L’Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Skilled in operatic and lieder repertoire, Richardson has toured extensively with leading artists throughout the US and Europe. She taught at the Yale School of Music, served as assistant conductor with New York City Opera and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has been associated with Spoleto Festival USA since its first season. Richardson holds concurrent faculty appointments at The Juilliard School and Binghamton University.


THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival’s programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.

Actors Jessica Annunziata Biba Bell X. Alexander Durden Hank Felix Peter Knox Alexis Primus

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UNHOLY WARS Conceived and performed by Karim Sulayman

Artistic Team Lead Creator and Concept Stage Director Music Director Visual Artist Interstitial Music Composer Choreographer Assistant Choreographer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Projection Designer Sound Designer Creative Producer Production Manager Stage Manager Developed By

Cast

DOCK STREET THEATRE Karim Sulayman Kevin Newbury Julie Andrijeski Kevork Mourad Mary Kouyoumdjian Ebony Williams Coral Dolphin David C. Woolard Jennifer Fok Michael Commendatore Rick Jacobsohn Jecca Barry Brian Freeland Lindsey Turteltaub Up Until Now Collective

May 29, 7:30pm; June 1, 7:30pm; June 3, 8:00pm; June 6, 8:00pm 1 hours, 10 minutes Performed without an intermission

Karim Sulayman, tenor Raha Mirzadegan, soprano John Taylor Ward, bass-baritone Coral Dolphin, dancer

Ensemble Julie Andrijeski, music director/violin Manami Mizumoto, violin Daniel Elyar, viola Katie Rietman, cello Tracy Mortimore, violone John Lenti, theorbo Adam Cockerham, theorbo Michael Sponseller, harpsichord

Unholy Wars is commissioned by Spoleto Festival USA, developed by Up Until Now Collective, and co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Up Until Now Collective. Opera Programming is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magil Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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Music Prelude Gloria patri

Mary Kouyoumdjian (b.1983)

Dalla porta d’oriente

Giulio Caccini (1551 – 1618), arr. Julie Andrijeski

La mia turca, SV310

Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643)

Interlude 1

Mary Kouyoumdjian

“Nigra sum” from Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610), SV206

Claudio Monteverdi

Interlude 2

Mary Kouyoumdjian

Chi è costei Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, SV153 Interlude 3, Improvisation, La mia turca (reprise) Symphonia 2 à 4, Op. 3 Interlude 4 Giunto alla tomba Interlude 5 O dolcezze amarissime Interlude 6 “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Rinaldo Postlude

Francesca Caccini (1587 – 1640)

Claudio Monteverdi

Mary Kouyoumdjian/Karim Sulayman/Claudio Monteverdi Nicolaus a Kempis (1600 – 1676) Mary Kouyoumdjian Sigismondo D’India (1582 – 1629) Mary Kouyoumdjian Salamone Rossi (1570 – 1630) Mary Kouyoumdjian George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) Mary Kouyoumdjian

Program Note The Western musical canon is replete with material about faraway lands, and the Middle East is often a chosen subject. From Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail to the settings of Rimsky Korsakov and Ravel’s Sheherazade to Disney’s Aladdin, Arabs have long been represented, though mostly depicted as stereotypes based on limited to no firsthand knowledge by the creators. The term “Middle East” itself is an invention of British colonialism, and no one can seem to agree where the Middle East begins or ends. We do have maps, however, and the arbitrary lines that were drawn in secret during the Sykes-Picot agreement, dividing Ottoman territories into European spheres of influence, helped set the borders of many modern Middle Eastern nation-states. These borders reflected European priorities, yet left many ethnic groups divided and dealing with more conflict.

Unholy Wars stitches together a collection of baroque music centered around the Middle East and The Crusades. It examines the separation of the human race based on creed and color. At its heart is the story of Tancredi and Clorinda from Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata set to music by Claudio Monteverdi as Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda in 1624. The poem takes place during the First Crusade of 1096, when Christian armies set out to conquer Jerusalem from the Saracens. It tells of the Christian knight Tancredi who, in love with the Muslim warrior Clorinda, unwittingly kills the object of his affection in a battle because he does not recognize her in her armor and under the veil of night. At the time of its creation, and surely in the minds of its original audiences, this is a powerful story in which love could transcend cultural boundaries, while highlighting war as a dividing force. Unholy Wars asks: What if we reframe it all? What happens to these works when they are embodied by the “other?” How are they

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changed when the subjects are given the chance to reclaim their stories? What if marginalized people are invited into this space to reshape it, to lay new borders (or perhaps remove them altogether)? Can we lean into the discomfort of our collective history while forging a new path forward? As a first generation American born to Lebanese immigrants who fled the escalating civil war in the 1970s, I have often had to answer the question: “Where are you from?” I always say I’m from Chicago, but that never seems to satisfy the person asking. My “otherness” in this country has come into full focus in a post-9/11 world, but it was something present throughout my childhood as well—and not just because I grew up in an immigrant household on the south side of Chicago. Many in my family are fair skinned with light eyes, some with blazing red hair. As a child, I would ask my mother and father why I looked so different from these relatives. My parents would talk about The Crusades and how a thousand years ago European Christians sought to conquer the “Holy Land” and its surrounding areas in the Levant. In offering a possible explanation of a mixed gene pool to a child, they left out terms like “rape” and “pillage”—violent forms of cultural erasure. In Unholy Wars, when the “others’’ gaze back at the creators and their creations, the historical work of erasure comes into view. The musical masterpieces of this program bring into focus the idea that the “other” is fashioned in the image of the creator. The girl from the East in Caccini’s Dalla porta d’oriente is presented to us with the ideals of Western beauty, with her snow-white skin. Similarly, Clorinda is described as a beauty with white skin and blond hair, though she’s from Ethiopia, conveniently making the love story more palatable to its readers at the time. Nigra sum is a text that has suffered “de-blackification.” Originally recited in the Bible’s Song of Songs by the Queen of Sheba, it has been co-opted by Catholicism to be an allegory about the Virgin Mary. “I am Black but beautiful,” she states. She is Black, BUT beautiful…? Approaching these works in the present day, one can no longer ignore the conflict that exists in the material itself. As we explore the aural and visual landscape of Unholy Wars, four characters are ultimately tasked with the labor of coexistence. The “Middle East” is and has always been a place of mixture—the borders, maps, and names that history has given us do not define our wholeness. “Where are you from?” becomes truly meaningless when we understand and embrace the layers of our past. I once heard David Attenborough’s beautiful voice narrate a segment about the Arabian desert. What I learned is that dust storms blow mineral-rich sands into the sea, feeding the microorganisms on which so much marine life thrives. This is the way of our natural world: the most unexpected entities are inextricably linked. It is the desert that enriches the sea. Unholy Wars asks us to imagine what is possible when we recognize and embrace that our histories are intertwined, and our collective survival is mutually dependent.

— Karim Sulayman

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Artistic Team KARIM SULAYMAN (creator/tenor) Lebanese American Karim Sulayman’s “lucid, velvety tenor, and pop-star charisma” (BBC Music Magazine) has propelled him to triumphs on the world’s great stages. That, paired with his consistently acclaimed original programming, also earned him the 2019 Grammy Award (Best Classical Solo Vocal) for his debut solo album, Songs of Orpheus. His second solo album, Where Only Stars Can Hear Us, was included on The New York Times Best Classical Music of 2020. Recent and future season highlights include PBS Great Performances, his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall, and engagements at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Aldeburgh Festival, Wigmore Hall, and Drottningholms Slottsteater. KEVIN NEWBURY (director) Career highlights include three PBS Great Performances broadcasts: Bernstein’s MASS (Ravinia Festival) and the premieres of Bel Canto (Chicago Lyric Opera) and Doubt (Minnesota Opera). Other premieres include Kansas City Choir Boy starring Courtney Love (Prototype Festival, National Tour); Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera, etc., New York Times: Best of Opera of 2016), and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (2019 Grammy winner: Best Opera Recording; Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, upcoming: San Francisco Opera). Upcoming projects include the premiere of Castor & Patience (Cincinnati Opera). Kevin is Co-Founder of Up Until Now Collective. JULIE ANDRIJESKI (music director/violin) is a performer, scholar, and teacher of early music and dance. Andrijeski performs with diverse early music groups, mainly Quicksilver (Co-Director), Atlanta Baroque Orchestra (Artistic Director/Concertmaster), Les Délices, and Apollo’s Fire (Principal Player). A full-time faculty member in the Case Western Reserve University Music Department, she leads classes in early music performance practices and directs the baroque music and dance ensembles. She also teaches baroque violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Special teaching engagements include a twice-yearly residency at The Juilliard School. She is concertmaster and soloist on the Grammy Award-winning Songs of Orpheus featuring tenor Karim Sulayman with Apollo’s Fire. JECCA BARRY (creative producer) is an opera, theater, film, and music producer, as well as a nonprofit arts leader. She currently serves as Executive Director of the acclaimed production company Beth Morrison Projects and Co-Director of New York’s annual PROTOTYPE Festival. Barry has overseen the commissioning, development, production, and touring of over 30 new theater, music-theater, and opera works, and has toured those works to over 40 national and 15 international venues. Works produced


have won two Pulitzer Prizes for Music, a Total Theatre Award and Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Bessie, Helen Hayes, Theatre Bay Area, and Elliot Norton Awards in cities around the United States. MICHAEL COMMENDATORE (projection designer) Originally from Rhode Island, Michael now lives in Chicago with his amazing wife, Katie, and sassy but sweet cat, Sebastian. Commendatore travels around the country designing and assisting projection designs for theater, opera, dance, installations, and more. He blends his love for film and theater by designing projections at places like The Public Theatre, Music Theatre Wichita, Yale Repertory Theatre, DePaul University, Colgate University, Williams College, SUNY Stonybrook, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Emerald City Theatre, Vancouver Fringe Festival, among others. He also has had the opportunity to work on shows at Juilliard, Carnegie Hall, Miami City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and The Lincoln Center Theater. Michael holds an MFA in Design from Yale School of Drama. CORAL DOLPHIN (dancer/assistant choreographer) New York-based artist Coral Dolphin grew up in California. She began training at age nine under mentor Debbie Allen. Since then, Dolphin moved to New York, began touring the world dancing, and has appeared on Broadway and in films and TV series. She’s also toured, choreographed, and performed with recording artists Janet Jackson, Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Beyoncé, Lauren Jauregui, Cardi B, Miguel, and more. Dolphin made her directorial debut in 2020 with the short film, Moonglades. Through her work, Dolphin seeks to uncover and amplify truths, answering a call from within in hopes that her art becomes a reminder of the freedom we all possess that goes much deeper than flesh. KEVORK MOURAD (visual artist) Born in Qamishli, Syria, and now based in New York City, award-winning artist and filmmaker Kevork Mourad received his MFA from the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts in Armenia. Employing a technique of live drawing and animation in concert with musicians, Mourad has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Kim Kashkashian, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Brooklyn Rider, among others. As a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, Mourad was featured in the 2016 film Music of Strangers. In 2019, Mourad was commissioned by the Aga Khan Foundation to create a 20-foot drawing-sculpture at London’s Ismili Center called Seeing Through Babel, which addressed the importance of diversity. His works are in the permanent collection of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.

JENNIFER FOK (lighting designer) is a Chinese American designer based in New York City. Select designs have been seen at Theatreworks Colorado Springs, Beth Morrison Projects, Na-Ni Chen Dance, Gala Hispanic, Long Wharf, Lincoln Center Education, Syracuse Stage, Flint Repertory Theatre, Detroit Public Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, Brown / Trinity MFA, The Know Theater of Cincinnati, Brother(hood) Dance, NCPA Beijing, Ars Nova, and Theatre at Monmouth. Fok has a BFA in Theatre Production and Design from Ithaca College. BRIAN FREELAND is a production manager, director, producer, writer, sound and media artist, and community builder. His work in the theatre is rooted in new and collaborative performance. Credits include works with Curious Theatre Company, HERE Arts Center, The Brick, Mind The Art Entertainment, Ping Chong & Co., Universes, The Public Theatre, Beth Morrison Projects, THEATREWORKS, About Face, Catamounts, Town Hall, Lone Tree Arts Center, Paragon Theatre, Su Teatro, and Shadow Theatre Company. He founded The LIDA Project, the regionally acclaimed performance art ensemble, where he served as artistic director for 20 seasons. RICK JACOBSOHN (sound designer) New York-based engineer and producer Rick Jacobsohn has established a multifaceted career in the recording studio and live performance venues. Since 2007, Jacobsohn has been the producer and engineer for The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. As of the 2016 season, he has also produced and engineered a portion of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s weekly broadcasts on WRTI as well as their entire 2020 Digital Stage season. Other recording projects have found him working with notable classical, jazz, and pop artists and ensembles. He is the original sound designer for Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar and Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Jaconsohn has mixed live sound on numerous productions for orchestras including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta symphonies as well as Opera Philadelphia, Sante Fe Opera, and Seattle Opera. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in Sound Recording from McGill University. MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN (interstitial music composer) is a composer/documentarian. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she draws on her heritage, interest in music as documentary, and background in experimental composition to blend the old with the new. She has received commissions from such organizations as the Kronos Quartet, New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alarm Will Sound, OPERA America, Beth Morrison Projects, and Bang on a Can. Kouyoumdjian is on composition faculty at Boston Conservatory, co-founded New Music Gathering, and is published by Schott’s PSNY.

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UP UNTIL NOW COLLECTIVE (producer) Formed in the summer of 2020, Up Until Now gathers artists together to make work that is joyful and challenging. Committed to inclusive, accessible, and equitable working environments, Up Until Now develops and produces new interdisciplinary work that explores empathy, intimacy, and community, and seeks to challenge the status quo by building new structures for artistic creation. Co-founded by Kevin Newbury, Brandon Kazen-Maddox, Jecca Barry, and Marcus Shields, Up Until Now has collaborated with over 200 artists from multiple disciplines since its inception.

Cast

LINDSEY TURTELTAUB (stage manager) is a production and stage manager for theater, opera, dance, and events. She served as the Director of Production at Williamstown Theatre Festival (2018 – 2021). Selected Broadway credits include The Realistic Joneses and Follies. Off-Broadway credits include Hadestown, Hundred Days, and What’s It All About? (NYTW). Regionally, Turteltaub has worked on The Closet, The Roommate, A Great Wilderness (Williamstown), and Bad Jews (Long Wharf). Work in opera and music include Book of Mountains & Seas (St. Ann’s Warehouse), p r i s m, Dog Days (LA Opera), Brooklyn Babylon, Real Enemies (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and events with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Juilliard Vocal Arts. Turteltaub has an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

JOHN TAYLOR WARD (bass-baritone) John Taylor Ward’s performances have been praised for their “stylish abandon” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker and their “intense clarity and color” by The New York Times. Recent stage highlights include the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Heartbeat Opera, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress under the baton of Barbara Hannigan (recently released on DVD), and several roles in a world tour of Monteverdi’s operas with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Originally from southern Appalachia, he has an innate understanding of rural America, and as the founding artistic director of the Lakes Area Music Festival, Taylor has helped to nurture a thriving arts hub in rural Minnesota.

EBONY WILLIAMS (choreographer) A Boston native, Williams’s recent choreographic credits include Afterwords at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Alicia Keys One Night Only at the Apollo Theater, and Keys’s most recent Keys Promotional Tour. She also served as the associate choreographer for Warner Bros. musical film In the Heights. Additional credits include co-choreographer for Beyoncé’s My Power music video, choreographer/movement director for Beyoncé’s Black is King, associate choreographer for the Broadway Musical Jagged Little Pill, co-choreographer/dancer for Alanis Morissette’s Forgiven 2021 tour music video, head choreographer for the 2021 US Open promotional campaign, and head choreographer of Doja Cat’s 2021 VMA’s performance. Williams’s choreography will be seen in the Disney+ musical comedy film Sneakerella. DAVIC C. WOOLARD (costume designer) Select Broadway credits include Dames at Sea, First Date, Lysistrata Jones, West Side Story, 33 Variations, Dividing the Estate, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Other projects include The Old Friends and Orphans’ Home Cycle (Signature Theatre). Regionally, Woolard has worked on A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Jolla Playhouse) and The Donkey Show (A.R.T.). Woolard has designed for operas including Death and the Powers (Opera Monte Carlo) and Cold Mountain (Santa Fe Opera premiere). Awards include Drama Desk Award, Henry Hewes Design Award (Orphans’ Home Cycle), 2001 Tony nomination (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), and 1993 Tony and Olivier Award nominations (The Who’s Tommy).

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RAHA MIRZADEGAN (soprano) is a Persian American soprano and musician based in New York. She is a lover of sacred music and collaboration—her repertoire spans the medieval chant of Hildegard von Bingen to premiering new works by living composers. Raha studied voice with Gran Wilson at the University of Maryland.

Ensemble ADAM COCKERHAM (theorbo) is an early music artist specializing in theorbo, lute, and baroque guitar. Beginning his performance career as a classical guitarist, he then gravitated toward historical plucked strings, preferring the collaborative opportunities of chamber music from the 16th through 18th centuries. As an accompanist and continuo player, Cockerham has performed with numerous ensembles in New York and San Francisco. Beyond chamber music, Cockerham concentrates on 17th-century Italian opera and has been involved in numerous modern world premiere performances with companies such as Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik and Ars Minerva. Cockerham received his doctorate from the Juilliard School where he was awarded the Richard F. French Prize for best dissertation. DANIEL ELYAR (viola) is an active performer and recording artist and has specialized in baroque performance practice in Europe and North America for thirty years. Elyar has performed and recorded with ensembles in North America and Europe such as Tafelmusik, the Utrecht Baroque Consort, Concerto d’Amsterdam, Teatro Lirico, Concerto Palatino, Les Arts Florissants, and the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. Elyar is a founding member of the Franklin Quartet, the Delaware Valley’s only Period Instrument string quartet. Elyar has taught for twenty years at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia and is full-time faculty staff.


JOHN LENTI (theorbo) specializes in music of the 17th century and has made basso continuo improvisation on lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar the cornerstone of a career that encompasses baroque and modern orchestras, chamber music, recitals, and opera. Recent highlights have included performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Oregon Symphony, and the Helicon Foundation. He has played at festivals in Boston, Vancouver, Utrecht, the Proms, Aldeburgh, and the San Juan Islands. Lenti was born in Greenwood, South Carolina. His parents were a touring piano duo, and he traveled with them as a kid as they performed around the Deep South, thereby gaining an appreciation of the role of classical musicians as bearers of comfort and truth. MANAMI MIZUMOTO (violin) started her lifelong relationship with music at age three on the violin. She has a fascination with performing contemporary music and working with living composers. In recent years, this has manifested in being a founding member of the group Nuova Pratica, a collective of composer-performers working with centuries-old practices of improvisation in the modern day. Her driving curiosity is in exploring the dialogue between ancient and contemporary thoughts, and she is equally at home on the baroque violin, modern violin, and electro-acoustic setups with Ableton Live. Mizumoto is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she earned a bachelors with Catherine Cho and Joel Smirnoff, a masters in Historical Performance, and graduated with the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant. She is a Fellow of The English Concert in America, elected in 2021.

lived in Cologne, Germany, for 10 years, performing with countless European early music groups. Currently living in Santa Fe, Rietman has been the principal cellist of many New York period instrument ensembles. MICHAEL SPONSELLER (harpsichord) is recognized as one of the outstanding American harpsichordists of his generation. A highly diversified career brings him to festivals and concert venues in recital, concerto soloist, and active continuo performer on both harpsichord and organ. He has garnered prizes at the International Harpsichord Competitions of Montréal (1999), the International Harpsichord Competition at Bruges (1998, 2001), as well as First Prizes at both the American Bach Soloists and Jurow International Harpsichord Competitions. Sponseller appears regularly as harpsichordist and continuo organist with several of American’s finest baroque orchestras and ensembles, such as Bach Collegium San Diego, Les Délices, Aston Magna, Tragicomedia, and Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. His various recordings include a diverse list of composers and have received excellent reviews. Referencing his performance of the J.S. Bach Concertos, Early Music America Magazine wrote: “His well-proportioned elegance carries the day quite stylishly.”

TRACY MORTIMORE (double bass) performs extensively on modern and historical double basses and violone. He has appeared with early music groups including Santa Fe Pro Musica, Musica Pro Rara, Tafelmusik, Opera Atelier, Toronto Consort, Seattle Baroque, Bourbon Baroque, Chatham Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Clarion Music Society, Pegasus, and Aradia Ensemble with whom he has made over 50 recordings. Mortimore currently resides in Cleveland where in addition to his work in early music, he is the bassist for The Cleveland Chamber Symphony and is actively involved with contemporary classical and jazz movements as a performer, improviser, and composer. KATIE RIETMAN (cello) has performed as a cellist on over 60 recordings and numerous concerts and radio broadcasts with notable baroque, classical, and romantic period instrument ensembles worldwide. Her performing career has taken her to 21 countries in Europe, North America, New Zealand, the Carribean, and South America. She is a prizewinner in the Bonporti competition (Rovereto, Italy) and a semi-finalist in the Van Wassenaer competition (Den Haag, Netherlands). Rierman studied baroque cello at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam and subsequently

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REGGIE WILSON/ FIST AND HEEL PERFORMANCE GROUP P OW E R

Artistic Team Choreographer Costume Designers Lighting Designer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE Reggie Wilson Naoko Nagata and Enver Chakartash Jonathan Belcher

May 28, 7:00pm; May 29, 2:00pm and 8:00pm

Performers Hadar Ahuvia Rhetta Aleong Paul Hamilton Lawrence Harding Michel Kouakou Clement Mensah Gabriela Silva Annie Wang Michelle Yard Miles Yeung with Reggie Wilson Outside Eyes Math Advisor

Music

1 hour, 10 minutes Performed without an intermission

Susan Manning and Phyllis Lamhut Jesse Wolfson

The Staple Singers; John Davis, Bessie Jones & St. Simon’s Island Singers; Meredith Monk; Lonnie Young, Ed Young and Lonnie Young Jr.; Craig Loftis; Henry Williams, Henry Thomas, George Roberts, Allan Lovelace; Omar Thiam with Jam Begum & Khady Saar; Edna Wright, Henry Thomas, Henry Williams & Margaret Wright

Live vocals selected and arranged by Reggie Wilson

POWER is dedicated to The Dead

POWER was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; was co-commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow, created in part during multiple residencies in the Pillow Lab and premiered at Jacob’s Pillow July 10, 2019. POWER is made possible with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered in Kings County by Brooklyn Arts Council; this project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The 2022 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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Artist Note

About the Company

I was in Philadelphia investigating religious leaders for the Painted Bride project Re-placing Philadelphia when Germaine Ingram, a Philly-based artist, mentioned that a Black Shaker community had existed there led by Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson. The spark was lit. Around this same time in 2016, I was curating Danspace Project’s Platform (2018), Dancing Platform Praying Grounds: Blackness, Churches, and Downtown Dance. I created “…they stood shaking while others began to shout” for the site St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery. Rumor and research revealed that the balcony at the church was believed to be a slave gallery or the colloquial term, “Nigger heaven,” the name for where enslaved and free Black folks were obliged to sit in churches (later also in theaters). I had deeper questions thinking about urban Black worship. Maybe it was time to turn some of these facts, realities, and rumors on their head? My Shaker curiosity opened up, I dove deeper in, and out came POWER.

FIST AND HEEL PERFORMANCE GROUP is a Brooklyn-based dance company that investigates the intersections of cultural anthropology and movement practices and believes in the potential of the body as a valid means for knowing. Our performance work is a continued manifestation of the rhythm languages of the body provoked by the spiritual and the mundane traditions of Africa and its Diaspora, including the Blues, Slave, and Gospel idioms. The group has received support from major foundations and corporations and has performed at notable venues in the United States and abroad.

Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson kept resonating…a Black woman leader with her own followers, …who was she, what did she find in common and communion with the Shakers, how did this happen in our America? Mother Rebecca’s community lasted from the early/ mid 1800s to the early 1900s. A major accomplishment for an illiterate free woman of color who listened to an inner voice and, as an itinerate preacher, developed her own practices and theology. She later found her beliefs matched the theology of followers of an illiterate English woman, Mother Ann Lee, the Shaker foundress. Mother Rebecca’s “out community” were often hosts to Shakers traveling the Eastern seaboard and was noted and documented in the 1899 W.E.B. Du Bois sociological study The Philadelphia Negro. Her community was distinct from other Shaker communities in being urban, and primarily Black and female. It also manifested a clear link to Black female spirituality and worship found throughout Free and enslaved communities of North America. Shaker activities and labors are done with focus and intention, no matter how small. Dancers understand this. Shaker rituals and practices were not just similar to dance, they were dance. The use of the body as an instrument of communication and potential vessel of spirit was historically a central, defining aspect of their worship. Another fact added to the list of what “the World” finds curious and disturbing about Shakers, including their beliefs in a dual godhead, equality of the sexes and races, and celibacy. There was also much that correlated with my research of Africanist Shout traditions. I kept wondering, imagining what Black Shaker worship actually looked like. I was fascinated thinking about how a utopian community uplifted the kinesthetic, the abilities of the body. How did they move, how was it organized in space, how did Black Shakers sing their songs…their clothes… Two costume designers and 82 costume pieces later...the clothes are key players. Shaker communities made many of their own clothes and had many more garments than the average person of the 1800s. The lighting design plays with the Shaker concept of “borrowed light,” a practical, efficient architectural manner that pulls natural light into dark, less lit areas of Shaker buildings. It was a way of drawing in the Divine, even to the darkest recesses of one’s existence. Welcome to POWER!

— Reggie Wilson

Artistic Team REGGIE WILSON (executive and artistic director, choreographer, performer) founded Fist and Heel Performance Group in 1989. Wilson draws from the cultures of Africans in the Americas and combines them with post-modern elements and his own personal movement style to create what he often calls “post-African/ Neo-HooDoo Modern dances.” He has lectured, taught, and conducted workshops and community projects throughout the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. He has traveled extensively: to the Mississippi Delta to research secular and religious aspects of life there; to Trinidad and Tobago to research the Spiritual Baptists and the Shangoists; and, to Southern, Central, West, and East Africa to work with dance/performance groups as well as diverse religious communities. He has served as visiting faculty at several universities including Yale, Princeton, and Wesleyan. Mr. Wilson is the recipient of the Minnesota Dance Alliance’s McKnight National Fellowship (2000 – 2001). Wilson is also a 2002 BESSIE-New York Dance and Performance Award recipient and a 2002 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. He has been an artist advisor for the National Dance Project and Board Member of Dance Theater Workshop. In recognition of his creative contributions to the field, Wilson was named a 2009 United States Artists Prudential Fellow and is a 2009 recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in Dance. NAOKO NAGATA (costumer designer) Her evolution into costume making is a long story. With literally no formal training, she has been creating for a diverse group of choreographers and dancers non-stop since 1998. She has collaborated with David Thomson, Ralph Lemon, Reggie Wilson, Vicky Shick, Kyle Abraham for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bebe Miller, David Dorfman, David Neumann, Doug Elkins, Gina Gibney, Jimena Paz, Liz Lerman, Nora Chipaumire, Urban Bush Women, Zvi Gotheiner, and many others. Recently, designer for Raja Feather Kelly’s 2nd stage production of we are going to die. Working closely with collaborators, Naoko helps bring to life what she herself calls, “the creation of a shared dream.” ENVER CHAKARTASH (costume designer) is a New York-based costume designer and wardrobe stylist. He has designed costumes for: Tony Oursler, The Wooster Group, Young Jean Lee, and Half Straddle. Enver began collaborating with Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group in 2016. Since then, he has designed costumes for CITIZEN and consulted on costumes for ...they stood shaking while others began to shout. Working with Naoko Nagata on this project has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.

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JONATHAN BELCHER (lighting designer) was born in Rochester, New York, and now lives in Brooklyn. He is Lighting Director, Set Designer and Studio Manager for City University of New York Television. Belcher’s career has most recently been distinguished with a BESSIE Award winning performance of Exhausting Love at Danspace Project by Luciana Achugar; One of three lighting designers featured in the 2009 New York Times article by Roslyn Sulcas entitled Lighting Designers Illuminate Ballet; a BESSIE Award; and designing a number of projects with Amanda Loulaki, Bill Young, Luciana Achugar, Blk Market Membership, Dean Moss, Maria Hassabi, Jill Sigman, Jeremy Wade, Sara Michelson, and, most notably, Reggie Wilson. Belcher’s guiding principle in lighting design is, “look at things differently, if for no other reason than it’s a lot more fun that way.”

Performers HADAR AHUVIA (performer) is a performer, choreographer, Jewish educator, and ritual leader. She is grateful to have been performing with Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group since 2017. Previous work credits include Sara Rudner, Jill Sigman, Anna Sperber, Kathy Westwater, Molly Poerstel, Tatyana Tenebaum, Donna Uchizono, and Trisha Brown Dance Company, among others. Her writing on choreographing an Israeli identity beyond Zionism is featured in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Jewishness in Dance. Ahuvia is a two-time finalist for the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, a recipient of a BESSIE nomination for Outstanding Breakout Choreographer, and was one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2019. RHETTA ALEONG (company administrator, performer) Her performance roots are grounded in community-theater, performance art, and a Catholic all-girls high school in Trinidad and Tobago. She has a BFA in journalism, with an art bent, from School of Visual Arts and is a 5th-degree black belt. Aleong began working with Wilson in 1991 and began “wearing many hats” within Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group. Creative Artists of special significance to Aleong: Pat Akien, Michael Steele, Helen Camps, Noble Douglas (Trinidad), Anita Gonzalez, Ms. Hattie Gossett, Tiyé Giraud, Cynthia Oliver, and Lawrence Goldhuber. Respect to those before, after, above, and below. PAUL HAMILTON (performer) is a Brooklyn-based movement artist. He attended SUNY Purchase, where he trained with Kazuko Hirabayashi, Kevin Wynn, and Neil Greenberg, and also studied at the Ailey School. He has performed with Elizabeth Streb, the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble, The Barnspace Dance, Mauri Cramer Dancers, Ballet Arts Theatre, Ralph Lemon (BESSIE nominee Scaffold Room), Deborah Hay, David Thomson, Headlong Dance Theater, David Gordon’s The Matter 2019, Melinda Ring, Oren Barnoy, and The Museum of Modern Art, recreating Bruce Nauman’s Wall/Floor Positions. He is a member of Reggie Wilson/ Fist and Performance Group, Keely Garfield Dance, and Jane Comfort and Company. LAWRENCE A. W. HARDING (performer) was born in Sierra Leone and now practices physical therapy in New York. He is the Director of Fitness at The Axis Project, a multidisciplinary center that serves people with physical disabilities and empowers them to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle. He is also the developer

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and President of Spinal Mobility, a novel manual technique that enables clinicians to improve their rehabilitative interventions for people with Spinal Cord Injury and other Neurological diseases. He has been a member of Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group since 1993 and continues to delight in discovering himself in Reggie’s work. He gives continued thanks to Remi, D.Z. Martha, Samuel, and all the dead ones. MICHEL KOUAKOU (performer) is a choreographer and dancer from the Ivory Coast. He is the founder and director of Daara Dance. He is the recipient of the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance (2012), a Jerome Foundation Fellowship for research in dance (2012), winner of a New York Foundation of the Arts Artist Fellowship (2008), and winner of the US Japan Fellowship (2008) to conduct six months of research in Tokyo and Kyoto. In 2008 he was nominated for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and in 2010 and was a finalist in The A.W.A.R.D. Show in New York City and Los Angeles. Kouakou moved to New York in 2004 and subsequently to Los Angeles, where he is now based and has been a lecturer at UCLA since 2009. He maintains an active touring and teaching schedule across the globe and continues to pursue his long-term goal of building an “artistic bridge” between his origins in the Ivory Coast and the United States. CLEMENT MENSAH (performer) is also a choreographer and an educator. He is a third culture kid who was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa. After living and going to school in the Netherlands, United States, and the United Kingdom, where he did postgraduate degree at Trinity Laban conservatory, Mensah is humbled to have performed, taught, and traveled with many dance companies to at least 49 countries. Mensah found Off the Radar creative project in 2015 to educate the young generation. He joined Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance group in 2012. GABRIELA SILVA (company logistics coordinator, performer) is an Afro-Brazilian performer based in New York City. Silva has performed with Selmadanse, Jean Appolon Expressions, Danza Organica, Quicksilver Dance, and independent choreographers Peter DiMuro, Emily Beattie, and Marina Magalhães. She has also worked as teaching artist for the Kroc Center, Community Art Center, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Boston Ballet, Boston Public Libraries, Boston Public Schools, NYC Public schools, and The People’s Forum. She has been in residency at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, under the mentorship of Reggie Wilson. She also trained, taught, and presented her work at Sarayyet Ramallah in Palestine. Gabriela has been a performer with Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group since 2016. ANNIE WANG (performer) is a freelancer with training in classical ballet, Graham technique, wushu, taiji, and software engineering. In addition to Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, she has also worked with Same As Sister, Emily Catalyst Johnson, and Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch. Her own choreography has been presented by Five Myles, CPR in Brooklyn, the 92Y, the Exponential Festival, Pioneers Go East, BKSD, WestFest Dance, BRIC, and Triskelion. She has been Artist-in-Residence at BRIC, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Marble House Project and an invited guest teacher at Amherst and Smith colleges.


MICHELLE YARD (performer) stands firmly on her Caribbean foundation. Yard joined Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group in 2017 for …they stood shaking while others began to shout, and POWER (2019). Upon her graduation from NYU Tisch School of the Arts (B.F.A. Dance), she began dancing with the Mark Morris Dance Group, where she enjoyed an illustrious twenty-year career. Ms. Yard also dances with Vanessa Walters. In 2020, she earned an M.A. in Arts Administration from CUNY/ Baruch College. She is a certified Pilates instructor and a freelance arts administrator. MILES YEUNG (performer), originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been dancing since the age of 10 before relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to continue his training at the University of the Arts. Here, he completed his BFA in Modern Performance with honors and was awarded for Excellence in Modern Performance. His performance credits include Brian Sander’s JUNK, Stacey Tookey’s Still Motion, Helen Simoneau Danse, La Biennale di Venezia’s Arsenale della Danza, and the New York production of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Miles recently completed his MFA in dance through the University of the Arts.

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BALLET ENCORE

Artistic Team Stage Manager Lighting Supervisor/Designer Dancers Piano Violin

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE Nicole Mitchell Joel Silver Chun Wai Chan Adrian Danchig-Waring Jovani Furlan Joseph Gordon Sara Mearns Unity Phelan Indiana Woodward Susan Walters Rachel Orth

June 1, 8:00pm; June 3, 7:30pm; June 4, 2:00pm and 7:30pm 1 hour, 10 minutes Performed without an intermission

Program

Three Chopin Dances Choreography Music Costumes Dancers

Jerome Robbins Frederic Chopin Santo Loquasto Indiana Woodward, Adrian Danchig-Waring

White Swan Pas de Deux Choreography Music Dancers

After Marius Petipa Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Unity Phelan, Jovani Furlan

In Suspense Created for Sara Mearns Choreography Music Costumes Dancer

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Guillame Côté Sequence (four) for solo violin and orchestra by Peter Gregson Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung Sara Mearns


After the Rain Pas De Deux Choreography Christopher Wheeldon Music Arvo Pärt - SPIEGEL IM SPIEGEL Costumes Holly Hynes Dancers Unity Phelan, Chun Wai Chan Violin Rachel Orth Piano Susan Walters Music used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Universal Edition Vienna, publisher, and copyright owner.

Pictures at an Exhibition Choreography Music Costumes Dancers Piano

Alexei Ratmansky Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky Adeline Andre Lauren Lovette, Adrian Danchig-Waring Susan Walters

Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes Choreography Music Costumes Dancers

Justin Peck Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes by Aaron Copland Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung, Justin Peck Sara Mearns, Chun Wai Chan

Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux Choreography George Balanchine Music Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Costumes Karinska Dancers Indiana Woodward, Jovani Furlan Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust.

The performance of Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust. The 2022 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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CHUN WAI CHAN was born in Guangdong, China, trained at Guangzhou Art School, and joined Houston Ballet in 2012, becoming Principal in 2017. He joined New York City Ballet as soloist in 2021. He danced Prince Siegfried in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake, lead roles in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and Reflection by Justin Peck, as well as many other lead role in both classical and contemporary repertoire by renowned choreographers. Chan has had many successes, including being featured in Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch” in 2016 and Pointe Magazine’s “The Standouts of 2017” as well as performing in the Ninjinsky-Gala XLI in Hamburg, Germany; New York’s 2015 Fall for Dance Festival; and 2018 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, among others. ADRIAN DANCHIG-WARING is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he has collaborated with many renowned choreographers and performed an active repertoire of masterworks by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. He has received international recognition performing on major stages throughout the Americas, Europe, and China. He was a founding member of Christopher Wheeldon’s company Morphoses. Danchig-Waring is currently the Artistic Director of the New York Choreographic Institute. He was a research fellow at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, is a Director of the board of the George Balanchine Foundation, and a commissioned artist at The Guggenheim Museum Works & Process. JOVANI FURLAN was born in Joinville, Brazil, and started dancing at the age of 11 at The Bolshoi School in Brazil. In 2010 he participated in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and was offered a full scholarship to attend the Miami City Ballet School by Edward Villella. Furlan began his training at the MCB School in 2011 and joined Miami City Ballet in 2012. He was promoted to soloist in 2015 and was named an MCB principal dancer in 2017. Furlan joined New York City Ballet as a soloist in August 2019 and in February 2022 he was promoted to principal dancer where he continues to perform featured roles in works by many world-renowned choreographers. JOSEPH GORDON was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began his dance training at the age of five at The Phoenix Dance Academy. Gordon began studying at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2006 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student that fall. In August of 2011, Gordon became an apprentice with NYCB, and in July of 2012, he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. In February 2017, Gordon was promoted to soloist and in October 2018, he was promoted to principal dancer.

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SARA MEARNS has been a principal dancer with New York City Ballet since 2008. Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, she originated roles in ballets choreographed by Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, Andrea Mille, Christopher Wheeldon, Guillaume Côté, Beth Gill, among others. As a guest, she has performed with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Cunningham Centennial Celebration, Jodi Melnick Dance, Bill T Jones/Lee Ming Wei, and Wang Ramirez. At New York City Center, she starred in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Encores!’s I Married An Angel, and Twyla Now, and performed the Dances of Isadora Duncan at Lincoln Center. At The Joyce Theater, Mearns performed a full evening with five world premiere pieces. She won the 2018 BESSIE Award for Outstanding Performer and was nominated for the Benois de la Danse and Princess Grace Awards. UNITY PHELAN was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and began her dance training at the age of five at the Princeton Ballet School, where her teachers included Douglas Martin, Maria Youskevitch, and Mary Barton. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, Phelan attended the summer sessions at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, and enrolled as a full-time student in fall of 2009. She became an apprentice with NYCB in December 2012 and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2013. In February 2017, Phelan was promoted to the rank of soloist, and in October 2021, she was promoted to principal dancer. INDIANA WOODWARD was born in Paris, France, and began her dance training at the age of ten at the Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet in Venice, California. Woodward began studying at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2010 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student that fall. In August 2012, she became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in December 2012. Ms. Woodward was promoted to principal in October 2021. NICOLE (MITCHELL) MOMMEN is an AGMA Stage Manager with New York City Ballet. She is thrilled to return to the Spoleto Festival USA after stage managing Ballet Under the Stars at the 2021 Festival. Other past projects include: New Work for Goldberg Variations with Pam Tanowitz Dance; Artists at the Center / Tiler Peck at New York City Center; Vail Dance Festival (2019, 2021); Demo (2019, 2020) at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; El Sueño Americano in Zaragoza, Spain; BalletNOW documentary filmed for Hulu at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles; and Miami City Ballet (2006-2016).


RACHEL ORTH (violin) Filipino-American violinist Rachel Arcega Orth is noted for her passionate musical interpretations and exceptional singing tone. Since beginning violin lessons at the age of six, Orth has performed across the United States, Canada, France, Mexico, and Argentina as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral member. She has worked with international programs including Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, New World Symphony, Mimir Chamber Festival, Bowdoin, Pablo-Casals Festival-Academie, and the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Orth completed her graduate studies at Boston University and undergraduate degree at Texas Christian University. Her primary mentors were Bayla Keyes and Peter Zazofsky; she also received training from James Buswell, Erin Keefe, Nathan Cole, David Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, and Ronald Copes. SUSAN WALTERS (piano) joined the New York City Ballet as a solo pianist in 1997. She has performed all of the major piano solos with the company, including Piano Concerto No. 2, The Goldberg Variations, Les Noces, Rubies, In G Major, Who Cares, 2 and 3 Part Inventions, and Dances At A Gathering. In addition, she premiered Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH in New York and in Washington at The Kennedy Center, and she has performed premieres by Christopher Wheeldon and Justin Peck. Walters has performed outside of the ballet with such renowned artists as Midori, The Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, and members of the New York Philharmonic.

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MALPASO DANCE COMPANY AN ASSOCIATE COMPANY OF JOYCE THEATER PRODUCTIONS

Artistic Staff Executive Director and co-founder Artistic Director and co-founder Associate Artistic Director and co-founder Ballet Master Stage Manager Production and Company Manager Lighting Supervisor

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE Fernando Sáez Osnel Delgado Daileidys Carrazana Dailys Bacallao Diana Rosa Hermandez Steven Carlino Manuel Da Silva

June 10, 7:30pm; June 11, 2:00pm and 7:30pm 1 hour, 45 minutes Performed with an intermission

Dancers Dunia Acosta Esteban Aguilar Osvaldo Cardero Daileidys Carrazana Osnel Delgado Leonardo Dominguez Beatriz Garcia Armando Gomez Leyna Gonzalez Heriberto Meneses Daniela Mirelles IIiana Solis

The 2022 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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Program Lullaby for Insomnia (2020) Choreography Music Lighting Design Costume Design Dancer

Daileidys Carrazana Jordi Sabates Guido Gali Daileidys Carrazana Heriberto Maneses

woman with water (2021) Choreography Choreographic Assistant Music Lighting Design Dancers

Mats Ek Ana Laguna Fleshquartet Ellen Ruge Dunia Acosta, Osnel Delgado woman with water was co-commissioned by The Cleveland Foundation and DANCECleve land, and La Jolla Music Society. Special creation support was provided in honor of Karen Brooks Hopkins, and also generously received from Susan Dickler and Sig van Raan. Additional creation support was provided by the Swedish Institute and the Swedish Embassy in Cuba.

Tabula Rasa (1986) Choreography Choreographic Assistants Costumes Lighting Design Music Dancers

Ohad Naharin Matan David, Bret Easterling Eri Nakamura Ohad Naharin Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part Company Tabula Rasa made its world premiere on the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre on February 6, 1986. It premiered on Malpaso Dance Company on May 4, 2018, in Havana, Cuba. Special support for the restaging of Tabula Rasa for Malpaso Dance Company was provided by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation in honor of Karen Hopkins.

Intermission Why You Follow (2014) OPEN HEART COMMITMENT THE PATH FAITHFULLY FORWARD Choreography Assistant Choreographer Music Lighting Design Costume Design Dancers

Ronald K. Brown Arcell Cabuag “Look at Africa” by Zap Mama; “En route to Motherland” by Gordheaven & Juliano; “Yoruba Road” by The Allenko Brotherhood; “Kusase Mnandi” by Gordheaven & Juliano and The Heavy Quarterz Clifton Taylor Keiko Voltaire Company

Why You Follow was commissioned by The Joyce Theater.

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About the Company MALPASO DANCE COMPANY, since its establishment in 2012, has become one of the most sought-after Cuban dance companies with a growing international profile. Emphasizing a collaborative creative process, Malpaso is committed to working with top international choreographers while also nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. The company tours with 12 dancers and is led by its original three founders: resident choreographer and Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, Executive Director Fernando Sáez, and dancer and co-founder Daileidys Carrazana. An Associate Company of Joyce Theater Productions, Malpaso—together with The Joyce Theater—has commissioned original works from a number of prominent international choreographers, including Ronald K. Brown (Why You Follow), Trey McIntyre (Under Fire), Aszure Barton (Indomitable Waltz; Stillness in Bloom), Robyn Mineko Williams (Elemental), and Tony and Emmy award winning Sonya Tayeh (Face the Torrent), and has licensed works by Mats Ek (woman with water), Ohad Naharin (Tabula Rasa), and Merce Cunningham (Fielding Sixes). JOYCE THEATER PRODUCTIONS (JTP) is the in-house producing entity for The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., formed to create original work for The Joyce’s stage and for worldwide touring. The initiative provides dance artists who have little or no formal management or infrastructure the means to create productions of the highest standards of excellence. The program also includes the Associate Company model, offering sustained producing, fiscal, and/or administrative management to companies that may require short- or longer-term support. Originally founded in partnership with Sunny Artist Management, Inc. in 2014, JTP has since supported projects with Daniil Simkin, Wendy Whelan/Brian Brooks, Arthur Pita/James Whiteside, Maria Kochetkova, Caleb Teicher, Alexei Ratmansky, Molissa Fenley, and L.A. Dance Project, and maintains an ongoing relationship with Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company.

Artistic Team DAILYS BACALLAO (Ballet Master) graduated from the National Ballet School in 2007 and the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana as a ballet teacher in 2015. She was a dancer of Matanza's city contemporary dance company Danza Espiral from 2008 to 2014. She was a professor at the National Ballet School and is currently a teacher at the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana. STEVEN CARLINO (Production and Company Manager) is an artist, writer, and performer who assists other artists in producing their own work. In New York City, he worked with the late Magnificent Fred Ho and the Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, the experimental theater collective Mabou Mines, and for ten years, toured as the Production Manager for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. He has worked with many other notable projects and artists around the world— Aszure Barton & Artists, Brian Brooks, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, among others. Carlino is currently the Tour and Production Manager for both Aszure

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Barton’s Where There’s Form and for Malpaso Dance Company’s international tours. He has worked with Malpaso Dance Company since 2015. DIANA ROSA HERNANDEZ (Stage Manager) graduated from the National School of Arts with a degree in acting in 2008. She is a member of Teatro Espontáneo de La Habana and Mefisto Teatro. Hernandez worked in the HavanaBama collaboration between the University of Alabama and Cuba. She joined Malpaso in March 2014. FERNANDO SÁEZ (Executive Director and co-founder) graduated from the School of Performing Arts at the Superior Institute of Arts (ISA) in Havana in 1988. He is also a founder and actor of Estudio Teatral de Santa Clara. From 1993 to 1997, he was the head of the sociocultural development project in Las Terrazas, Pinar del Rio, and has served on the staff of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba since 1998. He is also a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. MANUEL DA SILVA (Lighting Supervisor) was born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in South Florida where he developed a passion for theatrer and the arts at a young age. Manuel attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his BFA in lighting design and technology. Now an New York Citybased lighting designer, Manuel has gotten the chance to work with several Off-Broadway theatre companies, including designing the world premiere of La Tía Julia y el Escribidor at El Repertorio Español. He has also had the opportunity to display his work at the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review and the National Design Showcase East.

Performers DUNIA ACOSTA (dancer) graduated from the Regional Dance School Manuel Munoz Cedeno in Bayamo in 2009. She was a member of Danza Libre de Guantanamo from 2010 to 2013 before joining Malpaso. OSVALDO CARDERO (dancer) graduated in 2017 from the Professional School of Art in Guantánamo City. He was a member of CoDanza Dance Company from 2017 to 2019. He joined Malpaso on April 1, 2020. DAILEIDYS CARRAZANA (Associate Artistic Director and co-founder) graduated from the National Ballet School in Havana in 2003. She was a member of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011, before founding Malpaso with Osnel Delgado Wambrug. Carrazana has worked with choreographers such as Mats Ek, Jan Linkens, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz, and Isidro Rolando, among others. OSNEL DELGADO (Artistic Director and co-founder) danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba from 2003 to 2011 before founding Malpaso. He has worked with choreographers Mats Ek, Rafael Bonachela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ja Linkens, Itzik Galili, Samir Akika, Pedro Ruiz, Isidro Rolando, and George Cespedes, among others. Delgado has created works for DCC, Rakatan, and Ebony Dance of Cuba. Delgado is a 2003 graduate of the National Dance School of Havana, where he is also a professor of dance studies.


LEONARDO DOMINGUEZ (dancer) graduated in 2016 as a dancer from the Professional Arts School Regino Boti in Guantánamo. He was a member of CoDanza Dance Company from 2016 to 2018 and worked as a dance teacher at the Elementary Dance School Raúl Gómez García in Holguín from 2017 to 2018. He joined Malpaso in September 2018. BEATRIZ GARCIA (dancer) is a graduate of the Superior Institute of Arts (2016) and the National Ballet School in Havana (2008). She was a member of Danza Teatro Retazos until 2014. She has worked with choreographers such as Isabel Bustos, Miguel Azcue, Irene Kalbusch, Pepe Hevia, Trey McIntyre, Aszure Barton, Sonya Tayeh, Robyn Mineko Williams, Ronald K. Brown, and Ohad Naharin, among others. She joined Malpaso in June 2014. ARMANDO GOMEZ (dancer) was born in 1994 in Camagüey City. He graduated as a ballet dancer and teacher from the Arts Academy Vicentina de la Torre in 2013. He was a member of the Contemporary Dance Company Endedans from 2013 to 2016 and Lizt Alfonzo Dance Cuba from 2016 to 2017. He joined Malpaso Dance Company in 2017. LEYNA GONZALEZ (dancer) graduated from the National School of Arts in 2016 and was Dancer of Contemporary Dance of Cuba from 2012 to December 2020. She joined Malpaso in February 2021. She has worked with choreographers such as Anabel Lopez Ochoa, Billy Cowie, and Theo Clinkard, among others. HERIBERTO MENESES (dancer) graduated from the Vocational Art School Alfonso Pérez Isaac in his home region Matanzas in 2012 and the National Dance School in Havana, and joined Danza Contemporánea de Cuba in 2016. He has worked with choreographers such as Angels Margari, Anabel Lopez Ochoa, Billy Cowie, and Miguel Altunaga, among others. He joined Malpaso in 2020. DANIELA MIRALLES (dancer) graduated in 2018 from the National School of Arts in Havana as a dancer and dance teacher. She joined Malpaso Dance Company in June 2017. ILIANA SOLIS (dancer) is a dancer and dance teacher who graduated from Raul Gomez García Art School in Holguín, Cuba. She was a member of Codanza Dance Company from 2006 to 2013. From 2006 to 2008, she also worked as a professor at José Martí Pérez Arts Instructors School. She joined Danza Contemporánea de Cuba in 2015. She became a member of Malpaso Dance Company in 2019. Ileana has worked with choreographers such as Theo Clinkard, Billy Cowie, Lea Anderson, Fleur Darken, and Anabel López Ochoa, among others.

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US PREMIERE

THE APPROACH LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS

Artistic Team Writer/Director Set and Lighting Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer

DOCK STREET THEATRE Mark O’Rowe Sinéad McKenna Joan O’Clery Philip Stewart

Cast Denise Anna Cora

Associate Lighting Designer Associate Costume Designer Associate Sound Designer Production Manager Stage Manager Company Manager Producer

Derbhle Crotty Aisling O’Sullivan Catherine Walker

May 26, 8:00pm; May 27, 8:00pm; May 28, 3:30pm; May 30, 8:00pm, May 31, 7:30pm; June 2, 8:00pm; June 4, 3:30pm; June 5, 8:00pm; June 7 – 9, 7:30pm; June 10, 8:00pm; June 11, 8:00pm; June 12, 3:30pm 1 hour, 5 minutes Performed without an intermission

Susan Collins Ciara Fleming Sinéad Diskin Eamonn Fox Sophie Flynn Jack Farrell Anne Clarke

About the Company

LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS Led by Anne Clarke since the company’s foundation in 2003, its productions—including 27 world premieres by major Irish writers, such as Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh—have received multiple awards and have been seen in leading theaters in London, New York, and beyond. The company has received numerous awards, including the Judges’ Special Award (Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) in recognition of “sustained excellence in programming, and for developing imaginative partnerships to bring quality theatre to the Irish and international stage,” and a Special Tribute Award for Anne Clarke for her work as a “producer of world-class theatre in the independent sector in Ireland.” Sponsored by SouthState Bank These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with Mark O’Rowe and the cast of The Approach at 3:30pm on Monday, May 30, at Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St.

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Artistic Team

Cast

MARK O’ROWE (writer/director) plays include The Approach (Landmark Productions); From Both Hips (Fishamble Theatre Company); Howie the Rookie (Bush Theatre); Made in China (Peacock Theatre); Crestfall (Gate Theatre); Terminus (Peacock Theatre), and Our Few and Evil Days (Best New Play, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) (Abbey Theatre). He has also adapted several works, including Hedda Gabler (Abbey Theatre) and DruidShakespeare, an amalgamation of four of Shakespeare’s history plays (Druid). Screenplays include Intermission, Boy A, Perrier’s Bounty, Broken, and The Delinquent Season, which he also directed.

DERBHLE CROTTY (Denise) is an associate artist of Druid Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Theater credits include The Approach (Landmark Productions); Theatre for One (Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals); To the Lighthouse (Hatch and Everyman Theatre); Portia Coughlan, The Great Hunger, Anna Karenina, The Dead, Marble, Three Sisters (Best Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards), The Plough and the Stars, Bailegangaire, Portia Coughlan, Katie Roche, and The Mai (Abbey Theatre); and The Cherry Orchard, DruidShakespeare (Best Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards). Film and television credits include Mandrake, Come Home, Paula, Citizen Lane, Joy, Noble, Stella Days, Notes on a Scandal, and Inside I’m Dancing.

SINÉAD MCKENNA (set and lighting designer) is an internationally renowned designer working across theater, opera, dance, and film. She has won two Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for Best Lighting Design and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Lighting Design for a Musical. Her previous designs for Landmark Productions include Walking with Ghosts (set and lighting), Straight to Video, The Approach (set and lighting), Asking for It, Howie the Rookie, Greener, October, The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger, and Blackbird. Sinéad has designed for many other major Irish companies including Fishamble, CoisCéim, Gúna Nua, Decadent, Gare Saint Lazare, Corn Exchange, and Semper Fi. JOAN O’CLERY (costume designer) is a costume designer working in both stage and screen. She is a three-time winner of Best Costume Design at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards and has been nominated three times for Best Costume Design at the Irish Film and Television Awards. She has originated the costumes for several world premieres by major Irish writers including Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Marina Carr, and Frank McGuinness. Recent theater credits include Walking with Ghosts, The Saviour, and The Approach (Landmark Productions); and Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe). Screen work includes the television series Kin and Finding Joy (RTÉ). Feature film credits include Dating Amber, King of the Travellers, Swansong, Snap, Out of Innocence, I, Dolours, Rose Plays Julie, and The Delinquent Season. PHILIP STEWART (sound designer) has written music and sound design for a broad range of media including theater, sculptural and sound installations, dance, film shorts, and documentaries. He studied composition under Donnacha Dennehy and Roger Doyle. Theater credits include Asking for It, The Approach, Howie the Rookie (Landmark); The Book of Names (ANU and Landmark); Neptune Calling (RedBear); To the Lighthouse (Hatch and Everyman Theatre); Helen and I and Crestfall (Druid); and Quietly (Abbey Theatre). He has been nominated for an Irish Times Irish Theatre Award for his work on The Early Bird (Natural Shocks) and An Enemy of the People (Gate Theatre).

AISLING O’SULLIVAN (Anna) is an associate artist with Druid Theatre Company. Theater credits include The Approach (Landmark Productions); King Lear (Cort Theatre, Broadway); Furniture, The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Drama League nomination), Henry V (Lincoln Center Festival), Big Maggie, Bailegangaire, and The Playboy of the Western World (Best Supporting Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) (Druid); The Wake, The Cripple of Inishmaan (National Theatre); The Duchess of Malfi (Royal Shakespeare Company); Miss Julie (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Hysteria (Royal Court). Film credits include Joyride, Sparrow, Snap, Dark Lies the Island, The Secret Scripture, The Butcher Boy, and Six Shooter (Best Short Film, Oscars). Television credits include Frank of Ireland, The Clinic (Best Actress, Irish Film and Television Awards), and Raw. CATHERINE WALKER (Cora) has theater credits that include Talk of the Town (Best Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards), Miss Julie and Blackbird (Landmark Productions); Hedda Gabler, The House, Terminus (Abbey Theatre); Our New Girl, A Streetcar Named Desire (Best Supporting Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) (Gate Theatre); and Fanny and Alexander (The Old Vic). Film and television credits include House of Gucci; Cursed; The Deceived; Versailles; Dark Song (Best Actress, Oporto International Film Festival; Best Actress nomination, Irish Film and Television Awards); Patrick’s Day (Best Support Actress nomination, Irish Film and Television Awards); Critical (Best Actress nomination, Irish Film and Television Awards). Walker trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin.

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UNTIL THE FLOOD WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY DAEL ORLANDERSMITH

Artistic Team Writer/Performer Director Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer and Original Music Video Designer

FESTIVAL HALL Dael Orlandersmith Neel Keller Takeshi Kata Kaye Voyce Mary Louise Geiger Justin Ellington Nicholas Hussong

June 3, 8:00pm; June 4, 2:00pm and 8:00pm; June 5, 2:00pm; June 6, 7:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

This production contains adult themes, language, and references to violence.

Program Note On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri. In the spring of 2015 Dael was invited by the Repertory Theater of St. Louis to create a piece that responded, in some way, to the killing and civic upheaval that was engulfing the area.

own histories. It is especially meaningful to us to perform the show here in South Carolina, which is the home of many generations of both our families, the ground which holds our ancestors, and the history which has shaped, in ways we understand and ways we don’t, our understanding of the world. Thank you for being here.

She chose to meet with residents and ask them how the killing and social unraveling had affected them. Their responses were emotional and deeply personal. Their words revealed the family histories, life experiences, and cultural consciousnesses that led people, all living within a few miles of each other, to strongly held and wildly divergent beliefs about what caused the tragic events of that day.

- Dael Orlandersmith and Neel Keller

We have had the great fortune to revisit Until The Flood many times over the last seven years. Working on the piece over such an extended period has allowed us to reflect on the origins of our

Originally commissioned and produced by THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS; Steven Woolf, Artistic Director; Mark Bernstein, Managing Director New York Off-Broadway premiere produced by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News correspondent Martha Teichner interviews Dael Orlandersmith at 5:00 pm on Sunday, June 5, at Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, 66 George St.

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Artistic Team DAEL ORLANDERSMITH (writer/performer) plays include Stoop Stories, Black n’ Blue Boys/Broken Men, Horsedreams, Bones, The Blue Album, Yellowman, The Gimmick, Monster, and Forever. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick. Until the Flood has been performed at several theaters and festivals internationally. Orlandersmith is working on a commission for Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre called Watching the Watcher and has two plays opening at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in 2022. Additionally, she is working on two pieces called, You don’t know the lonely one and SPIRITAS. NEEL KELLER (director) has enjoyed a long and happy collaboration with Dael Orlandersmith. They met almost 30 years ago, on a production of Romeo and Juliet. Over the last several years they have worked closely on creating and producing Orlandersmith’s acclaimed plays Until The Flood and Forever. Keller’s other recent productions include the world premieres of Julia Cho’s Office Hour, Eliza Clark’s Quack, Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, Kimber Lee’s to the yellow house, and Lucy Alibar’s Throw Me On The Burnpile and Light Me Up. He has directed at many theaters, including, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Kirk Douglas Theater, Goodman Theatre, South Coast Repertory, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Keller is an associate artistic director at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Directors Guild of America. TAKESHI KATA (scenic design) Recent New York City credits include Clydes (Second Stage), Prayer For The French Republic (Manhattan Theatre Club), Until The Flood (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Office Hour (The Public Theater), Man From Nebraska (Second Stage), The Profane (Playwrights Horizons), Derren Brown: Secret (Atlantic Theater Company), and Forever (New York Theatre Workshop). Regionally, Kata has designed for American Players Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Ford’s Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, and Yale Repertory Theatre. Kata has won an Obie award and has been nominated for Drama Desk, Barrymore, Connecticut Critics Circle, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, TBA, and Ovation awards. He is an associate professor at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts.

Club, Spoleto Festival USA, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Signature Theater, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, and many more. MARY LOUISE GEIGER (lighting design) has enjoyed a long collaborative relationship with Orlandersmith and Keller, beginning with Forever in Los Angeles and New York. Broadway credits include The Constant Wife. Off Broadway credits include Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (Atlantic Theatre); Proof of Love, Sakina’s Restaurant (Audible/Minetta Lane); Conflict (Mint); Until the Flood (Rattlestick); Nat Turner in Jerusalem, Forever (NYTW). Regional collaborations include ACT Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Studio Theatre DC, Center Theatre Group, Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, and Fifth Avenue Theatre among others. She is on the faculty at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and completed her MFA at the Yale School of Drama. JUSTIN ELLINGTON (sound design and original music) New York City credits include: Other Desert Cities, Pass Over, Pipeline (Lincoln Center Theater); The House That Will Not Stand, The Seven (New York Theatre Workshop); The Winter’s Tale (Theatre for a New Audience). Regional credits include: Life of Galileo (PlayMakers Repertory Company); Kill Move Paradise (Wilma Theater); Until The Flood, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), How to Catch Creation (Goodman Theatre); Familiar (Steppenwolf Theatre); ink (Kennedy Center);and The Comedy of Errors (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). International credits include: The American Clock (The Old Vic, London). Ellington is the recipient of Grammy, American Society of Composers and Publishers, and Obie awards. NICHOLAS HUSSONG (video design) Broadway credits include: Skeleton Crew. Off-Broadway credits include: Until The Flood (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, ACT Seattle); These Paper Bullets! (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk nomination; Geffen Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre); White Guy on the Bus (59E59 Theaters, Delaware Theatre Company); Skeleton Crew (Atlantic Theater Company), and Chix 6 (La Mama). Regional credits include: to the yellow house (LaJolla Playhouse); Kleptocracy (Arena Stage); Grounded (Alley Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire (Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre); Ella: First Lady of Song (Delaware Theatre Company), and many others. Nicholas was an artistic associate at Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he continues to design new works based on Appalachian life written by Preston Lane.

KAYE VOYCE (costume design) Broadway credits include Sea Wall/A Life, Significant Other, The Real Thing, The Realistic Joneses, and Shining City. Voyce has worked with theaters and arts companies around the world including The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Festival d’Automne in Paris, Festival d’Aixen-Provence, Kunstenfestivaldesartes Brussels, Elevator Repair Service, Richard Maxwell/New York City Players, The Atlantic Theater, Stattheater Braunschweig, NCPA Beijing, The Esplanade in Singapore, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Manhattan Theater

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STORM LARGE

Artists Writer/Director/Performer Pianist

FESTIVAL HALL Storm Large James Beaton

May 26, 9:00pm; May 27, 9:00pm; May 28, 6:00pm and 9:00pm; May 29, 9:00pm; May 31, 9:00pm; June 1, 6:00pm and 9:00pm

1 hour, 25 minutes Performed without an intermission

STORM LARGE: musician, actor, playwright, author, awesome. She shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova, and more recently, Storm appeared on the 2021 season of America’s Got Talent. Large tours regularly with her band Le Bonheur, and continues to appear with Pink Martini, with whom she made her debut in 2011. Storm has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago, San Francisco, National, Detroit, Houston, and BBC Symphonies, and regularly appears at some of the most prestigious venues, from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center to the Hollywood Bowl.

Sponsored by Charleston GI These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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US PREMIERE

MACHINE DE CIRQUE La Galerie

Artistic Team Stage Director and Author Artistic Director and Co-Writer Music Artistic Advisors Scenographer Lighting Designer Costumes Production Director Technical Director Other Collaborations

Ensemble

FESTIVAL HALL Olivier Lépine Vincent Dubé Marie-Hélène Blay Frédéric Lebrasseur, Lyne Goulet, Maxim Laurin, Raphaël Dubé, and Ugo Dario Julie Lévesque Bruno Matte Emilie Potvin Geneviève Ouellet-Fortin Mathieu Hudon Carl D. Jardins and Gilles Bernard

June 8, 7:00pm; June 9, 6:00pm; June 10, 5:00pm; June 11, 3:00pm and 7:00pm; June 12, 2:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

Adam Strom, Antoine Morin, Connor Houlihan, Gaël Della-Valle, Lyne Goulet, Pauline Bonanni, David Trappes, Marie-Michèle Pharand, and Lyne Goulet

Sponsored by Sherman Capital Markets, LLC These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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PAULINE BONANNI (acrobat) After graduating from the École de cirque de Québec in 2012, Pauline Bonanni has worked with several Québec companies, including Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil (Les chemins invisibles, Andorra) and Flip Fabrique (Crépuscule). As a result of her fascination with the dynamics of working as a trio, she and two partners founded Moi et les autres. GAËL DELLA-VALLE (acrobat) completed his studies in electronics engineering in 2003. Two years later, he left his native Switzerland and emigrated to Québec to launch into a new career: circus artist. After graduating from the École de cirque de Québec in 2010, specializing in Russian Bar, juggling, and Cyr Wheel, he has worked with leading companies such as Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize. LYNE GOULET (saxophone) As a saxophonist with a Bachelor of Music in performance degree, Lyne Goulet developed an early interest in contemporary and current music. Since her graduation, she has stretched her musical wings into funk, jazz, blues, and world music. She was a collaborator with the equestrian circus Luna Caballera and several other productions including Strada, Water on Mars, the Ligue d’improvisation musicale de Québec, the Orchestre d’Hommes Orchestres, and the Blaze Velluto Collection, to name only a few. CONNOR HOULIHAN (acrobat) Originally from Minnesota, Connor Houlihan developed an interest in the circus at an early age. With a special fondness for group work, he studied Hand to Hand and Banquine at the École de cirque de Québec. After graduating in 2014, he has worked with several companies including Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil, and Circus Monti.

MARIE-MICHÈLE PHARAND (acrobat) discovered the performing and circus arts when the rigidity of gymnastics no longer appealed to her. Why not move people instead of looking for a score out of 10? Fortunately, since it is through her multiple acrobatic, colorful, and clownish characters that we discover her funny, sensitive, and generous personality. An old soul with a child’s heart who is not afraid of ridicule. You will also find this acrobat on television shows or in movies as a stand-in or a stuntwoman in several Quebec productions. ADAM STROM (acrobat) Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Adam Stormhas studied and performed acrobatics, aerial disciplines and juggling for 11 years as part of Flipside Circus, while developing his artistic skills in dance, music and theatre. Since 2014, he has been perfecting his skills with the German Wheel at the École de cirque de Québec. He has performed in several shows including Flip Fabrique's Crépuscule: Vents et Marées and Machine de Cirque's Truck Stop: The Great Journey. He has most recently worked with Midnight Circus in a series of performances in the United States. DAVID TRAPPES (acrobat) Finding circus as a kid at a small festival north of Brisbane Australia, David Trappes went on to study at L'École de cirque de Québec. Since then he has had the pleasure of working with companies like Company 2, Gravity and Other Myths, Circus Oz, Circa, and Casus. David has worked around the world as a generalist acrobat, base, juggler, highwire walker, coach, musician, vaudeville performer, clown, busker, rigger, and creator.

ANTOINE MORIN (acrobat) Fearing ending up stuck in an office after completing his studies in environmental protection in France, Morin decided to combine business with pleasure by taking to the stage. After graduating from the École de cirque de Québec in 2012, he has worked here and there all over the world, as part of various shows in venues or on the street. In recent years, he has mostly turned to busking, for which he has a special interest given the greater access to the public it provides. He loves feeling the sincerity and authenticity of an artist on stage and hopes to be able to pursue his inanities for years to come.

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Curtain Call For the first time since 1983, Bank of America Chamber Music artists will be framed by a new backdrop on the Dock Street Theatre stage. Replacing the Christian Thee curtain is a contemporary work by acclaimed artist Fletcher Williams III, titled Dusk.

FLETCHER WILLIAMS III (b. 1987) is a Charleston-based interdisciplinary artist working in painting, sculpture, and site-specific installation. He received his bachelor of fine arts in 2010 from The Cooper Union and returned to the Lowcountry in 2013. During this time, Williams has developed an experimental and material-based practice that fuses Charleston's natural and built environments.

Fletcher Williams III; photo by Andrew Cebulka

As an independent artist, Williams has produced numerous solo exhibitions within the Charleston area and participated in group exhibitions throughout the United States. In 2021, South Arts named Williams the South Carolina State Fellow and Southern Prize Finalist. For more information visit www.fletcher3.com.

About Dusk The South is a labyrinth. It's whimsical, sacred, and spirited, the ground hallowed and the air heavy with salt. When peering into its dense canopies of Spanish moss or tunnels of azaleas, I sense something elusive and wild, indescribable. Dusk is a memory of this place, which floats above the ground and reflects below the water's surface. — Fletcher Williams III 60

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Dusk, 2022; acrylic on paper; 50 x 38 inches


BANK OF AMERICA CHAMBER MUSIC Geoff Nuttall, The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music Livia Sohn, Assistant Director of Chamber Music

Artists Saxophone/Composer Recorders Oboe Clarinet/Arranger Violin Violin Viola Cello/Composer Cello Double Bass Piano/Harpsichord Piano/Arranger Piano/Arranger Piano Tenor Tenor Theorbo

DOCK STREET THEATRE Steven Banks Tabea Debus James Austin Smith Todd Palmer Alexi Kenney Livia Sohn Ayane Kozasa Paul Wiancko Nina Lee Anthony Manzo Pedja Muzijevic Stephen Prutsman Inon Barnatan Julia Hamos Paul Groves Karim Sulayman Adam Cockerham

1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

Castalian String Quartet

St. Lawrence String Quartet Violin Violin Viola Cello

May 27, 1:00pm; May 28 – June 12, 11:00am and 1:00pm

Geoff Nuttall Owen Dalby Lesley Robertson Christopher Costanza

Violin Violin Viola Cello

Sini Simonen Daniel Roberts Ruth Gibson Christopher Graves

The St. Lawrence String Quartet is the Arthur and Holly Magill quartet in residence. The following musicians’ participation is generously sponsored by the following individuals: Stephen Prutsman and the Castalian String Quartet are sponsored by Erica Pascal and Michael Hostetler; Inon Barnatan is sponsored by Miriam DeAntonio, M.D. and by Stono Construction, in loving memory of Joseph D. Logan III; Julia Hamos is sponsored by Nancye B. Starnes; Pedja Muzijevic is sponsored in memory of Keith S. Wellin, by his wife, Wendy C. H. Wellin. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Support provided by The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation. Additional support from Dr. Martin Morad. Michael Bloomberg’s gift commemorates our longtime and devoted board member Jennie DeScherer who, in turn, would like to honor Geoff Nuttall. Video recordings made possible by Erica Pascal and Michael Hostetler, the Danielle Rose Paikin Foundation, and Jan Serr and John Shannon.

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PROGRAM I

May 27, 1:00pm; May 28, 11:00am and 1:00pm^

String Sextet from Capriccio, op. 85 St. Lawrence String Quartet; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

Richard Strauss (1864 – 1949)

Limestone & Felt Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello String Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428 St. Lawrence String Quartet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)

^ This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Ann and Andrew Barrett.

PROGRAM II

May 29, 11:00am and 1:00pm*; May 30, 11:00am

Passacaglia Alexi Kenney, violin

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644 – 1704)

Cries, Sighs, and Dreams Steven Banks (b. 1993) Steven Banks, saxophone; St. Lawrence String Quartet Sonata in Three Parts in G minor, Z.790 Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

Henry Purcell (1659 – 95)

Tiny Doors to Big Worlds Paul Wiancko (b. 1983) St. Lawrence String Quartet; Paul Wiancko, cello * This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Ann and Michael Tarwater.

PROGRAM III

May 30, 1:00pm; May 31, 11:00am and 1:00pm

As I Am Steven Banks (b. 1993) Steven Banks, baritone saxophone; Pedja Muzijevic, piano Außer Atem for three recorders and one player Tabea Debus, recorders

Moritz Eggert (b. 1965)

String Quartet in D minor, op. 76 no. 2, “Quinten” St. Lawrence String Quartet

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)

Ever Yours Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) St. Lawrence String Quartet; Livia Sohn, violin; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

PROGRAM IV

June 1, 11:00am⁺ and 1:00pm; June 2, 11:00am

Die Romantiker, op. 167 Joseph Lanner (1801 – 1843) Geoff Nuttall, violin; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Anthony Manzo, double bass Recorder Concerto in C major, RV 443 Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) Tabea Debus, recorder; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

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“The War Below” from Prospects of a Misplaced Year Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

Andy Akiho (b. 1979)

String Quartet in F minor, op. 80 Castalian String Quartet

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 47)

⁺ This chamber music concert is dedicated in loving memory of Mary and Marion Field.

PROGRAM V

June 2, 1:00pm; June 3, 11:00am and 1:00pm

Brandenburg Concerto in F major, BWV 1047 Alexi Kenney, violin; Tabea Debus, recorder; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Castalian String Quartet; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)

Children of The Fire Gabriella Smith (b. 1991) James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Sini Simonen, violin; Ruth Gibson, viola; Anthony Manzo, double bass La Monica Renaissance set Unknown Tabea Debus, recorder; Adam Cockerham, theorbo Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight Dani Howard (b. 1993) Tabea Debus, recorder Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 47 Stephen Prutsman, piano; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello

PROGRAM VI

Robert Schumann (1810 – 56)

June 4, 11:00am and 1:00pm^; June 5, 11:00am

Concerto a quattro for Recorder, Oboe, Violin, and Continuo in G major, TWV 43:G6 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767) Tabea Dabus, recorder; James Austin Smith, oboe; Alexi Kenney, violin; Paul Wiancko, cello; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord “Where’er you walk” from Semele, HWV 58 George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) Karim Sulayman, tenor Geoff Nuttall, violin; Alexi Kenney, violin; Sini Simonen, violin; Daniel Roberts, violin; Ayane Kozasa, viola; Ruth Gibson, viola; Paul Wiancko, cello; Christopher Graves, double bass; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord Please find text on page 111.

Sextet in B-flat major, op. 18 Johannes Brahms (1833 – 97) Castalian String Quartet, Ayane Kozasa, viola, Paul Wiancko, cello ^ This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Gary and Mary Becker.

PROGRAM VII

June 5, 1:00pm; June 6, 11:00am and 1:00pm

Première Rhapsodie Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) Todd Palmer, clarinet; Stephen Prutsman, piano More or Less for pre-recorded and live violin (world premiere) Livia Sohn, violin

Mark Applebaum (b. 1967)

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Oboe Concerto in D minor, op. 9 no. 2 James Austin Smith, oboe; Castalian String Quartet; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

Tomaso Albinoni (1671 – 1751)

Piano Quintet in A minor, op. 30 Louise Farrenc (1804 – 75) Julia Hamos, piano; Alexi Kenney, violin; Ruth Gibson, viola; Nina Lee, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

PROGRAM VIII

June 7, 11:00am and 1:00pm; June 8, 11:00am

Ten Blake Songs (selected) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) I. “Infant Joy” III. “The Piper” VI. “Ah! Sun-flower” IX. “The Divine Image” X. “Eternity” Paul Groves, tenor; James Austin Smith, oboe Symphonic Dances, op. 45: III. Lento assai – Allegro vivace Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943), Inon Barnatan, piano arr. Inon Barnatan Sonata for Clarinet and Cello Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963) Todd Palmer, clarinet; Nina Lee, cello Steve’s Wonder arr. Stephen Prutsman Five Stevie Wonder songs for tenor and piano Paul Groves, tenor Stephen Prutsman, piano

PROGRAM IX

June 8, 1:00pm; June 9, 11:00am and 1:00pm

Three Romances, op. 22 Clara Schumann (1819 – 96) James Austin Smith, oboe; Pedja Muzijevic, piano String Quartet, “Kreutzer Sonata” Leoš Janáček (1854 – 1928) Castalian String Quartet Piano Trio in B major, op. 8 Johannes Brahms (1833 – 97) Inon Barnatan, piano; Livia Sohn, violin; Nina Lee, cello

PROGRAM X

June 10, 11:00am* and 1:00pm; June 11, 11:00am

Keyboard Concerto in E-flat major, op. 7 no. 5, WC59 Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Livia Sohn, violin; Nina Lee, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

Johann Christian Bach (1735 – 82)

Sonata for Double Bass and Piano Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931) Anthony Manzo, double bass; Inon Barnatan, piano Clarinet Quintet in F-sharp minor, op. 10 Todd Palmer, clarinet; Castalian String Quartet

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 – 1912)

* This chamber music concert has been endowed though the generous support of Deborah Chalsty.

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PROGRAM XI

June 11, 1:00pm; June 12, 11:00am and 1:00pm

Le Nozze di Figaro: Overture, Act I (world premiere) Castalian String Quartet, Geoff Nuttall, violin; Livia Sohn, violin; Nina Lee, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; James Austin Smith, oboe; Todd Palmer, clarinet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91), arr. Todd Palmer

Trio Sonata in C minor, HWV 386a James Austin Smith, oboe; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Nina Lee, cello; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759)

The Rite of Spring for two pianos Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) Inon Barnatan, piano; Pedja Muzijevic, piano

Artists GEOFF NUTTALL (violin/The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director for Chamber Music) began playing the violin at age eight after moving to Ontario from Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied under Lorand Fenyves. In 1989, Nuttall co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) and has played more than 2,000 concerts around the world. In 2020, the PBS-produced television show Great Performances invited Nuttall to co-present on his favorite composer, Franz Joseph Haydn, in a documentary miniseries called Now Hear This, “Haydn: King of Strings.” He is now on faculty at Stanford University, where the SLSQ has been ensemble-in-residence since 1999 and makes his home in the Bay Area with his wife, Livia Sohn, and their sons, Jack and Ellis. This is Nuttall’s 13th season as chamber series director. STEVEN BANKS (saxophone) has performed with esteemed orchestras and ensembles such as the Colorado Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Oregon Mozart Players, in addition to appearances at the Colorado Music Festival and Festival Napa Valley. A First Prize winner of the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, he was also recently chosen to join WQXR’s 2022 Artist Propulsion Lab. An emerging composer, Banks will premiere an original composition in Carnegie Hall alongside the Borromeo String Quartet. Banks earned an undergraduate degree in Saxophone Performance from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree from the Northwestern University. INON BARNATAN (piano), “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” (The New York Times), is celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. He began his tenure as Music Director of La Jolla Music Society Summerfest in 2019. Barnatan is a regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. He recently served for three seasons as the inaugural Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career

Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, Barnatan is also a sought-after recitalist and chamber musician and has toured worldwide with frequent cello partner Alisa Weilerstein. CASTALIAN QUARTET has distinguished itself as one of the most dynamic, sophisticated young string quartets performing today. Named the inaugural Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the Oxford University Faculty of Music in 2021, they are also the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2019 Young Artists Award. The Quartet received the prestigious inaugural Merito String Quartet Award and Valentin Erben Prize in 2018, has won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award, and is beginning to gain international acclaim as they take their talents abroad. The Castalian Quartet will have debut performances in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, and many other cities across North America in the 2021-22 season. CHRISTOPHER COSTANZA (cello) enjoys a variety of interests and passions, among them are running, cooking, and passenger rail-related pursuits. He finds running a perfect opportunity to explore the unique locales he visits during his extensive travels. As a runner, he has completed several full and half marathons as well as 5K and 10K races. Costanza’s cooking interests and skills revolve around a plant-based diet and are focused on local, organic, and seasonal ingredients. He has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. Learn more about his life and career by visiting his new website. OWEN DALBY (violin) has been praised as “dazzling” (The New York Times), “expert and versatile” (The New Yorker), and “a fearless and inquisitive violinist” (San Francisco Classical Voice). As a member of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Dalby is Artist-in-Residence at Stanford University and regularly tours all the major chamber series in North America and Europe. Dalby received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale. With his wife, violist Meena Bhasin, he is the co-artistic director of Noe Music, a concert series in San Francisco, where they make their home with their two children.

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TABEA DEBUS (recorder) is described by The Times as a “charismatic virtuoso,” and much sought after as soloist, collaborator, teacher, and communicator. This season she gives recitals across the United States, including Merkin Concert Hall and the Houston, San Francisco, and Napa Valley festivals. She returns to the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany where she won the Soloists Prize and makes her debut at Spoleto Festival USA. Recent highlights include recitals at Wigmore Hall, live recordings for the Shriver Hall Washington, DC Discover Series and Vancouver Recital Society, and the release of her recording for Delphian: Ohrwurm to critical acclaim. Debus was a prize-winner at the YCAT (London) and CAG (New York) International Auditions.

AYANE KOZASA (viola), hailed for her "magnetic, wide-ranging tone" and her "rock solid technique" (Philadelphia Inquirer), is the winner of the 13th Primrose International Viola Competition and is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet. In September 2020, the quartet launched their interactive web series for children called "AizuriKids," an engaging series of episodes that explores music from Beethoven to Eleanor Alberga with guest artists such as Rhiannon Giddens. Her duo with composer and cellist Paul Wiancko—known as "Ayane & Paul"— actively performs and commissions new works for viola and cello and collaborated with Norah Jones on her album Pick Me Up Off the Floor.

PAUL GROVES (tenor) has performed with Opéra National de Lyon for performances as Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele and at Taiwan’s National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in the title role of Candide. A veteran of the concert stage, Groves has appeared with the LA Phil for Stravinsky’s Perséphone, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Bruckner’s Te Deum, and with both the Nashville Symphony and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. In 2022 and 2023, Groves will take part in two new productions at the Houston Grand Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

ANTHONY MANZO (double bass) performs vibrantly interactive music, making him a ubiquitous figure in the upper echelons of classical music. He performs regularly at venues including Lincoln Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Spoleto Festival USA. He appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with chamber groups and chamber orchestras across the country. Manzo has also been guest principal with Camerata Salzburg during their summer residency at the Salzburg Festival, as well as two tours as soloist alongside bass/baritone Thomas Quasthoff. Manzo is also an active performer on period instruments and teaches at the University of Maryland.

JULIA HAMOS (piano) combines her American and Hungarian roots with an adventurous spirit to explore the essence of repertoire ranging from Bach to composers living today. Instinctive artistic expression, a forward-thinking attitude, a joyful physical flexibility at the instrument, and an unyielding fascination with the music she plays makes her an artist to watch. In 2021 she worked with Daniel Barenboim in a series of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven solo piano and string sonatas. At the invitation of Sir András Schiff, she will appear in the Building Bridges series throughout Europe in the 2022—23 season. She currently serves as the assistant to the musicology program at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. ALEXI KENNEY (violin) is building a career that defies categorization, following his interests, intuition, and heart. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, Kenney has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Indianapolis symphonies; the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and has given recitals at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall. He plays with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at festivals throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Palo Alto, California, Kenney studied at the New England Conservatory and resides in New York.

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PEDJA MUZIJEVIC (piano and harpsichord) has performed with the Atlanta, Milwaukee, and New Jersey symphonies and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has played solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall and 92Y in New York, Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Phillips Collection in Washington, and many others. His festival appearances include Spoleto Festival USA, Aldeburgh, Gilmore, and Bay Chamber Concerts. Muzijevic’s interdisciplinary projects with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Trisha Brown have taken him to the Paris Opera, Lucerne, Melbourne, and Holland festivals. Pedja is the artistic administrator at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York and artistic advisor at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. NINA LEE (cello) is an active chamber musician and cellist of the Brentano Quartet. She has collaborated with many artists such as Felix Galimir, Jaime Laredo, and Mitsuko Uchida. After receiving a Certificate of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, Lee earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from The Juilliard School with her mentor, Joel Krosnick. She currently teaches at the Yale School of Music where her quartet is Quartet in Residence. Nina’s hobbies include making artisan brioche donuts for various arts organizations as well as organizing and hosting chamber music reading salons for the community. She resides with her husband and two children in Park Slope, Brooklyn.


TODD PALMER (clarinet) is a three-time Grammy nominee who has appeared as soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, educator, arranger, and presenter in musical endeavors around the world. As a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the grand prize in the Ima Hogg Young Artist Auditions, he has appeared as soloist with many symphony orchestras and as recitalist in concert halls around the world. Palmer gave the world premieres of Orpheus and Euridice by Ricky Ian Gordon at Lincoln Center, and Crosswalk, a new work for clarinet and dance specially created for him by choreographer Mark Morris. His Broadway credits include South Pacific, The King & I, Sunset Boulevard (starring Glenn Close), and Lincoln Center Theater's recent revival of My Fair Lady. STEPHEN PRUTSMAN (piano) is active as a classical, world, and jazz pianist; composer; and festival curator. Prutsman continues to explore and seek common ground in music of all cultures and languages. As a young man he performed with several art rock bands and was a regular on a syndicated gospel television show. He won The Gong Show in 1976. In the 1990s Stephen was a medal winner at the Tchaikovsky and Queen Elisabeth Competitions. He was Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Cartagena International Music Festival. As a composer his music has been performed throughout the world by leading known classical and popular artists. LESLEY ROBERTSON (viola), celebrating 33 years with the internationally celebrated St. Lawrence String Quartet, is proud to make her life at Stanford University where, along with her SLSQ colleagues, she directs the chamber music program at the department of music. At Stanford, Robertson teaches viola, coaches chamber music, and spearheads the SLSQ’s Emerging String Quartet Program and SLSQ’s annual Chamber Music Seminar. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, Robertson also holds a degree from the University of British Columbia. She has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and served on the juries of the Banff, Melbourne, and Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competitions.

LIVIA SOHN (violin/chamber music administrator) is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied violin with Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with Felix Galamir. She started playing violin at age five in her home state of Connecticut and gave her first public performance two years later as a guest soloist with the New Haven Symphony. At the age of 12, Sohn won first prize in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. She has since played concerts across six continents with orchestras and festivals worldwide. Sohn makes her home in the Bay Area with her husband, Geoff Nuttall, and their two sons, Jack and Ellis. ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET, founded in 1989, is fiercely committed to living composers and has enjoyed fruitful partnerships with John Adams, Jonathan Berger, Osvaldo Golijov, and many others. SLSQ is renowned for the intensity of its performances, its breadth of repertoire, and its commitment to concert experiences that are at once intellectually exciting and emotionally alive. SLSQ has been the ensemble in residence at Stanford University since 1999 and has performed at Spoleto Festival USA every season since 1995. PAUL WIANCKO (cellist/composer) was recently featured in The Washington Post’s “22 for ’22: Composers and Performers to Watch” and called “a restless and multifaceted talent who plays well with others”—a reference to Wiancko’s varying collaborations with artists like Max Richter, Chick Corea, Norah Jones, and members of the Emerson, Guarneri, and Juilliard quartets. Wiancko’s music-making extends beyond performance—Wiancko was composer-in-residence at Spoleto Festival USA in 2019 and has written for the St. Lawrence, Kronos, Aizuri, and Attacca quartets, among many others. NPR writes, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko.”

JAMES AUSTIN SMITH (oboe) has been praised for his “virtuosic,” “dazzling," and “brilliant” performances (The New York Times) and his “bold, keen sound” (The New Yorker). He is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, co-principal oboist of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Artistic and Executive Director of Tertulia, a chamber music series that takes place in eating-and-drinking spaces in New York, San Francisco, and Serenbe, Georgia. He is a member of the faculties of Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music. Smith has appeared annually on the Bank of America Chamber Music series since 2011. B A N K O F A M E R I C A C H A M B E R M U S I C | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Tell Your Story A Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Project Can sound inform place? Time? Emotion? And can those elements inform sound? These are the questions three Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra fellows seek to answer in artistic collaboration with three members of the Charleston community. This project— spearheaded by collaborative pianist and music therapist Renate Rohlfing, bassist and Spoleto Orchestra Manger Edward Kass, and Festival Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy—pairs emerging composers with mothers, entrepreneurs, artists, and activists, to engage in creative placemaking. Over several weeks this spring, the Charlestonians shared their personal histories, memories, and reflections as the musicians listened and recorded the conversations. The pairs then worked together to transform those recordings into sonic collages—amalgams of sounds and voices of the partners’ Sea Island homes and historic downtown neighborhoods, as well as short instrumental pieces created by the Orchestra fellows. Listen to the three distinct pieces at spoletousa.org or youtube.com/spoletofestivalusa.

About the Artists Antwoine Curtis Geddis + Aurora Mendez For more than two decades, Antwoine Curtis Geddis has been the owner of Dj Sporty Entertainment of Johns Island as well as Dj Sporty Mobile Sugar Shack with Snacks and Boiled Peanuts. He is the former drummer of Cedar Spring Baptist Church and, as a family and community historian, has been recognized for researching seven generations of his family history. A father of four children, Geddis also serves as a line technician for the Charleston Executive Airport. A violinist from New York City, Aurora Mendez is a founding member of violin duo VioliNYC and the Littman Quartet. She is a passionate advocate for music education and a former Orchestra of the Americas Global Leader. On faculty at the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts and the Robert Treat Academy, Mendez is also a guest violin coach for the New Jersey Youth Symphony.

Jacqueline Grimball Jefferson + Joy Guidry A proud Gullah woman of the Sea Islands, both Wadmalaw and Johns islands, Jacqueline Grimball Jefferson is in love with nature, music, and life itself. She believes the way to a peace-filled world is to better understand others and to be understood oneself. Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black artmakers comprise the core of New York City-based bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry’s work. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and Mannes School of Music, Guidry has performed with numerous prestigious ensembles and Festivals. They also spearheaded Sounds of the African Diaspora, a competition and commissioning platform for composers from the African diaspora, offering the resources necessary to foster new and innovative music. Christina Hunter McNeil + Viola Chan Christina Hunter McNeil was born and raised on John’s Island. At seven-years-old, she began traveling with her mother, Janie Hunter, as a storyteller and singer—work she continues to do as an adult. Janie Hunter can be heard at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC, and McNeil describes it as a joy and gift to carry on her mother’s legacy. A lover of sewing, baking, and cooking, McNeil most relishes going to church and spending time with her daughter, leAndrea. Flutist Viola Chan is a multifaceted artist and musician based in New York City. She has made notable appearances at Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, and she has participated in numerous festivals nationwide. She holds degrees from The Juilliard School and is dedicated to portrait photography and the craft of hand music engraving.

In preparation for collaboration with the Charleston community members, the Festival Orchestra fellows were engaged for training to build foundational skills in social engagement, technical field recording, and documentation. Led by creative arts therapist Jasmine Edwards and composer Shawn Jaeger, the fellows explored various topics related to community engagement, identity, and ethical documentation practices. Special thanks to Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach for the facilitation of this project and help in identifying the community partners. To learn more: olmoutreach.org.

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RHIANNON GIDDENS WITH FRANCESCO TURRISI

Artists Vocals and Banjo Multi-instrumentalist Bass

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Rhiannon Giddens Francesco Turrisi Jason Sypher

May 28, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

RHIANNON GIDDENS uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and she has been nominated for eight Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. She was nominated for her collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other (2019). Giddens’s latest Grammy-winning album, They’re Calling Me Home, is a 12-track album, recorded with Turrisi in Ireland during the recent lockdown; it speaks of the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical “call home” of death, which has been a tragic reality for so many during the COVID-19 crisis.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels at 2:00pm on Saturday, May 28, at the Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St.

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MUSIC IN TIME John Kennedy, Director and Host

Program Selections from Radical Acceptance

FESTIVAL HALL Joy Guidry (b. 1995)

I. “Just Because I have a Dick Doesn’t Mean I’m a Man” II. “Inner Child” III. “How to Breathe While Dying” IV. “Grace” Joy Guidry, bassoon, voice, electronics Jessie Cox, percussion

Evil’s Peak

May 29, 5:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission Please find song texts on page 106.

Mikhail Johnson (b. 1989)

I. “Det Tu hEvribadi” (Death to Everybody) II. “Det Tu Di Chrch” (Death to the Church) III. “Det Tu Di Stiet” (Death to the State) IV. “Det Tu Di Caman an nat so Caman” (Death to the Common and not so Common)

Departure Duo: Nina Guo, soprano; Edward Kass, double bass

Alongside a Chorus of Voices Jessie Cox (b. 1995) Kamna Gupta, conductor Members of Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra: Abigail Hong, violin; Hana Cohon, cello; Edward Kass, double bass; Viola Chan, flute; Casey Kearney, oboe; Barret Ham, clarinet; Joy Guidry, bassoon; Hannah Culbreth, horn; Morgen Low, trumpet; Liam Glendening, trombone; Lucas Sanchez, percussion; Wesley Ducote, piano

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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JESSIE COX (composer, percussion) is one of the world’s most brazenly experimental composers. Cox makes music about the universe and our future in it. Through avant-garde classical, experimental jazz, and sound art, he has devised his own strand of musical science fiction—one that asks where we go next. Cox’s music goes forward. When he describes it, he compares it to time travel and space exploration, likening the role of a composer to that of a rocket ship traversing undiscovered galaxies. He is influenced by a vast array of artists who have used their music to imagine futures, and takes Afrofuturism as a core inspiration, asking questions about existence, and the ways we make spaces habitable. Known for its disquieting tone and unexpected structural changes, his music steps into the unknown, and has been referred to by The New Yorker as a “nebulous and ever-expanding sound world that includes breathy instrumental noises, mournfully wailing glissandi, and climactic stampedes of frantic figuration.” DEPARTURE DUO is a soprano/double bass duo comprised of Nina Guo and Edward Kass. Committed to expanding the repertoire for this “high-low” combination, they commission new works and breathe life into existing pieces. Their commissioning work has received recognition from Chamber Music America and New England Conservatory. Recent commissions include Katherine Balch, John Kennedy, Emily Koh, and Sarah Gibson. They have been featured at Yellow Barn, Omaha Under the Radar, I Care If You Listen, and more. They previously appeared in recital at Spoleto Festival USA in 2018. Their debut album comes out in September on New Focus Recordings. JOY GUIDRY (composer, bassoon) Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black artmakers comprise the core of Joy Guidry’s work. Based in New York City, Guidry holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and Mannes School of Music. They have performed with the Dance Centre Kenya Ballet Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Alarm Will Sound, and have been a featured soloist in the opera Fear is their Alibi (Prototype, 2021). They have been commissioned by National Sawdust, Long Beach Opera, JACK Quartet, and the I&I Foundation, and featured at Spoleto Festival USA and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Guidry is a finalist for the 2021 Berlin Prize for Young Artists. They founded Sounds of the African Diaspora, a competition and commissioning platform for composers from the African diaspora that offers resources to foster new, innovative music.

ty; and The Ritual of Breath is the Rite to Resist at the Dartmouth Hopkins Center for Arts. Gupta will also join Spoleto Festival USA as an assistant conductor for the production of La bohème. Additional recent company credits include the Royal Opera in Versailles, Seattle Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, Sarasota Opera, Opera Saratoga, Tapestry Opera, and American Lyric Theater. MIKHAIL JOHNSON (composer) is one of Jamaica’s most promising pianists and composers. Johnson’s unique style has resulted in several commissions from Departure Duo, Transient Canvas, fivebyfive, the David Bruce 5 Composers 1 Theme series, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Texas Tech University, and Bowling Green State University. His music has been featured in Wire Magazine London, Dallas Opera TV, and the David Bruce 5 Composers 1 Theme series. Johnson has also been chief adjudicator for several international music competitions. Johnson holds degrees from Texas Tech University, Bowling Green State University, and Northern Caribbean University. This is Johnson’s compositional debut at Spoleto Festival USA. JOHN KENNEDY (Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities) has been a change-maker in music for over 30 years, leading acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. In recent seasons at the Festival, Kennedy has conducted operas by leading composers of our time including Francesconi, Glass, Lachenmann, Lim, Huang Ruo, Saariaho, and others. Kennedy is a prolific composer whose works have been performed worldwide; his family opera The Language of Birds will have a new production by Canadian Children’s Opera Company in Toronto in June. This summer, he will lead West Edge Opera in the US Premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera Coraline. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival’s programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.

KAMNA GUPTA (conductor) is an American prize-winning conductor experienced in operatic, orchestral, and choral repertoires. Conducting engagements in 2022 includes In Our Daughter’s Eyes with LA Opera; Zolle with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Jungle Book with The Glimmerglass Festival; Dark Sisters with Temple UniversiM U S I C I N T I M E | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Sounds Like Transcendence Spiritual matters, conveyed through music, course through this year’s Festival with fresh power By Larry Blumenfeld

Randy Weston at the piano, Spoleto Festival USA (2016), photo by William Struhs

“Why is music called the divine art, while all other arts are not so called? We may certainly see God in all arts and in all sciences, but in music alone we see God free from all forms and thoughts.” Those words appear on the first page of The Mysticism of Sound and Music: The Sufi Teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. By the time of his death in 1927, Khan, a master player of the vina in his native India, was best known for bringing Sufism—the mystical form of Islam that emphasizes an inward search for God—to the West through lectures that were later transcribed into books. Spirituality is elemental to the history of music; musical expression figures into all forms of human devotion to a higher power. These reciprocal truths course through this year’s Festival with a particular focus on Sufism’s humanistic message, and a broader consideration of Black spiritual transmission throughout the African Diaspora. Such presentations help reconnect lineages torn apart but never lost, and guide us toward unity in defiance of that which separates us. I received Khan’s book 20 years ago from pianist Randy Weston, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master

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who performed at Spoleto Festival USA twice (in 1981 and, two years before his death, in 2016), and whose music emphasized bonds between American jazz and African traditions. Years later, saxophonist Sonny Rollins, as eminent a jazz statesman as there is, recalled for me how his friend and fellow saxophonist—the late, great John Coltrane—had talked about Khan’s book. “Both John and I had ethical values we were developing at that time,” Rollins told me, “So this book was significant, because it showed us that music and those impulses go together in a natural way. It was a wonderful realization that music, if you're trying to play honestly, and the attempt to become a better person are of one piece.” In 1965, around the time of that exchange between saxophonists, Coltrane released A Love Supreme, an album-long suite from his classic quartet that stands among jazz’s biggest commercial successes and modern music’s most stirring expressions of spiritual awakening. (During the suite’s final section, “Psalm,” the phrases Coltrane plays amount to a recitation, syllable by syllable, of the original devotional poem included in his liner notes: To listen while reading along is a riveting experience.) The devotional verses that open the Qu’ran are the first words of Rhiannon Giddens’s libretto for Omar, which is presented in its world premiere at this year’s Festival. The


opera is based on the autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, a scholar of the Fula ethnic group in the Futa Toro region of West Africa (now Senegal), who was sold into slavery in Charleston. It tells the story of one man’s strength, intellect, and resilience as grounded in his Sufi Muslim faith. It also deepens our understanding of this spiritual presence during our nation’s formative period: a significant number of enslaved Africans in the United States were from Muslim communities. Setting Omar’s story to music unleashes it deepest meanings. Giddens, who composed the score with Michael Abels and has long focused on recovering and re-imagining early African American musical forms, studied opera and vocal performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music; she also plays banjo, an instrument descended from West African stringed instruments. The making of this opera was, she has said, her own “spiritual journey.” Two nights after that premiere, Youssou NDOUR opens this Festival’s Wells Fargo Jazz series. As a singer, composer, and bandleader, NDOUR is a star at home, in Dakar, Senegal. For many worldwide, he is the face of African popular music. Descended from griots, traditional storytellers who serve as oral historians, he has also served as his country’s Minister of Culture. His sinewy tenor and dazzling vocal melismas lend force and beauty to his lyrics, which often combine contemporary social commentary with ancient

Youssou NDOUR; photo provided

traditions of praise singing in celebration of Sufism, his country’s primary form of worship, to, as he once told me, “extol the tolerance of my often-misunderstood religion.” Pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, who performs the next night, grew up in the lush and rugged hills of uMgungundlovu, in South Africa. He, too, comes from a long line of griots as

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well as traditional healers. For him, compositions function like prayers, as “passageways of memory, healing, and transcendence,” and concerts are meant as “rituals in which improvisation is an invocation rather than an embellishment.” His new recording, on Blue Note Africa—an imprint that plants a storied American jazz label firmly on his native continent—is titled In the Spirit of Ntu, for a cosmology long threatened by colonial disruption and terror, which nevertheless embodies “a spiritual essence that is untouchable.” Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane was four months old when his father composed A Love Supreme during five days of seclusion in a dormered upstairs room of the family’s home in Dix Hills, New York. Nearly two when his father died, Ravi was raised by his mother, Alice Coltrane, herself a celebrated musician whose own spiritual journey guided her life and music. The Wurlitzer organ, piano, and harp featured in Ravi’s Festival presentation, Universal Consciousness: The Melodic Meditations of Alice Coltrane, are instruments Alice mastered, “whose sounds and tones she used to create an elevated sound to bring our consciousness to a higher place,” he said. Alice, who began playing piano in the Black churches of her native Detroit and was early in her career a bebop pianist, played mostly Hindu bhajans on the Wurlitzer when Ravi was growing up, as the Vendantic Center she founded next door to their Southern California home grew into a long-thriving ashram.

Voice choral presentation showcases choristers and principal singers of Omar. It also traces a rich tapestry of African American Spirituals and gospel music that, for conductor Vinroy Brown, “reveal the diversity of musical expression from the Black experience,” especially as related to spirituality. One piece, “Total Praise,” a gospel song composed by Richard Smallwood, has illuminated key moments throughout Brown’s life, from the Black Pentecostal church of his childhood in New Jersey to Westminster Choir College, where he conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers. The ideas about devotion that connect all these varied musical expressions form a through-line that, just now, may offer something like a lifeline. Throughout my career as a culture reporter and music critic, disorienting moments of crisis have been clarified, maybe even answered, through music shared in real time, in physical spaces either buzzing with energy or near-sacred for their calm. Such experiences and the music itself have answered urgent needs, calmed frayed nerves, voiced outrage, summoned spirits, leaned into hope, released joy, and, when we were lucky, offered glimpses of transcendence. After a too-long, pent-up, locked-down period spent mostly apart, we can listen to the messages embedded in these sounds, some indeed mystical, once again in communion.

On a purely musical level, the Festival’s Lift Every

Larry Blumenfeld is Spoleto Festival USA’s Wells Fargo Jazz Advisor. He has written regularly about jazz and Afro Latin music for The Wall Street Journal since 2004, and his work appears in many other publications and websites. He was the 2019 Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities at Syracuse University and a nominee for this year’s Jazz Journalists Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

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YOUSSOU NDOUR: Mbalax Unplugged

Artists Lead Vocals Drums Bass Percussion Percussion Tama (Talking Drum) Keyboard Keyboard Guitar Guitar Guitar Backing Vocals Backing Vocals Saxophone Dance/Percussion

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD YOUSSOU NDOUR ABDOULAYE LO THIERNO SARR BABACAR FAYE EL HADJI OMAR FAYE ASSANE THIAM IBRAHIMA CISSE MOUSTAPHA BAIDY FAYE PAPA OUMAR NGOM MAMADOU MBAYE MOUSTAPHA GAYE PASCALE KAMENI KAMGA BIRAME DIENG ALAIN OYONO MOUSSA SONKO

May 29, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

YOUSSOU NDOUR (vocals) Throughout his decades long career, Youssou NDOUR’s roots in Senegalese traditional music and griot storytelling have remained the hallmark of his artistic personality. Rolling Stone calls NDOUR’s stunning tenor “a voice so extraordinary that the history of Africa seems locked inside it.” A daring innovator and staunch protector of the unique “Dakar overgroove,” NDOUR manages to fashion a sound which is both characteristically Senegalese and outward-looking, a contagiously exciting synthesis of musical languages. His mostly acoustic, one-nightonly performance at Spoleto Festival USA is a combination of traditional melodies, mbalax rhythms, and never-before-heard compositions. Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The Festival’s Wells Fargo Jazz advisor and Wall Street Journal jazz critic Larry Blumenfeld speaks with Youssou NDOUR at 5:00pm on Saturday, May 28, at Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, 66 George St.

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NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI

Artists Piano Alto Saxophone Bass Drums

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Nduduzo Makhathini Jaleel Shaw Rashaan Carter Francisco Mela

May 30, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI (piano) released his Blue Note debut Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds in 2020 which earned wide critical acclaim and many end-of-year “Best Of” lists. Active as an educator and researcher, Makhathini is the head of the music department at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape. He has performed at renowned festivals including the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Essence Festival (in both New Orleans and South Africa), and made his debut appearances at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, as well as Jazz at Lincoln Center where he was a featured guest with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on their threenight musical celebration, The South African Songbook in Rose Theater. His new album, In the Spirit of NTU, was just released on Blue Note Records.

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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LIFT EVERY VOICE

Artists

CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall

Conductor Piano Soloists

Vinroy David Brown, Jr. Brandon Waddles Jamez McCorkle Catherine Ann Daniel Laquita Mitchell Michael Redding Cheryse McLeod Lewis

Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

Chantal Braziel, soprano; Crystal Glenn, soprano; Michael Adams, soprano; Samantha Burke, soprano; Kaswanna Kanyinda, alto; LaDejia Bittle, alto; Savannah Gordon, alto; Tanisha Anderson, alto; George Johnson, tenor; Johnnie Felder, tenor; Joshua John, tenor; Lonnie Reed, tenor; Claude Cassion, bass; Daniel Rich, bass; Isiah Maxey, bass; Matthew Dexter, bass

June 1, 8:00pm 1 hour, 30 minutes Performed without an intermission

Program DESPAIR “Anyhow”

arr. Evelyn LaRue Pittman Full Ensemble

“Witness”

arr. Hall Johnson Cheryse McLeod Lewis, mezzo-soprano

“Lord, How Come Me Here?”

Traditional Samantha Burke, soprano

“I’m Troubled In Mind”

arr. Betty Jackson King Chantal Braziel and Michael Adams, sopranos LaDejia Bittle, mezzo-soprano Joshua John, tenor Claude Cassion, bass

“Grief ”

William Grant Still (1895 - 1978) Laquita Mitchell, soprano

“Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child”

arr. Moses Hogan Catherine Daniel, mezzo-soprano

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“I’ll Believe I’ll Go Back Home”/ “Lordy Won’t You Help Me”

Traditional Crystal Glenn, soprano Tanisha Anderson, mezzo-soprano

“Come By Here, Good Lord”

arr. Damien Sneed Johnnie Felder, tenor

“Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho”

arr. Marques L. A. Garrett Matthew Dexter, baritone

HOPE “All God’s Chillun Got Wings”

arr. John Rosamond Johnson Michael Redding, baritone

“City Called Heaven”

arr. Josephine Polenitz Samantha Burke, soprano Savannah Gordon, mezzo-soprano George Johnson III and Lonnie Reed, tenors Isiah Maxey, bass

“Plenty Good Room”

arr. Brandon Waddles Joshua John, tenor

“Dramatic Declamation” (from Gospel Lyric Suite) “Toccata: Ride On, King Jesus” (from Cantata)

Robert L. Morris (b. 1941) Kaswanna Kanyinda, mezzo-soprano John Carter (1932 - 1981) Crystal Glenn, soprano

“The Lord Is My Shepherd, Alleluia” (from I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes)

Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941) Full Ensemble George Johnson III, tenor

“My Tribute”

Andraé Crouch (1942 - 2015) Daniel Rich, baritone

“Total Praise”

Richard Smallwood (b. 1948) Full Ensemble

“Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Roland Carter (b. 1942) Full Ensemble

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Spoleto Festival USA is proud to present this performance with the support of the Charleston Gaillard Center.

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VINROY D. BROWN, JR. (conductor) holds credits in conducting, sacred music, and music education. He is a member of the conducting, organ, and sacred music faculty at Westminster Choir College, where he conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers and teaches African American Choral Literature. A church musician, he is director of music and worship arts at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church. Maintaining an active conducting schedule, he is founder and artistic director of Elmwood Concert Singers and is artistic director and conductor of Capital Singers of Trenton. He holds a Master of Arts in Practical Theology degree from Regent University and Bachelor of Music degrees in Sacred Music and Music Education from Westminster Choir College. CATHERINE ANN DANIEL (mezzo-soprano) made her Opera Tampa debut in Carmen singing the title role in 2020. Daniel studied voice with Coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl at the University of Manitoba. She was a member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and later became a member of the Opera Studio Nederlands in Amsterdam. Her career highlights include singing Emelda Griffiths in Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion with l’Opéra de Montréal, debuting Klytemnestra in Edmonton Opera’s production of Elektra, singing Elisabetta in Knoxville Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and debuting at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Haydn’s Mass in Time of War. CHERYSE MCLEOD LEWIS (mezzo-soprano) enjoys a diverse career in opera, musical theater, commercial, print, and voiceover. Lewis makes her Spoleto Festival USA debut this season as Omar’s Mother in the world premiere opera Omar. Recent highlights include Bess Understudy/Ensemble Swing in the 1st National Broadway Tour of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Girlfriend 3/ Congregant 3 in Blue (Seattle Opera), and Cinderella’s Stepmother in Into the Woods (Village Theatre). Lewis’s recent commercial, print, and voiceover credits include national ads for Amazon, Microsoft, Costco, T-Mobile, and Zillow. JAMEZ MCCORKLE (tenor) is an innate musician and trained pianist. McCorkle is gathering acclaim as a hugely exciting talent. Following his time at the Zürich International Opera Studio in 2019, McCorkle was a finalist in the much-coveted Neue Stimmen competition and has since made anticipated debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Detroit Opera, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and Bayerische Staatsoper. Highlights of the 2021/22 season include his house and role debut as Telemaco in a new production of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Theatre Basel; the title role in the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’s new opera based on the life of Omar Ibn Said at Spoleto Festival USA; and Leonard Woolfe in Kevin Puts’ new opera The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

LAQUITA MITCHELL (soprano) consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide. Mitchell performed as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. She appeared in New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon concerts and the Kauffmann Music Center’s Musical Storefront as part of New York City’s Pop-Up Arts Revival, as well as in Bard Music Festival’s concert performances of Nadia Boulanger and Her World. She has performed with San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, The Tanglewood Festival, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and many more. MICHAEL REDDING (baritone) has been thrilling audiences in the United States and in Europe with his vocalism and theatrical presence in work ranging from Mozart to classic American Music Theatre. His recent performances include Uncle Paul in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones with Opera Theatre of St Louis, Carl Magnus’s A Little Night Music with Piedmont Opera, Escamillo’s Carmen with Opera on the James, Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Madison Symphony, concert performances of Porgy and Bess with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, La Verdi Orchestra, Milan, and the Berlin Philharmonic. BRANDON WADDLES (piano) enjoys a multifaceted career spanning the musical gamut as a composer, conductor, educator, and music director. Waddles, a Detroit native, is an Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting and Music Education at Wayne State University. He was recently appointed as Artistic Director of the Rackham Choir, Detroit’s oldest choral organization. Waddles’s choral compositions and arrangements have been published and performed by choral ensembles around the world. In 2019, he was awarded as the inaugural recipient of the ACDA Diverse Voices Collaborative Grant. In addition, he has worked as a transcriber of Black gospel music for numerous choral octavos, hymnals, and hymnal supplements published by GIA, including his recent work as a contributing editor for the One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism hymnal. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works.

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ALLISON RUSSELL

Artist Vocals

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Allison Russell

June 1, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

ALLISON RUSSELL is an artist, activist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist of extraordinary power, talent, and grace. A founding member of the acclaimed groups Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago, the Montreal native has emerged as a potent force among creative circles worldwide. On her three-time Grammy nominated debut solo album, Outside Child, (Fantasy, 2021), Russell shares the harrowing story of her abusive childhood in a deeply moving, unforgettable song-cycle of courage, empathy, hope, and love. In January 2022, Russell announced signing with publishing house Macmillan Flatiron for the release of her upcoming memoir.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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LINDA MAY HAN OH AND FABIAN ALMAZAN

Artists Bass Piano

FESTIVAL HALL Linda May Han Oh Fabian Almazan

June 2, 7:00pm; June 3, 5:00pm; June 4, 5:00pm; June 5, 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 6, 5:00pm 1 hour Performed without an intermission

LINDA MAY HAN OH (bass) is a New York City-based bassist/composer who has performed with artists such as Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Raised in Perth, Western Australia, she was voted the 2018 – 2021 Bassist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist’s Association, as well as the 2022 Bassist of the Year in Jazztimes Magazine. Oh is a Jerome Foundation Fellow, a recipient of the 2020 APRA award for Best New Jazz Work, and a 2020 Sundance Interdisciplinary Grant—collaborating with filmmaker Sabrina McCormick. She was recently featured as the bassist in the 2020 Disney Pixar movie Soul and has released five albums as a leader which have received critical acclaim.

FABIAN ALMAZAN (piano) has explored his way through imaginative music as an improviser and composer. Almazan has developed a personal voice through the electric manipulation of the acoustic piano, some of which can be heard on the 2019 film Harriet by Kasi Lemmons. He has performed on film scores such as Miracle at St. Anna (2008) and Just Wright (2010). He has toured his music extensively as well as accompanied artists such as Terence Blanchard, Gretchen Parlato, Mark Guiliana, Avishai Cohen, and Ambrose Akinmusire. As an environmentalist and naturalist, Almazan travelled back to his homeland of Cuba where he made field recordings of endemic birds which were then incorporated into This Land Abounds with Life, Almazan’s most recent album. He is the founder/director of Biophilia Records which ensures a dialogue of awareness concerning music and environmental justice.

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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THE WAR AND TREATY

Artists Vocals and Piano Vocals

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Michael Trotter Jr. Tanya Trotter

June 2, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

THE WAR AND TREATY have amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself with “voices that will stop you in your tracks” (Garden and Gun) and their bluesy but joyful fusion of southern soul, gospel, country, and rock-and-roll. The husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter “continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world” (Associated Press) following their latest widely acclaimed release, HEARTS TOWN. Known for a live show nearly revival-like in its intensity, they “build up waves of emotion that crash into a cathartic release of a tour-de-force performance” (Austin-American Statesman). The versatile duo has opened for artists such as Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend, and Lauren Daigle, while their multifaceted collaborative efforts include Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Leslie Jordan, Mumford & Sons, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Sturgill Simpson.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS There is Sweet Music

Conductor Organ Piano Trombones

Joe Miller Julia Harlow Gracie Francis Cooper Cromwell-Whitley Guangwei Fan Liam Glendening

Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

ST. MATTHEW’S LUTHERAN CHURCH June 3, 5:00pm; June 11, 5:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission Please hold applause until the end of each set.

Program

Please find music texts on page 108.

I – German Romanticism “Ecce sacerdos” Anton Bruckner (1824 – 96) “Virga Jesse” Salve Regina, op 171

Josef Rheinberger (1839 – 1901)

“Ave Maria” Anton Bruckner “Os justi” “Abendlied”

Josef Rheinberger

II – Johannes Brahms “An die Heimat”

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 97)

Drei Gesänge, opus 42 I. “Abendständchen” II. “Vineta” III. “Darthula’s Grabgesang” Neckereien, op. 31 no. 2 III – Romantic Partsongs “There is sweet music”

Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934)

“The Oak and the Ash”

Traditional, arr. Gordon Langford (1930 – 2017)

“The Bee” “O Danny Boy”

Frank Bridge (1871 – 1949) Traditional Irish Melody, arr. Joseph Flummerfelt (1937 – 2019)

Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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Program Note The music of the Romantics is inextricably linked to the choral art. Blending of beautiful texts that speak of nature, love, and awe are natural ways to express the human voice. This program will begin with an exploration of the music of Germany and Austria. Anton Bruckner, Josef Rheinberger (actually born in Liechtenstein), and Johannes Brahms offer us varying perspectives on sacred and secular music from the 19th century. The concert concludes with a set of Romantic partsongs, including Joseph Flummerfelt’s arrangement of “O Danny Boy” which has been part of Spoleto Festival USA for over 40 years. — Joe Miller

Artists JOE MILLER (conductor) has served as Spoleto Festival USA’s Director of Choral Activities since 2007. Miller is also the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Symphonic Choir as well as the Professor of Conducting/Chair of Choral Studies at the College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati, where he has served since 2020. Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick NézetSéguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. From 2006 to 2020, he served as the Director of Choral Activities at Westminster Choir College. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works.

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RHAPSODIC OVERTURE

Conductor John Kennedy Piano Julia Hamos Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra

CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall June 3, 7:30pm 1 hour, 40 minutes Performed with an intermission

Program Rhapsodic Overture Edmund Thornton Jenkins (1894 – 1926) Restored, edited, and arranged by Tuffus Zimbabwe

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra György Ligeti (1923 – 2006) I. Vivace molto ritmico e preciso II. Lento e deserto III. Vivace cantabile IV. Allegro risoluto V. Presto luminoso Julia Hamos, piano

Intermission

AIŌN Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977) I. Morphosis II. Transcension III. Entropia

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Spoleto Festival USA is proud to present this performance with the support of the Charleston Gaillard Center.

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Program Note One of the wonderful aspects of Spoleto Festival USA is that in annual return, the arts can serve to help the city of Charleston reflect on and learn from its extraordinary past, and to consider its present and future. Sometimes, we experience the counterintuitive realization that moving forward in time brings us closer to a deeper awareness of times further in the past. And today, we hear a lot about the importance of paying witness to our past.

becomes too complex to discern, moving at different speeds simultaneously, Ligeti revels in what he describes as “illusory rhythmic-melodic figures,” where we find ourselves inside a “rhythmic-melodical whirl.” (In Omar, at one point, Omar Ibn Said reflects on his disorientation in time and place, singing that “the whirlwind has me.”) For Ligeti, the piano concerto was a signal expression of his ethos of integrating musical influences in celebrating “the spell of time”: I present my artistic credo in the Piano Concerto: I demonstrate my independence from criteria of the traditional avantgarde, as well as the fashionable postmodernism. Musical illusions which I consider to be also so important are not a goal in itself for me, but a foundation for my aesthetical attitude. I prefer musical forms which have a more object-like than processual character. Music as “frozen” time, as an object in imaginary space evoked by music in our imagination, as a creation which really develops in time, but in imagination it exists simultaneously in all its moments. The spell of time—the experience of enduring its passing by and closing it in a moment of the present—is my main intention as a composer.

Rhapsodic Overture Hearing Edmund Thornton Jenkins’s Rhapsodic Overture for the first time, nearly 100 years after it was composed, is to feel a connection to the soul of Charleston. Jenkins, the preternaturally gifted son of the founder of the Jenkins Orphanage Band, left Charleston when he was 20 to study music at the Royal Academy in London and became well-known there and in Paris, where he found easier success as a Black man. His music merged musical traditions of the Black south and early jazz with the classical traditions of Europe—but from his early death at 32, we can only wonder how much more music he had in him. In recent years, Jenkins’s work has begun to reemerge (such as in the Festival’s 2016 presentation of his unfinished operetta Afram ou La Belle Swita). Thanks to his grand-nephew, Tuffus Zimbabwe, we now have a restoration of one of his largest and most important works, the Rhapsodic Overture. Rebuilt from a set of parts in the absence of an existing score, it is not known if the work was ever performed in Jenkins’s lifetime. From correspondence with family in the months before his death, he describes working on a large orchestral work which we believe is this composition. Its rebirth is a cause for celebration. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra György Ligeti’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is one of those landmark compositions that one rarely has the opportunity to hear live, if only because it is so fiendishly difficult that performances are rare. Yet his voice (one of the most innovative and imaginative of the 20th century) is familiar to the public from the use of his groundbreaking soundworlds in films such as Stanley Kubrick’s A Space Odyssey. The concerto is connected to those compositions used in 2001 (such as Atmospheres) in how Ligeti diffuses musical materials into global structures or clouds that have multiple overlapping layers of movement (speed) and harmony (sound). The concerto uses “bimetry,” or simultaneous time signatures, so that asymmetrical rhythmic groupings move inside two speed layers, creating what he calls a “kaleidoscope of renewing combinations.” He describes the effect: “the music…after a certain time ‘rises,’ as it were, as a plane after taking off: the rhythmic action, too complex to be able to follow in detail, begins ‘flying’.” Ligeti was influenced by music from around the world, including polyrhythmic music from west Africa, and tonal systems from South Asia, in developing the concerto. The harmonic basis of the work also explores layers of tonality (such as C major with B major), and the division of the octave into 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12, to create layered tonal and harmonic patterns. As their combination

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AIŌN The Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir has emerged in the past decade as a major voice in contemporary music. Her works have had several appearances at the Festival, including the Festival Orchestra’s well-received 2017 US premiere of her work Dreaming. With AIŌN, Thorvaldsdottir has made her first symphony-scale composition, a work in three movements for large orchestra. Her words about how AIŌN explores time and serves our connection to our past and future, inspired me to find it a perfect work for our reckoning with the experience of the pandemic and for our 2022 Festival. Thorvaldsdottir describes her motivations for the composition: AIŌN is inspired by the abstract metaphor of being able to move freely in time, of being able to explore time as a place/space that you inhabit rather than experiencing it as a one-directional journey through a single dimension. Disorienting at first, you realize that time extends in all directions simultaneously and that whenever you feel like it, you can access any moment, even simultaneously. As you learn to control the journey, you find that the experience becomes different by taking different perspectives—you can see every moment at once, focus on just some of them, or go there to experience them. You are constantly zooming in and out, both in dimension and perspective. Some moments you want to visit more than others, noticing as you revisit the same moment, how your perception of it changes. Thorvaldsdottir takes this notion further, describing the symphony in terms that we often ascribe to what we hope Spoleto Festival USA is for our audiences: This metaphor is connected to a number of broader background ideas in relation to the work. AIŌN is a reflection on how we relate to our lives, to the ecosystem,


and to our place in the broader scheme of things. At any given moment, we are connected both to the past and to the future, and not just of our own lives but across— and beyond—generations. In the work, this reflection is envisioned by being able to move freely in time where we are invited to get perspective, to learn, and to grow. AIŌN is characterized by an embracing and resilient energy, combining strength, tenderness and hope. It evokes both the ancient and things to come, seeking refuge in the possibilities of resurrection, of rebuilding ourselves. As these three works reveal, music has a special capacity to serve as an experience of time and to delve into narratives of time in different yet powerful ways. — John Kennedy

Artists

vocalist in the operatic and spiritual styles, and studied at the New England Conservatory and the Sorbonne in Paris. Mildred Jenkins and her older brother Edmund Thornton Jenkins were children of Rev. Daniel Joseph Jenkins and Lena James who founded the Jenkins Orphanage and internationally renowned Jenkins Orphanage Band. He is honored to continue this musical legacy and to return to Charleston where it all started. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival’s programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.

JOHN KENNEDY (Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities) has been a change-maker in music for over 30 years, leading acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. In recent seasons at the Festival, Kennedy has conducted operas by leading composers of our time including Francesconi, Glass, Lachenmann, Lim, Huang Ruo, Saariaho, and others. Kennedy is a prolific composer whose works have been performed worldwide; his family opera The Language of Birds will have a new production by Canadian Children’s Opera Company in Toronto in June. This summer, he will lead West Edge Opera in the US Premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera Coraline. JULIA HAMOS (piano) combines her American and Hungarian roots with an adventurous spirit to explore the essence of repertoire ranging from Bach to composers living today. Instinctive artistic expression, a forward-thinking attitude, a joyful physical flexibility at the instrument, and an unyielding fascination with the music she plays makes her an artist to watch. In 2021 she worked with Daniel Barenboim in a series of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven solo piano and string sonatas. At the invitation of Sir András Schiff, she will appear in the Building Bridges series throughout Europe in the 2022—23 season. She currently serves as the assistant to the musicology program at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. She is also currently in the process of recording her first solo CD. TUFFUS ZIMBABWE is a pianist, composer, and educator from the Boston area. He studied music at Berklee College of Music and New York University. Zimbabwe is a keyboardist for the Saturday Night Live Band on NBC. He is also a pianist for the Trilogy Opera Company. Zimbabwe has roots in Charleston through his grandmother Mildred Jenkins, who was a professional R H A P S O D I C O V E R T U R E | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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RAVI COLTRANE: UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS The Melodic Meditations of Alice Coltrane

Artists Tenor and Soprano Saxophones Harp Organ and Piano Bass Drums

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Ravi Coltrane Brandee Younger David Virelles Rashaan Carter Jeff “Tain” Watts

June 3, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

RAVI COLTRANE (saxophone) is a critically acclaimed Grammy-nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. In the course of career spanning more than 20 years, Coltrane has worked as a sideman to many, recorded noteworthy albums for himself and others, and founded a prominent independent record label, RKM. Born in Long Island, the second son of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, he was named after Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar. His mother, Alice Coltrane, was a significant influence, and it was he who encouraged Alice to return to performance and the recording studio after a long absence. Credits include performances as well as recordings with Elvin Jones, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Baron, Steve Coleman, McCoy Tyner, and Jack DeJohnette, among others. He is a co-leader of the Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman.

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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TYSHAWN SOREY/AARON DIEHL/MATT BREWER

Artists Drums Piano Bass

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Tyshawn Sorey Aaron Diehl Matt Brewer

June 4, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The Festival’s Wells Fargo Jazz advisor and Wall Street Journal jazz critic Larry Blumenfeld speaks with Tyshawn Sorey at 5:00pm on Thursday, June 2, at Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, 66 George St.

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TYSHAWN SOREY (drums) is a Newark-born composer and multi-instrumentalist who occupies a unique space in and between spontaneous and formal composition. An artist whose work has proven impossible to categorize, he has maintained a lifelong interest in establishing an alternative musical model that celebrates genre mobility both as an artistic ideal and a compositional attitude. Sorey is currently Presidential Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania and composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia. He was also recently the Blodgett Artist in Residence at Harvard University. He was named a 2017 MacArthur Fellow and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. Among other awards and honors, he has received composition grants from the Shifting Foundation, Fromm Foundation, Van Lier Fellowship, and the Jerome Foundation, as well as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Impact Award and a Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. AARON DIEHL (piano) transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records—and appearances at historic venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Village Vanguard, and New York Philharmonic—the American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow now focuses his attention on his forthcoming solo album and ongoing curation of Black American composers programming with emphasis on William Grant Still. A Juilliard graduate, Diehl has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Philip Glass, and Grammy Award-winning artist Cécile McLorin Salvant. He recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist. MATT BREWER (bass) has developed and sustained a well-earned reputation as the first-call bassist, applying his resonant tone, uncanny time feel, and conceptual breadth on both upright and electric bass to touring and recording projects by an elite cohort of individualistic, game-changing artists such as Greg Osby, Ben Wendel, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Antonio Sanchez, David Binney, and Steve Lehman. Brewer also excels as a composer, as documented on four critically acclaimed Criss Cross albums. In 2001 he enrolled at The Juilliard School’s newly launched jazz school, where he studied with Rodney Whitaker and Ben Wolfe. He left Juilliard in 2004, after joining Greg Osby’s touring ensemble. He is also an esteemed jazz educator. He is currently Professor of Jazz Bass at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is an adjunct faculty member at The New School and has taught master classes across the globe.

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MUSIC IN TIME JOHN KENNEDY, DIRECTOR AND HOST

TYSHAWN SOREY, FOR ORCHESTRA

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra

June 6, 7:00pm

Program For Roscoe Mitchell

Tyshawn Sorey (b. 1980)

1 hour, 20 minutes Performed without an intermission

Seth Parker Woods, cello John Kennedy, conductor

Autoschediasms

For Marcos Balter

Tyshawn Sorey Tyshawn Sorey, conductor

Tyshawn Sorey

Giancarlo Latta, violin Kellen Gray, conductor

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The Festival’s Wells Fargo Jazz advisor and Wall Street Journal jazz critic Larry Blumenfeld speaks with Tyshawn Sorey at 5:00pm on Thursday, June 2, at Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston, 66 George St.

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JOHN KENNEDY (Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities) has been a change-maker in music for over 30 years, leading acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. In recent seasons at the Festival, Kennedy has conducted operas by leading composers of our time including Francesconi, Glass, Lachenmann, Lim, Huang Ruo, Saariaho, and others. Kennedy is a prolific composer whose works have been performed worldwide; his family opera The Language of Birds will have a new production by Canadian Children's Opera Company in Toronto in June. This summer, he will lead West Edge Opera in the US Premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera Coraline. KELLEN GRAY (conductor) has earned a reputation as a versatile and imaginative conductor through his enthusiasm for traditional, experimental, and multimedia projects. Presently, Gray serves as assistant conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and associate conductor of the Charleston Symphony. Prior to his present appointments, Gray was a Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting Fellow, and later, assistant conductor at Chicago Sinfonietta. From 2014 – 2016, Gray was assistant conductor at the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and conducting fellow at Eastern Music Festival. GIANCARLO LATTA (violin) is a New York City-based violinist, writer, and composer fiercely committed to the music of our time. Recent performance highlights include Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series with the Argus Quartet, premieres by George Lewis and Liza Lim at Banff and Spoleto Festival USA, and a commissioning project featuring six new works with pianist Robert Fleitz. SETH PARKER WOODS (cello) has established a reputation as a versatile artist straddling several genres. He is a recipient of the 2022 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award and hailed by The Guardian as “a cellist of power and grace” who possesses “mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink.” In addition to solo performances, he has appeared with ensembles that include the Ictus Ensemble (Brussels), Ensemble L’Arsenale (Italy), Ensemble LPR, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Atlanta and Seattle symphonies. Woods is a fierce advocate for contemporary arts and has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Louis Andriessen, Elliott Carter, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Lou Reed.

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TYSHAWN SOREY is a Newark-born composer and multi-instrumentalist who occupies a unique space in and between spontaneous and formal composition. An artist whose work has proven impossible to categorize, he has maintained a lifelong interest in establishing an alternative musical model that celebrates genre mobility both as an artistic ideal and a compositional attitude. Sorey is currently Presidential Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania and composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia. He was also recently the Blodgett Artist in Residence at Harvard University. He was named a 2017 MacArthur Fellow and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. Among other awards and honors, he has received composition grants from the Shifting Foundation, Fromm Foundation, Van Lier Fellowship, and the Jerome Foundation, as well as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Impact Award and a Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival’s programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.


MUSIC IN TIME JOHN KENNEDY, DIRECTOR AND HOST

THE STREET 14 Meditations on the Stations of the Cross

Artists Composer Librettist Narrator Harp Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

ST. MATTHEW’S LUTHERAN CHURCH Nico Muhly Alice Goodman Marcus Amaker Parker Ramsay

June 7, 5:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission Please find texts on page TK.

Emily Tiberi Luciana Piovan Allison Deady Kaitlyn Tierney Aaron McKone Gabriel Hernandez Andrew Stack David Drettwan

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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Artist’s Note The Street is of great personal importance to me, as working with Alice Goodman and Nico Muhly has brought together multiple strands in my life as a musician. Although I’m a harpist, the great bulk of my training was in organ and sacred music at King’s College, Cambridge, and Oberlin Conservatory. Indeed, in high school and college, I nerded out about Byrd masses or obsessively practiced extended cycles by Olivier Messiaen, La Nativité du Seigneur, L’Ascension, and Messe de la Pentecôte. But thanks to a close friend, I also got hooked on 20th-century opera, becoming obsessed with John Adams and Alice Goodman’s Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer. And so, collaborating with Nico and Alice on this work has been a fantastic project in symbiosis of sorts, as they are at once fluent in sacred music of yore and living artistic lives in the realms of new and contemporary music. Nico’s beautifully idiomatic writing fuses with Alice’s arresting and beautiful texts, bearing witness to a meeting of musical worlds—or perhaps one world where these differing worlds are not so disparate as we might assume. — Parker Ramsay

Other stations of the cross take their musical cues from the attendant plainchant, most explicitly heard in station VIII, when Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, and we hear the chant Filiæ Jerusalem played by bell-like harp harmonics. Although Goodman’s texts are never themselves sung, they often suggest lyrical writing which itself could be sung: the line “However low I fall, let me not fall far from you” (IX) engenders a little tune which haunts the final five movements. The “rich, ferrous smell of blood” encourages the harp to play the instrument with a guitar pick: a small little hand-tool, brittle and sharp. After Jesus’s death (XII), the music becomes simpler, almost businesslike. Goodman avoids the eclipses, rending of the veil of the temple and earthquakes, and asks: “Isn’t it enough that he died?” As Joseph, Nicodemus, and Peter take down the body from the cross, and prepare the burial ritual, the music becomes simpler still, built on a simple drone on middle C: it’s going through the motions, but somehow transformed into something uneasy. Goodman ends her meditations with the mourner’s kaddish (XIV), performed just before the appearance of the first star in the sky (per Jewish law), and the harp, having played a kind of transformed cradlesong, fast forwards an hour, and ends with a vision of the night sky. — Nico Muhly

Composer’s Note The Stations of the Cross is a sequence of 14 images portraying Jesus’s itinerary on Good Friday, beginning with him being condemned to death and ending with him being laid in the tomb. It’s a surprisingly non-mystical text; there are no miracles or divine interventions. Instead, it’s a series of very earthly actions: encountering the citizens of Jerusalem, falling over three times, encountering his mother, being mocked by soldiers. I find this a deeply relatable way to engage with Holy Week; it doesn’t require a deep knowledge of theology to understand the meaning (although it doesn’t hurt); it’s a way to engage on a human level. The Street is a set of meditations on the 14 Stations of the Cross, scored for solo harp. Each movement can, in some performances, be paired with plainchant, chosen to augment and, in some cases, provide counterpoint to the traditional narrative of Good Friday. The spark for each movement is original texts by Alice Goodman—either read aloud or read in silence—which are simultaneously specific, evocative, mysterious, and poetic. Often, a single line will provide the starting point for the music: When Jesus is condemned to death (Station I), Goodman describes the crowd shouting “crucify him” as: “the pitch dropping as it passes where you stand.” The harp, in turn, plays a modern version of the same, a kind of digital-delay effect, where the pitch creeps down the scale. This two-note descending motif becomes the governing gesture of the piece. “Remember the carpenter’s work” (II) suggests an honest, folksy labor—work done with the hands. Mary, come to Jerusalem “to be seen in that first look between mother and child,” hears the echo of a rocking-song from three decades before (IV). Veronica, looking at her sudarium (VI), notices that “He is printed in molecules of blood and sweat,” and hears a chord, diffused and delicate, as if seen under a microscope. A narrator—all of us, perhaps—causes Jesus’s second fall: “My fault. I put out my foot and tripped him. What can I say?” and the harp responds with a bullying, rhythmically intense unbroken set of shifting, stumbling gestures (VII). 94

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Artists MARCUS AMAKER (narrator) is the first Poet Laureate of Charleston, South Carolina, and the recipient of a Governor’s Arts award. He is also an Academy of American Poets fellow, the graphic designer of a music journal, an electronic musician, and an opera librettist. He frequently visits classrooms to lead poetry workshops. His poetry has been recognized by The Washington Post; The Kennedy Center; American Poets Magazine; The Washington National Opera; NPR; The Chicago Tribune; PBS Newshour; and many others. Amaker’s work is included on a Grammy-nominated opera album. His ninth book, Black Music Is, is from Free Verse Press. ALICE GOODMAN (librettist) was born in 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was educated at Harvard and Cambridge and attended the Boston University School of Theology. Goodman was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2001 and a priest in 2003. In 2011, Goodman was named Rector of Fulbourn and the Wilbrahams in the Diocese of Ely. She has written libretti for operas including Nixon in China (1987) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1991) with John Adams; and The Magic Flute translated for Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1991). Some of her other works include A Letter of Rights (cantata, with Tarik O’Regan, 2015); Le Roman de Fauvel (with Benjamin Bagby and Peter Sellars, 2022); History is Our Mother: Three Libretti (NYRB Classics, 2017); and The Street (with Nico Muhly, 2022).


NICO MUHLY (composer) is an American composer who writes orchestral music and works for the stage, chamber music, and sacred music. He has received commissions from the Metropolitan Opera: Two Boys (2011) and Marnie (2018); Carnegie Hall; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; The Australian Chamber Orchestra; the Tallis Scholars; and King’s College, Cambridge. An avid collaborator, he has worked with choreographers Benjamin Millepied, Justin Peck, and Kyle Abraham and artists Sufjan Stevens, The National, Teitur, Anohni, James Blake, and Paul Simon. Recordings of his work have been released by Decca and Nonesuch, and he is part of the artist-run record label Bedroom Community. PARKER RAMSAY (harp) creates work that is unique in its integration of contemporary music and historical performance and defies easy categorization. In 2020, his “relentlessly beautiful” (WQXR) recording of his transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the King’s College, Cambridge, label attracted international attention and critical praise. Recent and upcoming projects include collaborations with composers Marcos Balter, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Josh Levine; residencies at IRCAM in Paris; and release of his second solo album. Additionally, Ramsay is a prolific writer on music for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Van Magazine. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works.

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BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY Music by Ludwig van Beethoven

Conductor Soprano Mezzo-soprano Tenor Baritone Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus Director

Joe Miller Lauren Michelle Catherine Ann Daniel Eric Ferring Troy Cook Robert Taylor Spoleto Festival USA Chorus Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra

CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall June 9, 8:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission Please find song text on page 115.

Program Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 “Choral” Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Scherzo. Molto vivace – Presto III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Presto

This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Spoleto Festival USA is proud to present this performance with the support of the Charleston Gaillard Center.

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Program Note Consider that in 1831, when Omar Ibn Said wrote his remarkable autobiography—the inspiration for the new opera Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels—it was only seven years since the Ninth Symphony had been heard for the very first time (on a Friday night in Vienna, May 7, 1824). The aspirations that Friedrich Schiller articulated in his 1785 poem Ode an die Freude (“Ode to Joy”), on the eve of the French Revolution, had sparked Ludwig van Beethoven’s enthusiasm from his early years. Yet they would remain utopian, almost otherworldly, abstractions for the countless enslaved people like Ibn Said (who is believed to have shared the composer’s year of birth, 1770). Although the Ninth received its first American performance in 1846, in New York City, Ibn Said continued to be enslaved until his death in 1864. (He outlived Beethoven by some 37 years.) Already in the 1790s, the young Beethoven had determined to set the entire poem to music, and Schiller’s utopian vision of the triumph of a just, egalitarian society restored to full humanity remained his lodestar until the composer’s final decade, when he composed the Ninth. Rooted in Enlightenment philosophy but also linked to Romantic principles, this vision animates Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio (where the hero’s climactic liberation is accompanied by an “ode to joy” of its own), and it directs the metaphorical journey from oppressive doom to redeeming light that is the “subtext” of so many of his instrumental compositions—most famously, the Fifth Symphony, the only other Beethoven symphony besides the Ninth set in a minor key; both works, crucially, trace a path to the major for their respective final movements. In 1817, the recently established Philharmonic Society of London commissioned two new symphonies from Beethoven. He had not taken up the genre since 1812, when he completed Symphonies Seven and Eight, after which the composer entered into a particularly turbulent period of his life. Only one of these was completed, and Beethoven took years to wrestle it into existence. The creative flow began in earnest in 1822, when he hit on the idea of incorporating an abridged version of his beloved Schiller poem into the new symphony (along with some of his own rewrites); it took until early 1824 for Beethoven to complete the orchestration. In the context of post-Napoleonic Vienna, where a conservative political order had been stage-managed for Europe not long before, Beethoven confronted his audience with liberal ideals. He also confronted this public, then overtaken by the craze for all things Rossini, with music that exploded pre-existing expectations of what a symphony could let alone should be.

After all, the music Beethoven composed insists on extremes of experience—and not only the experience of joy. The Ninth compels us to undergo an epic journey before we arrive there. “It’s not just about joy,” as Miller points out. The first movement, in fact, traces a powerfully tragic narrative. Emerging out of an ambiguous void— the musical equivalent of the Chaos preceding Creation—thematic shards begin to coalesce until, with a mighty increase in volume and power, Beethoven hammers them together into his titanic main theme. Its return at the climactic reprise is nothing short of apocalyptic, reinforced by brutally pounding timpani (a key instrumental “protagonist” in the Ninth). The densely concentrated, primal, even violent energy of the Scherzo—more Beethovenian hammering—anticipates something of the Minimalist aesthetic. It counters the first movement’s epic sprawl with an eternally circling, primal dance. But both movements give an impression of cosmic forces at play. The Adagio introduces an entirely new realm of contemplation into the world of the Ninth. Structurally, it unfolds as alternating variations on two very distinctive themes. Beethoven plunges us right back into chaos at the outset of the enormous final movement—an explosion all the more shocking in that it interrupts the unearthly spirit of beauty sustained throughout the Adagio. Even without words, Beethoven manages to stage the drama that leads from that dissonant chaos to the seemingly inevitable evolution of the human voice in song. A solo baritone emerges with a cry to try something different, and the instruments then show the way to the Promised Land, developing the “joy theme” in a process of successive layering. In terms of its form, this last movement unfolds more or less as a set of extreme variations on the new theme. These can become quite eccentric, as when the solo tenor (forced to strain very high in his range) is accompanied by clanging cymbals and other gestures that, to European ears of the time, evoked stereotypes of a Turkish military band—only to have the voices go silent for a spell while the orchestra embarks on a fiercely charged episode. Later, he introduces lofty, radiant music associated with a transcendent Being “beyond the starry firmament,” engaging with feelings of sacred awe. Here, Beethoven affirms still another way of connecting beyond our individual selves. “It’s easy to get lost in our individuality and forget that we’re in this world with other people,” says Joe Miller. As we honor the re-telling of Ibn Said’s story in Omar, Beethoven’s Ninth offers a counterpart of joyousness that is about “bringing people together, re-examining customs, and celebrating brotherhood”—a message that, in our increasingly turbulent world, has lost none of its urgency. — Thomas May

“The Ninth is one of the works choral conductors dread the most,” says Maestro Joe Miller, “because Beethoven pushes us to the limits of what the human voice will do.” The mammoth score that the composer presented to his colleagues in Vienna for the special concert premiere posed challenges that could not possibly be met under the circumstances, which had allowed for just two rehearsals of this brand-new music. The Ninth has thus always represented something aspirational more than something achieved —not only in its idealism but from the point of view of musical performance as well. B E E T H O V E N ’ S N I N T H SY M P H O N Y | S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Artists JOE MILLER (conductor) has served as Spoleto Festival USA’s Director of Choral Activities since 2007. Miller is also the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Symphonic Choir as well as the Professor of Conducting/Chair of Choral Studies at the College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati, where he has served since 2020. Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick NézetSéguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. From 2006 to 2020, he served as the Director of Choral Activities at Westminster Choir College. TROY COOK (baritone) has been praised for his “technically flawless performance” by Opera News and heralded throughout his career for his vocal suaveness and vibrant stage presence. His many and varied performances include appearances with the Metropolitan Opera; Washington National Opera; Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Teatro San Carlo, Napoli; The Dallas Opera; and Opera Pacific, among others. An acclaimed interpreter of new works, he created the role of John Cree in Elizabeth Cree, as well as Father Palmer in Silent Night. CATHERINE ANN DANIEL (mezzo-soprano) made her Opera Tampa debut in Carmen singing the title role in 2020. Daniel studied voice with Coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl at the University of Manitoba. She was a member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and later became a member of the Opera Studio Nederlands in Amsterdam. Her career highlights include singing Emelda Griffiths in Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion with l’Opéra de Montréal, debuting Klytemnestra in Edmonton Opera’s production of Elektra, singing Elisabetta in Knoxville Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and debuting at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Haydn’s Mass in Time of War. ERIC FERRING (tenor) is an alumnus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program. Highlights of his 2021 – 2022 season include singing Beppe in a filmed production of Pagliacci with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pong in Turandot, along with performances of Tamino in The Magic Flute, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and a Royal Herald in Don Carlos. He will make his debut with Santa Fe Opera as Fenton in Falstaff. He is also a winner of the 2022 George London Foundation Competition.

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LAUREN MICHELLE (soprano) is a native of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of UCLA and The Juilliard School. She was a prize winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and is an internationally recognized opera star. Some of her notable international roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La bohème, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She has performed at Covent Garden as Jessica in The Merchant of Venice and completed a season as a house soprano with Vienna State Opera. She sang in concert under the baton of Plácido Domingo at LA Opera and made her debut with Washington National Opera to critical acclaim alongside Eric Owens. She was awarded first place in both the Lotte Lenya Competition and the Marcello Giordani International Vocal Competition. ROBERT TAYLOR (director, Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus) is the director of choral activities at the College of Charleston, the founding artistic director and president of the Taylor Festival Choir and Taylor Music Group, and the director of the Charleston Symphony Chorus and Chamber Singers. Called a “rising star in the international choral scene” and a “true master of his craft” (Charleston City Paper), Taylor has also earned accolades for his ensembles, which have been described as sounding “more musical than would seem possible” (The Post and Courier) and have received numerous plaudits from critics for their technical proficiency, musicality, and beautiful sound production. THE CHARLESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS is composed of auditioned, volunteer singers from the Charleston, South Carolina, area. Founded in 1978 by Miss Emily Remington as the Charleston Singers Guild, and now directed by Robert Taylor, the full Chorus performs a diverse choral repertoire to nurture and educate audiences and future singers. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS is a new professional choir, led by Festival Director of Choral Activities Joe Miller, that builds upon the Festival’s longstanding tradition of exceptional choral music. The Festival Chorus consists of more than 50 vocal fellows with broad and versatile skillsets. Each season, vocal fellows perform major choral works; serve as the choir for Spoleto’s mainstage operas, with select singers covering both large and small roles; and take part in special projects or smaller ensemble works. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA serves as a backbone to the Festival's programming, appearing in many different configurations as part of opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary performances. Comprised of early career musicians, the Orchestra is formed anew each year through nationwide auditions. Alumni of the Orchestra can be found in orchestras throughout the world, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and many others.


MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY

Artists Guitar and Vocals Mandolin Banjo Fiddle Bass

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD Molly Tuttle Dominick Leslie Kyle Tuttle Bronwyn Keith-Hynes Shelby Means

June 9, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes Performed without an intermission

MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY— her brand new band of bluegrass virtuosos featuring mandolinist Dominick Leslie, banjoist Kyle Tuttle, fiddle player Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and bassist Shelby Means— will tour the United States in 2022 in support of Tuttle’s new record Crooked Tree. An award-winning guitarist and songwriter, native Californian Molly Tuttle continues to push her songwriting in new directions and transcend musical boundaries. Since moving to Nashville in 2015, she has worked with many of her peers and heroes in the Americana, folk, and bluegrass communities, winning Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards. Tuttle’s 2019 debut album, When You’re Ready, received critical acclaim, with NPR Music praising its “handsomely crafted melodies that gently insinuate themselves into the memory,” and the Wall Street Journal lauding Tuttle’s “genre-boundary-crossing comfort and emotional preparedness,” calling the record an “invigorating, mature and attention-grabbing first album.” Tuttle’s accolades also include Folk Alliance International’s honor for Song of the Year for “You Didn’t Call My Name,” from her 2017 Rise EP, and consecutive trophies for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year; she was the first woman in the history of the IBMA to win that honor.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT

Artists Vocals Piano Guitar Flute Bass Percussion

Cécile McLorin Salvant Sullivan Fortner Marvin Sewell Alexa Tarantino Yasushi Nakamura Keita Ogawa

CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall June 10, 7:30pm 1 hour, 30 minutes Performed without an intermission

CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT (vocals) is a composer, singer, and visual artist. Salvant won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Albums on three consecutive releases—The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One to Love. Her latest album Ghost Song was released on March 4, 2022, to critical acclaim. In 2020, Salvant received the MacArthur Fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, of a French mother and Haitian father, she started classical piano studies at age five, sang in a children’s choir at age eight, and started classical voice lessons as a teenager. Salvant received a bachelor’s degree in French law from the Université Pierre-Mendes France in Grenoble while also studying baroque music and jazz at the Darius Milhaud Music Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Made possible in part by the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Foundation. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Spoleto Festival USA is proud to present this performance with the support of the Charleston Gaillard Center.

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WELLS FARGO FESTIVAL FINALE Featuring

SHAKEY GRAVES Artists Vocals, Guitar, Percussion Percussion Bass Piano, Keyboard Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals Guitar, Vocals

FIREFLY DISTILLERY Alejandro Rose-Garcia (Shakey Graves) Matthew Pence Taylor Craft Daniel Creamer Cameron Neal Patrick O’Connor

June 12 Gates open at 5:00pm Shakey Graves performs at 8:30pm

SHAKEY GRAVES (vocals, guitar, percussion) is a gentleman from Texas. His music is a cross between blues, folk, and rock and roll—he performs at many large festivals and concert venues around the world. Alejandro Rose-Garcia received his iconic stage name at Old Settler’s Music Festival in 2007 after he and his friends jokingly gave each other Indian guide names over a campfire. After an inspired night of playing music, he decided to keep the name. In September 2015, Shakey Graves won the Best Emerging Artist award at the 2015 Americana Music Awards. On February 9, 2012, the Mayor of Austin proclaimed a “Shakey Graves Day.”

Sponsored by Wells Fargo This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

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CONVERSATIONS WITH Hosted by Martha Teichner

Guests Charleston Gaillard Center May 28, 2:00pm Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels (Omar, p 20) Dock Street Theatre May 30, 3:30pm Playwright Mark O’Rowe and the cast of The Approach (p 52) Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston June 5, 5:00pm Dael Orlandersmith (Until the Flood, p 54) Dock Street Theatre June 7, 3:00pm Spoleto Festival USA General Director Mena Mark Hanna

MARTHA TEICHNER has been a CBS News correspondent since 1977. During that time, she has covered major historical events around the world—for a dozen years mostly in conflict zones—helping to pave the way for other women journalists. She joined CBS Sunday Morning in December 1993. She has won 13 Emmy Awards, an Alfred I. DuPont Award, five James Beard Awards, and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, among others. Born in Traverse City, Michigan, Teichner is a graduate of Wellesley College. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, When Harry Met Minnie, a memoir about two dogs and the power of friendship, was released in February 2021.

Made possible in part by the Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation.

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JAZZ TALKS Hosted by Larry Blumenfeld

Guests Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston May 28, 5:00pm Youssou NDOUR (p 75) June 2, 5:00pm Tyshawn Sorey (pp 89, 91)

LARRY BLUMENFELD writes regularly about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal. During the past 20 years, his work has also appeared in publications including The Village Voice and The New York Times, and at websites including Salon and Truthdig. One focus of his work has been the intersection of music, politics, and social justice, particularly relating the US and Cuba, and to post-flood New Orleans. He received the Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing in 2011 from the Jazz Journalists Association, a Katrina Media Fellowship with the Open Society Institute, and a National Arts Journalism Fellowship at Columbia University. His writing has appeared in Best Music Writing, 2008 (Da Capo Press) and Music in the Post-9/11 World (Routledge Press), among other collections. He has lectured and presented widely at institutions including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

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A Community Engaged Spoleto ETC Happenings in 2022 Connecting Festival artists and the broader community, Spoleto ETC (Engaging the Community) offers meaningful dialogues, participatory workshops, and professional development opportunities that serve local, national, and international constituents. In the 2022 season, more than 700 artists—40 percent of them from outside the United States—take to Spoleto stages for more than 115 performances across 8 venues. Off stage, Spoleto endeavors to make an even bigger impact. In one season, the Festival has engaged the following:

3 15 3,600

free, virtual book discussions hosted in partnership with the Charleston County Public Library

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historians, experts, and academics in free, virtual panel discussions

eighth graders across Charleston County received Omar workbooks illustrated by Jonathan Green.

New editions of the Omar workbook are sponsored by Wells Fargo and Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges Program.

Illustration by Jonathan Green

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More than aspiring professional artists from the Charleston Jazz Academy and the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra attended Festival artist-led workshops.

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: years that Emmy-winning CBS News correspondent Martha Teichner has hosted the free Conversations With series, leading illuminating discussions with Festival artists Martha Teichner and Alisa Weilerstein; Spoleto Festival USA (2021); photo by William Struhs

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Across weeks, College of Charleston students are invited to attend Spoleto Festival USA performances and weekly lectures with guest artists.

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: students and educators seated in the audience to see a dress rehearsal of Omar, the world premiere opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels

Bank of America Chamber Music artists visited Charleston-area elementary schools, offering musician-led workshops and performances to

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students.

Through the Festival’s Open Stage Door program, deserving Charleston nonprofit organizations and their constituents received more than

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James Austin Smith, Geoff Nuttall, and Christopher Costanza at Sander’s Clyde Elementary School (2018)

complimentary tickets to attend Spoleto Festival USA performances. Open Stage Door is sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and Chorus fellows, young professional musicians who gain invaluable opportunities to work with world-renowned composers and conductors

apprentices from colleges and universities across the United States, who receive hands-on training in arts administration and stage production Spoleto ETC is made possible by an anonymous donor; Carol H. Fishman, in memory of Leo Fishman; Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation; Danielle Rose Paikin Foundation; Leslie Aucoin and Vernon Drew; and The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. For more information on how to help expand programs like these, please visit spoletousa.org/support. S P O L E TO U S A .O R G 105


MUSIC TEXTS Music in Time May 29, 5:00pm

Evil’s Peak I. Det Tu hEvribadi (Death to Everybody) Mi a kaal (h)Evribadi tu dis ya daans! Meya, paasta, maasa, muma, Rich an puor, griet an smaal. Mi a kaal (h)Evribadi tu dis ya daans! Bishop, Dakta, Empres, Rasta.

I am calling everybody to this dance! Mayor, pastor, mister, mother, Rich and poor, great and small. I am calling everybody to this dance! Bishop, Doctor, Empress, Rasta.

Kom ina dis! Tep faawod; Kaaz griivin naa go (h)Elp yu. Mi se fi kom ina dis! Tep faawod; But trai yu bes bring gud wurks wid yu, An mek shuor yu frii a yu sin dem tu.

Come into this [dance]! Step forward; Because grieving will not help you. I said to come into this [dance]! Step forward, But try your best to bring good works with you, And make sure you are free of your sins too.

No bada tel mi yu no redi! No bada tel mi wa yu av lef fi du, Or wa Yu no get fi du ina laif. Kaaz at di (h)En a di die, Yu afi daans tu Mai faif!

Don’t bother to tell me you’re not ready! Don’t bother to tell me what you have left to do, Or what you didn’t get to do in life. Because at the end of the day, You have to dance to my fife!

II. Det Tu Di Chrch (Death to the Church) Uol aan! Fala baka mi Bishop! Tep rait in front Paasta man; An rait ya so Chaplin.

Hold on! Follow behind me Bishop! Step right in front Pastor man; And right here Chaplin.

Unu did fi a riprizent Gaad paañ ert; An fi trang op di Krischian fiet wid Gaad wurd an gud work.

You were supposed to represent God on Earth; And to strengthen the Christian faith with God’s word and good work.

Unu a smel unuself; Nuff hawtinis! Unu de pan unu hai haws Nau, yu no redi fi mi. Kaaz unu nuo unu gilti a frawdilens. Mi nuo se yu gilti!

You are smelling yourself; Plenty haughtiness! You are on your high horse Now, you are not ready for me. Because you know you are guilty of fraudulence. I know that you are guilty!

Unu twis Gaad wuod, liid im piipl dem astrie, Tek di piipl dem raichos hawfring So onggl yu kiaã si prosperite.

You twisted God’s word, Led his people astray, Took the people’s righteous offering So only you can see prosperity.

Bot! Laivli op yuself puor piipl No luk so sad. Dem a go daans lef di prrs, Hous an laan fi mek unu haat glad.

But! Lively up yourselves poor people Don’t look so sad. They are going to dance and leave the purse, House and land, to make your hearts glad.

DAANS!

DANCE!

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III. Det Tu Di Stiet (Death to the State) Oi! Meya an Govana. Step iin! Dis iz nuo juok! Di haia mi si unu riez ina powa, Di les unu yooz di sitizn tax moni Tuwaad di komiuniti wok.

Hello! Mayor and Governor. Step in! This is no joke! The higher I see you rise in power, The less you used the citizen’s tax money Toward to community’s work.

Unu a cling to di (h)Offis bad bad; Yu nuo yu kiaã flai fram mi?... Wid yu sowa fies! Kaaz yu neen de du nutn Fi di piipl dem ina di frrs plias. So kom Meya an Govana!

You are clinging to the office so bad; You know you can’t fly from me?... With your sour face! Because you weren’t doing anything For the people in the first place. So come Mayor and Governor!

As fi yu Maasa a Medisn, Yu no (h)Exemp! Yu did fi bring meni a strienja to gud helt. But az familiariti briid contemp, Yu en op a put meni ina griev dienja.

As for you Master of Medicine, You are not exempt! You were to bring many a stranger To good health. But as familiarity breeds contempt, You ended up putting many In grave danger.

Yu pieshent dem kom tu yu ina despirieshan; Mentali an fizikali ina piisis. An yu (h)Ouva chaaj dem a bag a fii Onggl fi av dem a wala ina dem uona fiisiz.

Your patients came to you In desperation; Mentally and physically in pieces. And you over-charged them several fees Only to have them wallowing In their own feces.

Mi don taak! Taim fi daans!

I am done talking! Time to dance!

IV. Det Tu Di Caman an nat so Caman (Death to the Common and not so Common)

Rich man, O Rich man; Yo hawt wuda de at iiz If yu did a shier Yo blesin wid di puor. Di puor piipl wok hawd Fi mek yo kail, Bot yu brutal bad, An huord di moni wail yu aax fi muor.

Rich man, O rich man; Your heart would be at ease If you were sharing Your blessings with the poor. The poor people worked hard To make your money But you are very brutal, And hoarded the money whilst asking for more.

Neva yu hier yu wurkaz komplien; But Si? Yu griidinis tek uova. But wan drap a siknis ina yo Daansin cop and BRAPS! Yu daans til yu kik uova.

Never you hear your workers complain But see? Your greediness took over But one drop of sickness in your Dancing cup and BRAPS! You dance until you kick over [and die].

O puor piipl an raichus suols, Mi lov unu so! But all di trai mi a trai fi stap di daans ya suh, Unu tu afi go.

O poor people and righteous souls, I love you so! But although I’m trying very hard to stop the dance right here, you too have to go.

But mait az wel daans glad! Kaaz a unu a get di Kindom a Gaad. If (h)Evribadi did a du di wuork wa yo du, Den iivl wudn so rampant.

But might as well dance glad! Because you are the ones getting the kingdom of God. If everybody was doing the work you did, then evil wouldn’t be so rampant.

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No! nat di bunununus (h)Inosent an pior. Niecha a uovaraid mi chais fi shuor! It a rrt mi fi nuo duo yu kiaã waak, yu stil afi daans. An of aal di laivz mi swat aaf di ert, Yu muos dizervin of a chaans.

No! not the delightful [baby] Innocent and pure. Nature is overriding my choice for sure! It hurts me to know that although you cannot walk you still have to dance. And of all the live I’ve swatted off the earth, You are most deserving of a chance.

No! O tenda pikini, Mi sari! But mi afi tek op mi faif. Mi riili no want fi gi di daansin kaal Bot iida wie yu no langa shal av laif.

No! O tender child, I’m sorry! but I have to take up my fife. I really do not want to give the dancing call but either way you no longer shall have life.

So waak gud nau mi dawlin dier, Sliip (h)Ondistrbd; Til di Lawd wiek yo op Wid a shainin krown fi wier.

So walk good now my darling dear, Sleep undisturbed; till the Lord wakes you up With a shining crown to wear.

Mi a kaal (h)Evribadi to dis ya daans! Mi a kaal (h)Evriwan tu dis ya daans!

I am calling everybody to this dance! I am calling everyone to this dance!

Spoleto Festival USA Chorus Translations Ecce sacerdos Behold a great priest, who in his days please God. There was none found like unto him who kept the law of the Most High Therefore by an oath the Lord made him to increase among his people. He gave him the blessing of all nations, and confirmed his covenant upon his head. Priests of God, bless the Lord: Ye servants of the Lord, recite a hymn to your God. Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. — Book of Wisdom Virga Jesse The rod of Jesse has blossomed: A virgin has begotten One who is both God and man; God has restored peace, reconciling in himself the lowest to the highest. Alleluia! — Feast of the Purification Salve Regina Hail, O Queen, Mother of mercy; Our life, our sweetness, and our hope: hail! To thee we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee we send up our sights, groaning and weeping in this valley of tears. Hasten therefore, our Advocate, and turn your merciful eyes toward us. And show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb, after this exile. O merciful, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary. — Marian Antiphon Ave Maria Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, no and at the hour of our death. Amen. — Antiphon of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Os justi The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart: and his feet do not falter. Alleluia. I have found David, my servant; I have anointed him with my holy oil. Alleluia. — Graduale Abendlied Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. — Luke 24: 29 An die Heimat Homeland! Wonderful-sounding word! As if on feathered wings you draw my heart toward you. Rejoicing, as if I must bring the greeting of each soul to you, Step by step I come to you, friendly homeland! Homeland! The softly sounding music of old songs awakens in me songs I had forgotten in far-off lands. Beckoning sounds of my homeland call joyfully to me; you alone calm me, sheltering homeland! Homeland! Return to me the peace that I lost in faraway places; grant me your bountiful happiness! Under the trees by the brook where I was born so long ago, give me a sheltering roof, loving homeland! — Otto Inkermann Drei Gesang, opus 42 “Abendstandchen” Listen! The flute laments again, And the cool springs murmur. The golden tones waft down; Be still, hush, let us listen! — Clemens Brentano “Vineta” From the ocean’s deepest depths, evening bells ring, muffled and faint. They bring us wondrous tidings of the beautiful, old, miraculous city.

Sunken into the flood’s womb, its ruins remained standing below. Its battlements cause golden sparks to be seen reflecting on the surface.

And the boatman, who once was the magical shimmer in the evening’s bright red glow, Always sails back to the same place, even though the cliffs threaten all around.

From the heart’s deepest depths it sounds to me like bells, muffled and faint. Ah, they bring wondrous tidings of the love that it has felt.

A beautiful world has sunk there; its ruins remained standing below, often causing golden, heavenly sparks to be seen in the mirror of my dreams.

And then I would like to dive into the depts, to immerse myself in the wonderful shimmer; and it feels to me as if angels called me into the old, miraculous city. — Wilhelm Müller S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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“Darthula’s Grabgesang” Daughter of Colla! Thou art low!” (said Cairbar’s hundred bards.) Silence is at the blue streams of Seláma. Truthill’s race have failed. When wilt thou rise in thy beauty, first of Erin’s maids? Thy sleep is long in the tomb. The morning distant far. The sun shall not come to thy bed and say, “Awake, Dar-thulla! Awake, {thou first of women!} the sind of spring is abroad.” “The flowers shake their heads on the green hills. The woods wave their growing leaves.” Retire, O sun! the daughter of Colla is asleep. She will not come forth in her beauty. She will not move in the steps of her loveliness! — James Madpherson, trans. Johann Gottfried Herder Neckereien, op. 31, no. 2 Indeed, my sweetheart, I want to court you, to introduce you as my dear wife at my house. You’ll be mine, my darling, indeed you will be mine, even if you don’t want to be. Then I’ll become a little white dove; I already want to fly away, I want to fly into the forest. I don’t want to be yours, I don’t want to be your sweetheart, not for one hour. I have a good little rifle which shoots pretty easily; I will shoot down the little dove there in the forest. You’ll be mine, my darling, indeed you will be mine, even if you don’t want to be. The I’ll become a little fish, a golden fish; I will indeed escape into the fresh water. I don’t want to be yours, I don’t want to be your sweetheart, not for one hour. I have a good little net that fishes pretty well; I’ll catch me the golden fish in the stream. You’ll be mine, my darling, indeed you will be mine, even if you don’t want to be. Then I’ll become a bunny, full of speed, and run off into the field, the wide field. I don’t want to be yours, I don’t want to be your sweetheart, Not even for one hour. I have a good little dog, rather clever and sly, That will surely catch the bunny in the field. You’ll be mine, my darling, indeed you will be mine, Even if you don’t want to be.

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Bank of America Chamber Music Program VI “Where’er you walk” from Semele, HWV 58 Where’er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade; Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade. Where’er you tread, the blushing flow’rs shall rise, And all things flourish where’er you turn your eyes.

Music in Time

The Street 1. Jesus is condemned to death Did you expect it to go any other way? It makes a difference though to hear the words clattering out into the waiting room. The weight of the apprehensive moment. Yes, but he could have died at any time. He could have been stillborn, or slaughtered with the Innocents. He could have died on the road, or of sickness, or by accident. He was always going to die. Conceived as our mortal flesh, he bore our infirmities. Yes, and we killed him deliberately. We put on the black cap and pronounced his death. ‘Take him out and crucify him.’ There’s the Doppler effect in the crowd below, shouting ‘CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!’ the pitch dropping as it passes where you stand. Vinea mea electa, ego te plantavi: quomodo conversa es in amaritudinem, ut me crucifigures et Barrabbam dimitteres. O vineyard, my chosen one. I planted thee. How is thy sweetness turned into bitterness, to crucify me and take Barabbas in my place? 2. Jesus takes up his Cross Remember the carpenter’s bench; the smell of the cut wood. Cedar, cypress, pine, or oak. Light coming through the door. Or an overcast day, with the sawdust trodden down. Remember learning the names of trees: cedar; cypress; pine. He knows how to bend to lift this beam and how to straighten his back. He’s done it before. This is sound wood, and it will bear him. This is the oak of Mamre under whose shade Abraham sat until the three angels appeared. This is the cypress that made the rafter over Solomon’s bed. This is the cedar from the forests of Lebanon, the very image of majesty. This is green wood. He bends and lifts it. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine et sanctum resurrectionem tuam laudamus, et glorificamus ecce enim propter lignum venit gaudium in universo mundo. We adore Thy Cross, O Lord and we praise and glorify Thy holy Resurrection for behold by the wood of the Cross joy has come into the whole world. 3. Jesus falls for the first time ‘My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ It’s one thing to say it, another to witness. The sheer weight of the cross was unexpected, as was the mass of human depravity, ignorance, cruelty, apathy; the sediment built up since before the Flood. A man fell among thieves, who stripped him and left him bleeding. He never said a mumbling word. These are the street sounds of Jerusalem, layers of them, all the various accents and dialects of those come up for the Passover; throat-clearing, street vendors, laughter, excuses, curses. The sound of a slap and a child’s wail. The cattle are lowing, and the sheep and goats bleat together in one herd. Hobnailed sandals scrape the stone. The man falling makes almost no sound. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi. Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti: parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo. O my people, what have I done to thee? Or how have I offended you? Answer me. Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt: thou hast prepared a Cross for thy Saviour.

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4. Jesus meets his Mother

5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross

Nothing can be said to console her. No one is more painfully aware. A sword will pierce your own soul too. Her son is perfect. He has held her finger in the grip of his hand, she has kissed the soles of his feet. She remembers the day of his circumcision: a bridegroom of blood you are to me. First blood shed since the cord was cut. ‘Who is my mother?’ he asked ‘Who are my brothers and my sisters?’ For three years she stepped aside, now she has come up to Jerusalem. She takes her place by the side of the road of sorrows to see him and be seen in that first long look between mother and child. ‘I now see bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, my self before me.’ ‘Woman, behold your son.’ She sees the place under his rib where the sword will go. ‘Behold your mother.’

He didn’t choose to help. He was compelled. With half an eye they could see he was up to the job; he was a big guy up from the south. O Simon from Cyrene, father of Rufus and Alexander, you were the first to take up your cross and follow. Your cross is the cross of forced labour: your yoke chafes and your burden is as much as you can bear. Jesus is walking in front of you, you are hard on his heels. What brought you to Jerusalem? Were you here for the Passover? Going up to the Temple to make the sacrifice and eat the lamb? Pharoah enslaved us and laid burdens upon us, and look, here we are. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not oppress a stranger, for I, the Lord your God am holy. Even here, even in occupied Jerusalem. Your children will praise your name.

Stabat Mater dolorosa Iuxta crucem lacrimosa Dum pendebat Filius. Cuius animam gementem Contristatam et dolentem Pertransivit gladius. O quam tristis et afflicta Fuit illa benedicta Mater unigeniti! Quae moerebat et dolebat, Pia Mater, dum videbat Nati poenas incliti. Quis est homo qui non fleret, Matrem Christi si videret In tanto supplicio? Quis non posset contristari, Christi Matrem contemplari Dolentem cum Filio? At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last. Through her soul, of joy bereaved, bowed with anguish, deeply grieved, now at length the sword hath passed. Oh how sad and sore distressed was that mother highly blessed, of the sole-begotten One! Christ above in torment hangs; She beneath beholds the pangs Of her dying glorious Son. Is there one who would not weep, Whelm’d in miseries so deep Christ’s dear Mother to behold? Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In that Mother’s pain untold? 112

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Senex puerum portabat: puer autem senem regebat: quem virgo peperit, et post partum virgo permansit: ipsum quem genuit, adoravit. The old man carried the child, but the child ruled the old man; him whom the Virgin brought forth, and after childbirth remained a virgin him whom she bore, she adored. 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus What became of that woman who stepped into the line of traffic and wiped his face with her veil? She will keep this cloth forever because it smells like his sweat, and because it absorbed a little of his blood, and, it may be, tears and phlegm. She covered her hair modestly before she went out; she covered her face so no stranger would see it; she never told her name. She touched him, not with the hem of her garment, but with the whole cloth. Consider what this means, and whether you’d have dared do it. Without asking, she unveiled herself to wipe his thorn-crowned face. He is printed in molecules of blood and sweat. ‘Thy face, Lord, will I seek,’ we say, and through her came to see his face and live. Plange quasi virgo, plebs mea, ululate, pastores, in cinere et cilicio quia veniet dies Domini magna et amara valde Weep like a virgin, my people, howl, keepers of the flock, covered with ashes and wearing hair-shirts, for the great and very bitter day of the Lord will come. 7. Jesus falls for the second time Does his foot hit a stumbling-stone? Maybe one of the Stolpersteine standing proud of the road on the way to Golgotha? Or does he fall beneath the burden of our sins? Not ours. Mine. He falls the second time because of me. My fault. I put out my foot and tripped him. What can I say? I couldn’t resist the temptation. The work


of an instant. He was looking so pathetic, I couldn’t bear it. The whole crowd needed a pratfall to relieve the tension. For my sins, I couldn’t bear his sorrow. So he fell for my sins? That’s about it. In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread by the roadside, watching him fall and be hauled back onto his feet. Remember, thou art dust and to dust shalt thou return. Caligaverunt oculi mei a fletu meo: quia elongatus est a me, qui consolabatur me: Videte, omnes populi, si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus. My eyes are darkened by my tears: For he is far from me that comforted me: See, O all ye people, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem The daughters of Jerusalem are crying, genuinely crying. They are office cleaners, night shift nurses, shopping cart women, security guards on the Métro, clerks in bodegas, nail artists, students, policewomen, sex workers, all their wet faces turned up; a river of faces. Do not be afraid. When you are living in a world of lies, hearing the hard truth is a comfort. Well, you don’t need to be afraid any more. It’s good to see the truth and know it for certain, that Love, unimaginably vast and powerful, eternal, magnificent, working wonders; is infinitely vulnerable to rough handling. Filiae Hierusalem, venite et videte Christum cum coronis qui coronavit eum Dominus in die solemnitatis et laetitiae. Daughters of Jerusalem, come and see Christ wearing the crowns with which the Lord has adorned him on this solemn day of rejoicing.

10. Jesus is stripped of his garments They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. His mother wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, and from that moment to this Jesus has never been seen naked. Do you see him now? Or are you distracted by the soldiers gambling? Or wondering about the seamless garment? None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. We have stripped our Lord naked as the day he was born. Jesus is shivering. His knees are skinned like a child’s; his back cross-hatched with blood, like a slave’s. Are you ashamed that your eyes are drawn irresistibly to the centre of the picture? You want to see, see for yourself, despite yourself. You want to see the organs of generation, the sign of full humanity, vulnerability, and covenant. You want to see Jesus naked as Adam in Paradise, naked, but woefully battered by the Fall. Astiterunt reges terrae, et principes convenerunt in unum, adversus Dominum et adversus Christum eius. Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, Et super vestem meam miserunt sortem. Insurrexerunt in me testes iniqui, et mentita est iniquitas sibi. The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed. They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.

9. Jesus falls for the third time

Unjust witnesses rise up against me,

O felix culpa! Happy fall! Don’t you see? Jesus falls because he comes down to us, and always has, and we are there on the ground looking up. He came down to be among us. He lowered himself to the ground with becoming gravity, gravity which he himself had created. Willingly accepting the accidents of our nature, humbling himself, going into exile. This falling is a blessing: he touches the earth and blesses it. Jesus, there he is, on hands and knees among the broken vessels. He gathers grace. What he made he can mend, even what we have marred. Holy Jesus, full of grace, you emptied yourself for our sake to fall broken by the stones of your own city. However low I fall, let me not fall far from you.

And iniquity lies to itself.

O vos omnes qui transitis per viam: attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus. O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.

11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross Except I shall see in his hand the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. So much happens so fast once you get outside the city limits. Three men to be crucified and raised up to view. The crowd stands back, nervous to the point of laughter. Where are the friends that followed him? There’s one. And there are the muffled women. The nail sinks into flesh, descends through tendon, bone, wood. And another. And another, and the rich, ferrous smell of blood. The man knows what he’s doing. This will hold. ‘If you are the Messiah, get down from your cross,’ cry the priests and the officials. ‘If you’re the Messiah, save yourself and us,’ Gestas says out of the corner of his mouth. Ego clamavi, quoniam exaudisti me, Deus: inclina aurem tuam, et exaudi verba mea. S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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custodi me, Domine, ut pupillam oculi: sub umbra alarum tuarum protege me. I have called upon thee, O God, for thou shalt hear me: incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words. Keep me as the apple of an eye: hide me under the shadow of thy wings. 12. Jesus dies on the Cross He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ‘I sin every day without repenting, the fear of death disturbs me. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus replies somehow, turns his head, makes the connection. ‘This is the truth. Today you shall be with me in Paradise.’ Then, after a few more words, the last breath rattles out, and his face changes. Later they said that that the sun was eclipsed, the veil of the Temple torn, the dead rose from their tombs. Maybe so. Isn’t it enough though that he died? He shrank somehow into himself. The eyes became jelly, the mouth hung open a little, the skin of his face went yellow and grey. Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews. One soldier, the one not occupied breaking legs, pushes up with his lance, an iron willow leaf fixed on a pole. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Thick blood and thin water splash over his feet onto the ground. I can see it all. Tenebrae factae sunt, dum crucifixissent Jesum populi: et circa horam nonam exclamavit Jesus voce magna: Deus meus, ut quid me dereliquisti? Et inclinato capite, emisit spiritum. Darkness fell when the people crucified Jesus: and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. 13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross Pilate gave permission. Why not? He had nothing against the Nazarene, who was in any case, dead. And Joseph of Arimathea knew how to ask such a favour. Joseph was hauled out of the pit by his brethren. Jesus is taken down from the cross by Joseph; by Joseph, by bald-headed Peter, by Nicodemus, who’s stopped being worried about appearances, Two men on ladders, one with the pincers to pull out the nails. Gently. Not that gentleness matters to him now, but not a bone shall be broken. This is not the kind of work we’re used to. Let’s get it done before it’s too dark to see. Gently now, before rigor mortis sets in. Salva nos domine vigilantes custodi nos dormientes ut vigilemus cum Christo et requiescamus in pace. Custodi nos, domine, ut pupillam oculi: sub umbra alarum tuarum protege nos

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Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. Keep us as the apple of an eye: hide us under the shadow of thy wings. 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb Before sunset and the appearance of the first star in the sky, just before the beginning of the sabbath, two men enshroud a body. Never have they done this work before. Though well-versed in the laws and traditions involved in the task, their hands lack skill. Wash the body. Lay it out. Fetch the clean linen cloths. Fold the shroud like this, and the other cloth over the face. In every fold, pour spices. Spices and more spices; myrrh and aloes. Thou wilt not give thy holy one to see corruption. Jesus never hesitated to touch the dead—the widow’s son being carried out of Nain for burial, Jairus’ little girl laid on the bed while the mourners wailed outside. Every touch tells them: Jesus is dead, as dead as earth. They know when one is dead and when one lives. While still inside the tomb they pray: ‘Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honoured, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings, and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever uttered in the world; and let all say, Amen.’


Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, op. 125

O friends, not this music! Let us strike up something more pleasant and more joyful!

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere!

Joy, you beautiful, divine spark, daughter from Elysium: enflamed with passion, heavenly one, we enter your sanctuary! Your magic power re-unites what custom has sternly divided; all mortals become as kin wherever your gentle wing abides.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Those who have had the great fortune to be a friend to a friend, those who have won a gracious spouse, should join together in rejoicing! Yes—all those who also have just one soul on earth to call their very own! And those who cannot, may they steal tearfully away from this company!

Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund. Freude trinken alle Wesen

All creature drink joy at nature’s breast; all, good and evil alike, follow its rosy path. Joy gave us kisses and grapes, a friend, faithful to the end; even the worm was granted bliss, and the cherub stands before God.

An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott!

Gladly, like his suns, fly through the splendid plane of the firmament. Thus, comrades, run your course, joyously, like a hero off to victory.

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Be embraced, you millions! This kiss is for the whole world! Brothers and sisters--above the starry canopy a beloved father must surely dwell.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Brüder! Über’m Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Do you prostrate yourselves, you millions? Do you sense your creator, world! Seek him above the canopy of stars! Above the stars he must surely dwell.

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such’ ihn überm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen.

Text in italics added by Beethoven to the original Christoph Friedrich Schiller text

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SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA John Kennedy, Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities Concertmaster chairs endowed in memory of Ernest Hillman, Jr.

Violin

Cello

Blythe Allers, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Emelyn Bashour, Amherst, Massachusetts Sarah Berger, Denver, Colorado Sophia Bernitz, Lexington, Massachusetts Christina Choi, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Korah Cuff, Jacksonville, Florida Natalie Darst Xia, Danville, Kentucky Michael Eby, Redding, California William (Liam) Gibb, Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Maalik Glover, Atlanta, Georgia Abigail Hong, Cherry Hill, New Jersey Beatrice Hsieh, North Wales, Pennsylvania Tiffany Kang, Los Angeles, California Giancarlo Latta, Ann Arbor, Michigan Natalie Lee, Okemos, Michigan Freya Liu, San Jose, California Stephanie Liu, Raleigh, North Carolina Aurora Mendez, Bronx, New York Zoë Merrill, Altadena, California Maggie Niekamp, Akron, Ohio Rachel Orth, Chicago, Illinois Meg Rohrer, Detroit, Michigan Shuyi Wang, Chengdu, Sichuan, China Mwakudua waNgure, Fort Myers, Florida Therese West, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Asher Wulfman, Princeton, New Jersey

Najette Abouelhadi, Boston, Massachusetts Ethan Brown, New York, New York Vivian Chang, Portland, Oregon Hana Cohon, Seattle, Washington Emmanuel Losa, Atlanta, Georgia Samantha Powell, Frisco, Texas Magalí Toy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Adam Willson, Hastings on Hudson, New York

Viola

Oboe

Kathryn Brown, Evanston, Illinois Sean Flynn, Las Vegas, Nevada Lydia Grimes, St. Paul, Minnesota Jay Julio, Hempstead, New York Joshua Kail, New York, New York Nina Kiken, Chicago, Illinois Sofia Nikas, San Antonio, Texas Javier Enrique Otalora, West Palm Beach, Florida Melissa Peraza, Caracas, Venezuela Toby Winarto, Los Angeles, California

Katie Danforth, Indianapolis, Indiana Thomas Friedle, Knoxville, Tennessee Sonia Matheus, Sacramento, California Julia Simpson, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

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Double Bass Luis Arturo Celis Avila, Maracaibo, Venezuela Marguerite Cox, Hudson, Ohio Jakob Gerritsen, Carpentersville, Illinois Austin Lewellen, Fort Wayne, Indiana Logan May, Lagrangeville, New York Lindsey Orcutt, Ellicott City, Maryland

Flute Viola Chan, Rosemead, California Dominique Kim, San Diego, California Tyler Martin, Chicago, Illinois Michelle Sung, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Clarinet Nicolas Chona, The Woodlands, Texas Barret Ham, Macon, Georgia Phillip Solomon, Montrose, New York Tania Villasuso Couceiro, Narón, A Coruña, Spain


Bassoon

Percussion

Joy Guidry, Houston, Texas Eleni Katz, Iowa City, Iowa Julianne Mulvey, Reading, Massachusetts Steven Palacio, Melbourne, Florida

Tarun Bellur, Plano, Texas Dominic Grande, Fort Pierce, Florida Sidney Hopson, Los Angeles, California Lucas Sanchez, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Horn

Piano

Henry Bond, Agoura, California Hannah Culbreth, Atlanta, Georgia August Haller, Brooklyn, New York Megan Hurley, New York, New York Yeonjo Oh, Seoul, Republic of Korea Hanan Rahman, Coral Springs, Florida

Wesley Ducote, DeQuincy, Louisiana

Trumpet

Orchestra Management

Omri Barak, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Robert Garrison, Birmingham, Alabama Morgen Low, Northbrook, Illinois Alan Tolbert, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Orchestra Personnel Manager: Edward Kass Orchestra Personnel Apprentice: Kristin Baird

Harp Phoebe Powell, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada

Librarian: Jake Darnell Library Apprentice: Lindy Billhardt

Bass Trombone Noah Roper, Aledo, Texas

Trombone Cooper Cromwell-Whitley, Baltimore, Maryland Guangwei Fan, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Liam Glendening, Redlands, California

Tuba Bridget Conley, Charleston, South Carolina

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SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA CHORUS Joe Miller, Director of Choral Activities

Soprano

Tenor

Hayley Abramowitz, Olney, Maryland Michael Adams, Kinston, North Carolina Justine Aronson, Bloomfield, Michigan Chantal Braziel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Samantha Burke, Atlanta, Georgia Karen Cook, Ypsilanti, Michigan Samantha Frischling, Atlanta, Georgia Crystal Glenn, Yonkers, New York Lily Guerrero, Austin, Texas Nina Guo, Pasadena, California Samantha Hornback, Baltimore, Maryland Luciana Piovan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sophia Santiago, West Friendship, Maryland Emily Tiberi, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

James Allen, Savannah, Georgia Aaron Cates, Charleston, South Carolina Allison Deady, Rochester, New York Sam Denler, Somers, New York Johnnie Felder, Vance, South Carolina Gabriel Hernandez, New York, New York Joshua John, New York, New York George Johnson III, Hampton, Virginia Aaron McKone, Rock Hill, South Carolina Gregory Miller, Cincinnati, Ohio Dobin Park, Seoul, South Korea Lonnie Reed, Beaumont, Texas Kevin Schneider, South Windsor, Connecticut Tyler Tejada, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shane Thomas, Jr., DeLand, Florida

Alto

Bass

Tanisha L. Anderson, New York, New York LaDejia Bittle, High Point, North Carolina Madison Bowling, Columbia, Maryland Katie Brown, Wantage, New Jersey Marissa Chalker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Reina Dickey, Maumee, Ohio Savannah Gordon, Clifton Park, New York Hannah Holmes, New York, New York Heather Jones, Charleston, South Carolina Kaswanna Kanyinda, Zebulon, North Carolina Ariana Maubach, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kaitlyn Tierney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mala Weissberg, Tel Aviv, Israel

Claude Cassion, Cincinnati, Ohio Matthew Dexter, McKinney, Texas David Drettwan, Elkhorn, Wisconsin James C. Harris, Manassas, Virginia Sinhaeng Lee, Incheon, South Korea Matthew Marinelli, San Antonio, Texas Isiah Maxey, Orlando, Florida Matthew Moquin-Lee, Prentiss, Mississippi John Allen Nelson, Saint Paul, Minnesota Daniel Rich, Baltimore, Maryland James Siarris, Spartanburg, South Carolina Andrew Stack, Manhasset, New York Kirby Traylor, Houston, Texas Parker Van Houten, Louisville, Kentucky

Choir Management Choir Personnel Manager: Molly Getsinger Choir Personnel Apprentice: Layla Tajmir Choir Personnel Assistant: Shane Thomas, Jr. Librarian: Jake Darnell Library Apprentice: Lindy Billhardt Musical Preparation: Gracie Francis

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CHARLESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS Robert Taylor, Director

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Inga Agrest Mary Bell Katie Clifton Maryileen Cumbaa Libby Davis Jennifer Dickson Tammy Dorociak Gaye DuPree Janice Grant Kelly Jakes Phyllis Jestice Elise Jorgens Emelia Keefner Donna Mastrandrea Shannon McDonald Martina Mueller Kay Nickel Carlen Quinn Judy Rinaman Cynthia Rominger Andrea Scheulen Silke Sida Danielle Simonian*

Rennie All Susan Cheves Caitlin Crosby Sarah Hartman Carol Heckrotte Marissa Kemp Jean Kuhn Daphne Lewis Marian Martin Donna Padgette* Lynn Russell Marilyn Shugart Kiri Taylor Savannah Weeks Charlene Whalen Anne Wray Christina Wynn

Philip Amarendran Celeste Carlson Gabe Chavarria Dave Clark Ralph D’Amico Wayne Heckrotte Noah Jacobsen Mark Lazzaro Ellen McGeady Theresa Robards* John White

William Jose Jules Kerness Wei-Kai Lai* Scott McBroom Jamie Otis Karl Peterson Tim Rinaman McIver Watson Duane Westfall Cameron White

* section leader

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ADMINISTRATION General Director: Mena Mark Hanna Executive Assistant to General Director: Alicia Armstrong

Artistic Leadership

Marketing and Public Relations

Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities: John Kennedy Director of Choral Activities: Joe Miller The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music: Geoff Nuttall

Director of Marketing and Public Relations: Jessie Bagley Associate Director of Media Relations and Communications: Jenny Ouellette Interim Digital Marketing Manager: Geoff Yost Marketing and Communications Assistant: Hayley Kruth Receptionist/Volunteer Coordinator: David B. Graham Photographers: William Struhs, Leigh Webber

Artistic Administration Director of Artistic Planning and Operations: Nicole Taney Wells Fargo Jazz Advisor: Larry Blumenfeld Wells Fargo Jazz Host: Quentin Baxter Producing Associate: Philip Snyder Company Manager: Allison Ross-Spang Community Engagement Coordinator: Latesha Smith Artist Services Assistant: Joshua Bristow Drivers: Thaddeus Simmons Jr., Jeff Harrison, Gloria Butler, Art Field, Tom Burke, Redding O’Shea, Jaelin Rivers, Michele Reed Artistic Administrator: Michael Eberhard Vocal Coach: Diane Richardson

Finance and Technology Chief Financial Officer: Tasha Gandy Controller: Rachel Spitzmiller Technology Manager: David Robinson Accounting Assistant: Jah’Mar Coakley*

Development Chief Advancement Officer: Julia Forster Associate Director of Individual Giving: Caroline Poe Institutional Writer: Anna Brooks CRM Manager: Tom Brown Individual Giving and Stewardship Manager: Katie Hetrick Special Events Manager: Laney Friedman Patron Services Manager: Sally Lovejoy Development and Finance Manager: Jessica Melton Special Events Assistant: Cameron Thomas Development Intern: Misha Pekar* Patron Services Assistant: Adelaide Meny*

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Box Office Box Office Manager: Susan Kelly Assistant Box Office Manager: Anna Brown Box Office Associates: Caitlin Brown, Jordyn Davis, Lucy Dantz*, Kayla Dockery*, Adelaide Meny*, Rachel Rice, Hailey Ross

House Management Front of House Coordinator: Anna Lanford House Managers: Karl Bunch, Sue Chanson, Sara Dwyer, Doug Elliott, Kathy Elliott, Doug James, Phillip Moss, Linda Owens, Kris Ritenour, Erica Rouvalis, Carolyn Williams, John Wong, Judith Yost

Production Director of Production: Mike East Production Office Manager: Alexia Sosa Production Manager of Technology: Andrew R. Cissna Festival Hall Venue and Sales Manager: Dexter Foxworth Festival Sound Supervisor: Lew Mead Festival Sound Engineer: Preston Dunnavant Festival Electrician: Javier Calderon Schedule and Rehearsal Manager: Tabi Prochazka Orchestra Stage and Rehearsal Manager: Mariah Berkowitz Assistant Production Office Manager: Kristina Furey Assistant Production Manager of Technology: Peter Liebold VI Assistant Lighting Designers: Malory Hartman, Lauren Gallup Venue and Scenic Designer: Brandon Roak Piano Technician: Scott Higgins Harpsichord Technician: Julia Harlow


Theater Staffs

Outside Counsel

Venue Managers: Robert Mahon, Allison Ray, Stacy Meyers, CJ Ohlandt, Kevin DeAvies Assistant Venue Managers: Hailey Turner, Michael Diaz Production Stage Managers: Becca Eddins, Walter Crocker, Betsy Ayer, Gabrielle Illg Production Assistant Stage Managers: Carson Gantt, Nina Walker Venue Carpenters: Alyssa Cargill, Steven Hayes, Gustavo Torres, Joanna Burgess Venue Electricians: David Kerr, Ally Southgate, Camryn Banks, Andrew Beauregard, Joey Todd, Kyle Garrett, Jason Burns, Malcolm Foster Venue Audio Engineers: Thomas White, Alexander Wolfe, Jessica Hawkins Production Assistant: Kayli Kimerer, Hasan Crawford, Holly Adams, Chelsea Mylett Logistics Manager: Claire Caverly Logistics Team: Stephen Bogaev, Max Marshall, Patrick Kraehenbuehl, Scott Smith Props: Mattison Williams, Susan Williams-Finch, KG Gude, Paige Struss Wardrobe Supervisor: Eva Maciek Costume Shop Manager: Cat Buchanan Wardrobe Staff: Kim Thurston, Anna Costantz, Savannah Fatigante Festival Hair and Make-Up: Natalie Errthum, Ruth Mitchell Hair and Make-Up Staff: Justie Wolf, Jen Hargrove, Princie Patel Festival Video/Supertitles: Robert Allen Video/Supertitle Staff: Javier Perez, Gabriel E. Ortiz-Larrauri, Sabrina Torres Festival Instrument Manager: Sidney Hopson

Independent Auditors and Tax Advisors: Elliott Davis Decosimo, LLC Counsel: Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP: John Hagerty

Health and Safety Supervisor Health Policy Coordinator: Haley Carter

Production Support Lighting control by ETC Lighting and Rigging equipment by 4Wall Entertainment, Inc. Specialty Rigging by United Staging & Rigging, LLC Sound equipment by Masque Sound Video support by Resound Media Group Acoustic Consultation by Creative Acoustics, LLC Interstate trucking by Janco, Ltd. Pianos by Steinway & Sons, Fox Music House Scenery by TTS Studios International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees: Local 333

Apprentices The apprentice program is endowed in part by the late Emeritus Professors Charles M. and Shirley F. Weiss. Accounting Wesley Heaton Artist Services Jade Kennedy, Morgan Fuller, Savannah Wray, Delaney Faile*, Annamarie Wellems Box Office Nicole Landry, Jackson Helmholtz, Laura Rizzo, Cole Carrico, Jordan Bartow, Caroline Gallman*, Cassidy Lewis, Leah Ossama Rahman, Dyanna Craig, Brooke Conner*, Leica Long, Mattie Rose Davis*, Dawson Claire McHarg, Elizabeth Betrous, Rylee Milz, Brooke Hughes, Julia Jacobsen, May Lebby Thompson* Development Misha Pekar*, Max Mast*, Caroline Wall* Marketing and Public Relations Chloe Wright, Sarah Elizabeth Stanley Production Jake Jordan, Isaac De Marchi, Christopher Sauerbrey, Owen Zacharias, Alexia Shiffer, Adam Wells, Bootsie Baldwin*, Eli Salas*, Liz Shekhterman, Daniella Jenkins, Stephanie Castro, Nathaniel Klein, Jesse Wilen, Andrew Kevic, Alex Li, Lang Phillippi Orchestra Library Lindy Billhardt Orchestra Personnel Kristin Baird Choir Personnel Layla Tajmir

*College of Charleston student S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Machine de Cirque; photo by Loup-William Théberge

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COMMITTEES AND VOLUNTEERS Spoleto Festival USA gratefully acknowledges the many volunteers who have made the 2022 Festival possible. Volunteers as of April 11, 2022, are listed below. The dedication of our volunteers is deeply appreciated and vital to the success of Spoleto Festival USA.

Orchestra Benefit Committee Ryan Albert Ruth Edwards Liz MacLeod Nicole Rubin Shelly Stein Elizabeth Sullivan C. Douglas Warner Stephanie Yarbrough

Hospitality Committee Wendy Dopp Annie Stone Elizabeth Sullivan

Spoleto SCENE Steering Committee Lydia Chernicoff Tiffany Gammell Eric Gordon Emily Hill Kaylee Lass Henry Laurens Patrick Napolski Kelly Snyder

Bridge Co-Chairs Liza Layfield Anne Siegfried

Party Hosts Explore Charleston Lee Bell and Fotios Pantazis Ceara Donnelley Ted and Cheryl Eatman Alexandra and David Fox Alicia and Wayne Gregory Duke and Barbara Hagerty Rebecca and Robert Hartness Peggy Malaspina and Derrick Niederman

Francis Marion Hotel The Peninsula of Charleston David M. Savard Chris and Debbie Swain

Ushers Janet J. Bex Chuck Bilot Pat Bilot Ann Birdseye H. Sandra Bregman Sandra Brotherton Pamela Brown Ernst Bruderer Dionah Bryant James Byrd Nancy Campbell Cia Cianci Sharon Clark Dee Coleman Connie Connor Alec Cooley Caroline Crease James Crook Gary Crossley Sharon Crossley Tanner Crunelle Karen Delcioppo Ed Demaree Krystina Deren Pamela Dickson Larry Dorminy Dona Dorminy Elise DuBois Karen Durand Dean Errigo Kay Evans Barbara Feldman Amy Ferguson Robert Ferguson Cynthia Fields Amanda Ford Denise Forehand Roy Freedman Elaine Frick Stan Frick

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Greg Garvan Margaret Gee Sandra Gordon Brett Green Belinda Green Glenna Greenslit David Grossman Judith Hammett Mac Hammett Susan Hansz Marilyn Hardy Terry Hartnett Becky Herrlinger Katherine Hodge Terry Holder-Ryder Virginia Dare Holliday Stuart Hotchkiss Maureen Huff John Hughes Susan Hughes Stanley Hunton John Hurley Karen Izzi Donna Jacobs Pat Jennings Courtney Johnson Robert King Hilde Kuck Rick Lambert Esther Lapin Michelle Larsen Nancy Lefter Phillip Lefter Patricia Luck Maria Mansfield Richardson Jane Manuel Thomas Manuel Robert Mason Sherrie Mason Janet Masonberg Linda McAllister Carlaye McClain Kari McDuffie Kathleen McGreevy Kerry McMurray Susan Medlin Janice Mertz Jay Messeroff Janice Messeroff Johanna Miller Larry Millhouse Joanne Moll Joyce Morris Laura Moses Selin Narin Lori Nicholson

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Cynthia Nigh Micki O’Connell Anne Poole Claudia Porter Lorraine Powers Barbara Richardson Diana Roebuck Diane Sabiston Sophia Sanders Pamela Scarborough Kasim Selimotic Priscilla Shumway Teri Siskind Seiko Smith Jill Sola Debra Sommer Mary Ann Spivey Myrtle Staples Farzaneh Stone Kenda Sweet Jessica Towne Kim Trotter Lila Trussler Nick Ugolini Tonie Velie Christine von Kolnitz Susan Walters Pamela Ward Charles Ward Meryl Weber Marcy Whitfield Barbara Whitnack Joy Wiggins Susan Wigley Jim Wigley Stephanie Wilson Martin Wisse Florence Zak Alvin Zak


INSTITUTIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Spoleto Festival USA is deeply grateful to its institutional partners for their support. For 46 years, institutions have helped the Festival to sustain and expand its presence. Much of the Festival’s success is due to the generosity of these institutions.

Founders

Leaders

Ambassadors

Guarantors

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CONTRIBUTORS The work to sustain Spoleto Festival USA is a collaborative effort between hundreds of individuals and institutions. The board of directors are joined by corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individual supporters across the state of South Carolina and country to help meet the annual and ongoing production costs of the Festival. We applaud these collaborators for their continued leadership and generosity. This list represents contributors to the Festival whose gifts were received from April 28, 2021, to April 18, 2022. Those whose gifts were received after that date will be acknowledged in the 2023 program book. We also wish to thank all our loyal donors who support us at the Friend level.

Founders Anonymous Bank of America BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina City of Charleston Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art M. Edward Sellers and Dr. Suzan D. Boyd Wells Fargo

Leaders

Guarantors

Anonymous Dr. Tony Coles and Mrs. Robyn Coles Mr. and Mrs. Carlos E. Evans Explore Charleston First Citizens Bank Ford Foundation Wayne and Alicia Gregory Family Foundation Ingram Charitable Fund Peter R. Kellogg and Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLP The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust SouthState Bank V.B. Toulmin Charitable Foundation

Ambassadors Ms. Susan L. Baker and Mr. Michael Lynch Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Barrett Bloomberg Philanthropies BMW Group Plant Spartanburg Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. DeScherer Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Trust Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Carol H. Fishman Betsy Fleming and Ed Weisiger, Jr.

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Ms. M. Russell Holliday, Jr. and Mr. Hal Cottingham William E. Kennard and Deborah Kennedy Kennard Charley and Martha McLendon The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation Erica Pascal and Michael Hostetler Mrs. Joan G. Sarnoff Jan Serr and John Shannon Mr. Phillip D. Smith and Ms. Lesley Burke Ted and Susan Soderlund South Carolina Arts Commission Ann and Michael Tarwater

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Jill and Richard Almeida Larry and Julia Antonatos Mr. James A. Attwood, Jr. and Ms. Leslie K. Williams Mrs. Katharine I. Bachmann Ms. Elizabeth L. Battle Ms. Judith Nell Batty Lee Bell Hyman and Marietta Bielsky Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blanchard Sergei Boissier Claire and Peter Bristow Mr. and Mrs. Wayland H. Cato, Jr. Charleston Gastroenterology Specialists The Charleston Place Rick and Marsha Chisholm Mr. and Mrs. Derick Close Christel DeHaan Family Foundation in memory of Christel DeHaan Colbert Family Fund College of Charleston County of Charleston Miriam DeAntonio, M.D. Gary and Susan DiCamillo Ted Dintersmith and Elizabeth Hazard Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation Vernon Drew and Leslie Aucoin East West Partners Ted and Cheryl Eatman Ruth L. Edwards


Susan and Harry Frampton Susan T. Friberg In Loving Memory of Mary and Marion Field Drs. Angeleita Floyd and Scott Cawelti Galena-Yorktown Foundation Barbara and Richard Hagerty Mr. John B. Hagerty and Ms. Susan W. Simons Lou Rena Hammond Karyn Lee and Bill Hewitt Eddie Irions and Ryan Albert JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury Linda P. MacCracken Mr. and Mrs. James S. MacLeod Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Marterer Heather McFarlin William B. McGuire, Jr. Family Foundation Dr. Martin Morad Mrs. Marian M. Nisbet Opera America Susan Pearlstine Anne and Scott Perper Post and Courier Foundation Susan Ravenel and Robert Kirby The John M. Rivers, Jr. Foundation, Inc. Mr. Alex Sanger David M. Savard Sherman Capital Markets, LLC Wally and Bev Seinsheimer Kit and Joel Smith Dr. and Mrs. Kerry Solomon Barbara and Sheldon Stein Elizabeth and Charles Sullivan Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Hellena Huntley Tidwell Bill and Judy Wahl Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Way, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Ziff

Benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Anderson Kathleen and Bob Carroll Frank and Kathy Cassidy The Estate of Mr. and Mrs. William L. Connellee Croghan's Jewel Box Judith Green and Dr. Michael Fritz Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust Roger and Susan Kennedy Kite Foundation Westin and Marie Lord Judy Mazo and Mike Seidman Bill and Julie Medich Margie Ann and Wardell Morse Ronda Muir Danielle Rose Paikin Foundation The Peninsula of Charleston Sopexa T. Scott and Kaye S. Smith The Wilbur S. Smith and Sally J. Smith Foundation Thomas C. and Kathleen Wright

REMEMBERING OUR FRIEND, LIZ (1932 - 2022) Elizabeth (“Liz”) Battle joined Spoleto Society in 2012 and later became an avid board member of Spoleto Festival USA in 2015. Her enthusiasm for the arts and passion for opera was apparent in her past role as the first female President of the Metropolitan Opera Club in NYC and her dedication to the Festival. Her generous legacy and support continue at Spoleto Festival USA.

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Sustainers Anonymous Mr. Dean Porter Andrews and Ms. Lynn Easton Mary Lou and John Barter Mr. Frederick W. Beinecke Donald H. and Barbara K. Bernstein Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Philip Blumenthal Brown Family Fund Babak and Stacy Bryan Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Coker David and Gail Corvette Walter Crocker and Bette Mueller-Roemer Rebecca and Cress Darwin Mary and John Degnan Arlen D. Dominek and A. J. Young Enterprise Holdings Foundation William and Prudence Finn Charitable Foundation Michael Furlong and Eric Larsen Susan and Mark Geyer Gordon and Linda Gill George and Cindy Hartley Dwelle Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Ozey K. Horton, Jr. Gail and Tim Hughes Carolyn and Wayne Jones Charitable Foundation Susan and Louis Kaufman Mr. Eddie J. Khoury Paul L. King Ms. Debra Lee Elizabeth Rivers Lewine Stono Construction Mrs. William C. Lortz Burton Family Foundation Tom and Debbie Mather Marianna G. McLean Jay and Ginger Millen - Caldwell Partners Dr. Gail M. Morrison Robbie Nichols and Robert Nicholson John Palms Carol and David Rawle David M. Rubin and Christina Press Nicole and Amir Dan Rubin Mr. and Mrs. Harley Shuford, Jr.

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Mr. and Mrs. W. Lucas Simons Marti and Austin Sullivan Mr. and Mrs. Rowan G.P. Taylor Palmer and Ethan Weiss Mrs. Keith Sears Wellin (Wendy)

Producers Anonymous Deane and Roger Ackerman Family Fund Jerome Andersen and June Hajjar Allan and Jane Anderson Ann Addlestone Apple Fred and Mary Jo Armbrust Bill and Ruth Baker Jaclyn S. Berlinsky Carolyn Bishop-McLeod Bouknight Family Charitable Foundation James and Sarah Brice Mary and Frank Brown Ernst and Christina Bruderer Don Burdette Mr. and Mrs. John Cardamone Walter Cain Dr. Harry and Mrs. Jennifer Clarke Ellen Costello and Michael Judge The Patricia O. Cox Family Fund Arthur L. Criscillis Margaret and Russ Dancy Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. DeMarco Al and Angela Phillips Diaz Dr. Carol J. Drowota Mr. and Mrs. John M. Dunnan Mr. and Mrs. Barry Evans Esther B. Ferguson Anne Forrest and Norm Engard Richard J. Friedman, MD and Sandra Brett Sally Frost George Bonnie and Teddy Gilbreth Charlotte W. Gollobin Suman and Rajan Govindan Ruthann Granito Richard and Ann Gridley Faye F. Griffin


Becky and Bobby Hartness Fund Barbara W. Hearst Suzy and David Heller C. Carroll and Susan B. Heyward Ann W. Hill Paul and Becky Hilstad Rev. and Mrs. Richard D. Hogue Dr and Mrs. W. Howard Holl III Bill Horton and Mary Major Scott and Valerie Howell Mr. and Mrs. Patrick C. Ilderton Patsy and Terry Jones Barry and Elaine Krell June and Mariano La Via Michael and Sigrid Laughlin Charitable Gift Fund Mr. and Mrs. Robert Levin Rose and Ted Levin Peggy Lewis Lisa and Erik Lindauer Carol and Tom Lindstrom Lee Manigault Mrs. Peter Manigault Dr. Bernard and Denise Mansheim Professors Emeriti Bill and Carolyn Matalene Heloise Merrill and Wilson Parker Janice and Jay Messeroff Clare and Ed Meyer Jay and Wenda Harris Millard Mr. and Mrs. John A. Neely Katharine Newman and Jonathan Hook Lil and Henry Parr Laura and John F. Podjasek III Ms. Pamela Pollitt Bill and Sheila Prezzano Dr. and Mrs. A. Bert Pruitt Dr. Thomas Quattlebaum Dr. and Mrs. Gordon S. Query Mr. Alexander Reese and Ms. Alison Spear Sylvia and Bob Reitman Ms. Caitlin Rhodes Gary and Eileen Rice Amy K. Rich Artie and Lee Richards Paul and Mary Jane Roberts Tyler Rollins Dr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Rubin Dr. and Mrs. Lars H. Runquist, Jr. Gretchen and Fritz Saenger Kathryn Ploss Salmanowitz Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Sanders Mr. Aubrey Sarvis Digi and Mike Schueler Mr. and Mrs. David C. Schultz Dr. and Mrs. H. Del Schutte, Jr. Hugh T. Scogin, Jr. Ginger and David Scott

Ms. Mindelle Seltzer and Dr. Robert Lovinger Shuler Family Fund Mr. Paul W. Soldatos Samuel and Sunny Steinberg Annie and Graham Stone Fitzhugh and Ann Stout Mr. and Mrs. James E. Stovall Associated Foundation Judy and Larry Tarleton Ms. Martha A. Teichner Dr. Carolyn Thiedke and Mr. Fred Thompson, III Anne and Ken Tidwell Charles Tolbert Sharon and Eddie Toporek Jack Meeks and JoAnn Tredennick Bettie and Mark Tullis Mrs. and Mrs. Bradford H. Walker Mr. C. Douglas Warner and Mr. Truman Smith Dr. Sally A. Webb Richard Webel and Rebecca Barnes Mrs. Jennifer E. Welham Katherine Wells and Jim Flanagan Mr. and Mrs. D. Sykes Wilford Joseph H. and Terese T. Williams Mr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills, III David Trachtenberg and Richard Wilson Bob and Dana Wilson Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation Shelley and Marty Yonas Mindelle and Loren Ziff

Patrons Anonymous Dr. and Mrs. David Adams Alisa and Joseph Alonso Dr. Renee D. Anderson and Mr. Ivan V. Anderson, Jr. Gene and Mary Arner Charlotte and Alan Artus Dianne and John Avlon Nella Gray Barkley Charles J. and Sharon T. Barnett Cindy and Shon Barnett Denise Barto Sarah Beardsley and Christopher Randolph Henry and Sherry Blackford Blake Family Fund Marge and Steve Bottcher Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bowers John and Jane Brooks Ilse Calcagno Elaine L. Craft Mary T. Craft Dr. Rosalie Crouch Dandy Joint Venture

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Anne N. De Prez Sarah Lund Donnem Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Drew N. Keith and Susanne Riley Emge Henry and Mollie Fair Ms. Nina M. Fair Consign Charleston Natalie Foster Henry and Ann Hurd Fralix Martha Catherine Freibert Mr. and Mrs. Curt Hall Mrs. Penelope Coker Hall The Hamrick/Hall/Boyer Family Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan Robin and Ken Hanger Bill and Ruth Hindman Alan and Lucy Hinman Sherry and Kenneth Hirsch Mrs. Marion Huggins Helen C. Alexander Kiawah River Mr. Donald E. King Ellen Kirsh Barton H. Kogan Dr. Michael S. Kogan Todd Kolb and Cathryn Thompson Randy and Kaye Koonce Tricia and Ted Legasey Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Levy Ms. Cathy Gillis Long Liz and Spencer Lynch Cindy and James Mabry Suzan Floyd Mabry Martha and Terry Maguire Gwen and Layton McCurdy Christine and Hall McGee Joseph H. and Evelyn M. McGee Ralph and Martha Meyer Jerry and Caroline Milbank Ralph Mills and Judith Canonico Mr. Austin Neal Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Nolan Jo Ellen and Bill Odom Dr. Donna C. Orvin Caroline and Kevin Pennington Scott Shanklin-Peterson and Terry Peterson Ralph and Coby Piening Dr. William L. Simpson and Dr. Anna Pruitt Kyle Pulling James and Kathleen Ramich Mrs. Carol R. Rashbrook The Honorable Richard W. Riley Karl and Teri Riner Bené and Charles Rittenberg Rob and Martha Ann Robertson Jeannie and Eric Rogers

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Mr. Herbert E. Rosner Shayla and Chip Rumely Amy Salzhauer and Andrew, Annie, and Amelia McMarlin Elizabeth Sarnoff Charitable Fund Mr. and Mrs. Mark Schar Barry and Martha Silverman Jane and Jeff Smith Mr. and Mrs. Duane E. Spong Jacien L. and Laura A. Steele Mrs. Harriet Steinert Zoe Leath Stephens Elizabeth Stewart Jeannie Stovall Amanda Sumner Bailey W. Symington Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr. Cindy and Richard Urquhart Dr. Richard Waldman and Ms. Elaine Mielcarski Tina Wardrop Mr. Michael D. Ware Rebecca and Jim Wick Charles W. Wofford and Nancy B. Thomas Cliff Wright

Associates Anonymous from Maryland Douglas and Karen Bean Daniel and Stefi Carpenter Deborah and Dan McRackan Jeffrey Adams and Susan Hunter Patti and Mickey Bagg Nancy Blackwell and Peter Gundy Mark and Ramsey Botterman Mr. and Mrs. Broadwater Barbara Burgess Mary Lou and Santo Cannone Dr. and Mrs. J. Robert Cantey Fred Carlisle and Beth Obenshain Ms. Katy W. Chung and Dr. Peter B. Key Lois Conway Foundation Fund Saundra and Don Cornwell Karen Wilbur and Dorie Cranshaw Mr. Stanley J.H. Crowe Judy L. Cunningham Eli and Susan Donkar Suzanne and Ron Donner Charles E. Dorkey II and Andrea Rose Rousseaux Pam and Bill Duncan Henry and Gayle Fellers Mr. Barker French Bob and Ornella Gebhardt Pooh and George Gephart Marsha and Neil Gewirtzman Clara and John Gibbons


Dock Street Theatre; photo by Julia Lynn

Haas, Haas, and Karpinski Families SW Harjes Fund Dr. Edward B. Hart, Jr., Dean | School of the Arts College of Charleston Dr. Robert and Kathy Heller Peter and Shelley Hempstead Stuart Hotchkiss and Claudia Porter Dr. Sola Kim Kristopher B. King Ms. Judith A. Kleiner Ava and Bruce Kleinman Randy and Rita Kramer Dr. Jula E. Krebs, PhD and Mr. Roger Hux Gregory P. Lee and Jennifer A Boucek Ms. Anne R. Lee

Will and Liza Lee Laszlo and Anna Littmann Thomas Lynch and Nancy Gray Dr. and Mrs. John Manzi Joanne and Joseph Martin Joni and Troy McLeod Dr. and Mrs. James F. Mooney III Valerie Morris and Boris Bohun-Chudyniv Robert and Teri New Elizabeth Litterer Nichols William and Lauri Paggi Kelley Bogle Peace Mrs. Joanne Penman Nadia and Achilles Perry Dr. Virginia Anne Villeponteaux

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Molly Tuttle; photo provided

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James and Frances Reichard Mrs. Karen Reid Karen and Shannon Reid Father Vincent J. Rigdon Harriet Ripinsky Mr. Stone Roberts Myrtle T. Robinson Mr. Michael Rogan and Ms. Susan Schaffer Rosenblit Family Gift Fund Carol and Mike Ross-Spang Clay Shackelford and Keller Lee Sharon Shealy Hazel and Murray Somerville Dr. Marjorie J. Spruill and Mr. Don H. Doyle Lisa Kunstadter and Nicholas A. Stephens Dr. Braughn Taylor and Dr. Kenneth Warlick David and Barbara Tennenbaum LeAnne Thurmond and Ed Holcombe Dr. and Mrs. Charles F. Tremann Mary Ann and Mel Twiest Drs. Maria and Gabriel Virella Pamela Voss Ms. Vera Watson Bill and Judy Watson Fund for the Arts Mrs. Patricia F. Weil Susan A. Willetts Beverly and Lawrence Willson

Supporters Anonymous Paul Accettura and Karen Berman Dr. and Mrs. James C. Allen Margaret Allen and Philip J. Perkins Mr. and Mrs. Brady Anderson Rick and Carol Atwater Tom and Pat Atwater Ms. Colleen Megarity Ballance Beverly Mills Bearden and Dale Allan Bearden Emerson Bell Mrs. Ledlie D. Bell Lawrence E. Bechler Jane and Gary Booth Thomas and Cheryl Boswell Charitable Fund Frances W. Bramlett Christine and Andrew Brennan Will and Pluma Bridgers Meg and Peter Brubaker Mr. and Mrs. Grant Carwile Kathy and Bill Cissna Mr. William Close Sarah and Michel Connelly James and Pamela Cooper Jill Davidge Dr. Gordon E. Dehler and Dr. M. Ann Welsh

Charles R. Dickerson Stephen and Paula Duncan Sonya and David Dunn Mike and Beth Eddy Dr. and Mrs. Haskell Ellison Phyllis W. Ewing Mr. Walter M. Fiederowicz Lib Fleming Guy Jones and Cynthia Flynn Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Forman Cynthia and Frank Franklin Marla Franks and Susan Zoller Tom and Tracey Gillespie Ms. Sara J. Glerum Anne Goodman Mary Jane Gorman and Duncan McArthur Dr. Phillip and Patricia Greenberg Rose Hamm Rowland Christian Hayes William T. and Nancy A. Herring Sharon Hinnant and David Ploth Ross H. Hoff and Alexander Clifton Dr. Gerald B. and Annice B. Hogsette Ms. Candace Holcombe Dr. Richard Hoppmann Mr. and Mrs. Larry House Leon and Dianne Howe Cheryl Jalbert Cathy and Buddy Jenrette Diane and Rick Jerue Phyllis G. Jestice Richard Allen Keithley Dr. Ted Keller Bob and Pat Kimmel Heide and James Klein Steve Krameisen Ms. Ann Kramer Drs. Lydie and Richard Labaudinière Dr. David Lake and Dr. Linda Wright Linda Larsen Andrea Lapsley, Barbara Gubbin, Brenda Tirrell, Catherine Murray-Rust, Rhoda Goldberg, and Syma Zerkow Lyla and Tracy Leigh Ken and Bev Leiser Mr. James Lindner Drs. Christine Lloyd and William Brener Lee Carpenter Dr. Elizabeth Mack Patricia H. and James J. Marino Mr. John W. Martin, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Joseph McAlhany, Jr. Lynn McCormick and Josh Hammond Steve and Mindy McCrae Mrs. Cintra H. McGauley David and Mary Kay McLane Mrs. Harriet M. McMaster

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Tom and Marsha McNeer Dexter and Susan Mead John and Laurel Melson The Dede & B.V. Team John and Jennie Morris Dr. Vasiliki Moskos Drs. Carolyn Murdaugh and Mary Ann Parsons David and Deborah Newman Suki and Jim Newton C. Lynn O'Connell Dr. Patrick O'Neil Richard J. Osborne Dr. and Mrs. H. Biemann Othersen, Jr. James and Kathryn Owens Alex and Ann Pappas Susan Parson and Angus Baker Leigh and Tom Poe Helen C. Powell Richard and Lin Raines Diana Reed and Mary Adkins Dr. and Mrs. Jay Robison Linda Roth Mr. and Mrs. Walton Rutherfoord Richard J. Sayre Ms. Diane Schmults Ms. Anne Scott Francie and Rick Segal Jeff Seymore Elizabeth Shevach Mr. and Mrs. Robert Siegel Joseph Sisto and Deborah Boyette Bill and Marcia Smits Starr and Phil Snead Regina and Michael Sommer Ms. Nancy L. Sorenson Stuart and Sarah Sprague Ms. Kerry Stewart Dale and Gary Tasker Marilyn and George Taylor Dr. Sandra J. Teel Anne Teshima and Steven M. Cohen George C. Thomas Ms. Yvette Tramount Kara Trott and Bob Philips Ms. Carol C. Uhl Chick Vladuchick and Susan Meloy Susan and Trenholm Walker

134

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Jane O. Waring Martha Watson and David Gentry Dede and BV Team at Carolina One Kathleen Wells and Donald Dillport George Wenchel Brenda and Rick Wheeler Betty Buller Whitehead Lisa Mancini and Peter Whitehouse Mr. and Mrs. Christopher G. Willett Sophie and Cope Willis Dr. and Mrs. G. Fred Worsham Martha C. Worthy Charitable Fund Dr. Karen Zabrensky and Dr. James Hoffman James and Ann Zielinski Dr. Paul and Mrs. Dawn Zimmermann

Orchestra Benefit Sponsor East West Partners

Orchestra Support Anonymous Kathleen and Bob Carroll Mariano and June La Via Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. McClanahan, Jr. Heather McFarlin Robbie Nichols and Robert Nicholson Mr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills, III

Orchestra Member Sponsors Anonymous Miss Venita Aspen Mr. Kamal Ayyildiz Mrs. Katharine I. Bachmann Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Barrett Mr. Lee Bell and Mr. Fotios Pantazis Ms. Carroll Ann Bowers Ernst and Christina Bruderer Mr. Christian Bryant Mr. and Mrs. John Cardamone Edward and Sally Clancy Mr. and Mrs. William Cleveland


Mr. and Mrs. Derick Close Rebecca and Cress Darwin Mr. Domenico De Sole Mr. David DiBenedetto Mr. and Mrs. P. Steven Dopp Vernon Drew and Leslie Aucoin Ms. Katarina Fjording Betsy Fleming and Ed Weisiger, Jr. Drs. Angeleita Floyd and Scott Cawelti Julia Forster and John Thompson Walter and Wendy Foulke Rick Fowler and Justin Thomas Alexandra and David Fox Ruthann Granito Alicia and Wayne Gregory Mr. William Gruenloh Mr. John B. Hagerty and Ms. Susan W. Simons Mr. Miller Harper Sean and Courtney Hartness Mrs. Mariana Hay Mr. and Mrs. Brian Hellman Mrs. Terri J. Henning Ms. M. Russell Holliday, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Eugene G. Johnson Anne and Dick Keigher William E. Kennard and Deborah Kennedy Kennard Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury Mr. Donald E. King Mr. W. Doug King, Jr. June and Mariano La Via Mr. William Lind Mr. and Mrs. James S. MacLeod Mrs. Peter Manigault Professors Emeriti Bill and Carolyn Matalene Heather McFarlin Dr. Elie McLaren Charley and Martha McLendon Bill and Julie Medich Jay and Ginger Millen Laurie Minges Ronda Muir Robbie Nichols and Robert Nicholson Mrs. Marian M. Nisbet Anne and Scott Perper Meg and Jordan Phillips Margie Pizarro Ms. Pamela Pollitt Susan Ravenel and Robert Kirby Mr. and Mrs. James N. Richardson, Jr. Tyler Rollins David M. Savard Wally and Bev Seinsheimer Kit and Joel Smith Mr. Phillip D. Smith and Ms. Lesley Burke Kevin and Galin Spicer Elizabeth and Charles Sullivan

Amanda Sumner Ann and Michael Tarwater Ms. Claire Theobald Dr. Carolyn Thiedke and Mr. Fred Thompson, III Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Hellena Huntley Tidwell Anne and Ken Tidwell Mr. and Mrs. Fisher C. Walter, Jr. Mrs. Jennifer E. Welham Ms. Patti Wilbourne Ms. Debra Wilson Ms. Stephanie Yarbrough Mindelle and Loren Ziff

Bravo Society Bobbi and Don Bernstein Ms. Elizabeth L. Boineau Gene Carpenter Kathleen Carroll Mr. Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Barry Evans Blake, Carlos, and Lisa Evans Jeffrey A. Foster Rick Fowler and Justin Thomas Estate of Charlotte Hastie Martha Rivers Ingram Patsy and Terry Jones Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury Mr. Barry Lapidus Mr. and Mrs. David L. Rawle Ellen and Mayo Read Harriet Ripinsky in memory of Linda Ripinsky Mr. Aubrey Sarvis Mr. David M. Savard Mr. Joe Whitmore

In Honor In Honor of Leslie Aucoin and Vernon Drew Mrs. Susan Paikin In Honor of Marion Cato Ms. Cornelia H. Pelzer In Honor of Jennie DeScherer Mr. Michael R. Bloomberg In Honor of John Dewberry Croghan’s Jewel Box In Honor of John Mr. Foehl, Jr. Ms. Meghan Dale In Honor of Susan Simons and John Hagerty Mr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills, III In Honor of Tasha Gandy Dr. Ted Keller In Honor of Gillian Gillers Ms. Barbara Gillers S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Allison Russell; photo by Marc Baptiste

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In Honor of Richard and Elizabeth Jenkins Ms. Barbara Jenkins In Honor of Caroline Poe Ms. Kathleen Wells and Mr. Donald Dillport In Honor of Nigel Redden John M. Rivers, Jr. Foundation In Honor of Dr. Amarillys Rodriguez and Gregory C. Smith Ms. Patricia G. Smith In Honor of Marti Sullivan Pamela Voss In Honor of Shawn Daughtridge Wallace Jamie Garvey

In Memory In Memory of Nancy Thompson Barnwell Mr. John R. Barnwell Karl and Charlene Bunch Mr. Jeffery A. Foster Berta and Robbie Freeman Dr. and Mrs. Edward Gilbreth Mrs. Judith Hines John and Jennie Morris Jennifer Stufflebeam Mary P. Weston In Memory of James and Betty Carrozza Mrs. Margaretta C. Grimm In Memory of Christel DeHaan Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Ms. Judith Kleiner In Memory of Randall Everett Felkel Mrs. Kimberly M. Baldwin Croghan’s Jewel Box In Memory of Todd Helgeson Mr. Eddie J. Khoury In Memory of Diana Khoury Mr. Eddie J. Khoury In Memory of Hasham P. Khoury and the 10th anniversary of his passing Mr. Eddie J. Khoury In Memory of Rosalie Khoury Mr. Eddie J. Khoury In Memory of Thomas and Ingrid McDonald Tracy and Lyla Leigh In Memory of Mrs. Dolly Pardi With much love from Michael and Nadia Caleo In Memory of Jane Martin Ries John M. Rivers, Jr. Foundation In Memory of Linda Ripinsky Ms. Harriet Ripinsky In Memory of Patricia Struck Mr. Lawrence E. Bechler In Memory of Judith Singer Vane Judy Mazo and Mike Seidman

Spoleto Bridge Sponsors and Party Hosts Bon Vivant The Cassina Group Christopher Lee Structures Michael Furlong and Eric Larsen The George Gallery Goat Sheep Cow Ibu Movement André and Curry Uflacker Hart and John Wrangle

Spoleto Bridge Members Lee and Bess Allen Phillip and Blaise Barber Jay Benson Ms. Cashion Drolet Lindsay Fleege Susan Galvani James Hewlette and Jordan Kruse Jill Howard Jacqueline Lawrence and Christopher Endres Liza and Daniel Layfield Jenna Levine and Duncan Mégroz Christine and Andrew Lloyd Dr. Todd Magro and Mr. Spenser Harvel Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Mantini Taylor Grant and Robbie Marty Amy and David Pastre Charles Rackley and Katie Strumpf-Rackley Abby Rosenthal Courtney and Carter Rowson Anne Siegfried Elizabeth M. Todd Mr. Owen Tyler Curry and André Uflacker Ms. Pamela C. Watson Mary Mac and Cooper Wilson Carl Austin Wise Kenton and Jay Youngblood

2022 Spoleto SCENE Title Sponsor Breeze Airways

2022 Spoleto SCENE Sponsors Benefitfocus Cathead Distillery Charleston Sips Edmund’s Oast Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art Hubs Virginia Peanuts S P O L E TO U S A .O R G

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Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. Lazer Catcher OddFellows Ice Cream Co. Principle Gallery Charleston Republic DMG Rudy Royale The Wonderer

Spoleto SCENE Members Aaron and Savannah Aday Mini Hay Avant Kate Archibald Gussin Ms. Leslie Abbott Bell Haddie and David Caughran Christian Causby Catherine S. Charney Lydia Chernicoff and Jaan Rannik Natalie and Mark Christian Brandon Johnston Cole Brooks Courtney Dr. Tejbir and Victoria Dhindsa Amanda Fisher and Ryan Perrott Ruthie Foster Candle Damsel Candle Company Lizzy Goodrich Eric Gordon Chris Gregor and Alice Le Catharine Gregorie Perrin Griffin Madison Hancock Stephanie Harth Robert Harvey Emily Hill and Alexander Klaes Lauren and Adam Holzer Elijah Hornback Jai Jones Maggie Jordan and Gavin Shelton Bryan and Lacey Kitz Katelyn Kivinen Lukia Kliossis Lauren Koch Lucia Lang Kaylee Lass Henry Laurens Katie Libby Catherine Locatis Ellie Locke Emily-Elise Martin Evan Matheson William and Abigail Matheson Ian Macbeth and MaryCole McCants Carol McDonnell Lainey McInnis and Michael Schmidt Dr. Lucas Meadors

138

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Eric Meckley and Cassie Bray Allison Miller Leah Montgomery Elizabeth Morrison Patrick Napolski Molly Paddock Fallon Peper Katie Pepera Ms. Tara Pittman Scott Plumer E. Lauren Powell and Dr. Allen Pendarvis George P. Ramsay REV Federal Credit Union Susannah Runkle Kelly Snyder Vernie South Ben and Virginia Street Ashton Szadek Matt Tarney and Emily Rast Tarney Rian Tasker Kathryn Waites Kathleen Walker and Matthew Heine Tyler Page Wright and Elliott Friedman

Mary Ramsay Civic Award Luncheon Contributors In Honor of John B. Hagerty Sponsored by SouthState Bank Jill and Richard Almeida Bill and Ruth Baker Claire Bristow Martin Brown, Jr. Buxton and Collie Derick Close Jennie and Richard DeScherer William Edlund Nancy and Ralph Edwards C. Edward and Kay Floyd Susan McDonald Gaddy Amy and Frank Garrison Bonnie and Teddy Gilbreth Harry Gregorie Charlton F. Hall, Jr. Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan Lisa Hand Martha Rivers Ingram JC Long Layton and Gwen McCurdy Peter and Susan Nitze Adele Simons C. Douglas Warner and Truman M. Smith Lt. General and Mrs. Claudius E. Watts, III Charles and Mary Ellen Way


F E S T I V A L

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SEP T. 21–OCT. 2, 2022

ROSSINI | NEW PRODUCTION

O T E L L O

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T H E

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An immersive experience from the mind of Aria Umezawa

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L I T T L E / WA L D M A N | WO R L D P R E M I E R E

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A F T E R N O O N S

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A recital series featuring the opera stars of today and tomorrow, with headliner Latonia Moore

O P E R A

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F I L M

A celebration of the genre we love on the big screen

Ticket packages on sale now. Buy 2 or more and save 20%! Single tickets on sale July 18. O P ERAPH IL A .OR G

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Festival Feast Sponsors Ms. M. Russell Holliday, Jr. and Mr. Hal Cottingham Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury Mr. and Mrs. William E. Kennard Eddie Irions and Ryan Albert Kevin Mitchell Margie Ann and Wardell Morse Hellena Huntley Tidwell Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Judith Batty Denny’s Rodney Scott’s BBQ Yolélé

Nigel Redden Emerging Artist Endowment Fund Anonymous Jim and Susan Allhusen Jill and Richard Almeida Mr. Dean Porter Andrews and Ms. Lynn Easton Mrs. Katharine I. Bachmann Lee Bell and Fotios Pantazis Tippy and Michael Brickman Mr. and Mrs. John Cardamone Rebecca and Cress Darwin Ms. Joann Devira Mr. and Mrs. John Griffith Barbara and Richard Hagerty Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan Karyn Lee and Bill Hewitt Mr. and Mrs. Ozey K. Horton, Jr. Martha Rivers Ingram Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation Carmen Kovens Mrs. Lynn B. Parrott William Redden Mrs. Joan G. Sarnoff Jan Serr and John Shannon Kit and Joel Smith Dr. and Mrs. Kerry Solomon Ann and Michael Tarwater Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Hellena Huntley Tidwell Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Way, Jr. Ms. Anita G. Zucker

Matching Gifts Apple AT&T Foundation BenefitFocus The Coca-Cola Foundation

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ConocoPhillips Eaton Corporation Eli Lilly and Company Foundation Flora Family Foundation IBM Corporation JP Morgan Chase Foundation Morgan Stanley The Prospect Hill Foundation UBS Employee Giving Program Wells Fargo Foundation

2022 Spoleto Society Pin Sponsor Kiawah River

Special Thanks and Gifts in Kind Another Broken Egg Dr. Dave Albenberg AV Connections The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Caviar & Bananas The Charleston Place, Christopher Baxter Charleston International Airport, Captain Jay Christmas and Brian Query Caroline’s Cakes Charleston Magazine Christophe Artisan Chocolatier City of Charleston, Robert Somerville College of Charleston, Amy Orr and Ashleigh Freer-Parr Corey Alston, Sweetgrass Basket Weaver Courtyard by Marriott Charleston/Historic District, Madison Johnson Cru Catering Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Kyle Joseph and Ashley Mancini EventHaus Rentals EventWorks Food for the Southern Soul Gilmore Bar Services Graft Dr. Lucinda Halstead Historic Charleston Bed and Breakfast, T’Lene Brown Historic Charleston Foundation Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Charleston/Historic District Leigh Webber Photography Lois Lane Properties, Ginger Scully Lotus Flower, LLC Mary Mac Wilson McBride Sisters Wine Company Nelson Printing Production Design Associates Old Whaling Co. Olde Colony Bakery


Ooh! Events Seyahan Jewelry Snyder Events South Carolina Pubic Radio Zero George Yolélé

Housing Contributors Mr. and Mrs. Francis McCann Bob and Sue Goodman Jeffrey Moll

Hotel Haya Kevin Johnson Mike Lata John and Kelley McCauley Youssou NDOUR Leslie and J.R. Richardson Harry Root Nicole Rubin Southern Glazer’s Wine, Spirits and Beer of Nevada Southern Glazer’s Wine, Spirits and Beer of Florida The Statler Hotel and Residences Shelley Stein Susan and John Sykes John Thompson

Orchestra Benefit Contributors Beemok Hospitality Group Russell Holliday and Hal Cottingham Croghan’s Jewel Box Dream Racing East West Partners Carlos Evans Harry and Susan Frampton Ruthann Granito Grassroots Wine Barbara and Richard Hagerty Halls Chophouse Lou Hammond

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Passionately Supporting the Arts Deborah C. Fisher, Broker in Charge 285 Meeting Street, Charleston SC 29401 | 843.727.6460 (O) | info@handsomeproperties.com handsomeproperties.com | handsomepropertiesinternational.com

CHAMBER MUSIC CHARLESTON OVATION CONCERT SERIES SUNDAYS/3PM COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

TURINA La Oración del torero Op. 34 and Serenata, Op. 87 BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet in b minor, Op. 115

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

MENDELSSOHN Three Pieces for String Quartet BEETHOVEN Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15

SCHUBERT Adagio e Rondo Concertante in F Major, D. 487 DVOŘÁK Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 1 in c minor, Op. 15 SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Quintet in g minor, Op. 57

Arnaud Sussmann, violin Performing January 15, 2023

W W W. C H A M B E R M U S I C C H A R L E S T O N . O R G

CMC


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Thanks for putting art in the heart of the community Bank of America recognizes Spoleto Festival USA for its success in bringing the arts to performers and audiences throughout the community. We commend you on creating an opportunity for all to enjoy and share a cultural experience. Visit us at bankofamerica.com/local.

©2022 Bank of America Corporation | MAP4117394 | ENT-211-AD


Articles inside

Contributors

23min
pages 128-148

Committees and Volunteers

2min
pages 125-126

Institutional Contributors

1min
page 127

Administration and Apprentices

3min
pages 122-124

Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus

1min
page 121

Spoleto Festival USA Chorus

1min
page 120

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra

2min
pages 118-119

Music Texts

28min
pages 108-117

A Community Engaged

2min
pages 106-107

Wells Fargo Festival Finale featuring Shakey Graves

1min
page 103

Conversations With

1min
pages 104-105

Cécile McLorin Salvant ^

1min
page 102

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

1min
page 101

Music in Time: The Street

6min
pages 95-97

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

9min
pages 98-100

Tyshawn Sorey/Aaron Diehl/Matt Brewer ^

2min
pages 91-92

Ravi Coltrane: Universal Consciousness ^

1min
page 90

Rhapsodic Overture

8min
pages 87-89

The War and Treaty

1min
page 84

Linda May Han Oh and Fabian Almazan ^

1min
page 83

Allison Russell

1min
page 82

Youssou NDOUR: Mbalax Unplugged ^

1min
page 77

Sounds Like Transcendence

6min
pages 74-76

Lift Every Voice

6min
pages 79-81

Nduduzo Makhathini

1min
page 78

Music in Time

5min
pages 72-73

Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi

1min
page 71

Tell Your Story: An Orchestra Project

3min
page 70

Bank of America Chamber Music

17min
pages 63-69

Machine de Cirque

3min
pages 60-61

Dusk by Fletcher Williams

1min
page 62

Storm Large

1min
pages 58-59

Until the Flood

5min
pages 56-57

Malpaso Dance Company ¤

8min
pages 50-53

The Approach

5min
pages 54-55

Ballet Encore ¤

7min
pages 46-49

Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group ¤

12min
pages 42-45

La bohème

20min
pages 30-35

Unholy Wars

18min
pages 36-41

Omar

24min
pages 22-29

What’s in a name?

6min
pages 16-18

From the General Director

4min
pages 10-11

From the Chair of the Board

2min
pages 8-9

Always a Creator

5min
pages 19-21
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