V yagE 104th SEASON
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Dr. Michael Miles, Music Director
Vienna Venice to
Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. Bennett Auditorium
Tonight we arrive at the second stop on our “Voyage” – Western Europe in the 18th century. The music you will hear tonight was either written in Western Europe in the 18th century, or has its roots in 18th century Europe. In the spirit of the times, we will perform all of tonight’s program with a chamber orchestra similar in size and scope to the court orchestras of the period. Contrary to the title, we begin tonight’s program in Venice, Italy, where Antonio Vivaldi was born and made his career as a violinist and composer. His Concerto for Two Trumpets provides a “full circle” moment for my career in higher education. Chris Moore and I have been best friends for 40 years since we were students and roommates at Florida State University. His career came full circle when he returned to FSU as the professor of trumpet in 2003. He has built his trumpet studio at FSU into one of the most successful and respected in the country. Brian Walker was a trumpet student of mine in Oklahoma in the early days of my teaching career, and after completing his bachelor’s degree with me, I sent him to FSU to study with Chris. Brian is now a highly respected trumpet artist/teacher himself at Tarleton State University. I am thrilled and honored to have them join us this evening for this special occasion. My personal musical tree has many branches, but none more meaningful than this one. We then travel to Vienna, the final home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In his brief, 35-year life he composed over 800 works of every imaginable genre. The “child genius” is arguably considered the greatest composer in the history of Western art music. Tonight we hear stunning examples of his ability to write beautiful melodies supported by rich harmonies in formal structures common to the period. Mozart’s first Flute Concerto is a classic example of his beautiful melodic writing, and his “Haffner” symphony, one of his most popular among string players and audiences alike, is a wonderful example of his mature symphonic writing style. We will feature our first William T. Gower Competition winner, Claudio Palazzi, on the Flute Concerto. In our final piece this evening, we take a day trip to Genoa and Parma, Italy. Niccoló Paganini, the famous violin virtuoso of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was born in Genoa, Italy, and moved to Parma to study with Ferdinando Paer. Paganini was also a composer, and his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin are considered the benchmark for all solo violinists. Frank Proto is considered one of the most influential double bass performers, teachers and composers of our time. Mr. Proto enjoys a great friendship with our bass professor, Dr. Marcos Machado. Tonight we are proud to have Dr. Machado join us performing Proto’s Nine Variants on Paganini – a theme and variations on Paganini’s 24th Caprice for solo violin. I know you will enjoy tonight’s program. Our next stops are Madrid and Rome!
Program THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SCHOOL OF MUSIC present
Vienna toVenice
The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Dr. Michael Miles, music director Carlos Fernandez, guest conductor
Christopher Moore and Brian Walker, trumpet Marcos Machado, double bass With William T. Gower Student Concerto Competition Winner Claudio Palazzi, flute
Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m. Bennett Auditorium
Concerto for Two Trumpets and Strings in C major I. Allegro II. Largo III. Allegro Christopher Moore and Brian Walker, trumpets Symphony No. 35 in G major, K. 385 (“Haffner”) I. Allegro con spirito II. Andante III. Menuetto IV. Presto
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
W.A. Mozart
Intermission
Concerto for Flute No. 1 in G major, K. 313 I. Allegro maestoso Claudio Palazzi, flute Carlos Fernandez, conductor
W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Nine Variants on Paganini for Double Bass and Orchestra
Frank Proto (b. 1941)
Marcos Machado, bass This program presented in part by a generous grant from Partners for the Arts
Program Notes Concerto for 2 Trumpets and Strings in C Major
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678. He grew up to be not only a priest but also a virtuoso violinist and one of the greatest composers of his age. He wrote many instrumental, choral and orchestral works, including concertos, operas and sacred pieces. Vivaldi was a very practical composer. His set of twelve violin concertos know as L’Estro Armonico, which are famous for their harmonic invention and virtuosic brilliance, are well within the compass of the talented amateur. Consequently when the set was engraved and published as his Op 3, it gained immense popularity throughout Europe, enhancing his fame and reputation. Sadly however, Vivaldi’s popularity declined as he grew older. Audiences began to consider his music outmoded, and performances of his works declined. In his last, year he moved to Vienna in the hope of preferment by the Emperor Charles VI whom he had met Venice. He was forced to sell many of his manuscripts to fund the trip, and the move was a disastrous one. The Emperor died soon after Vivaldi’s arrival and he was left without a steady source of income in an unfamiliar city. He died a pauper, soon after the Emperor, on the 28th July 1741. His funeral took place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral where among the choir boys was one Joseph Haydn. He was buried in a simple grave which no longer exists. The concerto for two trumpets is typical of Vivaldi’s writing. The two outer movements are brilliant allegros with lots of exhilarating high virtuosic passages for the soloists. There are sections of dramatic dialogue between the orchestra and the soloists to start and end the movements, and longer episodes for the soloists and continuo, alternating with the strings. The slow movement, scored for strings alone, is very short and forms a strong contrast to the outer movements relying for its effect on inventive use of harmony.
Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385 (Haffner)
Mozart’s 35th symphony began life as his second serenade for the Haffner family, minor nobility and longtime friends of the Mozarts. Wolfgang was asked in 1776 by Sigmund Haffner II, son of the mayor of Salzburg, to provide music for festivities the evening before the wedding of his sister, Marie Elisabeth, to Franz Xaver Spaeth. The result: the famous, eight-movement “Haffner” Serenade. So successful was this work that, when it came time for Sigmund to be ennobled six years later, he called upon Mozart again to come up with another serenade. This time, as Mozart so colorfully put it, he was “up to my eyeballs in work”: completing his three-act opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, teaching, and getting ready for his own wedding to Constanze. By all accounts, Mozart completed the work, but missed the Haffner deadline. All was not lost, however. Needing to come up with a new work for a December concert, he asked his father, Leopold, to send him the manuscript of his second Haffner serenade. Upon receipt, he was amazed how good it looked, given that he composed it in great haste, and he decided to remake the six-movement serenade into a four-movement symphony by dropping the opening March and one of the two minuets. Mozart completed the symphony in 1782. The festive, joyous Allegro con spirito first movement, in sonata form is Haydnesque, with a single theme dominating the movement, which is to be played “with great fire,” according to Mozart. This theme, subjected to two variations, underlies the meandering secondary theme in the violins and rules the short development. The theme then returns in the recap without its variations. The Andante second movement, an abridged sonata form, has a charming, graceful primary theme and a more playful secondary theme. Overall, there is a delicacy and intimacy to this movement, in contrast to the fiery first movement. The Minuet, with alternating loud-soft passages, sounds stately and formal, while the more dance-like Trio acts as a Viennese street-song, flowing and chromatic. Mozart wrote that the fourth-movement Presto finale should go “as fast as possible.” It is an extremely lively piece based on a simple tune, developed and varied in a most ingenious way. It starts softly on the strings, but the entire orchestra with trumpets and kettledrums soon joins in. The second theme, by contrast, is scored for strings and woodwinds only. There is a brief coda, or a sort of musical postscript, which repeats the soft-loud scheme of the main melody a final time, before the jubilant ending played by the full orchestra.
Flute Concerto No. 1 in G Major, K. 313
Mozart wrote the Concerto in G Major, K. 313 in Mannheim in 1778, on commission from the Dutch flutist Ferdinand Dejean, for whom he also wrote the Concerto in D Major, K. 314, arranged from the C Major oboe concerto, and three flute quartets. During his stay in Paris later that year, Mozart wrote his Concerto for Flute and Harp. Despite the documentary evidence and profusion of scholarship on every aspect of Mozart’s life, his two concertos for flute and orchestra are still wrapped in some degree of mystery. Sadly, no copies exist in Mozart’s hand. He usually kept his manuscripts and had a copy made for the commissioner or performers. In this case, however, he might have given his manuscript to Dejean. The creative genius of Mozart is on full display in the G Major concerto. The Allegro Maestoso first movement brilliantly integrates stately, lyrical, and virtuosic elements. The Adagio ma non troppo is in the concerto’s dominant key of D Major, a particularly brilliant key for the flute. The flute’s long, cantabile lines bring to mind Mozart’s exquisite operatic writing; this movement is like an aria for flute. The Rondo: Tempo di menuetto combines elegance and vitality, with a contrasting middle section that is poignant in the darker key of E Minor, referencing again Mozart’s vocal writing.
Nine Variants on Paganini
The Nine Variants on Paganini, based on the 24th Caprice from Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, is a work in a lighter vein, using a theme that should be familiar to audiences because of its wide appropriation by various composers since Paganini. Proto composed the work because no variations, with orchestra, of this kind existed for the bass and he felt this would be a most fitting subject for the instrument. The Paganini theme has appeared in four different forms in Proto’s compositions. The first time he used it was when he composed music for a video, Birds, Birds, Birds, where the music is as important as the visual form, and he was given free rein to do whatever he liked. This forty-minute work also includes variations, most for synthesizers although there is some live violin playing. The second time Proto used the Paganini theme, at Doc Severinsen’s request, was in the Capriccio di Niccolo for Orchestra and solo trumpet for Keith Lockhardt’s opening concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Another, and totally different work, which had its premiere in early 2002, is Paganini in Metropolis. This work is for clarinet and wind symphony and was performed at the University of Texas at Austin and at the Texas Music educators’ Convention with Eddie Daniels on clarinet.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
Symphony Orchestra Violin 1 Marlene Gentile, concertmaster Jessica Achon Juan Lincango Laura Lopera Jonathan Chen Lily Martinez Violin 2 Federico Franco, principal Alejandro Lopez Grace Pineda Lucas Gonzalez Dexter Rodkey Viola Ana Sofia Suarez, principal Isabella Marques Nicole Herrera Ronnie Ortiz Cello Alejandro Restrepo, principal Mert Ozkan Mauricio Unzueta Cristian Sanchez Bass Pedro Arceo, principal Jose Cuellar Matheus Ferreira de Souza
Flute Sarah Hinchey, principal Angel Hamel Oboe Alexandra Gordon, principal Geordie Nabors English Horn Geordie Nabors Clarinet Gerby Keiny Galvan, principal Caitlyn Austin Bass Clarinet Caitlyn Austin Bassoon Zachary Howell Gabriel Flores Horn Brian Alston, principal Chance Rootes Trumpet Rob Smith, principal Doug Hutchison Timpani Carmen Vessel Percussion Ryan Dunklee Logan Whitehead
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STRINGS Dr. Borislava Iltcheva, violin Dr. Hsiaopei Lee, viola Dr. Alexander Russakovsky, cello Dr. Marcos Machado, bass Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo, guitar WOODWINDS Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, flute Dr. Galit Kaunitz, oboe Dr. Jackie McIlwain, clarinet Dr. Kim Woolly, bassoon Dr. Dannel Espinoza, saxophone BRASS Dr. Rob Detjen, horn Dr. Tim Tesh, trumpet Dr. Ben McIlwain, trombone Dr. Richard Perry, tuba PERCUSSION Dr. John Wooton, percussion PIANO Dr. Michael Bunchman, piano Dr. Ellen Elder, piano Dr. Hongzuo Guo, staff pianist Dr. Elizabeth Moak, piano Dr. Zhaolei Xie, staff pianist ORCHESTRAL ACTIVITIES Dr. Michael Miles CHORAL ACTIVITIES Dr. Gregory Fuller Dr. Jonathan Kilgore VOICE Dr. Kimberley Davis Dr. Taylor Hightower Dr. Meredith Johnson Dr. Jonathan Yarrington MUSIC EDUCATION Dr. Ashley Allen Dr. Melody Causby Dr. Ian Cicco Stacey Miles
UNIVERSITY BANDS Dr. Catherine Rand Dr. Travis Higa Dr. Cody Edgerton JAZZ STUDIES Larry Panella MUSIC HISTORY Dr. Barbara Dietlinger Dr. Edward Hafer Dr. Joseph Jones MUSIC THEORY Dr. Danny Beard Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe Dr. Douglas Rust DIRECTOR Dr. Colin McKenzie ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS Dr. Joseph Jones Dr. Timothy Tesh ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR Laurie Rinko FINANCIAL MANAGER Belinda Taft ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT COORDINATOR Lauren Gerhart GRADUATE COORDINATOR Melody Causby UNDERGRADUATE COORDINATOR Dr. Jonathan Kilgore PR/MARKETING AND EVENT COORDINATOR Dr. Mike Lopinto PIANO TECHNICIAN Carlos Boza
About the Artists Dr. Michael Miles is a unique brand of musician, whose career includes a blend of musical and academic positions. Dr. Miles’ academic career includes appointments at Western Carolina University and Florida International University. He also served for seven years as chair at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and six years as director of the School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Miles’ interest in arts advocacy and education in the community has led him to administrative positions in several community and state organizations. He served on the Hattiesburg Concert Association staff, and as executive director and founder of the Red River Arts Academy, an intensive summer arts training experience for students 14-18 years of age. Dr. Miles also served eight years as president of the Board of Directors of the Red River Arts Council in Durant, Oklahoma. Dr. Miles’ appreciation for all forms and styles of music are evident in the variety of performing, conducting and music directing positions he has enjoyed. As a trumpet artist, Dr. Miles has performed with dozens of symphony orchestras as featured soloist and principal trumpet, and released a compact disc recording of new music for trumpet and piano by Robert Suderburg and James Wintle, titled Reflections in Times’ Mirror. In addition to his current duties as director of orchestral activities at Southern Miss, Miles’ conducting appointments include music director of the Hattiesburg Civic Light Opera Company, music director of the Oklahoma Youth Symphonies, and music director of the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival. Miles recently conducted the USM Chamber Orchestra in its Carnegie Hall debut and served as guest conductor of the Festival Orchestra at the V Clinicas Instrumentalis in Cartegena, Columbia. In 2013, Dr. Miles served as guest conductor with The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, backing the legendary Beach Boys at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Dr. Miles has also served as guest conductor with the Xinghia Conservatory Orchestra of Guangzhou, China, Vidin (Bulgaria) Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, New Mexico University Symphony, and Oklahoma Youth Orchestra. In his career, Dr. Miles has served as music director/conductor for over 190 musical theatre performances involving 55 different musical theatre productions, including the recent highly acclaimed Southern Miss productions of The Drowsy Chaperone, The Phantom of the Opera, Magic of the Musical Stage, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Ragtime, Showbiz Showstoppers, Showbiz Harmony and Sweeney Todd. Dr. Miles served as music director of HCLO’s productions of Into the Woods, Cabaret, Wizard of Oz, Camelot and Tommy. Dr. Miles also served as chorus master for the Hub City Players production of Rock of Ages and music director for their production of James and the Giant Peach. The Phantom of the Opera and James and the Giant Peach productions were awarded the prestigious American Prize for Musical Theater in 2018. In his tenure at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dr. Miles led an awardwinning Jazz Ensemble that was recognized by the Oklahoma State Legislature as the “Official Jazz Ambassadors of Oklahoma.” This ensemble made three concert tours of the People’s Republic of China School of the Arts.
Grammy Award-winner Christopher Moore has been Professor of Trumpet at Florida State University since 2003. Prior to his appointment at FSU, Dr. Moore was Associate Professor of Trumpet at the University of Kansas, where for seven years he directed the trumpet studio, conducted the trumpet ensemble and performed as a member of the Kansas Brass Quintet. Dr. Moore also served as Assistant Professor of Music at Morningside College from 1989 to1993, and from 1994 to 1996, was a full-time member of the professional brass quintet from Philadelphia, The Chestnut Brass Company, recording 4 CD’s, winning the Grammy Award in their field in February of 2000 with the CD Hornsmoke, a CD that featured the brass chamber music of Peter Schickele. Dr. Moore holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music in Performance from the University of New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Florida State University. He has won numerous solo competitions, including top prize at the ITG competition and at state and regional MTNA competitions. Professor Moore has also been a finalist at the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition as well as the MTNA National Finals. Students from the FSU Trumpet Studio have won positions in professional performing organizations, university teaching positions, secondary and elementary positions, and have been placed in some of the best graduate programs in the country. Professor Moore’s students consistently attend numerous summer music festivals in addition to winning competitions through MTNA, NTC, and ITG. Dr. Moore has performed and presented clinics at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI) National Convention, the National MENC Conference, the National Trumpet Competition and numerous International Trumpet Guild Conferences. He is past president of NACWPI and has held positions on the Executive Board of the National Trumpet Competition and on the Board of the International Trumpet Guild. Dr. Moore is a Selmer Artist and can be heard on his first solo CD, Trumpeting the Stone, on the Mark Masters label as well as in the most recent edition of Sigmund Hering’s Progressive Etudes by Carl Fischer Publications. Most recently, Carl Fischer Publications released Student’s Essential Studies for Trumpet, A Sequential Collection of 42 Standard Etudes for the Advancing Student, compiled and edited by Dr. Moore. Brian Walker is currently Professor of Trumpet at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. His students have been accepted into many undergraduate and graduate music programs and currently perform in orchestras and premier military groups throughout the US. His students are frequently featured at the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild Conferences as competitors and performers. As a performer, he has appeared with various groups in the DFW region and is a member of the Allen Philharmonic and Richardson Symphony Orchestras. As a commercial musician, Dr. Walker has played for various Broadway and
Musical Theater organizations in Dallas and Fort Worth, having most recently played for productions of Into the Woods, 42nd Street, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 9 to 5, and West Side Story. As a soloist, Dr. Walker has given recitals throughout the United States and in Greece, France, China and Brazil. He was featured as a soloist on the Tarleton State Wind Ensemble’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 2014 and this ensemble’s performance at the Texas Music Education Association Conference in 2022. Brian is active in the International Trumpet Guild where he serves on the Board of Directors, on the Recording Projects Committee, Chairs the Conference Golf Scramble Scholarship Fundraiser Committee and ad-hoc committees as needed. Dr. Walker also serves as an adjudicator for the National Trumpet Competition and ITG Competitions and is an artist for the Conn-Selmer Corporation (Bach). Dr. Walker holds degrees from the University of North Texas (DMA), The Florida State University (MM) and Southeastern Oklahoma State University (BM) where he studied with Michael Miles, Christopher Moore, and John Holt, respectively. Marcos Machado is a highly acclaimed Brazilian-American double bassist celebrated for his virtuosic performances and inspiring stage presence. The Strad has praised his “incredibly fluid” left-hand technique, while Fanfare has commended his “musicianship and technical prowess.” Dr. Machado serves as Professor of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). At USM, he has organized twelve editions of the “Southern Miss Bass Symposium.” He is also the founder of the Pampa International Music Festival (FIMP) in Brazil and the founder of Bass by the Sea, a national double bass competition in memory of UIUC Professor and his mentor, Michael
Cameron. Machado’s impressive career includes active performing and teaching schedules, tours throughout the USA, Europe, and South America, and three Grammy® nominations. Machado is the only South American to have earned both the “Teaching” and “Performance” diplomas from the prestigious L’Institut International de Contrebasse de Paris, where he studied with the world-renowned double bassist François Rabbath. Machado’s versatility has inspired many composers to write works for the double bass dedicated to him. He has given world premiere performances of several works, including American composer P. Kellach Waddle’s “The Dark and The Silent” for solo bass, Brazilian composer B. Cunha’s “Momento Nordestino n°2,” Arthur Barbosa’s “Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra,” and the world premiere of American composer Frank Proto’s Partita for Solo Double Bass. Machado gave the South American premiere of Wolf Totem by Tan Dun and two of Frank Proto’s Concertos: A Carmen Fantasy and Nine Variants on Paganini for double bass and orchestra. Machado has written “Tao of Bass,” a multi-volume technique book incorporating three decades of research on double bass technique. Several universities adopted the first volume as a required text, and the second volume will be released in 2023. He has also collaborated with Geoff Chalmers to create the “Integral Technique” online course published by the British company “Discover Double Bass.” Integral Technique is a comprehensive study of left-hand technique and includes numerous orchestral and solo repertoire demonstrations. Both are available at taoofbass.com.
Machado’s discography includes many collaborations with ensembles and musicians. The Duo Machado-Fialkow (with Brazilian pianist Dr. Ney Fialkow) has published two CDs with the Blue Griffin label, “Metamorfora” and “Fantasy,” both critically acclaimed by publications such as The Strad and Fanfare. Machado performs on a David Tecchler double bass, c. 1700, and a modern custom-built double bass by Italian-Brazilian luthier Andrea Spada (1975-2022). Machado’s signature bow, “Tao,” was crafted by the worldrenowned luthier Alessandro Alberi. Carlos Manuel Fernandez is a multifaceted conductor from Colombia, with experiences in Europe, North, and South America that provide him with a wide vision of world music. During his studies and professional upbringing in Vienna, he conducted premieres of modern pieces for new ensembles and the standard orchestral and opera repertoires of 18th to 20th centuries. In 2010 he premiered Lepanto by Alexander Kaisser, followed by a collaboration with composer Nancy Van de Vate as principal accompanist and assistant for the recording of her opera, Hamlet, in Olomuc, Czech Republic. In 2012 Carlos had various projects in Vienna: assistant conductor for the premiere of the operas Edenarabeske by Wolfgang Liebhart and Azrael by Dirk D’Ase, assistant to Guido Mancusi at the Volksoper Wien, and assistant fellow Korrepetitor under David Aronson at the Staatsoper Wien. Further engagements during the season 2013-2014 included his debut with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava and Vienna, guest performances with the AOV orchestra in Vienna, the premiere of Unlimited Imaginations, by Julian Gamisch, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Ibagué, Colombia, in a live open-air concert offered for more than 5000 attendees. Carlos’s interests, besides conducting, embrace piano chamber music, choir conducting, voice and instrumental accompanying, and arranging and composing for different ensembles. He was the conductor of the MGV Choir in Breitenfurt, Austria, and founder of “Enchoir”, the choir of the English Studies Department at the University of Vienna from 2011 to 2014. In Colombia in 2014 he founded the choir and orchestra of the University of Ibagué, Colombia, co-founded the independent choir, Coro Polifónico Nuevo Tolima, and was named Artistic Director of the Ibagué Conservatory and Principal Conductor of its Symphony Orchestra for the years 2014-2019. All these groups collaborated during those seasons in opera, sacred music festivals and choral-symphonic programs. During his tenure in Colombia, his work made possible a decentralized approach to the music offerings in different cities, touring with opera, sacred music and choir and orchestra productions through different regions. Choir conferences and concerts as the Panama-ELAMCO and Cancún, Mexico-CoralCun, staging concerts in vulnerable zones, and providing choir, orchestra and conducting workshops for free. In addition to his love for music and music projects for the communities where he serves, he enjoys cooking with his wife and daughters, traveling around the world, and discovering all kinds of music. Carlos holds Bassoon studies from the Tolima Conservatory, studies in orchestra, choir, and opera conducting and opera piano collaboration with Dr. Georg Mark, Guido Mancusi and David Aronson at the Konservatorium Wien. Carlos recently received his Master of Music degree in Orchestral
Conducting from the University of Southern Mssissippi, where he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting. He is also the Graduate Assistant for opera productions and orchestra under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Miles. Carlos recently served as Music Director and Conductor for the USM opera productions of Hänsel und Gretel and Too Many Sopranos. Carlos has received master classes in opera and orchestra conducting under Felipe Aguirre, Sir Simon Rattle, Bertrand de Billy, and Apo Hsu, and for choir conducting with Virginia Bono. Carlos has performed and conducted in venues as the Wien Konservatorium Auditorium, Konzerthaus Wien, and Stephansdom in Vienna, throughout Austria, Panama, Mexico, and in various concert halls in his home country. Italian flutist Claudio Palazzi was born in Alatri, Italy. He started studying flute at the middle school, continuing his studies at the Conservatory of Frosinone Licinio Refice in 2007. While studying at the conservatory, Palazzi twice competed in the Visconti competition, achieving first place in 2007 and third place in 2009. After he graduated from the Conservatory of Frosinone, Palazzi obtained a masters degree at the Conservatory of Rome Santa Cecilia in 2017. Palazzi began his career as principal flute and piccolo with the Orchestra Internazionale di Roma and principal flute with the Orchestra Giovanile di Roma performing in several halls and theatres in Italy, including the Auditorium Santa Cecilia, Teatro Argentina, and Teatro Italia. In 2016, Palazzi began studying flute and piccolo with his mentor, Maestro Fabio Colajanni in Ferentino, Italy and joined the Orchestra di fiati citta di Ferentino, a large wind orchestra, under direction of M. Alessandro Celardi. In 2017 and 2022, the Orchestra di fiati citta di Ferentino won a gold medal and a special mentioning award at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. During those years, he attended many courses and masterclass held by world renewed flute artist, such as Andre Oliva, Paolo Taballione, Matteo Evangelisti. He held regular concerts with different Italian orchestras, flute choir orchestras and flute ensembles. In 2019, he won a position as 1st flute in the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra in Vratsa, Bulgaria, with which he performed in different theaters and halls in Bulgaria. Palazzi earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in the 2022. This is his first year at the University of Southern Mississippi where he is pursuing a Masters degree in flute performance with Dr. Danilo Mezzadri.
Frank Proto, born in Brooklyn, New York, began piano studies at the age of 7 and the double bass at 16. As a student of David Walter at the Manhattan School of Music, Frank performed the first solo double bass recital in the history of the school. As a composer he is self-taught. During the early 1960s Frank worked as a free-lance bassist and pianist in New York City playing with various Broadway and Off-Broadway show bands and in many of the jazz clubs that were a mainstay of New York nightlife at the time. He played, as one of the original members, in the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski and served as solo double bassist with the Robert Shaw Chorale. In 1966 he joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for a 30 year stay in which the orchestra premiered over 20 large works and countless smaller pieces composed for Young People’s concerts, Pop’s concerts, tours and special occasions. During his tenure every music director - including Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Walter Suskind, Michael Gielen and Jesús López-Cobos - commissioned him to compose works to feature various principal players or the orchestra itself on concerts, recordings and tours. He has written music for Dave Brubeck, Eddie Daniels, Duke Ellington, Cleo Laine, Benjamin Luxon, Sherill Milnes, Gerry Mulligan, Roberta Peters, François Rabbath, Ruggerio Ricci, Doc Severinsen and Richard Stoltzman. Among America’s most performed contemporary composers, almost every major, metropolitan and regional orchestra in the U.S. as well as orchestras in all parts of Asia, South America and Europe have performed his compositions. His latest orchestral work The Dalí Gallery; a commission by the Louisiana Philharmonic was premiered in May 2009. His DVD project: Bridges – Eddie Daniels plays the music of Frank Proto, received nominations in two categories for the 2008 Grammy Awards. In 1977 he began a collaboration with double bass virtuoso François Rabbath. He has written Rabbath five major compositions with orchestra that span a musical landscape from the most contemporary and serious - Four Scenes after Picasso – to the wildly popular Carmen Fantasy. Rabbath has recorded all of the pieces and continues to perform them worldwide. Since 1993 Proto has collaborated regularly with poet, playwright and author John Chenault. Working with Chenault has brought an added dimension to Proto’s music – the visual. Their pieces, which bring a more all-encompassing, quasi-theatrical experience to audiences include, Mingus – Live in the Underworld, Ode to a Giant and Ghost in Machine – an American Music Drama for Vocalist, Narrator and Orchestra which was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony for the orchestra’s 100th anniversary in 1995. The 70-minute work, which starred Cleo Laine and Paul Winfield, received 14 nominations for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize. In 2009 Proto and Chenault finished their largest project to date: Shadowboxer, an Opera based on the life of Joe Louis. Commissioned by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the University of Maryland School of Music, the two-act, two and a half hour production was directed by Leon Major and given its premiere production in April of 2010.
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Todd and Mary Glenn Bradley Joseph Steadman Jewel Brantley Tucker in memory of Betty A. Steadman in memory of Samuel Tucker Sally and Garland Sullivan The Rev. Laurie Brock in memory of Garland H. Williams Charles A. Brown Sidney and Barbara Sytsma in memory of Mirneal C. Brown Richard and Debra Topp Sam and Jennifer Bruton Jennifer Torres Megan Burkes Lisa and Greg Vickers Julia Chaffin Jacqueline and Michael Vlaming Dr. Douglas B. Chambers Brittney Westbrook Ron and Margaret Chapman Aissa Wiggins Mitch and Marcia B. Cochran Larry G. Williamson Jacob Cotton Jennifer Courts FRIEND - $50 LuAnn Knight Crenshaw Michael Aderibigbe Alice Crotwell Nikki Acord Dr. and Mrs. Randall Currie Kimberly Ainsworth Jay Dean and Maryann Kyle Dr. Jenna and Mr. Daniel Barton in memory of Jack and Sara Dean Richard Edward Beckford Jerry and Bethanie DeFatta Chris and Elizabeth Bedenbaugh Andrew Dews Drs. Joshua and Diana Bernstein Steven Ferrell Cindy Bivins Carol and Gardner Fletcher Day Bookout Andrea Ford Dr. Cherie and Mr. Lance Bowe Gary Fordham Chris and Lisa Bowen Nancy Guice Dr. and Mrs. Bob Brahan in memory of Dr. John D. W. Guice Rashonda Brown-Hughes Barbara Hamilton Joe Brumbeloe Benjamin Hardy William Byars Dr. and Mrs. Robert Heath Kathy and Ben Carmichael in honor of Sarah K. Heath Matthew Casey John and Susan Howell Dr. Adam Clay Elizabeth Hughes Jim and Deedré Coll Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Johnson Darcie Conrad Rosi and Dex Johnson Brooke Cruthirds Ivonne Kawas Drs. J.P. and Lisa Culpepper Debbie Killen John Cummings Mike and Linda Kuykendall Mr. and Mrs. Charles Daughdrill Marcia M. Landen Melissa Jean David Mr. John Logan Becky Pruett Denham Melinda and Alan Lucas Dannika Dewhurst Marcos Machado Diane Dobson Beth Mayo Jamison Steve and Mary Dryden Milo and Jackie McCarthy Helen Edwards Ellen McKenzie Kelly Ellis Bebe McLeod and Bill McLeod Elissa Ernst in memory of Dr. John A. McLeod III Carol and Gardner Fletcher Larry and Margaret McMahan Barbara Jane Foote Kathy J. Cornelius McMahon David Fortenberry in honor of Kate Smith Olivia Clare Friedman Bill McHugh Emily Jane Gallaspy Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Messer Jr. Monika Gehlawat in honor of Dr. Mike Lopinto Heather and Ken Graves John and Louise Meyer in memory of Robert Jeremy Lespi Astrid Mussiett Jeff Greene in memory of Gladys S. Mussiett Bruno D. Griffin Heath Nobles Julie Hammond Dr. Francis Laatsch and Susan Reiter George and Diana Hardin Bill and Martha Resavy Anita Hearon Ben and Jackie McIlwain Frances B. Hegwood Danilo Mezzadri Brenda Hesselgrave Dr. Mark Miller Marsha Hester Deborah and Steve Moore Dr. Eddie and Sarah Holloway John Mullins Dale and Emily Holmes in honor of Jim Meade Wanda J. Howard Mr. and Mrs. Hal E. Odom in memory of Mrs. Beth Curlee Dr. Roderick and Eula Posey Dr. Luis A. Iglesias Bob and Betty Press Casey Jarman Ellen Price-Elder Cheryl D. Jenkins Charles and Anita Price Jane W. Jones Jann and George Puckett Lisa Jones in honor of DeAnna Douglas Nicolle Jordan and Thomas O’Brien Louis N. Rackoff and Elizabeth Slaby Dr. and Mrs. Charles Junek Mr. and Mrs. William K. Ray Kailey Kemp Bill and Martha Resavy Penny and Gene Kochtitzky Sherrie Mitchell Richmond Lorinda Krhut Mark Rigsby and Melanie Eubanks Wendy Kulzer Marc Edward Rivet Capt. Karl Langenbach III Barbara Ann Ross in memory of Betty Langenbach Ellen Ruffin Karen LeBeau David Sliman Kelly Ferris Lester Tayvi Smith Linde and Jeff Lynn Jessica Magee
Tammy Martin Kelli McCloskey Robert Angus McTyre Barry Monday Kristie Murphy Christa Nelson Chuck Nestor in memory of Dr. Charles Nestor Sr. Katherine Olexa Kathy Owens Robert Pierce Peter and Kathy Pikul Amy Rogers Pelton in memory of Betty C. Rogers Morris James Pettis in memory of Linda C. Pettis Charles and Nellie Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Zeke W. Powell Jr. Ashley Price Charles Ray Julie Reid Barbara L. Ross Dr. Alexander Russakovsky Bill and Rosalie Schoell Elizabeth and Scott Schwartz Chris and Allie Seay Linda Seifert Erin Sessions Jae-Hwa Shin Valerie C. Simmons Ken and Carol Simpson Dana William Skelton Carroll and Dura Smith Blaise Sonnier Rebecca G. Stark Edward N. Stephens William K. Stevens Kenneth and Virginia Stevens Lorraine A. Stuart David and Katie Sullivan Dr. Timothy J. Tesh Hayden Tharpe Gabby Theriot Janet and Pat Tidmore David Tisdale Susannah J. Ural and John Rasberry in memory of Dr. William F. Ural Krystyna Varnado Betty Lynn and Joe Ed Varner in memory of Virginia H. Culpepper Lee Anne Venable Cathy Gulli Ventura Mr. and Mrs. Blake Weathersby Kisha Welford Anne G. Wilkins in memory of Bert Wilkins Cory R. Williams Alehandro Wooten Christine Wooton Dr. John Wooton As of July 21, 2023
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C ontinue yourVoyage! Holiday C horal Spectacular Tuesday, November, 28, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, November 30, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. Main Street Baptist Church
Madrid to Rome Thursday, February 22, 2024 - 7:30 p.m.
Invite a friend to join you on this fantastic musical voyage! TICKETS usm.edu/symphony
Bennett Auditorium
The Titan
Saturday, April 27, 2024 - 7:30 p.m. Bennett Auditorium
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