Symposium of Contemporary Music, 2007

Illinois Wesleyan University

SCHOOL OF MUSIC presents

OF

David Vayo, Director

Featured Guest

STEPHEN

PAULUS

composer Tuesday, February 6, 2007 Westbrook Auditorium

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Co-sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council, Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Mu Alpha, and Delta Omicron

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Symposium of Contemporary Music 2007 Tuesday, February 6

4:00PM PANEL DISCUSSION

State of the Art: Winds of Change in the Music World Stephen Paulus Fred Miller, Associate Vice President for Information Technology Mario J.Pelusi, Director of the School of Music David Vayo, Professor of Composition and Theory

8:00 PM CONCERT

. Music of Stephen. Paulus Remarks by Mr. Paulus

from Erotic Spirits How Sweet Late Evening Sheerya Shivers, soprano Paul Caracciolo, piano

All Things are Passing Collegiate Choir J.Scott Ferguson, Director

Exotic Etudes Energetic Dark and Austere Shimmering Melodious Vibrant Vadim Mazo, violin Lisa Nelson, viola Amy Flores, violoncello R. Kent Cook, piano Michael Hall, solo viola

Intermission (Program continues on the following page)

IWU Opera Theatre and Orchestra Dr.Linda J Farquharson, Director of Opera and Conductor In collaboration with Co-Choir, Dr.Scott Ferguson, conductor

C{;;he C{;;hue g7-teunits Presented in Concert Style, as Requested by the Composer

An Opera in One Act Libretto by Michael Dennis Browne after a short story by Leo Tolstoy

Scene One On board a ship on the White Sea in Northern Russia in the 1880's.The ship is traveling from Archangel to the Solovetsk monastery.Among the travelers are a bishop, his mother, two companion nuns, and a band of pilgrims.The time is dawn.

Scene Two On a remote island inhabited by the three hermits, and also on board the ship.

Scene Three Back on board the ship.Night time.

Cast: James Hornor .............Bishop

Dan Cox .............First Hermit

Ariana Strahl .............Mother Melissa McMahan ..Sister Angelica

James Stoia ..........Third Hermit

Christine White .....Sister Miriam

Kate Tombaugh ........Pilgrim

#1

Dennis Gotkowski ......Fisherman

Justin Holloway ........Pilgrim

#2

Sam Nelson ........Second Hermit

Stuart Seale ..............Captain

Production Staff: Phyllis Fitch ........................... ......... Rehearsal Accompanist Dennis Gotkowski .................................Assistant Conductor Alicia Brown ..............................Assistant to Dr.Farquharson Ariana Strahl ..............................Assistant to Dr.Farquharson

Following the program, the audience is invited to a reception in the Presser Hall reception room, courtesy of Delta Omicron and Phi Mu Alpha.

This program is presented as part of the IWU New Music Series

A Note from the Symposium Director One of the goals of the IWU New Music Series in general, and the Symposium of Contemporary Music in particular, is to involve students directly in performing new compositions. I am especially interested in includ­ ing the School of Music's ensembles in the Symposium, in order to give as many students as possible this invaluable experience. Over the years our choirs and Wind Ensemble have had the most regular opportunities to perform the music of Symposium guest composers, but recently some of our other groups have had their chance to shine. Two years ago, when noted jazz composer Vince Mendoza was our guest, we finally had a chance to feature the Jazz Ensemble, something that "Doc " Streeter and I had been wanting for many years. Likewise, Prof Linda Farquharson and I have been waiting patiently for an opportunity to present a contemporary opera on a Symposium program, and this year all of the stars aligned. Tonight, the IWU Opera Theatre, under Prof. Farquharson's leadership, graces the Symposium stage for the first time in re<;ent memory, performing a work by one of the foremost contemporary American opera composers.

Stephen Paulus is no stranger to our campus. In 2004, he was the Collegiate Choir's commissioned composer, and came to Bloomington that December to hear the premiere of his A Babe is Born during the holiday choral concert. His local fan base from that visit will undoubtedly grow substantially during tonight's concert.

-David Vayo

Stephen Paulus Composer Stephen Paulus has been hailed as "...a bright, fluent inventor with a ready lyric gift." (The New Yorker) His prolific output of more than two hundred works is represented in many genres, including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard and opera. Commissions have been received from the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, T he Houston Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, with subsequent performances by the orchestras of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Radio Orchestra. He has served as Composer in Residence for the orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Tucson and Annapolis, and his works have been championed by such eminent conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohanyi, Leonard Slatkin, Yoel Levi, the late Robert Shaw, and numerous others.

Paulus has been commissioned to write works for some of the world's great solo artists, including Thomas Hampson, Hakan Hagegard, Doc Severinsen, William Preucil, Cynthia Phelps, Evelyn Lear, Leo Kottke and Robert McDuffie. Chamber music commissions have resulted in works for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Friends of Music at the Supreme Court, the Cleveland Quartet and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. He has been a featured guest composer at the festivals of Aspen, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, and, in the U.K., the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals.

As one of today's pre-eminent composers of opera, Paulus has written nine works for the dramatic stage. The Postman Always Rings Twice was the first American production to be presented at the Edinburgh Festival, and has received nine productions to date. Commissions and performances have come from such companies as the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Washington Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Berkshire Opera Company, Minnesota Opera, and Fort Worth Opera, among others, as well as many universities and colleges.

His choral works have been performed and recorded by some of the most distinguished choruses in the United States, including the New York Concert Singers, Dale Warland Singers, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, New Music Group of Philadelphia, Master Chorale of Washington DC, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and dozens of other professional, community, church and college choirs. He is one of the most frequently recorded contemporary composers with his music being represented on over fifty recordings.

A recipient of both Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, Paulus is also a strong advocate for the music of his colleagues. He is co-founder and a cur­ rent Board Vice President of the highly esteemed American Composers Forum, the largest composer service organization in the world. Paulus serves on the ASCAP Board of Directors as the Concert Music Representative, a post he has held since

1990.

Paulus' music has been described by critics and program annotators as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gor­ geous, moving, and uniquely American. He writes in a musical language that has been characterized as " ...irresistible in kinetic energy and haunting in lyrical design:' (Cleveland Plain Dealer) "Mr. Paulus often finds melodic pat­ terns that are fresh and familiar at the same time ....His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments:'

(The New York Times)

from Erotic Spirits III. How Sweet

VIII. Late Evening

Think how unspeakably sweet

Late evening finally comes:

the taste of snow at midsummer,

I unlatch the door

how sweet a kind spring breeze

and quietly await

after the gales of winter.

the one who greets me in my dreams.

But as we all discover,

-Otomo No Yakamochi

nothing's quite as sweet as one large cloak wrapped around two lovers.

-Asklepiados (ca. 320 BeE)

All Things are Passing Let nothing disturb thee, Nothing affright thee; All things are passing; God never changeth; Patient endurance Attaineth to all things; Who God possesseth In nothing is wanting; Alone God sufficeth.

Teresa of Avila, Spanish,

( 15 15- 1582)

(7 18-785)

Exotic Etudes Exotic Etudes was commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club and premiered by Cynthia Phelps on March

12,2000

at the Tucson Chamber

Music Festival. The work is an abstract instrumental character sketch casting the viola as soloist in a sort of quasi concerto - the viola as a character with distinct personality accompanied by violin, viola, cello and piano. Movement titles suggest an interesting, quilt-like work with balance, variety, and a con足 trast.

Contemporary techniques (pizzicate, angular melodies, mixed meters and unusual instrumental positionings) test the musicality and agility of the per足 formers. I see each instrument as being of equal importance in their contri足 bution to the work as a whole, while still allowing the soloist moments of prominence that highlight the solo viola.

Each of the first four movements begins with a duet between the soloist and one of the "quartet players. In the spirit of camaraderie, the opening movement begins with a spirited duet between the two violists. The second movement explores the dark instrumental color possibilities of both cello and viola. The third movement capitalizes on the piano's ability to create a shimmering sound.Movement four plays to the violin's melodic and lyrical strength. All players join in from the beginning in the final movement. In effect, each member of the quartet has introduced itself to the viola, empha足 sizing a particular quality of each instrument.

-Stephen Paulus

Epigraph "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him:' -Matthew, vi. 7,8

Synopsis A bishop, accompanied by his mother and two nuns, is traveling on a ship across the White Sea in Russia. Many pilgrims are also on board. Hearing a fisherman tell of three strange old hermits who live on a remote island, the bishop resolves to go there and deliver some religious instruction to them.After being rowed ashore, the bishop spends the entire day on the island teaching the Lord's Prayer to the hermits, who have considerable difficulty learning it. Finally satisfied that he has done God's work, the bishop is rowed back to the ship at day's end and sails away from the island.

As the moon shines over the water and the bishop is sitting on deck with his mother, she notices a disturbance behind them on the water. It turns out to be the three hermits, who are running over the water toward them.

When the hermits arrive, they apologize to the bishop for having forgotten the words of the Lord's Prayer after "Who art in heaven:' Chastened, the bishop assures the old men that the way they choose to pray is well-loved

by God. The hermits then turn and run back over the water. The last words we hear are those of their original prayer. "Three are Ye; three are we; have mercy on us!"

Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra Dr. J. Scott Ferguson, Director and Conductor

SOPRANO

Elizabeth Crutcher

Kevin Lundgren

Ingrid Blomquist

Ella Hays

Jeremy Pease

Angela Born

Amber Johnson

Derek Schmidt

Amanda Compton

Kathryn Lachey

James Stoia

Natalie Cummings

Beth Lanza

Anya Fetcher

Angela Latkowski

BASS

Sarah Kedzie

Emily Meade

Sara Longtin

Eugenia Siegel

Donovan Davis Eric Diaz Mike Duback

Aislinn Lowry

Kate Tombaugh

Caitlin Ludwig

Laura Murray

Alaina Marth

TENOR

James Hornor

Jack Bentley

Jeremy Kings

Melissa McMahan Emma Rhine Elizabeth Tuazon Christine White

Lucas Gullickson Chris Hatfield

Paul Cochran

Andrew LaDolce

Dan Cox

Stuart Seale

William Dwyer

Jon Sestak

Dennis Gotkowski

Paul Teipe

Natalie Boccumini

Justin Holloway

David Wendler

Julie Boyer

Benjamin Johnson

ALTO

Amelia Ciskey

Andrew Keller

Erin Crawley

Matthew LoPresti

Opera Orchestra Dr. Linda J. Farquharson, Director and Conductor

VIOLIN I

CELLO

CLARINET

Greg Donahue

Evan Lowery

Katrina Stansbury

VIOLIN II

STRING BASS

ORGAN

Jennifer A. Hjelmberg

Eric Malmquist

Phyllis Fitch

Heather DeLong

FLUTE

HARP

VIOLA

Amanda Fuerst

William West

OBOE

PERCUSSION

Evan Tammen

Brad Meyer

Sarah M. Cornish Molly Price

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Guest Composers â&#x20AC;˘ Performers â&#x20AC;˘ Scholars 1952-200 7 1952: Earl George, Grant Fletcher, Burrill Phillips

1979: Leonard B. Meyer 1981: Walter S. Hartley

1953: Anthony Donato, Homer Keller

1982: David Ward-Steinman

1954: Normand Lockwood, Robert Palmer

1983: George Crumb Concert

1955: Wallingford Riegger, Peter Mel1l1in 1956: Hunter Johnson, Ulysses Kay 1957: Ernst Krenek, William Bergsma 1958: Aaron Copland 1959: Paul Pisk, George Rochberg 1960: Roy Harris 1962: Robert Erickson, George Rochberg, Glenn Glasow 1963: Robert Wykes, Alabama String Quartet 1964: Robert Wykes, E. J. Ulrich, Salvatore Martirano, Herbert Briin, Ben Johnston 1966: Louis Coyner, Edwin Harkins, Philip Winsor, Edwin London

1984: Robert Bankert, Abram M. Plum, R. Bedford Watkins 1985: Michael Schelle 1986: Jean Eichelberger Ivey 1987: Jan Bach 1988: John Beall 1989: Hale Smith 1990: Karel Husa 1991: Alice Parker 1993: (Spring) Alexander Aslamazov 1993: (Fall) Leslie Bassett, John Crawford (Society of Composers, Inc. Region 5 Conference) 1995: David Diamond 1996: Morton Gould Memorial Concert 1997: Joseph Schwantner

1967: Frederick Tillis, George Crumb

1998: Arvo Part

1968: lain Hamilton

1999: John Corigliano

1969: The Loop Group, DePaul University

2000: Libby Larsen

1970: Halim EI-Dabh, Oily Wilson

2002: Present Music

1971: Edward J. Miller

2003: Mario Lavista, Carmen Helena Tellez

1972: Stravinsky Memorial Concert 1973: Courtney Cox, Phil Wilson 1974: Scott Huston 1975: David Ward-Steinman 1976: Donald Erb 1977: Lou Harrison, Ezra Sims 1978: M. William Karlins

2001: William Bolcom, Joan Morris

2004: Louis Andriessen, James Quandt, Monica Germino, Cristina Zavalloni 2005: Vince Mendoza 2006: New York New Music Ensemble 2007: Stephen Paulus