follows the tragic plight of a fisherman whose apprentices die one after another, turning the village's inhabitants against him. Britten wrote six interludes to accompany the scene changes, taking the listener through place and time: from night to day; from courtroom, to pub, to desolate shore. He later published Op. 33a as an independent suite comprised of four of these interludes: "Dawn," "Sunday Morning," "Moonlight," and "Storm." Britten conducted the premiere of the suite in 1945 in Cheltenham, England. Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) In December of 1907, a 35-year-old Ralph Vaughan Williams checked into the oddly named Hôtel de l'Univers et du Portugal in Paris. After studying with Max Bruch in Berlin and being refused as a student by Edward Elgar, he was ready to add a little texture into a style he felt needed some 'French polish.' The rooms were not entirely comfortable, the hotel was small, but they allowed him to visit his new teacher Maurice Ravel four or five times a week for lessons. Ravel was known to be an exacting teacher — he accepted few students — but the experience was transformative for the young Englishman: the French maître taught him to, in Vaughan Williams' own words, "orchestrate in points of colour rather than in lines" (not to mention how to dine — and visit a brothel — à la française). Three months later, back in England, Vaughan Williams would continue to chip away at A Sea Symphony, which he had started in 1903, finishing it in 1909. This first symphony (he would go on to compose nine) was inspired by the poems of Walt Whitman, whose work the composer discovered on recommendation by a friend, the philosopher Bertrand Russell. The symphony's text comprises stunning verses from several poems of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, abridged and woven into a rich tapestry for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra. Some see Ravel's influence in the finale ("The Explorers") — though the Frenchman would later deny his influence on his pupil, who since his apprenticeship had transformed into a friend: Ravel visited him in 1909, where the French gourmand was treated to steak and kidney pudding (he liked it). Vaughan Williams conducted A Sea Symphony for its debut performance on his 38th birthday on 12 October 1910. PROGRAM NOTES © JUN-LONG LEE (2025)
YUE BAO CONDUCTOR
KARINA GAUVIN SOPRANO
In recent seasons, Yue Bao has led some of the most esteemed orchestras in North America, including the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She has also conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, she made her debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra alongside cellist Jan Vogler and has worked with the Orchestra of St. Luke's featuring pianist Hélène Grimaud. This season, Yue returns to conduct the Munich Symphony Orchestra and makes her debut with the Nuremberg Symphoniker, the Santa Rosa Symphony, and the Oviedo Filarmonía. She has collaborated with leading soloists such as Pablo Ferrández, Vadim Gluzman, Bomsori, Ying Li, Hera Hyesang Park, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Chad Hoopes, and Stella Chen. A former Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Yue was also the David Effron Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Music Festival, where she returned as a guest conductor in 2022. She earned her Post-Baccalaureate Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music as the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and holds dual Bachelor's degrees in orchestral conducting and opera accompanying from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, as well as a Master's in orchestral conducting from the Mannes School of Music. She previously served as the Ting Tsung and Wei Fung Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor at the Houston Symphony. This concert marks her return to the Calgary Philharmonic.
Recognized for her work in the baroque repertoire, Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin sings Gustav Mahler, Benjamin Britten, and the music of the late 20th and 21st centuries with equal success. She has received prestigious distinctions, including the title of Soloist of the Year awarded by the Communauté internationale des radios publiques de langue française, First Prize in the CBC Radio competition for young performers, and the Virginia Parker Prize and Maggie Teyte Memorial Prize in London. Karina has sung with the world's greatest symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and San Francisco Symphony. She has performed under the direction of Charles Dutoit, Bernard Labadie, Kent Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Roger Norrington, Masaaki Suzuki, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Karina has an extensive discography — over 30 titles — and has won numerous awards, including a Chamber Music America Award and several Opus Prizes.
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