Fall 2014 HarrisburgSymphony.org
FANFARE HARRISBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | STUART MALINA, MUSIC DIRECTOR
CONTENTS On the cover: HSO Musicians performing Sci-Fi: Feel the Force in April 2013 with the 501st Legion: Vader’s Fist
__ 2
3
Fall 2014
Little Scholar Program for Kids Stuart “Sets the Season” at Midtown Scholar
Season of Anniversaries
Clarinetist Christopher Grymes to Put On Clinic
Jeremy Gill World Premiere Coming in November
Symphony Society Musicale
“Feel the Force” in Season Opening Pops
5
Symphony Society Bus Trip to NYC
Did You Know?
6
Youth Symphony Ensembles Attract the Best and Brightest
HSO Musical Chairs program targets our youngest patrons
Young Person’s Concerts in 2014-15
7
Bring a Group to the Symphony and SAVE!
HSO Muscians 8-11 Updates on what our HSO Musicians did over the summer
Harrisburg Symphony Society
12
From the Harrisburg Symphony Society Symphony Society Showhouse Coming in 2015
HSO Recap
13
Gregory Woodbridge Assistant Conductor
Susan Klick
Director of Operations and Orchestra Personnel
Leann Currie
Assistant Personnel Manager & Librarian
Ted Reese
Director of Development
Kimberly Keller
Development Associate
Kim Isenhour
Director of Marketing, PR and Graphic Design
Alice Anne Schwab
Director of Education and Office Manager
Michael Murray Director of Finance
Patrick Wallen
Patron Services Manager
Tom Acri
Stage Manager
Pasquale Fera
Assistant Stage Manager
Tristan Stasiulis Lighting Designer
YOUTH SYMPHONY Gregory Woodbridge
Music Director/Conductor, HSYO
Krista Kriel
Conductor, JYSO
Alice Anne Schwab Administrator, HSYO
800 Corporate Circle, Suite 101 Harrisburg, PA 17110 Phone: 717.545.5527 HarrisburgSymphony.org
Youth Symphony Collaborated with CPYB
HSO ON THE AIR
Record Crowds at HSO Summer Concerts
14
Music Director
Jeff Woodruff
4
Stuart Malina
Executive Director
Mark Your Calendar
HSO STAFF
HSO Donors Meet the McCormick Challenge!
Traveling with the Maestro!
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The official registration and financial information of the Harrisburg Symphony Association may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within PA, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Little Scholar Program for Kids September 27
Bring the kids and/or grandkids on Saturday, September 27th, to Harrisburg’s Midtown Scholar’s program at The Little Scholar for young people at 11:00 am. HSO oboist Jill (Marchione) Hoffman
will be on hand to demonstrate her dramatic “double reed” instrument to the children (and accompanying parents and grandparents) and the HSO’s Education Committee will have a fun craft for the kids to make and take home. This Saturday morning program at The Little Scholar is free!
Stuart “Sets the Season” at Midtown Scholar September 30 Get a jump on 2014-15 programming when Stuart Malina “Sets the Season” at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore. This fun and informative preview of the upcoming concert season will take place on Tuesday, September 30 starting at 7:00 pm. If you’ve heard Stuart do this presentation before, you know how engaging he can be as he talks about the upcoming season’s programs, interspersed with recorded excerpts from the various pieces that will be performed. Why not bring a friend? Stuart Sets the Season is free and seating is first come, first served.
Season of Anniversaries October 18-19 Stuart Malina will mark a pair of anniversaries when he opens the Harrisburg Symphony’s 2014-15 Season with an all-Beethoven program on October 18-19. The HSO will be celebrating its 85th season and the Maestro will be embarking on his 15th year as the orchestra’s music director. The Beethoven program will include the 4th Piano Concerto and the Symphony No. 3, the great Eroica Symphony. The soloist in the concerto will be the Israeli pianist, Alon Goldstein. Mr. Goldstein also opened the HSO’s 2012-13 season, when he performed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Beethoven’s Eroica, composed in 1804-05, is the trail blazing symphony that ushered in the Romantic era in music. Bolder and grander than anything that had come before it, the Eroica Symphony was a game changer that redefined the symphony for the coming 19th century and beyond. The 4th Piano Concerto, written a couple years after the symphony, was performed at the now-famous marathon concert given in Vienna on December 22, 1808 that also included the Choral Fantasy and the premieres of the 5th and 6th Symphonies! Alon Goldstein
What is best in music is not to be found in the notes. ~ Gustav Mahler
__ 3
Clarinetist Christopher Grymes to Put On Clinic November 5 Each season the HSO’s Education Committee presents opportunities for the community to learn more about orchestral music. This fall, on Wednesday, November 5, clarinetist Christopher Grymes will present a clinic geared toward woodwind players but open to all at Messiah College’s Recital Hall in the new High Center. Join Chris as he demonstrates how to record several tracks of music and then replay them, adding a live clarinet performance to the mix. Clearly a classic clarinet clinic! Contact Alice Anne Schwab, aschwab@harrisburgsymphony.org, for more information and to learn how you may attend.
Jeremy Gill World Premiere Coming in November The HSO will present a world premiere at the Masterworks Concerts on November 8-9 when clarinetist November 8-9
Christopher Grymes will perform a new clarinet concerto, entitled Notturno Concertante, by Jeremy Gill. The concerto was commissioned by the Lois Lehrman Grass Foundation.
Jeremy Gill was born in Harrisburg in 1975 and attended Red Land High School. He studied oboe, piano and composition before enrolling at the Eastman School of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition with high distinction in 1996. He earned his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania four years later. His teachers include some of America’s foremost composers: George Crumb, George Rochberg, Joseph Schwantner, Christopher Rouse, Donald Erb and Samuel Adler. Gill has taught at West Chester University, Messiah College and Temple University, and he is currently Visiting Associate Professor of Music at Dickinson College in Carlisle. He has also served as Assistant to the Conductor (1996-2002) and Composer-in-Residence (2002-2003) with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and held additional residencies with the Dalí Quartet Chamber Music Camp and Festival, Newburyport Chamber Music Festival and MacDowell Colony. As the composer of a rapidly expanding and widely performed catalog of works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir and solo voice, Jeremy Gill has received commissions from the American Guild of Organists, Chamber Music America, Concert Artists Guild, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Harrisburg Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Market Square Concerts, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Network for New Music and other noted organizations and soloists. Among his awards and grants are those from BMI, ASCAP, the League of American Orchestras and Meet the Composer. Two recordings of his chamber music have been released on the Albany Records label.
Symphony Society Musicale November 9 The Harrisburg Symphony Society will hold its annual Musicale on Sunday, November 9. This year the guest artist will be clarinetist Christopher Grymes. The Musicale will be held at Orchard Hill, the lovely home of Messiah College President, Kim Phipps. Following a champagne reception, Chris will perform with Maestro Malina accompanying on the piano. This delightful program will be followed by a luncheon prepared by Messiah’s Executive Chef, Percell Green. Tickets for the Musicale may be purchased for $100.00 each by contacting the Symphony Society at (717) 612-4970 or by sending a check to the Harrisburg Symphony Society, attn. Carole DeSoto, 800 Corporate Circle, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17110. Don’t delay, space is limited!
“Feel the Force” in Season Opening Pops November 22-23 The HSO invites you to again “feel the force” as we take you on a journey through space and time in a program of sweeping themes and dynamic suites from favorite sci-fi classics. You’ll hear music from Jurassic Park, Aliens, Night at the Museum, Back to the Future III, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and of course Star Trek and Star Wars. Many of your favorite Star Wars characters from the 501st Legion will again “invade” the Forum in a final showdown with the Maestro and his musicians. Bring the family, there will be photo ops outside the Forum prior to each concert.
Symphony Society Bus Trip to NYC December 3 The Harrisburg Symphony Society is organizing another bus trip to NYC! The holiday season in New York is always magical and we invite you to ride in comfort and enjoy a day of shopping and exploring in the “Big Apple.” The date is Wednesday, December 3. For more information call the Symphony Society at (717) 612-4970.
__ 5
DID YOU KNOW?
Youth Symphony Ensembles Attract the Best and Brightest The Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestras are among the oldest continuously operating youth orchestras in the U.S. The Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra (HSYO), conducted by their Music Director and HSO Assistant Conductor, Gregory Woodbridge, is comprised of high school age musicians playing all orchestral instruments. The Junior Youth String Orchestra (JYSO), a strings-only orchestra for student musicians grades 6-9, is conducted by Krista Kriel. Admission to both ensembles is by rigorous audition. The ensembles enjoy a special relationship with the professionals of the Harrisburg Symphony, many of whom fine tune the skills and musicianship of the young musicians by providing periodic coaching sessions throughout the season. The HSYO and JYSO will perform three concerts at the Forum during the 2014-15 season:
Monday, November 17, 2014 at 7:00 pm Monday, February 23, 2015 at 7:00 pm Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 3:00 pm Tickets for the above concerts are priced at $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for students and are available on the HarrisburgSymphony.org website. Both the HSYO and the JYSO will also perform in downtown Harrisburg in the Strawberry Square Atrium for the annual Play-a-Thon fundraising concert on Saturday, December 13 at 12 noon. Admission is free. For questions regarding the HSYOs please contact Alice Anne Schwab aschwab@harrisburgsymphony. org or (717) 612-4965.
HSO Musical Chairs program targets our youngest patrons Musical Chairs is the HSO’s deeply discounted Masterworks Series subscription specially targeted to families with students in grades K-12. The HSO believes that the future of classical music is most secure when we have a healthy developing audience. For just $42.00 per subscription, qualifying families may enjoy all seven concerts that comprise the 2014-15 Masterworks season. That’s just $6.00 per ticket per concert! All students K-12 and their parents are eligible to apply. If you or someone you know is an eligible Musical Chairs family, a downloadable application is available on our website, HarrisburgSymphony.org, or call the HSO office for more information. An added benefit for Musical Chairs families is our Welcome to the Concert program, geared toward concert goers in grades K-8. Starting 45 minutes prior to each Masterworks concert (Saturdays at 7:15 and Sundays at 2:15) Musical Chairs families can meet HSO Education volunteers in the Forum Lobby for fun, interactive, educational activities related to that particular Masterworks program. Students will have the opportunity to meet HSO musicians and guest artists, make music-related crafts, and learn about the music they are about to hear. The Welcome to the Concert activities are free to all Masterworks ticket holders. Please note that Musical Chairs seating is limited and seating is on a first come, first served basis. October 1, 2014 is the deadline for Musical Chairs applications for the 2014-15 __ season. Visit www.HarrisburgSymphony.org/Musical_Chairs_Application__pdf_.pdf.
6
Young Person’s Concerts in 2014-15
The Harrisburg Symphony’s Young Person’s Concerts (YPCs) are presented in the fall and spring of each season for the benefit of school age children attending with their teachers/mentors. Designed for students in grades 3-8, these 45 minute school day performances meet the national and Pennsylvania music standards. All YPCs take place at the Forum in Harrisburg. For the 2014-15 season the HSO will perform YPCs on Friday, November 7 and Friday, May 15 at 10:00 am and at 11:30 am. The 10:00 am performance is strictly reserved for student groups attending by bus. The 11:30 am performance is open to both bus and walking/driving groups. Teachers or mentors must sign up online for YPC attendance www.HarrisburgSymphony.org/YPC.html. YPC performances are free for school age groups and their attending teachers/chaperones/mentors. Each seat of the newly renovated Forum is assigned in advance of each YPC and thus, pre-registration is required. The 2014-15 programs: On November 7, Stuart Malina and the HSO will explore music inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The orchestra will perform several movements from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet as well as the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant 20th century adaptation of the play. On May 15, the YPC takes an exciting turn as members of the HSO and the Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra (HSYO) perform the Carnegie Hall Link-Up “The Orchestra Sings” program. Students are invited to participate in this interactive orchestra experience by singing (or playing their recorder) along with the orchestra at select guided intervals during the performance. YPCs are available at no charge to pre-registered school groups.
You may register now for the 2014-15 season at www.HarrisburgSymphony.org/YPC.html. For additional information on the HSO’s YPCs contact Alice Anne Schwab at aschwab@harrisburgsymphony.org or at (717) 612-4965.
Bring a Group to the Symphony and SAVE! There are many advantages to attending the Symphony as part of a group. If you have ten (10) or more people, you qualify for all the perks that come with group sales, including… • A generous discount on ticket prices. Plus, with the purchase of at least ten tickets, we include an additional FREE ticket for the group coordinator. • If we know about your group, we’ll welcome you on a slide projected above the stage prior to the concert. • Personalized service – just call the HSO office at 717-545-5527 for help organizing your visit.
__ 7
HSO MUSICIANS
Leise Ballou – Second Horn Leise and trumpeter husband Dave Ballou played a series of jazz concerts this summer with a nine-piece band fronted by the great jazz bassist Mario Pavone. The group, featured on the front page of the ARTS section in the New York Times, played 5 concerts, including two at the Cornelia St. Café in NYC, and culminating in a performance at the Litchfield jazz festival in Litchfield CT. “I had a blast! I was a wee bit out of my comfort zone - I even played a solo! but I had a really REALLY fun time! I’m a jazzer!!!!!” Link to a NY Times article about the group and its concerts, with photo of Leise: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/nyregion/ postwar-melodies-through-an-abstract-lens.html?_r=1
Photo Credit: Emon Hassan
Jan Regan/The Philadelphia Orchestra Association The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2014 Tour of Asia and China Residency
Susan Aquila – Violin II
Sara Cyrus – HSO Principal Horn
Susan continues to garner more and more national attention and recognition in the rock and jazz worlds! She is now #4 on ReverbNation’s top ten Rock Artists trending out of New York!!! (Help her get to number one by visiting her page at ReverbNation!) Her brand-new CD, ‘Broken Angel’, has received SIX Grammy Nominations: ** Susan Aquila - Best New Artist of 2014 ** Best Rock Album of 2014 for ‘Broken Angel’ ** Best Engineer – Jason Zarnowski of T. V. R. Recording Studios ** Best Vocal and Instrumental Arrangement – Rob Tomaro for ‘Broken Angel’ ** Best Vocal and Instrumental Arrangement – Rob Tomaro for ‘Things Will Go Your Way’ ** Best Jazz Solo – Susan Aquila for ‘Voodoo Dog’ ‘Broken Angel’ can be downloaded at iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon and other digital outlets.
Sara was invited to play with The Philadelphia Orchestra in May and June on the famed orchestra’s three-week long 2014 Tour of Asia and China Residency. Here’s a wonderful photo of Sara playing with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra Horn Section outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in Macau. Note the novel sun-shields for each musician! http://mobile.philly.com/news/nation_world/?wss=/philly/ news/nation_world&id=261400381&
Evelyn Estava – First Violin
__ 8
Evelyn performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in May with the New Sussex Symphony in NJ. Evelyn and violinist/conductor husband Michael Avagliano (also a frequent HSO violin sub) are founding members of the Madison Quartet. The quartet celebrated its seventh year of residency at the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra’s Summer Music festival in Alaska. Evelyn commented: “It was an incredibly exhilarating summer!”
Alice Bish – Viola
Rómulo Benavides - Violin I Daughter #2, Annette Benavides, was born July 23rd at 2:58 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches tall. Both daughters “have tons of sweetness…a great joy! Thanks to everybody in the magnificent Harrisburg Symphony for the warmth and understanding in beautiful moments like this one.”
Jill Marchione – Oboe/English horn Congratulations to Jill Marchione who married Jim Hoffmann on August 10, 2014.
Alice spent her summer knitting, a favorite hobby she has little time to enjoy during the concert season. She also trained for and ran her first 5K race and performed as a member of the Shippensburg Festival Orchestra in her first staged opera (Beethoven’s Fidelio).
Duane and Karen Botterbusch – Bass and Flute/Piccolo Karen and Duane Botterbusch spent 2 weeks in June on a Baltic Cruise. A highlight of the trip was seeing Swan Lake at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory Theater. During the summer both musicians played 3 weeks with the Shippensburg Festival Orchestra at the Luhrs Center. Duane also taught bass and conducted at the annual string orchestra camp at Messiah College. The summer rounded out with a wedding in Michigan and a grandchild visit in California. September brings an all-Mahler concert with the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra.
Liz Callahan – English horn
Eric Henry – Principal Tuba
Liz and husband Mike Callahan welcomed their first child, baby Zoey, on June 15, 2014. Zoey weighed 8 pounds and measured 20 inches in length. Liz is taking a first-year-momadjustment leave this season, but plans to travel from her home in Michigan to Harrisburg next season, with baby Zoey in tow.
Congratulations are in order for Eric, who graduated in May from the Virginia Theological Seminary with a Masters in Christian Education. He is continuing his studies and work toward Ordination to the Deaconate in the Episcopal Church. Eric’s graduation date: June 2016, “if all goes well.”
__ 9
Linda Farrell – Second Clarinet Linda, who retired in 2013 as HSO Librarian after 34 years on the job, enjoyed her first summer without librarian duties! Rather than spend her time preparing music for the upcoming season, she instead prepared for an October Cruise to Cape Canaveral, Key West, Nassau, and Coco Cay. Linda was also able to vacation with family and take in a show at the Kennedy Center “without guilt.” The Board of Directors of the Major Orchestra Librarian’s Association recently recognized Linda’s many years of service by granting her Emeritus Membership status in the organization. Congratulations Linda!
Cecee Pantikian – Violin I Cecee has been offered a oneyear contract with the Pittsburgh Symphony for the 2014-15 season. She will still travel to Harrisburg to play with the HSO when she can.
Katie Overfield-Zook – Assistant Principal Viola
Katie (on the left in the above photo) is a founding member of The Bloom Trio (violin, viola, cello) in Harrisonburg, VA, and has been busy preparing for the trio’s 3rd annual benefit recital this September for People Helping People, a local charity. The trio raised over $2,000 last year, and is “hoping to do even better this year!” Katie is a part-time instructor of music theory at James Madison University School of Music in Harrisonburg.
Geoff Pilkington – HSO Associate Principal Horn
Daniel Pereira – Cello Daniel Pereira has been subbing with the Cleveland Orchestra since 2006. He is currently on his fourth European Tour with the Cleveland Orchestra September 4 - 24, 2014.
This past spring Geoff won the Principal Horn audition for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He will still travel to Harrisburg to play with the HSO when his schedule permits.
Chris Rose – Principal Percussion __ 10
Chris, who performed Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto with the HSO last May, will perform the concerto again this November 15th with the Erie Philharmonic. Says Chris: “So excited that I can get some mileage out of it.”
Nicole Sharlow – Principal Second Violin Nicole spent the summer playing Chamber Music in residence at the Quisisana Resort in Maine. She also had the privilege of playing VIOLA (!) in the Mozart C Major Viola Quintet with Peter Sirotin in the Market Square Concerts Summermusic series in July. “It was a blast!” said Nicole.
Peter Sirotin - Concertmaster Any reading of Peter Sirotin’s activities always leaves one feeling exhausted. Peter performed three different chamber music programs over the course of six days in July as part of Market Square Concerts Summermusic 2014. Peter joined Stuart Malina at the piano and some wonderful musicians from Russia, Canada, Australia, US, Ukraine and Taiwan. Some of the concert recordings can be viewed at Market Square Concerts new Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCFZEwy5NcdpyX5-QgEXzdEA. This summer Peter also finished recording the complete Haydn Piano Trios for Centaur Records with the Mendelssohn Piano Trio, which includes his wife, pianist Ya-Ting Chang, and HSO’s principal cellist, Fiona Thompson. This has been a five-year, eight-CD project that brought the total count of their recordings to fifteen. The trio also recently played its 500th concert together and is looking forward to playing a dozen more in DC, MD, PA, NC and SC in the next few months. In August, the Mendelssohn Piano Trio held its 8th annual “Chamber Music in Grantham” festival at Messiah College. We invite you to visit Peter’s new website and blog: www.petersirotin.com.
Phil Snedecor – Principal Trumpet Phil is beginning his second year on the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and will be leading the conservatory’s brass ensemble beginning this fall semester. Starting November 15, Phil will be playing regularly with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, filling in for the second trumpet player, who is on leave. (Wife Beverly played Assistant Principal Flute regularly with the NSO last season). The NSO has given Phil the flexibility to still make the trip to Harrisburg this season to play some of our Masterworks Concerts. He’ll also be playing with the Pittsburgh ballet this season – typically, a very busy year for Phil!
__ 11
HARRISBURG SYMPHONY SOCIETY
From the Harrisburg Symphony Society I am very proud and honored to be the new President of the Harrisburg Symphony Society. This year the HSO is celebrating its 85th year of providing glorious music to Central Pennsylvania and the Symphony Society is celebrating 25 years of volunteering and supporting our orchestra. The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra has long held a special place in my heart. I remember spending many afternoons ‘volunteering’ as a young girl with my mother (Alicia Stine) in the office on Third Street in Harrisburg. Since those days, I have come to appreciate our HSO on a more personal level. There are days that I really feel that life would not be the same without this music. The symphony season may be just beginning, but the volunteers of the HSS have been hard at work all summer. Two upcoming events are our Annual Musicale on Sunday, November 9th and a “Do Your Own Thing” Bus Trip to New York City on Wednesday, December 3. And next May we’ll present our Designer Show House and Gardens. In between these events you can find our members volunteering at the Young Person’s Concerts and providing refreshments to the orchestra during rehearsals. If you are not already a member of the Harrisburg Symphony Society, please consider joining. Our monthly newsletters will keep you up to date on all of our fund and fun raising activities. If you need additional information, please call the HSS Hotline number 612-4970. Or feel free to contact me anytime at AnitaRash@comcast.net or 805-0669. Anita S. Rash President, Harrisburg Symphony Society
Symphony Society Showhouse Coming in 2015 The Harrisburg Symphony Society is pleased to announce that plans for the 2015 Symphony Society Showhouse and Gardens are well underway. Co-chairs Phyllis Mooney, Caren Schein and Debra Yates have assembled a dynamic group of committee chairs to lead this exciting fundraising endeavor. The 2015 Showhouse will take place at Lindenwood Farm, the beautiful home of the Simpson family in Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County.
Join the Harrisburg Symphony Society as we celebrate 25 years of promoting the growth and development of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. May 22 through June 14, 2015
LINDENWOOD
A Country Destination Presented by the Harrisburg Symphony Society To learn more about the Harrisburg Symphony Society or the Showhouse, visit www.harrisburgsymphony.org or www.symphonyhouse.org
The theme for the 2015 Showhouse is Lindenwood, A Country Destination. The idyllic property is a sophisticated escape from the city, a place where the owners entertain colleagues, friends, artists and musicians. Interesting and informative conversations abound. There are relaxing outdoor areas for friends to chat and contemplate the view. You may see an artist working on a canvas. Musicians are often heard in the music room entertaining guests. Noteworthy speakers come to engage visitors with tales of local history, literature and politics. The latest fashions are worn and showcased. There are always wonderful treats to sample and artisanal goods to be purchased. It is a place to come, linger, and relax. First documented in 1765, the property was used as a tannery by the Bryson family. The limestone for the home was quarried from the property and built in the 1860’s by William M. Watts. Later, it was rented to a number of prominent people, including Gov. Gifford Pinchot and Dr. Clyde L. King, Secretary of the Commonwealth. The house was purchased in 1944 by George A. B. Holder, President of Hershey Creamery and remained in the Holder family until 1962 when the Simpson family purchased the property. The house will be open to the public from May 22 - June 14, 2015. Further information about how you can become involved will be __ 12 available at the first Masterworks concerts on October 18-19 or by checking the symphony’s website, www.harrisburgsymphony.org.
HSO RECAPS
Youth Symphony Collaborates with CPYB On June 20 and 21, 2014, a select group of Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestra string musicians, conducted by Gregory Woodbridge, performed as part of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s June Series at Whitaker Center. This exciting collaboration between these two fine performing arts organizations allowed for the young CPYB dancers to experience the immediacy and the give and take of performing with a live orchestra. At the same time it afforded the HSYO string players the unique experience of performing in the pit for a live dance performance, something usually reserved for professional musicians. The performance was the world premiere of Edvard Grieg’s From Holberg’s Time with new choreography by Alan Hineline. The June 2014 collaboration was so successful that CPYB and HSYO staff are already planning another for June 2015. Stay tuned!
HSO ON THE AIR:
Do you sometimes wish when you walk out of the Forum after a concert that you could hear the performance again? WITF-FM makes that possible by recording and broadcasting HSO Masterworks concerts in their entirety on the station’s “Center Stage” program. HSO concerts are aired the first Sunday of every month at 8:00 pm. Here’s the upcoming schedule:
Sunday, October 5 - “Schein on Chopin” Ann Schein, Piano Connesson – Aleph from Cosmic Trilogy Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2 Rachmaninoff – Symphony No. 3
Sunday, November 2 - “Elijah” Mendelssohn – Elijah With vocal soloists, Susquehanna Chorale, Messiah College Concert Choir and the Choral Arts Society
Sunday, December 7 - “Out With a Bang” Chris Rose, Percussion Copland – Quiet City Higdon – Percussion Concerto Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5
Sunday, January 4 - “Rite of Spring” Janice Chandler-Eteme, Soprano Ravel – Daphnis & Chloe, Suite No. 2 Strauss – Four Last Songs Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring
Sunday, February 1 - “Suite Sounds” Strauss – Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Respighi – Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1 Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
__ 13
Record Crowds at HSO Summer Concerts With the exception of Thursday, July 3, when rain forced the concert indoors at Lebanon Valley College, lawn chairs and picnic baskets were all you needed to enjoy this year’s annual HSO summer concerts around the Independence Day Holiday. Due to the inclement weather the orchestra performed to an overflow crowd indoors in the Blair Music Center on the LVC campus on Thursday, then was blessed with beautiful, not-too-hot weather for the next four nights as the orchestra performed alfresco in Negley Park in Lemoyne (July 4), Metro Bank Park on City Island (July 5), on the campus of Dickinson College in Carlisle (July 6), and at Millerstown Park in Millerstown (July 7). The good weather brought out the crowds and summer concert attendance was at an all-time high. This year’s concerts were themed as a “Celebration of the American Veteran,” with special emphasis given to the 70th anniversary this year of the D-Day invasion of 1944. Special video footage, researched and put together by HSO Director of Operations, Sue Klick, greatly enhanced the various musical selections. The HSO much enjoys presenting these annual Carlisle Summerfaire, Dickinson College, Carlisle free concerts and thanks the many sponsors in the various communities who make them possible.
Lebanon Valley College, Annville
Carlisle Summerfaire, Dickinson College, Carlisle
Metro Bank Park, City Island, Harrisburg
Negley Park, Lemoyne
Millerstown Park, Perry County
Traveling with the Maestro!
HSO Donors Meet the McCormick Challenge!
In late May, thirty friends of the HSO traveled to Paris, France with Stuart and Marty Malina for a luxurious cruise on the Seine River. The eight-day trip included excursions to castles, breathtaking gardens and spectacular meals. The group also shared a poignant visit to Omaha Beach in Normandy, site of the Allied Forces “D-Day” invasion seventy years ago.
In the final months of the 2013-14 season, the McCormick Family Foundation presented the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra with a challenge. The Foundation pledged a grant of $20,000 that would be awarded as soon as the HSO raised $20,000 in new contributions to its Annual Fund. The challenge was issued and the response was amazing. In less than four months, donors gave more than $38,000 in new gifts – nearly tripling the value of the McCormick Family Foundation’s gift!
Why not join the Maestro on the HSO’s next exciting trip and support your favorite orchestra? We’ll cruise the Greek Isles during an all-inclusive trip July 25-August 3, 2015. For itinerary and pricing details, contact Travel Professionals at 717-233-5641. A portion of your fare will support the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.
“The McCormick Family Foundation has been supportive of the HSO for many years,” said Ted Reese, HSO Director of Development. “With the help of the challenge grant plus the contributions from new donors and existing patrons, the HSO exceeded its Annual Fund goal for the 2013-14 season. Contributions to the Annual Fund support all areas of the Orchestra’s operations. Members of the McCormick family have been a consistent part of Harrisburg’s history. Vance McCormick and his wife Gertrude were among the founding patrons of the Harrisburg Symphony in 1930! Their support continues today, some 85 years later, through the generosity of the McCormick Family Foundation. Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra | 800 Corporate Circle, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17110 717.545.5527 | www.HarrisburgSymphony.org