American Romanian Festival 2023/24 • October 28, 2023 Program Book

AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL

2 23/24 SEASON

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WELCOME TAB LE O F CO N T E N TS

Board of Directors Staff Sponsors Donors Thank You

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E V E N TS

Musical Delights / October 28, 2023 Program Notes

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ART ISTS

Michael Chen, viola Jeremy Crosmer, cello Sujin Lim, violin Marian Tănău, violin

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Save the date!

Please check americanromanianfestival.org for future events as they get posted.

FUT U R E CO N C E RTS:

Saturday, February 24, 2024, 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 23, 2024, 2 p.m.

Steinway Piano Gallery Detroit 2700 E West Maple Rd Commerce Charter Twp, MI 48390

B OAR D O F D I R E CTO RS

STA FF

Marian Tănău, President Maureen D’Avanzo Franz Herbert Silviu Pala Lori Runco John Santeiu Jr.

Marian Tănău, President & Artistic Director Joan Olkowski, Website & Design Lori Newman, Operations

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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL • 2023/24 SEASON

SPONSORS. S PONS O RS

The American Romanian Festival programs are supported by our generous sponsors.

G O LD LE V E L

FR I E NDS LE V EL

$3000–$4999 Elizabeth Greve & Franz Herbert Marian & Jennifer Tanau

$50–$399 Ioan & Georgeta Atanasiu Paul & Barbara Burakoff Marcy Chanteaux Doug & Minka Cornelson Mircea & Daniela Cure Maureen D'Avanzo Doina David Ileana Dragnea Mioara & Sherban Dragoi Viorica Fuchs Adrian & Ella Gheorghiu Terence & Linda Ocallaghan Razvan Pala Silviu & Gela Pala Wiley Pickett Jr. Dorel & Anca Sala

S ILV ER L E V E L

$1000–$2999 Ann & James Nicholson George Predeteanu John Jr. & Judy Santeiu Charles & Carol Slater B R O NZ E L E VE L

$400–$999 Dragos & Roxana Galusca Iuliana & Ovidiu Niculescu Lori Runco

T HANK YO U

Leah Celebi—Vice President of Community Engagement & Programming, The War Memorial Norah Duncan—Chair, Department of Music, Wayne State University Joan Olkowski—Website & Design Lori Newman—Editing Matthew Pons—Stage Department Head, Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Santeiu Family

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CONCERT Musical Delights

Musical

C HAMB E R M USI C CO N C E RT

Delights

Saturday, October 28, 2023, 3 p.m.

Steinway Piano Gallery Detroit 2700 E West Maple Rd Commerce Charter Twp, MI 48390

CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

ADMISSION ⁄ $10–$25 Student: $10 (ID Required) / Regular: $25 Payments Accepted: Cash, Credit Card, Check ART ISTS

Sujin Lim, violin Marian Tănău, violin

Michael Chen, viola Jeremy Crosmer, cello

CO NC ERT P R O GRA M

The American Romanian Festival kicks off the 2023/2024 season with “Musical Delights,” a chamber concert featuring works by Antonín Dvořák, Jeremy Crosmer, and Ion Dumitrescu. Dvořák’s Terzetto for Two Violins and Viola opens the concert. This classic work is filled with beautiful themes and singing melodies that are contrasted with energetic moments, dotted and rapid rhythms, and tempo changes. Next up is the String Quartet No. 6, “Reflections,” by ARF’s own Jeremy Crosmer. The performance ends with the Detroit premiere of Ion Dumitrescu’s String Quartet No. 1, whose melodies are steeped in Romanian folklore.

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1906) Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74 (B. 148) Introduzione: Allegro ma non troppo Larghetto Scherzo: Vivace—Trio: Poco meno mosso Tema con variazioni Jeremy Crosmer (b. 1987) String Quartet No. 6, “Reflections” Tempo I Presto Andante maestoso Allegro vivace Andante cantabile Allegretto – I NTE R M I SSION –

Ion Dumitrescu (1913–1996) String Quartet No. 1 in C Major Allegro con brio Andante soave molto semplice Allegro scherzando giusto e rustico Allegro risoluto

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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL • 2023/24 SEASON

ARTISTS. Michael Chen

Jeremy Crosmer

V IO LA

CE LLO

Mike joined the viola section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2018. He was associate principal viola of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2018 and served as its acting principal violist from 2012 to 2017. Mike was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2012, and prior to that, a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 1992 to 1995. Additionally, Mike has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony. In 2017, Mike joined the Cincinnati Symphony on its European Festivals Tour.

Mike received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University, studying violin with Blair Milton. In 1999, he began playing the viola and studied with Li-Kuo Chang. His other teachers include Michael Strauss, Peter Slowik, Keith Conant, and Baird Dodge.

Mike received a Master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern University in 1999, studying with Victor Yampolsky and Mariusz Smolij. His other conducting teachers include Gilbert Varga, David Zinman, and Murry Sidlin. Mike was a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colorado, in 2008. He has also served as assistant conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, guest conductor of the Webster University Community Music School’s Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, and guest conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Side-by-Side Orchestra. ❖

Jeremy Crosmer is a remarkable young artist, both as a cellist and a composer. Crosmer completed multiple graduate degrees from the University of Michigan in cello, composition, and theory pedagogy, and received his DMA in 2012 at age 24. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the assistant principal cellist in the Grand Rapids Symphony, and he joined the DSO in May 2017. He is the composer and arranger for the GRS Music for Health Initiative, which pairs symphonic musicians with music therapists to bring classical music to hospitals.

In March 2017, the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital launched a music channel that runs continuously, using four hours of meditative music composed by Crosmer and performed by musicians of the GRS. Crosmer is a founding member of the modern music ensemble Latitude 49. He is also a current member of the band ESME, a duo that aims to broaden the education of classical music by bringing crossovers and mashups of pop and classical music to schools throughout Michigan. ESME released its first CD in December 2016.

In April 2013, Crosmer toured London with the Grand Valley State University Chamber Orchestra. He performed the Vivaldi Double Concerto with Alicia Eppinga and the GRS in March 2016. While still in school, Crosmer was awarded the prestigious Theodore Presser Graduate Music Award to publish, record, and perform his Crosmer-Popper duets. He recorded the duets with Julie Albers, and both sheet music and CD are available online. ❖

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ARTISTS Sujin Lim

Marian Tănău

V IO LIN

V I O LI N

Violinist Sujin Lim was born in Seoul, South Korea, where she began her musical studies at age 5. She joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as section violinist in 2017.

Sujin is a prizewinner in numerous national and international violin competitions, including the Lodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition (Italy), Torun International Violin Competition (Poland), Indianapolis Matinee Musical Scholarship Competition, Indiana University Sibelius Concerto Competition (United States), and the Joongang Music Competition and Ewha Kyunghyang Competition (Korea).

Sujin has appeared in recital and as a soloist throughout Korea, Europe, and the United States with the Romania Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau, Torun Symphony Orchestra, Yeonsae University, and the Indiana University Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, she is member of the EM trio in Korea and performed in such chamber recitals as Yagi Studio, Jungdong Hall, KNUA Hall, and Kumho Art Hall. Sujin has also served as principal concertmaster in the Evansville Philharmonic, Indiana University Symphony, KNUA Symphony, and the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra. ❖

Romanian-born violinist Marian Tănău first picked up the violin at age 4 and began his musical education in his hometown of Timișoara in Romania. He graduated from Liceul de Muzica “Ion Vidu,” where he studied violin with Maria Cleşiu. He then left for the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca and the Conservatorul de Muzica “G. Dima,” where he earned an Artists Diploma. Later in the USA, he earned a graduate degree from Bowling Green State University.

Tănău joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1995. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Romania and the USA and is an active chamber musician.

In 2004, Tănău joined the violin faculty at Wayne State University. In 2005, he was awarded a sabbatical year and moved temporarily to Romania where he joined the music faculty at the National College of Art “Ion Vidu” and the Music Conservatory of the West University from Timișoara.

His recording of the Violin Sonata by Paul Paray, recorded for Grotto Productions, received praise from critics in the prestigious Strad, Gramophone, and Fanfare magazines.

Marian Tănău is the founder and president of the American Romanian Festival Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote American and Romanian music and culture to audiences in the USA and Europe. ❖

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PROGRAM NOTES. ANTONÍ N DVO ŘÁ K

I O N DUM I TR ES CU

Written in about two weeks, the Terzetto in C Major was composed in January 1887 with the intention of being performed by two of Dvořák’s violinist friends and himself on viola. Such a performance never took place, however, as the viola part proved to be too difficult for Dvořák. The first public performance of the Terzetto took place on March 30, 1887, in Prague, given by Karel Ondříček, Jan Buchal, and Jaroslav Šťastný.

Composed in four movements, the work is a classic, full of beautiful themes and singing melodies contrasted with energetic moments, dotted and rapid rhythms, and tempo changes. ❖

Ion Dumitrescu was born in 1913 in the Vâlcea region of Romania and studied composition in Bucharest with renowned composers such as Mihail Jora and Ionel Perlea. He was an important representative of the Romanian school of composition, and his works are rooted in Romanian folklore.

Dumitrescu’s String Quartet No. 1 is in the key of C major and has four movements.

The first movement, composed in sonata form, has two melodic themes. The first one has a folk-dancing character while the second one is a singing theme. The second movement, Andante soave molto semplice, has the components of a lied, reminiscent of the Romanian folk song “Doina.” The third movement has a characteristic folk-tune rhythm full of life and dynamism. The final movement is a Rondo in which the principal melody is influenced by Romanian Christmas carols called “Colinde.” A second theme is then introduced that suggests the character of bagpipes. This concert marks the Detroit debut of this work. ❖

Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74 (B. 148)

J ER EMY C R O SM E R

String Quartet No. 6, “Reflections”

Program Note by Jeremy Crosmer Throughout my life, my music has been inspired by the great “Americana” composers such as Copland, Bernstein, and Ives. With this quartet, I wanted to reflect on what it means to be American. The special thing about being American is that it is different for everyone, because our identity is made up of fragments that reflect the people around us. For instance, my version of America includes a deeply rooted Asian culture. Forming a melodic throughline from these diverse fragments is the basis of the first movement. The American Dream is also a journey that differs for each individual: The second movement bubbles and echoes motifs from the first, as if from a distant world. Finally, being American means wandering through the unknown possibilities the future holds for each of us, and creating our own path along the way—a path that mirrors the experiences we’ve had and the people we’ve met. ❖

String Quartet No. 1 in C Major

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MISS IO N

The American Romanian Festival Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster mutual understanding and promote American and Eastern European music and culture.

A specific focus of the festival is to encourage cultural awareness and understanding between people of culture, musicians, and artists of the United States and Romania. The festival organizes educational, cultural, and artistic events that take place in Romania and the USA. Founded in 2005, the organization supports cultural exchanges with Americans participating in events in Romania and Romanians participating in events in the USA.

M A K E A DI FFERENC E

To make a tax-deductible contribution, please make checks payable to the American Romanian Festival Inc. and mail to: American Romanian Festival Inc. 1407 Ferdon Road Ann Arbor, MI 48104

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