Pacific Orchestras
Sebastián Serrano-Ayala, conductor
Brittany Trotter, flute
Guy Powell, guitar
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
7:30 pm
Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Gli uccelli (The Birds) (1928)
Preludio (Prelude)
La colomba (The Dove)
La gallina (The Hen)
L’usignuolo (The Nightingale)
Il cucù (The Cuckoo)
Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)
Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884)
Arturo Márquez (b. 1950)
Brittany Trotter, flute Guy Powell, guitar
Vltava (The Moldau) (1875)
Danzón No. 3 (1994)
PROGRAM NOTES
Program notes by Sebastián Serrano-Ayala
Nature in Motion explores how music captures movement—the flutter of wings, the rhythm of dance, and the steady flow of a river. Respighi’s Gli uccelli (The Birds) turns baroque melodies into a lively portrait of birdlife. Márquez’s Danzón No. 3 celebrates the grace and pulse of the Latin dance, featuring Pacific faculty Brittany Trotter on flute and Guy Powell on guitar. Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau) closes the program with one of the most beloved depictions of landscape in music: the journey of a river through the Czech countryside, filled with motion, light, and imagination.
Respighi: Gli uccelli (The Birds)
Ottorino Respighi’s Gli uccelli reimagines the sounds of nature through the lens of Baroque and Classical music. Written in 1928, the suite adapts melodies by seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers, combining old themes with Respighi’s vivid orchestral color. Each of its five short movements portrays a different bird: a gentle dove, a fussy hen, a lyrical nightingale, and a cheerful cuckoo—all framed by an opening Preludio (Prelude) that sets the stage with regal elegance.
The Preludio, taken from a keyboard toccata by Bernardo Pasquini (1637–1710), opens the suite with stately rhythms and bright harmonies, setting a courtly tone before the birds take flight. La colomba (The Dove), after Jacques de Gallot (c. 1625–1695), is tender and restrained, shaped by long melodic lines that echo the bird’s calm and measured cooing. La gallina (The Hen) borrows from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s 1724 harpsichord suite, its pecking figures and bustling rhythms brought to life by quick string tremolos and chirping woodwinds. In L’usignuolo (The Nightingale), drawn from a melody by Jacob van Eyck (1590–1657), the flute and celesta shimmer in soft trills that seem to hover in mid-air. The suite ends with Il cucù (The Cuckoo), also after Pasquini, whose familiar two-note call dances cheerfully through the winds and strings.
Respighi wrote the score of Gli uccelli alongside his Impressioni brasiliane (Brazilian Impressions), in preparation for his second visit to Brazil in June 1928. The first performance took place at the Teatro Municipal of São Paulo on June 6, 1928, with the composer himself conducting. The buoyant, colorful music quickly caught the attention of choreographers Cia Fornaroli and Margherita Wallmann, who each created their own ballet versions soon after its premiere.
PROGRAM NOTES
Respighi scored Gli uccelli for small orchestra and approached it with humor and grace—not to imitate nature literally, but to translate it into musical motion. The work reflects his fascination with how sound and movement intertwine, turning early music into a living, breathing tableau. Gli uccelli is about transformation: how centuries-old melodies can move like living creatures, balancing refinement and vitality. What begins as imitation becomes something greater: a dance of sound that feels as alive as the birds themselves.
Márquez: Danzón No. 3
Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) is one of Mexico’s most celebrated composers, known for blending Latin American rhythms with the color and energy of the modern orchestra. His series of Danzones, inspired by the traditional Cuban Mexican dance form, have become signature works that bridge concert music and popular tradition. The danzón originated in Cuba in the nineteenth century and flourished in Veracruz and Mexico City, where it became a symbol of elegance, romance, and urban sophistication.
Márquez wrote Danzón No. 3 in 1994, commissioned by flutist Marisa Canales and conductor Benjamín Juárez Echenique, longtime champions of contemporary Mexican music. The work was conceived as part of a project to expand Mexico’s orchestral repertoire and celebrate the danzón as a living national expression. Like the other works in the series, it captures the atmosphere of the dance hall, formal yet intimate, full of restrained passion and rhythmic vitality. The composer described the danzón as “a reflection of the soul of Mexico, of its nostalgia, its joy, and its sensuality.”
In this version for flute, guitar, and small orchestra, Márquez creates a dialogue of color and movement between the soloists and ensemble. The flute spins long, singing lines, while the guitar answers with warmth and pulse, their voices weaving in and out of the orchestra’s steady rhythmic frame. The result is music that feels both lyrical and alive, a dance of air and earth, melody and motion.
Danzón No. 3 belongs to the same creative period that produced several of Márquez’s most recognized works, and like them, it helped reintroduce the danzón to concert halls worldwide, affirming the composer’s role as one of the leading voices in Latin American orchestral music. In the context of Nature in Motion, Danzón No. 3 represents the human element, treating rhythm as a natural force, and it reminds us that movement and breath share the same living pulse. In this performance, Pacific faculty artists Brittany
PROGRAM NOTES
Trotter (flute) and Guy Powell (guitar) together bring out the work’s heartfelt lyricism and vitality.
Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau)
Bedřich Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau) is one of the most beloved tone poems ever written, a musical portrait of the river that runs through the heart of Bohemia. Composed in 1874, it is the second work in his six-part symphonic cycle Má vlast (My Homeland), written as a tribute to Czech landscape, history, and national identity. Each piece in the cycle depicts a different aspect of Smetana’s homeland, but none has captured the imagination of listeners quite like Vltava, whose flowing theme has become a symbol of Czech pride and poetic beauty.
The piece traces the river’s journey from its two small springs in the Šumava Forest, one warm and one cold, to its broad and majestic flow through Prague. The opening flutes and clarinets represent the bubbling sources of the river, soon merging into the famous main theme, a graceful melody that gathers strength as the current widens. Along the way, Smetana paints a vivid series of musical landscapes: forest hunts with bright horns, a rustic wedding dance in the countryside, a moonlit scene where river nymphs glide across shimmering waters, and the thunderous rapids of St. John before the river reaches the great Vyšehrad Castle, the legendary fortress overlooking Prague.
Smetana composed Vltava during a time of personal and creative crisis. That same year, 1874, he suffered the complete loss of his hearing, yet his imagination remained boundless. He later described how he “heard” the entire work internally, guided by memory and inner sound. Despite his deafness, the score reveals extraordinary clarity and orchestral brilliance, with harp, flutes, and shimmering strings evoking the river’s surface, and brass and percussion capturing its power. The first performance took place in Prague on April 4, 1876, and the piece quickly became one of the cornerstones of Czech national music.
The result is deeply visual, a work that seems to move before our eyes as much as our ears. In the context of Nature in Motion, Vltava closes the journey with both motion and meaning. From Respighi’s fluttering birds to Márquez’s rhythmic dance, the river carries it all forward, a symbol of continuity, life, and transformation through sound.
Sebastián Serrano-Ayala, is an assistant professor of practice in orchestral conducting at University of the Pacific. Recognized for his inclusive leadership, international reach, and innovative, fresh programming, Colombian-born conductor Serrano-Ayala has led professional and student orchestras across the U.S., Latin America, the Philippines, and the Netherlands, blending cultural perspective with artistic excellence.
Serrano-Ayala is an active conductor and guest artist, with recent engagements including the Saratoga Orchestra and Skagit Symphony, and fellowships with Symphony Tacoma, Cabrillo Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the Allentown Symphony, and the Mostly Modern Festival. He has premiered and recorded new works with the American Modern Ensemble in New York and served as cover conductor for the Seattle Youth Symphony and Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
At the University of New Mexico, he served as director of orchestral studies, conducting the UNM Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia, teaching graduatelevel conducting, and facilitating guest residencies with Michael Sanderling, Colonel Jim Keene, Sérgio Azevedo, and others. He frequently collaborates with regional honor ensembles and educational programs across Washington and New Mexico.
Serrano-Ayala holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has studied with Marin Alsop, Mei-Ann Chen, and JoAnn Falletta. His competition honors include finalist distinctions from The American Prize and the Denver Philharmonic, and a semi-finalist award at the World Music Contest.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Brittany Trotter, is an assistant professor of flute and a program director of woodwinds at University of the Pacific. A native of Laurel, Mississippi, Trotter has received a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Music Education degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Music from University of Wyoming, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree fromWest Virginia University (along with a Certificate of University Teaching).
Trotter’s performance career spans solo, chamber, and new-music collaborations. She has won top prizes in national and regional competitions, including first prize in several division of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition. She has also appeared as featured soloist and lecturer at flute conventions, and her research explores hybridity in music and cultural influences, as seen in her award-winning dissertation on Valerie Coleman’s works.
At Pacific, she shapes the woodwind program, mentors aspiring flutists, and remains actively engaged in contemporary and interdisciplinary music. Her artistry and pedagogy bring high energy and inclusivity to the conservatory environment.
Guy Powell serves as a lecturer in guitar at University of the Pacific. He holds a bachelor’s degree in classical guitar from California State University, Sacramento, and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; his principal teachers included Richard Savino, David Tannenbaum, and Marc Teicholz.
Powell has maintained an active performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, and musical-theatre performer. He has participated in major guitar festivals such as the Guitarraganza Festival and the Portland Guitar Festival and is a member of the chamber ensemble Tritarra, as well as Duo Sonik, a guitar duo project exploring engaging repertoire.
In his teaching and performance, Powell emphasizes tonal refinement, expressive phrasing, and cross-genre versatility. His presence in tonight’s program brings both lyrical sensitivity and rhythmic vitality to the role of a soloist.
PACIFIC ORCHESTRAS
The Pacific Orchestras perform an inclusive range of contemporary and historically significant works. The ensemble provides performers with a variety of sizes and settings to explore an exciting range of repertoire. Pacific faculty, students, and guest artists perform with the ensemble as concerto and aria soloists and as guest conductors. Participation in the ensemble is open to all Pacific students by audition.
Violins 1
Lizzie Mendoza, concertmaster
Carissa Lee
Alizon Lopez
Alyssa Yen
Yihan Yoon
Violins 2
Erick Sariles, principal
Yaretzi Castro Rios
Rafael Marinas
Julianna Ramirez
Violas
Izzy Knittle, principal
Angela Arroyo
Tom Pham
Cellos
Nicholas Trobaugh, principal
Tyler Chang
Megan Chartier**
Hope Lee
Jiangshuo Ma
Benedict Ventura
Double Basses
Elijah Atchley, principal
Emiko Hernandez
Wes Shafer
Miguel Velarde
Flutes
Riko Hirata*
Jasmine Valentine, piccolo
Ethan Williams‡
Oboes
Jayden Laumeister‡
Emily Zamudio*
Clarinets
Edmund Bascon†
Audrey Ewing*
Tommy Galvin‡
Bassoons
Justin Silva, principal
Jess Vreeland
Horns
Ciera Alkhoury*
Marcelo Contreras
Jas Lopez
Lily Walter †‡
Trumpets
Parker Deems, principal
Kamron Qasimi
Trombones
William Giancaterino, principal
Radley Rutledge
Matt Young, bass
Tuba
Seth Morris
Percussion
Hunter Campbell
Ryan Eads
Casey Kim
Robert McCarl
PACIFIC ORCHESTRAS
Celesta
Michelle Han Harp Jacquelyn Venter††
* principal, Respighi
† principal, Márquez
‡ principal, Smetana
** faculty musician
†† assisting musician
Faculty Coaches
Ann Miller, violin, viola
Megan Chartier, cello
Kathryn Schulmeister, double bass
Brittany Trotter, flute
Kyle Bruckmann, oboe, English horn
Patricia Shands, clarinet
Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon
Sadie Glass, horn
Alia Kuhnert, trumpet
Bruce Chrisp, trombone, euphonium
Jonathan Seiberlich, tuba
Jonathan Latta, percussion
Natsuki Fukasawa, piano
Jonathan Latta, ensembles program director
Breanna Daley, ensemble librarian
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