Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony
Douglas Bakenhus, Music Director
Our 59th Year
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
7:30 p.m. | Magale Recital Hall
2024-2025 Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Season
A Fusion of Musical Brilliance
Wednesday, January 15, 7:30pm Magale Recital Hall
The program will include Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Berlioz’s powerful Marche Hongroise, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, and we will close with Sibelius’ glorious Finlandia
Tuesday, March 18, 7:30pm, Magale Recital Hall: “Concerto Winners and Appalachian Spring”
This concert will feature NSU’s most talented student musicians. In addition, we have Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and a jovial orchestra demonstration piece by Russell Peck called “Playing with Style.”
Tuesday, April 29, 7:30pm Magale Recital Hall: “Bach Magnificat”
For our final concert, we will be joined by the NSU Symphony Chorus performing two of the most profound and heartfelt utterances in all symphonic and chorus repertoire. First, J.S. Bach’s awe-inspiring Magnificat followed by Franz Joseph Haydn’s passionately majestic Te Deum for the Empress Marie Therese. Like us on Facebook /Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society Visit our website: www.NNSSLA.org Email: NSUsymphony@gmail.com
Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
7:30 pm
Magale Recital Hall
Douglas Bakenhus, Music Director
Syll-Young Olson, Assistant Director
Sofiko Tchetchelashvili, Instructor
Program
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Symphony No. 1 in C major, OP. 21
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Adagio molto-Allegro con brio (1770-1827)
Andante cantabile con moto
Menuett: Allegro moto e vivace
Adagio – Allegro moto e vivace
Hungarian March from the “Damnation of Faust,” Op. 24
Directed by Syll-Young Olson, LMEA Hall of Famer
Finlandia, Op. 26
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Music Director
Dr. Douglas Bakenhus has been music director and conductor of the NatchitochesNorthwestern Symphony at Northwestern State University of Louisiana since 2004, where he also teaches bassoon, aural skills, and advanced conducting. In addition, Bakenhus also serves as music director of the Northeast Texas Symphony since 2003 and was the director of the Austin Philharmonic from 2001-2004. His music degrees are from the University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A., B.M.Ed), Texas A&M University-Commerce (M.M.), and has completed additional graduate courses in conducting and bassoon-performance at the University of Michigan. His conducting teachers include Larry Rachleff, Gustav Meier, Carl St. Clair, Gary W. Hill, and Elizabeth Green. In addition, Dr. Bakenhus studied conducting and baroque/classical performance practice with Ivars Taurin at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute (2010 and 2015). Throughout his teaching career, Dr. Bakenhus has remained active as a guest conductor and clinician with honor orchestras throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Furthermore, he has made international conducting appearances with the Comfenalco School Orchestra in Cartegna, Colombia, the Sinfonietta Bratislava in Slovakia, and the San Pedro Sula City Chamber Orchestra in Honduras. He also performed abroad as a bassoonist with the NSU Faculty Woodwind Trio in Canada, Slovakia, England, and the Czech Republic. He remains active on the bassoon, playing in several local orchestras including the Shreveport Symphony, The Baroque Artist of Shreveport, Marshall Symphony, South Arkansas Symphony, and Texarkana Symphony. In addition, on his baroque and classical instruments, he regularly performs with period instrument ensembles including, the Austin Baroque Orchestra, Sonido Barroco in San Antonio, and has made appearances in Houston with Ars Lyrica, the Houston Bach Society, and the Mercury Baroque Ensemble.
Assistant Director
Syll-Young Lee Olson was born in Seoul, Korea. She earned her bachelor’s degree in composition from the Seoul National University, then the Final Diploma from the “Hochschule der Kuenste” in Berlin (University of Arts in Berlin), Germany.
Since 1992, she has been on the faculty of Natchitoches Central High School, teaching Instrumental Talented students and conducting the Orchestra. Throughout her teaching career, Olson remained active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician of numerous honor orchestras and festivals.
She was named 2002/2003 Teacher of the Year by the Natchitoches Parish School Board, also 2002/2003 Teacher of the Year from the Louisiana, Mississippi, West Tennessee District Kiwanis International, was a recipient of the Mayor’s Award in Natchitoches. In November, 2022, she will be inducted into the Louisiana Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.
Instructor
Sofiko Tchetchelashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she began her violin career in the studio of professor Alla Laperashvili. She continued her studies in Tbilisi State Conservatory in the studio of professor Ernst Arakelov, before completing her graduate studies in the studio of professor Rodam Jandieri.
In 2014, Ms. Tchetchelashvili accepted graduate assistantship at Baylor University, and two years later she completed another graduate degree in violin performance in the studio of Dr. Eka Gogichashvili.
Ms. Tchetchelashvili was a winner of four Georgian national violin competitions, as well as a recipient of two consecutive President’s Awards.
Since 2016, Ms. Tchetchelashvili serves as an Adjunct professor of violin/viola at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, where, beside her teaching duties, she remains very active concert violinist and violist.
Program Notes
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Johannes Brahms came from a working-class family in Hamburg. Money was tight. To help make ends meet, he quit school at fourteen and headed to the seaport to work as a barroom musician. By all accounts, it was probably not a very wholesome place. And despite the antics of drunken sailors, young Brahms did his best to focus on playing the piano and reading books during his breaks.
By the time he hit thirty, he was a respectable musician. When he started composing and publishing symphonies, audiences heard his music as far away as New York City. Imagine his surprise when, at age forty-five, the University of Breslau announced its intention to award Brahms an honorary doctorate. This came with a strong suggestion that he might write a symphony to mark the occasion. Something noble that would reflect the lofty Latin title of his honorary degree. But Brahms was too much of a free spirit to get boxed into something like that. He answered with one of his most playful scores, a ten-minute piece filled with what he called a “rollicking potpourri of student songs.”
He quotes four tavern songs that would have been immediately recognizable to the college students. The first song, introduced by the trumpets, “Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus” (“We have built a stately house”), was used as a theme song for a student organization that advocated for the unification of Germany. The second song is “Der Landesvater” (“Father of our Country”), which can first be heard in the strings. The bassoons introduce the third song “Was kommt dort von der Höh?” (“What comes from afar?”), a song that was associated with freshman initiations. These three songs alternate before the full orchestra joins together in a rousing rendition of “Gaudeamus igitur” (“Let us rejoice, therefore”), a popular song in Europe whose text dates back to a 13th-century Latin manuscript. Though the song was occasionally used in academic ceremonies it was a popular drinking song with students because of its lighthearted text with a carpe diem theme of how we should rejoice while we are young because eventually the earth will claim us.
So, at the premiere, with Brahms conducting, it is fun to imagine the students’ stifled laughter and the school officials, probably less-than-enthused, decked out in their academic regalia being serenaded by songs sung in beer halls!
Symphony No. 1, Op. 21 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven was 30 years old when he announced himself as a symphonic composer at a concert in Vienna April 2, 1800. He had written so much already with two piano concertos, the opus 18 string quartets, and several piano sonatas. He had been living in Vienna for eight years and had lessons with the two most famous classical masters Haydn and Mozart. When he set out to write his own symphony, he wanted to compose in the classical tradition but show his personality, his innate sense of dramatic passion within the structure and form of his mentors.
The first movement opens in an extraordinary way. The first chord is the dominant of an unrelated key. This slow introduction then is ambiguous, and it isn’t until we get halfway through that we realize that we are in fact going to C-major. Even though this movement is in the traditional “sonata form,” there is enormous originality in how it develops. The way he uses the instruments, and fragmented melodies passing through constantly changing colors as if in dialogue. It has contrasting harsh dynamics, almost outraged music, juxtaposed with brilliance and incredibly sweet musical ideas. And for the Viennese audience of the middle class and aristocrats, this rather less than elegant approach to the symphony must have been rather shocking.
The second movement in contrast is a sweet triple-meter dance, like a minuet or French passepied. It seems to be like a courtship dance that swoons with infatuation. It has a fugue like opening with themes that are light on their feet. In contrast, the middle section starts in C-minor with fragments of the themes that sounds like an
Program Notes
argument between the instruments. When the initial themes return it is recomposed with added counterpoint. Then, in the coda, they say goodbye with a sighing, kiss-blowing, farewell.
Beethoven really shows his radical spirit with the third movement. Haydn and Mozart called their third movements “Minuet” and Beethoven calls it that here but writes above it Allegro molto e Vivace. That means very fast and the moment one hears this supercharged energy and swiftness of tempo one realizes that this is not your ordinary minute, and this is not your ordinary composer.
The finale has an introduction that has a sense of humor. It opens with a “C” unison chord. Then the first violins left alone, build a soft slow scale, in fragments, like stacking toy blocks. When it gets just below the top of where you expect it to end up, it takes off with incredible velocity and has an energetic playful scale-like-rollercoasterride of a first theme. The second theme is contrasting but is also energetic with shouts of joy passed between instruments. The coda has a new idea that is march like that brings this unique passionate symphony to a close.
Hungarian March from “The Damnation of Faust,” Op. 24 (1846) by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
In 1846, in preparation for concerts in Budapest, Berlioz composed this march on a popular Hungarian theme, the “Rákóczi March”which in turn derives from a famous song that originated in the 17th century. The composer conducted the premiere and later wrote this about the concert in his autobiography:
“First the trumpets give out the rhythm, then the flutes and clarinets softly outlining the theme, with a pizzicato accompaniment of the strings, the audience remaining calm and judicial. Then, as there came a long crescendo, broken by dull beats of the bass drum, like the sound of distant cannon, a strange restless movement was to be heard among the people; and as the orchestra let itself go in a cataclysm of sweeping fury and thunder, they could contain themselves no longer, their overcharged souls burst forth with a tremendous explosion of feeling.”
The enormous success of the piece led Berlioz to wedge it into his opera “The Damnation of Faust” (where its role in the opera is unrelated and not in Goethe’s original story). The march remains today popular as a standalone orchestra piece.
Finlandia, Op. 26, by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Finlandia is a symphonic poem composed in 1899 that expresses the desire for independence from the control of Czarist Russia. He wanted to create something recognizably Finnish, and the original title, Finland Awakens attracted negative attention from the czarist régime, so for a while the piece was known as Impromptu. However, the composer later described its true meaning in stirring words: “We fought 600 years for our freedom, and I am part of the generation which achieved it. Freedom! My Finlandia is the story of this fight. It is the song of our battle, our hymn of victory.”
It begins dark with massive chords in the brass which establishes the music’s parameters of great depth and seriousness of the struggle. Woodwinds and strings follow with the same material but solemnly this time creating a feeling of angst and despair. This yields gradually to a more defiant, resolute section with fanfares and rising energy. It ultimately breaks free, giving way to a hymn tune that expresses the complexity of feeling contentment for freedom at the same time feeling sadness as we remember those we lost and the sacrifices that were made. Sibelius then takes this tune and builds it into a triumphant ending.
Incidentally, words were added later to this tune in Finnish about the dawning of a new birth of freedom and has become one of Finland’s most cherished national songs. In addition, this tune has been set with different words around the world, appearing in hymnals and song books with texts such as Be Still My Soul, At the Table, Land of the Pine, and Our farewell Song.
Orchestra
Violin 1
Emilio Castro, concertmaster +
Carlos Diaz del Valle, assistant concertmaster
Oscar Andres Carballo Torres
Meredith Corrales +
Abigail Morales Ramos
Juliana Miller
Perla Hipp
June Yao #
Violin 2
Josias Daniel Ramos, principal
Jose Mario Villeda
JaNia Wallace
Abigail Williams
Jessyca Ludwig
Na’Riaya Sowell
Jessica Aylin Mata Hernandez #
Natalie Hyde #
Ms. Sofiko Tchetchelashvili ^
Viola
Ronald Zaldana Sanchez, principal
Norman Martinez
Emma Felton
Salome Uribe
Gabrielle Meziere
Cello
Jesus Calderon, principal
Santiago Rovira
Brad Christian Powell
Aill Harris
Maira Avellaneda +
Ian Anselmo Mata Hernandez #
Roster
Douglas Bakenhus, Music Director
Syll-Young Olson, Assistant Director
Sofiko Tchetchelashvili, Instructor
Bass
William Shupak, principal
Jonathan Chaparro
Rafael Melgar Caceres
Zavion Sowell *
Ms. Karla Gonzalez ^
Flute/Piccolo
Parrel K. Appolis, principal +
Tucker Uebersax +
Cecilia Linares +
Oboe
Yesenia Zapata, principal
Joel Ramos
Clarinet
Santiago Sanchez, principal
Rikki Landry
Bassoon/Contra bassoon
Kristoff Hairr, principal
Turner Sugg
Alexis Ortega
Victoria Gomez Borjas
Trumpet/Cornet
W. Alejandro Otero, principal
Fredy de Zubiria Hernandez
Evelyn Gardner
Leonardo Donato
Horns
Jelsson Flores, coprincipal
Angie Mejia, coprincipal +
Phillip Coleman
Noah Castaneda
Trombone
Evan Bryant, principal
Jorge Bravo Chavez
Bass Trombone
Francisco Riego
Tuba
Taylor Carrell +
Percussion
Walker Libbe, principal +
Peyton Johnson
Wyatt Paulk
Garrett Moss
Caden Hooter
+ Graduate student
# Natchitoches Central High School student
* LSMSA student
^Faculty
Roster
Chamber Orchestra
Violin 1
Emilio Castro, concertmaster +
Carlos Diaz del Valle, assistant concertmaster
Oscar Andres Carballo Torres
Meredith Corrales+
Ms. Sofiko Tchetchelashvili ^
Violin 2
Josias Daniel Ramos, principal
Jose Mario Villeda
Abigail Morales Ramos
Juliana Miller
Perla Hipp
Viola
Ronald Zaldana Sanchez, principal
Norman Martinez
Emma Felton
Salome Uribe
Cello
Jesus Calderon, principal
Santiago Rovira
Aill Harris
Maira Avellaneda +
Brad Powell Bass
William Shupak, principal
Zavion Sowell #
Ms. Karla Gonzalez ^
Flute/Piccolo
Parrel K. Appolis, principal +
Tucker Uebersax +
Oboe
Yesenia Zapata, principal
Joel Ramos
Clarinet
Santiago Sanchez, principal
Rikki Landry
Bassoon/Contra bassoon
Kristoff Hairr, principal
Turner Sugg
Trumpet/Cornet
W. Alejandro Otero, principal
Fredy de Zubiria Hernandez
Horns
Jelsson Flores, coprincipal
Angie Mejia, coprincipal +
Timpani
Walker Libbe +
+ Graduate student
# Natchitoches Central High School student
* LSMSA student
^Faculty
Applied Music Faculty
Dr. Douglas Bakenhus, bassoon
Mr. Luke Brouillette, guitar
Dr. Robert Cardwell, voice
Mr. Paul Christopher, cello
Dr. Mary DeVille, organ
Ms. Leah Forsyth, oboe
Dr. Paul Forsyth, saxophone
Ms. Karla Gonzalez, bass
Ms. Juliana Handy, voice
Dr. Chialing Hsieh, piano
Dr. Masahito Kuroda, euphonium/low brass
Dr. Andrej Kurti, violin
Dr. Marcy McKee, voice
Dr. Malena McLaren, clarinet
Dr. Oliver Molina, percussion
Dr. Stephen Clark, flute
Mr. Adam Philley, voice
Dr. John Price, piano
Mr. Galindo Rodriguez, trumpet
Dr. Terrie Sanders, voice
Dr. Alexis Sczepanik, horn
Mr. David Steele, clarinet
Dr. J. Mark Thompson, trombone/low brass
Ms. Sofiko Tchetchelashvili, violin/viola
Dr. Francis Yang, piano
2024- 2025
Natchitoches-Northwestern
Symphony Society
Board of Directors
Marion Johnston, President
Mary Lou Brown, President Elect
Cecilia Smith, Secretary
Gayle Howell, Treasurer
Tom Caldwell
Vicki Caldwell
Linnye Daily
Desiree Dyess
Loren Ford
Lynnel Gill
Rick Hudson
Vicki Murchison
Carolyn Roy
Jacob Ruppert
Marty Sanders
Diane Temple
Jeff Thomas
Samantha Thomas
David Young
Honorary Board
Dr. Douglas Bakenhus, Conductor
Alma Alost
Martha Janes Genovese
Jennifer Maggio
Brenda Webb
Past Presidents
1966-68 Martha Roberson
1968-69 Jim Bob Key
1969-70 Frank S. Roberson
1970-71 Cecile Murphy
1971-72 James A. Ford
1972-73 Lovan Thomas
1973-74 Rosie McCoy
1974-75 Frank Roberson
1975-76 Tom Paul Southerland
1976-77 Kerlin Sutton
1977-79 Curt Kinard
1979-80 Robert Lucky, Jr.
1980-81 Cynthia Brown
1981-82 Albin Johnson and L. J. Melder, Jr.
1982-83 Maxine Southerland
1983-84 Bobbie Archibald
1984-85 Mary Jean Thomas
1985-86 Sharon Gahagan
1986-87 William H. Cross
1987-88 Margaret A. Adkins
1988-90 Patricia W. Thomas
1990-91 Raymond Gilbert
1991-92 Ryan Horton, Jr.
1992-93 Saidee Watson Newell
1993-94 Michael Wolff
1994-95 Gene Newman
1995-96 Ada Jarred
1996-97 Bill Mathis
1997-98 Joseph M. Henr y III
1998-99 Margaret Sutton
1999-2001 Jane Hall
2001-03 David Graham
2003-04 Ron McBride 2004-05 Loren Ford 2005-06 Markay Cunningham 2006-07 Steve Horton 2007-08 Jeff Thomas 2008-09 Anne Stevens 2009-10 Desiree Dyess 2010-11 Linnye Daily 2011-12 Marilyn McMurtry 2012-13 Linnye Daily 2013-14 Robert Scott 2014-15 Richard Rose 2015-17 Marty Sanders 2017-19 Rick Hudson
2019-20 Pat Thomas
2020-21 Tony Smith
2021-22 Loren Ford 2022-24 Gayle Howell
Friends of the Symphony
Platinum Underwriters
$1,000 or more
Phil & Mary Lou Brown
Linnye & Shawn Daily
Sonny & Evelyn Evans, Jr.
First Federal Bank of Louisiana
Drs. Link & Elizabeth Hall
Gayle Howell
Marion & Donnie Johnston
Dr. Kenneth & Mrs. Syll-Young Olson
Martin Smith Sanders, III
Jeff & Samantha Thomas
Brenda W. Webb
Gold Underwriters—$500-$999
BOM
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Nolton & Lanell Causey
City Bank & Trust Company
Dean Dematology & Wellness
Dixie Plaza
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Exchange Bank
Loren Ford
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President & First Lady James Genovese
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Hancock Whitney Bank
Don & Pat Kelly
Vicki D. Murchison
Natchitoches Regional Medical Center
Kelli & Mark Roberts
Sabine State Bank & Trust Company
Southern Scripts
Burton & Sue Weaver
Bruce & Laura Wiggs
Benefactors—$250-$499
Clay Abington
Fay, Lisa, Julie, & David Breazeale
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Edwin Dunahoe
Kirt Hartman
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Janine Storrs
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Mark & Melissa Ward
Mike & Becky Wolff
Young Estate-In Memory of Martha Glass
Young
Dr. & Mrs. William Zeichner
David Zolzer
Patrons—$100-$249
Lee W. Akin
Tamela C. Aldredge
Peggy Aycock
Dr. Dennette McDermott & Dr. Douglas Bakenhus
Mrs. Marion Bienvenu
Melanie Braquet
William Brent
Nettles & Glenelle Brown
Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Brown
Dr. Patricia Brown
Alice Bryant
Kathleen Byrd
Charles Churchman
David & Linda Clark
Cliff & Frances Conine
Ronald & Karen Corkern
Chad & Marne’ Deranger
Deborah Fehr
Dustin Felton
Andy & Christine Ferrell
Mrs. Gayle Fitzhugh
Rev. Dr. Frank Fuller
Mr. & Mrs. Russell Gahagan, Jr.
Ginger Gates
Mr & Mrs. Robert Gentry
Peggy Gilbert
Sharon & Dennis Gordon
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Grayson
Jane Hall
Wayne Halm
Friends of the Symphony
Greg Handel & Jeff Gary
Dale & Linda HIgginbotham
Pat Horton
Steve & Emilyn Horton
Rick & Kathy Hudson
Drs. George & Rebecca Ingrish
Pat & Kim Johnson
Mr. & Mrs. Randall Steven LaCaze
Christina Lake
Barbara Leach
William Luster, MD
Dr. Chris & Jennifer Maggio
Jack & Shirley McCain
Steve & Melanie McCain
Wayne & Sandra McCullen
Rick & Cathy McCurdy
Heidy McWhorter
Brenda & Tommy Melder
Drs. Mark Melder & Sarah McFarland
Dr. & Mrs. Rand Metoyer
Murchison & Murchison LLC
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Robert & Kathy Owsley
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Dr. Terrie T. Poehl
Graham Ragland
Steve Rains
Melissa Robinson
Donna & Richard Rose
Carolyn Roy
Terrie & Steve Sanders
Sammy & Connie Scruggs
Juliana Sheffield
Shannon & Brent Shoalmire
Father Louis Sklar
Cecilia Smith
Tony & Kathleen Smith
Laura Solomon
Dr. & Mrs. Dwight St. Andre
David & Brenda Stamey
Joe B. Stamey
Toni & Mickey Stroud
Sofiko Tchetchelashvili & Dr. Andrej Kurti
Joe Thibodeaux
Patricia A. Todd
Dr. & Mrs. Patrick Wheat
Richard & Mary White
Art & Sharon Williams
Peggy Williams
Sponsors—$50-$99
Mr. & Mrs. Edward K. Ahrens
Dianne Alexander, Alma Rabb Alost
Ruth Anderson
Glenda & Jeff Austin
Joy Bailey
Louie & Gayle Bernard
Sue Breedlove
Mr. & Mrs. Mickey Brewton, In memory of Kerlin & Margaret Sutton
Mary Brocato
Luke Brouillette
Ron & Leta Brown-In Memory of Alton
Townsend Sr., Alton Townsend, Jr.,
Karen Townsend Gordy, Past NNSS Concertmaster
Paul & Kerri Christopher
Dr. Virginia Crossno
Pam DeBlieux
Gary & Judy Dison
Bill & Rosie Finical
Margaret Fleming
Janet Flynn
Marsha Zulick Graham
Pete & Jeanette Gregory
Brandon Hatcher
Mr & Mrs. Mickey Hennigan
Kathleen Hicks
Frank & Gail Hines
Deborah A. Howell
Bill & Linda Jenkins
Elaine Johnson
Charles H. Jones
Sue Keller
Mark Kerry
Judy and Henry Kinberger
Loran Lindsey
Linda Lytle
Ann Manger
Herman & Arleen Mayeux
Barbara & David McCoy
Heather Meadows
Gay & L.J. Melder
Friends of the Symphony
Mr. & Mrs. L. J. Melder, Jr.
Robert Morrow
Gilen Norwood & Judith Meibaum
Beatrice Owsley
Janice & Jerry Paul
Rev. Kristen Paul
Dr. Kent W. Peacock
Dr. Doug & Angela Pesnell
Curtis & Denise Phifer
Anita Mixon Pierce
Scotti & Richard Rodgers
Toni Rushing
Joseph Scott
Soni Sers
Elise Shell
Tommy & Debbie Sibley
Jerry Lane Silmon
Mary K. Smith
Dian & Fraser Snowden
Merlin & Mary Squyres
Cheryl Stoker
Carolyn Stothart
Ralph & Barb Thiergart
Gail Sawyer Thomas
Linda Ward
David West
Crystal Williams
Wilma Wingo
Betty Zeagler, in memory
Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society appreciates you supporting the Symphony and our Ad Patrons.
A Fusion of Musical Brilliance
Proud supporters of Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony
Marion and Donnie Johnston
President & First Lady James & Martha Genovese Northwestern State University
A Special Thanks to our Conductor, Dr. Douglas Bakenhus, who brings us extraordinary music year after year.
Martin Sanders III
Music
Through the Years
SENATOR ALAN SEABAUGH
Court Counsel/District Hearing Officer 10th Judicial District Court of Louisiana Natchitoches Parish
Many thanks to the Friends of the Symphony whose monetary gifts provide live orchestral music for the Natchitoches community and music education at Northwestern State University.
Friends of the Symphony Form
(Please print clearly)
Name ___________________________________________________________ (as you would like it to appear on the program with your donation)
Mailing Address ___________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ____________________________________________________ Phone
**Platinum: 2 tickets for any musicale or gala during the season; and a 1/4 page ad in the program.
*Gold: 2 tickets for any musicale or gala during the season; and a 1/8 page ad in the program.
Consult your tax accountant to verify the tax deductible portion of your donation. Your check is your receipt. Your membership provides the resources that enable the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society to provide scholarships for string instrumentalists.
Please return this response to:
Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society 107 South Drive, Box 113 Natchitoches, LA 71457
Thank you! Your name will appear in the next program. All donations go to Strings’ Scholarships.
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The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society
What began 59 years ago has evolved into a strong organization providing scholarships for string instrument players attending Northwestern State University. In 1966 the symphony society was formed as a college/community collaboration to promote music and the arts in the Natchitoches community. It has grown from just a few scholarships in the early years to over 29 students receiving symphony society scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year.
Creation of the non-profit organization was led by NSU music instructor/ conductor Joseph B. Carlucci and community leaders Mrs. Frank Roberson (Martha) and Jim Bob Key, a business owner and musician. Local attorney Arthur C. Watson drew up the articles of incorporation and bylaws for the 19 member board of directors.
Early concerts were performed in A.A. Fredericks Auditorium with the orchestra composed of students, faculty members, and professional musicians hired from other orchestras. There were fewer concerts with the first concert performed in December, a formal affair with a Symphony Ball afterward at the local country club (no longer in existence). Over the years the orchestra became all student musicians and the symphony society became focused on providing scholarships for these students. With the creation of Magale Recital Hall concerts became more welcoming to all with a less formal environment and better sound quality.
Today, under the direction of Dr. Douglas Bakenhus, the NSU world-class orchestra performs five concerts throughout the year plus participating in the NSU School of Creative and Performing Arts Christmas Gala show. Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, written by attorney and board member Jeff Thomas, were adopted May 2, 2019. The Mission Statement’s primary goal is “providing scholarships for string players that attend Northwestern State University in Natchitoches Louisiana.” The Board of Directors 19 voting members serve on a volunteer basis.
The orchestra is an amazing educational and cultural asset to both the college and the community. Community support is vital to helping the symphony society continue to provide scholarships for these talented musicians. The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society is grateful and thanks you, the Friends of the Symphony, for your continued support.
Pat Thomas (1939-2020) Past NNSS President
Northwestern State University is located in beautiful, historic Natchitoches, Louisiana, the oldest (1714) settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. Northwestern State was founded in 1884 as Louisiana Normal School for the education of teachers. In 1921 the school’s name was changed to Louisiana State Normal College, then designated as Northwestern State College of Louisiana in 1944. Its current title, an indication of Northwestern State’s diversity of programs and services, became official in 1970.
Welcome to the MRS. H. D. DEAR, SR. AND ALICE E. DEAR
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS
Northwestern’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, designated as an “Area of Excellence” by the University of Louisiana Board of Trustees and generously endowed by the H.D. Dear family of Alexandria, Louisiana, is comprised of four areas: Music; Art; Theatre/Dance; and New Media, Journalism, and Communication Arts. All four disciplines confer undergraduate degrees, and Music and the Fine and Graphic Arts also offer graduate degrees.
To learn more about the School of Creative and Performing Arts, please contact: Mr. Scott Burrell, Director of CAPA ........................................(318) 357-4522 ..........nfburrellc@nsula.edu
Welcome to the
NSU DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
To learn more about the Department of Music, please contact: Dr. Terrie Sanders, Department Head ..................................(318) 357-5762 ............sanderst@nsula.edu
NSU music students rehearse, attend classes, take private instruction, and perform in one of the most outstanding Performing Arts facilities in the South, the A.A. Fredericks Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, named to honor one of Northwestern State’s most outstanding administrators.
The Magale Recital Hall, endowed by the Magale family of Waterproof, Louisiana, seats over 400, and is one of the finest concert halls in the U.S. It is equipped with a 40-rank Reuter organ, two nine-foot grand pianos, and an Eric Hertz harpsichord. The 1400-seat Fine Arts Auditorium is used for larger concerts, musicals and opera, dance, and numerous theatre productions.
Many performing opportunities for students include several choirs, opera theatre, orchestra, marching band, wind ensemble, jazz orchestra, percussion ensemble, and a variety of chamber music groups. Degree offerings include the Bachelor of Music in Performance, the Bachelor of Music/Sacred Music Concentration, the Bachelor of Music Education, and the Master of Music.
PLAY WITH US! MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS @ NORTHWESTERN STATE
Students are eligible to receive scholarships for participation in music ensembles, regardless of their academic major. Scholarship awards vary, and are determined by factors including a talent audition, high school achievements, academic scores and financial need. For further information, please contact CAPA Director, Scott Burrell.
NSU’s Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) is dedicated to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable experience for all students, faculty and staff. CAPA will not tolerate racism or discrimination and is committed to creating a fair, empathetic, and just environment.
Northwestern State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, pregnancy or parenting status, and veteran or retirement status in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Complaints or inquiries related to Title IX should be directed to the Director of Student Advocacy and Title IX Coordinator, Julie Powell (318-357-5570). For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerns, contact the Accessibility and Disability Support Director, Crissey Smith, at 318-357-5460. Additionally, Northwestern complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy & Campus Crime Statistics Act. Information about NSU’s campus security and crime statistics can be found at https://www.nsula.edu/universityaffairs/police/. Full disclosure statement: https://www.nsula.edu/iehr/.