

2023 Winter Concerts
Ambassador Auditorium


Welcome to the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras' winter concerts! I am thrilled to have joined the Pasadena Symphony Association as your new CEO and am so proud of the hard work each student has put in to reach this point of the school year. It takes discipline, courage and team work to perform on this stage, and we applaud every member of the PYSO and their families.
A large part of what attracted me to this organization is its deep commitment to arts education and the community. Playing in an orchestra matters and we believe that every child deserves a place on our stage. Our PYSO program has grown by leaps and bounds the past two seasons, now serving 11 student ensembles and adding a new summer intensive program set to launch in 2024. You may not know this, but we now serve more than 700 students from 84 schools and 29 cities in Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley.
As always, we invite you to attend any of our popular main stage concerts at Ambassador Auditorium and the LA County Arboretum through our Student Access program, which provides no-cost tickets for more than 3,000 students and their families each year. We are shaping the next generation of audiences for the arts and the community leaders of tomorrow through the enriching benefits of live symphonic music. Let these young artists be your guide.
Happy Holidays,

About the PYSO
The Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) have been training tomorrow’s leaders since 1972. Now in its 52nd year, PYSO is considered among the finest youth orchestras in the country and is the centerpiece of the Pasadena Symphony Association’s education program. PYSO offers 11 ensembles, serving students from 29 cities throughout Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley, 17 school districts and 84 schools. In addition, PYSO provides Pasadena Unified School District with teaching artists to directly support music teachers in the classroom.
PYSO students are immersed in rigorous repertoire, learn the art of ensemble playing, and explore their potential in a supportive environment. Students study a primary instrument and participate in weekly ensemble practice and instrumental sectionals.
Ensemble playing opportunities are available for all PYSO students no matter where they are in their musical studies. Following an audition, students will be placed in an appropriate ensemble based on their age and ability. Students may stay in a rising ensemble for up to 3 years, depending on their level of playing as well as their personal commitment and maturity level. Each ensemble has its pathway from section player to principal, and each student’s journey will be different.







an education program of the
Prelude Strings, String Orchestra and Overture Strings
Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 11:30am
Prelude Strings - Kyle Smith, Conductor
Medieval Kings
Soon Hee Newbold
Fantasy on Greensleeves Arr. Mark Williams (Traditional English Folk Song)
Carol of the Bells Mykola Leontovich (Ukrainian Folk Song) Arr. Sandra Dackow
Skiing Holiday
Alvin F. Mistak
String Orchestra - Michael Nelson, Conductor
Bach Country Fiddles
Richard Meyer
Allegretto from "The Creatures of Prometheus" Ludwig van Beethoven Arr. Rick England
Ai Hai Yo (Chinese Folk Song) Arr. Tyler Arcari
Dark Imperium
Aaron Fryklund
Overture Strings - Michael Nelson, Conductor
Symphony Op. 11, No. 2
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier
II. Andante de Saint-Georges
III. Presto Arr. Jennifer Meckler
Dalarnian Melody, Gammal Fäbodpsalm Dalarna (Swedish Folk Melody from Dalarna) Arr. Robert Sieving
Agincourt
Doug Spata
PRELUDE STRINGS
Kyle Smith, Conductor
Violin
Jacob Castaneda
Grace Chan
Luke Chen
Jayne Chiang
Richard Feng
Jovannie Hoo
Noelle Kim
Eden Lau
Berton Lau
Ethan Li
Iris Li
Graciela Lopez
Augustine Lowe
Daisy Pfeiffer
Oliver Pritchard
Sofia Rusconi
Arpi Simonian
Dashiell Stephens
Mia Still
Harper StrebQuintel
Annabel Tam
Katherine TerHarutyunyan
London Terry
Charlotte Tom
Enze Tong
Naneh Vachents
Kende VolkanKacso
Eden Williams
Carol Williams
Zi Rui (Toby) Wong
Caleb Jeremiah Wong
Sophia Wu
Vivienne Wu
Ada Xu
Karis Yeung
Leah Yin
Victor Zhang
Viola
Corise Bates
Dalton Chen
Aariel Lee
Penelope Park
Olivia Solis
Emily Zhang
Kemi Zhang
Cello
Isabelle Chen
Kailyn Duong
Xingze Feng
Audrey Hsiao

Gideon Ramirez
Edwin Ting
Alice Walsh
Alexander Jarvis
Henry Kittle
Elias Lopez
Therese McCulley
Emma Paik

STRING ORCHESTRA
Michael Nelson, Conductor
Violin 1
Maia Atkinson
Luke Castaneda
Adaline Chen
Coco Choi
Elise Dermovsesian
James Enney
Etienne Gagne
Ryan Kam
Torrance Li
Angela Li
Calista Pang
Emma Santini
Winni Wang
Macy Zhu
Violin 2
Katherine Chen
Aaron Chu
Hana Cole
Julian Cruz
Quinn Ford
Ziyu Gan
Camille Kallay
Katherine (Kate) Lee
Rebecca Liu
Amelie Ostray
Effie Streb-Quintel
Lyla Stuart-Alban
Eugene Tang
Penelope Vuong
Sam Ying
Viola
Jayden Jakubiak
Naomi Kim
Owen Landon
Jieying (Judy) Tan
Maia Tshing
Kelsey West
Lucas Yeh
OVERTURE STRINGS
Michael Nelson, Conductor
Violin 1
Richard Cui
Aurelia Hsu
Naomi Jones
Yaeanne Lee
Caroline Lin
Noah Lu
Mateo Okon
Rebecca Pan
Sean Tsai
Maebh Wu
Shayna Xu
Yuki Zhang
Violin 2
Nicholas Chan
Rita Chu
Ella Garlett
Jessica Gu
Raiana Gutierrez
Eva Huo-Stevens
William Janeczko
Elizabeth Ong
Ivan Pan
Ray Rastegari
Grant Saiyasombat
Stella Shen
Isabelle Teng
Viola
Conor Kaw
Cameron Kim
Will Guangyin Mei
Ryukei Morimoto
Avery Thiel
Cello
Elia Braunlich
Daisy Chen
Ashley Hong
Samantha Kim
Derrick Lee

Cello
Samuel Bortnik
Wei Ham
Aria Hwu
Annya Lee
Araceli Prasarttongosoth
Gabriel Salisbury
Alice Sun
Ella Wang
Evangeline Wong
Double Bass
Raine Beheshti
Lindsey Huynh

Alexis Lee
Evelyn Lockerbie
Lily Peng
Raquel Rosado
Kenji Ross
Yat Hin Adam Sun
Thomas Umutyan
Wan-Hsing Wang
Arden Yang
Skye Zhou
Double Bass
Jack Bransby
Carrie Rao
Quentin Sloan

All City Orchestra
The Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) All City Orchestra ensembles provide tuition-free, weekly group lessons to strings, woodwind and brass students in 4th, 5th and 6th grade who are currently in a school music program in the Pasadena Unified School District.
ACO is excited to announce its expansion this season to 4 ensembles, with a new site at McKinley Elementary and an inaugural summer intensive program.
All City Orchestra Strings have an option of attending one of three sessions:
• Jackson Elementary
593 W Woodbury Rd, Altadena, CA 91001
Mondays, 12:40pm-1:40pm in the Music Room
• McKinley Elementary
325 S Oak Knoll Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101
Mondays, 2:00pm-3:00pm in the Music Room
• Field Elementary
3600 E Sierra Madre Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107
Tuesdays, 3:30pm-4:30pm in the Music Room
All City Orchestra Winds lessons are held at
• San Rafael Elementary
1090 Nithsdale Rd, Pasadena, CA 91105
Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Sign Up Here:





an education program of the
Symphony and Wind Ensemble
Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 3:00pm
Wind Ensemble - Gary Yearick, Conductor
One Moment in Time
Angel Echoes
Lexington March
Polar Express
Symphony - Jack Taylor, Conductor
James Swearingen
Larry Clark
John Edmondson
Alan Silvestri
Arr. Johnnie Vinson
Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2 Georges Bizet
Arr. Merle Isacc
Selections from American Suite
I. Andante con moto
II. Andante
III. Allegro
A Mad Russian's Christmas
Antonín Dvořák
Arr. Brendan McBrien
Paul O'Neill, Robert Kinkel & Peter Illych Tchaikovsky
Arr. Bob Phillips
WIND ENSEMBLE
Gary Yearick, Conductor
Flute
Archana
Ananthanarayanan
Ava Barrios
Henry Cheng
Rachel Cho
Charles Katz
Addison Kim
David Moss
Sophie Tran
Ayano Wakui
Jamie Wu
Joaquin Zajac
Alvin Zhang
SYMPHONY
Clarinet
Ethan Chu
Jonathan Krum
Kiley Lee
Colin Yun
Rachel Zhou
Bass Clarinet
Crystal Chien
Oboe
Jerome Hwang
Aden Zaidi
Alto Saxophone
Carter Bradley
Jack Taylor, Conductor
Violin 1
Sophie Aguiar
Roy Amaral
Mei Callaham
Kadence Hwu
Sophia Krum
Max Lee
Kayla Lee
Victor Lee
Eliana Li
Priscilla Miao
Katelyn Ng
Paisley Park
Andrew Suda
Olivia Tan
Kevin Wang
Isabella Wilson
Amelia Wu
Henry Yoo
Anita Zheng
Violin 2
Evangeline Bransby
Elleina Caine
Ethan Castaneda
Jiarui (Aaron) Dai
Claire Heyler Erickson
Aidan Hofer
Sophia Iknadossian
Lucas Kittle
Chuhan (Gina) Kong
Sean Lee
Delilah Lee
Jayden Lee
Jared Levine
Jasmine Liao
Nathan Leo Luhur
Kevin Mofid Sa Vinhas
Jonathan Roesner
Kirsi Williams
Joey Ying
Joseph Young
Riley Yu
Eudora Yuan
Viola
Emilio Alban
Ethan Chandra
Benicio Haro
Leon Holloway
Daniel Huss
Jolie Ji
Cello
Jeremiah Chun
Samantha Descalzi
Alyssa Guo
Tianhan Huang
Cameron Huss
Annie Liu
Daiju Mori
Ian Nam
Olivia Tanouye
Elijah Tshing
Juliet Levine
Elliott Park
Caleb Wang
Tenor Saxophone
Ian Pan
French Horn
Elisha Cho
Angelina Lee
Trumpet
Cameron Chen
Jacob Der
Aditya Katake
Siwoo Kim

Marko Strohm
Anthony Zhou
Percussion
Parker Johnson
Theo Wisch
Anwitha Nakshatri
Nicole Tu
Jimmy Wu
Double Bass
Bradley Utomo
Flute
William Hsieh
Evolet Sun
Isabelle Whiting
Isabelle Yan
Erica Yu
Aurora Zajac
Zita Zhu
Brianna Zhu
Clarinet
Zoe Chen
Justin Kim
Braveton Lin
Sierra Mercer
Oboe
Justin Kong
Yifang Lou
Corbin Paxton
Bassoon
Luke Hoang
Alto Saxophone
Liam Chang

Tenor Saxophone
Gabriel Nicoll
Baritone Saxophone
Christopher Rappaport
French Horn
Joshua Cooper
Lucia Lois
Itusi Yoshioka
Trumpet
Willa Earnest-Blum
Mariah Ellis
Albus Lingfan Lu
Trombone
Joseph Cooper
Kelly Law
Theodore Zee
Tuba
Aaron Del Carmen
Percussion
Levi Sulbaek Andersen
Katie Hong

an education program of the
Sinfonia and Philharmonic
Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 7:30pm
Sinfonia - Pin Chen, Conductor
La Neige, ou Le Nouvel Éginhard: Overture
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber
Edited by Dario Salvi
Symphony in D major Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga
II. Andante con moto
III. Minuetto, Allegro
IV. Allegro con moto
INTERMISSION
Philharmonic - Chris Kim, Conductor
Lev Sakae Taira, Soloist
The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave): Overture
Felix Mendelssohn
Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 26 Max Bruch
I. Prelude, Allegro Moderato
The Bamboula, Rhapsodic Dance
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
La Mer Claude Debussy
I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer
II. Jeux de vagues
III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
SINFONIA
Pin Chen, Conductor
Violin
Cadence Chan
Danica Chen
Helena Chen
Jeremy Chen
Celine Chih
Julien Collet
Lucas Hong^
Anna Hua
Rodrigo Jaime
Claire Jung
Minda Lai
Jiwoo Lee*
Kayce Lee
Viviam Liao
Cathleen Lu
Megan Mak
Kate Masuda^
Lauren Poplock
Shelby Sartor
Eluisa Schulitz
Nora Wang**
Kevin Xie
Tiffany He
Nina Xu
Allison Yue
Malena Zamora
Viola
Ari Euredjian*
Benicio Haro
Daniel Huss
Jeremy John
Emily Kaw
Aiden Lee^
Cello
Tyler Chin
Judy Ku
Michelle Li
Julia Lin
Joseph Mandella
Minju Oh
Connor Pak^
Madelin Rentmeester*
Colette Yerrid
Double Bass
Casey Chen*
Cameron Huss
Kendall Suehiro
Flute
Aidan Ko
Jolee Kuo
Chloe Lee*
Sophia Ren
Allyson Wang
Clarinet
Suh Joon (Ian) Kang
Suh-Hyun (Ethan)
Kang
Noah Mukherjee*
Noah Tandoc
Qingcheng (Eric)
Yang
Oboe
Alexander Hsieh*
Elijah Joung
PYSO Concerto Competition Winner
Lev Sakae Taira


Alto Saxophone
Quinne Fang
French Horn
Joyce Garcia
Wilson Jaroch*
Trumpet
Diego Gonzalez
Jackson Kidd*
Sarina Lin
Percussion
Daniel Huang
** Concertmaster
* Section Principal
^ Assistant Principal
Lev Sakae Taira is a 15-year-old violinist and vocalist (baritone) from La Cañada. He began violin studies at age 4 with Gherman Markosian and he currently studies violin at the Colburn School with Aimée Kreston. He began his vocal training with Michael Chipman at the Colburn School and currently studies with Derrick Lawrence. He joined PYSO in 2022 and also studies chamber music at Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
In 2022, Lev received the LA violin scholarship to attend the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp where he placed second in the Intermediate Age Division Concerto Competition and was concertmaster of the orchestra for the camp’s final session. He was the 2020 second prize winner for the Bellagrande International Music Competition for his age group. In the summer of 2023, Lev attended the Meadowmount School of Music where he studied under Ann Setzer. He has performed in masterclasses for Michael Barenboim and Lisa Sylvester.
PHILHARMONIC
Chris Kim, Conductor
Violin 1
Lily Bingham
Sophia Buda
Jasmine Chao
Chloe Choe
Austin Eng
Yuuto Izumi
Maya Jen
Hannah La Porte
Chloe Luong
Julian Rife
Mallika Sheshadri^
Madeline Son
Ashlee Sung**
Ian Teigen
Danielle Tsai^
Bai Xue
Violin 2
Ruby Chew
Noah Choe
Sophia Fogel
Joy Gao
Max Goodman*
Lio Itaya
Steven Lee
Jamie Lee
Allison Lee
Audrey Lord
Eyla Najafi
Lingkai Ni
Lev Sakae Taira*
Hayley Tang
Ellen Tang
Chloe Vuong
Viola
Victoria Lee
Meridith Southard
Owen Su *
Vitali Sei Taira
Ruiyi Zhang
Faith Zhou
Valeri Zhu
Cello
Amiruthaa
Amudharasan
Kayson Chen*
Phoebe Cho
Kaitlyn Hong*
Chloe Hsin
Austin Kuo
Phoebe Lee
Liam Reilly
Isaac Tiu
Shannon Tsai
Nathan Vipapan
Matthew Wu
Emily Yen
Double Bass
Josiah Chun
Nicolas Stanton
Flute
Claire Buda
Thomas Chung*
Rena Jeoung
Kaylee Kim
Katie Li
Piccolo
Claire Buda
Clarinet

French Horn
Nathan Cho
Trumpet
William Meier
Maxwell Shen
Sebastian Thompson*
Trombone
Ellis Kopcho
Trisha Chakraborty
Jesse Chen
Ava Ye*
Joaquin Zikman-Fung
Oboe
Brendan Kuo
Christian Yi
English Horn
Christian Yi
Enrique Perez
Tuba
Jasper Kugler
Harp
Hart LippSmith
Percussion
Akito Kato
** Concertmaster
* Section Principal
^ Assistant Principal



Pasadena Symphony and POPS Artistic Staff
PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR
Michael Feinstein
PYSO PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTOR
Chris Kim
PYSO SINFONIA CONDUCTOR
Pin Chen
PYSO SYMPHONY CONDUCTOR
Jack Taylor
PYSO STRING ORCHESTRA & OVERTURE STRINGS CONDUCTOR
Michael Nelson
PYSO WIND ENSEMBLE CONDUCTOR
Gary Yearick
PYSO PRELUDE STRINGS CONDUCTOR
Kyle Smith
PYSO ALL CITY STRINGS CONDUCTOR
April Guthrie, Heather Lockie
PYSO ALL CITY WINDS CONDUCTOR
Nathan Stearns
Pasadena Symphony and POPS Administrative Staff
DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE
Kevin Batton
INTERIM CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Dana Bean
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Andrew Brown
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Alex Chu
DIRECTOR OF PATRON SERVICES & TICKETING
Tim Harwick
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Michael Kramberg
INTERIM DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION
Andrea Laguni
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Marisa McCarthy
OFFICE MANAGER
Nina Montoya
EDUCATION MANAGER
Brian O'Donnell
MARKETING & PATRON SERVICES ASSOCIATE
Erica Sharp
PYSO Sectional Coaches
VIOLIN
Jean Lee, Heather Lockie, Elizabeth
Hedman, Kris Rahamad, Jen Simone, Alejandra Moreno Gonzalez, Flo Titmus
VIOLA
Kelly Christ, Carrie Holzman-Little, Kris Rahamad
CELLO
April Guthrie, Nadine Hall, Morgan Little, Ryan Sweeney
DOUBLE BASS
Ryan Baird, Nick Leonard
WOODWINDS
David Miller, Sierra Schmeltzer
BRASS
Nathan Johnson, Tawnee Lillo, Lisa
McCormick, Dr. Mark Miller, Nathan Stearns
PERCUSSION
Quentin Purviance
PYSO Student Managers
Ruby Chew
Yeonho Jeong
Danielle Tsai
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Support for the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras is provided, in part, by:
The Rose Hills Foundation
The Green Foundation
The Youssef & Kamel Mawardi Fund
M. Brian McMahon & Janice Lee-McMahon
Fund the Future Music Education Donors:
Anonymous
Jane & Dan Armel
Shana Bayat & Tarun Kapoor
Eric W. Bell & Susanne Spangler
Mr. & Mrs. Paul F.
Bennett
Dean & Karen Billman
Mickey Bilsky
Adele Binder
John Bird
Kaylyn & Larry Blank
Chanel & Loakim Boutakidis
Doug Brown
Celia Butler
Karen Calborn
Kristen & Anthony Cannizzo
Cheryl & Philip Cannon
Annette Castro
Catherine "Tink Cheney & Barry Jones
Sandra Choi
Carl W. Cooper & Lynn Van Dam Cooper
Rhonda Cotton
Stephanie & Leo Dencik
Richard Schulhof
Mike Don
Sharla & Dick Durant
Georgianna Bray Erskine
Sarah Etemadi
Chip Fairchild
Mr. & Mrs. George Forbes
Jens Weiden
Mr. & Mrs. Ken Gouw
Joseph L. Grosso & Loren Escandon
Brian & Elizabeth Hall
Kristin & Berkeley Harrison
Dena Harte
Mary & Erwin Helmich
Greg Holcomb & Todd Nickey
Bryan Johns & Alec Call
Manny Kaplan
Raymond & Cinty Kepner
Kay Kochenderfer Toomey & Frank Toomey
Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler
Joyce Law
Gayle Levant
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
Ann Peppers Foundation
The Helen & Will Webster Foundation
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
Mary Lyons
Fred Manaster
Leslie & Baird Marble
Liam McGuiness
Heidi & Steve McLean
Robert & Kimberly Michero
Shelley & Phil Miles
Fritz & Angela Miller
Eric Miller
Tony & Norah Morley
Judith & Donald Norquist
Debi & Stan Parkhurst
Barbara & Tony Phillips
Jake Poxson
Mary Jane Prout
Keith Renken
Cheryl Rigali
Rosemary & Robert Risley
Rey & Vivian Rodriguez
Paul Rusnak
McNally & David Sagal
John & Gayle Samore
Shadi & Jennifer Sanbar
Julie Saper
Supervisor Kathryn Barger
Jeannine Scheinhorn
Vicki & Brad Schwartz
Rich & Ellyn Semler
Kathy Seuylemezian
Jamie Shaheen
Bill & Susan Shieff
Gita Singh
Gregg Smith
Barbara Mann Steinwedell
Melanie & Steve Summers
Ben Tam
Jack Taylor
Angel & Jeff Throop
Lindsay & Bill Tilney
Linda Tolbert
Beatrice Usher
Irene Van Blerkom
Andrew Van Horn & Kristine Chase
Doug Waite
Sarita & Booker T. White
Reginald A. Wilson & English A. Heisser
Kimberly Winick & Lawrence Chamblee
Scott Witter
Diana Yang
Eric Yap
Amy Zakiewicz
PYSO would like to extend a special thanks to the Pasadena Unified School District, Conductors, Coaches, Staff, Volunteers, Student Managers, and parents! Your dedication, energy, and spirit allow our students to excel to new heights each season.






GIFTS GIVEN IN MEMORY OF DREW FLAHERTY

The Pasadena Symphony lost one of our family this summer when our Chief Operating Officer, Drew Flaherty passed away suddenly. Drew was the heartbeat of the organization and the driving force behind our operations for the past decade. We will always remember Drew as a warm, kind, fun person who was a stalwart in the California orchestral community. His loss is deeply felt, but his love for music and passion for togetherness and laughter lives on. Drew’s family is honored by those who have given in his memory.
Pam & Jerry Ackrich
The Adamick Family
Janet Wendy Anderson
Patty & John Anderson
Brenda Baity & Scott Long
Alison Bjorkedal & Phil Yao
Laurel Bossi
Ronald Bossi
MaryAnn Bozek
Nancy & Martin Chalifour
Panela & David Conley
Diane & Michael ConleyHinchey
Jana & Steve Cooley
The Dickson Family
Valerie DiLoretta
Jim & Marge Dixon
Patrick Dowling
Eli & Jean Essa
Dr. Alan Fisher
Peter & Linda Flaherty
Jonathan Flaksman
Joanne Freed & Richard C. Mendelson
The Girard Family
Jeff Hacker
Nadine Hall
Judith Henderson
Matthew Henning
Elizabeth Hentz
Sara Hiner
Judd Hollander
Cyndee Howard
Deborah R. & Bradley D. Howard
Chuck Jones
Andrew Kassan
Joanne Kennedy
Ray & Cinty Kepner
Kay Kochenderfer-Toomey & Frank Toomey
Judy & Brad Kolb
Marlene R. Konnar & John D. Baldeschwieler
Aimée Kreston & Andrew Picken
Cynthia Leary
Arlene Lesh
Marisa McCarthy
Shannon McCarty
Priscilla McClure
Rebecca Meneses
Jacqueline A. Miller
Rob Moore
Judith Moss
Sandy Norton
Thomas Porro
Rosemary & Robert Risley
Kenneth Shapiro
Barbara Porro-Smith
Erik Rynearson
Jamie Shaheen
Timothy Stang
Season Straaberg
Scott Vandrick & Tony Foster
Christine Wagner

Philharmonic Program Notes
The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26 (1830-1833)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Felix Mendelssohn once stated, “It is in pictures, ruins, and natural surroundings that I find the most music.” Perhaps no work and no surroundings were as equally matched for compositional success as Mendelssohn’s trip to Scotland and the writing of his Hebrides Overture. Mendelssohn was a child prodigy who came from a well-off family, thereby enabling him to travel often. He greatly enjoyed his various sojourns throughout Europe, and the 1829 walking tour of Scotland with his friend, Karl Klingemann, was no exception. Mendelssohn was only 20 years old when he and Klingemann traveled to the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland, and later to Fingal’s Cave on the Island of Staffa. After seeing the stunning scenery in the Hebrides, he composed the opening bars of his overture, sending it to his sister Fanny with the following note, “In order to make you understand how extraordinarily The Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there.” The following day he and Klingemann ventured to Fingal’s Cave (named after the character Fingal, from a third-century Gaelic tale), having to row there in a skiff, and sat at the mouth of the awe-inspiring, sea-level, basalt-rock formation, and marveled. Mendelssohn was dreadfully seasick on his trip to the cave, but was able to appreciate the magnitude of the formation nonetheless. Klingemann wrote that Mendelssohn “[got] along better with the sea as an artist than as a human being with a stomach.”
Mendelssohn completed the first draft of his Hebrides Overture in Rome toward the end of 1830. He was unhappy with his first attempt and continued to revise the work for the next three years. Of particular distress to Mendelssohn was the middle section, about which he said, “The forte, D Major middle section is very silly and the entire so-called development tastes more of counterpoint than of whale oil, seagulls and salted cod.” Whale oil notwithstanding, the work premiered on May 14, 1832, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Mendelssohn was still not happy with the work, and revised it further until it was finally published in 1833. The two titles (Hebrides and Fingal’s Cave) provide an interesting dilemma – it is believed that a publisher added the Fingal’s Cave title, thinking it would be a more recognizable name than The Hebrides. Further complicating matters, it seems the score and orchestral parts contain differing names, some indicating Fingal and some Hebrides.
Mendelssohn’s work was a new type of overture which emerged during the 19th century, referred to as the concert overture. Concert overtures are not
drawn from a stage work or opera, but rather, are stand-alone works to be programmed as an overture in a concert hall. Other composers of famous concert overtures include Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms.
Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture is not programmatic, in the sense that it does not follow a narrative or tell a story; but it is thoroughly evocative of the sea and the scenery Mendelssohn experienced during his time in the Hebrides and Fingal’s Cave. The opening motive that Mendelssohn sketched and sent to his sister after viewing the Hebrides, is a mysterious, arpeggiated fragment outlining the key of B minor. The motive is repeated several times, rising higher and higher. It begins in the lower depths of the orchestra for maximum drama, with the bassoon, viola, and cello receiving the melodic material. As the theme rises, the violins take over, while the lower voices begin an undulating pattern of sixteenth notes that is present throughout most of the work, representing the ebb and flow of the sea, while dramatic crescendos and sforzandi allude to crashing sea waves upon rocks.
Notes by: Lori NewmanViolin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 (1866) Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Max Bruch started composing in his childhood and wrote this concerto at the age of 26, but only completed it four years later in 1868. This work has become a staple in the repertoire of violin concertos. The first performance of this concerto was given on April 24, 1866, but it was immediately withdrawn as Bruch was grossly dissatisfied with it. He then sent the manuscript to several musician friends, including the great violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, who responded with a comprehensive list of suggestions for improvement. After having re-written the work at least half a dozen times, the revised edition premiered on January 7, 1868 with Joachim as the soloist. Bruch dedicated this work to Joachim to express his respect and gratitude for a successful collaboration. Although Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, along with Scottish Fantasy and Kol Nidrei, were his most celebrated works, this violin concerto was so well-received that it overshadowed his other works. Bruch probably did not expect this and had already sold the manuscript to a publisher for only a small sum of money. Thus, he did not benefit financially from its immense popularity. This may have been a sore point for Bruch. Although many great German violinists wanted to perform this concerto, he would dismissively say “every fortnight another one comes to me wanting to play the first concerto. I have now become rude and have told them: "I cannot listen to this concerto any more – did I perhaps write just this one? Go away and once and for all play the other concertos, which are just as good, if not better.”
Bruch was known for his beautiful and well-structured music, and was not one to push artistic boundaries. This style placed him in the category of a “Romantic Classicism” composer. Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor is written in the standard sonata form. It was composed around 20 years after the premiere of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, and there are many parallels drawn between the two works. These include omitting the use of a long orchestral introduction, unlike most typical Classical concertos, and having transitions that connect one movement into the next seamlessly, instead of clearly defined pauses. Today's performance will feature an alternate ending composed in collaboration between our soloist's private teacher, Aimée Kreston, and conductor, Chris Kim.
Notes by: Alyssa
GohThe Bamboula, Rhapsodic Dance (1911)
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875-1912)
How does one reimagine a traditional African dance brought to the United States by the slave trade as a piece of orchestral music? The British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor definitively answers this question in his Rhapsodie for Orchestra Bamboula (1911). The Bamboula refers to a goatskin drum and an African dance that appeared in Haiti in the mid-18th century and was brought to New Orleans by Haitian slaves. Although Coleridge-Taylor wasn’t the first composer to write a piece inspired by the Bamboula, his became the most popular by far. Listen for its lively musical passages, distinct choice of instrumentation, and romantic melodic influences. As noted by musicologist Geoffrey Self1, “Monotony does not occur [in Bamboula] due to ColeridgeTaylor’s inexhaustible fountain of invention.” Rhapsodie for Orchestra Bamboula was commissioned by the founders of the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut during one of Coleridge-Taylor’s three visits to America. He completed all of its orchestration on board the ship as he sailed to the United States. Considering the genius and immediate popularity of the work at the time of its debut, Coleridge-Taylor was grossly under-compensated for his work and the piece remains underrepresented in orchestra repertoire today. In recent years, foundations such as Chineke! Orchestra and the Kanneh-Mason family have worked to bring Coleridge-Taylor’s music back to mainstream classical programs. Rhapsodie for Orchestra Bamboula is a great celebration of traditional African music and its permeation into American culture—performing such a piece helps to maintain the legacy of one of the most accomplished composers of the 20th century.
Notes by: Francesa Rodoni
1"Coleridge-Taylor and the Orchestra" from Black Music Research Journal
La Mer (1899)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Debussy’s love of the sea derived from two sources: his father, a sailor, who told his son beguiling stories of his life on the ocean, and visual arts. The composer’s only “ocean voyages” were the three times (including one very rough crossing) when he went to England via the English Channel. Nonetheless, he wrote to his publisher, Jacques Durand, “the sea is always endless and beautiful. It is really the thing in nature which best puts you in your place… The sea has been very good to me. She has shown me all her moods. You do not know perhaps that I was intended for the fine career of a sailor and only the chances of life led me away from it… I have an endless store of memories… Music is a free art, boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, and the sea.” On the cover of the manuscript he placed the drawing titled The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). For the composer, the sea was a very personal source of memories and emotions.
Among the visual artists’ innovations was the use of color as an end in itself, and among the most influential legacies of Debussy was the use of musical color in the same manner. The most obvious way Debussy achieves his sonorities is by augmenting the standard orchestra with some glitter: two harps and a large percussion section. But other musical elements also become agents of color. Harmonic changes serve as color washes; chords dissolve rather than resolve. Short melodic motives rather than fully developed themes sparkle in brief solos, substituting timbre and movement for narrative coherence.
Throughout the first movement, “From Dawn to Noon on the Sea,” motives interplay with quick timbral changes to suggest the sea’s dual nature: everchanging on the surface but with an underlying eternal and static quality. The opening wavelike figure gradually accelerates; several thematic gestures emerge as the sea awakens, then subsides, as a brass chorale suggests the ocean’s depths. “Play of the Waves” functions as a symphonic scherzo, its evanescent interaction of timbre, non-Western scales, and cross-rhythms portraying the unsettled nature of the waves that dance, break apart, and come back together. As its title suggests, “Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea” offers more traditional thematic interchange, enhanced by the return of material from the first movement; this thematic repetition gives the piece a sense of settling down. There is an especially delicious effect when a solo trumpet rises above the fray momentarily, only to be reabsorbed into the orchestra. The ending washes over us with forceful dissonance, leaving the sensation Debussy identified as being “in your place.”
Notes by: Susan Key