2023 PYSO Winter Concert

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2023 Winter Concerts

Ambassador Auditorium

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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,

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Welcome!

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.

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PHILHARMONIC SINFONIA SYMPHONY OVERTURE STRINGS & STRING ORCHESTRA WIND ENSEMBLE
PRELUDE STRINGS For more information on each ensemble, please visit our website at: bit.ly/pyso_ensembles

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

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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

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2023
since 1967

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

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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:

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For questions or more information, please contact: Alex Chu at achu@PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org

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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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FREE CONCERT! presents JUNE 1, 2024 Gates 6:00pm Concert 8:00pm PASADENA CITY HALL

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

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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

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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.

Violin 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

The 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.”

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