Maestro

Music, to me personally, is the ultimate reflection of the inner feelings of the composer put into sounds. This season we will take you on a journey through multiple composers where you will experience an array of sounds and feelings. The canvas of each composer is literally alive ... we experience different instruments dominating the texture, from a single piano or guitar to the full Symphony Orchestra.

OKLAHOMA STORIES –CLARA LUPER CENTENNIAL

MAY 13, 2023

• 8:00 P.M.

Classics

Since my arrival in Oklahoma City, I’ve made it a point to tell Oklahoma Stories.

This May would have been the 100th birthday of civil rights activist Clara Luper. Her leadership in a series of successful, carefully planned non-violent sit-in protests of downtown drugstore lunch counters led to the overturning of segregation policies.

To celebrate her life, courage, vision and activism, we commissioned jazz trumpeter and composer Hannibal Lokumbe to write a work for the orchestra, chorus and the narrator, who happens to be Clara Luper’s daughter, Marilyn.

The first half celebrates two other American composers—Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1, and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

America will always be a melting pot. That’s why, here in America and everywhere else for that matter, music will always be the most creative and fun language to unite and transcend.

JOAN TOWER ..........................

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1

BERNSTEIN ...........................

Prologue (Allegro moderato)

“Somewhere” (Adagio)

Scherzo (Vivace leggiero)

Mambo (Presto)

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Meeting Scene (Meno mosso)

“Cool,” Fugue (Allegretto)

Rumble (Molto allegro)

Finale (Adagio)

Cha-Cha (Andantino con grazia)

(No pause between sections)

Intermission

HANNIBAL LOKUMBE........ Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Life of Clara Luper*

World premiere of Oklahoma City Philharmonic commission

Commissioned piece underwritten by Leslie and Cliff Hudson

I. Trials

II. Tears

III. Transcendence

Karen Slack, soprano

Marilyn Luper Hildreth, narrator

Brannen Temple, percussion

Ambassadors’ Concert Choir and Canterbury Voices

*First Performance on this series

Dedicated to Bill and Helen Cleary

THIS CONCERT IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

Karen Slack

“...the feisty, rich-voiced soprano Karen Slack...”–The New York Times

Hailed as possessing a voice of extraordinary beauty, celebrated American soprano Karen Slack is a recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, Co-Chair of the Women’s Opera Network with Opera America, and serves on the board of the American Composer’s Orchestra. In January 2022, Slack was appointed Creative Partner with Brooklyn’s National Sawdust.

Highlights of Slack’s season include her debut at The Dallas Opera; recitals with the Miró and Pacifica Quartets, pianist Michelle Cann, and organist Alan Morrison; the premiere of Songs in Flight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Kimmel Center; world premieres with the Nashville Symphony and Oklahoma City Philharmonic; at Carnegie Hall with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Beethoven with the Fresno Philharmonic; and productions at Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, and Edmonton Opera.

Slack has appeared with The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Scottish Opera among many others. Her debut with Opera Theatre of St. Louis originated the role of Billie in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Slack has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and abroad with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. She made her film debut as the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s for Colored Girls. During the COVID-19pandemic, Slack drew on her experience in film to expand her artistic platform through premiere digital performances with Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera, urban arias, and launched her acclaimed talk show, #kikikonversations.

The native Philadelphian is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music as well as the Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera

Brannen Temple

Brannen Temple, born in Austin, Texas, began his music career at the age of ten. He is a three-time Gammy Award-winning American musician best known as a drummer for acts including Eric Burdon and the Animals, Robben Ford, Lizz Wright, Eric Johnson and currently, Ruthie Foster. He has also performed, toured and recorded with Patrice Rushen, Chaka Khan, Jody Watley, Janet Jackson, Sheena Easton, Jimmy Vaughn, Box Scaggs, The Chicks, Nelly Furtado, Gary Clark, Jr. and many others.

Temple is an accomplished session drummer and has played on records, TV shows, movie sound tracks, art installations and has toured the world extensively. Temple is also a music educator who has conducted music clinics worldwide. He has served as drum instructor in Jazz Studies at the University of Texas for several years.

Marilyn Luper Hildreth

Marilyn Luper Hildreth is one of the late Clara Luper’s three children. A 1964 graduate of Douglass High School, she received her degree from Langston University in 1968.

She became active with the NAACP Youth Council at ten years old. Traveling with her mom to many Civil Rights events, she knew the importance of equal rights and without hesitation would engage herself in discussion and/or protest.

Marilyn was one of the original thirteen children who participated in the first sit-in that took place at OKC Katz Drug Store. That historical day was August 19, 1958. She is known for making the motion at the NAACP Youth Council meeting for the group to picket OKC Downtown Katz Drug Store. They agreed to remain there until they were served. She continues to fight for equality for everyone. Her professional career included owning her successful Allstate Insurance Office located in northwest Oklahoma City. Many citizens were insured with auto and home insurance through her agency. She is now retired.

Marilyn is the mother of three children and the grandmother of three grandchildren. She is an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Fifth Street Baptist Church, Oklahoma City.

She serves on the Clara Luper Legacy Committee, Clara Luper Sit-In Plaza Committee, and the Oklahoma City Clara Luper Civil Rights Center. She spends her time giving motivational speeches and continuing her mother’s legacy.

in Spencer,

My life changing experience came as a child. My mother taught at Dunjee High School in Spencer, Oklahoma. She wrote the play, “ Brother President”, the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. During this time Oklahoma was totally segregated; everything was “colored this” and “white that”. We could not eat in restaurants, use public facilities such as restrooms, telephone, drink from water fountains, or take public transportation except to ride in the back of the bus.

The night of the performance Herbert Wright was in the audience and was so impressed that he invited us to the NAACP National Convention in New York City to present my mother’s play. Many of us never had never traveled from Oklahoma. We thought the whole world was segregated only to find out that this was not so; Harriet Tubman once said, “A little bit of freedom is a dangerous thing”.

Once you have a taste of freedom you develop a desire to be free. We traveled the northern route and returned to the south facing the age-old problem of segregation, discrimination, and hatred. That is where my struggle against injustice started.

As a result of the struggle, I’ve always been active in community service, voters’ registration, feeding the homeless and other community service activities. However, my biggest contribution is being a mother and grandmother.

Marilyn Luper Hildreth

DR. SANDRA D. THOMPSON

Dr. Sandra D. Thompson is Artistic Director The Ambassadors’ Concert Choir and a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma. Her musical journey began at the age of three years old and since she has continued to develop as a gifted musician. She graduated from Ponca City High School, received a B.Mus., Bachelors in Music from Oklahoma City University (OCU), a M.E.E., Masters of Music Education, from the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), and a D.M.A., Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Choral Conducting, from the University of Oklahoma (OU).

Dr. Thompson has taught in several Oklahoma Public Schools before joining UCO’s School of Music faculty. Her teaching duties at UCO include: Fundamentals of Music, Music Theory and Aural Skills, Music for Elementary Teachers, Choral Conducting and Music Appreciation. Dr. Thompson is currently Associate Professor of Music and Division Head of Classroom Studies.

At UCO, Dr. Thompson has conducted several music theatre productions including: “The Man of La Mancha”, “Into the Woods,” and “Company” with some of Oklahoma City’s best known directors. To add to her list of Broadway musicals, Sandra has conducted “High Society”, “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, and “The Sweet Smell of Success”. At UCO’s Broadway Tonight Series, she conducted “Flipside-The Patti Page Story at the premier and at the Off-Broadway premier. The New York audiences fell in love with the story of Patti Page. She has been the pianist for many productions at OKC’s Lyric Theater and appeared in their productions of “The Wiz and “Kiss Me Kate”.

Dr. Thompson has served on the Board of Directors for Allied Arts, The Gospel Music Workshop of America and The Oklahoma Center for Teacher Preparation. In addition to those roles, her professional affiliation include: American Choral Directors, Music Educators National Organization, Pi Kappa Lambda Music Society and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has also been recognized by “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” and The Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) for Educating Future Musicians.

Dr. Thompson has been a member of the Ambassadors’ Concert Choir for more than 25 years. She is also the Assistant Minister of Music at the Evangelistic Baptist Church of Christ in OKC.

Dr. Thompson became the Artistic Director of the Ambassador’ Choir in 2010. As the choir embarks on its 40th Concert Season, Dr. Thompson’s expertise and exceptional musicianship will lead the Ambassadors’ to new heights of excitement and performance in the OKC community and beyond.

AMBASSADORS’ CONCERT CHOIR

The Ambassadors’ Concert Choir has been thrilling audiences with its spirited musical offerings since 1979. The choir performs a diverse blend of music of all genre and many cultural traditions; including classical, spirituals, jazz, gospel, patriotic music, hymns, Broadway show music and popular music. The 75–100 member choir is predominantly AfricanAmerican by nature, but people of all cultures participate and are welcomed.

The Ambassadors’ are proudest of their tradition of giving glory and honor to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Lives have been touched, spirits have been changes and hearts have been moved by the music of the Ambassadors’ Concert Choir for over 30 years.

The Ambassadors of Faith Choir was founded in 1979 by Maestro Kenneth Kilgore as an extension of the music ministry of Saint John Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Mr. Kilgore convened approximately 40 local singers and musicians to form a choir that would provide an opportunity to perform all types of sacred music at the highest levels of professionalism and musicality. The choir grew in size, professionalism and repertoire, adding singers and musicians from diverse congregations, faiths, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. The choir was incorporated as Ambassadors’ Concert Choir in 1985.

The choir has performed throughout the United States and in Mexico. The Ambassadors’ have provided music for the inaugurations of the past six Oklahoma Governors, for the nationally televised first Murrah Federal Building Bombing Memorial (attended by then President Bill Clinton) and with such performing talents as Linda Twine, Simon Estes, Canterbury Voices, Thomas and Carol Bryce-Carey, Leona Mitchell and the International Organist Guild. The Ambassadors’ Concert Choir was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Ambassadors’ concert Choir currently performs under the direction of Dr. Sandra Thompson, Music Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, and is accompanied by a host of talented musicians and entertainers. The history of the Ambassadors’ is continuing to be written.

Randi Von Ellefson

Dr. Randi Von Ellefson has served as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Oklahoma City University and Artistic Director of Canterbury Voices since 2004. Under his direction, Canterbury has presented four world premieres (works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Stephen Paulus, Edward Knight, and Dominick Argento). At Oklahoma City University he directs the Chamber Choir and the University Women’s Chorus, and teaches courses in the graduate choral curriculum.

He holds degrees from Texas Lutheran University, the University of Minnesota and Arizona State University. He is a founding member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), serving twice as president. Dr. Ellefson has been a guest conductor and professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany and taught at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has been president of the Northwestern and Central Divisions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and served in leadership in the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

Ellefson has conducted many all-state choirs, had choirs perform at state, regional and national conventions of MENC and ACDA, served as an adjudicator at national choral competitions and led choirs in national and international tours in Europe, Asia, Australia and Russia. Reviews (in Fanfare and Gramophone magazines) of choral performances and recordings have noted a particular ability of his choirs to “sing from the heart” and “express significant emotion and depth of feeling” while “maintaining superb intonation and technical precision.” In the summer of 2014, Dr. Ellefson was part of a group from Canterbury Voices who traveled to Paris to perform the Fauré Requiem at the Church of the Madelaine where it was premiered. The group also joined many other choirs at Normandy Memorial on July 4th to sing and commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion

Canterbury Voices

Now in its fifth decade, Canterbury Voices has grown into the premier symphony chorus of Oklahoma, bringing singers and audiences from throughout our great state to the place where music truly comes alive. Canterbury Voices was founded in May 1969 as Canterbury Choral Society, and met at All Souls Episcopal Church with 60 singers. In 1997, Canterbury took the reins of the Children’s Choral Society of Oklahoma, and grew into a four-choir, 200-voice educational organization. The 130-member Adult Chorus is the flagship program – the largest of its kind in Oklahoma. All singers are auditioned, most with extensive musical and stage experience, and come from all over Oklahoma. Canterbury Voices collaborates with other arts organizations including the OKC Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra, as well as many talented singers and musicians from around the United States, including Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Coburn, Gabriel Preisser, Barry Manilow, and Ron Raines. Canterbury Voices also strives to grow the catalog of new music by commissioning new choral works by composers including Stephen Paulus, Edward Knight, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Dominick Argento. In May, Canterbury Voices was named a national finalist for Choral Performance and Virtual Performance for the American Prize.