Event Programme - An Evening with RHSO - 20 March 2024

International Concert Series 2023-2024

AN EVENING WITH ROYAL HOLLOWAY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA EVENT PROGRAMME

MARCH 20, 2024 ROYALHOLLOWAY.AC.UK/MUSIC

Department of Music

School of Performing & Digital Arts

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OUR 2023-24 SEASON We are pleased to welcome you to our 2023-24 International Concert Series at Royal Holloway.

We, at the Department of Music, cannot wait to showcase the varied talent of our students and staff, but also bringing internationally renowned musicians to the College. For 2023-24, we are back and better than ever with more student and staff opportunities through the creation of 'The Platform', an open opportunity for the community at the Department of Music to share with you what makes us so special. Alongside our popular Midweek Music and Pocket Concert Series, we are excited to continue our special partnerships with the Young Classical Artists Trust and BBC New Generation Artists and continue our alumni recital series by bringing back the epoch ensemble. We are pleased to also bring a wealth of international artists to our series, including pianists Pina Napolitano, Mary Dullea, Sholto Kynoch, Alexander Soares, and Joseph Havlat, violinist Darragh Morgan, guitarist Laura Snowden, clarinettist Jonathan Leibovitz, 1|P a g e

sitarist James Pusey, mezzosoprano Helen Charlston, jazz group Solstice, and the London Mozart Players. 2023 also marks the final season for our quartet-in-residence, the Tippett Quartet, as we say farewell to this stellar group with their final concert at Royal Holloway.

All in all, this season is representative of the world-class talent our community at the Department of Music has fostered as we showcase our students and the range of music performance we programme and encourage; from jazz to world music, orchestral performance to solo piano, as well as presenting performers from the international stage. We look forward to welcoming you to our series this year.

Dr Nathan James Dearden Music Performance Manager & Curator of the International Concert Series

International Concert Series 2023-24

An Evening with Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra

EVENT PROGRAMME

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Wednesday, 20 March 2024 Windsor Building Auditorium with

Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra Rebecca Miller Conductor

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) Umoja Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) ‘Kdybych se co takového’ (Should I ever learn) and ‘O, jaký to žal!’

(That dream of love) from The Bartered Bride Antonín Dvorák (1841 – 1904) ‘Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém’ (Song to the Moon) and ‘Mladosti své pozbavena’ (Uprooted and Banished) from Rusalka -INTERVAL-

Estimated finish time: 9.30pm There will be a short rest break during this evening’s performance.

Please no flash photography or visual/audio recording throughout the event.

For news about our future events, please visit royalholloway.ac.uk/music/events

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Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast Conducted by Harvey Lok (RHSO Assistant Conductor)

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) An American in Paris

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PROGRAMME NOTES Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) Umoja In its original form, Umoja, the Swahili word for unity and the first principle of the African Dispora holiday Kwanzaa, was a simple song for women’s choir. It embodied a sense of ‘tribal unity,’ through the feel of a drum circle, the sharing of history through traditional “call and response” form and the repetition of a memorable sing-song melody. It was rearranged into woodwind quintet form during the genesis of Coleman’s chamber music ensemble, Imani Winds, with the intent of providing an anthem that celebrated the diverse heritages of the ensemble itself.

Almost two decades later from the original, the orchestral version brings an expansion and sophistication to the short and sweet melody, beginning with sustained ethereal passages that float and shift from a bowed vibraphone, supporting the introduction of the melody by solo violin. Here the melody is sweetly singing in its simplest form with an earnestness reminiscent of Appalachian style music. From there, the melody dances and weaves throughout the instrument families, interrupted by dissonant viewpoints led by the brass and percussion sections, which represent the clash of 3|P a g e

injustices, racism and hate that threaten to gain a foothold in the world today. Spiky textures turn into an aggressive exchange between upper woodwinds and percussion, before a return to the melody as a gentle reminder of kindness and humanity.

Through the brass led ensemble tutti, the journey ends with a bold call of unity that harkens back to the original anthem.

Umoja has seen the creation of many versions, that are like siblings to one another, similar in many ways, but each with a unique voice that is informed by Coleman’s ever evolving creativity and perspective.

“This version honors the simple melody that ever was, but is now a full exploration into the meaning of freedom and unity. Now more than ever, Umoja has to ring as a strong and beautiful anthem for the world we live in today.”

Valerie Coleman Programme note from Umoja - Tucson Symphony Orchestra (tucsonsymphony.org)

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Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) ‘Kdybych se co takového’ (Should I ever learn) and ‘O, jaký to žal!’

(That dream of love) from The Bartered Bride Well-known in the musical world as a young prodigy, Bedřich Smetana had mastered piano by the time he was six and had composed a string quartet for his friends to play during his time at school. Throughout his musical career his prowess was undeniable, however around 1874 he began to lose his hearing, and within several months he was completely deaf.

Smetana composed The Bartered Bride, a comic opera written in three acts, in 1866. Although not immediately successful, it rapidly grew in popularity in the following years. His second opera, Smetana frequently makes use of Bohemian dance form such as furiant and polka. An unusual feature of the opera is the fact that the overture was composed significantly before any other material in the opera was.

Both arias are sung by the character Marenka, the main female soprano character who is unhappy that her parents want her to marry someone that she has never met. She describes her desires for Jenik through the song ‘Kdybych se co takového’ (Should I Ever Learn), and later on in the opera she sings about her betrayal and confusion about whether to marry Jenik or Vasek in the song ‘O, jaký to žal!’ (That dream of love). The first piece makes use of measured 4|P a g e

orchestration and accompaniment to show the thoughtful nature of Marenka’s character, with influences of peasant and folk music to reflect her background. The second piece contrastingly uses sharper accented accompaniment to highlight the hurt that Marenka is feeling, with the occasional prolonged section reflecting her longing.

Antonín Dvorák (1841 – 1904) ‘Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém’ (Song to the Moon) and ‘Mladosti své pozbavena’ (Uprooted and Banished) from Rusalka Written by Dvorák in 1901, Rusalka has been described as a ‘lyrical fairy-tale' of an opera based on the tale of a watersprite. It is Dvorák’s most successful opera on account of its rich plot, melodic qualities and libretto – which was written by poet Jaroslav Kvapil.

The plot contains elements which also appear in tales such as The Little Mermaid, Undine and The Sunken Bell.

Kvapil eventually chose Dvorák to be the person to orchestrate his poem on account of his ‘wide variety of dramacreating musical techniques’.

By far the most popular aria from the opera is ‘Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém’, or Song to the Moon, which is not only the most vocally performed excerpt, but has also been arranged for solo violin and film soundtracks. At the moment in the opera that the piece appears, the water-sprite Jezibab is enjoying the

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singing of wood nymphs when his daughter Rusalka approaches him and laments that she has fallen in love a prince and wishes the become a human in order to be with him. Her father consents to this request and leaves her alone to sing this aria to herself. The use of instruments such as harp help to convey the unusual surroundings of Rusalka and give an ethereal and dreamlike quality to the area around her as she sings about her wishes.

Contrastingly, ‘Mladosti své pozbavena’ or Uprooted and Banished focusses comes in the final act of the opera. When Rusalka is rejected by the prince she becomes an outcast – the condition of Jezibab’s spell. She is now an outcast from both land and water and laments the loss of her love through this piece. The woodwind section uses descending motifs to create a melancholic feeling, with sinister undertones reflecting the nature of Jezibab’s curse.

Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast Despite the fact that he found himself unable to play music anymore after becoming deaf, he continued to write it, and he immediately started to write movements for the piece Má vlast (My Country). The second of which, Vltava (The Moldau) only took him around three weeks to compose fully.

The subject of the movement is focussed on the journey of the Bohemian river, which flows through 5|P a g e

Prague on its way to join the North sea.

This journey is created by the use of instrumentation and melody, such as use of two flutes playing an ascending motif, creating the imagery of flowing water alongside pizzicato violins and harp creating a bubbling effect. These instruments then play alongside clarinets, who play a contrasting descending motif to create the effect of warm water against the flutes colder quality. The central theme is played by violins, oboes and bassoons, creating a folk-like quality to the music.

The descent into a polka by the orchestra at one point in the piece is used to coincide with a marking in the score so that “the two brooks join a stream, running through forests and meadows and a lovely countryside where merry feasts are celebrated”.

This theme consequently fades to mark how the river has now flowed past this point.

As the piece comes to a climax with the river reaching the North Sea, the central theme reappears and is eventually performed by the entire orchestra, signifying the harsh rapids and waves, before the texture thins and brings the piece to a close.

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George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) An American in Paris George Gershwin described this piece as ‘a rhapsodic ballet’ which ‘depicts the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere’.

Although it has survived to be an incredibly well-known symphony, the initial criticism of Gershwin’s An American in Paris would have made people think otherwise. Whilst critics at the time dismissed the work as nothing but a ‘passing fancy’, the work has remained popular thanks to its unrivalled energy and undeniable vitality.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the work is its dismissal of formal symphonic development in favour of a more episodic structure, gradually telling the romantic story of the travels of a tourist travelling around Paris and battling his homesickness. The instrumentation serves to aid the world-building through features such as the horn section mimicking carhorns. Trumpet solos sing above the rest of the orchestra to create a bluelike section in the middle of the symphony to demonstrate the loneliness of the tourist in his travels, and overall the rich orchestration paints the complex feelings of the central character throughout his journey.

The piece is in ternary form, with the addition of a final coda to close the piece. The opening section invokes the 6|P a g e

feeling of well-known Brazilian dance music, depicting the hustle and bustle of Parisian street life through the use of repetition. The introduction of the blues-inspirated mid-section of the piece brings in the influences of American music, with a more intense harmony being used to represent the inner battle of the protagonist.

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PERFORMERS Rebecca Miller Conductor California-born conductor Rebecca Miller has earned an international reputation for her compelling, insightful, and energetic presence on the podium and for her ability to communicate with audiences of all ages. Recent guest-conducting includes the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Västerås Sinfonietta, DalaSinfoniettan, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, The Orchestra Now, The 7|P a g e

Bard Music Festival, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, and at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall.

Following her debut with the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden, she was immediately reinvited and appointed Chief Conductor, a post which she held from 2019-2023.

In previous seasons, Rebecca has guest-conducted the Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic

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Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Chicago College of the Performing Arts, Huntsville Symphony, Williamsport Symphony, and Musiqa Houston, and with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel. Firstprize winner in the Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition, she has conducted throughout Mexico, including repeated engagements with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional and Orquesta Filarmonica del UNAM, and the state orchestras of Yucatan, Aguascalientes, and Sinaloa. In 2017, Rebecca was also featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductors Preview with the Nashville Symphony.

Rebecca’s discography includes CDs with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (CPE Bach Symphonies / Signum Records, which made the final shortlist for a 2014 Gramophone Award), with the BBC Concert Orchestra (Henry Hadley Orchestral works / Dutton Epoch), with the BBC Scottish Symphony (piano concertos by Amy Beach, Dorothy Howell, Cecil Chaminade / Hyperion Records), and three CDs with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Haydn Symphonies / Signum Records; George Frederick Bristow’s ‘Jullien Symphony’ / New World Records; Concertos by Aaron Jay Kernis / Signum Records).

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Rebecca is passionate about her work with young musicians – she has recently started regular partnerships with the National Children's Orchestra and the with the London Symphony Orchestra Discovery, and previously worked with the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, NYO Wales, and NYOGB, with the Chicago College of the Performing Arts, and with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (Teresa Carreño), much to the acclaim of its late founder José Antonio Abreu. She was conductor at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Department for many years, where she formed the ground-breaking and unique JA Classical Orchestra, and works regularly with the Southbank Sinfonia in London, where she was Associate Conductor for three years.

As Director of Orchestras at Royal Holloway University of London, she has been widely acclaimed for building the orchestral programme to new heights – starting an orchestral scholarship programme, initiating a side-by-side programme with the London Mozart Players, securing high-profile engagements (including ‘Magna Carta 800 at Runnymede’, a project with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Temple Church Choir, performed in the presence of HM

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Queen Elizabeth II and 4000 dignitaries and honoured guests), and establishing a new initiative called ‘Music +’, which aims to build bridges through music with interdepartmental projects and interdisciplinary research.

Previously, Rebecca served as Resident Conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and American Conducting Fellow of The Houston Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

She holds a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an M.Mus in Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern University, and for two years was the Paul Woodhouse Junior Fellow in Orchestral Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music.

Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra Led by internationally acclaimed conductor Rebecca Miller, the Royal Holloway Symphony Orchestra meets weekly, giving three concerts per year in the Windsor Auditorium.

The orchestra endeavours to create a lively, challenging, and social basis for orchestral life at Royal Holloway and comprises students from across the university. They also participate in side-by-side programmes with professional musicians, and through our unique partnership with the Chiltern Music Academy. For 202021, orchestras at Royal Holloway launched a new social action project called Re-Orchestrating Society, where members of orchestras at Royal Holloway work together in small teams to develop a project based around orchestras that aims to benefit society.

The orchestra has recently performed alongside the London Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Magna Carta 800 celebration in Runnymede, in the presence of HM the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William Duke of Cambridge, and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

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Who’s who?

Violin 1 Lydia Callomon * Lingling Bao-Smith Livia Domaingue * Caroline Soderlund Bertram Nicholson * Ernest Lui Hannah Lam Paul Kam Isabella Morgan Aideen Toal Aine Harbach

Double bass Gregory McCrorie-Shand Owen Morgan Suliac Maheu ^ Flute Holly Payne * Evelina Venslovaite Gwendolyn Schneider Klara Sweeney Yee Ling Eunice Chan Oboe Sequoia Ralph Izy Cheesman ^

Violin 2 Clarise Chong * Nicole Yuen * Phedra Low Cylysce See Evie Dyke Amelia Tamblyn Karina Piper Joseph McCarthy Alice Bennet Helen Stephen

Clarinet Benjamin Hall * Isobel Reid Charlotte Vosper Margarida Raposeira Billy White Fiz Markham

Viola Harry Aldridge * Laura Field Pavit Dhadyalla Arthur Ho

Horns Sebastian Rowe * Sophie Janes Remi Faggiani ^ Alex Ross ^

Violoncello Katie Mair * Oliver Grimes Claudia Buchanan Jasmine Akibo-Betts Jocelyn Hails Isabella Hughes Kian Jan-Dickens Niamh Sherwood

Trumpet Daniel Clough * Laura Kee James McPherson Chak So

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Bassoon Anjeli Valydon * Luke Passmore *

Trombone Sebastian Clifford Varley James Druce ^

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Bass trombone Rory Arthur Tuba Owen Knott Percussion Faye Jones * William Bishop Joshua Li Sophia Manta Tom Hyatt Harp Catrin Meek ^ Piano Thomas Mansfield ^ Guest Player * Orchestral Scholar at Royal Holloway

THANK YOU A heartfelt thank you from the Department of Music to the following people for making this event happen and supporting the ongoing work of Orchestras at Royal Holloway: Monique Smithers Orchestra Manager Isabella Morgan Assistant Manager Holly Payne Communications Manager Clarise Chong Assistant Communications Manager Gregory McCrorie-Shand Stage Manager Evie Dyke Assistant Stage Manager Clarise Chong Assistant Stage Manager Ari De' Freitas Librarian Livia Domaingue Librarian

With thanks from our donors and sponsors of our Orchestral Scholarship programme: Jenny Jones David Beaver

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OUR PROGRAMME NOTES The notes created for this event programme have been written by a team of students at the Department of Music, as part of the Concert Management & Artist Personnel Programme (where listed).

This is a professional development initiative run by the Concert Office where students are able to experience first-hand what goes on behind-thescenes, who organises the publicity for an event, to even how to coordinate and manage a rehearsal schedule. All members of the programme are mentored by the College's Performance Manager, Nathan James Dearden, and receive training from industry specialists.

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VISIT OUR WEBSITE ROYALHOLLOWAY.AC.UK/MUSIC