D. RAY McCLELLAN and friends
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
RAMSEY CONCERT HALL
D. RAY McCLELLAN and friends
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
UGA Performing Arts Center
D. Ray McClellan, clarinet
Liza Stepanova, piano
Zachary Helms, cello
James Kim, cello
Thomas LaMon, cello
Gabriella McClellan, cello
PROGRAM
Sweet Chance, That Led My Steps Abroad
From poem A Great Time by William Henry Davies
The Lads In Their Hundreds
From Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad (1911)
Liza Stepanova, piano
Prelude in Arpeggiation, Rondement, No. 2, Book 5
Michael Head (1900-1976)
George Butterworth (1885-1916)
Marias Marin (1656-1728)
James Kim, cello; Zachary Helms, cello; Thomas LaMon, cello; Gabriella McClellan, cello
Trio Sonata in B Minor, No. 2
I. Largo
II. Allegro
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro con Spirito
Jean-Baptiste Loeillet (1653-1728)
Harmonization by Alexandre Béon (1862-1912)
James Kim, cello; Liza Stepanova, piano
INTERMISSION
Trio in A Minor for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, Op. 114
Allegro
Adagio
Andantino grazioso
Allegro
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
James Kim, cello; Liza Stepanova, piano
Sweet Chance, That Led My Steps Abroad
William Henry Davies (1871-1940)
From poem A Great Time (1914)
Sweet Chance, that led my steps abroad, Beyond the town, where wild flow’rs grow -A rainbow and a cuckoo, Lord, How rich and great the times are now! Know all ye sheep And cows, that keep On staring that I stand so long In grass that’s wet from heavy rain -A rainbow, and a cuckoo’s song May never come together again, May never come [from]
This side the tomb.
A rainbow, and a cuckoo’s song May never come together again...
The Lads In Their Hundreds
Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936)
From the cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair, There’s men from the barn and the forge and the mill and the fold, The lads for the girls and the lads for the liquor are there, And there with the rest are the lads that will never be old. There’s chaps from the town and the field and the till and the cart, And many to count are the stalwart, and many the brave, And many the handsome of face and the handsome of heart, And few that will carry their looks or their truth to the grave. I wish one could know them, I wish there were tokens to tell The fortunate fellows that now you can never discern; And then one could talk with them friendly and wish them farewell And watch them depart on the way that they will not return. But now you may stare as you like and there’s nothing to scan; And brushing your elbow unguessed at and not to be told They carry back bright to the coiner the mintage of man, The lads that will die in their glory and never be old.
Acclaimed for “a remarkable technique, tone and lyricism”, D. Ray McClellan is Professor of Clarinet at the University of Georgia, and a member of the Georgia Woodwind Quintet. Prior to his appointment at University of Georgia he held professorships at James Madison University and Henderson State University. Mr. McClellan is a former clarinetist and soloist with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, he has appeared internationally in recitals and as concerto soloist in Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Italy, Brazil, Kenya, Tanzania and the Czech Republic.
McClellan has been principal clarinetist of The Savannah Orchestra, guest principal clarinetist with the Augusta Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, and the Garden State Philharmonic and has performed with The Ying Quartet, the Nostich Quartet in the Czech Republic. Mr. McClellan performed recitals at the International Clarinet Convention in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and in 2014. He has recorded chamber music discs with ACA Digital and the Clarinet Concerto by Gerald Finzi with Phoenix USA. Many of his students occupy clarinet positions in orchestras, military bands and universities.
McClellan holds three degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied with worldrenowned pedagogue David Weber. Formerly the Co-Artistic Director and Host of ClarinetFest® 2006 in Atlanta, McClellan is an Artist/Clinician for Buffet Crampon clarinets. His website is www.draymcclellan.com.
Praised by The New York Times for her “thoughtful musicality” and “fleet-fingered panache,” Liza Stepanova is in demand as a soloist, collaborator, and educator. In the fall of 2020, she was named Musical America Worldwide’s “New Artist of the Month,” a rare distinction celebrating her work and particularly the impact of her recent CD “E Pluribus Unum.” 2019-2020 concert highlights include invitations to the Bowdoin Music Festival and Prague Piano Festival, and tours in Canada, Mexico, and across the US at Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the USF Steinway Series, the Crescent City Festival in New Orleans, Norton Museum in Palm Beach, and more.
In August 2020, Stepanova released a critically acclaimed album “E Pluribus Unum” (NAVONA Records) celebrating contemporary American composers with an immigrant background. The CD, which features a commission and three world-premiere recordings, received universal acclaim with reviews in the top three British classical music journals: Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and International Piano, as well as The Whole Note in Canada and Piano Magazine in the US. The disc was broadcast widely on
national and international radio including “Album of the Week” on Canada’s public radio, several plays in Australia, and across the US. Two years earlier, in 2018, Stepanova released her debut solo album “Tones & Colors: Music and Visual Art”, recorded in New York City with Grammy-winning producer Adam Abeshouse. The recording featured music from Bach to Ligeti that was inspired by visual art. This record was also praised in international media and continues to be regularly played on American Public Media’s Performance Today, the most listened-to daily classical music program in the United States, including multiple features as a headliner.
James Kim has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as Boston Symphony and Royal Philharmonic, working with conductors David Zinman, Michael Sanderling, Alexander Shelley, Keith Lockhart, onstage at Carnegie Stern Auditorium, Zankel Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has given solo recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall, Greene Space, Seoul Arts Center IBK Hall, and Kumho Art Hall. His performances have been broadcasted on radio stations NPR and WQXR.
He has also collaborated with numerous orchestras in his native Korea, concertizing at Lotte Concert Hall—where he is the first soloist in its history—Tongyeong Concert Hall, Daegu Concert House, Seoul Arts Center, and DITTO Festival. In 2021, Sony Classical released his album Death and Offering presenting works dedicated to him by Korean composer Shinuh Lee.
He is a recipient of Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant and a top prizewinner of Isang Yun and David Popper International Cello Competitions. From 2016 to 2021, he performed on a Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice ca. 1715, generously loaned by Samsung Cultural Foundation and Stradivari Society® of Chicago, Illinois.
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2024-25 FACULTY CHAMBER ENSEMBLES
GEORGIA BRASS AND WIND QUINTETS
Monday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Hall | UGA Performing Arts Center
EVENING OF DUOS AND TRIOS
Monday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Hall | UGA Performing Arts Center
BRAHMS, RACHMANINOFF, AND PIAZZOLA
Tuesday, Janurary 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Hall | UGA Performing Arts Center
Monday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Hall | UGA Performing Arts Center NEW FACULTY TRIO
18 of our world-class music faculty perform four stunning concerts!
Add them to your “Pick 12” or “Pick 6” ticket package and save! FOR TICKETS: Scan the QR code music.uga.edu 706-542-4400
230 River Road, Athens, GA
ImaginePossibilities the
BY
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall FREE EVENTS
THURS 9/12
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
MON 9/16
7:30 p.m.
FREE LECTURE WED 9/17 FRI 9/13 MON 9/9
OPERA GUEST ARTISTS
VICTORIA VARGAS, mezzo-soprano JAMES BARNETT, piano
Master Class 9/10 at 10 a.m.
THURSDAY SCHOLARSHIP SERIES
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA PRESENTS: “THE POWER OF NATURE”
The opening concert of the UGASO features an evening of Beethoven that includes the Coriolan Overture and the 3rd Piano Concerto, featuring Alan Woo, new assistant professor in piano.
GUEST ARTIST LECTURE PILAR MIRALLES, composer
Dancz Center for New Music Hugh Hodgson School of Music, 250 River Road
FACULTY CHAMBER ENSEMBLE: FIVE BY FIVE
Ramsey Concert Hall
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall FREE CONCERT 4:10 p.m.
MON 9/19
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
This inaugural recital of the Faculty Chamber Ensemble series of performances features ten incredible UGA Music Faculty in the Georgia Brass Quintet and the Georgia Wind Quintet. Join us in celebrating the world-class faculty with these incredible collaborative concerts.
GUEST ARTIST RECITAL RYAN FOGG, piano
“Brilliant, with a high level of polish, impressive technical command, musical understanding”
UGA WIND ENSEMBLE: SOUNDINGS
Joining the Wind Ensemble is Mark Davidson former principal trombone for the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony and current principal trombone of Utah Symphony, on “Sonorous Trombone Concerto” by Quinn Mason. Also featuting “Finish Line” by Cindy McTee.