USC Symphony Music of the Americas Program

Music of the

Americas Scott Weiss, conductor Austin Davis, conductor Mak Grgić, guitar Díana Thompson-Brewer, soprano November 2, 2023 | 7:30 p.m.

Koger Center for the Arts

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A Special Thanks to Our Corporate Sponsors

Interested in supporting the USC Symphony Orchestra through a corporate sponsorship?

Contact Brad Martin, Assistant Director of Development at brad.martin@sc.edu.

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USC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Music of the Americas Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Koger Center for the Arts, Columbia Scott Weiss, conductor Austin Davis, conductor Mak Grgić, guitar Díana Thompson-Brewer, soprano

PROGRAM Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)

blue cathedral (2000)

Michael Abels (b. 1962)

“Borders” Guitar Concerto (2022) Austere, melancholy Lively Mak Grgić, guitar

Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)

Sensemayá (1937) Austin Davis, conductor

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

Knoxville, Summer of 1915 (1947) Díana Thompson-Brewer, soprano

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

Four Dances from “Estancia” (1941) Los trabajadores agrícolas Danza del trigo Los peones de hacienda Malambo

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Ƥrogram Ɲotes blue cathedral jennifer higdon Blue…like the sky. Where all possibilities soar.

Cathedrals…a place of thought, growth, spiritual expression…serving as a symbolic doorway in to and out of this world. Blue represents all potential and the progression of journeys. Cathedrals represent a place of beginnings, endings, solitude, fellowship, contemplation, knowledge and growth. As I was writing this piece, I found myself imagining a journey through a glass cathedral in the sky. Because the walls would be transparent, I saw the image of clouds and blueness permeating from the outside of this church. In my mind's eye the listener would enter from the back of the sanctuary, floating along the corridor amongst giant crystal pillars, moving in a contemplative stance. The stained glass windows' figures would start moving with song, singing a heavenly music. The listener would float down the aisle, slowly moving upward at first and then progressing at a quicker pace, rising towards an immense ceiling which would open to the sky…as this journey progressed, the speed of the traveler would increase, rushing forward and upward. I wanted to create the sensation of contemplation and quiet peace at the beginning, moving towards the feeling of celebration and ecstatic expansion of the soul, all the while singing along with that heavenly music.

These were my thoughts when The Curtis Institute of Music commissioned me to write a work to commemorate its 75th anniversary. Curtis is a house of knowledge--a place to reach towards that beautiful expression of the soul which comes through music. I began writing this piece at a unique juncture in my life and found myself pondering the question of what makes a life. The recent loss of my younger brother, Andrew Blue, made me reflect on the amazing journeys that we all make in our lives, crossing paths with so many individuals singularly and collectively, learning and growing each step of the way. This piece represents the expression of the individual and the group…our inner travels and the places our souls carry us, the lessons we learn, and the growth we experience. In tribute to my brother, I feature solos for the clarinet (the instrument he played) and the flute (the instrument I play). Because I am the older sibling, it is the flute that appears first in this dialog. At the end of the work, the two instruments continue their dialogue, but it is the flute that drops out and the clarinet that continues on in the upward progressing journey.

This is a story that commemorates living and passing through places of knowledge and of sharing and of that song called life.

This work was commissioned and premiered in 2000 by the Curtis Institute of Music.

–Jennifer Higdon 4

“Borders” Guitar Concerto michael abels “This piece is inspired by the museum exhibit ‘Sahara: Acts of Memory’ depicting life in camp ‘Sahara’ that was created in Denmark for housing refugees of the Bosnian War in the 1990s. Among the refugees was graphic artist Ismet Berbic and his family.

The exhibit details the Berbics' struggle to preserve individuality, family and cultural identity in the face of losing country and community. Guitarist Mak Grgić is a friend of the Berbics, and experienced the Balkan War firsthand as a child. In the first movement of this concerto, the guitar is a protagonist that is repeatedly confined by sonic bars or walls created by the orchestra. The second movement depicts a child running, sometimes joyfully, but also sometimes in fear.”

–Michael Abels, Composer “When Michael and I first started talking about the narrative of the new guitar concerto, we couldn't help but notice that we both came from turbulent backgrounds and that music had provided a safe haven for us. It was a sheer coincidence that around the same time, my friend Amir Berbic had an exhibit in Pomona, California about his family's experience as refugees during the Balkan War in the 1990s. We visited Amir's exhibit ‘Sahara: Acts of Memory’ together, and it touched us both deeply, providing further inspiration for Michael's writing of the concerto, which took on the title Borders.

Constant runs and movement up and down the fretboard, seeming restlessness accented by moments of deep repose, mimic the continuous struggles of the Berbic family, and really anyone in such a position. As is typically the case when working on a new piece, Michael and I communicated back and forth about each section of the score as I tried it on guitar for the first time.

Working through the nuances of the score with Michael was a joy. I am beyond thrilled that we chose to present music as something that supersedes life's obstacles, and that the Berbic family's story of persistence and perseverance has been told so well.”

–Mak Grgić, Guitarist

Sensemayá silvestre revueltas Mexican-born Revueltas wrote this short seven-minute work near the end of his compositional career after working primarily as a composer, teacher and conductor in both Mexico and the United States. Although Revueltas was relatively unknown outside of Mexico during his lifetime, his ‘Sensemayá’ brought his name to the international spotlight posthumously. The work is known for its overlapping Latin dance rhythms, harmonic tension and Stravinsky-like qualities. It is based on a poem

by Nicolás Guillén with the subtitled ‘Chant to kill a snake,’ depicting the folkloric Afro-Cuban ritual of killing of a snake as a sacrifice. The full poem in English is on the following page.

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Sensemayá (Chant to kill a snake)

Translated from Spanish to English by Willis Knapp Jones ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé! ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé! ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!

The snake has eyes of glass; The snake coils on a stick; With his eyes of glass on a stick, With his eyes of glass.

The snake can move without feet; The snake can hide in the grass; Crawling he hides in the grass, Moving without feet. ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombe!

Hit him with an ax and he dies; Hit him! Go on, hit him!

Don’t hit him with your foot or he’ll bite; Don’t hit him with your foot, or he’ll get away.

Sensemayá, the snake, sensemayá.

Sensemayá, with his eyes, sensemayá.

Sensemayá, with his tongue, sensemayá.

Sensemayá, with his mouth, sensemayá.

The dead snake cannot eat; the dead snake cannot hiss; he cannot move, he cannot run!

The dead snake cannot look; the dead snake cannot drink; he cannot breathe, he cannot bite. ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!

Sensemayá, the snake . . . ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!

Sensemayá, does not move . . . ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!

Sensemayá, the snake . . . ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!

Sensemayá, he died!

Knoxville, Summer of 1915 samuel barber In this vocal masterpiece, Barber features text from a portion of James Agee's novel A Death in the Family, capturing the atmosphere and nostalgia of a summer evening in Knoxville, Tennessee, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. Barber's work for soprano and orchestra combines lush, lyrical melodies with a sense of innocence and reflection, evoking the sights and sounds of a bygone era.

LYRICS It has become that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently and talking gently and watching the street and the standing up into their sphere of possession of the trees, of birds' hung havens, hangars. People go by; things go by. A horse, drawing a buggy, breaking his hollow iron music on the asphalt; a loud auto; a quiet auto; people in pairs, not in a hurry, scuffling, switching their weight of aestival body, talking casually, the taste hovering over them of vanilla, strawberry, pasteboard and starched milk, the image upon them of lovers and horsemen, squared with clowns in hueless amber.

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A streetcar raising its iron moan; stopping, belling and starting; stertorous; rousing and raising again its iron increasing moan and swimming its gold windows and straw seats on past and past and past, the bleak spark crackling and cursing above it like a small malignant spirit set to dog its tracks; the iron whine rises on rising speed; still risen, faints; halts; the faint stinging bell; rises again, still fainter, fainting, lifting, lifts, faints foregone: forgotten. Now is the night one blue dew.

Now is the night one blue dew, my father has drained, he has coiled the hose.

Low on the length of lawns, a frailing of fire who breathes....

Parents on porches: rock and rock. From damp strings morning glories hang their ancient faces.

The dry and exalted noise of the locusts from all the air at once enchants my eardrums.

On the rough wet grass of the back yard my father and mother have spread quilts.

We all lie there, my mother, my father, my uncle, my aunt, and I too am lying there...

They are not talking much, and the talk is quiet, of nothing in particular, of nothing at all in particular. The stars are wide and alive, they seem each like a smile of great sweetness, and they seem very near. All my people are larger bodies than mine, ...with voices gentle and meaningless like the voices of sleeping birds. One is an artist, he is living at home. One is a musician, she is living at home. One is my mother who is good to me. One is my father who is good to me. By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night. May God bless my people, my uncle, my aunt, my mother, my good father, oh, remember them kindly in their time of trouble; and in the hour of their taking away.

After a little I am taken in and put to bed. Sleep, soft smiling, draws me unto her: and those receive me, who quietly treat me, as one familiar and well-beloved in that home: but will not, oh, will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell me who I am.

Four Dances from “Estancia” alberto ginastera Ending this journey through the Americas is Ginastera's depictions of Argentine country life in four dances originally written as part of his ballet Estancia. The first dance, “Los trabajadores agrícolas,” portrays the hardworking laborers on the ranch, while the “Danza del trigo” illustrates the lively harvesting of wheat.

“Los peones de hacienda” embodies the life of cattlemen, and the final dance, “Malambo,” brings the piece to an exhilarating conclusion through a lively portrayal of dance competitions frequently held between gauchos (Argentine cowboys). Malambo features zapateados, which involve stomping, and cepillados, where the foot sole lightly brushes against the ground.

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Scott Weiss, conductor Scott Weiss is the Music Director and Conductor of the Aiken Symphony and the Director of Orchestras at the University of South Carolina School of Music.

In demand internationally as a guest conductor, Scott has conducted recent performances with the orchestras of Shenzhen, Tianjin, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Nanchang and at major international venues including the Taipei National Theatre and Concert Hall, the National Centre for the Performing Arts Concert Hall in Beijing and the Hangzhou Grand Theatre Concert Hall. Soloists he has recently shared the stage with include Elena Urioste, Angelo Xiang Yu, Zuill Bailey, Awadagin Pratt, John O’Conor, Marina Lomazov and Paul Jacobs.

Scott has several critically-acclaimed recordings on the Naxos Records and Summit Records labels. His latest offering is the world premiere recording of Nico Muhly’s Reliable Sources, released on the Cantaloupe Music label in October 2021. The piece is one of dozens of new works that Scott has commissioned from many of today’s leading composers, including Samuel Adler, Jennifer Higdon, Zhou Long, Cindy McTee and Joseph Schwanter.At the University of South Carolina, Dr. Weiss is the Sarah Bolick Smith Distinguished Professor of Music. In addition to conducting the USC Symphony Orchestra, Professor Weiss leads the master’s and doctoral programs in orchestral conducting at USC, and his studio is a destination for talented young conductors from around the world. He is frequently invited to conduct performances and teach masterclasses at leading conservatoires and music schools, including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing), the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the University of Western Australia. Each summer, he teaches at the Los Angeles Conducting Workshop and Competition.

Born in Monterey, California in 1967, Scott holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the University of Illinois, where he studied conducting with Donald Schleicher. Before joining the faculty at the University of South Carolina in 2010, he held conducting posts at the University of Kansas and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Scott and his wife Teah are intrepid travelers and enjoy hiking, surfing and fine wines. They are the proud parents of John, a PhD student in chemistry at Northwestern University.

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Mak Grgić, guitar Touted as a “gifted guitarist” by the New York Times, 2-time Grammy­-nominated artist Mak Grgić [GERgich] is a star on the worldwide stage. An expansive and adventurous repertoire attests to his versatility and wide-ranging interests. From the ethnic music of his native Balkans to extreme avant-garde and microtonal music, his roles as soloist, collaborator and recording artist are fueled by curiosity, imagination and boundless energy. As a testament to his versatility and wide-ranging appeal, in 2018, Mak was invited by legendary singer-songwriter k.d. lang to perform as the opening act for the North American leg of her Ingénue Redux Tour.

An avid new music proponent, Mak has commissioned a multitude of new works for solo guitar and guitar with ensemble. Some of these include works by Michael Gordon, Julia Adolphe, Nina Senk, Leon First and Cengiz Eren, to name a few. In the Fall of 2022, he premiered and toured a newly commissioned guitar concerto by Michael Abels, Pulitzer Prize winner and composer for the Oscar-winning motion picture Get Out. An enthusiastic recording artist, Mak’s latest recordings, “Balkanisms" for Naxos Music plus “MAKrotonal” and Grammy®-nominated “Mak|Bach” for MicroFest Records, explore a vast repertoire spanning ethnic music, microtonal, new music and early music on re-fretted instruments, such as a “zig-zag fretted Bach prototype guitar” that allows him to create a “well- tempered guitar” for “Mak|Bach.” Mak is also featured on another Naxos release, “La Buena Vida,” with flamenco guitarist Adam del Monte. Other albums in progress include an homage to Ligeti, spotlighting gamelan-inspired guitar arrangements; “Peaceful Guitar” on Symphonic, Mak’s first recording of his own compositions; and on the Avie label, an all-concerto recording including Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and "Balkan Suite of Dances," a new concerto based on music from "Balkanisms."

Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1987, Mak studied guitar in Zagreb with the revered Ante Cagalj at the Elly Basic Music Academy. By the age of 14, he was balancing his world-champion status in karate with his love for the guitar.

Following an injury to his left thumb, he made the decision to focus solely on a career in music, going on to complete a bachelor’s degree with Alvaro Pierri at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In the fall of 2017, he began the Artist Diploma program at USC, the first guitarist in the university’s history to be admitted to this elite program. Mak currently holds a full-time teaching position at the University of South Carolina, and is a founder and CEO of Notey, a startup building a mobile music education game.

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Díana Thompson-Brewer, soprano Lyric coloratura soprano, Díana Thompson-Brewer, is lauded for her “aplomb and sparkling” vocal pyrotechnics and her nuanced character portrayals.

Díana made her professional operatic debut in the role of Adele in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus and has since amassed an array of soprano roles that range from the pinnacle of coloratura sopranos - Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor - to the fiercest queen of all opera - Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Other operatic credits include Magda in Puccini's La rondine, Zerbinetta from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Mlle Silberklang in Mozart's Die Schauspieldirektor, Clara in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Sister Genevieve in Puccini's Suor Angelica, Beth & Amy in Mark Adamo's Little Women, Millie in Libby Larsen's Picnic, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Vi in Gershwin's Blue Monday, Mrs. McDowell in Hailstork's Rise for Freedom, and Eden in the world premiere of Galaxies in Her Eyes.

Díana has performed with L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Opera Carolina, North Carolina Opera, Greensboro Opera, Mobile Opera, Augusta Opera, Opera Wilmington, Miami Lyric Opera, GLOW and other regional companies and festivals. In addition to opera, Díana has been a soprano soloist in Haydn’s The Creation, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Cantata 4, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and also made her Musical Theatre debut as Sarah in Flaherty’s iconic musical Ragtime.

In the 2023-2024 season, Díana will travel with her recital "A Woman's Love and Life," performing the song cycle of the same title by Robert Schumann as well as a new work composed for her titled at first sight with composer Christopher Cooley on piano. Following this tour, she will make her orchestral debut of Barber's “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” with both the Aiken Symphony Orchestra and the University of South Carolina's Symphony Orchestra. Following these performances, Díana will reprise the role of Magda in Puccini's opera La rondine with Opera on the James in Lynchburg, VA. Thompson-Brewer will complete her season serving as Soprano Soloist in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Florence Symphony Orchestra.

Díana holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia (Presidential Fellow), a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Bachelor of Music degree from Augusta State University, all in Vocal Performance.

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USC Symphony Orchestra Scott Weiss, conductor

Violin I Christina Brown concertmaster Julia Jacobsen associate concertmaster Maclean Tollefsen Sally Cathcart Hope Zinkann Caitlyn McDonald Ekemini Umanah William Edwards Philip Howe Naomi Wright

Bass Joe Gaskins principal Ian Hamrick assistant principal Avea Diamond Sadie Wood Luke Hagg

Violin II Aidan Billings principal Elizabeth Sutherland assistant principal Giovanni Cusatis Katie Rojas Steven Humphries Sarah-Iyuna Spencer McKenzie Sightler Daphne Franklin Nicole Bedoya Savannah Elgin

Oboe Katie Eaton principal Sydney Fulcher assistant principal Amir Rahmati

Viola Nicholas England principal Douglas Temples principal Amelia Bailey Nya Gerald Ian Hall Derek George Anthony Joyce Gabriel Boyd Elijah Skinner Nathan Collot Tiaryca Green Cello Zach Ward principal Rachel Gibbons assistant principal Decker Elam Miranda Ramirez Preston Bowen Brooke Teacher John Kuntz

Flute Olivia Norton principal Shelby Miller piccolo Angelina Lanza Jana Radabaugh

Clarinet Andrew Kevic principal Alejandra Vega assistant principal Quiara McBride Justin Schwartz Reece Weslock bass Bassoon Aaron Nealy principal Ed Senn assistant principal Hampton Stroble Hunter Alexander

Tuba Mathew Tuk principal Percussion Julia Ross principal Yuesen Yang principal Marshall Robinson Jacob Rowell Piano/Celesta Will Byrd Harp Xueying Piao Assistant Conductors Jordan Brooks Austin Davis Librarian Jordan Brooks Operations Austin Davis Marketing Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell Brad Martin Julia Jacobsen Social Media Julia Jacobsen

Horn Charlie Van Atter principal Wenyu Hsu assistant principal Timothy Smith Abby Walker Charlie Winston Trumpet Connor Bruce principal James Rochester assistant principal George Bernard Daniel Louden Trombone Nick Dewyer principal Ian Schwalbe assistant principal Bass Trombone Connor Reich principal

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With Gratitude to Our Contributors The USC Symphony Orchestra thanks the following donors for their generous support. You provide much-needed funding for scholarships, fellowships, worldrenowned guest artists, music rentals and many other items that support our program. This list reflects gifts made between 1/1/2023 – 10/26/2023.

Principal Sponsors ($2,500)

Schmoyer and Company Lourie Life and Health

Contributors ($250-$499)

Patricia and James Weiss

Laury Christie and David Vaughn Pamela and Andy Gowan Carol and John Kososki Linda and John Ropp Audra and Johann Vaz Teah and Scott Weiss

Sponsors ($1,000-$1,999)

Partners ($100-$249)

Sustaining Sponsors ($2,000-$9,999)

Jerry Dell and Ben Gimarc Sheila and Dwayne Josey Myra and Mike Nelson Jeffry Caswell and Jose Cotto Ortiz

Patrons ($500-$999)

Christine and Tayloe Harding

Kris and Ronald Burns Craig Butterfield Ann and Robert Buys Gary Diamond Daniela Friedman and Michael Dojc Charles Fugo Don Greiner Verotta Kennedy Patty Lovit Martha Sutter and David Ross Vans Violins Harriet Williams and Jerry Hagenmaier

Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but if your name is missing, please contact the School of Music Development Office at 803-576-5763.

Please support the USC Symphony Orchestra today. Your gift makes an immediate impact by providing critically needed funding and empowering us to meet emerging needs and opportunities, such as scholarships for deserving students, faculty recruitment and innovative new programming that enhances the overall Carolina experience. You can make a gift directly to the USC Symphony Orchestra Fund by using the QR code below.

For more information, contact Brad Martin, Assistant Director of Development at brad.martin@sc.edu.

Thank you for helping us keep the music playing!

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Musical FEAST

Saturday, February 10 6:30 p.m.

Koger Center for the Arts

Stroll through the Koger Center for the Arts and experience musical performances

by University of South Carolina School of Music students while enjoying delicious food and drinks.

From the main stage to the lobby, enjoy food and drink as varied as the locations and the musical performances.

Move among percussion, opera, jazz, strings and vocal musicians performing as you meet new friends and catch-up with old ones.

Proceeds fund Friends of the School of Music student scholarships. $125 per person $75 young professionals (ages 21-40 with ID)

Call 803-777-9732 for tickets.

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(803) 256-2067 | LourieLifeandHealth.com 3710 Landmark Drive, Suite 206 Columbia, SC 29204

By dialing the phone number, you will contact a licensed insurance agent.

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 5 organizations which offer 52 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY users call 1-877-486-2048) 24 hours a day/7 days a week, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.

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2023-24 SEASON

Portraits in Garnet and Blue

RHAPSODY IN BLUE Thursday, September 28, 2023

MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS Thursday, November 2, 2023

SOUL BASS

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

THE LARK ASCENDING Tuesday, February 6, 2024

RISING STARS Tuesday, March 19, 2024

BRAHMS REQUIEM Thursday, April 18, 2024

All performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, SC.

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