Robert Blocker, Dean
Yale Philharmonia Marin Alsop, guest conductor with yale camerata Yale glee club Bryan Murray, baritone Clare Chemery, soprano Sylvia D’Eramo, soprano Sarah Saturnino, mezzo-soprano Fidel Angel Romero, tenor Stephen Clark, bass
Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor Friday, April 20, 2018 • 7:30 pm Woolsey Hall
Yale school of music
Yale Philharmonia Marin Alsop, guest conductor
Leonard Bernstein 1918–1990
Opening Prayer (1986) Bryan Murray, baritone
Bernstein
Chichester Psalms (1965) I. Psalm 108 verse 2 – Psalm 100 entire II. Psalm 23 entire – Psalm 2 verses 1-4 III. Psalm 131 entire – Psalm 133 verse 1 Clare Chemery, soprano Margaret Burk, soprano Sarah Reed, mezzo-soprano Simon Lee, tenor James Nydam, bass Yale Camerata • Marguerite L. Brooks, director Yale Glee Club • Jeffrey Douma, director intermission
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence electronic devices. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
yale philharmonia
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Scherzo. Molto vivace III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Presto – Adagio assai – Allegro assai vivace Sylvia D’Eramo, soprano Sarah Saturnino, mezzo-soprano Fidel Angel Romero, tenor Stephen Clark, bass Yale Camerata • Marguerite L. Brooks, director Yale Glee Club • Jeffrey Douma, director
Artist Profile Marin Alsop, guest conductor Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a Music Director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages. Her outstanding success as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007 has been recognized by two extensions in her tenure, now confirmed until 2021. As part of her artistic leadership in Baltimore, Marin Alsop has created bold initiatives that have contributed to the wider community and reached new audiences. In 2008 she launched OrchKids, which provides music education, instruments, meals, and mentorship to the city’s neediest young people. Engaging the local community, the BSO Academy and Rusty Musicians schemes also allow adult amateur musicians the chance to play alongside members of the orchestra under Alsop’s baton. 2016 saw Alsop and the orchestra celebrate the BSO’s centenary with Joshua Bell, and host the League of American Orchestras annual conference. Alsop took up the post of Principal Conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) in 2012 and became Music Director in July 2013, with her contract now extended to the end of 2019. She continues to steer the orchestra in its artistic and creative programming, recording ventures, and its education and outreach activities, as well as their annual Campos do Jordão International Winter
Festival. Alsop led the orchestra on European tours in 2012 and 2013, with acclaimed performances at the BBC Proms in London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and further concerts in Berlin, London, Paris, Salzburg, and Vienna. In 2016 the orchestra returned to Europe once again for concerts at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International, and Lucerne festivals. Marin Alsop now conducts the world’s major orchestras, with recent and forthcoming highlights including the Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, La Scala Philharmonic, Budapest Festival and Danish National symphony orchestras, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. She has a close relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), appearing with both most seasons. She is also Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre in London. In September 2013, Marin Alsop made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms in London which she returned to conduct in 2015. She returned to the Proms in 2015 and 2016 to conduct the OAE in an all-Brahms program and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem on period instruments. 2015–16 highlights included a historic return for an American musician to Cuba, conducting Lang Lang and the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba. In March 2016, Alsop celebrated Carnegie Hall’s 125th anniversary conducting Bernstein’s West Side Story in the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens, and she will form a significant
Artist Profile role in the world’s centenary celebration of Leonard Bernstein. In 2016–17 Alsop returns to London for performances with the BBC Symphony and Royal Phiharmonic orchestras and brings the Britten-Pears Orchestra to Southbank Centre before returning to a residency in Aldeburgh’s Snape Maltings. July 2016 marked Marin Alsop’s 25th and final year as Music Director of California’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where she has built a devoted audience for new music. Building an orchestra is one of Alsop’s great gifts, and she retains strong links with all of her previous orchestras including the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Principal Conductor 2002–2008; now Conductor Emeritus) and Colorado Symphony Orchestra (Music Director 1993–2005; now Music Director Laureate). Marin Alsop is the recipient of numerous awards and is the only conductor to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, given to US residents in recognition of exceptional creative work. She was the only classical musician to be included in the Guardian’s “Top 100 Women,” celebrating the centenary of International Women’s Day in 2011. Alsop is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, London, and the Royal Philharmonic Society, and was recently appointed Director of Graduate Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Alsop’s Prokofiev cycle on Naxos with OSESP continues, following an extensive Naxos discography including a notable set of Brahms symphonies with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem with the MDR Leipzig
Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra and a highly-praised Dvořák series with the BSO. Other award-winning recordings include Bernstein’s Mass (Editor’s Choice, Gramophone Awards 2010) and Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto (Grammy Award 2010). Alsop has also recorded for Decca Classics, Harmonia Mundi, and Sony Classical. Born in New York City, Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School. Her conducting career was launched when, in 1989, she was a prize-winner at the Leopold Stokowski International Conducting Competition and in the same year was the first woman to be awarded the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize from the Tanglewood Music Center, where she was a pupil of Leonard Bernstein.
yale philharmonia roster Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor Violin I Laura Park Kate Arndt Rachel Ostler Jessy Kim Ariel Horowitz Chang Hoon Bae Nuri Lim Ji Soo Lee Mevlan Mecid Jung Eun Kang Martin Peh Kyungah Oh Violin II Sophia Mockler Marianne Di Tomaso Matthew Woodard Michael Tropepe Dhyani Heath Yejin Yoon Emily Switzer Yingtong Liu Dongsoo Cha Lauren Bennett Viola Hayaka Komatsu Rimbo Wong Josip Kvetek Abby Elder Florrie Marshall Marlea Simpson Rayna Chou Allie Simpson Julia Clancy Cello Eric Adamshick Jenny Kwak Samuel Walter Ji Young Choi Valentina Crnjak Yiqiu Chen Sophie Yu Bitnalee Pong
Double Bass Mariya Andonova Russell Thompson Kohei Yamaguchi Eric Timperman Kaden Henderson Amy Nickler Flute Leo Sussman 1 Maria Luisk Amir Farsi 3 piccolo Maria Luisk Oboe Michelle Nguyen 1 Elliot Lichtenberg Leonardo Ziporyn 3 Lauren White
Scott Leger Steven Harmon Stephen Newberry Antonia Chandler Trumpet Theo Van Dyck 1 Oscar Mason Eric Rizzo Ashley Hale 2 Jonathan Shadle 3 Chloe Swindler Trombone William Wortley 1 Ingram Lee 2 Hillary Simms 3 bass trombone Daniel Vaitkus 1 2 Zachary Haas 3
english horn Shawn Hutchinson
tuba Joseph Guimaraes
Clarinet Richard Adger 1 Graeme Johnson Giovanni Bertoni 3
timpani Jisu Jung 2 3
bass clarinet Ziqi Yue Bassoon Kristy Tucker 1 Dana Brink 3 Dillon Meacham contrabassoon Ming Yang Horn Gabriel Mairson 1 Josh Thompson 2 3 Esteban Garcia Luke Baker
percussion Shiqi Zhong Sam Um YoungKyoung Lee Matthew Keown Adrian Lin Harp Anna Ellsworth 1 2 Margaret Davis Principal on Opening Prayer 2 Principal on Chichester Psalms 3 Principal on Beethoven 1
about the yale philharmonia Yale Philharmonia The Yale Philharmonia is one of America’s foremost music school ensembles. The largest performing group at the Yale School of Music, the Philharmonia offers superb training in orchestral playing and repertoire. Performances include an annual series of concerts in Woolsey Hall, as well as Yale Opera productions at the Shubert Theatre. The Yale Philharmonia has also performed on numerous occasions in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The orchestra undertook its first tour of Asia in 2008, with acclaimed performances in the Seoul Arts Center, the Forbidden City Concert Hall and National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
Manager Jeffrey M. Mistri Assistant Manager Samuel Bobinski Conducting Fellow David Yi Library Antonia Chandler Bora Kim Marta Lambert Gregory Lewis Laura Park Lauren Williams Leonardo Ziporyn Office Assistant Kristy Tucker Stage Crew Jisu Jung Matt Keown YoungKyong Lee Aaron Israel Levin Gabriel Mairson Dmitrii Nilov Lucas Oliveira Tanner Porter Hillary Simms Sam Um Daniel Vaitkus Rimbo Wong
yale camerata roster Marguerite L. Brooks, Conductor Helen Barnstable* Katherine Blossom* Jerry Boryca Clifton Boyd* Sophie Bradburn* Faith Brill Martina Bruno Maggie Burk*† Mark Caprio Leif Castren Andy Celella Karen Clute Dayna Lee Drake Mary Alice Dutkanicz Emily Eisenlohr Charlotte Finegold Jacob Gelber*† Scott Gigante Rachel Glodo Joshua Goodbaum Hannah Kohlenberg Goodwillie*† Amy Hausmann Andrew Hausmann Bonnie Havery Robert Havery Thomas Heilman
Jonathan Held Lindsay Hermany Patrick Holland* Andrew Hon*† Joyce Hsiang* Hao-Li Huang Jeffrey Iler Katherine Jones* Joseph Kemper*† Clara Kim* Donald Kohn Ronald Krauss Michel Ledizet* Simon Lee*† Tony Leonard Bethany Linton Mohit Manohar Octavia McAloon*† Chelsey McNeil* David McNeil Jr.*† Allison Merrill* Jackson Merrill Catherine Miller Gregory P. Muccilli* Kate Nyhan* Tawnie Olson* Laurie Ongley*
Laura Ostrowsky* Natalie Plaza* Laura Rais Chitra Ramalingam Julia Blue Raspe* Sarah Reed* Daniel L. Reid Chandler Riker* David Schaengold* Lauren Schiffer Jonas Schupp Misha Semenov* James Souder Catherine Ta Stamey Robert Strebendt Martha Kirk Swartz Geriana Van Atta* Sydney Vogt Michael Warrener Wesley Wright* Jason Zentz* Lawrence Zukof* * Chamber chorus † Assistant conductor
David McNeil Jr., Principal Assistant Conductor Douglas Dickson, Accompanist Laurie Ongley, Manager Jacob Gelber and David McNeil Jr., Student Managers
artist profiles Yale Camerata Founded in 1985 by its conductor, Marguerite L. Brooks, the Yale Camerata is a vocal ensemble sponsored by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. The group’s singers are Yale graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, and experienced singers from the New Haven community. The Camerata performs a widely varied spectrum of choral literature, with a specific commitment to recently composed choral music. It has collaborated with the Yale Glee Club, Yale Philharmonia, Yale Symphony, Yale Bands, Yale Chamber Players, Yale Collegium Musicum, the New Haven Chorale, and the symphony orchestras of Hartford, New Haven, and Norwalk. The ensemble has also performed for Yale Music Spectrum and New Music New Haven. The chamber chorus of the Yale Camerata has performed at the Yale Center for British Art and at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and has traveled to Germany to perform the Berlioz Requiem with choruses from Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Israel, Great Britain, and the Ukraine. The chamber chorus has also done a residency at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. The Camerata has been heard on Connecticut Public Radio and on national broadcasts of National Public Radio’s program Performance Today. Guest conductors have included Robert Shaw, Jaap Schröder, Sir David Willcocks, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir Neville Marriner, Helmuth Rilling, Nicholas McGegan, Dale Warland, Stephan Parkman, Erwin Ortner, Sir Gilbert Levine, Matthew Halls, Simon Carrington, and David Hill.
With the Institute of Sacred Music, the Camerata has commissioned and premiered works of Aaron J. Kernis, Martin Bresnick, Daniel Kellogg, Stephen Paulus, Daniel Pinkham, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Robert Kyr, and Tawnie Olson, among others. The chorus has sung first performances of works by many composers, including Kathryn Alexander, Tawnie Olson, and Francine Trester, and regularly programs student works. Marguerite L. Brooks, conductor Marguerite L. Brooks holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Temple University. She has served on the faculties of Smith and Amherst Colleges, and was director of choral music at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Brooks joined the Yale faculty in 1985 as chair of the choral conducting program at the School of Music and director of choral music at the Institute of Sacred Music. Active as a guest conductor, teacher, and clinician, she has been a juror for the Eric Ericson conducting competition in Sweden; she has conducted, given master classes, taught, and adjudicated in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Brooks was cited by the Yale School of Music for cultural leadership in music, and has received alumni awards for distinguished work in her field from both Mount Holyoke College and Temple University. The Connecticut chapter of the ACDA honored her with its 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. She is most proud to have been honored recently as a Woman in History by the Barnard School. Brooks is the director of music at Church of the Redeemer in New Haven.
yale glee club roster Jeffrey Douma, Music Director T. Sean Maher, Business Manager Soprano I Emily Boring Sophie Latham Erika Lynn-Green Mary Clare McMahon Kellen Mermin-Bunnell Alexandra O’Brien Lara Schull Samantha Stroman Charlotte Jeanné Winkler Angela Zhao
Alto II Josephine Attal Claire Carroll Maryanne Cosgrove Amelia Haynes SungMi Johnson Anna McNeil Mary Petzke Lauryn Phinney Rianna Turner Divine Uchegbu Evaline Xie
Soprano II Magda Andrews-Hoke Kristine Chung Daniella Cohen Sedina Dzodzomenyo Margaret Grabar Sage Eleanor Iskander Sofia Laguarda Brooke Milosh Isabella Pazaryna Stephanie Smelyansky Madeleine Stern Alexa Vaghenas
Tenor I Raj Basak Luke Ciancarelli John Cooper Nolan J. Crawford Jackson Leipzig Ethan Lester Tim Lind Jack McAuliffe
Alto I Kayla Bartsch Madeline Bogert Ece Bozkurt Abigail Cipparone Ryan Howzell Mahima Kumara Julianna Lai Madeline Lemberg Raquel Sequeira Sara Viola Speller
Tenor II Nicholas Dell Isola Eric Duong Andres Gómez-Colunga Tyler Harkness Charles Hawkings Shaun Radgowski Calvin Schwartzberg Tavi Wolfwood
Bass I Andrew Ballard Mark Barnett Aidan Brooks Emery Kerekes Johanan Knight Max Levatich Will Magliocco Jared Andrew Michaud James Nydam Daniel Packard Brendan Rose Louis Sokolow Bass II Tristan Brockwell Josh Brooks Anthony Hejduk Sam Hollister Simon Horn Zach Lee Eric Liu John McKissack David McNeil Jr. Devin O’Banion Jonah Pearl Dustin Zhao
artist profiles Yale Glee Club
Jeffrey Douma, music director
From its earliest days as a group of thirteen men from the Class of 1863 to its current incarnation as an eighty-voice chorus of women and men, the Yale Glee Club, Yale’s principal undergraduate mixed chorus and oldest musical organization, has represented the best in collegiate choral music.
Since the fall of 2003, Jeffrey Douma has served as Director of the Yale Glee Club. He also serves as Professor of Conducting at the Yale School of Music, where he teaches in the graduate choral program, as founding Director of the Yale Choral Artists, and as Artistic Director of the Yale International Choral Festival.
In recent seasons, the Glee Club’s performances received rave reviews in the national press, from The New York Times (“One of the best collegiate singing ensembles, and one of the most adventurous… an exciting, beautifully sung concert at Carnegie Hall”) to The Washington Post (“Under the direction of Jeffrey Douma, the sopranos – indeed, all the voices – sang as one voice, with flawless intonation… their treacherous semitones and contrapuntal subtleties became otherworldly, transcendent even”). The students who sing in the Yale Glee Club are drawn from all academic areas of the university, and the group’s repertoire embraces a broad spectrum of choral music from the 16th century to the present, including Renaissance motets, contemporary choral works, large orchestral works, world folk music, spirituals, and traditional Yale songs. Committed to the creation of new music, the Glee Club presents frequent premieres of newly commissioned works. One of the most traveled collegiate choruses in the world, the Glee Club traveled on its first international tour in 1928.
Douma has appeared as guest conductor with choruses and orchestras on six continents, and has prepared choruses for performances under such eminent conductors as William Christie, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir David Willcocks, Dale Warland, Krzysztof Penderecki, Nicholas McGegan, and Helmuth Rilling. An advocate of new music, Douma established the Yale Glee Club Emerging Composers Competition and Fenno Heath Award, and has premiered new works by such composers as Caroline Shaw, Jennifer Higdon, Dominick Argento, Bright Sheng, Jan Sandström, Ted Hearne, Hannah Lash, David Lang, Rene Clausen, and James Macmillan. He also serves as editor of the Yale Glee Club New Classics Choral Series, published by Boosey & Hawkes. His original compositions are published by G. Schirmer and Boosey & Hawkes. Douma earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College, in Moorhead, MN, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Michigan.
artist profiles Bryan Murray, baritone Bryan Murray is pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree in Opera performance at the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Richard Cross and Doris Yarick-Cross. He received an Artist Diploma and a Master of Music degree from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music where he studied with Bonnie Hamilton and Jacque Trussel, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stony Brook University where he studied with John Fiorito. Bryan is excited to be a recipient of the Berlin Opera Foundation Scholarship to join Deutsche Oper Berlin in their 18-19 season. Bryan is also the grand prize winner of the 2016 Heida Hermann’s International Voice Competition, the winner of the “Sachi Liebergesell” award from the Opera Index Competition, a finalist in the Eastern Region of the Met Council auditions, and the winner of an Encouragement Grant from the Premiere Opera International Voice Competition. Bryan appeared as Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Smirnov in William Walton’s The Bear with Yale Opera; John Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible, Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Father in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with Purchase Opera; and the Consul in Pier Francesco Cavalli’s Eliogabalo with Stony Brook Opera. Clare Chemery, soprano Clare Chemery is a junior at the Hopkins School and has been singing with the Trinity Girls Choir and Walden Moore
since fourth grade. Latin and Greek are her favorite subjects. The budding linguist in her finds the grammar the most interesting part! Clare is also a member of her school’s varsity squash and varsity field hockey teams. She loves singing, of course, but also adores her two dogs, a Cardigan Welsh corgi named Toller and a sheltie called Nikka. In her spare time she bakes elaborate desserts à la The Great British Bake Off. Sylvia D’Eramo, soprano Sylvia D’Eramo is a graduate student at the Yale School of Music, where she studies with Doris Yarick-Cross. She received a Bachelor of Music from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. This spring she will perform as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Yale Opera. This summer she will join the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singer Program for the 2018 season. She has previously appeared as Pamina in The Magic Flute and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Yale Opera. Sylvia recently sang the role of Abigail Williams on Albany Records’ new recording of Robert Ward’s The Crucible. In Opera News magazine’s June 2017 Critic’s Choice Review of Albany Records’ The Crucible, Ms. D’Eramo was highlighted. “As Abigail Williams… the very promising soprano Sylvia D’Eramo sings with an acute instinct for both the passion and the treachery at the character’s core.” In 2017, Sylvia won second place in the Lois Alba Aria Competition, and she won an encouragement award from the Career Bridges Competition in New York City. During her time at SUNY Purchase she performed the roles of Abigail Williams in The Crucible, and Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.
artist profiles Sarah Saturnino, mezzo-soprano Hailing from Grass Valley, CA, Sarah graduated cum laude from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance and a Music Industry minor. This May she will receive her Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music where she studies with Doris Yarick-Cross. During her time at Yale, Sarah has performed in Yale Opera Scenes (Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking, Mutter in Hansel and Gretel, Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Bertarido in Rodelinda) and in Yale Opera productions staged at the Shubert Theater (Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Second Lady in The Magic Flute). She has participated in numerous young artist programs and music festivals, including the Miami Summer Music Festival (Prince Charmant in Cendrillon), the Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival (Alto Soloist, Handel’s Messiah), and Bel Canto in Tuscany (Arsace in Semiramide, Malika in Lakme, Adalgisa in Norma, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri). She has also performed with local choral groups including the Stamford Chorale in a night of Handel oratorios. In April, Saturnino will debut with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in the role of The Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. This summer, Saturnino will be covering the role of Paquette in Candide with Chautauqua Opera. Fidel Angel Romero, tenor Fidel Angel Romero is pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music, where he studies with Richard Cross. A native of Stafford, Texas, Fidel Angel
received a Bachelor of Music degree from Houston Baptist University. In his first year at Yale, Fidel performed the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute, along with the partial role of Rodolfo in La Bohème. In 2016, Fidel received the Grady Harlan Award of Excellence for most promising vocalist. Future engagements include the role of the Governor and Vanderdenur in Bernstein’s Candide and the role of Monostatos in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Central City Opera. Stephen Clark, bass A young bass noted for his “stalwart” sound and “appealing vocal substance,” Stephen Clark is establishing an exciting career as an opera singer. For the past two years, he has been a member of the prestigious Yale Opera program. In his time there, he has sung the roles of Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Luka in William Walton’s The Bear, and The Father-in-Law in Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot. This summer, he will be an Apprentice Artist with Chautauqua Opera, performing the role of Masetto in Don Giovanni. During the past two summers, Mr. Clark has been an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado; notable credits from his time there include Angelotti in Tosca, Azarias in Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace, and the title role in Mozart’s The Impresario. Mr. Clark has been a young artist at several other American opera companies, including Fort Worth Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Sarasota Opera.
notes on the program leonard bernstein Opening Prayer (1986)
leonard bernstein Chichester Psalms (1965)
With a few hours notice in 1943, Leonard Bernstein readied himself for an unexpected Carnegie debut with the New York Philharmonic, replacing his ailing mentor, Bruno Walter. Bernstein, barely 25 years old, was living in a studio in Carnegie Hall when he got the call and hurried down the elevator, crossed through the wings, and whispered to himself a Hebrew prayer for courage and luck before walking on stage. The concert was broadcast live, and earned the young conductor/composer glowing acclaim; soon he would be leading orchestras all over the world. In honor of Carnegie Hall, his lucky break, and the prayer that gave him strength that fortuitous night, Bernstein wrote Opening Prayer for the inauguration of Isaac Stern Hall after its renovation in 1986.
The Very Reverend Dr. Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex England, wrote to Leonard Bernstein in 1963 in search of a new choral work based on the Psalms for the Southern Cathedrals Festival in 1965. Although Bernstein’s celebrity and international visibility made him a prime candidate for commission, the Dean’s request was adventurous: it was unprecedented for an Anglican cathedral setting to feature the work, with Hebrew text, of a devout Jewish composer. Beyond this, the Dean sought the charms of Bernstein’s Broadway music: “many of us would be very delighted if there was a hint of West Side Story.”
Bernstein later incorporated Opening Prayer into his Concerto for Orchestra “Jubilee Games” as the fourth and final movement. A solo trumpet incites a portentous brass fanfare that drops out, leaving a lone oboe solo. The strings take over playing on open strings, as if asserting their right to tune before setting off in their continually shifting haze. Over and within the pool of string sound, woodwinds take turns in incantation, warming and softening the atmosphere for the vocal solo. The text for the free-floating solo baritone line comes from the conclusion of the liturgy for traditional morning services. The baritone’s benedictions (Numbers 6:24–26), float over the string’s bitter and static harmony, decorated by the solo trumpet of the opening, now muted. – Julia Clancy
The commission came at a difficult time for Bernstein. His prospective work for Broadway, The Skin of Our Teeth (after Wilder’s play of the same name) mired, and reeled after the murder of a close friend and President Kennedy: “Life, this agonizing November, is a tooth with its skin stripped off. I don’t know what I’m writing. I don’t even know what I’m not writing… I can’t get over Kennedy or Marc.” The work juxtaposes the vocal part writing commonly heard in Church music (e.g. homophony and imitation), with the Judaic liturgical tradition. In addition to the Hebrew text, the melodic and rhythmic contours follow the idiosyncrasies of the language to dictate mood and melodic character. Combining Christian choral tradition with the Hebrew language was Bernstein’s approach to calling for peace in Israel during a turbulent time in the fledgling country’s history.
notes on the program The first movement opens with a triumphant and authoritative exhortation to praise God which triggers the main substance of the movement, a dance-like, somewhat jazzy scherzo setting of Psalm 100, in which a full percussion section is called upon to “make a joyful noise.” A boy soloist, accompanied by harp, headlines the second movement with Psalm 23 in serene and heavenly fashion. The men agitatedly sing Psalm 2 (“Why do nations assemble, and peoples plot”), setting up a foil warlike and peaceful music that duels throughout the movement. The strings passionately introduce the third movement, leading to a warm, assuaging setting of Psalm 131. Unaccompanied chorus intones a verse from Psalm 133, a final sigh of peace before the closing Amen. – Julia Clancy ludwig van beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 It was as a young man that Ludwig van Beethoven first imagined setting Friedrich Schiller’s An die Freude (“Ode to Joy”). Although this ambition would be revisited several times throughout the composer’s life, it would not be realized until the creation of the towering Ninth Symphony. In 1822, responding to a commission from the Philharmonic Society of London, Beethoven combined his ideas for a “pious song in a symphony in the ancient modes” and a large symphony in D minor. Work on the new symphony progressed through 1823, with the finishing touches added in the early months of 1824. What ultimately emerged was one of Beethoven’s greatest works, and possibly
his most famous. Yet the ubiquity of the “Ode to Joy” theme in our modern world should not obscure the boldness of Beethoven’s vision. The inclusion of voices and poetry into the symphonic realm was nearly unprecedented (a choral symphony by the German opera composer Peter Winter predates the Ninth by a decade), as was the enormous scope of the work. At well over an hour, the Ninth remains one of the longest symphonies in the repertoire to this day. Beethoven’s innovations exerted a profound influence on nearly all of the great composers of the nineteenth century. Symphonies by Brahms, Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler, and Mendelssohn all owe a debt to the Ninth, and many other composers told of their fascination with this gigantic opus. Of the opening of the symphony, Richard Wagner wrote, “I was struck at once, as if by force of destiny, with the long-sustained perfect fifths with which the first movement begins: these sounds, which played such a spectral role in my earliest impressions of music, came to me as the ghostly fundamental of my own life. This symphony surely held the secret to all secrets…” Hector Berlioz called the Ninth “the most magnificent expression of Beethoven’s genius.” He also movingly described the two interwoven themes of the third movement: “As to the beauty of these melodies, the infinite grace of the ornaments applied to them, the sentiments of melancholy, tenderness, and passionate sadness and of religious meditation which they express — if my prose could give [of] all this even an approximate idea, music would have found in the written word such a competitor as even the greatest of all poets was never able to oppose to it. It is an immense work;
notes on the program and, when once its powerful charm has been experienced, the only answer for the critic who reproaches the composer for having violated the law of unity is ‘So much the worse for the law.’” Despite their great length and profundity, the first three movements of the symphony are vastly outstripped in these regards by the choral finale. The great variety of textures and emotions encompassed within the movement’s massive structure have both thrilled and perplexed listeners for generations. What could possibly prepare us for the shock of the entrance of the “Turkish” march, or for the revelatory entrance of the baritone soloist? When the full chorus and orchestra proclaim Schiller’s text in waves of blazing glory, Beethoven’s vision of a liberated and enlightened future for all of mankind becomes nearly impossible to resist. – Jordan Kuspa
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samuel simons sanford circle $50 to $124 Anonymous Helen & Blake Bidwell Barbara Blake Barbara & Frank Dahm Bill & Barbara Dickerson Elizabeth M. Dock John Doyle Thomas & Judith Foley Saul & Sonya Goldberg Alon & Courtney Gordon Lawrence Handler Dr. Alan N. Katz Linda and Ozzie Levene Mrs. Elizabeth Lowery James Manfield Joel Marks Betty Mettler Rocco & Velma Pugliese Helen & Fred Robinson Leonard J. Rutkosky Albert Toth Suzanne Tucker Peter Uhrynowski Carl Wies Donna Yoo
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texts and translations leonard bernstein Opening Prayer (1986) Y’varech’cha Adonai v’yishm’recha Ya’eir Adonai panav eilecha vichunecha Yisa Adonai panav eilecha v’yasem l’cha shalom.
May the Lord bless you and guard you. May the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace. English translation by Rabbi Morton M. Leifman
leonard bernstein Chichester Psalms (1965) I. Psalm 108 verse 2 – Psalm 100 entire Urah, hanevel, v’chinor! A-irah shaḥar
Awake, psaltery and harp: I will rouse the dawn!
Hariu l’Adonai kol haarets. Iv’du et Adonai b’simḥa Bo-u l’fanav bir’nanah. D’u ki Adonai Hu Elohim. Hu asanu v’lo anaḥnu. Amo v’tson mar’ito. Bo’u sh’arav b’todah, Ḥatseirotav bit’hilah, Hodu lo, bar’chu sh’mo. Ki tov Adonai, l’olam ḥas’do, V’ad dor vador emunato.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting And His truth endureth to all generations.
II. Psalm 23 entire – Psalm 2 verses 1-4 Adonai ro-i, lo eḥsar. Bin’ot deshe yarbitseini, Al mei m’nuḥot y’nahaleini, Naf’shi y’shovev, Yan’ḥeini b’ma’aglei tsedek, L’ma’an sh’mo.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, For His name’s sake.
Gam ki eilech B’gei tsalmavet, Lo ira ra, Ki Atah imadi.
Yea, though I walk Through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For Thou art with me.
texts and translations Shiv’t’cha umishan’techa Hemah y’naḥamuni.
Thy rod and Thy staff They comfort me.
Ta’aroch l’fanai shulchan Neged tsor’rai Dishanta vashemen roshi Cosi r’vayaḥ. Ach tov vaḥesed Yird’funi kol y’mei ḥayai V’shav’ti b’veit Adonai L’orech yamim.
Thou preparest a table before me In the presence of my enemies, Thou anointest my head with oil, My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy Shall follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Lamah rag’shu goyim Ul’umim yeh’gu rik? Yit’yats’vu malchei erets, V’roznim nos’du yaḥad Al Adonai v’al m’shiḥo. N’natkah et mos’roteimo, V’nashlichah mimenu avoteimo. Yoshev bashamayim Yis’ḥak, Adonai Yil’ag lamo!
Why do the nations rage, And the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His anointed. Saying, let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens Shall laugh, and the Lord Shall have them in derision!
III. Psalm 131 entire – Psalm 133 verse 1 Adonai, Adonai, Lo gavah libi, V’lo ramu einai, V’lo hilachti Big’dolot uv’niflaot Mimeni. Im lo shiviti V’domam’ti, Naf’shi k’gamul alei imo, Kagamul alai naf’shi. Yaḥel Yis’rael el Adonai Me’atah v’ad olam.
Lord, Lord, My heart is not haughty, Nor mine eyes lofty, Neither do I exercise myself In great matters or in things Too wonderful for me. Surely I have calmed And quieted myself, As a child that is weaned of his mother, My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord From henceforth and forever.
Hineh mah tov, Umah naim, Shevet aḥim Gam yaḥad
Behold how good, And how pleasant it is, For brethren to dwell Together in unity. English translation © Boosey & Hawkes
texts and translations ludwig van beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere.
O friends, not these notes! Rather let us take up something more pleasant, and more joyful.
Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Joy, lovely divine light, Daughter of Elysium We march, drunk with fire, Holy One, to thy holy kingdom. Thy magic binds together What tradition has strongly parted, All men will be brothers Dwelling under the safety of your wings.
Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja – wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf ’ dem Erdenrund! Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund.
He who has had the great pleasure To be a true friend to a friend, He who has a noble wife Let him join our mighty song of rejoicing! Yes – if there is a solitary soul In the entire world which claims him – If he rejects it, then let him steal away Weeping out of this comradeship.
Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
All beings drink in joy From nature’s breasts. All good and evil things Follow her rose-strewn path. She gave us kisses and grapes, A friend, tested unto death, Pleasure is given even to the worm And the cherubim stand before God.
texts and translations
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan, Wandelt, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Happy, like thy Sun which flies Through the splendid Heavens, Wander, Brothers, on your road Joyful, like a hero going to victory.
Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Joy, lovely divine light, Daughter of Elysium We march, drunk with fire, Holy One, to thy holy kingdom. Thy magic binds together What tradition has strongly parted, All men will be brothers Dwelling under the safety of your wings.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Brüder – überm Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen! Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such’ ihn überm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen.
Be embraced, you multitudes, In this kiss of the entire world. Brothers – over the canopy of stars A loving Father must live. Do you sense the Creator, world? Seek Him above the canopy of stars! Surely He lives above the stars.
Text by Friedrich Schiller
English translation by Paul Brians
YALE PHILHARMONIA 2018–2019 season
Sep 28
Peter Oundjian, principal conductor The season kicks off with selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and music by Rossini and Vaughan Williams.
Oct 26
Jean-Marie Zeitouni, guest conductor A program led by Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal Artistic Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni.
Nov 15
Peter Oundjian, principal conductor A performance of Richard Strauss’ visionary tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, and more.
Jan 18
Peter Oundjian, principal conductor A performance of Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony, an arresting musical portrait of tyranny resistance.
Feb 22
Philharmonia in Sprague An annual concert in the intimate Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall.
Apr 5
Carolyn Kuan, guest conductor Hartford Symphony Orchestra Music Director Carolyn Kuan leads the Yale Philharmonia.
Apr 26
Peter Oundjian, principal conductor Principal conductor Peter Oundjian conducts the final concert of the 2018-2019 season.
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Upcoming Events Yale Cellos april 25 YSM Ensembles Aldo Parisot leads the beloved Yale Cellos in arrangements of music by Ravel, Corelli, Bach, Joplin, Vivaldi, Schumann, and Rossini. Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Tickets from $10 • Students from $5
Guitar Chamber Music may 5 YSM Ensembles Students from faculty guitarist Benjamin Verdery’s studio perform a program of chamber music. Sudler Recital Hall | Saturday | 4:30 pm free admission
Caroline Shaw, guest composer may 3 New Music New Haven A program of works by the School’s graduatestudent composers and music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and School of Music alumna Caroline Shaw ’07MM. Sudler Recital Hall | Thursday | 7:30 pm free admission
Competition Winners may 8 Oneppo Chamber Music Series Performances by the winners of the School of Music’s annual Chamber Music Competition. Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $6
Hansel and Gretel may 4 & 5 Yale Opera Yale Opera presents a fully staged production of Humperdinck’s classic opera, Hansel and Gretel, with stage direction by John Giampietro and music direction by Douglas Dickson and Timothy Shaindlin. Morse Recital Hall | Friday & Saturday | 7:30 pm Tickets from $10, Students $5
Commencement Concert
may 20 YSM Special Events A selection of performances by members of YSM’s Class of 2018. Morse Recital Hall | Sunday | 4 pm Free Admission
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