AMADEUS AND THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
Sunday, February 12, 2017
7:00 PM
Shattuck Music Center Auditorium, Carroll University
SENIOR SYMPHONY
Margery Deutsch, Music Director
Todd Levy, Clarinet
KEVIN PUTS …this noble company (2003)
(b. 1972)
W.A. MOZART Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
(1756-1791) II. Adagio
III. Rondo: Allegro
Mr. Levy
CARL MARIA von WEBER Concertino in E-flat Major
(1786–1826) for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 26
Mr. Levy
INTERMISSION
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade, Op. 35
(1844-1908) I.
The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
II.
The Tale of the Kalender Prince
III.The Young Prince and the Young Princess
IV. The Festival at Baghdad/The Sea/
Shipwreck on a Rock Surmounted
by a Bronze Warrior/Conclusion
Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
1
TO D D L E V Y | C L A R I N E T
Todd Levy is Principal Clarinet of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
(MSO) and of the Santa Fe Opera, as well as a participant in the Santa
Fe Chamber Music Festival. He is also on the clarinet faculty at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Mr. Levy made his debut at the age of seventeen performing the
Hindemith Clarinet Concerto at Lincoln Center. Mr. Levy won his first
Principal Clarinet audition at the age of 18 when he was appointed
Photo by Jennifer Brindley
Principal Clarinet of the Stamford (Connecticut) Symphony. Since
then, some highlights of his solo career have included solo appearances at Carnegie
Hall, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and with the Israel Philharmonic in TelAviv. In addition, Mr. Levy has collaborated with some of the latter twentieth century’s
most significant composers in performances of the Brahms Sonata in F Minor arranged
for clarinet and orchestra by Luciano Berio with Maestro Berio conducting, the world
premiere of Peter Schickele’s Concerto for Clarinet and Flute with the composer
conducting, the European premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Clarinet and Oboe,
and the World Premiere of Marc Neikrug’s Clarinet Concerto in March of 2010 with the
MSO. In addition, Mr. Levy was a featured soloist in the Mozart Bicentennial at Lincoln
Center where he performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto at the Mostly Mozart Festival.
In November of 1998, Mr. Levy performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the White
House for President and Mrs. Bill Clinton. A frequent soloist for the Lar Lubovitch Dance
Company, Mr. Levy, at the request of choreographer Lar Lubovitch, performed the Mozart
Clarinet Concerto in the U.S. Premiere of the Company’s Concerto 622 at Carnegie Hall.
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
TO D D L E V Y | C L A R I N E T
c o n t.
Since then, he has collaborated with the company numerous times in performances of
this work at New York’s City Center and also with New York City Ballet Orchestra at the
Dancing For Life AIDS benefit at Lincoln Center’s New York State Theater.
Mr. Levy has participated in two Grammy Award winning recordings - the Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra CD entitled Shadow Dances - Stravinsky Miniatures in February 2001
and the Renee Fleming CD entitled Bel Canto in February 2003. In 1999, his recording
of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Michael Boriskin (piano) and the EOS Orchestra
conducted by Jonathan Sheffer was given a Rosette in the “Penguin Guide to Compact
Discs.” His latest recording of the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas with UWM faculty member
Elena Abend on the Avie label is available on iTunes. In June of 2007, he recorded three
book/CDs for a new project for the G. Schirmer Instrumental Library Collection called the
Clarinet Collection published by Hal Leonard (see recordings section on this website). In
2010, he recorded and co-edited the new Boosey and Hawkes edition of the Bernstein
Clarinet Sonata which is now in book/CD form. Mr. Levy can also be heard on the 2008
release of Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses chamber work for the Koch label, together with
violinist Pinchas Zuckerman, actor John Rubenstein and the composer conducting. He
has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon, London/Decca, BMG and Telarc labels. For
a full discography, visit the recordings section of toddlevy.org.
In 1988, Mr. Levy became the principal clarinet of the New World Symphony under
conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. In 1996, Mr. Levy made his debut as guest Principal
Clarinet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in all eight performances of Janáček’s
The Makropulos Case with soprano Jessye Norman. Since that time and until becoming
the Principal Clarinetist of the MSO in 2000, Mr. Levy appeared regularly with the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and as E-flat clarinetist on all of the Met Chamber
Ensemble concerts at Carnegie Hall with James Levine conducting and playing the
piano. In addition to the Met, he has been guest Principal Clarinetist with the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the
Cincinnati Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard,
Cleveland, Orion, Mendelssohn, Ying and Miami Quartets, the Beaux Arts Trio, James
Levine, Pinchas Zuckerman, Marc Neikrug, Christoph Eschenbach, Richard Goode,
Mitsuko Uchida, Carol Wincenc and Paula Robison. He has also given world premiere
performances of chamber music pieces by Joan Tower, Paquito D’Rivera and Morton
Subotnick. He has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival for four summers
and a member of the Naumburg Award-winning Aspen Wind Quintet.
Recent career highlights include the launch of www.toddlevy.org, Principal Clarinet for
2005, 2006, 2008 seasons of the Tokyo Opera Nomori under Seiji Ozawa and Riccardo
Muti in Tokyo, and Principal Clarinet with the 2006 Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra under
Alan Gilbert. He performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures, and
Selmer Signature clarinets. Mr. Levy is a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied
with David Weber. For more information, please visit www.toddlevy.org
Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
3
M A R G E R Y D E U T S C H | M U S I C D I R E C TO R
Since 1987, Margery Deutsch has been Music Director of the
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Senior Symphony and has
led them on numerous international tours to critical acclaim. Under
her leadership and direction, the Senior Symphony has performed in
Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, China, France, Switzerland, Italy,
Spain, Canada (British Columbia and Quebec) and Scotland, where
the orchestra performed as part of the Festival of British Youth
Orchestras and the Edinburgh Festival. In the summer of 2015, she
led them on a concert tour to Vienna and Budapest where they performed at MuTh
Concert Hall, the Musikverein’s Golden Hall, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall and
Gödöllő Palace. In 2012, she led the Senior Symphony on a ten-day tour of Vienna and
Prague where they were chosen to perform on the Gala Winners’ Concert as part of the
2012 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival. In 2000, the Senior
Symphony was chosen as one of only five U.S. youth orchestras to participate in the
National Youth Orchestra Festival in Sarasota, Florida. Deutsch has conducted the
orchestra in performances at Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the Wisconsin Music
Educators Conference (North Central Division) and the Mid-West International Band and
Orchestra Clinic. Named Professor Emeritus in 2012, Ms. Deutsch was Director of Orchestras and Professor
of Conducting at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1984-2012. She serves as
the Music Director of UWM’s University Community Orchestra, an ensemble of over 120
musicians ranging in age from 12 to 100. The orchestra is comprised of college, high
school, and middle school students and community members.
Ms. Deutsch is actively involved with high school-age musicians throughout the country
and is in frequent demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. She has
served four terms on the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestra’s Youth
Orchestra Division.
Prior to coming to Milwaukee, Ms. Deutsch served as Music Director of the Shreveport
(LA) Symphony where she conducted classical, chamber orchestra, pops and children’s
concerts, as well as operas. Versed in both orchestral and choral repertoire, she was Music
Director of the Long Island Singers Society and, in Milwaukee, has guest conducted
The Master Singers, Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee Choristers, Lawrence University Choir,
Milwaukee Children’s Choir and the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.
Deutsch has been a frequent guest conductor for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s
Youth, Children’s and Family concert series. In addition, she has worked with the Sewanee
Music Festival (TN), Sheboygan Symphony, Aurora University’s Music by the Lake Opera
Theater, Women’s Philharmonic (CA), Plymouth (MI) Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic,
Charleston (SC) Symphony, Nebraska Sinfonia, Monroe (LA) Symphony, South Dakota
Symphony, and the all-state orchestras of New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, Missouri,
Washington, Minnesota, Montana, Delaware and Maine as well as numerous district
festivals throughout the country. In November, she will conduct the 2017 National
Association for Music Education All-National Honors Orchestra in Orlando, Florida.
The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Ms. Deutsch received the 2001 Milwaukee
Civic Music Association Award for Excellence in Contributions to Music and the 1990
UWM Undergraduate Teaching Award. She has been awarded conducting fellowships
and scholarships from the Aspen Music Festival, the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy,
and the Nebraska-based “Festival of a Thousand Oaks.” She was also invited to participate
in the conducting seminar at Tanglewood where she took master classes with Leonard
4
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
M A R G E R Y D E U T S C H | M U S I C D I R E C TO R
c o n t.
Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and Colin Davis. Her other teachers include Thomas Briccetti,
Franco Ferrarra, Bruno Bartoletti, Piero Bellugi, Sergiu Commisiona and Dennis Russell
Davies; she has also studied flute with Samuel Baron and voice with Jan DeGaetani. A
native New Yorker and Regents Scholar, she holds a Master of Music degree in Orchestral
Conducting, a Master of Arts degree in Musicology, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Flute
and Vocal Performance.
SENIOR SYMPHONY
FIRST VIOLINS
Julian Rhee,
Co-Concertmaster
Mercedes Cullen,
Co-Concertmaster
Daniella Brusubardis,
Co-Concertmaster
Arianna Brusubardis,
Co-Concertmaster
Mara Bajic,
Co-Concertmaster
Alexander Zhu,
Co-Concertmaster
Anna McDougall
Cassidy Franzmeier
Natalia Sorbjan
Stephanie Pham
Daniel Kim
Jenny Lietz
Clara Montes
Margaret Knox
John Kerns
Sarah May
Rachel Fu
Azniv Khaligian
Sarah Bagin
Hannah Ulatowski
Ben Spicer
Jonah Kartman
Emily Yank
Tiffany Pham
Maya Lawnicki
SECOND VIOLINS
Sam Yang, Co-Principal
Justin Chu, Co-Principal
Marianna Tellez
Emma Dougherty
Teresa Wan
Claire Liu
Brian Li
Noah Maurer
Alex Gallatin
Miguel Villanueva
Derek Guo
Gabriela Lammers
Kasumi Grace Stoll
Elisabeth Krmpotich
Margaret Mary Serchen
Greta Ulatowski
Tehya Crego
Libby Sukowatey
Haley Dagenais
Laura Rodriguez
Andrea Grimaldo
Chelsey Kim
Skye McCoy
Serena Zacharias
VIOLAS
Tabby Rhee, Co-Principal
Tyler Stepp, Co-Principal
Angeline Moyer,
Assistant Principal
Alondra Garcia
Allison Burgdorf
Emily McCabe
Frida Albiter
Jessica Spottek
Jaelynn Franklin
Neville Nazareth
Nadiyah Salawdeh
Mradul Surana
CELLOS
Zach Buehler, Co-Principal
Malik Johnson,
Co-Principal
Ian Wasserman,
Co-Principal
Lauren Simmons,
Associate Principal
Joel Osinga
William Clark
Stephen Simuncak
Lorenzo DeMichele
Bradley Nowacek
Abigail Hanna
Andrew Li
Michaela Lonski
Mystique Evans
Evan Mitchell
Daniel Augustine
Joshua Roets
Michael Foster
BASSES
Olivia Reyes, Co-Principal
Andrew Crapitto,
Co-Principal
Jacob McKee
Riley Gillespie
Liam McLean
Daniela Castro-Ramirez
HARP
Clarissa Schilling
FLUTES
Sally Fahr
Lauren Lenz
Carmen Magestro
Andrea Martin
PICCOLO
Carmen Magestro
Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
5
SENIOR SYMPHONY
OBOES
Gretchen Froelich
Dan Myers
Miko Roman
BASSOONS
Valerie Kelly
Callahan Lieungh
Mason von Bargen
ENGLISH HORN
Miko Roman
CONTRABASSOON
Mason von Bargen
CLARINETS
Natalie Anderson
Marissa Davies
Skye Jones
Bess Werner
HORNS
Jessica Marty
Carlos Meyers
Kelsi Morris
Leah Rodewald
Corey Schmidt
BASS CLARINET
Marissa Davies
6
c o n t.
TRUMPETS
Brendan Anderson
Bennett Dirksmeyer
Katie Hillstrom
Matthew Kellen
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
TROMBONES
Pierson Fisher
Ethan Mikulak
Kayla Olstinske
Stephanie Plautz
BASS TROMBONE
Caleb Christiansen
TUBA
Eireann Murphy
PERCUSSION
Noelle Brasch
Thomas Gill
Chris Ibitoye
Jeremy Reutebuch
PROGR A M NOTES
Kevin Puts
b. January 3, 1972, St. Louis, Missouri
...this noble company (processional for orchestra) (2003)
Commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony. Premiere: Atlanta Symphony/Jere Flint
conductor, Summer 2003
In the fall of 2002, I was asked by Rudi Schlegel at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to
write “an American Pomp and Circumstance”. He was referring of course to the beautiful
concert march by English composer Edward Elgar, played at nearly every graduation
ceremony in the country.
My answer to this daunting challenge is “...this noble company”, a processional for
orchestra whose title, like Elgar’s, is drawn from Shakespeare’s Othello. The piece was
written during a time of great wartime financial strife for our country’s orchestras and
artistic organizations and is dedicated with gratitude and admiration to these devoted
musicians and administrators.
Notes by Kevin Puts
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
b. January 27, 1756, Salzburg; d. December 5, 1791, Vienna
Movements II and III from
Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622
With finishing touches applied only two months before Mozart’s death, the Clarinet
Concerto is the composer’s last, fully completed, major work. Considering the
importance of the work in respect to Mozart’s oeuvre, it is somewhat surprising that
there is so much mystery surrounding its origins. It was written for Mozart’s friend, an
excellent clarinetist of the imperial court orchestra and a fellow Mason, Anton Stadler.
“Not only did Mozart compose two of the greatest works of the entire clarinet literature
(his A-major Clarinet Quintet, K. 581 and the Clarinet Concerto) for Stadler,” explains
Edward Downes, continuing: “he allowed Stadler to exploit the free hospitality of the
Mozart household. He loaned Stadler money when he could ill afford it, and when he had
no money to lend, he loaned Stadler two gold watches to pawn. When Mozart died in
December 1791 and was buried in an unmarked grave, the ‘assets’ of his estate, according
to the official accounting, included 500 florins of bad debts accumulated by Stadler--well
over $3,000.”
Neither Stadler nor Mozart took pains to preserve the original manuscript of the
concerto; consequently, all that remains for succeeding generations are a few pages
of sketches for a basset horn concerto (K. 584b) that is similar to the present work,
and the version of the concerto that was first published in 1801. It is possible that this
concerto was begun as early as 1787; its completion would then have encompassed the
years that saw the creation of the Clarinet quintet and the more rarely heard obbligato
clarinet passages in the opera La clemenza di Tito. Most likely, the work evolved through
several versions to something approximating its present form. One difference, however,
would have been the matter of range. Stadler played a basset clarinet with a more
Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
7
PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
extensive lower register than the modern clarinet in A. The 1801 edition of Andre made
adjustments in the solo passages to conform to the range of a more modern instrument.
Mozart’s concerto is particularly musical in that it does not rely upon mere virtuosity
to maintain attention. It combines virtually all the elements of his expression into a
harmonious interplay of soloist and orchestra. Following the usual concerto format
of fast-slow-fast movements, the work is a beautiful and personal utterance. The lyric
second movement Adagio conveys a sense of quiet resignation... perhaps a farewell to
life, while the outer Allegros resonate with a line in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, in
which the “heart dances, but not for joy.”
Notes by Roger Ruggeri © 2017
Carl Maria von Weber
b. November 18, 1786, Eutin, Germany; d. June 5, 1826, London
Concertino in E-flat Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, Opus 26 (J 109)
Following Mozart’s elevation of the clarinet to the heights of solo expression, the
instrument became one of the most popular solo voices in early 19th-century Germany.
The period boasted two outstanding virtuosi: one was Johann Simon Hermstedt, for
whom Ludwig Spohr wrote a number of works; the other was Heinrich Bärmann, the
recipient of Weber’s solo works. A composer as well as a clarinetist, Bärmann counted
among his friends such illustrious composers as Weber, Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn.
Grove recalls that Bärmann’s playing was typified by his “grace of style and above the soft,
velvety tone of his simple boxwood clarinet.” Weber, soon after making his acquaintance
in Munich, described Bärmann as “a truly great artist and admirable man.”
Weber composed his Concertino in 1811, shortly before embarking on a concert
tour with Bärmann. The success of the premiere in Munich was such that the King
immediately commissioned two more clarinet concertos. Weber was suddenly swamped
with requests for concertos; he said: “Since I composed the Concertino for Bärmann the
whole orchestra has been the very devil about demanding concerti from me.”
Celebrated for its operatic virtuosity, the Concertino consists of an introduction, a theme,
three variations and an extended final section.
Notes by Roger Ruggeri © 2017
8
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
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Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
CMYK
9
PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov
b. March 18, 1844, Tikhvin; d. June 21, 1908, St. Petersburg
Scheherazade, Opus 35
On the shores of a beautiful Russian lake, during the summer of 1888, Rimsky-Korsakov
wove together a symphonic suite based upon the tales of the “Thousand and One
Nights.” He originally intended to write a more formal work, a programmatic symphony
in which each of the movements would tell an individual story. In the process of working
out his materials, Rimsky-Korsakov decided to adopt a more flexible form while keeping
the evocative original title, Scheherazade.
The source of this work, sometimes known as the “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments,” is
a collection of ancient Persian-Indian-Arabian tales that found publication in Arabic
during the mid-15th-century. From this extensive work, Rimsky-Korsakov found himself
particularly drawn to the stories of Sinbad...perhaps because the composer himself spent
a number of his earlier years in the Russian Navy. Enrolled at the age of twelve in the
Corps of Naval Cadets at St. Petersburg, Rimsky-Korsakov became interested in music
and was ultimately urged to begin composing by his mentor, Balakirev. The budding
young musician completed a three-year world cruise before returning to Russia and the
beginning of his career as a composer.
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
The following program prefaces the score of Scheherazade:
“The Sultan of Schahriar, persuaded by the falseness and faithlessness of women,
has sworn to put to death each one of his wives after the first night. But the Sultana
Scheherazade saved her life by interesting him in tales which she told him during
one thousand and one nights. Pricked by curiosity, the Sultan puts off his wife’s
execution from day to day, and at last gave up his bloody plan. Many marvels were
told Schahriar by the Sultana Scheherazade. For her stories the Sultana borrowed
from the poets their verses, from folk songs the words; and she strung together tales
and adventures.
The program I had been guided by in composing Scheherazade consisted of
separate, unconnected episodes and pictures from The Arabian Nights: the fantastic
narrative of the Prince Kalandar, the Prince and the Princess, the Baghdad festival, and
the ship dashing against the rock with the bronze rider upon it. The unifying thread
consisted of the brief introduction to Movements I, II, and IV and the intermezzo in
Movement III, written for violin solo, and delineating Scheherazade herself as telling
her wondrous tales to the stern Sultan. The conclusion of Movement IV serves the
same artistic purpose.
In vain do people seek in my suite leading motives linked always and unvaryingly
with the same poetic ideas and conceptions. On the contrary, in the majority of cases,
all these seeming leit-motives are nothing but purely musical material, or the given
motives for symphonic development. These given motives thread and spread over
all the movements of the suite, alternating and intertwining each with the other.
Appearing as they do each time under different moods, the self-same motives and
themes correspond each time to different images, actions, and pictures…In this
manner, developing quite freely the musical data taken as a basis of the composition,
I had in view the creation of an orchestral suite in four movements, closely knit by the
community of its themes and motives, yet presenting, as it were, a kaleidoscope of
fairy-tale images and designs of Oriental character…
Throughout the work there are two recurring themes; the first, a powerful brass
passage, suggests the stern Sultan; the second, usually heard as a violin solo, is
thought to be the lovely and clever Scheherazade. Each of the movements refers to a
different episode, yet none of them tells an exact story. Rather, they allow the listener
to make up the story in his or her own mind.
After the introduction of the Sultan and Sultana, the first movement describes the
adventures of The Sea and Sinbad's Ship. An oriental ambiance permeates the second
section, The Story of the Kalandar Prince, while a romantic tale is suggested in The
Young Prince and the Young Princess. Opening with a reminiscence of the Sultan and
Scheherazade, the finale continues with the fierce intensity of the Festival at Baghdad.
Amid this tumult, The Sea makes its presence known as Sinbad’s ship tosses in a
violent storm just outside the harbor; ultimately, The Ship Goes to Pieces Against a Rock
Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior. (Perhaps it should be assumed that poetic license
has surmounted actual geography, since Baghdad is situated on the Tigris River, well
upstream from the Persian Gulf.) At the height of the turmoil, trombones sound the
Sultan’s theme and the storm subsides. A happy ending is achieved as the solo violin
answers the Sultan’s theme and the two melodies blend into tranquility.”
Notes by Roger Ruggeri © 2017
Amadeus and the Arabian Nights
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
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INSPIRED SPRING
Saturday, March 4, 2017
7:00 PM
Schwan Concert Hall, Wisconsin Lutheran College
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Carter Simmons, Music Director
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes
(1872-1958) I.
Crug-Y-Bar: Fantasia. Andante sostenuto
II.
St. Denio: Scherzo. Allegro vivace
III.Aberystwyth: Variations. Theme: Lento
CLAUDE DEBUSSY Petite Suite
(1862-1918) I. En Bateau
II.
Cortege
III.Menuet
IV.Ballet
INTERMISSION
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Overture to “Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus”
(1770-1827)
(“The Creatures of Prometheus”), Op. 43
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (“Classical”)
(1891-1953) I.Allegro
II.Larghetto
III. Gavotta. Non troppo allegro
IV. Finale. Molto vivace
Inspired Spring
13
C A R T E R S I M M O N S | A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R / M U S I C D I R E C TO R
Carter Simmons is Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony
Orchestra and has worked with its musicians since 1992. He leads an
artistic staff of 50 professionals and is Music Director of the highly
regarded MYSO Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Chamber
Orchestra. Recognized by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for
distinguished contributions to music education in Wisconsin, Mr.
Simmons was named Distinguished Citizen-Professional in the Arts by
the Civic Music Association of Milwaukee. During his association,
MYSO has grown to serve 1,000 musicians and risen in national prominence including
recognition as an awardee of the 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award
from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
In addition, Mr. Simmons has recently been named the next Music Director of the Festival
City Symphony Orchestra, a position he will begin in May.
His orchestra programs have featured composers such as Adams, Copland, Debussy,
Ginastera, Harbison, Higdon, Mahler, Ravel, and Theofanidis, and provide young musicians
opportunities to perform earlier works of J.S. Bach, Beethoven, F. J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart
and Schubert. This programming reflects his belief that students grow with challenge,
that they should be led to experience the highest form of music making, and that their
performances reveal a story that is both compelling and important.
Mr. Simmons’ training included work at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Eastern
Music Festival, and lessons at the Tanglewood Music Center. A finalist of the National
Conducting Institute of the National Symphony Orchestra under Music Director, Leonard
Slatkin, he also participated in seminars of the League of American Orchestras conducting
the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and masterclasses conducting Eastman's Wind Ensemble.
He holds degrees in horn and vocal performance from the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro and in conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was
the first undergraduate to conduct the renowned UNCG Wind Ensemble before moving
to Milwaukee where he was Assistant Conductor of the UWM Youth Wind Ensemble. He
is indebted to his teachers Dr. John Locke, Robert Gutter, Larry Rachleff and Thomas L.
Dvorak while attending classes of Elizabeth A. H. Green, John Downey, Leon Fleischer,
Gustav Meier and Frederick Fennell among others. Mr. Simmons has formed strong relationships conducting professional artists throughout
the area from the Florentine Opera, Festival City Symphony, Starry Nights Orchestra, the
Wisconsin Philharmonic, Racine Symphony Orchestra, and Kenosha Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, he has led performances for the National Governor’s Association, the
Gathering on the Green Festival Orchestra and was invited by the Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra (MSO) to assist with its performances of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. Mr. Simmons
works each season with the MSO and is a member of its Education and Community
Engagement Committee. Additional appearances have included work with the Milwaukee
Ballet School, Danceworks, First Stage, and as guest conductor, speaker and clinician
across the country.
He has conducted the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra on international and
domestic tours including in Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall and Orchestra Hall in
Chicago’s Symphony Center. He has also accompanied the orchestra for its performances
in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Valencia’s Palau de la Música, Prague’s Dvořák Hall, Budapest’s
Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, the Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic, and
will travel with its young musicians to Argentina and Uruguay in the summer of 2017.
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
TWO WEEK SESSIONS FROM
JUNE 28 - AUGUST 20, 2017
Challenging orchestral opportunities for
pre-college, advanced, intermediate, and
elementary strings, winds, and percussion
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BLUE LAKE FINE ARTS CAMP 300 E. CRYSTAL LAKE RD.
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Inspired Spring
15
Let’s look at the math. Like $100 million for our local economy. Or
the thousands and thousands of jobs they create. Or the hundreds
of thousands of kids who do better in English and science and, you
guessed it, math. But there’s also 50–as in the 50 years UPAF has
supported the arts in Greater Milwaukee, and the over $300 million
we’ve raised to set the stage since 1967. Let’s keep it going.
Donate today at UPAF.org/donate
Thank you to Baird for supporting
UPAF and the performing arts.
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
CHA MBER ORCHESTR A
FIRST VIOLINS
Daniella Brusubardis
Arianna Brusubardis
Natalia Sorbjan
John Kerns
Daniel Kim
Tiffany Pham
Alex Gallatin
CELLOS
Zach Buehler
Ian Wasserman
Lauren Simmons
Joel Osinga
Stephen Simuncak
Bradley Nowacek
Mystique Evans
SECOND VIOLINS
Ben Spicer
Margaret Mary Serchen
Noah Maurer
Kasumi Grace Stoll
Greta Ulatowski
Haley Dagenais
Alanna Szczech
BASSES
Olivia Reyes
Andrew Crapitto
VIOLAS
Tyler Stepp
Emily McCabe
Jaelynn Franklin
Nadiyah Salawdeh
Dominic DeMichele
ENGLISH HORN
Miko Roman
CLARINETS
Marissa Davies
Bess Werner
BASSOONS
Valerie Kelly
Callahan Lieungh
Mason von Bargen
HARP
Clarissa Schilling
HORNS
Jessica Marty
Corey Schmidt
FLUTES
Lauren Lenz
Andrea Martin
TRUMPETS
Brendan Anderson
Kaitlyn Rian
OBOES
Dan Myers
Miko Roman
TIMPANI
Aaron Stengel
PROGR A M NOTES
Ralph Vaughan Williams
b. October 12, 1872, Down Ampney, England; d. August 26, 1958, London
Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes, “Household Music”
Amid the tensions of World War II in Great Britain, Vaughan Williams made a 1940 radio
broadcast in which he recommended the creation of music for “combinations of all
manner of instruments which might be played by people whiling away the waiting-hours
of war.” Soon thereafter, he provided a charming example of his notion by writing Three
Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes, also known as Household Music.
His original scoring of this music was for string quartet, which the Blech String Quartet
premiered on October 4, 1941, in Wigmore Hall. Shortly, Vaughan Williams added a
setting for chamber orchestra.
The first prelude is a fantasia on the 1883 Welsh hymn melody Crug-y-bar (also the name
of a Welsh village). Vaughan Williams uses the sunny hymn St Denio as the basis for a
lively scherzo before rounding out the set with eight variations on Joseph Parry’s hymn
tune Aberystwyth.
Inspired Spring
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PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
Claude Debussy
b. August 22, 1862, near Paris; d. March 25, 1918, Paris
Petite Suite
Although music for piano occupies an important position in Debussy’s career, he seemed
to have a love-hate relationship with the instrument during his early years. His teacher
Marmontel once said: “Debussy isn’t very fond of the piano, but he loves music.” “Among
the varied accounts of his playing,” writes biographer Roger Nichols, “agreement is
reached on only two points: that it was like nobody else’s, and that it had about it an
orchestral quality. At all events, the two approaches outlined above, at the extremes of
boldness and refinement, both display an unwillingness to treat the piano as it had been
treated in the past, and a determination to subdue it to his will.”
On Debussy’s way to finding his personal voice amid the overt virtuosity of late-19thcentury piano music, he created a handful of charming and unpretentious character
pieces that include Reverie, Clair de lune (from the Suite bergamasque) and the Petite Suite,
composed in early in 1889 for piano four-hands. Published in February, 1889, the work
was first performed a few weeks later at a musical salon by the composer and one of his
publisher’s sons, Jacques Durand.
Perhaps best known through the orchestration of Henri Büsser, this four-movement suite
begins with En Bateau (“In a Boat”), whose gentle barcarolle melody is contrasted by two
somewhat stormy episodes. The perky march rhythms of the Cortège are balanced by
the classic grace of the Menuet. Concluding the suite are the vigorous rhythms of a finale
entitled Ballet.
Ludwig van Beethoven
b. December 16, 1770, Bonn; d. March 26, 1827, Vienna
Overture to the Ballet, “The Creatures of Prometheus,” Op. 43
Eager to reach a wider audience than that afforded by his appearances in the salons of
Vienna, Beethoven accepted the task of writing a ballet score for Salvatore Vigano’s The
Creatures of Prometheus. The collaboration of Beethoven and the Neapolitan dancerchoreographer (1769-1821) is intriguing, for both young men were destined to rise to
the forefront of their respective arts. First performed in Vienna on March 28, 1801, the
production was an important milestone on both men’s road to mature expression. This
“heroic and allegorical ballet” brought new elements of vitality into the staid world of
Viennese ballet; despite its novelty, it was soon surpassed by the evolution that it helped
to precipitate.
During the early years of the 19th-century it was very unusual for one composer to
provide music for an entire ballet production. Productions of that period did not bother
with considerations of flow or continuity; they were little more than a series of short
vignettes that were danced to whatever music seemed appropriate... Vigano himself
wrote some of the music for his ballets. With the Prometheus music, Beethoven became
the only major composer to create a full ballet score in the 19th-century prior to
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake of 1875.
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
Essentially, the Vigano-Beethoven ballet was an allegory on the power of music and
dance, with the myth of Prometheus serving as a dramatic vehicle. The “creatures of
Prometheus” are male and female statues brought to life by the power of the Greek god.
In the second act, Prometheus takes them to Parnassus and presents them to Apollo.
According to a resume of the action: “Apollo orders Amfione, Arione and Orpheus to
teach them musical art and orders Melpomene and Thalie to reveal tragedy and comedy
to them; he makes them initiate the pastoral dance invented by both Terpsichore and
Pan; and the heroic dance which is the ingenuity of Bacchus.”
Beethoven’s first effort in this form, the Overture is based upon the classical model of
a slow introduction (Adagio) and a fast main section (Allegro molto con brio). Evoking a
general sense of Prometheus striving to assist mankind, the Overture became a popular
separate concert work after the ballet was no longer in fashion.
It is possible that the figure of Prometheus, who stole fire from heaven in order to
improve the lot of mankind, was associated in Beethoven’s imagination with Napoleon
Bonaparte. Beethoven’s Sinfonia eroica of 1804 was originally a tribute to Napoleon; this
Third Symphony’s finale utilized the same theme that Beethoven employed in the Finale
(No. 16) of his Prometheus ballet music.
Serge Prokofiev
b. April 23, 1891, Sontsovka; d. March 5, 1953, Moscow
Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Classical”), Opus 25
A compelling answer to the rhetorical question: “What would Mozart or Haydn be writing
if they were alive today,” Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony is one of the earliest examples
of the neo-classicism that attracted a number of early-20th-century composers. A
marvelous blend of economy, clarity, wit and whimsy, the Classical Symphony remains a
fresh- sounding favorite of concert audiences throughout the world.
In his autobiography, Prokofiev recalls:
“I spent the summer of 1917 in the country near Petrograd all alone, reading Kant
and working a great deal. I deliberately did not take my piano with me, for I wished
to try composing without it. Until this time I had always composed at the piano,
but I noticed that the thematic material composed away from the piano was often
better. At first it seems strange when transferred to the piano, but after one has
played it a few times everything falls into place. I had been toying with the idea of
writing a whole symphony without the piano. I believed that the orchestra would
sound more natural. That is how the project for a symphony in the Haydn style
had come into being. I had learned a great deal about Haydn’s technique from
Tcherepnine and hence felt myself on sufficiently familiar ground to venture forth
on this difficult journey without a piano.
It seemed to me that had Haydn lived in our day he would have retained his own
style while accepting something of the new at the same time. That was the kind of
symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the classical style. And when I saw that
my idea was beginning to work, I called it the Classical Symphony: in the first place
Inspired Spring
19
PROGR A M NOTES
c o n t.
because it was simpler, and secondly, for the fun of it, to ‘tease the geese,’ and in the
secret hope that I would prove to be right if the symphony really did turn out to be a
piece of classical music.
I composed the symphony in my head during my walks in the country.”
Its nature belying the fact that it was composed amid the unrest of the Bolshevist
Revolution, the Classical Symphony served as one of Prokofiev’s calling cards on his
American concert tour during the autumn of 1917.
I. Allegro; D major, 2/2. First violins begin the primary theme in the third measure, to
which the flutes add a subsidiary melodic idea. A widely-leaping second theme is given
out by the violins and supported by the bassoon. In the classical sonata format, these
materials are developed and recapitulated before the movement concludes with a brief
coda.
II. Larghetto; A major, 3/4. Prefaced by a few introductory measures, the violins begin this
movement’s lofty main theme. A middle section, featuring pizzicato (plucked) strings,
rises to a climax before a return of the main theme and an ultimate disappearance of
sound.
III. Gavotte: Non troppo allegro; D major, 4/4. Utilizing his Gavotte in D (1916) in
instrumental garb as the third movement of this symphony, Prokofiev reveals a bit of his
characteristically sardonic humor. Its trio section suggests a Musette, with the low strings
providing a bagpipe drone.
IV. Finale: Molto vivace; D major, 2/2. Launched by a bold chord, the last movement
makes an uninterrupted dash through the sonata-allegro format. Brilliant, virtuosic
writing abounds as the orchestra glints and glistens to its final measure.
Notes by Roger Ruggeri © 2017
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S
Chair
Michael Jordan
Immediate Past Chair
Jennifer Mattes
Treasurer
Craig Peotter
Directors
Myra Edwards
Patricia A. Ellis, Ed.D
Erik Eisenmann
David Frank
Timothy Frautschi
Dennis Garrett, PhD
Mark Goldstein
Troy Hilliard
Renee Johnson
Greg Kliebhan
Paul Mathews
Jamshed Patel
John Pienkos
Andrew Sajdak
Matthew Sauer
Kent Tess-Mattner
Michael Van Handel
Christine Williams
Executive Director
Linda Edelstein
Artistic Director
Carter Simmons
For a full listing of MYSO
staff, please visit
www.myso.org.
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
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ABOUT MYSO
At Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO), we empower young people from
diverse backgrounds to joyfully pursue musical excellence while building crucial life
skills.
In 2016-17, the organization celebrates its 61st anniversary season and its selection as
winner of the 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the country’s
highest honor for youth arts programs, presented by the President’s Committee on the
Arts and the Humanities.
Recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for its artistic excellence, MYSO
is one of the most successful and respected youth orchestra programs in the nation.
With 1,000 young musicians ages 8-18 from as many as 215 schools, 60 communities
and 14 counties throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois participating
in MYSO’s many ensemble training programs, it has become one of the largest
organizations of its kind in the United States.
Instrumental in changing lives since 1956, MYSO’s programs foster critical thinking skills,
creativity and collaboration through more than 40 ensemble and enrichment options,
ranging from symphony, string orchestras, jazz and steel pan bands, to music theory,
composition, and international tours all providing high quality musical experiences to
students at various skill levels.
For more information about MYSO and its many programs, please visit www.myso.org.
2015 recipient of
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
MYSO is a proud founding member of:
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
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Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra