Sunday, March 3rd, 2002
Cordier Auditorium
Robert Jones, Conductor
Carnival of the Animals | Camille Saint-Saëns | |||
Introduction and Royal March of the Lions |
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Debora DeWitt and Jeff Kleinsorge, duo
pianists |
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Music for Children | Sir William Walton | |||
The Music Lesson - Andantino |
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Intermission | ||||
Sinfonia concertante in E-Flat, K. 297b | Wolgang Amadeus Mozart | |||
I. Allegro |
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Rita Merrick, oboe Lila Hammer, clarinet Nancy Bremer, horn Erich Zummack, bassoon |
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Program Notes by James R. C. Adams |
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Carnival of the Animals |
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) |
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Saint-Saëns was an extraordinarily prolific composer who worked in a surprising variety of media, including film music. Oddly enough, The Carnival of the Animals, one of his most popular compositions, was written as an occasional piece, not to be played more than once (for a Mardi Gras celebration). Saint-Saëns considered it lightweight stuff, indeed. It is certainly playful. It is in the form of a suite, each movement of which has a characterictic mood. They are as follows: 1. Introduction and Royal March of the Lions 2. Hens and Cocks 3. Wild Jackasses 4. Tortoises 5. The Elephant 6. Kangaroos 7. The Aquarium 8. Personages with Long Ears 9. The Cuckoo in the Forest 10. Aviary 11. Pianists 12. Fossils 13. The Swan 14. Finale is an exuberant romp, recapitulating some of the pieces we have heard, and involving the entire orchestra. The art coordination for this performance was done by James Adams, using drawings by Alison Adams. Ms. Adams was born in England, and is not living in New Haven, Ind. She has works in collections both here and abroad, including a sculpture at the gates of West Point Military Academy. |
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Music for Children |
Sir William Walton (1902-1983) |
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Sir William Walton (knighted in 1951 for his achievements in music) was largely self-taught. He was not a prolific composer, but his music covers a wide range of styles and forms. He wrote two symphonies, an oratorio, an opera, concertos for viola, violin, cello, a Sinfornia Concertante for piano and orchestra, several ballets, overtures, suites, and a good deal of film music, most notably for Henry V, Richard II, and Hamlet. During the '20s, he became friendly with the Sitwells, and wrote music inspired by their words (Belshazzar's Feast and Façade). It was this latter, a parodic suite to accompany poetry spoken through a mask, that made him famous, or perhaps notorious, depending on your view. Some of his supporters are embarassed by his early music, typified by Façade, thinking of it as the work of a youth seduced by the cynicism of the age. They prefer the more serious music of the viola concerto or Belshazzar's Feast. Others admire the early work, likening Walton to Eric Satie, and they are apt to criticize such works as Belshazzar as "theatrical" or "pompous." The work heard today shows Walton's lighter side. Music for Children is a short work, showing great wit. It is a suite of ten pieces, eminintly danceable, in the tradition of the suites of Rameau or Bach, though not in that style. I. The Music Lesson is a quiet, wistful piece, featuring the oboe, and reminding us of a child running scales while daydreaming of other things. II. The Three-legged Race is a sprightly dance showing off the choirs of the orchestra successively: winds (with horns), strings, and percussion. III. The Silent Lake is a slow, pastoral piece reminding us of Sibelius and featuring muted violas. IV. Pony Trap is a fast, prancing sort of piece with pizzicato (plucked) strings and flashy trumpets. V. Swing-boats is a slow dance, almost a jig, if you can imagine a slow jig. The tuba is stressed. VI. Puppet's Dance is quiet, but sprightly, featuring oboe and strings. VII. Song at Dusk is slow and melancholy, recalling Grieg. VIII. Hop-scotch is a fast, syncopated piece. IX. Ghosts is a soft, mysterious piece suggesting a game of hide-and-seek. X. Trumpet Tune is a lively march, with fanfares, turning into a Russian dance. |
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Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat, K. 297b |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) |
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Mozart wrote this Sinfonia Concertante at the age of 22, while he was residing in Paris, where he had gone for professional reasons, expecting to receive many commissions. His stay there proved less rewarding than he had hoped, and he did not think much of the French audiences. He didn't like the French language, which he considered unsuitable for singing. "...they do not sing, they shriek and howl and all from the nose and throat...." He hoped to write an opera, but was afraid that if it had "the bad luck not to please the stupid French," all would be lost, and his reputation would suffer. He was very uncharitable to Voltaire, and gloated over his death. In a letter to his father, Mozart wrote "Now I give you a piece of news which perhaps you know already -- namely, that the godless, arch-scoundrel Voltaire is dead, like a dog, like a beast -- that is his reward." In spite of his Francophobia, which we may consider a character flaw, Mozart was intensely spiritual. He was born Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart. "Gottlieb" means "God-lover." The baptismal entry read Theophilus instead of Gottlieb, Theophilus being the Greek form of God-lover. After 1770, Mozart always signed his name Wolfgang Amadeus (Latin for God-lover) Mozart. It was his choice. Throughout his life he railed against the godless ones. His family was Catholic. Mozart may or may not have been: He was a Freemason, and incorporated mystical references in several of his works, most obviously in his opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), so we know at least that he was a believer, if not a conventional one. It is also argued that his membership in the Masonic order was economically based, since the intellectuals of Vienna were members, and it was smart to court such people. "What is a sinfonia concertante?", you may ask. It has a brief career as a remnant of the Baroque Concerto Grosso, which involved a small group of instruments playing against a larger group, and was the precursor of the modern "concerto." It usually has three movements (as in this case) and incorporates elements of the symphony, frequently using the sonata form. But there is an oddity here: all three movements are in the same key. That is not characteristic of Mozart, and lends weight to the argument that this work is NOT by Mozart! When he was in Paris, he had several friends from his days in Mannheim, who were excellent wind-players. They played the flute, the oboe, the bassoon, and the horn. Mozart wrote to his father that he was writing a sinfonia concertante for them, on commission from one Joseph le Gros, but that he was unhappy with le Gros' treatment of the work, failing to arrange a performance of it, and refusing to return the manuscript. Mozart wrote to his father that he would write it again from memory. There is no certain evidence that he did, and the work for flute was never found. Some authorities think this is that work, rewritten for the clarinet instead of the flute. We have no manuscript in Mozart's hand for this work. It dates back to a copy made in the lat 19th century. If it wasn't by Mozart, it was by someone pretty good! |
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Manchester Symphony Orchestra Personnel |
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Violin Linda Kanzawa Ard, Concertmaster Joyce Dubach * Dessie Arnold Martha Barker Amy Bixler + Sherry Gajewski William Klickman Lita Luginbill Rodney Morrison Margaret Piety Moo Il Rhee Carolin Schober Rebekah Yoder + Viola Liisa Wiljer * Peter Collins Jill Hess Emily Mondock Julie Sadler Cello Tim Spahr * Laura Koczan + David Rezits Amanda Schwersky Sarah Thomas Bass Darrel Fiene * Mark Huxhold Flute Kathy Urbani * Barbi Pyrah Oboe Rita K. Merrick * George Donner |
English Horn Pauline Dillman Clarinet Lila D. Hammer * Jane Grandstaff Bassoon Erich Zummack * Nathan Bremer Horn Nancy A. Bremer * John Morse Kim Reuter + Steven Bergdall Trumpet Steven Hammer * Nathan Reynolds + Ray Hart + Trombone Jon Hartman * Larry Dockter Scott Hippensteel Tuba William DeWitt Timpani Cheryle Guise Percussion David Robbins Greg Wolff Harp Julia Hatch * Denotes principal + Denotes MC student ^ Denotes Keister Scholarship recipient |
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Debora DeWitt has been a member of the music faculty at Manchester College since 1991. Her performances include a solo performance with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra and numerous concerts and recitals throughout Michigan and Indiana. She is an accomplished composer, and recent compositions include Three Pieces for Orchestra, premiered by the Manchester Symphony Orchestra in 1999 and Parting, premiered at Carnegie Hall by the Manchester A Cappella Choir in 2001. In 1995, Debora was invited to The Chinese University of Hong Kong to premiere her vocal composition, Song Cycle for a Bereaved Mother, with Hong Kong soprano Rosaline Pi. She has received awards for her work in composition, including winning the 1996 IMTA Composition Commission contest. Debora received both her Masters in piano performance and her Ph.D. in composition from Michigan State University. Her primary piano teachers were Albertine Votapek and Deborah Moriarty. She studied composition with Mark Sullivan and Jere Hutcheson. Debora lives in Silver Lake, Ind., with her husband, Bill, a tubist in the Manchester Symphony and vice president of operations at Heckman Bindery. Their three children, Chris, Alana, and Greg, are actively involved in music, art, and dance in the North Manchester community. Jeffrey Kleinsorge began his piano studies at the age of 12 with Mildred Halsted in Bay City, Mich. He later moved to East Lansing and continued his studies with Ralph and Albertine Votapek at Michigan State University, and then to New York where he studied with Constance Keene, Marc Silverman, and Gary Graffman at the Manhattan School of Music. He is also a noted composer. The Michigan Music Teachers Association recently selected him as "Composer of the Year" and commissioned two new piano works that he premiered at their state convention in Travers City. His first solo recording, That Thin Line, features works by Brahms, Ravel, and Haydn, as well as two of his own compositions. Mr. Kleinsorge currently resides in Pennsylvania, where he is a professor of piano and composition at Lebanon Valley College. James Adams, the narrator for Carnival of the Animals, should be no stranger to the audience; he has written the program notes for the Manchester Symphony for over 20 years. Mr. Adams is chair of the art department at Manchester College, and for several years taught classes in Introduction to Music. Over the years he has participated in several multimedia presentations with the orchestra. Rita K. Merrick, oboe, has performed throughout Illinois, northern Indiana, and souther Michigan on oboe and English horn. From 1987 until 1993, Rita was the principal oboist with Opera Illinois, as well as solo English horn with the Peoria Symphony and the Illinois Symphony. She is currently principal oboist in the Manchester Symphony and second oboe/English horn with the Marion Philharmonic. She is frequently invited to perform with the Southwest Michigan Symphony, South Bend Symphony, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Rita has also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Illinois Chamber Orchestra, and at the Bodensee Festival in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Her teachers include John Ferrillo, Timothy Hurtz, and Grover Schiltz. Currently, Rita is the founder and owner of RKM Double Reeds, an oboe and English horn reeds, accessories, and repair company in Columbia City. Lila Hammer, clarinet, holds a Bachelor's degree in music education from Manchester College and a Master of Arts degree in communication from Purdue University. While a student at Manchester College, she was a winner in the collegiate young artists competition. While she attended Manchester College, Ms. Hammer studied with Robert Jones and played principal clarinet with the Symphony Orchestra, the Concert Band and the Manchester College Woodwind Quintet. Since her college days, Lila has played with the Valparaiso University Orchestra, the Manchester Clarinet Consort, and has been the principal clarinetist with the MSO for the past 14 years. She is also a member and manager of the Appleseed Woodwind Quintet. After working in college admissions at Valparaiso University, Manchester Collegge, and Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Ms. Hammer returned to Manchester as registrar in December of 1996. Nancy Bremer, French horn, majored in music performance at Ball State University. She was a member of the BSU Concert Orchestra, Concert Band, and the Ball State University Horn Ensemble. She studied horn with Dr. Fred Ehnes for four years at BSU, two years with Jerry Franks at Grace College in Warsaw, and with John Morse for four years. It has been her great joy and privilege to serve as principal horn for MSO since 1986. Nancy is also the orchestra representative on the MSO Board of Directors, has served as board secretary for two years, and is currently the concert activities coordinator. She has been a substitute musician for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and has played for Fort Wayne Civic Theater productions. She enjoys playing in the Appleseed Woodwind Quintet along with fellow MSO members Rita Merrick and Lila Hammer. She is the wife of David and mother of Nathan, a bassoonist. Nancy is a graphic designer/news typesetter for the Tribune-News/Tranter Paper Co. in South Whitley, Ind. Erich Zummack, bassoon, was born in Rosenheim, Germany, and soon after moved with his family to Los Angeles, Calif., where he began to study the bassoon with Don Christlieb. He attended Pierce College, where he majored in bassoon performance and music composition. He played in the Meremblum Symphony and the West Valley Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Pierce College Orchestra and several chamber ensembles. In 1988, he moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., where he became co-principal bassoonist with the Wyoming Symphony and second bassoonist with the Nebraska Panhandle Symphony, as well as principal bassoon with the Cheyenne Camerata Orchestra. He also played bassoon with two professional woodwind quintets and was principal bassoonist/manager of the Cheyenne New Music Consort -- a group dedicated to the performance of music by living composers. He has appeared as soloist several times in both California and Wyoming. In 1995, Erich moved to Indiana, where he works for Fox Products in South Whitley. In addition to playing principal bassoon with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra, he also performs with several other orchestras and chamber ensembles in the northern Indiana region. Special thanks to Kathy Rinearson, art teacher in the Manchester Community Schools, and Ann Shilling, student teacher for Ms. Rinearson, for assisting their students in creating the visual art on display in the lobby. Ann is a senior at Manchester College. |