“The World of Celebration: a Holiday Concert” Dr
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
“The World of Celebration: A Holiday Concert” Dr. Edward C. Harris, conductor Walter M. Mayes, narrator Principal Soloists from Lyric Theatre Holiday Handbell Choir Sunday, December 8, 2013, 3:00 p.m. McAfee Performing Arts Center LEROY ANDERSON A Christmas Festival PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker Suite ( TRANS. C. MCALISTER, J. M. ROGAN) Waltz of the Flowers March Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy Chinese Dance Dance of the Toy Flutes Russian Dance ARR. JOHN MOSS, AUDREY SNYDER A Festive Christmas Celebration Lyric Theatre Soloists JOHN READING O Come, All Ye Faithful Audience sing-along RANDOL ALAN BASS The Night Before Christmas Walter M. Mayes, narrator MEL TORMÉ & ROBERT WELL The Christmas Song (ARR. J. HIGGINS, A. SNYDER) Lyric Theatre Soloists FELIX MENDELSSOHN Hark! the Herald Angels Sing Audience sing-along ARR. DAVID BOBROWITZ A Chanukah Celebration I N T E R M I S S I O N ALFRED REED Russian Christmas Music IRVING BERLIN Irving Berlin’s Christmas (ARR. M. BROWN, M. BRYMER) Lyric Theatre Soloists FRANZ GRUBER Silent Night Audience sing-along ROBERT LONGFIELD The Bells of Christmas Walter M. Mayes, narrator Holiday Handbell Choir VICTOR HERBERT March of the Toys (ARR. O. LANGEY, H. L. CLARKE) ARR. JOHN MOSS, ROGER EMERSON It’s the Holiday Season Lyric Theatre Soloists GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL Joy to the World! Audience sing-along LEROY ANDERSON Sleigh Ride ABOUT THE ARTISTS After an extensive national search in 2002, DR. EDWARD C. HARRIS was appointed the conductor and artistic director for the San Jose Wind Symphony, only the second conductor in the group’s 55-year history. Dr. Harris currently serves as the Director of Bands at San José State University. Born and educated in Santa Monica, Dr. Harris received his Bachelor of Music degree in music education and Master of Arts degree in clarinet performance from San Francisco State University. He received his Doctor of Arts degree in conducting and clarinet performance from the University of Northern Colorado, where he studied under Eugene Corporon. PRINCIPAL SOLOISTS FROM LYRIC THEATRE are members of San Jose-based Lyric Theatre, a company of over 150 dedicated volunteers that has brought quality family entertainment to the South Bay for over forty years. The light operas of William S. Gilbert and Arthur S. Sullivan form the cornerstone of their repertoire, although they also stage works by other composers, including Victor Herbert, Jacques Offenbach, and many more. The principal soloists for this afternoon’s concert are Diane Squires, Suzanne Guzzetta, Ewa Nowicka, Carmello Tringali, and Dan Galpin. The HOLIDAY HANDBELL CHOIR features Arwen Hogan, Chris Hogan, Tom Mounts, Wil Mandac, Maggie Emmert, Alyssa Hogan, Annette Trytten, Ruthanne Adams, and Sarah Thornton. PROGRAM NOTES A Christmas Festival Leroy Anderson (1908 – 1975) Famous for his “concert music with a pop quality” (his own words), Anderson possessed skill in technique and a rich melodic gift, as well as an engaging sense of humor. He was particularly successful in creating descriptive pieces that effectively borrowed sounds and rhythms of the extramusical world, such as the ticking of a clock, the clicking of a typewriter, and the ringing of sleigh bells. Leroy Anderson fi rst studied music with his mother, who was a church organist. He earned a BA degree in music and an MA degree in foreign language at Harvard University. As a student, he conducted the Harvard Band from 1928 to 1930. His musical career included positions as music instructor at Radcliffe College, band conductor at Harvard, church choir director, organist, conductor, and composer-arranger. His works in the “encore” category have few equals. Leroy Anderson was one of the leading arrangers for the Boston Pops Orchestra and frequently served as the orchestra’s guest conductor. Composed in 1950, A Christmas Festival is a concert overture built upon traditional Christmas songs. Originally recorded by the Boston Pops, it is the Christmas medley that sets the standard for all others. The Nutcracker Suite Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893), transcribed by John MacKenzie Rogan, revised and edited by Clark McAlister and Alfred Reed Tchaikovsky was born in Russia in 1840, the son of a wealthy mining engineer. He studied law and at 19 began work as a clerk with the Ministry of Justice. He resigned his post after four years to pursue his interest in music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1866 he went to Moscow, where he was appointed professor of harmony at the new Conservatory. He completed his fi rst symphony there, along with the opera The Voyevode. In 1869 he completed his ballet Romeo and Juliet on an outline suggested by Balakirev. New inspirations fl owed with his second and third symphonies, three operas, and the Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, in B-fl at minor. Following a disastrous marriage of just 9 weeks, Tchaikovsky attempted suicide and suffered a mental breakdown. Shortly afterward the wealthy widow, Madame von Meck, became his patron and gave him an annual salary, on the condition that they never meet. He gave up teaching and composed some of his most memorable music during that time. After 14 years of support, von Meck stopped all payments when she thought she was bankrupt. Tchaikovsky recovered fi nancially, but not spiritually. He visited the United States, where he conducted his works for the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. Shortly after the premiere of his Symphony No. 6, Op. 74, in B minor, “Pathétique,” he drank some contaminated water and died of cholera in 1893. The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” It premiered in St. Petersburg in December 1892. The original ballet production was not a success, but the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. Despite this diffi cult beginning, The Nutcracker ballet has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, especially in the United States. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker. The suite has become one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions. A Festive Christmas Celebration Choral arrangement by Audrey Snyder, band arrangement by John Moss (1948 – 2010) A Festive Christmas Celebration is a lively arrangement of four popular Christmas tunes: “I Saw Three Ships,” “Ding Dong! Merrily on High!” “Deck the Hall.” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” A Chanukah Celebration Arranged by David Bobrowitz (b. 1945), scored for band by Kenneth P. Soper David Bobrowitz studied trombone performance at the Mannes College of Music and went on to study music education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He studied composition with Robert Russell Bennett and has been a freelance bass trombonist, pianist, composer, and arranger in the New York area for more than thirty years. A Chanukah Celebration is an upbeat medley featuring fi ve traditional songs: “Chanukah,” “The Dreidel Song,” “O Chanukah,” “Rock of Ages” and “Who Can Retell.” The Bells of Christmas Robert Longfi eld Mr. Longfi eld is an award-winning composer, arranger, and educator. He studied at the University of Michigan and the University of Miami, where he was a student of Alfred Reed. As a high school band and orchestra teacher, Mr. Longfi eld has been awarded “Teacher of the Year” by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, and the “Mr. Holland Award” from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding contributions to music education. A member of ASCAP, Mr. Longfi eld has received several commissions, and his compositions and arrangements have been played and recorded by bands in the United States, Europe and Japan. The traditional carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is based on the 1863 poem “Christmas Bells” by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. During the Civil War, Longfellow’s son joined the Army as a soldier and was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church. Coupled with the recent loss of his wife, Frances, who died as a result of an accidental fi re, Longfellow was inspired to write “Christmas Bells.” He wrote the poem on Christmas Day in 1863, and it was fi rst published in February 1865. The song tells of the narrator’s despair, upon hearing Christmas bells, that “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.” The Bells of Christmas sets the touching poem to music that evokes the carol and concludes with the bells carrying renewed hope for peace among mankind. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) Music and lyric by Mel Tormé (1925 – 1999) and Robert Wells, choral arrangement by Audrey Snyder, band accompaniment by John Higgins Written in 1944, “The Christmas Song” is commonly subtitled “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” and was originally subtitled “Merry Christmas to You.” According to Mr. Tormé, the song was penned on a particularly hot summer day. “I saw a spiral pad on his (Robert Wells) piano with four lines written in pencil…They started, ‘Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’ Bob didn’t think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off…Improbable though it may sound, ‘The Christmas Song’ was completed about 45 minutes later.” Russian Christmas Music for Symphonic Band Alfred Reed (1921 – 2005) Alfred Reed was born in New York City and began his formal music training at the age of ten, studying the trumpet. He performed in small hotel bands in the Catskill Mountains as a teenager.