JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 I ISSUE 3 NIELSEN & MOZART THE TWINS AND THE MONSTER MUSIC OF THE ICE WITH KURT BROWNING VALENTINE’S DAY: BROADWAY IN LOVE CHARLES CHAPLIN: CITY LIGHTS LIVE wso.ca I 204-949-3999 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE WSO BOARD Happy New Year! All of us at the WSO wish you good health, happiness and much great music in the coming year. The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is halfway through its 70th Anniversary Season, and all of us are looking forward to many more wonderful concerts and programs in the coming months. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the orchestra work with a number of fine guest conductors in the next few months.We are delighted to welcome Winnipegger Keri-Lynn Wilson to conduct the Photographer: Leif Norman January 12th and 13th concerts featuring a new work by WSO’s Composer-in-Residence Harry Stafylakis, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3. February 9th and 10th will see a return visit by José Luis Gomez, and on February 23rd and 24th, Yaron Traub will conduct a concert featuring the music of Spain. For those of us looking for some special entertainment, there will be an opportunity from January 19th to 21st to enjoy the excellent music that provides inspiration for great figure skating performances with Canadian icon Kurt Browning. February 16th to 18th will allow us to become reacquainted with the genius of Charlie Chaplin in City Lights. While the details are not included in this issue of Overture, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, January 27 – February 2, promises to be an unforgettable opportunity to encounter the remarkable creative force Philip Glass.This is a Festival that will be remembered for its international scope and importance. There is indeed much to celebrate in the 70th Anniversary Season. All of us who enjoy the WSO’s performances and programs want to see this community resource here to serve future generations. We know that the environment is becoming increasingly difficult for cultural institutions, and so building additional stability for the orchestra is an important legacy that we can leave for our community. I invite you to consider supporting the WSO’s Endowment Fund at The Winnipeg Foundation by making a generous gift this year, or by making a gift to the WSO in your will and becoming a part of the WSO’s Legacy Circle. We can all play a part in ensuring the presence of an excellent orchestra in Winnipeg for the years to come. Terence Sargeant Chair of the WSO Board January – February 2018 I OVERTURE 1 WSO SPONSORS, FUNDERS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The WSO proudly acknowledges the ongoing support of the following sponsors, media and funders: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNER EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN MEMORY OF PETER D. CURRY POPS KIDS CONCERTS CLASSICS A SERIES SERIES SERIES WSO IN BRANDON PERFORMANCE SPONSORS DANIEL FRIEDMAN ARNOLD & MYRA & ROB DALGLIESH FRIEMAN MICHAEL NESBITT MANITOBA HYDRO SOUNDCHECK POPS PRESENTING OFFICIAL RADIO STATION HOLIDAY TOUR PROGRAM MEDIA PARTNER OF THE WSO CLASSICS PIANO RAFFLE CAR RAFFLE CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY Women’s Committee of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra FUNDERS January – February 2018 I OVERTURE 3 CONDUCTORS AND COMPOSERS Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director German conductor Alexander Mickelthwate is renowned for his “splendid, richly idiomatic readings” (LA Weekly),“fearless” approach and “first-rate technique” (Los Angeles Times). Critics have noted Alexander’s extraordinary command over the Austro-Germanic repertoire, commenting on the “passion, profundity, emotional intensity, subtlety and degree of perfection achieved” in Bruckner’s Symphony Photographer: Grajewski Fotograph Inc. No. 7 as “miraculous” (Anton Kuerti, 2011). Following on from his tenure as Assistant Conductor with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which he completed in 2004, Alexander Mickelthwate was Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for three years, under the direction of Essa-Pekka Salonen. Now in his twelfth season as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Alexander has significantly developed the orchestra’s profile through active community engagement and innovative programming initiatives like the annual Winnipeg New Music Festival and the Indigenous Music Festival. Chosen to perform at the Carnegie Hall Spring For Music Festival in New York, May 2014, due to “creative and innovative programming” (CBC Manitoba Scene), the orchestra was the only Canadian ensemble in the showcase. Julian Pellicano, Resident Conductor A conductor with expansive musical interests, Julian Pellicano is a formidable interpreter of the symphonic repertoire.The Winnipeg Free Press says of Pellicano,“His versatility is truly astonishing…”Marking his fifth season with the WSO, the 2017-2018 season includes appearances at the inaugural edition of the Ciclo de Música Contemporánea in Oviedo, Spain, a return to the Louisiana Philharmonic and his first appearance conducting the Photographer: Nardella Photography Inc. Royal Winnipeg Ballet among many other highlights. The creation, with Dr. Paul Lehrman, of a new performance edition of George Antheil's Ballet Mecanique first brought Pellicano to the public’s attention. Conductor of the Norfolk Contemporary Ensemble since 2008, Pellicano is recognized for his transparent interpretations of contemporary music. He studied conducting as a fellow at the Yale School of Music. An autodidact, he was accepted to the Peabody Conservatory as a percussionist without typical classical training, and continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden and at the Yale School of Music and was a member of the critically acclaimed Yale Percussion Group. Pellicano also holds a degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University. Harry Stafylakis, Composer-in-Residence,WNMF Festival Director Harry Stafylakis (b. 1982) hails from Montreal and is now based in NYC. He is the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's Composer-In-Residence and Festival Director of the WSO's Winnipeg New Music Festival. His works have been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, the Toronto,Winnipeg,Vancouver, Spokane, Stamford,Victoria, and PEI symphonies, McGill Chamber Orchestra, ICE, Contemporaneous, Mivos Quartet, Quatuor Bozzini, and Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, among others. Awards include the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the ASCAP Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Award, four SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, and grants from the Canada Council, NYSCA, and New Music USA. He is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the NYC composer collective ICEBERG New Music. Stafylakis holds degrees from McGill University and The Graduate Center, CUNY,and lectures at the City College of New York. His doctoral research, supported by SSHRC, examines rhythm and meter in progressive metal. www.hstafylakis.com 4 OVERTURE I January – February 2018 WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2017-2018 SEASON MUSIC DIRECTOR CELLOS TRUMPETS Alexander Mickelthwate Yuri Hooker, Principal Chris Fensom, Principal Leana Rutt, Assistant Principal Paul Jeffrey RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Isaac Pulford **Desiree Abbey Julian Pellicano Alex Adaman TROMBONES COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE Arlene Dahl Steven Dyer, Principal Harry Stafylakis Carolyn Nagelberg Keith Dyrda Emma Quackenbush FIRST VIOLINS Sean Taubner BASS TROMBONE Gwen Hoebig, Concertmaster **Stephen Clayton, Principal The Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt- *Julia McIntyre, Principal BASSES Gramatté Memorial Chair, endowed Meredith Johnson, Principal by the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation TUBA Karl Stobbe, Associate Concertmaster Andrew Goodlett, Assistant Principal Chris Lee, Principal Mary Lawton, Assistant Concertmaster Travis Harrison Chris Anstey Paul Nagelberg TIMPANI Mona Coarda Bruce Okrainec Mike Kemp, Principal Teodora Dimova Daniel Perry Tara Fensom PERCUSSION **Anna Scheider Hong Tian Jia Frederick Liessens, Principal Meredith McCallum Sonia Shklarov FLUTES HARP Julie Savard Jan Kocman, Principal Richard Turner, Principal Jun Shao Endowed by W.H. & S.E. Loewen OBOES SECOND VIOLINS Beverly Wang, Principal ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL Jeremy Buzash,Principal Robin MacMillan Elation Pauls, Assistant Principal MANAGER Karen Bauch Chris Lee ENGLISH HORN Kristina Bauch Robin MacMillan, Principal Elizabeth Dyer PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN Bokyung Hwang Greg Hamilton Rodica Jeffrey CLARINETS ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN Susan McCallum Micah Heilbrunn, Principal Laura MacDougall Takayo Noguchi Taylor Eiffert *Jane Pulford Claudine St-Arnauld BASSOONS *On Leave Alex Eastley, Principal **Temporary Position VIOLAS Kathryn Brooks Daniel Scholz, Principal Please note: Non-titled (tutti) Anne Elise Lavallée, HORNS string players are listed Assistant Principal alphabetically and are seated Patricia Evans, Principal Marie-Elyse Badeau according to a rotational system. Laszlo Baroczi Ken MacDonald, Associate Principal Richard Bauch James Robertson Fred Redekop is the official Piano Greg Hay Caroline Oberheu Tuner and Technician of the WSO. Michael Scholz Michiko Singh Heather Wilson January – February 2018 I OVERTURE 5 The Official Radio Station for the WSO Masterworks Series. Winnipeg’s only dedicated classical & jazz music station Nielsen & Mozart Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor Alexandre Da Costa, violin Jayne Hammond, soprano* Matthew Pauls, baritone* CLASSICS Holocene Extinction Harry Stafylakis (b.1982) Eden Arrival Threnody Hammerfall Concerto No. 5 for Violin and Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) in A major, K. 219 “Turkish” Allegro