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Home , Alexandre Desplat, Dan Romer, Jennifer Zetlan, John Tavener, Max Richter, Ryan McAdams

2016 BAM Next Wave Festival #TheTreeofLife

Brooklyn Academy of

Alan H. Fishman, Chairman of the Board

William I. Campbell, Vice Chairman of the Board

Adam E. Max, Vice Chairman of the Board

Katy Clark, President

Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer The Tree of Life

BAM Howard Gilman House Nov 18 & 19 at 7:30pm

Running time: approx. two hours & 20 minutes, no intermission

Written and directed by Wordless Music Orchestra

Presented in association with Wordless Music

Conducted by Ryan McAdams Robert Fleitz, Charles Love, boy soprano Jennifer Zetlan, soprano

Season Sponsor:

Support for the Signature Artist Series provided by Howard Gilman Foundation.

Wh

Note

“The nuns taught us there are two ways to be unhappy when all the world is shining through life: the way of nature, and the around it. And love is smiling through all things.” way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.” As in all of Malick’s late films, we hear music in nearly every scene and important moment in With these words—the first we hear spoken by The Tree of Life. The first movement of Mahler’s the character of Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) first symphony functions as a recurring motif, in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life—the film as does the contemporary Russian composer quietly lays out the conflict and structure of the ’s Morning Prayers, for chamber or- story to follow, which takes us as far back as chestra and boy soprano. Memorably, Smetana’s the Big Bang, and into a vision of the after- Die Moldau represents the transcendence of a life. Along the way, The Tree of Life pauses to life lived with love, as the three O’Brien boys and consider the emergence of life on a microscopic their mother play in the magic hour of their level; the evolution of species; the immensities small town, as designed and captured by Jack of space and time; and the earliest instance of Fisk and Emmanuel Lubezki. Of the 20 compos- mercy. Just as Malick’s earlier films take the form ers whose music is in the film, the two heard of an irremediable confrontation—Kit Carruthers the longest are the English mystic John Tavener, and Holly Sargis on the run in Badlands; Bill whose Funeral Canticle and Resurrection in and the farmer in Days of Heaven; the men of Hades play at the very start, and Berlioz, C Company and the Japanese resistance in The whose Requiem is excerpted, unforgettably, at Thin Red Line—the moral conflict in The Tree of the film’s conclusion. Life is between the binaries of nature and grace. Tonight’s US live score premiere of The Tree of The way of grace is represented in the film twice Life was produced in partnership by Wordless over: by Mrs. O’Brien, whose ethereal presence Music and Fox Searchlight, who generously is equal parts humanity, empathy, and warmth; helped to assemble a new, score-less cut of and by the kind, gentle, middle O’Brien son, the film with the orchestra and choir selections R.L., whose death in Vietnam at 19 opens the removed, and only the original dialogue and story: “Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts sound effects remaining. (At the composer’s being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts request, ’s music has not been insults and injuries.” The way of nature is also orchestrated and will be heard in its pre-recorded represented twice: most obviously, by Mr. O’Brien version.) We are especially grateful to Fred ()—whose cruelty, resentment, and Chandler and Fox for their help in making this self-loathing stand in marked contrast to both new print, and to Nicolas Gonda and Terrence his , and to the he once Malick for their trust in bringing this project believed himself destined—but also in the loom- to life. As the film tells us, to the celestial music ing presence of the natural and unnatural world of Berlioz: “The only way to be happy is to love. around us, alternately terrifying and sublime Unless you love, your life will flash by.” in its magnitude: “Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it —Ronen Givony over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons Fox Searchlight Pictures Photo: Yannick Grandmont

Fox Searchlight Pictures The Tree of Life—Wordless Music Orchestra

VIOLIN Isabel Hagen OBOE TROMBONE Pauline Kim Harris, Caitlin Lynch Michelle Farah Michael Clayville concertmaster Karen Waltuch Christa Robinson James Hirschfeld Megan Atchley Erin Wight Arthur Sato William Lang Lauren Cauley Tom Chiu CELLO CLARINET TRUMPET Jennifer Choi Clarice Jensen Vasko Dukovski Mike Gurfield Elizabeth Derham Clara Kennedy Bill Kalinkos Sam Nester Emily Popham Gillins Christine Kim Eileen Mack Kyle Resnick Josh Henderson Rubin Kodheli Patti Kilroy Lauren Radnofsky BASSOON TUBA Will Knuth Seth Parker Woods Alden Banta John Altieri Laura Lutzke Nanci Belmont Jessica McJunkins BASS Sara Schoenbeck HARP Courtney Orlando Logan Coale Nuiko Wadden Yuki Numata Resnick Patrick Duff HORN Gillian Rivers Florent Ghys Nathan Koci PERCUSSION Ben Russell Eleonore Oppenheim Matt Marks Wilson Torres Mary Jo Stilp Jenny Ney Sarah Zun FLUTE Kate Sheeran TIMPANI Domenica Fossati Jason Sugata Victor Pablo VIOLA Roberta Michel Jessica Schmitz Jeanann Dara

CHORUS SOPRANO ALTO TENOR BASS Elizabeth Bates Luthien Brackett Steven Bradshaw Paul An Sarah Brailey Eric Brenner Tomas Cruz Avery Griffin Madeline Healey Patrick Fennig Paul D’Arcy Chris Herbert Mellissa Hughes Wendy Giles Andrew Fuchs Steven Hrycelak Jamie Jordan Catherine Hedberg Brian Giebler Dominick Infererra Mary Mackenzie Kate Maroney Matt Hensrud Richard Lippold Charlotte Mundy Clifton Massey Tim Hodges Thomas McCargar Melanie Russell Tim Parsons Scott Mello Adam Menninga Amanda Sidebottom Kirsten Sollek John Tiranno Edmund Milly Elena Williamson Amaranta Viera Steve Wilson Jonathan Woody

SOUND ENGINEER Richie Clarke

PRODUCER Ronen Givony

Score compiled and engraved by Conor Brown

Thank you: Nicolas Gonda, Terrence Malick, Fred Chandler, Jake Kinderman and the American Boychoir School, Conor Brown, Zan Emerson, Erica Frauman, Peggy Monastra, Miles Feinberg, and Chaz Ebert. The Tree of Life

MUSIC

COMPOSER NAME John Tavener Funeral Canticle Mahler Symphony No. 1—I. Langsam, schleppend (slowly, dragging) Giya Kancheli Morning Prayers Zbiegniew Preisner Lacrimosa 2 Tavener Lamentations and Praises—XIX. Resurrection in Hades Kancheli Morning Prayers Berlioz Requiem—VII. Offertorium Respighi Siciliana from Ancient Airs and Dances Holst Hymn to Dionysus Smetana The Moldau—II. Vltava Brahms Symphony No. 4—IV. Allegro energico e passionato Henryk Górecki Symphony No. 3—II. Lento e largo—Tranquillissimo Kancheli Morning Prayers Couperin Les Barricades Mystérieuses Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 865 Bach Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I—Fuga VIII Traditional Hymn 87: Welcome Happy Morning (arr. Hanan Townshend) Mahler Symphony No. 1—I. Langsam, schleppend (slowly, dragging) Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54—I. Allegro affettuoso Tavener Funeral Canticle Couperin Les Barricades Mystérieuses Barry Guy After the Rain—III. Antiphon Kancheli Morning Prayers Berlioz Harold in Italy—I. Harold aux Montagnes Mozart Piano Sonata No. 16 major, K. 545—II. Andante Preisner Lacrimosa 2 Respighi Siciliana from Ancient Airs and Dances Berlioz Requiem—VII. Offertorium Berlioz Requiem—X. Agnus Dei

Traditional Hymn 87: Welcome Happy Morning (arr. Hanan Townshend) Smetana The Moldau—II. Vltava Who’s Who

WORDLESS MUSIC ORCHESTRA is the house On September 11, 2011, WMO performed a band of City’s Wordless Music series, memorial concert for the 10th anniversary of the which was founded by non-musician Ronen September 11 attacks in the Temple of Dendur at Givony in 2006, and has since presented con- the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the world certs in museums, churches, nightclubs, and out premiere orchestration of William Basinski’s of doors, pairing artists from the sound worlds of Disintegration Loop 1.1. In 2013, the orchestra so-called classical, electronic, and rock music. performed the world premiere live score to the Comprising New York’s most omnivorous young film Beasts of the Southern Wild, with director musicians, and members of groups such as and composer and , for , ACME, and Ensemble Signal, an outdoor audience of 7,000 at Prospect Park the orchestra presented its first concerts over two in Brooklyn; with the legendary Kranky ambient sold-out nights in 2008 under conductor Brad duo Stars of the Lid; and with John Cale on Lubman, with the US premiere of Jonny Green- When Past & Future Collide as part of the 2012 wood’s Popcorn Superhet Receiver on a program BAM Next Wave Festival. with music of Gavin Bryars and . In 2014, WMO performed with Jonny In 2009, Arvo Pärt’s Symphony No. 4 had its Greenwood at the Big Ears festival in New York premiere in two concerts at which Knoxville, and in the US live score premiere of WMO also played with the Japanese instrumen- ’s There Will Be Blood. tal noise-rock band MONO. These shows were Also in 2014, WMO made its Australian debut recorded and released by Temporary Residence with at the Sydney Opera House as Holy Ground: NYC Live with the Wordless and Melbourne Recital Centre. In 2015, the Music Orchestra. Also in 2009, WMO recorded orchestra made its debut with with Tyondai Braxton on Central Market, the composer/conductor Mica Levi in the US live composer’s solo debut on Records, and premiere of Under the Skin; performed the US went on tour to , the Library of premiere of Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves; and Congress, and Walker Art Center. In 2010, WMO reprised its collaboration with Benh Zeitlin and performed alongside the Hilliard Ensemble and Dan Romer for an encore of Beasts of the Latvian National Choir as part of Lincoln Center’s Southern Wild in New Orleans. inaugural White Light Festival, in music by Kjartan Sveinsson and Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur In 2016—17, Wordless Music Orchestra Rós with Alex Somers; and at the Guggenheim performs world premiere live scores for Terrence Museum rotunda in a collaboration with visual Malick’s The Tree of Life as part of the BAM Next artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster for Gavin Wave Festival; Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch- Bryars’ Sinking of the Titanic. Drunk Love and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight in New York and LA; and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon on April 8, 2017, at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre.

Photo: Kate Joyce, courtesy of Rock Fish Stew; film still: The Tree of Life © Fox Searchlight Pictures

Who’s Who

RYAN MCADAMS (conductor) made his Euro- the first-ever recipient of both the Sir Georg Solti pean debut in 2010 with the Maggio Musicale in Emerging Conductor Award and the Glimmer- Florence, his Eastern European debut in Croatia glass-Aspen Prize for Opera Conducting. He lives with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in in Rhinebeck with his wife, the dancer-actress 2010, and his subscription debut with the Israel Laura Careless. ryan-mcadams.com Philharmonic in 2011. He has returned to the Israel Philharmonic twice since, most recently ROBERT FLEITZ (piano) on tour with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and Orff’s Noted by as “mesmerizing” . His appearances in 2016–17 in his recent performance of Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel include Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles with the im Spiegel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Le Nozze di Figaro pianist and composer Robert Fleitz regularly with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, a tour of Italy demonstrates a commitment to bringing new with the Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, works and idiosyncratic concert experiences to with the Teatro Regio Torino, and concerts with a broader audience. Fleitz has worked exten- Santa Fe Symphony, Orchestra of the China sively with notable figures in the contemporary National Opera House in Beijing, RAI Orches- music world including Kaija Saariaho, Esa-Pekka tra, Eugene Symphony, ECCE Ensemble, and Salonen, John Zorn, Joel Sachs, and Jeffrey Talea Ensemble. Through Wordless Music, he Milarsky. He has performed as a soloist with the has led the live scores for There Will Be Blood Juilliard Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, with composer , Punch Drunk and the Tampa Bay Symphony; and has played Love with guest vocalists Joanna Newsom and with Ensemble Echappé, the Wordless Music Norah Jones, Beasts of the Southern Wild with Orchestra, String Orchestra of Brooklyn, AXIOM, the Lost Bayou Ramblers, and The Tree of Life and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. With violist Carrie Frey, Fleitz is the co-founder of Recent highlights include appearances with Wind- Elephant, a new music/improvisatory the Vancouver Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, toy instrument duo. Also an avid educator, he Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy, is currently a teaching artist with the New York Columbus Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Philharmonic. Born and raised in Lakeland, FL, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, L’Orchestra de where he began studying piano with his father Chambre de Genève, , at age four, Fleitz is completing his Master of Indianapolis Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland, Music degree at The where he New Jersey Symphony, and Glimmerglass Opera. studies piano with Hung-Kuan Chen. Other McAdams served as associate conductor of both important teachers and mentors include Simon Opera and New York City Ballet, Frisch, Julian Martin, Ching-Wen Hsiao, and assistant conductor of the Aspen Music Festival, Hilary Easton. music director of the , and apprentice conductor to at the Castleton Festival. He is a Fulbright scholar and Who’s Who

CHARLIE LOVE (boy soprano) is a sixth grade Armory in Kaija Saariaho’s Lonh in a program student at the American Boychoir School of with the NY Philharmonic, and as the title char- Princeton, NJ. In his third year, he is a part of acter in Louis Karchin’s world premiere opera, the Concert Choir under the direction of Fer- Jane Eyre, with Center for Contemporary Opera. nando Malvar-Ruiz. Love has toured much of the She has sung varied programs with the New York country with the American Boychoir, including Philharmonic, New York Youth Symphony, Se- performances with the Philadelphia and attle Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, St. Paul Symphony Orchestras. The American Boychoir, Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, in its 79th year, is considered one of the finest and Symphony. On the opera stage, musical ensembles in the country. Love has she has sung with the (Two soloed on Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with Boys and , among others), New the Monmouth Civic Chorus (NJ), St. George’s York City Opera (L’étoile), (, Choral Society (NYC), and Harmonium Choral Rigoletto, La bohème, Ring Cycle), Nashville Society (NJ). Love also participates in the Opera (Die Zauberflöte, Fall of the House of Church Choir of Grace Episcopal in Madison, NJ Usher), Santa Fe Opera (), and under the direction of Anne Matlack. In addition Florida Grand Opera (La Sonnambula), among to singing, Love is in his seventh year studying others. This season, Zetlan makes her European piano with Nancy Modell of Springfield, NJ. debut at the Staatstheater Stuttgart in Purcell’s He resides in Mount Tabor, NJ with his mother, The Fairy Queen and will return to the New York father, and sister Kimberly. Philharmonic to sing the role of Woglinde in Das Rheingold. She spent the better part of last year JENNIFER ZETLAN (soprano) was recently in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof as heard at with Oratorio Society of Shaindel (u/s Tzeitel, Chava, Fruma-Sarah and New York as soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum and Grandma Tzeitel). Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, at the Park Avenue