This Land Sings: Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie
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This Land Sings: Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie Saturday, October 24, 2020 7:30 PM Livestreamed from Universal Preservation Hall David Alan Miller, conductor Kara Dugan, mezzo soprano Michael Maliakel, baritone F. Murray Abraham, narrator Welcome to the Albany Symphony’s 2020-21 Season Re-Imagined! The one thing I have missed more than anything else during the past few months has been spending time with you and our brilliant Albany Symphony musicians, discovering, exploring, and celebrating great musical works together. Our musicians and I are thrilled to be back at work, bringing you established masterpieces and gorgeous new works in the comfort and convenience of your own home. Originally conceived to showcase triumph over adversity, inspired by the example of Beethoven and his big birthday in December, our season’s programming continues to shine a light on the ways musical visionaries create great art through every season of life. We hope that each program uplifts and inspires you, and brings you some respite from the day-to-day worries of this uncertain world. It is always an honor to stand before you with our extraordinarily gifted musicians, even if we are now doing it virtually. Thank you so much for being with us; we have a glorious season of life- affirming, deeply moving music ahead. David Alan Miller Heinrich Medicus Music Director This Land Sings: Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie Saturday, October 24, 2020 | 7:30 PM Livestreamed from Universal Preservation Hall David Alan Miller, conductor Kara Dugan, mezzo soprano Michael Maliakel, baritone F. Murray Abraham, narrator Michael Daugherty (B. 1954) This Land Sings I. Overture II. The Ghost and Will of Joe Hill III. Perpetual Motion Man IV. Marfa Lights V. Hear the Dust Blow VI. Graceland VII. Forbidden Fruit VIII. Hot Air IX. Bread and Roses X. This Land Sings XI. Silver Bullet XII. This Trombone Kills Fascists XIII. Don’t Sing Me a Love Song XIV. My Heart is Burning XV. I’m Gonna Walk That Lonesome Valley XVI. Mermaid Avenue XVII. Wayfaring Stranger / 900 Miles This concert is generously sponsored by: Concert Talks Sponsor: THIS LAND SINGS ORCHESTRA ROSTER Violin - Jamecyn Morey Bassoon – Steven Palacio Bass – Brad Aikman Trumpet / Flugelhorn – Eric Berlin Clarinet / Bass Clarinet – Hector Noriega and Trombone – Greg Spiridopoulos Manuel Othon Percussion – Richard Albagli and Mark Foster MICHAEL DAUGHERTY Multiple GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty has achieved international recognition as one of the ten most performed American composers of concert music, according to the League of American Orchestras. His orchestral music, recorded by Naxos over the last two decades, has received six GRAMMY Awards, including Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2011 for Deus ex Machina for piano and orchestra and in 2017 for Tales of Hemingway for cello and orchestra. Current commissions for 2020 include new orchestral works for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Omaha Symphony and a concerto for violinist Anne Akiko Meyers who will give the world premiere with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in 2021. Michael Daugherty was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1954 and is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. As a young man, Daugherty studied composition with many of the preeminent composers of the 20th century including Pierre Boulez at IRCAM in Paris (1979), Jacob Druckman, Earle Brown, Bernard Rands and Roger Reynolds at Yale (1980-82), and György Ligeti in Hamburg (1982-84). Daugherty was also an assistant to jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York from 1980-82. In 1991, Daugherty joined the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance as Professor of Composition, where he is a mentor to many of today’s most talented young composers. He is also a frequent guest of professional orchestras, festivals, universities and conservatories around the world. Daugherty’s music is published by Peermusic Classical/Faber Music, Boosey & Hawkes and Michael Daugherty Music. For more information on Michael Daugherty and his music, see his publisher’s websites. KARA DUGAN Mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Recent highlights include her Los Angeles Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall debuts with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting his new work, Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind with poetry by Carl Sandburg. Ms. Dugan's work with living composers also includes performances in the roles of Amadora and Stelladora in John Musto's opera Bastianello for Festival Napa Valley, and a final workshop performance as Mrs. Van Buren in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera, Intimate Apparel commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater. Additional orchestral work includes three international tours with Juilliard415 and conductors Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, and Nicholas McGegan, culminating in a performance as the Soprano II soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor. Ms. Dugan also enjoys recital work with her husband, pianist Peter Dugan. The husband and wife duo perform together at festivals throughout the United States. Recent guest artist appearances include the Joye in Aiken Festival, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and Moab Music Festival. In her 2020-2021 season she will make her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. Ms. Dugan has sung with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Boston Early Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Alice Tully Hall, and Aspen Music Festival. Ms. Dugan earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. MICHAEL MALIAKEL Indian-American actor and singer MICHAEL MALIAKEL enjoys a diverse career spanning theater, classical music, and television. He is currently touring North America in the 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera as the understudy for Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. Michael made his Off-Broadway debut in Anything Can Happen: The Songs of Maury Yeston at the Triad Theatre, produced by the Tony Award-winning composer himself. Other recent performances include Georg in She Loves Me (PlayMakers Repertory Company), Bernstein’s MASS with the Chicago Symphony (Ravinia Festival), Britten’s Curlew River with the Mark Morris Dance Group (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and the record-breaking world premiere of Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Michael recently made his network TV debut on FBI, a new CBS crime drama from acclaimed Law & Order producer Dick Wolf. Michael has performed as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles across the country including the Savannah Philharmonic, the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Sebastians, the Aeolus String Quartet, the Greenwich Choral Society, and the Long Island Choral Society. He has received top awards from several prestigious organizations including First Prize in the American Traditions Competition, First Prize in the NATS National Music Theater Competition, Third Prize in the Lotte Lenya Competition, and a grant from the Gerda Lissner Foundation. An avid ensemble singer, Michael performs regularly with New York City’s top vocal ensembles including the Choir of Trinity Church - Wall Street, the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, Musica Viva of NY, Voices of Ascension, and Musica Sacra. A native of New Jersey, Michael received his earliest musical training at the American Boychoir School and did his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University and the Peabody Institute of Music. Michael lives in Manhattan with his wife and their beloved, spunky betta fish, Buzz. Michael is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association and is represented by Harden Curtis Kirsten Riley Agency. Follow @michaelmaliakel on Instagram! F. MURRAY ABRAHAM Mr. Abraham has appeared in more than 80 films including Amadeus, for which he received the Academy Award® for 'Best Actor,' as well as Golden Globe® and L.A. Film Critics Awards. His other films include House Of Geraniums, The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, Where Love Begins, The Name Of The Rose, Finding Forrester, Scarface, The Bonfire Of The Vanities, The Ritz, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Inside Llewyn Davis, also Robin Hood and How To Train Your Dragon 3. Mr. Abraham's television appearances have included Dead Lawyers, Noah's Ark, Dead Man's Walk, Largo Desolato, A Season Of Giants, Excellent Cadavers, Quiet Flows The Don, The Betrothed, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Marco Polo, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Louis CK, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Homeland, Shakespeare Uncovered, and Chimerica for the BBC. A veteran of the stage, F. Murray Abraham has appeared in more than 90 plays, among them Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (Obie Award), Trumbo, Standup Shakespeare, the Italian tour of Notturno Pirandelliano, Susan Stroman's A Christmas Carol, the musical Triumph Of Love, A Month In The Country, the title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, King Lear, Macbeth, Richard III, The Jew of Malta, The Seagull, Oedipus Rex, Creon, Angels In America (Broadway), The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Waiting For Godot, The Caretaker, The Ritz, Sexual Perversity In Chicago, Duck Variations, A Life In The Theatre, Paper Doll The Threepenny Opera, The Mentor, and in Terrence McNally's It's Only A Play (Drama Desk Award nomination). He made his LA debut in Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and his NY debut as a Macy's Santa Claus, soon thereafter to Broadway in The Man In The Glass Booth, directed by Harold Pinter. Mr. Abraham’s book A Midsummer Night's Dream: Actors On Shakespeare, is published by Faber & Faber. Honors include The Moscow Art Theatre Stanislavsky Award, The Sir John Gielgud Award for Excellence in Shakespeare, Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a member of The Theater Hall of Fame.