-~-SPRING 2011 VOL. 23 i NO.4 A Newsletter for Supporters and Friends of the Symphony o t e 5 Andrew Rammon, principal cellist of the Williamsport Symphony While living in Los Angeles, Mr. Rammon appeared in Steven Orchestra, was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in a family of Spielberg's movie Amistad and in a music video by Puff Daddy. During American musicians in Germany. He began his formal studies at the the summer Mr. Rammon performs and teaches in Heidelberg, Frankfurt Musikhochschule while in high school, and continued at Germany as part of Pepperdine University's summer music program. Pepperdine University and The Cleveland Institute of Music. His Past performances as soloist with the WSO include Shostakovich Cello teachers include Ronald Leonard and Stephen Geber. Currently Concerto (2004), and Richard Strauss, Don Quixote (2008). Mr. Rammon is the cellist of the Grammy-nominated Eaken Piano Trio. Mr. Rammon teaches cello at Bucknell, Susquehanna and Mansfield The trio has performed extensively in the United States, Europe and Universities, and Lycoming College. In Williamsport he maintains a China. Their twelve commercial recordings have been heard on private studio of talented young cello students with whom he plays in National Public Radio's Performance Today and All Things Considered the biannual event called Cellobration. and have been broadcast on many local radio stations including WVIA. The trio's upcoming projects include the recording of a CD of arrangements and original music by Mike Garson, a featured soloist with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra in 2009. Concen Sponsor LYCOMING COLLEGE Guest Artist Sponsor AITORNEYS FOR THE ARTS Williamsport Symphony Orchestra 1220 West Fourth Street,Third Floor 1 Williamsport, PA 17701-61021570.322.02271 www.williamsportsymphony.org CONDUCTOR'S CORNER cSa()eIhe dale Dear Friends, It is hard to believe that our final concert of c5afurday:June 11 the season is a month away! At the Symphony we are all having a fantastic time and the season finale is one not to be missed. The Austro-German 7)ancin!lQ/nder Ihe tradition in classical music has inspired generations of musicians and cSummercSlars audiences alike, and we would like to share with you in this concert the great works of three outstanding composers. Featuring dinner, dancing, music, raffles, auctions and more! From 6 pm until the stars come out, dance along with us Commemorating the lOath anniversary of Mahler's death, I picked one of at the home of Yvonne Roskowski. This once a year fun and fund-raising event benefits WSO. his most beloved slow movements, the Adagietto from his Symphony No.5, Invitations will be mailed in May. Open to the public. a love song dedicated to his wife Alma. We will continue with an early piece by Haydn, the Cello Concerto No. I in C Major played by our fabulous principal cellist Andrew Rammon. This music is noble, fresh and delightful like all of Haydn's compositions. Without a doubt he is one of the most respected and prolific composers from the classical period, and not by chance Beethoven choose him as a teacher! We will close our program with perhaps one of the most well-known pieces of all time: The Symphony No.9 "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven. Four guest soloists and the Lycoming College Choir and the State College Choral Society will join -'-:"---~. forces to perform the epic work by this immortal master. I was very lucky to have the chan to sing this piece with choirs in Argentina at the Teatro Colon and later in Israel by the walls of Have you ever wondered what it would be like to conduct a full the old city with the legendary symphony orchestra? At the WSO "Hollywood Connections" concert conductor, Zubin Mehta. I was this past March, Jeanette Winner finally got her chance to find out! even luckier to have the opportuni She was the lucky winner of WSO's first "Be the Maestro" raffle. Her to conduct this amazing work on winning ticket provided the opportunity to have coaching sessions with several occasions, but this one is Maestro Edelstein and finally the chance to lead our symphony in very special to me because I believe concert. After about a month of practice and preparations, Jeanette it is going to be the highlight provided an artful presentation of Chariot's of Fire. Having no previous of an amazing year of wonderful conducting experience, she promptly rose to the challenge. She music making with the carefully chose a video from youtube and got immediately to work on Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. her baton technique. Maestro Edelstein was duly impressed with how Like Beethoven asks, let's all well she prepared for her first coaching session, and the orchestra was rejoice and celebrate life every day! able to easily follow her interpretation in performance. Was it a success? Her picture says it all! Congratulations, Jeanette! See you at the concert, WSO PERSONNEL Gerardo Edelstein, Music Director/ Conductor Reuben Councill, Executive Director, Hind Jabbour, Executive Assistant / Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Clark, Operations Manager / Ubrarian Lee Saville-Andree, Stage Manager GERALD GRAHAME-SOLOIST A musician of many talents, tenor Gerald Grahame is known as a gifted conductor and voice teacher in addition to being a notable opera and concert soloist. After completing his Bachelor of Music Education at SUNY/Fredonia, he received his Master of Music in Opera Performance from Binghamton University in conjunction with the Tri-Cities Opera, a company with which he has performed over twenty lead roles, including Rodolfo in La Boheme, Afred in Die Fledermaus, the title role in Faust, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as the Interrogator in the world premiere of Ezra Laderman's Galileo Galilei. When he debuted with the New York City Opera, he was the recipient of that company's Rita and Herbert Z. Gold Debut Award. He went on to sing other roles with the company including Count Alrnaviva in /I Barbiere di Siviglia, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and Tamino in The Magic Flute under the baton of Proud Supporter of Julius Rudel. Since then, Mr. Grahame has appeared with orchestras and opera companies throughout the country including the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Utica Symphony, the Syracuse Symphony, the Virginia The Williamsport Symphony Symphony, the Rochester Oratorio Society, and the National Symphony under Eric Leinsdorf, as well as the Syracuse Opera, the Tulsa Opera, the Cleveland Opera, Opera/Omaha, the Lake George Opera Festival and the Opera Company of Boston with Sarah Caldwell conducting. Mr. Grahame has been an adjudicator for choral festivals around upstate New York, a choral clinician for the Dennis Keane Choral Festival, and A marketing company that has participated in choral workshops in Carnegie Hall with Robert Shaw, builds equity positIon in the mInds and Helmut Rilling. Recently Mr. Grahame performed as tenor soloist of now and future customers. with the Ithaca Community Chorus in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and in Haydn's The Creation with the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society in Los Vegas. Currently, Mr. Grahame is a Professor of Music at Broome Community College where teaches voice and other music courses in addition to his duties as Director of the College Choir. WINNER OF MARCH'S MYSTERY PIECE This Mystery Piece was a real hit! Out of 54 correct entries, Eleanor LAver was selected our winner for the March concert. The Mystery Piece was "Chariots of Fire", the theme from the award-winning 1981 movie of the same name. The music was composed by Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, a composer in many genres who wrote under the name Vangelis. Although he is best known for his Academy Award winning score for Chariots of Fire, he also composed music for the films Blade Runner, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and Alexander. Contact us locally at: 570-204-2000 His largely electronic score was arranged for orchestra by Jim Riley. www.viamediatv.com Congratulations to our new winner, and thank you to all who participated. FROM REUBEN'S DESK... MEREDITH MECUM-SOPRANO Wow! It's hard to believe I've already Soprano Meredith Mecum was recently awarded Second Place in the first completed my first 3 months as annual Ades Vocal Competition at MSM, as well as an Encouragement Executive Director. I am proud of the Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition. She has covered achievements our office has already the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni as a Young Artist with Ash Lawn made in such a short amount of time. Opera, appeared as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Martina Arroyo's The office is working well together to Prelude to Performance, as Frau Fluth in scenes from Nicolai's Die lustige make this organization run as smoothly Weiber von Windsor, and as Rose Segal in the New York premiere of John as possible. From a funding perspective Musto's Later the Same Evening at Manhattan School of Music. She can we've had a successful launch of our be heard on the recording of Musto's work, which was released by annual campaign (you received Albany Records. Other performances include scenes from Le Nozze di your letter, yes?), heard positiv Figaro, Der Rosenkavalier and Madama Butterfly, and excerpts from Clara: from some past grant initiatives, Images from the Life of Clara Schumann by Victoria Bond, in which she and have several new ones in the premiered the role of Clara Schumann. As a recitalist, she has performed works. Things look well on at the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC, and at the State track to bring back Pops in the Park this summer, Street Academy in Harrisburg, PA.