HOW LITTLE YOU ARE For Voices And Guitars BY NICO MUHLY WORLD PREMIERE PHOTO NEEDED Featuring ALLEGRO ENSEMBLE, CONSPIRARE YOUTH CHOIRS Nina Revering, conductor AUSTIN CLASSICAL GUITAR YOUTH ORCHESTRA Brent Baldwin, conductor HOW LITTLE YOU ARE BY NICO MUHLY | WORLD PREMIERE TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM: PLEASESEEINSERTFORTHEFIRSTHALFOFTHISEVENING'SPROGRAM ABOUT THE PROGRAM Sing Gary Barlow & Andrew Lloyd Webber, arr. Ed Lojeski From the first meetings aboutHow Little Renowned choral composer Eric Whitacre You Are, the partnering organizations was asked by Disney executives in 2009 Powerman Graham Reynolds knew we wanted to involve Conspirare to compose for a proposed animated film Youth Choirs and Austin Classical Guitar based on Rudyard Kipling’s beautiful story Libertango Ástor Piazzolla, arr. Oscar Escalada Youth Orchestra in the production and are The Seal Lullaby. Whitacre submitted this Austin Haller, piano delighted that they are performing these beautiful, lyrical work to the studios, but was works. later told that they decided to make “Kung The Seal Lullaby Eric Whitacre Fu Panda” instead. With its universal message issuing a quiet Shenandoah Traditional, arr. Matthew Lyons invitation, Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd In honor of the 19th-century American Webber’s Sing, commissioned for Queen poetry inspiring Nico Muhly’s How Little That Lonesome Road James Taylor & Don Grolnick, arr. Matthew Lyons Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, brings You Are, we chose to end the first half with the sweetness of children’s voices to brilliant two quintessentially American folk songs Featuring relief. arranged for this occasion by Austin native ALLEGRO ENSEMBLE, CONSPIRARE YOUTH CHOIRS Matthew Lyons. The haunting and beautiful Nina Revering, conductor Powerman by iconic Austin composer Shenandoah precedes James Taylor’s That Graham Reynolds was commissioned Lonesome Road, setting the stage for our AUSTIN CLASSICAL GUITAR YOUTH ORCHESTRA by ACG for the YouthFest component of experience of Muhly’s newest masterwork. Brent Baldwin, conductor Austin Goes Classical, an international guitar festival at the Long Center in 2010. INTERMISSION Reynolds has revised the score for tonight’s performance. How Little You Are* Nico Muhly Craig Hella Johnson WORLD PREMIERE Argentinian Ástor Piazzolla is widely Artistic Director considered the most important tango Conspirare Featuring composer of the twentieth century. This CONSPIRARE vibrant setting of Libertango, arranged by Nina Revering Craig Hella Johnson and Company of Voices Oscar Escalada, transforms a three-part Artistic Director treble chorus of voices into instruments. Conspirare Youth Choirs DUBLIN GUITAR QUARTET Brian Bolger | Pat Brunnock | Tomas O’Durcain | Redmond O’Toole LOS ANGELES GUITAR QUARTET John Dearman |Matthew Greif | William Kanengiser |Scott Tennant TEXAS GUITAR QUARTET Isaac Bustos | Jonathan Dotson | Alejandro Montiel | Joseph Williams II Thomas Burritt, Percussion Rachel Durkin-Drga, Executive Producer *Published by St Rose Music Publishing/Chester Music LTD *COMMISSIONED BY TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS FOR AUSTIN CLASSICAL GUITAR AND CONSPIRARE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION ii iii HOW LITTLE YOU ARE BY NICO MUHLY | WORLD PREMIERE TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS SING THE SEAL LULLABY Some words they can’t be spoken only sung, Ooh, ooh, ooh… so hear a thousand voices shouting love. Oh! hush thee, my baby, There’s a place, there’s a time, night is behind us, in this life, when you sing what you are and black are the waters that sparkled so feeling. green. Find your feet, stand your ground, The moon o’er the combers, don’t you see right now the world is listening looks downward to find us to what we say. At rest in the hollows that rustle between. Sing it louder, sing it clearer, Where billow meets billow, knowing everyone will hear you. there soft be thy pillow; Make some noise, find your voice tonight. Ah weary wee flipperling curl at thy ease! Sing it stronger, sing together, The storm shall not wake thee, make this moment last forever. nor shark overtake thee, Old and young, shouting love tonight. Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas, asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas. To sing we’ve had a lifetime to wait. Wait, wait, wait. Ooh, ooh, ooh... And see a thousand faces celebrate. We have to celebrate. SHENANDOAH O Shenando’, I long to hear you. You brought hope, you brought light, ‘Way, you rollin’ river. Photo by: Holly Dawson conquered fear, no it wasn’t always easy. O Shanando’, I long to hear you. Stood your ground, kept your faith, ‘Way, we’re bound away, don’t you see right now the world is listening across the wide Missouri. to what we say. THAT LONESOME ROAD O Shenando’, I long to see you. Walk down that lonesome road all by Carry on, carry on, Sing it louder, sing it clearer, ‘Way, you rollin’ river. yourself. Never mind feeling sorry for yourself, knowing everyone will hear you. O Shenando’, I long to see you. Don’t turn your head back over your shoul- It doesn’t save you from your troubled mind. Make some noise, find your voice tonight. ‘Way, we’re bound away, der, Sing it stronger, sing together, across the wide Missouri. And only stop to rest yourself Walk down that lonesome road all by make this moment last forever. when the silver moon is shining high above yourself. Old and young, shouting love tonight. ‘Tis sev’n long years since last I saw you, the trees. Don’t turn your head back over your shoul- ‘Way, you rollin’ river. der, Some words they can’t be spoken, only sung, ‘Tis sev’n long years since last I saw you, If I had stopped to listen once or twice, And only stop to rest yourself to hear a thousand voices shouting love, ‘Way, we’re bound away, If I had closed my mouth and opened my when the silver moon is shining high above and peace and hope. across the wide Missouri. eyes, the trees. Just sing, just sing. If I had cooled my head and warmed my Just sing, just sing. O Shenando’, I long to see you. heart, Come on and sing it louder, sing it clearer, ‘Way, you rollin’ river. I’d not be on this road tonight. knowing everyone will hear you. O Shenando’, I long to see you. Make some noise, find your voice tonight. ‘Way, we’re bound away, Sing it stronger, sing together, across the wide Missouri. make this moment last forever. Old and young, shouting love tonight. O Shenando’, I long to see you. across the wide Missouri. Hear a thousand voices shouting love. O Shenando’. iv v HOW LITTLE YOU ARE BY NICO MUHLY | WORLD PREMIERE TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS NINA REVERING MATTHEW LYONS Nina Revering’s choral music experience began at an early age with chorister A native of Austin, Texas, Matthew Lyons received his Bachelor of Music experience in the Coro Infantil do Teatro Municipal of Brazil under the in 2014 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage direction of Elsa Lakschevitz and the Toronto Children’s Chorus, directed of David Tanenbaum and Sérgio Assad. Past performances include the by Jean Ashworth-Bartle. Her musical training includes the Toronto’s Royal Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2013) and Napa Valley’s Festi- Conservatory of Music, the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville val Del Sole (2011). He was the second prize winner in the 2009 Guitar Kentucky, Boston University, The New England Conservatory, and studies in Foundation of America International Youth Competition and was a Photo by: CREDIT NEEDED CREDIT by: Photo baroque recorder with John Tyson. NEEDED CREDIT Photo by: semi-finalist in the 2010 GFA International Concert Artist Competition. Ms. Revering has performed throughout the country as both a soloist and chorister. She has sung under noted conductors Seiji Ozawa, John Williams, John Oliver, Andrew Davis, and Sir David GRAHAM REYNOLDS Willcocks. Ms. Revering has also been a member of Conspirare Company of Voices since 1995 and was a soloist in the Grammy®-nominated CDs Requiem and Threshold of Night, both released Called “the quintessential modern composer” by the London Indepen- under the Harmonia Mundi label. dent, Austin-based composer-bandleader Graham Reynolds creates, performs, and records music for film, theater, dance, rock clubs and Ms. Revering was one of eight conductors selected for participation in the International concert halls with collaborators ranging from Richard Linklater and Jack Symposium for Children’s Choir Directors held in Toronto, Canada in May 2005. She was a Black to DJ Spooky and Ballet Austin. Heard throughout the world in clinician for the 2012 Elementary Honor Choir of the Georgia Music Educators Association, and films, on TV, on stage, and on radio, from HBO to Showtime, Cannes she was the invited presenter at the 2012 Dallas Chapter Choristers Guild Festival. In addition to Photo by: Aubrey Edwards Film Festival to the Kennedy Center, and BBC to NPR, he recently her work with the CYC, Ms. Revering has been teaching music in Eanes ISD schools since 1996. scored Before Midnight with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Bernie featur- ing Jack Black, and the Hulu TV series Up To Speed. His score to the Robert Downey, Jr. feature A Scanner Darkly was named Best Soundtrack of the Decade by Cinema Retro maga- BRENT BALDWIN zine. With Golden Arm Trio, Reynolds has repeatedly toured the country and released four critically acclaimed albums. As Artistic Director of Golden Hornet Project, Reynolds has Brent Baldwin is an award-winning conductor, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, produced more than fifty concerts of world-premiere alt-classical music by more than sixty producer and composer. He holds a master’s degree in music from UT Austin, composers.