Clark Potter conducting

Transcription

1 with Black Hills Chamber Music Society presents the 2014 J. L a iten Weed HONORS ORCHESTRA Clark Potter conducting Saturday, January 25, 2014 First Congregational Church Rapid City, SD 7:30 pm. Underwritten by Lucy Palermo Weed String Competition

2 Proud Supporters of South Dakota Music Programs Midbell Music has made my job as the only orchestra teacher in my district so much easier. I can depend on the quality of the instruments, the quick repair turn- around, and a quick response to any questions or concerns I might have. Kim Evander Orchestra Instructor - Yankton Public Schools JUNE 8-13, 2014 SIOUX FALLS, SD WHAT S OFFERED Musical instruction Performance experiences FINEST INSTRUCTORS WHO CAN ATTEND CAMP CHOICES Students entering grades 7-12 MAKE NEW FRIENDS! Band Choir Orchestra Keyboard Guitar Private Voice and Instrumental Lessons Small Ensembles Enrichment Electives AUGUSTANA FACULTY REGISTER TODAY! Dr. Paul Nesheim, or paul.nesheim@augie.edu Dr. Paul Schilf, or paul.schilf@augie.edu 2 3

3 About the J. Laiten Weed Honors Orchestra Open to all interested students, majors or non-majors SDSU-Civic Symphony Twenty-two of the high-school string students who achieved the top scores in auditions for South Dakota All-State Orchestra compose each year's J. Laiten Weed Honors Orchestra. They begin preparing Honors Orchestra music individually in December and arrive on the Thursday evening before the Saturday concert to audition for solo assignments and placement within the group. An intense two days of rehearsals follow, culminating in a performance that invariably proves to be polished, refined and exhilarating. Conductors for the group have been top music educators from South Dakota and around the country, including the late Dr. Weed. For information about the SDSU-Civic Symphony, contact the symphony director, Dr. John Brawand, at john.brawand@sdstate.edu or SDSU Music Department at or visit our website J. Laiten Weed was one of the first professional string teachers in South Dakota. Director of the Yankton College Conservatory of Music, he was a charter member of the South Dakota String Teachers Association. An Honors Orchestra to showcase the state's top string students and to provide them with a unique musical learning experience was a goal that Laiten shared with other string teachers for several years. In 1986, SDSTA president Raymond Sidoti secured initial funding for a state Honors Orchestra from the American String Teachers Association and the SD Arts Council. The next February, during one of Laiten Weed's several terms as president of SDSTA, the Honors Orchestra became a reality. When his wife, Lucy, died in 1986, Laiten established a string scholarship fund in her name. The fund soon evolved into the Lucy Palermo Weed String Competition. The generous bequest received following Laiten Weed's death in 1989 enabled the competition to provide financial sponsorship of the Honors Orchestra. Hence the orchestra is dedicated to the legacy and the memory of J. Laiten Weed gentleman, consummate teacher and professional musician. Through his vision and provision for the future, SDSTA has both the Lucy Palermo Weed String Competition and the J. Laiten Weed Honors Orchestra to promote and reward excellence in string music. 4 5

4 About the Conductor Clark Potter A native of Longview, Washington, Clark Potter has been the viola professor since 1996, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he also serves on the conducting faculty. Mr. Potter is principal viola of the Lincoln Symphony and he has conducted the Lincoln Youth Symphony since 2007, including concerts in Rome, Budapest and Vienna. He is a member of two professional chamber ensembles, and he is half-way to his goal of performing in all fifty states. He is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician at schools in and around Nebraska, and he has conducted All-State Middle School Orchestras in Iowa, Oregon and Alabama. On a local note, he has twice been the Famous Guest Conductor for the Strings in Concert event in Rapid City. He is a decorated teacher, having received the 2007 Private String Teacher of the Year and the 2008 String Educator of the Year awards from the Nebraska chapter of the ASTA. He is a seven time recipient of the Certificate for Contributions to the Lives of College Students from the UNL Parents Council, he was awarded the 2013 Outstanding Faculty Award in Outreach, Engagement and Service from the College of Fine and Performing Arts at UNL, and he received the 2013 Golden Baton Award for his work as a musician and citizen in the Lincoln Symphony. Prior to his appointment at Nebraska, Mr. Potter taught nine years at Eastern Oregon University. He earned degrees from Indiana University, California Institute of the Arts, and Western Washington University. He has studied with Peter Marsh, Charmian Gadd, Richard Goldner, James Dunham and Mimi Zweig. Clark s favorite place to be is home, enjoying time with his family (wife Jan; daughter Shannon and her husband Phillip; and son Samuel). He is a big baseball fan, and his favorite hobby is running and racing in all weather. 6 7

5 MUSIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION Bachelor of Music in Music Education Bachelor of Musical Arts Bachelor of Music in Performance Talent-based Scholarships up to $4,000 annually GRADUATE EDUCATION Master of Music in Music Education Master of Music in Performance Master of Music in Music History Rawlins Fellowships for Piano or Strings and Graduate Assistantships 1/3 reduced in-state tuition/$6,314 stipend Contact: Dr. Tim Farrell, Chair, Department of Music PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES Over 100 Concerts Annually Symphonic Band Marching Band Jazz Bands Symphony Orchestra Chamber Orchestra Chamber Singers Concert Choir Concert Band 2014 Honors Orchestra Personnel 8 9 Bass Cello Viola 2nd Violin 1st Violin (Alphabetically within sections) Brigitta Bogue...Sioux Falls Lincoln Jamuna Buchanan....Rapid City Stevens Emera Gurath... Sioux Falls Washington Patrick Knowles...Rapid City Central Maya Lehmann....Rapid City Stevens Duncan McGough...Rapid City Stevens Tessa Armstrong...Rapid City Stevens Emily Bachwich...Rapid City Stevens Janna Kerk...St. Thomas More Mikayla Rogers...Rapid City Central Emily Schrag.... Mitchell Christian Maya Van Nuys....Rapid City Stevens Cullen Knowles....Rapid City Central Aileen MacLachlan...Rapid City Central Thomas Pfeifle...Rapid City Stevens Madeleine Price....Rapid City Central Jessica Bachman...Rapid City Central Ryan Doerr...Sioux Falls Lincoln Karl Henry...Sioux Falls Lincoln Zachary Larson....Rapid City Stevens Alexander Chapman Rapid City Stevens Joshua Vortherms... Sioux Falls Roosevelt 2014 Honors Orchestra Teachers School Music Teachers: Mario Chiarello, Karla Chiarello, Bill Evans, Bruce Knowles, Kathy Liesinger, Kate Mathews, Curtis Peacock Private Teachers: John Casey, Karla Chiarello, Steve Gram, Kathryn Hufnagle, Doosook Kim, Carol Knowles, Elizabeth Knowles, Karren Melik-Stepanov, Charlie Savot, Tammy Schnittgrund, Amanda Swartz, Tony Thomas

6 J. Laiten Weed Honors Orchestra 2014 Program Clark Potter, conducting July 28 August 1, 2014 Suite from Castor et Pollux...Jean-Philippe Rameau I. Overture ( ) II. Passepied arr. C. Potter III. Demon Dances I and II IV. Menuet V. Chaconne An American Town (1998, rev. 2000)...Allen Krantz Morning (1951- ) To Work Children Playing, Dancing Da ydreams Hawthorne in the Midwest Toward Home Dance Setting Sun Lovesong The End of the Day The Congregation Sings Intermission L Arlesienne Suite No. 1...Georges Bizet II. Adagietto ( ) Serenade for String Orchestra, Op Dag Wirén I. Preludium ( ) II. Andante espressivo III. Scherzo IV. Marcia 10 11

7 About the Music Jean Phillipe Rameau ( ) completed the first version of the opera, Castor et Pollux in 1737, and a revision in The plot involves the two brothers named in the title. One dies, and the other has to petition the Roman god Jupiter for permission to go into the Underworld to retrieve his fallen sibling. Of course, there is a woman involved whom both brothers love, but she loves only one of them. Rameau may be best known for his solo harpsichord pieces, but his orchestral music is extraordinary and clearly displays his brilliance. This music shows the same elegance and inventiveness as his more famous Italian colleagues from the Baroque era. The opera is full of purely instrumental pieces, many of which would have included dance. This suite turns Rameau s oboe and bassoon parts into extra string parts. Allen Krantz, a guitarist and composer, heads the guitar program at The New School Music Institute at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is also Composer-in-Residence for the Philadelphia-based ensemble, 1807 & Friends, and gives lectures for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Following are his notes about this piece: An American Town was commissioned by the Village Bach Festival in Cass City, MI, for their twentieth season. The piece is meant to evoke the spirit of a single day in a small Midwestern American town as we go from morning to evening. The various sections Morning, To Work, Children Playing, etc. flow from one to the next without break, as shifting scenes in a single day. After a sunrise emerging over the flat, still Midwestern fields, there is a gathering energy of the day s work. This is followed by a scene of children playing and dancing. The next section is a daydream which dissolves into a section entitled Hawthorne in the Midwest, referring to the moral tales of the great 19th-century New England writer that often had a touch of surrealism. This section introduces a darker tone that subtly disturbs the innocence of what has preceded. From this midpoint we head homeward, revisiting the earlier music. A new treatment of the To Work music is followed by a dance with a rock beat that is perhaps more for teenagers and less for children. This leads into a wilder reprise, a variation of the earlier reverie which leads to the climax. From this we reach the prayer or benediction over the town at the end of the day. Continued on p

8 Chamber Orchestra at Northwestern College Scholarships available Open to students from all majors Several performances each year Opportunities to perform in numerous other ensembles Excellent facilities for performance and rehearsal Outstanding faculty Integration of faith and learning About the Music (continued) Georges Bizet ( ) wrote 27 pieces as incidental music for the 1872 premiere of the play L Arlesienne (The Girl from Arles) by Alphonse Daudet. Incidental music is performed live during a stage play, and may occur as a prelude, during scene changes, between acts, in songs and dances which are part of the story, at the end, or whenever the playwright and the composer desire! The most popular numbers from L Arlesienne have been arranged into two suites. The Adagietto movement, for strings alone, takes place while two characters reminisce about the good old days which, judging from the music, must have been very pleasant, indeed. Dag Wirén ( ) was a Swedish composer a feat in itself, as most people can t name another. Scandinavians have made their mark on the classical music world: Grieg in Norway, Sibelius in Finland, and Nielsen in Denmark are all national heroes. But Sweden? Perhaps we would know more of Wirén if he hadn t been so tough on himself. He wrote many pieces that apparently didn t make the cut and were destroyed. Fortunately, this Serenade survived! Wirén studied in Paris from He met Stravinsky and would have been exposed to the avant-garde in Paris, but his music reflects none of those influences. In 1934, he moved back to Sweden, where he taught, performed notably on the piano, served on various national boards, worked as a music critic, and continued to compose a decent body of work that, based on the piece you are hearing today, deserves more attention. This Serenade (1937) is clever, buoyant, tuneful, and fun to play. Program Notes by Clark Potter Are you ready for Lucy Palermo Weed String Competition Open to string soloists 18 and under who reside in, or study with teachers in, South Dakota or Nebraska CASH PRIZES: 3 each for Violin, Viola, Cello, & Bass Same repertoire as for ASTA National Competition do both! The Lucy is great preparation for National. Live competition in Yankton, Saturday, August 23, 2014 Find more information at

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10 38o More than performance scholarships awarded annually. UPCOMING CAMPUS PREVIEW DAYS Monday, January 20 Friday, March 7 Friday, April 25 Make your own visit at usiouxfalls.edu/admissions. PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP AUDITION DAY Monday, February 17 (605) usiouxfalls.edu 18 19

11 Youth Orchestra Philharmonia Sinfonia Prelude Strings Sunday March 16, :00 PM Harrisburg Performing Arts Center Sunday May 5, :00 PM Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center To audition, contact Emily Eichele at (605) ext. 14 or at