APRIL 2, 2015
UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD’S
THE HARTT SCHOOL
MUSIC • DANCE • THEATRE
HARTT
ORCHESTRA
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The Hartt School
T. Clark Saunders, Acting Dean
David Westfall, Director, Instrumental Studies Division
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Kalena Bovell, conductor
present
Hartt Orchestra
Siegfried Idyll
Richard Wagner (1813–83)
Edward Cumming, Music Director and Conductor
Kalena Bovell, Assistant Conductor
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–75)
I. Moderato
II. Allegretto
III. Largo
IV. Allegro non troppo
Thursday, April 2, 2015
2515 ORCHESTRA 2.indd 2-3
7:30 p.m.
Lincoln Theater
3/26/15 8:59 PM
Program Notes
by Caty Dalton
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
At the age of 10, Claude Debussy enrolled in the Paris Conservatory,
where he was known for sitting down at the piano and creating
unique sounds that were in high conflict with the “textbook”
examples. Constructing chords and styles that were unlike any
before him, Debussy established a sound that set him apart. Like
other composers of his time, however, Debussy’s compositions were
influenced by poetry. Mallarmè’s poem, “L’après-midi d’un faune,”
inspired Claude Debussy’s Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun.” The
piece opens with a beautiful melody played by the flute, representing a faun in a dreamlike state. The melody continues throughout the
piece as the faun alternates between dream and reality. Debussy’s
Faun is a work unlike any other, for the textures within, as well as the
structure and harmony are a dream state all of their own.
Siegfried Idyll Siegfried Idyll was originally written for Richard Wagner’s wife,
Cosima von Bulow, as a birthday present. Intended to be a private
piece, the original instrumentation was for 13 solo instruments. The
first section of the piece is a love theme. The piece opens quietly,
with a delicate melody that grows stronger, representing the evergrowing love Wagner had for his wife. The second section was for
Wagner and Cosima’s newborn son, Siegfried. Based off of a famous
German lullaby, “Schlaf’, Kindchen, schlafe” (“Sleep, children, sleep”),
a beautiful theme launches into a scherzo that represents the happy
family Wagner and Cosima had built together. Wagner brings back
the love theme from the beginning, but this time at a faster pace.
The music eventually returns to the original tempo, ending with
the love theme created for his wife. On the day the piece was first
performed, Cosima wrote in her diary, “As I awoke, my ear caught a
sound, which swelled fuller and fuller; no longer could I imagine
myself to be dreaming, music was sounding, and such music! When
it died away, Richard came into my room . . . and offered me the
score of the symphonic birthday poem.”
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Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Opus 47
In January of 1936, an article in the Soviet newspaper, Pravda,
expostulated Dimitri Shostakovich’s latest opera, Lady Macbeth of
the Mtzensk District. Demanding the opera be taken off the stage,
the government forced Shostakovich to compose works for
propaganda purposes. In an attempt to restore himself as an artist
under the tyranny of Stalin, Shostakovich began work on his 5th
Symphony. Even while it was being monitored by the Soviet Union,
his music was still able to express his political views to the world
with great emotional power. The first movement opens with a grand, martial-like figure that
continues quietly as the violins present a second theme. The ominous
feel continues as several sections of the orchestra continue to
develop both themes. The orchestra keeps building the tension that
finally breaks into a boisterous march that fades into a serene ending.
In Solomon Volkov’s biography, Shostakovich says the second
movement of his symphony depicted the brutality of the regime.
The second movement is a great example of Shostakovich’s biting
satire. The third movement, Largo, in which the brass are quiet,
shows the composer’s amazing ability to write for strings in a manner
befitting a chorus. The somber movement gradually moves toward a
heart-wrenching climax between the violins and xylophone. Like the
first movement, the finale has two main themes, frequently changing
mood as the brass leads the orchestra into a slow, inexorable march.
Gradually, the orchestra finds its way to a triumphant ending . . . or
is it?
Biography
Kalena Bovell is a graduate of The Hartt School, receiving a Masters
of Music in instrumental conducting. She has served as assistant
conductor to Carolyn Kuan, music director of the Hartford Symphony
and was the assistant conductor to the Orange County Youth
Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. This past summer, Bovell was
selected as a participant at the prestigious Conductors Institute of
South Carolina, where she worked with Donald Portnoy, Peter Jaffe,
and Jorge Mester. She has also participated in two conducting workshops led by Kenneth Kiesler and received a coaching with William
Eddins and Michael Morgan. She is currently a Graduate Professional
Diploma Candidate in instrumental conducting at Hartt, where she is
a student of Edward Cumming.
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Orchestra Members
Flute
Allison Hughes, D*
Shannon Vandzura, D, Sh*
Alex Burke, D
Natalia Kaminska-Palarczyk, W
Chace McClunng, Sh
Horn
Cathryn Cummings, D*, W, Sh
Laura Weiss, D, W*, Sh
Emily Crompton, Sh*
Marina Krol, D, Sh
Ben Ramey, D, Sh
Piccolo
Alex Burke, Sh
Trumpet
Seth Bailey, Sh*
Peter Del Monaco, W, Sh
Emily Tourgeman, Sh
Oboe
Amy Mitchum, D*, Sh*
Meg Markwith, D, Sh
Ling Chun Yeh, W
Trombone
Michael Papa, Sh*
Carter Jackson, Sh
Brian Johnston, Sh
English Horn
Ling-Chun Yeh, D
Tuba
Kevin LaRose, Sh
Clarinet
Diego Vasquez, D*, W
Kristen Lauria, W*, Sh
Noel Liakos, Sh*
Caitlin Yovino, D, Sh
Bassoon
Mason Adams, D*, Sh
Kristen Powell, W, Sh*
Kayleigh Bagley, D
Contrabassoon
Kayleigh Bagley, Sh
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Harp
Annelise Ellars, D*, Sh
Pearl Rourke, D, Sh
Timpani
Daryl Belcher, Sh
Percussion
David Counterman, Sh
Jean Carlo Urena Gonzales, Sh
Michael Jones, Sh
Benjamin Scanlan, Sh
Violin I
Yanyan Zhang
concertmaster, D, W, S
Luciana Arraes, D, S
Sarah Bowen, D, S
Sunnaj Britt, D, S
Daniel Fecteau, D, W, S
Rebecca Fix, D, S
Anthony Galea, D, S
Jaclyn Nevitt, D, S
Kevin Seto, D, W, S
Yae Eun Shin, D, W, S
Chaeyoung Son, D, W, S
Fernanado Vizcayno, D, W, S
Salena Walker, D, W, S
Violin II
Min Jung Noh, principal, D, W, S
Cody Bigenho, D, W, S
Naoki Katakura, D, W, S
Kathryn Pappalardo, D, W, S
Edan Sabah, D, W, S
Seina Shirakura, D, W, S
Jessie Snoke, D, W, S
Yania Srirojanun, D, W, S
Pheobe Suzuki, D, W, S
Shin Pei Gayl Teo, D, W, S
Nathaniel Williams, D, S
Jacob Wood, D, W, S
Viola
Eugenio Figueroa
principal, D, W, S
Clair Babecki, D, S
Nicholas Baere, D, W, S
Po-Chun Chen, D, S
Caty Dalton, D, S
Jacob Dziubek, D, S
Hector Elias, D, W, S
Bonnie Heung, D, W, S
Mary McSweeney, D, S
Matthew Norman, D, W, S
Lauren Perala, D, W, S
Catherine Schifferli, D, W, S
Kaitlin Springer, D, W, S
Violoncello
Kayla Herrmann, principal, D, S
Sarah Barrett, D, S
Xi Chen, D, W, S
Tyler Cottrell, D, S
Matthew Gabriel, D, W, S
Ignacy Grzelazka, D
principal W, S
Yoo Min Lee, D, S
Noah Marconi, D, W, S
Matthew Nichols, D, W, S
Jinyoung Son, D, S
Timothy Sterbenz, D, S
Ariel Su, D, W, S
Vivian Su, D, S
Bass
Krista Kopper, principal, D, W, S
Thomas Gleason, D, W, S
Kevin Huhn, D, W, S
Avery Robinson, D, S
Lindsay Rosenberg, D, S
Zachary Rowden, D, S
D = Debussy
Sh = Shostakovich
W = Wagner
* Denotes principal
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