HOLIDAY • 2016/2017 Colorado Symphony 2016/17 Season Presenting Sponsor:
A NIGHT IN VIENNA COLORADO SYMPHONY BRETT MITCHELL, conductor ALICIA McCOMMONS, guest conductor ANGELO PAN, piano, Schmitt Music Piano Competition Middle School Division Winner This Weekend’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Lloyd J. King and Eleanor R. King Foundation Saturday, December 31, 2016, at 6:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall
STRAUSS, J. Jr.
Overture to Die Fledermaus
LISZT
Mephisto Waltz No. 1
RODGERS/arr. Walker The Carousel Waltz STRAUSS, J. Jr.
Aus den Bergen, Op. 292 — INTERMISSION —
STRAUSS, J. Jr.
Éljen a Magyar!, Op. 332
BRAHMS/arr. Parlow
Hungarian Dance No. 5
DVOŘÁK
Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 1
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 Allegro BERNSTEIN
Waltz from Divertimento for Orchestra
STRAUSS, J. Jr.
On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op. 314
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 1
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES BRETT MITCHELL, conductor Hailed for delivering compelling performances of innovative, eclectic programs, Brett Mitchell has been named the fourth Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, beginning in the 2017/18 Season. Prior to this fouryear appointment, he will serve as Music Director Designate during the 2016/17 Season. Mr. Mitchell is also currently the Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. He joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in 2013, and was promoted to his current position in 2015, becoming the orchestra’s first Associate Conductor in over three decades and only the fifth in its 98-year history. In this role, he leads the orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and on tour. Mr. Mitchell also serves as the Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, which he recently led on a fourcity tour of China. In addition to these titled positions, Brett Mitchell is in consistent demand as a guest conductor. Recent and upcoming guest engagements include the orchestras of Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Oregon, Rochester, Saint Paul, and Washington (National Symphony Orchestra), among others. He has collaborated with such soloists as Rudolf Buchbinder, James Ehnes, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein, and has served as cover conductor and musical assistant at The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Born in Seattle in 1979, Brett Mitchell holds degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him as its Young Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He also studied at the National Conducting Institute, and was selected by Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship. Mr. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras’ American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010.
SATURDAY . APRIL 29 . 2017
6 pm :: Fillmore Auditorium :: Denver, Colorado presenting sponsor
save the date
info: coloradosymphony.org
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES ALICIA McCOMMONS, guest conductor A native Coloradoan, Alicia began studying music at age 10. As a youth, she received awards for her piano composition and clarinet and saxophone solos, and received conducting training that enabled her to be selected to rehearse and direct wind ensemble, marching bands, and pep bands. She was awarded Performing Arts Scholarships at Colorado State University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Alicia then went on to law school at Widener University, receiving her Juris Doctor, and began practicing at the Federal Communications Commission. After moving back to Denver in 1996, Alicia continued her telecommunications law practice at Colorado’s oldest law firm, Sherman and Howard. In addition to remaining active with the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations, Alicia is the Assistant Director and Conductor of the Castle Rock Orchestra, having been there since 2011. She also has held the Principal Clarinet position at the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra since 2015 and at Castle Rock since 2011, and continues to hone her skills by studying with Colorado Symphony Assistant Principal Clarinet Abby Raymond. Alicia has served on several non-profit boards including Colorado State University Alumni Association and Littleton Community Music Association, and was previously with the Bach and Rollers group of the Colorado Symphony. Alicia continues to freelance as a musician, including conducting musical orchestras, and performing with quintets and other ensembles around Colorado. Alicia and her husband, Craig N. Johnson, have been long-term supporters of Colorado’s Arts and Culture scene, including the Colorado Symphony.
ANGELO PAN, piano, Schmitt Music Piano Competition Middle School Division Winner Angelo Pan was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He is twelve years old and in seventh grade at the Campus Middle School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Angelo has been studying piano with Mrs. Jasmine Steadman since October 2013, and is a fast-learner who greatly enjoys the learning experience. He has shown significant improvement of his music knowledge and piano skills. In April 2015, Angelo won Second Place in the Competitive Division IIA of Schmitt Music Competition, and Second Place in the Division II of Kawai Piano Competition. In November 2015, he won first place in the Steinway Piano Concerto Competition, Middle School Division, as the youngest player with only two years of experience in studying piano. His interests besides piano are math, science, chess, and skiing, and he holds an “A” average in his academic studies.
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 3
STUDENT TICKETS! Students and teachers receive
$10
[ Limitations apply ]
with valid school I.D.! Learn more at: coloradosymphony.org 303.623.7876 box office mon-fri: 10 am - 6 pm :: sat: 12 pm - 6 pm