Program Notes: Voice & Violin, Pink Floyd

VOICE AND THE VIOLIN AN EVENING OF MUSIC WITH JOSHUA BELL AND LARISA MARTINEZ

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor

Friday, April 14, 2023 at 7:30pm

Boettcher Concert Hall

MOZART Marriage of Figaro: Overture, K. 492

MEDELSSOHN “Ah, ritorna, età dell’oro” from InfeliceCavatina and Cabaletta

DVOŘÁK “Songs My Mother Taught Me” from Slavonic Fantasy

CHARPENTIER "Depuis le Jour" from Louise

SMETANA Three Dances from the Bartered Bride Mvt. III. Dance of the Comedians

MASSENET "Meditation" from Thaïs

HÉROLD "Jours de mon enfance" from Le pré aux clercs

— INTERMISSION —

DÉLIBES “Les filles de Cadix”

PUCCINI "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi

PUCCINI "Quando m'en vo" from La bohème

SARASATE “Habanera” from Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25

GERSHWIN "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess

FIGUEROA "Mi Rancho"

BERNSTEIN West Side Story Suite Arr. Brohn/Czarnecki

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 43 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES

JOSHUA BELL, violin

With a career spanning almost four decades, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era. Having performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world, Bell continues to maintain engagements as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor and Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Bell’s highlights in the 2022-23 season include leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on tour in South America to Sao Paulo, Bogotá, and Montevideo as well in Europe, in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Joshua appears in guest performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Sofia Philharmonic, Franz Schubert Filharmonia as well as a European tour with pianist Peter Dugan. This season in the U.S., Bell will perform alongside the New York Philharmonic, as well as the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell joined the classical music world in bringing worldclass performances online. In summer 2020, PBS presented Joshua Bell: At Home With Music, a nationwide broadcast directed by Tony and Emmy award winner, Dori Berinstein, produced entirely in lockdown. The program included core classical repertoire as well as new arrangements of beloved works, including a West Side Story medley. The special featured guest artists Larisa Martínez, Jeremy Denk, Peter Dugan, and Kamal Khan. In August 2020, Sony Classical released the companion album to the special, “Joshua Bell: At Home With Music.

In 2011, Bell was named Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, succeeding Sir Neville Marriner, who formed the orchestra in 1959. Bell’s history with the Academy dates back to 1986, when he first recorded the Bruch and Mendelssohn concertos with Marriner and the orchestra. Bell has since directed the orchestra on several albums, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Voice of the Violin, For the Love of Brahms, and most recently, Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, which was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY® Award.

Bell has performed for three American presidents and the sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He participated in former president Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities’ first cultural mission to Cuba, joining Cuban and American musicians on a 2017 Live from Lincoln Center Emmy nominated PBS special, Joshua Bell: Seasons of Cuba, celebrating renewed cultural diplomacy between Cuba and the United States.

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Bell began the violin at age four, and at age twelve, began studies with his mentor, Josef Gingold. At age 14, Bell debuted with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and made his Carnegie Hall debut at age 17 with the St. Louis Symphony. At age 18, Bell signed with his first label, London Decca, and received the Avery Fisher Career Grant. In the years following, Bell has been named 2010 “Instrumentalist of the Year” by Musical America, a 2007 “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, nominated for six GRAMMY® awards, and received the 2007 Avery Fisher Prize. He has also received the 2003 Indiana Governor’s Arts Award and a Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1991 from the Jacobs School of Music. In 2000, he was named an “Indiana Living Legend.”

PHOTO: SHERVIN LAINEZ

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES

LARISA MARTINEZ, soprano

Puerto Rican opera singer Larisa Martínez has been praised and sought after for her “smoky soprano” (Opera News), gracing many of the world’s top opera and concert stages including recent debuts as a soloist at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the Hollywood Bowl.

This season, Larisa Martínez tours extensively with renowned violinist Joshua Bell, in a program entitled “Voice and the Violin” that explores repertoire ranging from classical art song and opera, to musical theater, to a series of selections by Puerto Rican and Spanish composers. She and Bell will present their specially arranged program on the stage of 92NY in NYC in October 2022, with additional plans for this program in the works for 2023. Over the last two years, the “Voice and the Violin” has been presented at the Brevard Music Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Chautauqua Amphitheater, with the Hawaii Symphony, and at the Ravinia Festival.

Larisa’s recent roles include Violetta in La Traviata, conducted by Eugene Kohn (Wichita Grand Opera), Sophie alongside tenor Piotr Beczala in Werther (Culturarte), and Maria in West Side Story conducted by Lawrence Foster with tenor Michael Fabiano (Festival Napa Valley). In 2019, Ms. Martínez made her Kennedy Center debut in recital and Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage debut, singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Athens Philharmonic under the baton of Yiannis Hadjiloizou. In 2020, she appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony, performing Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Floresta do Amazonas. Other concert appearances include Mahler’s Symphony No.4 and Mozart’s Requiem in D minor and Voci di Domani, presented by Renata Scotto and recorded by Euroclassics in Rome. In 2016, she created the role of Isaura in the world premiere of Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini in Italy, conducted by Maestro Fabio Luisi and directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi. That same year, Ms. Martínez was invited as part of President Barack Obama’s artistic delegation to Cuba, in an effort to expand cultural collaboration and friendships between the two countries, culminating in the Emmy®nominated PBS special, Live from Lincoln Center: Seasons of Cuba where she was showcased. For the last three years, Ms. Martínez has toured with tenor Andrea Bocelli, debuting at Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl and throughout North America, South America, and Europe.

In 2016, she won the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Audition in Puerto Rico, as well as the Angel Ramos Foundation Award and the Audience Prize. Soon after, she was invited by the Metropolitan Opera Guild 2018 Annual Gala as a guest artist to honor Anna Netrebko. In 2018, EastWest Sounds Studios chose and sampled her voice for its new virtual instrument software, “Voices of Opera,” used by composers and engineers worldwide.

In addition to studying Vocal Performance at the Music Conservatory in San Juan, Larisa simultaneously received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences with high honors from the University of Puerto Rico. She went on to receive a Master’s degree from Mannes the New School of Music in New York City. Larisa is a board member on the Silk Road Ensemble and a proud artistic resident of Turnaround Arts, led by the Presidential Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, an organization that strives to transform schools in need through the arts. In addition to her deep commitment to music education, Martinez is also passionate about representing her Boricua cultural heritage through projects and performances.

PHOTO: SHERVIN LAINEZ

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor

Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is the Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony and Music Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. He joined the Colorado Symphony in the 2015/2016 Season as Associate Conductor – a position he held for four years. For three years prior, Dragon held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch.

Dragon has a versatile portfolio ranging from live-to-picture performances of Nightmare Before Christmas, Jurassic Park and Mary Poppins, a wide variety of collaborations with artists such as The Flaming Lips, Cynthia Erivo and Wynton Marsalis, to standard and contemporary orchestral repertoire such as Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto, Eleven Eleven, all areas of which he has become highly sought after. Christopher has become known for his charisma, high energy and affinity for a good costume, consistently delivering unforgettable performances that has made him an audience favourite.

Recent season highlights include his subscription series debut with the San Diego Symphony, performances of Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton with Danny Elfman reprising the role of Jack Skellington and the historic Colorado Symphony performances with the Wu-Tang Clan at Red Rocks and the Mission Ballroom. Dragon’s upcoming debuts include concerts with the San Francisco Symphony and the Utah Symphony.

Christopher works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with John Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Christopher’s other guest conducting includes Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Art Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Christopher began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.

THE MUSIC OF PINK FLOYD: A ROCK SYMPHONY WITH YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY

MARTIN HERMAN, conductor

JUSTIN SARGENT, vocals

GEORGE CINTRON, guitar

DAN CLEMENS, bass

KATHRYN KEY, keyboard

POWELL RANDOLPH, drums

EDDIE WILLIAMS, saxophone

Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 7:30pm

Boettcher Concert Hall

Program to be announced from stage.

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 50 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 7 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

Saturday'S concert iS dedicated to HaSelden conStruction

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

MARTIN HERMAN, conductor

Martin Herman has appeared as guest conductor with symphony orchestras in North America, Europe, Australia, and Canada. His most recent engagements include the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra with Windborne’s “Music of the Rolling Stones” and “Music of the Eagles.” He recently guest-conducted Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal and continues as music director and arranger for “Classical Mystery Tour” in recent performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Florida Orchestra. Martin also served as music director and conductor with Downtown Opera in Long Beach, California, conducting premieres of new operas in the U.S. and the Czech Republic. In the fall of 2009, he was conductor and music director at LaMaMa Theatre in New York City where he led performances of his oneact opera, The Doctor, based on Chekhov short stories. He has served as assistant conductor with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and conductor of the Berkeley Young Musicians Program Orchestra and U.C. Berkeley Summer Orchestra. Additionally, Mr. Herman has conducted several orchestra crossover projects in Amsterdam and Berlin.

Mr. Herman studied conducting and composition at Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, Berkeley and spent two years in Paris, France on a Fulbright Grant and U.C. Berkeley Ladd Prix de Paris where he worked as conductor and composer with the “New American Music in Europe” and “American Music Week” festivals. He has received recognition for his work in the promotion of international cultural exchange from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, New York City.

JUSTIN SARGENT, vocals

Justin Matthew Sargent is a singer and actor who has starred on Broadway as “Peter Parker” in Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark (Music by Bono and The Edge), “Drew” in the mega hit rock musical in Rock of Ages, and was in the Original Broadway Cast of Bonnie and Clyde.

Born in Murphysboro ,Illinois, and raised in Florida, Justin has been performing since High School. Since graduating, he has been lucky enough to make a living doing what he loves. He has performed alongside music legends like John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles, Dee Snider, Kip Winger, Graham Russell, and has been a guest singer with the band Air Supply. Justin has toured the country singing everything from Queen to Andrew Lloyd Webber. His TV/FILM appearances include “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live” on NBC, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Mr. Robot”, “Delocated”, “Royal Pains”, and more!

Justin is incredibly excited to join the Windborne Music roster and humbled to perform some of the best music ever written with some of the world’s best musicians. Thanks to Mom and Dad for nurturing my love for music, and to my wife Céline for always supporting the foolish dreams of an artist.

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

GEORGE CINTRON, guitar

Having grown up in New York, George has played in numerous bands throughout the Tri-State area since 1976. In 1981 George founded “Cintron.” Developing the band into one of the top live acts around, he played over 1500 shows including appearances with Zebra, Twisted Sister, Rat Race Choir, Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Perry, Edgar and Johnny Winter and Mountain. He released a self-titled EP in 1983.

For three years George performed Guitar and vocals for Enrique Iglesias. Over the course of three world tours, he performed over 150 concerts and numerous television programs, including The Tonight Show and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve Special. Milestones include playing Madison Square Garden and The American Music Awards.

In 1995 he was a founding member, along with Danny Miranda and Bobby Rondinelli, of Pyramid. The group is still together. In 2000 he joined the West coast tour of the Trans Siberian Orchestra for their annual tour.

George is an accomplished studio musician having recorded with artists including Blue Oyster Cult, Leslie West, Danger Danger and The Good Rats.

In 2004 we were fortunate enough to have George join Windborne’s Music of Led Zeppelin Tour but during the summer of 2005, George was on hiatus from the show and headed to Las Vegas to perform in the “Queen” based show “We Will Rock You.” He returned to the tour in October of 2005. George has been involved with writing and recording various original projects since 2000.

DAN CLEMENS, bass

Dan Clemens has been playing bass since the age of 13. A 1989 graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has performed in bands throughout the United States. In 1993 he formed “Waterworks,” which received the Budweiser Best Unsigned Band sponsorship for the next two years.

Clemens has also recorded Radio and Television jingles along with independent music CD’s. He has toured with the Virginia Opera and performed with the Virginia Symphony and Chorus. His bands have opened for various musical acts including Fleetwood Mac, Little Feet, Del Amitri, The Romantics, and The Hooters. Clemens has also performed with Elliot Easton of The Cars and Robbie Krieger of The Doors. A bass player with Windborne Music since its beginning, he has played with orchestras all over the world in cities such as Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Kuala Lumpur.

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

KATHRYN KEY, keyboard

Kathryn has been playing piano since the age of 4. She has always been interested in many styles of music. Not only did she study Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and many other traditional composers, but she enjoyed playing and singing popular music. Kathryn was a music major at North Texas State University. She has played in many different bands (rock, pop, country, blues and funk), and has performed as a pianist/vocalist in her solo act for many years all over the United States. She has also worked as a studio musician, singing and playing on jingles.

Kathryn currently plays with her band, Soundwave, works as a soloist, and also teaches piano at her home studio. She has performed with The Music of Pink Floyd since 1998 and has played In cities such as Buffalo, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Tampa, Denver, Omaha, Houston and Ft. Worth.

POWELL RANDOLPH, drums

Powell has been a professional musician and instructor for over 14 years. A 1989 graduate of Berklee College of Music, Powell majored in song writing with a concentration in percussion performance. Powell’s classical/ orchestral resume includes performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, The Virginia Symphony, and the Virginia Opera.

As a studio musician, he has played on countless recordings... film scores, jingles and CDs for a wide range of clients. Powell can be heard on the score for the remake of Quo Vadis for Premier Pictures playing a wide range of percussion instruments. Additionally, Powell is an instructor in all styles and all levels on drum set as well as music theory, site reading and composition.

EDDIE WILLIAMS, saxophone

Saxophonist Eddie Williams was born in Newport News, Virginia. He attended Berklee School of Music in the early 70’s to study performance and improvisation. Relocating in the early 1980’s to the West Coast, Eddie performed in LA and Las Vegas with Vocalist Jeannine Marie, opening for stars such as George Carlin and Bill Cosby. Returning to the East Coast, Eddie was an instructor at the Governors School for the Arts at Old Dominion University for 10 years teaching Jazz History, Music Theory and Improvisation. Eddie has been a Studio Musician for 25 years performing on jingles, television and motion picture soundtracks. He has performed with artist such as Carter Beauford, Tim Reynolds, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach and Randy Brecker. Currently, Eddie is performing with singer/song writer, Karl Werne.

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

BRENT HAVENS, arranger

Berklee-trained arranger/conductor Brent Havens has written music for orchestras, feature films and virtually every kind of television. His TV work includes movies for networks such as ABC, CBS and ABC Family Channel Network, commercials, sports music for networks such as ESPN and even cartoons. Havens has also worked with the Doobie Brothers and the Milwaukee Symphony, arranging and conducting the combined group for Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary Birthday Party Finale attended by over 150,000 fans. He has worked with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London, the CBSO in Birmingham, England, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, Orchestra of Opera North in Leeds, England and countless others.

Havens recently completed the score for the film “Quo Vadis,” a Premier Pictures remake of the 1956 gladiator film. In 2013 he worked with the Baltimore Symphony and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens to arrange and produce the music for the Thanksgiving Day halftime show between the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, adapting both classical music and rock songs into a single four-minute show. Havens is Arranger/Guest Conductor for all the symphonic rock programs for Windborne Music.

THE MUSIC OF PINK FLOYD: A ROCK SYMPHONY

Bridging the gulf between rock n’ roll and classical music, conductor/arranger Brent Havens takes the podium to present The Music of Pink Floyd, a program he scored to extend the listening experience of Pink Floyd’s timeless tunes.

Performed by an orchestra and amplified with a full rock band and Randy Jackson’s vocals, Havens and his ensemble capture the essence of Pink Floyd’s ethereal harmonies while adding new musical colors.

“Our concept for The Music of Pink Floyd was to take the music as close to the originals as we could and then add some colors to enhance what the original group had done,” says Havens.

“The wonderful thing with an orchestra is that you have an entire palette of sounds to call upon. The band is reproducing what Pink Floyd did on the albums, verbatim, and then having an orchestra behind the band gives the music richness, a whole different feel, a whole different sense of depth.”

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

Delivering vocals out front, singer Randy Jackson (lead singer of the rock band Zebra), acts as a window between the audience and reworked material. “The music itself is one thing, but Jackson more than captures the spirit of the original singers,” says Havens.

Heightened by rock concert lighting, the symphonic rock hybrid has met with riotous approval at both ends of the hall, explains Havens; “When we first came on stage, the audience gave us polite, almost classical applause. Then we hit the first note and they realized it was a rock show.”

Classical musicians also enjoy the change of pace. “This is music that these musicians grew up with just as we did,” says Havens. “I see them singing along with a number of the songs as we’re playing them.”

With the support of show producer Rob Cross, Artistic Director of the Virginia Arts Festival, Havens first conceived the show for the Virginia Symphony (where Cross was orchestra manager at the time). Since then, they’ve taken the show on the road. The program has already played in Atlanta, Denver, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Omaha, Raleigh and numerous other cities throughout the United States.

The project’s appeal is in large part due to the music’s authenticity. When the music was first discussed in 1994 Havens understood that fans would want to hear the original, familiar elements of the music. He therefore followed exact line arrangements and used the orchestra for enhancement.

With a 50-piece orchestra hanging on his every cue, Havens had a large landscape to work with. Just among the double-reed instruments—the oboe, English Horn, bassoon—there are so many colors. Add in the violins, violas, cellos, basses, and woodwinds or more pure sounds from instruments like a flute or a clarinet and the selection grows. Then consider the entire brass section, like the trumpet, trombones, French horns, and the lower brass like the bass trombone and tuba and you realize the variety of choices available to accompany a distorted electric guitar, bass and drums.

The 2-plus hour concert features 17 Pink Floyd tunes, including "Money", "Learning to Fly", "Comfortably Numb" and selections from The Wall.

The show has proven a great way to introduce rock fans to the symphony experience. “I’m sure there are people who come to these shows who have never seen their city’s symphony orchestra and this allows them to experience something new along with the music that they already love,” says Havens.

Aymée Nuviola and the Colorado Mambo Orchestra