Program Notes: Home Alone & Drums of the World

MOVIES AT THE SYMPHONY 2023/24 HOME ALONE IN CONCERT PERFORMED BY YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, MARY LOUISE BURKE, director Friday, November 24, 2023 at 7:30pm Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

HOME ALONE TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Presents A JOHN HUGHES Production A CHRIS COLUMBUS Film

HOME ALONE MACAULAY CULKIN JOE PESCI DANIEL STERN JOHN HEARD and CATHERINE O’HARA Music by JOHN WILLIAMS Film Editor RAJA GOSNELL Production Designer JOHN MUTO Director of Photography JULIO MACAT Executive Producers

MARK LEVINSON & SCOTT ROSENFELT and TARQUIN GOTCH Written and Produced by JOHN HUGHES Directed by CHRIS COLUMBUS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 2/ 2 3

PROGRAM I

MOVIES AT THE SYMPHONY 2023/24 Soundtrack Album Available on CBS Records,Cassettes and Compact Discs Color by DELUXE®

Tonight’s program is a presentation of the complete film Home Alone with a live performance of the film’s entire score, including music played by the orchestra during the end credits. Out of respect for the musicians and your fellow audience members, please remain seated until the conclusion of the credits.

Film screening of Home Alone courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox. © 1990 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

PRODUCTION CREDITS Home Alone in Concert produced by Film Concerts Live!, a joint venture of IMG Artists, LLC and The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc. Producers: Steven A. Linder and Jamie Richardson Director of Operations: Rob Stogsdill Production Manager: Sophie Greaves Worldwide Representation: IMG Artists, LLC Technical Director: Mike Runice Music Composed by John Williams Music Preparation: Jo Ann Kane Music Service Film Preparation for Concert Performance: Ramiro Belgardt Technical Consultant: Laura Gibson Sound Remixing for Concert Performance: Chace Audio by Deluxe The score for Home Alone has been adapted for live concert performance.

With special thanks to: Twentieth Century Fox, Chris Columbus, David Newman, John Kulback, Julian Levin, Mark Graham and the musicians and staff of the Colorado Symphony.

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS AND 9 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 19 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT! PROGRAM II

C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

MOVIES BIOGRAPHIES JOHN WILLIAMS, composer In a career spanning more than six decades, John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage, and he remains one of our nation’s most distinguished and contributive musical voices. He has composed the music and served as music director for more than one hundred films, including all nine Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Memoirs of a Geisha, Far and Away, The Accidental Tourist, Home Alone and The Book Thief. His nearly 50-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg has resulted in many of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and successful films, including Schindler’s List, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Indiana Jones films, Munich, Saving Private Ryan, The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln, The BFG and The Post. His contributions to television music include scores for more than 200 television films for the groundbreaking, early anthology series Alcoa Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, Chrysler Theatre and Playhouse 90, as well as themes for NBC Nightly News (“The Mission”), NBC’s Meet the Press, and the PBS arts showcase Great Performances. He also composed themes for the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He has received five Academy Awards and fifty-two Oscar nominations, making him the Academy’s most-nominated living person and the secondmost nominated person in the history of the Oscars. He has received seven British Academy Awards (BAFTA), twenty-five Grammys, four Golden Globes, five Emmys, and numerous gold and platinum records. In 2003, he received the Olympic Order (the IOC’s highest honor) for his contributions to the Olympic movement. He received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in December of 2004. In 2009, Mr. Williams was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and he received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. Government. In 2016, he received the 44th Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute – the first time in their history that this honor was bestowed upon a composer. In 2020, he received Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, as well as the Gold Medal from the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society in the UK. In January 1980, Mr. Williams was named nineteenth music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, succeeding the legendary Arthur Fiedler. He currently holds the title of Boston Pops Laureate Conductor which he assumed following his retirement in December 1993 after fourteen highly successful seasons. He also holds the title of Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood. Mr. Williams has composed numerous works for the concert stage, among them two symphonies, and concertos commissioned by several of the world’s leading orchestras, including a cello concerto for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a bassoon concerto for the New York Philharmonic, a trumpet concerto for The Cleveland Orchestra, and a horn concerto for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, the Boston Symphony premiered his concerto for harp and orchestra entitled “On Willows and Birches”, and in the same year, Mr. Williams composed and arranged “Air and Simple Gifts” especially for the first inaugural ceremony of President Barack Obama.

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 2/ 2 3

PROGRAM III

MOVIES BIOGRAPHIES In 2021, Williams premiered his second violin concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood along with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter, for whom he composed the work.

Composer’s Note Ever since Home Alone appeared, it has held a unique place in the affections of a very broad public. Director Chris Columbus brought a uniquely fresh and innocent approach to this delightful story, and the film has deservedly become a perennial at Holiday time.

I took great pleasure in composing the score for the film, and I am especially delighted that the magnificent Colorado Symphony has agreed to perform the music in a live presentation of the movie.

I know I speak for everyone connected with the making of the film in saying that we are greatly honored by this event… and I hope that tonight’s audience will experience the renewal of joy that the film brings with it, each and every year.

PROGRAM IV

C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

John Williams

MOVIES BIOGRAPHIES CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is the Music Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. 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 inaugural 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 including Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, a wide variety of collaborations with artists such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Cynthia Erivo and Joshua Bell, 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 highlights include his successful debut with the San Francisco Symphony, performances of Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton with Danny Elfman reprising the role of Jack Skellington and historic performances with Nathaniel Rateliff at Walt Disney Concert Hall and David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Upcoming debuts include the WRD Funkhausorchester, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.

Christopher is highly sought after as a guest conductor and has worked with San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Utah Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In Australia, he 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 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.

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 2/ 2 3

PROGRAM V

MOVIES AT THE SYMPHONY BIOGRAPHIES MARY LOUISE BURKE, principal associate director, Colorado Symphony Chorus Mary Louise Burke is in her 30th season as Principal Associate Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. In addition to assisting Chorus Director Duain Wolfe, she also prepares the chorus for various Colorado Symphony pops concerts and special projects, including Too Hot to Handel. In the summer of 2022, she conducted the Symphony chorus on their concert tour of Austria. She has worked as the Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, participating in hundreds of concerts and dozens of the Chorale’s regional, national and international tours. She was also Vocal Director of the Children’s Chorale, where she provided specialized vocal coaching and opera preparation. With an expertise in vocal technique, Burke frequently conducts seminars in vocal and choral techniques for area church and community choirs. She is the Vocal Advisor at Montview Presbyterian Church and has taught classes in Find Your Authentic Voice at the University of Denver. She has a Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado.

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2023/24 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 40th season of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances each year, to repeated critical acclaim.

The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony, under conductors Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Jaap van Zweden, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Fabio Luisi. For over twenty five years, the Chorus was featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Robert Spano.

Among the eight recordings the Colorado Symphony Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. Most recently, the Colorado Symphony and Chorus released a world-premiere recording of William Hill’s The Raven.

In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the chorus on a three-country, two-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague; in 2016 the chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich featuring the Fauré Requiem. In the summer of 2022, the Chorus toured Austria, performing to great acclaim in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg.

PROGRAM VI

C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

MOVIES AT THE SYMPHONY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor Mary Louise Burke, Principal Associate Director and Conductor Taylor Martin, Associate Director and Conductor Jared Joseph, Conducting Intern Hsiao-Ling Lin and ShaoChun Tsai, pianists Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager/Librarian Barbara Porter, Associate Chorus Manager SOPRANO Kate Emerich Alicia Irigoyen Isabella Mattingly Barb Porter Sue Von Roedern

ALTO Janie Darone Daniela Golden Olivia Isaac Jill Parsons Benita Wandel

TENOR Ryan Bowman John Gale Sami Ibrahim Hannis Thompson

BASS Bob Friedlander Eric Israelson Matthew Johnson Sean Lund-Brown Matthew Molberg Ken Quarles Russ Skillings

S O U N D I N G S 2 0 2 2 / 2 3 PROGRAM VII

FAMILY 2023/24 DRUMS OF THE WORLD PERCUSSIONISTS OF THE COLORADO SYMPHONY Sunday, November 26, 2023 at 2:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

EVAN CHAPMAN

Second Thoughts

GARTH NEUSTADTER VIDEO: KJELL VAN SICE Seaborne I. Above II. At III. Within MARIO GAETANO

Junk Funk

THIERRY DE MEY

Musique de Table

MARC MELLITS

Selections from Red

PHARRELL WILLIAMS ARR. JORDAN MORRISON

Happy

BRUNO MARS ARR. AARON RAILEY

Uptown Funk

ANDREA VENET

Bulldog CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 75 MINUTES WITH NO MINUTE INTERMISSION

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 19 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT! PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

PROGRAM VIII C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES JOHN KINZIE, principal percussion John Kinzie joined the Colorado Symphony as Principal Percussionist in 1985. He was previously the Principal Percussionist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. In 1996, he became the head of the percussion division at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.

John Kinzie was born in Pittsburgh and began his musical studies on the piano at the age of five. When band was introduced in the schools, he quickly switched to the drums. He received scholarships to the University of Toledo and the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Robert Bell, Richard Weiner and Paul Yancich. Prior to joining the Colorado Symphony as Principal Percussionist in 1985, he was Principal Percussionist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, a position he won at the age of 19.

John has appeared with Strings in the Mountains, The National Repertory Orchestra, and the Grand Teton music festivals, and has been a featured soloist with the Toledo Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Yale School of Music, Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Colorado Symphony on numerous occasions. He also performs with the Colorado Symphony chamber group “Once Upon a Time,” a group formed to inspire the imaginations of young schoolchildren and to excite them about music. In 1996, he became the head of the percussion division of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where he teaches percussion and timpani performance as well as percussion ensemble, master classes, and percussion pedagogy and repertoire. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, skiing, and hanging out with his wife, Colorado Symphony violinist Karen Kinzie, and their four sons, Ryan, Karl, Grant, and Reid.

STEVE HEARN, assistant principal timpani Assistant principal timpani/section percussion with the Colorado Symphony, Steve Hearn is also a founding member of the Lumos Percussion Group and the former principal timpanist of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Hearn previously held the position as Percussionist/Timpanist in the U.S. Army Field Band.

Assistant principal timpani/section percussion with the Colorado Symphony, Steve Hearn is also a founding member of the Lumos Percussion Group and the former principal timpanist of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. He has appeared with the Strings in the Mountains, Grand Teton, and Cabrillo music festivals and has been a featured concerto soloist with the Colorado Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, among others. He has performed at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions as a featured soloist and chamber musician. Similarly, he was a percussionist in the Colorado premier of Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun’s Water Passion after St. Matthew.

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 2/ 2 3

PROGRAM IX

FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES Hearn previously held the position as Percussionist/Timpanist in the U.S. Army Field Band, Washington, D.C., where he toured the 48 continental states performing concerts with the Concert Band and Chorus. As an orchestral musician, he served as principal timpanist during the Nashville Symphony Orchestra’s national tour with Amy Grant/Vince Gil, and has appeared as principal timpanist of the Kamerorkest “Continuo” Rotterdam, Holland, the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as principal percussionist with the European Mozart Festival Orchestra in Krakow, Poland, and as a percussionist with the Dutch Theater Production of The West Side Story. Similarly, he has performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of Santa Fe. In addition, he worked in the Music Business Industry where he served for seven years as the Concert/Adams Percussion Marketing Manager at Pearl Drum Corporation.

Active as an educator, chamber musician, and drum set specialist, he was the assistant to Robert van Sice at Rotterdam’s Conservatory of Music and was the Director of Percussion Studies at New Mexico State University. He has performed recitals and chamber music in Holland, Belgium, Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., as well as given master classes in nearly all 50 states. As a drum set specialist, he has performed various styles of jazz and rock throughout the Chicago area with the Ramesdell Jazz Quintet and the pop/rock group The Others.

Hearn received a Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from New Mexico State University, and the prestigious Artist Performing Diploma from Rotterdam’s Conservatory, The Netherlands.

Hearn is an active artist/educator for Adams Musical Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, Freer Percussion Products, TheBoxKit.com, and Evans Drumheads. He also enjoys running, hiking, biking, and ice hockey. Learn more at hearndrum.com.

MICHAEL VAN WIRT, percussion Percussionist Michael Van Wirt has established himself as a professional performer and educator in Colorado and elsewhere. In addition to his appointment as Section Percussionist in the Colorado Symphony, Michael has performed with the Houston Symphony and was a New World Symphony Fellow during the 2014- 2015 season.

Michael was also a member of Seraphic Fire’s Firebird Chamber Orchestra, serving as timpanist from 2012-2015. He is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and the Alan Abel Summer Percussion Seminar.

Michael has performed across the United States and abroad. He has studied in Denmark at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, in Japan at the Nagoya Institute for the Arts, and performed in Australia and New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal. He also studied the music of Trinidad with

PROGRAM X

C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES steel-pan master Tom Miller. Michael was a founding member of Miller’s band “Pan Nation” and performed with the group throughout Colorado and the Midwest.

Michael studied percussion at the University of Denver, where he received his Bachelors of Music under Professor John Kinzie. He attended the University of Miami under Matt Strauss and Svet Stoyanov and obtained his Masters Degree in music in 2012. As an educator, Michael has taught at the Lamont School of Music Summer Academy, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and is Artist-in-Residence at the University of Northern Colorado.

ELIZABETH VAN WIRT, percussion Elizabeth Van Wirt performs regularly as an orchestral percussionist, chamber musician, and soloist. Recent engagements include the Colorado Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival, and Colorado Music Festival. Elizabeth was the 3rd prize laureate of the prestigious Universal Marimba Competition 2011 in Belgium. She is recorded as a soloist on Ney Rosauro’s disc Early Mallet Works and featured on the 2016 album Onyx released by the Society of Composers, Inc. In addition to her varied performance career, she has maintained a schedule of teaching private lessons and in classroom settings. Elizabeth currently teaches Applied Percussion at Regis University in Denver. She holds two degrees from the University of Miami Frost School of Music and a Masters Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Elizabeth lives in Denver, Colorado, and is a proud Yamaha and Vic Firth Artist.

DANA LANDRY, pianist A multi-faceted pianist, Dana Landry performs in jazz and classical settings, from clubs to concert halls. He has been appearing regularly with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for the past sixteen years, playing masterworks including Pines of Rome, Petrushka, and Firebird Suite, and accompanying renowned vocalists Kristen Chenoweth, Jodi Benson, Cynthia Arevo, and others. In the summer of 2021, he performed Maria Schneider’s Grammy-Award-winning Winter Morning Walks with Renée Fleming at the Aspen Music Festival. Prior to moving to Colorado, he served as principal pianist for the Middle Tennessee Philharmonic and performed frequently with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. His first CD as a leader, Journey Home, featured virtuoso vibraphonist Gary Burton and earned a Grammy nomination for its title track. Landry is Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at the University of Northern Colorado. Under his leadership, the UNC Jazz Studies program has garnered over 65 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards, and the Compass Jazz Orchestra, led by Landry, was named ‘winner’ in the Large Graduate Ensemble category nine of the last thirteen years. Early in 2024, the group will release Carmen Sings Carmen, featuring the Count Basie Orchestra’s vocalist Carmen Bradford, celebrating the music of Carmen McRae.

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 2/ 2 3

PROGRAM XI

FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES JOSHUA SAWICKI, pianist Joshua Sawicki is a pianist based in Denver, Colorado. He appears regularly as orchestral pianist for the Colorado Symphony, as a member of the new-music group The Playground Ensemble, and as principal pianist of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Denver Philharmonic, Grand Junction Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Lakewood Symphony, Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Lamont Symphony Orchestra; solo appearances and competitions have taken him to Paris, Manhattan, Utrecht, Novi Sad, Granada, Cambridge, Tampa, and Aspen. He has received prizes from various international competitions and can often be seen around Colorado in chamber music performances alongside principal members of the CSO. Aside from teaching privately, Joshua teaches piano as affiliate faculty at Regis University (and piano area coordinator), adjunct faculty at the Community College of Denver, and is the owner and director of a music school in Aurora, Colorado Music Quest. He has studied in Boston, New York, London, Tampa, and Denver; his principal teachers include Steven Mayer, Rebecca Penneys, John O’Conor, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Svetozar Ivanov.

PROGRAM XII C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G