Program - John William: An American Journey

Colorado Symphony 2017/18 Season Presenting Sponsor:

SPECIAL • 2017/18 JOHN WILLIAMS: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY COLORADO SYMPHONY BRETT MITCHELL, conductor JUSTIN BARTELS, trumpet JASON SHAFER, clarinet YUMI HWANG-WILLIAMS, violin RANDY KERBER, keyboard This Weekend's Performances are Gratefully Dedicated to Argonaut Wine & Liquor Friday's Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Eric Sondermann and Tracy Dunning

Friday, February 9, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 10, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.

Boettcher Concert Hall

JOHN WILLIAMS

Summon the Heroes

JOHN WILLIAMS Theme from J.F.K. Justin Bartels, trumpet JOHN WILLIAMS “Viktor’s Tale” from The Terminal Jason Shafer, clarinet JOHN WILLIAMS Three Pieces from Schindler’s List Theme from Schindler’s List Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto – Winter ’41) Remembrances Yumi Hwang-Williams, violin continued on next page

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SPECIAL • 2017/18

JOHN WILLIAMS Soundings The Hall Awakens The Hall Glistens The Hall Listens The Hall Sings – The Hall in Full Voice The Hall Rejoices – INTERMISSION – JOHN WILLIAMS

Olympic Fanfare and Theme

JOHN WILLIAMS Selections from Star Wars “Luke and Leia” from Return of the Jedi “Asteroid Field” from The Empire Strikes Back JOHN WILLIAMS

Happy Birthday Variations

JOHN WILLIAMS Selections from American Journey Immigration and Building Popular Entertainment Flight and Technology

SPECIAL BIOGRAPHIES BRETT MITCHELL, conductor Hailed for delivering compelling performances of innovative, eclectic programs, Brett Mitchell was named the fourth Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in September 2016. He served as the orchestra’s Music Director Designate during the 2016/17 season, and began his fouryear appointment in September 2017.

Mr. Mitchell concluded his tenure as Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra in August 2017. He joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in 2013, and was promoted to Associate Conductor in 2015, becoming the first person to hold that title in over three decades and only the fifth in the orchestra’s hundred-year history. In this role, he led the orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and on tour. Mr. Mitchell also served as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) from 2013 to 2017, which he led on a four-city tour of China in June 2015, marking the ensemble’s second international tour and its first to Asia.

In addition to his work in Cleveland and Denver, Mr. Mitchell is in consistent demand as a guest conductor. Recent and upcoming guest engagements include his debuts at the Grant Park Music Festival in downtown Chicago, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Auckland and Wellington, and the San Antonio Symphony, as well as appearances with the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, National, and Oregon symphonies, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with such soloists as Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Rudolf Buchbinder, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein.

From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Mitchell led over one hundred performances as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony, to which he frequently returns as a guest conductor. He also held Assistant Conductor posts with the Orchestre National de France, where he worked under Kurt Masur from 2006 to 2009, and the Castleton Festival, where he worked under Lorin Maazel in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, Mr. Mitchell completed a highly successful five-year appointment as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, where an increased focus on locally relevant programming and community collaborations resulted in record attendance throughout his tenure.

As an opera conductor, Mr. Mitchell has served as music director of nearly a dozen productions, principally at his former post as Music Director of the Moores Opera Center in Houston, where he led eight productions from 2010 to 2013. His repertoire spans the core works of Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute), Verdi (Rigoletto and Falstaff), and Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress) to contemporary works by Adamo (Little Women), Aldridge (Elmer Gantry), Catán (Il Postino and Salsipuedes), and Hagen (Amelia). As a ballet conductor, Mr. Mitchell most recently led a production of The Nutcracker with the Pennsylvania Ballet in collaboration with The Cleveland Orchestra during the 2016-17 season.

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SPECIAL BIOGRAPHIES In addition to his work with professional orchestras, Mr. Mitchell is also well known for his affinity for working with and mentoring young musicians aspiring to be professional orchestral players. His work with COYO during his Cleveland Orchestra tenure was highly praised, and he is regularly invited to work with the highly talented musicians at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the orchestras at this country’s high level training programs, such as the National Repertory Orchestra, Texas Music Festival, and Sarasota Music Festival.

Born in Seattle in 1979, Mr. Mitchell holds degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him in 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.

For more information, please visit www.brettmitchellconductor.com

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JUSTIN BARTELS, trumpet Justin Bartels has held the position of Principal Trumpet since July 2008. In 2009, in addition to his position with the Colorado Symphony, he joined the Faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder as Trumpet Lecturer/ Instructor. Justin is also a Visiting Guest Artist in Orchestral studies at the University of Denver. Previously, Justin was the Applied Trumpet Instructor at Regis University (2009-2012) and sabbatical replacement instructor at the University of Denver in the Fall of 2012. Justin performs with the Colorado Symphony Brass Quintet, Bartels Brass Sextet and is also a member of Up Close and Musical which provides educational concerts to local Denver students. Mr. Bartels previously held the position of Principal Trumpet with the Central City Opera Orchestra from 2005-2007 and 2009-2013. Prior to arriving in Denver, Justin held Principal Trumpet positions with Columbus (OH) Symphony (2007-2008), Augusta Symphony (2006-2007), South Carolina Philharmonic (2006) and The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic (IN) (2001-2003). From 2003-2006, Justin was a member of the New World Symphony. Justin has also appeared as Guest Principal Trumpet with the San Francisco Symphony and St. Louis Symphony, in addition to performing with many of the country’s top orchestras including: The New York Philharmonic, Alabama Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony and the Houston Symphony. Justin is a proud graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (B.M. 2003). He also attended the University of Alabama (BM Studies 1996-1997) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM Studies 19972000). While on the path to becoming an orchestral trumpet player, Justin had the privilege to study with many great trumpet teachers and performers including: Marie Speziale, John Rommel, Ed Cord, Alan Siebert, Michael B. Johnson, and Joe Ardovino.

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C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

SPECIAL BIOGRAPHIES

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JASON SHAFER, clarinet Jason Shafer joined the Colorado Symphony as Principal Clarinet at the start of the 2013/14 season. Previously, he played for four years as a fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL. He received his Bachelor of Music with Highest Distinction from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he studied with Kenneth Grant. His other major musical influences include Mark Nuccio and Burt Hara. Jason has appeared in guest principal roles with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, where he has been a regular member since 2012. Always looking for opportunities to travel, he has performed abroad in Austria, Estonia, and Russia. Jason has collaborated in chamber music performances with Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, and Laura Aikin; as a concerto soloist, he has performed with the Colorado Symphony, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Eastman Philharmonia, among others. He is passionate about teaching and is on the faculty of the University of Northern Colorado; he also taught at the Metropolitan State University of Denver from 2015 to 2016. In addition, Jason studied piano during his time at Eastman, and loves to accompany other musicians.

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SOCIAL

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Two Titans: Bernstein & Mahler MAY 25-27 FRI-SAT 7:30 ■ SUN 1:00 Brett Mitchell, conductor Yumi Hwang-Williams, violin BERNSTEIN BERNSTEIN MAHLER

Overture to Candide Serenade (After Plato’s Symposium) Symphony No. 1 in D major, “Titan”

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SPECIAL BIOGRAPHIES

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YUMI HWANG-WILLIAMS, violin Yumi Hwang-Williams made her debut at the age of fifteen as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, six years after emigrating from South Korea. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she is known today both for her stylish performances of the classics and her commitment to the works of present-day composers. Strings magazine calls her "a modern Prometheus" who has "emerged as a fiery champion of contemporary classical music." Her interpretations of concertos by Thomas Adès, Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Daugherty, and Christopher Rouse have earned critical acclaim as well as enthusiastic approval from the composers. Yumi is a frequent soloist with the Colorado Symphony and has soloed with other major orchestras both in the U.S. and abroad, including the Cincinnati Symphony , the Indianapolis Symphony, Sinfonieorchester Basel (Switzerland), and the Bruckner Orchester Linz (Austria), in collaboration with conductors Marin Alsop, Dennis Russell Davies, Hans Graf, Paavo Järvi, and Peter Oundjian. An avid chamber musician, she has performed with Gary Graffman, Ida Kavafian, Jeffrey Kahane, Christopher O’Riley, Jon Kimura Parker, and Andrew Litton. Since 2000 Yumi has been Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony. She was Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra for twelve years and Guest Concertmaster for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa, at the invitation of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman. She’s a frequent guest first violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and a faculty member at Denver University’s Lamont School of Music.

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We’re pleased to introduce LISTEN/HEAR, casual sessions of live performance threaded with thoughtful talk-throughs to help you understand and truly hear symphonic music. This new series of four concerts throughout the season will take you on a journey through the evolution of symphonic music from its modest beginnings to the powerhouse ensemble you see it as today!

LISTEN/HEAR 102

LISTEN/HEAR 104

Anything But Innocent: The Hard-Core Romantics

Musique Nouveau – The Current Voice

FEB 22 THU 7:30 Christopher Dragon, conductor Austin Fisher, cello

MAY 17 THU 7:30 Edwin Outwater, conductor Basil Vendryes, viola

BEETHOVEN MUSSORGSKY DVOŘÁK WAGNER TCHAIKOVSKY

VIVIAN FUNG Launch!

GABRIELA LENA FRANK “Mestizo Waltz” from Three LatinAmerican Dances for Orchestra OWEN PALLETT Five Women JESSIE MONTGOMERY Starburst for String Orchestra ANDREW NORMAN Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash MASON BATES Anthology of Fantastic Zoology

Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 A Night on Bald Mountain Silent Woods Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, “Pathétique:” III. Allegro molto vivace

LISTEN/HEAR 103 The American Voice APR 12 THU 7:30 Brett Mitchell, conductor Colorado Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, director IVES COPLAND BERNSTEIN GERSHWIN

Variations on “America” Suite from The Tender Land Chichester Psalms for Chorus and Orchestra An American in Paris

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