Modesto symphony orchestra & Chorus Performs Mozart’s requiem

BY VIRGINIA STILL

The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be led by conductor Anthony Parnther for their Mozart Requiem concerts on May 12 & 13, 2023 at the Gallo Center for the Arts . The weekend’s program will open with Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626 , featuring the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr. The Requiem will also feature guest soloists: soprano Jennifer Lindsay, mezzosoprano Maria Dominique Lopez, tenor Orson Van Gay, II, and baritone Zachary Gordin. The program will conclude with Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3 in C minor . This symphony is a tribute to Price’s heritage, with influences of blues, jazz, ragtime, and the third movement is a Juba, a dance style created by central Africans enslaved on plantations in the American South.

“This will be the first time since May 2019 that our MSO Chorus has performed in our Classics Series and we're really excited to be able to bring the full force of the Chorus with the MSO back on stage for such a monumental piece,” says Caroline Nickel, President and CEO of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. “We are extremely proud of the MSO Chorus and can’t wait for the community to experience Mozart’s choral masterpiece filled with dramatic, ritualistic, and hopeful beauty.”

“We are also thrilled to invite Anthony Parnther to Modesto, who not only has a strong symphonic background but also has conducted and worked on many well-known projects that many will be familiar with,” says Nickel. “Recently, Anthony led the Hollywood Studio Symphony in recording sessions for Avatar: The Way of the Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and more.”

This weekend also includes the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO) in their Season Finale Concert on May 13th. The MSYO comprises two orchestras with students from grades 5 through 12 and is led by a deeply engaged leadership team. Their Spring Concert will feature works by Bach, Copland, Massenet, and more. Learn more about the MSYO at ModestoSymphony.org/about-msyo.

The MSO is also excited to announce free Youth tickets for the MSYO’s Season Finale concert made possible by a generous donation from Robert & Martha Falzone. All youth ages 17 and younger interested in attending the MSYO Season Finale concert can attend for free. Free youth tickets are only available in person from the Gallo Center Ticket Office at 1000 I Street, Modesto. on Page 23

American conductor, Anthony Parnther , is the Music Director and Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and the Southeast Symphony & Chorus in Los Angeles.

Recent guest conducting engagements include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jacaranda - Music at the Edge, Hear Now Music Festival, Mann Center Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh Microtonal Festival, Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Brightwork NewMusic, and the World Opera Forum in Madrid, Spain.

Over the next season, Anthony will premiere Kris Bower’s Concerto for Horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tamar-kali Brown’s Oratorio “We Hold These Truths” with the Los Angeles Opera, work alongside composer Anthony Davis on his Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Central Park Five with the Long Beach Opera, and premiere a new work for narrator and orchestra by Oscar-winning, GRAMMY-nominated Jon Batiste, host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with the Gateways Festival Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Anthony has led the Hollywood Studio Symphony in recording sessions for many international feature film and television projects including Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Tenet, Star Wars: Book of Boba Fett, Little, American Dad, The Hunt, Fargo, The Way Back, The Night Of, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Encanto, and Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild. His live orchestral concert appearances for e-sports titan League of Legends in Barcelona, Beijing, Seoul, and Los Angeles are among the most widely viewed symphonic concerts in the world, with live audiences of 50,000-75,000 spectators and a viewership that outpaces the World Series with approximately 100 million live streaming each League of Legends Finals Opening Ceremony concert.

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Anthony has restored and performed orchestral works by Florence Price, Zenobia Powell Perry, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. He has premiered and recorded works by Anthony Davis, George Walker, Errollyn Wallen, John Wineglass, Gary Powell Nash, Marian Harrison, Renee Baker, James Wilson, Phillip Herbert, Daniel Kidane, Chanda Dancy, and James Newton. In 2015, Anthony was profiled by Los Angeles' KCET/TV as a "Local Hero" for his extensive community outreach and advocacy for the performance of works by Black, Latino, and Women artists.

Anthony studied music performance at Northwestern University and continued his musical studies at Yale University where he studied orchestral conducting with Lawrence Leighton Smith and Otto Werner Mueller. He resides in Los Angeles.

Daniel R. Afonso Jr. has served as conductor of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus since its foundation in 2001 and has prepared several choral works with the ensemble. He is also Coordinator of Vocal and Choral Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. Afonso received a B.M.E. degree from the Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (UNI -Rio), a M.M. degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a D.M.A. degree in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. Dr. Afonso is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has studied conducting with Carlos Alberto Figueiredo, Cees Rotteveel, Eph Ehly, and William Hatcher.

Dr. Afonso has performed with choral groups in Brazil, U.S., and Europe, and has previously taught music at the Conservatório Brasileiro de Música, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro (UNI-Rio), and Doane College, Nebraska. In 1988, he won the first prize and the best performance of Villa-Lobos work award at the Concurso Villa-Lobos de Canto Coral, a national choral competition sponsored by the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro. Dr. Afonso is strongly committed to the performance of new music and has commissioned and premiered many new choral works in the last few years, including several of his own works as well as works by young composition students. He had his New York debut in 2012, conducting Mozart’s Requiem with members of the MSO Chorus and students from CSU Stanislaus at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

He is also a composer, arranger, and editor of choral music and has choral works published by earthsongs, Colla Voce, and Alliance Music Publications. He served as composer-in-residence with the San Francisco Choral Artists during their 2014-2015 season and has also written works for the Los Angeles Children’s Choir, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, and other ensembles in the US and abroad. He has written innumerous arrangements for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, including a new version of The Star-Spangled Banner for chorus and orchestra, premiered at the opening concert for the 2015-16 concert season. Dr. Afonso is widely recognized for his research and performance of Brazilian choral music and continues to frequently present workshops and lectures about the Latin American choral repertoire.

Lyric soprano Jennifer Lindsay has been widely praised for her gorgeous tone and musical intelligence. She has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, LA Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, and more.

Praised as “a rich-voiced mezzo” (Operawire) and “a real tour-de-force” (Splash Magazine), Mexican-American mezzo soprano Maria Dominique Lopez has sung operatic roles and symphonic works throughout the United States and Europe for over a decade.

Operatic Tenor, Orson Van Gay II , possesses a unique voice that captivates the audience with his charisma and command of the stage for a singer of his generation. His performances showcase vocal talents that have brought him constant recognition in Southern California and across the United States.

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Praised for his “arresting musical insights”, Zachary Gordin has been active in many facets of the Classical Music industry. He has established himself as a leading baritone soloist, collaborative pianist, conductor, organizational consultant, and artist mentor; training singers who perform in the world's great opera houses and concert halls.

Founded in 1976, the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO) serves young musicians and their families from more than 40 public and private schools in the Central Valley. Led by a deeply engaged leadership team, the MSYO attracts a diverse group of outstanding musicians. Members are presented the opportunity to share their gift of music in an inspiring and challenging orchestral setting alongside their peers from all social, economic, cultural, and geographical backgrounds. As a program within the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association, members have the invaluable experience of interacting with our professional musicians, conductors, and visiting guest artists through workshops, side-by-side performances, and clinics.

The MSYO serves students of varying skill levels and is made up of two full-orchestra (strings, winds, and percussion) groups:

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THE

MSYO CONCERT ORCHESTRA (GRADES 5-9)

• THE MSYO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (GRADES 9-12)

Both ensembles perform a three-concert series at the Gallo Center for the Arts throughout the season. The MSYO Concert Orchestra has toured San Francisco, Sacramento, and the Central Valley. Typically, the Concert Orchestra tours local elementary schools, providing free performances, and advocating for the importance of music education.

The MSYO Symphony Orchestra has also performed throughout the United States and world, including performances in England, France, Japan, Eastern Europe, Canada, and China.

The Symphony Orchestra has previously partnered with the Napa Valley Youth Symphony to perform in the 2012 Mahler Festival in Vienna and for the 2014 New York Phil Young Composers workshop, where they performed at Carnegie Hall and in Central Park.

Ticketing Information

Tickets are available online through ModestoSymphony.org or through the Gallo Center for the Arts Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.

Group Prices available: Groups of 10+ receive a 15% discount on tickets. Call (209) 338-5064 for more information.

Gallo Center Ticket Office Hours: Monday through Friday 10:00am-6:00pm / Saturday 12:00pm6:00pm

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