Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 9:30am I Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 11:15am I Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Center
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 10:30am I The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Friday, October 25, 2024, 10:30am I Duncan Theater at Palm Beach State College
FAMILY CONCERT
Saturday, October 26, 2024, 3:00pm I Eissey Campus Theater
Scan QR code to find lesson plans and activities for K-12 students:
Music “The Birds” (Gli uccelli) Composed by Ottorino Respighi
Arranged and Conducted by Gerard Schwarz
Original Story and Script by Jody Schwarz
Narrator
Jody Schwarz
Visual Artist
Renata Rodrigues
ORCHESTRA ROSTER
GERARD SCHWARZ, MUSIC DIRECTOR
VIOLIN I
Evija Ozolins, concertmaster
Marina Lenau, assistant concertmaster
Glenn Basham, associate concertmaster
Sasha Gorski
Alfredo Oliva
Monica Cheveresan
VIOLIN II
Valentin Mansurov, principal
Claudia Cagnassone
Angela Fiedler
Orlando Forte
Victoria Bramble
Dina Bikzhanova
VIOLA
Chauncey Patterson, principal
Adrienne Williams
Anna Ivanova
Alex D’Amico
Taylor Shea
CELLO
Claudio Jáffe, principal
Brent Charran
Aziz Sapaev
Tadeo Hermida
BASS
Juan Carlos Peña, principal
Brian Myhr
FLUTE
Jennifer Grim, principal
Jarrett May
OBOE
Antonio Urrutia, principal
CLARINET
Ashley Leigh, principal
Julian Santacoloma
BASSOON
Gabriel Beavers, principal
Aric MacDavid
FRENCH HORN
Amber Dean, principal
Michelle Haim
TRUMPET
Craig Morris, principal
Terri Rauschenbach
HARP
Laura Sherman, principal
CELESTE
Valeria Polunina, principal
ORCHESTRA CONTRACTOR
Alfredo Oliva, Miami Symphonic Entertainment, Inc.
PALM BEACH SYMPHONY
Palm Beach Symphony is South Florida’s premier orchestra known for its diverse repertoire and commitment to the community. Founded in 1974, this 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization adheres to a mission of engaging, educating, and entertaining the greater community of the Palm Beaches through live performances of inspiring orchestral music. The orchestra is celebrated for delivering spirited performances by first-rate musicians and distinguished guest artists. Recognized by The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County with a 2020 Muse Award for Outstanding Community Engagement, Palm Beach Symphony continues to expand its education and community outreach programs with children’s concerts, student coaching sessions and masterclasses, instrument donations and free public concerts that have reached more than 73,000 students in recent years.
WE GRACIOUSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS TO THESE PERFORMANCES AS A PART OF PALM BEACH SYMPHONY’S PAUL AND SANDRA GOLDNER CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
$50,000+ THE PRINCE’S BATON
Ray and Jacqueline Farris to fund student attendance at all “Cinderella and the Orchestra” performances
Paul and Sandra Goldner Conservatory of Music to assist in funding the production
$25,000+ THE PALACE ORCHESTRA
Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Foundation to assist in funding the production for Public Television
Charles Frederick Schmidt to fund the Duncan Theater Performance
$15,000+ ROYAL MASQUERADE CONCERT AND BALL
Lois Pope to assist with orchestra costs for all performances
$10,000+ PRINCE MAESTRO GASPARD
Eric Friedheim Foundation to assist with production costs for all performances
McNulty Charitable Foundation to assist with production costs for all performances
$ 5,000+ THE KING
James H. and Marta T. Batmasian Family Foundation
Josephine DuPont Bayard
Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation
John Dadakis ~ The Komansky Foundation
Alfred Zucaro to fund venue costs for children’s concert recording
$1,000+ KING’S MESSINGER
Carla Crowley
Carole Gigliotti
Hampton Family Foundation of Oregon Community Foundation
Rachel CW Gwinn Private Foundation
Ronnie and William Potter
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
NOTES ABOUT THE PROGRAM
BY AARON GRAD
Cinderella and the Orchestra
Music of “The Birds” (Gli uccelli)
Composed by Ottorino Respighi and Arranged by Gerard Schwarz
The Cinderella fairy tale has captivated audiences for at least 2000 years, showing up in many variations beyond the familiar version popularized in the 1600s, with its fairy godmother and glass slipper. In this new production created by Palm Beach Symphony, featuring an original story by Jody Schwarz (an award-winning writer who happens to be married to the Maestro), Cinderella is reimagined as Ella, “an incredibly talented young flutist,” and the story unfolds over the backdrop of glittering orchestral music by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi.
Born in 1879 in the small city of Bologna, Respighi built up a modest career in his hometown as a violist, piano accompanist and teacher, interrupted by some brief but influential periods spent in Russia (where he studied with master orchestrator RimskyKorsakov) and Berlin (as a student of Bruch). At 34, he landed a job teaching composition in Rome, and it was in his adopted home that he became a late-blooming legend of orchestral music thanks to two scores that honored the Eternal City: The Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome.
Another recurring theme for Respighi was an affection for music of the distant past, as heard in his suites of Ancient Airs and Dances, as well as Gli uccelli (The Birds) from 1928, which elaborated on Baroque keyboard pieces. The prelude that begins this tale, for instance, adapts music from Bernardo Pasquini, a keyboard virtuoso and opera composer who was the delight of Rome in the late 1600’s.
Maestro Gerard Schwarz re-arranged passages of The Birds to match the new story, and so music that Respighi originally wrote to introduce the lovely nightingale (based on
an anonymous English source) serves here as the first taste of Ella’s sweet flute playing, set “long ago in a faraway kingdom.” We find out that her parents were musicians too, leading to brief spotlights on the violin and harp, and we experience Ella’s affection for all parts of the orchestra when the strings, winds and brass each take a turn with the themes of the prelude.
The evil stepmother takes the form of Agnes, who plays celeste in the palace orchestra, and who resents Ella for playing more beautifully than her own lazy daughters who dabble in oboe and clarinet (represented by the comical clucks of Respighi’s hen). Ella is forced to cook and clean—a constant coating of ash from the fireplace cinders earns her the Cinderella nickname—and she only plays her flute in secret, including a garden concert with her friends (filled with the distinctive two-note calls of the cuckoo).
A trumpet heralds an invitation to a special event hosted by Prince Gaspard, the conductor of the orchestra; instead of an ordinary masquerade ball, it is a masked audition where any musician can play for a chance to join the orchestra, on their musical merits alone! Cinderella is forbidden from taking part, but she secretly prepares anyway, practicing in the dead of night and sewing her own gown made from her late mother’s wedding dress. Instead of a fairy godmother, Cinderella gets a pep talk and a pair of shoes from her mother’s friend, a piccolo player. She dashes to the palace on her own two feet (set to music from The Hen, propelled by bouncing bow strokes from the strings), and after two other groups featuring the stepsisters play, Cinderella shines in music drawn from another section of Respighi’s cuckoo movement.
When she sees her stepmother approaching, Cinderella runs away, leaving her flute behind. But the next day, the Prince arrives with it, as he searches door-to-door to find its owner. After the stepsisters try to play it and fail miserably, Cinderella speaks up that it is her flute, and she proves her talents once more, earning her a spot in the orchestra. By marrying Respighi’s
effervescent music with a Cinderella recast as a strong, inspired, and fiercely determined musician (for whom “happily ever after” is a steady orchestra job), Schwarz and Schwarz take a few pages from their own lived experiences to craft a musical fairy tale for the ages.
MEET THE MAESTRO
Gerard Schwarz Music Director
Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalogue of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony and Mozart Orchestra of New York, and is Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. He is Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra.
His considerable discography of over 350 albums showcases his collaborations with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Tokyo Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony and Seattle Symphony Orchestra among others. In 2017, The Gerard Schwarz Collection, a 30CD box set of previously unreleased or limited release works spanning his entire recording career was released by Naxos.
Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York
Philharmonic and has held Music Director positions with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras and has led the San Francisco, Washington National and Seattle Opera companies, among others. He is also a gifted composer and arranger with an extensive catalogue of works that have been premiered by ensembles across the United States, Europe and Korea.
Schwarz is a renowned interpreter of 19th century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire in addition to his noted work with contemporary American composers. With more than 300 world premieres to his credit, Schwarz has always felt strongly about commissioning and performing new music. He completed his final season as Music
Director of the Seattle Symphony in 2011 after an acclaimed 26 years – a period of dramatic artistic growth for the ensemble. In his five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades. Over the years, he has received nine Emmy Awards, 14 GRAMMY nominations, eight ASCAP Awards, the Ditson Conductor’s Award, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation Awards. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. The City of Seattle named the street alongside the Benaroya Hall “Gerard Schwarz Place” in his honor. His memoir, Behind the Baton, was released by Amadeus Press in March 2017.
Music Director position underwritten by the Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation
MEET THE ARTISTS
Jody Schwarz Author and Narrator
Jody Schwarz received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from The Juilliard School and her MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College. While at Juilliard, she participated in the Lincoln Center Institute’s Chamber Music in the School’s Program, performing hundreds of
educational chamber concerts throughout New York City. In New York, she was a member of the Musica Aeterna Orchestra and the Music Today Contemporary Ensemble, and performed at Bargemusic. Ms. Schwarz has also appeared with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Seattle Chamber Music Society,
and Music of Remembrance. Ms. Schwarz taught and performed for three summers at the Aspen Music Festival, and participated in the Waterloo and Sarasota Festivals. She recorded David Stock’s A Vanished World and Herman Berlinski’s Sonata for Flute and Piano. While at Sarah Lawrence College, she taught writing at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education
and Purchase College. She is currently working on a novel, and her new story and narration for The Adventures of Peter and the Wolf with the Palm Beach Symphony aired on PBS. Ms. Schwarz has served as a board member of the Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle Children’s Theater, and is currently on the board of the All-Star Orchestra.
Renata Rodrigues Artist
Renata Rodrigues is a Brazilian artist known for her captivating acrylic paintings on wood. From small canvases to large murals and public art, Renata’s artistic range knows no bounds. Her art goes beyond visuals; it’s a narrative journey, turning client ideas into emotion-evoking masterpieces. She enjoys painting commissions, especially portraying people and animals and the bonding between them. Nature plays a major
influence on her themes.
“My main medium is acrylic paint and I see my style as realistic illustration. I like painting on wood and enjoy the endless layering of colors I can make with diluted paint to create form and texture. If you follow my work you will also find a vast array of other materials from time to time. Right now I am really into murals and mixed media.”
