Program Notes

What Color Am I When the Sun and the Moon Hang Above Us?

Chlorinated bras, Face first in the bubbles, Gaslighting stares, Dead composers are dead, Three baked beans ago, These soiled onions, Desiccated soccer balls, Stab me in the eye (with your 3/4 tea-stir), The stoned rats, Cats (ltant1981ALWmbotbata)*, Wax memories, The pensive dog (sad), Byzantine etymology, No more bubble baths, The unwashed vegetables, Small pile of leaves (in a heart shape), Mangled muffin, Blendable winds, Not over my dry, bland noodles, The static constellations, Decapitating mandibles, Vibrating bees, Dry grass is a sin, Thomas Adès is a horse that lives in Colorado, Altered echo, Recursive side chaining, Bovine nightmares, Humans can have a little gasoline, as a treat**, Tell ‘em I hate ‘em, Trusting my past selves, Subtle clout, Traumatized radish, Jesus will rise again in Houston, Kinds of flow, Comforter by the eyes, My one thought, Cloud Debussy, I’m a BLT of sadness, Precarious chilling, The drama onions, Chaos is not the concern, The comedy onions, Illegal napping, Become Lattice, A stupid little French assignment, Enforced groove, Reframing the rain, Complimentary water, Nepotistic presence, Recursive box dream, The wet corn chips, Hidden in the legs, Pulverized potatoes, Cloister of deception, The sad onions, Gymnastic snails, Problems with saxophones, Semi-aquatic worms, Basket-less future, Basket-case-past-life-regression, Artificial tears

* (like the animal, not the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the book about the animal) ** Don’t drink gasoline.

—Note by the composer

Carmina Burana (1937)

The 20th-century German composer Carl Orff was born into a family of army officers who demonstrated a keen interest in science, history, and music. Orff began his own music studies (piano, organ, and cello) at the age of five. While pursuing further studies in Munich, Orff became interested in the music of French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, and the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, a pioneer in atonal music expression.

Orff was drafted into the army in 1917. After being wounded at the front, he was discharged from service. Upon his return to Munich in 1919, Orff began an intensive study of music from the 16th and 17th centuries, and in particular, the works of the great Italian Baroque composer, Claudio Monteverdi. Orff also co-founded the Güntherschule, an educational center that explored the synthesis of body movement, poetry, and music.

On June 8, 1937, Carl Orff’s “scenic cantata,” Carmina burana, premiered in Frankfurt Carmina burana ( Songs of Beuren ) is Orff’s setting of texts discovered in the monastery of Benediktbeuern, located south of Munich. The texts are taken from the songs of the goliards—medieval students, monks, and seminarians who seem to have spent as much time carousing as they did studying. The songs of the goliards celebrate (sometimes in the most explicit terms) the pleasures of food, wine, and lovemaking.

Orff scored Carmina burana for soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists, as well as huge choral (large chorus, small chorus, and boy chorus) and orchestral forces. Orff also envisioned dance as an integral part of his “scenic cantata.”

In the early 20th century, many composers attempted to stretch, as far as possible, the traditional concepts of tonality. Some 20th-century composers, such as Schoenberg, even abandoned conventional tonality altogether. Their atonal compositions inspired heated reactions, both by critics and audiences. To this day, the subject of atonality is guaranteed to inspire lively exchanges among music lovers.

In that context, Carl Orff’s Carmina burana represents a stunning departure from the course of much of the concert music of the time. From the opening chorus, “O Fortuna”—a hymn to the inexorable power of Fate—it is clear that Orff’s Carmina burana marks an emphatic return to the forces of melody and rhythm in their most elemental form. 20th–century atonality is nowhere to be found. Instead, Orff’s infectious and unabashedly tonal melodies are repeated over and over, with variety supplied by contrasts in dynamics, and vocal and instrumental colors. Throughout, Carmina burana’s raucous celebration of the philosophy of carpe diem creates an irresistible force of energy guaranteed to leave the audience breathless at the conclusion.

To this day, Orff’s Carmina burana remains one of the most popular of all classical works, a constant presence in the concert hall and on recordings. Carmina burana may also be heard in numerous movies, television shows, and advertisements. More than 80 years after its premiere, Orff’s Carmina burana remains as irresistible as ever.

—Ken Meltzer

Wade Thomas, baritone

Wade Thomas , a native of Calhoun, Georgia, has performed with both regional and international opera companies throughout his career. Thomas’s vibrant vocal quality and compelling stage presence have garnered acclaim in performances including Marcello in La boheme, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Germont in La Traviata, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Tonio and Silvio in I Pagliacci, and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore. Thomas has performed with Capitol City Opera, Atlanta Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, Lincoln Center, Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Omaha, Natchez Opera, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, Brevard Music Festival, Opera Columbus, Opera Birmingham, Ohio State Opera, and Samford Operaworks. Thomas’ extensive concert and oratorio work include Carmina burana, Mozart and Faure Requiem, Bach Magnificat, and Five Mystical Songs by VaughnWilliams. Thomas is a graduate of Samford University and The Ohio State University and currently a member of the Atlanta Master Chorale and is on music staff at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.

Abigail Railford, soprano

Lyric coloratura soprano Abigail Raiford has been noted for her “powerful, luxurious soprano voice, as well as her wonderfully comic way of weeping as the woebegone Elvira” in Tulsa Opera’s 2022 production of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri . In 2023 she was a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition for the Tulsa District, received an Incentive Award from the 2022 SAS Performing Arts Company Vocal Competition, and was a finalist in the Emerging Artist Division of the MI Opera Vocal Competition. That same season she joined Central City Opera as a Bonfils-Stanton Studio Artist, performing Krysia in Heggie’s Two Remain and Ida in Die Fledermaus. Railford was also awarded the prestigious Central City Opera Guild’s McGlone Award. A resident and apprentice Artist for multiple seasons with Sarasota Opera, highlights included Second Witch in their 2021 production of Dido & Aeneas and the role of Belinda for family audiences. A former Studio Artist with St. Petersburg Opera, she covered Despina in Così fan tutte and sang Olympia in Davies’ Pinocchio.

Raiford has won numerous competitions: She won 2nd Prize in the 2021 SAS Performing Arts Company Vocal Competition, was a finalist in the NH Opera Idol Virtual Competition, received an Encouragement Award in the Student Division of the inaugural Camille Coloratura Awards, and won both the Mannes Concerto Competition and the University of Tulsa Concerto-Aria Competition. As a sister of Sigma Alpha Iota, she was awarded the 2022 Career Performance Grant, allowing her to travel to Rome, Italy and study with the incomparable soprano Mariella Devia.

A noted interpreter of the operas of Mozart, signature roles include the Queen of the Night and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Despina in Così fan tutte. Other credits are Rose Maurrant in Street Scene, Anicasia in La Dolorosa, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Her vocalism has thrilled audiences on the concert stage as well, especially in Milhaud’s Chansons de Ronsard with the Mannes Orchestra, and John Mackey’s Songs From the End of the World with the University of Tulsa Wind Ensemble. She earned a Master of Music degree from the Mannes School of Music as a student of Amy Burton, and received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Tulsa, under the tutelage of her mother, Judith Pannill Raiford.

Emory University Symphony Orchestra

The 90-member EUSO celebrates its 100th Anniversary this season. The orchestra performs repertoire spanning a variety of compositional genres, from the Baroque through the present day. With concert programming featuring both classic and emerging literature, the EUSO has been celebrated in both tours (to NYC), recordings (on Atlanta’s NPR Affiliate), and collaborations with soloists and organizations including Janelle Monae, Matt Haimovitz, HBO, the National Basketball Association, and Ben Folds. Membership is by competitive audition and comprises undergraduate and graduate students from diverse disciplines. While the majority of the EUSO includes music majors, many minors and nonmajors participate each season as well.

Emory University Chorus

University Chorus is open to all Emory University students as well as to members of the Emory community! The group holds an important place in the wider Emory community. Undergraduates and graduate students, faculty and staff, parents and their children, workers and retirees, alumni and neighbors, all come together to rehearse each Monday night, united by their common love of singing.

The chorus participates in the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and regularly collaborates with the Department of Music’s instrumental ensembles, including the Emory Wind Ensemble and the Emory University Symphony Orchestra. Recently performed works include the Mozart Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and the Haydn oratorio, The Creation

Paul Bhasin, conductor

Paul Bhasin serves as director of orchestral studies at Emory University where he holds the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Professorship in Music. In this capacity, he conducts the Emory University Symphony Orchestra and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, oversees music research programs, and teaches conducting. Praised for his “crisp, clear” conducting and “highly expressive” interpretations, Bhasin’s career began when he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition in 1998. Bhasin serves as music director and conductor of both the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival and has recently led the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, “President’s Own” United States Marine Band, American Youth Philharmonic, Williamsburg Symphony, performances at Interlochen, the Kennedy Center, and throughout the People’s Republic of China. He has also led performances as a guest conductor with members of the Richmond Symphony, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, and with honor orchestras and bands (including at the all-state level). He has presented at national conferences including the Midwest Orchestra Clinic and the National Music Teachers Association Conference. As a trumpeter, he performed and recorded with the Virginia Symphony and Opera; Columbus (Ohio) Symphony; New World Symphony; the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and at the music festivals of Aspen, Tanglewood, and Ravinia; and as a soloist on National Public Radio, Detroit PBS-TV, the International Computer Music Conference, and at the International Dvořák Festival (Prague, Czech Republic), and his trumpet students have won first prize at major competitions including the National Trumpet Competition. Bhasin has recorded as trumpeter and conductor for both the Centaur and Interscope record labels. Bhasin’s compositions, transcriptions, and arrangements are published by Carl Fischer Music and have been praised by the New York Times and Chicago Tribune with recent performances by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Opera Theater, and the Grand Tetons Festival Orchestra. He received his musical training from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin.

Eric Nelson, conductor

Eric Nelson is Director of Choral Studies at Emory University and Artistic Director of Atlanta Master Chorale. Nelson’s choirs have performed throughout the world, including London, Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Seoul, Carnegie Hall, the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and the Sydney Opera House. He has conducted choirs at eight American Choral Directors Association conventions, including Atlanta Master Chorale’s performance at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and Emory Concert Choir’s performances at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and Lincoln Center in New York City.

Nelson’s ensembles are characterized by their variety of repertoire and for their ability to fuse technical precision with warmth of musical expression. He appears regularly as clinician, lecturer, and guest conductor for honor choirs, conventions, symposiums, workshops, and all-state choral festivals. He is also past president of GA ACDA.

Nelson’s choral compositions and arrangements are sung regularly by ensembles throughout the United States. He is the editor of the Atlanta Master Chorale Choral Series, a division of Morningstar Music Publishers and EC Schirmer. His compositions are also published by Colla Voce and Augsburg Fortress. He holds degrees in voice and conducting from Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University.

Emory University Symphony Orchestra

The Joel M. Felner, MD, and Edward Goodwin Scruggs Chairs: The two named chairs, concertmaster and principal second violin, are in recognition of instruments given to the Emory University Symphony Orchestra in the value of $350,000. Joel M. Felner is associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine; Edward Goodwin Scruggs was for 37 years a tenured member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The lives of both men represent distinguished careers and great philanthropy as patrons of music and friends of Emory University. The concertmaster plays a 1687 Grancino and the principal second an 1870 Scarampella.