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TABLE OF CONTENTS Special Features 06 08 10 11 12 14 18 118 119
From the Chair of the Board From the General Director Event Calendar Venue Guide Board of Directors “Four Hands, Two Views of the Piano” Spoleto in the Community Piccolo Spoleto Music Texts
99 100 104 105 106 109 110 113
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder + You Are Mine Own Ranky Tanky + Trio 3 Plus Vijay Iyer ^ Brahms’s German Requiem Craig Taborn ^ Mozart and Mahler Wells Fargo Festival Finale featuring The Lone Bellow
Charleston Garden Tour
Opera
114 Behind the Garden Gate
20 Tree of Codes 25 Pia de’ Tolomei 31 Il matrimonio segreto
Artist Talks
Dance 35 Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux ¤ 37 Miami City Ballet ¤ 49 A.I.M ¤ 54 Dorrance Dance ¤ 60 One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures / NEW BODIES ¤
Theater 63 The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk 67 The Pied Piper 70 Borders * 72 The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart *
Physical Theater 74 Backbone
49
115 Conversations With 116 Jazz Talk 116 Front Row Talk
63 Personnel and Special Thanks 134 Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 136 Westminster Choir 137 Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus 138 Administration and Apprentices 140 Committees / Volunteers 143 Corporate Contributors 144 Contributors
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* American Express Woolfe Street Series ¤ Sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina + First Citizens Bank Front Row
^ Wells Fargo Jazz
Music 77 Bank of America Chamber Music 86 Jon Batiste ^ 87 Westminster Choir Concerts 90 Artifacts ^ 91 Fred Hersch Trio ^ 92 Music in Time * 95 Jazzmeia Horn ^ 96 Angels 98 Chucho Valdés Quartet ^
105 COVER: David Hockney “Hither and Dither” 2017 (detail) Acrylic on canvas 48 x 96" (hexagonal) © David Hockney Photo Credit: Richard Schmidt
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FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD William G. Medich
As we approach my first Festival season as chair of the board, I am happy to see so many familiar faces returning to perform on the 2018 program. In past seasons, I have seen several of the dancers, opera singers, actors, playwrights, and instrumentalists who will again take their place on Charleston’s stages this spring. One of the special and exhilarating things about being an
These connections, memories, and anticipations are what we
audience member at Spoleto Festival USA is the opportunity
hope for from new artists—new to the Festival audience, that is.
to create relationships with artists and their works. Longtime
For the first time in the Festival’s history, the National Theatre
Festival-goers may recognize a rhythm of inviting artists back
of Scotland will join us, bringing an immersive, playful work:
to perform again. Experiencing new work from an artist you
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart. Choreographer Jodi
admired once before creates a depth of understanding and
Melnick offers One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures / NEW
vantage point from which you can see how his or her vision has
BODIES—a postmodern double bill presented by ballet dancers
evolved or remained constant—an added dimension of sorts.
from New York City Ballet. New Orleans-native Jon Batiste
Having seen Michelle Dorrance and her extraordinary group of tap dancers in 2014, I eagerly anticipate her work this season. In 2014, her SOUNDspace played with the aural quality of tap—“movement as music.” Perhaps the upcoming performances of ETM: Double Down will explore a similar idea
will perform as pianist, singer, and bandleader, in addition to introducing us to his “harmonaboard”—a harmonica/keyboard combination—in the Cistern Yard. These and many more will be introduced to Festival audiences this spring, with hopes for relationships as fruitful as those previously mentioned.
when the performers use electronic floor boards to manipulate
In considering the memorable and remarkable elements of
their sounds. Last season, we watched actress Avital Lvova
recent seasons, I am reminded of the leadership of past board
bring playwright Henry Naylor’s Angel to life with her deeply
chairs. Most immediately Ed Sellers, and many before him,
emotional portrayal of a Kurdish markswoman. This year,
served this institution admirably, and it is my aspiration to live
Ms. Lvova returns with the US premiere of Naylor’s Borders,
up to the high standards they established. And to all Festival
this time playing a pregnant refugee trying to escape Syria.
audience members, thank you for your investment in Spoleto
Soprano Natalia Pavlova made her American debut in 2017 in
Festival USA. I hope this 42nd season will be for you, as it is for
our production of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, and this
me, a time to welcome artists you love and an introduction to
year she returns to sing in Brahms’s German Requiem—what
those you will.
new quality might we hear in her voice when she performs those tender, mournful solos? Also this season, we will see her co-star in one special performance of You Are Mine Own—a multimedia staging of Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony and Berg’s Lyric Suite, directed by Atom Egoyan, who was last at the Festival in 2012, directing Feng Yi Ting.
Opposite: clockwise from top: Dorrance Dance photo by Matthew Murphy; Eugene Onegin (Franco Pomponi and Natalia Pavlova) photo by Leigh Webber; Borders (Avital Lvova) photo by Rosalind Furlong
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FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR Nigel Redden
Musicians, dancers, actors, and all the people necessary to mount a myriad of performances were everywhere in the medieval center of Spoleto when I arrived, wide-eyed, as an 18-year-old studente assistente at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. The town had already captured my imagination when I visited a few years before and had seen very contemporary sculptures scattered provocatively in this ancient setting—the remains of a memorable exhibition the Festival mounted in 1963. There was a Calder in front of the train station and a Noguchi in a public park; a Chadwick was mounted on a wall near the extraordinary 13th-century façade of the cathedral. Immediately, I was in awe of the artists whom Gian Carlo
Deux showed the audience how two dancers working
Menotti had gathered to celebrate dance, music, theater, opera,
together intimately could express a multitude of emotions,
and all the performing arts, whether it was John Cage, whose
tell a multitude of stories. Works by Petipa, Balanchine,
books I had read in my first year in college, or Merce Cunningham,
Ashton, and his own choreography illustrated this point.
or the young violinist Pinchas Zukerman. Willem de Kooning
The event was a landmark for the Festival and for ballet.
oversaw an exhibition of his work. Ezra Pound was a visitor.
This year, in 2018, when he would have turned 100, Spoleto
But one figure did stand out, and, at first, he was more a
Festival USA is celebrating Jerome Robbins’s connection to
member of the audience than a member of any performing
the Festival of Two Worlds and our heritage from Spoleto to
group. He was a man in his early 50s with a close cropped
Charleston. Lourdes Lopez, the artistic director of Miami City
beard and very short hair, all white, with a strong tan. He
Ballet, will host an evening featuring Robbins’s work, to be
looked lithe and moved around with great purpose. I did not
performed by Miami City Ballet with guest dancers from New
know at that point who Jerome Robbins was, other than a
York City Ballet. Ms. Lopez, who worked closely with Robbins
distinctive presence, but over the five years I worked at the
during her own performance career with New York City Ballet,
Festival of Two Worlds, I learned more. He had founded a
will bring her own insight to Robbins’s choreographic style.
ballet company, Ballets USA, at the Festival in 1958, just a year after his landmark choreography for West Side Story. N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz premiered in Spoleto. He had curated some of the Festival’s dance offerings and he was,
For me, it will be a joy to see Jerry’s legacy brought to life at Spoleto Festival USA—a celebration of his accomplishments as an artist, as well as a celebration of the creative environment
of course, associate artistic director at New York City Ballet.
places like the Festival of Two Worlds provide for such
And then, in 1973, he organized a series of performances
like ours, that drives the very idea of a performing arts festival.
visionaries. It is meaningful work like his, made for a stage
at the Festival. The 1973 event was to be a “celebration of the art of the pas de deux.” Robbins, whom I knew as Jerry by that time, brought five couples and a small corps of dancers to Spoleto. Celebration: The Art of the Pas de
Opposite: Jerome Robbins in Spoleto, Italy
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EVENT CALENDAR 24 May: Thursday 8:00pm
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (preview) DST
25 May: Friday 12:00pm 1:00pm 4:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 9:00pm
Opening Ceremonies Chamber I DST The Pied Piper ROB Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux CGC The Pied Piper ROB Backbone MEM The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Opening-Night Fête Borders WSP Jon Batiste CIS
26 May: Saturday 10:00am 11:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Behind the Garden Gate Chamber I DST The Pied Piper ROB Chamber I DST Borders WSP Miami City Ballet CGC Conv | Tree of Codes CLS The Pied Piper ROB Westminster Choir Concerts CTL Artifacts REC Backbone MEM Tree of Codes DST Borders WSP Miami City Ballet CGC Jon Batiste and the Dap-Kings CIS
27 May: Sunday 11:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Chamber II DST The Pied Piper ROB Chamber II DST Miami City Ballet CGC Conv | Borders WSP The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Artifacts REC Backbone MEM Artifacts REC Pia de’ Tolomei SOT Borders WSP The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Fred Hersch Trio CIS
28 May: Monday 11:00am Chamber II DST 1:00pm Chamber III DST 2:00pm Backbone MEM 3:30pm The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST 5:00pm Artifacts REC 5:00pm Music in Time | An Elemental Thing WSP 6:00pm Il matrimonio segreto ROB 7:00pm Artifacts REC 8:00pm The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST 8:00pm Jazzmeia Horn CGC 8:30pm Borders WSP
29 May: Tuesday 11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 9:00pm
Chamber III DST Chamber III DST Jazz Talk | Artifacts REC Il matrimonio segreto ROB Artifacts REC Backbone MEM Borders WSP Tree of Codes DST Angels STM
30 May: Wednesday 11:00am 1:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 9:00pm
Chamber IV DST Backbone MEM Chamber IV DST Il matrimonio segreto ROB Backbone MEM Il matrimonio segreto ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Music in Time | Brilliant Nights WSP
31 May: Thursday 11:00am 1:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Chamber IV DST Chamber V DST Chucho Valdés Quartet CGC The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Pia de’ Tolomei SOT Prudencia Hart WSP Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder CIS
1 June: Friday 11:00am 1:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Chamber V DST Chamber V DST Prudencia Hart WSP Front Row Talk | Mining the Gullah Groove REC Westminster Choir Concerts CTL A.I.M ROB Tree of Codes DST Dorrance Dance MEM Prudencia Hart WSP Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder CIS
2 June: Saturday 10:00am 11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Behind the Garden Gate Chamber VI DST Chamber VI DST A.I.M ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Prudencia Hart WSP You Are Mine Own CGC A.I.M ROB Dorrance Dance MEM The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Ranky Tanky CIS
3 June: Sunday 11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm 3:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm
Chamber VI DST Chamber VII DST Pia de’ Tolomei SOT A.I.M ROB Prudencia Hart WSP The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Conv | Yankovskaya and Pavlova CLS Dorrance Dance MEM Trio 3 Plus Vijay Iyer CGC Prudencia Hart WSP A.I.M ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST
4 June: Monday 11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm
Chamber VII DST Chamber VII DST Music in Time | Departure Duo WSP Dorrance Dance MEM Tree of Codes DST
5 June: Tuesday 11:00am 1:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm
Chamber VIII DST Chamber VIII DST Prudencia Hart WSP Brahms’s German Requiem CGC The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST
6 June: Wednesday 11:00am 1:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm
Chamber VIII DST Chamber IX DST Craig Taborn REC Dorrance Dance MEM The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Pia de’ Tolomei SOT Prudencia Hart WSP
7 June: Thursday 11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm
Chamber IX DST Chamber IX DST Conv | Prudencia Hart WSP Dorrance Dance MEM Craig Taborn REC NEW BODIES ROB Tree of Codes DST Prudencia Hart WSP
8 June: Friday 11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm
Chamber X DST Chamber X DST Craig Taborn REC Craig Taborn REC NEW BODIES ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Pia de’ Tolomei SOT Dorrance Dance MEM Prudencia Hart WSP
9 June: Saturday 11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:00pm 3:30pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm
Chamber X DST Chamber XI DST NEW BODIES ROB Prudencia Hart WSP The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Craig Taborn REC Dorrance Dance MEM Craig Taborn REC NEW BODIES ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Mozart and Mahler CGC Prudencia Hart WSP
10 June: Sunday 11:00am 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:30pm 5:30pm
Chamber XI DST Chamber XI DST NEW BODIES ROB The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk DST Wells Fargo Festival Finale featuring The Lone Bellow JRP
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VENUE GUIDE 1
WSP | Woolfe Street Playhouse, 34 Woolfe St.
4
ROB | Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
8
MEM | Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St.
2
CTL | Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, 126 Coming St.
5
CIS | College of Charleston Cistern Yard, 66 George St.
9
CLS | Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
3
STM | St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 405 King St.
6
SOT | College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.
10
DST | Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St.
4
REC | Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
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CGC | Charleston Gaillard Center Spoleto Festival USA Box Office, 95 Calhoun St.
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OPN | Opening Ceremonies, City Hall, 80 Broad St.
NOT ON MAP: JRP | JOSEPH P. RILEY, JR. PARK, 360 FISHBURNE ST.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair
Mr. Ozey K. Horton, Jr. Mrs. Deborah Kennedy Kennard
Mr. William G. Medich
Dr. George H. Khoury Dr. Michael S. Kogan
President
Ms. Margie Ann Morse Mrs. Marian M. Nisbet
Mrs. Alicia Mullen Gregory
Ms. Susan Pearlstine Mr. James N. Richardson, Jr.
Treasurer
Mrs. Kaye Scott Smith Mr. Phillip D. Smith
Mr. Ronald D. Abramson
Vice Presidents Mr. Andrew T. Barrett Ms. Rebecca W. Darwin Mrs. Jennie L. DeScherer
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Sullivan Mr. Michael C. Tarwater Mrs. Hellena Huntley Tidwell Mr. Paul G. Trippe Mr. Mack I. Whittle, Jr.
Chair Emeriti
Mr. Gary T. DiCamillo Dr. John M. Palms
Mr. Homer C. Burrous
Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson
Mr. Carlos E. Evans
Mr. Loren R. Ziff
Mr. William B. Hewitt
Ms. Anita G. Zucker
Mrs. Martha Rivers Ingram
General Counsel and Secretary Mr. John B. Hagerty
Mr. Ross Markwardt Mr. M. Edward Sellers Mr. Joel A. Smith, III Mr. Charles S. Way, Jr.
Directors
Directors Emeriti Circle
Mr. Richard J. Almeida
Mrs. Nancy M. Folger
Mr. Larry Antonatos
Mr. David Maybank, Jr.
Mrs. Katharine I. Bachmann
Mrs. Susan W. Ravenel
Ms. Elizabeth L. Battle
Mr. David L. Rawle
Ms. Melissa Blanchard
Ms. Kathleen H. Rivers
Mrs. Tippy Stern Brickman
Mrs. Joan G. Sarnoff
Mrs. Claire Holding Bristow
Mrs. Katherine Westmoreland
Mr. Derick S. Close Mrs. Ruth L. Edwards
Honorary
Dr. Elizabeth A. Fleming Mrs. Susan T. Friberg
Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt
Mrs. Barbara G.S. Hagerty
Mrs. Janice S. McNair
Mrs. Lou Rena Hammond
Mr. Charles Wadsworth
Dr. Courtney L. Tollison Hartness
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FOUR HANDS, TWO VIEWS OF THE PIANO By Larry Blumenfeld
One might think a jazz pianist and a classical pianist inhabit separate worlds, far removed from each other. Or maybe just a few city blocks apart. When the celebrated concert pianist Inon Barnatan arrived at the home of Fred Hersch, a standardbearing jazz pianist, the two discovered they’re neighbors in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. Barnatan, who will be showcased in this year’s Bank of America Chamber Music series, and Hersch, who headlines the Wells Fargo Jazz series, sat down together with Hersch’s Steinway Model B just out of reach, before shelf upon shelf of recordings. Perhaps it was coincidence that Barnatan, who grew up in Israel and recently completed his final season as inaugural artist-in-association of the New York Philharmonic, was seated beneath Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations. Or that hovering above Hersch, who grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is by now a defining presence of New York City’s jazz landscape, were recordings by saxophonist John Coltrane and a collection of American popular songs. We talked about what connects and separates the lives and careers of pianists on disparate musical paths. Blumenfeld: Let’s start at the beginning. Inon, when did you
was missing for me when I was trying to be a concert pianist. It
first discover the piano?
was the social aspect of making music with other people. Then
Barnatan: My mother had an upright piano. She was a dancer, and there was a piano that she sometimes played. From an
I found jazz, which was this great language you can use with other people.
early age, I gravitated toward it. At first, I would pick up things
Barnatan: I went to a performing arts high school, and I
mostly by ear. And when my mother would pick something
had a similar moment. Most of my friends were in the jazz
out, I would somewhat obnoxiously correct her. They found
department, so I was exposed to that atmosphere. There was
out I had perfect pitch, and sent me to my first lesson when I
something so enchanting and addictive about that kind of
was three or so. I made it very clear that I wanted to play that
jam session interaction—responding on the spot and having a
piano.
social aspect to the music. I even had a moment when I thought,
Hersch: We have very similar stories. My grandmother was a pianist, and my parents thought that every middle class Jewish household should have a piano in the living room, so we had one. I picked out cartoon show themes and songs I’d heard
maybe I’ll go in that direction. And I often still wish that I had more of that in my life. We would have jam sessions at the end of parties. I would improvise, but I never really took it seriously enough to study the language. Because it’s totally different.
on the radio starting when I was around 3 years old. I always
Hersch: It is totally different. I had my own “I don’t want to be a
improvised. When I was a child, I improvised things that would
classical pianist” epiphany when I was ten. I heard Horowitz’s
sound like Mozart or whoever I was listening to. It was really
Historic Return Carnegie Hall album. I thought—God I’ll never
once I started playing chamber music that I discovered what
be this good, so why bother trying?
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Inon Barnatan and Fred Hersch photo by Kayla Boyd
Barnatan: There’s a story that Horowitz said that if Art Tatum
it’s a difference between the what and the how. With you it’s,
ever decided to be a concert pianist, he would quit.
“What do I do with this?” And with me it’s “How do I do this?”
Blumenfeld: In Fred’s autobiography, Good Things Happen
In my case, the notes stay the same.
Slowly, he describes another reason for gravitating to jazz—the
Hersch: But in a great classical music performance, I feel like
way jazz prizes individualism as opposed to a standardized
the performer is writing the piece in a new way, forcing you to
conception of excellence. Is there a distinction in how you each
hear it with his or her sensibility. Even a piece you know well,
pursue your artistry?
in the hands of real master you feel like you’re hearing it in a
Barnatan: I don’t think I was ever creative in the sense of
new way. Or at least I do.
feeling the need to compose. I’ve seen myself always as an
Barnatan: I agree, and that’s why I never felt constrained. I’ve
interpretive artist, in the way that an actor has a script and
always hugely admired the art of improvisation. It still boggles
brings it to life. Yet I always felt that there is a huge amount of
my mind every time I hear a great improviser. But as much as
creativity and individualistic approach that I can bring to that
I respect it, I never felt that was something that I had the real
task. I never felt constrained by that role. In a way, the fact that
desire to do.
I have this music to bring life to in the same way that an actor has a great role makes me feel enormous freedom to create that character, or to embody it. As a classical musician, I feel like I have more in common with an actor than with a jazz pianist. Hersch: I’m an interpreter, too. I’ll take something by a jazz
Hersch: I think we’re at a point in history where there are some great composers who are also great pianists and interpreters. And there are pianists who compose. We’re kind of going back to an environment that once existed a long time ago. In that C.P.E. Bach book, The True
composer or any given song, and my idea is that I want to honor
Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, from the 1700s, he
that piece but I want to filter it through my sensibility. It may
describes the skill set to be a working musician during that
be Thelonious Monk’s music but I’m not imitating Monk. I’m
time. He’s kind of describing a jazz pianist, I think—playing
trying to be Fred within that. And you’re trying to be yourself
from figures, improvising from themes, interpreting,
within whatever piece you’re playing. I’m an interpreter, but
accompanying…
I’m kind of also writing the script.
Barnatan: There wasn’t yet a distinction between composer
Barnatan: It’s a different framework. You’re an interpreter,
and performer. Only later did the two become more separate.
but there’s a creative aspect: You’re creating something that
And of course, they became more and more separate as
wasn’t there in terms of the actual notes. I guess in some ways
centuries went along.
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Blumenfeld: You both talked earlier about the language of jazz
One difference between classical and jazz pianists—and this
musicians as something quite different than that of classical
isn’t universally true—is that a lot of classical pianists think
musicians. What can we say about that?
about timing: What is the overall architecture of this piece?
Barnatan: When you’re a classical musician, you’re learning
Barnatan: Yes. Don’t do this now because in 30 minutes this
every note, and you’re inferring the character from them all.
other thing will happen and you don’t want to rob that moment.
And then you’re thinking very much as would an actor with
You want to build toward that moment that won’t come for a
a script. If you read every word Hamlet said, you could then
while.
think, Okay, who is this person? How can I make this person real? How can I make him a living, breathing being as opposed to words on paper? Whereas in jazz, it’s a totally different way of
Hersch: In jazz, it’s time itself. It’s groove. That’s of course why jazz musicians love Bach, because his music really grooves.
dealing with material.
Well played, it has a rhythmic dance to it and the beat is sacred.
Hersch: Essentially, what we’re doing are themes and
Blumenfeld: Let’s focus on specific composers. Inon, you
variations. That can be constricting and boring at first, but if you get to a certain point you can be really fluid with it. If you’re playing a 32-bar tune and you’re playing five choruses, you’re not playing 32 bars five times; you’re playing 160 bars of continuous music. That’s where it gets interesting. You can tell a story. Barnatan: From my conversations with jazz musicians, I’ve realized that the way you learn is very different than the way I learn. The jazz musicians I know will refer me to recordings, to
have been widely praised for your interpretations of Franz Schubert’s music. Fred, your versions of Thelonious Monk’s compositions are distinctive and authoritative. Inon, why does Schubert’s music appeal to you so much? Barnatan: How do I describe the ways….? Schubert is many, many things. One of the main aspects for me is how much he can say with very little. The sparseness of the language compared to the significance or the implication of it is staggering to me. With just three notes or something very spare, he can say so
absorb what has been done.
much about the human experience or relate an emotion that
Hersch: It’s an oral tradition, basically.
more notes.
Barnatan: I think we envy spontaneity in a lot of aspects of
Blumenfeld: Fred, couldn’t we say the same of Monk?
jazz. That’s what’s lacking in what we do. There can be a lot of spontaneity within the confines of interpretation, but that’s on a very fine scale. Would I choose to play the Barber concerto tomorrow? Will I feel like that? I don’t know. But there is also tremendous amount of freedom in constraints, I find. The more you have to do the same thing, the more you find variations in every single detail within that thing. One thing that has always amazed me is the speed at which musical decisions take place in jazz. The speed of calculation of reacting to something right now, which leads to something else and then it ripples out. You have to think so far ahead of the game. Hersch: Well, I’ve taught for many years, and I use a lot of tennis analogies with jazz. You can’t think two shots ahead. It’s reactive. You can hear something or play something and think, What’s the implication of that? But if you go too far ahead you miss the ball, and if you are not keeping up you miss the ball. So you have to be in that perfect space. It should be a story that unfolds in real time.
other composers might only dream of expressing with many
Hersch: Certainly. He’s one of our greatest jazz composers, yet everything Monk wrote fits on 96 pages. In Monk’s music, you must think about the implication of where phrases and accents are, and how they work with the harmony. Monk worked diligently on his tunes over long periods of time, to end up with what we would consider a sort of simple tune. He certainly would take the prize in jazz for doing the most with the least. There are certain Schubert pieces that I really love. I love the string quintet—the F-minor four-hand piece. Barnatan: All of which were composed in the last year of his life, I should say… Hersch: I just love that four-hand piece. Barnatan: We should play it together sometime.
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SPOLETO IN THE COMMUNITY Spoleto Festival USA was established in 1977 with a mission to pair young artists with established masters and provide a fertile ground for experimentation, exploration, and artistic learning. Yet this founding vision extends far beyond the concert stages and opera houses; vital to the Festival’s endurance are its partnerships with the greater Charleston community and engagement with audiences across a broad spectrum. Through a variety of public projects, as well as new and continued outreach and education endeavors, the Festival aims to leave a lasting impression on the next generation of artists and arts lovers—from children in underserved elementary schools and pediatric hospital wings to budding musicians or dancers, eager to work with worldrenowned professionals. For more information about ways to help the Festival increase its outreach and education endeavors, visit spoletousa.org or call 843.724.1192.
Top to bottom: Meeting Street Academy students enter Dock Street Theatre; (left) baritone Franco Pomponi (Eugene Onegin, 2017) sings to patients at the Medical University of South Carolina; (right) actor Tobias Wegner (Leo, 2012) with a Meeting Street Academy student; director Garry Hynes (Farnace, Waiting for Godot, 2017) speaks to Meeting Street Academy. Photos (this page and opposite) by Leigh Webber and Julia Lynn
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SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA 2018 Program
Patrons are asked to silence and stow electronic devices during performances. The taking of photographs and the use of recording devices of any kind is strictly prohibited.
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Tree of Codes
TREE OF CODES US Premiere Music and Libretto by Liza Lim L ibretto based upon: Tree of Codes by Johnathan Safran Foer, first published by Visual Editions, 2010; Bruno Schulz’s Street of Crocodiles (English translation by Celina Wieniewska); Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Erlkönig; and the writings of Michel Foucault Dock Street Theatre May 26, 7:00pm; May 29, 7:30pm; June 1, 7:30pm; June 4, 7:30pm; June 7, 7:30pm Artistic Team Conductor John Kennedy Director Ong Keng Sen Set Designer Scott Zielinski Costume Designer Walter Dundervill Lighting Designer James F. Ingalls Video Designer Austin Switser Cast Adela Marisol Montalvo Son Elliot Madore The Dresser Walter Dundervill Flute Viola Chan, Martha Chan Oboe Lauren Williams Clarinet Andrew O’Donnell Bassoon Benjamin Roidl-Ward Horn Valerie Sly Trumpet Noah Dugan Trombone Nicole Hillis Euphonium Andrew Abel Percussion Rainice Lai Piano Aya Yamamoto Violin Giancarlo Latta, Emma Powell Viola Alfonso Noriega Fernandez Cello Jesse Christeson Bass Austin Lewellen Assistant Conductor Jeffrey Means Musical Preparation Siyi Fang Vocal Coach Diane Richardson Costume Construction Walter Dundervill Production Stage Manager Zach Kennedy Supertitles Bruno Ingram 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission Sung in English with English supertitles
Opera programming is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magill Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, o/b/o G. Ricordi & Co., Bühnen-und Musikverlag GmbH. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with Director Ong Keng Sen and composer Liza Lim at 3:00pm on Saturday, May 26, at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
Tree of Codes
Structure
I. An Enormous Last Day of Life II. The Comet Carnival Father The Escape Artist III. The Ventriloquist The Ballad (part 1) A Boat Song The Ballad (part 2) IV. The Tree of Codes
Composer’s Note
Tree of Codes takes place during an extra day grafted on to the continuity of life. Within this margin of secret time, a “backstage” area, the boundaries between the natural world, animals, birds, humans, and machines are dissolving. Dead matter is combined with the living and becomes animated. It learns to dream, to speak, to sing… A bird mimics language, and humans sing like birds. Father… does he know he’s dead?...conjurs birds made out of rubbish into mutant forms of being, recuperating strange life across a boundary of death. There is a kaleidoscope of relationships joined by ventriloquism—one thing speaks for another—this world is made up of contingent parts where form is an excuse for slippage. Scene 3: “Ventriloquism,” begins with a comet, its sounds recorded by the Rosetta space mission, whilst far, far below, perhaps effected by some strange gravitational pull, a brass band blurts into life. The bubbling, percussive song of the comet is mirrored in a chorus of frogs and insects, Father’s generatio aequivoca which he had dreamed up—not real frogs and insects but “a kind of pseudofauna and pseudoflora, the result of a fantastic fermentation of matter.” Musicians play the most primitive of violins in the form of blocks of wood that are bowed with sticks to sound out this pseudo animal kingdom yet, out of this, emerge rhythmic patterns that recite Goethe’s Erlkönig. Displacement and dissociation of time, space, and identity create effects of menace and wonder. What is authentic? What is fake? The opera Tree of Codes asks: “How do the inheritances of our genes, our stories, and the unconscious beliefs passed down through generations, shape who we are, our desires, our curses? Do the living and dead exist in a relationship of ventriloquism?”
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The multiple stories in the opera are, for me, about opening up emotional or psychic spaces. For the audience, I hope that people will see different things and plug into different aspects of the stories depending on their frame of mind at the time. If there is a “story,” it is about the basic ephemerality that attends our lives and our deaths, and a longing for intensity, iridescence, for epiphany. The last lines in the libretto are: Why did you not tell me? the last secret of the tree of codes: nothing reaches a definite conclusion. Reality is only as thin as paper behind the screen sawdust in an empty theatre. there we feel possibilities shaken by the nearness of realization I wanted a night that would not end These words remind me of Prospero’s speech in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, where all is but an “insubstantial pageant”...our dreamlike life dissolves, yet still we reach out to try and touch some moment of splendor. At the moment of death, everything is in flux and somehow full of potential and infinite yearning. Bruno Schulz writes: “What is a Spring dusk? A multitude of unfinished stories. Here are the great breeding grounds of history. The tree roots want to speak...memories awake...” – Liza Lim, March 2018 Director’s Note
This production is the third cut-out from Bruno Schulz’s book of short stories, Street of Crocodiles. The first was Jonathan Safran Foer’s Trees of Codes, and the second, Liza Lim’s opera of the same title. Our production is a cut out of Liza’s opera in that we keep her wonderful aural panoramas of birds, tree roots, nature, and fantastic fermentation of matter. However, we return the material to mankind’s epic lodestone of loss, the Jewish narrative in the years leading up to World War II, as well as its aftermath. This was the life of Bruno Schulz that butted up against the existential text that Foer cut out, which Liza has retained in her libretto. “All attempts are transient and easy to dissolve,” “reality is only paper thin,” “we wish, we want,” “the feeling of no permanence in life”…these lines reverberate deeply for me and even echo the spiritual philosophies of Buddhism. Our production of Tree of Codes suggests the constant evolution of life from non-life (Lim), counterpointed with the constant destruction of life by man (Foer/Schulz). To this end, we built a stage space with a colossal monolith inspired by Rachel Whiteread’s Jewish Memorial (“Nameless Library”) in Vienna. Whiteread created sculptures of negative space where she casted the volume of entire houses and rooms, which she termed “mummifying the air in a room.” These giant sculptures often contained traces of the original room, evoking ghosts and memories of that space. Our colossal monolith evokes Foer’s book, which is itself a negative space of Schulz’s: S TREE t OF Cro COD il ES.
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Tree of Codes
This onstage monolith evokes the loss of Jewish lives in the last century, which is the loss for all mankind. In my travels to small towns throughout Europe, there have been installed simple and complex memorials which mark this loss. I have always found them poignant reminders of guilt and regret for those who disappeared and those who were left behind. The boy’s emotional search for his father (the escape artist) brings us to the action onstage. The son encounters a space where Adela dwells, a space dominated by the monolithic monument. Together, they remember the past and the future, games that the father once played with the child, Kristallnacht, terrifying comets which portended disasters for mankind, and generatio aequivoca (the continuous evolution of life from non-life). Together, they spin the wheel of life, as Buddhists do when they walk clockwise around venerated objects, by walking around the monolith. As Foer and Lim both emphasized in their cut-outs, “human dreams, rubbish heaps, abundant, ephemeral, sudden and splendid, only to wilt and perish.” Embedded in all good new operas are the ghosts of earlier operas, and in my view, Tree of Codes is no exception. These poetic traces range from Adela welcoming the son into the secret of life (“Come take my hand, dip your face into that dusk, under the lid of a coffin, push across the dull humus”) to the son embarking on a boat (a boat song), to the far side of life and the infinite possibilities of an endless night. In the shimmering end, we as the audiences of the boy’s search, embrace the beauty of the tree of codes, which was always there amongst us, but we could not perceive it. ‒ Ong Keng Sen, May 2018
Artistic Team
LIZA LIM (composer) has been described as “an artist of the contemporary globalized era drawing on an exceptionally wide range of influences, from ecology to Asian ritual; from modernism to an Australian Aboriginal aesthetics of ‘shimmer’” (Tim Rutherford Johnson). Lim’s music has been performed by the LA Phil, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and the International Contemporary Ensemble in New York. She has written four operas: The Oresteia (1993); a Chinese street opera, Moon Spirit Feasting (2000); and The Navigator (1996), all commissioned by the ELISION Ensemble; and Tree of Codes (2016), commissioned by Opera Cologne and MusikFabrik. She is a professor of composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and at the University of Huddersfield. Her work is published by Casa Ricordi. Honors include Australia’s 2018 Don Banks Prize, the Paul Lowin Prize for Orchestral Composition (2004), and DAAD artist-in-Berlin (2007 – 08). lizalimcomposer.wordpress.com JOHN KENNEDY (conductor), Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities, has led acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. Kennedy has had a long association with Spoleto Festival USA, and in recent seasons has conducted the Festival’s American premiere productions of operas including Émilie by Kaija Saariaho (2011), Kepler by Philip Glass (2012), Matsukaze by Toshio Hosokawa (2013), Facing Goya by Michael Nyman (2014), the world premiere production of Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted (2015), The Little Match Girl by Helmut Lachenmann (2016), and Quartett by Luca Francesconi (2017). Especially noted for his interpretations of contemporary music, Kennedy has worked with many of the leading composers of our time in over 300 premieres and numerous recordings. He has designed and led many orchestral concerts integrating classic works with the new, and recently led a multimedia production of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella directed by Seon Yim in South Korea. Kennedy has recently guest conducted at West Edge Opera, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra 21, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, the Crested Butte Music Festival, and with many organizations including the Lincoln Center Festival, Other Minds Festival, sfSound, Talea Ensemble, Santa Fe Opera, and New York City Ballet. Kennedy is the composer of more than 90 works, including opera, orchestral, chamber, and experimental works that have been performed throughout the world. His operas Trinity and The Language of Birds are both receiving new productions this year by Santa Fe Opera as their spring and fall presentations.
Tree of Codes
ONG KENG SEN (director) is a performance director who has actively contributed to the evolution and the subsequent transglobalization of the Asian aesthetic in contemporary arts. This summer, his Korean pansori opera with the National Theater of Korea, Trojan Women, will be seen in London, Amsterdam, and Vienna. Work he has directed has been presented to much acclaim all over the world, including Lincoln Center, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Edinburgh International Festival, Theater der Welt in Berlin, Shakespeare Festival at Hamlet’s Castle in Denmark, Roma Europa Festival in Rome, Cocoon Theater in Tokyo, Idans Festival in Istanbul, Panorama Festival in Rio de Janeiro, and Adelaide Festival. Ong is artistic director of TheatreWorks and the artspace 72-13 in Singapore. He is renowned for the nomadic artist residency that he created, The Flying Circus Project, which brings together international artists traveling through Asia, sharing their contexts among themselves and young people in local sites from Vietnam to Cambodia to Myanmar. He created and directed the In-Transit Festival in Berlin from 2001 – 03. A Fulbright scholar, Ong recently founded the new Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) in 2013 and was the festival director for four editions, from 2014 – 17. He completed his postgraduate studies at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, and also holds a law degree. He was the first Singaporean artist to have received both the Young Artist Award (1992) and the Cultural Medallion Award (2003). He was awarded the prestigious international Fukuoka Asian Arts and Culture Prize in 2010. SCOTT ZIELINSKI (set designer) is based in New York and has created lighting designs for theater, dance, and opera throughout the world. Opera highlights include Turandot for Opera Australia, Miss Fortune for Bregenzer Festspiele and Royal Opera House, The Magic Flute for Canadian Opera Company, Yardbird for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Orfeo for English National Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor for Houston Grand Opera and New York City Opera, Trojan Women for the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, La traviata for Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, La Commedia for Dutch National Opera, Red Waters for Opéra de Rouen Normandie, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter for San Francisco Opera. Upcoming projects include Trojan Women for LIFT Festival London, Holland Festival, and Wiener Festwochen; and La Dame aux Camélias for Theatre National de Bretagne (France). He is happy to be returning to Spoleto Festival USA, where his designs have been seen for Eugene Onegin, Facing Goya, Matsukaze, The Silver River, and Geisha. scottzielinski.com
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WALTER DUNDERVILL (costume designer/The Dresser) is a choreographer, dancer, and visual artist based in New York City. He creates performance environments fusing dance, art, costume, and sound design. His work has been presented at Dance Theater Workshop; New York Live Arts; MoMA PS1; The New Museum; Danspace Project; Participant Inc.; Pioneer Works; JACK; and at the Solo in Azione Festival in Milan, Italy. Dundervill is a recipient of the 2016 Foundation for the Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award and is a 2016 New York Foundation for the Arts finalist. He has received three New York Dance and Performance Bessie Awards as a dancer and designer. Dundervill has performed for various artists including DD Dorvillier, RoseAnne Spradlin, Bruce Nauman, and David Wojnarowicz. He is a member of the Artist Advisory Council at Movement Research. He has been an artist in residence at Movement Research, the New Museum, and New York Live Arts. JAMES F. INGALLS (lighting designer) has previously designed Farnace, Waiting for Godot, The Little Match Girl, and Kát’a Kabanová for Spoleto Festival USA. Recent designs for opera include La clemenza di Tito for Dutch National Opera, Kaija Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains for Opéra national de Paris at Palais Garnier, and John Adams’s Girls of the Golden West for San Francisco Opera, all directed by Peter Sellars. Recent work in dance includes San Francisco Ballet’s 2018 Unbound: A Festival of New Works; Concertiana, Half Life, and The Beauty in Gray for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance; The Nutcracker for Miami City Ballet; and Layla and Majnun for Mark Morris Dance Group. He often collaborates with The Wooden Floor dancers in Santa Ana, California. AUSTIN SWITSER (video designer) is a New York-based designer who focuses on the integration of live performance and video. Recent opera projects include Eugene Onegin (Spoleto Festival USA), Trojan Women (National Changgeuk Company of Korea), Paradise Interrupted (Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, Singapore International Festival of the Arts), Facing Goya (Spoleto Festival USA, Singapore International Festival of the Arts), Émilie (Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, Finnish National Opera), and Tristan and Isolde (The Dallas Opera). Recent theatrical projects include He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box (Theatre for a New Audience); Big Love (Signature Theatre); Sontag: Reborn and ¡El Conquistador! (New York Theatre Workshop); and Elements of OZ, House/Divided, and Jet Lag 2010 (The Builders Association). He is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts and the creative director for the Brooklyn-based projection design studio Switser + Knight. switserknight.com
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Cast
Music Staff
ELLIOT MADORE (Son) began the 2017 – 18 season making his LA Phil debut in Mozart 1791: Scenes from The Magic Flute. He then performed with San Francisco Opera for the world premiere of John Adams’s Girls of the Golden West, directed by Peter Sellars, and at the Opernhaus Zürich as Germano in La scala di seta. Madore made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as the cat/grandfather clock in L’enfant et les sortilèges, conducted by Mikko Franck, and with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in Pelléas et Mélisande, conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. He debuts at Spoleto Festival USA in Tree of Codes; sings Carmina Burana with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, with JoAnn Falletta conducting; and ends the season with a return to the Tanglewood festival to sing Bernstein’s Songfest with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
SIYI FANG (musical preparation) was a repetiteur in premiere productions and workshops including Quartett at Spoleto Festival USA (2017); Monkey: Journey to the West at Lincoln Center Festival; Dr. Sun Yat Sen at Santa Fe Opera; and Paradise Interrupted, cocommissioned by Spoleto Festival USA and Lincoln Center Festival. She served as music director for an outdoor musical theater in Inner Mongolia and had her CD released as part of JP Jofre Hard Tango Chamber Band. She was a vocal pianist at SUNY Binghamton and a staff pianist at The Juilliard School. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, United Nations, and Radio Television Hong Kong, among others. Her training fellowships included Music Academy of the West, SongFest, Fontainebleau Schools in France, and Aspen Music Festival and School. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BM) and The Juilliard School (MM in collaborative piano). A native of Guangzhou, China, she currently resides in New York City and is pursuing her doctorate degree in music education at Columbia University.
MARISOL MONTALVO (Adela) has performed this season with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquestra Nacionales de Espana, under the baton of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach. Recently, she sang Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mozart’s “L’amero saro costante” with Ray Chen (Ravinia Festival/Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Widmann’s opera Babylon and Scriabin’s Mysterium (Radio Filharmonisch Orkest); Boulez’s Pli selon pli (Wien Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain); Haas’s Wie stille brannte das Licht (Klangforum Wien); Pintscher’s Hérodiade-Fragmente (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra); Mahler’s Symphony no. 4 (London Philharmonic Orchestra); and Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 (Orchestre De Paris). She is renowned for her interpretation of Berg’s Lulu, which she has sung with Opéra national de Paris, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro de la Maestranza, Opéra de Toulouse, Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, and Theater an der Wien. Some of her future engagements include Henze’s The Bassarids with Kent Nagano; and Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic).
DIANE RICHARDSON (vocal coach) received degrees in music from Oberlin College and Columbia University. She continued her professional training at The Juilliard School, where she studied piano with Adele Marcus and vocal repertoire with Sergius Kagen and Robert Starer. She also trained abroad at the Mozarteum in Saltzburg and L’Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Skilled in operatic and lieder repertoire, Richardson has toured extensively with leading artists throughout the United States and Europe. For more than a decade, she was an assistant conductor with New York City Opera and subsequently taught at the Yale School of Music. She also served as assistant conductor for the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has been associated with Spoleto Festival USA since its first season. Richardson holds concurrent faculty appointments at The Juilliard School and Binghamton University. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Pia de’ Tolomei
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PIA DE’ TOLOMEI US Premiere Music by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano
College of Charleston Sottile Theatre
May 27, 7:00pm; May 31, 7:30pm; June 3, 2:00pm; June 6, 7:30pm; June 8, 7:30pm
Artistic Team Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya Director Andrea Cigni Set Designer Dario Gessati Costume Designer Tommaso Lagattolla Lighting Designer Fiammetta Baldiserri Cast Pia de’ Tolomei Amanda Woodbury Ghino degli Armieri Isaac Frishman Nello, Pia’s husband Valdis Jansons Rodrigo, Pia’s brother Cassandra Zoe Velasco Piero, a hermit Kevin Langan Ubaldo, Nello’s servant Nathan Granner Bice, Pia’s maid Vera Savage Lamberto, a servant of Pia’s family Matthew Anchel Guard of the Tower of Siena Alexander Simon Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Westminster Choir Assistant Conductor Alan Buxbaum Assistant Director Luca Baracchini Assistant Costume Designer Donato Didonna Musical Preparation Renate Rohlfing Choral Preparation Joe Miller Vocal Coach Diane Richardson Costume Construction Tirelli Costumi, Costumi Atelier Nicolao, Sartoria Cineteatrale Nori Snc Shoes Pompeii 2000 Srl Wigs Effe Emme Spettacoli Srl Production Stage Manager Becca Eddins Supertitles Chadwick Creative Arts, LLC 2 hours, 30 minutes | Performed with one intermission Sung in Italian with English supertitles Major support provided by The Albert Sottile Foundation. Additional support provided by BMW Manufacturing Co. Made possible in part by The Brand Foundation of New York, Inc. Opera programming is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magill Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Pia de’ Tolomei is co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA, Teatro di Pisa, Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, and Teatro Goldoni di Livorno. By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, Sole Agent in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for Casa Ricordi/Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.R.L, publisher and copyright owner. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya and soprano Natalia Pavlova (pp 100 and 106) at 5:00pm on Sunday, June 3, at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
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Pia de’ Tolomei
Throughout this telling, there are references to several 20thcentury films set in Tuscany—some movies from the 1950s, to the more recent masterpieces that tell of the fascist regime in Tuscany. Even the timing and action, the rhythm of sequences, follow film style, in order to focus the audience’s attention on specific situations and particular scenes.
Program Note
“ricorditi di me, che son la Pia; Siena mi fé, disfecemi Maremma: salsi colui che ’nnanellata pria disposando m’avea con la sua gemma.”
– Andrea Cigni
– Dante “please remember me, who am La Pia. Siena made me, in Maremma I was undone. He knows how, the one who, to marry me, first gave the ring that held his stone.” – English translation by Jean and Robert Hollander The story of Pia de’ Tolomei is known mostly through its mention in Dante’s Purgatory, Canto V, which tells of a woman who is murdered by her husband. The original story takes place in the 13th century, though it is not necessarily a story particular to that time—it is a story with a universal theme that spans centuries: a wife believed faithless is killed by her husband unjustly. Everything happens in Tuscany, in the city of Siena, made up of hills and turrets, a city rich in beauty. In my vision, Pia is a sweet woman who loves her homeland, Tuscany, and husband—she is virtuous and pure of heart. With the imminent approach of war, she works to safeguard a collection of Tuscan art—paintings and objects—that capture and represent her beloved country: landscapes, city views, and portraits of important figures in Tuscany. She protects these works with the help of some friends— art enthusiasts and expert restorers—in what they feel is an important mission. Our story occurs around the 1930s and ’40s. Like the rest of the nation and continent, Tuscany is torn by the enmity of two political factions; the fascist party is now in power, and the antifascist groups experience persecution by the regime. Pia dearly loves her husband, who is the mayor of the Siena, though her brother opposes him and is currently in jail as a result. She is torn between a desire to see her brother go free and the respect she feels for her husband. A bright, warm, and sunny Tuscany contrasts with the cold, dark prison that holds Pia’s brother, Rodrigo. This story is made up of the internal and external places of private affairs and political events; the intimate emotional confrontations and the great power of jealousy; the lies and betrayal that threaten Pia, who holds fast to her strength, integrity, and loyalty, at all costs; the destruction of precious paintings by her wrathful husband while she is imprisoned in the Maremma; the finality of Pia’s death, propelling her to immortality in art history and literature.
Synopsis
Act I Pia de’ Tolomei is married to Nello, mayor of Siena; the two come from families of warring political camps. Pia has aroused the passionate love of her husband’s cousin, Ghino. Ubaldo, Ghino’s untrustworthy servant, intercepted a note Pia wrote outlining a meeting with a man and delivered it to Ghino; they believe it to be proof of her infidelity. After Bice, Pia’s maid, informs Ghino that Pia refuses to see him, he seeks revenge. Surrounded by her maids, Pia tells Bice of the terrible anguish she feels for her brother, Rodrigo, whom she helped escape from Nello’s prison, where he had been held as an anti-fascist. Lamberto, one of the Tolomei’s servants, gives her a letter from a stranger who fled as soon as he had delivered it. Although she reveals nothing to those around her, Pia is considerably reassured that her brother managed to flee successfully and that she will soon be able to see him. Ghino meets Nello in his pavilion. With cruel shrewdness, Ghino insinuates his suspicions about Pia’s unfaithfulness, telling him to keep watch during the night to see if Pia receives any visitors. That night, Ubaldo waits outside Pia’s quarters with a group of soldiers behind him. Pia’s faithful servant Lamberto discovers a secret passageway that can be used to escape. Pia and Rodrigo embrace as Nello knocks loudly on the door. They say farewell hastily and Nello enters while Rodrigo disappears. Pia faints from fear, but when she is revived, Nello questions her. Her silence infuriates him and he decides to throw her in prison in the Maremma while Ghino condemns this wicked gesture. Act II Outside the castle in the Maremma, where Pia is imprisoned, Ghino appears before Ubaldo and demands to see Pia, who is suffering from a fever. Once he enters the prison, he presents himself as her savior. Pia insists she is innocent, claiming the man with her that night was her brother Rodrigo. Ghino offers her two choices: die in prison or offer him her love. Without a moment’s hesitation, Pia chooses death. Ghino begins to be overcome with remorse for the part he has played in her predicament, and Pia falls on her knees, begging him to accept his responsibility. At first, Ghino wavers, but then accepts. He realizes he cannot live without her and decides to take his own life. At that very moment, a dispatch from Nello arrives, telling the prison guards to proceed with Pia’s execution, since he himself might die in the imminent battle.
Pia de’ Tolomei
An elderly hermit, Piero, welcomes Nello, who has been defeated by the anti-fascists at Siena. Piero supports Pia’s claims that she is innocent since he himself was her confessor. Nello’s heart breaks because he still loves her. Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of shooting—Ghino has been mortally wounded by the opposition, but before dying, manages to tell Nello what actually happened. Nello frantically remembers he had given orders for Pia to be executed at dawn and rushes out followed by a handful of soldiers. In prison, Pia is asleep as Ubaldo pours poison into the cup next to her; he leaves. Shortly after, Pia awakens from a nightmare in which her husband is killed in battle. Her anguish and fever have left her throat parched—she looks around and sees the goblet. She drinks and then collapses on the chair, expressing a wish to see her beloved husband. Nello bursts in and falls on his knees to beg her forgiveness as she lies dying. Nello turns to Ubaldo (who is protesting that he was only carrying out the orders he had received) and cries out in despair. Meanwhile, the anti-fascists have managed to enter the prison to save Pia. Rodrigo throws himself at Nello, but is stopped by Pia, who is stating her final wishes—compassion, affection, and peace. She draws her last breath in the arms of the two men.
Artistic Team
LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA (conductor) serves as music director with Chicago Opera Theater and resident artist at National Sawdust in New York City. Conducting engagements this season have included Washington National Opera, Chicago Philharmonic, Beth Morrison Projects, Wolftrap Opera, Opera Saratoga, Stamford Symphony, and a workshop of a new opera with the Metropolitan Opera/ Lincoln Center. She is also a part of The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors and Marin Alsop’s Taki Concordia Fellowship, and has previously served as assistant conductor to Lorin Maazel. Previous positions include serving as conductor for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, as a chorus master for Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, music director for Commonwealth Lyric Theater, music director for Harvard’s Lowell House Opera, and artistic director of Juventas New Music Ensemble and Boston New Music Festival. LidiyaConductor.com
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ANDREA CIGNI (director) graduated from the University of Bologna in theater. Cigni has collaborated with international directors including Pier Luigi Pizzi, Giancarlo Cobelli, Yannis Kokkos, Alberto Fassini, and Beni Montresor. In 2006, he made his directorial debut at Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli Cremona with Vivaldi’s Andromeda liberata. The English magazine Opera Now praised Cigni as one of the best young directors of 2008. In the same year, he directed a double-bill with The Medium by Menotti and Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. In 2009, he created a new production of Aida in Florence, with sets by Igor Mitoraj. In 2010, he directed La traviata and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; in 2011, Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Bellini’s Norma in Sassari. In 2012, he created a new production of Verdi’s Ernani and Madama Butterfly for Teatro Massimo Palermo. In 2013, he directed Il cappello di paglia di Firenze at Wexford Opera Festival. In 2014 – 15, he directed a French touring production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, as well as a production of Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio in Parma. In 2016 – 17, he directed productions of Paisiello’s Fedra; Tosca; L’occasione fa il ladro; La straniera; and Pia de’ Tolomei at Teatro di Pisa. In 2018, he directed Thaïs by Massenet for Minnesota Opera House; La traviata in Trapani; and Tosca in Brescia. He is the director of the Conservatory Claudio Monteverdi in Cremona, where he teaches stage and performing arts. LUCA BARACCHINI (assistant director) was born in Santa Margherita Ligure. After several experiences in ballroom dance competition, he devoted himself to studying singing, taking his first steps in the opera world as an extra and mime actor in several productions at the Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa). There, he had the opportunity to meet great masters like Ettore Scola, Rolando Panerai, Giuliano Montaldo, and Dario Argento. He later worked as an assistant director, collaborating with such directors as Davide Livermore, Andrea De Rosa, Filippo Crivelli, Andrea Cigni, and others, at many Italian (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro San Carlo, etc.) and international venues (Mariinsky Theatre). Since 2016, he has enriched his perspective through set design coursework at the Fine Arts Academy of Genoa. In 2018, he directed La traviata in Milan for Voce All’Opera.
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Pia de’ Tolomei
DARIO GESSATI (set designer) graduated in scenography at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. He has collaborated with many set and costume designers, including Mauro Carosi, Odette Nicoletti, and Anna Anni. Since 2007, he done scenic design in many prestigious theaters, including Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Turkish State Opera and Ballet in Ankara, Teatro Comunale Ponchielli in Cremona, and Teatro San Carlo in Naples. He designed scenery for Adolphe Adam’s Giselle, with choreography by Carla Fracci. He collaborated with director Arturo Cirillo on L’inseguitore and Scarpa’s L’infinito; Shakespeare’s Othello; The Glass Menagerie; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; and Long Day’s Journey into Night, among others. He is a scenography teacher at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D’Amico in Rome, and at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Sassari. TOMMASO LAGATTOLLA (costume designer) cultivated a strong interest in classical music as well as in artistic production from a young age. He soon focused his interest on opera, collaborating with Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, where he worked for nine years as technical director. Lagattolla’s career began with productions of contemporary music, and continued with many canonic titles. He worked with many different stage directors (Curran, Pacini, Trees, Esposito, Spada, Stetka, Cigni, Barbalich) in a number of productions; the two most successful were Macbeth, staged in many theaters in Italy, Spain, and Portugal; and Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, garnering awards from the GBOscar Eccellenza della lirica for best set design and best costume design in 2015. He teaches costume design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bari, and, as an expert in historical costume, collaborates with the Museum of Costume and Fashion in Palazzo Pitti, Florence. FIAMMETTA BALDISERRI (lighting designer) studied at the University of Bologna, where she graduated with a degree in earth science. She began studying lighting design at the Teatro Regio di Parma, where she started working in technical assistance. She worked from 1987 – 98 at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, and then until 2004 at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. She began working in lighting design for a production of La traviata, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Since then, she has done lighting design for a variety of directors, including Giorgio Ferrara, Stefano Simone Pintor, Aleksander Sakurov, Pierfrancesco Maestrini, and Jacopo Spirei. She has worked with Andrea Cigni on Orfeo; Gluck’s Paride ed Elena; a double bill of Menotti’s The Medium and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi; and Tosca at the Minnesota Opera House, among others. She teaches lighting design at Accademia Belle Arti Bologna.
Cast
MATTHEW ANCHEL (Lamberto) has been praised for his “magnetic, deep voice,” by The New York Times. The 2017 – 18 season has been his fourth on the Metropolitan Opera roster, covering in new productions of The Exterminating Angel and Cendrillon. He also joined Santa Fe Opera to cover Tsar Dodon in their production of The Golden Cockerel. He debuted with St. Petersburg Opera as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, sang Messiah with Live Arts Maryland, and sang the bass solo in Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 at Carnegie Hall with the Canterbury Choral Society. He has also performed with LA Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Oper Leipzig, Opera San Jose, Anchorage Opera, Spoleto Festival USA’s 2016 performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, LA Phil, Caramoor Summer Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West, among others. Anchel will be joining Oper Stuttgart for the 2018 – 19 season singing in multiple productions. ISAAC FRISHMAN (Ghino) is already making a name for himself with quickwitted stage antics and a voice described as “truly sweet and graceful” (Broadway World). His performance as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola was praised, calling him “a true Rossini tenor with fine coloratura and great high notes” (St. Louis Post). Frishman makes his Spoleto Festival USA debut as Ghino in Donizetti’s Pia de’ Tolomei this season. Frishman has appeared with Kentucky Opera, Winter Opera St. Louis, Merola Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Chautauqua Opera. His role credits include Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Pong in Turandot, and Henrik in A Little Night Music. Frishman holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from Michigan State University and is a student of the famed Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Fracker. NATHAN GRANNER (Ubaldo), one of the original The American Tenors (Sony Classical), is known for his “vibrant and flexible” voice (The Boston Globe) and for possessing “utter control of a ravishing mixed head sound” (Opera News). Using his voice in a variety of artistic and expressive styles, ranging from opera to Broadway, from jazz to world music and classical-crossover performances, Granner is the prototypical tenor who can perform across all genres. During the 2017 – 18 season, Granner was heard as Curly in Oklahoma with Charlottesville Opera (formerly Ashlawn Opera); Edgaro in Lucia di Lammermoor with Pacific Opera Projects; and both The Magician in Menotti’s The Consul and reprising Dr. Morel in the The Invention of Dr. Morel (from the 2017 world premiere)
Pia de’ Tolomei
with Long Beach Opera. This summer, Granner will appear at Walt Disney Concert Hall in concert with the California Philharmonic, and will sing Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Santa Barbara this November. Last season, he sang the role of Triquet in Spoleto Festival USA’s production of Eugene Onegin. VALDIS JANSONS (Nello) made his opera debut in 2004 under the direction of Antonello Allemandi. A Latvian baritone and winner of many international competitions (including Giuseppe di Stefano 2006 and As.Li.Co. 2009), he has sung 55 roles in more than 70 theaters all over the world. Among them are Teatro alla Scala, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Teatro Regio in Parma; Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, Lincoln Center in New York, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and many others. He has worked with such conductors as Daniele Gatti, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Oren, Daniele Callegari, Stefano Ranzani, Lawrence Foster, Antonello Allemandi, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Asher Fisch, Philippe Augin, Stefan Anton Reck, and Pierre Vallet, and such stage directors as Gianfranco De Bosio, Lamberto Puggelli, Peter Stein, and Giancarlo del Monaco. KEVIN J. LANGAN (Piero) is an American bass and makes his Spoleto Festival USA debut in this production. He has been singing professionally for 40 years in leading roles, with many of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Saito Kinen Festival (Japan), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Flemish Opera, Netherlands Opera, and many regional opera companies in North America. With more than 1400 career performances to his credit, he has performed more than 80 different operatic roles. Discography includes the Grammy-nominated Le nozze di Figaro (Teldec) under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. DVD credits include the David Hockney production of Turandot; Aida with Luciano Pavarotti; and The Cunning Little Vixen from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Seiji Ozawa. He has given solo recitals at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London, as well as Kurt Weill at Carnegie Hall in New York. VERA SAVAGE (Bice) has been praised for singing like “a dream: supple and powerful with a deep velvet shimmer” (Opera in the Heights); critics have noted that “whatever she sings, we believe” (Houston Press). Savage’s 2017 – 18 season included Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra; Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff with Opera Saratoga and Opera on the James; and Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. A frequent principal artist with Boston
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Lyric Opera (BLO), Savage was last year’s winner of BLO’s annual Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence. Recently, Savage placed fourth in Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year competition, was a finalist in the Bel Canto Scholarship annual competition, and was a semi-finalist in the Joy of Singing art song competition. Upcoming engagements include performances with Boston Lyric Opera, Commonwealth Chorale, and Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra. ALEX SIMON (guard) holds a master’s degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and a bachelor of music in voice performance from the University of Puget Sound. He has studied choral conducting with Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Amanda Quist, and voice with Dr. Christopher Arneson. As a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir, Simon has performed regularly with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic at venues including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. He also appears frequently with the Westminster Choir and Westminster Kantorei. This is Simon’s second season at Spoleto Festival USA; he performed last year with Westminster Choir as part of the chorus for Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. CASSANDRA ZOE VELASCO (Rodrigo) is a graduate of the Domingo-ColburnStein Young Artist Program at LA Opera and is considered one of Mexico’s rising stars of opera. She has appeared in La scala di seta and L’Occasione fa il ladro with ProÓpera; as Angelina in La Cenerentola and Isolier in Le comte Ory with Opera National de México; as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri with Arpegio Productions; and as Charlotte in Werther with Festival Francés. Other highlights include singing the role of Tamiri in the US premiere of Vivaldi’s Farnace at Spoleto Festival USA and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Cincinnati Opera. Most recently, Velasco appeared as Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Opera San Jose; in the title role in María de Buenos Aires with Nashville Opera; as Olga in The Merry Widow with the Metropolitan Opera; and as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Additional credits with the Metropolitan Opera include productions of Rusalka, Idomeneo, Iolanta, Madama Butterfly, and Simon Boccanegra.
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Pia de’ Tolomei
AMANDA WOODBURY (Pia) has been praised for her luxuriant coloratura and a transfixing dramatic presence. Last season she debuted her lively Juliette in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Roméo et Juliette. She then performed the role of Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Dayton Opera before appearing as Pamina in Madison Opera’s production of Die Zauberflöte. She also made her international debut singing Ophelia’s mad scene from Thomas’s Hamlet with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Other appearances with the Metropolitan Opera include Leïla in Les pêcheurs des perles (2016) and Tebaldo in Don Carlo (2015). Next season, she will reprise the role of Leïla and is debuting Woglinde in Das Rheingold. During her time at the Met, she has covered Norina in Don Pasquale (2016) and Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann (2015), and will cover Marie in La fille du régiment. In 2014, Woodbury was a Grand Final Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Music Staff
RENATE ROHLFING (musical preparation) is active as a vocal accompanist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist, and won the Sonderpreis Klavier (Special Pianist’s Prize) at the 2016 Internationalen Wettbewerb für Liedkunst Stuttgart. Recent seasons saw Rohlfing in concert with various vocalists at The Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Carnegie Hall. She also balances a full performing schedule with her piano trio Longleash in such venues as New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and Trondheim Chamber Music Festival in Norway. Rohlfing has served as a resident pianist at festivals including Cincinnati May Festival and Ravinia Festival. Upcoming highlights include recital tours with baritone Samuel Hasselhorn, a return to music staff at Opera Philadelphia, and concerts and university residencies with Longleash at New York’s Scandinavia House, University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Berklee College of Music. Rohlfing is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, and a graduate of The Juilliard School. renaterohlfing.com JOE MILLER (choral preparation) is director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA, as well as conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir’s performance of Mahler’s
Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. DIANE RICHARDSON (vocal coach) received degrees in music from Oberlin College and Columbia University. She continued her professional training at The Juilliard School, where she studied piano with Adele Marcus and vocal repertoire with Sergius Kagen and Robert Starer. She also trained abroad at the Mozarteum in Saltzburg and L’Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Skilled in operatic and lieder repertoire, Richardson has toured extensively with leading artists throughout the United States and Europe. For more than a decade, she was an assistant conductor with New York City Opera and subsequently taught at the Yale School of Music. She also served as assistant conductor for the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has been associated with Spoleto Festival USA since its first season. Richardson holds concurrent faculty appointments at The Juilliard School and Binghamton University. WESTMINSTER CHOIR is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been setting the standard for choral excellence for 98 years. It has been the chorus in residence for Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. It also made its fourth recording with Joe Miller, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, which will be released in September. The choir’s debut recording with Maestro Miller, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which hailed the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Il matrimonio segreto
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Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company
IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO Music by Domenico Cimarosa Libretto by Giovanni Bertati
Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston
May 28, 6:00pm; May 29, 6:00pm; May 30, 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Artistic Team Conductor Marco Seco Director Eugenio Monti Colla Scenic Designer, Sculptor, and Lighting Designer Franco Citterio Costume Designers Eugenio Monti Colla, Cecilia di Marco Cast Geronimo Matthew Marinelli Paolino Christopher Fludd Count Robinson Scott Koven Elisetta Betsy Podsiadlo Carolina Margaret Bergmark Fidalma McKenzie Smith Puppeteers Franco Citterio, Maria Grazia Citterio, Piero Corbella, Camillo Cosulich, Debora Coviello, Carlo Decio, Cecilia Di Marco, Tiziano Marcolegio, Pietro Monti, Giovanni Schiavolin, Paolo Sette Members of the Jeiran Hasan, flute; Russell Hoffman, oboe; Daniel Parrette, clarinet; Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Sean Gordon, bassoon; Lauren Hunt, horn; Emily Anderson and Eva Dove, violin; Erica Schwartz, viola; Ariana Nelson, cello; Carl Anderson, bass Assistant Conductor and Harpsichord Luca Esposito Assistant Directors Franco Citterio, Giovanni Schiavolin Music Reduction Marco Seco Choral Preparation Joe Miller Vocal Coach Diane Richardson Technical Direction Tiziano Marcolegio Designer Hairdresser Maria Grazia Citterio Costume Construction Maria Grazia Citterio, Cecilia di Marco, Debora Coviello Toolmakers Camillo Cosulich, Pietro Monti, Giovanni Schiavolin, Paolo Sette 1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed with one intermission Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Opera programming is endowed by the Arthur and Holly Magill Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Il matrimonio segreto
Program Note
Synopsis
Il matrimonio segreto, “The Secret Marriage,” by Domenico Cimarosa, was first performed on February 7, 1792, and received such a triumphant response that, by demand from Emperor Leopold II of Austria (who had asked Cimarosa to write the opera for the imperial court), a repeat performance followed. Subsequently, Il matrimonio segreto became one of the most favored operas in late-18th-century Europe, and is still being performed in the most important opera houses worldwide.
Act I
Cimarosa’s work appeared at the end of the period that had favored the Italian comic opera, a category for which this can be considered the paramount example. Toward the end of the 19th century, the Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company staged the first marionette version among other opera repertoire, including Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri and Il turco in Italia, as well as Gomes’s Il Guarany and Crispino e la comare, by the Ricci brothers. Following a tradition in the marionette theater, that 19thcentury version substituted the recitatives for a series of arias, duets, concertatos, and dialogues. In accordance with the customs of commedia dell’arte, a masked character by the name of Gerolamo was introduced with a comic function, evolving into the role of “Deus ex machina,” as was expected for the finale by the audience. In this case, it was used as a device to aid the elopement of Count Robinson and elderly Fidalma. This version, staged by Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company and presented by Spoleto Festival USA, sticks to Cimarosa’s composition, with a slight adaptation of the pristine score to suit a reduction accomplished by Maestro Marco Seco, using Eugenio Monti Colla’s notes. As a result, the integrity of the “opera buffa” is maintained, but also spruced up with new vitality through the distinctive language of marionettes. The wooden figures are well attuned to the quid-pro-quo of the comedy of errors, which recreates the milieu and taste implicit in Bertati’s libretto. The space in which the marionettes move is a metaphysical environment of mere make-believe—from the perspective technique of the scenery to the wooden interpreters themselves. It acts as the background of an unfolding plot, where the different “players” converse and relate to one another while maintaining their own identity and uniqueness of character. This is indeed the greatest value of Il matrimonio segreto, one that makes it an everlasting masterpiece.
Geronimo, a wealthy and deaf Bolognese merchant, has two daughters, Elisetta and Carolina, and a sister, Fidalma, who runs the house. Fidalma loves Paolino without realizing that he has been secretly married to Carolina. Elisetta is to marry Count Robinson, but when he arrives, he falls in love with her sister. Carolina fails to dissuade him. Geronimo remains oblivious. Act II Geronimo agrees to the count’s marriage proposal to Carolina. Paolino is distraught and approaches Fidalma for help. She interprets his pleas as a proposal, causing Paolino to faint into her arms. Carolina enters to see Fidalma cradling the young man, and she is just barely won over by her husband’s protestations of love. The count, endeavouring to distance Elisetta from himself, behaves apallingly. Carolina and Paolino try to run off together, but are caught by Elisetta who, assuming the man to be her count, summons the others. The plot is then unravelled, Geronimo blesses the marriage of Paolino and Carolina, and the count agrees to honor his obligation to Elisetta.
Il matrimonio segreto
Conductor
MARCO SECO (conductor) was born in Buenos Aires, where he studied piano, composition, and double bass. He decided to complete his education in conducting and composition at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. At the same time, he trained at Accademia Musicale Chigiana and Accademia Musicale Pescarese. He made his debut as a conductor during the celebration of Gian Carlo Mennotti’s centenary at the prestigious Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, and in Menotti’s hometown, Cadegliano, conducting his opera, The Medium. Some weeks later, Seco took over as principal conductor of the Milan Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Following the success of these concerts, he was invited to become the principal guest conductor at Anyi Opera and Ballet Theatre. He has worked alongside such notable musicians as Gianandrea Noseda, Donato Renzetti, Francesco De Angelis, and Enrico Dindo. Early this year, Seco conducted in some of the best known theaters in Germany, as well as the Royal Danish Opera and the Musikhuset Aarhus. In April, Seco was appointed as associate conductor of LaFiL Milano Philarmonic Orchestra, and this summer, he will conduct them on an Italian tour after making his North American debut at Spoleto Festival USA. Cast
MARGARET BERGMARK (Carolina) is a 2018 graduate of Westminster Choir College, where she received a bachelor’s of music in vocal performance. During her time at Westminster, Bergmark performed under the batons of such esteemed conductors as Yannick NézétSeguin, Andrew Manze, and Alan Gilbert in the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Under the direction of Dr. Joe Miller, she performed with Westminster Choir, recently representing the US in the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain, in 2017. Bergmark serves as a chorister in residence at Spoleto Festival USA, now in her second year. Additionally, she was member of Westminster’s early and modern music ensemble, Westminster Kantorei, under the direction of Dr. Amanda Quist. Past operatic experiences include Eugene Onegin (ensemble) at Spoleto Festival USA, Falstaff (ensemble), and opera scenes include L’elisir d’amore (Adina), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), and Il matrimonio segreto (Elisetta). Bergmark studies under Dr. Eric Rieger and collaborative pianist Dr. Akiko Hosaki.
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CHRISTOPHER FLUDD (Paolino) is a sophomore at Westminster Choir College, double majoring in music education and theory and composition. With a focus in voice, Fludd studies as a tenor with Theodora Hanslowe and is coached by Seth Trumbore. He performs with the Westminster Schola Cantorum, Westminster Kantorei, and Westminster Choir. Fludd is thrilled and blessed to receive the honor of singing the role of Paolino in his first ever Spoleto Festival USA. SCOTT KOVEN (Count Robinson) is making his second appearance at Spoleto Festival USA. In 2017, he was a soloist in Serenade to Music with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and a member of the choruses for Eugene Onegin and Farnace. He has been a soloist with early-music ensembles Juilliard415 and Piffaro, and he is a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s professional masterworks ensemble, the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. He has sung on commercial album recordings for both Westminster Choir and Westminster Choir College’s early- and contemporary-music ensemble, Westminster Kantorei. An active conductor, Koven recently served as assistant conductor for Westminster Kantorei, and in July he will conduct the women’s chorus at the college’s high school vocal institute. Koven holds a bachelor of music in voice performance from James Madison University and a master of music in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College. MATTHEW MARINELLI (Geronimo) is approaching his senior year as an undergraduate voice performance major at Westminster Choir College, and is excited to make his opera lead debut in his second season performing at Spoleto Festival USA. In 2017, he was part of the chorus in the Festival’s production of Eugene Onegin; he also sang in Westminster Choir’s bass section for the World Symposium on Choral Music in Spain last summer. He calls San Antonio, Texas, home, and would like to thank his family, friends, and faith for their constant support as he travels around the world pursuing his dreams. BETSY PODSIADLO (Elisetta) is a soprano studying voice performance with Mark Moliterno at Westminster Choir College. She is coached by Rachelle Jonck, Dr. J. J. Penna, and Jessica Arnold. She performs with the Westminster Kantorei and Westminster Choir in addition to performing in various opera and musictheater productions throughout the year. This summer, in addition to making her debut at Spoleto Festival USA, she will attend the Choral Singing Summer School at Oxford University.
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Il matrimonio segreto
MCKENZIE SMITH (Fidalma) is thrilled to be making her principal debut at Spoleto Festival USA. Smith is currently a student at Westminster Choir College under the instruction of Dr. Sean McCarther. Previous performances include: Queen of the Fairies in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe; mistress of novices in Puccini’s Suor Angelica; and chorus in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Spoleto Festival USA in 2017. After graduation, Smith plans to continue her education and pursue a career in vocal performance. Music Staff
JOE MILLER (choral preparation) is director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA, as well as conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. DIANE RICHARDSON (vocal coach) received degrees in music from Oberlin College and Columbia University. She continued her professional training at The Juilliard School, where she studied piano with Adele Marcus and vocal repertoire with Sergius Kagen and Robert Starer. She also trained abroad at the Mozarteum in Saltzburg and L’Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Skilled in operatic and lieder repertoire, Richardson has toured extensively with leading artists throughout the United States and Europe. For more than a decade, she was an assistant conductor with New York City Opera and subsequently taught at the Yale School of Music. She also served as assistant conductor for the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has been associated with Spoleto Festival USA since its first season. Richardson holds concurrent faculty appointments at The Juilliard School and Binghamton University.
THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux
Miami City Ballet
CELEBRATION: THE ART OF THE PAS DE DEUX Charleston Gaillard Center May 25, 6:30pm Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall Artistic Director and Moderator Lourdes Lopez Conductor Gary Sheldon Piano Ciro Fodere and Francisco Rennó Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Afternoon of a Faun (1953)
Choreography Music Staging Set and Lighting Design Lighting Recreation Costume Design Scenic Supervision Dancers
Jerome Robbins Claude Debussy Jean-Pierre Frohlich Jean Rosenthal Les Dickert Irene Sharif Arnold Abramson Unity Phelan and Chase Finlay*
Pause
Other Dances (1976)
Choreography Jerome Robbins Music Frédéric Chopin Staging Isabelle Guérin Costume Design Santo Loquasto Lighting Design Jennifer Tipton Lighting Recreation Les Dickert Dancers Simone Messmer and Renan Cerdeiro Piano Francisco Rennó
Pause
In the Night (1970)
Choreography Music Staging Costume Design Lighting Design Lighting Recreation Dancers Piano
Jerome Robbins Frédéric Chopin Miami City Ballet Anthony Dowell Jennifer Tipton Les Dickert Emily Bromberg and Kleber Rebello Unity Phelan and Chase Finlay* Katia Carranza and Reyneris Reyes Ciro Fodere
The 2018 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Support provided by The Jerome Robbins Foundation. Sponsored by Eastern Distribution. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. *Guest artists from New York City Ballet.
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Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux
Program Notes
About the Choreographer
Afternoon of a Faun Music: Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune by Claude Debussy
JEROME ROBBINS (choreographer) is world renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies, and television. His Broadway shows include On the Town, Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss Liberty, Call Me Madam, and Fiddler on the Roof. His last Broadway production in 1989, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, won six Tony Awards including best musical and best director. Among the more than 60 ballets he created are Fancy Free, Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, Dances At a Gathering, In the Night, In G Major, Other Dances, Glass Pieces, and Ives, Songs, which are in the repertories of New York City Ballet and other major dance companies throughout the world. His last ballets include A Suite of Dances created for Mikhail Baryshnikov (1994), 2 and 3 Part Inventions (1994), West Side Story Suite (1995), and Brandenburg (1996). In addition to two Academy Awards for the film West Side Story, Robbins received four Tony Awards, five Donaldson Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Screen Directors’ Guild Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Robbins was a 1981 Kennedy Center Honors Recipient and was awarded the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur. Robbins died in 1998.
A pas de deux set in a ballet studio, Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun is about a fleeting encounter between a young man absorbed by his reflection in a mirror and a woman who enters the studio and interrupts his reverie. It was set to music by Claude Debussy—Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un Faune—which was composed between 1892 and 1894, a musical piece inspired by a Stephane Mallarmé poem describing a faun’s encounter with nymphs. In 1912, Vaslav Nijinsky presented his famous version of Afternoon of a Faun based on the music and the poem, among other sources. The Robbins choreography is a contemporary variation of these works. The ballet was first performed in 1953 by Francisco Moncion and Tanaquil LeClercq. The ballet has special significance for Miami City Ballet. A young student at the School of American Ballet inspired Robbins to create the piece; that student was Edward Villella, Miami City Ballet’s founding artistic director. The original production of Miami City Ballet’s Afternoon of a Faun (2005) was underwritten by Diane and Irving Siegel. A special thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting the original company premiere of Afternoon of a Faun. A special thanks to The Robbins Rights Trust. Performed by permission of the Robbins Rights Trust. In the Night Music: Nocturne op. 27, no. 1; Nocturnes op. 55, no. 1 and no. 2; Nocturne op. 9, no. 2 by Frédéric Chopin In 1970, one year after his triumphant return from Broadway to ballet with Dances at a Gathering, Jerome Robbins once again turned to the music of Chopin. But this time he chose to work with four of the composer’s highly romantic nocturnes. And indeed In the Night is a ballet that is in every way nocturnal—not only in its title but in its setting and atmosphere. Three couples— three pas de deux—dance under a star-sprinkled night sky. The first pair are dreamy, innocent; the second, more mature, more resolved; the third, combative, stormy. Finally the three couples are seen together—in a more public manner, yet still under the stars. From its first performance with New York City Ballet, In the Night has been an audience favorite everywhere. Other Dances Music: Mazurka op. 17, no. 4; Mazurka op. 41, no. 3; Waltz op. 64, no. 3; Mazurka op. 63, no. 2; Mazurka op. 33, no. 2 by Frédéric Chopin Even after Dances at a Gathering, In the Night, and The Concert, Robbins couldn’t get Chopin’s piano music off his mind. In 1976, he created this extended duet for the reigning stars of classical ballet, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova. Lyrical, charming, and demanding, it has been savored for four decades.
From the General Director
In 1958, Jerome Robbins was one among a group of extraordinary artists invited by Gian Carlo Menotti to help start an event in the small Umbrian town of Spoleto—The Festival of Two Worlds, which would celebrate contemporary artists from, for the most part, America, as well as the European roots from which those artists had been nurtured. Robbins was invited to the inaugural Festival as a resident artist, and in the spring of 1958, he established a troupe of 16 dancers from both the ballet and theater worlds specifically for the Festival. The ensemble, which Robbins named Ballets U.S.A., made its debut at Spoleto—before performing during the Brussels World’s Fair, among other European engagements. Two of Robbins’s major works premiered in Spoleto: N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (1958) and Moves (1959). In 1973, at Menotti’s request, Robbins created Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux for the Festival, an immediate success. We salute Jerome Robbins on what would have been his 100th year by remembering his legacy at Spoleto Festival USA. – Nigel Redden, General Director of Spoleto Festival USA
Miami City Ballet
MIAMI CITY BALLET
Charleston Gaillard Center Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall Artistic Director Conductor Piano
May 26, 2:00pm and 8:00pm; May 27, 2:00pm Lourdes Lopez Gary Sheldon Ciro Fodere and Francisco RennĂł Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 2 hours | Performed with two intermissions
Walpurgisnacht Ballet (1980)
Choreography George Balanchine Š The George Balanchine Trust Music Charles Gounod Staging Ben Huys Costume Design Karinska Lighting Design John Hall Dancers
Katia Carranza, Renato Penteado, Nathalia Arja
Emily Bromberg, Ashley Knox
Maya Collins, Samantha Hope Galler, Jordan-Elizabeth Long, Nicole Stalker
Alaina Andersen, Julia Cinquemani, Mayumi Enokibara, Ellen Grocki, Petra Love, Suzette Logue, Grace Mullins, Lexie Overholt, Leanna Rinaldi, Helen Ruiz, Alyssa Schroeder, Christie Sciturro, Raechel Sparreo, Christina Spigner, Ella Titus, Ao Wang
Pause
Carousel Pas de Deux (1994)
Choreography Music Staging Costume Design Lighting Design Dancers
Sir Kenneth MacMillan Richard Rodgers, Arranged and Orchestrated by Martin Yates Stacy Caddell Bob Crowley John Hall Jennifer Lauren, Chase Swatosh
Intermission
Program continues on next page
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Miami City Ballet
Concerto DSCH (2008) Choreography Alexei Ratmansky Music Dmitri Shostakovich Staging Tatiana and Alexei Ratmansky Costume Design Holly Hynes Lighting Design Mark Stanley Dancers Simone Messmer, Nathalia Arja, Renan Cerdeiro, Chase Swatosh, Kleber Rebello Emily Bromberg and Didier Bramaz Lauren Fadeley and Shimon Ito Ashley Knox and Ariel Rose
Samantha Hope Galler and Bradley Dunlap Ellen Grocki and Alex Manning Alyssa Schroeder and Amir Yogev Nicole Stalker and Damian Zamorano
Piano Francisco RennĂł
Intermission Heatscape (2015) Choreography Justin Peck Music Bohuslav MartinĹŻ Art Design Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com Costume Design Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung Lighting Design Brandon Stirling Baker Dancers Tricia Albertson, Emily Bromberg, Samantha Hope Galler, Ashley Knox, Jennifer Lauren, Suzette Logue, Lexie Overholt, Christina Spigner, Nicole Stalker, Renan Cerdeiro, Bradley Dunlap, Shimon Ito, Alexander Peters, Kleber Rebello, Chase Swatosh, Eric Trope, Damian Zamorano 1st Movement Emily Bromberg, Renan Cerdeiro, and Company 2nd Movement Tricia Albertson, Kleber Rebello, and Company
3rd Movement
Piano
Shimon Ito, Jennifer Lauren, Alexander Peters, and Company Ciro Fodere
The 2018 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Sponsored by Eastern Distribution. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Miami City Ballet
Program Notes
Walpurgisnacht Ballet Music from Faust (1859, ballet music added in 1869), by Charles Gounod Twenty-four girls stampeding across the stage—most of them in purple, their hair flowing—and a single man. Gounod’s passionate Faust music. A bravura ballerina role demanding both complete control and utter abandon (hand-tailored in 1980 for the great Suzanne Farrell). There’s no Faust, no Mephistopheles—just sheer impetuosity and startling virtuosity. This is Balanchine at his most outrageously popular—marrying classicism to kitsch. The original Palm Beach production of Walpurgisnacht Ballet was made possible by the generous support of Rita Stein*. The performance of Walpurgisnacht Ballet, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust.
Carousel Pas de Deux Music by Richard Rodgers, arranged and orchestrated by Martin Yates When London’s Royal National Theatre’s revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel moved to Lincoln Center in 1994, it ran for almost a year, winning five Tony Awards, including one for Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography. His deeply touching duet for the central couple is a quintessential expression of ecstatic—and dangerous—young love. The original Palm Beach premiere of Carousel Pas de Deux was generously supported by Gillian Fuller.
Concerto DSCH Music: Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 102, by Dmitri Shostakovich* Having premiered two recent major ballets—Symphonic Dances and The Fairy’s Kiss—by Alexei Ratmansky, the world’s leading classical choreographer, Miami City Ballet now presents one of his most acclaimed earlier works. Concerto DSCH (the initials reflect the German spelling of Dmitri Shostakovich, its composer) is a seething rush of energy, lyricism, and brilliant classical invention overlain with a contemporary sparkle and bounce. At its premiere in 2008, Alastair Macaulay wrote in The New York Times: “Its dances pour forth in a continuous stream of galvanizing excitement and affectionate intimacy...the most captivating classical ballet I have seen in years.” *By arrangement with G. Schirmer, INC. publisher and copyright owner.
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Heatscape Music: Concerto no. 1 for Piano and Orchestra by Bohuslav Martinů* Justin Peck, who continues to broaden his artistic scope and choreographic repertoire, has always viewed dance as a nexus for all artistic mediums. It is with this spirit of creative collaboration that he sought out renowned visual artist Shepard Fairey to present a vibrant visual design for Heatscape—Peck’s second commission for Miami City Ballet. Peck initially began examining Charleston-born artist Shepard Fairey’s (ObeyGiant) street art while exploring Miami’s Wynwood Arts District. Fairey, who had never designed for ballet, worked with Peck to develop a visual setting that is as bold as the movement and music. The design emanates from Fairey’s mandala paintings, which Peck used as a basis for certain architectural movements throughout the ballet. “[Fairey] works to create these mandala images which start from the center and build outward in a meticulously detailed fashion,” Peck told Vogue. “That means of construct inspired me to develop certain choreographic techniques within this ballet.” Peck chose to choreograph this ballet to Bohuslav Martinů’s Piano Concerto no. 1, a relatively unknown piece of music. “I consider this work to be a hidden gem that is not only rich with texture, innovation, and relevance to the current day, but is also tremendously danceable. It has buoyancy, playfulness, and emotion—and a sturdy blueprint to guide me in the choreographic process. This piece of music has been on my radar for a few years now, and I felt that Miami City Ballet would be the perfect vessel for realizing a ballet in relation to it.” *Bohuslav Martinů’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 1, H 149, is used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG, publisher and copyright owner. The original production of Heatscape was made possible by a New Works grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the generous support of The Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts: ArtWorks, Armando and Margarita Codina, and Bob Benson. Additional support provided by: Helen P. Welch, Madeline and Stephen Anbinder, Nina and William Albert, Rosalee and Richard Davison, Adelaida Muñiz-Iscoe and Gary Iscoe, Michael Schultz, Miriam Flamm, and Carole Gigliotti.
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Miami City Ballet
Artistic Team
Musicians
LOURDES LOPEZ (moderator and artistic director of Miami City Ballet) was recently named one of “The Most Influential People in Dance Today” by Dance Magazine. She became artistic director of Miami City Ballet in 2012, bringing with her a nearly 40-year career in dance, television, teaching, and arts management; under Lopez’s direction, Miami City Ballet has become one of the country’s premier ballet companies. Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1958 and raised in Miami, Lopez began taking ballet lessons at age 5; at 14, she moved to New York permanently and joined the corps de ballet of New York City Ballet at 16. Under the direction of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, her star rose quickly at New York City Ballet; in 1984, she was promoted to soloist and then principal, and performed countless featured roles. Upon retirement, Lopez joined WNBC-TV in New York as a cultural arts reporter, writing and producing feature segments on the arts, artists, and arts education. She was also a full-time senior faculty member at New York’s Ballet Academy East, and served on the dance faculty of Barnard College. In 2002, Lopez became the executive director of The George Balanchine Foundation and oversaw the 2004 Balanchine Centennial Celebration. Lopez co-founded The Cuban Artists Fund, which supports Cuban and Cuban-American artists, and in 2007, she received an award from the American Immigration Law Foundation honoring Cuban Americans for their accomplishments and contributions to American society. In 2014 Lopez was elected to serve on the Ford Foundation’s Board of Trustees, marking the first time an artist was elected to serve on its board, and in 2011, she received the prestigious Jerome Robbins Award for her years in dance.
CIRO FODERE (piano) is a modern and versatile pianist. He performs regularly with orchestras around the world. He is the pianist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO), and piano professor at the New World School of the Arts. As an enthusiast of the 21st-century a-vantgarde approach to MISO’s performances, and as the first prize winner of the XIV Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Competition, Fodere’s latest performances have been described as “masterful, electric, by turns fiery and lyrical” by The Post and Courier, and as “technical sheen articulation, alert dynamic shading, and an imaginative approach” by The Miami Herald, which also raves “edge-of-the-seat thrilling.” Fodere completed his four-year fellowship at the New World Symphony (NWS), an organization that featured him regularly in chamber music and orchestral performances in Miami. Along with accompanying musicians including Joshua Bell and Renée Fleming, he has participated with members of the NWS in Santa Cecilia, Rome, Perugia, and Carnegie Hall.
GARY SHELDON (conductor) returns to Spoleto Festival USA for the first time since conducting the first Festival Orchestral Concert at Middleton Place in 1977. This followed his debut at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, where he conducted Don Pasquale at the invitation of Gian Carlo Menotti and Christopher Keene. Sheldon is now in his eighth season as principal conductor for Miami City Ballet. He has previously held positions with San Francisco Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Ballet Met. He has also served as principal conductor for the Syracuse Opera and Eugene Opera. In 2010, Sheldon was the first recipient of the American Prize for Conducting for performances conducted with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra in Ohio, where he is artistic director. He also serves currently as principal conductor at the Festival at Sandpoint in Idaho. Sheldon is a native of Bay Shore, New York, and a graduate of The Juilliard School and L’Institut de hautes études Musicales in Montreux, Switzerland.
FRANCISCO RENNÓ (piano) is the winner of several major piano competitions and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in North and South America. He has given solo and chamber music recitals throughout the two continents, including appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall and The Phillips Collection. For ballet performances, he has performed as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of Kansas City, St. Louis, Berkeley, Naples, and on tour with Miami City Ballet at The Kennedy Center, Torino Danza in Torino, Italy, and at Les Étés de la Danse in Paris. Rennó was company pianist for the Kansas City Ballet from its inception in 1981, joining Miami City Ballet in 1999. He composed the music to Edward Villella’s The Waltz: Our Lady of Oblivion. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Miami City Ballet
Choreographers
GEORGE BALANCHINE is widely regarded as the most influential choreographer of the 20th century. He co-founded two of ballet’s most important institutions: New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet (SAB). Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1904, studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, and danced with the Mariinsky Ballet. In 1924, he left the Soviet Union for Europe, where he was invited to join Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. After meeting Lincoln Kirstein in London and moving to the United States, the pair founded SAB in 1934. They founded Ballet Society in 1946, which was renamed New York City Ballet in 1948. Balanchine served as the company’s ballet master until his death in 1983. He choreographed 425 works over the course of 60-plus years. Many of his works are considered masterpieces and are performed by ballet companies all over the world. KENNETH MACMILLAN was the principal choreographer of The Royal Ballet from 1977 – 92 and during his career, choreographed more than 60 varied works that survive in the repertoires of ballet companies around the world. MacMillan was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1929 and spent his boyhood years in Great Yarmouth and Retford. He began ballet training at age 14 and was accepted into the Sadler’s Wells (now The Royal Ballet) School. Ninette de Valois commissioned his first professional work, Danses Concertantes, in 1955. Several works for The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre followed. He served as director of the Deutsche Oper Ballet (1966 – 69) and The Royal Ballet (1970 – 77). MacMillan died in 1992 and won a posthumous Tony award for choreography in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. He was knighted for his services to British ballet in 1983, in addition to receiving numerous awards. JUSTIN PECK began choreographing in 2009 at the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2014, after the creation of his acclaimed ballet Everywhere We Go, he was appointed as resident choreographer of New York City Ballet; he is the second person in the institution’s history to hold this title. Peck joined New York City Ballet as a dancer in 2006; in 2013, he was promoted to soloist. As a performer, he has danced a vast repertoire of works, and as a choreographer, he has created more than 30 ballets—16 of those for New York City Ballet. His collaborators include composers Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner (The National), Dan Deacon; visual artists Shepard Fairey, Marcel Dzama, John Baldessari, and Jules de Balincourt; and fashion designers Mary Katrantzou, Humberto Leon (Kenzo, Opening Ceremony), Tumori Chisato, and Dries Van Noten. Peck choreographed the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel. Peck choreographed and consulted on the 20th-Century Fox feature film Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton, and directed by Francis Lawrence. ALEXEI RATMANSKY was born in St. Petersburg and trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. His performing career included positions as principal dancer with Ukrainian National Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. He has choreographed ballets for the Mariinsky Ballet,
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the Royal Danish Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Miami City Ballet, as well as Nina Ananiashvili, Diana Vishneva, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Ratmansky was named artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet in January 2004. For the Bolshoi Ballet, he choreographed full-length productions of The Bright Stream (2003) and The Bolt (2005). Under Ratmansky’s direction, the Bolshoi Ballet was named Best Foreign Company in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics Circle in London. In 2009, Ratmansky choreographed new dances for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Aida. Ratmansky joined American Ballet Theatre (ABT) as artist in residence in 2009. For ABT, he choreographed On the Dnieper (2009), Seven Sonatas (2009), The Nutcracker (2010), and The Golden Cockerel (2015) among many others. Ratmansky was awarded the MacArthur “Genius” award in 2014 – 15. Guest Artists
CHASE FINLAY (principal, New York City Ballet) was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, and began his dance training at age 8 at Ballet Academy East. He went on to study at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, during the summer of 2007, before enrolling as a full-time student. Finlay became an apprentice with NYCB in September 2008 and became a member of the corps de ballet in September 2009. He was promoted to soloist in July 2011 and became a principal in February 2013. Since joining NYCB, Finlay has performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Pontus Lidberg, Lauren Lovette, Peter Martins, Angelin Preljocaj, Jerome Robbins, Myles Thatcher, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others. He was a recipient of the Clive Barnes Award for dance in 2010. UNITY PHELAN (soloist, New York City Ballet) was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and began her dance training at age 5 at the Princeton Ballet School. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, Phelan attended the summer sessions at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, and she enrolled as a full-time student in fall of 2009. Phelan became an apprentice with NYCB in December 2012 and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2013. She was promoted to soloist in February 2017. Since joining NYCB, she has performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Robert Binet, Lauren Lovette, Justin Peck, Peter Martins, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, and Christopher Wheeldon.
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Miami City Ballet
Dancers
ALAINA ANDERSEN (corps de ballet) is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began her training at Milwaukee Ballet School under the direction of Rolando Yanes. When she was 15, she began training privately with Nadia Thompson for two years. In 2014, she attended the Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive and was invited to join MCB School’s year-round program that fall. After the summer program, she was also offered an apprentice position with the company and since then, Andersen has performed in the corps de ballet in several ballets. In May 2016, she received the Toby Lerner Ansin Scholarship Award. Andersen joined MCB in 2016 as a corps de ballet member. TRICIA ALBERTSON (principal) is from Santa Cruz, California, and began her ballet training at The Studio School of Classical Ballet with Vicki Bergland and Rebecca Bartlow. She received additional training attending summer programs at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet in New York City. Starting in 1995, she attended SAB as a full-time student for two years. In 1997, she joined Miami City Ballet as a coryphée and in 2006, she was promoted to principal. In her 21 years with Miami City Ballet, Albertson has had the privilege to dance most of the corps, soloist, and principal roles in the company’s repertoire. She has also had the opportunity to originate roles for Justin Peck and Liam Scarlett. NATHALIA ARJA (principal soloist) is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began taking dance classes at age 5 at Escola de Danca Alice Arja. At 14, she began dancing with the Companhia de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro. During her year with the company in Brazil, Arja also won several dance competitions where she was offered a scholarship for El Teatro Colón, El Ballet de Santiago, Joffrey Ballet School, and Canada’s National Ballet School. At 15, she received a full scholarship to attend Miami City Ballet School where she trained for three years. She joined Miami City Ballet as a school apprentice in 2009 and was promoted to principal soloist in 2016. DIDIER BRAMAZ (principal soloist) is from Geneva, Switzerland, and began taking ballet at age 11. When he was 16, he accepted a scholarship to train intensively with David Allen at the Geneva Dance Center. Bramaz competed in and won several dance competitions, one of which offered him a two-year scholarship to train at the School of American Ballet in New York City. While at SAB, he was chosen to work with the great choreographer, Jerome Robbins,
and originated a role in his 2 and 3 Part Inventions. At 21, he accepted an apprenticeship with American Ballet Theatre. A year later, he was offered a position with Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet member. He was promoted to principal soloist in 2008. Bramaz is married to fellow Miami City Ballet principal soloist, Callie Manning. EMILY BROMBERG (soloist) is from Boston, Massachusetts, and began her training at Rolann’s School of the Dance in Longwood, Florida, and Southern Ballet Theater (now known as Orlando Ballet). At age 10, she moved to Boston and trained at the Academy of Ballet Arts. At 14, she attended the summer and year-round programs at Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. She then finished her high school years at Boston Ballet School where she performed in the corps de ballet in many productions with Boston Ballet. After graduating, Bromberg spent four years as a company member of Festival Ballet Providence. During that time, she also earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rhode Island College. After attending the 2006 International Ballet Competition, she moved to Denver where she performed soloist and principal roles with Colorado Ballet. She joined Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2010 and was promoted to soloist in 2015. KATIA CARRANZA (principal) is from Monterrey, Mexico, and graduated from the Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza de Monterrey in Mexico in 1996. She then joined Ballet de Monterrey as a soloist. In 1998, she joined Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet dancer, and in 2004 she was promoted to principal dancer. She left after the 2006 – 07 season to rejoin Ballet de Monterrey as a principal, but continued to dance with MCB as a guest artist for an additional six seasons. During her career, Carranza has participated in national and international ballet competitions such as the Concurso Nacional in Guadalajara, Mexico (1994), and the Concurso Internacional in Cuba (1995) where she won silver medals in both. Carranza rejoined MCB full-time in 2017 as a principal dancer. RENAN CERDEIRO (principal) is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began training in various dance styles at the Escola de Dança Alice Arja in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, Cerdeiro was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, and that same year was awarded a scholarship to train at Miami City Ballet School. Within two years, he was invited to join Miami City Ballet as a company apprentice. In 2013, he was promoted to principal. Since joining, Cerdeiro has toured with the company performing at the New York City Center, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, in Ottawa and Vancouver, Canada, as well at the Bolshoi in Moscow as part of the Benois de la Danse Gala. Cerdeiro was named by Dance Magazine a “25 to Watch” in 2011.
Miami City Ballet
JULIA CINQUEMANI (corps de ballet) is from Dallas, Texas, and received her ballet training at Dallas Ballet Center. She concurrently studied dance at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She spent five summers studying at the School of American Ballet in New York City. In 2008, she was named a Texas Young Master by The Texas Commission on the Arts. That same year, she left home at the age of 16 to train with Pacific Northwest Ballet’s professional division for two years. Cinquemani joined Los Angeles Ballet under the direction of Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen in 2010, was promoted to soloist in 2012, and principal in 2014. She joined Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2017. MAYA COLLINS (corps de ballet) is from San Francisco, California, and began her training at City Ballet School under the direction of Damara Bennett. After spending three summers on full scholarship at the School of American Ballet in New York City, she was asked to continue her training for the year on full scholarship at the age of 17. At the age of 18, Collins was offered an apprenticeship with New York City Ballet and the following year was promoted to the corps de ballet. From 2003 – 11, Collins danced various corps and soloist roles and was chosen to originate many new works with New York City Ballet. In 2011, Collins joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. BRADLEY DUNLAP (corps de ballet) is from Cleveland, Ohio, and began training at Cleveland City Dance with Paul Wilson, Linda Adolphi, and Sarah Savelli, and continued at Cleveland School of Dance with Gladisa Guadalupe. He attended summer programs with full scholarships at Blue Lakes Fine Arts Camp with Jefferson Baum, The Rock School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. He was accepted to Miami City Ballet School with a full scholarship in 2004 and became a student apprentice in 2005 and was promoted to corps de ballet member in 2008. During his training, Dunlap toured Germany and France with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp International Ballet Ensemble at age 14. In 2011, he was a corps dancer in PBS’s Great Performances Dance in America: Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine and Tharp.
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MAYUMI ENOKIBARA (corps de ballet) is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and received her dance training at Escola Estadual de Danças Maria Olenewa, Theatro Municipal. During summers, she received additional training at the Royal Ballet School in 2009. After attending the 2011 Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive, Enokibara was invited to stay for the school year program with a full scholarship. She moved to Miami at age 14 to train at MCB School. She also attended the 2012 and 2014 summer intensives there. She became an apprentice in 2013 and received the Toby Lerner Ansin Scholarship Award in 2015 upon her graduation. Enokibara joined Miami City Ballet in 2015 as a corps de ballet member. LAUREN FADELEY (principal soloist) is from Orlando, Florida, and began her dance training at age 4. She trained at the Orlando Ballet School and the School of Performing Arts in Florida, along with summer intensives at The Rock School and the School of American Ballet. In 2000 at age 15, Fadeley moved to New York City to study full time. A year later, Fadeley joined New York City Ballet. After two years with NYCB, she decided to further her academic and dance education by attending Indiana University. In May 2007, she graduated cum laude with a B.S. in ballet performance with an outside field in kinesiology. In 2007, she joined the corps de ballet of Pennsylvania Ballet, and was promoted to principal in 2012. She joined Miami City Ballet as a soloist in 2016 and was promoted to principal soloist in 2017. SAMANTHA HOPE GALLER (soloist) is from Bedford, Massachusetts, and spent 13 years training with The Ballet Academy, Inc., under the direction of Frances Kotelly in the Cecchetti Method. She performed six seasons with The Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued training, on scholarship, with Boston Ballet School and received the PAO Merit Trainee Scholarship. She received the NFAA Honorable Mention Award in Ballet. Galler spent summers training at Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Boston Conservatory. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet in their 2008 – 09 season under the direction of Victoria Morgan. Galler spent five seasons with Alabama Ballet under the direction of Tracey Alvey and Roger Van Fleteren. During her tenure there, she was promoted to principal dancer. Galler joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014 and was promoted to soloist in 2018.
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Miami City Ballet
ELLEN GROCKI (corps de ballet) is from Damascus, Maryland, started ballet at age 3, and trained under the direction of Florence Gardner for six years in Damascus. She then spent seven years studying with Patricia Berrend at Berrend Dance Center in Olney, Maryland. She attended summer programs at Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, the School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. At the 2012 MCB Summer Intensive, Grocki was offered a scholarship to train in the school’s year-round program. She left home at 16 and moved to Miami for the 2012 – 13 school year. She became a student apprentice with the company for the 2013 – 14 season and received the Toby Lerner Ansin Scholarship Award in 2014. She graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School and joined MCB as a corps de ballet member in 2014 at age 18. AARON HILTON (corps de ballet) is from Washington, D.C., began dancing at age 3, and soon after received a scholarship to attend The Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Kee Juan Han. He later attended the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm, Sweden (2007 – 09), and the School of American Ballet (2013 – 15), also under scholarship. Upon graduating from SAB, Hilton joined Boston Ballet as a member of the second company for the 2015 – 16 season. Hilton began studies at Princeton University in the fall of 2016, and is taking a leave of absence in order to dance professionally. He joined MCB as a corps de ballet dancer in 2017. SHIMON ITO (soloist) is from New York and began his training at age 4 at his mother’s dance academy, Asako Ballet New York in New York City. At 8, he was accepted to the School of American Ballet, where he trained for 5 years. At 13, he went on to the National Ballet School of Canada where he graduated in 2008. Throughout his training in Canada, he also attended the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany through an exchange program. After graduating, Ito joined San Francisco Ballet’s Trainee Program, where he performed with the company. He danced for Silicon Valley’s Ballet San Jose as an apprentice and then as a corps member from 2009 – 11. He placed as a finalist in the Jackson International Ballet Competition in 2010. Ito joined MCB in 2011 as a corps de ballet member and was promoted to soloist in 2016.
ASHLEY KNOX (soloist) is from Shelby Township, Michigan, began her dance training with Ann Parsley’s School of Dance at age 3, and studied more seriously with Cornelia Sampson at The Rochester School of Dance until the age of 15. Her summers were spent at the School of American Ballet, where she continued for two years of training in their year-round program. After one year in Miami City Ballet School, she joined Miami City Ballet as an apprentice in 2002 and was promoted to soloist in 2017. Knox is also proud to hold the record of being an eight-time U.S. National Champion of Scottish Highland Dance, as well as being the third American to win the title of World Champion in Cowal, Scotland in 1999. RAINER KRENSTETTER (principal) is from Vienna, Austria, and began his ballet training at the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera. In 1999, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London and continued his training there until 2000, when he became a corps de ballet member with the Vienna State Opera Ballet. In 2002, he joined the Berlin State Ballet under the direction of Vladimir Malakhov and went through the ranks up to principal in 2013. He joined Miami City Ballet as a principal in November 2014. Throughout his training, Krenstetter participated and won medals in various international ballet competitions including in Vienna, Brasília, and Luxembourg, culminating in his first-place win at the Prix de Lausanne in 1999. JENNIFER LAUREN (principal) is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and began training in various regional schools and later with Royal Academy of Dance and the Alabama Ballet Pre-Apprentice Program. Lauren’s summers were spent attending American Ballet Theatre intensives. In 1998, at age 16, she joined the Alabama Ballet under the direction of Wes Chapman and Roger Van Fleteren. In 2007, Lauren joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to principal in 2016. In 2014, she was named one of Dance Magazine’s “ 25 to Watch.”
Miami City Ballet
SUZETTE LOGUE (corps de ballet) is from Sarasota, Florida, and began her dance training at Sarasota Ballet and privately with Isabel and Javier Dubroq. She continued her training with Suzanne Farrell and the Tallahassee Ballet. Logue attended summer programs on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Miami City Ballet School. She moved to Miami in 2007 to train fulltime at Miami City Ballet School for one year and then went on to dance with Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. She joined Miami City Ballet in 2010. Logue has danced many Balanchine and contemporary ballets in the company’s repertory, including new works by Justin Peck, Liam Scarlett, and Alexei Ratmansky. JORDAN-ELIZABETH LONG (soloist) is from Blacksburg, Virginia, began her ballet training with Carol Crawford Smith, and continued with Terri Post at the Southwest Virginia Ballet. In high school, she moved to South Florida to train with Magaly Suarez. Upon completion of high school, she was invited to join the Dutch National Ballet as a demi-soloist. In 2010, she joined the Royal Swedish Ballet, where she was promoted to soloist. Long has been awarded the gold medal at the World Ballet Competition USA, been a finalist at the Shanghai International Ballet Competition, and was recently awarded the Louis Gallodier Prize at the Royal Swedish Ballet. She has appeared in galas and festivals in the US, Dominican Republic, Russia, Romania, and Hong Kong. In 2014, Long joined Miami City Ballet as a soloist. ALEX MANNING (corps de ballet) is from State College, Pennsylvania, and began taking ballet classes at the Ballet Theatre of Central Pennsylvania. At age 13, Manning attended the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. He was a ballet major there for his freshman and sophomore years of high school. He then attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from 2010 – 13, where he trained with Director Marcia Dale Weary, and also trained privately with Laszlo Berdo and Leslie Hench. Manning was awarded the Jerome Robbins Scholarship in 2012 while attending CPYB. In 2013, at age 18, he was offered a student apprenticeship with Miami City Ballet School. He was promoted to the corps de ballet for the 2014 – 15 season.
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SIMONE MESSMER (principal) is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began studying dance at age 9 at Ballet Arts Minnesota. At 14, she continued her training at The HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, where she earned the Jeannot B. Cerrone Award for Excellence in Dance. At 16, she resumed her training at Ballet Arts Minnesota under the direction of Bonnie Mathis. Messmer participated in American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive Program in 2001 and joined ABT Studio Company in that same year. Messmer danced with ABT for more than a decade, rising to the rank of soloist in 2010. Messmer joined San Francisco Ballet in 2013, performing principal roles. Messmer was awarded the Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship in 2010. She joined Miami City Ballet as a principal dancer in 2015. HARRISON MONACO (corps de ballet) is from New Berlin, Wisconsin, started lessons at age 3, and at age 10, started formal training with Lori Romito. Through Romito, he came to study at the Ruth Page School of Dance under the direction of Larry Long and Dolores Lipinski. He later joined the Civic Ballet of Chicago. At age 16, Monaco was accepted to the School of American Ballet and trained there for two years as the recipient of the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation Scholarship. In 2010, he was a member of the professional division at Pacific Northwest Ballet School on a full scholarship, under the direction of Peter Boal. Prior to joining Miami City Ballet, Monaco danced with Pennsylvania Ballet for six seasons, under the direction of Roy Kaiser and later Angel Corella. He joined MCB as a corps de ballet dancer in 2017. LEXIE OVERHOLT (corps de ballet) is from Oakton, Virginia, and received her ballet training at the Reston Conservatory Ballet with Julia Redick until she graduated from high school. Overholt attended numerous summer intensives on scholarship including San Francisco Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre in New York, and Miami City Ballet School. She was also awarded a spot in the Kennedy Center Master Class Series for two years, where she was taught by ballet masters of nationally and internationally recognized ballet companies, including Suzanne Farrell Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2009, following her summer intensive with MCB School, she was offered a full scholarship to continue her training. In 2011, Overholt accepted a company apprenticeship with MCB and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2012.
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Miami City Ballet
RENATO PENTEADO (principal) is from São Paulo, Brazil, and began his dance training at age 7 with Ballet Twin’s Academy, Studium Marisa Ballet, and Municipal School of Ballet in São Paulo. In 1997, he joined the “Special Group of Classical Dances of São Paulo.” He received many National Ballet Awards in competitions throughout Brazil and in 1998, he competed in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and Varna, Bulgaria. He was then invited to join Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2004. Penteado has danced many principal roles nationally and internationally with Miami City Ballet including in Torino, Italy; Paris; Venezuela; and Canada. ALEXANDER PETERS (principal soloist) is from State College, Pennsylvania, and began his training with teacher Nicole Swope, continuing with the Allegheny Ballet Academy under the guidance of Deborah Anthony, Cristin Burwell, Cherie Noble, and Richard Cook. He was accepted to the School of American Ballet and attended as a full-time student from 2007 – 10 as a recipient of the Andrei Kramarevsky Scholarship. Following SAB, Peters danced with the Kansas City Ballet under the direction of William Whitener. He then joined the Pennsylvania Ballet in November 2011, was promoted to soloist in 2014 and to principal in 2015. Peters is a recipient of the 2008 Princess Grace Award and the 2010 Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise. Additionally, Peters has filmed archival segments with the George Balanchine Foundation. He joined Miami City Ballet in 2017 as a principal soloist. KLEBER REBELLO (principal) is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began his ballet studies at the age of 10 at the Escola de Dança Spinelli. As a young dancer, he won the Premio Jorge Tomin (a medal of legitimate gold) in Córdoba, Argentina, and the Prix de Lausanne, Youth America Grand Prix, Beijing International Competition, and Festival Internacional de Dança de Joinville, among others. In 2009, he attended the Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive and received a scholarship for MCB School. In 2010, he joined MCB as an apprentice and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. Through his career with Miami City Ballet, Rebello has performed at the Les Étés de la Danse in Paris; Vancouver and Ottawa, Canada; and at the Guggenheim’s Works in Process series in New York City. In 2011, Dance Magazine selected him as one of their annual “25 to Watch.”
REYNERIS REYES (principal) is from Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, and received his training at the Vocational School of Art in Pinar Del Rio and The National Ballet School in Havana. Reyes joined the National Ballet of Cuba in 1993 as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to principal in 1998. Reyes joined Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1999 as a soloist and was promoted to principal in 2002. In 2004, Reyes joined Boston Ballet as a principal. In 2010, Reyes joined Miami City Ballet as a principal. Reyes has been awarded the bronze medal at the National Ballet Competition in Havana, and the Cuban National Arts Medal, which is the highest artistic honor in Cuba. He has participated in many international ballet festivals in Cuba, Europe, Asia, and North and South America, as well as ballet galas in Slovakia, Granada, Spain, and Vancouver, Canada. LEANNA RINALDI (corps de ballet) is from Frisco, Texas, and began taking dance classes at age 3. She trained at Franklin School of Performing Arts until the age of 11, when her family relocated to Frisco, Texas. She continued her training there at Chamberlain Performing Arts under the direction of Kathy Chamberlain. Throughout high school, she attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet and Miami City Ballet School. After graduating high school and completing her second summer at MCB School, she received a scholarship to attend the year-round program in 2011. As a student, Rinaldi was given many opportunities to dance with the company and was hired as a company apprentice in 2013. She was promoted to the corps de ballet for the 2014 – 15 season. ÉMILIEN RIVOIRE (corps de ballet) is from Lille, France, and started ballet at age 7. When he was 12, he moved to Paris to study at the Paris Opéra School and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. At 16, he attended the School of American Ballet summer intensive and was given a scholarship to stay for the year-round program. In 2013, he was offered an apprenticeship with Miami City Ballet after attending the School’s summer program. He joined Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2014.
Miami City Ballet
ARIEL ROSE (corps de ballet) is from New York and began his training at Ballet Academy East in New York City. He also studied at the LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts, and at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. Upon graduating, Rose went on to Boston, where he performed extensively with Boston Ballet II as well as with the main company. He then spent three years dancing with the Richmond Ballet where he performed works by many contemporary choreographers. He joined Miami City Ballet’s corps de ballet in 2013. In 2015, Rose was selected to participate in the resident fellows choreographic program with the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University, an international institute for scholars and artists of ballet and its related arts and sciences. HELEN RUIZ (corps de ballet) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After being accepted into Julian E. Blanco Ballet School at the age of 10, world-renowned ballet and pilates instructor Lolita San Miguel offered her a full scholarship to the Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. After two years with Ballet Concierto, at age 12, Ruiz was accepted into the School of American Ballet’s summer program, which she attended for three consecutive summers. At age 15, she was offered a full scholarship to attend SAB’s year-round program, where she trained for four years. In 2007, she auditioned for Miami City Ballet and was offered an apprenticeship. Ruiz was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2009. CHRISTIE SCITURRO (corps de ballet) is from Sterling Heights, Michigan, and received her dance training at Juliana’s Academy of Dance, The Rock School, and Miami City Ballet School. She attended summer intensives at Pacific Northwest Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Sciturro joined MCB School in 2005, became a student apprentice in 2006, and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2008. ALYSSA SCHROEDER (corps de ballet) is from Portland, Oregon, and began her early training at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre under the direction of Damara Bennett. At the age of 13, she moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to continue her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with founding Artistic Director Marcia Dale Weary. Throughout her training, Schroeder also attended summer programs on scholarship at the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. She joined MCB as a corps de ballet member in 2017.
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RAECHEL SPARREO (corps de ballet) is from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and began taking ballet classes at age 3. When she was 11, she began training at Faubourg School of Ballet under Watmora Casey, Tatyana Mazur, Ernesto Quenedit, Victor Alexander, and Maray Guiterez. She also trained at Fox Ballet under Terry Fox. After attending the MCB Summer Intensive for two years, she was offered a full scholarship to attend the school’s year-round program at age 15. As a student, she danced in several ballets with the company. In 2013, she was asked to be a student apprentice, and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2014. CHRISTINA SPIGNER (corps de ballet) is from Paradise Valley, Arizona, and has trained at School of Ballet Arizona, Master Ballet Academy, and graduated from Miami City Ballet School, where she was a full-scholarship student for two years. She has been nominated for the National Princess Grace Award and is the winner of three national contemporary competitions including New York City Dance Alliance and West Coast Dance Explosion. She has performed original works at Radio City Music Hall as a touring national title holder. She joined Miami City Ballet as a company apprentice in 2012 and was promoted to the corps de ballet shortly thereafter. In 2016, Spigner had the privilege of being featured in the Black Iris Project’s debut performances in New York City. BIP is a unique ballet collaborative which creates new and relevant classical ballet works celebrating diversity and Black history. NICOLE STALKER (corps de ballet) is from St. Petersburg, Florida, and began her dance training at age 3 at Cheryl Lee Studio of Dance. She spent summers training at The Chautauqua Institute, American Ballet Theatre, and The Rock School for Dance Education before moving to Philadelphia in 2005 to attend The Rock School’s year-round program. She spent her final summer at the School of American Ballet in 2007 before moving to Miami to join Miami City Ballet School’s pre-professional division. In 2008, Stalker joined Miami City Ballet as an apprentice and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2009. Stalker was nominated twice for the Princess Grace Award in 2009 and 2011.
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Miami City Ballet
CHASE SWATOSH (soloist) is from Westlake Village, California, and began his training at Retter’s Academy of Dance with Darryl and Linda Retter when he was 8. In 2007, he became a trainee at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, where he trained for two years before attending the summer and winter terms of the School of American Ballet (2009 – 10). He also attended numerous ballet summer intensives from 2005 – 10, including American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Swatosh has a diversified dance background, having trained in tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, and modern. He also was a Junior Olympic swimmer, an All-American qualifying diver in high school, and an awarded, classically trained pianist. Swatosh joined Miami City Ballet as an apprentice in 2010 and was promoted to soloist in 2016. ELLA TITUS (corps de ballet) is from Clearwater, Florida, and began her ballet training at age 3 with Maureen Gibson. As a young girl, she began performing with Florida West Youth Ballet under the direction of Pavel Fomin and began intensive ballet training with Haydee Gutierrez. Titus received scholarships to attend summer programs with American Ballet Theatre, the School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and Miami City Ballet School. At age 14, she moved to Miami to attend MCB School full-time as a scholarship student, and was offered an apprenticeship at age 16. In 2015, Titus graduated from Miami Beach High School and joined Miami City Ballet’s corps de ballet. ERIC TROPE (corps de ballet) is from Poolesville, Maryland, and began his dance training with the Maryland Youth Ballet in Bethesda, Maryland. He has attended summer courses under full scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. Following a summer course with the School of American Ballet, Trope entered the school’s year-round program at Lincoln Center. Following his graduation from SAB, Trope joined Pennsylvania Ballet II under the direction of William DeGregory for the 2009 – 10 season. He was promoted to the main company for the 2011 – 12 season. He joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet for the 2013 – 14 season.
AO WANG (corps de ballet) is from Beijing, China, and began training in 2008 at the Liaoning Ballet Academy of China. In 2014, she received a full scholarship to attend The Washington School of Ballet Professional Training Program and trained with Kee Juan Han. In 2012, Wang won the gold medal at the Osaka International Ballet Competition and also received a bronze medal at The Taolibei Competition in China. In 2013, she earned a bronze medal at the Korea Seoul International Dance Competition. In 2015, she won first place at the Regional Youth America Grand Prix in Pittsburgh with her solo and pas de deux. In addition, she was the recipient of the Mary Day Award. She spent one season dancing with The Washington Ballet Studio Company. She joined MCB as a corps de ballet member in 2016. AMIR YOGEV (corps de ballet) is from Kibbutz Tzuba, Israel, and began his ballet training at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance at the age of 13. In 2003, he moved to New York City to study at the School of American Ballet. He supplemented his training with summer programs on scholarship at Joffrey Ballet School, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School. In 2006, Yogev joined Miami City Ballet, where he performed in several works by George Balanchine. Yogev joined Pennsylvania Ballet as an apprentice for the 2009 – 10 season and was promoted to the corps de ballet for the 2010 – 11 season. Yogev rejoined Miami City Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2016. DAMIAN ZAMORANO (corps de ballet) is from Havana, Cuba, and started taking ballet classes at age 9 at the Provincial School of Ballet Alejo Carpentier. He moved to Mexico City when he was 11 with his parents, where he continued his training at the Escuela Nacional De Danza Clásica y Contemporánea. At 13, he participated in the first national dance competition, Attitude, in Mexico City, where he won a gold medal in his category. At 17, he joined Compañia Nacional De Danza in Mexico City as an apprentice, was promoted to corps de ballet member at 18, and promoted to coryphée at 19. In 2012, he received a full scholarship to attend Miami City Ballet School and was awarded the Toby Lerner Ansin Scholarship Award in 2012. He joined MCB in 2013 as a corps de ballet member.
A.I.M
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A.I.M
Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston Artistic Director Executive Director General Manager Production Manager and Lighting Supervisor
June 1, 7:00pm; June 2, 2:00pm and 7:30pm; June 3, 3:00pm and 8:00pm Kyle Abraham Joe Stackell Hillary Kooistra Dan Stearns
Dancers Matthew Baker Kayla Farrish Tamisha Guy Keerati Jinakunwiphat Claude “CJ” Johnson Catherine Ellis Kirk Marcella Lewis Jeremy “Jae” Neal 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed with one intermission
Strict Love (1994)
Choreography Restaging Music Lighting Design Costume Design
Doug Varone Alex Springer Radio broadcast of popular music by various artists* David Ferri Lynne Steincamp
Dancers
Matthew Baker, Tamisha Guy, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Claude “CJ” Johnson, Catherine Ellis Kirk, Marcella Lewis, Jeremy “Jae” Neal
*Popular Music Credits: “Spirit in the Sky,” written and performed by Norman Greenbaum; “I Want You Back,” written by Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards, performed by Jackson 5; “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, performed by Diana Ross.
Pause
Excerpt from Dearest Home (2017)
Choreography Lighting Design Costume Design
Dancers
Kyle Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M Dan Scully Kyle Abraham Tamisha Guy and Jeremy “Jae” Neal
Pause
Program continues on the next page
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A.I.M
The Quiet Dance (2011)
Choreography Music Lighting Design Costume Design
Dancers
Kyle Abraham “Some Other Time” by Leonard Bernstein, played by Bill Evans Dan Scully Kristi Wood Catherine Ellis Kirk (soloist), Matthew Baker, Kayla Farrish, Tamisha Guy, Marcella Lewis
Intermission
Drive (2017)
Choreography Music Lighting Design Costume Design
Kyle Abraham in collaboration with A.I.M Theo Parrish and Mobb Deep, with additional sound editing by Sam Crawford Dan Scully Karen Young
Dancers
Matthew Baker, Kayla Farrish, Tamisha Guy, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Claude “CJ” Johnson, Catherine Ellis Kirk, Marcella Lewis, Jeremy “Jae” Neal
Drive was commissioned by New York City Center for the 2017 Fall for Dance Festival with generous support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Special funding for Drive provided by Jay Franke & David Herro, and by Rick Beyer. Drive was developed, in part, through a residency at White Oak Conservation, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
The 2018 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
A.I.M
About the Company
The mission of A.I.M is to create an evocative interdisciplinary body of work. Born into hip-hop culture in the late 1970s and grounded in an artistic upbringing of classical cello, piano, and the visual arts, Kyle Abraham creates movement with a goal of exploring identity in relation to a personal history. The work entwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on sound, human behavior, and all things visual in an effort to create an avenue for personal investigation and exposing that on stage. A.I.M is a representation of dancers from various disciplines and diverse personal backgrounds. Combined together, these individualities create movement that is manipulated and molded into something fresh and unique. For more information, to get involved, or purchase your A.I.M merchandise, please visit abrahaminmotion.org. Artistic Team
KYLE ABRAHAM (artistic director and choreographer), from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, a 2015 City Center Choreography Fellow, and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. Previous awards include being named a 2012 United States Artists Ford Fellow, a Creative Capital Fellow, and receiving a 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. In 2010, he received a prestigious Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance for his work in The Radio Show, which was presented at Spoleto Festival USA in 2012, and a Princess Grace Award for Choreography. The previous year, he was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” Over the past several years, Abraham has created works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, and three works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In 2011, OUT magazine labeled Abraham as the “best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama.” DOUG VARONE (choreographer, Strict Love) is an awardwinning choreographer and director working in dance, theater, opera, film, and fashion. His New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers has been commissioned and presented to critical acclaim by leading international venues for close to three decades. On tour, the company has performed in more than 125 cities in 45 states across the US, and in Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America. In the concert dance world, Varone has created a body of works globally. Commissions include the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Limón Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Rambert Dance Company (London), Martha Graham Dance Company, Dancemakers (Canada), Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Bern Ballet (Switzerland), and An Creative (Japan). Numerous honors and awards include a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, an OBIE Award (Lincoln Center’s Orpheus and Euridice), the Jerome Robbins Fellowship at the Boglaisco Institute in Italy, and a Doris Duke Artist Award. In 2015 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Dance Guild.
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LYNNE STEINCAMP (costume designer, Strict Love) has worked with numerous choreographers over the course of her long association with dance, including Gina Gibney, Shapiro & Smith Dance, Susan Marshall, and Alyson Pou. She was costume consultant for the Trisha Brown Dance Company for more than a decade. Her association with Doug Varone began in 1990; she designed many company works, including Force Majeure, Rise, Possession, and Bel Canto. She now lives on a horse farm in Connecticut with her husband, artist Power Boothe. KRISTI WOOD (costume designer, The Quiet Dance) has designed for David Dorfman Dance’s Come and Back Again, Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion’s Live! The Realest MC, How We Process with Camille A. Brown, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble’s Time Stands Still (concert), The Way of Water (film), and Peel (film). Her costume production credits include: the Metropolitan Opera (current assistant costume production supervisor for new operas); on Broadway, War Horse (original Broadway cast principal dresser) and A Chorus Line (Broadway revival production wardrobe supervisor); in dance, Jacob’s Pillow (wardrobe supervisor) and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (wardrobe supervisor and diva specialist); and in television: America’s Next Top Model (set dresser), All My Children (set continuity), and Damages (set continuity). Wood also designs and tailors couture gowns for elite drag queens. She would like to dedicate her work to her father, Joseph Earnest Wood (1956 – 2007). KAREN YOUNG (costume designer, Drive) creates costumes for dance, performance, and contemporary art that have been seen in theaters and museums internationally. Recent projects include Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, Third Rail Projects’s highly acclaimed immersive show Then She Fell, and teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design. Design work for dance includes: the Martha Graham Dance Company, Brian Brooks, Armitage Gone! Dance, American Ballet Theatre, Morphoses, Dusan Tynek, Pam Tanowitz, and Keigwin + Company, among many others. Design for video art includes: David Michalek’s Slow Dancing, Matthew Barney’s Cremaster 5 and Cremaster 1, Toni Dove’s Lucid Possession, and Eve Sussman’s 89 Seconds at Alcazar. Karenyoungcostume.com DAVID FERRI (lighting designer, Strict Love) has worked with such prominent choreographers and companies as Pina Bausch, Shen Wei, Doug Varone, Yin Mei, Eiko and Koma, Jane Comfort, David Rousseve, Jody Sperling, and Ballet Preljocaj. He has been the production manager for the prestigious American Dance Festival since 1996, training upcoming designers in America. He is the recipient of a 1987 – 88 Bessie Award for his design of Doug Varone’s Straits, and a 2000 – 01 Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement in Lighting Design. Ferri is the resident lighting designer and technical director for The Vassar College dance department, and was also resident lighting designer and technical director at PS 122 from 1985 – 91. Ferri lives in New York between his travels and projects.
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A.I.M
DAN SCULLY (lighting designer, Dearest Home and The Quiet Dance/lighting and scenic designer, Drive) is a New York-based lighting and projection designer, and has been designing for Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion for more than 10 years, including the full-length evening works Pavement, Live! The Realest M.C., and the Bessie Award-winning The Radio Show. Recent work includes Rocky (Broadway), Jedermann (Salzburger Festspeile), The Orchestra Rocks! (Carnegie Hall), and Another Night (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). In the New York region, his work has been seen at Trinity Rep, Geva Theatre Center, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and Two River Theater Company. MFANYU/Tisch. ALEX SPRINGER (restaging, Strict Love) is a Brooklynbased performer, choreographer, teacher, and video artist. He has had the pleasure of working with Alexandra Beller, Heidi Henderson, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, among others, and was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers from 2007 – 17. During his tenure with Varone, he acted as the rehearsal director, company manager, and still serves as the company’s archival manager. Springer has staged Varone’s work for various companies and universities, and has taught at the Bates Dance Festival, Gibney Dance Center, Mark Morris Dance Center, and the 92Y. Additionally, he creates work with Xan Burley, and their collaborative choreography has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out (2017 Research Fellows), Center for Performance Research (2016 technical residency), Danspace Project’s DraftWork, Movement Research at the Judson Church, University Settlement (2013 – 14 AIR), Brooklyn Arts Exchange (2011 Space Grant), DanceNOW (2011 Encore Challenge winners), and the 92Y, among others. He also works as a freelance video consultant, filming and editing content for many artists. themedianmovement.com DAN STEARNS (production manager/lighting supervisor) is a lighting designer, scenic designer, and production manager interested in the intersections of dance, theater, music, and video. In addition to Abraham.In.Motion, recent collaborations include Jane Comfort and Company, Pavel Zuštiak/Palissimo, LeeSaar The Company, Scott Ebersold, Paul H. Bedard/Theater in Asylum, Tara Ahmadinejad/Piehole, and Tami Stronach. He has worked in such venues as BAM, The Joyce, New York Live Arts, La MaMa, Abrons Arts Center, HERE, Dixon Place, and 3LD in New York; and internationally from France to Korea and many places in between. He is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Dancers
MATTHEW BAKER (choreographic associate/dancer) hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received his BFA (’08) in dance from Western Michigan University. In New York City, he worked with such choreographers as Mark Dendy and Keith Thompson before joining Keigwin + Company, under the artistic direction of Larry Keigwin and co-founder Nicole Wolcott, from 2009 – 14. As choreographic associate for A.I.M, Baker works with the artistic director and his colleagues to maintain and develop the company’s repertory. Baker was the recipient of a distinguished alumni award from his alma mater in 2014. He joined Abraham.In.Motion in 2011. KAYLA FARRISH (dancer) was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 2013 summa cum laude, and was granted the Gertrude Shurr Award for excellence in modern dance and passionate dancing. Since moving to New York, she has had the opportunity to work with wonderful choreographers and companies including Punchdrunk Sleep No More, Helen Simoneau Danse, Kate Weare Company, Nicole von Arx and Artists, Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, Aszure Barton and Artists, Gallim Dance, Chris Masters Dance, and others. She has also premiered her own photography, film, and dance work through various opportunities, including her work as a Chez Bushwick artist in residence. Farrish joined Abraham. In.Motion in 2017. TAMISHA GUY (rehearsal director/ dancer), a native of Trinidad and Tobago, began her formal dance training at Ballet Tech, the New York City Public School for Dance under the direction of Eliot Feld. Later she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and SUNY Purchase College as a double major in dance and arts management. She has completed summer programs with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Springboard Danse Montreal, and Nathan Trice, and performed works by William Forsythe, Pam Tanowitz, Loni Landon, Mark Morris, and Martha Graham. In 2013, Guy graduated with honors from SUNY Purchase College and joined the Martha Graham Dance Company shortly after. In 2016, Guy was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and received the 2016 Princess Grace Award. Guy joined Abraham.In.Motion in 2014.
A.I.M
KEERATI JINAKUNWIPHAT (dancer), originally from Chicago, received her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase College and was a recipient of the adopt-a-dancer scholarship. She has additionally studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Springboard Danse Montreal. She has worked with such artists as Nicole von Arx, Shannon Gillen, Kevin Wynn, and Doug Varone. Jinakunwiphat is eager to be working with Abraham.In.Motion, where she began working as an apprentice in 2016. CLAUDE “CJ” JOHNSON (dancer) hails from Chicago, where he began his formal dance training at the Chicago Academy for the Arts under the direction of Randy Duncan. He later continued his dance training at SUNY Purchase College, where he was awarded the adopt-a-dancer scholarship. During Johnson’s studies, he performed works by choreographers Johannes Weiland, Aszure Barton, Doug Varone, Kevin Wynn, Rosalind Newman, Alexandra Beller, and Stuart Loungway. Johnson also attended summer intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; Doug Varone and Dancers; Movement Invention Project; and Springboard Dance Montreal under the direction of Alexandra Wells, where he performed work by Shannon Gillen and Elia Mrak. Johnson joined Abraham.In.Motion in 2017. CATHERINE ELLIS KIRK (dancer) is originally from Dallas, Texas. After attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Kirk graduated with a BFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and holds a yoga certification through Mind Body Dancer®. Kirk has completed programs with San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Gaga Intensive in Tel Aviv, and Springboard Danse Montreal, and had the opportunity to perform works by Fernando Melo, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Peter Chu, Andrea Miller, Robert Battle, and Alex Ketley. Upon graduating, Kirk has had the pleasure of working with Danaka Dance, Chihiro Shimizu and Artists, and apprenticing for Sidra Bell Dance New York. Kirk is currently dancing for UNAProjects, Helen Simoneau Danse, and is thrilled to continue with Abraham.In.Motion, which she joined in 2013.
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MARCELLA LEWIS (dancer) hails from Los Angeles, where she began her dance training at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre at age 3. She then continued her studies at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She later received her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase College, where she was awarded the adopt-a-dancer scholarship. While at Purchase, Lewis performed works by Doug Varone, Gregory Dolbashian, Madboots Dance, Kevin Wynn, and Ori Flooman. Lewis has completed summer programs at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, where she was awarded the Homer Avila Scholarship. She joined Abraham. In.Motion in 2016. JEREMY “JAE” NEAL (dancer) was born and raised in Michigan and received his training from Western Michigan University. There, he performed in professional works such as Strict Love by Doug Varone, Temporal Trance by Frank Chavez, and Harrison McEldowney’s Dance Sport. Since relocating to New York, Neal has had the privilege of working with SYREN Modern Dance, Christina Noel Reaves, Catapult Entertainment, Katherine Helen Fisher Dance, and Nathan Trice. Neal joined Abraham.In.Motion in 2011.
Generous support for Abraham.In.Motion provided by: Engaging Dance Audiences, administered by Dance/USA and made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Howard Gilman Foundation; The JKW Foundation; Joyce Theater Foundation; Mertz-Gilmore Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; New York Community Trust; O’donnell-Greene Music & Dance Foundation; Princess Grace Foundation-USA; The Rockefeller Brothers Fund; The Samuel H. Scripps Foundation; Emma A. Sheafer Charitable Trust; and The Shubert Foundation. Public funding provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature; and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. A.I.M is a proud supporter of Dancers Responding to AIDS, which helps ensure that those most in need receive the care and comfort they would otherwise do without. Founded in 1991 by former Paul Taylor Dance Company members Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez, DRA relies on the extraordinary compassion and efforts of the performing arts community to fund a safety net of social services for those in need. Together, we can make a difference for those less fortunate than us. Donate at www.dradance.org/donate. For booking information, contact Lotus Arts Management, Sophie Myrtil-McCourty, President, at 72-11 Austin Street, Suite 371, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Tel: 347.721.8724; email: sophie@lotusartsmgmt.com website: lotusartsmgmt.com
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Dorrance Dance
DORRANCE DANCE
Memminger Auditorium
Program 1
Program 1: June 1 – June 4 Program 2: June 6 – June 9
June 1, 8:00pm; June 2, 8:00pm; June 3, 5:00pm; June 4, 7:00pm
ETM: Double Down (2016) Creators Michelle Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young Original Tap Instrument Design Nicholas Van Young Choreography Michelle Dorrance and Nicholas Van Young with Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie and solo improvisation by the dancers Original Music Composition and Improvisation Gregory Richardson, Donovan Dorrance, Nicholas Van Young, Aaron Marcellus, and Warren Craft, with Michelle Dorrance Additional Music Adele Adkins, Karin Dreijer Andersson, Olof Dreijer, Justin Vernon, Patrick Watson Lighting Design Kathy Kaufmann Costume Design Amy Page and Shiori Ichikawa Dancers Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Elizabeth Burke, Warren Craft, Michelle Dorrance, Gabe Winns Ortiz, Leonardo Sandoval, Byron Tittle, Nicholas Van Young Musicians Piano/Controllerist Donovan Dorrance Vocals Aaron Marcellus Bass/Guitar Gregory Richardson Drums/Percussion Nicholas Van Young Drums/Percussion Warren Craft Drums/Percussion Michelle Dorrance 1 hour, 45 minutes | Performed with one intermission
Dorrance Dance
Program 2
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June 6, 7:00pm; June 7, 6:00pm; June 8, 8:00pm; June 9, 5:00pm
Jungle Blues (2012) Choreography Michelle Dorrance with solo improvisation by Christopher Broughton Lighting Design Kathy Kaufmann Costume Design Amy Page Music “Jungle Blues” by Fred “Jelly Roll” Morton Courtesy of Edwin H. Morris & Company, A Division of MPL Music Publishing, INC. (ASCAP) Dancers Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Christopher Broughton, Elizabeth Burke, Warren Craft, Michelle Dorrance, Gabe Winns Ortiz, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Leonardo Sandoval, Byron Tittle, Matthew “Megawatt” West
Three to One (2011) Choreography Lighting Design Costume Design Music
Michelle Dorrance Kathy Kaufmann Michelle Dorrance and Mishay Petronelli “Nannou” by Richard D. James Published by BMG Blue (BMI) o/b/o Chrysalis Music Ltd; used by permission. All rights reserved. “A Rat’s Nest” by Thom Yorke Courtesy of Kobalt Music
Michelle Dorrance, Byron Tittle, Matthew “Megawatt” West
Dancers
Myelination (2017) Choreography Michelle Dorrance, in collaboration with and featuring improvisation by the dancers Additional Choreography Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie and Matthew “Megawatt” West Lighting Design Kathy Kaufmann Costume Design Amy Page Original Music Prawn til Dante (Donovan Dorrance and Gregory Richardson) with Aaron Marcellus Dance Captains Elizabeth Burke and Byron Tittle Dancers Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Christopher Broughton, Elizabeth Burke, Warren Craft, Michelle Dorrance, Gabe Winns Ortiz, Claudia Rahardjanoto, Leonardo Sandoval, Byron Tittle, Matthew “Megawatt” West Musicians Piano/Clarinet Donovan Dorrance Vocals/Keys Aaron Marcellus Bass/Clarinet Gregory Richardson Percussion Ben Teters Additional Guitar Warren Craft 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
The 2018 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Additional support provided by Gwynn’s of Mount Pleasant. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Dorrance Dance
Program Notes
ETM: Double Down This work is the initial exploration of a new world and a new collaboration. Constantly inspired by the range of possibilities inherent in being both dancers and musicians, in the visual and aural, we also embrace embodying the organic and inorganic, the acoustic and the electric. None of this work is remotely possible without tap dancer, percussionist, and innovator—my longtime friend—Nicholas Van Young. He is the man behind the curtain. He has been developing the instruments you see here and has been experimenting with the technologies you will see at work tonight for years in order to make this world possible. I also want to acknowledge our musical collaborators and friends, Gregory Richardson, Aaron Marcellus, Warren Craft, and Donovan Dorrance, who, with intuition, incredibly open minds, and a wonderful sensitivity to collaborating with the sounds of tap dance, have created some inspiring compositions. It has been a dream of mine for almost a decade to collaborate with my dear friend and multi-form dancer, Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, whose visual percussion, musical phrasing, and dynamic range of movement inspire me tremendously. Tap dance was America’s first street form and is deeply rooted in the foundations of hip hop and house dance. These communities have long been connected on the streets and in the club but are less likely to be found on the concert stage. As we enter the world of electronic music, looping and sampling, these worlds become even closer and that connection ever more important. Getting back to the beginning, I want to say thank you—thank you Nicholas Van Young, for your artistry, your creativity, your tireless and endless work, your inventive mind, your friendship, and your trust. I feel incredibly blessed to have been so warmly invited into your world to play and create.
– Michelle Dorrance
It started with the simple need to find a way to amplify tap dance without feedback so I could dance with a live band. Many people have used contact microphones (Gregory Hines, Tap Dogs, etc.), so I knew that was a possibility, and it led me to experimenting with guitar pedals and effects. I started looping hand and body percussion with live and affected tap dance. Being a drummer as well, and working with electronic music since the early days of EDM, I’ve stayed in touch with what’s happening in the music production and DJ community. I knew contact mics could be doubled as drum triggers, and I was already playing around with a masterful piece of software called Ableton—a live performance software digital audio workstation. I got the idea to create small trigger boards to dance on—essentially wooden drum pads. In conjunction with my main dance board and effects, this added a whole new sound set for me to experiment with. Over time, I took online courses in Ableton and began to understand its limitless possibilities. Soon, I was able to play notes, arpeggios, chords, sound bites, and quotes, and began composing scores in real time with improvised tap dance. The synthesized possibilities are endless, and the combination of this, with the acoustic sound and attack of tap dance, was a very exciting frontier for me to explore. The only thing missing was Michelle
Dorrance. As a member of Dorrance Dance, I was given my first opportunity to perform a solo using this electronic set up in an evening-length performance in Boston, presented by Thelma Goldberg in 2012. We, as kids, had dreams about experimenting with altered soundscapes for tap dance. We jokingly called it “tap to the max.” I was creating solos with my “compositional tap instrument,” but had visions of several dancers across a number of platforms and boards, dancing out elaborate choreographed phrases while simultaneously playing the musical composition. Once Michelle asked to me to collaborate on this show, I knew it “was on.” Her expansive creativity in tap choreography and movement, along with her sophisticated musical phrasing, started to unlock possibilities in our set that were getting us both so excited. Simple ideas led to large discoveries, and every time we workshopped an idea, 20 more were born. Needless to say, here we are, pushing ourselves to explore the sonic potential in tap dance and tap instruments. In some ways we have created the ultimate tap dancer’s playground, where you can let your imagination and your feet run wild. Enjoy.
– Nicholas Van Young
ETM: Double Down was created in part during a Creative Development Residency at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, in part at The Yard during a 2015 Yard Offshore Creation Residency, and during a residency provided by The Joyce Theater Foundation with major funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Three to One The creation of Three to One was made possible, in part, by the Danspace Project 2010 – 11 Commissioning Initiative with support from the Jerome Foundation. Danspace’s Commissioning Initiative is a core component of the Choreographic Center Without Walls (CW2). Myelination Myelination (2017 and 2015) has been commissioned by New York City Center for the Fall for Dance Festival with generous support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Music for Myelination (2015) commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation. Myelination (2017) has also been commissioned, in part, by Cal Performances, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California. Myelination (2017) was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Myelination (2017) was supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, Helen F. Whitaker Fund, and Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
Dorrance Dance
About the Company
DORRANCE DANCE is an award-winning tap dance company based out of New York City. The company’s work aims to honor tap dance’s uniquely beautiful history in a new, dynamic, and compelling context; not by stripping the form of its tradition, but by pushing it—rhythmically, technically, and conceptually. The company’s inaugural performance garnered a Bessie Award for “blasting open our notions of tap,” and the company continues its passionate commitment to expanding the audience of tap dance, America’s original art form. Founded in 2011 by artistic director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Michelle Dorrance, the company has received countless accolades, rave reviews, and performed for packed houses at venues including The Joyce Theater (New York), The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), New York City Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors (New York), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Becket, Massachusetts), Vail International Dance Festival (Vail, Colorado), National Arts Centre of Canada (Ontario, Canada), Fira Tarrega (Tarrega, Spain), Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt, Germany), Danse Danse Montreal (Montreal, Canada), and Hong Kong Arts Festival (Hong Kong), among others and including many colleges and universities across the United States. dorrancedance.com Artistic/Production Team
MICHELLE DORRANCE (artistic director/choreographer/ dancer) is a New York City-based artist. Mentored by Gene Medler, she grew up performing with his North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and was lucky to study under many of the last master hoofers. Career highlights include: STOMP, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap, Jason Samuels Smith’s Charlie’s Angels/ Chasing the Bird, Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer, Mable Lee’s Dancing Ladies, and Darwin Deez. Company work includes: Savion Glover’s Ti Dii, Manhattan Tap, Barbara Duffy, JazzTap Ensemble, RumbaTap, and solo work ranging from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to Damian Woetzel’s Vail Dance Festival projects, and a commission for the Martha Graham Dance Company. A 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Dorrance is humbled to have been acknowledged/supported by United States Artists, The Joyce Theater, New York City Center, the Alpert Awards, Jacob’s Pillow, Princess Grace Foundation, The Field, American Tap Dance Foundation, and the Bessie Awards. Dorrance holds a BA from New York University and is a Capezio Athlete.
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NICHOLAS VAN YOUNG (ETM co-creator/choreographer/ dancer) is a dancer, musician, choreographer, and a 2014 Bessie Award recipient. He began his professional career at age 16 under Acia Gray and Deidre Strand with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, Texas, eventually rising to principal dancer and resident choreographer. Since moving to New York, he has performed with Manhattan Tap, RumbaTap, Dorrance Dance, in the fusion Brazilian ensemble Beat the Donkey, has toured as a drummer for Darwin Deez, and spent almost a decade performing with STOMP, where he performed the lead role and acted as rehearsal director. Van Young tours both nationally and internationally, teaching and performing at various tap festivals, and founded Sound Movement dance company and Institute for The Rhythmic Arts. He is thrilled to have found a home with Dorrance Dance, co-creating and developing ETM: Double Down, and the Guggenheim Rotunda Project, both collaborative efforts with Michelle Dorrance. KATHY KAUFMANN (lighting designer), a New York City native, has been happily designing for Dorrance Dance since its inception (SOUNDspace, The Blues Project, ETM, Myelination). A resident designer at Danspace Project whose work has been seen throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, she also teaches at Sarah Lawrence College. A two-time Bessie Award recipient, she was nominated for work on Rebecca Davis’s Bloowst Windku at HERE in 2015. Most recent projects include designs for Joanna Kotze, Ben Kimitch, Eva Yaa Asentawa’s Skeleton Architecture, David Parker, Eiko and Koma, Larissa Velez Jackson, Rebecca Davis, and Ephrat Asherie. CHRISTOPHER MARC (production manager/sound engineer) has contributed to The Kennedy Center’s Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play!; the national tour of Clifford the Big Red Dog Live!; the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; Forever Plaid, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, and The Fantasticks. OffBroadway design credits include The Black Book, Aquila Theatre National Tour, Wuthering Heights, The Tempest, Fahrenheit 451, and Twelfth Night. DIEGO QUINTANAR (technical director/assistant stage manager) started working in theater production as a student at the College of the Holy Cross. He was introduced to Dorrance Dance through his work with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process series as a project coordinator. Other credits include: Latino Cultural Center and Wyly Theater in Dallas, Texas, where he worked as a carpenter and electrician; the Off-Broadway musical I Like It Like That as production manager in New York; Shen Wei Dance Arts in New York; and Dance Heginbotham in New York as an assistant stage manager and scenic charge. SERENA WONG (lighting supervisor) is a Brooklyn-based freelance lighting designer for theater and dance. Her designs have been seen at New York Live Arts, Irondale Arts Center, the New Ohio, and Danspace. She enjoys biking, beekeeping, and bread baking.
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Dorrance Dance
Performers
EPHRAT “BOUNCE” ASHERIE (dancer), a 2016 Bessie Award winner for Innovative Achievement in Dance, is a New York City-based B-girl, dancer, and choreographer. As artistic director of Ephrat Asherie Dance, she has presented work at Jacob’s Pillow, FiraTarrega, and New York Live Arts, among others. Asherie has received numerous awards to support her work, including a National Dance Project Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts, a Mondo Cane! Commission from Dixon Place, and an Extended Life Residency from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Asherie has taught at Wesleyan University and is on faculty at Broadway Dance Center. For more information, visit ephratasheriedance.com. CHRISTOPHER BROUGHTON (dancer), born and raised in Los Angeles, began dancing at age 11 and has never looked back. Under the instruction of Paul and Arlene Kennedy at Universal Dance, he became a member of The Kennedy Tap Company, receiving the national NAACP ACT-SO Award twice. He now travels worldwide as a soloist and with Jason Samuels Smith’s A.C.G.I., Rasta Thomas’s Tap Stars, and Dorrance Dance. Performances include New York City Center’s Cotton Club Parade; JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance at the Kennedy Center; and Broadway’s Tony & Astaire Awardwinning production After Midnight. ELIZABETH BURKE (rehearsal director/dancer) is a Chapel Hill, North Carolina, native who spent 11 years under the direction of her mentor, Gene Medler, in the acclaimed North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble. Burke has been with Dorrance Dance since its inception in 2011. She pursues her own choreographic work, teaches, and performs as a soloist on occasion. She is an alumna of the School at Jacob’s Pillow and Marymount Manhattan College (BA in political science, BA in communication arts, magna cum laude). WARREN CRAFT (dancer/musician) is a New York City tap dancer who has trained in ballet with both the American Ballet Theatre and the School of American Ballet. He has been a member of Brenda Bufalino’s New American Tap Dance Orchestra, Max Pollak’s RumbaTap, and Dorrance Dance. He moves with “bizarre physicality,” and “unconventional eloquence” (The New York Times).
DONOVAN DORRANCE (musical director/composer/ musician) hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he studied piano, guitar, drums, and voice before attending The University of North Carolina for a BA in philosophy. After singing in an a cappella group, drumming in an indie-rock band, and receiving a degree fit for waiting tables for the rest of his life, Dorrance moved to Brooklyn to assist his sister’s company and pursue his passion for music. In his spare time, he composes music with Gregory Richardson for Dorrance Dance, takes online business courses, and is occasionally published in his UNC professors’ books in the field of philosophy. AARON MARCELLUS (co-composer/musician), singer, vocal coach, writer, musician, dancer, and actor from Atlanta, started in gospel music and has performed around the world. He has recorded albums and was voted top 24 on American Idol in 2011. After a world tour, Marcellus was featured in a Chapstick commercial, NBC’s Next Caller and was a cast member of STOMP. Marcellus also hosts a burlesque show at Duane Park. Most importantly, he founded both Surrender To Love, LLC, a foundation that supports arts programs and seeks to feed the hungry, and Adventure Voice, a training program offering vocal classes for groups and individuals. GABE WINNS ORTIZ (dancer), 27, was born and raised in San Diego, California. He started dancing at age 11, and his love for the art form has continued to grow ever since. He has toured worldwide with the critically acclaimed stage show Tap Kids, and since moving to New York City, has worked with various companies, including RumbaTap, Dorrance Dance, and Swing FX. He also directs his own group called the Students of Sound, and teaches at the American Tap Dance Foundation. Television credits include America’s Most Talented Kids (2002), America’s Got Talent (2011), and FakeOff (2014). CLAUDIA RAHARDJANOTO (dancer), born and raised in Berlin, Germany, started dancing professionally at age nine at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Named one of “25 To Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2010 and featured on the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine in 2011, Rahardjanoto has danced with and learned from Andreas Dänel, Sven Göttlicher, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Michelle Dorrance, Derick K. Grant, Brenda Bufalino, Roxane Butterfly, Andrew Nemr, Barbara Duffy, Jane Goldberg, Jared Grimes, Max Pollak, Michael Minery, the late Harold “Stumpy” Cromer, and the legendary Mable Lee, among others. She is grateful to be able to share her passion and love for tap dance through her performances and teaching worldwide.
Dorrance Dance
GREGORY RICHARDSON (composer/musician) was born in Tucson, Arizona, and learned rhythm and blues at an early age from a family of musicians where everyone could play at least a little piano and everyone was expected to sing. As a member of the band Darwin Deez, Richardson has performed at many of the world’s largest music festivals. In recent years, he’s found a second home with the New York City tap dance community, composing for and/or performing in several Dorrance Dance works, including Myelination, which was commissioned by the Fall for Dance Festival and premiered at New York City Center. LEONARDO SANDOVAL (dancer) has established a reputation in the tap world and beyond for his musicality, and for adding his own Brazilian flavor to tap. Sandoval co-founded the Cia Carioca de Sapateado in Rio de Janeiro, bringing tap to a wider audience in Brazil. Since moving to New York in 2013, he has performed with Dorrance Dance, as a solo artist, and presented work as a choreographer at venues across the US and abroad. BEN TETERS (musician) is a Brooklyn-based drummer and percussionist. He was born into a family of musicians and began honing his skills as a drummer at age 7, forming his first band at 15. Teters is a 2012 graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with Kenwood Dennard, Mike Mangini, Larry Finn, and Mark Walker. Since moving to New York City, he has been active on the NYC scene and maintained a busy touring schedule. His versatility, rock-solid groove, and free-flowing incorporation of Afro-Latin rhythms into contemporary music have led him to a host of musical collaborations, regularly performing, recording, writing, and touring with some of the finest artists from New York and beyond. BYRON TITTLE (dancer) has been dancing since age 7 in his hometown of New York. Starting with tap and ballet, he soon grew to enjoy the different genres and aesthetics in the entire realm of dance. He began tap dancing with David Rider and then with the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Tap City Youth Ensemble. There, he met Michelle Dorrance and continually took her master classes and workshops. He joined the company in 2014 and has been consistently involved since then. Commercially, he has danced for Janet Jackson and Nicki Minaj but feels most fulfilled on stage with Dorrance Dance. MATTHEW “MEGAWATT” WEST (dancer) started dancing at 16 on his church’s dance team in Queens, New York, and with the company On Point Choreography, with which he learned challenging choreography and mastered different styles within hip-hop dance. He has competed in several Bboy competitions, and strives to impart knowledge and wisdom on the next generation of dancers. He has taught at Coney Island’s Shining Angels Studio and at afterschool programs in Queens. West is an avid listener of house music and a dedicated student of house dance, training with the New York City crew MAWU, Conrad Rochester, and James “Cricket” Colter.
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One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures / NEW BODIES
ONE OF SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND GESTURES / NEW BODIES
Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston
June 7, 7:30pm; June 8, 7:00pm; June 9, 2:00pm and 7:00pm; June 10, 2:00pm
One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures (2012) Choreography Trisha Brown and Jodi Melnick Music Hahn Rowe Costume Design Yeohlee Teng Lighting Design Joe Levasseur Dancer Jodi Melnick For Burt and Trisha
NEW BODIES (2016)
Choreography Jodi Melnick Music Continuum by Gyรถrgy Ligeti Retro-decay by Robert Boston (Original Track created for NEW BODIES) Passacaglia by Henrich Biber Violin Monica Davis Harpsichord Robert Boston Costume Design Marc Happel Lighting Design Joe Levasseur Moderator Nicole Taney Dancers Jared Angle, Sara Mearns, Taylor Stanley 1 hour | Performed without an intermission
The 2018 dance series is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Additional support is provided by the Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Produced by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.
One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures / NEW BODIES
Choreography
JODI MELNICK (dancer/choreographer) is honored with a Doris Duke Impact Award, a 2016 – 17 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Extended Life grant, a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship, a Jerome Robbins New Essential Works grant (2010 – 11), a Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant (2011), and two Bessie Awards for sustained achievement in dance (2001 and 2008). Melnick’s work has been presented at BAM’s Fisher theater; City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival; The Joyce Theater; New York Live Arts; The Kitchen; La Mama; Jacob’s Pillow; DanceBox in Kansai, Japan; and the Dublin Dance Festival. Melnick collaborated with Trisha Brown, creating and performing the solo One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures, and has had the privilege of working with choreographers/artists Twyla Tharp (1990 – 94, 2009), Mikhail Baryshnikov (2005 – 08), Burt Barr, and continues to perform and collaborate with Sara Rudner, Vicky Shick, Jon Kinzel, Rashaun Mitchell, Beth Gill, Yoshiko Chuma, Charles Atlas, and David Neumann. Melnick teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and Barnard College. TRISHA BROWN (choreographer) was one of the most acclaimed and influential choreographers and dancers of her time; her groundbreaking work forever changed the landscape of art. From her roots in rural Aberdeen, Washington, her birthplace, Brown arrived in New York in 1961. Expanding the physical behaviors that qualified as dance, she discovered the extraordinary in the everyday, and brought tasks, natural movement, and improvisation into the making of choreography. With the founding of Trisha Brown Dance Company in 1970, Brown set off on her own distinctive path of artistic investigation and ceaseless experimentation, which extended for 40 years. In the 1970s, as Brown strove to invent an original abstract movement language—one of her singular achievements—it was art galleries, museums and international exhibitions that provided her work its most important presentation context. Brown’s movement vocabulary and the new methods that she and her dancers adopted to train their bodies remain one of her most pervasively impactful legacies within international dance practice. Designers
MARC HAPPEL (costume designer) is the director of costumes at New York City Ballet (NYCB). For more than 30 years, he has worked in costume in NYCB, the Metropolitan Opera, Barbara Matera Ltd, and his own costume company, Marc Happel Ltd. As a designer for NYCB, his designs include: the recent re-design of George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Oltremare, Luce Nascosta (Bigonzetti), Quasi Una Fantasia, Why Am I Not Where You Are (Millepied), Namouna (Ratmansky), and Mirage (Martins). For Alvin Ailey, he designed Festa Barocca (Bigonzetti). Stage credits include: Kitty Killer and Charlie (Theatre Couture); TellTale (Performance Space 122/Cherry Lane); Kiki & Herb: Stop, Drop, & Roll, Do You Here What I Hear, and Kiki & Herb Will Die For You (Carnegie Hall); Coup de Theatre (Cherry Lane); and Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway (Helen Hayes Theatre). Film credits include: Wigstock: The Movie.
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YEOHLEE TENG (costume designer) is the founder of YEOHLEE Inc., a fashion enterprise based in New York. Teng believes design serves a function. She believes that “clothes have magic. Their geometry forms shapes that can lend a wearer power.” Teng’s work is in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where curator Richard Martin hailed her as “one of the few practitioners of her art who has fully eschewed fashion-hyperbole to engage in a critical discourse about clothing in space, on the body and in anthropometrics. Intellectually, Yeohlee is the new Bernard Rudofsky, offering insights into clothing as cultural anthropology.” Teng is the recipient of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion 2004. JOE LEVASSEUR (lighting designer) has collaborated with many dance and performance artists, including: Big Dance Theater, Jennifer Monson, John Jasperse, Sarah Michelson, Neil Greenberg, David Dorfman, Jodi Melnick, RoseAnne Spradlin, Maria Hassabi, Ishmael Houston-Jones, and Amanda Loulaki. His lighting design work has been seen throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, and has received two Bessie Awards. In 2009, his Drop Clock installation was featured in the lobby of Dance Theater Workshop (New York Live Arts). In 2010, he showed a collection of original paintings at Performance Space 122, and in 2013 was commissioned to paint an original mural for AUNTS. Ongoing projects include lighting work for Brian Brooks/Wendy Whelan, Big Dance Theater, and Palissimo. joelevasseur.com Dancers
JARED ANGLE (dancer), a principal dancer with New York City Ballet (NYCB) since 2005, was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He began dance training at the Allegheny Ballet Academy, received the Rudolf Nureyev Scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet in 1996, joined NYCB in 1998, and was awarded a Princess Grace Foundation USA Dance Fellowship in 2001. Since joining NYCB, Angle has performed many works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins. He has originated roles in ballets by Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Millepied, Justin Peck, Richard Tanner, Helgi Tomasson, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others. Guest appearances include: Rome Opera Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater, as part of San Francisco Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season, the 22nd International Ballet Festival Havana, and the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors televised on CBS.
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One of Sixty-Five Thousand Gestures / NEW BODIES
SARA MEARNS (dancer), a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, began her training in Columbia, South Carolina. She is engaged to famed Broadway choreographer Joshua Bergasse. Mearns is known for her roles in Swan Lake, Balanchine’s “Diamonds” from Jewels, and Walpurgisnacht Ballet. She has worked with such choreographers as Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, Benjamin Millipied, Peter Martins, Susan Stroman, Liz Gerring, Pontus Lindberg, and Kim Brandstrup. Mearns has also recently guested with the Isadora Duncan Foundation at The Joyce Theater, The Ashley Bouder Project, hip-hop company Wang/Ramirez at New York City Center, and joined Matthew Bourne’s production of The Red Shoes at New York City Center. In March 2018, Mearns was a guest with Paul Taylor Dance Company to perform iconic Isadora Duncan works. Mearns has been nominated twice for the Benois de la Dance award for outstanding performance, the Bessie Award for outstanding performance, as well as the Princess Grace Award. GRETCHEN SMITH (dancer) was born in Evansville, Indiana, and began her dance training at age 7 with Evansville Dance Theatre. Smith began studying at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2003 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student that fall. Smith became an apprentice with NYCB in October 2005, and in February 2006, she joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet. TAYLOR STANLEY (dancer) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began his dance training at age 3 at The Rock School for Dance Education in Pennsylvania. He attended summer programs at Miami City Ballet in 2006 and 2007, and at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, during the summer of 2008, before enrolling full-time at SAB in the fall of that same year. In September 2009, Stanley became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2010. He was promoted to soloist in February 2013 and to principal dancer in May 2016. Music
ROBERT BOSTON (composer/harpsichord) regularly performs free jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and electronic music. Boston fuses his eclectic experiences, finding form within mechanical noise and functionality of harmony/ melody for each specific dance piece or instrumentation. He has scored dances by Korhan Basaran, Diane Coburn Bruning, Giada Ferrone, Loni Landon, Lone Larsen, Jodi Melnick, Pietro Pireddu, Caitlin Trainor, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Boston has appeared on NPR’s Front Row and at the Prospect Park Bandshell, the Joyce Theater, 92Y Tribeca, The Knitting Factory, The Stone, Rockwood Music Hall, and Pianos, among others. Formerly principal pianist for the Mark Morris Dance Group, he is currently music director at Barnard College department of dance.
MONICA DAVIS (violin), based in New York City, is a soughtafter collaborator whose playing has been described as “refined and attractive” by The New York Times. Davis holds a master’s degree in violin performance from The Manhattan School of Music, and a bachelor’s degree in history from Columbia University. Davis has shared the stage with a wide variety of artists, recently with Solange at Radio City Music Hall, and led the string quartet on Regina Spektor’s 2017 North American and European tour. She regularly plays with the New Jersey Symphony and is a member of the New York-based orchestra Uptown Philharmonic. Davis performed selections from Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo with the Mark Morris Dance Group Student Company (2017). She has played in more than 15 Broadway shows and is currently concertmaster of the hit Broadway musical, Anastasia. This year she is looking forward to collaborations with choreographers Jodi Melnick and Camille A. Brown. HAHN ROWE (composer) is a composer, producer, and multiinstrumentalist who has worked with Hugo Largo, David Byrne, Antony and the Johnsons, Glenn Branca, Swans, R.E.M., and Yoko Ono, among many others. A recipient of three New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessie Awards), Rowe has a long history scoring music for dance and theater, working with Meg Stuart, Benoît Lachambre, Louise Lecavalier, Bebe Miller, John Jasperse, Simone Aughterlony, and Antonija Livingstone. He is active as a composer for film and television, creating scores for such films as Clean, Shaven by Lodge Kerrigan; Spring Forward and The Cold Land by Tom Gilroy; Married in America by Michael Apted; and Sing Your Song by Susanne Rostock. Recently, he created a live sound installation for the monthlong chain performance, Ghost Telephone, curated by Adrian Heathfield and presented in the Biennale of Sydney (2016), and a live sound score for the light/performance work, A Possibility of an Abstraction by Germaine Kruip. Moderator
NICOLE TANEY is the director of artistic planning and operations for Spoleto Festival USA. Prior to joining the Festival, she worked as director of producing and touring for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, company manager for New York City Ballet, and general manager for Trisha Brown Dance Company. She also worked for Carnegie Hall and CooperHewitt National Design Museum and holds a master’s degree in arts administration from Columbia University.
Works & Process at the Guggenheim: Since 1984, Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, has offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators and performers and has championed and commissioned new works for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Rotunda and Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim. In January 2018 Works & Process announced that for the first time two of its recent commissions, Battleground by Ryan McNamara and NEW BODIES by Jodi Melnick, will be available for touring in partnership with Sunny Artist Management. Works & Process hopes to extend this touring initiative to its other projects and future commissions with the growth of this new venture.
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
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Kneehigh and Bristol Old Vic
THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK Dock Street Theatre
May 24, 8:00pm (preview); May 25, 8:00pm; May 27, 3:30pm and 8:00pm; May 28, 3:30pm and 8:00; May 30, 7:30pm; May 31, 7:30pm; June 2, 3:30pm and 8:00pm; June 3, 3:30pm and 8:00pm; June 5, 7:30pm; June 6, 7:30pm; June 8, 7:30pm; June 9, 3:30pm and 8:00pm; June 10, 3:30pm
Playwright Daniel Jamieson Director Emma Rice Composer and Music Director Ian Ross Scenic and Costume Designer Sophia Clist Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth Sound Designer Simon Baker Choreographers Emma Rice and Etta Murfitt Cast Marc Chagall Marc Antolin Bella Chagall Daisy Maywood Musician James Gow Musician Ian Ross
Assistant Director Casting Directors Production Manager Company Stage Manager
Keziah Serreau Georgia Simpson, CDG, and Lucy Taylor Aled William Thomas Steph Curtis
1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Sponsored by South State Bank. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
Director’s Note
Writer’s Note
Before his wedding to Bella, Marc says of the guests: “Look at them....If only they knew. This isn’t the crisp white start they think it is. My knowing you has already seeped backwards as well as forwards in time so my whole life is pervaded with the colour of loving you.”
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is first and foremost a love story. From the moment they fell for each other in Vitebsk, Belarus, in 1909, Marc Chagall and his wife, Bella, seemed to share a particular way of seeing the world. Bella was a talented writer and her description of their first encounter is like a Chagall painting in words: “The door opened wider…I felt hot with apprehension…as if something were scorching me. Light spread over the walls, and against them appeared the face of a boy…his eyes, they were as blue as if they’d fallen straight out of the sky.”
I feel that I could say the same of my relationship with The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. It reaches into the future whilst holding onto the past, reigniting parts of my own history that might perhaps have stayed dimmed if this precious show hadn’t brought them back into the light. Written over 25 years ago, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk premiered with me as the original Bella. Marc was played by the author, Daniel Jamieson. We were a couple, soon to be married and, in those days, the play was called Birthday. Made by two people very much in love about two people very much in love, I remember vividly the passion we felt for the piece. It was the 1990s and we were fascinated by Eastern Europe. We had both visited Poland and trained with the Gardzienice Theatre Association. We had heard first-hand stories of communism and martial law, and had had the privilege of witnessing a fearless and ferocious kind of theatre-making that made British theatre look feeble by comparison. We resolved to change the world and set about becoming master and mistress of our own fate. On a visit to Paris, we saw Marc Chagall’s “Double Portrait with a Glass of Wine” in the Centre Pompidou. It loomed over us with a mysterious joy, toasting the possibilities of life. Dan wrote me a poem. “She looks like you” it read, and with those words it all began. It felt as if, through time and form, one couple looked another in the eye. Marc and Bella challenged us to be artists and, looking back, I believe they provoked our creative “birthday.” We slipped our happy young feet into the shoes of these incredible people and started to imagine a life far more complex and threatened than our own. Returning to this show in 2016, many things had changed. Married no more, Dan and I were able to revisit Marc and Bella older, kinder, and wiser. This time we slipped our middleaged feet into shoes more delicate and, perhaps, a little more uncomfortable. Now the couple from the painting in Paris challenged us to look round corners and dig more deeply into the politics of their lives: personal and historical. They demanded we show a life not only filled with hope, love, and invention, but also one filled with fear, homelessness, and personal compromise. I feel I have grown up with Marc and Bella. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk swirls around my life like fragments of a beautiful broken mirror, moving through space and time. Perhaps the fragments are not quite in the same place or order as they once were, or where I thought they would end up, but they are beautiful and precious nonetheless. I carry it in my heart. – Emma Rice
Famously, Marc often painted himself and Bella flying together, as if their shared joy had such force it defied the law of gravity itself. In his painting “Birthday,” they appear surprised by their flight, rising towards the ceiling like two astonished bubbles of ecstasy. In “Over the Town,” they drift high over Vitebsk as you only fly in dreams, but magically sharing the same floating reverie. There can be few more vivid evocations in art of how it feels to be in love. The Chagalls’ story is also remarkable because it is so interwoven with 20th-century history. Marc was in Paris before the First World War, when modernism was at its height and cubism was just taking off. He briefly returned to Russia to marry Bella and got trapped there by the war, narrowly avoiding conscription into the Tsar’s army. They were then swept up in the Russian Revolution and when they did finally make it back to Western Europe, they got caught up in the beginnings of the Holocaust. They just escaped from France to America by the skin of their teeth in 1941. But there is a contemporary resonance to The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk as well, because it deals with the trauma of the refugee experience. In exile, Marc and Bella watched in horror as the Jewish homeland of their youth was systematically destroyed and the Nazis set about murdering the entire Jewish population of Europe. There is a strong sense of their homesickness for a home that no longer exists. This must surely echo the experience of those who’ve fled from Mosul or Homs or Rakhine State today. If and when these people can return, will there be anything left of the home they left behind? The theme of exile also gives the show an international flavor, which carries through into the language— many of the songs are in Yiddish, Russian, or French. There is a celebration of the texture of different languages, their beauty beyond meaning. In this way the show invites an enjoyment of moving between cultures as if laying down rugs between houses for a party. Perhaps we don’t always need to understand each other’s every word to enjoy each other’s company. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is quite unusual for Kneehigh in that it only has two characters—just Marc and Bella—but it has the chutzpah of Kneehigh’s grander work on a chamber scale. This intimacy suits what remains, after all, at its heart: the story of two people in love. – Daniel Jamieson
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
Artistic Team
DANIEL JAMIESON (writer) for the last 27 years has worked for Exeter-based Theatre Alibi as an actor, joint artistic director (1995 – 2000), and writer. In 2015, he won an ACA award for his writing for children with the company. His plays for Alibi include: Falling, Hammer and Tongs, Goucher’s War, Cobbo, Caught, One in a Million, The Freeze, Shelf Life, Little White Lies, The Swell, Sea of Faces, and Birthday. He has also adapted novels by Charles Dickens, Graham Greene, Michael Morpurgo, and Dick King-Smith for the company. Other theater work includes: A Box of Photographs and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Polka Theatre); Where’s the Bear, Wish Wash, Knitwits, and Flathampton (Northampton Theatres). For BBC R4, Jamieson has written Lodsell Cod, Grooming, Jim and Tonic, Building Happiness, and Charity. In 2013, Jamieson was Leverhulme artist-in-residence at the University of Exeter’s Mood Disorders Centre. He is currently writing a screenplay of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk and he is excited to be developing a new show with Kneehigh about Marie Curie for 2019. EMMA RICE (director/co-choreographer) was formerly artistic director for Shakespeare’s Globe, and for them directed Romantics Anonymous, Twelfth Night, The Little Matchgirl, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For the last 24 years, she has worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director, and artistic director. Her productions for Kneehigh include: 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips; Tristan & Yseult; The Red Shoes; The Wooden Frock; The Bacchae; Cymbeline (in association with Royal Shakespeare Company); A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre); Rapunzel (in association with Battersea Arts Centre); Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Production); Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic); The Wild Bride; Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages), and Steptoe and Son. Other work includes: the West End production of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Empress (RSC), and An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). She was made an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University last year for her outstanding contribution to the dramatic arts and Brief Encounter is returning to the West End. Her new company, Wise Children, will premiere its first production in autumn 2018 and is the next big adventure of her career!
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SOPHIA CLIST (scenic and costume designer) works from a background of sculpture, making participatory and interactive work. Recent projects include: Journey to the Impossible (Little Soldier, The Bike Shed Theatre); Get Happy (Told by An Idiot, Beijing Comedy Festival, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg); Parallelist (Clay Gold and Laura Moody, Aldeburgh Festival); Stretch (Sophia Clist with Nick Burge, Exeter Cathedral); And The Horse You Rode In On (Told by An Idiot, Barbican, Brighton Festival, Drum Theatre Plymouth); 16 Singers (Katherine Morley, Dance Umbrella, The Egg); Life Forces (Jane Mason with Phil Smith); Grandmothers (Encounters Arts); Phenomenal People (Fuel); and In This Place (Pentabus Theatre). Associate artist of Theatre-Rites from 1997 – 2007, Clist co-created the company’s award-winning dance-theater production of Mischief with Arthur Pita—Sadler’s Wells. Clist is currently working with Improbable on The Paper Man (Norfolk and Norwich Festival, La Strada, Graz). MALCOLM RIPPETH (lighting designer) is an associate artist at Kneehigh, whose productions include The Tin Drum, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Tristan & Yseult. He is the recipient of a WhatsOnStage Award and a Village Voice OBIE for his work on Kneehigh’s Brief Encounter (West End and Broadway), and has recently been nominated for Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and New York Drama Desk Awards for his work with the company. His other work includes: Twelfth Night, The Little Matchgirl, and Romantics Anonymous (Shakespeare’s Globe); Titus Andronicus and The Empress (Royal Shakespeare Company); Decade and Six Characters in Search of an Author (Headlong); The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Chichester Festival Theatre); Calendar Girls (West End/Australia/Canada); The Dead (Abbey Theatre, Dublin); The Birthday Party (Manchester Royal Exchange); Spur of the Moment (Royal Court Theatre); Wallflower (Quarantine); Pleasure (Opera North); Idomeneo (Garsington Opera); In Parenthesis (Washington National Opera); Le Premier Meurtre (Opéra de Lille); and Alcina (Santa Fe Opera). SIMON BAKER (sound designer) is an associate artist at the Old Vic (London), Kneehigh, and part of Emma Rice’s new company, Wise Children. He is a recipient of several awards including an Olivier for Matilda. His most recent work includes: Pinocchio (National Theatre); Girl From The North Country (West End); Groundhog Day (Broadway); A Christmas Carol, The Caretaker, Master Builder, and Future Conditional (Old Vic); Grinning Man (West End and Bristol Old Vic), Romantics Anonymous, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Matilda (Worldwide); 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Rebecca, The Wild Bride, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, and Brief Encounter (Olivier and Tony nominations), and Steptoe and Son (Kneehigh); The Light Princess (Olivier Nomination); and The Amen Corner (National Theatre).
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The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
ETTA MURFITT (co-choreographer) is an associate artist at Kneehigh and has choreographed The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Midnight’s Pumpkin, The Wild Bride, Steptoe and Son, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs), and The Tin Drum. Murfitt has recently become an associate of Shakespeare’s Globe. She is also the associate artistic director of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and Re: Bourne (their education arm). She has created, performed in, and collaborated on many productions with New Adventures including Nutcracker!, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands, Sleeping Beauty, and The Red Shoes. Cast
MARC ANTOLIN (Marc Chagall) has appeared in numerous stage works, including Romantics Anonymous (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse); Peter Pan (National Theatre); Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Trial (Young Vic); Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Chichester Minerva); Amadeus, Singin’ in the Rain, and The Music Man (Chichester Festival Theatre); From Here to Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre); Matilda (Royal Shakespeare Company Courtyard Theatre/Cambridge Theatre); Into the Woods and Hello, Dolly! (Regents Park Open Air Theatre); Billy Liar (UK Tour); and Imagine This (New London Theatre). His film credits include: London Road, Coconut Shy, and Love Actually; his television credits include More Than Love. DAISY MAYWOOD (Bella Chagall) has appeared in numerous stage works, playing such roles as: Fran Kubelik in Promises, Promises (Southwark Playhouse); Humpty in wonder.land (National Theatre); Medea (National Theatre); Bebe in A Chorus Line (London Palladium); Maria in West Side Story (Royal Shakespeare Company/ Sage Gateshead); Dainty June in Gypsy and Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street (Leicester Curve); Meg in The Phantom Of The Opera—25th Anniversary (Royal Albert Hall); ensemble in Les Miserables—25th Anniversary (O2/Queens Theatre). Her television credits include the role of April Compton in Doctors, BBC; and film credits include London Road, CUBA pictures.
JAMES GOW (musician) is a multiinstrumentalist and composer with a BA in music from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Outside of the theater, he plays with or alongside several bands including Still Blue Life, Cocos Lovers, Molly’s Lips, Eleven Magpies, and Three Cane Whale. Gow has also appeared in Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs), Tristan & Yseult, and Brief Encounter for Kneehigh. IAN ROSS (musician/composer/music director) is a multi-instrumentalist, associate artist of Kneehigh, and composer. He leads the band Eleven Magpies. As a performer, Ross has toured extensively with Kneehigh over the last 10 years in shows including The Red Shoes, Don John, The Wild Bride, and Tristan & Yseult. As a composer, he has worked on Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe) and The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Kneehigh). Ross is very excited to be joining Emma Rice on her new adventure, Wise Children, in 2018. Producers
KNEEHIGH (co-producer) has, for 35 years, created vigorous, popular, and challenging theater, with joyful anarchy. We have performed everywhere from village halls to castles, disused quarries to conventional stages all over the world. From our breathtaking barns in Cornwall, we create theater of humanity on an epic and tiny scale. Led by Mike Shepherd, we work with an ever-changing bunch of talented and like-minded performers, artists, makers, and musicians and are passionate about the creative process. Other Kneehigh works presented at Spoleto Festival USA include: The Red Shoes (2011), Don John (2009), and Tristan & Yseult (2006). We’re often asked how we make our shows and we’ve created an exclusive website to give you a glimpse behind the scenes. The Cookbook is crammed full of videos, documents, pictures, and plans, providing you with some of the magic ingredients that go into our shows. More details at kneehighcookbook.co.uk. BRISTOL OLD VIC (co-producer) is the oldest continuously working theater in the United Kingdom. Our mission is to create pioneering 21st-century theater in partnership with the people of Bristol, inspired by the history and magical design of the most beautiful playhouse in the country. We are led by artists who see the world with distinctive clarity and whose ability to articulate what they see allows us to understand and engage with our world afresh. The company’s program includes original production, artist development, and outreach; its work connects on a local, national, and international level. In 2016, Bristol Old Vic marked its 250th birthday, celebrating with a season of work from the theater’s history as well as its future. Work also began on the final phase of the building’s capital development, which will deliver a new foyer and studio theater in 2018 designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Haworth Tompkins.
The Pied Piper
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Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company
THE PIED PIPER
Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston
Director, Text, and Costumes Music English Translation Lyric Opera Scenic Design, Sculptor, and Lighting Designer Technical Director Designer Hairdresser Costume Construction Toolmakers Puppeteers
May 25, 4:00pm and 7:00pm; May 26, 12:00pm and 5:00pm; May 27, 12:00pm Eugenio Monti Colla Danilo Lorenzini and Giuseppe Azzarelli Nadia Boaretto Enzo Oddone Franco Citterio Tiziano Marcolegio Maria Grazia Citterio Mariapia Lanino, Sheila Perego, Cecilia di Marco, Debora Coviello Giovanni Schiavolin, Camillo Cosulich, Paolo Sette Franco Citterio, Maria Grazia Citterio, Piero Corbella, Camillo Cosulich, Debora Coviello, Carlo Decio, Cecilia di Marco, Tiziano Marcolegio, Pietro Monti, Giovanni Schiavolin, Paolo Sette
The Voices Michael Cooke, Daniel Hird, Matthew O'Hara, Laura Pasetti, Paul Ross, Riley Stewart, Clare Waugh Recorded in Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, Sub Station Studio in collaboration with CharioteerTheatre Directed by Laura Pasetti; Assistant: Carlotta la Floresta Music Recording Singers Liliana Oliveri, Andrea Thomas Gambetti, Filippo Tuccimei Musicians Erika Barba, Alessandro Lamperti, Danilo Lorenzini, Erika Macalli, Daniele Moretto, Antonio Papetti, Daniele Sozzani Desperati, Paolo Sportelli Directors Danilo Lorenzini and Giuseppe Azzarelli Recorded in Milan, Il Borgo della Musica Characters The Burgomaster of Hamelin Lise, his daughter Members of the Town Council: Master Gropius, banker; Doctor Gunther, physician; Master Jacob, notary Otto, blacksmith Fritz, barber Kurt, baker Franz, innkeeper Burgomaster’s pages : Mathias, Wilhelm Hans Frida, old peasant woman The patrol The brewmasters The music band The young betrothed Children, men, and women from Hamelin The foreigner The imperial messenger
1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed with one intermission These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company is supported by Mibact, Regione Lombardia, Comune di Milano, and Masidef – Würth Gruppe.
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The Pied Piper
Program Note
Is it a metaphor? A poetic journey? An oneiric suggestion? Perhaps The Pied Piper is a little bit of everything. Because of their specific language, marionettes have a life of their own, hence the re-elaboration of the famous tale by the Grimm brothers with more complex dramaturgic situations and new characters. All in all, marionettes regain here their old satirical function as keen commenters of historical events and of social changes in the past. This satirical role goes side by side with the poignant need of nostalgia, of melancholy, of poetry evoked by these moving “objects/creatures”—their novelties lie in both features and roles. They become a projection of fantasizing about places, sounds, and actions; they wear flamboyant, colored costumes in order to be the “actors” onstage. A good number of subtle cues is offered for discussion about all of us, about times long past, in an undertone, as befits this miniature world, midway between dreams and thoughts. – Eugenio Monti Colla Synopsis
Part I | Scene 1: Hamelin Hamelin, a rich town in Saxony, celebrates the grape harvest with a feast. Girls carry basketfuls of grapes, while carts parade in the streets displaying huge beer barrels in an atmosphere of rejoicing and cheerfulness. The Burgomaster responds to the acclamation of the crowd by praising the citizens’ industriousness and the town’s wealth, which is the pride and renown of the whole Empire. In spite of the widespread mirth, some inhabitants are troubled by the presence of the young poet Hans, who seems to skip practical activities and prefers to linger with animals and kids, playing, reading poems, telling stories and legends, contemplating natural beauties. The Burgomaster fears that this may deter the young ones from their daily chores and future tasks, so he orders that the animals be put into cages and left in the woods outside the town walls. Besides, children will be forbidden from seeing Hans. People depart to carry out these assignments but Lise, the Burgomaster’s young daughter, tries to convince him to back off from such decisions. Meanwhile, here comes Hans, distressed by the citizens’ insensitivity. This attitude arouses the wrath of the Burgomaster, who banishes him from the city with insults and bad words. The children’s weeping accompanies from afar the sad exile of animals, driven out of town, into the woods. Scene 2: A glade in the woods Hans tries to cheer up the dejected animals, which are squatting on the grass. Lise comes to ask him to return to Hamelin and to present his act of submission to the Town Council. Hans refuses to yield to threats and, all of a sudden, a foreigner surprises them with his mysterious arrival. He spurs the young couple to stick to their pure hearts and promises that nothing will hamper their love. When the sun sets in the sky, the foreigner heads towards Hamelin’s gates.
Scene 3: Hamelin’s boroughs Darkness envelopes the city. The patrolman invites the population to rest in peace and quiet. The foreigner appears on the horizon and plays a sweet melody with his pipe. Suddenly, multitudes of hungry rats swarm everywhere and devour whatever they find. Scene 4: The tavern The councillors meet to decide how to face the rats invasion and the risk of total destruction. Terrible news comes from different places in town, and panic is spreading. The Burgomaster decrees a reward will be paid to whoever will save Hamelin from the dreadful scourge. Among the general surprise, the foreigner offers to save the city for a prize of one thousand gold coins. They all agree to the plan and express everlasting gratitude. He walks away to achieve what he promised. Scene 5: The Weser banks The foreigner’s pipe plays a sweet melody, which attracts the rats. They swarm out of the city and drown themselves in the waters of the river Weser. Part II | Scene 6: Hamelin Town Hall The Burgomaster and the councillors are going berserk because the foreigner is waiting for his reward in the town square. Five days have elapsed since his prodigious deliverance from the rats, but the Burgomaster does not want to give him one thousand gold coins. As an alternative, he proposes to dedicate a monument in memory of the generous deed which has saved Hamelin. The foreigner refuses to be swindled but the councillors deny any previous agreement concerning money and pretend to be shocked by the fact that a charitable action may be exchanged with filthy lucre. The foreigner is outraged by their hypocrisy and leaves the hall threatening a memorable revenge. Scene 7: The central square in Hamelin At the sound of the foreigner’s pipe, the children of Hamelin leave their homes and walk away, into the woods. Their fathers and mothers are desperate but powerless. Scene 8: The central square in Hamelin For five endless days the citizens have been prey to despair. The Burgomaster and the councillors cannot find a solution. Then, wise old Frida reminds the people of the good times when they lived happily in the greatest simplicity, free from ambition and greed. These words lead to action: the Burgomaster decides to go into the woods and pay the foreigner. This evokes the sudden appearance of the mysterious personage. It is clear from his words that only one day has elapsed since he drove the mice out. No guile or punishment has occurred. Hamelin’s children are playing in the woods with Hans, as usual. The foreigner foresees a brilliant future for the young poet and, before leaving Hamelin, gives Lise the thousand gold coins as a present for her wedding with Hans. Once again the music of the pipe leads the children, Hans, and the animals, this time back to Hamelin, amid the general jubilation. Trumpet blasts announce an imperial messenger who breaks the news that young Hans has been appointed court poet by the emperor. Hamelin celebrates the happy events with dancing and singing. Finally, the Pied Piper’s melody supplies the last wonder: Hans is now perfectly healed. Night falls on Hamelin’s restored peace.
The Pied Piper
Eugenio Monti Colla, 1939 – 2017
For a centuries-old art, the advent of new technology—and the kind that keeps people in their living rooms—can be threatening. Yet Eugenio Monti Carlo, the last direct descendant of the renowned Colla family of master puppeteers, remained undeterred by the changing world, steadfast in preserving the time-honored and intricate craft inherited from his ancestors. Born in Milan in 1939, Eugenio Monti Colla began maneuvering marionettes around the same time as he was learning to walk. Performing professionally by age 10, he later spent his young adulthood as an actor and theater teacher. In the 1950s, however, Compagnia Carlo Colla e Figli—the troupe established by Eugenio’s great-uncle in the mid-1800s—fell dormant, no thanks to the closure of Milan’s Teatro Gerolamo and, in a larger sense, the proliferation of the small screen.
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Yet Eugenio (with the help of a few relatives) ensured it was only a brief hiatus. By the 1970s, Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company experienced a resurgence, touring countless festivals worldwide—starting with the 1970 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy—and even adapting its ornate operas and ballets for televised specials. The company flourished under Eugenio’s artistic leadership and expert tutelage, growing not only as a performing organization, but also as an institution dedicated to the preservation and conservation of historic puppetry. When Carlo Colla and Sons Marionette Company makes its seventh return to Spoleto Festival USA this year, the troupe’s beloved patriarch will not be in attendance. Yet his extraordinary spirit will, no doubt, be felt during each performance; his legacy lives on through the next generation of master puppeteers and the marionettes he so affectionately championed.
Below: Eugenio Monti Colla; photo provided
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BORDERS US Premiere Woolfe Street May 25, 9:00pm; May 26, 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Playhouse May 27, 7:30pm; May 28, 8:30pm; May 29, 7:30pm Playwright/Producer Henry Naylor Co-Director Michael Cabot Co-Director Louise Skaaning Cast Avital Lvova Graham O’Mara 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Sponsored by American Express. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with playwright Henry Naylor at 3:00pm on Sunday, May 27, at Woolfe Street Playhouse, 34 Woolfe St.
Borders
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Artistic Team
Cast
HENRY NAYLOR (playwright/producer) is a multi-award-winning UK playwright, who has been described as “one of our best new playwrights” in The Times and “one of the finest British writers on contemporary events” in Theatre Extra. In the past four years, his plays have won or been nominated for 32 international awards, including one of France’s most prestigious awards for the arts, the Globes De Cristal. He has won the Fringe First Award three times, and has won four of the top five Fringe awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, including the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award; twice, he has been nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. Three of his plays have had month long runs off-Broadway, and in 2017 alone, there were more than 300 public performances of his work on five continents. His work has been translated into eight languages.
AVITAL LVOVA began her career by touring the world in legendary choreographer Constanza Marcas’s Hell on Earth (winner of the Goethe-Institute Prize for Best Theatre). Her screen debut soon followed, in Silver-Lion-Winner Bahtiar Khudoynazarov’s Waiting for the Sea. After training at London’s East 15 Acting School, Lvova starred in Secret Cinema’s immersive Doctor Strangelove, played Queen Margaret in the acclaimed Richard III (Rosemary Branch), and co-wrote and starred in the Edinburgh hit Rebounding Hail. She won the Tom Bennett Comedy Award in 2015, and more recently appeared as Lilia Butterworth in BBC1’s Doctors. Since January of 2017, she has been touring the world as Rehana in Henry Naylor’s Angel, including performances at Spoleto Festival USA in 2017. She was nominated for the Outstanding Performance Award at the Prague Fringe. After excellent press for her monthlong run at the Arcola Theatre in London, she was nominated for Best Actress in the Off-West End Awards.
MICHAEL CABOT (co-director) is the founder and artistic director of London Classic Theatre, one of the UK’s leading touring theater companies. Since 2000, its productions have played to more than 500,000 people in more than 250 theaters in the UK and Ireland. Cabot has directed all 36 London Classic Theatre productions, including Hysteria, The Birthday Party, Absent Friends, Equus, and Waiting for Godot. In autumn 2017, he directed a major new touring production of Noël Coward’s Private Lives. Borders is Cabot’s third collaboration with Henry Naylor, having previously directed Angel (Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Brits off Broadway, Prague Fringe, and Spoleto Festival USA) and the 2016 UK Tour of The Collector for Kathryn Barker Productions. LOUISE SKAANING (co-director) spends her working life between London and her native Denmark. She first trained at Scenekunst Akademiet at age 21, specializing in physical theater. In 2010, Skaaning took part in a project that toured across Syria, Lebanon, and Georgia— the project was in the style of forum theater. After moving to London in 2011, she furthered her training at the prestigious East 15 Acting School. This led to many projects, including an engagement as assistant director of Hiraeth at Soho Theatre in London, as well as her theater directorial debut with Chlorine in 2014, about a young woman’s journey through psychosis and eventual recovery. More recently, she has directed the acclaimed Flew the Coop at New Diorama Theatre. At ease with both directing and acting, Skaaning is currently touring a play in Denmark called Pudemin—a play aimed at younger audiences—about confronting the fear of the unknown.
GRAHAM O’MARA is a familiar face on British stage and screen. UK television audiences know him from his roles in Doctors (BBC), Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4), Good Cop (BBC), Waterloo Rd (BBC), Silent Witness (BBC), The Queen: 1974 (Blast Films), Naked Apes (Daybreak Pictures), and Casualty (BBC). In London, he has performed at leading venues including the Young Vic, (The Three Musketeers, The Government Inspector), the Finborough (Hindle Wakes, Horniman’s Choice), the Orange Tree (A Man Of Letters), and the Trafalgar Studios (BU21). O’Mara is exceedingly versatile, having played not only classical Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, The Winter’s Tale), Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, directed by Jessica Swale), and Dickens (Great Expectations, UK Tour), but also leading roles with Theatre 503, one of London’s leading centers for developing new work (Punts, Cans, Of Mice and Len, Roots, The World’s More Full of Weeping).
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National Theatre of Scotland
THE STRANGE UNDOING OF PRUDENCIA HART Woolfe Street May 31, 8:00pm; June 1, 3:00pm and 8:00pm; June 2, 5:00pm; Playhouse June 3, 3:00pm and 7:30pm; June 5, 7:00pm; June 6, 8:00pm; June 7, 8:00pm; June 8, 8:00pm; June 9, 2:00pm and 8:00pm Playwright David Greig Director Wils Wilson Designer Georgia McGuinness Composer Alasdair Macrae Movement Director Janice Parker Cast Gwendolen Chatfield George Drennan Peter Hannah Jessica Hardwick Owen Whitelaw 2 hours | Performed with one intermission
About the Company
THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND was established in 2006 and has created more than 250 productions. Being a theater without walls, the company presents a wide variety of work that ranges from large-scale productions to projects tailored to the smallest performing spaces. In addition to classic theaters, the company has performed in airports, schools, tower blocks, community halls, ferries, and forests. Notable productions include Black Watch by Gregory Burke, which won four Laurence Olivier Awards among a multitude of awards; the award-winning landmark historical trilogy The James Plays by Rona Munro; a radical reimagining of Macbeth, starring Alan Cumming, presented in Glasgow and at the Lincoln Center Festival and subsequently, on Broadway; and Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, adapted by Lee Hall from Alan Warner’s
novel The Sopranos, which also won an Olivier Award in 2017. The National Theatre of Scotland creates much of its work in partnership with theater-makers, companies, venues, and participants across the globe. From extraordinary projects with schools and communities, to the groundbreaking online 5 Minute Theatre, to immersive pieces such as David Greig’s The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, the National Theatre of Scotland’s aspiration is to tell the stories that need to be told and to take work to wherever audiences are to be found. Artistic Director and Chief Executive: Jackie Wylie; Chair: Seona Reid DBE. For the latest information on all our activities, visit us online at nationaltheatrescotland.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Sponsored by American Express. Scotch Whisky provided by SIA. Additional support provided by Spoleto SCENE. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with members of the cast at 5:00pm on Thursday, June 7, at Woolfe Street Playhouse, 34 Woolfe St.
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
Artistic Team
DAVID GREIG (playwright) is a playwright and the artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre. His plays include Dunsinane (with the Royal Shakespeare Company); One Day in Spring, Peter Pan, and The Bacchae (National Theatre of Scotland); Lanark: A Life in Three Acts (Edinburgh International Festival/Citizens Theatre, Glasgow Theatre Company); The Lorax (The Old Vic); The Events (Actors Touring Company/ Traverse Theatre/ Young Vic); Midsummer (Traverse, Soho Theatre, and Tricycle Theatre); and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ‒ The Musical (West End). WILS WILSON (director) has worked with the National Theatre of Scotland on Ignition, Gobbo (Best Production for Children and Young People, Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland), and HOME Shetland (Best Music, Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland). Other recent directing credits include I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre of Great Britain); Gastronauts (Royal Court, London); Anon (Welsh National Opera); Scuttlers, Secret Heart, Eliza’s House (Manchester Royal Exchange); and Queen Bee (New Writing North/North East Theatre Consortium). She has worked with Live Theatre, Bolton Octagon, the Gate Theatre, Midsommer Actors, and BBC Radio Drama. Wilson was co-founder and co-artistic director of wilson+wilson (1997 – 2007), creating site-specific art, installation, and theater. Her work has received a Drama Desk Award, a Herald Angel, Welsh Theatre Awards, and Manchester Evening News Awards. Wilson is currently associate artist at Royal Lyceum Theatre. Cast
GWENDOLEN CHATFIELD trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Her theater credits include: King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe, US tour); Playboy of The Western World (The Old Vic); Sexing the Cherry (Southbank Centre); Hot Mess (Arcola Theatre); Eight (Trafalgar Studios, Off-Broadway, New York); Coalition (Theatre503); and The Folk Contraption (The Old Vic, The Vaults). Television credits include: Downton Abbey (ITV) and The Houses that made Jane Austen (BBC). Film credits include The Invisible Woman (directed by Ralph Fiennes). When not performing, Chatfield calls ceilidhs and is currently completing a PhD in ethnomusicology. GEORGE DRENNAN has worked extensively in Scottish theater over the last 30 years, beginning his career with Wildcat Theatre Company, performing in more than 23 of their productions, including Border Warfare, John Brown’s Body, and The Jolly Beggars. Previous work with National Theatre of Scotland includes The Wolves in the Walls. Other theater credits include Lanark (Citizens Theatre); STIFF! and
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The Man of La Mancha (Royal Lyceum Theatre); Sunshine on Leith (Dundee Rep); and Parahandy (Eden Court). He has also performed many times in Òran Mór’s project A Play, A Pie, & a Pint. Drennan’s television credits include: River City, Lip Service, Still Game, Gary Tank Commander, Rab.C.Nesbitt, Legit, and Taggart; and he was a regular in the Gaelic soap Machair. PETER HANNAH trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Previous work with National Theatre of Scotland includes The 306: Dawn. Other theater credits include: Cockpit (Royal Lyceum Theatre); Shakespeare in Love (Sonia Friedman Productions); The Greater Game (Southwark Playhouse); Four Play (Theatre 503); One Arm (Southwark Playhouse); and A Clockwork Orange (Nottingham Playhouse). Film and television credits include: Dr. Who, Mr. Turner, and Above the Clouds. JESSICA HARDWICK trained at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Her theater credits include Rhinoceros and The Venetian Twins (Royal Lyceum Theatre); Knives in Hens (Perth Theatre); The Rivals (Bristol Old Vic); Lanark: A Life in Three Acts (Edinburgh International Festival and Citizens Theatre); Slope (Untitled Projects and Citizens Theatre); Three Sisters (Tron Theatre); The Fair Intellectual Club (Stellar Quines); Miss Julie (Citizens Theatre); Crime and Punishment (co-production with Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Playhouse, and Royal Lyceum Theatre);The Antipodes (Sam Wanamaker Festival and Shakespeare’s Globe). Radio credits include The Vital Spark: Intelligence; Reacher’s Point; Brothers; The Fair Intellectual Club (six-part series); McLevy; and The Pillow Book, all for BBC Radio 4. She was awarded the Billy McColl Award for Most Promising Newcomer in Scottish Stage Acting, awarded by John Byrne in 2014. OWEN WHITELAW trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Previous credits for the National Theatre of Scotland include: In Time O’ Strife, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Knives in Hens, Peter Pan, Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, Our Teacher’s A Troll, Cockroach, 365 and Rupture. Other theater credits include: How to Disappear, Unfaithful (Traverse Theatre); Trainspotting, King Lear (Citizens Theatre); The Skriker (Manchester Royal Exchange/Manchester International Festival); Slope (Untitled Projects); The Life of Stuff, Cotton Wool, Nowheresville (Theatre 503); Wonderland (Vanishing Point/Edinburgh International Festival); A Puff Of Smoke (Tristan Bates Theatre); About A Goth, and 10,000 Metres Deep (Paines Plough). Television and film credits include: One of Us (BBC), Retribution (Netflix), Dying Light, What Would Ridley Do, and Scoring. BBC radio credits include: Measure for Measure, Kidnapped, King Lear, McLevy, The Second Mr. Bailey, and Blindness.
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Backbone
Gravity & Other Myths
BACKBONE US Premiere
Memminger May 25, 8:00pm; May 26, 7:00pm; May 27, 5:00pm; Auditorium May 28, 2:00pm; May 29, 7:00pm; May 30, 1:00pm and 6:00pm Director Darcy Grant Set and Lighting Designer Geoff Cobham Composers/Musicians Shenton Gregory and Elliot Zoerner Producer Craig Harrison Creative Associate Triton Tunis-Mitchell Ensemble Lachlan Binns, Jascha Boyce, Joanne Curry, Lachlan Harper, Mieke Lizotte, Jackson Manson, Simon McClure, Jacob Randell, Lewis Rankin, Martin Schreiber, Lewie West 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Company
Director’s Note
GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS (GOM) is an internationally renowned circus company pushing the boundaries of contemporary circus. Formed in Adelaide, Australia, in 2009, GOM has rocketed to stellar acclaim with a series of disarmingly accomplished ensemble works. GOM’s work utilizes an honest approach to performance, to create shows with a focus on human connection and acrobatic virtuosity. GOM’s show A Simple Space has achieved huge international success, receiving multiple awards and having performed more than 500 times— including at Spoleto Festival USA in 2014—across 24 countries. Backbone, created in 2017, has been nominated for multiple awards, garnered stellar reviews, and toured to festivals internationally. Backbone examines the various perceptions of what strength is, where it comes from, and how it is measured. This frenetic celebration of human interconnectedness tests the limits of strength: physical, emotional, individual, and collective.
Backbone is a piece of devised circus that examines strength— honestly, ironically, and personally. When asked to direct Gravity & Other Myths’s new show, I could hardly contain my excitement. This company of self-made success is young, raw, unpretentious, and hungry for the next challenge—to create strong and deliberate meaning. Acrobats have a kind of reverse career trajectory as artists. Unlike a musician or painter, for instance, an acrobat’s technical peak is often when their conceptual skill is just forming. Somewhere in the middle of this career is a sweet spot, where body and mind are strong and willing. It is from this sweet spot that we began to devise Backbone—a show that is, at its core, a provocation to itself and the company. Are we strong enough to carry it? The privilege of being commissioned for the 2017 Adelaide Festival was immense. It allowed us the time and space to deeply question ourselves and our form in a time when a great deal of circus is becoming homogenous. This same privilege means that as we rehearsed (and as I wrote this), our show was only partially written, and only on opening night did we truly know what we had given birth to. We hope it will be a show that anyone from any place at any age can access. An unpretentious, physically virtuosic, meaningful piece of circus. – Darcy Grant
Sponsored by Sherman Capital Markets, LLC. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Backbone
Company
DARCY GRANT (director) is a classically trained acrobat, award-winning fine art photographer, physical-theater director, and founding member of Circa, revered as one of the world’s most adventurous, genre-defying circuses. He has trained, taught, and toured work on the cutting edge of new circus to some of the world’s most prestigious venues. Where theater, dance, circus, and visual art meet is where Grant likes to practice. In 2017, Grant was commissioned by Adelaide International Arts Festival to direct Backbone by Gravity & Other Myths. The show premiered to 5-star reviews and standing ovations, also attracting three Helpmann Award nominations, including Best Choreography and Best New Australian Work. Also a celebrated photographer, Grant regularly shoots live performance for such companies as Opera Australia and The Farm. Grant has had solo photographic exhibitions in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Berlin. LACHLAN BINNS (acrobat) was, at an early age, enthralled and inspired by a local circus show, and in the following years, he was drawn into the world of circus and physical performance. Specializing in group acrobatics, Binns is not quite big enough to be called a base yet not light enough to be called a flyer. He has embraced what he maintains is the vital role of “middle.” His passion for creativity is a driving force for both his work as a trainer for young people and as a performer and founding member of Gravity & Other Myths. JASCHA BOYCE (acrobat) has been a performer almost all of her life. Beginning as soon as she could walk with dance performances in the lounge room, she discovered circus at age 4, and it wasn’t long before she spent all of her time upside down and in the air. After years spent training, teaching, and performing, Boyce focuses her creative passion through Gravity & Other Myths. She is a flyer in a majority of the group acrobatics as well as specializing in hula hoop and adagio. JOANNE CURRY (acrobat) always knew she wanted to be the “girl who gets thrown around” in the circus. After seven years of competing nationally in sports acrobatics, she tumbled into completing certificate 3 and 4 in circus arts at the National Institute of Circus Arts. Curry gained confidence and drive through travel, using the world to find and define her style within the performing arts. She specializes in partner acrobatics and hand-balancing.
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LACHLAN HARPER (acrobat) was 4 years old when his parents put him into gymnastics to try and tire him out. After 11 years of training, he sought a new way to explore his body’s acrobatic capabilities. His first taste of circus was when a friend introduced him to pitching. He became obsessed—having a career of being thrown around, flipping, and having fun was the dream. He pursued his career as a circus artist by attending the National Institute of Circus Arts, where he specialized in handstands, acrobatics, and banquine. MIEKE LIZOTTE (acrobat) specializes in high-energy hula hoops, combined with a knack for being thrown around, and an ability to turn herself inside out and upside down. She started her career at a young age in the small, yet talentrich state of Tasmania, with a local youth circus: Slipstream Circus. After more than six years performing and teaching circus across Australia, she moved on to train at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne and the Beijing International Acrobatics School, where she trained intensively in hula hoops, flexibility, hand-balancing, and acrobatics. She has a genuine love for all things circus, and her contagious smile will no doubt delight audiences everywhere. JACKSON MANSON (acrobat) started circus at Flying Fruit Fly Circus (FFFC) in Albury-Wodonga when he was 12 years old. After graduating in 2015, he worked with fellow FFFC graduates to create a new show called Stunt Lounge. In January 2017, he joined Gravity & Other Myths to work on the creation of Backbone, and has continued to work with the company, touring with both A Simple Space and Backbone. SIMON MCCLURE (acrobat) started down his acrobatic path at age 10 and joined the Flying Fruit Flies Circus (FFFC) in Albury. After seven years of training, he went on tour as a technician with the company Acrobat, while also teaching acrobatics at the FFFC. McClure performed a number of acts in a variety of cabaret settings before joining Gravity & Other Myths in 2014, specializing in tumbling and group acrobatics.
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Backbone
JACOB RANDELL (acrobat) has always been a jack of all trades when it comes to circus and sport, showing enthusiasm, energy, and strong natural talent at all times. As one of the founding members of GOM, he has been with the company since the start and aspires to continue to grow the company. Randell specializes in hand-to-hand, floating between roles as both a base and flyer. He aspires to continue to pursue his adventurous side through circus training and touring, balanced alongside academic studies. LEWIS RANKIN (acrobat) has been very active since a young age with his involvement in sports and a love for the outdoors. He found contemporary dance later in life, for which he trained at Adelaide Centre for the Arts. Since graduating, he has performed with Shaun Parker & Company, Leigh Warren & Dancers, Sandpit, and numerous other independent companies. Circus and acrobatics are recent discoveries, and now he is passionate about combining and evolving these different art forms. MARTIN SCHREIBER (acrobat) has been a competitive gymnast alongside his involvement in the circus community for most of his life, both as a circus trainer and finally as a performing artist. As one of the founding members of Gravity & Other Myths, Schreiber has performed both nationally and internationally with skills that include pitching, floor tumbling, and group acrobatics. He hopes to continue creating work and inspiring audiences worldwide through the joy and spectacle of circus. LEWIE WEST (acrobat) is an Australian acrobat through and through. He probably has circus in his blood stream due to all the rosin, chalk, and acrobat sweat he’s accidentally ingested over the years. He started in Warehouse Youth Circus in Canberra before training at The National Institute of Circus Arts. After earning his bachelor’s degree, West performed, created, and choreographed with Circa for seven years, finding time to sneak off and earn a gold medal in Paris at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, or what his Mum calls “the circus Olympics” for his solo aerial straps act. In spite of this, West still considers himself to be mostly an ensemble acrobat and is very happy to come into “work” every day to create, move, and play with the group.
Composers/Musicians
SHENTON GREGORY (a.k.a. Shenzo Gregorio) had a violin passed down to him from his older sister when he was just 4 years of age. After 17 years of classical training, Gregory decided that realworld experience was the way forward. He continued to develop his knowledge in many styles of music; notably, his invention of playing the violin upside down caused quite a stir. He has been a member of Sydney rock string quartet Fourplay for 12 years and continues to be one of the highest in-demand musicians in Australia. ELLIOT ZOERNER took up the drums at age 11, and has played with a wide variety of musical groups in Australia. While studying classical percussion and engineering at Adelaide University, the circus entered his life, pulled him away from his studies, and took him on tour. He now works as a live musician and composer for Gravity & Other Myths, collaborating with the acrobats to create the soundtracks for their shows. While on tour, he has continued to write music and release it under the name Sirins. Producer
CRAIG HARRISON has worked in the arts sector for more than 23 years, in many aspects of creative, production, administration, and management. After working on more than 30 festivals around the world, as a lighting designer for 70 productions, and a stint as an independent producer based in Melbourne, he worked as a programming executive for the Adelaide Festival Centre and at Country Arts South Australia (SA) as manager of artform development. He then worked for the National Touring Selector, an online international marketplace for the performing arts, and made it part of core-business for Country Arts SA before moving on to Arts South Australia. He concurrently held a seat on the Arts Industry Council of SA and has been on the board of youth circus company Cirkidz Inc. for nine years. Now, Harrison is the creative producer and general manager for contemporary circus company Gravity & Other Myths after joining them in April 2016.
Backbone has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival, and Melbourne Festival.
Bank of America Chamber Music
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BANK OF AMERICA CHAMBER MUSIC Geoff Nuttall, The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music Dock Street Theatre May 25, 1:00pm; May 26 – June 10, 11:00am and 1:00pm Artists Composer in Residence and Double Bass Doug Balliett Conductor Joe Miller Chorus Men of Westminster Choir Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo Tenor Paul Groves Oboe James Austin Smith Clarinet Todd Palmer Trombone Peter Moore Piano Inon Barnatan Piano/Harpsichord Pedja Muzijevic* Piano Gilles Vonsattel Violin Livia Sohn Viola Meena Bhasin Viola Masumi Per Rostad Cello Nina Lee Cello Joshua Roman** JACK Quartet Violin Christopher Otto Violin Austin Wulliman Viola John Pickford Richards Cello Jay Campbell St. Lawrence String Quartet Violin Geoff Nuttall Violin Owen Dalby Viola Lesley Robertson Cello Christopher Costanza Staff Coordinator Erin Heidrick Page Turner Bree Ahern 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Sponsored by Bank of America. Additional support provided by The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation. The St. Lawrence String Quartet is the Arthur and Holly Magill quartet in residence. *Pedja Muzijevic’s participation is generously sponsored in memory of Keith S. Wellin, by his wife, Wendy C. H. Wellin. **Joshua Roman’s participation is generously sponsored by Michael Hostetler and Erica Pascal. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The chamber music curtain in the Dock Street Theatre was designed and painted by Christian Thee.
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Program I May 25, 1:00pm*; May 26, 11:00am and 1:00pm^ Concerto Grosso in B-flat major, op. 3 no. 2, HWV 313 George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) I. Vivace II. Largo III. Allegro James Austin Smith, oboe; JACK Quartet; St. Lawrence String Quartet; Doug Balliett, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord Darmstadt Kindergarten Mark Applebaum (b 1967) JACK Quartet “Somewhere” from West Side Story “Spring Will Come Again” from Peter Pan “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 90) Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Pedja Muzijevic, piano String Quartet in F major, op. 135 St. Lawrence String Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Program II May 27, 11:00am and 1:00pm‡; May 28, 11:00am Piano Concerto in A major, K 414 Pedja Muzijevic, piano; St. Lawrence String Quartet; Doug Balliett, double bass
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)
“Pena tiranna” from Amadigi di Gaula + George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) “Vivi, Tiranno!” from Rodelinda + Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor and James Austin Smith, oboe; St. Lawrence String Quartet; JACK Quartet; Doug Balliett, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord Gawain’s Journey (World Premiere) St. Lawrence String Quartet; JACK Quartet
Doug Balliett (b 1982)
Program III May 28, 1:00pm; May 29, 11:00am and 1:00pm Sonata in G Minor, “Enharmonic” Giovanni Valentini (1582 – 1649) JACK Quartet; St. Lawrence String Quartet; Doug Balliett, double bass Horse Sings From Cloud Pauline Oliveros (1932 – 2016) JACK Quartet String Quartet in A Major, op. 20 no. 6 St. Lawrence String Quartet
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
“Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite” Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; St. Lawrence String Quartet
John Dowland (1563 – 1626), arr. Stephen Prutsman
“In Darkness Let Me Dwell” Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord
John Dowland
“Fever” Eddie Cooley (b 1930) and Otis Blackwell (1931 – 2002), arr. Stephen Prutsman Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; St. Lawrence String Quartet Adagio Samuel Barber (1910 – 81) St. Lawrence String Quartet; JACK Quartet; Doug Balliett, double bass * This chamber music concert is dedicated to the loving memory of Ted Stern, first chair of Spoleto Festival USA, and his wife Alva. ^ This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Ann and Andrew Barrett. ‡ This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Ann and Michael Tarwater. + Please find song texts in an appendix beginning on page 119.
Bank of America Chamber Music
Program IV May 30, 11:00am* and 1:00pm; May 31, 11:00am Passacaglia George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) / Livia Sohn, violin; Joshua Roman, cello Johan Halvorsen (1864 – 1935) Piano Trio in C Minor, op. 1 no. 3 Inon Barnatan, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Jay Campbell, cello
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
String Quartet no. 8 Philip Glass (b 1937) JACK Quartet Sonata in D Major, op. 166 James Austin Smith, oboe; Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921)
Program V May 31, 1:00pm; June 1, 11:00am and 1:00pm Oboe Quartet in F Major, K 370 James Austin Smith, oboe; Owen Dalby, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Joshua Roman, cello
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)
String Quintet, “Tornado” Joshua Roman (b 1983) JACK Quartet; Joshua Roman, cello Allegro in A Minor, “Lebensstürme” Inon Barnatan and Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Carmen, “Fantasie Brillante,” op. 3 no. 3 Livia Sohn, violin; Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Jenő Hubay (1858 – 1937)
Program VI June 2, 11:00am and 1:00pm^; June 3, 11:00am “Abîme des oiseaux” for solo clarinet from Quatuor pour la fin du temps Todd Palmer, clarinet
Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 92)
Fantasiestücke, op. 73 Robert Schumann (1810 – 56) Peter Moore, trombone; Inon Barnatan, piano Daphne for Violin and Bass/Narrator Owen Dalby, violin; Doug Balliett, double bass
Doug Balliett (b 1982)
Moments musicaux op. 16 Serge Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) V. Adagio sostenuto Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83 III. Precipitato Inon Barnatan, piano
Brandenburg Concerto no. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051 Masumi Per Rostad, Meena Bhasin, and Owen Dalby, viola; Nina Lee and Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord
Sergey Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
* This chamber music concert is dedicated to the loving memory of Mary and Marion Field. ^ This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Gary and Mary Becker.
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Program VII June 3, 1:00pm; June 4, 11:00am and 1:00pm Concerto for Oboe and Violin in B-flat Major, RV 548 Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) James Austin Smith, oboe; Owen Dalby, violin; Geoff Nuttall and Livia Sohn, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord Aus dem Nachlass Mauricio Kagel (1931 – 2008) Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass Piano Quartet no. 1 in G Minor, op. 25 Inon Barnatan, piano; Livia Sohn, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Nina Lee, cello
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 97)
Program VIII June 5, 11:00am and 1:00pm; June 6, 11:00am Doolallynastics (A Brief Torture for Solo Trombone) Peter Moore, trombone
Brian Lynn (b 1954)
Vier Stücke, op. 5 Alban Berg (1885 – 1935) Todd Palmer, clarinet; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Piano Trio in E-flat Major, op. 100 Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Livia Sohn, violin; Joshua Roman, cello
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Program IX June 6, 1:00pm; June 7, 11:00am and 1:00pm Quintet in E-flat Major, K 407 Peter Moore, trombone; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Masumi Per Rostad and Meena Bhasin, viola; Nina Lee, cello
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)
Out of Doors, BB 89 Béla Bartók (1881 – 1945) Gilles Vonsattel, piano Clarinet Concerto, op. 31 Gerald Finzi (1901 – 56) Todd Palmer, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, Owen Dalby, and Erin Heidrick, violin; Masumi Per Rostad and
Meena Bhasin, viola; Joshua Roman and Nina Lee, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass
Program X June 8, 11:00am and 1:00pm*; June 9, 11:00am
Fanfare for Trombone, Double Bass, and Bass Clarinet Doug Balliett (b 1982) (World Premiere) Peter Moore, trombone; Doug Balliett, double bass; Todd Palmer, bass clarinet “O, Cease Thy Singing, Maiden Fair” + Serge Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) / “When Night Descends” + Fritz Kreisler (1875 – 1962) Paul Groves, tenor; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano 3 Barizo Songs + Doug Balliett (b 1982) Paul Groves, tenor; Livia Sohn, violin; Geoff Nuttall, viola; Nina Lee, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano Verklärte Nacht Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951) Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin and Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Joshua Roman and Nina Lee, cello *This chamber music concert has been endowed through the generous support of Deborah Chalsty.
+Please find song texts in an appendix beginning on page 119.
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Program XI June 9, 1:00pm; June 10, 11:00am and 1:00pm
“Gesang der Geister über den Wassern,” D 714 + Men of Westminster Choir; Masumi Per Rostad and Meena Bhasin, viola; Nina Lee and Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Joe Miller, conductor
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Cello Sonata in C major, op. 102 Joshua Roman, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
“Salut! Demeure chaste et pure” from Faust + Paul Groves, tenor; Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin and Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Nina Lee and Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Charles-François Gounod (1818 – 93)
“Una Furtiva Lagrima” from L’elisir d’amore + Gaetano Donizetti (1797 – 1848) Paul Groves, tenor; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin and Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Nina Lee and Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Gilles Vonsattel, piano “Summer” from Four Seasons + Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) Livia Sohn, violin; Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Nina Lee, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord “Who Wants to Live Forever” + Queen (Brian May, b 1947), arr. Doug Balliett Paul Groves, tenor; Peter Moore, trombone; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin and Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Nina Lee and Joshua Roman, cello; Doug Balliett, double bass; Gilles Vonsattel, keyboard +Please find texts in an appendix beginning on page 121.
Artists
GEOFF NUTTALL (violin/The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber Music) began playing the violin at age 8 after moving to Ontario from Texas. He spent most of his musical studies under the tutelage of Lorand Fenyves at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Toronto, where he received his bachelor’s degree. In 1989, Nuttall co-founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet. As a member of this Grammy-nominated foursome, he has played more than 2,000 concerts throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He is now on faculty at Stanford University, where the St. Lawrence String Quartet has been ensemble in residence since 1999, and makes his home in Portola Valley, California, with his wife Livia Sohn and sons, Jack and Ellis. This is Nuttall’s ninth season as the Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director for Chamber Music.
DOUG BALLIETT (composer in residence/ double bass) is a composer, instrumentalist, and poet based in New York City. The New York Times has described his poetry as “brilliant and witty” (Clytie and the Sun), his bass playing as “elegant” (Shawn Jaeger’s In Old Virginny), and his compositions as “vivid, emotive, with contemporary twists” (Actaeon). Popular new music blog I Care if You Listen has critiqued Balliett’s work as “weird in the best possible way” (A Gnostic Passion) and “lighthearted yet dark…it had the audience laughing one minute and in tears the next” (Pyramus and Thisbe). He is particularly fascinated by period performance, regularly performing with such groups and artists as Les Arts Florissants, Tom Dunford and Jean Rondeau, and the Boston Early Music Festival. He is professor of baroque bass and violone at The Juilliard School. For several years, he hosted a weekly show on New York Public Radio with his twin brother (The Brothers Balliett), and he conducts projects of both old and new music. With a constant stream of commissions and nearly 200 performances per year, Balliett has been identified as an important voice for his generation.
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INON BARNATAN (piano), “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” (The New York Times), is celebrated for his poetic sensibility, musical intelligence, and consummate artistry. A regular soloist with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and a recitalist who frequently performs on such celebrated stages as Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall, the Israeli pianist recently completed his third season as the inaugural artist-in-association of the New York Philharmonic and, in 2019, will become music director of the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest. Barnatan’s critically acclaimed discography includes two recordings of the Schubert’s solo piano works, as well as Darknesse Visible, which was included on The New York Times’s “Best of 2012.” His passion for contemporary music has seen him commission many works, including premieres of pieces by Thomas Adès, Andrew Norman, and Matthias Pintscher. Barnatan is the recipient of both the Avery Fisher Career Grant and Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award. MEENA BHASIN (viola) is an alluring violist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Decoda—the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall—which is dedicated to creating meaningful musical experiences through dynamic performances, education, and a quest for social impact. In 2015, she was invited to perform at the Obama White House, highlighting Decoda’s work in criminal justice reform. Most recently, Bhasin founded Reveler, an arts and culture startup that curates surprise experiences in San Francisco; Reveler hopes to make arts and culture a part of young people’s daily lives and, in so doing, sustainably support artists and arts institutions alike. Outside of her entrepreneurial projects, Bhasin is also a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. She makes regular appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston-based chamber orchestra, A Far Cry. She relishes collaborations across genres and has toured the US as a soloist with legendary rock band Jethro Tull and performed Persian music as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. JAY CAMPBELL (cello/JACK Quartet) has been recognized around the world for approaching both old and new works with equally probing curiosity and emotional commitment. His performances have been described as “brilliant and insatiably inquisitive,” “electrifying,” and “prodigious” by The New York Times, and “gentle, poignant, and deeply moving” by The Washington Post. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Campbell performed with the New York Philharmonic in 2013 and was a curator for the New York Philharmonic’s 2016 Biennale. He has soloed in major venues around the globe, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Avery Fisher Hall, and Lucerne’s KKL, and performed recitals in Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Kennedy, Mondavi, and Krannert centers. Dedicated to introducing audiences to the music of our time, Campbell has worked closely with some of the most creative minds of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Matthias Pintscher, Kaija Saariaho, and countless others.
CHRISTOPHER COSTANZA (cello) has enjoyed a varied and exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher for three decades. Costanza is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied cello with Laurence Lesser, David Wells, and Bernard Greenhouse, and chamber music with Eugene Lehner, Louis Krasner, and Leonard Shure. Costanza joined the St. Lawrence String Quartet in 2003 and tours extensively with that ensemble, performing more than 100 concerts annually throughout the world. As a member of St. Lawrence, he is an artist-in-residence at Stanford University, where he teaches cello and chamber music and performs a wide variety of formal and informal concerts each season. Costanza has recently embarked on a new project to produce thoughtfully edited editions of all the standard cello concerti and the Bach Solo Suites. Visit Costanza’s Bach-centric website, costanzabach. stanford.edu, to stream or download his recent recordings of the Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach and peruse commentary, history, and additional Bach Suites-related resources. ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO (countertenor) has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Glyndebourne festival, English National Opera, the Saltzburger Landestheater, and the Teatro Real in Madrid. In concert he has performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center, and with the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. In Europe he has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and in concerts with Jordi Savall in Barcelona, Paris, and Versailles. Costanzo graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, where he has returned to teach, and received his master’s from Manhattan School of Music. He won first place in the 2012 international Operalia competition and was also a 2009 Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. At Spoleto Festival USA, Costanzo has performed in the chamber series, in the 2017 US premiere of Vivaldi’s Farnace, and the 2001 production of Dido and Aeneas. He is an exclusive recording artist with Decca Gold and his debut album will be released in September, 2018. OWEN DALBY (violin) has been praised as “dazzling” (The New York Times), “expert and versatile” (The New Yorker), and “a fearless and inquisitive violinist” (San Francisco Classical Voice). He leads a rich musical life as a chamber musician, soloist, new and early music expert, orchestral concertmaster, and educator. Dalby is regularly invited to perform as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals from Hamburg to Honolulu, and from Iceland to Mumbai. As the newest member of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Dalby made his debut at Spoleto Festival USA in 2015. He is a co-founder of Decoda, the first-ever affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, and prior to joining the SLSQ was the concertmaster of Novus NY, the acclaimed contemporary music orchestra of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York. Dalby received early training with Anne Crowden at the Crowden School in Berkeley, California, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University.
Bank of America Chamber Music
PAUL GROVES (tenor) is one of the great American tenors of his generation and enjoys an impressive international career performing on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and most prestigious concert halls. Groves began his 2017 – 18 season in performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with Opéra National de Lyon, followed by performances as Faust in a concert production of La Damnation de Faust with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After performances in Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Groves was seen with the Metropolitan Opera as Danilo in Susan Stroman’s production of The Merry Widow. This marked the 25th season Groves has been invited to return to the Met since his debut with the company as Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer. He performed with the Prague Philharmonia in Haydn’s Creation with Maestro Emmanuel Villaume conducting, and collaborated with Villaume again in The Ring of Polykrates with The Dallas Opera. Groves will perform Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde alongside Sasha Cooke at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival this summer. JACK QUARTET is “the goto quartet for contemporary music, tying impeccable musicianship to intellectual ferocity and a take-no-prisoners sense of commitment” (The Washington Post). “They are a musical vehicle of choice to the next great composers who walk among us” (Toronto Star). The recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, New Music USA’s Trailblazer Award, and the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, JACK has performed to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Miller Theatre, Wigmore Hall, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ (Netherlands), IRCAM (France), Kölner Philharmonie (Germany), the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), La Biennale di Venezia (Italy), Suntory Hall (Japan), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Festival Internacional Cervatino (Mexico), and Teatro Colón (Argentina). Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, JACK is focused on new work, leading them to collaborate with composers John Luther Adams, Chaya Czernowin, Caroline Shaw, Helmut Lachenmann, Steve Reich, Matthias Pintscher, and John Zorn. NINA LEE (cello) began learning cello through a public school program at age 10. Six years later, she left home to study with David Soyer at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She went on to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at The Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick, attended the Tanglewood Music Festival, and toured with the Marlboro Music Festival, where she collaborated with Mitsuko Uchida, András Schiff, Felix Galimir, and Samuel Rhodes. In 1999, Lee joined the Brentano Quartet with whom she has been privileged to perform throughout North America, England, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. In addition, she has not only recorded the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, but has also championed new music represented in her quartet’s commissioned works of Stephen Hartke, Steve Mackey, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Shulamit Ran (to name a few).
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JOE MILLER (conductor/director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA) is conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about their performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. PETER MOORE (trombone) became the youngest ever winner of the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2008 at age 12. At age 18, he was appointed co-principal trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra and in 2015 joined the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist scheme. Over the last two years, Moore has appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic, Barcelona Wind Symphony, and Lucerne Symphony orchestras. Concert highlights include recitals at Wigmore Hall (as soloist, and with Alison Balsom), the Barbican, Hay-on-Wye Festival, the BBC Proms in Melbourne Australia, and Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in Seoul. Highlights during 2017 – 18 include solo tours of China and Colombia, a performance of Takemitsu’s Fantasma Cantos II with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and his US debut at Spoleto Festival USA. He is a Yamaha International Artist and was selected by Young Classical Artists Trust in 2014. PEDJA MUZIJEVIC (piano) has performed with the Dresden Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica in Montevideo, Residentie Orkest in The Hague, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Shinsei Nihon Orchestra in Tokyo, and the Zagreb Philharmonic, among others. He has played solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Frick Collection in New York; Casals Hall and Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo; The Kennedy Center, Dumbarton Oaks, and National Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Aldeburgh Festival in Great Britain; and many others. Highlights of the 2017 – 18 season include solo recitals at 92Y in New York, for Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, Mainly Mozart in San Diego, and Honens Festival in Calgary, as well as a return engagement with Zagreb Philharmonic. Combining his two passions, music and food, Muzijevic performs works by Ravel and Mussorgsky followed by a multi-course dinner prepared by chef David Bouley in his Test Kitchen in New York. Muzijevic returns to the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity to direct the Concert in 21st Century residency for musicians, which explores possibilities of concert formats and ways to position classical music better in today’s society.
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CHRISTOPHER OTTO (violin/JACK Quartet) performs with ensembles including Ensemble Signal, The Cellar and Point, Alarm Will Sound, Talea Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, The Theatre of Eternal Music String Ensemble, Ne(x)tworks, and The Knights. He has premiered and recorded several chamber works by John Zorn and has performed and recorded as soloist in Zorn’s violin concerto Contes de Fées. Otto has also performed as soloist in Brian Ferneyhough’s Terrain with Ensemble Signal. His violin teachers include Cyrus Forough and Timothy Ying. He is a founder, along with his wife Emily DuFour, of Hutchins East, an ensemble performing on a set of eight proportionally sized string instruments made by Carleen Hutchins, and has written and arranged several works for the ensemble. He studied composition at the Eastman School of Music with Robert Morris, David Liptak, Martin Bresnick, and James Willey, as well as mathematics at the University of Rochester. TODD PALMER (clarinet) is a threetime Grammy nominee and has appeared as soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, educator, arranger, and presenter in a variety of musical endeavors around the world. As a winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions and grand prize winner in the Ima Hogg Young Artist Auditions, he has appeared as soloist with many symphony and chamber orchestras including those of Houston, Atlanta, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Montrèal, BBC Scotland, and has given recital performances that include Weill Hall and the 92nd St. Y in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Palmer appeared as soloist in Director Robert La Page’s staging of The Nightingale and Other Fables at BAM, and gave the world premiere of Crosswalk, a new work for clarinet and dance especially created for him by choreographer Mark Morris. His Broadway credits include South Pacific, The King & I, Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close, and is currently performing in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of My Fair Lady. JOHN PICKFORD RICHARDS (viola/ JACK Quartet) has gained a reputation for performing new and unusual music around the globe. His recording of Roger Reynolds’s imagE/viola can be heard on NEUMA Records. He was a founding member of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound and now serves both as JACK’s violist and executive director. Richards has appeared with artists including Björk and Grizzly Bear, and has performed as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony, Armenian Philharmonic, Wordless Music Orchestra, OSSIA, and with the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, playing the solo part to Luciano Berio’s Chemins II under the direction of Pierre Boulez. He holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Eastman School of Music, where his primary teachers were David Holland and John Graham.
LESLEY ROBERTSON (viola), celebrating 29 years with the internationally celebrated St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ), is proud to make her life at Stanford University where, along with her SLSQ colleagues, she directs the chamber music program at the department of music. Robertson teaches viola, coaches chamber music, and also spearheads SLSQ’s Emerging String Quartet Program and annual Chamber Music Seminar. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, Robertson also holds a degree from the University of British Columbia where she studied with her mentor, Gerald Stanick. A founding member of the SLSQ, Robertson tours widely but also nurtures close ties with the Stanford community, performing in various classes, dormitories, laboratories, hospitals, and in Stanford’s glorious Bing Concert Hall. She received early support from the Canada Council for the Arts, participated in the Marlboro Festival for several years, and toured with Musicians from Marlboro. She was honored to serve on the jury of several international competitions including the Banff, Melbourne, and Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competitions. Robertson plays on a viola (1992) made by fellow Canadian John Newton. JOSHUA ROMAN (cello) has earned an international reputation for his wideranging repertoire, a commitment to communicating the essence of music in visionary ways, and his artistic leadership and versatility. As well as being a celebrated performer, he is recognized as an accomplished composer and curator as artistic director of TownMusic at Town Hall Seattle, and as artistic advisor of Seattle’s Second Inversion. Before embarking on a solo career, Roman spent two seasons as principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony. Since that time, he has appeared as a soloist with many symphonies and orchestras, and, as an active chamber musician, has collaborated with Cho-Liang Lin, Assad Brothers, Christian Zacharias, Yo-Yo Ma, the JACK Quartet, the Enso String Quartet, and Talea Ensemble. He was invited to play an unaccompanied solo during the YouTube Symphony Orchestra’s 2009 debut at Carnegie Hall, and gave a solo performance on the TED2015 main stage. Roman is grateful for the loan of an 1899 cello by Giulio Degani of Venice. MASUMI PER ROSTAD (viola) has been described as an “electrifying, poetic and sensitive musician” with an “understated yet commanding presence” by critics and is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. In 2017 he was appointed to the faculty of the prestigious Eastman School of Music. As a former member of the Pacifica Quartet 2001 – 17, Rostad was full professor of viola and chamber music at Indiana University. He received his BM and MM degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied with legendary violist and pedagogue Karen Tuttle and was appointed her teaching assistant. While a student, he performed the world premiere of Michael White’s Viola Concerto in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and also gave the New York premiere of Paul Schoenfield’s Viola Concerto. Rostad has served on the faculties of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The University of Chicago, and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. His Amati viola was crafted in Cremona, Italy, in 1619.
Bank of America Chamber Music
JAMES AUSTIN SMITH (oboe) has been praised for his “virtuosic,” “dazzling,” and “brilliant” performances (The New York Times) and his “bold, keen sound” (The New Yorker); he performs equal parts new and old music across the United States and around the world. Smith is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the Talea Ensemble, and the Poulenc Trio, as well as co-artistic director of Tertulia, a chamber music series that takes place in restaurants in New York and San Francisco. He is a member of the faculties of Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music and is a member and former co-artistic director of Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. LIVIA SOHN (violin), hailed by Opus Magazine as “a stunning musician,” performs widely on the international stage as concerto soloist, recitalist, and festival guest. Following an active summer that started with a return appearance at Spoleto Festival USA, Sohn went on to perform at festivals in Rhode Island, Maine, and The Netherlands. Highlights of Sohn’s current season include performances in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Tampa, Charlotte, and Salt Lake City. She gave her first public performance at age 8. At the age of 13, she won First Prize in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. She attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division from age 7, at which time she began her studies with Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang. She continued under their tutelage at The Juilliard School, where she also studied chamber music with the legendary Felix Galamir. Sohn plays on a J. B. Guadagnini crafted in 1770, and a Samuel Zygmuntowicz made in 2006. ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET was founded in 1989 and has developed an undisputed reputation as a truly world-class chamber ensemble. The quartet performs on concert stages worldwide and calls Stanford University home, where the group is ensemble-inresidence. Fiercely committed to collaboration with living composers, SLSQ’s fruitful partnerships with John Adams, Jonathan Berger, Osvaldo Golijov, and many others has yielded some of the finest additions to quartet literature in recent years. The quartet is also especially dedicated to the music of Haydn, and are recording his groundbreaking set of six Op. 20 quartets in high-definition video for a free, universal release online in 2018. Recent highlights include performances with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic and Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony in John Adams’s Absolute Jest for string quartet and orchestra, and the European premieres of Adams’s second string quartet. SLSQ is proud to continue its long association with the Spoleto Festival USA.
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GILLES VONSATTEL (piano) is a Swissborn American pianist, and an artist of extraordinary versatility and originality. He is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions. In recent years, he made his Boston Symphony, Tanglewood, Chicago Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony debuts, and performed recitals and chamber music at Ravinia, Tokyo’s Musashino Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, La Roque d’Anthéron, Music@Menlo, and the Lucerne Festival. Vonsattel is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, appearing frequently in New York and internationally with the Society. Deeply committed to the performance of contemporary music, Vonsattel has premiered numerous works both in the US and Europe and has worked closely with George Benjamin, Heinz Holliger, and Jörg Widmann. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Columbia University and his master’s degree from The Juilliard School. He is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. WESTMINSTER CHOIR is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been setting the standard for choral excellence for 98 years. Directed by Joe Miller, the ensemble has been the chorus-in-residence for Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The ensemble’s 2017 – 18 season has included performing at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, a concert tour of the Midwest, and performances and broadcasts at its home in Princeton. The choir’s debut recording with Maestro Miller, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which hailed the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time. AUSTIN WULLIMAN (violin/JACK Quartet) has been praised as a “gifted, adventuresome violinist” by the Chicago Tribune and as a “remarkable, unbelievable violinist/violist extraordinaire” by the syndicated radio program Relevant Tones; his “wide technical range and interpretive daring” (New Music Box) as a soloist and chamber musician have garnered wide critical and audience acclaim. He first forged his reputation in Chicago with the collective Ensemble Dal Niente, serving as the group’s program director, and winning the Kranichstein Music Prize (the grand prize for interpretation) at the Darmstadt Summer Course in 2012. Wulliman was also a founding member of Spektral Quartet, serving as ensemblein-residence (as well as adjunct instructor of violin) at the University of Chicago from 2011 – 16. Consistently in search of new musical pathways through ensemble work, Wulliman has collaborated with a wide range of musical voices, from artists like Deerhoof and Julia Holter to Miguel Zenon and Billy Childs, Brian Ferneyhough, and Kaija Saariaho.
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JON BATISTE
College of Charleston Cistern Yard
May 25, 9:00pm
WITH THE DAP-KINGS
May 26, 9:00pm
1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artists
JON BATISTE is a globally celebrated musician, educator, bandleader, and television personality whose musical skill, artistic vision, and exuberant charisma make him a triple threat with unlimited potential. Recognized for his originality, jaw-dropping talent, and dapper sense of style, Batiste transitions from commanding the piano with virtuosic skill to soulfully crooning, to wailing on the “harmonaboard” (a kind of harmonica and keyboard) to curating unique “social music” experiences all over the world. Born into a long lineage of Louisiana musicians, Batiste eventually went on to receive both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in piano from The Juilliard School, and formed his band, Stay Human. The Forbes “30 under 30” honoree balances a demanding performance schedule—which often includes his signature impromptu “love riot” street parades—with his role as bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, newly appointed musical director of The Atlantic, artistic director at large of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, public speaking engagements, master classes, and occasional acting gigs.
THE DAP-KINGS are the Grammy-nominated powerhouse group behind soul legend Sharon Jones and the band on Amy Winehouse’s Grammywinning multiplatinum album Back to Black. They have also been the house band for many television shows, radio shows, and live special events—including events from ESPN, the NFL, NPR, and NBC—and have played with the National Symphony Orchestra, the LA Phil for events at the Kennedy Center, and the Hollywood Bowl. Members of the band have collaborated with and recorded on albums by iconic artists across a number of genres including Al Green, David Byrne, Sturgill Simpson, Kesha, Sam Smith, Quincy Jones, Ghostface Killah, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, John Legend, and Michael Bublé.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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WESTMINSTER CHOIR CONCERTS Cathedral Church May 26, 5:00pm; of St. Luke and St. Paul June 1, 5:00pm Conductor Joe Miller
1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
Program I “Peace Song (Beatitudes)” Leanne Contino and Margaret Bergmark, soprano; Katie Arnold, alto; Sam Denler, tenor; Alex Simon, bass; Gloria Wan, djembe
Tim Brent ( b 1975)
Mass for Double Choir Kyrie Gloria
Frank Martin (1890 – 1974)
II
“I Sat Down Under His Shadow”
Edward Bairstow (1874 – 1946)
Mass for Double Choir Frank Martin Credo “Little Lamb” Joel Phillips ( b 1958) Mass for Double Choir Frank Martin Sanctus et Benedictus III “Kaisa-Isa Niyan” Nilo Alcala ( b 1978) “Fäbodpsalm från Dalarna” Christina Han and Dyanne Lile, soprano; Sophia Santiago, flute; John Swedberg, violin
Anders Öhrwall (1932 – 2012)
“Elijah Rock”
Moses Hogan (1957 – 2003)
These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Please find song texts in an appendix beginning on page 124.
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Westminster Choir Concerts
Program Notes
“Peace Song (Beatitudes)” Tim Brent is assistant professor of popular music studies at Westminster Choir College and is in high demand as a jazz performer, arranger, and educator. In this piece, written specifically for the Westminster Choir’s 2017 – 18 season, Brent sets verses from the well-known text from the Gospel of Matthew as an optimistic celebration of humanity. “Peace Song (Beatitudes)” is a lively conversation between three groups: the mixed choir, three percussion instruments, and a solo quintet standing apart from the ensemble and singing in Latin. Noticeably influenced by jazz harmonies and rhythmic feel, Brent constructs a three-part piece with energetic, active outer sections (for “the peacemakers” and “the pure of heart”), and a more subdued middle section (for “the merciful”). The festivity culminates at the very end with the assurance that our peacemaking, our mercy, and our purity ensure humankind’s collective prosperity.
Mass for Double Choir: Kyrie and Gloria The musical sphere in Europe in the early 20th century saw a steadily growing divide between schools of thought and multiplicity of musical style. While the majority of his contemporaries (such as Olivier Messiaen and Igor Stravinsky), committed to new, serialist compositional techniques or musical modernism, Frank Martin belonged to a school that looked, instead, to reinvent the past. Born in Geneva to a Calvinist minister, Martin would study and live all over Europe over the course of his life. At age 12, he was profoundly affected by hearing J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, a work for doublechoir and double-orchestra often known as the crowning religious expression of the baroque master. The Mass for Double Choir was his own private statement of faith—an “expression of religious feelings that should remain secret and removed from public opinion,” according to the composer. To that end, he waited four decades to release it for publication. The five ancient texts of the ordinary of the liturgical mass (corresponding to each of the five movements of Martin’s work, though the choir will not perform the final Agnus Dei) serve as the ideal vehicle for Martin’s musical voice. Setting these words has been a rite of passage of sorts for composers since the Renaissance. In his own unique approach, Martin’s setting marries past and present. It is at once indebted to the aesthetics of Gregorian chant, French impressionism, and his own rhythmic and melodic flair that seems to resist chronology. This work therefore belongs not to a single time period but to time. The listener should not be surprised to feel lost between the centuries. The Kyrie opens with individual lines evoking the sound of chant. They weave throughout the choir, with more and more voices joining for each musical phrase. Eventually, the full choir begins an almost dance-like section with dotted rhythms, but the spirit of chant will never be far away.
Martin’s second movement is atypical of Gloria settings. The conventional approach to these words is a triumphant or jubilant treatment. Martin instead searches more inwardly and characterizes each musical phrase by the sound and meaning of the words. The result is a noticeable adherence to the natural rhythms of speech and a dynamic sound-palette. After a pleasant, thankful opening, the middle section of this movement centers around three earthly, elongated iterations of “Domine Deus” (“Lord God”). These act as “pillars” upon which Martin places the piety of Jesus Christ and our pleas to him for mercy. The conclusion of the movement features the fluttering sounds of the composer’s representation of the Holy Ghost dashing throughout the choir.
“I Sat Down Under His Shadow” The English organist and composer Edward Bairstow is best remembered for his compositions written to be used in the liturgy of the Anglican Church. The text for “I Sat Down Under His Shadow” comes from the Song of Solomon. These words are spoken by a woman about her lover, but over the centuries, Christian tradition has read this as allegory for God’s love for the church. Like much of Bairstow’s output, “I Sat Down Under His Shadow” is modal—it is neither major nor minor. This harmonic world reflects the mystery and complexity of the relationship between heaven and earth.
Mass for Double Choir: Credo The Credo is Martin’s bold, unapologetic declaration of faith. His approach to text-setting is much the same as that of the Gloria, with rhythms relating closely to natural speech and nuanced musical character shaped to the text. These musical traits reveal much about the composer’s spiritual relationship with these words: His wholehearted praise of God is apparent at “God of God, light of light, true God of true God;” he regards the moment of Jesus’s incarnation with utmost holiness; he jumps for joy at the resurrection; and he once more feels the Holy Ghost dancing within him toward the end of the movement. The music comes barreling to a vibrant end with the hope of resurrection and eternal life.
“Little Lamb” Joel Phillips is professor of composition and music theory at Westminster Choir College, where he has taught since 1985. Phillips begins and ends his setting of the classic poem by William Blake in the purity of C major, but imbues the two stanzas with their own harmonic character. The first, concerning the lamb, remains tender and hushed. The second then gains musical majesty to depict Christ. These words and this music teach us to remember our shared humility.
Westminster Choir Concerts
Mass for Double Choir: Sanctus et Benedictus In the Sanctus et Benedictus of his Mass, Martin takes full advantage of his double-choir scoring. At virtually every moment, the two groups act as discrete entities. The Sanctus begins with undulating iterations of “Santus, sanctus, sanctus” (“Holy, holy, holy”), steadily growing in harmonic intensity, while soaring quasi-chant melodies from the sopranos and altos unfold above. Then, rhythmic shouts of praise echo throughout the choir celebrating God’s glory in heaven and on earth. The Benedictus is Martin’s exercise in rhythmic complexity. He uses this compositional aspect to build more and more musical energy, which peaks with the final cadence and one last exclamation of “Hosanna!”
“Kaisa-Isa Niyan” Active as a composer, arranger, and vocalist, Nilo Alcala is a rising star in the choral sphere. This piece of music sets a popular children’s counting chant from Maguindanao in the southern Philippines. One might liken it to “One, two, buckle my shoe” in English. With creative, playful vocal writing, Alcala uses the human voice to imitate the Kulintang, a percussion instrument made of rows of metal gongs and played with bamboo sticks. “Kaisa-Isa Niyan” was written for the Philippine Madrigal Singers, a legendary vocal ensemble which frequently gives international tours and exposes Western ears to music from Philippine culture.
“Fäbodpsalm från Dalarna” Anders Öhrwall was one of Sweden’s most celebrated conductors and composers, having worked extensively with such groups as the Swedish Radio Choir and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Chorus, in addition to founding several of his own groups. “Fäbodpsalm från Dalarna” (folk song from Dalarna—a Swedish province) sets a traditional wordless melody to original harmonies. This music conjures a world that is distant in both time and space. Its interpretation is left completely open and offers the listener a chance to reflect, meditate, and escape.
– Andrew Leslie Cooper
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Artists
JOE MILLER (conductor) is the director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA and conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. Performances by the Westminster Choir and Joe Miller at Spoleto Festival USA have earned critical praise. The New York Times described their 2014 performance of John Adams’s El Niño as “superb” and wrote, “Meticulously prepared … the chorus was remarkable for its precision, unanimity and power.” The Post and Courier wrote about their 2015 performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, “This was an evening of near-flawless execution and many moments of ravishing beauty and power. It will go down as a highlight (maybe even THE highlight) of this year’s festival.” As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. WESTMINSTER CHOIR is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been setting the standard for choral excellence for 98 years. It has been the chorus in residence for Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The ensemble’s 2017 – 18 season has included performing at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, a concert tour of the Midwest, and performances and broadcasts at its home in Princeton. It also made its fourth recording with Joe Miller, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, which will be released in September. The choir’s debut recording with Maestro Miller, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which hailed the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time.
90 Wells Fargo Jazz
ARTIFACTS Nicole Mitchell, Flute and Electric Flute Tomeka Reid, Cello Mike Reed, Drums Simons Center Recital Hall at May 26, 7:00pm; May 27, 5:00pm and 7:00pm; College of Charleston May 28, 5:00pm and 7:00pm; May 29, 7:00pm 1 hour | Performed without an intermission About the Artists
NICOLE M. MITCHELL (flute) is an award-winning creative flutist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Having emerged from Chicago’s innovative music scene in the late 1990s, Mitchell’s music celebrates contemporary AfricanAmerican culture. She is the founder of Black Earth Ensemble, a multigenerational and gender-balanced group that is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2018. Black Earth Ensemble’s Mandorla Awakening was highlighted as the no. 1 jazz album of 2017 by The New York Times. Mitchell composes for contemporary ensembles of varied instrumentation and size. She is a 2018 recipient of the Champion of New Music Award from the American Composers Forum, and she has been repeatedly awarded by DownBeat magazine’s Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalists Association as Top Flutist of the Year from 2010 – 17. The former first woman president of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Mitchell celebrates endless possibility by “creating visionary worlds through music that bridge the familiar with the unknown.” MIKE REED (drums) is a musician, composer, bandleader, and arts presenter based in Chicago; he also leads or co-leads several working bands, all rooted deeply in jazz and improvised music. In addition, he’s the current programming chair of the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the owner and director of the acclaimed performing arts venue Constellation. His long-running post-bop quartet People, Places & Things has collaborated with guest musicians like Ira Sullivan, Julian Priester, Art
Hoyle, Craig Taborn, and Matthew Shipp. Reed also leads an improvisation-heavy quintet called Loose Assembly, as well as the expansive octet Living by Lanterns. In addition to forging ongoing collaborative relationships with first-wave Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) figures, like the legendary reedist Roscoe Mitchell and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, Reed remains a lynchpin in his native city, working as a key member of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz’s trio Sun Rooms, as well as the octet led by bassist Jason Roebke. TOMEKA REID (cello) was recently described as a “new jazz power source” by The New York Times, and has emerged as one of the most original, versatile, and curious musicians and composers in Chicago’s bustling jazz and improvisedmusic community over the last decade. Her distinctive melodic sensibility, usually braided to a strong sense of groove, has been featured in many distinguished ensembles over the years. Reid has been a key member of ensembles led by legendary reedists including Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as a younger generation of visionaries, including flutist Nicole Mitchell, singer Dee Alexander, and drummer Mike Reed. Reid released her debut recording as a bandleader in 2015, with the eponymous recording by the Tomeka Reid Quartet, a lively yet charged debut album that is a vibrant showcase not only for the cellist’s improvisational acumen, but also her knack for dynamic arrangements and her compositional ability.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Music critic Larry Blumenfeld hosts a Jazz Talk with the members of Artifacts at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 29, at Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
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FRED HERSCH TRIO Fred Hersch, Piano John Hébert, Bass Eric McPherson, Drums
College of Charleston May 27, 9:00pm Cistern Yard 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artist
FRED HERSCH is a pervasively influential creative force who has shaped the music’s course over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator, and recording artist. A 12-time Grammy Award nominee, he continues to earn jazz’s most prestigious awards, including recent distinctions as a 2016 Doris Duke Artist, 2016 Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association, and the 2017 Prix in Honorem Jazz for the entirety of his career from l’Académie Charles-Cros in France. Joining Hersch in this, the fifth edition of his trio, are John Hébert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums. Together, they have been lauded by The New York Times as “one of the major ensembles our time” for their 2016 Grammy-nominated album, Sunday Night at The Vanguard. The trio’s latest album, Fred Hersch Trio: Live in Europe, featuring compositions by Hersch, Shorter, and Monk, has received rave reviews and was released by Palmetto Records on May 11, 2018. The trio has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the US, appearing at major venues and festivals to wide acclaim.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. Piano generously provided by Steinway & Sons. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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MUSIC IN TIME John Kennedy, Director and Host Woolfe Street May 28, May 30, and June 4 Playhouse An Elemental Thing May 28, 5:00pm An Elemental Thing (2017) Liza Lim ( b 1966) Rainice Lai, woodblock unbreakable line. hinged waist. (2002) Jennifer Walshe ( b 1974) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Strange Matter (2011) Zosha diCastri ( b 1985) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Jeffrey Means, conductor Illumine (2016, US premiere) Anna Thorvaldsdottir ( b 1977) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Jeffrey Means, conductor Water and Memory (2017, US premiere) Annea Lockwood ( b 1939) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra
Brilliant Nights May 30, 9:00pm Tre Notturni Brillianti (“Three Brilliant Nights,” 1975) I. Di volo (“Flight”) II. Scorrevole e animato (“Sliding and animated”) III. Prestissimo precipitamo (“Very fast rushing ”) Alfonso Noriega, viola
Salvatore Sciarrino ( b 1947)
Este branco silêncio (“This White Silence,” 2010) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Jeffrey Means, conductor
Andreia Pinto Correia (b 1971)
The Heart’s Ear (1997) Liza Lim (b 1966) Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Jeffrey Means, conductor Air (2005) Jörg Widmann (b 1973) Ryan Little, horn Akrostichon-Wortspiel (“Acrostic Wordplay,” 1991 – 93) I. Hide and Seek II. The Puzzle of the Three Magic Gates III. The Rules of the Game – sdrawkcab emiT IV. Four Seasons in Five Verses V. Domifare S VI. The Game of Chance VII. From the Old Time Marisol Montalvo, soprano Members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Jeffrey Means, conductor
Unsuk Chin (b 1961)
Sponsored by American Express. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Departure Duo June 4, 5:00pm All Are Welcome Here (2017, World Premiere) David Smooke ( b 1969) Plain Truths from Timothy Dexter (2011) + John Liberatore ( b 1984) I. If you can bare the trouth II. we come into the world III. Day and Night IV. Regoising V. Let the Devil goue into Darknes VI. just fineishing his sermon VII. to be A king VIII. the shaking quickers IX. good-bye Deus ex Machina (2016) + Talia Amar ( b 1989) Declining (2018, World Premiere) John Kennedy ( b 1959) Lotófagos (2006) + Beat Furrer ( b 1954) yes I said yes I will Yes (2012) Amy Beth Kirsten ( b 1972) Phrase (2017) + I. le haut étang fume II. quand le mond III. j’ai tendu des cordes IV. il sonne une cloche
Katherine Balch ( b 1991)
Departure Duo: Nina Guo, soprano; Edward Kass, double bass + Please find song texts in an appendix beginning on page 127. About the Artists
JOHN KENNEDY (director and host), Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities, has led acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. Kennedy has had a long association with Spoleto Festival USA, and in recent seasons has conducted the Festival’s American premiere productions of operas including Émilie by Kaija Saariaho (2011), Kepler by Philip Glass (2012), Matsukaze by Toshio Hosokawa (2013), Facing Goya by Michael Nyman (2014), the world premiere production of Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted (2015), The Little Match Girl by Helmut Lachenmann (2016), and Quartett by Luca Francesconi (2017). Especially noted for his interpretations of contemporary music, Kennedy has worked with many of the leading composers of our time in over 300 premieres and numerous recordings. He has designed and led many orchestral concerts integrating classic works with the new, and recently led a multimedia production of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella directed by Seon Yim in South Korea. Kennedy has recently guest conducted at West Edge Opera, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra 21, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, the Crested Butte Music Festival, and with many organizations including the Lincoln Center Festival, Other Minds Festival, sfSound, Talea Ensemble, Santa Fe Opera, and New York City Ballet. Kennedy
is the composer of more than 90 works, including opera, orchestral, chamber, and experimental works that have been performed throughout the world. His operas Trinity and The Language of Birds are both receiving new productions this year by Santa Fe Opera as their spring and fall presentations. DEPARTURE DUO is a Boston-based soprano/double bass duo comprised of Nina Guo and Edward Kass. Committed to expanding the repertoire for this “high-low” combination, Departure Duo commissions new works and breathes life into existing pieces. The duo’s longterm goal, “30x’30,” is to have 30 hours of soprano/double bass repertoire written by 2030. Named semi-finalists in the 2016 Concert Artist Guild Competition, Departure Duo has performed in Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, and more. Highlights include performances at Omaha Under the Radar (2017), Columbia University (2017), and a residency at University of Georgia (2018). In the 2018 – 19 season, Departure Duo will complete an artist residency with Yellow Barn in Putney, Vermont. Guo and Kass hold degrees from New England Conservatory, where each was awarded the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contributions to Contemporary Music Performance.
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RAINICE LAI (percussion) is a percussionist who is active in both contemporary and orchestral arenas. She has performed across the United States and Asia, with such professional ensembles as Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Macau Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has appeared with renowned percussionists including Emmanuel Séjourné, Frederic Macarez, Nancy Zeltsman, and Christopher Deviney, and has performed contemporary works with the Callithumpian Consort and Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice under music director Stephen Drury in 2016. She had worked personally with Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina and performed her chamber music at the Boston Symphony Orchestra Prelude Concert series in 2017. She studies with Dan Bauch and Tim Genis from Boston Symphony Orchestra. This season is Lai’s third summer in the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra; in the past two seasons, she performed in Helmut Lachenmann’s The Little Match Girl and Luca Francesconi’s Quartett. RYAN LITTLE (horn) was appointed as principal horn of the Naples Philharmonic in April 2017, and also serves as assistant principal/utility horn of the Britt Music & Arts Festival. Little received his bachelorof-music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Gail Williams, and received his master’s degree from Rice University, where he studied with William VerMeulen. As a concert soloist, Little has performed as finalist or won prizes at the Aeolus International Competition (Düsseldorf ), International Horn Competition of America (Louisville), International Horn Society Premier Soloist Competition (London), and Northwestern University Concerto Competition. Little has participated as a fellow in the Castleton Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, National Orchestral Institute and Festival, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, and YOA Orchestra of the Americas. Little performs on an instrument made in 2012 by Karl Hill of Rockford, Michigan. JEFFREY MEANS (conductor) is an American conductor with a focus on contemporary music. He has worked closely with many preeminent composers, including Helmut Lachenmann, Salvatore Sciarrino, Wolfgang Rihm, Steve Reich, Pierluigi Billone, Philippe Leroux, Roger Reynolds, Jonathan Harvey, and many others. Means is artistic director of Sound Icon, whose performances have been named among the best of the year multiple times by The Boston Globe, and is currently assistant conductor at the Lucerne Festival Academy. In these capacities, he has assisted Alan Gilbert, Susanna Mälkki, Matthias Pintscher. He has conducted at festivals in France, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Canada, and Finland. Ensembles
Means has led include the Talea Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, Mimesis Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, and many others. Means was one of two conductors selected to study with Pierre Boulez in 2009 at the Lucerne Festival Academy. He is currently professor of conducting at Berklee College of Music. His recordings can be heard on Albany, Mode, Naxos, and Tzadik records. MARISOL MONTALVO (soprano) has performed this season with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquestra Nacionales de Espana, under the baton of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach. Recently, she sang Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mozart’s “L’amero saro costante” with Ray Chen (Ravinia Festival/Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Widmann’s opera Babylon and Scriabin’s Mysterium (Radio Filharmonisch Orkest); Boulez’s Pli selon pli (Wien Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain); Haas’s Wie stille brannte das Licht (Klangforum Wien); Pintscher’s Hérodiade-Fragmente (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra); Mahler’s Symphony no. 4 (London Philharmonic Orchestra); and Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 (Orchestre De Paris). She is renowned for her interpretation of Berg’s Lulu, which she has sung with Opéra national de Paris, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro de la Maestranza, Opéra de Toulouse, Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, and Theater an der Wien. Some of her future engagements include Henze’s The Bassarids with Kent Nagano; and Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic). ALFONSO NORIEGA (viola) is the violist in the Ulysses, Lucerne Festival, and Britten Pears ensembles. A former viola fellow at Ensemble Modern and the Banff Centre, he also plays with Ensemble Intercontemporain, Remix, Divertimento, MAM, HKNME, and the orchestras of Radio France, City of Birmingham, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. He has worked with Boulez, Holliger, Rihm, Lachenmann, Furrer, Knussen, and Hosokawa, and with conductors Colin Davies, Rattle, Nelsons, Robertson, Dudamel, and Maazel. Noriega holds master degrees from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Hochschule in Frankfurt, has recorded for Radio France, BBC, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Arthaus, and has taught at Montana State University and Tulane University. Recent performances include the IRCAM ManiFeste, Shanghai NMW, Aldeburgh, Norfolk, Lucerne, ISCM Korea, WDR Witten, Kurt Weill, Mixtur, Gaudeamus, 8Brücken, BBC Proms, RB Concertgebouw, Ingolstadt, Moritzburg, ZKM Karlsruhe, Frankfurt Cresc, Ruhrtrienale, and HKNV festivals. He was the 2009 Birmingham Chamber Music Society award recipient in England.
Wells Fargo Jazz
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JAZZMEIA HORN Jazzmeia Horn, Vocals Josh Evans, Trumpet Marcus Miller, Saxophone Corey Wallace, Trombone Barry Stephenson, Bass Henry Conerway, III, Drums Victor Gould, Piano
Charleston Gaillard Center May 28, 8:00pm Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall 1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artist
JAZZMEIA HORN has a name that speaks for itself, capturing her very essence. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Horn earned her bachelor’s degree in jazz and contemporary music from The New School in New York and began performing as a sideman with musicians Winard Harper; Junior Mance; Billy Harper; Vincent Gardner; Delfeayo Marsalis; Mike LeDonne; Peter Bernstein; Johnny O’Neal; Vincent Herring; Kirk Lightsey; Frank Wess; and Ellis Marsalis, Jr. Horn has performed at numerous jazz festivals and legendary jazz clubs, including Lenox Lounge, Bill’s Place, The Apollo, The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Jazz Club CocaCola, Minton’s, The Jazz Standard, Smalls Jazz Club, Zinc, Jazz Gallery, Birdland, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). Her accolades include DownBeat magazine’s Student Music Award in 2008 and 2009, as well as being named its Best Vocal Jazz Soloist in 2010; the Kennedy Center’s 2013 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Award; and the Rising Star Award in the 2012 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, among others. She was the winner of the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition and 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Currently, Horn is a teaching artist in the NJPAC Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens Program. She appears in various clubs on the jazz scene nationally and internationally leading her dynamic group, The Artistry of Jazz Horn.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Angels
ANGELS
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church
May 29, 9:00pm
Conductor Joe Miller Soprano Jade Blocker, Katharine Burns, Leanne Contino, Emma Daniels, Christina Han, Dyanne Lile, Sophia Santiago, Felicia Villa, Rachel Woody Alto Katie Arnold, Madison Bowling, Andrew Leslie Cooper, Alyssa Davis, Rachel Feldman, Kelsey Lewis, Johanna Olson, Pauline Taumalolo, Gloria Wan Instrumentalists Rachel Sandman and Dillon Welch, violin; Erica Gailing, viola; Chava Appiah, cello; Joseph Newton, double bass; Paul Thomas, organ; Abigail Kent, harp 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission Program I. Darkness Largo from Sonata in C Major, BWV 1005 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) Rachel Sandman, violin “O choruscans lux stellarum”
Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179)
Stabat Mater Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 – 36) 1. Stabat Mater dolorosa 2. Cujus animam gementem Sophia Santiago, soprano 3. O quam tristis et afflicta 4. Quae moerebat et dolebat Madison Bowling, alto 5. Quis est homo qui non fleret Leanne Contino, soprano; Rachel Feldman, alto 6. Vidit suum dulcem natum Kelsey Lewis, soprano 7. Eja mater fons amoris Andrew Leslie Cooper, alto 8. Fac ut ardeat cor meum 12. Quando corpus morietur II. Awakening “Soyez comme l’oiseau”
Abbie Betinis ( b 1980)
Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (Third Group) 1. Hymn to the Dawn 2. Hymn to the Waters 3. Hymn to Vena 4. Hymn to the Travellers
Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934)
III. Angels “Lux aeterna” Z. Randall Stroope ( b 1953) Requiem, op. 48 In paradisum
Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924)
Angels
Artists
JOE MILLER (conductor) is the director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA and conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. Performances by the Westminster Choir and Joe Miller at Spoleto Festival USA have earned critical praise. The New York Times described their 2014 performance of John Adams’s El Niño as “superb” and wrote, “Meticulously prepared … the chorus was remarkable for its precision, unanimity and power.” The Post and Courier wrote about their 2015 performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, “This was an evening of near-flawless execution and many moments of ravishing beauty and power. It will go down as a highlight (maybe even THE highlight) of this year’s festival.” As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton.
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WESTMINSTER CHOIR is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been setting the standard for choral excellence for 98 years. It has been the chorus in residence for Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The ensemble’s 2017 – 18 season has included performing at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, a concert tour of the Midwest, and performances and broadcasts at its home in Princeton. It also made its fourth recording with Joe Miller, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, which will be released in September. The choir’s debut recording with Maestro Miller, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which hailed the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time.
Sponsored by Pinnacle Bank. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Please find song texts in an appendix beginning on page 130.
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CHUCHO VALDÉS QUARTET Chucho Valdés, Vocals and Piano Yaroldy Abreu Robles, Percussion Dafnis Prieto, Drums Yelsy Heredia, Bass Charleston Gaillard Center May 31, 7:00pm Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall 1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artist
CHUCHO VALDÉS is a Cuban pianist, composer, and arranger, and one of the most influential figures in modern AfroCuban jazz. Six-time Grammy winner and three-time Latin Grammy winner, Valdés is a protean performer; he is as comfortable in small groups as leading large ensembles. His most recent projects include Trance, a two-piano duo project with fellow Cuban virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and before that, an extensive tour celebrating 40 years of his founding of Irakere—a band that marked a “before” and “after” in Latin jazz. Fittingly, the celebration culminated in a Grammy for the Best Latin Jazz Album of 2016 for Tribute to Irakere: Live at Marciac (Jazz Village/Comanche Music). Born in a family of musicians in Quivicán, Havana province, Cuba, Valdés’s first teacher was his father—the great pianist, composer, and bandleader Ramón “Bebo” Valdés. Throughout his career, Valdés has distilled elements of the Afro-Cuban music tradition, jazz, classical music, rock, and more, into an organic, personal style that has both a distinct style and substance.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
First Citizens Bank Front Row
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RICKY SKAGGS AND KENTUCKY THUNDER Ricky Skaggs, Lead Vocals and Mandolin Mike Barnett, Fiddle Russ Carson, Banjo Paul Brewster, Tenor Vocals and Rhythm Guitar Jake Workman, Lead Guitar Dennis Parker, Baritone Vocals and Guitar Jeff Picker, Bass Vocals and Bass College of Charleston May 31, 9:00pm; Cistern Yard June 1, 9:00pm 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artists
RICKY SKAGGS AND KENTUCKY THUNDER “are just about the best bluegrass has to offer” (The Seattle Times). Fifteentime Grammy-Awardwinner Ricky Skaggs’s career is easily among the most significant in recent country music history. If his burgeoning trophy case full of awards wasn’t already enough evidence of that fact, consider that legendary guitarist Chet Atkins once credited Skaggs with “single-handedly saving country music.” His life’s path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact. In 1997, he made a triumphant return to bluegrass with the album Bluegrass Rules!, released on his then newly formed Skaggs Family Records label, recorded with his amazing bluegrass band, Kentucky Thunder— 8-time winners of the IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year, and six of the finest pickers performing today. Skaggs struck his first chords on a mandolin more than 50 years ago, and together with Kentucky Thunder, they continue to do their part to lead the recent roots revival in music. Skaggs will be inducted into the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame in the class of 2018 later this fall. Sponsored by First Citizens Bank. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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You Are Mine Own
YOU ARE MINE OWN
Charleston Gaillard Center Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall
June 2, 7:00pm
Conductor John Kennedy Director Atom Egoyan Video Designer Cameron Davis Lighting Designer Jonathan Spencer Cast Soprano Baritone
Natalia Pavlova Alexander Dobson
Quartet Violin Sodam Lim Violin Autumn Chodorowski Viola Andrew François Cello Alexa Ciciretti Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Musical Preparation Siyi Fang Production Stage Manager Mike Egan Supertitles Bruno Ingram 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission Sung in German with English supertitles You Are Mine Own (performed without pause) Lyric Suite for string quartet (1926) Alban Berg (1885 – 1935) I. Allegretto gioviale II. Andante amoroso III. Allegro misterioso – Trio estatico III. Allegro misterioso – Trio estatico version for string orchestra (1928) Lyric Symphony (1923) Alexander Zemlinsky (1871 – 1942) I. Ich bin friedlos (“I am restless”) II. Mutter, der junge Prinz (“Mother, the young Prince”) III. Du bist die Abendwolke (“You are the evening cloud”) IV. Sprich zu mir Geliebter (“Speak to me, my love”) V. Befrei mich von den Banden deiner Süße, Lieb (“Release me from the bonds of your sweetness, Love”) VI. Vollende denn das letzte Lied (“Then finish the last song ”) VII. Friede, mein Herz (“Peace, my heart”)
You Are Mine Own is co-produced by Spoleto Festival USA and Luminato Festival. Special thanks to Anjali Patil (kathak dance hand gestures) and Varun Sasindran (hallway video shot) for their creative collaboration. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. CBS News journalist Martha Teichner hosts a Conversation with soprano Natalia Pavlova and Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya (p 25) at 5:00pm on Sunday, June 3, at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
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Director’s Note
Artistic Team
After hearing Alexander Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony in Vienna in 1924, the great composer Alban Berg wrote to his mentor, “my decades-long love for your music has, in this work, received its fulfillment.” Berg’s beautiful Lyric Suite for string quartet, written just a few years later, was dedicated to his former teacher. Not only does it derive its name from Zemlinsky’s symphony, but the Lyric Suite also quotes the motif from the symphony’s third song “Du bist mein Eigen.” We have translated this as You Are Mine Own.
JOHN KENNEDY (conductor), Spoleto Festival USA Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities, has led acclaimed performances and premieres worldwide of opera, orchestral, ballet, and new music. Kennedy has had a long association with Spoleto Festival USA, and in recent seasons has conducted the Festival’s American premiere productions of operas including Émilie by Kaija Saariaho (2011), Kepler by Philip Glass (2012), Matsukaze by Toshio Hosokawa (2013), Facing Goya by Michael Nyman (2014), the world premiere production of Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted (2015), The Little Match Girl by Helmut Lachenmann (2016), and Quartett by Luca Francesconi (2017). Especially noted for his interpretations of contemporary music, Kennedy has worked with many of the leading composers of our time in over 300 premieres and numerous recordings. He has designed and led many orchestral concerts integrating classic works with the new, and recently led a multimedia production of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella directed by Seon Yim in South Korea. Kennedy has recently guest conducted at West Edge Opera, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra 21, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, the Crested Butte Music Festival, and with many organizations including the Lincoln Center Festival, Other Minds Festival, sfSound, Talea Ensemble, Santa Fe Opera, and New York City Ballet. Kennedy is the composer of more than 90 works, including opera, orchestral, chamber, and experimental works that have been performed throughout the world. His operas Trinity and The Language of Birds are both receiving new productions this year by Santa Fe Opera as their spring and fall presentations.
While there is no clear dramatic narrative in either of these masterworks, both were fuelled by events in the respective lives of Berg and Zemlinsky. The tempestuous and tragic details of their love affairs and erotic relationships are far too complicated to present in the space here. Suffice it to say that in creating a new piece of music-theater that fuses these two works, it was essential to imagine a romantic tale that explored these embedded personal histories of the composers themselves. My original story involves a live orchestra as its primary “stage set” and a relationship between two musicians. There is a woman who is a flutist in this orchestra and a man who—either in his imagination or in some sort of alternate reality—might be a conductor. This conflict between the imperative to assert musical control and the ecstatic joy of pure creative expression is at the core of this new story. Using the beautiful verse of the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore—which had inspired Zemlinsky so profoundly—I wanted to find a way to amplify the tremendous undulations generated between the various stages of love. In addition to the placement of the orchestra itself, it was important to find a stage object that conveyed the tension between the worldly and the mysterious, and a curious choice emerged: the common household radiator. Though it generates and radiates warmth, it is itself a resolutely earthbound and rather brutal piece of domestic sculpture. Balancing the private hermetic world of this radiator and the public space of the orchestra, this interpretation finds a contrast between love’s overwhelming power and its dark desire to control. Throughout this all, the act of artistic creation—be it music-making, writing, or staging—becomes the crucible for interpreting Tagore’s text and Berg and Zemlinsky’s music. The tension between the practical means we use to produce art (instruments, cameras, paper, pen, rope…) and the imaginative possibilities of projection—as a psychological force as well as a mechanical process—are also explored. In composing his masterwork, Zemlinsky never imagined a staged version, but I hope that this interpretation can extend the reach of this magnificent work. While full of latent personal narratives and beguiling mysticism, it is a piece brimming with deep yearning and devastating emotional turmoil. It verges on the operatic, and what we present tonight is almost an opera. – Atom Egoyan
ATOM EGOYAN (director) is one of the most celebrated contemporary filmmakers on the international scene, having received two Academy-Award nominations, five awards from the Cannes Film Festival—including the Grand Prix—as well as awards for numerous theatrical and opera productions. He has directed critically acclaimed productions of Strauss’s Salome and Wagner’s Die Walküre, as well as the world premieres of the contemporary operas Feng Yi Ting for Spoleto Festival USA in 2012 (with remounts at Lincoln Center Festival and Luminato Festival, Toronto) and Dr. Ox’s Experiment for English National Opera. For Canadian Stage, he directed the North American premiere of Martin Crimp’s Cruel and Tender, and his production of Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe won the Irish Times/ESB Award for Best Direction. Last year, Egoyan directed Janáček’s Jenůfa for Pacific Opera Victoria, and his successful production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte will be remounted by Canadian Opera Company next year before its presentation by The Israeli Opera, Tel Aviv in the summer of 2019.
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You Are Mine Own
CAMERON DAVIS (video designer) began his career as a projection and video designer while studying drama and history at the University of Toronto. It was there that he began working with renowned filmmaker Atom Egoyan. Beginning as a teaching and technical assistant to Egoyan’s class, Davis soon began working with Egoyan on various projects including Egoyan’s installation, Auroras, for the inaugural Luminato Festival, and his feature film, Adoration. Upon graduating with a bachelor of arts in 2008, Davis promptly began working professionally as a projection designer with Theatre PANIK’s production of My Name is Rachel Corrie in Toronto. Cameron’s work has been seen across Canada and around the world. He has worked with such theater companies as The Shaw Festival, Ross Petty Productions, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Theatre Columbus, Theatre PANIK, the Blyth Festival, Canadian Stage, Citadel Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, and Volcano Theatre. Most recently, Davis has been teaching video masterclasses and mentoring at the National Theatre School of Canada. JONATHAN SPENCER (lighting designer) lives in New York City, working principally on Broadway, national touring, Off-Broadway, and international theatrical productions. Recent designs include the current Rent 20th Anniversary Tour and Who’s Holiday!—Off-Broadway at WestSide Theatre; and Grace Notes: Reflections for Now at The Kennedy Center, Yale Repertory Theater, and Spoleto Festival USA (2016). Spencer has designed for New York’s The Public Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Missouri Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Hartford Stage, the Penobscot Theater Company, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and others. His assistant/associate credits on Broadway include Wicked, Legally Blonde, Finnian’s Rainbow, Metamorphoses, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, A Streetcar Named Desire, and others. Spencer is the professor of lighting design at the Southern Oregon University Masters of Theater Studies program (MOTS—Summer Session). He is a Member of United Scenic Artists local 829, holds a BFA from Southern Oregon University, and an MFA from Ohio University. JSpencerDesign.com
Singers
ALEXANDER DOBSON (baritone) is renowned on opera and concert stages for his artistry. Recent major roles include the title role in Wozzeck, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal; Masetto in Don Giovanni with Calgary Opera and Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera; and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), all with Opera de Montréal. Concert performances of note include Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis; Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with Orchestre Métropolitain; Fauré’s Requiem with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony no. 8, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the combined National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain; Bach’s Magnificat with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s The Seasons with The Cleveland Orchestra. NATALIA PAVLOVA (soprano) is a rising star of the Mariinsky Theatre. She has worked under the guidance of such musicians as Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Spivakov, Teodor Currentzis, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Fuat Mansurov, Ennio Morricone, and Yuri Bashmet. Her repertoire onstage includes Violetta in La traviata; Mimì in La bohème; Marguerite in Faust; Micaëla in Carmen; the title role in Rusalka; Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, which she performed at Spoleto Festival USA in 2017; Tamara in The Demon; Marfa in The Tsar’s Bride; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; the title role in Iolanta; and Nastasya in The Idiot. She performs regularly in concert and semi-staged productions of Soviet operas, including Gemma in Spadavecchia’s Letter to a Stranger, Lisa Brichkina in Molchanov’s Dawns Here Are Quiet, Natalia in Khrennikov’s Into The Storm, Natasha in Shchedrin’s Not Only Love, and Suzanne in Shostakovich’s Orango. In November 2017, she debuted at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as Anne in Grigori Frid’s mono-opera Diary of Anne Frank.
You Are Mine Own
Quartet
AUTUMN CHODOROWSKI (violin) joined the Quad City Symphony Orchestra as principal second violin in 2016. In September of 2017, she was offered a full-time fellowship with the New World Symphony, and keeps busy splitting her time between Davenport and Miami. Throughout her music education, she has been fortunate enough to study with world renowned violin teachers Ian Swensen, Almita Vamos, and Paul Kantor at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and The Glenn Gould School, respectively. Her first violin teacher, however, was her mother, Lisa Chodorowski, who started her at age 3, and to whom she could not be more grateful. Chodorowski has played with such orchestras as the Tanglewood Music Center, Round Top Festival Institute, National Orchestral Institute, Spoleto Festival USA, and Music Academy of the West. Chodorowski has enjoyed a thriving career in chamber music, having played alongside Geoff Nuttall of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Pacifica Quartet, and pianist Jeremy Denk. ALEXA CICIRETTI (cello) is currently a New World Symphony fellow. She has performed as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Academy, and Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. An avid advocate for contemporary and baroque music, Ciciretti has performed both numerous world premieres and continuo in baroque chamber groups and opera. She also performs with the Miami-based group Flamenco Sephardit. Ciciretti studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Eastman School of Music. ANDREW FRANÇOIS (viola) is a fourth-year viola fellow with the New World Symphony. He began his musical studies at age 10 on violin in his school’s string program. As a chamber musician, François has given recitals throughout the United States and Europe, as well as performing with such esteemed artists as Joshua Bell, Alex Kerr, Jorja Fleezanis, Eric Kim, and Stephen Wyrczynski. As an avid orchestral player, he has played with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the USA International Harp Competition orchestra, among others. A graduate of the Jacobs School of music at Indiana University, he received the Artistic Excellence Fellowship, as well as served as the graduate assistant to the string department. François enjoys teaching and community outreach, and has traveled to Medellin, Colombia to give masterclasses and teach lessons at the Universidad EAFIT. He also serves as artist faculty at the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival.
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SODAM LIM (violin) is active as both a chamber and orchestral player, and has performed with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra; on the baroque violin at Bach Collegium Seoul; and worked numerous artists, including Michael Tilson Thomas, Alex Kerr, and Gil Shaham. She holds degrees from Hanyang University in Korea, New England Conservatory, and Indiana University, and she is currently a violin fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Music Staff
SIYI FANG (musical preparation) was a repetiteur in premiere productions and workshops including Quartett at Spoleto Festival USA 2017, Monkey: Journey to the West at Lincoln Center Festival, Dr. Sun Yat Sen at Santa Fe Opera, and Paradise Interrupted co-commissioned by Spoleto Festival USA and Lincoln Center Festival. She served as music director for an outdoor musical theater in Inner Mongolia and had her CD released as part of JP Jofre Hard Tango Chamber Band. She was a vocal pianist at SUNY Binghamton and a staff pianist at The Juilliard School. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, United Nations, and Radio Television Hong Kong, among others. Her training fellowships included Music Academy of the West, SongFest, Fontainebleau Schools in France, and Aspen Music Festival and School. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BM) and The Juilliard School (MM in collaborative piano). A native of Guangzhou, China, she currently resides in New York City and is pursuing her doctorate degree in music education at Columbia University. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
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RANKY TANKY Quiana Parler, Vocals Charlton Singleton, Trumpet and Vocals Clay Ross, Guitar and Vocals Kevin Hamilton, Bass Quentin Baxter, Percussion Calvin Baxter, Percussion College of Charleston June 2, 9:00pm Cistern Yard 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artists
RANKY TANKY released their eponymous debut on October 20, 2017. By December, the group had been profiled on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and their album soared to the no. 1 position on the Billboard, iTunes, and Amazon Jazz Charts. The word “Gullah” comes from a West-African language and means “a people blessed by God.” “Ranky Tanky” translates loosely as “work it,” or “get funky!” In this spirit, this Charleston-based quintet performs timeless music of Gullah culture born in the southeastern Sea Island region of the United States. From playful game songs to ecstatic shouts, from heartbreaking spirituals to delicate lullabies, the musical roots of Charleston, South Carolina are a “rank” and fertile ground from which these contemporary artists are grateful to have grown. South Carolina-natives Quentin Baxter, Kevin Hamilton, Charlton Singleton, and Clay Ross first came together in 1998, fresh out of university, to form a seminal Charleston jazz quartet. Now, united by years apart and a deeper understanding of home, these accomplished artists have come together again, joined by one of the Lowcountry’s most celebrated vocalists, Quiana Parler, to revive a heartland of American music born in their own backyards.
Sponsored by First Citizens Bank. Programming at the College of Charleston Cistern Yard is kindly endowed by Carlos, Lisa, and Blake Evans. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. Music critic Larry Blumenfeld hosts a Front Row Talk with drummer Quentin Baxter and fellow members of Ranky Tanky at 5:00pm on Friday, June 1, at Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
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TRIO 3 PLUS VIJAY IYER Oliver Lake, Saxophone Reggie Workman, Bass Andrew Cyrille, Drums Vijay Iyer, Piano Charleston Gaillard Center June 3, 7:00pm Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall 1 hour, 30 minutes | Performed without an intermission
About the Artists
TRIO 3 is, simply put, a band without a leader. The unconventional collaboration of internationally recognized jazz masters—Oliver Lake (multireeds), Reggie Workman (bass), and Andrew Cyrille (drums)— formed to centralize the members’ creative energies and promote a single governing principle: organic improvisation. Everyone is a distinct soloist but it’s definitely an unadulterated group-based effort. Open to infinite possibilities, Trio 3 mixes and explores different sound colors traversing the whole vocabulary of jazz to take the music to the future. Collectively, the members of Trio 3 have played with pivotal jazz and modernmusic artists including John Coltrane, Mary Lou Williams, Herbie Mann, Art Blakey, The World Saxophone Quartet, Lou Reed, Richard Muhal Abrams, Cecil Taylor, and more. Deeply rooted in the tradition, these jazz veterans describe their sound as “futuristic music within the idiomatic continuum of jazz.” Like musical chemists, Trio 3 boldly carries the music forward, spinning three-dimensional jazz, reconfiguring conventions of composition, harmony, meter, and melody.
VIJAY IYER was named DownBeat magazine’s Jazz Artist of the Year for 2012, 2015, and 2016, and Artist of the Year in Jazz Times’s Critics’ Picks and Readers’ Poll for 2017. He received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, and a 2011 Grammy nomination. Iyer has released 21 albums, including Far From Over (ECM, 2017), with the Vijay Iyer Sextet, which topped numerous yearend critics polls and was cited as “2017’s jazz album to beat” in Rolling Stone; A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke (ECM, 2016), with Wadada Leo Smith, named Best New Music by Pitchfork; and Break Stuff (ECM, 2015), with the Vijay Iyer Trio, winner of the German Record Critics’ Award for Album of the Year. Iyer is the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, and the director of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Brahms’s German Requiem
BRAHMS’S GERMAN REQUIEM
Charleston Gaillard Center Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall
June 5, 7:30pm
Conductor Joe Miller Soprano Natalia Pavlova Baritone Alexander Dobson Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus Director Robert Taylor Supertitles Bruno Ingram Westminster Choir Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 1 hour, 15 minutes | Performed without an intermission Sung in German with English supertitles
Program I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen II. Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras
III. Herr, lehre doch mich Alexander Dobson, baritone IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit Natalia Pavlova, soprano
VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt Alexander Dobson, baritone VII. Selig sind die Toten
Program Note
Following a disappointing performance of sections of the work, the world premiere of Brahms’s Requiem in 1868 (minus the still-to-be-written fifth movement) marked a watershed in his career, pushing Brahms to the forefront of composers to whom attention must be paid. This was in an age when choral music flourished, with choral societies providing an important artistic outlet for non-professional musicians. The title, Ein deutsches Requiem (“A German Requiem”), points to the unusual nature of the work—the largest in Brahms’s catalogue—vis-a-vis the long-standing tradition of musical settings of the Requiem Mass for the Dead. Even such freethinkers as Giuseppe Verdi contributed masterpieces to the
Requiem tradition known from Roman Catholic liturgy. (Verdi’s came a little later, in 1874.) Though born into the Protestant tradition, Brahms, too, was a freethinker and translated his undogmatic humanism into a new-fangled design of his own. The “German” in the title refers to the language of the texts Brahms culled for his libretto, in lieu of the ancient Latin texts, but he also referred to the work as “a human Requiem.” The composer’s source was Luther’s German translation of the Bible, from which Brahms wove an eclectic tapestry. The sources include the Psalms, Isaiah, the Book of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and the New Testament. As a “Requiem,” Brahms obviously draws a connection to the longstanding liturgical tradition of a Christian Mass in memory of a deceased person. Yet none of
This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Brahms’s German Requiem
the movements of Ein deutsches Requiem correspond exactly to those familiar in the settings of, say, Mozart or Verdi. The dramatic Dies irae depicting Judgment Day, for example, is conspicuously absent from Brahms’s score. Brahms’s approach of making his own selection of texts was not entirely unprecedented. In fact, Handel’s Messiah used a similar method of piecing together various scriptural selections to trace the narrative of the nativity, passion, and resurrection of Jesus. Other composers of the Renaissance and Baroque—eras of intense interest to Brahms as a student of music history— similarly anticipated this method of using selected texts to create a musical memorial. In the contemporary scene, this “collage” approach has been boldly employed by Peter Sellars in his librettos for John Adams, as anyone who experienced Spoleto Festival USA’s staging of El Niño in 2014 will recall. Brahms made a point to avoid doctrinal references to Christianity—a strategy that troubled even his admiring peers who wanted a more orthodox point of view. Karl Reinthaler, the Lutheran organist at Bremen Cathedral, where the premiere took place, remarked: “For the Christian mind, however, there is lacking the point on which everything turns, namely, the redeeming death of Jesus.” Brahms’s Requiem shifts the focus from pleading for the redemption of the deceased to consolation of the living. For him, the initial impetus was to honor his mentor, Robert Schumann, who had died in 1856 following a horrible struggle with mental illness. The death of Brahms’s mother in 1865 was another motivation, which led him to expand the score with what became the fifth movement (for solo soprano). The result is a uniquely personal cantata that addresses the same ultimate questions as does the traditional Requiem, but without its established ideological framework. Brahms’s work is thus especially well-suited for the concert hall. You could almost say that the Brahms Requiem represents the ultimate “crossover” work of sacred to secular music. Brahms draws the listener into this music through his balance of lyricism and drama. His compositional genius is apparent in the large-scale construction, which forms an arch, as well as in the local details. An organically unifying basic idea, for example, is heard when the chorus first enters: the three-note cell F-A-B♭. The final movement is similarly slow and echoes the beginning. The second and sixth movements provide dramatic highlights, the second resembling an apocalypse in slow motion and the sixth (with its addition of solo baritone) a depiction of existential dread, a more subjective take on the Dies irae sensibility. Movements three and five juxtapose the solo human voice with the chorus. The psalm set in the fourth movement becomes the serene center of the Requiem, around which everything centers. The principle of a music of consolation returns in the final moments, uplifting those left to mourn with the promise of what is now a musical memory that Brahms has created and is recalling—the artist’s version of immortality.
– Program Notes © 2018 Thomas May
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Artists
JOE MILLER (conductor) is the director of choral activities for Spoleto Festival USA and conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles: the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He is also director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and director of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. Performances by the Westminster Choir and Joe Miller at Spoleto Festival USA have earned critical praise. The New York Times described their 2014 performance of John Adams’s El Niño as “superb” and wrote, “Meticulously prepared … the chorus was remarkable for its precision, unanimity and power.” The Post and Courier wrote about their 2015 performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, “This was an evening of near-flawless execution and many moments of ravishing beauty and power. It will go down as a highlight (maybe even THE highlight) of this year’s festival.” As conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. The New York Times wrote about Symphonic Choir’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Recent seasons have included performances with the Philharmoniker Berliner and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Summer Choral Festival Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for one week each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. ALEXANDER DOBSON (baritone) is renowned on opera and concert stages for his artistry. Recent major roles include the title role in Wozzeck, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal; Masetto in Don Giovanni with Calgary Opera and Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera; and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), all with Opera de Montréal. Concert performances of note include Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis; Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with Orchestre Métropolitain; Fauré’s Requiem with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony no. 8, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the combined National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain; Bach’s Magnificat with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Haydn’s The Seasons with The Cleveland Orchestra.
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Brahms’s German Requiem
NATALIA PAVLOVA (soprano) is a rising star of the Mariinsky Theatre. She has worked under the guidance of such musicians as Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Spivakov, Teodor Currentzis, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Fuat Mansurov, Ennio Morricone, and Yuri Bashmet. Her repertoire onstage includes Violetta in La traviata; Mimì in La bohème; Marguerite in Faust; Micaëla in Carmen; the title role in Rusalka; Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, which she performed at Spoleto Festival USA in 2017; Tamara in The Demon; Marfa in The Tsar’s Bride; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; the title role in Iolanta; and Nastasya in The Idiot. She performs regularly in concert and semi-staged productions of Soviet operas, including Gemma in Spadavecchia’s Letter to a Stranger, Lisa Brichkina in Molchanov’s Dawns Here Are Quiet, Natalia in Khrennikov’s Into The Storm, Natasha in Shchedrin’s Not Only Love, and Suzanne in Shostakovich’s Orango. In November 2017, she debuted at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as Anne in Grigori Frid’s mono-opera Diary of Anne Frank. ROBERT TAYLOR (director, Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus) is the director of choral activities at the College of Charleston, the founding artistic director and president of the Taylor Festival Choir (TFC) and Taylor Music Group (TMG), and the director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Singers. Called a “rising star in the international choral scene” and a “true master of his craft” (Charleston City Paper), Taylor has also earned accolades for his ensembles, which have been described as sounding “more musical than would seem possible” (The Post and Courier) and have received numerous plaudits from critics for their technical proficiency, musicality, and beautiful sound production. Taylor’s ensembles have performed throughout the United States and Europe. They have been featured in numerous festivals, conventions, and special concerts, including the 2005 and 2009 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conventions, the 2008 and 2011 National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conventions, and multiple appearances in regional and state ACDA and AGO conventions. THE CHARLESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS is composed of auditioned, volunteer singers from the Charleston, South Carolina area. Founded in 1978 by Miss Emily Remington as the Charleston Singers Guild and now directed by Dr. Robert Taylor, the full Chorus performs a diverse choral repertoire to nurture and educate audiences and future singers. The 2017 – 18 performance season included two Charleston Symphony Orchestra Masterworks appearances: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Ralph Vaughn Williams’s Toward the Unknown Region; and Holiday Pops on December 16, 2017. For additional information see CSOChorus.com.
WESTMINSTER CHOIR is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has been setting the standard for choral excellence for 98 years. It has been the chorus in residence for Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The ensemble’s 2017 – 18 season has included performing at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, a concert tour of the Midwest, and performances and broadcasts at its home in Princeton. It also made its fourth recording with Joe Miller, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, which will be released in September. The choir’s debut recording with Maestro Miller, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which hailed the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.” Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Wells Fargo Jazz 109
CRAIG TABORN Craig Taborn, Piano Chris Lightcap, Bass Gerald Cleaver, Drums Simons Center Recital Hall at June 6, 7:00pm; June 7, 7:00pm; College of Charleston June 8, 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 9, 5:00pm and 7:00pm 1 hour | Performed without an intermission Performances Avenging Angel: Solo Piano June 6, 7:00pm and June 7, 7:00pm
Craig Taborn
Chants and Song Craig Taborn Trio June 8, 5:00pm and 7:00pm; June 9, 5:00pm and 7:00pm
About the Artist
CRAIG TABORN (composer/pianist/ electronic musician) was born and raised in Golden Valley, Minnesota. While studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he had the good fortune to work in the illustrious Detroit jazz community, performing and studying with such luminaries as Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney, Kenn Cox, and Francisco Mora Catlett. He has played and recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Dave Holland, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Tim Berne, Evan Parker, William Parker, Steve Coleman, James Carter, Vijay Iyer, David Torn, Chris Potter, Nicole Mitchell, Carl Craig, and Dave Douglas. Taborn currently presents solo piano concerts, leads his own trio and quartet, and writes music for both solo and ensemble electronics. He is currently a member of Chris Potter’s Underground Orchestra and Dave Holland’s Prism, and performs in ensembles and collaborations with various improvising and electronic artists. A new album of quartet music entitled Daylight Ghosts was released in early 2017 on ECM Records. Taborn is a Doris Duke Artist, a Civitella Ranieri Fellow, and a Shifting Foundation Fellow. He lives in Brooklyn.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Mozart and Mahler
MOZART AND MAHLER
Charleston Gaillard Center Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall
June 9, 8:00pm
Conductor Steven Sloane Piano Pedja Muzijevic Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 1 hour, 45 minutes | Performed with one intermission
Program
Piano Concerto no. 15 in B-flat Major, K. 450 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Allegro Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 91)
Intermission Symphony no. 1 in D Major, “Titan” Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911) I. Langsam, schleppend – Immer sehr gemächlich II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell, Recht gemächlich III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen IV. Stürmisch bewegt – Energisch
Program Notes
Piano Concerto no. 15 in B-flat Major, K. 450 “Mozartl!” That—at least according to the report of his widow, Alma—was the last word Gustav Mahler uttered on his deathbed, expressing his undying love (using an Austrian diminutive) of a composer whose work had inspired some of his finest achievements as a conductor. In fact, this titan of late romanticism had a keen appreciation of his classical predecessors. And much as Mahler expanded the horizon of the symphony, Mozart forged a new path for the genre of the piano concerto that would lead to Beethoven and a bold succession of 19th-century concerto masterpieces. Mozart also more or less established the paradigm for living as a freelance composer in Vienna that Beethoven would later follow when he first settled in the capital. Mozart did not have Haydn’s luck with the longstanding system of patronage. He loathed his boss in Salzburg but was unable to find an alternative
post; so he decided in 1781 to move to Vienna, where he would have a greater measure of the creative freedom he yearned for. To make ends meet, Mozart cultivated his celebrity as a keyboard virtuoso by organizing concerts featuring his latest compositions for the instrument. In a letter to his father around the time he introduced the K. 450 Piano Concerto no. 15 in 1784, Mozart complained: “I’ve been feeling somewhat tired lately— from so much performing; and it’s not the least of my credits that my listeners never are. …” [Mozart’s emphasis]. Mozart didn’t write his piano concertos as pure “art for art’s sake” but as market-driven commodities. But he did so while at the same time pushing the boundaries of that market. K. 450, for example, explores the role of woodwinds in the ensemble more prominently than before. In this concerto, fresh approaches to orchestration are integrated in fascinating ways with the refined virtuosity and imagination the public expected when Mozart was on the billing.
This performance is made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Mozart and Mahler
Mozart had inaugurated a system of keeping track of the prolific flow of works from his pen by using a dated catalogue less than two months before (officially, with K. 449, the Concerto in E-flat Major). His entry for the B-flat major concerto is dated March 15, 1785, which was followed by two more similarly largescaled concertos that spring: nos. 16 and 17 (K. 451 and 453, respectively). The composer was well aware that he was breaking ground, and he was also eager to know what his father and sister thought of these new works. In a letter from May 1784, Mozart writes that he finds it “impossible to choose between the two concertos [nos. 15 and 16]. I think they are both concertos that make you sweat.—But as far as difficulty is concerned, the B-flat has the advantage over the D major.” Mozart entrusts the orchestral introduction at first to the woodwinds. The soloist enters with a theatrical call to attention before actually taking up the main idea. This give-and-take between the soloist and ensemble becomes as much the “theme” of the first movement as the splendidly developed musical material. The andante manifests the more chamber-like style that had characterized Mozart’s writing preceding K. 449 concerto. There are just two variations, but each reimagines the theme so intricately that they call for a kind of virtuosity that is distinct from that of the outer movements: the ability to make the keyboard breathe and sing in a mood of sustained rapture. The finale revolves around the rhythmically irresistible theme first given by the piano—a deceptively simple-sounding idea, as Mozart turns it into an obstacle course of dazzling scales; getting the timing and articulation just right resembles skating on a thin crust of ice. With a brilliant soloist, it’s easy to imagine how exhilarating it must have been to belong to those first audiences in Vienna, when Mozart himself was at the keyboard. Symphony no. 1 in D Major (“Titan”) Mahler’s first symphony ranks among the most thrilling debuts in the literature. Drawing on material he had written even earlier, Mahler was just 28 when he completed this ambitious score in 1888—incidentally, the same age as Mozart when he wrote K. 450—but he continued to revise and fine-tune it for years. Despite his youth, the first symphony juxtaposes a lifetime of experience: the innocence of childhood remembered with the mature contemplation of a philosopher; the passion of first love with profound despair and the dread of death; ecstatic appreciation of nature and individual longing for transcendence. Mahler conveys all of this through his bold expansion of symphonic content and form. Following the first symphony’s premiere in Budapest in November 1889, Mahler made significant alterations to the score and to how he wanted to present it to the public. Initially, he had divided the work into two large parts, using the romantic symphonic poem as a model: The Days of Youth and Commedia humana. The first part included a bucolic additional movement (titled “Blumine” or “Flora”), which Mahler later discarded. At
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this stage, he referred to the work as a “tone poem in the form of a symphony,” giving it the title, “Titan.” This was in homage to a favorite early romantic writer, Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter), whose novel Titan left a strong imprint on young Mahler. But the first symphony incorporates many inspirations: in addition to literature, these include folk music and art song, visual sources, and philosophy, and of course Mahler’s own emotional and spiritual experiences. The Budapest premiere was a disaster, so Mahler later provided a program to “explain” the music, and the next performance met with success. But later he opted to remove his descriptions on the grounds that they distracted from the power of the music itself. In this sense, the first symphony could be said to alternate between models of programmatic and abstract music: the two poles that had divided composers by the end of the 19th century. The score itself contains suggestive remarks for the musicians: as in the opening bars, which are intended to evoke the “sound of nature.” It’s a sonority we encounter in a state of primeval stasis, as if at the beginning of a day, or even of the world. The cosmic dimension gradually focuses into a scene of spring and love awakening. Mahler’s kaleidoscopic use of orchestral color to depict bird calls and lyrical contemplation enhances the sense of life gathering strength and bursting forth. Distant fanfares enter the scene, foreshadowing major events and turning points to come. A striding, optimistic theme takes the spotlight: a self-quotation from a song in Mahler’s early cycle Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen (“Songs of a Wayfarer”), which had been inspired by his youthful love for a soprano. A signature of the first symphony is how Mahler makes the self-contained atmosphere of the art song an integral part of his epic orchestral soundscape. Later in the movement, Mahler reintroduces echoes of the slow, brooding introduction, but this time anticipating the triumph to come in the symphony’s apotheosis. The scherzo also draws on music Mahler had previously written and presents a lively variant on gestures from the first movement (such as the rising-scale idea of the main theme). Contrasted with the earthy, rhythmic vigor of the main sections is a pastoral trio of restrained grace. Another song without words is the subject of the bizarre, macabre third movement: here we encounter Mahler the ironist, no longer swept away by the blinding illusions of young love. The background inspiration here is visual: The Hunter’s Funeral, an etching by Jacques Callot that depicts a procession of animals bearing the corpse of their hunter. Mahler builds this movement from simple materials, in this case the folk tune widely known as “Frère Jacques” (but, unusually, in the minor mode). He creates a surreal atmosphere through his orchestration, such as having a muted solo double bass play at the very top of its register. This processional music is interrupted by another, ironically cheerful procession featuring a klezmer-like band. Overall, Mahler conveys the impression of witnessing one’s own burial in progress, as if in a hallucinatory vision.
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Mozart and Mahler
His next gesture is outrageously bold. A master of dramatic contrasts to generate tension, Mahler shakes the rafters with a cataclysmic outburst (“stormy and agitated”). This is music of apocalypse, the start of a long finale to which, in the programmatic titles he later removed, Mahler gave the Dantesque inscription dall’inferno al paradiso (“from hell to paradise”). The central drama of the movement revolves around several false “breakthroughs” that turn out to be premature. Eventually, the implications of those distant fanfares from the introduction we heard so long ago—long suppressed—are allowed to ring through with full force. Jubilant brass echo the theme from Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus that sets the phrase “and He shall reign forever.” A radiant affirmation of D major peals forth—Mahler’s deeply personal updating of the tradition of the “victory” symphony and its path from darkness to light.
– Program Notes © 2018 Thomas May
Artists
STEVEN SLOANE (conductor) is a versatile and visionary musician. His creative concepts have garnered him respect in artistic circles and in the realm of cultural politics. As the long-term general music director of the Bochum Symphony, which has been transformed into one of Germany’s leading orchestras under his direction, Sloane pushed forward the financing and the building of the orchestra’s own music center, the Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr. Sloane takes the orchestra on tour to Bruges, Rotterdam, and South Korea this season, and will take part in the Ruhrtriennale, with a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. He returns as guest conductor at Spoleto Festival USA and to the Frankfurt Opera with Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. He makes his debut at Malmö Opera with an orchestral concert before returning next season to lead a new production of Der Fliegende Holländer. Education and promoting young musicians have always been of great importance to Sloane. He has regularly conducted such youth orchestras as Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Bundesjugendorchester, and Young Israel Philharmonic, and since 2013, has served as professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin, where he has founded the International Conducting Academy Berlin. A student of Eugene Ormandy, Franco Ferrara and Gary Bertini, Sloane has served as music director of Spoleto Festival USA, of Opera North in Leeds, the American Composers Orchestra, and as principal conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.
PEDJA MUZIJEVIC (piano) has performed with the Dresden Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica in Montevideo, Residentie Orkest in The Hague, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Shinsei Nihon Orchestra in Tokyo, and the Zagreb Philharmonic, among others. He has played solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Frick Collection in New York; Casals Hall and Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo; The Kennedy Center, Dumbarton Oaks, and National Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Aldeburgh Festival in Great Britain, and many others. Highlights of the 2017 – 18 season include solo recitals at 92Y in New York, for Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, Mainly Mozart in San Diego, and Honens Festival in Calgary, as well as a return engagement with Zagreb Philharmonic. Combining his two passions, music and food, Muzijevic performs works by Ravel and Mussorgsky followed by a multi-course dinner prepared by chef David Bouley in his Test Kitchen in New York. He returns to the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity to direct Concert in 21st Century residency for musicians, which explores possibilities of concert formats and what we can do to position classical music better in today’s society. THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA appears at the Festival in many different configurations, performing in opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary music performances. Formed anew each year through nationwide auditions, the orchestra is largely comprised of young professionals or players in advanced degree programs. Alumni of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are on the rosters of leading orchestras throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, LA Phil, and San Francisco Symphony, among others.
Wells Fargo Festival Finale
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WELLS FARGO FESTIVAL FINALE featuring THE LONE BELLOW with special guest
THE WAR AND TREATY
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park June 10; Gates open at 5:30pm The War and Treaty performs at 6:45pm The Lone Bellow performs at 8:30pm
About the Artists
THE LONE BELLOW burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut in 2013. The Brooklyn-based band quickly became known for their transcendent harmonies, serious musicianship, and raucous live performance—a reputation that earned them their rabid fan base. It’s been three years since the band’s victorious Then Came the Morning was released. Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, the album was nominated for an Americana Music Award. The band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Show With David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, CBS This Morning, Later...with Jools Holland, and The Late Late Show With James Corden, in support of the album. In the years since the release, the band left their beloved adopted home of Brooklyn and moved to Nashville. Now, The Lone Bellow is back with Walk into a Storm, was released September 15, 2017, on Sony Music Masterworks. Walk into a Storm was produced by legendary music producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, and more), and features their lead single “Time’s Always Leaving.” The trio, featuring Zach Williams (guitar/vocals), Kanene Donehey Pipkin (multi-instrumentalist), and Brian Elmquist (guitar), recorded this album in only seven days. The group’s first two albums graced the Billboard 200.
THE WAR AND TREATY: the name itself represents the pull between trauma and tranquility—music inspired by darkness and despair that ultimately finds a higher spiritual purpose. It’s a sound manifested on the group’s EP, Down to the River. For Michael Trotter, Jr., the journey began in 2004, when he arrived in Iraq, an untested soldier stricken by fear and self-doubt. Encamped in Saddam Hussein’s private palaces, his unit found an upright piano that once belonged to Saddam Hussein; Trotter could already sing, so he learned to play. When his captain was killed, he sang for his memorial in Iraq. Soon after, it became his mission to sing at the memorial services for those that had fallen. His efforts eventually garnered wider recognition; he won Military Idol in Baumholder, Germany. Then he met Tanya Blount—a seasoned performer whose musical influences include Mahalia Jackson, Dolly Parton, Sister Odette, and Aretha Franklin. The two fell in love, got married and used the experiences they had gained to create a new musical collaboration. The couple then secured the services of musicians whose skills add a distinctive sound to The War and Treaty’s blend of roots music, bluegrass, folk, gospel and soul. Recorded in Albion, Michigan, Down to the River boasts a sound that’s both stirring and sensual, driven by joy, determination and an unceasing upward gaze.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo. Additional support provided by HomeAway. These performances are made possible in part through funds from the Spoleto Festival USA Endowment, generously supported by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
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Charleston Garden Tour
BEHIND THE GARDEN GATE Charleston Horticultural Society The Garden Conservancy’s National Open Days Program
May 26 and June 2, between 10:00am and 4:00pm A special Spoleto Festival USA collaboration with Charleston Horticultural Society and The Garden Conservancy, Behind the Garden Gate features self-guided tours through 16 of Charleston’s most exquisite private gardens.
THE CHARLESTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY (CHS) is Charleston’s pre-eminent organization offering a wide array of programs, garden tours, one-of-a-kind special events, and publications—all aimed at lifting the sights of those interested in gardening and the quality of gardens throughout this, one of the nation’s most beautiful planted cities. Founded in 2000, CHS has grown to more than 1,300 members, many of whom contribute to activities that enhance Charleston’s greenscape, as well as its educational and cultural life. From monthly lectures and workshops with renowned experts to intimate tours of some of Charleston’s most extraordinary gardens, CHS brings excitement, innovation, and a sense of joy to those just discovering an interest in gardening, to the keenest profession— and everyone in between. In conjunction with Spoleto Festival USA, CHS is participating in The Garden Conservancy’s popular Open Days program, which fuels the passion for gardening by inviting visitors behind the garden gate in some of the country’s best private gardens and encouraging conversation with fellow gardeners. On two consecutive Saturdays (May 26 and June 2), guests can tour eight private gardens; different gardens are offered on each day. These gardens are rarely open to the public. CHS has a growing and dedicated volunteer corps, receives extensive local press coverage of its events, and offers a variety of publications—in print and on the internet. Its website, Chashortsoc.org, has details.
THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY is a national nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing outstanding American gardens. Since 1995, Open Days, its award-winning experiential garden education program, has welcomed more than one million visitors into thousands of inspired private landscapes—from urban rooftops to organic farms, historic estates to innovative suburban lots—in 41 states. To augment self-guided tours of private gardens, site-specific Digging Deeper programs invite participants to take a closer look at the garden world with a wide array of experts. Hundreds of volunteers help this robust annual program showcase regional horticultural and stylistic expressions in a national context, celebrating the rich diversity of American gardens. Visit gardenconservancy.org for more information. Get out and get inspired with Open Days!
Artist Talks
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CONVERSATIONS WITH Martha Teichner, Host
Guests Composer Liza Lim and Director Ong Keng Sen (Tree of Codes) May 26, 3:00pm | C harleston Library Society
Playwright Henry Naylor (Borders) May 27, 3:00pm | Woolfe Street Playhouse
Soprano Natalia Pavlova (Brahms’s German Requiem and You Are Mine Own) and Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya (Pia de’ Tolomei) June 3, 5:00pm | C harleston Library Society
Cast members of The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart June 7, 5:00pm | Woolfe Street Playhouse
Host
MARTHA TEICHNER has been a correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning since December 1993. She has won 10 Emmy Awards for her work on the broadcast, as well as five James Beard Awards for food coverage and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for a radio documentary on the Cuban/Haitian boatlift in 1989. Teichner, along with her colleagues at CBS News, won the Alfred I. DuPont Award for their coverage of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings in December 2012. Prior to joining CBS News Sunday Morning, Teichner was a CBS News correspondent based in London, traveling to report stories from the world’s hot spots. From 1987 to 1989 she reported from South Africa and then returned for Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and his election as president. She also extensively covered the war in Bosnia. In 1991, she was one of the few journalists embedded with US troops in the first Persian Gulf War. In that conflict, she reported from the Saudi desert, from Kuwait after it was liberated, and from Bagdad, as well as Jordan and Israel. Teichner was the first woman correspondent to cover the war in Beirut for CBS News. She joined CBS News as a reporter in the Atlanta bureau in October 1977. A native of Traverse City, Michigan, Teichner received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College and attended the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business Administration.
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Artist Talks
JAZZ TALK: CREATIVE MUSIC AND COLLECTIVE SPIRIT
Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston
May 29, 5:00pm
In conversation with music critic Larry Blumenfeld, the members of Artifacts (p 90) discuss the enduring legacy of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and how it has influenced and empowered them.
FRONT ROW TALK: MINING THE GULLAH GROOVE
Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston
June 1, 5:00pm
In conversation with music critic Larry Blumenfeld, drummer Quentin Baxter and fellow members of Ranky Tanky (p 104) talk about Charleston’s Gullah culture and how their music champions this legacy within a contemporary framework.
Host
LARRY BLUMENFELD writes regularly about music and culture for The Wall Street Journal. During the past 20 years, his work has also appeared in publications including The Village Voice and The New York Times, and at websites including Salon and Truthdig. One focus of his work has been the intersection of music, politics, and social justice, particularly relating to the US and Cuba, and to post-flood New Orleans. He received the Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing in 2011 from the Jazz Journalists Association, a Katrina Media Fellowship with the Open Society Institute, and a National Arts Journalism Fellowship at Columbia University. His writing has appeared in Best Music Writing, 2008 (Da Capo Press) and Music in the Post-9/11 World (Routledge Press), among other collections. He has lectured and presented widely, at institutions including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. His “Blu Notes” posts can be found at blogs. artinfo.com/blunotes.
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PICCOLO SPOLETO May 25 – June 10, 2018 The Piccolo Spoleto Festival transforms the city of Charleston each year with arts and cultural attractions reflecting the cultural vitality and diversity of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Over the course of 17 days, Piccolo Spoleto presents a comprehensive program of performances, exhibitions and events, featuring classical music, contemporary music, choral music, world music, dance, theatre, and comedy, alongside jazz, traditional folk and roots music, visual arts, crafts, film, and literary attractions. Also included are family friendly fare and children’s activities, as well as showcases for young and emerging talents across a range of artistic disciplines. Now in its 40th year, a hallmark of Piccolo Spoleto is accessibility for artists and audiences alike, with a wonderful offering of admission-free and modestly priced events that make use of the city as a stage. Highlights of this year’s program include: Sunset Serenade Friday, May 25, 8:00pm Piccolo Spoleto’s annual curtain raiser at the landmark US Custom House. This free, outdoor concert features the
2018 Piccolo Spoleto poster by Tami Boyce
Charleston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Music Director Ken Lam and Principal Pops Conductor, Yuriy Bekker. This year’s program includes popular selections alongside classical favorites, presented in an unparalleled harbor-side setting. Family Day at Marion Square Saturday, May 26, 10:00am – 3:00pm The opening Saturday of the Festival offers the youngest Piccolo Spoleto fans an opportunity to create, play, and imagine with fun and free activities for the entire family. Joining the Charleston Farmers Market and Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition in Marion Square, intrepid Piccolo Spoleto arts ambassadors and local performing ensembles will offer memorable experiences that are sure to delight children of all ages. Piccolo Spoleto Finale
Other popular series and events presented as part of Piccolo Spoleto include: Youth Music performances on the Festival’s opening weekend, showcasing choral groups, young virtuosi and the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Sundown Poetry Series of evening outdoor readings in the courtyard of Charleston’s historic Dock Street Theatre. Visual arts exhibitions, including A Dialogue in Black and White at City Gallery featuring the work of more than five dozen invited artists addressing themes of social interest. These Piccolo Spoleto highlights offer just a glimpse of the vast array of performances and events produced each festival
Saturday, June 9, 5:00pm – 10:00pm
season, adding to the excitement and energy of Spoleto Festival
An evening of friends, family, food, and highly danceable music,
USA. Piccolo Spoleto is produced by the City of Charleston
offering the optimal occasion to close out another triumphant
Office of Cultural Affairs. Full program details including a
festival in beautiful Hampton Park. Featuring a line-up of local
comprehensive schedule of free, ticketed, and paid admission
musicians across a range of genres, the Piccolo Spoleto finale
events are available at PiccoloSpoleto.com. Tickets are
features some of Charleston’s finest creative talents setting the
available online, by calling 866.811.4111, and at the Festival box
mood for a perfect night in one of America’s great civic spaces.
office at the Charleston Gaillard Center (95 Calhoun Street).
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MUSIC TEXTS
Bank of America Chamber Music Program II May 27, 11:00am and 1:00pm; May 28, 1:00pm “Pena tiranna” from Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11 Music by George Frideric Handel Libretto after A. H. de Lamotte: Amadis de Grèce Pena tiranna io sento al core,
Pain tortures my heart,
né spero mai trovar pietà;
I have no hope for mercy;
amor m’affanna, e il mio dolore
Love torments me, and my sorrow
in tanti guai pace non ha.
Will never find peace among such misery.
“Vivi, Tiranno!” from Rodelinda, HWV 19 Music by George Frideric Handel Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym Vivi tiranno!
Live, Tyrant!
Io t’ho scampato
I have saved you.
Svenami, ingrato, sfoga il furor.
Now kill me, ingrate, unleash your rage!
Volli salvarti sol per mostrarti
I wished to save you only to show you
ch’ho di mia sorte più grande cor.
That my heart is greater than my fate.
Program X June 8, 11:00am and 1:00pm; June 9, 11:00am “O, Cease Thy Singing, Maiden Fair” Music by Serge Rachmaninoff / Fritz Kreisler Text by Alexander Pushkin Performed in Russian Do not sing, my beauty, to me
That sweet and fateful apparition
your sad songs of Georgia;
I forget when you appear;
they remind me of that other life and distant shore.
but you sing, and before me I picture that image anew.
Alas, they remind me, your cruel melodies,
Do not sing, my beauty, to me
of the steppe, the night and moonlit
your sad songs of Georgia;
features of a poor, distant maiden!
they remind me of that other life and distant shore.
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“When Night Descends” Music by Serge Rachmaninoff / Fritz Kreisler Text by Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet Performed in Russian Oh, for a long while, in the silence of the mysterious night, your beguiling murmur, smile, fleeting glance, a luscious strand of your hair, obedient to my fingers, will I banish from my thoughts—but then recall again; breathing impulsively, alone, unseen by anyone, blushing and burning with vexation and shame, I will search for secret messages in the words you uttered; whisper and reconsider the phrases of my embarrassed conversations with you, and, as if intoxicated, against all reason, with your cherished name awaken the nightly haze. 3 Barizo Songs Music by Doug Balliett Text by J. Mae Barizo “SWOON”
“NOOSE”
Love be not blind, who can sleep
Winter wound me up.
when the Internet is slow I sense
As a noose would.
a pizzicato feeling, no colour, nothing but faces, nothing but sea, no filter—
Cold as blue as vein.
Love be not blind you better cry for me in motel rooms while the LCD
The keys screeching:
glows, open your colourless eyes.
fidelity, fidelity.
“NIGHTS”
Even the children squawk fervently,
From the rotunda from the fleshwound from the long distance telephone
counting off fingers
from from the cloud-slope from the front row from the lake house from
as I would days.
the fade-out from the from the bedsheet from the slaughterhouse from the filthy avenue from the cesspool from the true signature of love
Their eyelashes a-glitter and the skin that goes pop, pop.
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Program XI June 9, 1:00pm; June 10, 11:00am and 1:00pm “Gesang der Geister über den Wassern,” D 714 Music by Franz Schubert Text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Des Menschen Seele
The human soul
gleicht dem Wasser:
is like water:
Vom Himmel kommt es,
it comes from heaven,
zum Himmel steigt es,
it rises to heaven,
und wieder nieder
and again it must
zur Erde muß es,
descend to earth
ewig wechselnd.
in an eternal alternation.
Strömt von der hohen,
If the pure jet of water
steilen Felswand
streams from the tall,
der reine Strahl,
steep rock face,
dann sträubt er lieblich
it dissolves into enchanting
in Wolkenwellen
waves of vapor
zum glatten Fels,
against the smooth rock
und leicht empfangen
and, gently received,
wallt er verschleiernd,
it makes its way, murmuring softly
leisrauschend
and veiling the rock,
zur Tiefe nieder.
into the depths.
Ragen Klippen
If cliffs jut out
dem Sturz entgegen,
into its headlong descent,
schäumt er unmutig
it foams in displeasure
stufenweise
step by step
zum Abgrund.
into the abyss.
Im flachen Bette
It steals across the meadowed valley
schleicht er das Wiesental hin,
in a smooth bed,
und in dem glatten See
and all the stars
weiden ihr Antlitz
cast their reflections
alle Gestirne.
in the smooth lake.
Wind ist der Welle
The wind is the waves’
lieblicher Buhler;
delightful lover;
Wind mischt von Grund aus
the wind whips up foaming waves
schäumende Wellen.
from the depths.
Seele des Menschen,
Human soul,
wie gleichst du dem Wasser!
how much you resemble water!
Schicksal des Menschen,
Human fate,
wie gleichst zu dem Wind!
how much you resemble the wind!
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“Salut! Demeure chaste et pure” from Faust Music by Charles-François Gounod Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre?
What unknown emotion now fills me?
Je sens l’amour s’emparer de mon être
I feel that my whole being is in the grip of love.
O Marguerite! à tes pieds me voici!
O Marguerite, here I am your feet!
Salut! demeure chaste et pure, où se devine
Hail, chaste and pure dwelling where
La présence d’une âme innocente et devine!
one can feel the presence of an innocent and holy soul.
Que de richesse en cette pauvreté!
What wealth in this very poverty!
En ce réduit que de félicité!
What bliss in this humble cottage!
O nature, c’est là que tu la fis si belle,
O Nature, this is where you created her beauty!
C’est là que cette enfant à grandi sous ton aile,
This is where the maid grew up beneath your wing,
A dormi sous tes yeux!
grew up under your gaze!
Là que, de ton haleine enveloppant son âme,
Here, too, breathing into her soul,
Tu fis avec amour épanouir la femme
you lovingly turned this angel of heaven
En cet ange des cieux!
into a blooming woman.
Salut! demeure chaste et pure, où se divine
Hail, chaste and pure dwelling where
La présence d’une âme innocente et devine!
one can feel the presence of an innocent and holy soul.
“Una Furtiva Lagrima” from L’elisir d’amore Music by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Felice Romani Una furtiva lagrima
A single secret tear
negli occhi suoi spuntò:
from her eye did spring:
Quelle festose giovani
as if she envied all the youths
invidiar sembrò.
that laughingly passed her by.
Che più cercando io vo?
What more searching need I do?
Che più cercando io vo?
What more searching need I do?
M’ama! Sì, m’ama, lo vedo. Lo vedo.
She loves me! Yes, she loves me, I see it. I see it.
Un solo instante i palpiti
For just an instant the beating
del suo bel cor sentir!
of her beautiful heart I could feel!
I miei sospir, confondere
As if my sighs were hers,
per poco a’ suoi sospir!
and her sighs were mine!
I palpiti, i palpiti sentir,
The beating, the beating of her heart I could feel,
confondere i miei coi suoi sospir...
to merge my sighs with hers...
Cielo! Si può morir!
Heavens! Yes, I could die!
Di più non chiedo, non chiedo.
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Ah, cielo! Si può! Si, può morir!
Oh, heavens! Yes, I could, I could die!
Di più non chiedo, non chiedo.
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Si può morire! Si può morir d’amor.
Yes, I could die! Yes, I could die of love.
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“Summer” from Four Seasons Music written after descriptive sonnet, both by Antonio Vivaldi Allegro non molto – Allegro Under the harsh burning summertime sun the shepherds, the flock, and the pines steep in heat; the cuckoo bird loudly unleashes his song. Turtledoves, goldfinches each add their voices, the soft zephyrs blowing, the sudden arrival of Boreas, bringing a sudden north wind; the shepherd is worried, out in the open, afraid of the storm and of what it might bring. Adagio e piano – Presto e forte The fear of the furious thunder and lightning saps the strength from the shepherd’s tired limbs, with swarms of flies and of gnats all around him. Presto His fears come to life, unfortunately, the thunder and lightning and hail from the sky knock the heads off the wheat and the other tall grasses. “Who Wants to Live Forever” Queen (Brian May), arr. Doug Balliett There’s no time for us, there’s no place for us. What is this thing that builds our dreams, Yet slips away from us? Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever? There’s no chance for us, It’s all decided for us. This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us. Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever? Who dares to love forever, Oh, when love must die? But touch my tears, with your lips, Touch my world, with your fingertips. And we can have forever,
And we can love forever Forever is our today! Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever? Forever is our today, Who lives forever anyway?
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Westminster Choir Concerts May 26, 5:00pm; June 1, 5:00pm “Peace Song (Beatitudes)” Music by Tim Brent Text from Matthew 5: 9, 7, 8 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the Children of God. Beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Beati misericordes quia ipsi misericordiam consequentur. Blessed are the pure of heart: for they shall see God. Beati mundo corde quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Mass for Double Choir Music by Frank Martin Kyrie Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
Christe eleison.
Christ, have mercy.
Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Glory be to God in the highest.
Et in terra pax
And in earth peace
hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
to men of good will.
Laudamus te; benedicimus te;
We praise Thee; we bless Thee;
adoramus te; glorificamus te.
we worship Thee; we glorify Thee.
Gratias agimus tibi
We give thanks to Thee
propter magnam gloriam tuam.
for Thy great glory.
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,
O Lord God, Heavenly King,
Deus Pater omnipotens.
God the Father Almighty.
Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe.
O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
Filius Patris.
Son of the Father.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
miserere nobis.
have mercy upon us.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
receive our prayer.
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Qui sedes ad dextram Patris,
Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father,
miserere nobis.
have mercy upon us.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus,
For thou only art holy,
tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
thou only art the Lord, thou only art the most high, Jesus Christ. Together with the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
“I sat down under His shadow” Music by Edward Bairstow Text from Song of Solomon 2: 3b – 4 I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Mass for Double Choir Music by Frank Martin Credo Credo in unum Deum;
I believe in one God;
Patrem omnipotentem,
the Father almighty,
factorem coeli et terrae,
maker of heaven and earth,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
and of all things visible and invisible.
Credo in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
Filium Dei unigenitum,
the only begotten Son of God,
Et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula.
begotten of the Father before all worlds;
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
God of God, light of light,
Deum verum de Deo vero,
true God of true God,
Genitum non factum,
begotten not made;
consubstantialem Patri:
being of one substance with the Father,
per quem omnia facta sunt.
by Whom all things were made.
Qui propter nos homines,
Who for us men
et propter nostram salutem
and for our salvation
descendit de coelis.
descended from heaven;
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost,
ex Maria Virgine: et homo factus est.
of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis
He was crucified also for us,
sub Pontio Pilato,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
passus et sepultus est.
and was buried.
Et resurrexit tertia die
And on the third day He rose again
secundum Scripturas.
according to the Scriptures:
Et ascendit in coelum:
and ascended into heaven.
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sedet ad dexteram Patris.
He sitteth at the right hand of the Father;
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria,
and He shall come again with glory
judicare vivos et mortuos:
to judge the living and the dead;
cujus regni non erit finis.
and His kingdom shall have no end.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum,
And I believe in the Holy Ghost,
Dominum, et vivificantem:
the Lord and giver of life,
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,
Qui cum Patre et Filio simul
Who with the Father and the Son together
adoratur et conglorificatur:
is worshipped and glorified;
qui locutus est per Prophetas.
as it was told by the Prophets.
Credo in unam sanctam
And I believe in one holy
catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
catholic and apostolic Church.
Confiteor unum baptisma,
I acknowledge one baptism
in remissionem peccatorum.
for the remission of sins.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum
And I await the resurrection of the dead
et vitam venturi sæculi.
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Amen.
“Little Lamb” Music by Joel Phillips Text by William Blake Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee, Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee: He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild: He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name. Little Lamb, God bless thee! Little Lamb, God bless thee!
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Mass for Double Choir Music by Frank Martin Sanctus et Benedictus Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
“Kaisa-Isa Niyan” Music by Nilo Alcala Text from Filipino children’s chant Kaisa-isa niyan Kaduwa-duwa niyan Katelo-telo niyan Kapati pingapatan Kalima ni tagedteb Kanem i dagedeban Kapito-pito naga Kawalo banubugan Kasiyam kabankaban Kasapolo bindasan
Only one Only two Only three Four work alternately Five, too heavy, it disturbs Six, a sound so loud Seven, a dragon Eight pounds heavily Nine, a box Ten, a drawer
Music in Time | Departure Duo June 4, 5:00pm Plain Truths from Timothy Dexter Music by John Liberatore Text by Timothy Dexter I. If you can bare the trouth If you can bare the trouth I will tell the trouth II. we come into the world all we know is we are here, we come into the world crying and gone out groaning III. Day and Night I stay at home praying for theavs and Rougs to be saved Day and Night praying for siners poour creaters IV. Regoising To mankind at Large the time is Com at Last the grat day of Regoising V. Let the Devil goue into Darknes Let the Devil goue into Darknes and take his due VI. just fineishing his sermon just fineishing his sermon he says o good lord I hop you will consider what foue hints I have given VII. to be A king it is hard work to be A king…it is harder than tilling the ground
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VIII. the shaking quickers her Lamp bourning the Lamps trimmed with glorey the shaking quickers IX. good-bye I am a frind to all onnest men A friend to good order, honor to whom it belongs, to great men a friend—to all good citizens and honest men good-bye. Deus ex machina Music by Talia Amar Text by Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Judah Al-Harizi (Whitman) Entering but for a minute I see a sight beyond all the pictures and poems ever made, Shadows of deepest, deepest black, just lit by moving candles and lamps, And by one great pitchy torch stationary with wild red flame and clouds of smoke, (Frost) Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. (Al-Harizi) And the lightning plays on the clouds Like a warrior who runs without growing tired Like a night watchman who falls asleep and opens One eye just for a while and shuts it in an instant Look at the sun, it has spread its wings Over the earth to dispel the darkness. Like a fresh tree growing from the heavens Reaching the earth with its branches Look at the lute sounding in the girl’s arms Tugging at the heart with its majestic voice Like a baby crying in his mother’s arms While she sings and laughs as he cries
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“Lotófagos” Music by Beat Furrer Text by José Ángel Valente Estábamos en un desierto confrontados
We were in a desert confronted
con nuestra propia imagen que no reconociéramos.
with our own image that we did not recognize.
Perdimos la memoria.
We lost our memory.
En la noche se tiende una ala sin pasado.
At night a wing without a past extends.
Desconocemos la melancolía
We do not know melancholy
y la fidelidad y la muerte.
nor fidelity nor death.
Nada pareces llegar hasta nosotros,
Nothing seems to reach us,
máscaras necias con las cuencas vacías.
foolish masks with empty eye sockets.
Nada seríamos capaces de engendrar.
We would be able to beget nothing.
Un leve viento cálido viene todavía desde el lejano sur.
A slight warm wind still comes from the far south.
¿Era eso el recuerdo?
Was this the memory?
yes I said yes I will Yes Music by Amy Beth Kirsten Text by James Joyce from Ulysses I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. Phrase Music by Katherine Balch Text from Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations Translation by Katherine Balch I. Le haut étang fume continuellement. Quelle sorcière va se dresser sur le couchant blanc? Quelles violettes frondaisons vont descendre?
I. The high spring streams relentlessly. What sorceress will emerge from the white sunset? What violet flowerlets will fall?
II. Quand le monde sera réduit en un seul bois noir pour nos quatre yeux étonnés... je vous trouverais
II. When the world is reduced to a single black wood for our four astounded eyes...I will find you
III. J’ai tendu des cordes [de clocher à clocher; des guirlandes de fenêtre à fenêtre; des chaînes d’or d’étoile à étoile, et je danse.]
III. I stretched ropes [from bell tower to bell tower; garlands from window to window; chains of gold from star to star, and I dance.]
IV. il sonne une cloche de feu rose dans les nuages
IV. From the clouds tolls a bell of pink fire
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Angels May 29, 9:00pm “O choruscans lux stellarum� Music and text by Hildegard von Bingen O choruscans lux stellarum,
O glittering light of the stars,
o splendidissima specialis forma
o resplendent special form
regalium nuptiarum,
of the royal wedding,
o fulgens gemma,
o shining gem,
tu es ornata in alta persona
you are decorated as a high person
que non habet maculatam rugam.
who has no blemished wrinkle.
Tu es etiam socia angelorum
You are also an ally of angels
et civis sanctorum.
and a citizen among the saints.
Fuge, fuge speluncam
Flee, flee the den
antiqui perditoris,
of the ancient destroyer,
et veniens veni in palatium regis.
and come coming into the palace of the king.
Stabat Mater Music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi 1.
Stabat Mater dolorosa iuxta crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius.
1.
The grieving Mother stood weeping beside the cross where her Son was hanging.
2.
Cuius animam gementem contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.
2.
Through her weeping soul, compassionate and grieving, a sword passed.
3.
O quam tristis et afflicta
3.
O how sad and afflicted
fuit illa benedicta
was that blessed Mother
Mater unigeniti!
of the only-begotten!
4.
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
4.
Who mourned and grieved,
pia Mater, dum videbat
seeing and bearing the torment
nati poenas incliti.
of her glorious child.
5.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
5.
Who is it that would not weep,
Matrem Christi si videret
seeing Christ’s Mother
in tanto supplicio?
in such agony?
6.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
6.
She saw her sweet child
moriendo desolatum
die desolate,
Dum emisit spiritum.
as he gave up His spirit.
7.
Eja Mater, fons amoris
7.
O Mother, fountain of love,
me sentire vim doloris
make me feel the power of sorrow,
fac, ut tecum lugeam.
that I may grieve with you.
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8.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam.
8.
Grant that my heart may burn in the love of Christ my God, that I may greatly please Him.
12.
Quando corpus morietur, fac ut animæ donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.
12.
When my body dies, grant that to my soul is given the glory of paradise. Amen.
“Soyez comme l’oiseau” Music by Abbie Betinis Text by Victor Hugo Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and sings knowing she hath wings. Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (Third Group) Music by Gustav Holst 1.
Hymn to the Dawn
Hear our hymn, O Goddess, rich in wealth and wisdom, ever young yet ancient, true to Law Eternal. Wak’ner of the songbirds, ensign of the Eternal, draw thou near, O Fair One in thy radiant Chariot. Bring to her your off’ring; humbly bow before her: raise your songs of welcome as she comes in splendor. 2.
Hymn to the Waters
Flowing from the firmament forth to the ocean, healing all in earth and air, never halting. Indra, Lord of Heav’n formed their courses, Indra’s mighty laws can never be broken. Cleansing waters flow ye on, hasten and help us. Lo, in the waters, dwelleth One, knower of all on earth and sea, whose dread command no man may shun, Varuna, sovran Lord is He.
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Onward, ye waters, onward hie, dance in the bright beams of the sun, obey the ruler of the sky who dug the path for you to run. Flowing from the firmament… 3.
Hymn to Vena
Vena comes, born of light; he drives the many-color’d clouds onward. Here, where the sunlight and the waters mingle, our songs float up and caress the new-born infant. The child of cloud and mist appeareth on the ridge of the sky. He shines on the summit of creation. The hosts proclaim the glory of our common Father. He hath come to the bosom of his beloved. Smiling on him she beareth him to highest heav’n. With yearning heart on thee we gaze, O gold-wing’d messenger of mighty gods. Wise men see him in their libations as the sacrifice mounts to the eternal heights, mingling with our solemn chant; he stands erect in highest heav’n. Clad in noble raiment, arm’d with shining weapons, hurling light to the farthest region, rejoicing in his radiant splendor. 4.
Hymn to the Travellers
Go thou on before us, guide us on our way, Mighty One. Make our journey pleasant, never let us stray. Wonder-worker, hearken. Come in thy splendor; come in thy mighty pow’r. Trample on the wicked, all who would oppose, Mighty One. Drive away the robber; drive away our foes. Wonder-worker, hearken. Come in thy splendor; come in thy mighty pow’r.
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As we journey onward, songs to thee we raise, Mighty One. Thou didst aid our fathers. Guard us all our days. Wonder-worker, hearken. Come in thy splendor; come in thy mighty pow’r. Feed us and inspire us; keep us in thy care, Mighty One. Lead us past pursuers unto meadows fair. Wonder-worker, hearken. Come in thy splendor; come in thy mighty pow’r.
“Lux aeterna” Music by Z. Randall Stroope Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
Let perpetual light shine upon them, O Lord,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
with your saints for ever,
quia pius es.
for you are merciful.
Lux perpetua luceat eis.
Let perpetual light shine upon them.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
Requiem, op. 48 Music by Gabriel Fauré In paradisum In paradisum deducant te Angeli;
May the angels lead you into paradise;
in tuo adventu
may the martyrs receive you
suscipiant te martyres,
at your arrival
et perducant te
and lead you
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
to the holy city Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
May choirs of angels receive you
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
and with Lazarus, once a poor man,
æternam habeas requiem.
may you have eternal rest.
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SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA John Kennedy, Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities Concertmaster chairs endowed in memory of Ernest Hillman, Jr.
Violin Emily Anderson, Hampton, Virginia Emelyn Bashou, Rochester, New York Jessica Blocher, Cleveland, Ohio Autumn Chodorowski, Woodstock, Illinois Melissa Deal, Houston, Texas Eva Dove, Phoenix, Arizona Elizabeth Drabkin, Bloomington, Indiana Shannon Fitzhenry, Baltimore, Maryland Dianna Joiner, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Chelsea Kim, Houston, Texas Giancarlo Latta, Houston, Texas Yada Lee, Miami Beach, Florida Sodam Lim, Miami Beach, Florida Patrick Lin, Honolulu, Hawaii Inga Liu, Medford, Massachusetts Michael Hustedde, Somerville, Massachusetts Yuiko Nakano, Tucson, Arizona Rachel Orth, Boston, Massachusetts Jieun Park, Cincinnati, Ohio David Parks, Fort Benning, Georgia Emma Powell, Houston, Texas Jessica Ryou, Miami Beach, Florida Rachel Sandman, Miami Beach, Florida Amy Semes, Houston, Texas Carolyn Semes, Broomall, Pennsylvania Chelsea Smith, New York, New York Heewon Uhm, Ann Arbor, Michigan Sophie Wang, Boston, Massachusetts Dillon Welch, Miami Beach, Florida Natalie Yu, Houston, Texas
Viola Natalia Badziak, San Francisco, California Kathryn Dark, Houston, Texas Andrew Franรงois, Miami Beach, Florida
Erica Gailing, Miami Beach, Florida Rebecca Gu, Evanston, Illinois Rachel Halvorson, Houston, Texas Sofia Nikas, Brookline, Massachusetts Alfonso Noriega, New Orleans, Louisiana Erica Schwartz, Houston, Texas Jarrett Threadgill, Miami Beach, Florida Kurt Tseng, Miami Beach, Florida Meagan Turner, New York, New York
Cello Chava Appiah, Boston, Massachusetts Vivian Chang, New York, New York Jesse Christeson, Boston, Massachusetts Alexa Ciciretti, Miami Beach, Florida Chao Du, China Ian Greenberg, Miami Beach, Florida Blake-Anthony Johnson, Miami Beach, Florida Andrew Laven, Houston, Texas Francesca McNeeley, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Ariana Nelson, Chicago, Illinois
Double Bass Doug Aliano, Miami Beach, Florida Carl Anderson, Houston, Texas Michael Fuller, Miami Beach, Florida Levi Jones, Los Angeles, California Austin Lewellen, Houston, Texas Joseph Newton, Boston, Massachusetts Luis Primera, Los Angeles, California
Flute Martha Chan, Houston, Texas Viola Chan, New York, New York Jeiran Hasan, Iowa City, Iowa Michelle Sung, Hacienda Heights, California
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Oboe
Percussion
Russell Hoffman, New York, New York
Sidney Hopson, Los Angeles, California
Mayu Isom, Houston, Texas
Rainice Lai, Boston, Massachusetts
Lauren Williams, New Haven, Connecticut
Won Suk Lee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tamara Winston, Brooklyn, New York
Bernadette Manalo, Denton, Texas
Clarinet Nicholas Davies, Los Angeles, California Andrew O’Donnell, Houston, Texas Daniel Parrette, Miami Beach, Florida
Jennifer Marasti, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Harp Abigail Kent, New York, New York
Ryan Toher, Los Angeles, California
Piano
Bassoon
Aya Yamamoto, Miami Beach, Florida
Sean Gordon, Darnestown, Maryland
Orchestra Management
Darren Hicks, Miami Beach, Florida Francisco Joubert Bernard, Miami Beach, Florida Ben Roidl-Ward, Houston, Texas
Orchestra Personnel Manager: Edward Kass Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager: Autumn Chodorowski
Horn
Orchestra Operations Manager and Percussion Manager:
Valerie Ankeney, Los Angeles, California
Orchestra Operations Associate Manager: Gabrielle Illg
Corin Droullard, Houston, Texas
Orchestra Librarian: Maggie Thompson
Lauren Hunt, Bloomington, Illinois
Assistant Orchestra Librarian: Patrick Lin
Priscilla Rinehart, Miami Beach, Florida Dominic Rotella, Houston, Texas Valerie Sly, Norfolk, Virginia Ryan Little, Herndon, Virginia
Trumpet Noah Dugan, Los Angeles, California Daniel Gelman, San Francisco, California Andrew Jeng, New York, New York Anthony Limoncelli, Houston, Texas
Bass Trombone Israel Gutierrez, Brighton, Massachusetts
Trombone Skye Dearborn, Boston, Massachusetts Nikki Hillis, San Francisco, California Joseph Peterson, Miami Beach, Florida
Tuba Andrew Abel, Los Angeles, California
Sidney Hopson
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WESTMINSTER CHOIR Joe Miller, Director of Choral Activities
Soprano
Tenor
Margaret Bergmark, Macon, Georgia
Roy DeMarco, Woodbridge, New Jersey
Jade Blocker, Great Neck, New York
Sam Denler, Somers, New York
Katharine Burns, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Christopher Fludd, Freeport, New York
Leanne Contino, Stony Brook, New York
Jonathan Hartwell, Middletown, Delaware
Emma Daniels, Chicago, Illinois
Pauli Kamenakis, Pennsville, New Jersey
Christina Han, Bayside, New York
Kayvon Kashani-Gharavi, Rochester, Michigan
Dyanne Lile, Carl Junction, Missouri
Michael McCormick, Oneida, New York
Sophia Santiago, West Friendship, Maryland
John Swedberg, Olimpia, Brazil
Felicia Villa, Mineola, New York
Dwight Weaver, Lehighton, Pennsylvania*
Rachel Woody, Greeneville, Tennessee
Alto
Bass Max Brey, Tallahassee, Florida
Katie Arnold, Wantage, New Jersey
Chris Clark, Staten Island, New York
Madison Bowling, Columbia, Maryland
Brandon DeHoff, Wilmington, Delaware
Andrew Leslie Cooper, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom*
Gabriel Harley, Wilmington, Delaware
Alyssa Davis, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
D. Scott Koven, Burke, Virginia*
Rachel Feldman, Cheshire, Connecticut
Sinhaeng Lee, Incheon, South Korea *
Kelsey Lewis, Perkasie, Pennsylvania
John Lucado, Frederick, Maryland
Johanna Olson, Springfield, Virginia
Matthew Marinelli, San Antonio, Texas
Betsy Podsiadlo, San Diego, California
Shelden Mendes, Cranford, New Jersey
McKenzie Smith, Albany, Oregon
Alex Simon, Portland, Oregon
Pauline Taumalolo, Honolulu, Hawaii Gloria Wan, Vancouver, British Columbia
*section leader
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CHARLESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS Robert Taylor, Director
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Inga Agrest
Rennie All
Phil Amarendram
Tom Bracewell
Tiffany Beckley
Eloise Brooks
Celeste Carlson
Bill Flack
Mary Bell
Susan Cheves
Gabe Chavarria
Joe Gamboa
Susan Borick
Phyllis Dickinson
Jeffrey Collins
Rick Goldmeyer
Susan Chagrin
Julie Fenimore
Jiska Ford
Stuart Kaufman
Katherine Clifton
Susan Findlay
Stevenson Griggs
Bryan Lai
Lilly Cooper
Jaimie Flack
Hank Martin
Doug Ludlum
Gail Corvette
Patricia Hoff
Richard Rathman
Scott McBroom
Maryileen Cumbaa
Judith Johnson
Theresa Robards
Nate Medford
Libby Davis
Janice Kisling
Bill Thornby
Ed Mitchell
Helena Dilling
Amanda Mazzaro
McIver Watson
Walter Moser
Tammy Dorociak
Susan McAdoo
Curtis Worthington
Gary Nichols
Anna Doyle
Kathryn McAtee
Jack Pitzer
Ruth Dombrowski
Christe McCoy
Manoli Stavrinakis
Linda Gast
Sarah Napier
Michelle Graham
Sally Newell
Janet Hildebrand
Tara Noone
Laura Irick
Marianne Nubel
Phyllis Jestice
Donna Padgette
Elise Jorgens
Joyce Peach
Donna Mastrandrea
Nancy Pellegrini
Mary Moser
Taylor Seman
Martina Mueller
Marybeth Sgambelluri
Kay Nickel
Jenna Tobin - Englund
Ally Noone
Rachel Walls
Silke Sida
Judy Warren
Danielle Simonian
Charlene Whalen
Cathy Sippell
Sarah Woodall
Sharon Steffan
Christina Wynn
Samantha Vandapuye Meta VanSickle Leah Whatley Sarah Woods Sophia Zimmerman
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ADMINISTRATION General Director: Nigel Redden
Marketing and Public Relations
Executive Assistant to General Director: Marcella Hale Director of Marketing and Public Relations: Jessie Bagley
Artistic Leadership
Public Relations Manager: Jenny Ouellette Communications Assistant: Kellie Lawson
Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities: John
Photographers: William Struhs, Leigh Webber
Kennedy
Public Relations Consultant: Shuman Associates, Inc.
Director of Choral Activities: Joe Miller The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director of Chamber
Box Office
Music: Geoff Nuttall Box Office Manager: Katie Hetrick
Artistic Administration
Assistant Box Office Manager: Olivia Anderson Customer Service Manager and Usher Coordinator: Haley Carter
Director of Artistic Planning and Operations: Nicole Taney
Box Office Associate: Maddie Fink, Emily Fleming, Whitley
Wells Fargo Jazz Advisor: Larry Blumenfeld
Lewis, Emma Penny, Brianna Rodriguez, Allie Stubbs
Wells Fargo Jazz Host: Quentin Baxter Assistant Producer: Sara Bennett
House Management
Company Manager: Allison Ross-Spang Artist Services Assistant: Victoria Nunweiler
House Management Coordinator: Karl Bunch
Drivers: Christine Castaneda, Austin Clauhs, Mikell Elliott,
House Managers: Robert Ball, Nancy Barnwell, Sue Chanson,
Hannah Halvorsen, Jeff Harrison, Laura Kerrison, Carly
Gisela Dawson, Sara Dwyer, Doug Elliott, Kathy Elliott,
Lewis, Patrick Markham, Ned Shows, Thaddeus Alvin
Kate Fortney, Doug James, Phillip Moss, Dusty Parker,
Simmons Jr., Robert Monty Wooley
Carol Reed, Erica Rouvalis, Carolyn L. Williams, John
Wong, Judith Yost
Artistic Administrator: Lenore Rosenberg Vocal Coach: Diane Richardson
Production
Finance and Operations
Director of Production: Rhys Williams Festival Technical Supervisor: Mike East
Director of Finance: Anastasia G. Gandy
Festival Production Office and Facilities Manager: Leah Gordon
Interim Accounting Manager: Sandra Jackson
Festival Lighting Coordinator: Andrew R. Cissna
Technology Manager: David Robinson
Festival Rehearsal Coordinator: Tabi Prochazka
Accounting Assistant: Charlotte Rolston
Festival Wardrobe Coordinator: Carolyn Kostopoulos
Receptionist / Volunteer Coordinator: David B. Graham
Festival Wig and Make-up Designer: Ruth Mitchell Festival Sound Coordinator: Lew Mead
Development
Festival Properties Coordinator: C. Mattison Williams Festival Special Projects Coordinator: Paul Hunter
Director of Development: Julia Forster
Festival Video / Supertitles Coordinator: Bruno Ingram
Associate Director of Individual Giving: Sarah West
Festival Orchestra Operations Coordinator: Sidney Hopson
Institutional Writer: Leah Harrison
Festival Sound Engineer: Jeff Human
Development Operations Manager: Brandi Sellers
Assistant Lighting Coordinator: Andrew Scharwath
Individual Giving and Stewardship Manager: Annie Courtenay
Assistant Lighting Designers: Mikaela Baird, Jacquelyn Cox,
Special Events Manager: Blaine Wise
Special Events Assistant: Kelsey Vories
Production Consultant: John H. Paull, III
Patron Services Manager: Sally Lovejoy
Piano Technicians: Scott Higgins, Eric Johnson, John Krucke,
Development Administrator: Jessica Melton
Development Intern and Patron Services Assistant: Maddie Fink
Harpsichord Technicians: Julia Harlow
Abbey Kojima
Joe Malecki, Nick Miller
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Theater Staffs
Outside Council
Production Stage Managers: Becca Eddins, Mike Egan, Zachary
Independent Auditors and Tax Advisors:
Kennedy Technical Directors: Kasey Beard, Christian Crum, Dan
Laushman, Martin Lechner
Technical Stage Manager: Becky Heisler-McCarthy Production Electrician: Heather Hunter Head Electricians: Alex Wesley Brandt, Stephen Cornelius,
Mitchell Girgasky, Jarrod Jahoda, David Kerr, Megan
Murphy Stage Manager: Walter Crocker Assistant Stage Managers: Kayleigh Laymon, Kasson Marroquin Jazz Operations Manager: Kenneth Woodrow Moore III Assistant Rehearsal Coordinator: Mariah Pepper Berkowitz Head Carpenter/Flyman: Stephen Krebs
Elliott Davis Decosimo, LLC
Counsel: Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP:
John Hagerty
Festival Production Management:Â
Technical Theater Solutions, LLC
Apprentices The apprentice program is endowed in part by Emeritus Professors Charles M. and the late Shirley F. Weiss. Accounting
Media Relations
Avery Jackson*
Frazier Bostic
Rachel M. Spitzmiller*
Caroline Fairey
Administration and
Orchestra Personnel
Artist Services
Management
Joshua Bristow*
Elizabeth Graiser*
Carpenters: Paul Doyle, Clay McCrummen, Gracie Lawson,
Gregory K. Schmidt, Gustavo Torres Santiago
Journeyman Carpenters: Jacob Normandeau Assistant Head Electrician: Aja Anderson, Javier Calderon Journeyman Electricians: Erin MacDevitt, Becky Raines Properties Staff: Susan Williams-Finch Journeyman Properties: Madeline Ashton Sound Engineer: Nicholas Ray Creery, Josh Samuels, Robert
Isley, Wesley Tolson
Jess Coleman* Ashley Mitchell
Production
Emily Sebastian
Parker Battle
Nathanael Woodcock
Gabrielle Blackburn* Jocelyne Caldera
Box Office
Matthew Cates
Isabel Adams*
Claire Caverly
Swiger
Anna Brown*
Brian Davis
Wardrobe Staff: Cat Buchanan, Austin Cantrell, Dina McFerrin,
Abigail Dentler*
Lauren Dunlop
Davis Dykes
Henry P. Ellison
Kristen Flanagan
Tyler Ericson
Reilly Gallagher
Nyle Farmer
Locksley Henley
Carrie Ferrelli*
Zoe Jansen
Jordan Green
Paris Johnson
Caitlyn Hansen
Jenna Jordan
Erin Heilveil
Katherine Leland
Ceili Hesselgrave*
Kalee Lineberger
Chelsea June
Chris Neary*
Tom Kelleher
Juliette Neil
Cody Laursen
Anna Robertson*
Grace Linzner
Shannon Rose
Jordan Mitchell
Lighting control by ETC
Elizabeth Sanford
Eddie Oliver
Lighting equipment by 4Wall Entertainment
Anna Sheppard
Sydney Skora
Amy Smith*
Sydney Sousa*
Claudia Totera*
Hunter Storie
Journeyman Sound Engineers: Preston Dunnavant, Devon
Chloe Moore, Pat Sullivan, Kimberly Thurston
Wig and Make-up Staff: James P. McGough Journeyman Wig & Make-up Staff: Katina Lamb Video/Supertitles Assistant: Brittany Brown Orchestra Operations Associate Manager: Gabrielle Illg Production Assistant: Amanda Gabriel, Emily Pelletier, Aly Workman
Production Support International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees: Local 333 Scenery by TTS Studios
Sound equipment by Masque Sound Finale staging by Special Event Services Costume support by TDF Costume Collection Interstate trucking by Janco, Ltd. International shipping by Jackie Jupp Productions Softgoods by I. Weiss and Sons, Inc., Rose Brand Supertitles by Chadwick Creative Arts, LLC
Nicoles Tabizon-Gonzalez Development
Nina Walker
Mimi Patterson*
Samantha Weiser
Davis Vergnolle
Adam Wells Mike Williams *College of Charleston student
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COMMITTEES / VOLUNTEERS Spoleto Festival USA gratefully acknowledges the many volunteers who have made the 2018 Festival possible. Volunteers as of April 18, 2018 are listed below. The dedication of our volunteers is deeply appreciated and vital to the success of Spoleto Festival USA.
FĂŞte Committee
Suzanne Guppy
Karlann Brenner
Judy Derickson
Robert Latzer
Karen Bridgeman
Margaret DEugenio
Kamal Ayyildiz
Linda McNamara
Sandra Brotherton
Pamela Dickson
Judy Cornwell
Phillip Moss
Lisa Brown
Philip Dizon
Barbara and Richard Hagerty
Claudia Porter
Donna Brown
Lisa Dodge
Leigh and John McNairy
Jill Sola
Pamela Brown
Steven Donaldson
Sandra Mohlmann
Gail Waddell
Kathryn Browne
Sherry Donoho
Elliott Pool
Lela Whitfield
Tina Burgin
Larry Dorminy
Deb and Jim Treyz
Nelle Woodruff
Glenda Byars
Dona Dorminy
James Byrd
Mary Ellen Doyle
Mary Cabezas
Peter Draganov
Jill and Ray Weeks Kaye Smith
Ushers
Patricia Caldwell
Carol Drowota
Special Events
Patricia Ann Abraham
Nancy Campbell
Helen Duffy
Sylvia Adam
Christine Castaneda
Karen Durand
Annie Stone
Randy Adam
Sue Chanson
Kimberly Edwards
Wendy Dopp
Asimoula Alissandratos
Peri Chapar
Margarita Elizalde
LesLee Ames
Mary Chapman
Dean Errigo
John Anderson
Debra Chavis
Lorraine Ethridge
Karen Anderson
Lynn Chiappone
Odessa Feagin
Spoleto SCENE Steering Committee
Doc Ardrey
Cia Cianci
Barbara Feldman
Cat Taylor, Co-Chair
Eyda Arroyave
Ellen Clark
Amy Ferguson
James Hewlette, Co-Chair
Margaret Atwood
Sharon Clark
Robert Ferguson
Ali Miller
Robert T. Ball Jr. MD
Llewellyn Clarke
Cynthia Fields
Marion Blount
Sue Barnett
Dee Coleman
Nancy Fishback
Carter Boardman
Virginia Bartel
Sain Colgan
Adele Fisher
Jono Dahl
Debra Lee Baugh
Marian Cook
Irv Fisher
Clay Dunnan
Brenda Beach
Alec Cooley
Diane Fisk
Julia Fariss
Miles Beach
Tami Crawford
Pam Fitzpatrick
Hart Hagerty
Susan Beason
Caroline Crease
John Fitzpatrick
Mini Mariana Hay
Moira Belanger
James Crook
Bill Flack
Nicholas Kliossis
Sandra Bennett
Sharon Crossley
Jaimie Flack
Henry Laurens
Katharine Bentley
Gary Crossley
Amanda Ford
Katie Hirsch
Janet Bex
Alison Dailey
Denise Forehand
Sarah McNair
John Bigler
Bonnie Davis
Henry Fralix
Matt Mill
Chuck Bilot
Mary Lou Davis
Elizabeth Franchini
Lacey Outten
Pat Bilot
Benoit de la Tour
Laura Francis
Jane Stoney
Ann Birdseye
Michael Deantonio
Carolyn Fraser
Sylvia Boatwright
Susan DeBlase
Roy Freedman
Don Bommarito
Karen Delcioppo
Stan Frick
Volunteers
Momka Bratoeva
Ed Demaree
Elaine Frick
Sara Jane Davis
H. Sandra Bregman
Barbara Dennis
Jennifer Gable
Lynette Dennis
Eric Brenner
Krystina Deren
Kim Gabriel
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Renee Garrison
Amelia Joseph
Becky McFerran
Anne Poole
Greg Garvan
Ingrid Kalwas
Robert McFerran
George Pope
Shirley Gaston
Louis Kaufman
Kathy McGreevy
Claudia Porter
Myra Gillespie
William Kee
Patricia McKevlin
Leslie Power
Deirdre Goldbogen
Beth Kiger
Eileen McLeod
Carolyn Powless
Sandra Gordon
Jack King
Billie McRae
Elaine Rawls
Betty Gore
Martha King
Janice Mertz
Robert Reilly
Katherine Graham
Bob King
Janice Messeroff
Lolita Reilly
Belinda Green
James Klein
Jay Messeroff
Maria Richardson
Brett Green
Heide Klein
Vickey Middleton
Barbara Richardson
Glenna Greenslit
James Knight
Larry Millhouse
Kris Ritenour
Suzanne Groff
Shirley Knight
Elaine Misskelley
Manuel Rivkind
Judy Hammett
Alan Koester
Beverly Mitton
Judith Rivkind
Mac Hammett
Hilde Kuck
Joanne Moll
David Roberts
Judith Handren
Sheila Kuritz
Rosalyn Monat-Haller
Diana Roebuck
Suzanne Hardie
Rebecca LaFar
Mary Ann Montague
Anne Roffey
Marilyn Hardy
Sue Lambert
Marianne Moorer
Robin Roffey
Kristi Harrington
Linda Lambert
Joyce Morris
Vicki Roller
Brenda Hart
Richard Lambert
Laura Moses
Karen Rollins
Jane Hart
Sharon Langdale
Maxwell Mowry
Susanna Rosen
Terry Hartnett
Bill Langston
Marilyn Muckenfuss
Judy Roumillat
Don Hartstern
Gail Lanter
Barbara Mullen
Roseann Ruedy
Marge Hasbrouck
Esther Lapin
Selin Narin
Ken Ruedy
Patricia Henley
Jane Lappe
Sara Nash
Joy Rushing
Teri Lynn Herbert
Michelle Larsen
Aaron Nayer
Diane Sabiston
Jack Hider
Russell Lawton
Carolyn Nayer
Sophia Sanders
Pixie Hider
Carolyn Lee
Mary Nelson
Nancy Santiago
Terry Holder-Ryder
Nancy Lefter
Jan Nelson
Jacky Sassard
Linda Holland
Phillip Lefter
Patricia Neumann
Pamela Scarborough
Judith Holland
Cindy Leighton
Annie Newell
Helga Schmidt
Virginia Holliday
Dan Lerner
Terry Newman
Connie Sears
Margaret Hores
Juliana Leypoldt
Mary Nicholson
Judy Selby
Stuart Hotchkiss
Patricia Luck
Mary Beth Nicolai
Kasim Selimotic
Libby Hromika
Ross Magoulis
Cyndi Nigh
Barbara Senatore
Maureen Huff
Paul Mahoney
Gail Nolan
Abby Sensenbaugh
Marsha Humphrey
Mary E. Mallette
Jane Norris
Penny Shannon
Susan Hunter
Jane Manuel
Mary Ann O’Neil
Susan Sheehan
Stanley Hunton
Thomas Manuel
Micki O’Connell
Michael Shetler
Jack Hurley
Jeff Marret
Carmela Orsini
Judy Shillito
Patricia Ingraham
Robert Mason
Eric Oser
Priscilla Shumway
Karen Izzi
Sherrie Mason
Ruth Oser
Teri Siskind
Barbara Jackson
Janet Masonberg
Jeannette Ososki
Del Sisson
Pamela Jackson
Carl Masonberg
Linda Owens
Seiko Smith
Donna Jacobs
Michael Master
Jane Parkman Stoianov
Elizabeth Smith
LaQuetta Jenkins
Nancy Mauldin
Steven Pernick
Jill Sola
Patricia Jennings
Carlaye McClain
Elyse Pernick
James Sollar
Deborah Johnson
Christopher McDaniel
Charlotte Petersen-Overton
Robert Sorensen
Ronald Wayne Jones
Kari McDuffie
Debra Ponton
Mary Ann Spivey
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Myrtle Staples
Martin Wisse
Sarah Staub
Michelle Wong
Susan Staub
Shirley Wooten
Farzaneh Stone
Elizabeth Jayroe Wurst
Lisa Summerlin
Mary Jo Young
Venton Sutton
Mary Young
Melissa Sutton Kenda Sweet Sharon Taylor Jane Thesing Edward Tichi Diane Tichi Janice Tillmans Judy Timmons We are proud to support Jennie and Dick DeScherer’s leadership and commitment to
Spoleto Festival USA
Thad Timmons Lila Trussler Ritha H. Tuten Nick Ugolini Ronald Updike Claudia Updike Martha Vadney Kathy Van Heirseele Allen Vance Connie Vance Tonie Velie Rhonda Venning-Vernon Geraldina Visconti Judy Volkman Fred Volkman Christine von Kolnitz Mary Walker Bruce Wallace Debra Wallace Elise Wallace Pamela Ward Charles Ward Mary Rita Watson Meryl Weber Marcella Whitfield Barbara Whitnack Joy Wiggins Jim Wigley Susan Wigley Rita Wilkie Joan Willard Susan Willis Bettina Wilson Stephanie Wilson
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CORPORATE CONTRIBUTORS Spoleto Festival USA is deeply grateful to its corporate partners for the rich support they provide, both financially and otherwise. The Festival could not have experienced 42 years of presence, growth, and success in Charleston without the generosity of these institutions.
Founders
Leaders
Guarantors
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CONTRIBUTORS The work to sustain Spoleto Festival USA is a collaborative effort among hundreds of individuals and institutions. The members of the board of directors are joined by corporations, foundations, government agencies, and friends throughout the state and across the country to help meet both the annual and ongoing costs of the Festival. We applaud them for their leadership and generosity. This list represents contributors to the Festival whose gifts were received from April 15, 2017 to April 23, 2018. Those whose gifts were received after that date will be aknowledged in the 2019 program book.
Founders
Guarantors
Bank of America BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina City of Charleston Ingram Charitable Fund Mr. M. Edward Sellers and Dr. Suzan Boyd Wells Fargo
Anonymous Richard and Jill Almeida Larry and Julia Antonatos John and Kay Bachmann Ms. Susan L. Baker and Mr. Michael R. Lynch Donald H. and Barbara K. Bernstein Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Barrett Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blanchard Mr. and Mrs. Philip Blumenthal Tippy and Michael Brickman Claire and Peter Bristow The Springsteen Foundation Colbert Family Fund County of Charleston Mark F. Dalton Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. DeScherer Eastern Distribution Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Trust Ted and Cheryl Eatman Mr. and Mrs. Berryman W. Edwards, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Carlos E. Evans Ms. Elizabeth A. Fleming and Mr. Edward Weisiger, Jr. Drs. Angeleita Floyd and Scott Cawelti Mrs. Susan T. Friberg The Garden Conservancy Alicia and Wayne Gregory Barbara and Richard Hagerty Mr. John B. Hagerty and Ms. Susan W. Simons Mrs. Penelope Coker Hall Lou Rena Hammond Karyn Lee and Bill Hewitt Mr. and Mrs. Ozey K. Horton, Jr. Erica Pascal and Michael Hostetler
Leaders The Anne and Ronald Abramson Family Foundation The Albert Sottile Foundation American Express Company First Citizens Bank Ms. Anita G. Zucker Ambassadors Ms. Elizabeth L. Battle Bloomberg Philanthropies BMW Manufacturing Company College of Charleston Gary and Susan DiCamillo Herzman-Fishman Charitable Fund Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Holland Family Charitable Fund The Jerome Robbins Foundation Peter R. Kellogg and Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation Mr. and Mrs. William E. Kennard Bob and Janice McNair/Palmetto Partners, Ltd. Marian M. Nisbet Donor Advised Fund Ted and Susan Soderlund South Carolina Arts Commission South State Bank Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Way, Jr.
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Mr. and Mrs. George D. Johnson, Jr. Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury Dr. Michael S. Kogan | The Brand Foundation of New York, Inc. Ms. Linda P. MacCracken The Speedwell Foundation Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLP Dr. and Mrs. John M. Palms Susan Pearlstine Nigel Redden and Arlene Shuler Mr. and Mrs. James N. Richardson, Jr. The John M. Rivers, Jr. Foundation, Inc. Mrs. Joan G. Sarnoff Mr. David M. Savard Mr. and Mrs. William Schuiling Sherman Capital Markets, LLC Mr. and Mrs. W. Lucas Simons Mr. and Mrs. Joel A. Smith, III T. Scott and Kaye S. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Terrence Smith Dr. and Mrs. Kerry Solomon Mr. and Mrs. W. Charles Sullivan Ann and Michael Tarwater Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson Isaiah and Hellena Huntley Tidwell Jennifer and Mack Whittle Benefactors The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Calvin and Jane Cafritz Frank and Kathy Cassidy Mr. and Mrs. P. Steven Dopp Mrs. Mary Elder Sean and Courtney Hartness Fund Roger and Susan Kennedy Elizabeth C. Rivers Lewine Endowment Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Marterer Mrs. Susan W. Ravenel | David W. and Susan G. Robinson Foundation The Kathleen H. Rivers Family Fund Mr. Phillip D. Smith The Wilbur S. Smith and Sally J. Smith Foundation Kite Foundation
Charles M. Weiss Mrs. Keith Sears Wellin (Wendy) Thomas C. and Kathleen Wright Sustainers Greg Anderson and Donna Johnson Hyman and Marietta Bielsky Mr. William G. Brown Susan and Van Campbell Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Cress and Rebecca Darwin Mary and John Degnan Vernon Drew and Leslie Aucoin Enterprise Holdings Foundation Mrs. Nancy M. Folger The Randy and Donna Friedman Charitable Fund Gwynn’s of Mount Pleasant George and Cindy Hartley Henry and Sylvia Yaschik Foundation, Inc. Mrs. M. Russell Holliday Cynthia and Paul Holzschuher Fund Carolyn and Wayne Jones Charitable Foundation Susan and Louis Kaufman Paul L. King Tom and Debbie Mather William and Julie Medich Judy Mazo and Mike Seidman Heather McFarlin Joseph H. and Evelyn M. McGee William B. McGuire, Jr. Family Foundation Jay and Ginger Millen - Caldwell Partners Gail M. Morrison Fund Margie Ann and Wardell Morse Doug and Julie Ostrover Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, Inc. Dolly and Louis Pardi Ms. Eleanor Parker Mr. and Mrs. Howard Phipps, Jr. Pinnacle Financial Partners Carol and David Rawle J. Stephen and Ann Rhodes Marti and Austin Sullivan Dr. Vincent Van Brunt Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Ziff
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Backbone photo by Carnival Cinema
Producers Anonymous Deane and Roger Ackerman Allan and Jane Anderson Ann Addlestone Apple Fred and Mary Jo Armbrust Valerie and Bill Barnet Mary Lou and John Barter Bass/Bradford Gift Fund Barbara and Wayne Baumgardner Anne and Philip Bergan Carolyn Bishop-McLeod Claire and Joe Blake Anne Frances Bleecker Choate Construction Company William and Mary Buckley Foundation Don Burdette Mr. and Mrs. H.R. Compton Thomas Conklin and Cheryl Noble-Conklin Kate and Nigel Cooper
Walter Crocker and Bette Mueller-Roemer Croghan’s Jewel Box Charlie and Maryileen Cumbaa The Cuskley Jones Family Charitable Fund Margaret and Russ Dancy Jane and Hunter deButts Jim Dillon and Stone Wiske Arlen D. Dominek and A. J. Young Dr. Carol J. Drowota Michael and Bettina Esser William and Prudence Finn Charitable Foundation Anne Forrest Mr. and Mrs. William A. Fort Friedlander Family Fund Sally Frost George Mark and Vivian Gernand Suman and Rajan Govindan Richard and Ann Gridley Faye Griffin Mr. Leslie G. Gutierrez Ms. Nora Harlow
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Barbara W. Hearst John and Elizabeth Heck Suzy and David Heller Gordon and Sarah Herring C. Carroll and Susan B. Heyward Paul and Becky Hilstad Joy and Howard Holl Gail and Tim Hughes Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin P. Jenkins, II The Joanna Foundation Patsy and Terry Jones Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Kammerer Mr. Eddie J. Khoury Barry and Elaine Krell Mr. and Mrs. John Kuhn June and Mariano La Via The Honorable and Mrs. John Land, III Peggy Lewis Lisa and Erik Lindauer The Nina P. Liu Fund Linda Lively and James E. Hugh, III Mrs. William C. Lortz Mr. and Mrs. James C. Mabry, IV Liz and James MacLeod Professors Emeriti Bill and Carolyn Matalene Elizabeth A. McGettigan Marianna G. McLean Charley and Martha McLendon George W. and Phyllis P. Miller Fund Mr. and Mrs. John A. Neely Ms. Sherri Ontjes Richard J. Osborne Lelio Parducci Mr. and Mrs. Henry Parr Mr. and Mrs. Everett Presson Prior Family Foundation Dr. Thomas Quattlebaum Dick and Susanne Query Dr. and Mrs. Gordon S. Query Sylvia and Bob Reitman Paul and Mary Jane Roberts Mr. Herbert E. Rosner Dr. Joseph W. and Edith L. Rubin Gretchen and Fritz Saenger
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Sanders Mr. Aubrey Sarvis Dr. and Mrs. H. Del Schutte, Jr. Monica M. and Kenneth T. Seeger Ms. Mindelle Seltzer and Dr. Robert Lovinger Robert and Karen Shaw Shannon Smith Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Soldatos Laura and Jacien Steele Samuel and Sunny Steinberg Annie and Graham Stone Fitzhugh and Ann Stout Mr. and Mrs. James E. Stovall Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Strub Judy and Larry Tarleton Dr. Samuel D. Thomas Sharon and Eddie Toporek Bettie and Mark Tullis Elizabeth Tunick Bradford and Nancy Walker E. Katherine Wells and James Flanagan Mr. and Mrs. D. Sykes Wilford Terry and Joe Williams Mr. and Mrs. W. Ridley Wills, III John C. Wohlstetter Shelley and Marty Yonas Mindelle and Loren Ziff Patrons Anonymous Jerome Andersen and June Hajjar Dr. Renee D. Anderson and Mr. Ivan V. Anderson, Jr. Bill and Ruth Baker Nella Gray Barkley Charles and Sharon Barnett Sarah Lee and Mark Beck Jaclyn S. Berlinsky Steve Berry and Kathy Murray Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Blackford, III Marge and Steve Bottcher John and Jane Brooks Mary and Frank Brown Ilse Calcagno Mr. and Mrs. Grant Carwile
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L. John and Judy Clark Dr. Harry and Mrs. Jennifer Clarke David and Gail Corvette Jean and Richard Day Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. DeMarco Sarah Lund Donnem Mr. and Mrs. John M. Dunnan N. Keith and Susanne Riley Emge Joanne and Christopher Eustis Thomas and Theresa Evans Henry and Mollie Fair Julia Forster and John Thompson Ann Hurd Fralix Richard J. Friedman, M.D. and Sandra Brett Mr. David M. Furr Bob and Ornella Gebhardt Larry and Shannon Gillespie Mr. and Mrs. Peter B. Goodrich Judith Green Mary Hamrick and Randy Hall Robin and Ken Hanger Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Hanlin Dwelle Family Foundation Paula O. Henry Bill and Ruth Hindman Mrs. Marie N. Hummel Helen Alexander and Stuart Huston Fund Ruth E. Huston Alfred and Sally Jones Dolores Jones Kaye and Randy Koonce Mr. and Mrs. Lewis S. Kunkel, III Michael and Sigrid Laughlin Charitable Gift Fund Nan and Edgar Lawton Tricia and Ted Legasey Rose and Ted Levin Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Levy Carol and Tom Lindstrom Logan III Charitable Fund Carlos E. Lopez, M.D. Suzan Floyd Mabry John and Anita Mahoney Mrs. Peter Manigault Michael and Mary Jo Manning Gwen and Layton McCurdy
Christine and Hall McGee Nancy Needle Mendelson Best Friend Endowment Edwin L. and Clare E. Meyer Dr. Martin Morad Jo Ellen and Bill Odom Mr. and Mrs. John L. Paul Mr. and Mrs. David T. Pearlman Caroline and Kevin Pennington Scott Shanklin-Peterson and Terry Peterson Ralph and Coby Piening Bill and Sheila Prezzano Suzanne Prueter Dr. and Mrs. A. Bert Pruitt Mr. Richard James Quagliaroli Jane Quinn and Jeff McCarthy James and Kathleen Ramich Mrs. Carol R. Rashbrook Mr. Alexander Reese and Ms. Alison Spear Amy K. Rich BenĂŠ and Charles Rittenberg Mrs. Klyde Robinson Wendy and Tom Rosenthal David M. Rubin and Christina Press Hugh T. Scogin, Jr. Ginger and David Scott Gina and Sam Shapiro Mr. and Mrs. Harley Shuford, Jr. Dr. Marjorie J. Spruill and Mr. Don H. Doyle Mr. Bert Storey, The Storey Foundation Mr. Sam Stowe, III Roscoe L. Strickland, III Ms. Carol Surkin Vieuxtemps - 180 King Street Ms. Martha A. Teichner Dr. Carolyn Thiedke and Mr. Fred Thompson, III Ken and Anne Tidwell Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr. Jack Meeks and JoAnn Tredennick Mr. and Mrs. Paul G. Trippe Tina Wardrop Curt and Margot Wells Dr. and Mrs. Henry C. West Bob and Dana Wilson Charles W. Wofford and Nancy B. Thomas Dr. Curtis Worthington
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The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk photo by Steve Tanner
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Associates
F. K. Joyner and D.C. Riggs Martin and Helen Katz
Anonymous
Gail and James Kellogg Family Fund
Jeffrey Adams and Susan Hunter
Jill and Tom Klaffky
Miriam and Sanford Ain
Ava and Bruce Kleinman
Linda Auwers and Jim Jones
Randy and Rita Kramer
Dianne and John Avlon
Lisa Kunstadter and Nicholas Stephens
Mr. and Mrs. John Barnes
Drs. Lydie and Richard Labaudinière
Cindy and Shon Barnett
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Larsen
Gloria Adelson and Dr. Sy Baron
Dr. and Mrs. Laszlo Littmann
Penny and Bill Barrett
Patricia and James Marino
Diana Bendel
Joe and Joanne Martin
Dr. and Mrs. William Bixenman
Dr. and Mrs. Joseph McAlhany, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Broadwater
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin W. McCann
Charles L. and Elizabeth S. Brown
Dexter and Susan Mead
Duncan Buell and Mary Ann Grandjean
Heloise Merrill and Wilson Parker
Teresa Caton Cantrell
Robert and Teri New
The Claiborne-Grisaitis Family
Donald Niedringhaus
Mr. Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Hale Oliver
The School of the Arts at College of Charleston
Mr. and Mrs. David O’Neal
Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Craft, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Perich
Judy L. Cunningham
Margaret Allen and Philip J. Perkins
Diane and Garey De Angelis
John and Cynthia Perry
Mrs. Rene Debacker
Mrs. Karen Colwell Reid
Mr. and Mrs. Ian Devine
Father Vincent J. Rigdon
Megan and Martin Doern
The Honorable Richard W. Riley
M. Dumas & Sons, Inc.
Karl and Teri Riner
Sandy and Peter Earl
Harriet and Linda Ripinsky Fund
Dr. and Mrs. Haskell Ellison
Myrtle T. Robinson
Mrs. Manly Eubank
Dorothy Roddy
Mr. Blake Evans
Rosenblit Family Gift Fund
Ms. Katarina Fjording
Shuler Family Fund
D.C. Allen and Ken Flick
Kitty and Clay Simpson
Cynthia Flynn and Guy T. Jones
Mrs. Barbara H. Smith
Natalie Foster
Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Smythe, Jr.
Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust
Reggie and Mike Sommer
Elizabeth Gasque
Kate and Brit Stenson
Clara and John Gibbons
Jim and Shannon Sudderth
R. Lide Glenn
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald S. Tanenbaum
Happy Doc
Dr. Braughn Taylor and Dr. Kenneth Warlick
SW Harjes Fund
David and Barbara Tennenbaum
Becky and Bobby Hartness Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Foster Thalheimer
Ted Haslam
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Thomas
Joseph and Elaine Heckelman
Universal Products
Dr. Robert and Kathy Heller
Mr. Peter Van Every
Peter and Shelley Hempstead
Bill and Judy Wahl
Alan and Lucy Hinman
Jeremy and Lisa Willits
Catherine Binns and James Honkisz
Dr. and Mrs. Charles J. Wittmann
Scott and Valerie Howell
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Supporters
Aileen F. Condon Dr. and Mrs. Charles Edward Corley, III
Anonymous
Peter and Marion Cotton
Mr. and Mrs. J. Richard Abney
Ms. Martha C. Craft-Essig
Sherry and Dr. Jim Adams
Arthur L. Criscillis
Kim and David Adler
Ms. Caroline Cronson
Claire and Jim Allen
Mr. Stanley J.H. Crowe
Mr. and Mrs. Brady Anderson
Frederick L. Cullen
Mel and Betsy Battle
Sarah and Bill Daley
Robert C. Anderson
Nick and Jill Davidge Charitable Trust
Paul and Amy Asper
The James Lee and Jean L. Davis Family Charitable Fund
Patti and Mickey Bagg
Mr. Charles Dickerson
c.d. yonge
Patrick and Ann Marie Dolan Charitable Fund
Larry Bechler
Kate M. Dolan
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Bedard
Suzanne and Ron Donner
Emerson Bell
Dr. Jeffery and Mrs. Tammy Dorociak
TJ and Claudia Bellars
Ray and Emma Doughty
Anne and Andy Benbow
Meredith Dulany
Susan Bentley and Bill Gundry, The Bentley-Gundry Trust
Charles and Carolyn Dunlap
Eve and Norman Berlinsky
Sheila Maher Dworkin and Paul H. Dworkin, M.D.
Dan and Pat Berman
Mike and Beth Eddy
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bliss Black
Dr. and Mrs. David M. Eggers
Blackwell Gundy Family
Sid and Carol Elliott
Mrs. Judith Block
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent F. Ewell
Dr. and Mrs. Martha Bloom
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fellers
Nancy and Dave Borghesi
Richard F. Liebman and Sheryl A. Fuller
Richard and Annmarie Boruta
Leon and Diana Galis
Thomas and Cheryl Boswell Charitable Fund
Rick and Franny George
Scott and Robyn Bradley
Marsha and Neil Gewirtzman
Ms. Frances W. Bramlett
Mr. Gunter Glass
James and Sarah Brice
Andrea Lapsley, Barbara Gubbin, Syma Zerkow, and Rhoda
Will and Pluma Bridgers
Goldberg
Meg and Peter Brubaker
Mary Jane Gorman
Mr. Ernst W. Bruderer
Dr. Phillip and Patricia Greenberg
Dr. L. Wayne Bryan and Ms. Mary E. Parrott
Richard and Jeannette Haas
Dr. and Mrs. William Y. Buchanan
Michael and Mary Hajny
David Bundy and Katherine Richardson
Rory Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo A. Bunge
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Held
Dr. Joseph Calandra
Norma Meyer
Alice Carol Caldwell
Dr. Florence L. Hightower
Mary Lou and Santo Cannone
Ross H. Hoff
Fred Carlisle and Beth Obenshain
Dr. G. Byron and Annice Hogsette
Manuel Casiano and Carmen Hernandez
Rev. and Mrs. Richard D. Hogue
Dr. Rhonda S. Chanson
Mrs. Norma M. Horvitz
Ms. Julie Christopher
Paul and Rebecca Hudecek
Katy W. Chung and Peter B. Key
Mrs. Carolyn R. Ingham
Kathy and Bill Cissna
Diane and Rick Jerue
Anne and Cermette Clardy
Phyllis Jestice
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Mr. David R. Johnson and Mr. Phillip M. Rhodes
Mary Leslie Parsons
Kathleen and Warren Jones
Dr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Peters
Will Jones and Barry Pate
Helen C. Powell
Richard Allen Keithley
Norman R. Powers
Mr. Ted Keller
Barbara L. Reed and Robert L. Day
John and Rozella Kennedy
James N. and Frances T. Reichard
Mr. W. Doug King, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Rice
Maureen and Yutaka Kobayashi
Al and Edna Roberds
Betty H. Kolb
Ms. Diana Romanchik
Todd Kolb and Cathryn Thompson
Lou and Delores Rosebrock
Terri Lacy
Kenneth and Cathy Sabol
Mr. Barry Lapidus
Mary Ann Claud and Olin Sansbury
Ms. Anne R. Lee
Anne Saravo, PhD
Will and Liza Lee
Alison and Thomas Schneider
Lyla and Tracy Leigh
Sharon and Graham Scott
Ken and Bev Leiser
Mr. Clay Shackelford
Angela and Jim Lindner
Naren and Martha Sharma
Anonymous from Maryland
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Siedell
Dr. Christine Lloyd and Dr. William Brener
Elaine and Bill Simpson
Melvin R. Loeb
Starr and Philip Snead
Dr. Terri Luhrs and Mr. John Camp
Hazel and Murray Somerville
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lutton
Thomas and Jane Steele
Mr. Robert T. Lyles
Bucky Stein
Angela Avent Lynch
Ms. Kerry Stewart
Mr. and Mrs. John Manzi
Mrs. Kristen Stucky
Dr. and Mrs. Arthur W. McDonald
Dr. and Mrs. George J. Taylor
David and Mary Kay McLane
Dr. Sandra Teel
Ms. Lee McLeod
Mr. George C. Thomas
Mrs. Harriet M. McMaster
Ms. Anne Thompson
Burnet Mendelsohn and Joseph S. Mendelsohn
Dr. and Mrs. Charles F. Tremann
Mrs. Barbara Byrd Merritt
John and Wendy Tripoli
Janice and Jay Messeroff
Joey and Sharon Turner
Ralph and Martha Meyer
Sharon Twaddell and David Grossman
Mr. Don Michaelis
Mel and Mary Ann Twiest
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Moise
Very Stable Genius
Marlene and Perry Molinoff
Drs. Maria and Gabriel Virella
Dr. and Mrs. James F. Mooney, III
Susan Meloy and Chick Vladuchick
Dr. Vasiliki Moskos
Susan and Glenn Wallberg
Gerd and Helen Mueller
Mr. and Mrs. Fisher C. Walter, Jr.
Dr. June Gideon Mullen
Jane O. Waring
Mr. Sean Murray
Mr. William Watson
Suki and Jim Newton
S.A. Webb, MD
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nicholson
In Memory of WEW
Ms. Judy Nixon
Glenda and Larry Wetzel
Mrs. Laurie F. Nord
Mr. Peter Whitehouse
Dr. Donna C. Orvin
John and Linda Wiebe
Dr. and Mrs. H. Biemann Othersen, Jr.
Harry Wilkinson and Cecily Mango
The Parrington Family
Mrs. Janis Williams
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Mr. Phil Windschitl
Mr. John B. Hagerty and Ms. Susan W. Simons
Mr. Howard Wooten
Sean and Courtney Hartness Fund
Dr. and Mrs. G. Fred Worsham
Mrs. Norma M. Horvitz
Martha Worthy and Bob Speare
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin P. Jenkins, II
Dr. Paul and Dawn Zimmermann
Mr. W. Doug King, Jr. June and Mariano La Via
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra Sponsors
Mrs. Elizabeth Rivers Lewine Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lutton
Richard and Jill Almeida
Mr. and Mrs. James C. Mabry, IV
John and Kay Bachmann
Bill and Carolyn Matalene
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Barrett
South State Bank
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Bedard
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Messner
Nancy and Dave Borghesi
Jay and Ginger Millen - Caldwell Partners
Cress and Rebecca Darwin
Dr. June Gideon Mullen
Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. DeScherer
Mr. Sean Murray
Mr. and Mrs. P. Steven Dopp
Mrs. Marian M. Nisbet
Mr. and Mrs. Berryman W. Edwards, Jr.
Lelio Parducci
Mr. Blake Evans
Mr. David M. Savard
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos E. Evans
Mr. M. Edward Sellers and Ms. Suzan Boyd
Ms. Katarina Fjording
Mr. and Mrs. Joel A. Smith, III
Julia Forster and John Thompson
T. Scott and Kaye S. Smith
Alicia and Wayne Gregory
Nancye B. Starnes Fund
Il matrimonio segreto photo provided
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Annie and Graham Stone
In Honor of Cynthia and Peter Kellogg
Mr. and Mrs. W. Charles Sullivan
Mrs. Cynthia B. Thompson
In Honor of Joan Sarnoff’s 80th Birthday
Isaiah and Hellena Huntley Tidwell
Ms. Linda Lese
Mr. and Mrs. Fisher C. Walter, Jr.
Charlotte Rosenblatt
Ms. Anita G. Zucker
In Honor of Ed Sellers and Suzan Boyd
Bravo Society Bobbi and Don Bernstein
Charles and Jane Wittman
Jim Dillon and Stone Wiske
In Honor of Charlie Way’s 80th Birthday
Mr. and Mrs. N. Keith Emge, Sr.
Ms. Shirley Hendrix
Ms. Elizabeth L. Boineau Mr. and Mrs. Homer C. Burrous
In Memory
Mr. Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William L. Connellee
In Memory of Nancy Elizabeth Brown
The Estate of James L. Ferguson
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Evans
In Memory of Todd Helgeson
Blake, Carlos and Lisa Evans
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Fisher
In Memory of Hasham and Rosalie Khoury
Jeffrey A. Foster
Martha Rivers Ingram
In Memory of Ingrid McDonald
Dr. and Mrs. George H. Khoury
Carol and David Rawle
In Memory of Thelma Prial
Ellen and Mayo Read
Ms. Kathleen H. Rivers
In Memory of Charles D. “Pug” Ravenel
Mr. Aubrey Sarvis
Charles and Sally Duell
Mr. David M. Savard
Elliott and Terrell Harrigan
Mr. Joe Whitmore
Marie and John Land
Mr. A. Laurence Norton, Jr.
Mrs. Marnie Pillsbury
Ms. Annie Caroline Reid
In Honor of Jill and Richard Almeida
Sally J. Smith
Judith S. Block
In Memory of my beloved husband, Pulitzer Prize-winning
Ms. Patricia O. Cox
composer, Steven Stucky
In Honor
Elizabeth Seabrook Brown Mr. Eddie J. Khoury Mr. Eddie J. Khoury Lyla and Tracy Leigh Friends of Thelma Prial
In Honor of Jennie DeScherer and Susan Baker
In Memory of Judy Vane
Lois Conway Foundation
In Honor of Jennie DeScherer, Susan Baker, Julia Forster, and
Mrs. Kristen Stucky Judy Mazo and Mike Seidman
John Thompson
Ms. Elizabeth Tunick
2018 Party Hosts
In Honor of Tasha Gandy
Mr. Ted Keller
Melanie and Peter Birch
In Honor of Wayne Gregory Family for the Holidays
Marion and Wayland Cato
Wendy and Steve Dopp
David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation, Inc.
In Honor of Ozey and Sarah Horton
Molly and Ted Fienning
Carolyn Finnerty
Larry and Julia Antonatos
In Honor of Martha Rivers Ingram
Mrs. Susan T. Friberg
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Brown
Zero Restaurant + Bar
Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Strub
Barbara and Richard Hagerty
Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Wilson
HomeAway
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Mr. and Mrs. Peter Horan
Brandon Johnston Cole
Henry R. Laurens and Emily S. Meyers
Tish Lynn
Cassie M. Cole
Jackie Lawrence
Chasen McCall
Tyler and Walker Condon
Mr. and Mrs. Byron V. Leary, II
Ruthie Ravenel
Matt Courtenay
Pierce Lee
Carol and David Rawle
Margaret Creason
Jason Looney
Caroline Richardson
Jono and Emily Dahl
Erica Lux
Mr. and Mrs. Claron A. Robertson, III
Laura Dargan
Perry and Jenna MacLennan
Carolyne Roehm and Simon Penniger
Gervais Hagerty Del Porto
Dr. Todd Magro and Mr. Christopher
David Savard
Taylor Drake
Walker
Jill and Ray Weeks
Kat Derup
Dr. William F. Marscher, IV
John B. Duckett
Grover Maxwell
Clay Dunnan
Katie and Jonathan Hirsch
Spoleto SCENE Members
Cameron and Austin Elliott
Clifton McCrory
Sarah Adams
Quinn English and Alex Moor
Anna and Chett McCubrey
Meredith Adkins
Caroline Enten
Joel McKellar
Anna and Britt Alexander
Jeanne Everett
Sarah McNair
Lee and Bess Allen
Jillian Attaway Eversole
Bryan McSorley
Nathan Altendorf
Julia Fariss
Matt Mill
Langley Altman
John Eugene Featherston, III
Sarah and Cameron Smith
Thomas and Boykin Anderson
Foxy Foxworth
Victoria S. Miller
Carolyn Barnick
Mr. Cole Fuhrman
Leah Montgomery Cromer
Kevin A. Beach
Caroline Griesedieck
Katherine Morrison
Garrett Bean
Corinn Griesedieck (Julep)
Marianne Moseley
Katherine Bearden
Joey Hager and Sarah Fichera
Reagan Moseley
Ali Miller
Hart Hagerty
Kristmar Muldrow
Kathryn and Wiley Becker
Kathleen and Andrew Hagood
Julia Lane and Patrick Napolski
Ms. Leslie Abbott Bell
Robert Harvey
Mary Lake Newton and Tyler Davidson
Caroline Bergmann
Chelsea Hathaway
Lucy Noble
AC Bethea
Mini Mariana Hay
Julia Nutt
Harrison Blackford
Annie Hearons
Anna Outten
Abbey Grace Blackstock
James Hewlette and Jordan Kruse
Lacey Outten
Mr. Joe Blake
Trey Howell
Caroline Owens
Leslie Blake
J. Briggs Huddleston and Grace Perry
Charles and Hamidatu Patrick
Marion and Brandon Blount
Daughtridge
Amy Marie Perry
Carter Boardman
Katherine Hyslop | The Wonderer
Kate Phinney
Laura Boyd
Lindsay and Heath Johnson
Ms. Tara Pittman
Brooke Bresnan
Ben and Lisa Joyce
Elliott Pool
Mallory Britt
Carter Joyce
Anna Poole
Ali Brough
Emily and Bascom Judy
Ann Stelling Pope
Chris Bryant
Frank Kenan and Hannah Hague
Lauren Powell Pendarvis and Dr. Allen
Beau Burns | The Wonderer
Margaret Kent
Pendarvis
Ms. Beverly Burris
Jessica Kincaid
A. Taylor Rains, III
Dayna Lorraine Caldwell
Kara Klein
Alex and Rebecca Ramsay
Jessica and David Carani
Nicholas and Martha Kliossis
George P. Ramsay
Mr. Ben Carson
Steven Kropski
Mary B. Ramsay
Kerr A. Carter
Mr. Jeffrey Kuykendall and Dr. Jane
Mr. T. Ravenel
Kristin Chambless
Kilkenny
Dr. Christian Reusche
Susan Hayne Cobb
Kaylee Lass
Sara Rossi / The Skinny Dip
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Blake Sams Marshall Sanford Cale Senterfitt A.O. Seriki 843 Productions - Stark Shapleigh Ashley Sharpe Quinn Sherman Madison Simon and Seth Gudger Caroline Simpson Millie Sims George “Ted” Sink Jr. Evan and Hayley Smith Madeline Spellerberg Lindsay Squeglia and Kyle Hutmaker Bryan Kitz and Lacey Stallard Lawson Still Fred Stone Jan Stone and Elly Craver of Oysters All Around Elenore Stoney Jane and Ran Stoney Rives Sutherland, King and Society Real Estate Evan Tarry Cat Taylor Andrew Tew Maria Tsolias Austin Walker | The Wonderer Ms. Alexandria Wallace Mr. Jeremy Welch Clinton Wessinger and Priscilla Bennett Isabella Whalen Peter Williams, Jr. Cooper and Mary Mac Wilson Jen Winkler Carl Austin Wise Mrs. Helen Wolfe Christie and Taylor Wootton Tyler Page Wright
Spoleto SCENE Sponsors BoomTown! Caroline Apartments Charleston Inside Out Croghan’s Jewel Box Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits Harrison Gilchrist, Peninsula Co. Real Estate Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. Jon Batiste photo by Sasha Israel
Holy City Construction Loluma
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Spoleto SCENE Sponsors (continued)
IBM Corporation Matching Grants Program Lincoln Financial Foundation
Nature’s Calling
The Coca-Cola Foundation Matching Gifts Program
Palmetto Moon Insurance
UBS Employee Giving Program
Shoes on King Stitch Design Co.
Special Thanks and Gifts in Kind
The Wonderer
Mary Ramsay Civic Award Contributors
Dr. David Albenberg Corey Alston
In honor of Wayland H. and Marion Rivers Cato
Anne Rhett Photography
Sponsored by South State Bank
Art Mag Art of Shaving
Ashley Hall
Artizom
Bill and Ruth Baker
Aviation American Gin
Ann S. Bishop
Basic Kitchen
Tippy Stern Brickman
Belmond Charleston Place, Christopher Baxter
Jack and Judy Brinson
Bottles
Claire Bristow
Cane Rhum Bar
Jill and John Chalsty
Cannonborough Beverage Company
Charleston Southern University
Caroline’s Cakes
Mr. Howard Davidowitz
Cathead Distillery
Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. DeScherer
Caviar & Bananas
Charles and Sallie Duell
Charleston Balloon Co.
Ruth Edwards
Charleston International Airport, John Robison and Lt. Brian
Strait and Charlotte Fairey
Query
Betsy Fleming and Ed Weisiger, Jr.
Charleston Magazine
Nancy Folger
Charlton Singleton
Mrs. Roger P. Hanahan
Christophe Artisan Chocolatier
Susu and George D. Johnson
City of Charleston, Department of Traffic and Transportation,
Mr. John J. Kerr
Dr. and Mrs. M.T. Laffitte, Jr.
Coastal Coffee Roasters
Mr. and Mrs. John McNairy
College of Charleston, Amy Orr and Ashleigh Freer-Parr
Mr. and Mrs. James N. Richardson, Jr.
The Contents Co.
Beverly A. Rivers
Cru Catering
Joan G. Sarnoff
Croghan’s Jewel Box
Mr. and Mrs. W. Charles Sullivan
The Dewberry, Brett Lamb and Ann Palmer
Paul and Phyllis Trippe
DJ D!Z
Mr. Joe Whitmore
DJ Moo Moo Mack
Robert Somerville
DJ Party Dad
Matching Gifts
Duncan-Parnell, Garrett Shank Embassy Suites Charleston Historic District, Dianne Parker
AT&T Foundation Matching Gift Center
Fox Music House
Avis Budget Group
Francis Marion Hotel
Benevity
Garden & Gun
Eaton Corporation
Gilmore Bar & Wine Service, LLC
Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
Gregory Blake Sams Events
Flora Family Foundation
Dr. Lucinda Halstead
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Historic Charleston Foundation
Savannah Bee Company
Hyatt Place and Hyatt House Charleston/Historic District,
Seyahan Jewelry
SIA Scotch Whisky
Rachel Frost
John Pope Antiques
Stitch Design Co.
Knight Printing and Graphics
Snyder Events
Leigh Webber Photography
Taylor Drake Photography
Limehouse Produce
Technical Event Company
L’Occitane en Provence
Tish Lynn
Loluma
Thomas Bennett House
Lotus Flower
Vintage Lounge, Nathan Wheeler
Low Tide Brewing
Virgil Kaine Lowcountry Whiskey
Lumos
The Wine Shop of Charleston
Mary Mac Wilson
Zero George
Michele Seekings Mix Bartending Service Ooh! Events Oyster House Pancito & Lefty Production Design Associates Pure Fluff Co. Renaissance Charleston Historic District, Victoria Stroble Restaurant Tu Rodney Scott’s BBQ Salty Mike’s
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra members; photo by Leigh Webber
Housing Contributors Eric and Jeffrey Peth J. Kirkland Grant Templer & Associates, LLC John Young Sherry Ray Jeffrey Moll Sarah Clingman Mr. and Mrs. Francis McCann
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Auction Donations
The George Gallery Gerald and Suzanne Marterer
Cru Catering
goat.sheep.cow.
Technical Event Company
Grassroots Wine
Loluma
Gravity & Other Myths
Artizom
Greg Hart
Anne Jervey Rhett Photography
Half Moon Outfitters
Memminger Auditorium
Hall Management Group
167 Raw
Heirloom Hospitality Group
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Hilton Head Sonesta Resort and Spa
204 North Kitchen and Cocktails
Historic Charleston Foundation
5church Charleston
The Honorable Mayor John Tecklenburg
5church Charlotte
Ibu
Alan Taylor Jeffries
Indigo and Cotton
Alex Waggoner
J. Stark
Anne Darby Parker
Janie Ball
Amanda Norman
Jet Blue
Arthur Murray Dance Studio
Jon Batiste
Bar Double T Ranch
Jonathan Green
Betsy Brackin
John Pope
Biltmore Estate
John Rivers
BMW Performance Center
Jill Hooper
Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens
Katarina Fjording
Bottles Beverages Superstore
Kate Long Stevenson
Brian Coleman
The Kessler Collection
Catherine Booker
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Callie’s Charleston Biscuits
Le Farfalle Osteria
Charleston Artist Collective
Leigh Webber
Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission
Linda Elksnin
Charleston Plastic Surgery
Lizzy Love
Charleston Riverdogs
M. Dumas and Sons, Inc.
Circa 1886 Restaurant
Mike Lata
Courtyard Marriott
MUSC Wellness Center
Croghan’s Jewel Box
The Obstinate Daughter
Currie Jewelry
Old South Carriage Co.
Derick Close
Paul Yanko
Dewees Island Property Owners Association
Ranky Tanky
Drayton Hall Preservation Trust
Raven Roxanne Art
Ted and Cheryl Eatman
Reeds Jewelers
Edmund’s Oast
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
Elizabeth Locke
Sara Pittman
Francis Marion Hotel
Sea Island Georgia
Frank Phillips
Shannon Wood
Friedrich’s Optik
Sideshow Press
Garden & Gun
Thomas Blagden
Gary and Susan Dicamillo
Tom Stanley
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Vicki Sher Sophia’s Lounge Tradesman Brewing Co. Vincent Musi Way Way Allen Wentworth Mansion Westin Poinsett Hotel The Windsor Boutique Hotel
Member FDIC
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Powerful performances. Lasting memories. Forever First. ®
Bringing you the First Citizens Bank Front Row. Nothing brings people together quite like music. A live performance is a one-of-a-kind experience. And yet it creates memories that can last a lifetime. At First Citizens, we’ve been helping bring people and communities together since 1898. And we’re proud to partner with Spoleto Festival USA to bring you the First Citizens Bank Front Row.
Personal Banking | Business Banking | Wealth Management
firstcitizens.com
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John Pope Antiques 162
johnpopeantiques.com CHAMBER MUSIC CHARLESTON at the DOCK STREET THEATRE TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 2018 AT 7:30PM MOZART Quintet in E flat Major for Piano and Winds, K. 452 GERSHWIN Three Preludes for Clarinet and Piano STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Op. 28
OVATION CONCERTS
at the
DOCK STREET
THEATRE
Andrew Armstrong guest piano Regina Helcher Yost flute Zac Hammond oboe Charles Messersmith clarinet Sandra Nikolajevs bassoon Debra Sherrill Ward horn
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2019 AT 3PM A Partners in Performance (PiP) Young Artist Recital BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No.4 in A minor, Op.23 BRAHMS String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111 Francisco Fullana guest violin Jiayi Shi guest piano Frances Hsieh violin Ben Weiss viola Jenny Weiss viola Timothy O’Malley cello
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 AT 7:30PM RAVEL Tzigane, Rhapsody for Violin and Piano in D Major FRANCK Piano Quintet in F minor
purchase tickets and learn more about Chamber Music Charleston’s complete season of House Concerts, Church Concerts and Kids Concerts at chambermusiccharleston.org
Andrew Armstrong guest piano Jennifer Frautschi guest violin Jenny Weiss violin Ben Weiss viola Timothy O’Malley cello
Artfully uniting extraordinary properties with extraordinary lives. 163
We hold the MLS sales record for Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, and Downtown Charleston. In 2017, Middleton Rutledge represented the sale of 85 Blue Heron Pond Road on Kiawah Island and 120 Ocean Boulevard on Isle of Palms. Since 2015, Ruthie Ravenel holds the sales record in Downtown Charleston, 32 South Battery. Our results speak for themselves. Let one of our associates help you today.
33 Broad Street, Charleston SC 29401 843.723.7150 | DanielRavenelSIR.com Daniel Ravenel Spoleto Program Book 2018.indd 1
3/21/18 4:44 P
Retirement for Foodies Considering the plentiful selection of seafood found on the Lowcountry coastline, it’s no wonder that Franke at Seaside’s Executive Chefs Nick Hunter and Frankie Scavullo serve a bounty of southern inspired seafood specialties. While this southern classic has many renditions, Franke chefs take Shrimp and Grits up a notch with Charleston shrimp; aged cheddar Geechie Boy stone ground grits; bell peppers, onions and summer squash in chorizo gravy; roasted Husky Cherry tomatoes; micro arugula and charred lemon. Our residents love it, and you can too. At Franke we elevate expectations.
Franke at Seaside a serious culinary choice
843.856.4700 FrankeAtSeaside.org 1500 Franke Dr. • Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
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