Concert: Moores School of Music : AURA Contemporary Ensemble-Aussie Invasion

MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC

KATHRINE G. MCGOVERN COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

The University of Houston Moores School of Music Presents

AUSSIE INVASION

AURA performs works from the land down under

Raqad II (2018/2023)

Brandon Furman, marimba

Arthur Gilligan, marimba

Paul Stanhope (b.1969)

This piece will not be included in the Archway Gallery program

Dolcissimo Uscignolo (1638)

Piano Trio “Dolcissimo Uscignolo” (2007)

Megan Weeks, soprano (Monteverdi)

Gilyoung Kang, violin

Samuel Linzan, cello

Shupeng Wang, piano

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

arr. by Paul Stanhope

Paul Stanhope

In Spite of Time (2022)

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute

Brandon Ortega, clarinet

Luis Osorio Betancourt, violin

Gilyoung Kang, violin

The colours of a room (2022)

Louis Wishart (b.2002)

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Samuel Linzan, cello

Antonio Sanz Escallón, piano

Brandon Furman, vibraphone

Rob Smith, conductor

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute/piccolo

Brandon Ortega, A clarinet/bass clarinet

Luis Osorio Betancourt, violin

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Samuel Linzan, cello

Alexander Maltas (b.2003)

Sharon Montes, double bass

Shupeng Wang, piano

Antonio Sanz Escallón, piano

Brandon Furman, percussion

Rob Smith, conductor

INTERMISSION

Aussie Invasion

Wax Walking (2022) Michael Smith (b.2003)

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute

Brandon Ortega, bass clarinet

Gilyoung Kang, violin

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Samuel Linzan, cello

Sharon Montes, double bass

Shupeng Wang, piano

Brandon Furman, vibraphone

Rob Smith, conductor

Undulation (2022) Lucy Blomfield (b.2001)

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute

Brandon Ortega, clarinet

Luis Osorio Betancourt, violin

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Samuel Linzan, cello

Sharon Montes, double bass

Carolina Rodriguez, conductor

Pulse • Heart • Beat (1997/2005/2023)

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute/piccolo

Darius Gerard, clarinet

Brandon Ortega, bass clarinet

Luis Osorio Betancourt, violin

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Paul Stanhope

Samuel Linzan, cello

Sharon Montes, double bass

Antonio Sanz Escallón, piano

Brandon Furman, percussion

Rob Smith, conductor

PRODUCTION TEAM

Jason Burton, lighting design

John Chapman, audio engineer

Eric Estrada Valadez, projections

Mojgan Misaghi, lighting cues

Rob Smith, program

ABOUT AURA

uh.edu/aura

facebook.com/AURAUH

Archway Gallery Production Team

Eric Estrada Valadez, projections

Mojgan Misaghi, stage assistant

Rob Smith, program

youtube.com/AURAUH

instagram.com/aura_uh

Under the direction of Rob Smith, AURA is an innovative and professional-caliber ensemble is dedicated to the performance of chamber music composed in the last two decades. In addition to serving as a training ground for performers interested in careers performing contemporary music, the ensemble frequently collaborates with dancers and creative writers, and presents students, faculty, and the community with programs that represent the latest classical music trends and styles.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Jason Burton, MOH assistant manager (MSM)

Kristin Johnson, MOH manager (MSM)

John Chapman, audio engineer

Corbin Sturch, piano technician (MSM)

University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Paul Stanhope

Archway Ackowledgements

John Slaby, Archway Gallery

Liz ConcesSpencer, Archway Gallery

University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Paul Stanhope

Aussie Invasion

INTRODUCTION

In tonight’s program, Aussie Invasion, AURA performs music by five composers who come to us from the land down under: Paul Stanhope, a leading composer of his generation and Professor of Composition at the University of Sydney Conservatorium, and four of his students: Lucy Blomfield, Alexander Maltas, Michael Smith, and Louis Wishart.

Paul and I met in 1997 at the University of Sydney Music Department, where we were students of the composer Peter Sculthorpe, and have been great friends ever since. While I lived in Sydney, we spent many hours discussing the state of contemporary music but, to be honest, spent an equal amount of time at Sydney’s infamous Bondi beach just contemplating the waves. After leaving Sydney, we have kept in touch about our careers and the state of contemporary music in our respective countries. For many years we have discussed the possibility of a Sydney-Houston composer exchange, and I’m extremely pleased that this concert marks the realization of these plans.

The music that you will hear tonight represents some of the brightest and most promising new voices from Sydney, as well as a sampling of the many vibrant and highly moving compositions by Paul Stanhope. I hope you will find the incredible variety of expression and sounds that these composers have created to be as refreshing and rewarding as we have while preparing this program.

— Rob Smith

Raqad II – Paul Stanhope

Raqad is an ancient Hebrew word which has the connotation of both leaping and dancing. Both elements are present in this piece for two marimbas where there is a frequent usage of wide intervallic leaps as well as quirky dance rhythms which often dissolve and transform. This duo is an extension of material from a marimba solo written especially for the skills of percussion virtuoso Claire Edwardes; its origins came out of discussions between Claire and I at the 2016 AFCM festival when I was composer in residence and where we tried out a few ideas in between rehearsals. A few months later I completed the piece and, thanks to Claire’s input, took the opportunity to explore some of the coloristic possibilities including dead-strokes, mallet clicking and playing the sides of marimba keys with the shafts of mallets. In this duo version, I’ve taken the chance to enrich the harmonic material a little more and spread out the playing demands between two players. Raqad II was premiered by Joshua Hill and Rebecca Lloyd-Jones of Synergy Percussion at The Neilson Theatre, Pier 2/3, Dawes Point in Sydney on March 18, 2023.

Piano Trio, “Dolcissimo Uscignolo” – Paul Stanhope

The piano trio repertoire is replete with references to folksong with trios by Schubert, Smetana, and Dvorak amongst the best examples. In composing this piece, I initially toyed with some more out-of-the-way folk music sources, but in the end decided to follow a slightly different path and explore the notion of song within the context of an instrumental composition through the conduit of a madrigal. I was drawn to Monteverdi’s madrigal “Dolcissimo Uscignolo” not only because of its heartbreakingly beautiful melody and luminous harmonic style, but also for of its textual playfulness about the nature of song. In this madrigal, the poet reflects yearningly on the beauty of the nightingale’s song, its joy and freedom in flight. This is contrasted with the earthbound misery of the poet who says he has no use for song. In essence, the madrigal deals with conflicts and feelings about duty versus pleasure.

Dolcissimo Uscignolo

Tu chiami la tua cara compagnia Cantando vieni, vieni anima mia. A me canto non vale; E non ho come tu da volar ale. O felice augeletto: Come nel tuo diletto

Ti ricompensa ben l’alma natura; Se ti negò saper, ti diè ventura.

Sweetest Nightingale,

You summon your dear companion, Singing, ‘Come, come my beloved!’ Song is of no use to me, And I have no wings like you with which to fly. O happy bird! How well, where pleasure is concerned, Has Mother Nature provided for you: Denying you understanding, she gave you joy.

Fragments of the madrigal are heard throughout this single-movement Trio somewhat in the manner of half-recalled memories, forming the motivic basis of much of the material. As a result, the piece is quite melodic in parts, even though a wide range of expressive instrumental devices are used, ranging from overtly tonal material, through to more jagged, spiky textures. This Piano Trio was commissioned by Geoff Ainsworth and Vicki Olsson for Musica Viva Australia and received its first performance on 14 August 2007 in the Perth Concert Hall, Western Australia by the Kungsbacka Trio.

In Spite of Time – Louis Wishart

In Spite of Time is a short chamber work that is both erratic and subdued, exploring unified ensemble dynamics with electric, angular thematic material. Evoking the fragility of time and it’s ever- advancing trajectory, each section passes by as aimlessly as our memories and experiences, beginning as timidly as it concludes. Each musician maintains their own intensely individual space, yet still, bounce off each other in explosive fashion to create a carefully woven tapestry that frays at the seams at every turn.

Aussie Invasion

The colours of a room – Alexander Maltas

The spaces that we occupy have a means of influencing us on a far greater scale than we are often aware of. As an artist or creative, this notion is even greater and more apparent. We will often spend hours upon hours confined to our creative space to write, experiment, edit and facilitate ideas that seek to permanently occupy us. But when you step back and observe this almost sacred space, you seem to notice the plethora of personas that this same space can display. The colours of a room reflects this notion. Modular in nature, the piece is underpinned by a centralized motif that seeks to interweave the seemingly unrelated modules together, providing space for both variation and familiarity. The work seeks to capture the weird but wonderful thought that a space that you knew so well could somehow surprise you.

Wax Walking – Michael Smith

If you've seen the way clay people move in stop-motion animation, you've felt what is at the center of Wax Walking. It's a way of moving that's a little stilted and uncanny - but still human. Wax Walking is a short piece that explores ideas, rhythms and sounds that all invoke that unique feeling in me. These include repeating rhythmic cells in odd meters, and harmonies that aren't dissonant, but are never quite resolved either. Musically, the piece draws from a range of influences, including the timeless minimalism of Steve Reich and the chamber-rock stylings of contemporary English band Black Country, New Road.

Undulation – Lucy Blomfield

As its title suggests, Undulation is a work which weaves through constant movement until its conclusion. The piece begins from nothing to produce a soft winding motor intercut with sharp interruptions, culminating into an agitated cadenza. The work then settles into wave-like texture accompanying a soaring melodic line which subsequently leads the piece through a variety of tonalities and times to initiate the intensely rhythmic finale from which the opening winding motor appears and fades back into nothing.

Pulse • Heart • Beat – Paul Stanhope

Pulse • Heart • Beat is a short, exuberant work that explores the notions of pulse manifesting as both pitch and rhythm. The piece opens like a machine snorting and grunting and eventually kicking in. After the initial dark texture with machine-like low pulses and high unison lines, the piece gradually rises in register, letting in more light through a series of process-driven episodes. Once the piece reaches its highest register, a new section begins, which is redolent of the pulsing cacophony of the inner city, complete with a flamboyant Jimi Hendrix inspired violin and viola over industrial rhythms. This hurtles the piece back towards the unison texture of the opening material and a gradual unwinding of the introductory pulses in the bass clarinet, gradually slowing down to a complete stop.

Rob Smith, director

robsmithcomposer.com

Composer Rob Smith is Professor of Music Composition and director of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Houston. He has received numerous awards, including a Fulbright Grant to Australia and an Aaron Copland House Residency, and his highly energetic music is frequently performed throughout the United States and abroad. Commissions have come from the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, and the American Composers Forum, among others. Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer, C-Alan Publications, and Skitter Music Publications publish his music.

Shupeng Wang, assistant director & piano

Pianist Shupeng Wang has come to music from a diverse background. Before moving into the professional study of music, Mr. Wang started his career in the field of biology. During college, Mr. Wang devoted himself to music by joining piano clubs, where he expanded his repertoire and began performing regularly. Mr. Wang has participated in numerous competitions and was the prize-winner of Medici International Music Competition (2021) and Great Composer Competition (Prokofiev, 2019). Mr. Wang holds a bachelor’s degree in Science from National Taiwan University in Taiwan and a master’s degree in piano performance from Boston University. He is currently in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance program under the guidance of Dr. Tali Morgulis at University of Houston Moores School of Music.

Brandon Furman, percussion

Brandon Furman is a percussion educator and performer residing in Houston Texas. As a current undergraduate student at the University of Houston, Brandon is pursuing both a bachelor's degree in music education as well as music performance studying under Dr. Blake Wilkins and Alec Warren. While at UH, he has had the privilege to perform in the Moores School of Music Percussion Ensembles, Wind Ensembles, and Symphony Orchestra. Brandon is also a clinician and educator that has been involved with many programs throughout the Houston area.

Aussie Invasion

Darius Gerard, clarinet

Darius Gerard was born in Pearland, Texas with big hair and an even bigger love for music. A dedicated clarinetist, he is currently pursuing a degree in clarinet performance at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. Darius has performed in various ensembles and competitions, earning accolades for his exceptional musicianship. He has had the privilege of studying under the talented and accomplished clarinetist, Chester Rowell, who has guided his musical development and helped him to refine his technical and artistic abilities.

Arthur Gilligan, percussion

Arthur Gilligan grew up in Rio de Janiero, Brazil where he attended the Villa-Lobos School of Music. In 2015, Mr. Gilligan relocated to Houston and has since received an Associate of Arts from San Jacinto College and a bachelor’s degree in music education from The University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Moores School, where he is also a Teaching Assistant. Mr. Gilligan received the Clara Freshour Nelson Scholarship from 2016-2021, won first-chair on drum set for the TCCBDA All-State Jazz Ensemble in 2017, and was the section leader for both the Moores School’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra between 2018-2021. He teaches at the Vivace School of Music and performs at The Music Box Theater.

Gilyoung Kang, violin

Gilyoung Kang is a South Korean violinist who is a DMA candidate at the University of Houston, Moores School of Music. She is majoring in Violin Performance and minoring in Viola Performance at her school. Gilyoung holds a master's degree from the University of South Florida and a bachelor's degree from Dankook University in South Korea, both in Violin Performance. Along with her education, she has attended Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and Texas Music Festival. As a performer, she was a member of the Imperial Symphony Orchestra and collaborated as a soloist with the Yong-In Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also a passionate violin and viola teacher, teaching numerous students of various age groups in Florida and Texas. Gilyoung is currently under the tutelage of Dr. Kirsten Yon for her violin major and had the privilege of learning from Prof. Suzanne LeFevre and Prof. Wayne Brooks for the viola minor.

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai, flute

Wen-Hsiu Angela Lai hails from Taiwan and enjoys a musical career that spans across Asia, Australia, and United States. Ms. Lai holds her BA and MM degrees from Taiwan National Sun-Yat Sen University and is now pursuing her DMA at the University of Houston Moores School of Music with a full scholarship in 2020. Her main teachers include Hsiao-Pei Iris Ma at Taiwan National Sun-Yat Sen University, Vernon Hell at Queensland Conservatorium, and Aralee Dorough at the University of Houston. Ms. Lai has received numerous awards in competitions, which includes receiving first prize in the Taiwan National Student Artist Competition and being named a finalist of the Taiwan Flute Competition. This year, she advanced as one of 15 quarterfinalists in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition in Chicago.

Samuel Linzan, cello

Cellist Samuel Linzan began his studies as young boy in Ecuador. He developed his orchestral experiences in the Guayaquil Youth Symphony, with which he toured the country to major cities such as Quito. After arriving in the U.S., he studied with Cornelia Watkins in the Shepherd School of Music’s preparatory program. This program allowed him to perform various recitals and in masterclasses with the likes of Christopher French. In 2017, Samuel co-founded the Lauremille String Quartet through which he found great success within the Houston musical community after winning the Houston Young Artists’ Concert competition. In 2022, Samuel completed his B.M. in Cello Performance and is now pursuing a Master’s degree under the tutelage of Dr. Eunghee Cho.

Sharon Montes, double bass

Double bassist and Houston native Sharon Montes received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas at Arlington. During her time in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Sharon worked as a Fine Arts Clinician and private instructor for Ben Barber Innovative Academy in Mansfield, TX. In 2019, Sharon attended the International Summer String Institute at the University of North Texas where she won the audience prize for the festival’s concerto competition performing the Koussevitzky double bass concerto. Sharon was also accepted into the 2020 PRISMA summer festival in Canada and attended the 2021 Monteux Music Festival in Maine. Currently Montes is pursuing a master’s degree in double bass performance and pedagogy at the Moores School of Music. In her spare time Sharon enjoys cooking and playing frisbee.

Aussie Invasion

Brandon Ortega, clarinet

Brandon Ortega is a fourth-year clarinet performance and music education major in the studio of Chester Rowell. One of his favorite aspects of the Moores School of Music is the opportunity to perform chamber music with the many talented musicians attending the school. He has performed in many chamber groups since his first semester at the school of music and has greatly enjoyed working on both the standard repertoire associated with chamber as well as the new pieces created in the composition studio throughout the past several years.

Luis Osorio Betancourt, violin

Luis Osorio Betancourt began violin studies with maestro Tania Montañez in Cartagena, Colombia at the Comfenalco School of Music, followed by professional studies with Dr. Ana Maria Trujillo at the University of Antioquia. In 2017 he was selected to perform as a soloist in the McCutcheon Honors Recital in Columbia. Osorio received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern State University in Louisiana, where he studied with Dr. Andrej Kurti, and after graduating served as a public-school orchestra director in Austin. Osorio has been a member of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Longview Symphony Orchestra, Marshall Symphony Orchestra, Northeast Texas Symphony Orchestra, and the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra among others. Currently, he is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Houston under the guidance of Dr. Kirsten Yon.

Antonio Sanz Escallón, piano

Antonio Sanz Escallón is a composer, pianist and conductor that focuses on the theatrical. He began composing in high school, where he spent three years writing an evening length musical drama based on Lord of the Flies which he produced and conducted before graduating. Since then, his music has been performed by the ensemble Loadbang, Hub New Music, saxophonist Salvador Flores, violinist Barbora Kolářová, The Rhythm Method Quartet, and the AURA Contemporary Ensemble among others. He has participated in the Curtis Summerfest, the Lake George Music Festival, and the Red Note Music Festival as a composer. As a conductor, he was invited as guest music director for the musical Hairspray at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Antonio is currently completing his bachelor’s degree in composition at the Moores School of Music, where he has studied with Rob Smith and Marcus Karl Maroney. In Fall 2023 he will begin pursuing his master’s degree at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University under the tutelage of Kevin Puts.

Carolina Rodriguez, conductor

Carolina Rodriguez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. She began her piano studies with her mother, then with Carolina Elizalde, Marco Antonio Verdín, José Luis González Moya, Francisco Orozco, and Anatoly Zatin. Carolina studied piano for one year at SMU, one at McGill and then achieved a Certificate in Advanced Piano Performance at Concordia University with Lauretta Altman and Gregory Chaverdian. Her passion for movement led her to study Dalcroze Eurythmics at Juilliard for two summers. Carolina also holds an undergraduate degree in education from ITESO. Besides performing and teaching, Carolina acted as president of Concertando México, a non-profit music association. During the pandemic, she lunched ArteSana, a multimedia project where she interviewed women whose lives had changed through creative and artistic activities. During the summer of 2022, she studied conducting with Kenneth Kiesler for three intensive weeks at The Conductor’s Retreat in Maine. Currently, she is pursuing a dual master's degree in Arts Leadership and Opera/Orchestra Conducting at the University of Houston.

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Yuxuan Zhang comes from Beijing, China, and she is pursuing Master of Music in University of Houston studying with Wayne Brooks. Zhang began her studies of viola at the age of 13 in Pre-College of China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and she received her bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, as well as a performance diploma at Indiana University’s Jacob school of music. Her previous mentors have included Shaowu Wang, Fei Cao, Yu Jin and Atar Arad. Zhang is an alumna of National Repertoire Orchestra and Aspen Music Festival, and she has been a violist of Canton Symphony Orchestra and Owensboro Symphony Orchestra.

COMPOSERS

Paul Stanhope

Aussie Invasion

paulstanhope.com

Award-winning Sydney-based composer Paul Stanhope is a leading figure in composition of his generation. He has had prominent performances of his works in the UK, Europe, Asia as well as North and South America. In May 2004 Paul’s international standing was confirmed when he was awarded first place in the Toru Takemitsu Composition Prize. Paul has composed a number of major works in recent years for large forces including Jandamarra: Sing for the Country a dramatic cantata based on the life of the Western Australian Indigenous resistance hero, premiered by the SSO in 2014 in collaboration with members of the Bunuba community from North Western Australia. In the last ten years he has composed concertos for piccolo, cello and trombone as well as major chamber works, many of which were commissioned for visiting international artists by Musica Viva Australia. His most recent orchestral work Ocean Planet was commissioned and premiered by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in December 2022. After studies with Peter Sculthorpe, Paul studied at the Guildhall School of Music in London. Currently, Paul is an Associate Professor of Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is the Artistic Chair of the Australia Ensemble at the University of New South Wales.

Lucy Blomfield

Lucy Blomfield is in her fourth year of composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, currently undertaking her honours degree. She is studying under Australian composer Paul Stanhope and has a particular interest in writing choral music. Lucy is currently collaborating with the Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Choir as they debut her choral work, But Why?! (a requiem for the fly), later this year. She is currently a choral scholar at the Choir of St James King Street and recently had her conducting debut as assistant conductor with the Beecroft Orchestra. She is passionate about composing for and working with ensembles and is looking forward to developing her compositional knowledge and skills alongside the brilliant musicians in Houston.

Alexander Maltas

Based in Sydney Australia, Alexander Maltas commenced his tertiary music education in 2022 at the Sydney Conservatorium of music, undertaking an undergraduate degree of music composition. Coming from a primarily instrumental background, Alexander began learning flute in year five and continues to perform for Sydney Youth Orchestras as well as numerous student and peer-based ensembles within the Sydney conservatorium, with a keen interest in workshopping and performing new and peer-written compositions. Alexander has written for a varied set of musical contexts including sound design for the Sydney University Drama Society’s production of Machinal, a work for Wind Symphony commissioned by Sydney Youth Orchestras, as well as multiple chamber pieces for student-based ensembles within the Sydney Conservatorium. In 2023 Alexander was awarded third place in the prestigious Willoughby Symphony’s young composers award.

Michael Smith

Composer and bassoonist Michael Smith is currently a member of the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Choir. In 2020, he turned his focus to composing and is currently in his third year of studying Composition for Creative Industries. Aesthetically, his influences range from the boundary-pushing rock of Radiohead to the synthesized soundscapes of Floating Points. Having started as a writer who initially composed only for himself, he finds the once foreign concept of having humans perform his music equally exciting, terrifying, and humbling.

Louis Wishart

Australian Composer and musician Louis Wishart is based in Sydney. Louis' practice is spread across multiple disciplines and often includes a synthesis of contemporary classical composition, free jazz stylings and folk song forms. Working under leading composition figures such as Liza Lim, Carl Vine and Gerard Brophy, Louis has been honing his craft as he completes his final honours year of his bachelor’s degree in music composition. Drawing from the late Polish Composers Penderecki, Lutoslawski, as well Avant Garde Jazz composers Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, Louis blends contemporary jazz and classical instrumentation, creating a dynamic approach to limited aleatoric composition. Louis also performs in his own neo-folk band, performing his original songs backed by his own string and horn arrangements, using the same synthesis of alternative practices as he works on the release of his debut album. Louis is also the co-founder of Industrial Punk band "Angel Grindr", who explore performance art sensibilities and tradition German industrial sounds, synthesized with more modern electronic techniques.

Aussie Invasion

In the 20-21 season, AURA moved online to perform for a global audience through their innovative video series One on One. Through elaborate and highly creative videos, AURA musicians performed exciting new solo works and interviewed the composers that created them. In addition to domestic composers, we interviewed and performed works by composers from Albania, Australia, Columbia, Costa Rica, France, India, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. youtube.com/AURAUH - go to "One on One" playlist

youtube.com/AURAUH - go to "One on One" playlist

I Beat With the World Outside

Blue Swell – Molly Joyce Cheng-Wei Hsieh, violin

– Natalie Nicolas

Max Stewart, percussion

the light by which she may have ascended – Ryan Brown

Mitchell Wright, cello

¡Carnaval del Diablo!

– Felipe Tovar

Jhoser Salazar, clarinet

What They Don’t Tell You About Traveling Back in Time

music: Rob Smith

text: Brendan Stephens

Rob Smith, narrator

Max Stewart, percussion

Aussie Invasion

Dream Play – HyeKyung Lee Jeremy Larson, toy piano

2022-2023 Moores Society

As of January 20, 2023

The Moores Society is the philanthropic volunteer organization for the Moores School of Music. Moores Society members and donors promote community awareness and provide funding for scholarships and special projects. Moores Society members receive invitations to concerts and special events held throughout the year.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Darlene Clark, President

Jackie & Malcolm Mazow, Immediate Past Presidents

Donna Shen, Vice President Membership

Nancy Willerson, Corresponding Secretary

Ann Tornyos, Recording Secretary

Meg Boulware, Opera Production Council Chair

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Rita Aron

Ann Ayre

Meg Boulware

Terry Ann Brown

Carla Burns

Cheryl Byington

Julie Cogan

Timothy Doyle

Warren Ellsworth

Sheila Aron

Christopher Bacon

Philamena Baird

Chris Becker

Tom Becker

Susan Binney

Ann Boss

Nancy Bowden

Zarine Boyce

Robert Chanon

Anna Dean

Vicky Dominguez

Ann Faget

Kelli Fein

Debbie Feuer

Cathy Coers Frank

Joyce Frassanito

Mary Fusillo

Elia Gabbanelli

Frank Geider, MS DDS

Marita Glodt

Sean Gorman

Maureen Higdon

Gary Hollingsworth & Ken Hyde

Mady Kades

Linda Katz

Michelle & Jack Matzer

Gary Patterson

Shirley Rose

BOARD OF ADVISORS

2022-2023

Diane & Harry Gendel

Mariglyn & Stephen Glenn

Beatrice & Gregory Graham

Deb Happ

Ellen & Alan Holzberg

Gladys Hooker

Janis Landry

Cora Sue & Harry Mach

Karinne McCullough

Mary Ann McKeithan

Cathy McNamara

Jennifer Meyer

Celia Morgan

Jo & Joseph Nogee

Kitten & Ron Page

Kusum Patel

Fran Fawcett Peterson

Carroll R. Ray

Jan Rhodes

Carol Lee Robertson

Richard Schmitt

Donna Shen

Rhonda Sweeney

Ann Tornyos

Betty Tutor

Bob & Mary Ann Wilkins

Beth Wolff

Lillie Robertson

Minette Robinson

Heidi Rockecharlie

Kathi Rovere

Donna Scott & Mitch Glassman

Helen Shaffer

Donna Shen

Satoko & Anthony Shou

Nancy Strohmer

Susan Thompson

Virginia & Gage Van Horn

Barbara Van Postman

Carol & Carl Vartian

Nancy Willerson

Phyllis Williams

Cyvia Wolff

Jo Dee Wright

Gay Yellen

Robin Angly

Christopher Bacon

Meg Boulware, Chair

Gwyneth Campbell

Anna Dean

Tim Doyle

Warren Ellsworth

Jose Alvarado

Robin Angly & Miles Smith

Rita & Jeffrey Aron

Alan Austin & David A. White

Ann & Jonathan Ayre

Christopher Bacon & Craig Miller

Pamela & Stephen Bertone

Olga & Gerardo Balboa

Susan & Michael Bloome

Meg Boulware & Hartley Hampton

Carla Burns

Keith Butcher

Cheryl & Carl Carlucci

Robert Chanon

Lydia & James Chao

Darlene Clark & Edwin Friedrichs

Cynthia & Geroge Mitchell Foundation

Victoria Dominguez

Timothy Doyle & Robert Royall, II

Richard Drapeau

Ursula & Saul Balagura

Matthew Dirst

Kelli Fein

Geraldine Gill

Kathryn & Brendan Godfrey

Ellen Gritz & Milton Rosenau, Jr.

Lucila & Bill Haase

Deborah Happ & Richard Rost

OPERA PRODUCTION COUNCIL

Ann Faget

Gerri Gill

Ellen and Alan Holzberg

Lee Huber

Shannon Langman

Helen Mann

Jackie and Malcolm Mazow

1000+

Ann Faget

Sylvia Farb

Debbie Feuer

Elaine & Marvy Finger

Toni & Walter Finger

Linda Fulton

Elia Gabbanelli

Mariglyn & Stephen Glenn

Manuel Gonzales

Aaron Gonzales

Susan & Sean Gorman

Konnie Gregg

Gary Hollingsworth & Ken Hyde

Ellen & Alan Holzberg

Monzer Hourani

Lee Huber

Sharon & Robert Lietzow

Jack & Michelle Matzer

Jackie & Malcolm Mazow

Paula & Robert Mendoza

Annie Pati

Luis Ramirez

Charles Riesen

Lillie Roberrtson

500+

Maureen Higdon

Linda Katz

Connie Kwan-Wong

Vanessa Lopez

Kathleen Moore & Steven Homer

Gary Patterson

Janet & Charles Rinehart

David Rowan

Rhonda Sweeney

Irena Witt

Johanna Wolfe

Jo Dee Wright

Floyd Robinson

Shirley E. Rose

Rosamund & David Rowan

Victoria Scelba

Jane & Richard Schmitt

Helen & James Shaffer

Donna & Tim Shen

Melanie Sonnenberg

Rhonda & Donald Sweeney

Vita Taksa

Ann Tomatz

Ann Tornyos

Betty & Jesse Tutor, Jr.

David Voll

Betsy Cook Weber & Fredric Weber

Nancy Willerson

Andrea & Carl Wilson

Irena Witt

Johanna & Richard Wolfe

Beth Wolff

Jo Dee & Cliff Wright

Allyn & Jill Risley

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Joseph Thayer

Susan Thompson

Ann Tomatz

Virginia & Gage Van Horn

Robert Zinn

Thomas Blocher

Terry Ann Brown

Carla Burns

Mathilda Cochran

Dru & Richard Davis

Kenneth Euler

Cathy Coers Frank

Joyce & John Frassanito

Mary & Robert Fusillo

Beatrice & Gregory Graham

Elad Ben-Menashe

Fredy Bonilla

Cynthia Clayton-Vasquez & Hector Vasquez

Julie Fischer

Sandra Harris

250+

Claire Liu Greenberg & Joseph Greenberg

Michelle Greenberg

Deborah Happ

Deborah Hirsch

Gladys Hooker

Russell Kneupper

Therese Kosten

Helen Mann

Karinne & William McCullough

120+

Clara Kukes

Richard Kummins

Lynn Lamkin

Michael Taksa

Katherine Turner

Jenny Meyer

Joel Oppenheim

Susan Osterberg

Dalia Pineda

Lisa Powell & Philip Berquist

Nancy & Hans Strohmer

Andrea Turner

Carol Vartian

Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff

Gay Yellen & Don Reiser

Yone & Shelton Vaughan

Debra Witter & Scott Chase

Lorraine Wulfe