Opening Night
NEW WORLDS 2024-25
i 105 th
SEASON
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Gregory Wolynec, Music Director
Dvořák’s New World
October 3, 2024 – 7:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
present
Dvořák’s New World
The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
Gregory Wolynec, music director
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Bennett Auditorium
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 32 in G, k. 318 (1779)
Allegro spiritoso – Andante – Primo tempo
Conni Ellisor (b. 1953)
Blackberry Winter (1996)
I. Mysterioso : Blackberry Blossom/Reuben’s Train
II. Very rubato
III. Quarter = 116
Stephen Seifert, mountain dulcimer/music box
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Intermission
Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 From the New World (1893)
I. Adagio – Allegro Molto
II. Largo
III. Scherzo: Molto vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
This program is presented in part by a generous grant from Partners for the Arts.
Greetings and welcome to the opening program of the 105th season of The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. After months of planning, my talented students and I are delighted to present these three works for you as we launch our tradition of music making in Hattiesburg. As the new music director of this fine ensemble, it is my pleasure to greet you with a little different take on traditional program notes.
For our opening program I have asked the ensemble to help me with a sort of musical introduction. While it is my intent to feature the musicians and the music, I asked them to humor me with an evening that is perhaps more focused on the conductor. So, I have assembled three pieces that tell some of my story and the path that has led me to Hattiesburg.
We will open this evening with a brilliant, if brief, work by Mozart. With a title such as symphony, audiences have come to expect works of massive scope and musical drama. What Mozart does not provide in the former he makes up for in the latter. This work in three uninterrupted sections sounds like the sort of music that would raise the curtain for an evening at the opera. Overtures (or sinfonias) from Italy were one of the types of pieces that later grew into the symphony as we have known it for the last 150 years or so. Mozart reminds us that it wasn’t always this way.
The year 1779 places the concise Symphony No. 32 to Mozart’s years of growth in Salzburg, Austria. His music is chronically tuneful, so much so that it seems as if he is filling his instrumental works with enough characters for an evening’s drama. This work is no exception as it explodes off the page with a melody that is both regal and rustic. Countless musical ideas follow until we reach a breaking point announced by a series of swoops. The reflective andante reminds me of a saying by the great pianist Artur Schnabel, who said, “Children are given Mozart because of the small quantity of the notes; grown-ups avoid Mozart because of the great quality of the notes.” The need for meticulous consideration of these notes is perhaps why I have been so drown to the music of this miraculous composer and his contemporaries from the Classical period.
Conni Ellisor is a staggeringly talented musician who very much represents the eclectic musical scene in the Nashville area that has been my home for the last two decades. A Julliard trained violinist, her career has featured prominent orchestral and chamber positions, extensive work as a studio musician, and as a composer and arranger with a truly unique voice. Works such as Blackberry Winter, The Bass Whisperer (for legendary Victor Wooten), as well as Whisky Before Breakfast for orchestra and bluegrass band, seem to effortlessly combine musical worlds in a way that engages audiences and performers alike in a fashion that few contemporary voices can.
I first had a chance to present Blackberry Winter and collaborate with both Steve Seifert and Conni nearly 10 years ago. The work has a hauntingly beautiful opening with sounds that are both familiar and new. I find the entrance of the dulcimer to be one of those moments that you could never imagine but, when you hear it, just feels right. I love to watch the faces of first-time listeners at this magical moment, as the sounds of the refined string orchestra mingle with the folk music of the eastern part of our country in the hands of this humble instrument. The pacing of the opening movement is very important, as it gradually picks up steam to a rousing conclusion. The second movement involves several statements of a traditional melody introduced in the forlorn voice of the music box. The driving rhythms of the last movement reveal a different side of the folk tradition, and plenty of notes for the soloist and orchestra!
Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s final symphony was the first work I selected for this program. It is also in many ways the catalyst for the directions we plan to pursue in the months ahead. Unquestionably one of the most popular and performed works in the entire classical canon, the New World symphony contains some of the composer’s most unique and colorful writing. While I felt I had known the work prior to my study abroad year in Prague, it was there that I came to understand more about the significance of the composer and what he represents to his native land.
Dvořák was recruited to New York in September of 1892 to oversee the new National Conservatory. Over the course of his two years in the U.S., he experienced periods of both joy and homesickness. He was entranced with the possibilities for music that he found in the traditional songs of the diverse populations that already defined our country. By the following December, he completed a masterwork in which he felt that “the influence of America can be readily felt by anyone with a nose.”
To me, the first movement represents and foreshadows the whole of the work. We start in a somber tone but experience dramatic changes of emotion, as I’m sure our homesick composer found in the streets of New York. Influences from Native American and African American sources can be found in the main themes, though they appear in entirely European framework. Unusual scoring for flute at the lowest portion of its range gives a plaintive sound to a spiritual inspired melody. A blaze of strings and brass brings us to a dramatic close of this opening chapter.
Nothing can prepare the listener for the first time they hear the noble Largo that follows. A most unusual chorale for the brass gives way to hushed strings accompanying perhaps the greatest solo in the literature for the English horn. The composer had long been influenced by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha, and it is widely believed that it served as inspiration for this glorious movement. As the solo strings seem to struggle to find the will to finish their statement of the melody, I am always reminded of watching a performance of this work in Prague in September of 2001 with images of the New York skyline presented overhead.
The final two movements are inspired collections of melodies. Beethoven seems to be knocking at the door from the outset of the scherzo, but this is followed by moments both tender and rustic. Again, the composer points to inspiration from Hiawatha. The final movement also recalls melodies heard earlier in the work. I cannot help but think that Dvořák would feel that an orchestra made up of students who have come to join us from more than a dozen countries would be the perfect vehicle to share his “impressions from a new world!’”
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin 1
João Vitor Gonzaga*
Allyson Gomes
Juan Lincango
Katarzyna Gwiazda
Icaro Santana
Laura Lopera
Camila Alonso
Angelina Sidiropoulou
Casey Macklin
Grace Pineda
Violin 2
Julia Stevenson*
Nohelia Gutierrez
Paulo Victor Alves
Dexter Rodkey
Ethne Killgore
Oliver Galager
Paloma Vieira
Elizabeth Brown
Lucas Gonzalez
Katelynn Ferguson
Aubri Sparkman
Ellen Jones
Viola
Adelle Paltin*
Ana Sofia Suarez
Ronnie Ortiz
Christian Avila
Renata Andrade
Alejandro Lopez
Jessica Achon
Violoncello
Brian Lorett*
Cristian Sanchez
Mauricio Unzueta Salas
Evelin Lopez
Gabriel Barros
Kassandra Henriquez
Alejandro Restrepo
Vivian Herring
Bass
Marcus Silva*
Daniel Magalhaes
Matheus Ferreira de Souza
Jose Cuellar
Nick Shellenberg
Daniel La Mere
Manuel Jara
Charlie Levandoski
Flute
Claudio Palazzi*
Sarah Hinchey
Oboe
Josh Strobel*
Darbi George
English Horn
Darbi George
Clarinet
Gerby Keiny*
Caitlyn Austin
Bassoon
Gabe Flores*
Zachary Howell*
Horn
Abby Loftin*
Brian Alston
Anna Zurawski
Chance Rootes
Trumpet
Mariah Atwood*
Kyle Matthees
Trombone
Richard Horne*
Peter van der Bijl
Bass Trombone
Jonathan Henneveld
Tuba
Taylor Winkler*
Timpani
Yu Chih Cherry Chin*
Percussion
Shawn Lawrence
* denotes principal players
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Dr. Hsiaopei Lee, viola
Dr. Alexander Russakovsky, cello
Dr. Marcos Machado, bass
Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo, guitar
WOODWINDS
Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, flute
Dr. Pablo Hernandez, oboe
Dr. Jackie McIlwain, clarinet
Dr. Kim Woolly, bassoon
Dr. Dannel Espinoza, saxophone
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Dr. Tim Tesh, trumpet
Dr. Ben McIlwain, trombone
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Dr. John Wooton, percussion
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Dr. Ellen Elder, piano
Dr. Hongzuo Guo, staff pianist
Dr. Elizabeth Moak, piano
Dr. Zhaolei Xie, staff pianist
ORCHESTRAL ACTIVITIES
Dr. Gregory Wolynec
CHORAL ACTIVITIES
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Dr. Jonathan Kilgore
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ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
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Dr. Timothy Tesh
ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR Laurie Rinko
FINANCIAL MANAGER Finn Langley
ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT COORDINATOR Lauren Gerhart
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PIANO TECHNICIAN
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About the Artists
Stephen Seifert’s teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over the country since 1991. In that time, he’s been a featured performer at hundreds of dulcimer festivals and other music events, including Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, Ky.; Black Mountain Music Festival in Black Mountain, N.C.; Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va.; John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.; Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Ark.; Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kans.; Nonsuch in England, and the Tono American Music Festival, in Tono, Japan.
Stephen was dulcimer soloist with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and was featured on their Warner Classical recording of Conni Ellisor’s Blackberry Winter, a concerto for mountain dulcimer and string orchestra. The piece continues to be in regular rotation on many classical stations around the U.S. (The recording album is titled Conversations in Silence and can be sampled and purchased on iTunes.) Stephen has performed this piece with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, the Knoxville Symphony, and many others. Conni wrote Stephen a second piece for dulcimer and full orchestra. Mark Steighner has also written two pieces for Stephen and full orchestra.
Stephen was adjunct instructor of mountain dulcimer with David Schnaufer at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music from 1997 to 2001. He also taught, performed, and recorded with Mr. Schnaufer as a duo throughout the country.
Most recently, he’s been one of the five coordinators of QuaranTune, a four-day festival that takes place entirely online three times a year featuring dozens of instructors and performers from all over the world. Stephen has authored 10 books, four CDs, and hundreds of instructional videos. Learn more about him on stephenseifert.com and mountaindulcimeratoz.com.
Gregory Wolynec is the newly appointed director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he directs The Symphony Orchestra and oversees the graduate program in orchestral conducting. He also serves as the music director of Middle Tennessee’s acclaimed Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO), which he co-founded in 2008. Wolynec previously served as director of instrumental ensembles at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., from 2003-24.
Over the last 15 years, Wolynec has sought to revolutionize the potential of the 21st century orchestra. His unique programming philosophy received national attention with GCO Producer Blanton Alspaugh receiving two GRAMMY nominations and a win as Classical Producer of the Year. Ambitious multimedia family concerts have been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras. He spearheaded pandemic projects, including the Magical Music & Timeless Tales video series, the YouTube broadcast of the Beethoven @250: Humanity in 2020 concert as well America’s Haydn Festival in May of 2021, featuring performances by GCO as well as the St. Lawrence String Quartet, pianist Henry Kramer and hosted by Bill McGlaughlin. In 2021, Wolynec also worked with composer Cristina Spinei to successfully launch the first NFT of a musical work commissioned by an American orchestra. This was profiled on NPR’s Marketplace Money. He is currently overseeing a multi-year project in collaboration with Nashville Ballet to create a new Nutcracker, employing the music of Tchaikovsky, Duke Ellington and Vinico Meza. During 2024-25, Wolynec will oversee the groundbreaking release of recordings of Osvaldo Golijov’s massive La Pasión según San Marcos in audio, video and virtual reality formats.
Wolynec holds a B.M. in music education and clarinet performance from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, as well as the M.M. and D.M.A. in instrumental conducting from Michigan State University. He was a recipient of a Fulbright Grant to Prague, Czech Republic, where he studied conducting at the Prague Conservatory. There, he also worked with the Karlovy Vary Symphony.
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UPCOMING
Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company presents The Music Man
October 31 – November 2, 2024 - 7:30 p.m.
November 2 - 1 p.m.
Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center
Elgar’s Enigma
November 7, 2024 – 7:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
PROGRAM
Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 6 in D - Le Matin
Osvaldo Golijov – Songs for Soprano and Orchestra with Meredith Johnson
Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations
Holiday Choral Spectacular
December 3 and 5, 2024
Main St. Baptist Church
Future Stars
March 13, 2025 – 7:30 p.m.
Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center
PROGRAM
Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez – Un danzón a mi manera
William T. Gower Concerto Competition Winners
Igor Stravinsky – Petrushka
Season Finale
Majestic Sibelius
April 24, 2025 – 7:30 p.m.
Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center
PROGRAM
Jessie Montgomery – Starburst
Jean Sibelius – Violin Concerto featuring Borislava Iltcheva
Kareem Roustom – Ramal
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 7 in C
