Vienna to Venice - Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra, November 2023

to

V yagE

104th SEASON

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Dr. Michael Miles, Music Director

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - 7:30 p.m. Bennett Auditorium

Tonight we arrive at the second stop on our “Voyage”

– Western Europe in the 18th century. The music you will hear tonight was either written in Western Europe in the 18th century, or has its roots in 18th century Europe. In the spirit of the times, we will perform all of tonight’s program with a chamber orchestra similar in size and scope to the court orchestras of the period.

Contrary to the title, we begin tonight’s program in Venice, Italy, where Antonio Vivaldi was born and made his career as a violinist and composer. His Concerto for Two Trumpets provides a “full circle” moment for my career in higher education. Chris Moore and I have been best friends for 40 years since we were students and roommates at Florida State University. His career came full circle when he returned to FSU as the Professor of Trumpet in 2003. He has built his trumpet studio at FSU into one of the most successful and respected in the country. Brian Walker was a trumpet student of mine in Oklahoma in the early days of my teaching career, and after completing his Bachelor’s degree with me I sent him to FSU to study with Chris. Brian is now a highly respected trumpet artist/teacher himself at Tarleton State University. I am thrilled and honored to have them join us this evening for this special occasion. My personal musical tree has many branches, but none more meaningful than this one.

We then travel to Vienna, the final home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In his brief, 35-year life he composed over 800 works of every imaginable genre. The “child genius” is arguably considered the greatest composer in the history of Western art music. Tonight we hear stunning examples of his ability to write beautiful melodies supported by rich harmonies in formal structures common to the period. Mozart’s first Flute Concerto is a classic example of his beautiful melodic writing, and his “Haffner” symphony, one of his most popular among string players and audiences alike, is a wonderful example of his mature symphonic writing style. We will feature our first William T. Gower Competition winner, Claudio Palazzi, on the Flute Concerto.

In our final piece this evening we take a day trip to Genoa and Parma, Italy. Niccoló Paganini, the famous violin virtuoso of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was born in Genoa, Italy, and moved Parma to study with Ferdinando Paer. Paganini was also a composer, and his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin are considered the benchmark for all solo violinists. Frank Proto is considered one of the most influential double bass performers, teachers and composers of our time. Mr. Proto enjoys a great friendship with our bass professor, Dr. Marcos Machado. Tonight we are proud to have Dr. Machado join us performing Proto’s Nine Variants on Paganini – a theme and variations on Paganini’s 24th Caprice for solo violin.

I know you will enjoy tonight’s program. Our next stops are Madrid and Rome!

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SCHOOL OF MUSIC present

Vienna toVenice

The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Michael Miles, music director

Carlos Fernandez, guest conductor

Christopher Moore and Brian Walker, trumpet

Marcos Machado, double bass

With William T. Gower Student Concerto Competition Winner

Claudio Palazzi, flute

Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m.

Bennett Auditorium

Concerto for Two Trumpets and Strings in C major

Antonio Vivaldi

I. Allegro (1678-1741)

II. Largo

III. Allegro

Christopher Moore and Brian Walker, trumpets

Symphony No. 35 in G major, K. 385 (“Haffner”)

I. Allegro con spirito

II. Andante

III. Menuetto

IV. Presto

Intermission

Concerto for Flute No. 1 in G major, K. 313

W.A. Mozart

W.A. Mozart

I. Allegro maestoso (1756-1791)

Claudio Palazzi, flute Carlos Fernandez, conductor

Nine Variants on Paganini for Double Bass and Orchestra

Marcos Machado, bass

This program presented in part by a generous grant from Partners for the Arts

Frank Proto (b. 1941)

Concerto for 2 Trumpets and Strings in C major

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678. He grew up to be not only a priest but also a virtuoso violinist and one of the greatest composers of his age. He wrote many instrumental, choral and orchestral works, including concertos, operas and sacred pieces. Vivaldi was a very practical composer. His set of twelve violin concertos know as L’Estro Armonico, which are famous for their harmonic invention and virtuosic brilliance, are well within the compass of the talented amateur. Consequently when the set was engraved and published as his Op 3, it gained immense popularity throughout Europe, enhancing his fame and reputation.

Sadly however, Vivaldi’s popularity declined as he grew older. Audiences began to consider his music outmoded, and performances of his works declined. In his last, year he moved to Vienna in the hope of preferment by the Emperor Charles VI whom he had met Venice. He was forced to sell many of his manuscripts to fund the trip, and the move was a disastrous one. The Emperor died soon after Vivaldi’s arrival and he was left without a steady source of income in an unfamiliar city. He died a pauper, soon after the Emperor, on the 28th July 1741. His funeral took place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral where among the choir boys was one Joseph Haydn. He was buried in a simple grave which no longer exists. The concerto for two trumpets is typical of Vivaldi’s writing. The two outer movements are brilliant allegros with lots of exhilarating high virtuosic passages for the soloists. There are sections of dramatic dialogue between the orchestra and the soloists to start and end the movements, and longer episodes for the soloists and continuo, alternating with the strings. The slow movement, scored for strings alone, is very short and forms a strong contrast to the outer movements relying for its effect on inventive use of harmony.

Symphony

No. 35 in D major, K. 385 (Haffner)

Mozart’s 35th symphony began life as his second serenade for the Haffner family, minor nobility and longtime friends of the Mozarts. Wolfgang was asked in 1776 by Sigmund Haffner II, son of the mayor of Salzburg, to provide music for festivities the evening before the wedding of his sister, Marie Elisabeth, to Franz Xaver Spaeth. The result: the famous, eight-movement “Haffner” Serenade. So successful was this work that, when it came time for Sigmund to be ennobled six years later, he called upon Mozart again to come up with another serenade. This time, as Mozart so colorfully put it, he was “up to my eyeballs in work”: completing his three-act opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, teaching, and getting ready for his own wedding to Constanze. By all accounts, Mozart completed the work, but missed the Haffner deadline. All was not lost, however. Needing to come up with a new work for a December concert, he asked his father, Leopold, to send him the manuscript of his second Haffner serenade. Upon receipt, he was amazed how good it looked, given that he composed it in great haste, and he decided to remake the six-movement serenade into a four-movement symphony by dropping the opening March and one of the two minuets. Mozart completed the symphony in 1782.

The festive, joyous Allegro con spirito first movement, in sonata form is Haydnesque, with a single theme dominating the movement, which is to be played “with great fire,” according to Mozart. This theme, subjected to two variations, underlies the meandering secondary theme in the violins and rules the short development. The theme then returns in the recap without its variations. The Andante second movement, an abridged sonata form, has a charming, graceful primary theme and a more playful secondary theme. Overall, there is a delicacy and intimacy to this movement, in contrast to the fiery first movement. The Minuet, with alternating loud-soft passages, sounds stately and formal, while the more dance-like Trio acts as a Viennese street-song, flowing and chromatic. Mozart wrote that the fourth-movement Presto finale should go “as fast as possible.”  It is an extremely lively piece based on a simple tune, developed and varied in a most ingenious way. It starts softly on the strings, but the entire orchestra with trumpets and kettledrums soon joins in. The second theme, by contrast, is scored for strings and woodwinds only. There is a brief coda, or a sort of musical postscript, which repeats the soft-loud scheme of the main melody a final time, before the jubilant ending played by the full orchestra.

Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K. 313

Mozart wrote the Concerto in G Major, K. 313 in Mannheim in 1778, on commission from the Dutch flutist Ferdinand Dejean, for whom he also wrote the Concerto in D Major, K. 314, arranged from the C Major oboe concerto, and three flute quartets. During his stay in Paris later that year, Mozart wrote his Concerto for Flute and Harp. Despite the documentary evidence and profusion of scholarship on every aspect of Mozart’s life, his two concertos for flute and orchestra are still wrapped in some degree of mystery. Sadly, no copies exist in Mozart’s hand. He usually kept his manuscripts and had a copy made for the commissioner or performers. In this case, however, he might have given his manuscript to Dejean.

The creative genius of Mozart is on full display in the G Major concerto. The Allegro Maestoso first movement brilliantly integrates stately, lyrical, and virtuosic elements. The Adagio ma non troppo is in the concerto’s dominant key of D Major, a particularly brilliant key for the flute. The flute’s long, cantabile lines bring to mind Mozart’s exquisite operatic writing; this movement is like an aria for flute. The Rondo: Tempo di menuetto combines elegance and vitality, with a contrasting middle section that is poignant in the darker key of E Minor, referencing again Mozart’s vocal writing.

Nine Variants on Paganini

The Nine Variants on Paganini, based on the 24th Caprice from Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, is a work in a lighter vein, using a theme that should be familiar to audiences because of its wide appropriation by various composers since Paganini. Proto composed the work because no variations, with orchestra, of this kind existed for the bass and he felt this would be a most fitting subject for the instrument.

The Paganini theme has appeared in four different forms in Proto’s compositions. The first time he used it was when he composed music for a video, Birds, Birds, Birds, where the music is as important as the visual form, and he was given free rein to do whatever he liked. This forty-minute work also includes variations, most for synthesizers although there is some live violin playing. The second time Proto used the Paganini theme, at Doc Severinsen’s request, was in the Capriccio di Niccolo for Orchestra and solo trumpet for Keith Lockhardt’s opening concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Another, and totally different work, which had its premiere in early 2002, is Paganini in Metropolis. This work is for clarinet and wind symphony and was performed at the University of Texas at Austin and at the Texas Music educators’ Convention with Eddie Daniels on clarinet.

Symphony Orchestra

Violin 1

Marlene Gentile, concertmaster

Jessica Achon

Juan Lincango

Laura Lopera

Jonathan Chen

Lily Martinez

Violin 2

Federico Franco, principal

Alejandro Lopez

Grace Pineda

Lucas Gonzalez

Dexter Rodkey

Viola

Ana Sofia Suarez, principal

Isabella Marques

Nicole Herrera

Ronnie Ortiz

Cello

Alejandro Restrepo, principal

Mert Ozkan

Mauricio Abaunza

Cristian Sanchez Bass

Pedro Arceo, principal

Jose Cuellar

Matheus Ferreira de Souza

Flute

Sarah Hinchey, principal

Angel Hamel

Oboe

Alexandra Gordon, principal

Geordie Nabors

English horn

Geordie Nabors

Clarinet

Gerby Keiny Galvan, principal

Caitlyn Austin

Bass Clarinet

Caitlyn Austin

Bassoon

Zachary Howell

Gabriel Flores

Horn

Brian Alston, principal

Chance Rootes

Trumpet

Rob Smith, principal

Doug Hutchison

Timpani

Carmen Vessel

Percussion

Ryan Dunklee

Logan Whitehead

PLEASE SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH THE STRING PERFORMERS YOU KNOW!

STRINGS

Dr. Borislava Iltcheva, violin

Dr. Hsiaopei Lee, viola

Dr. Alexander Russakovsky, cello

Dr. Marcos Machado, bass

Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo, guitar

WOODWINDS

Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, flute

Dr. Galit Kaunitz, oboe

Dr. Jackie McIlwain, clarinet

Dr. Kim Woolly, bassoon

Dr. Dannel Espinoza, saxophone

BRASS

Dr. Rob Detjen, horn

Dr. Tim Tesh, trumpet

Dr. Ben McIlwain, trombone

Dr. Richard Perry, tuba

PERCUSSION

John Wooton, percussion

PIANO

Michael Bunchman, piano

Ellen Elder, piano

Hongzuo Guo, staff pianist

Elizabeth Moak, piano

Zhaolei Xie, staff pianist

ORCHESTRAL ACTIVITIES

Michael Miles

CHORAL ACTIVITIES

Gregory Fuller

Jonathan Kilgore

VOICE

Kimberley Davis, voice

Taylor Hightower, voice

Meredith Johnson, voice

Jonathan Yarrington, voice

MUSIC EDUCATION

Ashley Allen

Melody Causby

Ian Cicco

Stacey Miles

UNIVERSITY BANDS

Catherine Rand

Travis Higa

Cody Edgerton

JAZZ STUDIES

Larry Panella

MUSIC HISTORY

Barbara Dietlinger

Edward Hafer

Joseph Jones

MUSIC THEORY

Danny Beard

Joseph Brumbeloe

Douglas Rust DIRECTOR

Colin McKenzie

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

Joseph Jones

Timothy Tesh

ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR

Laurie Rinko

FINANCIAL MANAGER

Belinda Taft

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT COORDINATOR

Lauren Gerhart

GRADUATE COORDINATOR

Melody Causby

UNDERGRADUATE COORDINATOR

Jonathan Kilgore

PR/MARKETING AND EVENT COORDINATOR

Mike Lopinto

PIANO TECHNICIAN

Carlos Boza

About the Artists

Dr. Michael Miles is a unique brand of musician, whose career includes a blend of musical and academic positions. Dr. Miles’ academic career includes appointments at Western Carolina University and Florida International University. He also served for seven years as chair at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and six years as director of the School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Miles’ interest in arts advocacy and education in the community has led him to administrative positions in several community and state organizations. He served on the Hattiesburg Concert Association staff, and as executive director and founder of the Red River Arts Academy, an intensive summer arts training experience for students 14-18 years of age. Dr. Miles also served eight years as president of the Board of Directors of the Red River Arts Council in Durant, Oklahoma.

Dr. Miles’ appreciation for all forms and styles of music are evident in the variety of performing, conducting and music directing positions he has enjoyed. As a trumpet artist, Dr. Miles has performed with dozens of symphony orchestras as featured soloist and principal trumpet, and released a compact disc recording of new music for trumpet and piano by Robert Suderburg and James Wintle, titled Reflections in Times’ Mirror. In addition to his current duties as director of orchestral activities at Southern Miss, Miles’ conducting appointments include music director of the Hattiesburg Civic Light Opera Company, music director of the Oklahoma Youth Symphonies, and music director of the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival. Miles recently conducted the USM Chamber Orchestra in its Carnegie Hall debut and served as guest conductor of the Festival Orchestra at the V Clinicas Instrumentalis in Cartegena, Columbia. In 2013, Dr. Miles served as guest conductor with The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, backing the legendary Beach Boys at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Dr. Miles has also served as guest conductor with the Xinghia Conservatory Orchestra of Guangzhou, China, Vidin (Bulgaria) Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, New Mexico University Symphony, and Oklahoma Youth Orchestra.

In his career, Dr. Miles has served as music director/conductor for over 190 musical theatre performances involving 55 different musical theatre productions, including the recent highly acclaimed Southern Miss productions of The Drowsy Chaperone, The Phantom of the Opera, Magic of the Musical Stage, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Ragtime, Showbiz Showstoppers, Showbiz Harmony and Sweeney Todd. Dr. Miles served as music director of HCLO’s productions of Into the Woods, Cabaret, Wizard of Oz, Camelot and Tommy. Dr. Miles also served as chorus master for the Hub City Players production of Rock of Ages and music director for their production of James and the Giant Peach. The Phantom of the Opera and James and the Giant Peach productions were awarded the prestigious American Prize for Musical Theater in 2018.

In his tenure at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dr. Miles led an awardwinning Jazz Ensemble that was recognized by the Oklahoma State Legislature as the “Official Jazz Ambassadors of Oklahoma.” This ensemble made three concert tours of the People’s Republic of China School of the Arts.

Grammy Award-winner Christopher Moore has been Professor of Trumpet at Florida State University since 2003. Prior to his appointment at FSU, Dr. Moore was Associate Professor of Trumpet at the University of Kansas, where for seven years he directed the trumpet studio, conducted the trumpet ensemble and performed as a member of the Kansas Brass Quintet. Dr. Moore also served as Assistant Professor of Music at Morningside College from 1989 to1993, and from 1994 to 1996, was a full-time member of the professional brass quintet from Philadelphia, The Chestnut Brass Company, recording 4 CD’s, winning the Grammy Award in their field in February of 2000 with the CD Hornsmoke, a CD that featured the brass chamber music of Peter Schickele.

Dr. Moore holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music in Performance from the University of New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Florida State University. He has won numerous solo competitions, including top prize at the ITG competition and at state and regional MTNA competitions. Professor Moore has also been a finalist at the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition as well as the MTNA National Finals.

Students from the FSU Trumpet Studio have won positions in professional performing organizations, university teaching positions, secondary and elementary positions, and have been placed in some of the best graduate programs in the country. Professor Moore’s students consistently attend numerous summer music festivals in addition to winning competitions through MTNA, NTC, and ITG.

Dr. Moore has performed and presented clinics at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI) National Convention, the National MENC Conference, the National Trumpet Competition and numerous International Trumpet Guild Conferences. He is past president of NACWPI and has held positions on the Executive Board of the National Trumpet Competition and on the Board of the International Trumpet Guild. Dr. Moore is a Selmer Artist and can be heard on his first solo CD, Trumpeting the Stone, on the Mark Masters label as well as in the most recent edition of Sigmund Hering’s Progressive Etudes by Carl Fischer Publications. Most recently, Carl Fischer Publications released Student’s Essential Studies for Trumpet, A Sequential Collection of 42 Standard Etudes for the Advancing Student, compiled and edited by Dr. Moore.

Brian Walker is currently Professor of Trumpet at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. His students have been accepted into many undergraduate and graduate music programs and currently perform in orchestras and premier military groups throughout the US. His students are frequently featured at the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild Conferences as competitors and performers. As a performer, he has appeared with various groups in the DFW region and is a member of the Allen Philharmonic and Richardson Symphony Orchestras. As a commercial musician, Dr. Walker has played for various Broadway and

Musical Theater organizations in Dallas and Fort Worth, having most recently played for productions of Into the Woods, 42nd Street, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 9 to 5, and West Side Story. As a soloist, Dr. Walker has given recitals throughout the United States and in Greece, France, China and Brazil. He was featured as a soloist on the Tarleton State Wind Ensemble’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 2014 and this ensemble’s performance at the Texas Music Education Association Conference in 2022.

Brian is active in the International Trumpet Guild where he serves on the Board of Directors, on the Recording Projects Committee, Chairs the Conference Golf Scramble Scholarship Fundraiser Committee and ad-hoc committees as needed. Dr. Walker also serves as an adjudicator for the National Trumpet Competition and ITG Competitions and is an artist for the Conn-Selmer Corporation (Bach).

Dr. Walker holds degrees from the University of North Texas (DMA), The Florida State University (MM) and Southeastern Oklahoma State University (BM) where he studied with Michael Miles, Christopher Moore, and John Holt, respectively.

Marcos Machado is a highly acclaimed Brazilian-American double bassist celebrated for his virtuosic performances and inspiring stage presence. The Strad has praised his “incredibly fluid” left-hand technique, while Fanfare has commended his “musicianship and technical prowess.”

Dr. Machado serves as Professor of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). At USM, he has organized twelve editions of the “Southern Miss Bass Symposium.” He is also the founder of the Pampa International Music Festival (FIMP) in Brazil and the founder of Bass by the Sea, a national double bass competition in memory of UIUC Professor and his mentor, Michael Cameron.

Machado’s impressive career includes active performing and teaching schedules, tours throughout the USA, Europe, and South America, and three Grammy® nominations. Machado is the only South American to have earned both the “Teaching” and “Performance” diplomas from the prestigious L’Institut International de Contrebasse de Paris, where he studied with the world-renowned double bassist François Rabbath.

Machado’s versatility has inspired many composers to write works for the double bass dedicated to him. He has given world premiere performances of several works, including American composer P. Kellach Waddle’s “The Dark and The Silent” for solo bass, Brazilian composer B. Cunha’s “Momento Nordestino n°2,” Arthur Barbosa’s “Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra,” and the world premiere of American composer Frank Proto’s Partita for Solo Double Bass. Machado gave the South American premiere of Wolf Totem by Tan Dun and two of Frank Proto’s Concertos: A Carmen Fantasy and Nine Variants on Paganini for double bass and orchestra.

Machado has written “Tao of Bass,” a multi-volume technique book incorporating three decades of research on double bass technique. Several universities adopted the first volume as a required text, and the second volume will be released in 2023. He has also collaborated with Geoff Chalmers to create the “Integral Technique” online course published by the British company “Discover Double Bass.” Integral Technique is a comprehensive study of left-hand technique and includes numerous orchestral and solo repertoire demonstrations. Both are available at taoofbass.com.

Machado’s discography includes many collaborations with ensembles and musicians. The Duo Machado-Fialkow (with Brazilian pianist Dr. Ney Fialkow) has published two CDs with the Blue Griffin label, “Metamorfora” and “Fantasy,” both critically acclaimed by publications such as The Strad and Fanfare. Machado performs on a David Tecchler double bass, c. 1700, and a modern custom-built double bass by Italian-Brazilian luthier Andrea Spada (1975-2022). Machado’s signature bow, “Tao,” was crafted by the worldrenowned luthier Alessandro Alberi.

Carlos Manuel Fernandez is a multifaceted conductor from Colombia, with experiences in Europe, North, and South America that provide him with a wide vision of world music. During his studies and professional upbringing in Vienna, he conducted premieres of modern pieces for new ensembles and the standard orchestral and opera repertoires of 18th to 20th centuries. In 2010 he premiered Lepanto by Alexander Kaisser, followed by a collaboration with composer Nancy Van de Vate as principal accompanist and assistant for the recording of her opera, Hamlet, in Olomuc, Czech Republic. In 2012 Carlos had various projects in Vienna: assistant conductor for the premiere of the operas Edenarabeske by Wolfgang Liebhart and Azrael by Dirk D’Ase, assistant to Guido Mancusi at the Volksoper Wien, and assistant fellow Korrepetitor under David Aronson at the Staatsoper Wien. Further engagements during the season 2013-2014 included his debut with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava and Vienna, guest performances with the AOV orchestra in Vienna, the premiere of Unlimited Imaginations, by Julian Gamisch, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Ibagué, Colombia, in a live open-air concert offered for more than 5000 attendees.

Carlos’s interests, besides conducting, embrace piano chamber music, choir conducting, voice and instrumental accompanying, and arranging and composing for different ensembles. He was the conductor of the MGV Choir in Breitenfurt, Austria, and founder of “Enchoir”, the choir of the English Studies Department at the University of Vienna from 2011 to 2014. In Colombia in 2014 he founded the choir and orchestra of the University of Ibagué, Colombia, co-founded the independent choir, Coro Polifónico Nuevo Tolima, and was named Artistic Director of the Ibagué Conservatory and Principal Conductor of its Symphony Orchestra for the years 2014-2019. All these groups collaborated during those seasons in opera, sacred music festivals and choral-symphonic programs. During his tenure in Colombia, his work made possible a decentralized approach to the music offerings in different cities, touring with opera, sacred music and choir and orchestra productions through different regions. Choir conferences and concerts as the Panama-ELAMCO and Cancún, Mexico-CoralCun, staging concerts in vulnerable zones, and providing choir, orchestra and conducting workshops for free.

In addition to his love for music and music projects for the communities where he serves, he enjoys cooking with his wife and daughters, traveling around the world, and discovering all kinds of music. Carlos holds Bassoon studies from the Tolima Conservatory, studies in orchestra, choir, and opera conducting and opera piano collaboration with Dr. Georg Mark, Guido Mancusi and David Aronson at the Konservatorium Wien. Carlos recently received his Master of Music degree in Orchestral

Conducting from the University of Southern Mssissippi, where he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting. He is also the Graduate Assistant for opera productions and orchestra under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Miles. Carlos recently served as Music Director and Conductor for the USM opera productions of Hänsel und Gretel and Too Many Sopranos.

Carlos has received master classes in opera and orchestra conducting under Felipe Aguirre, Sir Simon Rattle, Bertrand de Billy, and Apo Hsu, and for choir conducting with Virginia Bono. Carlos has performed and conducted in venues as the Wien Konservatorium Auditorium, Konzerthaus Wien, and Stephansdom in Vienna, throughout Austria, Panama, Mexico, and in various concert halls in his home country.

Italian flutist Claudio Palazzi was born in Alatri, Italy. He started studying flute at the middle school, continuing his studies at the Conservatory of Frosinone Licinio Refice in 2007. While studying at the conservatory, Palazzi twice competed in the Visconti competition, achieving first place in 2007 and third place in 2009. After he graduated from the Conservatory of Frosinone, Palazzi obtained a masters degree at the Conservatory of Rome Santa Cecilia in 2017.

Palazzi began his career as principal flute and piccolo with the Orchestra Internazionale di Roma and principal flute with the Orchestra Giovanile di Roma performing in several halls and theatres in Italy, including the Auditorium Santa Cecilia, Teatro Argentina, and Teatro Italia.

In 2016, Palazzi began studying flute and piccolo with his mentor, Maestro Fabio Colajanni in Ferentino, Italy and joined the Orchestra di fiati citta di Ferentino, a large wind orchestra, under direction of M. Alessandro Celardi. In 2017 and 2022, the Orchestra di fiati citta di Ferentino won a gold medal and a special mentioning award at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. During those years, he attended many courses and masterclass held by world renewed flute artist, such as Andre Oliva, Paolo Taballione, Matteo Evangelisti. He held regular concerts with different Italian orchestras, flute choir orchestras and flute ensembles.

In 2019, he won a position as 1st flute in the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra in Vratsa, Bulgaria, with which he performed in different theaters and halls in Bulgaria. Palazzi earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in the 2022. This is his first year at the University of Southern Mississippi where he is pursuing a Masters degree in flute performance with Dr. Danilo Mezzadri.

Frank Proto, born in Brooklyn, New York, began piano studies at the age of 7 and the double bass at 16. As a student of David Walter at the Manhattan School of Music, Frank performed the first solo double bass recital in the history of the school. As a composer he is self-taught.

During the early 1960s Frank worked as a free-lance bassist and pianist in New York City playing with various Broadway and Off-Broadway show bands and in many of the jazz clubs that were a mainstay of New York nightlife at the time. He played, as one of the original members, in the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski and served as solo double bassist with the Robert Shaw Chorale.

In 1966 he joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for a 30 year stay in which the orchestra premiered over 20 large works and countless smaller pieces composed for Young People’s concerts, Pop’s concerts, tours and special occasions. During his tenure every music director - including Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Walter Suskind, Michael Gielen and Jesús López-Cobos - commissioned him to compose works to feature various principal players or the orchestra itself on concerts, recordings and tours.

He has written music for Dave Brubeck, Eddie Daniels, Duke Ellington, Cleo Laine, Benjamin Luxon, Sherill Milnes, Gerry Mulligan, Roberta Peters, François Rabbath, Ruggerio Ricci, Doc Severinsen and Richard Stoltzman. Among America’s most performed contemporary composers, almost every major, metropolitan and regional orchestra in the U.S. as well as orchestras in all parts of Asia, South America and Europe have performed his compositions. His latest orchestral work The Dalí Gallery; a commission by the Louisiana Philharmonic was premiered in May 2009. His DVD project: Bridges – Eddie Daniels plays the music of Frank Proto, received nominations in two categories for the 2008 Grammy Awards.

In 1977 he began a collaboration with double bass virtuoso François Rabbath. He has written Rabbath five major compositions with orchestra that span a musical landscape from the most contemporary and serious - Four Scenes after Picasso – to the wildly popular Carmen Fantasy. Rabbath has recorded all of the pieces and continues to perform them worldwide.

Since 1993 Proto has collaborated regularly with poet, playwright and author John Chenault. Working with Chenault has brought an added dimension to Proto’s music – the visual. Their pieces, which bring a more all-encompassing, quasi-theatrical experience to audiences include, Mingus – Live in the Underworld, Ode to a Giant and Ghost in Machine – an American Music Drama for Vocalist, Narrator and Orchestra which was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony for the orchestra’s 100th anniversary in 1995. The 70-minute work, which starred Cleo Laine and Paul Winfield, received 14 nominations for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize. In 2009 Proto and Chenault finished their largest project to date: Shadowboxer, an Opera based on the life of Joe Louis. Commissioned by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the University of Maryland School of Music, the two-act, two and a half hour production was directed by Leon Major and given its premiere production in April of 2010.

LEGACY LIFETIME MEMBERS

Gold Legacy Society -  $25,000

Gail and Larry Albert

Becky and Doug Montague

Dr. and Mrs. R. Greer Whitacre

Silver Legacy Society -  $12,500

Dr. Shannon Campbell

Dick and Mo Conville

Tammy and Arthur Martin

Doug and Pam Rouse

Bronze Legacy Society -  $5,000

Dr. Amy Chasteen

Dr. David R. Davies

Dennis and Erin Granberry

Don and Amy Hinton

Carol Marshall in memory of John Ivany

Marshall

Andy and Stace Mercier

Dr. Michael and Stacey Miles

Dr. Joe and Meg Paul

Dee and Toddy Tatum in memory of Dr. and Mrs. A.T. Tatum

Doug and Becky Vinzant

ANNUAL MEMBERS

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE -

$5,000+

Francis Bell

Carter’s Jewelry of Petal

The College of Arts and Sciences

Mr. and Mrs. W. Carey Crane III

Dr. and Mrs. Jiménez

GRAND BENEFACTOR -

$2,500

Dr. Stella Elakovich in memory of Drs. Dana Ragsdale and Karen O. Austin

Ferraez Law

The First Bank

Gulf South Productions

Dick Jordan and Allen Williams in memory of Mary Garrison

Jordan, Sonia Jordan and Sonyna

Jordan Fox

KW Elite Keller Williams Realty

Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Leader

Rogers Oil Co.

Kate Smith and Hank Mazaleski

Dr. and Mrs. J. Larry Smith in memory of Mrs. Jane Becker Heidelberg

Stagetec

Sandra Whitacre

Dr. and Mrs. Chris Winstead

BENEFACTOR - $1,000

Myrle-Marie Bongiovanni

John Chain

Peter and Diane Ciurczak in memory of Lillian, Helen, and Regina

Lisa and Rick Conn

Patrick Dornan

Cooperative Energy

Chad and Catherine Edmonson

Lawrence and Mary Gunn

HMP Management Corp.

HMP Nursing Services Inc.

Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey K. Lucas

Carole M. Marshall in memory of John Ivany Marshall

Cody and Joan McKeller

Dr. Steven Moser in memory of Dennis Behm

Pine Belt Properties

Kris and Amanda Powell

Signature Magazine

Southern Miss Alumni Association

Dr. Virginia Angelico Tatum, DDS

Charitable Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of the U.S. Charitable Gift Trust

William L. Thames in honor of Lou Rackoff

Thad and Gerry Waites

Dr. and Mrs. Christian M. Zembower

SUSTAINER - $750

Dr. William Odom

Denis and Jean Wiesenburg

PATRON - $500

Albert Architects

The All-Star Team Realtors

Elizabeth Mee Anglin

Dr. Angela Ball

Dixie and Dennis Baum

Rebecca Bedell

Beltone Hearing Care Center

Brandon Chase Welborn Designs

Dr. Alyson Brink and Dr. Jeremy Deans

Clyde J. Bryant

Cadence Bank

Chae Carter

Brian and Sarah Carver

Perry and Gwen Combs

Dr. and Mrs. Christopher R. Crenshaw

Mary J. Cromartie

Charles Dawe and Dr. William Waller

Iris Easterling

Eric and Sabrina Enger

Hancock Whitney

Stanley Hauer

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

John M. and Carolyn Lopinto, Sr.

Maureen K. Martin in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Aubrey K. Lucas

Dr. and Mrs. Troy McIntire in memory of Dr. Dean Cromartie

Keith and Carolyn McLarnan

Celia Faye Meisel

Becky Montague

Mrs. Virginia M. Morris

Drs. William and Jeanne Morrison

Robert and Kathyrn Morrow in honor of Rob Wheeler

Brenda O’Neal Lambert

David Ott

Abb and Jennifer Payne

Matthew Wayne Pennington

Randy and Kathy Pope

Dr. and Mrs. Tom Puckett

Robin and Connie Roberts

Rush Law Firm

Sassy Candles

Signs First

DeLois Smith

Southern Bone & Joint Specialists, PA

Stephen and Jane Thomas

Mary and Eric Sumrall

Millie Swan

Dr. Douglas F. Thomas

Dr. and Mrs. Greg Underwood

Walnut Pharmacy and Gifts

Russ Willis

DONOR - $250

Paula and Allen Anderson

Anonymous

Billie Ballengee

Larry and Linda Basden

Dr. and Mrs. David W. Bomboy

Lauren and JoJo Bridges

Biljac and Joanna Burnside

Fran and Gene Carothers

Bob and Peg Ciraldo

Nicholas and Rachel Ciraldo

Lewis and Carolynn Clark

Dr. Eyler Coates Jr.

Ryan and Anna Copeland

Amber Cole

Robert and Linda Cox

Bettie Cox and David Powers

Joelle Crook in memory of George T. Crook

Alice Crotwell

Kimberley Davis

Andy and Beejee Dickson

Drs. Sergey and Veronica Dzugan

Allyson Easterwood

Muriel Everton

Gary Fordham

Pamela Gavin

Ms. Allison Gillespie

John Griffith and Linda Boutwell-Griffith

Wes Hanson

Dr. and Mrs. Wendell Helveston

Richard D. Hudson

Chris and Joyce Inman

Betty Jo D. Ison

Raoul and Althea Jerome

Rebekah and Jeff Johnson

LBJ Properties LLC

Dr. Jameela Lares

Dr. Mike Lopinto in honor of John and Carolyn Lopinto

Maureen Martin

Megan McCay

Jennifer and Kennard McKay

Mary Virgnia McKenzie

Drs. Jim and Diane Miller

Drs. Marvin and Bitsy Browne Miller

Lance Nail

Dr. Andrew and Suzanna Nida

Candace and Kent Oliver

Clay Peacock

Pinebelth Foundation

Brad and Jacquelyne Pittman

Aaryanne and Rick Preusch

Bradley Seacrest

Curt and Petra Redden in memory of Irma Schneider

Sharon and David Richardson

Dr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Rust

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sackler

Alex and Sabrina Schuerger

Seth and Carolee Scott

David and Teejay Shemper

Ed and Diana Simpson

Susan Slaughter

Delois L. Smith in memory of J. Lavon Smith

Tommy and Martha Thornton

Deborah Topp

Dr. Sharon and Mr. Carey Varnado

Mr. and Mrs. Carl E. Voss Jr.

Kenneth and Barbara Waites

Jerry and Diane Waltman

Amelia Watkins

Aissa Wiggins

Paige and Pat Zachary

CONTRIBUTOR - $150

Area Development Partnership

William and Lynne Baggett

Billie GeneralBallengee Buff and Anita Blount

Katherine Boone

Mr. Joe Bost and Dr. Katie James

Michael Boudreaux

Todd and Mary Glenn Bradley

Jewel Brantley Tucker in memory of Samuel Tucker

The Rev. Laurie Brock

Charles A. Brown in memory of Mirneal C. Brown

Sam and Jennifer Bruton

Megan Burkes

Julia Chaffin

Dr. Douglas B. Chambers

Ron and Margaret Chapman

Mitch and Marcia B. Cochran

Jacob Cotton

Jennifer Courts

LuAnn Knight Crenshaw

Alice Crotwell

Dr. and Mrs. Randall Currie

Jay Dean and Maryann Kyle in memory of Jack and Sara Dean

Jerry and Bethanie DeFatta

Andrew Dews

Steven Ferrell

Carol and Gardner Fletcher

Andrea Ford

Gary Fordham

Nancy Guice in memory of Dr. John D. W. Guice

Barbara Hamilton

Benjamin Hardy

Dr. and Mrs. Robert Heath in honor of Sarah K. Heath

John and Susan Howell

Elizabeth Hughes

Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Johnson

Rosi and Dex Johnson

Ivonne Kawas

Debbie Killen

Mike and Linda Kuykendall

Marcia M. Landen

Mr. John Logan

Melinda and Alan Lucas

Marcos Machado

Beth Mayo Jamison

Milo and Jackie McCarthy

Ellen McKenzie

Bebe McLeod and Bill McLeod in memory of Dr. John A. McLeod III

Larry and Margaret McMahan

Kathy J. Cornelius McMahon in honor of Kate Smith

Bill McHugh

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Messer Jr. in honor of Dr. Mike Lopinto

John and Louise Meyer

Astrid Mussiett in memory of Gladys S. Mussiett

Heath Nobles

Dr. Francis Laatsch and Susan Reiter

Bill and Martha Resay

Ben and Jackie McIlwain

Danilo Mezzadri

Dr. Mark Miller

Deborah and Steve Moore

John Mullins in honor of Jim Meade

Mr. and Mrs. Hal E. Odom

Dr. Roderick and Eula Posey

Bob and Betty Press

Ellen Price-Elder

Charles and Anita Price

Jann and George Puckett in honor of DeAnna Douglas

Louis N. Rackoff and Elizabeth Slaby

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Ray

Bill and Martha Resavy

Sherrie Mitchell Richmond

Mark Rigsby and Melanie Eubanks

Marc Edward Rivet

Barbara Ann Ross

Ellen Ruffin

David Sliman

Tayvi Smith

Joseph Steadman in memory of Betty A. Steadman

Sally and Garland Sullivan in memory of Garland H. Williams

Sidney and Barbara Sytsma

Richard and Debra Topp

Jennifer Torres

Lisa and Greg Vickers

Jacqueline and Michael Vlaming

Brittney Westbrook

Aissa Wiggins

Larry G. Williamson

FRIEND - $50

Michael Aderibigbe

Nikki Acord

Kimberly Ainsworth

Dr. Jenna and Mr. Daniel Barton

Richard Edward Beckford

Chris and Elizabeth Bedenbaugh

Drs. Joshua and Diana Bernstein

Cindy Bivins

Day Bookout

Dr. Cherie and Mr. Lance Bowe

Chris and Lisa Bowen

Dr. and Mrs. Bob Brahan

Rashonda Brown-Hughes

Joe Brumbeloe

William Byars

Kathy and Ben Carmichael

Matthew Casey

Dr. Adam Clay

Jim and Deedré Coll

Darcie Conrad

Brook Cruthirds

Drs. J.P. and Lisa Culpepper

John Cummings

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Daughdrill

Melissa Jean David

Becky Pruett Denham

Dannika Dewhurst

Diane Dobson

Steve and Mary Dryden

Helen Edwards

Kelly Ellis

Elissa Ernst

Carol and Gardner Fletcher

Barbara Jane Foote

David Fortenberry

Olivia Clare Friedman

Emily Jane Gallaspy

Monika Gehlawat

Heather and Ken Graves in memory of Robert Jeremy Lespi

Jeff Greene

Bruno D. Griffin

Julie Hammond

George and Diana Hardin

Anita Hearon

Frances B. Hegwood

Brenda Hesselgrave

Marsha Hester

Dr. Eddie and Sarah Holloway

Dale and Emily Holmes

Wanda J. Howard in memory of Mrs. Beth Curlee

Dr. Luis A. Iglesias

Casey Jarman

Cheryl D. Jenkins

Jane W. Jones

Lisa Jones

Nicolle Jordan and Thomas O’Brien

Dr. and Mrs. Charles Junek

Kailey Kemp

Penny and Gene Kochtitzky

Lorinda Krhut

Wendy Kulzer

Capt. Karl Langenbach III in memory of Betty Langenbach

Karen LeBeau

Kelly Ferris Lester

Linde and Jeff Lynn

Jessica Magee

Tammy Martin

Kelli McCloskey

Robert Angus McTyre

Barry Monday

Kristie Murphy

Christa Nelson

Chuck Nestor in memory of Dr. Charles Nestor Sr.

Katherine Olexa

Kathy Owens

Robert Pierce

Peter and Kathy Pikul

Amy Rogers Pelton in memory of Betty C. Rogers Morris

James Pettis in memory of Linda C. Pettis

Charles and Nellie Phillips

Mr. and Mrs. Zeke W. Powell Jr.

Ashley Price

Charles Ray

Julie Reid

Barbara L. Ross

Dr. Alexander Russakovsky

Bill and Rosalie Schoell

Elizabeth and Scott Schwartz

Chris and Allie Seay

Linda Seifert

Erin Sessions

Jae-Hwa Shin

Valerie C. Simmons

Ken and Carol Simpson

Dana William Skelton

Carroll and Dura Smith

Blaise Sonnier

Rebecca G. Stark

Edward N. Stephens

William K. Stevens

Kenneth and Virginia Stevens

Lorraine A. Stuart

David and Katie Sullivan

Dr. Timothy J. Tesh

Hayden Tharpe

Gabby Theriot

Janet and Pat Tidmore

David Tisdale

Susannah J. Ural and John Rasberry in memory of Dr. William F. Ural

Krystyna Varnado

Betty Lynn and Joe Ed Varner in memory of Virginia H. Culpepper

Lee Anne Venable

Cathy Gulli Ventura

Mr. and Mrs. Blake Weathersby

Kisha Welford

Anne G. Wilkins in memory of Bert Wilkins

Cory R. AlehandroWilliamsWooten

Christine Wooton

Dr. John Wooton

As of  July 21, 2023

To request a correction to this list, contact Kate Smith, Partners for the Arts, at 601.266.5095 or kate. smith@usm.edu

If you would like to join PFTA, visit usm.edu/partners-arts.