5 minute read
Sounds of the Season
from prélude
Friday • December 13 • 7:30 pm Saturday • December 14 • 3 pm Frauenthal Theater
John Thomas Dodson • conductor WMS Children's Choir Beth Slimko, director North Muskegon High School Choir Beth Slimko, director
Polonaise from Christmas Eve Suite
Rimsky-Korsakov
O Holy Night
Adolphe Adam, arr. Calvin Custer
Winter Dreams
PINKZEBRA WMS Children’s Choir
See Amid the Winter Snow
Words by Edward Caswall, Music by HUMILITY, arr. Dan Forrest North Muskegon High School Choir
Some Children See Him
Words by Wihla Hutson, Music by Alfred Burt arr. Mack Wilberg North Muskegon High School Choir and WMS Children’s Choir
On Christmas Day
Traditional Carols, arr. John Thomas Dodson
INTERMISSION
Concert Suite from Polar Express Alan Silvestri, arr. Jerry Brubaker
Come and See the Baby
Ruth Morris Gray North Muskegon High School Choir
Joyful, Joyful from "Sister Act"
When We’re Together from "Olaf’s Frozen Adventure"
Samsel & Anderson, arr. Mac Huff North Muskegon High School Choir with WMS Children’s Choir
Carols of the Season
Traditional Carols, arr. John Thomas Dodson
CONCERT SPONSOR
SEASON SPONSOR
American conductor John Thomas Dodson is Music Director of the Lexington Bach Festival and Conciertos de la Villa de Santo Domingo, a music festival in the Colonial City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the capital of the Dominican Republic. He was recently appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra. In November of 2019 Dodson will conduct Puccini’s Manon Lescaut with the Cleveland Opera, and he will return to Severance Hall to celebrate the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra’s 85th Anniversary season in 2020. Previously he served as Music Director for Adrian Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra New York, Coronado Music Festival and Philharmonia Orchestra of Tucson.
Dodson has guest conducted extensively in North America and Europe, leading concerts with the Athens State Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, Bialystok Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra UANL in Monterrey, Mexico. In Russia, Dodson has led the National Philharmonic of Russia, National Symphony Orchestra of Bashkortostan, Irkutzk Symphony Orchestra, and the Omsk State Academic Symphony Orchestra.
Dodson has collaborated with many living composers, leading over 25 world-premieres in the United States, Russia and Europe. Notable projects include conducting the world premiere of Theodore Antoniou’s Cello Concerto in Athens, Greece, and recording the orchestral music of Robert Jager for the Naxos label. Other contemporary music projects include a two-year collaboration with Kenneth Fuchs as the Adrian Symphony Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence and co-commissioning a new work by Christopher Theofinidis.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Dodson holds a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied under renowned conducting pedagogue Frederik Prausnitz. He continued his conducting studies with Paul Vermel at the Aspen Music School, and studied composition with Robert Jager. A recipient of the Lenawee Arts Award from the Croswell Opera House, Dodson received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa from Siena Heights University in 2016.
T H E A R TS SUPPORTING S I N C E 1 8 8 THE ARTS 0 SINCE 1880
1 595 Lakeshore Dr. Muskegon, MI 494 231.755.6536 41 www.wassermansflowers.com 1595 Lakeshore Dr. Muskegon, MI 49441
wassermansflowers.com
In the past decade Dodson was selected to participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities summer program, studying Buddhism in the Himalayas at Holy Cross University with faculty from Holy Cross and Harvard University. After subsequent years working with Buddhist coaches, he attended numerous silent meditation retreats and embarked on an extensive study of Vipassana meditation. Years later he began giving mindfulness seminars and founded Blue Heron Mindfulness Living as a means of helping others to address contemporary life issues in a context of ancient mindfulness traditions. In addition to his work as a professional musician, Dodson now leads workshops internationally in schools, conservatories and wellness centers on subjects ranging from dealing with emotions and attachments to mindfulness-based approaches for the performing arts. ••
WMS CHILDREN'S CHOIR & NORTH MUSKEGON CHOIRS
With an emphasis on the development of musical skills and understanding, WMSCC cultivates and encourages student achievement and provides quality music education with the goal of attaining the highest level of artistic excellence in choral music performance. The audition-based program was formed in 2013 to provide children in Muskegon and surrounding communities the opportunity to develop their voices, experience exciting singing opportunities and work with a professional arts organization. Each year members of the choir perform concerts at events and locations throughout West Michigan and are often invited to share the Frauenthal stage with West Michigan Symphony; this season joining them for Sounds of the Season. Open for children ages 8-13, WMSCC rehearses weekly at The Block and is under the direction of Music Director Beth Slimko.
North Muskegon Choirs pride themselves not just on high artistic performance, but the ideal of being an organization that promotes exceptional standards of citizenship and community. They consistently receive Superior and Excellent ratings in performance and sight-reading at Michigan State Vocal Music Association festivals. This is their third appearance with the West Michigan Symphony. Norse Choirs have also performed at such venues as Disney World, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Lumberjack Hockey games, and many local and regional events.
Beth Slimko holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with dual concentrations in vocal and instrumental pedagogy from Butler University. She also holds a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Grand Valley State University. Additional studies include time with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir under the mentorship of Henry Leck, the Zoltan Kodaly Pedagogical Institute in Hungary and many years of advanced training in Education through Music with the Richards Institute. Ms. Slimko has also served as a clinician for Michigan Music Education Association events and Michigan State Vocal Music Association conferences as well as a Kindermusik instructor. ••
DRiP DROP DRiNK COFFEE BAR AND CAFE
926 Second St, Downtown Muskegon OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
