2024 Fall Series Concerts

Notes on the Program

SYSO’s program notes are written by Maggie Molloy, a radio host and music journalist based in Seattle. Maggie hosts the Midday Show on Classical KING FM 98.1 and is also the curator and host of Second Inversion, a weekly radio show dedicated to contemporary and experimental music.

“American music” can be a slippery thing to pin down. From folk to jazz, pop, classical, and the avant-grade, American music has always been a merging of different cultures, influences, and ideas. And it’s a tradition made richer by the many diverse voices that contribute to it.

In this Fall Series of SYSO concerts, we hear students exploring the myriad ways in which musicians past and present have celebrated, embraced, questioned, and even challenged what it means to be an American composer.

MY Southeast
Symphonette
Debut
Junior
Prelude
Youth

Music Youth Southeast

From church pews to living rooms to dance floors and concert stages, tonight’s program explores the many ways and many places in which music enriches our lives. Pop songs, spirituals, serenades, and fanfares each find their place in this vibrant program celebrating the power of music to bring people together.

Robert Washburn: Serenade for Strings, Mvt. 1

When you invite friends over for dinner or drinks, you’ve got to have the perfect playlist! Back in the days before record players, CDs, or Spotify, wealthy people would hire musicians to serenade their guests, filling their home with light, pleasant music that would set some ambiance for the occasion.

Mozart was among the composers who brought these serenades center stage, composing works that could serve as pleasant background music, but which also rewarded a closer listen. Robert Washburn continues this rich tradition in this Serenade for Strings, brimming with charming melodies and airy textures that would pair perfectly with a glass of champagne at your next dinner party.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Arioso, from Cantata No. 156 (arr. Stephen Wieloszynski)

If you’ve found yourself working around the clock this holiday season, you can shake hands with Johann Sebastian Bach. He was not likely to get a day off around the holidays—in fact, it was his busiest time of year! In Leipzig, where he lived, the Christmas season was a literal season of performances: several days’ worth of feasts, concerts, and church services. And as the Music Director for St. Thomas Church, he had to write the music!

That means Bach was churning out new cantatas weekly. All the more impressive, then, that each one is crafted with such beauty and complexity. Yet for all the emotional depth of Bach’s music (and all the stresses of his job), this famous Arioso from his Cantata No. 156 is as light as a feather, its melodies floating gracefully toward the heavens. Just imagine how sweet this music must have sounded in its earliest performances, sitting in the pews at St. Thomas Church.

African American Folk Song: Follow the Drinking Gourd (arr. Carrie Lane Gruselle)

For many who were enslaved across U.S. history, music was not only an act of resilience, but a critical mode of communication. Songs and spirituals were often used to communicate secret messages about when, where, and how to escape—and what obstacles to watch out for along the Underground Railroad.

“Follow the Drinking Gourd” was one of these songs: the “drinking gourd” in this case being code for the Big Dipper, which points toward the North Star. Looking up at the night sky, those who escaped could map their route north to freedom by following the “drinking gourd.”

Carrie Lane Gruselle’s arrangement sets this beloved spiritual with reverence and grace, honoring the painful history behind these melodies and highlighting the power of music to unite a community in hope and strength, even amid unspeakable circumstances.

Brian Balmages: Wood Splitter Fanfare

It’s every string player’s worst nightmare: the earsplitting sound of your instrument splitting in two! Even worse for the young musician who inspired this piece—it happened during a concert.

Brian Balmages was guest conducting the Deer Path Middle School Orchestra in Lake Forest, Illinois when, during the concert, a viola player lost her grip and her instrument fell to the ground. A terrible splinter echoed through the concert hall: the viola had cracked from tailpiece to top! The young musician could have fallen apart onstage, but Balmages watched in amazement as she calmly picked up her instrument and waited for the rest of the group to finish performing. Others were able to quickly find her another viola, and she finished playing the entire program.

The Wood Splitter Fanfare captures the strength and determination of this young student, and the thrilling power of music to help us navigate the curveballs life throws at us. As Balmages writes in his program note: “This piece is a way to sustain that music-making, so we can leave the frustrating moments behind and celebrate all that it means to be a true musician.”

Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse Bacchanale (arr. Jamin Hoffman)

You might think classical music is all buttoned-up; polite music played with pinkies up! But since the beginning of time, musicians have known how to party.

That’s what a bacchanale is: it’s a party that indulges all the senses. The bacchanale takes its name from Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, ecstasy, and ritual madness. Camille Saint-Saëns has the right idea—this Danse Bacchanale from his opera Samson and Delilah begins with a twisting melody that could charm a snake from a basket. Let the revelries begin!

Aaron Copland: The Red Pony (arr. Erik Morales)

Often, it’s the simple stories about everyday people that speak most profoundly to the human experience. Aaron Copland understood this. His music found inspiration in the folk songs of America: music that was straightforward, honest, and optimistic; melodies that spoke to the pioneering spirit and the wide-open spaces of the U.S. From ballets to symphonies to music for film, his works make us nostalgic for an America many of us have only read about in books.

One such book inspired this piece. Copland composed the music for a 1949 film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novella The Red Pony. Set out on the ranches of California, The Red Pony tells the story of a young boy whose father gives him a beautiful red pony. Overjoyed, the boy quickly befriends the animal. But there are some tough lessons to be learned as he comes of age: the importance of responsibility, the pain of loss, and ultimately, the circle of life—each an inevitable part of growing up.

Imagine Dragons: Believer (arr. Victor López)

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, in the words of Friedrich Nietzsche (and later, Kelly Clarkson). The medium may have changed, but the message is the same in this chart-topping tune from the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The band’s vocalist Dan Reynolds was inspired by his own experiences with the pressures of fame and the pain of anxiety, depression, and disease. The song is about finding a way to not only power through the pain but find the strength in it to grow.

This colorful, upbeat arrangement from Victor López reimagines the driving rock shuffle of the original and expands it across the entire orchestra, inviting us to hear this familiar hit song with fresh new ears.

Brian Balmages: Danza Latina

From salsa to samba, rumba, and tango, Latin America is a dancer’s dream. Originally composed for a Venezuelan violist, Brian Balmages’ Danza Latina pays tribute to the vibrant colors of Latin music, with all its drama and passion. Sultry strings gradually give way to a toe-tappin’, finger-snappin’ groove. Let the infectious rhythms sweep you away to a sizzling summer night at the beach, dancing beneath the stars.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Amadeus! (arr. Jamin Hoffman)
(Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor, I. Allegro con brio)

Hard to imagine, but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the same age as many of this evening’s performers when he composed this symphony. And, like many teenagers today, he kept his finger on the pulse of the latest musical trends.

Back in the late 18^th century, Sturm und Drang was all the rage: “storm and stress.” This was music that was all about feeling your feelings, leaning into the messy emotions of life and expressing them through sound. A 17-year-old Mozart was happy to do just that in this Symphony No. 25.

From the very opening he dials up the drama, the music bursting at the seams with urgency and excitement. The sheer theatricality of this first movement made it the perfect opening number for the 1984 biographical drama Amadeus. A thrilling glimpse into the musical mind of one of history’s most prolific and influential artists. Lights, camera, action!

Symphonette Orchestra

Clare Grundman: Second American Folk Rhapsody

The beauty and power of folk music is that it belongs to the people—and it can grow and transform in each new musician’s hands. In this way, the best folk songs not only reflect but also celebrate the rich diversity of their communities. In this sparkling Second American Folk Rhapsody by Clare Grundman, we hear familiar folk favorites anew through the ears of young SYSO musicians, with tunes like Billy Boy, Skip to My Lou, and Shenandoah painting a vibrant patchwork of American music history.

William Billings: Chester (arr. Brad Pfeil)

Music moves people—and it was a movement toward freedom that William Billings sought to capture in this rousing early American hymn. As the American Revolution unfolded and the colonies fought for independence from Great Britain, works like this one helped unite a promising new nation.

Chester was originally named for a town in New England, but the tune quickly found its way across the colonies, its melodies sung ’round the campfire and reverberating across the Continental Army as an emerging nation marched toward freedom.

Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride

If his name doesn’t ring a (sleigh) bell, his music certainly will! Leroy Anderson was one of those rare classical composers who managed to top the pop charts—and musical miniatures were his specialty. With the crack of the horsewhip, we’re off on a wild romp through snow-covered hills, with galloping percussion, whinnying trumpets, and jingling sleigh bells. Since its composition in 1946, this holiday favorite has become as much a hallmark of the Christmas season as candy canes and hot cocoa. Funnily enough, Leroy Anderson composed it during a sweltering summer heat wave.

Debut Symphony Orchestra

Morton Gould: American Salute

Nothing like a tight deadline to light the fire under you! Legend has it Morton Gould waited until the night before the due date to start working on this patriotic tour de force. Composed in 1942 in the early days of World War II, this now iconic salute to America was originally commissioned by a government radio program looking to boost American morale at a time of uncertainty. Morton Gould helped point listeners toward a light at the end of the tunnel, using the triumphant melody of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” as the basis for this swashbuckling orchestral showpiece.

Aaron Copland: “Hoedown” from Rodeo

“Ballet” and “rodeo” are two words you don’t often hear together in the same sentence—unless, of course, you’re talking about the music of Aaron Copland. Rodeo is a simple love story set against the backdrop of American ranch life; as the choreographer Agnes de Mille described it: “The Taming of the Shrew—with cowboys!” We hear our cowgirl light on her feet in this rollicking hoedown from the ballet, where she dons a beautiful dress and lassos herself a man. Saddle up, partner!

Arturo Márquez: Conga del fuego nuevo

Bold, brilliant, and bursting with color, the conga can be described as a dance, a drum, a style of music, or simply a way of life, depending on who you ask. Brought to Cuba by enslaved Africans in the 19^th century, the infectious rhythms of the conga took on new colors under the blistering heat of the street carnivals in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The Mexican composer Arturo Márquez draws on this rich history in his Conga del fuego nuevo, lighting the fire with sizzling rhythms that’ll have you up on your feet and ready to join the conga line!

Junior Symphony Orchestra

Dudley Buck: Festival Overture on “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Land of the free, home of the brave! Decades before the Star-Spangled Banner was officially declared the United States’ national anthem, Dudley Buck cast his vote with this joyous and triumphant festival overture. Brimming with color and verve, this lively rendition will have you seeing stars and stripes.

The piece first premiered at a Fourth of July celebration on Coney Island in 1879, with the printed program encouraging a little democratic participation: “Audience requested to join in a single verse, at a signal from the conductor.”

Mary Watkins: Soul of Remembrance

The darker chapters in American history inspired this achingly beautiful work from the African American composer Mary Watkins. She says, “I saw my own people in their long march to fully express themselves as fully human in a society when we were always boxed in.”

Their long march is embodied in slow and soaring melodies that climb ever-upward, each step taken with intention and grace. Soulful harmonies breathe color into the orchestra and offer space for reflection in this powerful work that speaks to the strength, resilience, and humanity of her ancestors. She urges us to remember their journey.

Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
Movement IV: Allegro con fuoco

Sometimes the teacher becomes the student—and that was certainly the case for Antonín Dvořák. In 1892, the Czech composer set sail for the United States to serve as the Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. But when he arrived in America, he realized he was the one who had much to learn about the music of the New World—and it was a student singing in the halls of the conservatory who wound up teaching him.

Harry Burleigh was the student’s name, a young Black man with a deep, rich baritone voice. Burleigh had grown up singing African American spirituals and folksongs passed down to him from his grandfather, who was formerly enslaved. Hearing these melodies in Burleigh’s booming voice so moved Dvořák that he said he heard in them the future of American music.

Dvořák wound up studying, in a way, with Burleigh—and those spirituals would go on to shape much of the music that he composed in America, especially his New World Symphony. The depth of emotion distilled in these folk songs—the glory, triumph, and deep yearning—spoke so viscerally to the human spirit. In this rousing finale to Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, we hear how these melodies captured his imagination: the music is at once fearless, tender, and full of romance.

Antonín Dvořák may have come to America to teach music—but in the end, it was his student Harry Burleigh who introduced him to the music of the New World.

Prelude String Orchestra

Brian Balmages: Fire in the Bow

We’re playing with fire in this crackling concert opener! From smoldering orange embers to boisterous blue flames, Brian Balmages dials up the drama with fiery rhythms and red-hot harmonies that light up the stage. Careful not to get too close to the flames!

John Henry: American Folk Song (arr. Carrie Lane Gruselle)

A steel-drivin’ man who died with a hammer in hand—that’s the legend of John Henry. An African American freedman who made his living working on the railroad, he spent his days driving a steel drill into solid rock to make way for the railroad tunnels. Legend has it that John Henry’s strength and steel driving prowess were once tested in a rousing race against a steam-powered rock drill. He won the race but paid the ultimate price: his heart gave out from the stress.

A prominent folk hero in labor movements and the fight for Civil Rights, John Henry’s story has likewise been the subject of many a folk ballad. Carrie Lane Gruselle digs deep into the blues in this arrangement, drawing on both the Americana imagery of the railroad as well as the prayerful chorale of John Henry’s tragic fate.

Richard Meyer: Legend of the Ghost Stallion

Hold onto your hat! We’re galloping at top speed in this moonlit romp across the Wild, Wild West. The ghost stallion guides us through the thrilling shadows of the American frontier, the wind at our backs as pulsing rhythms drive us relentlessly forward. Listen closely and you’ll hear Richard Meyer hint at the haunting lullaby “All the Pretty Little Horses”—but all is not quite as it seems under the cover of nightfall. Keep your wits about you or you might just catch a chill!

Youth Symphony Orchestra

Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question

There are many unanswered questions in this life, but perhaps none as nagging (and impossible to answer) as the question of our existence. Charles Ives asks the big question in this piece.

Or more specifically, the solo trumpet asks the question. The rest of the instruments search for an answer, at first softly and slowly—and later with increasing density and dissonance. Part music, part philosophy exercise, this piece offers us a little time and space to reflect on life’s bigger questions.

Peter Boyer: Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue (Washington Premiere)

When asked to compose a companion piece to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, one of the most beloved works in American music history, Peter Boyer was understandably a little hesitant. Add to that the pressure of the occasion he was asked to compose it for: a 2024 concert honoring the 100^th anniversary of Gershwin’s iconic work.

Peter Boyer rose to the occasion with exceptional style and grace in this snazzy, jazzy rhapsody that speaks to the energy and optimism of Gershwin’s original. Composed, as was Rhapsody in Blue, in one single movement, the music dances from the joyous hustle and bustle of the Roaring Twenties through the lyrical expanses of America’s wide-open spaces, the world alive with possibility and promise. It’s a work that celebrates a pivotal moment in American history while likewise looking ahead, with confidence and hope, toward the future.

Aaron Copland: El Salón México

You have not truly visited a place until you’ve experienced its live music. When Aaron Copland first visited Mexico in 1932, it wasn’t the beaches, the food, or even the margaritas that stuck with him—it was the music!

He fell in love with one venue in particular: a dance hall called El Salón México. Music lovers from all walks of life came there to dance, some dressed to the nines, and others dancing barefoot. One memorable sign at the venue reminded patrons not to throw their cigarette butts on the floor—so the ladies wouldn’t burn their feet!

Aaron Copland said that beyond the music, it was the spirit of the people there that most inspired him. This piece is his musical tribute to that special place: El Salón México. Strap on your dancing shoes!

George Gershwin: An American in Paris

The honk of a taxi horn is typically not music to our ears—but George Gershwin heard something special in the sounds of traffic during his first trip to Paris in 1926. He famously brought home four Parisian taxi horns from France to use in the New York premiere of An American in Paris.

After all, the piece is all about the magic of Paris: its bustling boulevards with their honking taxis, sure, but also the romance of the city, with its sidewalk cafes, its starlit evenings, its smoky jazz clubs…and it all begins with a lighthearted stroll through the Paris streets.

What led Gershwin to stroll the streets of Paris in the first place was his high hopes of studying with the renowned French composer Maurice Ravel. Legend has it after hearing Gershwin’s music for the first time, Ravel refused to teach him, saying, “Why be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?

As you’ll hear in Gershwin’s distinctly American tribute to Paris—Ravel was right.