Maria Montano, conductor
Arthur Bennett, manager

Miniature Symphony II. Little Largo & IV. Kleine Canon
Richard Meyer (1957 – )

Richard Meyer received his B.A. degree from California State University, Los Angeles and has taught middle school instrumental music for over 16 years. He currently conducts the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Meyer has had many works published for band and orchestra including “Celebration”, which won the National School Orchestra Association composition contest and “Geometric Dances”, which won the Texas Orchestra Directors composition contest. In 1994, he received the Outstanding Music Educator Award from the Pasadena Area Youth Music Council, and this year received the Pasadena Arts Council Gold Crown Award for Performing Arts.

Richard Meyer has not only written music for early learners but has been an avid arranger of some of the great works to give these starting musicians access to the music they will encounter throughout their musical careers.

Jorge Orozco, conductor
Elizabeth Peterson, manager

La Rejouissance
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) arranged by Irma Clarke

The Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London’s Green Park on 27 April 1749. The music celebrates the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in 1748. The musicians played on flat barges in the the middle of the Thames River so that a large crowd could enjoy both the music and the fireworks spectacle. The work was very popular when first performed and following Handel’s death was performed often in celebrations. Mozart called the work a “spectacle of English pride and joy.”

Handel was a German, later British, Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received important training in Halle-upon-Saale and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalized British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

Jorge Orozco, conductor
Dietrich Paredes, assistant conductor

Le Toreadors
Georges Bizet (1838 – 1875) arranged by Clark McAlister

Baptized as Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, Georges Bizet was a French composer of the romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire.

Carmen is an opera in four acts. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences.
Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the “Habanera” from act 1 and the “Toreador Song” (featured tonight) from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.
The opera is written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous matador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial.

MaryAnn Poling, conductor
Alice Ju, assistant conductor
Seunghee Kucharski, manager

Radetzky March
Johann Strauss, Senior (1804 – 1849) arranged by Merle Isaac

Johann Strauss I was an Austrian Romantic composer. He was famous for his waltzes, and he popularized them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. He is perhaps best known for his composition of the Radetzky March named after Field Marshall Joseph Radetzky von Radetz who was a Czech nobleman and a member of House of Radetzky in the Kingdom of Bohemia. He served as chief of the general staff in the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards began military reforms. Radetzky is best known for the victories at the Battles of Custoza (24–25 July 1848) and Novara (23 March 1849) during the First Italian War of Independence.

Symphony No. 1 – Movement 2
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) arranged by Vernon Leidig

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He straddled both the Classical and Romantic periods, working in genres associated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his teacher Joseph Haydn such as the piano concerto, string quartet and symphony (of which he wrote nine,) while on the other hand providing the groundwork for other Romantic composers such as Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt with programmatic works such as his Pastoral Symphony and Piano Sonata “Les Adieux”. Beethoven’s work is typically divided into three periods: the “Early” period, where Beethoven composed in the “Viennese” style; the “Middle” or “Heroic” period, where his work is characterized by struggle and heroism, such as in the Eroica Symphony, the Fifth Symphony, the Appassionata Sonata and in his sole opera Fidelio; and the “Late” period, marked by intense personal expression and an emotional and intellectual profundity. Although his output dropped drastically in his later years, this period saw the composition of masterpieces such as the late string quartets, the final five piano sonatas, the Diabelli Variations, the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony.

Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig. It is not known exactly when Beethoven finished writing this work, but sketches of the finale were found to be from 1795.

Julie Savignon, director
Maria Radulovic, manager

4 Novelletten for String Orchestra, Op.52, Mvt. 4 Allegro Molto
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a British composer who studied at the Royal College of Music and had early success at the age of 22 at Gloucester Festival with his 1898 ‘Ballade in A Minor’.  Named after the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Coleridge-Taylor was born in London, and was the son of Alice Martin who raised him in England and a physician father, Dr. Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor, who was never quite able to overcome prejudice to fulfil his profession so returned to West Africa.

Coleridge-Taylor showed an early promise for music, his own father teaching him violin from a young age. He was encouraged to attend the Royal College of Music, and did so at the same time as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst enrolled.  He began writing music under the tutelage of his professor, Charles Stanford.

He had success early on with his ‘Ballade in A Minor’, which his publisher August Jaeger described as “genius”, and is also famous for his cantata trilogy, The Song of Hiawatha inspired by the epic poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success and was such a prolific composer during his short life that he was given the moniker “African Mahler” by the NY musicians with whom he worked on his three tours of the United States in the early 1900s.  In 1904, on his first tour to the United States, Coleridge-Taylor was received by President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House, a rare event in those days for a man of African descent. His music was widely performed and he had great support among African Americans. Coleridge-Taylor sought to draw from traditional African music and integrate it into the classical tradition, for which he was inspired by Johannes Brahms who did as much with Hungarian music and Antonín Dvo?ák with Bohemian music.  He died of pneumonia at the age of 37.

The 4 Novelletten for String Orchestra, Op.52 is a composition in four movements, Allegro Moderato, Larghetto, Andante con moto and the movement we will hear tonight, Allegro molto.

Divertimento in D Maj. K. 136
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

Wolfgang Mozart, baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his early death at the age of 35. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized.

This Divertimento was written in July 1772 in Salzburg. Divertimento (from the Italian divertire “to amuse”) is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the divertimento is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and it is generally composed for a small ensemble. The term is used to describe a wide variety of secular (non-religious) instrumental works for soloist or chamber ensemble. After 1780, the term generally designated works that were informal or light.

Simeone Tartaglione, conductor
JongBin Kim, assistant conductor/manager

The Planets: Mars-Bringer of War
Gustav Theodore Holst (1874 – 1934)

Gustav Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher and was one of the great originals of English music. He enjoys a reputation that rests almost entirely on one masterpiece: The Planets. There is little about Holst’s early life that suggests a great master in the making. Piano lessons with his father seemed to point the way forward for a while, but intermittent neuritis in Gustav’s right arm soon ruled out thoughts of a virtuoso career.

Holst turned his hand to composition in his spare time, teaching himself as he went along from Berlioz’s famous treatise on orchestration. The Planets hit the British music scene like a thunderbolt, despite having to wait until 1920 to receive its first complete public performance, turning Holst into a national celebrity. While in Reading conducting a student orchestra in February 1923, he lost his footing on the podium and fell, hitting the back of his head. At first it seemed all was reasonably well, despite spells of insomnia and recurring headaches, but as the year went on Holst came close to nervous collapse. He took the whole of 1924 off under doctor’s orders and from 1925 reduced his teaching to the occasional lesson. Holst’s reputation remained undiminished, as evidenced by the large number of commemorative awards he received, including the Royal Philharmonic Society’s gold medal in 1930 and a celebratory Holst Festival held in Cheltenham in 1927. In 1932, a duodenal ulcer caused a painful attack of gastritis from which he never fully recovered. An attempt to save him with an operation on 23 May 1934 failed and he passed away two days later. His ashes, as he had requested, were buried in Chichester Cathedral.

Joy – Alegría
(Commissioned by MCYO, in honor of the 10 Anniversary of the Music Center Strathmore)
Osvaldo Mendoza, b. 1981

Joy is a fun, enthusiastic and obviously (happy, cheerful…. alegria says so much more in Spanish) joyous composition. In my first conversations with maestro Simeone, he told me he wanted something that expressed the exhilaration of our celebration. The main idea was to make it pleasant and simple to hear with a manageable degree of difficulty for the youth orchestra. Throughout the main part of the composition, the meter is 4/4 and 5/8. This polyrhythm keeps the piece from becoming monotonous. Arriving at the second section of the work, we have a brief fugue culminating in the second theme. The second theme is something special because it was one of the first ideas I had when I took the commitment to the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras. I remember that cold afternoon when I sat at the piano and began to play chords and singing. It was the most fun knowing that I’d found the concept/theme of Joy. The main idea is that after an orchestral tutti, the music would evanesce (fade out) as the harp takes command of the piece. While listening to the slow part of this piece, the recurring images I had were of my two children playing outside, running and jumping in slow motion. Finally we return to normal time, which integrates each section of the orchestra gradually until the end of the work. With a series of melody changes and orchestral mixes, the musicians add color necessary to end the work. —Osvaldo Mendoza

Maria Montano, conductor
Arthur Bennett, manager

Fancy Fiddles
Mark Williams (1955 – 2008)

Mr. Williams was an American composer and band director who held the Bachelor of Arts in education and Master of Education degrees from Eastern Washington University, and served as woodwind performer and arranger for the 560th Air Force Band. He taught music in the state of Washington for many years, specializing in elementary band. One of the premier composers for school bands and orchestras, Mr. Williams was co-author of the Accent on Achievement Band Method. Mr. Williams had over 200 published works to his credit. As clinician and guest conductor, he traveled to 34 states, five Canadian provinces, and Australia.

Mark Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Spokane, Washington. He earned both a B.A. degree and a M.Ed. degree from Eastern Washington University. He has taught band in public schools for well over a decade, focusing primarily on the elementary level.

This skillful arrangement is based on an American square dance tune: ‘Come Dance, Josey.’ Mark Williams has simplified the rhythms but preserved the vitality and energy of a good old-fashioned square dance.

Jorge Orozco, conductor
Elizabeth Peterson, manager

Overture No. 5
William Boyce (1711 – 1779)

William Boyce was an English composer and organist born in London. He was admitted as a choirboy at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1719. After his voice broke in 1727, he studied music and composition. His first professional appointment came in 1734 when he was employed as an organist at the Oxford Chapel in central London. He went on to take a number of similar posts before being appointed Master of the King’s Musick in 1757 (he had applied for the post on the death of Maurice Greene, his music teacher.)

As Master of the King’s Musick Boyce had the responsibility of writing music for royal occasions including funerals, weddings and coronations. He, however, refused to make a new setting of Zadok the Priest for the coronation of George III in 1761 on the grounds that Handel’s setting of the anthem was unsurpassable – as a consequence of which Handel’s setting has been played at every subsequent British coronation.

By the year 1758, his deafness had increased to such an extent that he was unable to continue in his organist posts. He resolved to give up teaching and to retire to Kensington, and devote himself to editing the collection of church music which bears his name. He retired and worked on completing the compilation Cathedral Music that his teacher Greene had left incomplete at his death. This led to Boyce editing works by the likes of William Byrd and Henry Purcell. Many of the pieces in the collection are still used in Anglican services today. On 7 February 1779 Boyce died and was buried under the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Jorge Orozco, conductor
Dietrich Paredes, assistant conductor

Symphony No. 2, opus 27; III adagio
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the late Romantic period. The influence of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers is seen in his early works, later giving way to a personal style notable for song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colors.

Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia. They settled in New York City in 1918. With his main source of income coming from piano and conducting performances, demanding tour schedules led to a reduction in his time for composition. Between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six works, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. By 1942, his failing health led to his relocation to Beverly Hills, California. One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninoff was granted American citizenship.

Rachmaninoff was not altogether convinced that he was a gifted symphonist. At its 1897 premiere, his Symphony No. 1 (conducted by Alexander Glazunov) was considered an utter disaster; criticism of it was so harsh that it sent the young composer into a bout of depression. Even after the success of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (which won the Glinka Award and 500 rubles in 1904), Rachmaninoff still lacked confidence in his writing. He was very unhappy with the first draft of his Second Symphony but after months of revision he finished the work and conducted the premiere in 1908 to great applause. The work earned him another Glinka Award ten months later. The triumph restored Rachmaninoff’s sense of self-worth as a symphonist.

Julie Savignon, director

Playful Pizzicato from Simple Symphony
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten OM CH (1913 – 1976)

Benjamin Britten was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera Peter Grimes, the War Requiem and the orchestral showpiece The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy was Born in 1934. With the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-scale operas for Sadler’s Wells and Covent Garden, he wrote chamber operas for small forces, suitable for performance in venues of modest size. Among the best known of these is The Turn of the Screw. Recurring themes in his operas include the struggle of an outsider against a hostile society and the corruption of innocence.

Kristofer Sanz, conductor/MCYO Music Director
Paco Cosio-Marron, manager

Orientale
Cesar Antonovich Cui (1835 – 1918)

Cesar Cui has the dubious honor of being the least known of the “Moguchaya Kuchka” (“mighty heap”) also known as the Mighty Five, that circle of composers begun in the mid 1850’s in St. Petersburg and headed by Balakirev. If you can’t remember who the “five” were, they were Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Belkis, Reina de Saba Suite
Ottorino Respighi (1879 – 1936)

Mostly known for his richly descriptive symphonic poems Fontane di Roma (The Fountains of Rome) and Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome), Respighi was a versatile composer who translated into music powerful visual experiences and feelings of deep attachment to cherished places. Respighi’s symphonic works are praised primarily for their exquisite orchestration, but these compositions also possess a charm which transcends the merely picturesque. This charm is particularly evident in works inspired by Medieval and Renaissance music, such as Ancient Airs and Dances for orchestra. Belkis, Reina de Saba Suite was originally written as a ballet of about 80 minutes composed in 1930. We have a reduction of the original work to a suite by the composer himself.

Polovtsian dances from the opera Prince Igor
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833–1887)

Alexander Borodin worked primarily as a scientist and composed as a hobby. His most famous work is his symphonic picture, In the Steppes of Central Asia, which takes his unique Oriental style to unprecedented levels of poetic sensitivity.

What Kristofer Sanz has arranged is an ‘Orientalist’ suite featuring parts of three compositions that set the tone and tell the story of Bilkis, the Queen of Sheba. This work captures the colors of the Middle East and simply follows the tale of a mythological figure that was mentioned in the Bible’s King Solomon stories, though she was never actually named. Queen of Sheba, Arabic Bilq?s, Ethiopian Makeda, (flourished 10th century BCE), according to Jewish and Islamic traditions, ruler of the kingdom of Saba? (or Sheba) in southwestern Arabia. In the biblical account of the reign of King Solomon, she visited his court at the head of a camel caravan bearing gold, jewels, and spices. The story provides evidence for the existence of important commercial relations between ancient Israel and Arabia. According to the Bible, the purpose of her visit was to test Solomon’s wisdom by asking him to solve a number of riddles.