Hailed by New York Symphony Magazine as “an outstanding musician,” conductor, teacher, author, and composer Diane Wittry is currently the Music Director of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Allentown, PA, and the Garden State Philharmonic in New Jersey. Wittry also makes frequent guest conductor appearances with orchestras across the country and has performed in more than ten countries in Europe and Asia. An award winning author and scholar, Wittry’s book Beyond the Baton was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has become standard reading in conducting programs around the world. Wittry has been profiled in the New York Times and Newsweek, and was named one of the “Top 30 Professional Musicians” by Musical America Worldwide.
Throughout her career, Wittry has conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony a number of times. These experiences inspired her to compose her Ode to Joy Fanfare seven years ago. “‘Ode to Joy’ is the melody everyone wants to hear, but … it doesn’t occur until about 45 minutes into the piece,” Wittry observes. “To solve this dilemma, I decided to write an Ode to Joy Fanfare … I didn’t want to give away the entire melody too soon, so I selected a variety of musical snippets from the movements of the Ninth Symphony and created what I jokingly refer to as ‘Beethoven Nine in a blender.’ I start with a quote of the opening of the last movement, but after that, I give you just fragments and musical motifs that float in and out of the sound.
“These are all hints of great themes to come. The ‘Ode to Joy’ melody appears slowly, just a few notes at a time, but when you do hear it completely, it is played not by the professional orchestra, but by young string students from local music programs. I wanted us to remember the beauty of brotherhood for all mankind, as seen through the eyes of a child.”
© Elizabeth Schwartz.