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Music School Festival Orchestra
June 27, 2021
Music School Festival Orchestra

Monday, June 28

Timothy Muffitt, Artistic and Music Director
Joshua Hong, David Effron Conducting Fellow
Emily Monroe, Concertmaster
Diana Chubak, piano
Katherine Morris, Principal Second Violin
Sydney Link, Principal Viola
Hee Won Jeon, Principal Cello
Jose Saavedra Diaz, Principal Double Bass


Repertoire

Carl Maria Von Weber: Overture to Der Freischutz [10']*

Patrick Harlin: River of Doubt [22']

Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, op. 97, "Rhenish" [34']

About the MSFO

Comprised of top-tier students from conservatories and universities in the U.S. and abroad, Music School Festival Orchestra members participate in a variety of musical activities during their summers at CHQ including chamber music and private lessons along with their meticulous orchestral training. Alumni from the MSFO can be heard in many of the world’s top orchestras and chamber ensembles and can be found on music faculties worldwide.

MSFO Personnel
VIOLIN

Matthew Adams
Stephanie Bonk
Spencer Day
Diego Diaz
Laura Herrera
Jason Hurlbut
Vikram Iyer
Bright Johnston
Natasha Kubit
Gabriela Lara
Jesus Alejandro Linarez Delfines
Emily Monroe
Katherine Morris
Alexandria Ott
Olivia Taylor
Justine Teo

VIOLA

Ruisi Du
Amelia Eckloff
Sydney Link
Pedro Mendez
Alexis Mitrushi
John Ryan
Lukas Shrout
Kaitlyn Walker

CELLO

Katsuaki Arakawa
Catherine Choi
Omkara Gil Guaraco
Hee Won Jeon
Emma Osterrieder
Rachel Rice
Tanner Rodriguez
Andrew Shinn

DOUBLE BASS

Payton Dziekan
Broner McCoy
Cruise Myers
Jose Saavedra Diaz
Danny Sesi
Corey Watzek

FLUTE

Lauren Scanio
Sunju Kim

OBOE

Donovan Bown
Mia Fasanello

CLARINET

Ellé Crowhurst
Olivia Hamilton

BASSOON

Carlos Clark
Christopher Witt

TRUMPET

Joseph Brozek
Aaron DuBois

HORN

Aidan Alcocer
Gretchen Bonnema
Alex Daiker
Rachel Lauson

TROMBONE

Zongxi Li
Felix Regalado
Marco Gomez (Bass)

PERCUSSION

Liam McManus
David Wang

2021 DAVID EFFRON CONDUCTING FELLOW

Joshua Hong

2021 Faculty and Staff
Manager, Chautauqua Schools of Performing and Visual Arts

Sarah Malinoski-Umberger

School of Music Operations Manager and Director of Arts Education

Suzanne Fassett-Wright

Administration

Megan Stefanik, Office Assistant
Igor Gersh, Resident Luthier

Instrumental Faculty

Timothy Muffitt, Artistic and Music Director
Aaron Berofsky, Chair of Strings & Violin Faculty
Kathryn Votapek, Chair of Chamber Music
Richard Sherman, Chair of Winds, Brass and Percussion & Flute Faculty
Curtis Burris, Bass
William Caballero, Horn
Eli Eban, Clarinet
Pedro Fernandez, Percussion
Shannon Hesse, Collaborative Pianist
Jan Eberle Kanui, Oboe
Roger Kaza, Horn
Akiko Konishi, Collaborative Pianist
Brian Kushmaul, Percussion
Owen Lee, Bass
Eric Lindblom, Bass Trombone
John Marcellus, Trombone
Anna Mattix, Oboe
Karen Ritscher, viola
Beth Robinson, Harp
Jeff Robinson, Bassoon
Almita Vamos, Violin

Instrumental Guest Faculty

Michael Burritt, Percussion

Voice Faculty

Marlena Malas, Chair
Jonathan Beyer, Instructor
Elizabeth Bishop, Instructor
John Giampietro, Stage Director
Donna Gill, Coordinator of Voice Scheduling
Rhoslyn Jones, Instructor
Jaye Simmons, Assistant to the Stage Director

Voice Coaches

Donna Gill, Head Coach
Julius Abrahams
Michał Biel
Travis Bloom
Martin Dubé
Kanae Matsumoto
Jinhee Park
Katelan Terrell

Voice Guest Faculty

Claudia Catania
Maxine Davis
Mikael Eliasen
Reneé Fleming
Susan Graham
Ben Moore
Craig Rutenberg
Brian Zeger

Piano Faculty

Alexander Gavrylyuk, Heintzelman Family Artistic Advisor and Artist-in-Residence
Nicola Melville, Co-Chair
John Milbauer, Co-Chair

Piano Guest Faculty

Natalya Antonova
Malcolm Bilson
Alexander Kobrin
Jerome Lowenthal
Jon Nakamatsu
Ursula Oppens
Boris Slutsky

Piano Technicians

Robert Bussell, Concert Piano Technician
Bruce Fellows, Service Coordinator and Tuner

Program Notes

Program Notes by Joshua Hong

Overture to Der Freischütz – Carl Maria von Weber

The premiere of Der Freischütz took place in Berlin almost exactly 200 years ago to the day, on June 18, 1821. The plot of the three-act opera centers on a hunter named Max, who sells his soul to a Satanic being in order to win a marksmanship contest that will allow him to marry Agathe, the woman he loves. It is Weber’s most well-known opera, though it is the work’s legacy in music history rather than its popularity in today’s opera houses that contribute most to its lasting significance. 

As a German-language opera dealing with serious subject material, Der Freischütz has few notable predecessors outside of the handful of singspielen by Mozart and Beethoven’s Fidelio. Beethoven is commonly cited as the great bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras, and this bears no argument when discussing nearly any genre outside of opera, where he is superseded by Weber. Wagner, the quintessential composer of German opera, was obsessed with Der Freischütz as a child; learning to play the overture at the piano was apparently his earliest musical ambition. He would later write, “I learned to love music by way of my admiration for Weber's genius.” 

Most of the overture’s musical material reappears throughout the opera, particularly in the climactic finale of Act II, in which Max’s soul is offered in exchange for the demon’s magic bullets. Though darkness and death seem inevitable, the listener will discover (in grand operatic fashion) that the redemptive love of Max and Agathe prevails in both the opera and its overture. 


River of Doubt – Patrick Harlin

The desire to explore is a near universal trait whether it comes in the form of music, art, or good old-fashioned adventure. The composition of  RIVER OF DOUBT commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first documented descent down the Rio da Duvida (River of Doubt) in the Brazilian Amazon by former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.

At the time South America was the least explored inhabited continent on earth. The expedition was co-led by Roosevelt and Cândido Rondon (b. 1865 — d. 1958), a Brazilian military officer who remains as important a figure in Brazil as Roosevelt does in the U.S.

To reach the headwaters the crew trekked overland for six weeks carrying all of their gear. Much of it turned out to be too cumbersome and was discarded along the way, leaving the men woefully undersupplied. At the headwaters of the River of Doubt only those individuals deemed essential embarked on the next leg of the journey. Once they began, the only way back to civilization was to follow the river until it joined up with the Amazon, though no one knew how far that might be. 

Early on, the turbulent rapids claimed many canoes and even a life. The group splintered, and members turned on each other. A man in the expedition was murdered; the killer was left behind in the jungle to die. Roosevelt himself nearly committed suicide to prevent his company from languishing in the rainforest waiting for him to recover from a severe infection. By the end of the ordeal, Roosevelt was a shadow of his former self; he was fifty pounds lighter and had sustained permanent injuries.

The trip was not without its mysteries- the Amazon is one of the most biodiverse and ecologically productive regions, yet strangely the expedition members could barely glean any additional food to supplement their starvation portions. It was later discovered the men were not alone. Uncontacted indigenous tribes living in the dense jungle (for whom Cândido Rondon was a tireless advocate) shadowed the men on a large portion of their expedition, and even debated whether or not to ambush them. In her eponymous book, author Candice Millard describes how the men encountered a number of huts which were recently vacated days, if not hours, prior. The men agreed it was not the noise in the jungle, but rather the absence of noise, that was ominous. Famous naturalist and expedition member George Cherrie wrote of the sound at night “Let there be the least break of harmony of sound, and instantly there succeeds a deathlike silence, while all living things wait in dread for the inevitable shriek that follows the night prowler’s stealthy spring.” 

The historical record of this trip is rich, though the music tonight is not strictly programmatic. Rather the story of this expedition serves as a launching point for a musical journey into the unknown, a portrait of foreign landscapes, and the lives of two extraordinary figures, Cândido Rondon and Theodore Roosevelt. 


Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, op. 97, “Rhenish” – Robert Schumann

The composition of Schumann’s Third Symphony coincides with his family’s move from Dresden to Düsseldorf, a city located on the Rhine River, where he would serve as the newly appointed municipal music director. Despite its numbering, the Third of Schumann’s four symphonies was actually the last to be composed (the Fourth was completed in 1841 but not published until 1851). 

As a composer of miniatures, character pieces, and lieder, Schumann frequently drew influence from extramusical materials. Of his symphonies, the Rhenish contains the most explicit depictions of the composer’s life experiences. The second movement was originally titled “Morning on the Rhine,” and carries a gentle ebb and flow similar in character to the second movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (“Scene by the brook”). The fourth movement, Feierlich (solemnly), was inspired by a religious ceremony that Schumann witnessed in 1850 at Cologne Cathedral, one of the most magnificent Gothic buildings in the world. These two movements are connected by a songful intermezzo and bookended by a pair of joyfully animated outer movements in grand classical forms.

The symphony as a whole captures Schumann’s feelings about his family’s relocation at their most optimistic. Unfortunately, the triumphant and majestic tones of the work did not succeed in foretelling the future: Schumann would struggle terribly with his conducting position in Düsseldorf, and the city was forced by the orchestra into terminating his contract. Though his mental health had been problematic from a young age, Schumann’s condition deteriorated rapidly after 1851, and he attempted suicide in 1854 by jumping into the Rhine. He passed away in an asylum two years later.

Underwriters

The Hultquist Foundation of Jamestown, New York

New York State Council on the Arts
The Music School Festival Orchestra is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Scholarships

The Chautauqua Amateur Musicians Program (C.A.M.P) Scholarship (Thursday Morning Brass and Chautauqua Brass Ensemble)

Alexander W. Bouchal Memorial Scholarship

Ann and Isidor Saslav Violin Scholarship in Honor of Mischa Mischakoff

Anna Mary and Richard M. Maddy Music Scholarship Fund

Barton Family Scholarship

Bennett and Mary Jo Burgoon Memorial Scholarship

Beverly and Bruce Conner Scholarship Fund

Burden-Staples Music Scholarship

Charles John Petre Memorial Fund Trombone Award

Chautauqua - NFMC Dorothy Dann Bullock Award

Chautauqua General - NFMC Directors

Chautauqua General Scholarship

Chautauqua Women's Club Scholarship for MSFO

Dave and Diana Bower Scholarship

David Effron Conducting Fellowship

Dietrich Family Endowment for Music at Chautauqua

Dr. Stephen Fudell Memorial Scholarship Endowment

Elmer S. and H. Lorraine Sachse Scholarship Fund

Everett and Sarah Holden McLaren Scholarship

Frederick Percival Boynton Scholarship

G. Thomas & Kathleen Harrick Music Scholarship

General Chautauqua Scholarship for MSFO

George E. and Susan Moran Murphy Scholarship

Glenn G. Vance Music Scholarship Fund

Harris Scholarship for Performing Arts

Hebrew Congregation Music Award

Hilda Jo Anne Milham Scholarship

Jack I. and Barbara J. Morris Memorial Cello Scholarship

Joseph Clarke Scholarship Fund

Konneker Scholarship

Marianne Elser Markham Endowment Fund

Milks Family Scholarship for Brass Music

Morton and Natalie Abramson Scholarship for Cello

Morton and Natalie Abramson Scholarship for Viola

Morton and Natalie Abramson Scholarship for Violin

Mr. and Mrs. Sanford Nobel Scholarship

Ms. Izumi Hara and Mr. David Koschik Scholarship

MSFO Brass scholarship in memory of Robert Vitkowsky

MSFO Scholarship in memory of Allen and Elizabeth Wood

Mu Phi Epsilon Scholarship

NFMC-New York Federation Award

NFMC-Ohio Federation Award

Peggy and Andy Anderson Family Scholarship Fund

Rebecca M. and Dr. Alan Kamen Cello Scholarship

Robert and Joan Spirtas Scholarship

Robert and Mary Pickens Scholarship

Robert D. Hiller Scholarship Fund

Robert D. Redington Memorial Scholarship

Ronald Perry Smith Scholarship Fund

Ruth Higby Haver and Della and David Higby Music Scholarship

Ruth M. Skinner Hutchins Scholarship Fund

Samuel R. McClure II Brass Scholarship

Shreveport Friends' Music Scholarship

The Arlene Hajinlian Music Scholarship

The Bettsy and Ellis Cowling Scholarship for Music

The Chuck Berginc Scholarship

The Craig J. Luchsinger Memorial Scholarship for Violin

The Daley Family Fund

The Teresa M. Joyce Ph.D. Scholarship

The Dr. William T. and Virginia W. Smyth Fund

The Edna Posner Music Scholarship 

The Elizabeth & Jack Gellman and Deborah & Allen Zaretsky Scholarship Fund

The Ernest W. and Jeannette McClure Polley Scholarship

The Erroll & Elaine Davis Scholarship

The Fayette S. Olmstead Foundation and Pittsburgh National Bank Charitable Trust Fund

The Henrietta W. Schlager Scholarship

The Honorable and Mrs. W.F. Clinger Scholarship

The Howard G. Gibbs Scholarship Fund

The John B. Yoder Music Scholarship

The Kaylor Family Scholarship

The LaPenna-Koch Scholarship

The Lucille J. McClure Memorial Music Scholarship Fund

The Marilyn G. Levinson and Nathan Gottschalk First Chair Award for MSFO Endowment

The Marsha J. Alico Memorial Music Scholarship

The Michael L. Barnett Scholarship Fund

The Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Ivers Music Scholarship

The Nancy and Norman Karp Scholarship Fund

The Penrose-Mahaffey Scholarship Fund

The Ralph J. Miller and Florence L. Miller Memorial Scholarship in Music

The Reed Family Scholarship

The Richard and Eleanor Aron MSFO Scholarship

The Robert Hunt and Mary Campbell Eckhardt Memorial Scholarship

The Sal & Kay Marranca Music Scholarship

The William Cole/King Scholarship

The William F. Northrop Memorial Music Scholarship

Thomas E. Kaufman Memorial Music Scholarship

Virginia Cox Scholarship for MSFO

Ward T. Bower Memorial Scholarship

William and Jane Pfefferkorn Scholarship for Music

William and Pauline Higie School of Music Scholarship

This program is made possible by the Helen Cooper Mercer Fund For Performing Arts.