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
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']
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.
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
Ruisi Du
Amelia Eckloff
Sydney Link
Pedro Mendez
Alexis Mitrushi
John Ryan
Lukas Shrout
Kaitlyn Walker
Katsuaki Arakawa
Catherine Choi
Omkara Gil Guaraco
Hee Won Jeon
Emma Osterrieder
Rachel Rice
Tanner Rodriguez
Andrew Shinn
Payton Dziekan
Broner McCoy
Cruise Myers
Jose Saavedra Diaz
Danny Sesi
Corey Watzek
Lauren Scanio
Sunju Kim
Donovan Bown
Mia Fasanello
Ellé Crowhurst
Olivia Hamilton
Carlos Clark
Christopher Witt
Joseph Brozek
Aaron DuBois
Aidan Alcocer
Gretchen Bonnema
Alex Daiker
Rachel Lauson
Zongxi Li
Felix Regalado
Marco Gomez (Bass)
Liam McManus
David Wang
Joshua Hong
Sarah Malinoski-Umberger
Suzanne Fassett-Wright
Megan Stefanik, Office Assistant
Igor Gersh, Resident Luthier
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
Michael Burritt, Percussion
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
Donna Gill, Head Coach
Julius Abrahams
Michał Biel
Travis Bloom
Martin Dubé
Kanae Matsumoto
Jinhee Park
Katelan Terrell
Claudia Catania
Maxine Davis
Mikael Eliasen
Reneé Fleming
Susan Graham
Ben Moore
Craig Rutenberg
Brian Zeger
Alexander Gavrylyuk, Heintzelman Family Artistic Advisor and Artist-in-Residence
Nicola Melville, Co-Chair
John Milbauer, Co-Chair
Natalya Antonova
Malcolm Bilson
Alexander Kobrin
Jerome Lowenthal
Jon Nakamatsu
Ursula Oppens
Boris Slutsky
Robert Bussell, Concert Piano Technician
Bruce Fellows, Service Coordinator and Tuner
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.
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.
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