With 14 nominations and six Oscars, “La La Land” and its charismatic cast cultivated a new worldwide audience for film musicals. With memorable songs by composer Justin Hurwitz, including Oscar winner City of Stars, Robert Longfield’s superb arrangement is great entertainment for most any performance. This arrangement includes: Another Day of Sun, City of Stars, and Mia & Sebastian’s Theme and Audition (The Fools Who Dream).
Carl Reinecke was a brilliant piano virtuoso. He gave his first recital at the age of twelve; in 1843 at the age of nineteen he made his first concert tour of Denmark and Sweden; and in 1846 he was appointed pianist to the court in Copenhagen. In 1860 Reinecke accepted a position at the Leipzig Conservatory, teaching piano and composition; in 1897 he was appointed its director. Reinecke was also the chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position which he held for 35 years.
Reinecke was a prolific composer in many genres. He was the last major representative of the so-called “Leipzig school” which was founded by Mendelssohn and centered around the Leipzig Conservatory. While incorporating romantic trends into its music, the Leipzig school nevertheless rejected the most daring and radical manifestations of romanticism. Tonbilder (tone poems) is a collection of twelve previous compositions in well-established genres.
In addition to composing concert music for a variety of ensembles, Croatian cellist and composer Rudolf Matz is perhaps best known for his many pedagogical works for cello written “to create a repertory of domestic works in the Croatian national folk music spirit for an early stage of music playing.” His Cello Concerto began as “Sonata in Modo Antico” for cello and piano published in Matz’s pedagogical work The First Years of Violoncello. This four-movement sonata consisted of three movements in G major, and a Larghetto in E minor. In 1976, Matz expanded and orchestrated the three G major sonata movements in his native Zagreb, Croatia. The resulting unpublished Koncert v Starum Stilu 2a violončelo i gudački orkestar (Concerto in the Olden Style for cello and string orchestra) included an introduction added to each movement. The extended rhapsodic introduction to the second movement, “Andante con moto,” included melodic material with rhythmic motives present throughout the singing melody of the second movement. In addition, Matz added a concluding four-measure phrase at the end of both the second and third movements.
The orchestrated concerto remains unpublished with the composer’s holograph score and parts held in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections at UNCG. The original orchestration consisted of violin I and II, cellos, and optional basses. A viola part has been added for tonight’s performance. The orchestration adds additional melodic interest in the orchestral accompaniment compared with the piano accompaniment as was the composer’s practice in his other works such as Elegy and Humoresque. This performance is the first known performance in North Carolina.
-Program Note by Jonathan Simmons
Homenaje a Arbolito was inspired by the composer’s service mission trip to the community of Arbolito in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The piece recounts the composer’s experiences from arrival into the country to meeting and serving with the community. The second movement, “Vecinos,” pays tribute to Mozart in style and represents the children of the community Méndez came to befriend while she was there. The trip was one of deep prayer and reflection as exemplified in the third movement, with its long melodic phrases. Méndez pays tribute to her Hispanic heritage in the fourth movement, “Sabroso,” adding the rhythms, the clave beat, and the flavor of the Latin sound.
The community of Arbolito is an invasion community and cannot be found on any map of Ecuador, but people do live there; they do exist. Méndez lived in community with the people of Arbolito, simply, without benefits of technology or comfort, in prayer and deep soul searching and was transformed by her experience.
Homenaje a Arbolito was premiered October 6, 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by the string ensemble of the Young Artists Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Julio E. Quinones.
Israeli conductor Rotem Weinberg is known for his profound musicality, creative programming, and polished performances. He is a cross-genre musician, at home in classical, operatic, and pops repertoires alike. In the fall of 2022 he will assume the position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting and Director of Orchestras at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he will conduct orchestras, opera, and teach conducting.
Rotem began his conducting studies at the age of seventeen, under the guidance of Vag Papian. Before starting his academic studies, he served in the Israel Defense Forces military band as head librarian and assistant conductor. He earned a BM in orchestral conducting from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of Tel-Aviv University, where he studied with Prof. Yoav Talmi, Yi-an Xu, and Ronen Borshevsky. His graduate studies took him to The University of Michigan, where he earned both MM and DMA degrees in orchestral conducting, studying with the renowned conductor and pedagogue Kenneth Kiesler.
At the University of Michigan, Rotem served as Music Director of the Campus Symphony Orchestra and the Michigan Pops Orchestra, bringing these ensembles to new musical heights. He also filled the role of assistant conductor to the prestigious orchestra program, supporting the work of four student orchestras. As cover conductor of the University of Michigan Opera Theater, he conducted operas such as Puccini’s La bohème, Handel’s Alcina, and William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight. In February 2018 he served as the first assistant conductor for the ground-breaking test performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess’ new critical edition. Following his studies, Rotem served as Music Director of Spectrum Orchestra in Birmingham, Michigan, Associate Conductor of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Cover Conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Rotem participated in workshops and masterclasses with world renowned orchestral conductors, including Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Zsolt Nagy and Christopher Lyndon Gee. He participated in additional conducting workshops with Joseph Missal, Felix Hauswirth, and Laszlo Marosi.
In his native Israel, Rotem led several orchestral, wind, and vocal ensembles, achieving national acclaim as a conductor and educator. He received frequent honors and awards for his conducting and musicianship, including the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Excellence Grant in orchestral conducting, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Excellence Scholarship, and the Tel Aviv University Dean of Arts Excellence Award for his outstanding musical and academic achievements.
An advocate of contemporary music, Rotem has collaborated and premiered work by composers Nina Shekhar, Natalie Moller, Tyler Arnold, Sawyer Denton, and Samuel Sussman.
Ms. Amber Svetik is attending the University of North Carolina Greensboro in pursuit of a master’s degree in Music Education. Previously, Amber was the Orchestra Director at Electa Arcotte Lee Magnet Middle School in Bradenton, FL from 2018-2021. An alumna of the program, Amber conducted ensembles for the Sarasota Youth Orchestras and Sarasota Youth Orchestra Summer Camps.
Amber completed her Bachelor’s of Music Education at Florida State University in 2018. As a student, Amber was a recipient of the Gaston Dufresne Scholarship and the undergraduate Presser Scholar Award. Alongside teaching after graduating, Amber worked as an adjudicator for the Florida Orchestra Association and as a section violinist for the Venice Symphony.
William Dowell is a North Carolina-based cellist, conductor, and educator. As a conductor, William has worked with the Carthage Philharmonic and UNC Greensboro’s Sinfonia. An avid chamber musician, William has performed with the Carthage President’s String Quartet and the LEWISE Trio. As an orchestral musician, William has served as the principal cellist in the Carthage Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed in the pit orchestra for the Kenosha Opera Festival’s production of La fille du régiment. William currently maintains a private studio and has previously taught as a cello instructor for the Carthage Community Lessons Program, as a chamber coach for Carthage Young Artists Chamber Music Program, and as a strings coach for the Lakeshore Youth Orchestra. William is currently a graduate student studying cello performance at the University of North Carolina Greensboro under Dr. Alexander Ezerman.
Jonathan Simmons is currently pursuing a DMA at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro studying with Dr. Alex Ezerman. At UNCG he serves as the cellist of the graduate string quartet and as principal cellist in the UNCG Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras in Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina including in the Greenville, SC, Peace Center, and Powell Hall at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Jonathan was a two-time prize winner in the Tennessee Cello Workshop Competition and was also the winner of the 45th Annual Ruth Kern Young Artists Concerto Competition in Atlanta. He frequently performs at non-traditional venues including the Coca-Cola Space Science Center and the Bo Bartlett Center and for students of all ages.
Jonathan has performed with the Greenville Symphony, the Greensboro Symphony, the Columbus (GA) Symphony, the LaGrange Symphony, and the Albany Symphony. He has collaborated in recital with such musicians as pianist Alexey Trushechkin, first prize winner of the 2019 Liszt International Piano Competition, and renowned cello soloist Wendy Warner. His recital appearances include the Sigal Early Keyboard Festival in Greenville, SC and the Festiva Concert Series in Greenwood, SC. His articles on cello related topics have been published by the Cello Museum (www.cellomuseum.org). As a teacher, he teaches live online lessons to students as far away as Australia.