Chamber Orchestra - 4/9/24

UCO Chamber Orchestra Dr. Hong Zhu, conductor featuring Kitt Wakeley, guest composer Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher, cello 7:30 PM, April 9, 2024 Radke Fine Arts Theatre Program Introductory Talk by Grammy® winning composer Kitt Wakeley Some Other Time For Carl Sandburg — Michael Hoppé (b. 1944) for Cello and Chamber Orchestra String arrangement: Breck McGough Mist Waves — Douglas Knehans (b. 1957) for Cello and Chamber Orchestra St. Christopher’s Journey — Kitt Wakeley (b. 1969) from the Grammy® winning album “An Adoption story” Élégie (Elegy), Op. 24 — Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) for Cello and Chamber Orchestra Intermission An Immigrant in New York — Dimitri Kovachev (b. 1960) Ouverture Confidential Shadows of the Past Alternatives Struggle Evolution New World Biographies Dr. Hong Zhu Zhu Hong, D.M.A., is a tenured full professor of violin and chamber music, string division head, and the conductor of the chamber orchestra at the University Central Oklahoma, member of the Brisch Center for Historic Performance, and member of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. He won the Yehudi Menuhin Award at The Second England International String Quartet Competition in 1982. In the same year, he graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing China with a Bachelor’s degree, and subsequently he was offered the assistant professor position by his alma mater, the Central Conservatory of Music. During his tenure at the Central Conservatory of Music he received a full grant to go to Australia to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and to perform around the country, including the Sydney Opera House. After returning back to the Central Conservatory of Music from Australia, he was promoted to lecturer, (a position between assistant professor and associate professor in China). later he received a full scholarship to study with Dr. Walter Verdehr at Michigan State University, where he earned both of his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in music performance. Zhu has been invited to perform concertos as the soloist with the Bangkok National Symphony Orchestra in Thailand, the Chihuahua Philharmonic Orchestra in Mexico, the Marquette Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, the Oklahoma City Community Orchestra, the Oklahoma Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra. He has also served as the concertmaster and guest concertmaster at the Midland Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra in Kentucky, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra in Colorado and Lawton Symphony Orchestra. As an experienced violin teacher, Professor Zhu has taught master classes in the United States and several countries in Asia. He has also taken students to perform in Europe and China. Many of his students have won awards in various of music competitions at state and international levels. Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher is a featured Solo Artist on Kitt Wakeley’s 2023 GRAMMY® winning CD “An Adoption Story” and a featured Solo Artist on Kirsten Copley’s 2024 GRAMMY® nominated CD “Aquamarine”; she was the 2023 CL Shaddock Award Musician of the Year Recipient of the Mississippi Music Foundation, 2022 AKADEMIA Music Award Grand Prize Winner, the 2023 Winner of the ICMA awards in the category Best Instrumentalist, a Global HOLLYWOOD Music Award multiple silver medal winner, and bronze medal winner with the Otis Trio (with Dr. Dawn Lindblade-Evans and Dr. Sallie Pollack), a Native American Music Award nominee with Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and 1st prize winner at the international Carlo-Zecchi Competition in Rome. Recently, she was nominated for the “Musician of the Year” Award of the prestigious Josie Music Awards and inducted into the AKADEMIA Hall of Fame. She has been a concert soloist for many years performing in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the U.S., including the Wigmore Hall in London, Jubilee Hall in Singapore, Bradley Hall in Chicago, and multiple performances at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York. In The New York Concert Review, Edith Eisler wrote about her most recent Carnegie Recital Hall performance, “Remy-Schumacher’s technique is disciplined… Her bow control and mastery of the fingerboard are complete; her intonation is excellent.” Dr. Remy also performed at the Brisbane Biennial Festival, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Contempofest (Australia), the Weatherfield Music Festival (U.S.) and the Internationaler Klaviersommer(Germany). As a member of the Serapion-Duo, she toured to Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, England (including their 1995 Wigmore Hall Debut), the US and extensively in Germany. The “Nation Bangkok” described their concert as a ‘compelling performance…sheer excellence… highest level of musicianship… magisterial authority’. A recent concert at the UNESCO Site Kloster Waldsassen mentioned their “Perfect Collaboration- technically and musically, and highest level of musicianship. “ Tess has recorded for WDR, NDR and MDR (Germany), WNYC New York, K-USC Los Angeles, ABC National, Australia, MBS-FM Melbourne, Australia and Swiss and Italian television. Among her 20+ albums are premiere recordings of David Maslanka’s Cello Concerto “Remember Me” and Carter Pann’s Cello Concerto “High Songs” with the UCO Wind Symphony under conductor Dr. Brian Lamb. Further CDs include her own transcriptions of Robert Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” with Marcus Reissenweber and Christoph von Sicherer, works by “In Sun Cho” for the Contemporary Music Society in Seoul, Korea, Villa Lobos with guitarist Stefan Grasse, the “Ibert Cello Concerto” recorded in 1999 at Radio Hilversum combined with solo cello works by Henze, Lutoslawki, Stahlke, Magrill, and the Rachmaninov Sonata in g-minor with pianist Michael Staudt. She has released two CDs of Cello Compositions by Sam Magrill and recorded “Trios” by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Michael Daugherty, as well as the first volume of the “Suites for Cello Solo” by Johann Sebastian Bach. Recent CD recording projects include “” romanza, pasion y danza”” with guitarist Stefan Grasse, a Beethoven CD with Ben Davis, “Music for Peace”, a Trilogy of 3 CDs. Her CD “To Awaken the Sun” has received the national NAPPA Award in 2020 and has been nominated for the 2022 Native American Music Award. She has been a featured Solo Artist on Kitt Wakeley’s 2023 GRAMMY® winning CD “An Adoption Story” and just released ASA: Reimagined for Solo cello by Kitt Wakeley dedicated to the Foster Children of this World. Dr. Remy received a DMA and MM from the University of Southern California and her Artist Diploma (terminal degree) from the Musikhochschule Koeln, Germany. Among her teachers were Boris Pergamenschikow Eleonore Schoenfeld, Lynn Harrell, and Jacqueline du Pre. She is a voting member for the Recording Academy, the “Grammy Foundation”, serves on the selection committee for the “Fulbright Commission” and also reviews for the national ASTA magazine. Dr. Remy-Schumacher received the Neely Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Vanderford Engagement Award. Tess was a Visiting Scholar and Performance Fellow at Harvard University 2010-2012. Previously, she was tenured faculty at James Cook University, Australia. Currently, she is Professor for Cello and cofounder of the Brisch Center for Historical Performance at UCO. Tess Remy-Schumacher Profile Biographies and Program Notes Michael Hoppe Michael Hoppe is a British composer and music executive who has made significant contributions to the music industry throughout his career. Born in Cairo in 1944 to British parents, Hoppe grew up in England and developed a love for music at an early age. In 1969 Hoppe began working in the music industry as a record producer and executive. He joined PolyGram Records that year where he worked in various positions, including Senior Vice President of International Marketing and Vice President of A&R. During his time at PolyGram, Hoppe signed and developed numerous successful artists, including ABBA, The Who, and Vangelis. In addition to his work at PolyGram, Hoppe continued to compose music throughout his career. He has released currently 35 albums of his own compositions, including “The Yearning,” “Afterglow” (over 20 million streams on Spotify) “The Poet” and “Nostalgie” featuring the harmonica player Joe Powers. His music has been featured in films, television shows (“The Sopranos”) and commercials, and has been performed by orchestras around the world. Hoppe’s compositions are characterized by their lush, romantic melodies and evocative harmonies. He draws inspiration from classical music, as well as from world music traditions and popular music. His music has been described as “hauntingly beautiful” and “emotionally resonant.” Throughout his career, Hoppe has received numerous awards and accolades for his work in both the music industry and as a composer. He was awarded a Grammy nomination for his album “Solace” along with several other awards. Today, Hoppe continues to compose music and is considered one of the most successful British composers of his generation. His contributions to the music industry and his unique musical voice have left a lasting impact on the world of music. Michael Hoppe: SOME OTHER TIME I originally composed the song for my young son Oliver, and it still remains one of my favorites. When recording the album “The Poet-Romances for cello” I decided to start the album with this melody which I felt beautifully embraced Carl Sandburg’s lovely poem “The Great Hunt” THE GREAT HUNT I CANNOT tell you now; When the wind’s drive and whirl Blow me along no longer, And the wind’s a whisper at last– Maybe I’ll tell you then– some other time. When the rose’s flash to the sunset Reels to the rack and the twist, And the rose is a red bygone, When the face I love is going And the gate to the end shall clang, And it’s no use to beckon or say, “So long”– Maybe I’ll tell you then– some other time. I never knew any more beautiful than you: I have hunted you under my thoughts, I have broken down under the wind And into the roses looking for you. I shall never find any greater than you. Eventually the “Some Other Time” song also found another home in my Requiem for Peace & Reconciliation as “In Paradisum” which concludes Requiem. Michael Hoppe San Miguel de Allende, Mexico c 2023 Douglas Knehans “…wonderfully orchestrated… endlessly evolving…” wrote BBC Music Magazine of Douglas Knehans’s music. Winner of prizes, awards and recognitions for his compositions and recordings, Douglas Knehans’ work has been awarded twelve times by The American Prize; The Kennedy Center; Two time Best Classical Album winner of Clouzine International Music Awards; Two time Platinum and two time Gold Award winner of LIT Music Awards; Best Classical Album winner of Independent Music Awards; Two time Gold Medalist and Best in Show winner and five time Silver Medalist of Global Music Awards; The Australia Council; Gold Award fro Best Classical Music Recording from One Earth Music Awards; Individual Excellence Award from The Ohio Arts Council; and support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Meet the Composer; New Music USA; The American Music Center; Carnegie Hall and many others. His compositions feature at concert halls globally including Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in NYC and similar venues in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Knehans’s music concerns complex relationships dramatically established and drawn over large timeframes through a technique he calls deep line. The expressive impact of his music is about power, richness and color and critics say that “…the sounds of nature course through the orchestral pieces… with a primitive force and melodic insistence that recall Stravinsky.” (The New Yorker) Knehans has held professorships at the University of Alabama; Director & Head of School at the University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music in Australia; and Dean of CCM at the University of Cincinnati. He is currently the Norman Dinerstein Professor of Composition Scholar at CCM. Recordings of his work can be found on the ABLAZE Records, CRI, New World Records, Crystal Records, Move, ERM Media, and NAXOS labels. His work is published exclusively by Donemus (Netherlands). www.douglasknehans.com Douglas Knehans “Mist Waves” Mist Waves is a kind of loose chaconne whose veiled repetition of the initial eight bars forms the basis for the work. Sometimes this initial idea is repeated entirely, sometimes truncated sometimes expanded and all of the time at close interplay with the freely evolving violin line which acts as the expressive core of the work. Mist Waves is really about land-based cloud and how this forms in waves sometimes thick and predictable and at other times lightening up and revealing more to us. This serves as a metaphor for me of a type of human consciousness and how things are known and unknown to us in mixtures—sometimes equal, frequently unequal—which creates the mystery and magic of life. The work is dedicated to brilliant cellist Tess Remy-Schumacher who inspired the idea of making this version of this work. Kitt Wakeley Kitt Wakeley is a Grammy® winning composer/producer/artist and 5 time #1 Billboard Charting musician, and known for selling out venues such as Carnegie Hall in NYC. Although, he’s a highly sought out producer for various genres, including dance, pop, rock, jazz-fusion, and Americana, his personal projects have brought him even higher acclaim as a composer for orchestral music that typically includes the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and famed studios such as Abbey Road in London, UK. Recently inducted to the Indie Music Hall of Fame, Kitt has a total of 5 #1s on the Billboard Charts, along with an additional 8 top 10 Billboard rankings and a total of 16 Billboard projects. Many of these projects include famed orchestras and stellar artists, such as 15-time Grammy Award-nominated guitarist Joe Satriani, legendary guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, Michael Jackson’s beloved guitarist Orianthi, female sensation guitarist, Nita Strauss, world renowned drummer Kenny Aronoff, and many other notable musicians such as multi-Grammy winning flautist Wouter Kellerman. When he’s not producing, recording or composing, Kitt enjoys time with his wife Melissa and their 6 children, living in Edmond, OK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitt_Wakeley https://www.kittwakeley.com/ Kitt Wakeley’s “St. Christopher’s Journey” is part of his Grammy® winning album “An Adoption Story. One Journey. Three Glorious Miracles”, featuring Starr Paarodi, Joe Satriani and the London Symphony Orchestra. It’s a music story-telling of Kitt’s personal journey through life which starts as slow and somber, but ends with euphoria and triumph. The name of the song stems from Kitt’s first name “Christopher”. His biological mother often called him “St. Christopher”. Dimitri K. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria. As a young composer Dimitri K. won National Contest in 1982. Since then have written over 250 songs for many top singers and instrumentalists, some became hit songs of the 80s. Contestants from different countries performed his songs as part of the ongoing International Festivals. His recorded music is part of the Golden Music Library of the National Radio in Sofia, Bulgaria. — Dimitri K. music could be listened on five continents on more than 300 radio stations. — Produced for Prestige Records, London Medieval Voices. — Became member of ASCAP. Since then, through DSM Producers, New York, released background and theme music for Saturday Night Live, Maury Povich Show, etc. national prime time shows. — Produced and released Medieval Voices Tonight. — Put on stage in New York a musical “Under Manhattan Skyline”; received press reviews from Newsday, New York Times etc. — Published by Dimitri K. Publishing: Music by Van Galen’s “Life Time” CD. — Produced for licensing the smooth jazz albums “That’ll do it” and “Manhattan Midnight”. — Dimitri K. Publishing’s roster increases with new artists for production, publishing, soundtrack and development. Worked with talented musicians such as: Harry Hall, John Valeri, Alvin L. Guiles, Rob Mullins, Jochy Rodriguez, Devrick Bell, Konstantin Dimitrov, etc. — Produced smooth jazz CD album “Keep Moving” — Produced CD album “So Intensified” — Produced CD album “Silence” — Produced CD album “Slim Profile” — Produced CD album “Blue Cat”. Up for 61st Grammy Consideration. — Produced CD album “7/8”. Up for 62nd Grammy Consideration. — Produced CD album “Gardens of Delight”. Up for 63rd Grammy Consideration. — Produced CD album “I am Not Yours”. Up for 64th Grammy Consideration. An Immigrant in New York for Chamber Orchestra STRINGS ORCHESTRA “An Immigrant in New York” NARRATIVE: Over 2 decades ago Dimitri K. wrote a musical staged in New York. It was based on a real-life story of his former boss Val Ivanov, a fellow Bulgarian. The musical captured Val Ivanov’s inspiring “Rags to Riches” story from a small Bulgarian village to serving in the US Army and eventually becoming a Managing Partner in a Manhattan Fortune 50 financial company. In 2001, the story was also profiled in The New York Times and Newsday, NY. The Story: In 1948, only 14 years old, Val Ivanov had crossed the border of the already Red Army-occupied Bulgaria to freedom. Evading the border patrol bullets, he survived the refugee camps and the dangers of the Foreign Legion in Africa. Recruited by the US army served in South Korean War and was honorably discharged as a Citizen of the USA. In his first years in the US, he worked as a taxi driver in Manhattan. Later on, from modest employee of a Fortune 50 US Company, within a short time he had become a triumphant Managing Partner, thirteen years in a row Chairman’s Trophies, and ultimately Chairman’s Emeritus Award winner. Later, in his name Val Ivanov Trophy was incorporated. In 2001 he said for The New York Times: “I found my true calling,” he said. “New York Life turned my life around because I found a way to earn a living, and discovered I could help people at the same time.” The album consists of 7 movements. 1st movement – Overture A quote from Fanfare Magazine: “The two-minute Overture is clever in that it exudes lightness, but with a tinge of regret—the feelings at leaving one’s homeland, perhaps? 2nd movement – Confidential Val Ivanov and his parents are on a crossroad, despite of danger, in search of freedom they decided to cross the border to Western Europe The music is full of hope; the melodies tend to circle around one particular pitch. This is a superbly sprung performance from all concerned, with flute doubling violin. 3rd movement – Shadows of the Past Their intimate sentiment of belonging is shattered, only reason would lead the way.” Two musics are juxtaposed, both related to the music of the immigrants’ homeland: one is aggressive, the other is more lyrical yet still characterized by its onward momentum. 4th movement – Alternatives “Life is what you make of it. Betting on more choices doesn’t mean you will find the best. In looking for alternatives Val Ivanov spends terrible and dangerous years in refugee camps and French Foreign Legion.” The sound world changes again, becoming harsher, with more prominent percussion. There is an underlying sense of unease here reflected in the syncopations and the driving rhythms. The recording emphasizes the dry sound of the strings, which adds to the astringency of this movement. 5th movement – Struggle The music for “Struggle” could be on a video game, at least until the sax enters: It describes Ivanov in Frankfurt, stationed there with the U.S. Army. “Staying true to yourself always pays off in the end,” say the notes, and there is a feeling of restrained elation in this brief movement, although its final cadence is more of a question mark. 6th movement – Evolution Success did not come easy to Val Ivanov. While he preserved his sense of identity, purpose and free will, along the way he also enjoyed helping people change their life for the better. He was convinced that being unique can change the life of others and provide a deep sense of fulfillment. 7th movement – New World A motif from Dvorak’s New World Symphony reminds us that arriving in a new country is not the end of the journey, it is a start of building a new life. Music is like life, a form of expression! It projects feelings, love, fear, curiosity and excitement. We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are. When we open ourselves we open avenues for connecting with others and Val Ivanov with his life showed us one very human way how to do so.