www.annarbor.com
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Paul Fetler's music both shine on first CD
by
Susan Isaacs Nisbett
There’s something wonderful and not a little startling about holding a CD in your hand emblazoned with both the name of a major record company — Naxos — and a local institution — the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.
Let me tell you, it’s equally wonderful and not a little startling to listen to such a CD. Inside, on tracks that offer three works from American composer Paul Fetler, is a fine reminder of the sort of major-league playing the orchestra has been doing under conductor Arie Lipsky. In a blind taste test, local symphony or regional orchestra would not be your first picks. The playing is vital, alive and utterly polished.
The CD was recorded live over the course of concerts in 2007 and 2008 that featured Fetler’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with A2SO concertmaster Aaron Berofsky as soloist; his “Capriccio;” and his “Three Poems by Walt Whitman,” with Thomas H. Blaske as narrator. Fetler, now 89, was on hand for all the occasions, just as he was last week for a CD release party the A2SO hosted at the Michigan Theater. (The CD was released Dec. 15; it’s been available to download since fall.)
Paul Fetler counts himself delighted with this first recording devoted entirely to his work. And Lipsky, in typical fashion, counts the CD important not just for highlighting the orchestra’s work but for highlighting Fetler’s contributions to American music.
Those contributions should draw listeners in to this CD, the newest addition to Naxos’ “American Classics” series. Fetler’s evocative lyricism is a luscious underpinning in music that is itself protean in color, style and mood. "Three Poems by Walt Whitman” celebrates a quintessential American poet in a three-movement tone poem for orchestra and narrator that was a a Bicentennial commission. Unlike most such “pieces d’occasion,” this one is a keeper, rapturous, potent and atmospheric in its evocations of Whitman’s poems of nature, war and childhood.
Concertmaster Berofsky is wondrous in the violin solos — a feat he repeats in spades in the violin concerto on the disk. And in the dazzling “Capriccio,” it’s principal flute Penelope Fischer’s turn to shine.But the orchestra, under Lipsky’s direction, shines throughout. If you loved the concerts — or missed them — you’ll love this CD. And as an Ann Arborite, it’ll make you proud to claim the A2SO as the city’s own.
You can also claim the landscape on the CD cover: the stunning scene is the Huron River at sunset, courtesy of Dave Siefkes, the A2SO’s marketing director, who snapped the picture.
Sample the music from the CD on the Naxos web site here (login required).
The CD is available for purchase at Borders, Barnes & Noble and the A2SO office (220 East Huron, Suite 470), with a $10.99 suggested retail price. It is also available for download at the Naxos web site.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A2SO's New CD Features the Work of Paul Fetler
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is throwing a party. They are celebrating the release of their first CD, on Thursday, December 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Michigan Theater just in time for holiday giving. A digital download has been available since September.
What began as a longtime mutual goal of Music Director Arie Lipsky, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra musicians, board and staff will become a reality this Thursday with the unveiling of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s first CD, manufactured and distributed on the internationally acclaimed NAXOS label.
The recording, part of the NAXOS American Classics series, consists of three works by American composer Paul Fetler that were featured in live performances by the A2SO through the last several seasons. Fetler will be on hand Thursday to sign copies of the recording. He will be joined by the A2SO’s Music Director, Maestro Arie Lipsky; A2SO Concertmaster Aaron Barofsky, soloist in the Violin Concerto No. 2; and Ann Arbor poet and attorney, Thomas Blaske, the narrator of 3 Poems by Walt Whitman. The suggested retail price is $10.99 and will be available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and the A2SO office.
On Sunday, December 6, Chris Felcyn from Detroit radio station WRCJ (90.9 FM) was the first to broadcast the new CD playing Fetler’s Violin Concerto No. 2.
This is the first CD devoted exclusively to Fetler’s music, which exudes expressive power and offers immediate appeal. “My goal is the merger of listener and music,” he wrote. The selections on this A2SO recording epitomize Fetler’s style, which he characterizes as “progressive lyricism.” The composer’s deft handling of orchestral color and texture is met by subtle skill and sheer ebullience from Lipsky, soloists, and A2SO musicians alike, all in top form.
After early years spent in Europe, Fetler trained in the US and taught at the University of Minnesota where he currently holds the position of Professor Emeritus. “To work with Aaron, Tom and Arie was a pleasure,” said Fetler, “We understood each other in every aspect – and the audience was with us. Small details and adjustments were made in the rehearsals, resulting in a moving and memorable performance.”
When Maestro Lipsky was principal cellist in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1980s, he played a tremendous amount of new music under then conductor Semyon Bychkov who introduced him to Three Poems by Walt Whitman. After the A2SO’s performance of Lincoln Portraits, where former U-M coaches Lloyd Carr and Tommy Amaker served as narrators, Lipsky and Tom Blaske (the narration coach for the two coaches) brainstormed about other pieces with narration. Blaske, a Walt Whitman scholar who publishes under a pseudonym in The New Yorker, and Lipsky immediately felt that this would be an exciting feature to an upcoming A2SO concert. Composer Paul Fetler was contacted and Three Poems by Walt Whitman was performed by the A2SO to tremendous critical acclaim in April 2006. Reaction was so positive, thoughts turned to one of the A2SO’s long-term goals… to record a CD professionally.
W. Guy Barast, then Development Director of the A2SO, and David Lau, owner of Brookwood Studios were each impressed by that performance and contacted friends at NAXOS. Talks began about recording Fetler’s works. Barast wrote a successful grant proposal to the NEA for a $10,000 grant to support the project. Concurrently, a new American Federation of Musicians union regulation making the recording of CDs live at a concert was instituted, so Lipsky programmed the upcoming two seasons with three significant Fetler compositions.
The energy of the A2SO performing live in front of audiences is an integral part of the recordings.
Paul Fetler
Fetler was born in the United States and spent his youth in Eastern Europe, particularly in Latvia, where the influences of Russian culture made a great impression upon him. At the age of six he experimented at the piano with sound combinations which he found expressive, in one case particularly descriptive of a painting of a queen’s lavish coronation. Fetler credits his mother with making sure that his musical training was uninterrupted, despite the family’s frequent changes of residence, including a couple of years in both Sweden and Switzerland.
Fetler studied at Northwestern University where he received his Bachelor of Music degree under David Van Vactor. His Master’s degree was at Yale, where he studied with Quincy Porter and Paul Hindemith. He took advanced compositional studies with Boris Blacher at the Berlin Academy of Music. He accepted a post at the University of Minnesota, where he later completed his doctorate and where he taught composition and also composed for many years. His compositions include over 150 works in diverse genres. Many of these have been performed by leading orchestras, soloists, choral ensembles and chamber groups across the United States and Europe. He has been the recipient of important awards from the Society for the Publication of American Music, the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota.
Arie Lipsky, Music Director and Conductor
“My goal as a conductor is to be a musician who puts the music first, and to make sure what the composer wrote is delivered to the audience.”
Maestro Lipsky took the podium of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 2000 - 2001 concert season. He comes to Ann Arbor from his position as Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently the Music Director and Conductor of the Ashland, Ohio Symphony, and Director of Chamber Music at the Chautauqua Institution. A native of Haifa, Israel, Mr. Lipsky has also conducted the Charleston, Indianapolis and New Jersey Symphonies and the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra. His training as a concert ’cellist included advanced study with Leonard Rose and master classes with Pablo Casals. He is also an accomplished flautist. He holds degrees in Aeronautical Engineering and in Music which he received prior to serving in the Israeli Army. While still in his native country, he studied conducting with Noam Sheriff and Yoël Levi. After moving to the United States, Mr. Lipsky served as Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Ohio Opera. He moved to Buffalo, New York in 1984 to become the Buffalo Philharmonic’s principal ’cellist and in 1988, he became its Assistant Conductor. It was here where Mr. Lipsky met Paul Fetler and first performed Fetler’s Three Poems by Walt Whitman. A member of the New Arts Trio, Mr. Lipsky records on the Fleur de Son Classics Label.
Thomas H. Blaske
A little known, much-loved raconteur about Ann Arbor, Tom is the kind of man who would own two all-black dogs and call them Blanche and Ruby. A lifelong scholar of the good gray poet, Walt Whitman, he writes poetry under a pseudonym in the New Yorker.
Tom is one of Michigan’s top trial attorneys who teaches trial advocacy skills and ethics in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. Music has always been part of Tom’s life, starting with listening to family recordings of Fritz Kreisler and Stephen Foster and singing in the Battle Creek Chorus as a youngster, to playing tuba in the University of Michigan Marching Band under William Revelli.
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1928, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s first major program was played in November, 1931. Since 1986 the A2SO has been a fully professional orchestra, first under the baton of Carl St.Clair, then under Samuel Wong. Arie Lipsky was the unanimous choice to succeed Samuel Wong in 2000. Under his leadership, the A2SO has been favorably compared to both the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
A key component of the A2SO’s mission is education and outreach. The orchestra’s in-school educational programs and annual Youth Concerts currently reach almost 50,000 students each year. Many or these dynamic programs bring professional A2SO musicians directly into school classrooms.
The A2SO was heard over National Public Radio in November, 2004, in a performance of Once Upon a Castle, a commission created by composer Michael Daugherty to celebrate the A2SO’s and Michigan Theater’s joint 75th Anniversaries. Built in 1928, the Michigan Theater is one of America’s last great “movie palaces.” Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1980s, it is now a vibrant cultural center, and is listed on the American Historical Register. The Michigan Theater is the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s home.
For a free sneak preview of the music, visit www.naxos.com, keyword Fetler.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is a premier regional orchestra that offers live, symphonic music for all ages. The A²SO touches the lives of over 76,000 people annually from tiny tots to seasoned citizens in venues ranging from the Michigan Theater to Hill Auditorium, to schools in the five-county area, Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Ypsilanti District Libraries and senior centers. For concert or education programming information, contact the A2SO at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or phone 734/994-4801, or a2so@a2so.com.
What began as a longtime mutual goal of Music Director Arie Lipsky, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra musicians, board and staff will become a reality this Thursday with the unveiling of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s first CD, manufactured and distributed on the internationally acclaimed NAXOS label.
The recording, part of the NAXOS American Classics series, consists of three works by American composer Paul Fetler that were featured in live performances by the A2SO through the last several seasons. Fetler will be on hand Thursday to sign copies of the recording. He will be joined by the A2SO’s Music Director, Maestro Arie Lipsky; A2SO Concertmaster Aaron Barofsky, soloist in the Violin Concerto No. 2; and Ann Arbor poet and attorney, Thomas Blaske, the narrator of 3 Poems by Walt Whitman. The suggested retail price is $10.99 and will be available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and the A2SO office.
On Sunday, December 6, Chris Felcyn from Detroit radio station WRCJ (90.9 FM) was the first to broadcast the new CD playing Fetler’s Violin Concerto No. 2.
This is the first CD devoted exclusively to Fetler’s music, which exudes expressive power and offers immediate appeal. “My goal is the merger of listener and music,” he wrote. The selections on this A2SO recording epitomize Fetler’s style, which he characterizes as “progressive lyricism.” The composer’s deft handling of orchestral color and texture is met by subtle skill and sheer ebullience from Lipsky, soloists, and A2SO musicians alike, all in top form.
After early years spent in Europe, Fetler trained in the US and taught at the University of Minnesota where he currently holds the position of Professor Emeritus. “To work with Aaron, Tom and Arie was a pleasure,” said Fetler, “We understood each other in every aspect – and the audience was with us. Small details and adjustments were made in the rehearsals, resulting in a moving and memorable performance.”
When Maestro Lipsky was principal cellist in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1980s, he played a tremendous amount of new music under then conductor Semyon Bychkov who introduced him to Three Poems by Walt Whitman. After the A2SO’s performance of Lincoln Portraits, where former U-M coaches Lloyd Carr and Tommy Amaker served as narrators, Lipsky and Tom Blaske (the narration coach for the two coaches) brainstormed about other pieces with narration. Blaske, a Walt Whitman scholar who publishes under a pseudonym in The New Yorker, and Lipsky immediately felt that this would be an exciting feature to an upcoming A2SO concert. Composer Paul Fetler was contacted and Three Poems by Walt Whitman was performed by the A2SO to tremendous critical acclaim in April 2006. Reaction was so positive, thoughts turned to one of the A2SO’s long-term goals… to record a CD professionally.
W. Guy Barast, then Development Director of the A2SO, and David Lau, owner of Brookwood Studios were each impressed by that performance and contacted friends at NAXOS. Talks began about recording Fetler’s works. Barast wrote a successful grant proposal to the NEA for a $10,000 grant to support the project. Concurrently, a new American Federation of Musicians union regulation making the recording of CDs live at a concert was instituted, so Lipsky programmed the upcoming two seasons with three significant Fetler compositions.
The energy of the A2SO performing live in front of audiences is an integral part of the recordings.
Paul Fetler
Fetler was born in the United States and spent his youth in Eastern Europe, particularly in Latvia, where the influences of Russian culture made a great impression upon him. At the age of six he experimented at the piano with sound combinations which he found expressive, in one case particularly descriptive of a painting of a queen’s lavish coronation. Fetler credits his mother with making sure that his musical training was uninterrupted, despite the family’s frequent changes of residence, including a couple of years in both Sweden and Switzerland.
Fetler studied at Northwestern University where he received his Bachelor of Music degree under David Van Vactor. His Master’s degree was at Yale, where he studied with Quincy Porter and Paul Hindemith. He took advanced compositional studies with Boris Blacher at the Berlin Academy of Music. He accepted a post at the University of Minnesota, where he later completed his doctorate and where he taught composition and also composed for many years. His compositions include over 150 works in diverse genres. Many of these have been performed by leading orchestras, soloists, choral ensembles and chamber groups across the United States and Europe. He has been the recipient of important awards from the Society for the Publication of American Music, the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota.
Arie Lipsky, Music Director and Conductor
“My goal as a conductor is to be a musician who puts the music first, and to make sure what the composer wrote is delivered to the audience.”
Maestro Lipsky took the podium of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 2000 - 2001 concert season. He comes to Ann Arbor from his position as Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently the Music Director and Conductor of the Ashland, Ohio Symphony, and Director of Chamber Music at the Chautauqua Institution. A native of Haifa, Israel, Mr. Lipsky has also conducted the Charleston, Indianapolis and New Jersey Symphonies and the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra. His training as a concert ’cellist included advanced study with Leonard Rose and master classes with Pablo Casals. He is also an accomplished flautist. He holds degrees in Aeronautical Engineering and in Music which he received prior to serving in the Israeli Army. While still in his native country, he studied conducting with Noam Sheriff and Yoël Levi. After moving to the United States, Mr. Lipsky served as Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Ohio Opera. He moved to Buffalo, New York in 1984 to become the Buffalo Philharmonic’s principal ’cellist and in 1988, he became its Assistant Conductor. It was here where Mr. Lipsky met Paul Fetler and first performed Fetler’s Three Poems by Walt Whitman. A member of the New Arts Trio, Mr. Lipsky records on the Fleur de Son Classics Label.
Thomas H. Blaske
A little known, much-loved raconteur about Ann Arbor, Tom is the kind of man who would own two all-black dogs and call them Blanche and Ruby. A lifelong scholar of the good gray poet, Walt Whitman, he writes poetry under a pseudonym in the New Yorker.
Tom is one of Michigan’s top trial attorneys who teaches trial advocacy skills and ethics in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. Music has always been part of Tom’s life, starting with listening to family recordings of Fritz Kreisler and Stephen Foster and singing in the Battle Creek Chorus as a youngster, to playing tuba in the University of Michigan Marching Band under William Revelli.
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1928, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s first major program was played in November, 1931. Since 1986 the A2SO has been a fully professional orchestra, first under the baton of Carl St.Clair, then under Samuel Wong. Arie Lipsky was the unanimous choice to succeed Samuel Wong in 2000. Under his leadership, the A2SO has been favorably compared to both the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
A key component of the A2SO’s mission is education and outreach. The orchestra’s in-school educational programs and annual Youth Concerts currently reach almost 50,000 students each year. Many or these dynamic programs bring professional A2SO musicians directly into school classrooms.
The A2SO was heard over National Public Radio in November, 2004, in a performance of Once Upon a Castle, a commission created by composer Michael Daugherty to celebrate the A2SO’s and Michigan Theater’s joint 75th Anniversaries. Built in 1928, the Michigan Theater is one of America’s last great “movie palaces.” Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1980s, it is now a vibrant cultural center, and is listed on the American Historical Register. The Michigan Theater is the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s home.
For a free sneak preview of the music, visit www.naxos.com, keyword Fetler.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is a premier regional orchestra that offers live, symphonic music for all ages. The A²SO touches the lives of over 76,000 people annually from tiny tots to seasoned citizens in venues ranging from the Michigan Theater to Hill Auditorium, to schools in the five-county area, Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Ypsilanti District Libraries and senior centers. For concert or education programming information, contact the A2SO at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or phone 734/994-4801, or a2so@a2so.com.
Celebrating Mozart's Birthday
This is a birthday bash you just don’t want to miss! The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra continues its Season of Celebration with the 14th annual “Mozart Birthday Bash” concert on January 23, 2010 at Hill Auditorium at 8 PM. Joining the Orchestra onstage are Dr. Andrew Pelletier, horn, soprano Jennifer Larson, alto Sarah Nisbett, tenor John Charles Pierce, and bass Stephen West. This concert, sponsored by the Carl and Isabelle Brauer Fund, commemorates conductor Maestro Arie Lipsky’s tenth season as conductor of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.
First on the all-Mozart program is the Divertimento K. 136. Divertimenti are light-hearted pieces, written to be played at social functions, and generally are not bound to the formal guidelines that govern most other genres of classical music. In other words, this divertimento is truly light party music, a perfect choice to begin a birthday celebration.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Horn Principal, Dr. Andrew Pelletier is the featured soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major. Mozart wrote all four horn concerti for his friend, Joseph Leutgeb. Mozart took delight in making them as tricky as he could (especially by the standards of the day). From odd markings to even completely unrelated interjections, Mozart seemed to be challenging Leutgeb and the soloist to keep a straight face! It is a short work of only about 15 minutes, and uses clarinet and bassoon with strings as its instrumentation to create a warm, rich core to support the horn.
A choir of over 200 voices from Pioneer High School, Huron High School and South Lyon High School, enriched by singers from Measure for Measure, Choral Union, Vocal Arts Ensemble and Temple Beth Emeth, joins the Orchestra for Mozart’s famous Requiem Mass in D minor. The mass was commissioned anonymously by count Franz von Walsegg, who wanted to pass the piece off as his own to commemorate the recent death of his wife. Walsegg was an amateur musician and composer, and so this ruse could have been believable. Mozart was in declining health at this point, though, and he died before even completing the Requiem. Franz Xaver Süssmayr later finished orchestrating it from what Mozart left, producing the version with which audiences are familiar today. One highlight of the work is the prominent use of trombones. For centuries, the trombone was considered the instrument of death, associated with fear and mortality, and Mozart makes hauntingly appropriate use of them in this requiem setting.
Horn soloist Dr. Andrew Pelletier won the first prize in the 1997 and 2001 American Horn Competitions. In 2005, Southwest Chamber Music, of which he is a member, won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording (small ensemble category). He has played with numerous major symphonies, including Toledo and Portland, Maine. His playing can be heard in many major motion pictures, including Lethal Weapon 4 and The X-Men. Dr. Pelletier serves as Assistant Professor of Horn at Bowling Green State University. Pelletier has played with the A2SO since the fall of 2006. He sits in the Sherman and Sylvia Funk Principal Horn Chair.
Jennifer Larson has been described by USA Today as possessing a "golden voice." As a soprano and popular soloist, Jennifer has sung with many symphonies and choirs including the Utah Symphony, the Madeline Choir, the Milwaukee Symphony, and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Jennifer has been singing professionally in New York since 2000 and she has also acquired a regular back-up band. The A2SO welcomes Larson back to sing again after her outstanding performance in the Magic Flute last season.
Ann Arbor native Sarah Nisbett performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in last year’s sellout performance of The Magic Flute. She was a first-prize winner of the 2007 National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and has played many significant roles in the opera repertoire, including the title role of Handel’s Oreste and Marcellina in Mozart’s the Marriage of Figaro.
John Charles Pierce completed his Bachelor and Master of Music at the University of Illinois and pursued his Doctorate at the University of Indiana. As a Heldentenor, John has won the Wagner Prize and has appeared in European and American operas and concerts alike. He is sought after due to his very rich voice. Pierce is a honorary member of the International Hans von Buelow Society based out of Europe.
Stephen West is Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan. He was also a performer for last year’s “Birthday Bash,” starring as Pagapeno in the Magic Flute. West has appeared with many internationally renowned companies, including the Opera National de Paris, Deutsche Staatsoper, Teatro Carlo Felice, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. His repertoire covers all areas of the spectrum, from roles in Mozart’s operas to Wagnerian epics, and even the Wizard in the musical Wicked, which he played in Denver.
Maestro Arie Lipsky leads the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra for his tenth season. His esteem in the music world is not limited to his baton. Maestro Lipsky is also a well-trained flautist and cellist. In addition to music, he holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and served in the Israeli Army. Esteemed conductor Yoel Levi says of him, “As a musician Arie is first class; his technique is excellent, his memory outstanding.” Ann Arbor has seen tremendous musical growth under his baton. He is a member of the New Arts Trio, which has released CD recordings to critical acclaim.
A pre-concert lecture covering the evening’s repertoire will take place from 7:00-7:30pm on the main floor of Hill Auditorium. Lecturers will include Maestro Arie Lipsky, vocal soloists, and A2SO principal horn and soloist Andrew Pelletier.
The Mozart Birthday Bash begins at 8pm on Saturday, January 23rd in Hill Auditorium in downtown Ann Arbor. Tickets range from $6 to $49 and are available by calling 734/994-4801, visiting the A²SO office at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, M-F 9 am to 5 pm and the day of the concert from 9 am to 1 pm, and online at www.a2so.com. Ticket sales have been brisk. If there are any remaining tickets, they will be available at the Hill Auditorium box office starting at 6 pm the day of the concert. Discounts on tickets include $2 off for senior citizens. All students are eligible to receive a 50% discount on any ticket over $10. Music and Humanities students from Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline High Schools are invited to attend Mozart’s Birthday Bash at no cost. Call 734/994-4801 to reserve tickets or show school ID at the door the day of the concert starting at 6 pm.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is a premier regional orchestra that offers live, symphonic music for all ages. The A²SO touches the lives of almost 80,000 people annually from tiny tots to seasoned citizens in venues ranging from the Michigan Theater to Hill Auditorium, to schools in the five-county area, Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Ypsilanti District Libraries and senior centers. For concert or education programming information, contact the A2SO at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or phone 734/994-4801, or a2so@a2so.com.
First on the all-Mozart program is the Divertimento K. 136. Divertimenti are light-hearted pieces, written to be played at social functions, and generally are not bound to the formal guidelines that govern most other genres of classical music. In other words, this divertimento is truly light party music, a perfect choice to begin a birthday celebration.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Horn Principal, Dr. Andrew Pelletier is the featured soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major. Mozart wrote all four horn concerti for his friend, Joseph Leutgeb. Mozart took delight in making them as tricky as he could (especially by the standards of the day). From odd markings to even completely unrelated interjections, Mozart seemed to be challenging Leutgeb and the soloist to keep a straight face! It is a short work of only about 15 minutes, and uses clarinet and bassoon with strings as its instrumentation to create a warm, rich core to support the horn.
A choir of over 200 voices from Pioneer High School, Huron High School and South Lyon High School, enriched by singers from Measure for Measure, Choral Union, Vocal Arts Ensemble and Temple Beth Emeth, joins the Orchestra for Mozart’s famous Requiem Mass in D minor. The mass was commissioned anonymously by count Franz von Walsegg, who wanted to pass the piece off as his own to commemorate the recent death of his wife. Walsegg was an amateur musician and composer, and so this ruse could have been believable. Mozart was in declining health at this point, though, and he died before even completing the Requiem. Franz Xaver Süssmayr later finished orchestrating it from what Mozart left, producing the version with which audiences are familiar today. One highlight of the work is the prominent use of trombones. For centuries, the trombone was considered the instrument of death, associated with fear and mortality, and Mozart makes hauntingly appropriate use of them in this requiem setting.
Horn soloist Dr. Andrew Pelletier won the first prize in the 1997 and 2001 American Horn Competitions. In 2005, Southwest Chamber Music, of which he is a member, won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording (small ensemble category). He has played with numerous major symphonies, including Toledo and Portland, Maine. His playing can be heard in many major motion pictures, including Lethal Weapon 4 and The X-Men. Dr. Pelletier serves as Assistant Professor of Horn at Bowling Green State University. Pelletier has played with the A2SO since the fall of 2006. He sits in the Sherman and Sylvia Funk Principal Horn Chair.
Jennifer Larson has been described by USA Today as possessing a "golden voice." As a soprano and popular soloist, Jennifer has sung with many symphonies and choirs including the Utah Symphony, the Madeline Choir, the Milwaukee Symphony, and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Jennifer has been singing professionally in New York since 2000 and she has also acquired a regular back-up band. The A2SO welcomes Larson back to sing again after her outstanding performance in the Magic Flute last season.
Ann Arbor native Sarah Nisbett performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in last year’s sellout performance of The Magic Flute. She was a first-prize winner of the 2007 National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and has played many significant roles in the opera repertoire, including the title role of Handel’s Oreste and Marcellina in Mozart’s the Marriage of Figaro.
John Charles Pierce completed his Bachelor and Master of Music at the University of Illinois and pursued his Doctorate at the University of Indiana. As a Heldentenor, John has won the Wagner Prize and has appeared in European and American operas and concerts alike. He is sought after due to his very rich voice. Pierce is a honorary member of the International Hans von Buelow Society based out of Europe.
Stephen West is Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan. He was also a performer for last year’s “Birthday Bash,” starring as Pagapeno in the Magic Flute. West has appeared with many internationally renowned companies, including the Opera National de Paris, Deutsche Staatsoper, Teatro Carlo Felice, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. His repertoire covers all areas of the spectrum, from roles in Mozart’s operas to Wagnerian epics, and even the Wizard in the musical Wicked, which he played in Denver.
Maestro Arie Lipsky leads the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra for his tenth season. His esteem in the music world is not limited to his baton. Maestro Lipsky is also a well-trained flautist and cellist. In addition to music, he holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and served in the Israeli Army. Esteemed conductor Yoel Levi says of him, “As a musician Arie is first class; his technique is excellent, his memory outstanding.” Ann Arbor has seen tremendous musical growth under his baton. He is a member of the New Arts Trio, which has released CD recordings to critical acclaim.
A pre-concert lecture covering the evening’s repertoire will take place from 7:00-7:30pm on the main floor of Hill Auditorium. Lecturers will include Maestro Arie Lipsky, vocal soloists, and A2SO principal horn and soloist Andrew Pelletier.
The Mozart Birthday Bash begins at 8pm on Saturday, January 23rd in Hill Auditorium in downtown Ann Arbor. Tickets range from $6 to $49 and are available by calling 734/994-4801, visiting the A²SO office at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, M-F 9 am to 5 pm and the day of the concert from 9 am to 1 pm, and online at www.a2so.com. Ticket sales have been brisk. If there are any remaining tickets, they will be available at the Hill Auditorium box office starting at 6 pm the day of the concert. Discounts on tickets include $2 off for senior citizens. All students are eligible to receive a 50% discount on any ticket over $10. Music and Humanities students from Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline High Schools are invited to attend Mozart’s Birthday Bash at no cost. Call 734/994-4801 to reserve tickets or show school ID at the door the day of the concert starting at 6 pm.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is a premier regional orchestra that offers live, symphonic music for all ages. The A²SO touches the lives of almost 80,000 people annually from tiny tots to seasoned citizens in venues ranging from the Michigan Theater to Hill Auditorium, to schools in the five-county area, Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Ypsilanti District Libraries and senior centers. For concert or education programming information, contact the A2SO at 220 E. Huron, Suite 470, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or phone 734/994-4801, or a2so@a2so.com.
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