ASU Sinfonietta A Night in Spain Jacob Harrison and Brandon Stephen Matthews, conductors James Smart, guest conductor Xi Wang, violin Brianna Kramer, mezzo-soprano Allison Stanford, soprano Jeffrey Jones, baritone School of Music Herberger College of the Arts Arizona State University Wednesday, March 7, 2007 7:30 p.m. ASU Gammage MUSIC -it-terbergerCollege of Fine Arts ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Program Biographies Emmanuel Chabrier Espana James Smart, conductor Selections from Carmen "Pres des remparts de Seville" Brianna Kramer, mezzo-soprano Georges Bizet "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante" Allison Stanford, soprano "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" Jeffrey Jones, baritone Brandon Stephen Matthews, conductor Capriccio Brillante on the "Jota aragonesa" Mikhail Glinka Intermission Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, op. 28 Camille Saint-Saens Xi Wang, violin 2007 ASU Sinfonietta Soloist Competition Winner Jacob Harrison, conductor Capriccio Espagnol, op. 34 1. Alborada 2. Variazioni 3. Alborada 4. Scena e canto gitano 5. Fandango asturiano Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Out of respect for the performers and those audience members around you, please turn all pagers, cell phones, and watches to silent mode. Thank you. Jacob Harrison is an active conductor and teacher in the Phoenix area. He was recently appointed music director and conductor of the North Valley Chamber Orchestra in Paradise Valley and has begun his first season of working with this outstanding ensemble. Mr. Harrison has also worked regularly with other orchestras in the valley such as the Phoenix Symphony Guild Youth Orchestra, the Scottsdale Community College Chamber Orchestra, and the Summer Sight Reading Orchestra. A passionate supporter of composers and the arts of our time, Mr. Harrison has conducted numerous works by young composers. In addition, he will be a part of the Phoenix Experimental Arts Festival, X-Fest, in 2008 and is a guest conductor for the Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble. Jacob Harrison currently studies orchestral conducting with Dr. Timothy Russell and opera conducting with Dr. William Reber while pursuing a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at Arizona State University. He is a conductor of Sinfonietta and assistant conductor for the ASU orchestra program. While attending ASU, he has received numerous awards including being named as a Regent's Scholar, an Artsbridge Scholar and a Special Talent Scholar. Before moving to Arizona, Mr. Harrison lived in Chicago where he worked with groups such as the Peoria Youth Orchestra, the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra, the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and the Mason Youth Orchestra in Michigan. He has also worked with the Poston Junior High Orchestra Program in Mesa and the Highland High School Orchestra Program in Gilbert. Brandon Stephen Matthews is pursuing a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting at Arizona State University, studying with Dr. Timothy Russell. He is currently a conductor of the ASU Sinfonietta, and an assistant conductor for the ASU Orchestra program. Matthews received a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting at Brigham Young University under the direction of Kory Katseanes. During his time at BYU, Matthews conducted the University Orchestra and BYU Strings and was assistant conductor of both the BYU Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras. He also led the world premiere of Dr. Murray Boren's The Joseph Sonnets, directing an ensemble of BYU faculty members at the famous Assembly Hall on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Among Matthews's other conducting mentors is Harold Farberman with whom he studied at the Conductor's Institute at Bard College in New York. Matthews made his opera debut at BYU, conducting Gian Carlo Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief as well as P. D. Q. Bach's The Stoned Guest. He also served as music director for Center Street Musical Theatre Company in Provo, Utah for the 2004-2005 season, conducting six productions including The Mikado, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Annie Get Your Gun. Matthews continues his opera conducting studies with Dr. William Reber at ASU. Born in Spokane, Washington, Matthews started his musical training as a pianist and later began playing viola. His musical studies continued during summers spent at the Brevard Music Center (North Carolina) and the Man-owstone Festival (Washington). He received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at BYU. Matthews now resides in Mesa with his wife, Meghan. Conductor James Smart has a broad repertoire in wind, orchestral, and opera works and is particularly interested in promoting new music. He holds a Bachelor of Music from The University of Michigan and a Master of Music from Arizona State University where he is also currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting. Mr. Smart's conducting teachers include Gary Hill, William Reber, H. Robert Reynolds, Timothy Russell, Kevin Sedatole, and James Tapia. He has continued his conducting studies in workshops with William Larue Jones, Kenneth Kiesler, Craig Kirchhoff, and Allan McMurray. Before coming to ASU to pursue his doctorate, he was Director of Bands and Brass Studies at Southern Utah University and Assistant Conductor of the Orchestra of Southern Utah. While at SUU, Mr. Smart conducted the Symphony Band, brass ensemble, and athletic bands, and taught classes in advanced conducting, applied brass, and music education methods. His work at SUU created increased participation, quality, and notoriety for the institution. In April of 2006, Mr. Smart conducted the SUU Wind Symphony in the world premier of Raag Mala: the music of India through Western ears by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Michael Colgrass. Mr. Smart organized the fully funded commission and residency by the composer. Mr. Smart taught public school in Lapeer, MI. He has guest conducted and/or adjudicated ensembles in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Michigan, and Utah. He has also been a participant in the Conductors Retreat at Medomak, the International Workshop for Orchestral Conducting (Graz, Austria), and the Band Conductors Art Symposium (Ann Arbor, MI). Brianna Kramer is a Doctoral student in Vocal Performance. She received her Masters in Music in Opera from ASU and her Bachelors in Music from Washington State University. Brianna has been in many productions with ASU's Lyric Opera Theater, she was last seen in ASU's production of "The Scarecrow". She is currently a student of Judy May. Allison Stanford is currently pursuing a Master's of Music degree in Opera Performance at Arizona State University. Last fall, she made her Lyric Opera Theatre debut as Polly in Joseph Turrin's The Scarecrow. In January 2007, Ms. Stanford sang as one of five finalists in the National Opera Association Vocal Competition in New York City. At the University of Mississippi, where Allison earned a Bachelor's of Music degree in Vocal Performance, she performed a number of leading roles, including: Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Marianne in Tartuffe, and Papagena in The Magic Flute. In June 2006, Ms. Stanford attended the International Academy of Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, being one of 250 students worldwide selected to attend. Also in the summer of 2006, Allison performed songs by Arkansas composers at the Songs Across the Americas Festival held in Conway, Arkansas. During her undergraduate years, Ms. Stanford attended the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program in Greve in Chianti, Italy; earned the Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; won her division at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional Competition; and performed the National Anthem for Prince Edward of England. In addition, she performed regularly as a soloist with the university's two jazz bands; and spent a summer performing the roles of Lucy in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! , and Rhetta in Pump Boys and Dinettes at Carey Dinner Theater in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the spring of 2005, Ms. Stanford was awarded the University of Mississippi's highest academic honor, the Taylor Medal. As a graduate of the Sally McDonnellBarksdale Honors College, she is the author of a thesis entitled, "Performing Aaron Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson: An Interpretive Study." In Mississippi, Allison studied voice with Mrs. Cynthia Linton. Now, she is a student of Dr. Robert Barefield. Jeffrey Jones is a doctoral candidate studying vocal performance at Arizona State University. ASU Lyric Opera Theater credits: Marquis de Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Belcore in Elixir of Love, Papageno in Magic Flute, Bartley in Riders to the Sea, Ariodate in Xerxes, Death in Kaiser of Atlantis and Mr. Gobineau in The Medium. Concert solo credits: Haydn Nelsonmesse, Haydn Paukenmesse, Mozart Coronation Mass, Handel Dettingen Te Deum, Bach Cantatas BWV 21 and 27, Mendelssohn Saint Paul, Gounod Messe Solennelle and Schubert's Mass in G. His work at ASU includes the Southwest premiere of Gunther Schuller's Encounters, baritone solos in the Bach B Minor Mass, Faur6 Requiem and the Bruckner Te Deum, as well as narration of Gandolfi's Pinocchio and Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with the ASU Chamber Winds Ensemble. Jeffrey has also performed comprimario roles with Arizona Opera in productions of Les Dialogues des Carmelites, The Consul and Salome. Xi Wang began her violin study when she was four. At the age of six, she began to study piano as well. During 1998 and 2004, she was the concertmaster of Sun Youths' Symphony Orchestra and Beijing Youth's Chamber Orchestra. Since 2000, she won Third Prize in Beijing Youth Violin Competition, Third Prize in National Youth Violin Competition in China in 2001, and Second Prize in Beijing Youth Violin Competition in 2004. She has given a range of performances as a soloist in Beijing Concert Hall, Beijing Zhongshan Park Concert Hall, Beijing Golden Wings Concert Hall and many others since 1999. In 2004, she toured in the U.S (Los Angeles, Washington D.C. New York City, etc.) as a soloist with the Sun Youths' Symphony Orchestra and was warmly welcomed. She is now currently studying violin as a major of performance at Arizona State University with Danwen Jiang, and is a member of Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra and Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra. Xi Wang recently won the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition in 2006, and will be giving a performance as a soloist with Tucson Symphony Orchestra on March 29th. Sinfonietta ASU Orchestra Program Jacob Harrison and Brandon Stephen Matthews, conductors The Arizona State University Orchestra Program in the Katherine K. Herberger Violin I Melissa Lou** Joseph Murray** Brian Hoblit Matthew Wright Aram Akhavan Warner Weber Cathie King Elizabeth Hutchins Rishel Schmidt College of the Arts School of Music is dedicated to providing the finest musical and educational opportunities for those qualified individuals interested in studying and performing a wide variety of orchestral music. The faculty and administration are committed to the training and development of professional orchestral performers (instrumentalists and conductors), orchestral music educators, music therapists, musicologists, theorists, composers, arts administrators and future arts supporters. The students share in this commitment, aspiring to the highest possible standards of musical excellence. Currently the program includes three ensembles: the University Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonietta. The ASU Sinfonietta is a midsize symphony orchestra of students (music majors and non-majors) that presently performs four to six concerts annually under the direction of selected graduate students. Repertoire is chosen from the standard works for symphony orchestra. In addition to the programmed repertoire that is performed, the ensemble undertakes "readings" of other music. Please visit our Web sites at httn://mnsie.aso.edu for further information on .1 I . the School of Music, and a• 11 a 11.a a a .. a el for its Orchestra Program. Upcoming Events ASU Chamber Orchestra & Sinfonietta Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:30 p.m. ASU Gammage Jana Minov, guest conductor for Chamber Orchestra Jacob Harrison and Brandon S. Matthews, conductors Mark Kleine, clarinet – Concert of Soloists Winner University Symphony Orchestra & ASU Choirs From Sorrow to Happiness Thursday, April 26, 2007 7:30 p.m. ASU Gammage David Schildkret, conductor Carole FitzPatrick, soprano Robert Barefield, baritone Violin II Melina Letham* Charlene Bashore Daley Melton Amanda Meyers Stephanie Eason Sara Guzman Ashley Gooder Megan Weidenbach Flute Joshua K. Stockam^ Bronwyn Hinrichs^ Harp Virginia Blake* Noriko Ujiie Oboe # Josephine Gonzales Mary Simon Eileen Ermel Timpani/Percussion John Wittman* Austen Mack Dan Pratt Laura Wiedenfeld English Horn Eileen Ermel Clarinet Julia Anne Georges^ Rachel Piske^ Bassoon # Deborah Elam Chelsea Upham Michael Burns Viola Caitlin Fox* Charity Shepherd Tiyanna White Emmalyn Corman Elizabeth Lake Julietta Perez Whitney Glenn Jessica Aguilar Katie Gorin Maia Clark Horn Kaci Watkins* Kirsten Cowan Lisa Luttenegger Justine Ascanio Cello Kathleen Snyder* Susan Jacob Kathrine Robinson Eunyae Anderson Cecilia Quimbaya Trombone Derik Dalby* Lisa Lizanec Bass Robert Flanz* Chris Wagner Dawn Weaver Cory Ryan Tuba Bo Atlas Trumpet Kyle Anderson* Steven Limpert Bill Anonie Ken Johnston Bass Trombone Charles Hopkins ** Co-Concertmaster * Principal A Co-principals # For this concert, this section is using a rotating seating plan. Orchestra Assistants Jacob Harrison Brandon S. Matthews Jana Minov Orchestra Librarians Jacob Harrison Jan Matthews Orchestra Manager Kyle Anderson Orchestra Office Specialist Linda Bennett Special thanks to Steven Crichlow Jonathan Swartz Thomas Landschoot Margaret Schmidt Events Information Call 480-965-TUNE (480-965-8863) 02006 ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts 0706