THURSDAY, NOV. 17, 2022 • 8 P.M.
The Ohio State University School of Music
Weigel Auditorium
CONDUCTOR
Miriam Burns
GRADUATE STUDENT CONDUCTORS
Colin Knoth
Jae Park
PROGRAM
Prometheus Overture
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Colin Knoth, guest conductor
From the Land of Tomorrow
World Premiere
Catherine Likhuta (b. 1981)
Miriam Burns, conductor
"The Promise of Living" from The Tender Land
Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
Text by Horace Everett
Jae Park, guest conductor
Soloists
Laura Portune
Katherine Rohrer
C. Andrew Blosser
Darren Templeton (MM student)
The promise of living with hope and thanksgiving
Is born of our loving our friends and our labor.
The promise of growing with faith and with knowing
Is born of our sharing our love with our neighbor.
The promise of loving, the promise of growing
Is born of our singing in joy and thanksgiving.
For many a year we’ve known these fields
And know all the work that makes them yield.
We’re ready to work, we’re ready to lend a hand.
By working together we’ll bring in the blessings of harvest.
We plant each row with seeds of grain,
And Providence sends us the sun and the rain.
By lending a hand, by lending an arm
Bring out the blessings of harvest.
Give thanks there was sunshine, give thanks there was rain,
Give thanks we have hands to deliver the grain.
O let us be joyful, O let us be grateful to the Lord for his blessing.
The promise of living, the promise of growing
The promise of ending is labor and sharing and loving.
— INTERMISSION —
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
I. Andante sostenuto — Moderato con anima
II. Andantino in modo di canzona
III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato — Allegro
IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Miriam Burns, conductor
Conductor's Note
Last winter, when an opportunity came about to commission a composer for a residency with the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra, Russia’s war against Ukraine had just begun. My thoughts immediately went to featuring someone from Ukraine, and Catherine Likhuta’s name immediately came up. She was born, raised and educated in Kyiv, now living in Brisbane, Australia; it has been a joy to discover her work and get to know her via email and Zoom. I look forward to performing her brand new work and introducing her to the School of Music faculty, students and community.
Copland’s moving “The Promise of Living” from the finale of Act I of his opera The Tender Land immediately follows the premiere, featuring soloists Katherine Rohrer, Laura Portune, C. Andrew Blosser and Darren Templeton. The essence of the lyrics, the beginning of which are noted below, describe the hope of peace and love.
The promise of living with hope and thanksgiving
Is born of our loving our friends and our labor.
The promise of growing with faith and with knowing
Is born of our sharing our love with our neighbor.
The dramatic 4th Symphony of Tchaikovsky crowns the program. Tchaikovsky’s historic villa was in Trostyanets; the northeastern part of Ukraine, and was destroyed early on in the current war. My aim in pairing this powerful work — with its Fate motif — was to demonstrate the ability to rise above the circumstances; that music has the power to unite everyone, even transcending conflict in dark times.
A lecture/recital will be held on Monday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. in the Timashev Recital Hall, featuring some of Catherine’s chamber works performed by students and faculty. All are welcome.
Composer's Note
"From the Land of Tomorrow" is an overture-fantasia for symphony orchestra, commissioned by Miriam Burns and the School of Music at The Ohio State University. This piece is full of optimism and youthful energy. Amidst the exhaustion from the world pandemic and the very turbulent and dramatic events of 2022, I felt that the world (and I!) needed some positivity and optimism. The piece connects elements of classical music, jazz and Ukrainian folk tunes and rhythms. "Tomorrow" has three symbolic meanings here:
- The orchestra students are the world-leading musicians of tomorrow;
- As a Ukrainian, I admire my people's hopeful resilience;
- Most of the time when I chat to my US collaborators, it's evening in the US and middle of the next day in Australia. So I jokingly refer to Australia as the land of tomorrow.
Catherine Likhuta (b. 1981) is a Ukrainian-Australian composer, pianist and recording artist. Her music exhibits high emotional charge, programmatic nature, rhythmic complexity and Ukrainian folk elements. Likhuta’s pieces have been played extensively around the world, including highly prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage), Glyndebourne Opera House (Organ Room), five International Horn Symposiums and two World Saxophone Congresses, as well as many festivals and conferences. Her works have been commissioned and performed by prominent symphony orchestras (such as Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, The Ohio State University Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the National Radio of Ukraine), chamber ensembles (such as Atlantic Brass Quintet, Ensemble Q, ICE, Lyrebird Brass, NU CORNO and U.S. Army Field Band Horns) and soloists (including former presidents of the North American Saxophone Alliance Griffin Campbell and the International Horn Society Andrew Pelletier).
Catherine has held residencies at Tyalgum Music Festival, North Carolina NewMusic Initiative, University of Missouri Kansas City, University of Georgia and other institutions; upcoming residencies include The Ohio State University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Cornell University and Syracuse University. She is a two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest (virtuoso division) and a recipient of several awards, including two grants from the Australia Council for the Arts. Her music can be heard on Albany, Cala, Common Tone, Equilibrium and Summit Records. Horn virtuosa Denise Tryon’s album Hope Springs Eternal featuring Catherine’s piece Vivid Dreams was awarded the 2022 American Prize in Instrumental Performance.
Catherine’s wind band works have enjoyed performances by Dallas Winds, University of Texas Wind Symphony, Columbia University Wind Ensemble, SUNY Potsdam Crane Wind Ensemble, Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony, University of Georgia Hodgson Wind Ensemble, University of Kentucky Wind Symphony and dozens of other groups. Her music has been played at Australian School Band and Orchestra Festival (Sydney), 2020 and 2022 CBDNA Conferences and Midwest Clinic (Chicago, IL).
Catherine holds a bachelor's degree in jazz piano from Kyiv Glière Music College, a five-year post-graduate degree in composition from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory), and a PhD in composition from the University of Queensland. She is an active performer, often playing her own music. She was the soloist on the premiere and the CD recording of Out Loud, her piano concerto commissioned by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble, and the pianist on Adam Unsworth’s CD, Snapshots. Together with her collaborators, she has played numerous recitals, including ones at a World Saxophone Congress, two International Horn Symposiums, Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University and University of Michigan.
In partnership with The Ohio State University Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies
ROSTER
Violin I
Malik Khalfani,
concertmaster
Vani Shukla
Perri Kiser
Nathan Jeoung
Sam Golik
Jack White
Danielle Miller
Vincent Brausch
Nora Dukhart
Violin II
Clara Rudy, principal
Mike Miller
Zoe Wolfe
Andrew Zheng
Anastasia Anikina
Myra Stewart
Declan Alford
Grace Dakwar
Nicholas Bagby
Adam Whitman
Viola
Jaryn Danz, principal
Zee Perry
Isaiah Davidson
Mitchell Likovetz
Brandon Waite
Sasha Spencer
Cello
Isaiah Wu, principal
Rosa Balderrama-Flores
Lucy Reed
Aidan Sullivan
Sungmin Park
Lydia Smith
Eden Davis
Hyeongu Hwang
Aidan Dever
James McDermott
Nathaniel Tyler
Anne Bartos
Vincente Quach
Bass
Jimmy Perera, principal
Carson Wolf
Dirui Jiang
Samantha Marcrum
Dallas Carpenter
Piccolo
Meagan Gaskill
Katie Sharp
Flute
Meagan Gaskill
Lexi Biondo
Katie Sharp
Oboe
Lauren Kowal
Jerrin Wofford
Claire Rottman, English horn
Clarinet
Louis Maligaya
Rohit Kolluri
Marco Rojas, bass clarinet
Bassoon
Dylan Tharp
Layla Elhamri
Horn
Brittany White
Brian Walsh
Ben Moloci
Emily Lay
Trumpet
Ben Guegold
Matt Pileski
Gavin Newton
Trombone
Alex Myers
William Ao
Zach Irwin, bass
Tuba
Bradley Krak
Timpani
Hannah Moore
Percussion
Philip Betts
Rohan Rindani
Sam Sherer
Tres Perkins
Erin Rybinski
Harp
Jillian Davis
Josie Davis
Piano and Celesta
Emily Foster
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