Saturday, July 1 Musical Metamorphosis

Osvaldo Golijov              Tenebrae

Richard Strauss             Metamorphosen (Arr. by Rudolf Leopold 1996)
Adagio ma non troppo

Intermission

John Adams                     Shaker Loops

SAMF Chamber Orchestra

PROGRAM NOTES

Osvaldo Golijov (1960) Osvaldo Golijov is an Argentine composer known for his diverse musical style that incorporates elements from classical, jazz, and traditional folk music. He has received numerous awards and honors for his compositions, including the MacArthur Fellowship, 2 Grammy Awards, and was named Musical America’s 2006 composer of the year. He has collaborated with renowned musicians and ensembles worldwide and has been commissioned by major orchestras and festivals. His works which span the full range from instrumental solos to orchestral works and opera, have been performed and recorded by leading artists and are celebrated for their distinctive fusion of cultural influences.

Tenebrae, composed in 2002, is a contemplative, evocative piece scored for a delicate ensemble of String Quartet, Clarinet and Soprano voice. The composition draws inspiration from religious and cultural sources, incorporating elements of Latin American folk music, French Baroque music, Jewish liturgical traditions, and Western classical music. Throughout the music pulses and vibrates, contrasting gentle looping figures with lyrical, yearning melodies. With these contrasting ideas Golijov wanted to create music that could be appreciated from multiple perspectives – both intimately and as if from a great distance.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) arr. Rudolf Leopold Metamorphosen (septet version)

Richard Strauss completed work on his masterpiece Metamorphosen in March 1945, just before the close of World War II, and at a philosophical crossroads for German culture. In its original form, the work is scored for 23 solo strings (though it is heard tonight in a version for 7 solo strings) and is considered by many to be a profound elegy for the destruction of German culture and cities during World War II, it is thought that the tragic destruction of a Vienna opera house provided him the impetus and inspiration to finish this work. Strauss drew inspiration from the closing lines of Goethe’s poem “Niemand wird sich selber kennen” (“No one will ever truly know themselves”) and expressed his deep sorrow and mourning through the music, for both the incredible loss of life precipitated by the war as well as the destruction and loss of German culture. The piece unfolds in a single extended span which gradually builds in intensity, conveying a sense of lamentation and despair, yet also carrying moments of profound beauty and catharsis. Strauss skillfully utilizes the string ensemble to create a rich and evocative texture, making use of searing contrapuntal melodies throughout to create the effect of many voices singing out in anguish.

John Adams (b.1947) John Adams is one of the most widely lauded and performed American composers working today. Known for his minimalist and post-minimalist style, Adams has made significant contributions to contemporary classical music. His compositions, including the opera ‘Nixon in China’, ‘Short Ride in a Fast Machine’, and ‘Harmonielehre’, are widely performed and have garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards.

Adams has served as a composer-in-residence for leading orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic and has been recognized for his innovative style, blending elements of minimalism with expressive lyricism, and rich romantic harmonies.

‘Shaker Loops’ began its life in 1978 as a work under the title ‘Wavemaker’, in which Adams tried to imitate the effect of ripples in a body of water with short, repeated string patterns. In the composers’ words this original version “crashed and burned” at its premier and was rapidly withdrawn from his catalogue, but the basic idea for Shaker Loops was born. In 1983 Adams revisited the material, this time repurposing it to evoke the image of Christian Shaker dancing, in which participants whip themselves into an ecstatic frenzy of dance to invoke a physical and spiritual transcendence.

Jorge A. Peña, Viola; SAMF co-Founder and co-Artistic Director

A former member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Mr. Peña came to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in 1996. He was born in Honduras and educated in the U.S., attending Columbus State University and earning a degree in performance and chamber music from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal viola and president of the Curtis Institute Roberto Diaz, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra principal viola Richard Field, and Julliard Quartet

member Earl Carlys. His chamber music experience includes the National Gallery of Art Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Virtuosi, Tanglewood Music Center, Grand Teton Music Festival, University of North Florida, and the Ritz Chamber Players as well as solo and small ensemble recitals in North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia. He is a teacher and clinician for chamber music as well as solo master classes at LaVilla School of the Arts, Douglas A nderson School of the Arts, and the University of North Florida. Mr. Peña coaches violin and viola for the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra and coaches chamber music in the JSYO chamber music program and is on the faculty of Prelude Chamber Music Camp. Mr. Peña is a founder of the Sonora Ensemble, the Movado String Quartet; and founder and Artistic Director of the St. Augustine Music Festival. He is conductor and music director of the Coastal Youth Orchestra, and General Manager of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia in Brunswick, GA.

Jin Kim-Peña, Cello; SAMF co-Founder and co-Artistic Director

Mrs. Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, Korean National Orchestra, In Chun Symphony Orchestra and Korean youth Symphony. Her orchestral experience includes performances with the Columbus and Macon Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, New York Festival Orchestra, Savannah Symphony, and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Jin has been heard in recitals over many states including Maryland, Georgia, Cleveland, and her native country Korea. Mrs. Kim studied

Cello performance at the Columbus State University, and Hart School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. She coaches for the Jacksonville Youth Symphony and teaches a small studio of Cello students. She co- founded the St. Augustine Music Festival with her husband and violist Jorge Peña together they have three beautiful daughters, Ines, Gaby, and Elisa