A View from the Stage: Marcia Henry Liebenow

Liebenow and Harmon with composer Shirish Korde

We are excited about our concert this Saturday, November 14, 2015 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Of course, we are always excited about our concerts, but this time, we are having a Concerto for Violin and Tabla. When is the last time you heard that? Exactly. The piece is Svara-Yantra by Shirish Korde with guest artists Marcia Henry Liebenow and Zach Harmon.

As an extra bit of luck, both our guest artists got to meet with the composer last week and work on the piece. Marcia was kind enough to share her experiece with us!

Marcia Henry Liebenow

From Marcia:

This past weekend Zach Harmon and I met with composer Shirish Korde in Massachusetts to rehearse his Svara-Yantra Concerto for Violin, Tabla and Symphony Orchestra. We’ll be performing this fantastic piece with the Fox Valley Symphony.

I’m very excited to perform Svara-Yantra. It’s an intense and absolutely amazing work, and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with Brian Groner.

I’m also thrilled to work with tabla player Zach Harmon, who is a Wisconsin native. Zach studied in the Masters program at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and studied tabla with Abhiman Kaushal. He performs, records, and teaches around the world.

Zach Harmon, tabla

Zach and I are both faculty artists at the Red Lodge Music Festival in Montana each summer, and I have known his father, composer and jazz pianist John Harmon, for many years. I have premiered a number of John’s works at that festival.

Earlier this fall I made arrangements for Zach and I to rehearse the concerto with Shirish at his studio in Worcester, MA. Finding a few days that all of us were available was a challenge, but we were able to carve out a meeting time. Boston is my old stomping grounds. It’s where I earned a graduate degree from the New England Conservatory.

On November 1 I flew to Boston and stayed with my brother and his family in nearby Westborough. Zach drove down from his home in Shelburne, VT. My brother and his family are avid musicians, although they pursue other fields for their livelihood. They loved hearing us work through the complex piece at their house!

Shirish is an incredible composer, a wonderful musician, and a genuinely nice man. He helped clarify musical questions we had and worked with us on our interpretation and preparation of his piece.

Zach and I can’t wait to rehearse and perform this concerto with the FVSO!

Thanks, Marcia! We can't wait to share the stage with you this weekend!

Also on the program:

Khachaturian: Masquarade Suite

Mozart: Symphony No. 35

Get your tickets now! 

Thanks for All You Did in 2014

Now that we've wrapped up our year-end giving campaign, we just wanted to say THANK YOU!

From the bottom of our basses to the top of our piccolos, we thank you!  You attended concerts, sent donations, sponsored musician chairs, funded outreach activities, and supported youth orchestra programs –we are grateful for your investment in our mission through your generosity.

The Fox Valley Symphony will honor your support by staying true to our mission to nurture the human spirit through symphonic music and educational opportunities that enhance the cultural development of our community.  We will continue to be an integral part of the beautiful tapestry of arts groups that make the Fox Cities a wonderful place to live. 

Thank you for playing with us!

REVIEW: Fox Valley Symphony Starts 48th Season Strong

By: James Chaudoir - Post Crescent

The Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 48th concert season with a fascinating program of challenging music. This concert also marked the beginning of Maestro Brian Groner’s 20th year as conductor.

Opening the program was a spirited performance of Johann Strauss, Jr.’s delightful “Overture to Die Fledermaus.” The overture is filled with an assortment of tunes that audiences have come to associate with the composer.

Attention was quickly turned to the feature work of the first half, “Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major” by Sergei Prokofiev, featuring guest artist Claire Huangci. The youthful Huangci wowed the audience with her seemingly effortless mastery of Prokofiev’s massive and demanding opus.

The first movement opens with a simply stated yet tuneful solo by the clarinet, played eloquently by principal clarinetist David Bell. This tune quickly gives way to the strings, but the melodic serenity is suddenly ended with the arrival of the allegro section in the strings and the first entry of the solo piano. It was at this point the Ms. Huangci clearly let her presence be known.

Be it brilliant scalar passages or bursts of rhythmic energy, Huangci’s clarity of line was always at the forefront. In addition, she has the ability to skillfully execute the intricate weavings of the piano line within Prokofiev’s constantly shifting density of orchestral structure.

Two things stood out: her precise touch at the keyboard and expert blending of dynamics, a wonderful fusion of technique and artistry.

The second movement is a set of variations, which opens with the orchestra playing the main theme, a curiously witty melody first heard in the winds. The variations feature the solo piano. It is here where Prokofiev deviates from the gavotte feeling of the theme.

Huangci undoubtedly had a clear understanding of the personality of each variation and showed it in her playing, be it the gossamer trill and glissando that opens the first variation, the rapid scalar runs up and down the keyboard in the second, the wildly syncopated and angular gestures of the third, the beautiful free dialogue between piano and orchestra in the fourth or the frenetic pacing of the final. All these personalities were distinctly executed at the keyboard, making the movement all the more exciting.

The quiet ending of the second movement merges attaca to the finale, Allegro, ma non troppo. Groner’s opening tempo was quite deliberate, adhering closely to the “but not too much” advice of the tempo marking.

Unquestionably, this is the true virtuoso movement of the concerto, with multiple climaxes and a brilliant ending. It was also here where Ms. Huangci demonstrated her technical skills to the fullest.

The coda is a musical confrontation between the orchestra and soloist, with both vying for compositional importance. Huangci’s energy and concentration allowed her to handle the complex ornamentation, arpeggios, glissandos and other flourishes while cutting through the massive orchestra. Four lively chords scored for piano and orchestra together bring the concerto to a dramatic close.

Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major (Eroica)” comprised the second half of the evening’s program. As we’ve become accustomed to appreciate over the years, Groner’s vision and execution of this masterwork was complete, thought-provoking, and most of all, musical.

The opening of this symphony never ceases to put a smile on my face, two marked E-flat major chords, and a gloriously simple arpeggiation of the tonic triad … so simple, so lyrical, so Beethoven.

Groner’s tempo choice unquestionably played into the heartfelt interpretation of the opening movement. Within the orchestra, the balance of the strings was particularly notable.

The haunting, well-known funeral march theme of the second movement, Adagio assai, is first heard played by the cellos and then given to the solo oboe, played beautifully by principal oboist Jennifer Hodges-Bryan. Also present in this movement was the use of fugue-like passages in the middle section. Groner’s ideal choices of tempos and dynamics made the performance of this movement contributed to its success.

The third movement is an animated scherzo, filled with rhythmic energy, and a glorious passage of hunting calls heard in the horn section. The orchestra, and especially the horns, played expressively, paying careful attention to each of Groner’s gestures from the podium.

The finale, Allegro molto, offered another set of variations for the evening. The movement itself is quite grandiose, and shows the direction Beethoven is moving regarding importance of the symphonic finale.

Again, Groner was at his best with his conducting, just the right tempo, energy, and clear identity to each of the thematic variations. All of these elements led to the orchestra’s rendering a meaningfully expressive performance of Beethoven’s masterwork.

Local arts groups collaborate to bring masterwork to the PAC

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana has become a classic for musicians and audiences because of its percussive music, hypnotic melodies, lilting passages and all-out, robust orchestration. On Saturday, May 3, more than 200 regional musicians will collaborate to present this classical masterwork in live performance at the Fox Cities PAC.

The rowdy subject matter is set to some of the most beautiful melodies in classical musical literature. The Carmina were songs of medieval traveling students and ex-monks who left universities and monasteries to pursue a roaring life of gambling, drinking and making love. The texts of the songs were discovered in a Bavarian monastery near Munich in the early 20th-century and are a mixture of 13th-century Latin and “low” German. The songs in the Carmina cover a range of topics, as familiar then as they are today: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust.

The performance culminates the Fox Valley Symphony’s 47th season and is a favorite of Music Director Brian Groner. “There is something wonderfully primal about the text and the music of Carmina Burana,” Groner said. “When it speaks of power it is bold and over the top aggressive; when it talks of love it is either bawdy or exquisitely tender.”

According to newVoices Artistic Director, Phillip Swan, the masterwork is a welcome collaboration with the symphony. “Choral/orchestral collaborations provide a cross-pollination of musical interests,” Swan said. “Consequently, it’s good for the community to have arts organizations working together to put on quality productions.”

For singers & instrumentalists alike, Carmina Burana is a musical challenge because of the range of emotions needed to interpret the composer’s music. One movement requires repetitive, full-voiced singing and playing while the next movement requires a gentle, lyrical approach.

“It takes an unusual amount of concentration to maintain the rhythmic intensity Orff demands in the score, and because it is repetitive it can be physically challenging,” Groner said. “It’s a big sing,” Swan said. “The melodies are present an extreme of emotional singing requiring consistent vocal technique as well as artistic interpretation.”

Singers in the Lawrence Academy of Music Capriccio Girl Choir in grades 5-7 are excited for the opportunity to sing with a full orchestra, professional soloists (one of whom is a girl choir alumna), and an adult choir. “The girls are learning to listen to how their part fits into the other vocal and symphonic parts,” said Director of the Lawrence Academy of Music, Karen Bruno. “Singing with an orchestra allows them the opportunity to hear different timbres with their ‘accompaniment.’ The girls are used to hearing only the piano, with occasionally one other string or wind instrument, while they sing.” 

A FAMILY AFFAIR

For the Hodges family, the performance will be a reunion. Father Mike Hodges is a founding member of newVoices where he sings with his son, Jeremy. Daughter Jennifer Hodges Bryan is an oboist with the symphony and brother Jonathan is a cellist. The family shares a long history of music and fostering musical development.

“We gave our kids outlets for enjoying music,” Mike Hodges said. “They all started in violin and in time gravitated toward their own choice of instrument,” he said. His wife, Donna, drove the kids to lessons at the Lawrence Academy of Music and checked their practice progress.

Jeremy Hodges says the opportunity to perform together is a normal part of a musical family.

“But in the end it does have a special personal meaning: the people I care most about are with me and sharing the fun,” he said.

His father agrees. “I get such enjoyment from performing and to be able to have them on stage with me doubles the enjoyment. There is a sense of pride in watching their accomplishments,” Mike Hodges said.

Jonathan Hodges says the different roles family members play allows for unique perspectives. “I am more toward the front of the stage, Jennifer is in the middle, my father and Jeremy are toward the back and my mother is out in the audience. Every spot does sound quite different and can expose different aspects of the performance,” he said.

Family members are continuing the tradition as Jennifer Hodges Bryan has her three daughters enrolled in music lessons. “Having them learn an instrument and involved in music is something that I really wanted for them because I think there are several benefits to a child's development when they are involved in music,” she said.

HEAR IT LIVE

Both conductors urge area residents to experience the work live, rather than listening to recordings. “You can’t reproduce the sound of 200 musicians live by putting it in a little speaker and expect it to sound the same. Hearing this music live is worth unplugging,” Swan said.

“Some of the greatest pieces of western civilization's art music combine the forces of chorus and orchestra,” Groner said. “There is a power in them that is greater than each standing alone.”

Concert information is:

CARMINA BURANA

MAY 3, 7:30 p.m., Fox Cities Performing Arts Center

Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra

newVoices choir

Lawrence Academy of Music Capriccio Girl Choir

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is an enduring audience favorite, and one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written for orchestra, chorus and soloists.

Soprano soloist Alisa Jordheim ; tenor soloist Steven Paul Spears ; baritone soloist Chad Sloan

For ticket information, please visit www.foxvalleysymphony.com

- Written by Mary Schmidt of newVoices

Student Artwork to Shine for Compassion Project

As part of our upcoming Cory Chisel concert, we are proud to be working with the Fox Cities P.A.C. and local high school students to bring another Compassion Project event to our community. "The Art of Compassion" is a silent auction of student art, inspired by the works of local non-profit organizations with all proceeds to be give to those organizations. Students chose to work with NAMI, ARC of the Fox Valley, Harbor House and the Fox Cities Emergency Shelter.

Art Student Sarah Ellisen at work on her project. 

The students have been working hard on their projects, and there are over 120 pieces to bid on in the auction. We are so fortunate to have such a large group of dedicated students and teachers working on behalf of these organizations. 

Chip Noffke, Visual Arts teacher at Appleton East, was kind enough to share his experience with us.

"As an AASD Fine Arts Teacher, I was excited and honored be part of this great opportunity.  Visually listening to our youth is something I do on a daily basis, yet I am still amazed when I see the range of results and compassion that so easily pours from our students.  It is my hope that as you enjoy the answers to this rich question, your hearts and eyes will also be opened to see the possibilities and fullness of our all futures through our young artists’ eyes and these four noteworthy organizations.

"In continuation with our last community wide event, Fox Valley youth artists share how “The Fine Arts” continue to be one of the strongest and most diverse communication tools.  Students have once again easily opened our emotional doors and bridged the connections between community, education and humanity through their art which focus on local organizations and the compassion they provide for the Fox Valley.

"NAMI, ARC of the Fox Valley, Harbor House and the Fox Cities Emergency Shelter are four groups that have various roles in our K-12 systems, though often over looked how. Our students had the opportunity to explore the ways in which each organization played a role in helping all ages, genders, and families succeed in coping and overcoming life’s left turns.  One common point that had a significant connection with students is that we all knew of somebody that has worked with one of these organizations on some level.  This offered great inspiration for the artists.

"The artists involved were asked to share their interpretation of what compassion looks like for one of the organizations or how their art could offer compassion for somebody working with one of the four organizations.  Artists then used their gifts and talents to visually express their feelings, thoughts, and ideas about each group to bring awareness and support to these service organizations right here in the Fox Valley with amazing results.  Each original art work reflects their unique answers."

Please join us for this special event at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 15 at 7:30pm. You can purchase tickets to the concert on our website.

Doors open at 6:30, so come early to see and bid on the art!

Turning Cory Chisel's Music into a Symphonic Celebration

Of course we are excited about our upcoming concert with Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons on March 15. And one of the things making this concert even more special for us is that one of our own musicians, cellist Heather Anderson, is arranging the music for the symphony and Cory! 

Heather has been performing with the Fox Valley Symphony since our 1995-96 season when she was in college. She's also worked with our Youth Orchestras and our Partners in Education program over the years. For this concert, Heather will be arranging parts for the symphony and scores for conductor Brian Groner to play Cory Chisel's popular songs. It is a complex puzzle, and Heather tells us a bit about her experience: 

Heather Anderson working with our Philharmonia students.

"Composing is a funny process for me.  Or maybe what I experience is pretty typical.  I don’t know.  For all the analyzing I do – keys, time signatures, form, etc. – none of it matters much in the end.  No amount of analyzing and planning can create the synergy of notes working together to create something that elicits an emotional response from the musicians and audience.  That takes a bit of luck, some artistry and a group that can embrace and interpret a song with zeal.  The more I think about a song and analyze it the harder it is for me to actually “put pen to paper” (or in this case mouse to Finale software) and find the motivation to actually begin writing a song.  It can be very scary to stare at a screen with blank staffs and not be sure which part of that giant elephant to begin eating first.  It can cause anxiety and frustration. 

"Blank canvases, journals or music staffs are scary to look at.   Insecurities don’t help.  A lot of us are afraid to fail, but just as big of an inhibitor is being afraid to succeed.  If I dwell on either too much, the muse flees and I can’t write anything.  So, where to start?  As a cellist I almost always start with the bass line.  I’ll listen over and over. I’ll hum it.  Then I’ll transcribe it out for our bass section. Then I listen to the melody and start to transcribe it, putting it anywhere to begin with, usually into the violins just to have it be somewhere at first.   But those are still just planning and analyzing.  Those don’t reflect energy, style, or the soul of a piece.   Often I get stuck at this point because I am still only using my left brain, still analyzing.  

"Maestro Groner said something to the symphony in a rehearsal once, perhaps 5 or 6 years ago, that has really stayed with me.  We were playing a modern 20th century piece that very few of the orchestra members cared for.  He could sense this and he stopped us.   In a calm, quiet voice he said something along these lines.  “Look, if we don’t believe in this piece, how will the audience ever believe in it or enjoy it?  Here’s the rub:  You don’t know what you like; you like what you know.  People gravitate towards the familiar.”   So, we all were charged with listening to that particular piece often at home as a part of the concert preparation process.  This has changed how I approach a lot of music, familiar and new, those that I like and songs I dislike.   So, when arranging one of Cory’s songs I listen to it A LOT.  Enough that I dream about it.  Enough that I know the chord changes and melodic variations from one verse to the next by heart.  I’ll get fixated on a piece for a week and sing it in the car, at work, in the shower.   I may be a Cory Chisel expert by the end of this composing project!  This week my idée fixe is “Born Again.”  Next it’ll be “Mockingbird” since I’m starting that one tomorrow.

"At some point during my listening the magic happens.   Ideas just start to pop into my head, unbidden.  I didn’t plan to put that melody in the trumpets, but that’s what’s in my head and, wow, it sounds pretty darn good there!  Harmonies unfold, interesting little timbres pop out in my imagination where, for example, chimes in the percussion section would really accentuate a spot and create a little bubble of excitement.  Often I’m surprised at what my imagination present to me.  Sometimes I’ll hear whole sections played, finished in my mind and have to write it down very quickly to remember what I “heard.”   But it all starts with a lot of listening to Cory’s CD’s and really coming to know the song.  And it takes relaxing my mind and being open to the muse, if you will.  And when a song is completed I’ll routinely listen and ask myself “how did I do that?”   The answer is:  Relax, listen, and create. 

"I am thrilled Cory will get to hear his music interpreted with an entire symphony orchestra – something usually reserved for huge names like Sting or Metallica.  I am both excited for my peers to play my notes, my work, my interpretations of Cory’s tunes and I am equally terrified.  Cory, Maestro Groner and my peers have high expectations because they are all professional musicians and expect a professional level product from me.  And most have never played anything of mine before.  While I have premiered a piece with a few Illinois orchestras in the last few years, most of my peers never even knew I wrote music until they saw my name in the January concert program!  I know that, even if I have some typos for less familiar instruments to me, the other musicians will celebrate the occasion with me and give me excellent constructive feedback so I can improve. Already I have had numerous offers from my peers to look at parts and help me understand their instruments better; they want me to succeed.  This is greatly comforting and buoys my energy.  I’m so excited to share Cory’s and my music with them and the audience and have the chance to both compose and play something with my own symphony orchestra, my home team.  This is truly a rare opportunity and I feel blessed to have been trusted with this task by Brian Groner."