Boston Conservatory Orchestra: Celebrating Black History Month—Featuring Anita Hill
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Boston Conservatory Orchestra celebrates Black History Month at Symphony Hall with a powerful program featuring historically important Black composers William Grant Still (“Festive Overture”) and Margaret Bonds (The Montgomery Variations), as well as a recent work by Valerie Coleman (“Seven O‘Clock Shout”) that was inspired by frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the heart of the performance, acclaimed scholar, attorney, and author Dr. Anita Hill will recite the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Joseph Schwantner’s “New Morning for the World.” The program will conclude with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Toussaint L’Ouverture,” debuting long-lost parts recreated by conductor Bruce Hangen, specially for this performance.
Berklee students, faculty, and staff can claim two comp tickets in person at the Symphony Hall Box Office by presenting their Berklee ID.
Boston Conservatory is honored to collaborate with the Berklee Africana Studies Division in this special performance, which has been selected as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee's spring 2024 Center Stage collection.
Program Information
Repertoire
MARGARET BONDS: The Montgomery Variations
I. Decision
II. Prayer Meeting
III. March
IV. Dawn in Dixie
V. One Sunday in the South
VI. Lament
VII. Benediction
VALERIE COLEMAN: Seven O’Clock Shout
—INTERMISSION—
JOSEPH SCHWANTNER: New Morning for the World—featuring Dr. Anita Hill, narrator
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Toussaint L’Ouverture
Program Notes
William Grant Still, born in 1895, was a masterful American composer whose diverse catalog of music consists of nearly 200 works. Over Still’s 60-year career, he composed everything from symphonies, operas, and ballets, to choral works and art songs. One of his most notable works is Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American,” whose premiere with the Rochester Philharmonic in New York, conducted by Howard Hanson, marked the first symphony by an African American composer to be performed by a major orchestra. This momentous achievement led to Still receiving significant commissions from various organizations and orchestras. Following this, in 1944, he decided to enter a nationwide competition sponsored by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where his work “Festive Overture” went on to win the Jubilee Prize and a $1,000 war bond for Best Overture.
Of Still’s three style periods (as described by scholar Gayle Murchison)—ultramodern, racial, and universal—“Festive Overture” falls within his universal period. Very different from his ultramodern period, where he experimented with dissonance and chromaticism, and his racial period, where he took inspiration from African American musical material, his universal period is characterized by a more lyrical style that puts emphasis on melody, consonance, and evident form structure. These distinctive aspects of Still’s universal period are vibrantly present throughout his “Festive Overture.”
After a brief introduction, a warm and playful melody is heard sweeping through the strings. This melody comes back multiple times throughout the overture, each time with varying textures in the other voices. A culminating moment of this piece begins with a grand restatement of this singing melody, with the first violins soaring above the orchestra as it is now played an octave higher. The trumpet calls of the introduction and the military presence of drum lend a feeling of martial Americana to the work. A month after Still was announced as the winner of the competition, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of “Festive Overture,” conducted by Eugene Goossens. In the program notes written by Goossens for the premiere, he says, “The prize-winning composition… which was written and scored in the space of a few weeks, has a definite American flavor. It bespeaks the pride of the composer in his native land, the warmth of the American people, and the grandeur of Scenic America.”
—Emily Scicchitano, M.M. '25
MARGARET BONDS: The Montgomery Variations
Margaret Bonds was born in 1913 to Monroe Majors, a distinguished physician and social activist, and Estella Bonds, a well-known pianist and choir director. Raised in a home environment influenced by many African American artists and luminaries, young Margaret also cultivated her composition skills under Florence Price before attaining her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern University. Despite the discrimination she suffered (she was not allowed to use the library or live on campus), she became the first Black piano soloist to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Published in 2020, in its first critical edition by the Hildegard Publishing Company in Worcester, Massachusetts, The Montgomery Variations was composed in the wake of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. A rallying point for the organizing of civil rights activities, the act of terror on the church resulted in the death of four young girls. Barely two weeks after his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to whom the Variations are dedicated, delivered an intense eulogy, calling it “one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”
The composer describes the Variations as a “group of freestyle variations based on the Negro spiritual theme ‘I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.’” Bonds constructs the work like a Bach partita, with a confident presentation of the theme, before exploring variations in both major and minor keys. One can, however, hear gospel and R&B influences on top of her neo-Romantic and descriptive writing style, resulting in a unique musical voice that tells the story of perseverance and solidarity. “Decision” hints at a heavy pentatonic influence, with the theme showcased proudly by the brasses, accompanied by sharp string chords. “Prayer Meeting” begins with “shimmering” strings, akin to a murmuring church congregation, while woodwinds recite short phrases before the orchestra bursts into dance, shouting in “religious fervor.” Inspired by the workers who refused to be segregated on buses, “March” starts subtly, with soft bassoons and bass pizzicato, building into an emotional climax egged on by an ever-sounding timpani beat. After a brief pastoral interlude, “Dawn in Dixie,” the catalytic “One Sunday in the South” starts in a warm major key, with sweeping orchestral textures representing the children at Sunday School learning about Jesus. Percussion instruments explosively interrupt the happy scene, leading into the plaintive “Lament” and forgiving “Benediction.” The Montgomery Variations encapsulate the resilience and strength of a united community, conveying a message that still resonates in the present day.
—Amanda Tan, M.M. '24
VALERIE COLEMAN: Seven O’Clock Shout
“Seven O'Clock Shout” is an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes. The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion, to commemorate the isolation forced upon humankind, and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.
When a composer has the rare opportunity to create for musicians they have gotten to know, the act of composing becomes an embrace tailored to the personality and capabilities of the musicians with elements of both challenge and appreciation. One such moment is dedicated to humanity and grace, as a clarinet solo written for Ricardo Morales, followed by a flute solo with both Jeffrey Khaner and Patrick Williams in mind, providing a transition into a new upbeat segment. Later, to continue tradition from the first commission the composer received from the orchestra, a piccolo solo dedicated to Erica Peel dances with joy.
It was suggested that a short work for a debut by multi-track recording could account for the ensemble performing together as if they were in the same room. One of the devices used to address this is the usage of ostinato, which is a rhythmic motif that repeats itself to generate forward motion and, in this case, groove. The ostinato patterns here are laid down by the bass section, allowing the English horn and strings to float over it, gradually building up to that moment at 7:00 p.m., when cheers, claps, clangings of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world! The trumpets drive an infectious rhythm, layered with a traditional son clave rhythm, while solo trombone boldly rings out an anthem within a traditional African call and response style. The entire orchestra ‘shouts’ back in response, and the entire ensemble rallies into an anthem that embodies the struggles and triumph of humanity. The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet another day.
—Valerie Coleman (notes from the virtual premiere, July 6, 2020)
JOSEPH SCHWANTNER: New Morning for the World
Joseph Schwantner (born in 1943) is a highly decorated and prolific American composer. Educated at the Chicago Conservatory and Northwestern University, he has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music America, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and many, many other groups. “New Morning for the World” was commissioned by AT&T for the Eastman Philharmonic Orchestra and premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 1983.
Incorporating texts from various speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “New Morning for the World” presents a tapestry of rich orchestral textures. On his choice of texts, Schwantner commented that “The words I selected for the narration were garnered from a variety of Dr. King’s writings, addresses, and speeches, and drawn from a period of more than a decade of his life. These words, eloquently expressed by the thrust of his oratory, bear witness to the power and nobility of Dr. King’s ideas, principles, and beliefs.” Schwantner’s powerful orchestrational statements, characterized by the explosion of brass and percussion in the opening measures, mirror the “thrust of oratory” that he attributes to Dr. King, and the inclusion of narrated text adds a unique quality to the piece that elevates the dramatic intensity to almost a biblical level.
The inaugural performance of “New Morning for the World” was narrated by Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Willie Stargell. The list of subsequent narrators includes Coretta Scott King, James Earl Jones, Danny Glover, and Maya Angelou.
This performance of “New Morning for the World” is orchestrated for two piccolos, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, piano, celesta, harp, and strings. Versions have also been arranged for chamber ensemble and wind band. The piece is around 26 minutes long.
—Rory Wilson, M.M. '24
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912): Toussaint L’Ouverture
“Toussaint L’Ouverture” is a relatively unknown work written by the English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in 1901. The work is often overshadowed by his more popular works, particularly The Song of Hiawatha and his Violin Concerto in G Minor. The work fell into obscurity after Coleridge-Taylor’s death in 1912 and was recorded for the first time by the Royal College of Music (of which Coleridge-Taylor was an alumnus) in April 2023, under the baton of Toby Purser, the head of conducting at the Royal College of Music.
As the child of a mixed-race family, Coleridge-Taylor was often judged by his race, to the extent that he was fondly called the “African Mahler” by musicians in New York. Proud of both his English and African heritage, Coleridge-Taylor wrote music reflective of both these cultural traditions. His musical goal was to integrate African music into the Western classical tradition, just as Brahms had done with Hungarian music and as Dvořák had done with Bohemian music. “Toussaint L’Ouverture” is no different in that sense. Coleridge-Taylor was very well respected among the Black community, particularly in America, where he engaged with the African diasporic musical and artistic scene with great pride. Through this engagement, Coleridge-Taylor wrote “Toussaint L’Ouverture.” The work is a sort of homage, showing reverence for an important Haitian revolutionary and leader of the same name. Toussaint rose to power in the last decade of the eighteenth century, when he led a slave rebellion and fought against Spanish forces as well as against Napoleon’s army. His leadership led to the abolishment of slavery in Haiti and to the country’s eventual independence in 1804. Toussaint’s last name is spelled “Louverture,” and has nothing to do with the musical form; however Coleridge-Taylor saw this as an opportunity to use the name to compose the work as a concert overture.
The work fuses elements of both the African musical idiom as well as the European classical style—a very distinctive trait of Coleridge-Taylor’s music. The work also makes use of colorful orchestration reflective of the late Romantic style, with very lyrical and expressive melodies. In the words of Toby Purser “the music captures not only the inspiring leadership and national pride that ‘Toussaint L’Ouverture’ represents historically, but also the warm, Romantic side of his family life.”
—Pranav Yagnaraman, B.M. '24
About the Artists
Bruce Hangen, conductor, has directed the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra at Groton Hill Music Center since 1997. He has also conducted Boston Symphony Youth Concerts, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Portland, Denver, Ohama, Utah, and Kansas City symphony orchestras, and several others. Hangen is the founder and former artistic director of OperaMaine. His teachers include Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Bruno Maderna, and Joseph Silverstein. Learn more about Hangen.
Ensemble
Bruce Hangen
FLUTE
Aaron Dore, B.M. '25
Logan Haley, B.M. '24
Abigail Leary, B.M. '25
Mia Mravle, B.M. '27
Kristalis Sotomayor Matos, M.M. '24
Devyn Sowry, B.M. '24
Shion Suzuki, G.P.D. '24
OBOE
Taylor Childress, B.M. '24
Coleton Morgan, B.M. '24
CLARINET
John Azpuru Jr., M.M. '25
Simon Choi, B.M. '24
Rose Lao, B.M. '24
Chase Oliveri, B.M. '25
Maxwell Reed, B.M. '24
Siyuan Yin, M.M. '25
BASSOON
Carson Saponaro, B.M. '26
Lizzie Sylves, B.M. '25
Alexander Weber, B.M. '27
HORN
Amber Dai, M.M. '24
Holly Fullerton, B.M. '26
Cameron McCarty, B.M. '25
Connor Strauss, B.M. '25
Ricardo Verde, B.M. '26
Zach Watson, B.M. '27
TRUMPET
Charlotte Berube-Gray, B.M. '26
Frederick Poor, B.M. '27
CJ Waldrop, M.M. '25
Elliot Wlasiuk, B.M. '26
TROMBONE
Aidan Davidson, B.M. '24
Lauren Galarraga, B.M. '24
Alejandro Meyer-Nilliasca, B.M. '27
Ben Pilon, B.M. '24
Sum Ho Tsui, B.M. '27
TUBA
Reece Ashley, M.M. '25
Lowrider James, B.M. '27
PERCUSSION
Dustyn Carter, B.M. '27
Alexa Clawson, B.M. '25
Grant Mellone, B.M. '27
Yueyang (William) Shi, M.M. '25
Mingrui Wang, M.M. '24
Christian Weimer, B.M. '25
Ritvik Yaparpalvi, B.M. '24
HARP
Chanling Bai, M.M. '25
Jiayi Li, M.M. '24
PIANO
Diego Peralta, B.M. '25
CELESTE
Julian Durr, B.M. '25
VIOLIN I
Adrian Atonya, B.M. '26
Leon Baker, B.M. '25
Rose Barranco, B.M. '26
Kristen Barrett, M.M. '24
Marta Dorovic, M.M. '24
Stella Feliberti, B.M. '27
Brianna Ingber, B.M. '24
Annabelle Lee, B.M. '27
Finnian Long, B.M. '26
Lauren Oeser, B.M. '25
Kathryn Pappalardo, P.S.C. '24
Emily Scicchitano, M.M. '25, concertmaster
Annali Wirtz, B.M. '26
Nataliia Yeremeichuk, B.M. '27
VIOLIN II
Caden Burston, B.M. '25
Mary Davis, B.M. '26
Sierra Freund, B.M. '27
Rowan Gemma, B.M. '24
Tommaso Lorenzon, G.P.D. '25
Anne McKee, M.M. '24
Joshua Rosenthal, B.M. '26
Sai Tang, G.P.D. '24
Tian Tian, B.M. '26
Selena Noelia Vega Campana, G.P.D. '24
Neil Wary, M.M. '25
Isabella Yee, B.M. '26
VIOLA
Robert Bruce, M.M. '24
Simon Daly, B.M. '26
Maya Hartglass, B.M. '27
Webb Hiaasen, B.M. '27
Drew Keeve, M.M. '24
Jayna Leach, M.M. '24
T'Yara Lesueur, B.M. '26
Changhyun Paek, G.P.D. '25
Victoria Skinner, M.M. '25
Lydia Xiao Yan Tan, B.M. '27
CELLO
Bryceton Au, B.M. '26
Andres Celis Avila, B.M. '25
Milla Chitwood, B.M. '27
Ethan Lee, B.M. '27
Yoon Jung Jennie Lee, G.P.D. '26
Sophia Paul, M.M. '25
Lauren Roberts, M.M. '25
Ricardo Sardiñas, G.P.D '24
Elaina Spiro, B.M. '24
Luis Tovar, B.M. '24
BASS
David Amouretti, B.M. '25
Zakar Basan, B.M. '27
Gabriel de los Reyes, B.M. '27
Joseph Holt, guest artist
Nicolette Kindred, B.M. '24
Leo Martinez, B.M. '25
Concert Services Staff
Coordinator, Concert Services – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov