Download Intermission - Loomis Chaffee

First Suite in Eb
Gustav Holst/Longfield
I. Chaconne
II. Intermezzo
III. March
Harry's Wondrous World
John Williams/arr. Brubaker
Amparito Roca
Jaime Texidor/arr. Fagan
LC Concert Band
David Winer, director
Intermission
Coriolan Overture
Ludwig van Beethoven
Rumanian Folk Dances
Béla Bartók
I. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
II. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
III. Román polka / Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
IV. Aprózó / Mărunțel (Fast Dance)
Double Bass Concerto in E Major
Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Joseph Lee, double bass
The Light Burns Blue Suite
Sean Pallatroni
LC Orchestra
Kalena Bovell, director
Program Notes
Gustav Holst's (1874-1934) First Suite in Eb (1909) is a cornerstone of the band literature. This
three-movement work was the first significant piece for the concert band (a relatively new
evolution in 1909) that was not a march or folk-song based work. Built upon a simple three-note
motif presented immediately at the beginning, Holst develops the theme in “Chaconne” form: a
constantly repeating theme with differing treatments. A faster, more rhythmic “Intermezzo” utilizes
the main motif and adds a spirited dotted rhythm. Holst uses the motif to build a new, more legato
theme, ending the 2nd movement by intertwining the two ideas. The “March” begins with the motif
inverted, then the dotted rhythm heard from the 2nd movement and then another legato theme...
wow! It is amazing how Holst weaves all of this material together so naturally, guiding us to a most
satisfying conclusion. This is a true masterwork and we are thrilled to share it with you today!
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels have stimulated the imaginations of millions, only to be further
catapulted into legend by the movies. And who to better serve the movie scores than composer John
Williams! This great music, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is deceptively difficult
(as John Williams' scores tend to be!), but we have enjoyed every moment, and we know you will,
too. Enjoy!
A traditional paso doble--Spanish two-step--, Amparito Roca is lively, tuneful, and spirited! Its
origins, however, are a bit mysterious. Conflicting sources state Jaime Texidor-Dalmau as having
composed this march and copyrighted it in Madrid in 1925. Other research implies that a British
composer named Reginald Ridewood wrote it and published it in London in 1935, where it became
more visible to the public, but he failed to copyright it. Even the title is contested as Texidor claims
he was inspired by a local girl whose name was Amaparito Roca. Ridewood's wife claimed he wrote
it, was inspired by the Rock of Gibralter, and the title means “Sheltered Cliff”. In any case, this is a
lovely toe-tapper and the tune will stay with you for a long time!
Beethoven composed the Coriolan Overture in 1807, just one year before the famous Fifth
Symphony. The play tells the tragic story of the Roman general Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, who leads
an army of his former enemies to invade Rome; overcome with guilt, he takes his own life in the
end. The overture is comprised of two main themes. The first theme represents Coriolanus’s
fierceness as he resolves to go into battle. The second, gentler theme represents his mother
pleading with him to reconsider. Though the play is seldom performed today, Beethoven’s Coriolan
Overture remains a concert favorite.
Hungarian Composer Béla Bartók combined 20th century composition techniques with folk
traditions of his native country to create unique styles of 20th century nationalistic music. The
Rumanian Folk Dances were originally composed as six short piano pieces in 1915. They were
later orchestrated for orchestra in 1917. The folk songs used are from four areas of Transylvania
(region in central Romania): Bihar, Tordi-Aranyos, Maros-Torda and Torontala.
A less heard though equally prolific contemporary of Haydn and Mozart, Karl Ditters von
Dittersdorf (1739-1799) is also known to have played first violin alongside both of them in what
might be considered history’s first Million Dollar Quartet in the musical “small world” of eighteenthcentury Vienna. The oldest surviving concertos for double-bass are the two by Dittersdorf, written
for and premiered by Friedrich Pischelberger. Modern editions of the E Major Concerto (by far, the
better known) are played with “solo tuning” on the double-bass, which retains the now standard
string intervals (fourths) raised one step above concert pitch. Thus, the soloist plays a transposing
part in the historically accurate key of D, while the orchestra accompanies in the concert key of
E.
The Light Burns Blue is a new play out of Britain last year. My colleague Mark Mazzarella found
the script at a library in New York, and was immediately hooked to do the American Premier at our
school, St. Paul Catholic. The story follows the true events of Elsie Wright, a teenage girl in
Cottingley, England, whose aspirations as an artist are stifled by small-town conventions, and loss
of her brother in the First World War. Being uniquely adept with a camera (which were still new at
the time) Elsie photographs herself and her friends with drawings of fairies in the woods, resulting
in images so realistic that they took the entire nation by storm, and were even propped up as truth
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The play weaves back and forth between past and present, telling the story out of chronological
order, which is where my music came in. I wrote 19 pieces for my entirely student ensemble to
underscore the show and help move the story along. The resulting Suite for string orchestra is the
culmination of the many themes. I wanted to musically capture the intelligent mind of this young
girl who got caught up in a big hoax, but ultimately achieved what she and so many set out to do: to
prove they as artists are worth more than what society makes them out to be.
I would like to sincerely thank Kalena Bovell for offering to program my music, as well as the entire
Loomis Chaffee Orchestra for their work and excellence. Kalena is one of the most professional and
thoughtful conductors I know, and to have my music performed under her directing is nothing
short of a distinctive honor. -notes by Sean Pallatroni
Biographies
Joseph Lee (b. May 1998) was the first place winner in the American Fine Arts Festival
Romantic Music Competition. Recently, Joseph was selected as a second place winner in the
American Fine Arts Festival Concerto Competition. He was Assistant Principal in the Music For
All Honor Orchestra of America. Currently an active member in the Loomis Chaffee Orchestra
and Chamber Music program, Joseph also participates in many outside, festivals and
competitions, including the CT Northern Regional and All-State Orchestra. He is a native of
Fremont, California, where he first took lesson from Bruce Moyer and was a member of the
California Youth Symphony. He was also a member of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at
Interlochen Arts Camp, where he studied under Jack Budrow from Michigan State University
and Lawrence Hurst from the Jacob’s School of Music and he will be returning this summer.
Joseph is currently a student of Susan Powell from the Hartford Symphony.
Sean Pallatroni (b. Oct 1987) is an EMMY® Award winning composer, songwriter, director and
pianist. Originally from Bedford NH, he has studied performing arts at the Derryfield School under
the direction of Laurel Devino, and completed his undergraduate degree in Music Composition at
the Hartt School.
Sean has written for musical theatre, chamber ensembles, jazz, choir, and orchestra. His musical
“Beyond this Paradise” was premiered in August 2012 in New York City, and was a finalist in the
New York Thespis Theatre Festival. His latest work, "Speranza" is a new ballet that will be
premiered on May 14th with the Ballet Theatre Company of West Hartford. Sean is the recipient of
Hartt’s “Edward Diamente Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Composition,” and winner of
the 2010 Alabama Orchestra Association’s Composition Competition for his work “When the Grass
Was Still Green.”