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PROGRAM NOTES for 10/10/26

Star-Spangled Banner – John Stafford Smith

In September, 1814, John Stafford Smith was asked by his brother-in-law, Francis Scott Key, to set to music the poem Key had recently written to celebrate the victory of American patriot forces in defending Baltimore’s Fort McHenry from the Royal Navy. The War of 1812 had pitted the British against the newly independent United States as players in a larger conflict that also involved Canada and France. Defeating this existential threat to the sovereignty of the USA, just 36 years after the success of the American Revolution, was paramount. The battle that inspired Key to compose his stirring poem proved to be a turning point in the war. His patriotic anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” – inspired by the appearance at dawn, after a fierce overnight battle, of a huge American flag still flying over the fort – turned into a rallying cry for resilience, determination, and pride in defending American independence. The war ended in December 1814, and the Star-Spangled Banner gained popularity with Americans. By 1889, the U.S. Navy had incorporated it into ceremonial flag raisings, and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson announced it, unofficially, as the “national anthem.” This status was ratified by Congress on March 3, 1931, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover.

Online Content:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stafford_Smith

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/francis-scott-key-the-reluctant-patriot-180937178/

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/star-spangled-banner?ms=googlegrant&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1432490795&gbraid=0AAAAAD6pCMhcTrb0NbgsFF0tSfVMeohsO&gclid=CjwKCAjwnvTUBhBoEiwAZNDxZ3BCRdWjgDRdIyScgAs13N2W3MNsRJh4v9m3miHL9y9kSXAAQ6WCzxoC9PMQAvD_BwE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner#

Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland

Eighty-five years ago – still exhausted after deep losses suffered in World War I, “The Great War,” and the Depression – the United States was doing its best to steer clear of involvement in World War II. Tragically, necessity banished reluctance after Japanese Kamikazes devastated the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. Within days, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the American Congress declared the U.S. at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy.

Throughout the nation, there followed a wave of patriotic fervor that reached into every crevice and corner of American society. In the world of music, the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra launched a project to commission composers to write patriotic fanfares that would be performed at the start of upcoming concerts as “stirring and significant contributions to the war effort.” Eighteen works were written and performed, composed by a Who’s Who roster of mid-20^th century musicians including Morton Gould, Howard Hanson, William Grant Still, and Virgil Thomson.

“Fanfare for the Common Man” was Aaron Copland’s contribution. Today, it is the only one of the 18 works that has secured a renowned place in the standard repertoire. Copland considered various names for his work; to honor Democracy, the Four Freedoms, Solemn Ceremony, and more. He later reflected on his final choice as follows: “– it was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army. He deserves a fanfare.”

Online content

https://pearlharbor.org/pearl-harbor-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanfares_(Goossens)

https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/about/watch-listen/fanfare-cincinnati/march–april-2026/cso-fanfare-projects-reflections-of-the-american-experience/

https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/aaron-copland–fanfare-for-the-common-man/

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-franklin-roosevelts-annual-message-to-congress

Visions of Humanity & Unity: 250^th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

This newly-commissioned suite of five movements honors and celebrates the ideals of humanism, diversity, acceptance, and freedom enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence on the occasion of its 250^th Anniversary in 2026. A consortium of 9 orchestras supported the project to illuminate and champion the seminal principles it expresses, interpreted for cello and orchestra. Each of the five composers commissioned for this project took a particular phrase from the Declaration document as their inspiration and contribution. brought to the project a style enriched by their drastically different cultural backgrounds, and each brings their unique perspective and life experience to their vibrant musical visions of harmony and unity for humanity.

The complete work received its world premiere on August 8, 2026, with Zuill Bailey on cello and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Eckart Preu as part of Summermusik in Cincinnati. Tonight’s performance in Long Beach marks the composition’s Southern California premiere.

The movements are explained here in the composers’ own words, listed here in order of presentation:

Chanda Dancy – Intermezzo

As a part of the “Visions Of Humanity” piece, “Intermezzo In Soul” celebrates the beautiful and complicated soul of our great country through the lens of the Black American experience with orchestral colors of Blues, Soul, Jazz and Spirituals in a lyrical and cinematic work that highlights the hope, longing and boundless optimism of the American spirit.

Avner Dorman – Repeated Petitions

I found myself struck less by the famous opening preamble and more by what follows: the exhaustive list of grievances and the concept of “repeated petitions.” I was moved by the image of the colonists arguing, reasoning, and trying again—exhausting every verbal and intellectual resource before finally taking responsibility for their own freedom. […] I wanted to celebrate freedom not as a finished gift, but as something precious, unfinished, and inextricably linked to responsibility. Ultimately, freedom is something we must keep petitioning for: constantly asking who is free, what we are protecting, and what still needs to change.

Zhou Tian – Elegy

“Elegy” offers a moment of remembrance—honoring those whose sacrifices, struggles, and hopes have shaped the nation across generations. The solo cello serves as a solitary voice, singing over luminous string textures in a meditation on resilience, compassion, and the enduring pursuit of unity.

Enrico Chapela – Alebrije

An alebrije is a traditional Mexican folk art figure representing a fantastical creature made by combining characteristics of different real or imaginary animals. Alebrijes are typically painted in vivid colors and intricate patterns. I chose this image as the title of the movement I was commissioned to write for the Visions of Humanity project, since it is part of a work composed by five different composers, each contributing their own culture and musical language.

Mark O’Connor – Fiddler Coming Home

I am known as an American-styled composer and string-player, so I welcome the task here. When I compose my American music, the conceptualizations seem to always include our beautiful habitat and natural world, the human condition and nostalgia for the best parts of our past, the ongoing struggle in racial reconciliation defining the American experience as well as its artforms, our collective hope and optimism for a better future, and always the longing to be more free.

Online Content

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

James Price Johnson – Harlem Symphony

Harlem Symphony composer James P. Johnson is probably the most important American jazz musician  you never heard of. His list of “firsts” is stunning, as is his cadre of close associates: Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters… giants, all. A virtuosic and innovative jazz pianist, he invented the “Harlem Stride

Piano” style and his 1921 recording of the Stride classic “Carolina Shout” holds the distinction of being the first jazz

piano solo on record. As a popular performer in the 1920s, no one eclipsed his talent. Then, in 1923, he composed the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild, and the iconic tune “Charleston” went viral, launching the dance craze that defined the “Roaring 20s.”

Popular success in jazz and on Broadway was not enough for the genius Johnson who also aspired to be a serious composer, striving to meld signature African American musical themes with symphonic art forms. His Harlem Symphony from 1932 takes the listener through four movements depicting views of African American lives in their rich and storied community. “A Subway Journey,” “Song of Harlem,” “Night Club,” and “Baptist Mission” combine to present a full sweep of musical narratives depicting the Harlem he knew, rendered for full orchestra in musical technicolor.

Fun fact: Johnson’s “serious” orchestral manuscripts were lost for 35 years after his death. Maestra Marin Alsop and Johnson biographer Scott E. Brown eventually persuaded Johnson’s daughter to allow them access to boxed Johnson family archives, and – Eureka! – the scores were rediscovered!

Online Content

https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/father

https://syncopatedtimes.com/james-p-johnson-forgotten-musical-genius/

https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/harlem-symphony

https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/biography

https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/discovery

George Gershwin – Overture from Strike Up the Band

Closing tonight’s program is the orchestral concert version of George Gershwin’s Overture to his Depression-era Broadway musical Strike Up the Band.  Opening on January 14, 1930, just three months after the Black Tuesday stock market panic that launched the Depression, American theatergoers who could still afford attending were hungry for stage fare that poked satiric fun at Big Business while still generating happy endings. The new show’s preposterous and convoluted premise involves machinations by a Wisconsin chocolate baron plotting to orchestrate tariffs on Switzerland over chocolate imports. International conflict ensues, amidst multiple romantic trysts and triangles. Audiences, eager to be carried away for a while, loved it and even as the Depression worsened, it ran for a respectable 191 performances. Gershwin later arranged this concert version of the overture, which good-naturedly brings together the themes of chest-pounding bombast with genuine national pride.

Fun fact: Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland starred in Strike Up the Band for MGM in 1940, but the project has no ties to the Gershwin Broadway show… except for the title song.

Online Content

https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/80/000188608.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_Up_the_Band_(musical)

https://www.history.com/articles/1929-stock-market-crash

IN THIS ISSUE

2. Annual Council Meeting

At Ovation’s Tea Party in June, no one tried to stuff a mouse into a teapot or levitate the plates and saucers, but the laughter and camaraderie were just as loud and the tea and crumpets infinitely better! A big thank you to all our members who joined this year’s Ovation Annual Meeting and Afternoon Tea on June 24th at the Library in the Pacific Condominiums, it was a very special opportunity to celebrate all the past year’s accomplishments and learn about future activities.

The meeting was led by our Ovation Council Chair, Judy D’Ambrosio, and highlighted year end reports from all the Council and Committee Chairs. Updates included: Treasury by Vicki Sawtelle; Ovation Occasions by Kris Ajello; Ovation Volunteers by Glenn and Delfina Skalland; Education Programs by Ethel Sanford; Rehearsal Receptions – Classics & Pops by Shannon Taylor and Ethel Sanford; Patron Engagement by Mary Lang; The Score by Shelley O’Neil, Membership by Victoria Chenevey; Slate of Officers for 2026-2027 by Judy D’Ambrosio and Joan Greenwood. Kelly Ruggirello, Long Beach Symphony President, then provided a very interesting and detailed outline of the Symphony Year in Review highlights and Upcoming Plans and announced Ethel Sanford as the winner of the Bobbie Cusato Volunteer of the Year Award.

A New Business item discussing a 2027 Ovation Fundraising Event was then led by Victoria Chenevey.

Judy finished out the meeting leading a very special recognition to Bobbie Cusato for all her contributions to Ovation and the Symphony throughout her many years of participation. She also gave a shout out to Mark Hilmar as Ovation liaison to the Symphony, and recognized the amazing efforts of Margret Good for catering the event and beautiful table settings and Laurie Lane (Margaret’s sister), Naomi Sakai and Carol Hesse for their help in room set up and clean up.

Attendees were then free to visit and enjoy the abundance of delicious food and drink. It was a special afternoon for all!

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3. Ethel Sanford Honored as Bobbie Cusato Volunteer of the Year

On June 2, 2026, the Long Beach Symphony proudly honored Ethel Sanford as the recipient of the annual Bobbie Cusato Volunteer of the Year Award.

Named in honor of Bobbie Cusato’s extraordinary legacy of service, the award recognizes an individual whose selflessness, passion, and dedication have made a lasting impact on the Symphony family. Ethel’s decades of devoted service made her a fitting recipient of this special honor.

Decades of Dedicated Leadership & Service

Ethel has been a cornerstone of the Long Beach Symphony for decades. Her commitment to the organization’s mission has touched nearly every corner of the Symphony, with her recent contributions continuing to exemplify what it means to go above and beyond.

Ethel brings her invaluable insight and vision to the Symphony’s strategic planning through her service on the Music Education & Community Committee. She also graciously stepped back into the vital role of Ovation Education Chair, bringing her seasoned leadership to the Symphony’s educational initiatives.

Her dedication to inspiring the next generation of musicians extends to hands-on engagement at the Instrument Petting Zoo and support for the artistic programming behind the Symphony’s Youth Concerts. Through these efforts, Ethel has helped spark a lifelong love of music for thousands of children in our community.

“Ethel’s passion for music education and her unwavering willingness to step up whenever the Symphony needs her are truly inspiring. From her leadership on our Education Committee to her hands-on work with our youth programs, she embodies the very spirit of the Bobbie Cusato Award. We are profoundly grateful for her decades of devotion.”

The Long Beach Symphony extends its heartfelt congratulations to Ethel and gratitude for the countless ways she has contributed to the organization and the community. Her leadership, generosity, and dedication continue to make a lasting difference.

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4. Family Concerts Recap: Peter & the Wolf and Pirates of the Caribbean

RuMBa Foundation Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf

On June 7, 2026, Long Beach Symphony welcomed children and families to the Terrace Theater for the RuMBa Foundation Family Concert, a festival-style afternoon celebrating music, creativity, and imagination. Led by Music Director Eckart Preu, the concert featured Prokofiev’s beloved Peter and the Wolf, with narrator James Petri bringing the story to life.

Before the performance, families enjoyed hands-on activities including the Instrument Petting Zoo, arts and crafts, lawn games, and Conducting 101, where children could make their own batons and experience what it’s like to lead an orchestra.

Ovation members played a key role in helping make the day fun and engaging for children and families, assisting with activities and creating welcoming, memorable experiences throughout the event. Their enthusiasm and support helped bring the Symphony’s mission of connecting young people with music to life.

With children 17 and under admitted free, the event provided an accessible and joyful opportunity for families to discover the sights, sounds, and excitement of a live orchestra together.

Pirates of the Caribbean at F&M Bank Amphitheater

On August 20, 2026, Long Beach Symphony welcomed audiences to the brand-new F&M Bank Amphitheater for its first concert at the beautiful new venue. Under the direction of conductor Susie Benchasil Seiter, the Symphony performed Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer’s iconic score to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl live alongside the film.

The evening also featured Family Concert activities throughout the venue, giving children and families the opportunity to enjoy hands-on fun before the performance. Ovation members were there to help staff the activity stations, engaging with families and helping create a welcoming and memorable experience for young concertgoers.

With music, movies, family activities, and a summer evening by the sea, the concert offered a memorable introduction to the Symphony’s new home at F&M Bank Amphitheater.

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5. Instrument Petting Zoo Summer Series

This summer, Long Beach Symphony brought the Instrument Petting Zoo (IPZ) to 20 local libraries, giving young music lovers the chance to get up close and hands-on with the instruments of the orchestra! Knowledgeable volunteers shared how each instrument works, how to make it sing, and where it fits into the orchestra. Then came the fun part: kids got to put what they learned to the test and try the instruments themselves! The IPZ is all about sparking curiosity, encouraging kids to pick up an instrument, and creating lifelong music lovers. important because dues and contributions are used to support the goals and mission of the Long Beach Symphony. Once again, our Ovation volunteers played a very special part in helping to bring these IPZs to life. And a special call out to Glenn Skalland who picked up a trombone for the first time in decades to perform alongside the volunteers at several IPZs!

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6. Ovation Occasion: Piano Recital

     
Ovation members were treated to a special summer garden party on August 27th and from the sounds of the feedback, everyone who attended had a great time! Lyn and John Pohlmann graciously opened their beautiful home and gardens to host a piano recital on their two custom one-of-a-kind Italian Fazioli pianos featuring the talented Don Briggs as pianist. The gathering was held from 4-6pm, hors d’oeuvres, wine, cold beverages and dessert were served, and guests were able to mingle before enjoying the main event. Don played both pianos and sang a number of classics and contemporary numbers including light rock, jazz and a very special original composition. A heartfelt thank you to Don, Lyn, John and the Ovation Occasions team for bringing us this lovely event.↑ Back to top

7. Ovation Membership Renewal

by Judy D’Ambrosio

Thank you so much to everyone that has renewed your membership and support for Long Beach Symphony activities. Your willingness to give freely of your time and service is greatly appreciated. Our annual membership year is July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. We would like to welcome three new members who joined Ovation during the annual renewal cycle: Tera Fowler, Sheila Gibbons and Alan Giomi. If you have not yet renewed your membership, please go to www.longbeachsymphony.org/ovation and follow the instructions online. Your membership is important because dues and contributions are used to support the goals and mission of the Long Beach Symphony.Like most organizations, Ovation is always looking for more members. If you know a friend of neighbor who may be interested in anything from working with students in music education programs to raising funds at special benefit events, please encourage them to join Ovation. Volunteering gives individuals the chance to give back to their community, develop new skills, and meet people with similar interests. Feel free to share the online enrollment information with friends and family.We look forward to your continued volunteer involvement with Ovation!.↑ Back to top

8. Save the Date: Picnic At The Beach

Hope you’re planning to join us for this year’s Picnic at the Beach with Maestro Preu. We will be Beachside at the Pacific on October 9th at 11am. This year’s special event is a great way to start the 2026-27 Symphony season and celebrate Maestro Eckart Preu’s 10th Anniversary with the Long Beach Symphony! Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the season ahead as Maestro Preu shares the stories and inspiration behind this year’s exciting lineup while visiting with other Ovation members and enjoying the beautiful beach view. Looking forward to seeing you there!.↑ Back to top

9. Ovation Council and Committee Chair Members

Chair – Jennifer “JJ” Jank

Chair Elect for 2028-29 – Shelley O’Neil

Past Chair – Judy D’Ambrosio

Secretary – Bernetta Evans

Treasurer – Doug Lane

Membership – Judy D’Ambrosio & Joan Greenwood

 

 

Committee Chairs:

• Education – Ethel Sanford & Richard Metzler
• Fundraising – Victoria Chenevey
• Nominating – Judy D’Ambrosio
• Ovation Occasions – Kris Ajello
• Parliamentarian – Joan Greenwood
• Patron Engagement – Mary and Steve Lang
• Personal Communications – Kay Marsik
• Classics Rehearsal Refreshments – Shannon Taylor
• POPS Rehearsal Refreshments – Bobbie Cusato
• Tributes & Memorials – Judy Way
• Volunteer Coordinators – Delfina and Glenn Skalland
• Vital Information Custodian–Vicki Sawtelle
• Weekly Office Team – Victoria Chenevey

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PAST ISSUES OF “THE SCORE”

• Ovations “The Score”  – Summer-2026

• Ovation’s “The Score” – Winter 2026 Issue

• Ovation’s “The Score” – Fall 2025 Issue – Long Beach Symphony

I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
I have been practicing law for 49 years, focusing on business and real estate transactions, estate planning and administration, and tax planning. In addition to my law degree (J.D.), I have a Master’s Degree in Taxation (LL.M., Taxation) and am a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization.
I am on the Board of the Rotary Club of Long Beach, the Greater Long Beach YMCA, the Bucket List Project Foundation, and serve on the State Bar Taxation Committee.
I have been married for 43 years. My wife, Elizabeth, and have one child, a daughter. We have lived in Long Beach since 1988, and have a second home in Friday Harbor, Washington, in the San Juan Islands.

Holly Henderson is an enterprise business development and revenue leader with more than twenty years of experience building, scaling, and transforming businesses across media, telecommunications, and technology.
Holly has a consistent record of driving sustained revenue growth and market expansion, often navigating periods of industry consolidation, contraction, and rapid change.
Holly currently serves as Principal of Henderson Strategic Advisory, LLC, where she partners with organizations on strategic business development, market positioning, and sales excellence, helping leadership teams translate strategy into measurable growth outcomes.
Previously, as Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development at NCTI, Holly led enterprise growth strategy for a fiber-optic training provider during a period of industry consolidation, building a high-value pipeline that exceeded targets by 10 percent. Working directly with the CEO, she repositioned the business, expanded its curriculum into new verticals, and forged strategic partnerships with organizations including the Fiber Broadband Association, the Competitive Carriers Association, and NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association. Holly also cultivated senior relationships across major broadband and telecommunications operators, strengthening the company’s standing throughout the industry.
Earlier in her career, Holly spent more than a decade at Hallmark Media in roles of increasing responsibility, culminating as Senior Vice President of Distribution. There, she was accountable for enterprise distribution strategy representing more than half of the organization’s team revenue, leading launches across linear, streaming, and emerging platforms. Holly led key account relationships with major North American video distribution partners and was instrumental in transforming a critical national renewal, expanding distribution agreements, and growing a relaunched streaming service to more than 1.5 million subscribers. She also created in-kind partnerships with major airlines and hospitality brands, extending content reach to tens of millions of
consumers.
Holly is known for translating market insight into executable growth strategy and for building trust-based relationships with C-suite executives and key partners. She brings a communications background, deep cross-sector expertise in media and telecommunications convergence, and a demonstrated ability to lead through complexity and change — qualities that have made her a trusted advisor to leadership teams and a mentor to emerging leaders throughout her career.
A resident of Long Beach for more than twenty years, Holly is deeply passionate about her community. Serving on the Board of Directors of the Long Beach Symphony allows her to bring together two of her greatest passions — community service and music — in support of an institution that enriches the cultural life of the city she calls home.

BUY  CONCERT TICKETS

• All attendees (including children) require a ticket to enter. Venue Box Office opens at 5:30PM

Getting There:

• The pre-concert activities start 6PM. Concert starts at 8PM. Concert is expected to conclude at 10:50PM. If reserving your return on Harbor Breeze, please allow a little walking time to the dock…

• Get ahead of the game! Reserve your night stay at the Queen Mary and use promo code SYMPHONY for your special Friends & Family discount

• There is NO onsite parking at the venue. Ride shares (Uber/Lyft) are not allowed.

• Free Parking at the Aquarium is included in your concert ticket from 5PM to 12AM at 99 Aquarium Way, Long Beach

• Free Long Beach Symphony Express Shuttles to the Aquarium of the Pacific, provided by Long Beach Transit. Pick up and drop offs at the Michelle Obama and Mark Twain libraries. See the shuttle schedule HERE.

• Harbor Breeze: Your full evening of adventure starts with free parking at the Aquarium. Then, take a few steps over to Dock 2 at Rainbow Harbor and board the Harbor Breeze. To guarantee you a spot, RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. Thanks to a partnership with the Symphony, tickets are $10 each way. All tickets are one-way and valid only on the departure time indicated on the ticket. Cruisers must arrive 15 minutes before reserved time. Children under 14 travel free with reservation and paid adult. Reserve your spot and start your voyage HERE.

• • F&M Amphitheater Shuttle from Long Beach Convention Center or The Pike

• Aqualink runs every 30 minutes from Dock 4 at Rainbow Harbor. $12 round-trip. Children under 14 travel free with adult purchase. See the Aqualink schedule HERE.

• By Bike. Free bicycle valet parking service at the West entrance of the Amphitheater.

• Relax before the concert at the Queen Mary. Show your concert ticket to a wharf attendant and enjoy 3 hours on the Queen prior to showtime.

• For other options, including shuttle services provided by the venue, visit https://fmbamp.com/plan-your-visit/parking/).

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What  (and what not) to bring:

Stay up to date by visiting the venue website at https://fmbamp.com

Each Guest is permitted one (1) bag. Approved bag types are:

• Clear bag — up to 12″ H x 12″ W x 6″ D
• Small clutch or wristlet — up to 5″ H x 8″ W x 2″ D (does not need to be clear)
• Diaper or medical bag — for the Guest using them

Any bag larger than 5″ H x 8″ W x 2″ D must be clear. Backpacks, outside food and beverage are not permitted. All bags are subject to search upon entry.

Lockers are available at the East entrance. Small ($15); Large ($25)

Guarantee your Seats. Buy Tickets Now!

Learn How Kids 14 and Under Can Get in Free!

Enter to Win:

IN THIS ISSUE

PAST ISSUES OF “THE SCORE”

• Ovation’s “The Score” – Winter 2026 Issue

• Ovation’s “The Score” – Fall 2025 Issue – Long Beach Symphony

Program Notes by Susan Swinburne

Gabriela Lena Frank – Elegía Andina for Orchestra
Composer Gabriela Lena Frank is a musical phenomenon of epic proportion, possibly the most multi-hyphenated contemporary artist at work in classical music today. She is a pianist-composer-musical anthropologist and a creative mentor to the emerging composers whom she hosts at her Boonville farm – where she is also a farmer-beekeeper-environmentalist – to attend a residency at the eponymous music academy she founded in 2017 to encourage young talent. She is of Peruvian-Chinese-Spanish-Lithuanian-Jewish ethnic heritage, and actively explores these cultural connections in her composing. Hearing-impaired since birth, she lives with Graves disease, an auto-immune condition. Frank is the winner of innumerable prestigious awards-honors-kudos, including a Guggenheim fellowship, the 25th Anniversary Heinz Award, and a Latin Grammy. The Washington Post included her in their recent list of the 35 most significant women composers in history.

Frank’s interest in incorporating her multi-cultural heritage in her composing arose during trips she took as a young woman with her mother to visit Peru, reconnecting with extended family and searching out indigenous musical traditions:

“I realized that I had found my mission,” Frank explained. “I wanted to, in a very general way, be as mestiza in my music as I was in my person: I’m multiracial, I’m multicultural, and I think that that’s something deeply American. I love my country, and I’m surrounded by daughters and sons of immigrants that contribute and work hard — that was uppermost in my mind then, and in the course of recent events in our country, it’s uppermost in my mind now. It’s something that has become more urgent in my work as a musician, not less so.”

Elegía Andina, written in 2000 while Frank was completing her doctorate degree, is the composer’s very first orchestral work. Dedicated to her older brother, the neurobiologist Marcos Gabriel Frank, it takes inspiration from her deep connection to her Peruvian heritage. Of her connection to the family’s South American roots, she says:
“Elegía Andina (Andean Elegy) is one of my first written-down compositions to explore what it means to be of several ethnic persuasions, of several minds. It uses stylistic elements of Peruvian arca/ira zampoña panpipes (double-row panpipes, each row with its own tuning) to paint an elegiac picture of my questions. The flute part was particularly conceived with this in mind…I can think of none better to dedicate this work to than to “Babo,” my big brother — for whom Perú still waits.”

Joaquin Rodrigo – Concierto de Aranjuez
Imagine composing music in Braille. This is the painstaking process by which Joaquin Rodrigo produced every composition he wrote in his very long life (1901-1999). Born the youngest of 10 children to a well-heeled Spanish family, Rodrigo contracted diphtheria at the age of 3, which destroyed his eyes. At age 4, his parents enrolled him in a school for the blind in Valencia where he showed a talent for music, swiftly excelled in solfège, and became an accomplished pianist. Later studies at the Valencia Conservatory added composition to his musical talents. As a young man he moved to Paris and joined a brilliant expat cadre of Spanish artists that included Manuel Ponce and Manuel de Falla (who became a champion of the younger musician). There, he also met Turkish pianist Victoria Kamhi, who in 1933 became his wife and devoted partner in life and music.
So, how did a blind pianist – not a guitarist – come to compose the magnificent work that today is universally acknowledged as the quintessential concerto for classical guitar and orchestra? According to the composer himself, it happened as a result of a well-lubricated dinner party: In September of 1938, I was in San Sebastián on my return to France…It was during a dinner organized by the Marqués de Bolarque with [guitar virtuoso] Regino Sáinz de la Maza and myself.
We ate well and the wine was not bad at all; it was the right moment for audacious fantasizing… All of a sudden, Regino, in that tone between unpredictable and determined which was so characteristic of him, said: -Listen, you have to come back with a ‘Concerto for guitar and orchestra’ – and to go straight to my heart, he added in a pathetic voice: – It’s the dream of my life – and, resorting to a bit of flattery, he continued: – This is your calling, as if you were ‘the chosen one.’ I quickly swallowed two glasses of the best Rioja and exclaimed in a most convincing tone: – All right, it’s a deal!
By the time the Rodrigos returned to Madrid in September 1939, the original Braille manuscript of Concierto de Aranjuez was written and ready to be transcribed into musical score notation. It received its premiere on November 9, 1940 with the Barcelona Philharmonic and Regino Sáinz as soloist.
Aranjuez, just outside of Madrid, is famed for the palace and especially the extensive gardens that surround this centuries-old summer estate of the Royal House of Bourbon. As newlyweds, Victoria and Joaquín Rodrigo rented a small apartment nearby and frequently walked together in the vicinity.
Rodrigo described the Concierto as capturing, “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Aranjuez.

Fun fact: In 1999, on the occasions of Joaquin Rodrigo’s death at age 97, only one piece of Spanish
music outranked Concierto de Aranjuez in paid music royalties: The Macarena, by the Spanish
flamenco-pop duo Los del Rio.

Handel – Water Music Suites 1 & 2
“At about eight in the evening, the King retired to his barge. Next to the King’s barge was that of the musicians, about 50 in number, who played on all kinds of instruments, to wit trumpets, horns, hautboys (oboes), bassoon, German flutes (transverse flutes), French flutes (recorders), violins, and basses; but there were no singers. The music had been composed specially by the famous Handel, a native of Halle, and His Majesty’s principal court composer… the number of barges and above all of boats filled with people wanting to listen was beyond counting.”

So wrote Friedrich Bonet, a Prussian diplomat in London, to his Berlin colleagues in a report detailing the extravagant and wildly popular summer river barge party for which George Friderich Handel composed his delightful Water Music. Written at the behest of England’s King George I, the work famously was performed by an orchestra floating through London on a barge on the river Thames. The date was July 17, 1717. In his own royal barge, the king and his lords, ladies, and retainers, along with hundreds if not thousands of Londoners in their own boats, all rode with the tide from Whitehall to Chelsea. The king’s group stopped for supper ashore, then made their watery way back to Whitehall. The summer excursion began at 8:00 p.m. and concluded at 4:30 a.m. the next morning. His majesty so enjoyed his countryman’s gorgeous new work, as reported by Herr Bonet, he required it to be performed in full, three times.

Handel, then aged 32, was already a popular and successful composer in London, his adopted home since 1712. Born in 1685 (incidentally, the same year as both J.S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti), and raised outside of Leipzig, Germany, Handel was a musically precocious child; but his practically-minded father discouraged his interest in music as unpromising for career purposes. Fortunately, his mother disagreed, clandestinely helping him study piano and later composition. His elderly father died when he was 11, removing that impediment. His studies, experience, and reputation grew in Germany and a European musical career flourished at home as well as in Italy. In 1710, he was appointed Kapellmeister by the elector (aka prince) of Hanover, known then as Georg Ludwig but in 1714 – through truly byzantine hereditary and political machinations – to become George Louis: King George I of England.

It has been widely speculated that the Water Music was commissioned by the king, at least in part, as a P.R. stunt. George I holds the dubious distinction of being arguably England’s most unpopular monarch. The people of England can hardly be blamed for resenting that a distant descendant, German and three generations removed from queen Elizabeth I’s successor James Stuart (reign 1603-1625), ascended to their throne primarily because he was the next protestant in line, leaping over 48 others who were Catholic. Handel, however, was tremendously popular and everybody loves a party, so the King charged Handel with composing this masterpiece of entertainment to accompany his splendiferous spectacle of a river party. From the river barge, the music was free for all – anyone on the riverbanks as well as anyone with a boat on the water – to hear and enjoy.

Fun fact: Water Music is the first orchestral work in England to include brass instruments as full-fledged members of the orchestra, no longer relegated only to “conjuring images of the hunt” (Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque).

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