PASSPORT. to AMERICA. Masterpiece and CapePOPS! Series Title Sponsor

Transcription

1 PASSPORT to AMERICA Masterpiece and CapePOPS! Series Title Sponsor

2 Passport to America: The Immigrant Story September 22 & 23, 2018 Cape Symphony Jung-Ho Pak, Conductor Chatham Chorale, Joseph Marchio, Music Director THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER Igor Stravinsky, arranger CIRCUS POLKA: FOR A YOUNG ELEPHANT Igor Stravinsky SUNSET BOULEVARD SUITE Franz Waxman 1. Prelude 2. Norma Desmond 3. The Studio Stroll 4. The Comeback 5. Norma as Salome 6. Paramount on Parade DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER OVERTURE Bright Sheng AMERICA, AN EPIC RHAPSODY 1926: The Present The Future Ernest Bloch INTERMISSION ELLIS ISLAND: THE DREAM OF AMERICA Peter Boyer Prologue Helen Cohen, emigrated from Poland in 1920 James Apanomith, emigrated from Greece in 1911 Lillian Galleta, emigrated from Italy in 1928 Lazarus Salamon, emigrated from Hungary in 1920 Helen Rosenthal, emigrated from Belgium in 1940 Manny Steen, emigrated from Ireland in 1925 Katherine Beychook, emigrated from Russia in 1910 Epilogue: "The New Colossus" (Emma Lazarus, 1883) 18 capesymphony.org

3 For this year s Passport concert, we turn the lens on ourselves, focusing on music created by immigrants and about the immigration experience in America. Our country was built by people who came from elsewhere, often fleeing difficult circumstances, and our great American music was highly influenced by talented immigrant composers. Russian Igor Stravinsky came to the United States in September 1939, weeks after war broke out. In 1944, he conducted his controversial arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Stravinsky intended to give the national anthem the feeling of a hymn; but a Massachusetts law prohibited the performance of the song with embellishment. Publicity led police to stand by at the second concert. Stravinsky bowed to pressure and played the traditional version. Had he played his arrangement, he would have SEASON 2018/2019 Coming To America been fined; contrary to popular belief, he was not jailed. Born in Switzerland, Ernest Bloch emigrated to the US in Inspired by his arrival in New York Harbor, he composed America, An Epic Rhapsody, noting, This Symphony has been written in love for this country, in reverence to its Past, in faith in its Future. German film composer Franz Waxman fled the Nazis in His powerful Academy Award-winning score for Sunset Boulevard was ranked as #16 of the top 25 greatest film scores by the American Film Institute. What would the golden age of Hollywood have been without immigrant composers and their European and classical influences? Dream of the Red Chamber is an opera by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, a protégé of Leonard Bernstein who moved to the US in He s now the Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. 19

4 THE STORIES OF Ellis Island by Peter Boyer America is a nation of immigrants, and our immigrant history is a profound part of our American mythology. From 1892 to 1954, more than twelve million immigrants, over 70% of all immigrants to the United States, passed through Ellis Island, the processing station which was the gateway to America. The Ellis Island Oral History Project is a collection of interviews, housed at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, with immigrants who were processed there. I examined over 100 interviews, and ultimately settled on a structure which includes seven stories of immigrants who came through Ellis Island from seven countries between 1910 and James P. Byrne (Manny Steen) An award-winning director, actor, designer, and teacher producing theatrical experiences from Boston to Los Angeles, New York to New Orleans, James grew up at the Harwich Junior Theatre, and works extensively with the Cape Cod Theater Company/HJT. Sandy Cerel (Lillian Galletta) A Rhode Island-based actor and director, Sandy has performed on dozens of stages throughout southern New England. Sandy has enjoyed a close relationship with the composer Peter Boyer all his life. She is his proud Mom! Christine Rathbun Ernst (Lady Liberty) Christine is a writer, poet, performer, teacher, activist, and frequent speaker, focusing on the connection of wellness, hope, and community. She performs as the Fat Ass Cancer Bitch and believes that the story will save us all. Carryl Lynn (Helen Rosenthal) A native of Boston and Cape Cod, Carryl recently performed in Wrinkles, the Musical at the CCTC/ HJT, and has appeared in True Blood on HBO and NCIS on CBS. Carryl s family came through Ellis Island generations ago. 20 capesymphony.org

5 Danika Singfield GRAMMY-nominated Peter Boyer is one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of his generation. His recording of Ellis Island: The Dream of America was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. This is the second time the Cape Symphony has performed Peter s work; the first was The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers at the John F. Kennedy Centennial Celebration in May THE ART OF COLLABORATION The Cape Symphony is delighted to be collaborating with the Cotuit Center for the Arts on this very special performance. We loved working together in 2017 and our creative partnership continues to be truly rewarding. Many thanks to David Kuehn, Executive Director of Cotuit Center for the Arts and producer of Ellis Island: The Dream of America; to Nina Schuessler, Producing Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre and director of Ellis Island: The Dream of America; and J Hagenbuckle, assistant director. The stories of Ellis Island are stories of journeys. I hope that listeners may find these stories as fascinating, illuminating and inspiring as I do. Peter Boyer Philip Scudder (Lazarus Salamon) Philip has a BFA degree from UConn and performed at Nutmeg Summer Playhouse before returning to the Cape to work in his family s business, Hy-Line Cruises. Philip co-founded the Helikon Theatre Company on Cape Cod. Deborah Stringham (Helen Cohen) Deb is a veteran performer and choreographer of many shows, including Off-Broadway, an international tour, and summer stock/regional productions. Another star of "Wrinkles, the Musical" at CCTC/HJT, Deb teaches dance at Bridgewater State University. SEASON 2018/2019 Sherrie Smith Scudder (Katherine Beychook) Sherrie has her BFA in Theatre, Music, and Dance from UConn and has acted on stages from Colorado to Massachusetts. Sherrie co-founded the Helikon Theatre Company and recently appeared in "Wrinkles, the Musical" at CCTC/HJT. David Wallace (James Apanomith) David holds a BFA in Theatre from BU and has performed on Cape Cod for over thirty years. He has been blessed to have enjoyed and tested the patience of directors at Cape Rep, HJT, The Glasstown Players, The Barnstable Comedy Club, and The Chatham Drama Guild. 21 Byrne: A. Meagher. Cerel: Dual Edge Photography. Ernst: M. Ernst. Lynn: P. Gaspard-Nelson. P. Scudder: A. Meagher. S. Scudder: A. Meagher. Stringham: C. Copeland. Wallace: N. Schuessler.

6 COMING SOON OCT 13 & OCT 14 MAGNIFICENT MOZART NOV 3 & NOV 4 Holiday On The Cape NOV 30, DEC 1 & DEC 2 BOX OFFICE: Falmouth Road, Hyannis capesymphony.org