Reaping the Whirlwind
The Susquehanna Valley Chorale kicks off the new season with a truly unique landmark event. Coinciding with the recent anniversaries of the Civil War and World War I, two works pay tribute to all our military veterans.
The evening starts with Randall Thompson’s timeless and uplifting The Testament of Freedom, a setting of four passages from the writing of Thomas Jefferson. Following intermission, we will perform a new SVC-commissioned work entitled Reaping the Whirlwind/The Harvest of War, a term derived from the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible.
Written by composer Jeffrey Van, the new work is based on the poetry of Walt Whitman and several other distinguished authors. SVC Music Director and Conductor William Payn describes the language as ‘mournful, moving and poignant’ yet ‘bright and hopeful for the future.’ “The singers found the music to be accessible, and they really embraced the work,” says Payn. “I’m sure the audience will, too.” The Chorale will be joined by the SVC Chamber Orchestra and two special guest soloists, mezzo soprano Adriana Zabala and baritone Daniel Teadt. Make plans now to attend this most memorable event!
Sunday, October 12 | 3pm
Pre-concert talk with Gary Boerckel at 2:15 pm
Weis Center for Performing Arts
Bucknell University, Lewisburg – view google map
Composers:
Jeffrey Van, Reaping the Whirlwind/The Harvest of War
Randall Thompson, The Testament of Freedom
Guest Soloists:
Adriana Zabala, Mezzo-Soprano
Daniel Teadt, Baritone
Sponsors:
Patricia & Robert Goulstone; Dede & Bob Gronlund; Audrey Magee; The Northumberland National Bank; Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts, Inc.
Co-sponsor:
Mifflinburg Bank and Trust
Underwriters:
Cheryl Stayton & Brad Miller; Caryn & Francis Powers
Tickets for this event MUST BE purchased through the Bucknell Campus Box Office — www.bucknell.edu/Boxoffice (SVC is listed in “Miscellaeous Events).
Fall Concert Composers
JEFFREY VAN
Guitarist and composer Jeffrey Van has premiered over 50 works for guitar, including Dominick Argento’s Letters from Composers, five concertos, and a broad variety of chamber music. He has performed in Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. As part of Duologue, with flutist Susan Morris De Jong, Van premiered commissioned works from more than a dozen composers, including Stephen Paulus, Roberto Sierra, Tania Leon, Michael Daugherty, Libby Larsen and William Bolcom.
Van is a founding member of The Hill House Chamber Players, now in their 29th season. He has been featured on many NPR broadcasts, made several solo and ensemble recordings, and appeared on ten recordings with the Dale Warland Singers. A recording of his Reflexiones Concertantes (Concerto for Two Guitars and Chamber Orchestra) has been released on the Centaur label.
Mr. Van’s compositions include works for guitar, guitar and violin, guitar and flute, chorus, chamber ensemble, chamber orchestra, and vocal solo. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota School of Music, where he recently retired as a lecturer in classical guitar. He has taught master classes throughout the United States, and former students include Sharon Isbin, John Holmquist, and many members of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet.
The SVC is delighted to present Van’s work, Reaping the Whirlwind, which was commissioned by the Chorale and written by Van this summer especially for today’s performance.
RANDALL THOMPSON
Randall Thompson, born in NYC on April 21, 1899; died in Boston on July 9, 1984, eminent American composer, was educated at Harvard University. His teachers there included Walter R. Spalding, Edward B. Hill, and Archibald T. Davidson; he also studied with Ernest Bloch. From 1922 to 1925 Thompson held a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, and twice won a Guggenheim Fellowship. From 1927 to 1929, and again in 1936-37, he was assistant professor of music at Wellesley College. Other academic positions included professorships at the University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University. From 1939 to 1941 he was director of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and then became head of the music division of the School of Fine Arts of the University of Virginia. In 1945 Thompson was appointed Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University and became Professor Emeritus at the close of the academic year 1964-65. He received numerous awards and honorary doctoral degrees from American colleges and universities, including Yale University, Harvard University, and the New England Conservatory of Music. Thompson was a member of The National Institute of Arts and Letters and of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Fall Concert Soloists
ADRIANA ZABALA, MEZZO-SOPRANO
Adriana Zabala is acclaimed for operatic, concert and recital performances throughout the U.S. and abroad. The New York Times has hailed her as “a vivid, fearless presence,” and the L.A. Times as “an extraordinary, vibrant mezzo-soprano.” In addition to frequent traditional roles like Rosina and Cherubino, Zabala has a created roles in distinctive new works such as Sister James in Cuomo and Shanley’s Doubt, Rosie Cheney in Puts and Campbell’s The Manchurian Candidate, Erminella in Musto and Campbell’s Volpone, and the title role in Aldridge and Garfein’s forthcoming new opera, Sister Carrie. The mezzo also performed the title role in the U.S. premiere of Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio with Minnesota Opera, and received international acclaim for her role in the U.S. premiere of Glass’ Waiting for the Barbarians. Zabala made her European operatic debut in Valencia, Spain, at the Opera Palau des Arts.
Zabala has been a soloist with the New York Festival of Song, Minnesota Orchestra, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and many others. Upcoming and recent engagements include Mahler’s Second Symphony with The Minnesota Orchestra, The Mozart Requiem with both the Florida Bach Festival and the Jackonville Symphony, and Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer with the Oregon Mozart Players.
Zabala is a graduate of Louisiana State Unversity and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and she was a Fulbright Scholar at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She’s currently a proud member of the voice faculty at the University of Minnesota.
DANIEL TEADT, BARITONE
Internationally acclaimed baritone Daniel Teadt has performed throughout the United States and Europe in over thirty operatic roles. His range of repertoire includes his recent New York City Opera debut as the title role in Telemann’s Orpheus, which followed his critically acclaimed portrayals of Charlie in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers and the title role in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr Fox. Recently he performed concerts in The Netherlands, returned to Arizona Opera, and debuted with the renowned Music In A Great Space Recital Series and Pittsburgh’s Resonance Works.
He will be premiering at Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest, as well as a return to Resonance Works. Other notable highlights include Grammy Award winning performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, appearances with Pittsburgh Opera, San Francisco Opera, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Arizona Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Anchorage Opera, Ashlawn Opera Festival, and Central City Opera. A lauded concert singer and recitalist Mr. Teadt has also appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Concerto Koln, Chatham Baroque, Los Angeles Master Chorale, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Victoria Bach Festival, the Orchestras of the San Francisco, and Metropolitan Opera.
His accolades include the Theodore Uppman prize from the George London Foundation, a Matteus Sullivan Career Grant, top honors from the MacAllister and Palm Beach Opera Awards, as well as the prestigious Ganzalus Prize for Voice.
A master teacher and technician, Teadt has taught workshops throughout the world. He is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor of Voice at Carnegie Mellon University.
