To some extent neglected by orchestras in the UK in recent years, Tippett’s music continues to feature in the American repertory.
Since the 1970s, the Boston Symphony Orchestra have played most of Tippett’s orchestral works. Sir Colin Davis introduced them to Symphonies 2 and 3, and The Rose Lake, and, of course, conducted the world premiere of The Mask of Time (which they commissioned) in 1984. Since then, other conductors, including their outgoing Music Director, Seiji Ozawa, and Sir Bernard Haitink, have included Tippett compositions in their programmes. Early in 2003, Sir Neville Marriner is scheduled to conduct the Concerto for Double String Orchestra - first at an open rehearsal at 10.30pm on January 23, and in a concert the same evening at 8pm; another performance follows at 1.30pm the following afternoon: and they will repeat the work in concerts on January 25 and 28 (both at 8pm).

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra have also presented many of Tippett’s works, notably Symphony No 3 and the Piano Concerto, under the composer’s baton in 1973, and Symphony No.2 conducted by Mark Elder in 1986. Chicago also commissioned and gave the world premieres of Symphony No. 4 and Byzantium in 1977 and 1991, respectively, with the late Sir Georg Solti conducting. Next summer, for the first time, they will play The Rose Lake. The three performances are conducted by Sir Andrew Davis at Symphony Hall, Chicago, on June 5, 6 and 7.

It is not only with these justly renowned and prestigious orchestras that Tippett’s music has found a home in the States. Percolating through at all levels - in educational contexts, community orchestras and so on - it seems to be finding new interpreters and audiences.

Santa Rosa Symphony’s performance and education project centred upon A Child of Our Time is already making waves: see pages 13 and 14 for an update on this and on the Pioneer Valley Symphony performance of the oratorio in May.

Meanwhile, in California, Nicholas Cleobury will conduct the Modesto Symphony Orchestra on January 10, in Tippett’s Suite in D: and Nicholas McGegan will conduct the Milwaukee Symphony on January 17, 18 and 19 in the Concerto for Double String Orchestra.

West Coast premiere of The Shires Suite (orchestral version)
On March 29, the fourth concert of the Cammelia Symphony Orchestra’s 2002/3 subscription series in Sacramento, California, will feature the West Coast premiere of Tippett’s The Shires Suite in the purely orchestral version prepared by Meirion Bowen.

The Shires Suite was written between 1965 and 1970 for the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Choir and Orchestra. The orchestral version (which replaces the choir with three instrumental groups placed antiphonally around the auditorium) was first performed in the UK in1995 by the Northern Junior Symphony Orchestra at concerts conducted by Nicholas Cleobury in Newcastle and Harrogate; then in London later that year by the Stoneleigh Symphony Orchestra under Adrian Brown. Both versions are published in the same volume by Schott.
As ever, CSO conductor Eugene Castillo, first-prize winner for the 2002 ASCAP Award for Adventuresome and Innovative Programming of Contemporary Music, has devised an unusual context for this presentation of the Suite.

Prior to the Tippett the Camerata California will lead the audience in a performance of the famous mid-13th century canon or round, Sumer is icumen in, which is incorporated into the first movement of the Shires Suite. Tippett’s work is followed by two pieces that also focus upon or refer to this tune, Carol Barnett´s Sumervar (1988) and P. D. Q. Bach’s The Seasonings, maintaining thus the party atmosphere of Tippett’s work. The programme is completed by two festive compositions by Silvestre Revueltas and Resphigi.
The concert takes place at 8pm at the Memorial Auditorium Sacramento.

Tippett on US Radio

January 2003 sees the fifth anniversary of the death of Sir Michael Tippett, a few days after his 93th birthday (January 2). While UK radio stations are largely ignoring the occasion, several classical music stations in the USA are planning to feature the composer’s work at that time.

WWUH intend to air at least two of the composer’s major works (one of them, his Piano Concerto) on the Thursday, January 2 edition of their Evening Classics programme. WWUH broadcasts at 91.3 FM from the University of Hartford and in RealAudio and Windows Media on the Internet at www.wwuh.org.

Further details on Tippett broadcasts in the USA will be posted on the Tippett website as and when they become available.

Santa Rosa Symphony & A Child of Our Time: Update

The background to Santa Rosa Symphony’s performance of A Child of Our Time, and their education project on the work, involving 1,000 students at Santa Rosa High School, was outlined in the previous issue of this newsletter. It can also be found on the Tippett website.

A 7-minute excerpt from the film documentary on the project, made by Verité Productions in association with the Santa Rosa Symphony, was shown at the American Symphony Orchestra League’s conference last June and at a seminar in Salzburg. In both places it made a great impact. Already, Pioneer Valley Symphony have planned to conclude their 2002/03 concert season with the oratorio and involve local schools in contextual research and related creative enterprise (see page 14). Once post-production work on the film is complete and it is generally available, it could undoubtedly make a significant impression worldwide. Funds in the region of $190,000 are still needed, however, to complete the editing and organise distribution.

Santa Rosa Symphony intend also to release a recording of their performance last April, in which many of the high school students sang in the choir.
The existing clip from the film documentary has now been added to the Santa Rosa section of the Tippett website, where further news and developments will continue to be posted..

Pioneer Valley Symphony´s A Child of Our Time project

Inspired by the example of Santa Rosa Symphony, the Pioneer Valley Symphony in Franklin County, Massachusetts will present A Child of Our Time at the UMASS Fine Art Center, on May 17, 2003, as the final culminating event of its 64th season, entitled “A Musical Mirror - Reflections of History”.

The season in general explores the ways in which composer´s have commented with great relevance on historical events throughout the ages. Important works such as Beethoven´s Eroica Symphony, Prokofiev´s Lieutenant Kije Suite, and Liszt´s Battle of the Huns will be featured. Alongside Tippett’s oratorio will be Since Dawn by Dan Locklair, composed in 1995 for narrator, orchestra and chorus - a setting of the Maya Angelou poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,”

High school students in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden County have been invited to participate in an interdisciplinary study of the works on the programme. Music, Art, History, and English departments will have the opportunity to contribute, writing essays, producing artwork and composing poetry in relation to Tippett’s work. . High school choirs are also being invited to join the PVS orchestra and chorus in the spirituals that are a distinctive and celebrated feature of the oratorio.

The student choirs will have a further option to perform the five spirituals at their own schools, as these can be presented independently of the entire oratorio. These additional performances will allow the project to reach an even larger audience.

Taking part in the Pioneer Valley Symphony performances will be Christina de Vaughn (soprano), Mary Westbrook Geha (alto), Bill Hite (tenor), Robert Honeysuckle (baritone), with the Pioneer Valley Symphony Chorus (director: Terry Larsen) and Orchestra, conducted by Paul Phillips. The event has been sponsored by Banknorth, Health New England, Verizon and WFCR.

   

One of the oldest community orchestras in the United States, the PVS was founded to “serve the Pioneer Valley through music in three ways: by performing symphonic and choral music; by providing members of the community the opportunity to participate in making music; and through musical education, particularly by introducing young children to live orchestral music.” The Pioneer Valley Symphony is, in fact, the only organization performing symphonic music in Franklin County, Massachusetts, the state´s most rural and least advantaged county.

The orchestra, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Paul Phillips, provides professional musical direction for over 200 volunteer musicians. Approximately 95 instrumentalists and over 120 singers participate annually, producing five full symphonic concerts, as well as family, educational, and choral programs. Membership in both orchestra and chorus is open to any qualified musician. Participants range in age from middle-school to retirement years. The geographically diverse membership of the orchestra and chorus from 51 different communities in western Massachusetts, and eight communities in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont is testimony to the orchestra´s reputation and quality.

Music Director Paul Phillips has moved the orchestra in innovative directions, since his appointment in 1994. Each of the past seven seasons has featured performances of works by living composer´s. The PVS has gained national recognition for its programming of contemporary music. In June 1997, the PVS won the American Society of Composer´s, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) annual award for adventurous programming. In celebration of its 60th anniversary season, PVS presented two world premieres. In 2001, the orchestra was ranked third in the state among 31 orchestras in an evaluation by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For further information, please visit: www.pvso.org

Robert Honeysuckle (baritone)
Christina de Vaughn (soprano)
Mary Westbrook-Geha (alto)
Bill Hite (tenor)
Paul Philips (Conductor)