Kansas Wesleyan UniversityString Orchestra

Saturday, February 25, 2017, 8:00 A.M.

Concert Hall, Century II

ECLECTICVIBRATIONS

St. Paul’s Suite, Op. 29, No. 2 Gustav Holst (1874-1934) The Dargason

The St. Paul’s Suite is a composition for string orchestra by the famed English composer Gustav Holst. The piece was composed in 1912, but remained unpublished until 1922 when Holst finished deliberating about compositional revisions. The suite is named after the St. Paul’s Girls’ School (UK), where Holst served as the Director of Music from 1905 to 1934. With gratitude, Holst dedicated the piece to the school, after they supported the establishment of his music program. This suite is the most famous of the many pieces he wrote for the students at St. Paul’s. Today’s performance will feature the finale movement, The Dargason. The two main themes hail from John Playford’s The Dance Master, and creates a fantasia of thematic variations that encompass the entire orchestra.

Mother and Child Grant William Still (1895-1978)

William Grant Still grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and achieved acclaim for his symphonic music. Still was an African-American composer who broke racial barriers and created opportunity for minority musicians. He was also a strong advocate for American music and supporting his fellow composers. His compositions include symphonies, ballets, operas, chamber music and works for soloists. Still received honorary degrees from Oberlin College, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California. He received many honors including the William E. Harmon Award for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes in Music, Guggenheim Fellowship and the Freedoms Foundation Award. The piece scheduled for today’s performance is the Mother and Child, a piece Still originally wrote for solo violin and piano, and later arranged it for string orchestra.

Strings and Threads Suite Mark O’Connor (b. 1961) Fair Dancer Reel Sailor’s Jig Captain’s Jig Off to Sea Pilgrim’s Waltz Road to Appalachia Shine On Cotton Pickin’ Blues Picken’ Parlor Rag Queen of Cumberland Swing Sweet Suzanne

The Strings and Threads Suite is a piece comprised of thirteen folk tunes composed by Mark O’Connor. The melodies or tunes derived from various styles (appearing in a chronological order) used during the evolution of American Folk Music. O’Connor wrote this music to honor his families’ immigration from Ireland to Holland and to America. It is conceived in a manner and style that he felt his family would enjoy listening to while they were traveling. It begins with traditional Irish music and then transforms into various American musical idioms including folk and jazz. The music reflects how the folk music style possess a common thread that can be found in an Irish reel or a jazz riff. Today’s performance will feature solos performed by members of the KWU Honors Quartet.

Skylife David Balakrishnan (b. 1954)

The Turtle Island String Quartet’s name is derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore. The quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings, having won Grammys for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2006 and 2008. Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, their music redefines the new classical/fold genre in itself. The quartet’s current members include David Balakrishnan (violin and founding member), Alex Hargreaves (violin), Benjamin von Gutzeit (viola) and Malcom Parson (cello). Skylife is an original song written by Balakrishnan; today’s performance will be his arrangement for String Orchestra.

PROGRAM NOTES

2015 KWU Mark O’Connor Workshop

KWU Honors Quartet

VIOLIN ICaroline Beckman, Concertmaster

Kayla St. LaurentAlicia MoraCurtis WedelMaria BonillaAnn Samuelson

KWU STRING ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN IIAbigail Marshall, Principal

Emily GardnerMayela CampaBritany CarverWilliam PhachanlaDenise Blehm

VIOLATaylor McClain, Principal

Kaitlynn HazellGrace DemareeDoug Beyer

CELLOThomas Forrester, Principal

Valerie GoertzBrandon RectenwaldLaura NivensMason Streit

BASSDalton Brummer, Principal

John Davis

MUSIC DIRECTORDr. Jesse Henkensiefken

Dr. Jesse Henkensiefken, a Kansas native, performs regularly as a conductor and concert cellist. He is the founder of the International Music Festival at Kansas Wesleyan University, where he also serves as the director of Orchestras and String Studies. Henkensiefken has concertized throughout the United States and the Caribbean. As a guest conductor, he has performed with the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, the Salina Symphony, the Salina Youth Symphony, the Kansas Music Educators Association and the Salina Community Theater. He is the national winner of the 2013 Mu Phi Epsilon Focannon Conducting Scholarship, and in 2014, he was awarded a KWU Woodworth Grant to study conducting at the Moscow Conservatory of Music in Russia, under the director

of Maestro Anatoly Levin. He has worked on the precollege faculties of Park University and the University of Kansas, and was the assistant conductor of the Manhattan School of Music Contemporary Opera Ensemble. In addition, he was the music director of the Ars Viva Chamber Orchestra and Noel Pointer Foundation Youth Orchestra and is the current assistant conductor of the Salina Symphony. As a cellist Henkensiefken is a Sorbel Award winner of the 2013 Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition and has recorded for film and radio abroad. He has served as principal cellist for the Empire State Sinfonia (Brooklyn, NY), Ensemble du Monde (NY, NY), the Kansas City Philharmonia and the Salina Symphony. Henkensiefken holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Kansas, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music in NYC, and a performance certificate from Park University’s International Center for Music. His primary teachers include David Gilbert, Edward Laut, George Manahan, Martin Storey and Nikolai Uljanov. Henkensiefken has had further training with the likes of Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Schwartz and Yo-Yo Ma.

Ann Samuelson | Violin/Viola Samuelson has performed in professional orchestras for 30 years; most recently she was a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Hartford Symphony Orchestras. Samuelson can be seen performing throughout the region and is the newest edition to the KWU String Department.

Denise Blehm | ViolinA Kansas native and sought-after violinist, Blehm has performed regionally for the past 20 years. She is the current Salina Symphony Concertmaster and is a KWU violin instructor. Blehm regularly performs with the Wichita Grand Opera and the Hutchinson Symphony.

Douglas Beyer | Violin/ViolaA member of the Salina Symphony, Beyer is a violin and viola instructor at KWU. A former member of the Wichita Grand Opera Orchestra, he was previously Director of Strings at Garden City Community College, where he taught private string lessons and ensembles. He also was director of the Southwest Kansas Music Academy.

John Davis | BassA dedicated string educator who has over 40 years teaching experience, Davis is the current Principal Bassist of the Salina Symphony, performs regularly with the Wichita Grand Opera and is the bass professor at KWU. Davis is popularly known as the STRING MAN, serving as the Kansas City String liaison for the Central Kansas Community.

KWU STRING FACULTY Music at Kansas Wesleyan UniversityThe KWU String Department aims to bring the highest level of string education to central Kansas. Our renowned faculty hail from some of the most prestigious institutions in the world including the Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, University of Northern Texas and the University of Kansas. At the heart of our mission, we offer a variety of performance opportunities, utilizing partnerships with the Salina Symphony, Salina Community Theatre, Stiefel Theatre and the KWU International Music Festival. In addition to our private lesson, chamber music and orchestral programs, students perform regularly in recitals, masterclasses, and at various concerts around the nation and the world. Today’s performance will feature selections from our student chamber music program at Kansas Wesleyan.

Performing and teaching are the two most common careers in music. Musicians typically combine multiple jobs with multiple income streams. Performance and non-performance work do not have to be mutually exclusive; many fields allow musicians to do both. Some careers require graduate education—such as college-level teaching and conducting—or additional training beyond what you’ll find in an undergraduate program. Opportunities include: accompanist, adjudicator, arranger, artist management, arts administrator, band director, clinician, choral director, composer, conductor, copyist, educator, historian, librarian, lyricist, music agent, reviewer, musicologist, orchestrator, performer, piano tuner, private instructor, radio producer, sacred music minister and vocal coach.

Students at Kansas Wesleyan are encouraged to tailor their course of study to match their specific interest or goals, such as instrumental performance, instrumental conducting, composition or music education. Because of these unique small-school advantages, graduates from KWU enter the community as well-rounded citizens and musicians, possessing the skills needed to be successful in their careers.

The Kansas Wesleyan University Department of Music offers these major options:

· Music (General)· Music Education

(PreK-12)· Music Performance· Music Theatre

International Music Festival, Low Strings Masterclass with Steven Doane

International Music Festival, Upper Strings Masterclass with Cora Cooper

It is the mission of the Music Department to provide students with a comprehensive music education by focusing on a theoretical understanding of the musical language, the art of performance and the spiritual role music plays, individually and culturally.

Ken Hakoda Chair of Music Department, Associate Professor Choir, Music Theory, Music Education

Sarah Bernard-Stevens Assistant Professor Band, Music Theory, Woodwind

Karen Brassea Assistant Professor Music Theatre, Theatre

Rebecca Copley Director of Vocal Studies Applied Voice

Jesse Henkensiefken Assistant Professor Orchestra, Music History, Strings

Tatiana Tessman Artist in Residence Piano

MU

SIC

FA

CU

LTY

AD

JUN

CT

FAC

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Y Douglas Beyer Violin / Viola

Denise Blehm Violin

Keri Boley Music Education

John Davis Bass

Michelle Cardinal Dolan Voice

James Johnson Trumpet

Dean Kranzler Percussion

Elizabeth Robinson Flute

Andrew Newbegin Jazz Band / Low Brass

Ann Samuelson Piano / Strings

Wendy Stein Clarinet / Sax

Bill Tuzicka Music Education

Shelby Westfahl Oboe

Photo by Tanner Colvin

2017 International Music Festival Faculty, Schubert Cello Quintet

Thank YouKansas Wesleyan University Administration

President / CEO Dr. Matt Thompson Provost Dr. Bill Backlin

Chair of the Division of Fine Arts, Barbara Marshall Nickell

Ken Hakoda, Chair of the Department of Music

The KWU String Faculty

Tatiana Tessman, Artist-in-residence

Alison Harbaugh ’11, Music Department Assistant

Amanda Colgrove ’15, Program Design

100 E. Claflin Avenue | Salina, KS | www.kwu.edu