NEC Symphony + David Loebel: Coleman, Haydn, Sibelius

Valerie Coleman | Seven O'Clock Shout (2020)

Program note

Seven O'Clock Shout is an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes.  The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion to commemorate the isolation forced upon human kind, and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.
        It was suggested that a short work for a debut by multi-track recording could account for the ensemble performing together as if they were in the same room. One of the devices used to address this is the usage of ostinato, which is a rhythmic motif that repeats itself to generate forward motion and, in this case, groove. The ostinato patterns here are laid down by the bass section, allowing the English horn and strings to float over it, gradually building up to that moment at 7pm, when cheers, claps, clangings of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world! The trumpets drive an infectious rhythm, layered with a traditional Son clave rhythm, while solo trombone boldly rings out an anthem within a traditional African call and response style. The entire orchestra ‘shouts’ back in response, and the entire ensemble rallies into an anthem that embodies the struggles and triumph of humanity. The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet another day. 
        The virtual premiere was held on July 6th, 2020 by The Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin.                                                         
– Valerie Coleman

Franz Joseph Haydn | Symphony No. 95 in C Minor, Hob. I/95

Allegro moderato
Andante cantabile
Menuet - Trio
Finale: Vivace

INTERMISSION

Jean Sibelius | Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 43

Allegretto
Tempo Andante, ma rubato
Vivacissimo
Finale: Allegro moderato

NEC Symphony

First Violin
Tara Hagle
Ava Kenney
William Kinney
Isabella Sun
Kearston Gonzales
Eleanor Markey
Maxwell Fairman
Minkyung Kang
Aidan Daniels
Kevin Kang
Audrey Weizer
Joseph Zamoyta
Yeji Hwang
Ian Johnson
 
Second Violin
Abby Reed
Ashley Tsai
Yirou Zhang
Ravani Loushy Kay
Jeremiah Jung
Lauren Ahn
Sofi Skoldberg
Joanna Peters
Tzu-Ya Huang
Ryan Tully
Emma Servadio
HyoJeong Hwang
 
Viola
Charlie Picone
Pharida Tangtongchit
Jessi Kaufman
Leilani Wiswarkarma
Harry Graham
Rita Hughes Söderbaum
John Turner
Nina Dawallu
Jiashu Yin
Dylan Cohen
Yu-Heng Wang
Haobo Bi
 
Cello 
Jonathan Fuller
Ethan Murphy
Amelia Allen
Eric Schindler
Phoebe Chen
Alex Aranzabal
Austin Topper
Ari Freed
Yue Mao
Ching-yu Tseng
Yuxin Du
 
Bass
Brian Choy
Lawrence Hall
Luke Tsuchiya
Dennis McIntyre
 
Flute
Sadie Goodman ‡
Amelia Kazazian *
Anna Ridenour §
JouYing Ting
 
Piccolo
Nina Tsai
 
Oboe
Yuhsi Chang ‡
Rebecca Mack §
Victoria Solis Alvarado *
 
English horn
Rebecca Mack
 
Clarinet
Evan Chu §
Adlemi A. Zambrano *
 
Bassoon
Daniel Arakaki *
Yerin Choi
Zilong Huang
Erik Paul §
Jialu Wang ‡
 
French horn
Elijah Barclift ‡
Mattias Bengtsson § 
Mauricio Martinez *
Xiaoran Xu  
 
Trumpet
Maxwell DeForest
Sebastián Haros ‡
Justin Park §
Alexandra Richmond *
 
Trombone
Becca Bertekap §
Devin Drinan *
Allie Klaire Ledbetter
 
Bass Trombone
Jason Sato
 
Tuba
Hayden Silvester
 
Timpani
Isabella Butler §
Rohan Zakharia ‡
Mingcheng Zhou *
 
Percussion
Isabella Butler 
Mark Larrivee *
Rohan Zakharia  
 
Harp
Jintong Zhang


Principal players
*Coleman
‡Haydn
§Sibelius