UNLV Symphony Orchestra Taras Krysa, music director and conductor Jennifer Grim, flute PROGRAM

College of Fine Arts
presents the
UNLV Symphony Orchestra
Taras Krysa, music director and conductor
Jennifer Grim, flute
PROGRAM
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770–1827)
Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)
Flute Concerto in D Major, K. 314
Jennifer Grim, flute
INTERMISSION
Johannes Brahms
(1833–1897)
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
7:30 p.m.
Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall
Performing Arts Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Program Notes
Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Composed 1809-10
First Performance June 15, 1810; Vienna, Austria
Instrumentation two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings
Beethoven was commissioned to write incidental music to Goethe’s five act play, Egmont, in 1809 for its premiere the
following year. Like Beethoven’s Leonore overtures for Fidelio, the overture to Egmont is often performed alone as a compact
tone poem. The overture previews not only the conflicts within the drama, but its resolution as well. Beethoven starts the
overture with a slow opening to create a solemn and serious moment that depicts the oppression of the Spanish rule through
somber block chords. Egmont’s plight for the freedom from Spanish injustice is seen as the cellos begin the Allegro section of
the overture. The music begins to gain momentum as Beethoven illustrates through music the image of hope, strength and
triumph in a similar way to his Fifth Symphony. The final theme emerges from a brief, reflective passage played by strings as a
triumphant brass fanfare for the celebration of Egmont’s inspiring heroism.
Flute Concerto in D Major, K. 314
Composed 1778
Instrumentation flute solo, two oboes, two horns, strings
Finally out from under the employment of the Salzburg Court, Mozart began his search for work in the city of
Mannheim. While there, the composer was approached by physician and amateur musician, Ferdinand Dejean, who
commissioned Mozart to compose pieces with prominent solo flute. Mozart's frustrations with writing for an amateur player and
time limitations lead to the present flute concerto becoming a reworking of the his Oboe Concerto in C Major written the previous
year for the Salzburg Court oboist, Giuseppe Ferlendis. To the benefit of the flute repertoire, this translation of the oboe
concerto is not an exact copy and is able to show off both the virtuosic technicality of the soloist along with the beautiful finesse
the flute can bring to a piece.
The concerto is laid out in a traditional three-movement format, with the first movement opening in a sonata-allegro
form. The orchestra states the principal theme before the soloist enters and begins to set the tone of the flute presence in the
piece. After the second theme, the first movement opens up for a solo exposition that is able to show the expression and
personality of the soloist. Set in a beautiful range for the flute, the aria-like second movement allows for the soloist to create an
intimate setting with their audience as they float above the orchestra. The rhythmic final movement brings forth previous themes
and expounds on them to finish the piece out with a fast, colorful finish.
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Composed 1877
First Performance December 30, 1877; Vienna, Austria
Instrumentation two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
and strings
Brahms produced his Second Symphony within months of the First’s long-awaited premiere. The two were drastically
different, and rightly so, since the first had taken nearly two decades to finish. If it was Beethoven’s impressive symphonies that
stood in the way of Brahms’ achievement for all those years, he clearly had put his fear behind him with the completion of his
Second Symphony in D major.
He composed the symphony in the picturesque village of Portschach and his close friends wrote to him saying they
could hear the rippling streams, blue skies, and green shadows of the landscape, even through the first drafts of his piece.
Listeners then began referring to it as Brahms’ Pastoral Symphony, which again raises comparisons to Beethoven. Brahms also
sent the first movement to Clara Schumann who predicted that this music would be better received by the public than the First,
and she was correct. During the first performance in Vienna, the third movement had to be repeated, and its following
performances in Leipzig and Hamburg were also received with much enthusiasm.
The first movement unfolds with graceful horn calls and thick woodwind chords followed by the first soaring phrase
from the violins, and the pastoral scene unfolds before us. Brahms’ Second is known to be cheerful and picturesque, but he still
includes moments of darkness and doubt that create tension and drama, which is what gives the piece such character and
suspense. The finale is brilliant and electrifying, and the music speeds forward to the end. The character of the finale reflects the
high spirits of Haydn, but there are still moments of orchestral triumph that suggest a presence of Beethoven. The blazing final
bars culminate the grandeur of the masterfully written work, and they were clearly not lost on Antonin Dvorak, a great admirer of
Brahms, when he wrote his Carnival Overture.
Biographies
Taras Krysa
Taras Krysa serves as the director of orchestras at UNLV and music director of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra.
Krysa was born in Kiev, Ukraine to a musical family and began his formal studies as a violinist at the Moscow Conservatory.
After moving to United States, Krysa continued his studies at Indiana University and Northwestern University both in violin
and conducting. His conducting teachers have included Victor Yampolsky, Jorma Panula and David Zinman. As a violinist,
Krysa has won positions with the New World Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras.
In recent seasons his conducting appearances have included National Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra van het
Osten, New World Symphony, St. Petersburg Symphony, Moscow Soloists, Slovak Sinfonietta, Spoleto Festival Chamber
Orchestra, Kiev Chamber Orchestra and the Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has made three critically acclaimed recordings
for the Brilliant Classics label. Krysa has also served as Principal Conductor of the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra, which
he led on the several European tours with the appearance at the Concertgebouw Hall.
Jennifer Grim
"In honor of the 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth, Ms. Grim opened the concert with a sensual, beautifully shaped rendition
of his alluring “Syrinx," a staple of most flutists' repertory and one of the first significant works to be written for solo flute since the
18th century."
— New York Times, October 2012
Hailed as "a deft, smooth flute soloist" by the New York Times, Jennifer Grim's remarkable depth and breadth as a performer of
solo and chamber repertoire is gaining broad national acclaim. First prize winner in several national chamber music
competitions, Ms. Grim has performed with such renowned ensembles as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and St.
Luke's Chamber Ensemble. She is the flutist of the award-winning Zéphyros Winds and the New York Chamber Soloists. Other
solo appearances include the Caramoor, Aspen, Norfolk, and Skaneateles Chamber Music Festivals.
Ms. Grim has been a featured soloist at the Vermont Mozart Festival, performing all of the Mozart flute concerti and the flute
quartets. She has also collaborated as a chamber artist with pianists Menahem Pressler, Anton Kuerti, Charles Wadsworth,
Philippe Entremont, and guitarist Eliot Fisk. Recently, she was recently invited by Maestro Entremont to be Principal Flute at the
Santo Domingo Music Festival Orchestra.
A passionate advocate of contemporary music in addition to the standard repertoire, Ms. Grim has performed with some of the
leading contemporary groups in New York City, including Speculum Musicae, Manhattan Sinfonietta, ensemble 21 and Sequitur.
In a recent review of Speculum Musicae's performance of Elliot Carter's Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord, the NYT
noted the "assured, polished, and beautifully nuanced" performances of Ms. Grim and her fellow musicians, remarking that
"Nothing about [the piece] seemed daunting to these musicians, so the salient feature of the reading was not the work's difficulty
but the contrast between its neo-Classical surface and its prickly harmonic underpinning."
Ms. Grim has performed at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, for a sold-out New York debut concert of the award-winning
contemporary ensemble Proteus, of which she was a founding member, as well as making an appearance at Lincoln Center
presented by Great Performances. She also recently played in an acclaimed performance of Brian Ferneyhough's Superscriptio
for solo piccolo at the Yale Center for British Art, for which the composer was in attendance.
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Highlights of recent seasons included a performance celebrating the 150 birthday of Claude Debussy and the 100 anniversary
of the premiere of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with Hai-Ting Chinn and the Proteus Ensemble in New York City. Other noted
performances include an appearance as soloist in the Mozart Concerto No. 1 in G major with maestro Philippe Entremont and
the Boca Raton Symphonia, and guest artist performances with the Boston Chamber Music Society. Ms. Grim has given master
classes across the country, specializing in both solo and chamber music. Among the institutions at which she has appeared are
the Juilliard School, Yale University, Arizona State University, University of Iowa, University of Oregon, University of Arizona,
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and the Idyllwild Arts Academy.
A native of Berkeley, California, Ms. Grim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and Masters and Doctor of
Musical Arts degrees from Yale University. She is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
and recently was awarded an Artist Fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council.
THE UNLV SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Symphony Orchestra at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is a student orchestra comprised of music majors in the UNLV
College of Fine Arts and non-music majors on both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
The mission of this performing ensemble is threefold:
1) to train music majors to become professional performers and teachers
2) to introduce non-music majors to higher quality musicianship
3) to enrich the cultural life of UNLV and the Las Vegas community
The UNLV orchestra presents a number of programs each season that include a variety of the orchestral standard repertoire,
ranging from early Baroque through modern contemporary. The UNLV Symphony Orchestra performs at least one major work
with a chorus every year as well as one complete opera. Student soloists are featured throughout the year on either the Student
Soloists Concert or else as guest artists for winning the annual Solo Concerto Competition. The extensive list of guest
conductors and soloists with UNLV Symphony Orchestra includes Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Chang, Rachel Lee, Edgar Meyer and
Hillary Hahn.
UNLV Symphony Orchestra Personnel
Violin I
+Dmytro Nehrych
Sammi Ciarlo
Tammy Hung
Sarah Wright
Braydon Pikyavit
Robert Hunt
Violin II
+Megan Hermansen
Alexandria Pritchard
Ashley Riedy
Hunter Haynes
Robert Hill
Viola
+David Chavez
Dalton Davis
Valerie Reives
Micaela Nielson
Andrew Vasquez
Rahmaan Phillip
Mariah Revis
Miguel Guillen
Cello
+Katharine Smith
Lindsay Johnson
Pishoi Nassif
Micheal Rompel
Tabitha Mackin
Bass
+Trey Lawrence
Jimmy Cisneros
Summer Kodama
James Mason
Flute
Dafne Guevara
Lynn Tsai
Rodrigo Corral
Oboe
+Chris Fujiwara
Sharon Nakama
Rachel LaRance
Clarinet
Erin Vander Wyst
Ivan Ivanov
Jonathan Cannon
Bassoons
Kevin Eberle
Brock Norred
Bronson Foster
Horns
Linnie Hostetler
Sarah Walton
Alina Eckersley
Michael Villarreal
Tom Frauenshuh
Trumpets
Micah Holt
Julio Vargas
Rudolph Jovero
Trombones
Dylan Musso
Bruce Mangan
Alan Quan
Tuba
Stephen Turner
Percussion
+Manny Gamazo