DistinguisheD ConCerts international new YorkIris Derke, Co-Founder and General DirectorJonathan Griffith, Co-Founder and Artistic Director250 W. 57th St, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10107 212.707.8566 Concerts @DCINY.org

Artist Series

The Music of Dinos Constantinides

Sunday, November 24, 20138:00 PM

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall With Soloists from Louisiana State University

Penelope Shumate, SopranoJohanna Cox, Oboe

Griffin Campbell, SaxophoneBrett Dietz, Percussion

Michael Gurt, PianoLenora Cox-Leggatt, Violin

Penelope Shumate Johanna Cox Griffin Campbell

Brett Dietz Michael Gurt Lenora Cox-Leggatt

Dinos Constantinides, composer

Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 8:00 PMWeill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)

Iris Derke, Co-Founder and General DirectorJonathan Griffith, Co-Founder and Artistic Director

Presents

DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS ARTIST SERIES

The Music of Dinos Constantinides

With Soloists from Louisiana State University

Michael Gurt, Piano

Griffin Campbell, Saxophone

Brett Dietz, Percussion

Penelope Shumate, Soprano

Johanna Cox, Oboe

Lenora Cox Leggatt, Violin

Program

Sonata for Piano, LRC 49 I. Impressions, II. Madness, III. Dream, IV. Resignation Michael Gurt, piano

Four Songs for Epirus, LRC 264 (world premiere) Griffin Campbell, saxophone; Brett Dietz, percussion

Rhapsody II for Oboe and Piano, LRC 167b Johanna Cox, oboe; Michael Gurt, piano

Fantasia for Solo Saxophone, LRC 80 Griffin Campbell, saxophone

Mutability for Voice and Piano, LRC 57 I. Slow- Allegro, II. Slow, III. Moderate Penelope Shumate, soprano; Michael Gurt, piano

Intermission

Reflections V for Violin, Oboe, and Piano, LRC 108 1. Prelude, 2. Interlude I, 3. Circuities, 4. Interlude II, 5. Ballade, 6. Interlude III, 7.Imageries, 8.Interlude IV, 9.Postlude Lenora Cox Leggatt, violin; Johanna Cox, oboe; Michael Gurt, piano

Family Triptych for Saxophone Alone, LRC 182c 1. Ballade for John and Samantha, 2. Lenna in Minneapolis, 3. Judy Mostly at Home Griffin Campbell, saxophone

Moto Perpetuo for Marimba Alone, LRC 263 (world premiere) Brett Dietz, marimba

Silence and Thunder for Percussion and Small Ensemble, LRC 186b Brett Dietz, percussion; Johanna Cox, oboe; Lenora Cox Leggatt,

violin; Griffin Campbell, saxophone; Michael Gurt, piano

Four Greek Songs, LRC 23a Penelope Shumate, soprano; Michael Gurt, piano

Sonata for Solo Piano, LRC 49Sonata for Solo Piano was premiered by Jon Klibonoff at Carnegie Recitall Hall on November 8, 1979. The titles of its movements, “Impressions-Madness-Dream-Resignation,” imply the cycle of emotions experienced by a young person in his struggle for survival in a confused society. The piece is eclectic in nature and employs various styles. Quartal harmonies, clusters, polychords and folk tunes are present throughout the work.

Four Songs for Epirus, LRC 264 Songs for Epirus for Alto Saxophone and Percussion includes four songs inspired by the poetry of Chrysanthi Zitsea. Inspiration also comes from Epirus, Greece, the birthplace of the composer. Other works with the same theme were composed in 2002, but the present rendition is new and was composed in February 2013. Tonight’s concert is the New York premiere by colleagues of the composer, saxophonist Griffin Campbell and percussionist Brett Dietz at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. This work is dedicated to Griffin Campbell and Brett Dietz.

Rhapsody II for Oboe and Piano, LRC 167bRhapsody II (1998 revised edition) is based on the intervals of a major seventh and a perfect fourth. Its character is rhapsodic, as the title indicates, and it is inspired by Homer’s Iliad.

Fantasia for Solo Saxophone, LRC 80 Fantasia for Solo Saxophone (1981) is written to be played on any instrument in the saxophone family. The work is part of a series of solo works with the same title. The form is A-B-A. The outer sections are quasi-free and the middle very rhythmic and dance-like. The entire piece implies a dialogue between two saxophones that is achieved through different registers.

Mutability for Voice and Piano, LRC 57The Mutability for Voice and Piano was inspired by the poem “Mutability” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. All its movements center around the idea of constant change, but they are interrelated. The link between them is an old Greek folk tune that is employed throughout the composition. This tune is transformed in many ways and dispersed in all the movements of the work. In the last movement, echoes of the Funeral March of Chopin summarize the mood of the entire composition, which is sometimes somber, lyrical, or dramatic. This work is included in the CD Antigone and other Vocal Works of Dinos Constantinides issued by Vestige Recordings.

Notes on the Program

Reflections V for Violin, Oboe, and Piano, LRC 108“Reflections” is a series of works written for chamber groups and voice. The music evokes images based on either the composer’s past experiences or the poetry. Reflections V (1987) is scored for soprano, oboe, violin, and piano; however the soprano part is optional and may be played by one of the instruments. The piece employs an optional text (poetry by Pinkie Gordon Lane) but the vocal part may be vocalised instead throughout the composition. Reflections V was completed in June 1987 and is dedicated to Steve Brown and Harry Sargous.

Family Triptych for Saxophone Alone, LRC 182cFamily Triptych (1999) portrays the individual members of the composer’s family on specific occasions. The first part, Ballade for John and Samantha, was written for the wedding celebration of the composer’s son and his bride in 1995. The second part, Lenna in Minneapolis, represents the activities of the composer’s daughter as she pursued her doctorate at the University of Minnesota. The final part, Judy Mostly at Home, was written for the composer’s wife on the occasion of her retirement after many years of service as a children’s librarian in the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System. All the movements are modal in character with a great deal of tonal presence. They are simple and unpretentious in order to portray relationships within a family.

Moto Perpetuo for Marimba Alone, LRC 263 (World Premiere)The work Moto Perpetuo is written in the manner of the Moto Perpetuo by Paganini. As in the latter, it is a virtuoso piece and is composed only for the very best performers of the instrument. Dynamics and octave displacements are used in abundance to portray depth and coloring. This work is written for my colleague at Louisiana State University percussion professor and composer, Brett Dietz.

Silence and Thunder for Percussion and Small Ensemble, LRC 186bThis composition was inspired by a casual conversation I had with my daughter Lenna, to whom it is dedicated. The basic materials of the music were in my mind for several days, but the piece was actually written in its entirety in one day in Arizona on Friday, August 13, 1999. As the title indicates, Silence and Thunder denotes two contrasting ideas based on dynamics. “Silence” is represented mostly in the static and soft string material. “Thunder” is mostly manifested in the percussion, which employs two instruments: any keyboard percussion which meets the range of the music and any indefinite pitch membranophone. Based on the numbers three and seven, numerology was heavily used in the creation of the piece. Throughout the work, the two numbers control the flow of the music. Two consecutive thirds, plus one seventh, highlight the importance of the day the work was completed (August 13).

Four Greek Songs, LRC 23aFour Greek Songs makes abundant use of the qualities of Greek folk music. Rhythm is an intrinsic part of Greek music, coming from antiquity and surviving in the folk music of the present day. The rhythm is based on a quantitative relationship between long and short accentuation in various combinations, dependent on the text and resulting in many meter changes. The harmonic language of the songs is modal, also derived from folk music. The melodies are original, but retain the flavor of Greek folk songs. The first song, Serenade at the Window of the Wise Man, is in A-B-A form. The first section is in the Aeolian mode with a reflective quality. The B section resembles a Greek dance, only to return to the reflective modal nature of the opening once more. The second song, From my Window, is a dance in Mixolydian mode where the rhythm becomes important for guiding the direction of the music. The third song, slower and more lyrical in quality than the first two, is controlled by the modes, primarily Aeolian and Mixolydian. The fourth song—without words—is a dance where the rhythm again predominates, resulting in widely varying meter changes and a dramatic climax.

Meet the Artists

Dinos Constantinides, ComposerGreek-born composer Dinos Constantinides is the recipient of many grants, commissions, and awards, including first prizes in the 1981 Brooklyn College International Chamber Competition, the 1985 First Midwest Chamber Opera Conference, and the 1997 Delius composition Contest Grand Prize. He also received the 1985 American New Music Consortium Distinguished Service Award, the 1989 Glen Award of l’Ensemble of New York, several Meet the Composer grants, and numerous

ASCAP Standard Awards. In 1994 he was honored with a Distinguished Teacher White House commission on Presidential Scholars.

He has received rave reviews for his music, which has been performed by orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony [China], Bohuslav Martinu Chamber Orchestra, Black Sea Philharmonic [Romania], Filarmonica “Oltenia” of Craiova [Romania], Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, Distinguished Concerts Orchestra International [New York], La Filarmonica de Montevideo [Uruguay], Orquestra Sinfonica de Buenos Aires, and New Orleans Philharmonic. Other performances have been given by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra [Bratislava], Ruse Philharmonic Orchestra [Bulgaria], Dubrovnik Symphony,

Czech Moravian Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony, Ku Ming Symphony [China], Rome Festival Orchestra, Prism Orchestra [New York], Polish Radio and TV Orchestra of Krakow [Poland], Nuernberger Symphoniker, as well as the Cyprus, Thessaloniki, and Athens State Orchestras in Greece.

Constantinides has written over 250 compositions, including his opera Intimations, winner of two awards, his opera Antigone, and six symphonies, the second of which earned him the Artist of the Year Award of Louisiana. Recordings of his music have been released on over 60 CDs by companies such as Centaur Records, Vienna Modern Masters, and Crystal Records.

He was educated at the Ioannina, Greek, and Athens Conservatories and at the Juilliard School and the universities of Indiana [M.M.] and Michigan State [Ph.D. in Composition]. In 2010, he received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece. His teachers included Tony Schultze, Marios Varvoglis, Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay, and Josef Gingold.

Constantinides was a member of the violin section of the State Orchestra of Athens in Greece and played in the symphonies of Indianapolis and Baton Rouge [Concertmaster]. He has given numerous recitals as both a soloist and composer at prestigious halls such as Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall.

He is presently Boyd Professor, the highest academic rank at Louisiana State University, head of the Composition area, and Music Director of the Louisiana Sinfonietta.

Michael Gurt, PianoLSU Professor Michael Gurt holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. In 1982 he won First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and he was also a prize winner in international competitions held in Pretoria, South Africa, and Sydney, Australia. Gurt has performed as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony,

the Capetown Symphony, the China National Symphony Orchestra, and the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa. He has made solo appearances in Alice Tully Hall in New York, Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, Orchestra Hall in Detroit, City Hall in Hong Kong, the Victorian Arts Center in Melbourne, Australia, Baxter Hall in Capetown, South Africa, and the Attaturk Cultural Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Gurt has collaborated with

the Takacs String Quartet, and he recently performed at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland. He has served on the juries of both the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and the New Orleans International Piano Competition, and he has recorded on the Naxos, Centaur, and Redwood labels.

Griffin Campbell, SaxophoneGriffin Campbell, LSU professor of saxophone, has appeared to critical acclaim as a performer throughout the United States and in Slovenia, China, Italy, Great Britain, and Japan. Conference performances include solo appearances at meetings of the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, the Society of Composers, Inc., the Percussive Arts Society, National Flute Association, the College Music Society, the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music

in the United States, and the International Computer Music Conference. World premieres include concerti, chamber music, electro-acoustic works, and smaller pieces both in the United States and Europe. His recordings can be found on the Capstone, Cat Crisis, Centaur, Electronic Music Foundation, Innova, SEAMUS, Vestige, and WorldWinds labels. He has conducted seminars and master classes throughout the United States and abroad, including Italy at the Faenza International Saxophone Festival, and China at the Xian International Clarinet and Saxophone Festival. Dr. Campbell holds degrees from Michigan State University and Pfeiffer College. He is the Regional Director for the Southeastern US and Puerto Rico and webmaster for the North American Saxophone Alliance.

Brett William Dietz, PercussionBrett William Dietz is Associate Professor of Percussion at the Louisiana State University School of Music. He is the music director of Hamiruge (the LSU Percussion Group). He earned the Bachelor of Music in Percussion and the Master of Music in Composition/Theory from the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University. In 2004, Dietz earned his Doctorate of Music from Northwestern University. He has studied percussion with Jack DiIanni, Andrew

Reamer, Stanley Leonard, and Michael Burritt while his principal composition teachers included Joseph W. Jenkins, David Stock, and Jay Alan Yim. Dr. Dietz is in demand as a clinician and soloist throughout the United States and abroad. Recent performances have taken him to Paris, France (perKumania International Percussion Festival), Bangkok, Thailand (College Music Society International

Conference), and General Roca, Argentina (Patagonia International Percussion Festival). He has performed at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and is a founding member of the Tempus Fugit Percussion Ensemble. An avid composer, Dietz’s music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe, East Asia and Australia by numerous ensembles.

Penelope Shumate, SopranoThis concert marks Penelope Shumate’s ninth soloist appearance at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times praised her recent performance as the Soprano Soloist in Messiah for her Avery Fisher Hall debut at Lincoln Center presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York, stating she “…sang the soprano solos with appealing bell-like clarity and surpassing sweetness.” She has also performed at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. For the 2013/2014 season

she debuts as a soloist with the Canterbury Choral Society, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Rapides Symphony and Louisiana Sinfonietta. She also returns to Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center as the Soprano Soloist in Carmina Burana presented by DCINY this spring. She has sung with orchestras across the country including the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. Her operatic performance career spans a wide variety of roles including Violetta, Fiordiligi and Konstanze. The Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Utah Festival Opera and Opera Saratoga are among the many opera companies with which she has performed. She has won numerous vocal awards from many organizations including the prestigious Gerda Lissner Foundation and The MacAllister Awards.

Johanna Cox, OboeJohanna Cox, Associate Professor of Oboe at Louisiana State University, joined the faculty in Fall 2011. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music, Ms. Cox was chosen for Eastman’s Freiburg Exchange Program, bringing her to Germany to study with soloist Heinz Holliger at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. She performed her Carnegie Hall solo debut in October of 2005, of which the New York Concert Review stated, “…a solid recital of high

standard, excellent musicianship, and a sense of taste and proportion.” Johanna has been featured as soloist on the “Live from Hochstein” broadcast on WXXI FM radio in her hometown of Rochester, NY, where she won her first concerto competition at age 17, and performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Lenora Cox Leggatt, ViolinOriginally from Rochester, New York, violinist Lenora Cox Leggatt began studying at age seven and made her solo debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at age 16. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music studying with Catherine Tait and Zvi Zeitlin, and Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Donald Weilerstein. Lenora served as concertmaster for The Cleveland Opera Orchestra for ten years, and for the former Ohio Chamber Orchestra and the

Cleveland San Jose Ballet. She has appeared as concertmaster under conductors such as Leonard Slatkin and Andre Previn, and as soloist under Peter Bay and Leslie Dunner. Ms. Leggatt has enjoyed performing in the violin sections of the Cleveland Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Charlotte Symphony and San Diego Symphony, and joined the Calgary Philharmonic this past September. A three-year fellowship student at Aspen Music Festival, she has also performed in music festivals in Tanglewood, Basel and London where she gave a world premiere performance with her twin sister, oboist Johanna Cox.

DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK

Founded by Iris Derke (General Director) and Jonathan Griffith (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) Distinguished Concerts International New York is driven by passion, innovative vision, a total belief in its artists, and an unwavering commitment to bringing forth unforgettable audience experiences. DCINY is a creative producing entity with unmatched integrity as a talent incubator, a star-maker, and a presenter of broadly accessible, world-class musical entertainment. For more information about Distinguished Concerts International New York and upcoming DCINY musical events around the world, please visit: www.DCINY.org.

DCINY ARTIST SERIES: DCINY offers performance opportunities for soloists and chamber ensembles of excellence at venues throughout New York City. For more information, contact Concerts@DCINY.org or 212-707-8566.

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250 W. 57th Street, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10107 212.707.8566

www.DCINY.org Concerts@DCINY.org

© 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Iris Derke, Co-Founder and General Director

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Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 2:00 PMAvery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center

Messiah…Refreshed!Thomas Beecham/Eugene Goossens’ 1959 Re-Orchestration of Handel’s MessiahJonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

Featuring Distinguished Concerts Singers International

Friday, December 20, 2013 at 8:00 PMWeill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall

Distinguished Concerts Artist Series

Hope Fairchild Thacker, Mezzo SopranoAssisted byKeith D. Herris, pianoJoshua D. Smith, percussionBrian R. Thacker, bass trombone

Dates, repertoire, and artists subject to change.

2013 DCINY Concerts – Please join us at our other upcoming events:

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