HAYDN CREATION

PAUL AND LINNEA BERT CLASSIC ACCENTS SERIES
Friday, April 12, 2024 · 6:30pm ·
Crosstown Theater
Sunday, April 14, 2024 · 2:30pm ·
First Baptist Church of Memphis

Program

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN
(1732 - 1809)

The Creation, H. XXI:2
Part One
I. Introduction - The Representation of Chaos
II. Bass recit. and chorus: In the beginning, God created heaven and earth
III. Tenor aria with chorus: Now vanish’d by the holy beams
IV. Bass recit: And God made the firmament
V. Soprano solo and chorus: What wonder doth His work reveal
VI. Bass recit: And God said: Let the waters under the heavens 
VII. Bass aria: Rolling in foaming billows
VIII. Soprano recit: And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass
IX. Soprano aria: Now robed in cool refreshing green
X. Tenor recit: And the heavenly host proclaimed the third day
XI. Chorus: Awake the harp
XII. Tenor recit: And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven
XIII Tenor recit: In shining splendor radiant now the sun bestrides the sky
XIV. Chorus with trio: The heavens are telling the glory of God

INTERMISSION

Part Two
XV. Soprano recit: And God said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly
XVI. Soprano aria: On mighty wings
XVII. Bass recit: And God created great whales
XVIII. Bass recit: And the angels struck their immortal harps
XIX. Trio: In fairest raiment now, with green adorn’d
XX Trio and chorus: The Lord is great
XXI. Bass recit: And God said: Let Earth bring forth every living creature    
XXII. Bass recit: Straight opening her fertile womb
XXIII.Bass aria: Now shines the brightest glory of heaven
XIV. Tenor recit: And God created Man in His own image
XXV. Tenor aria: In native worth and honor clad
XVI. Bass recit: And God saw everything that He had made
XVII. Chorus and terzett: Achieved is the glorious work

Part Three
XXXV. Chorus: Sing the Lord, ye voices all

Program Notes

by Michelle Pellay-Walker

First Performance:  Theater an der Burg:  Vienna, March 1799

Best known as a composer of symphonies and chamber music, Franz Joseph Haydn also wrote numerous vocal works, including operas, sacred compositions, and other song forms (both sacred and secular).  Of his three oratorios, The Creation is probably the best known, and was inspired by visits to England (in 1791-92 and 1794-95), where he was exposed to the oratorios of George Frideric Handel (most notably Messiah, and Israel in Egypt).  The text of the libretto primarily comes from the Book of Genesis and the Psalms, and also contains references to John Milton’s Paradise Lost.  It is worth noting that said libretto exists both in German and in English (translated from the latter by Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten), with both versions adhering as closely to the King James Version of The Bible as possible.  The orchestral forces used here are quite large, including woodwinds in pairs (plus contrabassoon), a Classical period brass section to which three trombones have been added (as was typical for church music and for opera), timpani, continuo, and strings.  The oratorio is divided into three large sections.  Part the First covers the first Four Days of Creation:  the formation of heaven and earth, celestial bodies, land and sea, and plant life.  Part the Second continues with Days Five and Six:  the appearance of sea creatures, birds, land creatures, and finally, man.  Part the Third concludes with Day Seven:  the first hours of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  In addition to a full chorus, the Archangels Raphael (bass), Uriel (tenor), and Gabriel (soprano) provide the narrative in Parts One and Two.  Uriel introduces Part Three, which then continues with Adam (bass) and Eve (soprano), along with a concluding thought from Uriel before the final chorus.  While primarily a vocal work, The Creation begins with a substantial orchestral Prelude (representing Chaos), and the orchestra continues to be featured throughout, with Haydn using numerous examples of word painting, a primarily Renaissance composition technique that uses musical gestures (both instrumental and vocal) to enhance poetic imagery.    

On Stage

  • Rebecca Lord, DMA, has thrilled, charmed, and challenged musicians and audiences across the United States with sparkling performances of orchestral and choral repertoire that leverage her versatile background as a conductor, violinist, soprano, dancer, and actress. Dr. Lord has held an appointment as Assistant Orchestra Conductor and Chorus Master of Arizona Musicfest and has conducted the UCLA Symphony and Philharmonia and the Brigham Young University-Idaho Symphony and Wind Ensemble. She was one of five young orchestral conductors selected nationally to participate in the 2011 Atlantic Music Festival.

    Equally adept in the choral realm, Dr. Lord served as Associate Director of Choral Activities and Director of Choral Outreach at UCLA, where she conducted the University Chorale, University Chorus, Early Music Ensemble, and Chamber Singers. She served as Assistant Conductor of the internationally televised Hour of Power Choir and as a member of the choral faculty at Brigham Young University Idaho, where her conducting credits again included a vast international television and satellite audience. Along with performances in the home settings of those ensembles, she has appeared as a guest conductor and clinician across the nation, in venues ranging from Hawaii to New York’s Carnegie Hall.

    Dr. Lord’s preparation as a musician began when her mother placed a violin in her hands at the age of 2. She spent her school years thriving under the tutelage of musicians from Capitol University in Ohio and the Eastman School of Music and State University of New York at Buffalo in New York. She earned a baccalaureate degree in vocal performance, summa cum laude, under Dwight Coleman and Alan Raines at Georgia State University. Moving from Georgia to New York, she performed repeatedly as a soprano soloist in Manhattan’s Trinity Wall Street Choir and Bach Vespers Choir (and in many oratorio and concert settings elsewhere). While in New York, she earned a certificate in acting at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre School. A member of the Actors’ Equity Association, her 15 years of performance as a professional actress included two in residence with the Tony Award-winning Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. She also performed as a violinist for professional opera, ballet and theatre companies, on tour, and in the recording studio and conducted school choral and orchestral music in Pennsylvania and Utah.

    Ultimately, Dr. Lord’s passion for conducting brought a focused direction to her lifelong love of music as she followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, who was also a conductor. She earned Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in conducting under the instruction of Donald Neuen at UCLA, where she was named the top music graduate student. She continued to hone her conducting vision and skills through post-doctoral studies with Donald Neuen and the University of Michigan’s Kenneth Kiesler.

  • Soprano MARY WILSON has been hailed as one of today's most exciting artists, receiving critical acclaim for a voice that is “lyrical and triumphant, a dazzling array of legato melodies and ornate coloratura” (San Francisco Chronicle). Opera News heralded her first solo recording, Mary Wilson Sings Handel, stating “Wilson’s luminous voice contains so much charisma,” they dubbed her recording one of their “Best of the Year.”

    In consistent high demand on the concert stage, she has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Detroit Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, National Symphony of Costa Rica, Singapore Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Dayton Philharmonic, Boulder Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, IRIS Chamber Orchestra, VocalEssence, Berkshire Choral Festival, and at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. She has frequently worked with conductors Jeffrey Thomas, Nicholas McGegan, Martin Pearlman, Martin Haselböck, Robert Moody, Carl St. Clair, JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, John Sinclair, Anton Armstrong, and Leonard Slatkin. With the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, she sang the World Premiere of the song cycle “Songs Old and New” written especially for her by Ned Rorem. She was named an Emerging Artist by Symphony Magazine in the publication’s first ever presentation of promising classical soloists on the rise.

    An exciting interpreter of Baroque repertoire, “with a crystal clear and agile soprano voice perfectly suited to Handel's music” (Early Music America), she has repeatedly appeared with American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque, Musica Angelica, Boston Baroque, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Grand Rapids Bach Festival, Bach Society of St. Louis, Chatham Baroque, Musica Sacra Festival de Quito Ecuador, Baltimore Handel Choir, Florida Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Colorado Bach Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and the Carmel Bach Festival.

    After the very difficult year of cancellations due to Covid 19, she, like every other musician, is beyond excited to return to the stage and take that collective breath. Highlights of the 2021-2022 season include Barber Knoxville Summer of 1915 and Mendelssohn Elijah with Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and Handel Messiah with Nashville Symphony, Handel Messiah with Pacific Symphony and Jacksonville Symphony, Daugherty Labyrinth of Love with the University of Memphis Wind Ensemble, Handel Delirio Amoroso and Bach Wedding Cantata with American Bach Soloists, Carmina Burana with the New Hampshire Music Festival, and the Whitacre Five Hebrew Love Songs with Sarasota Ballet and Key Chorale. In addition, her recording of the Copland Emily Dickinson Songs arranged for woodwind quintet will be released this summer.

    Equally at home on the opera stage, she is especially noted for her portrayals of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Susannah in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Gilda in Rigoletto. She has created leading roles in North American and World Premiere performances of Dove’s Flight, Glass’ Galileo Galilei, and Petitgirard’s Joseph Merrick dit L’Elephant Man. A National Finalist of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she has appeared with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Dayton Opera, Arizona Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera Southwest, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Goodman Theatre.

    Ms. Wilson is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the highly-anticipated Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Oratorio Competition for young American singers specializing in oratorio repertoire. The inaugural competition is scheduled for February 2025. In addition, she is on voice faculty and leads the Teaching Fellowship Program for the International Performing Arts Institute taking place in Kiefersfelden, Germany, every July.

    An accomplished pianist, Ms. Wilson holds vocal performance degrees from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is an Associate Professor of Voice and Vocal Area Coordinator at the University of Memphis, and resides in Bartlett, Tennessee, with her husband Todd, their son Fletcher, and two dogs Max and Ruby.

    Visit her at www.MaryWilsonSoprano.com.

  • Samuel Cook is a native Texan and graduated from the Peabody Music Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. He received his graduate degree at Indiana University.

    International Opera Performance credits include success with the Cape Town Opera in S. Africa, La Coruña, Spain, and The Prague State Opera in the Czech Republic. While living and performing in Austria Samuel appeared as soloist with Bregenz Opera, Linz City Opera, and the Graz opera festival in Graz.

    National performances include The Chicago Opera, New Orleans Opera, Sacramento opera, and multiple roles with the Abilene Opera, in Texas.

    Not only has Mr. Cook appeared as an operatic artist, he’s also performed extensively as an international concert artist and recitalist in through-out Europe, and the United States.

    Among other upcoming engagements, he is scheduled to return in April 2024 to perform as tenor soloist with the Memphis Symphony in Haydn’s master work, “The Creation.”

    After enjoying an extensive and successful career performing through-out Europe, Samuel and his family moved to Abilene, TX where he is currently professor of Voice\Artist in Residence at Abilene Christian University.

  • Winner of the 2022 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Joseph Parrish is a Baltimore native and holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School. Recent operatic credits include Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, and Augure in Rossi’s L’Orfeo at Juilliard; Spinelloccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with Festival Napa Valley, Le Baron de Pictordu in the City Lyric Opera’s production of Viardot’s Cendrillon. Next season Joseph makes his Cincinnati Opera debut in Don Giovanni. In addition to opera, Mr. Parrish enjoys a robust concert career performing with orchestra and in recitals at such prestigious venues as The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Alice Tully Hall, St. Boniface Church in Brooklyn, and both Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.

    Recent and upcoming performances co-presented by Washington Performing Arts, Newport Classical, Bridgehampton Chamber Festival, New York’s American Classical Orchestra, Caramoor’s Schwab Vocal Rising Stars, Death of Classical, Usedome Music Festival, Carnegie Hall Citywide Concerts, The Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Denison University in Granville, OH, Sleepy Hollow Friends of Chamber Music, NYFOS, and in concert with Bay Atlantic Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Aiken Symphony, Princeton Pro Music, and the Ann Arbor Symphony.

    As a current artist diploma candidate in opera studies at The Juilliard School, Mr. Parrish is passionate about giving back to the various communities that have nurtured him. He has served as a Music Advancement Program chorus teaching fellow, Gluck Community Service Fellow, and Morse Teaching Artist. Mr. Parrish is also a member of the inaugural cohort of Shared Voices, an initiative designed to address diversity, equity, and inclusion through collaboration between Historically Black Colleges and Universities, top conservatories, and schools of music in the United States with the Denyce Graves Foundation.

  • Dr. Lawrence Edwards has been the Artistic Director of the Memphis Symphony Chorus since 1988 and he often conducts both the orchestra and the chorus. Dr. Edwards served as Coordinator of Choirs for the University of Memphis School of Music from 1987 to 2021.

    During that time, he directed the University Singers and the group Sound Fuzion, and taught undergraduate choral conducting. He also served as advisor/teacher for graduate choral conducting students. During the summers he taught graduate conducting at Villanova University in Philadelphia, and is active as a choral clinician throughout the country, working with junior and senior high honor choirs.

    Dr. Edwards received his undergraduate degree in music from Seattle Pacific University where he directed the Seattle Pacific Singers. He holds both Masters and Doctoral degrees in Music from the University of Illinois at Champaign where he studied orchestral conducting with the Romanian conductor, Mircia Cristescu. Prior to assuming his position at the University of Memphis, Dr. Edwards was Director of Choral Activities at West Virginia University in Morgantown.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra

Violin I
Barrie Cooper, Concertmaster
The Joy Brown Wiener Chair
Marisa Polesky, Assistant Concertmaster
Diane Zelickman Cohen, Assistant Principal
Wen-Yih Yu,  Assistant Principal
Priscilla Tsai

Violin II
Gaylon McKay Patterson, Principal
The Dunbar and Constance Abston Chair
Erin Kaste, Assistant Principal
Lenore McIntyre, Assistant Principal
Yennifer Correia
Esther Humphries

Viola
Jennifer Puckett, Principal
The Corinne Falls Murrah Chair
Beth Luscombe, Assistant Principal
Matthew Finley*
The Joyce McAnulty Blackmon Memorial Fellow
Katie Brown

Cello
Ruth Valente Burgess, Principal
The Vincent de Frank Chair
Iren Zombor, Assistant Principal
Jonathan Kirkscey, Assistant Principal

Bass
Scott Best, Principal
Chris Butler, Assistant Principal

Flute
Shantanique Moore, Principal
The Marion Dugdale McClure Chair
Delara Hashemi

Oboe
Saundra D’Amato, Principal
The Paul and Linnea Bert Chair
Shelly Sublett, Assistant Principal

Clarinet
Andre Dyachenko, Principal
The Gayle S. Rose Chair
Rena Feller

Bassoon
Susanna Whitney, Principal
The Carolyn Horrell Heppel Chair
Michael Scott
Tina Hazell

Contrabassoon
Tina Hazell

Horn
Caroline Kinsey, Principal
The Morrie A. Moss Chair
Robert Patterson, Assistant Principal

Trumpet
Scott Moore, Principal
The Smith & Nephew Chair
Susan Enger

Trombone
Greg Luscombe, Principal
Wes Lebo
Mark Vail

Bass Trombone
Mark Vail

Timpani
Frank Shaffer, Principal

Harp
Marian Shaffer, Principal
The Ruth Marie Moore Cobb Chair

*Circle of Friends Fellow

Memphis Symphony Chorus

ALTO 1
Donavon Darienzo
Pamela Gold *
Teresa Griffith
Christine Hughes*
Rosalyn Hurt
Anita I. Lotz
Lisa Lucks Mendel *
Kelley Muller-Smith
Theresa Osbahr
Sila Ozkara
Terron K. Perk
Fedoria Rugless
Anna Shelton
Alison Wetherald*

ALTO 2
Cindy Burnette
Caroline Clements
Andrea Goughnour
Gerre Harrell*
M. Ann Indingaro
Cora R. Jones
Suzanne Lease
Jill Jemison Margolin
Kenya Nichols
Mary Seratt
Rita West
Cindy White*

BASS 1
Bill Gaudet
Scott Hall
Samuel Hughes
Jim Jaggers
James McClanahan*
Quinton Rayford
Barry White*

BASS 2
Matthew Babb
Charles Dove II
Jacob Kerbaugh
David Patterson
Eugene M. Reyneke*
Al Whitney*
Lewis R. Wright

SOPRANO 1
Olivia Ball
Emma Boehme
Alicia Butler*
Edith Christmas
Tamara Clark
Roberta J. Hoppe
Sophia Marmion
Catherine Phelps
Aurora Russell
Andrea Sanchez

SOPRANO 2
Katie Brown
Janice T. Cate
Jesscia Collins
Vonda Collins
Sarah Farkas
Mary Gaudet
Mary Claire Jackson
Reagan Ramsey
Emma Weaver
Ia Traci White
Cathy Wilhelm

TENOR 1
Julius Dabbs
Clint M. Early, Jr
George Martin

TENOR 2
Craig Gough
M. Dylan Hooper*
Dr. David McNair
Keith Parsons
Erich Shultz

Liz Parsons, Accompanist
Dr. Lawrence Edwards, Conductor

 *Denote Chorus Board Member

DONORS

THANK YOU! Individuals, corporations, foundations, ArtsMemphis, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and others make annual contributions to support the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. The following community members have expressed their support for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra for 2022 and 2023.

$25,000+
AutoZone, Inc.
Paul and Linnea Bert
City of Memphis
The Estate of Adrienne D. Davis
FedEx Corporation
First Horizon Foundation
Dr. Suzanne Gronemeyer
Carolyn and Scott Heppel
Hyde Family Foundation
International Paper Foundation
Plough Foundation
The Estate of Mary Alice Quinn
Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick W. Smith
J. Richard and Carole M. Briscoe
John and Marsha Evans
Masanori and Seiko Igarashi
Frank and Jeanne Jemison
Dorothy Kirsch
Ann L. Powell

$10,000+
John and Ashley Remmers
Shelby County Government
The Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams
Charitable Foundation
Nancy Walker
The Estate of Patricia Walker
Joy Wiener
Rebecca and Spence Wilson

$5,000+
Bert and Carol Barnett
Jack and Kathleen Blair
Maria and Michael Douglass
James and Susan Edelman
David and Susan Ellison
Pam and Steve Guinn
Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation
Korones Family Foundation
Edwin Koshland
Robert and Mary Nell Kuhlo
Nathaniel Landau
Eva Lang and Scott LeMay
Dinah and Gary Makowsky
Elisa and Ramon Marus
Amy and Tony Milam
Rick and Carey Moore
Henry and Snowden Morgan
Linda and Ron Sklar
Paul Thomas

$2,500+
Fran and Peter Addicott
Louise and Will Barden
Stanley and Dot Bilsky
Judith Bookman
Paul Brezina
Arthur and Michelle Buring
Elizabeth and Charles Carter, Jr.
Copland Foundation
Farrell Calhoun, Inc.
Juan Fuentes
Jere Gerard
Lowry and Laura Howell
Donna Jefcoat
Dr. Carol Johnson-Dean
Christopher Knott-Craig
Ann and Dudley Langston
Elizabeth and Jerry Marshall
Montgomery and Laura Martin
Alan and Zoe Nadel
Robert Patterson and Patricia Gray
Laretha R. Sargent
Nick Sarraf
Stephen and Deborah Schadt
Jane and Bruce Smedley
John and Cristina Speer
Richard Tanner
Deborah Dunklin Tipton Charitable Fund
Otis and Marilane Warr
Betty and Jules Weiss
Barry and Cynthia A. White
Evelyn Wofford

$1,000+
Stephen Agar
Kay and Keith Anderson
Henry and Janet Bartosch
Reed Baskin and Alice Nishiwaki
Joey and Neal Beckford
Fiona and Lance Binder
Betty Blaylock
Peggy Bodine
Robert and Sheryl Bowen
Ray Brandon
Rose Merry Brown
Mary Beth and Tom Bryce
Paul and Suzanne Burgar
Alice Rawlins and Phil Burnett
Canale Foundation
Carol Lee and Joe Royer
Daniel Case
Irvine and Gloria Cherry
Karen Clawson
Charles and Nancy Coe
Carol Cummings
Gay Daughdrill Boyd
Mike and Blanche Deaderick
Dr. Margaret Debon
Dillard Door
Jim Dorman
JT Elliott
Eyleen Farmer
Jim and Susan Fletcher
Fred and Mary Lawrence Flinn
David Forell
Susan Frazee
Katherine and Jimmy Gould
Jerrold and Martha Graber
Kathy Hammond
Carolyn Chism Hardy
Larry Hardy
Page Henrion
Marisa and Paul Hess
Honeybird Foundation
Walter and Nancy Howell
Joanna Hwang
J. R. and Barbara Hyde
Eric and Cynthia Johnson
Rose and Thomas Johnston
Edith Kelly-Green
Ellen Klyce
Bruce and Susanne Landau
Barbara Lapides
Lucy and Tom Lee
Lauriann Lines
Al and Janet Lyons
Barbara McConville
John and Michelle McKissack
Lisa & Maurice Mendel
Rodgers Menzies
Irma W. Merrill
Rozlyn Nichols
William and Barbara Nixon
Cecile and Frederick Nowak
Nancy Otto
Marianne Parrs
Rushton Patterson
John Pickens
Kenneth Prince
Eileen and Joel Prout
Linda Rhea
Neil and Judy Ringel
Betty Robinson
Rose Montgomery Johnston Family Foundation
Gayle Rose
Diane Rudner
Beverly and Ken Sakauye
Craig and Andrea Sander
Dale Schaefer
Samuel and Leanne Scull
Mary Seratt
Patricia Seubert
Jerry Sharp
Cynthia Spangler and Charles Askew
Richard and Trish Spore
Mary Anne K. Sullivan
Irvin Tankersley
Lura and Steve Turner
Michael and Andie Uiberall
Susan Van Dyck and James Newcomb
Bill and Carmine Vaughan
Dr. Lee and Mary Linda Wardlaw
Graham and Megan Warr
Benton Wheeler and Aimee M. Christian
Alvin and Myra Whitney
Linda Wible
Camilla Wilson
Mary Wurtzburger
Susan Yount
Lyn and Gordon Yukon
Dennis Zolper

This list recognizes philanthropic contributors to the MSO made between July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 . While compiling this list every effort has been made to reflect the accuracy of our donors. If your name has been misspelled, omitted, or misrepresented please contact us at 901-537-2500 and will correct our records. We appreciate your generosity and understanding.