Wood, Water and Wolfgang – manos percussion – Program Notes

Arizona Philharmonic
February 5, 2023 3:00pm

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The percussion trio manos received a resounding standing ovation in 2020. Expanding to a quartet, AZ Phil’s principal percussionist Eddie Solomon now joins our timpanist Maria Flurry and Tucson Symphony Orchestra percussionists Homero Cerón and Fred Morgan. In this concert they combine their percussion instruments of wood, metal, skin, and water to snare you into a thoughtfully curated, virtuosic program of familiar favorites and exotic musical selections. From delicate to bold to unabashedly fun, manos delights the ears and fills the soul with percussion’s wealth of musical possibilities.

Special guests include narrator Marnie Uhl, soprano soloist Emily Spencer, and local visual artist Carlos Duran, who will paint a new work of art during some of the music on the concert.

PROGRAM

ACT I

Applause: Quartet for Handclappers
Michael Rhodes
Gymnopedies
Erik Satie
Four-Square Cadence
Jay Vosk
Double Concerto in A Minor
Antonio Vivaldi
Brief, on a Flying Night
Andrew Thomas
Maria Flurry, percussion • Marnie Uhl, narration
La Llorona, Istmo de Tehuantepec, Zandunga
Traditional Mexican
Agnus Dei from Missa in C Major K. 317
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Emily Spencer, Soprano • Jim Klein, Conductor • manos choir

INTERMISSION

ACT II

Xylophonia
George Hamilton Green
Batacuda
Pablo Reippi
Eddie Solomon, drum set
Nagoya Marimbas
Steve Reich
Homero Cerón, marimba • Fred Morgan, marimba
Children’s Songs #9, #2, and #14
Chick Corea
Postlude #8
Elliott Cole
The Sky Fell
Maria Flurry
with Andy O’Brien, celeste • Katie Staudt, percussion

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Program Notes

Program notes by J. Michael Allsen

Applause: Quartet for Handclappers - Michael Rhodes

Percussion instruments produce their sound when a player hits, scrapes, shakes, or applies friction to them to produce vibrations. These techniques can also be applied to the human body. The body presents several unique possibilities including the use of different styles of clapping, moving the feet and mouth, even whistling!

Not unique among musicians, Mr. Rhodes can count many phases of his professional career. He stands out, because he excels at whatever he touches: award-winning professional percussionist, high school band director, award-winning band director at Florida State, published composer, financial consultant, financial educator, and prolific author of science fiction novels.

As a side note, his LinkedIn page states, “I love making new friends and contacts, and I am open to speaking with recruiters.” No wonder this piece is so much fun!

Gymnopedies - Erik Satie

This is the most famous work you never knew the name of. “Gymnopedies” was originally written for piano in 1888 by Erik Satie. At that time, the French were fascinated by the lands of the western Pacific rim like China and Viet Nam, which they perceived as “exotic” and mysterious. The instrumentation of this transcription attempts to capture that mood by scoring for instruments from that area and using the lower, mellow ranges of melodic percussion.

The beauty of this piece is in its simplicity: one melody line, swaying accompaniment chords arriving at predictable intervals supported by a languid bass.

Satie directs us to play it “Slowly, with pain (or grief)” (Lent et douloureux). Kathryn Louderback calls it, “a world of color, reflection, and imagination.” Maria hears quiet joy. There are no wrong answers to what the listener hears.

Four-Square Cadence - Jay Vosk

A percussion concert cries out for at least one “straight up” drum piece. Jay Vosk provides the thrill of the snare drums with a well-crafted piece full of sonic treats. In addition to various stick techniques, he also asks for brushes, high velocity, nuanced dynamics, and skillful passing of ideas from one player to another. If you like it, enjoy! If not, don’t worry: Vivaldi comes next.

Double Concerto in A Minor – Antonio Vivaldi

Questions about the life of Antonio Vivaldi, the legendary “Red Priest” of 18th Century Venice, remain today. They revolve around his work at an orphanage for girls as well as his live-in caretaker and favorite soprano, Anna Giro. Other interesting facts include his very red hair, asthma which excused him from saying the mass, and interest in money. Intriguing information and so many movies and books about this man cannot eclipse his musical legacy: hundreds of concertos, volumes of sacred music, and about 50 operas.

Through popular culture and the concert hall, it is possible every person reading these program notes has heard Vivaldi’s music especially his most famous concertos, “The Four Seasons.” The dancing rhythms (syncopations), lighting-quick speeds (tempi), and expressive melodies heard in those concertos also make their mark on today’s concerto. Fred is featured on the vibraphone.

Brief, on a Flying Night - Andrew Thomas

Andy Thomas composed this for Maria Flurry following her commissioning a work from him in 1986. It is inspired by a poem of the 19th century of suffragist, editor of a major London magazine, and mother of 7, Alice Meynell. The crashing of bells and their many tones come shining through to the listener in this piece. Its last performance was likely in 1986.

The piece is written for marimba and vibraphone played by one person. Today, you are participating in its world RE-premier.

AZ Phil extends its warmest gratitude to one of people most dedicated to building the community of this area, Marnie Uhl, for contributing her talents to the reading of Mrs. Meynell’s poetry.

La Llorona, Istmo de Tehuantepec, & Zandunga – Traditional Mexican

These beautiful songs were taught to manos by Homero through the traditional rote style. “La Llorona” is a song about a woman who is loved and longed for. This yearning melody has been sung by many generations and gains new popularity in Disney’s movie, Coco.

For those of us who haven’t visited the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, imagine a land that is home to 300 species of orchids, agriculture, the petroleum giant, Pemex, and tens of thousands of years of beautiful and turbulent human history. Here are some lyrics to this song of devotion to one’s homeland:

Tropical warm and beautiful
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Music of a marimba
The wood that sings with the voice of a woman.

“La Zandunga” roared into Mexican culture in the mid 1800’s. In Tehuantepec, the words were transformed into Zapotec and has become the unofficial anthem of that area. “Zandunga” (or “Sandunga”) translates roughly to “gracefulness, elegance, charm, with, and celebration”. Now considered a traditional Mexican waltz, the women dance in dresses covered the intricate, festive embroidery, elegant hairstyles, gold jewelery, and headdresses of the Tehauntepec region.

Agnus Dei from Missa in C Major K. 317"Coronation" - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In 1779, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the most enduring of his early church works, Missa in C (Kroenungsmesse), or “Coronation Mass”. The first performance was probably in the cathedral in beautiful Salzburg in 1779. The title is probably derived from a later use at a coronation ceremony for the Holy Roman Empire.

The mass in its entirety was performed by Yavapai College’s Master Chorale last fall. After hearing Emily Spencer sing the memorable melody of the Agnus Dei’s prayer for peace, Maria was inspired to arrange the movement percussion, featuring mostly the clear tones of the vibraphone supporting Emily’s lyrical interpretation.

Listen closely to how she phrases “miserere”, which means “mercy”.

The lyrics:

Latin	English
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi,	Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
miserere nobis.	have mercy on us.
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi,	Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
dona nobis pacem.	grant us peace.

Xylophonia - George Hamilton Green

Xylophonia was published in 1925 by the Leedy Manufacturing Company as a xylophone solo with piano accompaniment. It is in the style and form of a ragtime march. A “stop-time” trio adds flavor as the bars are muffled upon the mallet’s impact. The finale might go so fast that Fred’s mallets are simply a blur! The technique and velocity demands of this piece earned it the nickname, “Xylophobia”.

Batacuda - Pablo Reippi

Batucada is a substyle of samba and refers to a percussive style, usually performed by an ensemble, known as a batería. Batucada is characterized by its repetitive style and fast pace. As in samba, the batucada is a Brazilian musical expression with African roots. An ensemble playing a batacuda can have 10 instruments or more. Eddie brings us a special version in which he all the parts are condensed into one player.

Nagoya Marimbas - Steve Reich

Steve Reich (pronounced “Rysch”) came of age in the musical noise of the 1950’s. He wasn’t finding his musical “voice” or form of music that really expressed what and how he wanted to create. First, through electronic music, he began experimenting with new ways of putting music together like “phasing”, which is shifting one melody rhythmically until it is not in sync with the first melody. Later, he added acoustic instruments, musical patterns from Indonesian and Hebrew chant, different speech patterns, and more to create his flavor of the “minimalist” style, unique from his colleagues Phillip Glass and John Adams.

Composed in 1994, Mr. Reich wrote these words about “Nagoya Marimbas”:

“Nagoya Marimbas is somewhat similar to some of my earlier pieces, which I wrote in the 1960s and ‘70s, in that there are repeating patterns played on both marimbas, one or more beats out of phase, creating a series of two-part unison canons. However, these patterns are more melodically developed than my earlier work. They change frequently and each is usually repeated no more than three times, which is more similar to my more recent work. The piece is also considerably more difficult to play than my earlier ones and requires two virtuosic performers.”.

Homero and Fred will be your virtuosos for today’s performance.

Children’s Songs #9, #2, and #14 - Chick Corea

Who plays: 4 manos musicians

The first time I heard Chick Corea’s “Children’s Songs” was in the 80’s. He was playing his pieces on piano on a record that I played over and over again. The simplicity of his complexity and his jazz style played with a touch of a concert hall accent still enchant me. I listen to them when I want to relax or break a bad mood. Arranged for percussion by David Steinquest, each of these movements is a miniature world of its own.

Postlude #8 - Elliott Cole

From the composer’s website:

“Postludes is a book of eight pieces for a familiar instrument played in a new way. Four players, with eight double-bass bows, play interlocking lines on a single vibraphone. The interplay of bows and hands tapping, muting, and touching harmonics, weaves an intimate and intricate counterpoint that is as beautiful to watch as it is to hear: fragile, tender and haunting.”

Manos considered several different movements of Elliott Cole’s “Postludes” for today’s performance. What sealed the decision was finding a Vimeo version with colorful electronic art that moves in real time with the music. A search high and low for an app that could do that for Prescott’s audience turned up empty-handed.

A chance meeting with Carlos Duran in his Bashford Courts studio during last December’s Acker Night sparked the idea that live art could be created with live music in this concert hall. Having painted live at many clubs in the Twin Cities, Carlos embraced the idea with enthusiasm. Today is the beginning of what we hope will be a long and inspiring collaboration. Please be sure to thank Carlos for donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of today’s creation to Arizona Philharmonic.

The Sky Fell – Maria Flurry

As you may know, an acorn hit Chicken Little (a.k.a. “Henny Penny”) and rolled out of sight. Drawing her own conclusion, the tiny foul alarmed all the farm animals by crying at the top of her lungs, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” Fortunately, they eventually discovered it was merely an acorn that had caused the blow. All was well again on the farm.

But what if the sky really did fall? From time to time in our lives, it can feel as if an event of that force has actually happened to us. What happens when the sky falls? How can one person cope amid the torrent?

Performers

Percussionists

Maria Flurry

Maria Vomlehn Flurry (www.MariaFlurry.com) has performed with the Detroit, Baltimore, Spokane, Phoenix, Toledo, and Annapolis Orchestras as well as orchestras across southeast Michigan. Ms. Flurry has been guest timpanist with the Michigan Opera Theater, Mannheim Steamroller, Phoenix Symphony, and she served as principal timpanist with the Flint Symphony Orchestra for over a decade.

She has performed as concerto soloist with Spokane Symphony, Flint Symphony, Arizona Philharmonic, Tucson Chamber Orchestra, Flagstaff Symphony, MusicNova, University City Symphony (Missouri), San Tan Orchestra, Prescott Symphony, and Prescott Chamber Orchestra. Her Spokane performance of Tan Dun’s Water Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra is listed among significant performances of this work on Tan Dun’s website.

Educated at Interlochen Arts Academy, Peabody Conservatory, University of Michigan, Aspen Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and National Orchestral Institute, she served as faculty at the Hot Springs Music Festival. An artist endorser for Black Swamp Percussion and juried Roster Member of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, she has performed across the Southwest with her pianist/composer husband, Henry Flurry as Sticks and Tones since 2002. Sticks and Tones is also a Roster Member of the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Eddie Solomon

Eddie Solomon is the Principal Percussionist of the Arizona Philharmonic. He has performed as a percussionist with the Arkansas Symphony and the Midland-Odessa Symphony. Eddie has additionally attended the Hot Springs Music Festival and the Zeltsman Marimba Festival.

Eddie comes to the AZ Phil as a native Texan where he has lived in the Houston area for most of his life. He attended the University of Houston for his Undergraduate studies and went on to receive a Masters in Orchestral Studies from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL. Eddie’s teachers have included Matt Strauss, Blake Taylor, Vadim Karpinos, Ed Harrison, and Dr. Blake Wilkins.

Homero Cerón

Based in Tucson, Arizona, Homero Cerón (www.HomeroCeron.com), has lived a diverse life as a percussionist. Starting in the music business as a 12-year-old drummer in Monterrey, Mexico, he went on to study music at The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, followed by graduate work at The University of Arizona. He has appeared as a soloist on marimba/vibraphone and percussion with the Tucson Symphony, True Concorde and Tucson Pops Orchestras, and many chamber groups. He is the Pima Community College adjunct percussion instructor and the recipient of the Arizona Arts Award (1999) and The You Are My Sunshine award (Young Audiences of America 1996). He presently is former Principal Percussionist of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, former Timpanist of the Tucson Pops, and Timpanist/percussionist with True Concorde. He freelances as a marimba, vibraphone, and steel drum player as well as a musician in jazz and chamber music. Homero is co-director of The Tucson Latin Jazz Nonet, an ensemble that specializes in Afro-Cuban jazz. Homero Cerón is a Yamaha Artist.

Fred Morgan

Fred has been a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra as second percussionist since October 2012. He also has performed as principal timpanist of the Duluth Superior Symphony since 2008. Fred’s further professional engagements include performing with the Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Fred received his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance in 2002 under the study of Jack Van Geem at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and received his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Will Hudgins. After the completion of his graduate study he returned to his hometown of San Francisco to study timpani performance further with current Chicago Symphony timpanist David Herbert. His other instructors include James Lee Wyatt, Andrew Lewis, and jazz drummer Alan Hall.

In 2003, Fred won the first prize in the Oakland Symphony’s Young Artist Competition, and as winner performed William Kraft’s Timpani Concerto with the orchestra. He was also a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra from 1997-2002. In addition, Fred has participated in numerous music festivals throughout the world, including Spoleto USA, Aspen, Schleswig-Holstein, timpanist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Jeunesses Musicales, Midsummer Mozart, and Bear Valley.

As a San Francisco native, Fred spends most of his time between Tucson and San Francisco. During the summer months he currently performs with West Edge Opera in the East Bay.

Fred Morgan is second percussionist of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and principal timpanist of the Duluth Superior Symphony. He also is performing with the Detroit Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Membersof the manos choir

Guests

Emily Spencer

At age 18, Emily Spencer was selected by a panel of judges that included opera stars William Warfield and Blanche Thebom to perform in the Rosa Ponselle Foundation’s Annual Winners Showcase Concert in Baltimore, MD. This cemented her desire to pursue classical vocal studies, which led to her completion of a Vocal Performance and Pedagogy degree from Brigham Young University. She later went on to complete a Master of Arts degree in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Upon graduation, she co-founded and directed the Tri-State Choral Society of Sinsinawa, WI. Ms. Spencer also served as a soprano section Principal with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Spencer’s solo concert credits include Caldara’s Stabat Mater, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Magnificat, and Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Mass in Time of War, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, and Forrest’s Requiem for the Living. She was the recipient of a scholarship to study with opera coach Timothy Shaindlin, who has served on the music staffs of the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also studied with Jamie Johns, Associate Musical Director of The Phantom of the Opera National Tour.

Ms. Spencer is an inaugural member of the Prescott-based professional 12-voice ensemble Quartz. She resides in Prescott, AZ with her husband and five children.

Jim Klein, Artistic Director

Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Choral Music and Piano Performance from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD, and a Master of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Iowa. He taught secondary choral music in Iowa for seven years and was the Minister of Music at American Lutheran Church in Huron, SD from 1978-1990.

From 1990-2016 Jim served as full-time Minister of Music at American Lutheran Church in Prescott where he directed seven vocal choirs, five handbell choirs, and various instrumental ensembles. He conducted the Yavapai College Master Chorale from 1993-2007, leading the Chorale on three international tours to Central Europe in 1998, Italy in 2002, and Scandinavia in 2007.

He and his wife Eileen, who served with him as organist in his church positions, are officially retired, but they are not REALLY retired! Besides serving as Artistic Director of Camerata Chamber Singers (CCS), Jim sings in the YC Master Chorale and St. Luke’s Choir, directs the Ringers of St. Luke’s handbell choir, High Desert Ringers (advanced community handbell choir), and plays piano/keyboard for the Prescott Pops Symphony. He is also arranger and advisor for Eine Kleine Freunden Musik (EKFM), a four-person ensemble of handbells, vocals, and piano, that has provided music for area worship services, both live and virtually during the pandemic.

Jim and Eileen have two children, Eric and Julie, and three grand dogs, Bill and Ted, Paddles, and Ripley. They also are proud owners of Marco, a sweet Maltipoo who provides daily entertainment.

Carlos Duran

Carlos Duran was born and raised in Arizona. His studio and gallery are located in the beautifully remodeled historical Bashford Courts building in downtown Prescott. As a member of the Prescott Downtown Partnership, his mission is to share my 30 years of experience in residential interior design and commercial mural and artwork installations with local and surrounding areas. Carlos paints commissions, large scale murals, and for interior design. He teaches classes and leads art therapy sessions.

Carlos will be painting a new work during three of the concert’s pieces. The work will be for sale after the concert, and proceeds will be split with Arizona Philharmonic.