Artistic Director, Music Librarian, and Joshua Harper
Wrapping up the Season
Dear friends of AZ Phil, Hard to believe another season is about to come to an end. The planning and effort involved in bringing these incredible performers and works to the stage has come to fruition. One memorable concert to go - Dr Joshua Harper's Quartz Ensemble, March 24— and we're excited about it! Read the great article about Joshua below.
Many thanks to volunteer Sandy Stutey for stage decor and RST tech Reece Martin for the stunning D'Leon concert backdrop.
Welcome Back, Dr Joshua Harper! Quartz Ensemble's Leader Returns to Prescott
Sandy Farrell - Newsletter Editor, AZ Phil Board Member and Event Coordinator
Joshua Harper, formerly director of choral activities at Yavapai College and founder of Quartz Ensemble, returns to Prescott to direct the March 24 program of the Quartz Ensemble and Arizona Philharmonic string section and organist. Harper is now Director of Choral Activities at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Prescott Homecoming “This is my first time back and it feels like a homecoming. I miss the sun but I’m most excited about working with my colleagues in Quartz Ensemble.” Joshua added the ensemble has four members with hometown ties to Prescott.
Joshua described this concert as similar to the first collaboration of Quartz and AZ Phil. “I wanted to revisit lots of different composers and work with strings and choir, which blend so well. That was the germ of curating this program and there is a lot of repertoire for this combination. Henry proposed some pieces, and we whittled it all down to a program of seven pieces in total.”
Quartz Ensemble is made up of twelve singers, three on a part (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass). Playing with them are twelve AZ Phil musicians on violins, violas, cellos, and an organist.
What’s the secret to conducting choir and musicians at the same time? “No secret,” Harper says, “because ultimately singers and musicians are just different sections. "Each section prefers different gestures, and in rehearsal different vocabularies, but together they are the same sections of a large musical ensemble.”
The Concert Lineup The concert includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s, “Der Herr denket an uns”, featuring soloists Elijah Frank, Jordan Murillo, and Sarah Smith. Felix Mendelssohn’s composition, “Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten,” fits right in with use of strings accompanying and doubling the choir. The Mendelssohn will feature soprano soloist and Prescott local, Emily Spencer.
More contemporary classical composer Eric Whitacre is on the program. Joshua says “Whitacre is a rock star of classical choral music.” Whitacre attended the Juilliard School and composes primarily for choral music. “England got excited about him particularly when they named him a composer in residence at the University of Cambridge. Whitacre wrote, “Water Night,” initially for SATB chorus, but then arranged the piece for strings. “It is an amazing piece,” Joshua reported. Whitacre’s music had a powerful influence on undergraduate student Joshua. “I heard his music and it convinced me to change my major from finance to music.” Joshua says if you haven’t heard of him, come to hear his composition, because he is among the most currently celebrated composers. Also on the program is Peteris Vasks’s powerful piece, “Dona Nobis Pacem”, a timely prayer for peace.
Joshua is particularly excited about presenting cantatas by Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude, and a very powerful piece, “To the Hands," by Caroline Shaw. Shaw was the subject of Harper’s doctoral dissertation, and she is the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize and has recently won a Grammy.
“The Buxtehude cantata is first, then Shaw’s, because Shaw based her piece on his, and she takes his ideas and creatively spins them on their head. If you like Baroque, you will love her music,” Joshua said.
This Prescottonian says they get a fair bit of snow in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but January wasn’t too bad. “I’m starting to feel like I live here. I love what I’m doing and at Wilkes University I have the opportunity to work with two spectacular choirs.” Joshua and his new wife, Pamela Harper, have discovered Scranton’s Italian restaurants and seafood delights. “We’re enjoying seafood and they have amazing pizza here.”
Henry Flurry - New Duties as Artistic Director
Sandy Farrell - Newsletter Editor, AZ Phil Board Member and Event Coordinator
With the beginning of the year former AZ Phil Executive and Artistic Director, Henry Flurry, reached his goal of becoming only artistic director (AD), and mostly left administrative responsibilities to Executive Director Abby Coffey.
Passing the Baton How did that feel? “Letting go is scary. Every time I pass on more leadership responsibilities to someone else there is an awareness it is no longer my responsibility. The board’s decision in November to make Abby Executive Director is the right way forward, and I haven’t felt nervous for some time. We’re both artists and experienced in administration, and we understand each other.”
In most orchestras the conductor is artistic director, but AZ Phil doesn’t have a permanent conductor. The AD basically oversees concerts and their content. Henry helps choose concert content and musicians for small concerts, but board member Barbara Metz finds musicians for full orchestra concerts.
Finding a Balance As artistic director, Henry spends a lot of time formulating a balance between budget and art. “How do we grow responsibly and keep moving towards our goals as an orchestra while staying true to art.”
Practically speaking, Henry says by September he is looking a year ahead at the next season. Closer to each concert he still oversees some production items, such as making sure the stage set up is defined, and musicians know the schedule. Henry also writes well-researched articles about upcoming music, composers and performers for AZ Phil’s online newsletters. “In a smaller organization you wear more hats,” he says. He works closely with Marketing Director, Cynthia Jones, to use marketing opportunities as educational opportunities.
Henry spends a lot of time researching music through listening to music on the web and looking up composers. “Our concerts are very well received, with great musicians playing great music. I’m also excited about where AZ Phil is headed, both artistically and as an organization.” He is eager for increased audiences and for the orchestra to grow to 55 to 60 players, “and then we are doing big music, like Rachmaninoff.” Henry said people may not be aware that orchestras are funded 60 to 70% by donations and grants, so big music requires big funding.
Not Much Down Time While one can’t say Henry’s new schedule reflects much in the way of down time, he and wife Maria Flurry do have more time together and for their business, Sticks and Tones. Maria plays percussion and Henry plays piano as well as composes and teaches.
AZ Phil’s board named Henry Executive Director in 2019. But, from AZ Phil’s inception, Henry knew that for AZ Phil’s success, leadership needed to be passed on. “It’s a well-documented theory on the life cycle of non-profits that leadership needs to move beyond the founder for a non-profit to no longer be a start up. By all metrics, AZ Phil has entered the next phase of its growth.”
Meet Bonnie - Music Librarian
Sandy Farrell - Newsletter Editor, AZ Phil Board Member and Event Coordinator
Meet Bonnie Teplik, who has played violin with AZ Phil for six seasons and has been Music Librarian since 2019.
What is a Music Librarian’s job? The printed music, of course! Once Henry Flurry and others decide on the music for a concert, the music librarian locates that printed music. “If I’m doing my job, no one knows I exist,” Bonnie says. “I receive a list of music over the summer, find out what pieces we own, and which music parts we need to rent or purchase. It’s about what makes economic sense, what will we use again. I have a sense of satisfaction when I’ve done my job well.”
Music parts refers to scores for different instruments, but choral music parts are on the same sheet.
Because musicians should have the music a couple or six weeks in advance, Teplik said the search can take her to other countries. “One night last year I called Finland because the Finnish company was the only place to get this music, and I was up till 2:00am talking to them.”
Whether a librarian is needed depends on the number of musicians. “Small concerts get their own music and music librarians are used by full orchestras, and by Quartz Ensemble. Typically, AZ Phil needs three to four pieces per concert, and choral groups may need eight pieces."
It's all in the Details Are you thinking music librarian is a calling? According to the Music Library Association, "Training for music librarianship should include as broad an education as possible in both music and the liberal arts. Training in music must be the equivalent of at least substantial undergraduate work."
It is a very detailed job and to Teplik’s knowledge, the training is mostly on the job. There are no training classes for this position. “Once ordering is done boxes arrive and I need to examine all contents to insure what we ordered is what we got.” Teplik numbers all parts for different instruments, tracks by spreadsheet what AZ Phil already owns, and lists all included parts. There are different scores for each instrument. Players must return music or reimburse AZ Phil for it. “I hound players.”
The first half of the job is procuring the music, and the second half is returning it. Rented music must be returned in perhaps as little as a week. Teplik boxes it up, it must be insured for as much as $1500, and ships it.
Bonnie's Journey Recounting Teplik’s own professional musician journey, she recounts when she was five she would fall asleep under her mom’s (Karen Teplik, French horn player and board member with AZ Phil) chair, while Karen practiced. At the same age, Bonnie decided she wanted to play violin.
“At 12 I wanted to take the summer off from practicing but mom said, 'No.' I’m grateful she made that decision because discipline is learned and practicing is discipline.”
Bonnie must have been doing her job well because who knew orchestras had librarians?
Quartz Ensemble - Last Concert of The Season
Arizona Philharmonic
Excellence in Arts and Culture Award 2021
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Arizona Philharmonic (AZ Phil) is in its sixth season in 2023-2024 as Prescott's regional professional orchestra, presenting large and small concerts that engage and inspire listeners. Based in Prescott, AZ Phil draws musicians from across Arizona and is committed to offering transformative music, while nurturing community participation and supporting the needs and growth of the Prescott area performing arts scene. Recognized in 2021 by the Prescott Chamber of Commerce for Excellence in Arts and Culture, Arizona Philharmonic is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization performing at Prescott High School’s Ruth Street Theater. Ticket information, sponsorship and volunteer opportunities can be found at AZPhil.org and on Facebook.
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