Lafayette High School
Chamber Orchestra
KMEA Professional Development Conference
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Hyatt Regency Ball Room
9:25 am
The Lafayette High School Orchestra Department includes six performing groups including the Chamber Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, String Orchestra, an after school gig group and Full Symphony Orchestra. Our program strives to bring together student musicians from the Lafayette Band and Choir Departments to perform such works by Beethoven, Bernstein, Shostakovich, Orff, Faure, Vivaldi, and Mozart.
The Orchestra department consistently receives Distinguished ratings at KMEA Large Ensemble Performance Assessment events. Through the dedication of our faculty, private teachers, and parent support, Lafayette has had a strong tradition of music excellence and artistic development.
Our chamber orchestra was recently invited to perform at the 2018 ASTA National Orchestra Festival and received second place in their division. Also, in 2015, the full orchestra was invited to perform at the KMEA State Conference. The attainment of these and many other additional honors have come as a direct result of the dedication and work of current and former orchestra members of which belong to a rich tradition of musical and personal integrity.
The Orchestra department consistently receives Distinguished ratings at KMEA Large Ensemble Performance Assessment events. Through the dedication of our faculty, private teachers, and parent support, Lafayette has had a strong tradition of music excellence and artistic development.
Our chamber orchestra was recently invited to perform at the 2018 ASTA National Orchestra Festival and received second place in their division. Also, in 2015, the full orchestra was invited to perform at the KMEA State Conference. The attainment of these and many other additional honors have come as a direct result of the dedication and work of current and former orchestra members of which belong to a rich tradition of musical and personal integrity.
Violin IElla Abraham*
Bill Auer* Michelle Choi* Joe Davis Anna Grace Hurst* Izzy Martin* Delaney Rayens* Violin IIAlex Auer*
Eve Blackburn* Oscar Heft* Isabella Logsdon Cora Strode Phoebe Wagoner Luise Wendroth* |
ViolaEmily Gibson
Deborah Han* Anna Jeoung* Asmita, Karki* Kylie Meadows* Richard Smith* CelloJackson Arnold*
Courtni Bates Nathan Duttlinger Gillian Faulkner Collin Harrison Joe Mattingly* |
BassTala Glass*
Rosa Smith * Denotes 2020 KMEA All State Participant
|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Divertimento No. 1 in D major, K. 136, movements I. Allegro, III. Presto
Mozart was sixteen years old when he composed this Divertimento. He had just returned home from a tour of Italy where he secured a very lucrative contract to compose an opera for the Regio Ducal Opera House in Milan. During his short stay in his home in Salzburg Mozart was feverishly composing for his return trip to Italy. Mozart, already a celebrity, was in the process of composing the recitatives of Lucio Silla for the opera in Milan and a number of other quartet, chamber, and symphony works including this Divertimento. Scholars are not certain what Mozart intended for the title as he left no title on the manuscript.
The Allegro is a bright and entertaining movement. The opening measures settle us in the early classical style. The form is set up as a short sonata-allegro with a contrasting second theme and development section. With in the development we find a surprising and dark trip into D minor. This sets up a return to the triumphant reprise of the exposition.
In the presto we feel the light, bouncy, and playful finale. Mozart shows his composing prowess by reintroducing thematic material from the first movement as well as a contrapuntal section. The finale is explosive at times but is a clear expression of joy and celebration.
Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 was composed in 1936, the Adagio for Strings is an arrangement for string orchestra based on a movement from Barber's String Quartet, Op. 11. The composer also transcribed it for chorus in his Agnus Dei of 1967. Supposedly inspired by a passage from Virgil's Georgics that details the transformation of a small stream into a river, the work is almost always linked to grief and remembrance. It was first performed in 1938 in a radio broadcast of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Arturo Toscanini, who later recorded and performed the work on tours through Europe and South America. The Adagio for Strings is frequently used in movie soundtracks and to mark occasions of public mourning, including the funerals of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Albert Einstein. The work begins with a feeling of poignant melancholy and suppressed anguish which slowly develops into an intense outpouring of emotion. As soon as it reaches it most passionate moment this emotion is reigned in, and the calm and collected sadness of the beginning returns, drawing the work to close.
Conni Ellisor's Conversations in Silence, movements I, III, IV is described here in her own words, " One of my first commissions for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, this piece embodies my belief that music can transcend the barrier between words and hearts. Long before a thought assumes the concreteness of words and directives, it is an impulse- a quickening of the pulse, a tightening in the gut, a flash of pure emotion as subtle and evasive as a butterfly’s breath. All things begin and end in silence. All things are contained in silence. And so it follows that our silent conversations of the heart are some of our loudest. Passionate, raucous, primitive, impetuous, discordant, jubilant, and above all true. Our hearts are at the core of silence.“Written in four contrasting movements, Conversations in Silence owes something in structure to the classical period sinfonia concertante… This is an outgoing piece with a strong folkie/modal sound to the harmonies and a Bartókian drive. I could go into particulars about the music, but I’ll tantalize you with the prospect of a very pleasurable listening. Special praise should go to Ellisor for her funny schmaltzy episodes, her bolero-esque star turns for the cello, and the good-humored gypsy cafe-style playing during one of the interludes in the scherzo.” ~By Marcel Smith for Nashville Scene
“Conversations in Silence is a tonal essay, steeped in the classical tradition, yet distinctly ‘Nashville’ in its rhythms and bluesy in its harmonies. Its popular and critical success whetted the audience’s appetite for more of the same.” ~The Tennessean
David Baladrishnan's Skylife from Turtle Island Quartet
Since its inception in 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. The title track from the Turtle Island String Quartet's third Windham Hill recording (WD0126), Skylife is meant to be a slow-burning, heavy metal grinding kind of number. To play many kinds of contemporary pieces with in the context of the string orchestra, one must consider the role of the drums and percussion as a driving force, supplying the dynamic groove feeling through which the melodies and harmonies are entwined. Throughout the work you will hear "bowslaps" also known as "chops" that assume the role of a snare drum being hit on the second and fourth beats. In keeping with the evolving trends of jazz and rock you will hear a variety of stylistic devices. Pitch bends, falls, slides, glissandi, and distorted vibrato propel the traditional string orchestra into the 21st century.
Mozart was sixteen years old when he composed this Divertimento. He had just returned home from a tour of Italy where he secured a very lucrative contract to compose an opera for the Regio Ducal Opera House in Milan. During his short stay in his home in Salzburg Mozart was feverishly composing for his return trip to Italy. Mozart, already a celebrity, was in the process of composing the recitatives of Lucio Silla for the opera in Milan and a number of other quartet, chamber, and symphony works including this Divertimento. Scholars are not certain what Mozart intended for the title as he left no title on the manuscript.
The Allegro is a bright and entertaining movement. The opening measures settle us in the early classical style. The form is set up as a short sonata-allegro with a contrasting second theme and development section. With in the development we find a surprising and dark trip into D minor. This sets up a return to the triumphant reprise of the exposition.
In the presto we feel the light, bouncy, and playful finale. Mozart shows his composing prowess by reintroducing thematic material from the first movement as well as a contrapuntal section. The finale is explosive at times but is a clear expression of joy and celebration.
Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 was composed in 1936, the Adagio for Strings is an arrangement for string orchestra based on a movement from Barber's String Quartet, Op. 11. The composer also transcribed it for chorus in his Agnus Dei of 1967. Supposedly inspired by a passage from Virgil's Georgics that details the transformation of a small stream into a river, the work is almost always linked to grief and remembrance. It was first performed in 1938 in a radio broadcast of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Arturo Toscanini, who later recorded and performed the work on tours through Europe and South America. The Adagio for Strings is frequently used in movie soundtracks and to mark occasions of public mourning, including the funerals of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Albert Einstein. The work begins with a feeling of poignant melancholy and suppressed anguish which slowly develops into an intense outpouring of emotion. As soon as it reaches it most passionate moment this emotion is reigned in, and the calm and collected sadness of the beginning returns, drawing the work to close.
Conni Ellisor's Conversations in Silence, movements I, III, IV is described here in her own words, " One of my first commissions for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, this piece embodies my belief that music can transcend the barrier between words and hearts. Long before a thought assumes the concreteness of words and directives, it is an impulse- a quickening of the pulse, a tightening in the gut, a flash of pure emotion as subtle and evasive as a butterfly’s breath. All things begin and end in silence. All things are contained in silence. And so it follows that our silent conversations of the heart are some of our loudest. Passionate, raucous, primitive, impetuous, discordant, jubilant, and above all true. Our hearts are at the core of silence.“Written in four contrasting movements, Conversations in Silence owes something in structure to the classical period sinfonia concertante… This is an outgoing piece with a strong folkie/modal sound to the harmonies and a Bartókian drive. I could go into particulars about the music, but I’ll tantalize you with the prospect of a very pleasurable listening. Special praise should go to Ellisor for her funny schmaltzy episodes, her bolero-esque star turns for the cello, and the good-humored gypsy cafe-style playing during one of the interludes in the scherzo.” ~By Marcel Smith for Nashville Scene
“Conversations in Silence is a tonal essay, steeped in the classical tradition, yet distinctly ‘Nashville’ in its rhythms and bluesy in its harmonies. Its popular and critical success whetted the audience’s appetite for more of the same.” ~The Tennessean
David Baladrishnan's Skylife from Turtle Island Quartet
Since its inception in 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. The title track from the Turtle Island String Quartet's third Windham Hill recording (WD0126), Skylife is meant to be a slow-burning, heavy metal grinding kind of number. To play many kinds of contemporary pieces with in the context of the string orchestra, one must consider the role of the drums and percussion as a driving force, supplying the dynamic groove feeling through which the melodies and harmonies are entwined. Throughout the work you will hear "bowslaps" also known as "chops" that assume the role of a snare drum being hit on the second and fourth beats. In keeping with the evolving trends of jazz and rock you will hear a variety of stylistic devices. Pitch bends, falls, slides, glissandi, and distorted vibrato propel the traditional string orchestra into the 21st century.
Acknowledgements
Supportive parents and care-givers of our students
Lafayette Orchestra Association
Lafayette Orchestra Association
Administrative Staff
Emanuel Caulk, Superintendent
Bryne Jacobs, Principal
Richard Royster, associate principal
David Scholl, associate principal
Stephanie McDermott, administrative dean
Claire Gorski, dean of students
Littleton Ward, dean of students and athletic director
Lafayette Performing Arts Faculty
Charles M. Smith Director of Bands
Robert Dee Bishop, Associate Director of Bands
Aaron Jones, Jazz Band Director/Percussion Coordinator
Dr. Chris Strange, Jazz Band Director
Ryan Marsh, Director of Choirs
Laura Howard, Vocal Instructor/Director
Amanda Wells, Vocal Instructor
Cathy Rowland, Piano Instructor
Phil Kent, Orchestra Director
Aaron Breeck, Assistant Orchestra Director
Amie Kisling, Director of Theatre Arts
Alberta Labrillazo, SCAPA Director of Theatre
Cassady Gorrell, Associate Director of Theatre Arts
Bryne Jacobs, Principal
Richard Royster, associate principal
David Scholl, associate principal
Stephanie McDermott, administrative dean
Claire Gorski, dean of students
Littleton Ward, dean of students and athletic director
Lafayette Performing Arts Faculty
Charles M. Smith Director of Bands
Robert Dee Bishop, Associate Director of Bands
Aaron Jones, Jazz Band Director/Percussion Coordinator
Dr. Chris Strange, Jazz Band Director
Ryan Marsh, Director of Choirs
Laura Howard, Vocal Instructor/Director
Amanda Wells, Vocal Instructor
Cathy Rowland, Piano Instructor
Phil Kent, Orchestra Director
Aaron Breeck, Assistant Orchestra Director
Amie Kisling, Director of Theatre Arts
Alberta Labrillazo, SCAPA Director of Theatre
Cassady Gorrell, Associate Director of Theatre Arts
Phil Kent a native of Scottsville, Kentucky and a graduate from Allen County-Scottsville High School. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University receiving a Bachelors degree in Instrumental Music Education, K-12. He has earned a Masters in Music Education with a string emphasis from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He studied both trombone with Dale Warren and violin with Stanislov Antoniovich, then upon completion of his degree began studying cello with Dr. Yoonie Choi.
Mr. Kent is currently in his fifteenth year of teaching as an orchestra director. He is in his tenth year as the director of orchestras at Lafayette High School, the School for the Performing and Creative Arts, and Clays Mill Elementary in Lexington, KY. Previously, he taught in the Montgomery County School System in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.
Mr. Kent served as the KMEA District 8 Orchestra Chair, the Kentucky Music Educators Association State Orchestra Chair, and KMEA Credentials and Elections Chair. He has also served as an adjudicator for KMEA Large Ensemble Assessments and KMEA Solo and Ensemble Assessments. Mr. Kent has also been invited to conduct the Jefferson County Regional Middle School Symphonic Orchestra, Campbellsville University Honors Orchestra, and the KMEA Third District Honors Orchestra.
He has performed with various professional and community ensembles such as the Woodford County Community Theater, the Distilled Theater Group, the Bluegrass Area Jazz Ambassadors, the Metronomes Big Band and the Yellow Dog New Orleans Jazz Band. Mr. Kent is a member of the Kentucky Music Educators Association, the Music Educators National Conference, Phi Mu Alpha, and the American String Teachers Association.
Mr. Phil Kent is married to his beautiful bride Amanda Kent and enjoys hiking, camping, performing and traveling. They recently moved to historic Harrodsburg Kentucky and purchase their 173 year old dream home with their German Shepard Zara.
Mr. Kent is currently in his fifteenth year of teaching as an orchestra director. He is in his tenth year as the director of orchestras at Lafayette High School, the School for the Performing and Creative Arts, and Clays Mill Elementary in Lexington, KY. Previously, he taught in the Montgomery County School System in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.
Mr. Kent served as the KMEA District 8 Orchestra Chair, the Kentucky Music Educators Association State Orchestra Chair, and KMEA Credentials and Elections Chair. He has also served as an adjudicator for KMEA Large Ensemble Assessments and KMEA Solo and Ensemble Assessments. Mr. Kent has also been invited to conduct the Jefferson County Regional Middle School Symphonic Orchestra, Campbellsville University Honors Orchestra, and the KMEA Third District Honors Orchestra.
He has performed with various professional and community ensembles such as the Woodford County Community Theater, the Distilled Theater Group, the Bluegrass Area Jazz Ambassadors, the Metronomes Big Band and the Yellow Dog New Orleans Jazz Band. Mr. Kent is a member of the Kentucky Music Educators Association, the Music Educators National Conference, Phi Mu Alpha, and the American String Teachers Association.
Mr. Phil Kent is married to his beautiful bride Amanda Kent and enjoys hiking, camping, performing and traveling. They recently moved to historic Harrodsburg Kentucky and purchase their 173 year old dream home with their German Shepard Zara.
Aaron Breeck began studying violin at age 9. He received his Bachelors of Music in music education from the University of Kentucky (UK) and his Masters of music from Vandercook College of Music. While at UK he studied violin with Daniel Mason and Margaret Karp.
Mr. Breeck’s first classroom teaching experience occurred as an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky as a charter member of the UK String Project conducting orchestras and holding violin master classes. For the past 14 years Mr. Breeck was an orchestra director in Montgomery County Public Schools. In 2010 he became the Director of Orchestras at Montgomery County High School. At that post he also conducted the Musical Pit Orchestra for the Robert Haynes Spring Musical held annually. Under Mr. Breeck’s direction the orchestras at Montgomery County High School have received distinguished ratings at KMEA Large Ensemble Assessment every year. The Montgomery County High School Orchestra program has achieved “Gold Level” in the KMEA Program of Excellence every year since 2012.
Mr. Breeck is an active member of the orchestra community throughout the state of Kentucky. He has been a guest conductor for the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District Orchestra Music Festival and Fayette County Middle School Honors Orchestra. He has adjudicated orchestras for Large Ensemble Festivals as well as KMEA Solo & Ensemble Festivals throughout Kentucky. Mr. Breeck served as the KMEA Orchestra Division Chair for District 8 and is a member of NAfME. In the summer of 2013 Mr. Breeck was invited to Yale University to participate in the Yale Symposium on Music Education where he received the Yale School of Music Distinguished Music Educator Award. Mr. Breeck was a co-presenter with colleague Ashley Tyree at the 2015 National School Board Association Conference representing the music department for Montgomery County Public Schools. In 2018 Mr. Breeck was selected as the KMEA District 8 High School Music Teacher of the Year.
In his free time Mr. Breeck enjoys travelling with his wife Lauren Wright and staying active by playing rugby.
Mr. Breeck’s first classroom teaching experience occurred as an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky as a charter member of the UK String Project conducting orchestras and holding violin master classes. For the past 14 years Mr. Breeck was an orchestra director in Montgomery County Public Schools. In 2010 he became the Director of Orchestras at Montgomery County High School. At that post he also conducted the Musical Pit Orchestra for the Robert Haynes Spring Musical held annually. Under Mr. Breeck’s direction the orchestras at Montgomery County High School have received distinguished ratings at KMEA Large Ensemble Assessment every year. The Montgomery County High School Orchestra program has achieved “Gold Level” in the KMEA Program of Excellence every year since 2012.
Mr. Breeck is an active member of the orchestra community throughout the state of Kentucky. He has been a guest conductor for the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District Orchestra Music Festival and Fayette County Middle School Honors Orchestra. He has adjudicated orchestras for Large Ensemble Festivals as well as KMEA Solo & Ensemble Festivals throughout Kentucky. Mr. Breeck served as the KMEA Orchestra Division Chair for District 8 and is a member of NAfME. In the summer of 2013 Mr. Breeck was invited to Yale University to participate in the Yale Symposium on Music Education where he received the Yale School of Music Distinguished Music Educator Award. Mr. Breeck was a co-presenter with colleague Ashley Tyree at the 2015 National School Board Association Conference representing the music department for Montgomery County Public Schools. In 2018 Mr. Breeck was selected as the KMEA District 8 High School Music Teacher of the Year.
In his free time Mr. Breeck enjoys travelling with his wife Lauren Wright and staying active by playing rugby.
our vision
The mission of the Lafayette High School Orchestra is to develop in each student an appreciation of our inherit musical culture, to teach techniques of musical expression, to discover and develop the talents of students in all styles of music, to develop knowledge and skills in listening, reading, and performing at a high artistic level.
Community, friendships, and outreach are three words that represent our vision for the program. Students in the Lafayette Orchestra program have a rich tradition of musical excellence and pride through performing from the heart. We seek to share our talents and passions with the community. We share our musical gifts with the young and the young at heart through programs like our "Giving Bach" outreach to students with special needs as well as through our mentorship program for future orchestra members. We love to perform, not only on stage, but off stage too!
Our orchestra provides a variety of essential elements in our students' lives. Participation in such a large group involves not just musical talent, but discipline, maturity, social skills, and personal responsibility. Weaving these elements together requires regular attendance, a high level of participation, and quality individual preparation. The overall group’s success relies each individual's ability to attain these elements. If everyone does their part, the experience will definitely be rewarding!
Community, friendships, and outreach are three words that represent our vision for the program. Students in the Lafayette Orchestra program have a rich tradition of musical excellence and pride through performing from the heart. We seek to share our talents and passions with the community. We share our musical gifts with the young and the young at heart through programs like our "Giving Bach" outreach to students with special needs as well as through our mentorship program for future orchestra members. We love to perform, not only on stage, but off stage too!
Our orchestra provides a variety of essential elements in our students' lives. Participation in such a large group involves not just musical talent, but discipline, maturity, social skills, and personal responsibility. Weaving these elements together requires regular attendance, a high level of participation, and quality individual preparation. The overall group’s success relies each individual's ability to attain these elements. If everyone does their part, the experience will definitely be rewarding!