Ravinia 2021 - Issue 4

.RIS7IN H2EBERMANN (CHEN) at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. Deeply influenced by his diverse Mexican musical heritage, Márquez’s compositions have been commissioned by organizations such as the Festival de México, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rockefeller Foundation, San Antonio Symphony, and Universidad Met- ropolitana de México. For his contributions to Mexican culture, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes awarded Márquez the Medalla de Oro de Bellas Artes in 2006—the first time a musician had received this honor. President Felipe Calderon bestowed the Premio Nacio- nal de Artes y Sciences award on Márquez three years later. His brilliant series of nine symphonic danc- es—the danzón , transplanted from Cuba and popularized in Mexico in the 19th century— have found a regular place on orchestral pro- grams, especially the popular Danzón No. 2. Conga del Fuego Nuevo ( Conga of the New Fire ; 2001) evokes another Cuban dance, the conga, that followed a similar path of pop- ularity to Mexico a century later. Its driving rhythms and dazzling orchestration reflect the jubilant music of Carnival. The title har- kens back to the “ceremonia del fuego nuevo” (ceremony of the new fire), a ritual observed every 52 years in pre-Columbian Mexico to restore harmony and order in the universe. –Program notes © 2021 Todd E. Sullivan CHICAGO SINFONIETTA Since its founding in 1987 by Paul Freeman, the Chicago Sinfonietta has been an acclaimed cul- tural leader and a powerful champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion in orchestras, in both its programming and the composition of the ensemble itself. The Sinfonietta has performed in Orchestra Hall in downtown Chicago since its inception, and it is has also been in residence at Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville since 2011. Its first two decades were highlighted by six European tours with Freeman, as well as two performances at the Kennedy Center, 15 recordings, and a nine-year relationship with The Joffrey Ballet as its official orches- tra. In 2011 Mei-Ann Chen succeeded Freeman as music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, and the orchestra was honored with both ASCAP’s and the League of American Orchestras’ awards for adventurous programming after her first season. The ensemble has since been fea- tured in Symphony magazine for its model of programming, and it has also been recognized with a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions—the “genius award” for non-profit organizations—in 2016 and a League of American Orchestras Catalyst Award for institutional development and anti-racism training in 2020. Beyond its critical acclaim for performances of both standard repertoire and music by composers of color—introducing generations of concert- goers to “new” works and bringing attention to deserving but under-recognized composers—the Chicago Sinfonietta is celebrated for its myriad education and community programs. Its class- room programs include Audience Matters, focusing on 4th–6th grade students in partnership with more than 20 Chicago Public Schools and nine Aurora schools, and Student Ensembles with Excellence and Diversity (SEED), a mentoring program for talented high school musicians. The Residents Orchestrate Project reimagines the role that the orchestra can play in historically un- der-resourced Chicago neighborhoods. And the Sinfonietta’s nationally recognized Project In- clusion fellowships train and mentor of young musicians in the areas of administration, ensemble performance, conducting, and composition. The Chicago Sinfonietta first appeared at Ravinia in 2004 for the American premiere of the Zulu opera Princess Magogo , and tonight returns for its fifth season at Ravinia. VIOLINS Paul Zafer Concertmaster Carol Dylan David Katz Terrance Gray James Sanders Karla Galva Carl Johnston Phyllis Sanders-Griffin Carmen Kassinger Sylvia de la Cerna Karen Nelson Principal Dave Belden Todd Matthews Lucinda Ali-Landing Gretchen Sherrell Chuck Bontrager Domnica Lungu Nina Saito VIOLAS Becky Coffman Principal Scott Dowd Dorthy White-Okpebholo Bruno Vas da Silva Bonnie Yeager Betty Lewis CELLOS Ann Griffin Principal Ed Moore Andy Snow Emily Mantell Don Mead Tony Porter BASSES John Floeter Principal Christian Dillingham Brenda Donati Alan Steiner HARP Faye Seeman Principal FLUTES Janice MacDonald Principal Claudia Cryer Laura Hamm OBOES Ricardo Castañeda Principal June Matayoshi CLARINETS Wagner Campos Principal Dileep Gangolli (Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax) BASSOONS Peter Brusen Principal Collin Anderson HORNS Lee Shirer Principal Anna Mayne John Schreckengost Beth Mazur-Johnson TRUMPETS Matt Lee Principal Edgar Campos TROMBONES Rob Hoffhines Principal Serdar Cizmeci John McAllister TUBA Sean Whitaker Principal TIMPANI Bobby Everson Principal PERCUSSION Jeff Handley Principal Michael Folker Tina Laughlin MEI-ANN C+EN music director and conductor A native of Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen studied violin and conducting at the New England Conservatory, simultaneously completing master’s degrees in both disciplines, and lat- er earned a doctorate in conducting from the University of Michigan. Having lived in the United States since 1989, she also honed her conducting skills at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen and the National Conducting Institute in Washington, DC. Chen has since earned such honors as the top prize of the 2005 Malko Competition (where she returned as a jurist this year af- ter becoming the first and still only woman winner), the 2007 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, and the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orches- tras, and in 2015 she was named one of Mu- sical America ’s top 30 influencers. The mu- sic director of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, this fall Chen takes the podium as the newly appointed chief conductor of Austria’s Recreation Grosses Orchester Graz at Styri- arte, having been the ensemble’s first-ever principal guest conductor for the past two seasons. She has also been serving as the first-ever artistic partner of Houston’s River Oaks Chamber Ensemble since 2019, as well as artistic director of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival since 2016, the same year she became conductor laureate of the Memphis Symphony after six years as its music director. Highly sought as a guest conductor internationally, Chen has appeared with over 110 orchestras, returning this season to the BBC Symphony, The Neth- erlands’ Residentie Orkest, Malm and Norr- land Operas, and Helsinki, Oslo, and Taiwan Philharmonics as well as debuting with Santa Fe Pro Musica and Spain’s Basque National Orchestra. Postponed from 2020 are her de- buts with New York Philharmonic, Germa- ny’s Staatsorchester Darmstadt, and Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra as well as returns to the San Francisco Symphony and Netherlands Phil- harmonic. Chen’s guest credits also include the Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, National, San Diego, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphonies, as well as numerous Scandinavian ensembles, the São Paulo State Symphony, and Turkey’s Bilkent in Ankara, among many others. Mei- Ann Chen made her Ravinia debut in 2016. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 47