Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

GOODIEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY (RUSH) Though conceived for a one-time observance, during which 500 schoolchildren enthusiasti- cally sang its three inspiring verses, the song quickly spread beyond Stanton School to Black communities across the country. “Shortly af- terwards, my brother and I moved from Jack- sonville to New York, and the song passed out of our minds,” recounted James in 1935. “But the schoolchildren of Jacksonville kept singing it, they went off to other schools and sang it, they became teachers and taught it to other children. Within 20 years it was being sung over the South and other parts of the country.” The popularity of “Lift Ev’ry Voice” reached new heights in 1919 when it became the offi- cial song of the NAACP. In the century since, this “Black National Anthem” has accom- panied moments of resistance and protest as well as celebrations of African American culture and heritage. Countless civic, social, and church organizations include “Lift Ev’ry Voice” on their programs. Rev. Joseph Low- ery quoted its final stanza at the 2009 inaugu- ration of Barack Obama—the country’s first Black president—who later joined an all-star ensemble with Smokey Robinson, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Dylan in singing “Lift Ev’ry Voice” at the White House Civil Rights Concert in 2010. Conductor, educator, and arranger Nicho- las Hersh grew up in Evanston, IL, before attending Stanford University for his under- graduate studies in music and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he earned a master’s degree in conducting. He was selected twice to be a Conducting Fellow at the American Conducting Academy at the Aspen Music Festival and has twice received the Solti US Career Assistance Award. Hersh currently serves as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Widely regarded as an arranger and orchestrator, his recent projects include editions of the orches- tral music by African American composer James P. Johnson and a version of Queen’s Bo- hemian Rhapsody for solo viola and orchestra. –Program notes © 2022 Todd E. Sullivan James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson JONATHAN RUSH, conductor Appointed the Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2020, Jonathan Rush is a rising talent on the concert podium, having earned a Bachelor of Music fromThe Ohio State University, where he was Music Director of the Buckeye Phil- harmonic Orchestra, and a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. In 2017 he became a conducting fellow of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, and in 2018 he was also named a Project Inclusion Conducting Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he was made an Assistant Conductor in 2019. His current conducting mentors include Marin Alsop, Mei-Ann Chen, and Joseph Young. Rush made his professional orchestra debut with the Chamber Orchestra of New York in Car- negie Hall as the 2018 winner of the Respighi Prize in conducting at age 22, and he made his international debut leading the Nairobi Phil- harmonic Orchestra and Dance Centre Ken- ya in their first performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with live orchestra. Rush has since returned to Kenya to continue his re- lationship with the dance company, and he has appeared in further performances with the Chamber Orchestra of New York as well as debuts with the Chicago Sinfonietta and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. A versatile musician, he also has a strong background in jazz, gospel, soul, and R&B music, having performed with various jazz ensembles and as lead vocalist for the Ohio Show Band. Rush serves as the Minister of Music at Ebenezer Temple in Hartford, CT, and the Director of Music for the New England District of the United Holy Church of America, overseeing the music departments of 14 different church- es. Last summer Jonathan Rush is made both his Ravinia and his Chicago Symphony Or- chestra debut. 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 under-resourced Chicago neighborhoods. And the Sinfonietta’s nationally recognized Project Inclusion fellowships train and mentor of young musicians in the areas of administration, en- semble performance, conducting, and composition. The Chicago Sinfonietta first appeared at Ravinia in 2004 for the American premiere of the Zulu opera Princess Magogo , and today returns for its sixth season at Ravinia. VIOLINS Carol Dylan Concertmaster Terrance Gray James Sanders Carl Johnston Phyllis Sanders-Griffin Elizabeth Huffman Emily Nash Karen Nelson Principal Lucinda Ali-Landing Edith Yokley Carol Yampolksy Eric Pidluski Carol Setapen VIOLAS Becky Coffman Principal Vannia Phillips Scott Dowd Pedro Mendez Dorthy White-Okpebholo Seth Pae CELLOS Ann Griffin Principal Emily Mantell Andrew Snow Don Mead Tony Porter Melissa Bach BASSES Alan Steiner Principal Jason Neihoff Weldon Anderson Stephen Reichelt FLUTES Laura Hamm Principal Leslie Short Jennifer Clippert (Piccolo) OBOES Ricardo Castañeda Principal Andrew Nogal June Matayoshi (English Horn) CLARINETS Wagner Campos Principal Daniel Won Dileep Gangolli (Bass Clarinet) BASSOONS Andrei Muravev Principal Nicholas Ritter HORNS John Schreckengost Principal Anna Mayne Beth Mazur-Johnson Mary Jo Neher TRUMPETS Edgar Campos Principal Kari Lee TROMBONES Rob Hoffhines Principal Serdar Cizmeci John McAllister TUBA Charlie Schuchat Principal TIMPANI Joe LaPalomento Principal PERCUSSION Jeff Handley Principal Tina Laughlin HARP Janelle Lake Principal RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 29