Cornell University Orchestra Newsletter

! A Senior’s Perspective from Andie Liao As I hurtle towards the end of my final year at Cornell, I find myself in-creasingly prone to long reflections over all the things that have shaped my college experience. My time at Cornell has been challenging, exciting, and rewarding. One thing it certainly has not been is consistent. I entered Cornell as a Physics major, then switched to Government, then to French, then to Economics, then back to Government. I lived withdifferent groups of people in different locations on campus each year. I tried out a variety of clubs, joining everything from a pre-law fraternity to the Squirrel Club. As I bounced around from semester to semester, the only part of my schedule that remained remotely stable was the sym-phony orchestra. I can still recall my first rehearsal – I was nervous be-cause I had no idea what to expect from a college-level ensemble, and because I was seated next to an upperclassman casually warming up with a Rostropovich-like rendition of the Rococo Variations. Looking over the semester’s rigorous music and demanding schedule, I started to doubt if I could handle such a large commitment. However, as the orchestra began to tune, I felt

an unexpected sense of homecoming that immediately helped calm my nerves. After months of trying to settle in a new environment, the familiar sound of a concert A re-minded me that – as cheesy as it sounds – music is won-derfully universal. My first rehearsal with CSO functioned much like rehearsals with my old youth orchestra, replete with long-winded musical metaphors and nerdy Beetho-ven jokes. I soon felt at ease with my fellow musicians, who were incredibly welcoming, and with Chris, whose meticulous and charismatic direction somehow made two-hour long rehearsals fly by. Looking back, joining the orchestra was the smartest decision I made as a freshman because it gave my life at Cornell a sense of belonging and routine that I had been missing. Over the next three years, CSO became one of the most enjoyable aspects of school – partly because it never felt like actual school. Playing a piece like Barber’s Symphony in One Movement

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FROM THE OUTGOING ORCHESTRA PRESIDENT,

In this edition of Whole Note, we are pleased to hear Andie Liao and Crys-tal Han’s moving reflections of their experiences in orchestra as graduat-ing seniors. We will also hear about the experiences of CCO members James Eaglesham and Joseph Chai. Benjamin Sacks’ article on Elgar’s Enigma Variations provides an inter-esting view on the orchestra’s rela-tionship with the characters of the piece, and finally, we will hear Min Sun Song’s perspective on the visit by  Cayuga Heights Elementary. As we wrap up yet another memorable se-mester, we would like to thank you for your continued support. Stay tuned for our next season, which will feature performances of movie music by John Williams and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, all of which will be streamed online. Happy reading!

Jenny Xia, President ’12-’13

requires a lot of mental exertion, but in a way that has al-ways left my brain much happier than, say, a multivariable calculus problem set (granted I say this as a liberal arts ma-jor). My friends were often surprised when I’d bounce through the door at seven in the evening, cheerfully hum-ming the cello part of Shostakovich 5 and ready to start my work. Rehearsals became a nice break in the week during which I had no choice but to stop thinking about academ-ics and focus on music that I truly enjoyed. The energy and efforts of the other members – many of them engineers, pre-med, and pre-law – made me realize that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. This reinforced how lucky I felt to be part of such a close-knit and dedicated organization. Sticking with such a big commitment wasn’t always easy, especially during prelim season when the extra two free afternoons would have been helpful. Yet, after a cello-free semester abroad, I realized that free time without music left me with an unshakeable sense of always missing some-thing. I was sitting in café in the south of France one after-noon when I spotted the lumbering, turtle-like figure of a boy carrying a cello on his back. Watching him, I felt a sud-

den twinge of jealousy and an incredible urge to tackle him and run off with his cello. I then realized how ex-cited I was that this music-free break was indeed just a break, and that I would soon get to return to my cello and the orchestra. Coming back my senior year has been bittersweet – I liked jumping back into my rou-tine but I knew in the back of my mind (continued) ---that the last year would fly by. Having played my last concert with the CSO, I can say I will genuinely miss the orchestra. I will miss Chris’ extended metaphors that usually revolve around themes like Viennese lard, and getting to play pieces that culminate in booming canons or the shaking of “corn husks”. I will miss the Executive Board and all of the great ideas and great friendships that have resulted. Most of all, I’ll miss the ritual comfort of going to rehearsal every Monday and Wednesday, and getting to make music with people

who are passionate about their instruments. Orchestra has even made leaving a little easier since it has helped me realize I want to continue ensemble playing after college. If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that bouncing around to explore is important, but there are certain things in life that are always worth holding on to.

-Andie Liao, Government/

Economics, Class of

2013  |:|

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On Sunday April 21st, Cornell Symphony Orchestra had its second Spring Concert. To present an opportunity for young students to build closer relation-ships with classical music, CSO invited 30 people, including students, teachers, and parents, from Cayuga Height Elementary School. After the concert, they had a short Q & A session, asking Professor Kim about the repertoire, his or-chestra experiences, and etc. The students, teachers, and parents were excited about listening to his stories, and Professor Kim enthusiastically answered all of their questions. It was a very valuable time for everyone, and CSO will con-tinue holding such post-concert events in the future.! - Min Sun Song |:|

ELGAR BY BEN SACKS

Perhaps no other piece of music was more fitting for the Symphony Orchestra to play this semester than Elgar's Enigma Variations. Through-out my four semesters of orchestra, I've felt

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Spring 2013 Season at a glanceSymphony OrchestraMarch 7, 2013@ Bailey HallCharles Cacioppo Music for Orchestra [world premiere]Samuel Barber Piano Concerto with Corne# Concerto competition winner Vikram PotdarEdward Elgar Variations on a theme of Enigma

April 21, 2013@Bailey HallWitold Lutoslawski Mala SuitaL.V. Beethoven Triple concerto with Ariana Kim, Inbal Segev and Miri YampolskySamuel Barber Symphony in One movement, Op. 9

April 27, 2013@Ford HallL.V. Beethoven Triple concerto with Ariana Kim, Inbal Segev and Miri Yampolsky as part of the Ithaca International conducting masterclass with David E$on

Chamber OrchestraMarch 2, 2013@Barnes HallBenjamin Britten Les I#uminations (with Judith Ke#ock)Edward Elgar Serenade for Strings

April 14, 2013@Barnes Hall Witold Lutoslawski Grave for Ce#o and Strings (with Steven Doane)

April 27, 2013@Barnes Hall W.A. Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201Steven Stucky Music for Saxophones and Strings with Prism Saxophone Quartet

If you know of former orchestra members who would like to

receive this newsletter please contact Katie Soule at kjs243@corne#.edu

the orchestra develop in its vibrancy and unity, which is exactly what Elgar ex-presses with his variations. Each of his fourteen variations illuminates the charac-ter of or relates an episode with a friend, companion, lover, pupil, or comrade who was close to Elgar. As we practiced each variation, I felt the orchestra transform and take on the personalities and relive the stories of each character, sometimes more literally than others. For example, Variation XI (Allegro di Molto) "G.R.S"alludes to George Robertson Sin-clair, the lively organist of Hereford Ca-thedral. (continued - )(-continued) Elgar explained the meaning of the allusion:"The variation, however, has nothing to do with organs or cathedrals, or, except

remotely, with G.R.S. The first few bars were suggested by his great Bulldog, Dan (a well-known character) falling down the steep bank into the River Wye (bar 1); his paddling upstream to find a landing place (bars 2 and 3); and his rejoicing bark on landing (second half of bar 5). G.R.S. said, "Set that to music." I did; here it is." Throughout the early rehearsal of this variation, we at times sounded as if we as an orchestra were tumbling down a steep bank into a river. Variation VII (Presto) "Troyte" recalls the memory of Elgar and Arthur Troyte Griffith getting caught in a thunderstorm, which we at first reenacted all too realistically. Dora Penny's stutter was depicted by more than just the woodwinds in our first few readings of Variation X "Dorabella". As we began to master the portrayal of each individual story and character, the unifying thread, the Enigma theme, became increasingly present, an effect that is anticipated by the composer as well as the orchestra. The piece culminates in the concluding variation, the Finale "E.D.U.", a manifestation of the com-poser himself. Elgar expresses through his variations, through his representations of his friends, that we are individuals, but we are also the product of how we areinfluenced by the people we surround ourselves with.; we are unique amalgamations of our friends and experiences. Similarly, an orchestra is the amalgamation of individuals who come together with different sounds and musical inter-pretations to form a unified entity, which is exactly what I've felt from the orchestra over the past two years.

-Ben SacksPhilosophy, Class of 2015 |:|

Cornell Chamber Orchestra Com-pletes its Final Performance for the YearBy Joseph ChaiOn the night of April 29th, 2013, over a hundred people gathered in Barnes Hall, taking time out of their busy schedules to watch the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, led by Conductor and Professor Chris Kim, perform its spring concert. This is the third and final perform-ance the orchestra has given this semester.

Cornell Chamber Orchestra has

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been a part of Cornell tradition for over a century and is designed for non-music majors to allow them to con-tinue to immerse their lives with classical music. The ensemble practices their music up to six hours a week to prepare for the final concert of the school year. Fur-thermore, the orchestra communicates musical ideas and suggestions via a blog (which can be accessed here: http://blogs.cornell.edu/cuchamberorchestra) – a rela-tively new idea to express our musical ideas in non-traditional ways. The ensemble routinely practices with guest conductors, which keeps the orchestra on their toes, and exposed to a variety of musical in-terpretations.

All the orchestra’s hard work culminated in the final concert, the orchestra played two pieces, Mozart’s 29th symphony as well as Steven Stucky’s Music for Saxophones and String. The Mozart was played first and the orchestra lined up in an unfamiliar pattern. From stage left to stage right: 2nd violins, cellos, violas, and 1st violins, as opposed to the traditional formation of, from stage left to stage right: cellos, viola, 2nd violins, and 1st violins. This gave the audience a different perspective and forced the ensemble to really listen to each other and play off of one an-other throughout the concert.

The second piece performed, the Stucky, was exciting for several reasons. First of all, the composer of the piece, Steven Stucky, was present at both the dress rehearsal and concert and was able to provide valuable insight in regards to the musicality of the piece. Furthermore, the ensemble had the great honor of performing the piece with the prestigious Prism Saxophone Quartet, from whom the ensemble learned a great deal.

Overall, the Cornell Chamber Orchestra’s final performance and year was a great success. The ensemble staged three performances and provides a creative outlet to satisfy the musical appetites of non-music majors. I am glad I was able to be a part of the orchestra, even if it was for only my last semester at Cornell. - Joseph Chai |:| !SENIOR PERSPECTIVE

I Four years ago, I did not know my career path, or what clubs I would join, but one thing I was completely confident on was that I wanted to join the Cornell Symphony Orchestra and continue making music. As a result, CSO has been one of the most important constants of my college career. The people I met and the sense of community I felt while making music with them have been a refuge for me from the stresses of school, research, and other extracurricular ac-tivities. The repertoire every year is a combination of classical pieces, most of which were new to me, and modern pieces that broadened my musical horizons. There are so many pieces we played that strengthened my understanding and appreciation for music with each rehearsal. Music stirs in me so many indescribable emotions, and equally valuable

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Ithaca International Conducting Masterclass with David Effron and Steven Stucky:

April 22-28, 2013International Ithaca conducting Masterclass with David Effron: a joint project with Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra 8 conductors from as far away as Hong Kong worked with maestro David Effron in

a conducting masterclass. Ithaca College Symphony and Cornell Symphony participated in four sessions with the conductors. Maestro Effron also presented a fireside chat at Alice Cook House, where he was in residence during the masterclass week.

is the experience of being able to share it with my fellow musicians and community. I can still remember the chills I felt from playing the ethereal ending theme of the first movement from Rachmaninoff ’s Symphonic Dances my freshman year, and my unhindered excitement in playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture theme sophomore year. I will never forget the regal yet celebratory theme of Saint-Saens’s Organ Symphony from junior year, and the wonderful experience of accompanying such talented soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto this past year. In addition, the trips to New Orleans and Ireland were full of exciting, new experiences, seeing novel places, making new friends, and most importantly, sharing our music. CSO has been for me a haven from academic courses, a place where I can improve on my skills as a musician, and an opportunity to gain more experience with new pieces, composers, and styles of music. Most of all, CSO

has served to re-mind me, a few hours each week of how important music is in my life. Music rejuve-nates my spirit, allows me to feel emotions in the most pure yet complex way, and simply put, makes me happy. Being able to share all of this with equally pas-sionate people makes the whole experience even more precious. It has been a wonderful four years, full of ups and downs (but mostly ups,) and CSO has been there for me through it all. I wish this orchestra and everyone in it the best in their endeavors, and I hope that for all incoming members, the Cornell Sym-phony Orchestra makes as important and amazing an impact as it has for me. Thank you.Cornell.

-Crystal Han, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 2009 |:|

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Music at Cornell as a Way to RelaxWhen I set foot on this campus as a wide-eyed freshman, I knew two things: I wanted to studybiology, and I wanted to play music. I didn’t really understand how those two things were going to fit together, but on my first day of class I distinctly re-member running from a microbiology lecture to my orchestra audition. I was chosen to be in the chamber orchestra, something which has since been one of the defining parts of my life at Cornell. Every Tuesday and Thursday I get out of organic chemistry lab and hurry to grab my cello and get to Barnes Hall for rehearsal. After 3 hours of running around lab trying to do ten things at

once, to sit down in rehearsal with the chamber orchestra and play music together is a very soothing experience. Even when I’ve got preliminary ex-ams, papers, and projects to do, I’m always glad to have a couple of designated hours in my week where I have to just sit in one place and play music. One of the most amazing things is that almost everyone in orchestra stud-ies something that isn’t music, and that we all have out-side work, but can come together and make something beautiful twice a week. As an incoming freshman, I think most people are worried about finding friends, and a community of which to become a part. I was certainly worried, but being a member of Chamber Orchestra not only gave me that community during that transitional period, but it’s something that I continue to be thankful for. Aside from being able to take time out of your week for music, everyone knows one another, and it’s a very friendly environment that helps me, and surely others, to relax andavoid stress.James Eaglesham |:|

To support the activities of Cornell Orches-tras like these concerts, please consider a donation to the John Hsu Orchestra Fund. The John Hsu Orchestral Fund serves as a permanent legacy to his fifty years of teach-ing and focuses on enriching funds for or-chestra activities at Cornell, such as future tours, retreats and guest artists. The fund was established in spring 2005 to honor Cor-nell music professor emeritus John Hsu, former conductor of both the Symphony Orches-tra and Chamber Orchestra.  All donations made to the fund are tax deductible, and the interest generated by the endowment fund will directly support the orchestras.  Checks should be made out to Cornell University, memo John Hsu Orchestral Fund, and sent to :

! ! Cornell Music department ! ! 101 Lincoln Hall, Ithaca NY, 14853. ! |:|

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ContributorsJenny Xia, Andie Liao, Crystal Han, James Ea-glesham, Joseph Chai, Min Sun Song, Ben Sacks, Amy Li, Zachary Wu

Photos taken by the orchestra photographer and members of the orchestra will be posted on Shutterfly, an external photo hosting website. We are trying to expand our orchestra photo section. If you have photos from past season you can upload your photos to the shutterfly website.

The web address of the CSO Photos is :

cornellsymphonyorchestra.shutterfly.com.

! ! ! !

TO :

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Cornell Orchestras

101 Lincoln Hall

Ithaca NY 14853

Stamp

Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 6 October 2013, 3 pmSymphony at the Movies

BERNSTEIN Candide Overture BERNSTEIN On the Water(ont Suite

SPINAZZOLA  new work with silent film directed by Gibson Frasier

WILLIAMS Raider’s March @Bailey Hall, Cornell University

Sunday 17 November 2013, 3 pmATHENS new work  written for CSO TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4@Bailey Hall, Cornell University

Chamber Orchestra

Sunday, October 6 2013, 3 pm"La Follia: Variations for String Orchestra" arranged by Michi Wi-

ancko after the Concerto Grosso by GeminianiSIERRA  Folias concerto for guitar and orchestra

@Bailey Hall, Cornell University

Saturday, October 19 2013, 8 pmA collaboration with the Solisti Ensemble

@Bailey Hall, Cornell University

Tuesday, October 29, 2013Public open rehearsal with Christopher Hogwood

@ Barnes Hall, Cornell University

Saturday 16 November 2013, 8 pmSCHULLER Journey into Jazz

HAYDN Symphony No. 49 in f minor “La Passione”@Ithaca High school on Friday 11/15/13

@ Barnes Hall, Cornell University